Daming: I, the emperor who trains the carpenter

Chapter 707
The economy needs to develop,
industry to develop,
These need to be taken step by step.

As the prime minister of the current dynasty, Zhang Haogu has passed the stage of trying to be fast, and turned to pursue stability.

The territory of the Ming Dynasty is hundreds of millions of miles, and there are more than 3000 million households. This is a huge empire. At the beginning, because of the critical situation, Zhang Haogu had to try to complete the strengthening of the Ming Dynasty in the shortest time in order to catch up with the time. This is the reform plan. Strong stage; now that Ming Dynasty is strong enough, whether it is economic or military, no one can violate the decisions made by the court, so the next thing to do is to be stable.

Sitting in the position of Chief Assistant, one has to think clearly about everything, even if it is clear that Huang Liji and Wei Guangwei are useless in the cabinet, nothing but obstructions, but Zhang Haogu still will not touch them.

Without him, this is the elder of the cabinet appointed by Zhu Youxiao, and the candidate for the cabinet that Zhu Youxiao put in place to balance the situation in the court.

It is normal for Zhu Youxiao to play with differentiation and balance. Checks and balances do not conflict with trust. Just like right now, Zhang Haogu can still mobilize the 30 new troops in the northern and southern capitals of Ming Dynasty, whether it is the three sides of Gansu and Shaanxi, the grasslands of southern Liaoning, or Yunnan. He can also command the new troops in these places.

Zhang Haogu is a position below one person and above tens of thousands of people, but Zhang Haogu knows better that the sky of Ming Dynasty is the sky of the Zhu family.

Zhang Haogu didn't care if Huang Liji and Wei Guangwei wanted to make trouble with them, anyway, they were just clay sculptures now, Zhang Haogu knew this, and Zhu Youxiao knew it, but it didn't prevent them from still being active in the cabinet.

After all the members of the cabinet dispersed, Zhang Haogu was the only one left in the cabinet.

Huang Zongxi said softly: "Yuan Fu, Huang Xiang and Wei Xiang are here."

Zhang Haogu smiled and took a sip of his tea. Court tribute tea changes in four seasons, and this winter tea has a special flavor: "Don't worry about them, it's nothing more than daily opposition for the sake of opposition. This matter is not the idea of ​​this pavilion. It's His Majesty's intention, they can't object."

"Speaking of which, it's too aggressive."

Huang Zongxi took a step forward: "The students are here."

Putting down the teacup, Zhang Haogu wrote a note of approval: "The railway approved by the imperial court has already started construction, you take my approval note to the Ministry of Industry, and let the Ministry of Industry give priority to finishing a section, which can be used by this pavilion."

Huang Zongxi said: "Students understand."

With that said, Huang Zongxi took the approval note and turned to leave Wenyuan Pavilion.

After Huang Zongxi left, Zhang Haogu said again: "Ningren."

Gu Yanwu heard Zhang Haogu's words and hurried forward: "Yuanfu."

Zhang Haogu said: "You go to the commercial office and bring Cui Shilang to this pavilion."

Looking at the snowflakes all over the sky outside the window, Zhang Haogu got up and walked to the window, raised his hand to catch a few pieces of snowflakes, watched the crystal snowflakes melt under the temperature of his palm, Zhang Haogu narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he was thinking something.

On the other side, Gu Yanwu was not slow either. After leaving Wenyuan Pavilion, he went straight to the business yamen.

Although it is said that the commercial office still belongs to the Ministry of Households, it is actually semi-independent like the taxation office. The princes of the court blocked it, and the commercial office and the tax office had already been upgraded to departments.

Although it is said that there is no promotion at the moment, it will be a matter of time, Wei Guangwei and Huang Liji know this, and the court officials also know that they can't stop Zhang Haogu for a long time, and now they can only delay it for a while.

When they arrived at the gate of the business office, the servants at the door immediately moved away when they saw the people getting off the carriage. After Gu Yanwu entered the business office, Cui Chengxiu, who was working, heard the movement and quickly got up: "Gu Senyi, but the chief assistant Find me?"

After saluting, Gu Yanwu said, "Exactly, Minister Cui, Yuan Fu wants to see you."

"Does Gu Shenyi know what the chief assistant is talking about when he sees me?" Cui Chengxiu asked.

