Daming: I, the emperor who trains the carpenter

Chapter 735 300 million bleeding!Rich businessmen from Jiangsu and Zhejiang swore to serve the imperial court to the death!
"Yuansuke, Qianxiang is looking for you"

Seeing Huang Zongxi following up, Zhang Haogu shook his head lightly: "Don't be in a hurry, we'll talk about it when we go back."

In the past few days, Lu Xiangsheng, the chief cabinet officer on duty in the cabinet, and Zhang Haogu did not stay in the cabinet all the time because he was the chief assistant, but returned to work in the official department.

After sitting down in the back hall of the Ministry of Officials, he sipped the new tea that was served to moisten his throat, and then Zhang Haogu said: "Mr. What are you wearing?"

Huang Zongxi's thoughts turned quickly: "Yuanfu, are you saying that the rich businessman from Jiangsu and Zhejiang behind Qianxiang can't sit still?"

Zhang Haogu chuckled twice, and then said: "At present, the imperial court wants to build a lot of roads, so I want to tell you, which road do they want?"

Huang Zongxi said without hesitation: "Mongolian wool is the place where the Ming Dynasty produces the most, while cotton is mainly produced in Mongolia and Liaodong. It can be said that wool and cotton are the two raw materials for textiles, and Mongolia is the largest producer of Ming Dynasty."

"Today's textile merchants in Ming Dynasty, who dares to say that they don't need Mongolian wool and cotton?"

"The rich merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang mainly focus on textiles because silk and satin are the focus of overseas trade, and other grains and salt are also in great demand in Mongolia. There is a shortage of good-quality salt outside the Great Wall, including sea salt and well salt."

"If there is a road connecting Mongolia, their products, such as Mongolian cotton and wool, can be transported extremely quickly. For them, time is money. Therefore, they will choose to connect Mongolia. Chi Dao, this is in their best interest."

After finishing speaking, Huang Zongxi added: "In addition to this road, they may also want to connect the north and south Zhili, which is also in their interests."

Listening to Huang Zongxi's analysis, Zhang Haogu took a sip of tea contentedly: "Taichong is right. If the south wants to make more profits, a road connecting Mongolia and Gyeonggi is a must. Speaking of which, I thought these people could endure for a few more days. After all, the southeast coast is still the territory of the Donglin Party. Now it seems that with the implementation of the opening of the sea and other policies, the power of the Donglin Party in the southeast coast will collapse. "

Huang Zongxi was also quite happy when he heard this: "This is a good thing, Yuanfu. As a result, the old party lost its traditional sphere of influence, and without the support of wealthy businessmen and gentry along the southeast coast, students from these places would not go to their academies to study. It won’t take long for the Donglin Party to collapse on its own without new blood.”

"That's right, right now the rich merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have asked Qian Xiang to test the imperial court, and it depends on whether we are willing to accept them," Zhang Haogu said, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, obviously making up his mind, "Jiangsu and Zhejiang have always been the imperial court. In a financial and tax-heavy area, the imperial court’s new policies are not enough, and the gentry and wealthy businessmen in this area must support us.”

While the two were talking, a small official outside the hall came forward: "Yuanfu, someone from the household department asked to see him, saying that he sent you a letter on the order of Minister Cui."

Zhang Haogu nodded after hearing this: "Call him in."

An official from the business yamen who was waiting outside the hall came in cautiously: "The humble official has seen Yuanfu."

Zhang Haogu looked at the young official and said with a smile: "Don't be cautious, what's your name, what position do you have?"

The official quickly said: "Li Zhidao, a humble officer, is from Yanzhou, Shandong, and is currently the head of the examination department of the commercial office."

The head of the commercial department of the commercial yamen is a sixth grade. This official is not low. Listening to his introduction and judging his age, he knows that he is a member of the New Party. Otherwise, Cui Chengxiu would not have asked him to deliver the letter. Obviously, it is based on the idea of ​​cultivation and reuse. , Let Zhang Haogu meet him.

"What did Shi Lang Cui say?" Zhang Haogu asked casually after taking the letter.

Li Zhidao shook his head: "Cui Shilang only said that the humble official should hand over the letter to Yuanfu."

Zhang Haogu glanced at Li Zhidao: "Didn't you ask?"

Li Zhidao said: "I didn't ask about the humble position."

Nodding his head, Zhang Haogu said with a smile: "Well, I'm sorry to trouble Mr. Li, you can go back and report, and say that the pavilion knows about it."

After Li Zhidao left, Zhang Haogu lowered his head and continued to read the letter. In the letter, Cui Chengxiu made a report to Zhang Haogu about the businessmen from the north and the south who came in. In it, he mentioned that the wealthy businessmen in the south recently said that they would participate in the construction of Chidao. What extra help did you get.

