Chapter 112: A hundred words of advice are useless, but a lesson can be learned once and for all! (First update)
The next morning.
Xia Zhibai just got up.
Fang Mo stepped forward with excitement on his face and said: "Sir, good news, great news. Guo Huan was impeached by the censor and was imprisoned."
< br>Xia Zhibai said calmly, "Hmm" and didn't respond much.
Fang Mo was a little confused.
Why did Xia Zhibai not react much when he heard the good news.
This is Guo Huan.
Just the day before yesterday I sent someone to stir up trouble.
Guo Huan is a third-rank official and the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He is in charge of various finances.
If nothing had happened to Guo Huan, given the arrogance shown by Zheng Ao at that time, he would inevitably come to trouble their Kyoto Salt Shop in the future, and being targeted by such a powerful household official, how would their Kyoto Salt Industry fare?
He has been very worried recently.
I'm just worried that when Guo Huan and Zheng Ao come looking for trouble, if they don't handle it well, they may be jailed.
But now that Guo Huan is in prison, all worries are gone.
This should be a happy event.
Xia Zhibai didn't want to say more about this matter. He glanced at Fang Mo lightly and said, "Have the accounts of the eight counties of one government been delivered? I will personally verify them later. After reviewing them, I will send them to the palace." Go, the salt shop has opened today. As the shopkeeper of this shop, you should focus on the shop, not on these things. "
Fang Mo made a scene. white face.
He looked a little embarrassed and said: "They are all delivered and placed in the accounting room."
Xia Zhibai nodded and walked towards the accounting room.
Fang Mo looked at Xia Zhibai's leaving figure suspiciously, still a little confused, why couldn't Xia Zhibai not be excited?
When he heard the news, he almost jumped with excitement.
Think about it.
Fang Mo’s eyes became firm.
Xia Zhibai must have noticed something wrong with Guo Huan a long time ago.
That must be the case.
"The No. 1 scholar is the No. 1 scholar. His courage and knowledge are greater than those of ordinary people." Fang Mo couldn't help but sigh.
Going to the accounting room, Xia Zhibai began to count and reconcile the accounts.
The counting and statistics of salt shop accounts are actually not that troublesome. Most of the salt shop data in the past three months are open and transparent, so there is no need to worry about anyone committing fraud.
Xia Zhibai did a brief inventory and determined that there were no major problems with the data, so he put the accounting aside.
When he came to the accounting office, in addition to looking at the accounts, the more important thing was to write down a 'scenario'.
Let’s talk about the expectations and prospects of the salt industry.
This is important.
Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a peasant family and had a very short-term understanding of the economy. He basically only focused on immediate profits and immediate profits. He was even a little eager to seek success and do immediate things. To a certain extent, this was considered The above is a kind of path dependence.
Zhu Yuanzhang encountered many difficulties in his life, but in the end he was able to overcome them with his outstanding "reckless energy".
On the other hand.
Zhu Yuanzhang was too 'smooth' after leading the army.
There are few big defeats.
Zhu Yuanzhang won too many times, and he was somewhat blindly confident in winning, even self-righteous.
In particular, many of the 'winning methods' were based on Zhu Yuanzhang's own on-the-spot judgment and finally won. This resulted in Zhu Yuanzhang trusting his own intuitive judgment more than the suggestions of other courtiers.
Because he won!
He does not need to listen to the advice of his ministers.
He conquered this world by relying on his 'arbitrariness' and 'defying all opinions'. Especially after Zhu Sheng, Liu Ji and others died of illness, Zhu Yuanzhang became even more critical of his own judgment. It has reached a level that is almost blindly confident.
This is the willfulness of the emperor.
Because he has always been right, always right.
In such a situation where mistakes are rare, even an emperor can easily become conceited.
This is the case with Zhu Yuanzhang.
The emperor in this mental state is invincible. No one can refute it at all, because everything the minister suggested has not happened, so it cannot be proved that what the minister said is right, but Zhu Yuanzhang Everything you did in the past was right.
Comparing the two, one can distinguish one from another.
The emperor will only think that you are provoking his authority.
The emperor cannot be humiliated.
Therefore, over the years, all ministers who dared to impeach and oppose Zhu Yuanzhang's policies were basically killed.
Xia Zhibai figured it out early.
You can only deal with Zhu Yuanzhang as a person, not with specific policies.
If you want to speak out on policies, you must first provide concrete "evidence". Otherwise, you are provoking monarchy, questioning Zhu Yuanzhang's authority, and denying Zhu Yuanzhang's correctness.
Xia Zhibai came back to his senses.
It is useless to teach a person a hundred words, but to teach a person once he has learned something.
It has always been difficult for an emperor to admit his mistakes and correct them.
Zhu Yuanzhang especially.
Xia Zhibai also understood this deeply, so he resolutely chose Shang.
Because 'Shang' is the fastest effective and the easiest to obtain the most intuitive data, and when the numbers that cannot be tampered with are placed in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, no matter how angry and resentful Zhu Yuanzhang is, he can only be Forced acceptance.
Because right is right and wrong is wrong.
Numbers are the purest.
Xia Zhibai picked up his pen, looked at the accounts in front of him, thought for a moment in his mind, and began to write quickly. Of course, he didn't write much, he just briefly displayed the results of the salt company's expansion of production. Prospects and future.
Half an hour later.
