Chapter 297 Burn
Looking at the stocks in his hands that were already as worthless as paper, Qian Rong, who was sitting on the stone railing, felt colder than ice at the moment. He thought that he had exhausted all his wealth and finally made a fortune by selling medicinal materials overseas in Guangdong and Guangxi. All the money was lost in the stock market unexpectedly.
Because his net worth suddenly rose to a million silver dollars and now he was suddenly penniless, he didn't know how to face his own people, so he chose to commit suicide by jumping into the river.
thump!
Qian Rong is ready to say goodbye to this world.
"Another one seeking death, pick him up!"
Yang Feng, who was standing on a civilian soft sailing boat, happened to see Qian Rong and asked people to fish it up.
When Qian Rong woke up, he saw that he was already in a luxuriously decorated cabin. A middle-aged man who looked very wealthy was reaching out a fat hand to the little goldfish in the glass tank and touched it. After a while, he asked: "How much money did you lose?"
Qian Rong knew that this person was asking himself, so he subconsciously replied: "More than 1.2 million yuan, the business bank has closed down, more than 100 people have lost their income, and they still owe more than 200,000 yuan in bank debt."
After saying that, Qian Rong couldn't help but sob again. A man who has the right to cry doesn't shed tears easily. He worked hard for thirty years, and with the help of the empire's opening of sea restrictions and low-interest loans to the people, he was able to survive the Zhengde period. He rose from a waiter in a drug store to a wealthy businessman in Liaodong, supporting hundreds of families. He also donated money to three social schools in his hometown and subsidized more than ten poor students. Even the former county magistrates were courteous to him;
But now everything has become nothing. He who believes in being an expert and helping the world does not know how to deal with the hundreds of families who depend on him. He also regrets that he should not listen to the old man's advice and give up all the profits of the medicine store. All used to invest in stocks.
"Even if you lose so much, there is no need to seek life and death. Fan can help you pay off your bank debt. I can also take over the people from your business bank for you, but you have to sell yourself to me!" Fan! Yonghe said.
"Sold to you? But I am a Han Chinese with a Ming household registration. The outline of the constitution of this country stipulates that our citizens are not allowed to be sold as slaves! Our citizens are not allowed to sell themselves as slaves!" Qian Rong has always been involved in politics, so he has nothing to do with the constitution. The content of the outline is also relatively clear.
"You don't have to worry about it. Anyway, you sold yourself. If the court wants to punish you, it will only punish the buyer. The most you can do as a seller is a fine." Fan Yonghe said and added: "Anyway, you already have a miserable life. Anyway, You can’t let your debts affect your descendants.”
Qian Rong was still a little hesitant.
Seeing this, Fan Yonghe continued to laugh and said: "If you don't want to, then I can only chop you into meat, make it into cans, and sell it to the Japanese!"
Qian Rong was a little scared when he heard that, especially after seeing Fan Yonghe's sinister smile, he had no choice but to nod his head: "Okay, I'll sell myself!"
"Give him a contract! Let him sign! Brand him and take him out to sea three days later. Together with other Han people, he will be sold to the Dafo Langji people (Spain) who come to pick up the goods! Cantonese people have always been flexible and good at doing business. I have heard that the Ming Dynasty has the most new businesses, and they will definitely be willing to buy them at a high price! In addition, if they continue to buy people in the name of recruiting workers, they can make a lot of money by selling them to the West.”
As he spoke, Fan Yonghe took out his binoculars and looked at the city of Guangzhou lined with sails. When he saw the "Xia" flag, he couldn't help but smile coldly and asked: "Instruct those who stayed in Guangzhou Mansion to let them Please cooperate with Xia Budang and don’t let people think that we Shanxi merchants really don’t understand the plight of the people!”
"Don't worry, sir, I've already given the order!" Yang Feng replied.
"It's time to give out porridge! It's time to give out porridge! Shopkeeper Fan Da of Shanxi Commercial Bank has just shipped three thousand shi of new grain. Those who don't have money to buy food can come and receive porridge!"
