Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 614 Dry Shares and Dividends

Zhu Youjian's words made the officials dumbfounded. After a long sigh of relief, the family sat down and stretched their necks to wait quietly to see if the emperor's next plan was in their own interests.

"I haven't finished talking yet.

This time apart from money, there are more important things than it.

It is a well-known fact that the maritime trade is hugely profitable. This time, the pro-military forces seized more than [-] ships of various sizes from the maritime merchants involved in the case, and there were also hundreds of shops of various companies. As many as ten thousand mu. "

Hearing this, the ministers, apart from secretly estimating the value of these items, also murmured in their hearts: All these things add up to be worth several million taels, and in the end, they all fall under the name of your Four Seas Trading Company. It doesn't matter, we only want money.

"I just thought about it, if the stolen goods and real estate are cashed out, and then part of the rewards are given to the ministers and other officials, such behavior will easily be criticized, or the world will think that this is dividing the spoils, and it will insult me ​​and the ministers." reputation.

Therefore, I have decided that after these goods are realized, they will be used as a charity fund to help those in need.As for how to manage this part of the donation, I have not yet considered it. "

When Zhu Youjian mentioned the charity fund, all the ministers suddenly felt a little inexplicable, so Wen Tiren stood up and saluted and said: "Invitation to the Holy Majesty, the word charity, the ministers and others know its meaning, but the word fund is unknown to me, please ask the Holy Majesty to explain it to you." Explain clearly."

"The word fund was something I came up with on the spur of the moment. It basically means to use this part of the money as the basis, and then use the corresponding part to make profits in business, so as to increase wealth and not dry up its source.

I will discuss this with Zhu Qing after I think it over clearly, and then I will return to the issue that Qing and others are most concerned about.

I intend to use the merchant ship shop I got this time as a basis, and the Four Seas Commercial Bank will deploy corresponding personnel to take over it. A new commercial firm will be established, named Huitong Commercial Bank, which will specialize in maritime trade-related affairs.

Huitong Commercial Bank uses [-]% of its annual profit as working capital, which is used to purchase commodities, buy merchant ships to expand the fleet, etc. The remaining [-]% is distributed from officials of the fifth rank or above and their relatives, and neither internal money nor Taicang participate in it. What do you think? "

This is the decision Zhu Youjian made after careful consideration: increase salaries for middle- and low-level officials, and then set up a business firm to bring in high-ranking officials and nobles from the fifth rank and above to form a new interest group to realize their own interests. Reform goals.

Zhu Youjian roughly calculated that although each of the four surnamed maritime merchants did not obtain millions of assets through maritime trade alone, at least [-]% of them were earned through maritime trade.

Based on the analysis of the profits handed in by more than a dozen sea-going ships under the name of Sihai Commercial Bank over the past few years, if the operation is proper and there are no unexpected factors such as weather and pirates during the voyage, then the ships, personnel, workshops, and distribution channels left by the four-surnamed sea merchants Wait, you can earn about 100 million to 150 million taels of profit every year.

The more than 100 million taels is the net profit after deducting taxes, labor and other expenses. After leaving 100% of it as working capital, the remaining about [-] to [-] million taels will be divided among these high-ranking officials according to their grades. .

As far as Zhu Youjian knows, there are only more than [-] officials in Daming from the fifth rank and above. If calculated on an average basis, each person can have an extra income of about a thousand taels of silver every year.

And if the participation of a small number of Qi Xungui is added, and the distribution is made according to the corresponding ranks, then the lowest-ranking officials from the fifth rank will get at least 400 taels a year, which is almost equal to their annual salary.

If the follow-up business of the commercial bank is booming and under a virtuous circle, the annual profit of the commercial bank will be higher and higher, and the officials will get more and more. This kind of lasting dividend will make the officials stand firmer. On my side.

Seeing that all the ministers were in a state of thinking and did not respond to him for a long time, Zhu You searched and told the ministers about the annual profits that the new firm could bring.

This method is wonderful!

This kind of long-term distribution is more practical than a one-time reward, and the amount is quite gratifying.

In fact, Zhu Youjian’s approach is equivalent to turning the imperial court into a joint-stock company for future generations. Middle and low-level employees receive high salaries. In addition to salaries, senior executives also receive annual dividends. The difference is that these executives in Ming Dynasty did not pay out of their own pockets. To invest in shares, their shares are all dry shares.

"Qi Zou Shengshang, I don't know how long this kind of sharing will last?"

Wen Tiren felt happy for a while, but he immediately realized that he was 67 years old this year, and Sun Chuanting and others were all in their forties and prime of life, so it was clear that they were going to take over from him.

At most, I can stay in the chief assistant position for another three to five years, and then I should retire. After I retire, can I still have this big fortune?

"In principle, this sum of money is only available when they are in office. Otherwise, when more and more senior officials are appointed, the amount allocated to officials who serve the country will be reduced accordingly. This is definitely unfair."

Zhu Youjian replied with a smile.

As soon as Wen Tiren heard this, his expectant eyes quickly dimmed, and disappointment was written all over his face.

Then he began to think about how to get more for himself when formulating the profit sharing regulations.

Anyway, it will be gone after I become an official, so it is better to give a big tilt to the cabinet ministers when formulating the regulations, so that I can get more in the past few years.

"However, I think that if one of them has made outstanding contributions to the community, he can receive another ten years after he becomes an official!

The first assistant has been in charge of the government for many years. He is dedicated, diligent, and extremely loyal to me. I think that the first assistant can be called an outstanding contributor! "

Wen Tiren's rare sense of loss was seen by Zhu Youjian. Seeing Lao Wen sitting down and stroking his beard with his hands and starting to think, Zhu Youjian smiled and said half of his words.

"To receive such an evaluation from the Holy Majesty, the veteran will die without regret!

From now on, the old minister will devote himself to state affairs and die! "

After Zhu Youjian finished speaking, Wen Tiren, who was twirling his beard and thinking of a solution, was startled for a moment, and pulled off a gray beard with his fingers, and he fell to the ground without feeling the pain under the agitated mood Standing up at once, before he had time to straighten his clothes and hat, he fell to the ground and cupped his hands to thank Zhu Youjian. The rest of the officials looked at him enviously.

All the officials knew that Wen Tiren was favored, but they did not expect that the emperor would give him such a high evaluation in public, which made the others envious and jealous, wishing to drag old Wen aside and replace him.

(End of this chapter)