Xia Zhibai stopped writing.
He blew lightly a few times to dry the ink on it, and stuffed this 'Memorial' at the back of the account book.
Then he stuffed the account book into his chest pocket and walked towards the palace. Today's salt shop in Kyoto is no longer as lively as before.
It has become quite quiet and depressed.
Yesterday’s grand occasion seemed like a passing cloud, with few shadows visible.
Only the wooden sign 'Fifteen cents a pound' hanging at the door seemed to declare something unfailingly.
On the streets of Yingtian Mansion, people were hurrying, and many people had solemn expressions. Especially in the streets and alleys, the imperial guards appeared from time to time, which made many people in the market worried. The entire Yingtian Mansion gradually fell into a suppressed silence. atmosphere.
Xia Zhibai did not stop.
In less than half an hour, we arrived outside the imperial city.
After clarifying the situation to the city guarding officials, he waited for a while and then entered the palace.
Wenhua Pavilion.
Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and his son are sitting one high and one low.
In front of both of them, there were many memorials piled up. With just a few glances, one could see that there were at least hundreds of memorials.
This is what the father and son deal with every day.
The father and son had just returned from Fengtian Palace and had just finished their ‘morning court’.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were three dynasties per day.
It is called ‘morning dynasty’, ‘noon dynasty’ and ‘evening dynasty’.
Zhu Biao yawned and felt a little sleepy. However, this was a rule set by his father. Meetings in court should always be held before sunrise, so meeting in court before dawn in the morning would be a good idea. The emperor and prince must also get up before dawn.
For this kind of early morning meeting, the meeting usually doesn't end until the sun comes up.
Zhu Biao usually takes a nap in Wenhua Pavilion.
Just after the dynasty had dispersed, officials reported that Xia Zhibai asked to see him and submitted the salt company's account books.
Of course he will continue to accompany his father.
Compared with Zhu Biao's sleepiness, Zhu Yuanzhang appeared to be in high spirits.
He enjoys the feeling of being in charge of general affairs personally, and has the pleasure of having everything in the world under his control.
Just when Zhu Yuanzhang finished reviewing a memorial, Pu Gouer tiptoed into the hall and said in a high-pitched voice: "Your Majesty, Xia Zhibai is asking for an audience outside the hall."
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes and nodded indifferently: "Let him come in."
Zhu Biao said with emotion: "Yesterday, the streets in Yingtianfu were empty and bustling, and Xia Zhibai's salt shop was even more amazingly sold. The price of salt in Yingtianfu has since dropped to fifteen cents per catty, which has also greatly reduced the burden on the people. This Xia Zhibai does have some talent in business. "
Zhu Biao couldn't bear it. I praised him twice.
Zhu Yuanzhang put down his pen, his face remained calm, and he could not see any joy or anger.
Soon.
Xia Zhibai entered the hall.
He bowed respectfully and said: "Shang Guan Xia Zhibai comes to see Your Majesty and His Highness."
"I entered the palace today to present the account books."
"Please. Your Majesty has taken a look at it."
Xia Zhibai took out the account book from his chest.
Pu Gou'er didn't dare to neglect at all, and quickly walked a few steps to Xia Zhibai, took the account book in his hand, and then placed it on Zhu Yuanzhang's table gently.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at it lightly, and was not in a hurry to open it. Suddenly he said coldly: "Guo Huan is in jail!"
The palace was silent for an instant.
A compelling momentum swept through Shang's heart instantly.
Xia Zhibai’s face remained unchanged and he calmly replied: “I heard this this morning.”
"He saw you the day before." Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Xia Zhibai closely, like a beast staring at its prey, as if if the other party made any move, he would instantly rush forward and tear Xia Zhibai apart. .
Xia Zhibai nodded and said: "I've seen it."
"What is Guo Huan looking for?" Zhu Yuanzhang leaned forward, his eyes exuding a sharp cold light.
Xia Zhibai said: "I want a way to balance the accounts."
"You gave it?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice became colder and colder.
Xia Zhibai said: "I agreed, but in the end he didn't ask for it anymore, so I didn't give it to him."
"Why? We need to know the reasons and reasons." Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised, but he still didn't relax at all.
Xia Zhibai said: "Because it is useless."
"The method of accounting is just a way of organizing data."
"I also made it clear to him, In addition to the one I gave to Hualun, there will be another kind of account book that I submitted myself.”
"After hearing my words, Guo Huan stopped asking for anything."
"Do you think we will believe your words?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly.
Xia Zhibai raised his head, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, and said with a smile: "No, just like Guo Huan, Guo Shilang, what he needs is not the so-called accounting method, but a kind of luck. But Guo Huan did give me another explanation."
"If you want me to die, I have to die."
Zhu Biao's face changed slightly.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes darkened, and he stared at Xia Zhibai coldly, and said in a chilling voice: "What else did Guo Huan say to you? I want you to tell me exactly."
Xia Zhibai Bai shook his head and said: "Your Majesty thinks too highly of me. I am just a business official, and Guo Huan is the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. I have never interacted with him in the past. How could he tell me the specific things? "
"And I don't want to know."
Zhu Yuanzhang was unmoved and continued: "We want to know what Guo Huan knows."
"You. You should be able to understand what we are saying.”
Xia Zhibai was silent for a while and then uttered two words.
"Military pay!"
(End of this chapter)