Putting the letter away, Zhang Haogu was also thoughtful: "Since Jiangsu and Zhejiang are willing to help the court build a road, there is no need for the court to refuse. But these Jiangsu and Zhejiang businessmen have invested and financed many enterprises during this period, and now they can To spend so much money to build roads for the imperial court, even if they are wealthy, they should know the price of a road. The length of three hundred miles of the Beijing-Tianjin road is worth a million silver. They want to participate in the Mongolian road. Dao didn’t mention it, but they still want to mix the Chidao connecting the north and south Zhili, where did they get their money?”

"Yuanfu, is there anything students need to do?" Huang Zongxi asked.

Zhang Haogu nodded: "Tai Chong, you are familiar with the generation of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the wealthy gentry of this generation of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, all of them have a lot of wealth, these well-known wealthy businessmen in all places, do they have millions of taels of silver?"

Huang Zongxi said: "Yuanfu, in addition to participating in shipping, the rich merchants of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang generations also have salt merchants, grain merchants, silk merchants, etc. Those who can participate in overseas business must be worth millions of taels."

"However, more than half of this million-dollar net worth is family property, such as sea boats and river boats. Each of these boats costs several thousand taels of silver, plus various payments, and the grain, cloth, and salt stored at home. Really It is cash, which accounts for less than half. Even so, the silver has to be divided into many parts. For example, spare funds, such as funds for various scheduled expenditures, salaries of family servants, funds for purchasing things, etc. , and half of these will be beaten.”

"That is to say, a wealthy businessman with a net worth of one million, even if his net worth is really one million taels of silver, he can use only about 100% of it."

Zhang Haogu nodded: "With a net worth of one million, one-fifth of the available funds is 20 billion treasure notes. Assuming that an average family pays 20 billion, ten families are 200 billion, and the richest generation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang can pool about 300 billion. , but throwing away other investments and properties, is the rest of their money enough to build Chi Road?"

Thinking of this, Zhang Haogu couldn't help laughing and said: "It is said that the imperial court collects hundreds of billions of dollars a year. It is said that the imperial court is rich, and one year's tax revenue is worth two years in the Yongle period. What kind of money does the imperial court have? Daming is really rich. It’s not the imperial court, it’s rich merchants and gentry from all over the place.”

"Forget it, don't think about these things, as long as this money is used for the needs of the court, it will be used for real purposes."

"Tai Chong, tomorrow's cabinet meeting, remember to call Cui Shilang from the Commercial Yamen and Sun Shilang from the Chidao Yamen."

Huang Zongxi said: "The students have written it down."

At the same time, Qian Qianyi who returned home also called the gentry.

These gentry rushed over after hearing Qian Qianyi's words: "Mr. Qian, but the court agreed to my request?"

Qian Qianyi looked at the eager faces of these gentry, and one of them couldn't hold back and pulled off a few beards, good guy, they all cried and said that they had no money and were poor in all kinds of ways.

Right now Zhang Haogu wants to build a chi road, each of them is eager to give money, and he is afraid that Zhang Haogu will not want it, why is everyone so cheap!

"Qian Xiang, don't worry, if this road is settled, your [-]% dry stock is indispensable." The rich businessmen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have always known how to give gifts, and when Qian Qianyi was a little unhappy, he immediately gave him a reward.

"Is this old man the kind of person who is greedy for money? This old man thinks that you and I are both from the same township, and that we all contribute to the imperial court, so I can say a few words for you, and don't use money to talk about things!" Qian Qianyi said The integrity of the face highlights that one is for the country and the people, and has a breeze in his sleeves.

Such sentiments also made these rich businessmen and gentry look ashamed and reflect on their dirty thoughts repeatedly.

Only then did Qian Qianyi nod in satisfaction: "The old man told Yuan Fu today that Yuan Fu intends to repair Chi Dao. If there is no accident, he will bring it up tomorrow."

"Right now you have to explain to the old man, how do you plan to repair this Chidao, whether you will pay the full capital or part of it, and if it is a part, how many shares do you want and how much money you can pay; moreover, what are you going to do? The money is paid in the name of a person or something; if the old man has no idea about these things, he can’t speak for you.”

The thin old gentry smiled repeatedly: "Understood, we understand these things, please rest assured, Mr. Qian, how could we have the guts to contribute the full capital? Even if we contribute the full capital, half of the shares must belong to the imperial court. We have the awareness of this." of."

With that said, these gentry looked at each other a few times, and then continued after confirming: "Aren't they talking about financing and listing these days? The big chambers of commerce in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have raised funds and listed one after another. At that time, we made up our minds The idea is that the few of us will join together and go public together to form a group."

"So we invested in the name of the group this time."

Qian Qianyi nodded, picked up the teacup to drink tea: "This is a good idea, how much do you plan to pay?"

These gentry said: "If 300 billion is not enough, we can add more."

"puff"

Qian Qianyi scalded himself with a sip of tea. He looked at the kind guys in front of him in disbelief. How could they still come up with 300 billion? !