"We're recruiting! We're recruiting! Yonghe Commercial Bank is recruiting Nanyang miners, and the monthly silver is three yuan!"
At this time in Guangzhou City, as soon as Xia Yan landed on the beach, he saw that the only few trading companies were still recruiting workers and serving porridge. He couldn't help but stop for a moment: "Send someone to ask the Jin Yiwei here where these trading companies came from?"
……
Capital.
Royal West Garden.
"Your Majesty has ascended the throne at a young age. He has eliminated the traitors in the government and the public, established great achievements, eliminated corvee service, and reduced the people's taxes. He has also performed martial arts in sweeping the Tartars from the north. His talents are comparable to those of Yao, Shun, Tang, Wen, and Wu in ancient times!"< br>
Kang Hai, the chief minister of the cabinet, took a memorial signed by hundreds of officials and scholars who had entered officialdom, and began to read.
At this time, Zhang Cong, the second minister of the cabinet, who was listening on the sidelines, couldn't help but secretly smile, thinking that these civil officials and gentry also knew that they were flattering His Majesty at the beginning, but when he saw the frowning brows of Emperor Zhu Houzhao, he also guessed that Obviously His Majesty is not interested in this kind of flattery.
"I am fortunate to have such a wise king come to this world. Although I have retired to the mountains and fields to recuperate from illness, I still dare not worry about the king. Although I should not interfere with the government, I dare not ignore the rise and fall of the world and allow it to be corrupted. I can't be righteous." Since then, the imperial court has promoted industry and commerce, imposed sea restrictions, and officials and businessmen have worked together in collusion. However, the people are eager for profit and forget their righteousness, and even regard farming as a shame. The wealthy and big households compete with each other for extravagance, and the poor and poor compete with each other. Food prices soar, and theft is common. The law is stricter than that of the gentry, but not strict with the common people. The common people have no scruples and rich merchants It’s more about relying on the rich to do politics!”
When Kang Hai read this, Zhu Houzhao was quite moved. He had to admit that these were undesirable phenomena that existed in the Ming Dynasty. With the development of capitalism, the pursuit of luxury, indolence in work, and the breakdown of etiquette were inevitable.
In particular, the soaring price of food has destroyed farming civilization, but Zhu Houzhao is also trying his best to curb this phenomenon. Major shipping companies have strictly banned the export of food. In order to increase agricultural income and protect cultivated land, they have continuously reduced taxes. As for collusion between government and businessmen, he has repeatedly Strengthen the construction of laws, but now these retired officials are still lashing out at their own government. Zhu Houzhao doesn't know what the purpose of these people is, so he can only endure his temper and continue to listen.
"Since the emergence of steam spinning machines and looms, people's livelihood has become more difficult. The homespun cloth produced by the people cannot be sold because it is rough, short and narrow. Women are lazy and have nothing to do in production. Men are forced to abandon their filial piety and go to the city to make a living, working hard all day long. tile Regarding the cement project, the Arita family has been planting cotton and mulberry vigorously, so that since last year, famine has continued in southern Zhili, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Shandong and other places. In southern Zhili, fathers and sons cannibalize each other, and they have died! "< br>
Zhu Houzhao fell silent. When these officials and gentry read the content of the joint petition, they pointed out the negative phenomena since the implementation of the New Deal.
Zhang Cong, the second assistant to the cabinet, could not help but lower his head. He also had to admit that these were indeed facts. Since the opening of the sea, everyone in Jiangnan has planted cotton and mulberry. The powerful families even forced the tenant farmers to change rice to mulberry. In addition, A big year Drought and some local officials were unable to provide relief, which led to the tragic situation of famine. Wu woman Liu Shi ate her four-year-old child, Yao Chen and Wang Tang of hundreds of households sold their mothers with their sons, Cao Hong, a military remnant, killed his brother with his brother, and Wang Ming killed his father with his son. , no return to humanity. Earthquakes, fog, stench can be heard for thousands of miles, rebels are everywhere...and so on.
