Chapter 39 It’s better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish
Empress Dowager Zhang had always doted on her two younger brothers. Seeing Emperor Zhu Houzhao say this, she couldn't help laughing and said: "You child, since you have those glass treasures, why not give a few to your two uncles? It must be Ask them to buy it with money.”
Although Zhu Houzhao knew that the Empress Dowager Zhang loved his younger brother very much, he didn't mind making money from his uncles. Anyway, these two uncles, like the feudal princes, were wealthy and had little contribution to the court. It was okay for him to take back a little money to feed the people. Good thing.
So Zhu Houzhao also smiled and said: "Mother, you don't know, the reason why this glass treasure is precious is that it requires a lot of pearl agate to be refined. If the uncles want it, I have to ask the eunuch who purchased it to use the royal treasure." In the name of going south to buy pearls and horses Nao, and then use the Cao army to transport them back. These all cost money. Even if I wanted to give them away, I don’t have that much money to make glass treasures for my uncles. Moreover, if I don’t use the money, I will have to be criticized by the officials. Abuse of civilian power;
If the uncles are willing to pay for the silver, it will be another matter. If I ask the purchasing eunuch to spend the money to hire the Cao army, there will be no gossip. The ten thousand taels of silver are just money to buy pearls and agate and pay for the hard work of some craftsmen. I can't make half a tael of money, and if these glass treasures are sold for more than 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver, my uncles will naturally make a huge profit.
My uncles are all starting their own families now, and they can't always rely on royal support. Although they can't be in politics, they still have to make a living. Farming is impossible, so doing business is okay. It's better to teach people to fish than to teach them how to fish. Even if everything owned by the royal family is given to the uncles, the uncles will not be able to stay rich forever. It will be different if the uncles are allowed to make a living, and it can also increase the ability of the uncles to make a living. ”
When Zhu Houzhao first said that he would not give it away, Shouning Hou and Jianchang Hou were still a little disappointed, but now they heard what Zhu Houzhao said, and they were very satisfied. They thought that if the glass bought for 10,000 taels is true, as His Majesty said, Take out the treasure and sell it for 20,000 to 30,000 taels, and you can earn 10,000 to 20,000 taels. This is more profitable than selling salt, but it is better than just asking for one piece. After all, you can only ask for one piece, so if you buy it, you can do it. Buy as much as you want.
So, Zhang Heling hurriedly smiled and said: "Your Majesty is absolutely right. We are embarrassed to ask the royal family for things all the time. We also know the difficulties of the royal family. If it is really like what your majesty said, we are willing to buy it with money and then find someone to sell it to Jiangnan." , I will indeed be able to make a lot of money by then, and I will have a career.”
"That's right. This can also stop the mouths of those civil servants outside who say that we are idle and not doing our jobs properly. Now we can earn some money honestly, and the faces of the Queen Mother and Her Majesty will look good." Zhang Yanling also laughed in agreement.
Empress Dowager Zhang seemed very satisfied with her two younger brothers, and she indeed agreed with her son's view that "it is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him how to fish." She also wanted to give her two younger brothers a decent living, so she He laughed: "That's fine, then you can do this business. The Ai family is also exhausted, so you can continue to talk about serious things."
So, Empress Dowager Zhang was supported by her maid and went to the inner room. Zhu Houzhao ordered people to drink tea again and asked Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling with a smile: "How many pieces do you two uncles plan to buy, and what kind of glass treasures do you want to buy?"
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Zhang Heling looked at Zhang Yanling, thought about it for a while, and then stretched out two fingers: "Weichen wants twenty pieces, including ten glass beads, five glass tables, and one crystal Guanyin!"
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Twenty pieces, 10,000 taels each, a total of 200,000 taels. The cost of one piece is between one tael and three taels. At the cost of sixty taels, you can earn nearly 200,000 taels of silver.
Zhu Houzhao was naturally very happy in his heart, but on the surface he still pretended to think: "Twenty pieces are not many, okay!"
Here, Zhang Yanling saw Zhu Houzhao saying that twenty pieces was not too much, so he hurriedly said: "Then I will also buy twenty pieces, just like my brother, ten pieces of glass beads, five pieces of glass tables, and one piece of crystal Guanyin!"< br>
"Okay, the two uncles will sign and sign with Wei Bin later. He is responsible for these things." Zhu Houzhao nodded, and then specifically told Wei Bin, one of the Eight Tigers: "Be polite to the two uncles. Click!" Wei Bin smiled brightly without Zhu Houzhao's instructions. He was one of the core figures of the Royal Industrial Company, so he naturally knew how much these glass treasures were worth. He also knew that he could make a lot of profits by negotiating business with these two uncles, so he hurriedly said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the ministers will take good care of themselves." Handling goods for two uncles.”
After saying that, Wei Bin took the initiative to smile and said to Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling: "Please invite me, my two uncles!"
Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling originally thought that such trouble for the emperor's eunuchs would make them unhappy and troublesome, but they did not expect that the emperor's personal eunuch named Wei Bin was so attentive and considerate. They were a little surprised for a moment, thinking that maybe they were also involved. What are the benefits?
But the two of them couldn't think of any benefits, so they could only follow Wei Bin to sign the calligraphy and painting, and pledged to deliver a total of 100,000 taels of silver deposit within three days. At the same time, Wei Bin also promised that within a month Glass treasures were sent to his house one after another.
"Your Majesty, these two uncles are really happy. The deal of 400,000 taels was signed as soon as they were signed. Now the Royal Industrial Company is going to make a lot of money again," Wei Bin came back and reported to Zhu Houzhao.
Zhu Houzhao smiled faintly: "It can be seen that these royal relatives are all extremely wealthy owners. You must manage the Royal Industrial Company well. Don't let others know our secret recipe for making glass and soap. In the future, we will find more emperors." Relatives and relatives, sell these to them!”
"Your Majesty, don't worry! The ministers are always watching carefully," Wei Bin said.
At that time, Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling also walked out of the palace very happily. They did not feel that they had suffered a big loss at all. When they thought that they could sell tens of thousands taels and make a lot of money in Jiangnan, their faces were full of smiles.
Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, and others who happened to be standing outside Wenyuan Pavilion saw Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling. They seemed very happy to see them. Li Dongyang said first: "I heard from the eunuchs that these two uncles of the country are I’m here to ask for a glass treasure from His Majesty, and it looks like it’s about to arrive.”
"It's not surprising that the man in the harem always dotes on these two uncles and gives him whatever he wants. But now we don't care about these two uncles. We don't expect them to cause any trouble. The key now is not to Let His Majesty leave the palace again;
Only in this way can we find an opportunity to get rid of Liu Jin and others around His Majesty. It is best to punish them with death, so as to prevent these eunuchs from coming back, and let those eunuchs who are following Your Majesty know the consequences of bewitching Your Majesty! ”
The third assistant, Xie Qian, stared at the first assistant, Liu Jian.
Liu Jian, the chief assistant, turned around and entered the Wenhua Hall cabinet and sat on a chair in the center: "The Ministry of Works said that the Qianqing Palace can be repaired before Emperor Xiaozong's Anling. Then we will lead the officials to ask His Majesty to return to Qianqing Palace." The Qing Palace moved in and demolished the Leopard House! Now you need to contact the officials below in advance!”
"Leave this matter to Yang Tinghe. He has a good reputation in Qingliu." When Li Dongyang said this, Liu Jian and others nodded.
(End of chapter)