Gu Yanwu didn't hide it, Cui Chengxiu is one of his own, and it's not a secret, so Gu Yanwu said: "Today's cabinet meeting, His Majesty will add another one in addition to the existing four. Yuanfu intends to accept this Private investment, issue of shares."

Cui Chengxiu understood: "Give me a moment, I'll tidy up first, come and have a cup of tea."

Gu Yanwu nodded, sat on a chair drinking good tea from the Ministry of Commerce, and watched Cui Chengxiu pack his things.

After sorting out several papers, Cui Chengxiu said: "Gu Shenyi, I packed it up, let's go."

The two left the commercial office and went straight to the cabinet.

After entering the cabinet, Gu Yanwu looked at Zhang Haogu who was reviewing the memorial and said, "Yuanfu, Cui Shilang is here."

Zhang Haogu critiqued the notebooks in hand, and said in a calm voice, "Chengxiu is here, sit down first and watch tea."

The waiter brought tea, Cui Chengxiu sat down respectfully, waiting for Zhang Haogu to deal with the notes.

After Zhang Haogu finished approving these documents, he raised his hand and took a sip of the teacup. Cui Chengxiu knew that Zhang Haogu had finished his work for a while, so he immediately sat upright, waiting for Zhang Haogu to speak.

"Chengxiu, let's talk to you, Ning Ren, the court wants to build a new road." Zhang Haogu said.

Cui Chengxiu nodded: "Back to Yuanfu, Gu Shenshi talked to the humble official."

Nodding his head slightly, Zhang Haogu took out a document: "Look at this."

Cui Chengxiu got up and took a look at the document. The more he read it, the more frightened he became.

The purpose of Zhang Haogu's plan is for the Beijing-Tianjin Chidao that is about to be prepared, and in order to have enough funds to start construction of this Chidao, Zhang Haogu intends to take part of the equity in this Chidao to attract businessmen to invest.

This is all normal. What surprised Cui Chengxiu was that Zhang Haogu was willing to give up [-]% of the shares. This was the first time he had encountered it.

If it is done, it will be a pioneering step for government-business cooperation, which will completely excite Daming's capital.

The private investment that Zhang Haogu wants to absorb is not as simple as 10,000+ taels of silver, but hundreds of thousands or even millions of silver!

Dozens of millions of silver, before the Tianqi Dynasty, and even in the first year or two of the Tianqi Dynasty, it was one-third of the tax revenue of the imperial court. Even in the present, it is not a small sum.

Those big families in the Ming Dynasty who were able to be intertwined in the local area, the accumulation of the Guo Dynasty for more than 200 years, is no more than this number, especially now that the New Deal has been implemented and the bureaucracy has been refreshed, do they still have so many acres of real estate and so much money? Said otherwise.

Even among the big chambers of commerce in Qi Dynasty today, there are only a handful of chambers of commerce in Ming Dynasty that can mobilize such a large amount of money.

And having this ability does not mean that you can take it out. Most of the chambers of commerce mainly focus on commodities and fixed assets. The gold and silver that can be moved on hand actually only accounts for [-] to [-]% of the total assets. These hundreds of thousands can hurt the nerves of large chambers of commerce. bone-chilling.

That is to say, now the money does not need to be paid by one family, it is necessary for the chambers of commerce to work together, otherwise no one of those chambers of commerce would dare to pay this money.

Even now, it is not very likely that these chambers of commerce will spend money to buy shares by relying on a paperwork from the imperial court
"But what's the difficulty?" Zhang Haogu asked with a smile.

Cui Chengxiu's heart tightened and he quickly made a promise: "Yuanfu, I will definitely push this matter to come true."

Looking at Cui Chengxiu's nervous appearance, Zhang Haogu couldn't help laughing and said: "Hahahaha, why are you nervous? When did this pavilion arrange something that you couldn't finish? This pavilion doesn't give you any help you."

"Currently, the imperial court is building the Chidao from the capital to Taiyuan. This pavilion sent Ningren to the Ministry of Industry. This Chidao will be repaired for a short section first. Then you can take those big businessmen and shopkeepers to have a look. .”

"And there will be a little wind in this pavilion."

"Don't worry, you will be able to raise all these 10 taels of silver."

Said, Zhang Haogu stood up, Cui Chengxiu also got up quickly, seeing Zhang Haogu walked in front of him and patted himself on the shoulder: "Chengxiu, don't think things are difficult, this business office will definitely be in the future. As a promoted one, you always have to come up with something to prove that you are not?"