However, the cabinet had already asked the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs to distribute 30,000 shi of grain and 200,000 shi of sweet potatoes as relief, which would not destroy the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. But now, when these officials and gentry raised it, he had to admit that these contents were indeed The most violent blow to the New Deal!
Zhang Cong found that His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao was a little ashamed, and also knew that these words jointly spoken by the officials and gentry also made the emperor who was keen on innovation begin to doubt the New Deal he had worked so hard to manage.
Zhu Houzhao did admit that these officials and gentry were harsh enough, and they were indeed hitting the mark. Now he was almost wondering whether he should issue an edict to punish himself, and he even began to doubt whether he was really the second Wang Mang. If this continues, it will only cause chaos in the world.
But at this time, Zhu Houzhao only listened to Kang Hai continue to read: "Everyone knows that Your Majesty has innovations to eliminate disadvantages. He has inherited the legacy of the late emperor and wants to benefit the people of the world. However, the disadvantages of the New Deal are not your Majesty's fault. They are the fault of a few sycophants who took advantage of Your Majesty." The young man is eager to confuse His Majesty It was caused by the abandonment of agriculture and the emphasis on commerce. There were Zhang Cong inside and Wang Shouren, Xia Yan and others outside. They were nepotistic and profit-seeking. They were immoral to the outside world. They bullied their neighbors and killed officials and gentry. They acted tyrannically without preaching benevolence and righteousness. They also had deviant thoughts. Misleading the world!
For example, when Zhang Cong was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, he did not pay attention to ethics when selecting officials, which led to rampant corruption!
For example, Xia Yan was good at killing officials, gentry and neighboring nobles, and almost wanted to become king on the sea. However, the people's wealth in Guangdong and Guangxi was dissipated and the stock market collapsed because of his incompetence;
For example, Wang Shouren commanded hundreds of thousands of troops and banned trade and closed the country, but allowed the markets to open as usual, so that the Tartars disguised themselves as caravans and almost broke through the Kaiping and went to the Xuanfu! His crimes must not go unpunished! Your Majesty has been in the palace for a long time, so he will inevitably be bullied by villains..."
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he gradually realized that something was wrong. He thought that since he was discussing his own gains and losses in politics, how could it turn into impeachment? These officials and gentry had impure motives. In the final analysis, they didn't really care about the life and death of the common people. They only wanted to impeach someone. It's just used as an excuse to criticize someone you are dissatisfied with.
Meng Chun, who had been silent all the time, saw the impatient look on Zhu Houzhao's face, and couldn't help but sighed secretly, and thought to himself: "You have failed in your efforts, you have failed in your efforts! Sun Sui and others are doing it for the sake of the people. Why should they be impeached?" , I didn’t know that the New Deal would be what it is today. They are all under the leadership of Your Majesty. If you really want to criticize the shortcomings of the current situation, Your Majesty may be able to change it. You may even think that Zhang Cong, Xia Yan, etc. are difficult to reuse. But mentioning it now means that Zhang Cong, Xia Yan, etc. are actually doing it for you. The people make the decision, but they are criticized by the powerful!”
Meng Chun knew that he could not stand up at this time, so he allowed Kang Hai to finish reading the memorial.
Zhu Houzhao also finished listening to the contents of the memorial at this time, and only asked Kang Hai to hand the memorial to him. He immediately walked to the candlestick, put the memorial, which was jointly signed by hundreds of officials who became official, and put it next to the candle and lit it. The flames gradually swallowed up the memorial. Memorials and memorials written by hundreds of officials who became officials gradually turned into ashes.
"I will treat this matter as if it never happened. I don't want the ministers to attack each other by taking advantage of the shortcomings of the New Deal! Xia Yan, Wang Shouren, Zhang Cong, etc. were recommended by the ministers and I chose them. Whether it is traitor or loyalty, future generations will comment on it, and I am the same, but trying to use the corpses of common people to stir up party strife is the real harm to the country and the people!"
Zhu Houzhao threw the burning memorial into the basin.
Meng Chun, the Minister of Civil Affairs, couldn't help but widen his eyes. He knew that the officials and gentry among the people had obviously misunderstood His Majesty's dragon vein, but he did not expect that His Majesty would directly burn the memorial.
Kang Hai didn't expect it and just asked: "Your Majesty is right, but this, this memorial, after all, there are hundreds of people."
Zhu Houzhao interrupted him: "Since he is an official, he has no right to participate in political affairs! Why not burn it? Can he really represent the constitution of the Ming Dynasty?" Kang Hai nodded in agreement.
Zhang Cong breathed a sigh of relief and secretly admired His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao for being able to distinguish the interests from the harm. He knew that it was not as simple as discussing current affairs. Burning the memorial was undoubtedly a slap in the face to some important ministers in the court who had dissident intentions. , let them understand that His Majesty is not so easy to fool.
Although Meng Chun was disappointed in his heart, he did not admit that he dared to despise His Majesty. At the moment, he could only lament that he was counting on the officials and gentry who made a fortune by taking advantage of some loopholes in the New Deal to help him maintain Confucian orthodoxy, and he was counting on thieves not to steal. Beautiful jade is no different.
……
Regarding the Guangdong and Guangxi matter, Zhu Houzhao did not bring Xia Yan back, nor did he criticize Xia Yan. He knew better than anyone that the phenomenon of stock prices was ultimately due to his lack of understanding of finance. After all, he was only a science and engineering college student in later generations, but He is not a stock god like Buffett, and only has a partial understanding of modern things such as stocks and securities. Fortunately, it is thanks to the help of business wizards like Xu Jing and mathematicians like Wang Wensu that we can build the Ming Securities financial industry.
Nowadays, some people with ulterior motives have taken advantage of loopholes in some of the rules he formulated. Zhu Houzhao also feels that this is an inevitable phenomenon. As a civil servant, Xia Yan cannot notice these shortcomings in advance, but it is also impossible to have a more suitable one. Someone went to replace Xia Yan to deal with the stock market crash in Guangdong and Guangxi.
However, Zhu Houzhao still sent Xu Jing to rescue the market with a huge asset of 50 million silver dollars to stabilize the Ming Dynasty's financial market. At the same time, he also asked Xu Jing to provide some help to Xia Yan. After all, he was in business and speculation. In terms of money, as the father of Ming Dynasty's bank, Xu Jing is much more experienced than Xia Yan, and he also knows better about those plutocrats who eat people without spitting out their bones behind their backs.
Zhu Houzhao was the emperor and could not go to Guangdong and Guangxi in person. Even if he went in person, he would still need the help of Xu Jing and others. What's more, he still had the war in the north to deal with.
Duoyan Weihua did not hesitate to collude with the Tumote tribe and the Horqin tribe to mobilize 100,000 troops to attack because he refused to increase the tribute. This was undoubtedly a provocation to himself. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he had to severely punish these Tatars!
What Xu Jing, who is already fifty years old, would not have thought is that he only lived to be thirty years old in the original history, but in this life because he was reused by the emperor, he was so high-spirited that even at the age of knowing his destiny, he was still walking fast. , head full of black hair, only the belly is getting bigger and bigger, just like a woman who is pregnant in ten months.
"Zhifu! Now that I'm going to Guangdong and Guangxi, how do you plan to help Xia Budang deal with the affairs of Guangdong and Guangxi?" At this time, his friend Tang Bohu rushed to the dock and asked Xu Jing.
"Of course, those unscrupulous merchants will lose all their money! Don't forget, His Majesty has given me the power to mobilize the Jinyi Guards. I still hold the title of Commander and Commander of the Jinyi Guards. When the time comes, I, Xu Jingruo, can't fight them, so I don't need to be the imperial guard. Shi Shen impeached himself directly in the Pearl River! ”
Xu Jing said, cupping his hands and saying: "Farewell!"