When Cui Chengxiu heard this, he said excitedly, "Yuanfu, don't worry, I promise to complete the task."

"Go and prepare." Zhang Haogu said with a smile.

After Cui Chengxiu left, Huang Zongxi stepped forward: "Yuanfu, these 10 taels of silver is not a small amount."

With a faint smile on his face, Zhang Haogu sat down and poured himself a cup of tea: "Yes, a few hundred thousand taels of silver is not a small number."

"In the 24 provinces of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, there are hundreds of thousands of wealthy places that can pay hundreds of thousands of taxes a year."

"It's not that the imperial court can't get this money out. Our plan from the beginning was to absorb private capital and build up the stock market. Even if there is no such way, this pavilion will find another way to open up another way." of."

"Right now, only Chidao can attract private capital on a large scale. In the future, there may be more shipping companies."

Gu Yanwu asked: "Yuanfu, those businessmen won't take money easily."

Zhang Haogu smiled and took a sip of his tea, his eyes full of confidence: "Yes, those merchants will not easily spend money, but what about the people behind those merchants? At present, there are not many people behind these large-scale chambers of commerce. Now, who can make it with one family?"

"What's more, this pavilion has a little wind, and you say that the princes in the court will not follow?"

"They are frightened by His Majesty and the knives of this pavilion. They dare not take them or grab them right now. They are all saving face and maintaining their status as high-ranking officials in the capital. These court officials, they don't want money. ?”

As he said that, Zhang Haogu sighed lightly: "It's not easy to live in the capital. Those Beijing officials who have family support are fine, but those who have climbed up step by step, it is not so easy to survive in this capital. Colleagues socialize, Human relations, who can avoid these?"

"At present, the imperial court provides sufficient salary every year, and also distributes extra money for maintenance, and even provides food and housing, and provides housing. It is nothing more than solving the basic necessities of these people so that they will not be greedy."

"Right now, our pavilion's preparation for this stock market is actually not all to attract funds from merchants, but also to provide these people with an opportunity to make money."

"Their immediate family members are not allowed to do business, and they are not allowed to be corrupt and make money. As officials of the court, they must always have some spare money. The stock market, although they cannot make big money, but a little extra money can be given to the wife at home. It’s okay to buy a few sets of jewelry and order an extra pot of good wine for colleagues’ entertainment.”

Zhang Haogu looked at Huang Zongxi: "Tai Chong is also the year of his crown this year. Since leaving the Huang family, without the support of the family, it all depends on the imperial salary. How is life?"

Huang Zongxi smiled a little embarrassedly: "Students are enough to live alone, and occasionally they can drink with Brother Ning and others, but occasionally they see authentic works by famous artists, and they are ashamed of their pockets."

Zhang Haogu looked at Gu Yanwu again: "Ning Ren, what about you?"

Gu Yanwu said: "Although the student came from the Gu family in Jiangdong, he was adopted when he was young and was raised by his mother alone. Now he follows Yuanfu. Although the family has offered to provide financial support many times, the student has refused."

Zhang Haogu nodded, no matter how big the family is or how famous it is, once the sun shines, it will be as dirty as it is, and even because of the great family business, many dirty things will happen.

Bullying orphans and widowed mothers is also a normal operation, but the big family still cares about face, and generally does not do things to the extreme. In addition, Gu Yanwu has been smart since childhood, and the big family will take good care of such children in order to become adults.

So Gu Yanwu was able to grow up and enter the academy. He said that without the support of the Gu family, it was impossible. In the Ming Dynasty, the aristocratic families controlled the private schools of rural schools and supported each other to form colleges. If you have no family background, why do you go in?
And Gu Yanwu did not live up to the expectations of the Gu family. He became Chu Sheng at fourteen, and then directly followed Zhang Haogu. Now at the age of 17, he is already the general political counselor of the imperial court.

A 17-year-old Zhengwupin, this is destined to have an unlimited future!
This is why the Gu family is now focused on funding Gu Yanwu. The 17-year-old Zheng Wupin is still walking in the cabinet and recognizes Zhang Haogu as his teacher. The Gu family has never seen such a bright and sunny avenue in several lifetimes. Is there a smoother road than this?