"Wait a minute, you just let them lose their money. You have no intention of bringing them to justice?" Tang Bohu asked.
"That is Xia Budang's authority. However, I would advise Xia Budang not to do this, because they are just taking advantage of the loopholes of the New Deal, but they have not violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty. You and I have been following His Majesty for many years. People should naturally understand that the dignity of the law cannot be desecrated!”
Xu Jing continued: "Moreover, the fundamental reason why something like this happened in Guangdong and Guangxi this time does not lie with them but with us. It was us who planned for His Majesty who did not realize these loopholes and were deficient in formulating the rules. Let them take advantage of the loopholes. Now, what Brother Yu wants to do is to try to make up for these loopholes and re-formulate the rules. It is best to involve these profiteers. If they want to avoid being taken advantage of in the future, they must make the rules more perfect! ”
"What, you actually want to change the rules and involve those profiteers? Do you know what they did? They forced the people of Ming Dynasty to commit suicide and even be sold into slavery! They deserve to be severely punished. Besides, the rules were confirmed by His Majesty. How can you change it casually?" Tang Bohu said.
"Your Majesty is also a human being, and it is inevitable that you will be negligent!" Xu Jing replied.
"No, your majesty is a god, your majesty is the emperor, and you have obtained Su Hui. Otherwise, you wouldn't know so much. Even poetry is better than you and me. How can you question your majesty!" Tang Bohu became a little angry.
"Bohu, Your Majesty said he is not a god, and I don't want to argue with you. I believe Your Majesty will support me!"
Xu Jing continued.
"Even if Your Majesty is a human being, he is not an ordinary person!" Tang Bohu shouted loudly. What he could not accept now was not that Xu Jing wanted to change the rules of the stock market, but that Xu Jing actually disagreed with him in his evaluation of His Majesty. conflict.
Of course, he himself now had to start thinking about how his Majesty the Emperor, whom he had served for nearly twenty years, would evaluate, whether he was a god or what he said was a human being, and what was the difference between gods and humans.
……
Zhu Houzhao is not like Tang Bohu, a young literary and artistic man who has nothing to do when he is full, and is obsessed with meaningless things every day. Now he has started to drive north. Last night, he chatted with Yang Yiqing, Gui E and other courtiers who were familiar with border affairs. It made him deeply realize that he must take advantage of this opportunity of Huadang's massive attack to systematically handle the affairs of the entire north.
At present, the commodity economy in the south is developing faster and faster, and more and more disadvantages are appearing. It has even begun to gradually affect the north. A large number of dry fields have begun to appear in the north for farmers to grow cotton. Moreover, coupled with the cold weather, The empire's ability to control the north will be greatly affected, and it may even happen that the empire has to abandon its strategy of exploring the north and opening up northern territories in order to stabilize the southern economy.
To this end, Zhu Houzhao must find a new way for the Ming Dynasty to advance together between the north and the south.
And the war may be an opportunity.
"Your Majesty, the troops of the Guards Fengcheng Marquis Li Min have left Jizhou, the commander-in-chief Zhao Zhen's troops have left Yulin, the commander-in-chief Lu Gang's troops have arrived in Daning, and the commander-in-chief Wang Shouren has also mobilized Datong and Jiliao , Taiyuan and other frontier troops reinforced Xinghe. Basically, there are two lines around the entire Xuanfu. One line is the frontier troops from various places now mobilized by the commander-in-chief Wang Shouren. The former military command here is that although Huadang is coming fiercely, it is not a big problem for the front army to repel Huadang;
But what we are worried about now is that once Huadang is repulsed, it will take the opportunity to plunder the border towns, which will make our border armies exhausted. Therefore, the Guards currently being mobilized can be used as the rear army, with Daning and Changyang , Guangning, march towards Duoyanwei's home base, first destroy Duoyanwei, and then sweep Horqin northward;
As for the Tumote tribe, I think we can order the Yongxiebu tribe, the Ordos tribe, and the female direct governor Qianshi Suheite and others to go east to encircle and suppress the Tumute tribe!
Since they are vassals to our Ming Dynasty, they must contribute to our Ming Dynasty. This will also allow them to kill each other, and our Ming Dynasty can also use the sword to kill people. If they are unwilling to follow orders to suppress them, then I, the Ming Dynasty, will have an excuse to eliminate them in the future! ”
Yang Yiqing pushed the wheelbarrow to Zhu Houzhao, pointed at the sand table and said.
Zhu Houzhao nodded: "As you say, immediately issue an edict to the Yongxiebu, Ordos, and Suheite tribes, asking them to immediately send troops to suppress the Tumote tribe!"
As he spoke, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but look out the window at a concrete road leading directly to Xuanfu, and couldn't help but ask Yang Yiqing: "Yang Qing, have you ever complained about me, for destroying your legs for the sake of the law?"
< br>
Yang Yiqing couldn't help being stunned after hearing this: "Thunder, rain and dew are all due to the king's favor. Your Majesty does not abolish the law because of personal feelings. This is what a wise king does. I have never had any grudges. Accepting bribes is my crime. I should have accepted it. Your Majesty will not do it because of it." I have a crippled body, personal ethics, and even crimes, yet I am still being used in the military. I am not grateful enough, so why would I have any resentment?”
"It's good of you to think so. You said, if this cement road connects Liaodong, Jizhou, Xuanfu, and even Kaiping, Yingchang, and Helin, build high walls, pull up iron nets, and facilitate immigration, Can we eliminate the threat of the northern Tatars by building a city and then conquering each part of them?" Zhu Houzhao asked.
"Your Majesty's plan is indeed a good one, but it takes a long time. I believe that your Majesty should give these Tatars a heavy blow now, and it is best to use a butcher's knife to let them understand who is the real hero on the grassland, otherwise these Tatars will still remain They will not obey the rule of our Ming Dynasty. The Tatars have always respected the strong. If your majesty slaughters them first and then controls them, and if all the ministries are disrupted and subordinated, you can be the common master of the world."
Yang Yiqing suggested based on his many years of experience in border towns.
Zhu Houzhao nodded: "What you are saying is that this siege of Kaiping also made me realize this. Although the Tatars are spread all over the north and are difficult to eliminate, sometimes we have to use strong force to make them obey our Ming Dynasty. Means! ”
While Zhu Houzhao was talking, Jin Yiwei Guo Rong ran over: "Your Majesty, there is a report from the commander-in-chief Wang Shouren. The leader of the Dorote tribe, commanding Tongzhi Jiabao, intends to betray the Duoyan guard and join the Ming Dynasty. I want to see your majesty!"
After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao hurriedly took the memorial and read it, then gave it to Yang Yiqing. He couldn't help but smile and said: "It seems that since the little prince was chopped up by me, the Mongolian tribes are really more scattered than before. This flower is like a general of Genghis Khan." It will be very difficult for future generations to be the masters of Mongolia!”
After Yang Yiqing saw it, he couldn't help but ask: "Your Majesty, do you want to see this Jiabao?"
Zhu Houzhao nodded: "Not only do I want to see him, I also want to return his land to his home, build a palace, draw up an edict, change the area under the jurisdiction of the Dorote tribe to Yingchang Prefecture, and be promoted to the Bo of Kanzhou with the title of Baobao." Conferred the title of Kanzhou County in Ming Dynasty (now Canberra, Australia)! ”
"This is obviously a promotion to someone else's official position, but how is it different from being exiled? Your Majesty is so cruel!" After hearing Zhu Houzhao's order, Yang Yiqing couldn't help but cursed in his heart.
(End of chapter)