Everyone knows that His Majesty is in the prime of his life, and there will be many decades in the future. Everyone knows that His Majesty and Zhang Haogu have no doubts, and Zhang Xiangye is in power. In the next few decades, the Ming Dynasty will be dominated by Zhu Youxiao and Zhang Good Gu is in charge, following such a person, the future is extremely bright.

But Gu Yanwu is not stupid, he doesn't accept the family's financial support, and he doesn't speak for the family members, he really has a sense of integrity.

Therefore, Gu Yanwu didn't have much money. His annual salary for a fifth-rank General Political Councilor was only a little, and there were expenses for buying books and other things on weekdays, that is, he didn't have a family to support. Gu Yanwu spent less money.

Zhang Haogu looked at the two young people and said with a smile: "This time, you can buy the Beijing-Tianjin Chidao stock. You can make a steady profit. You won't need it right now. You will always use it when you marry a wife and have children in the future." owned."

Huang Zongxi was a little embarrassed. He was already in his prime at the age of 20, and because of his special status, there were not so many matchmakers, but he really had no plans to start a family right now.

Looking at Huang Zongxi's appearance, Zhang Haogu couldn't help but think of his former self. He likes talented young people. Young people have no rigid thinking, open eyes, can see the world with open eyes, have a passion for the country and the people, and are wealthy. benevolence.

For young people like Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu, Zhang Haogu is always willing to give them more opportunities to learn more by his side, so that they can better sit on the side when they are released in the future.

The rules of the new dynasty have changed. Whether it is a cabinet elder, six ministers, a governor of a province, or a prefect of a prefecture, he must always have grass-roots experience and local resumes.

Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu will have to go out to experience sooner or later.

After signaling the two to go to work, Zhang Haogu turned around and returned to the table, looked at the pile of papers in front of him and shook his head, bowed his head and continued to process the papers.

After Cui Chengxiu returned to the commercial office, thinking about what Zhang Haogu had explained, he decided to go to the construction site after much deliberation.

Immediately, Cui Chengxiu ordered: "Arrange a carriage, I will go outside the city."

After arranging the carriage, Cui Chengxiu went out of the business office in a red windbreaker and got on the carriage. The carriage went all the way outside the city to the construction site of the Ministry of Industry.

Although it was snowing, there were still many people taking care of the construction site of the Ministry of Industry. The arrival of Cui Chengxiu, a third-rank official, undoubtedly attracted the attention of everyone on the construction site. Cui Shilang."

Cui Wenxiu nodded: "I have received Yuanfu's order to come and see the progress."

Hearing that he had received Zhang Haogu's order, the little official began to take Cui Wenxiu to check the progress of the project, and the two of them walked on the construction site that had already taken shape: "Master Cui, look, this is the construction site that needs to be laid. At the place where the road runs, we have already trimmed the ground, tamped the foundation, raised the ground and laid gravel, and then tamped it several times, then laid the sleepers and erected the rails.”

Cui Wenxiu listened to the technical officer's explanation. Although he didn't understand, he knew what the purpose of his trip was: "The sleepers and rails have been laid, does that mean that this section of the road has been completed?"

The little official said: "Back to Cui Shilang, once the railroad track is erected, this section of the road will be repaired. After the overhaul, it can be opened to traffic."

Cui Wenxiu stroked her beard: "By the end of this year, can a section of the road be erected?"

The little official shook his head: "It won't be done by the end of this year. Right now, we still need to tamp the foundation and lay the road. The laying of sleepers and the erection of railroad tracks will have to wait until next year."

Cui Wenxiu frowned slightly: "Can't you speed up?"

The little official said helplessly: "Cui Shilang, this is already speeding up. The New Year is approaching, and soon the craftsmen will have their annual leave. We have also received a note from the cabinet, but the weather is like this, it's going to be very fast."

Cui Chengxiu knew that this little official was not lying. This was not the court official of Tianqi two years ago. At that time, the officials would procrastinate if they could, and they would not do it if they could not. .

But in the ten years of the apocalypse, these newcomers who came up after a large number of corrupt officials have been dealt with have no worries about food and clothing, and few dare to be greedy, especially in such projects.

So what the little official said was the truth, before the end of this year, it would be impossible to set up a section of this Chidao.

With this in mind, Cui Chengxiu had no choice but to take a carriage back to the business office first: "It seems that we can only let out a little wind and let those big merchants guess."

(End of this chapter)