How much is this [-]% dry stock?
After careful calculation, Qian Qianyi saw something strange in the eyes of these wealthy businessmen. These guys knew that they were rich, but they never knew that they were so rich!
"Ahem," Qian Qianyi asked after clearing his throat, "How many shares do you plan to own?"

These gentry laughed and said: "If there is a single lane, we need more than [-]%; if there are two lanes, we each need [-]%."

"The old man has a bottom line." Qian Qianyi said, sighing inwardly. He knew that the rich merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang had begun to completely switch to the embrace of the imperial court. It is good that he is the leader of the Southern Donglin right now, but in fact, he is only from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. A spokesperson for a wealthy businessman.

These gentry and wealthy merchants on the southeast coast are all scumbags. Whoever can make them money, whoever can bring them safety, they will lean up and hug their thighs. Right now they look down on the Donglin Party, which is getting weaker and weaker. I want to hug Zhang Haogu's thigh!
Although he really wanted to refuse, but in view of the fact that these gentry had served the court so much, he still wanted to mention it. The money of [-]% of the dry shares was really a lot.

The next day, the cabinet had a regular small meeting.

In Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhang Haogu, Zhang Ruitu, Lu Xiangsheng, Qiao Yunsheng, Huang Liji, and Qian Qianyi sat together, drinking tea and talking.

"Qian Xiang, the old man heard that this gentry businessman from Jiangsu and Zhejiang plans to contribute to the imperial court?" Huang Liji asked after listening to the recent rumors. After all, he is also one of the representatives of the Donglin Party in the cabinet. , Why didn't anyone ask him to talk about this matter?

Qian Qianyi put down the tea shop and said with a smile: "The gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have such thoughts."

"The imperial court has supported scholars for more than 260 years. The gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been supported by the imperial court. In addition, the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang has been in power and has widely applied benevolent government to benefit the world. The gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang deeply felt the imperial court's kindness and decided to serve the imperial court. Make a strong effort to build a smooth path for the court."

Huang Liji couldn't help tasting tea after hearing this: "The gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are really filial. They want to build a fast road. How much are they willing to pay?"

Lu Xiangsheng also said: "Qian Xiang, it is a good thing for the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to have filial piety, and it is also a good thing to be willing to contribute to the court, but it is a big deal to build a Chi Dao. A Chi Dao can cost tens of billions or tens of billions. "

"Taking the Jingjin Chidao and Jingyu Chidao that we calculated at the beginning, the investment we calculated for these two Chidao at the beginning is only a million taels of silver, that is, almost tens of billions of treasure notes."

"However, the construction of a Beijing-Tianjin Expressway now costs tens of billions of dollars in just three hundred miles. This is still three hundred miles, and it is still in the suburbs of the capital."

"If you want to build a road that is thousands of miles long, it's not as easy as simply tripling the cost."

Qian Qianyi had already vented to Zhang Haogu before, so Zhang Haogu said: "This matter is not difficult."

"Speaking of which, the imperial court's current construction and preset Chidao are numerous. Since the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are willing to serve the imperial court, we cannot refuse this kindness."

"Currently, the construction of Jingjin Chidao and Jingyu Chidao has already started, and investment has been received. After all, the Chidao in Mongolia is within the plan, but construction has not yet started."

"The original plan was to gradually start construction on two roads a year. Now that the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are willing to contribute money and effort, we might as well build the roads in Mongolia first, for the sake of stability outside the Great Wall."

Huang Liji looked at Qian Qianyi, then at Zhang Haogu, bowed his head and drank his tea without opening his mouth, he could see that the two of them definitely had a private discussion!
The leader of the Donglin Party in the south of the Yangtze River, and the base of the Donglin Party in the south of the Yangtze River, this is surrendering to the enemy!

Zhang Ruitu looked at Qian Qianyi in surprise, and he understood it.

Smiling and sipping his tea, Zhang Ruitu said: "There are two roads from Mongolia to the Central Plains, one is the road from Baliannadu to Datong, and the other is from Chahar to Zhili. There is also communication between Nadu and Chahar.”

"Qian Xiang, these two paths cost a lot."

Qian Qianyi nodded: "I also save these things. The old man told them, and they have some ideas."

Zhang Haogu said with a smile: "No hurry, this pavilion has also brought Sun Shilang, we can talk slowly after the meeting."

The cabinet meeting ended, Lu Xiangsheng, Qian Qianyi, Sun Qifeng, Cui Chengxiu stayed, and the rest went back to their respective offices.

At this time, Zhang Haogu said: "Sun Shilang, what is the cost of the Jingjin Chidao and Jingyu Chidao that you Chidao Yamen is currently building?"

Sun Qifeng, who was listening below, quickly said: "Back to Yuanfu, the total length of the Jingjin Chi Road is 120 miles, and the estimated cost of one mile is 300 million treasure notes. The estimated cost of the 120 miles is 330. 5000 million, and the follow-up is expected to not exceed 400 billion."

"Jingyu Chi Road is 350 miles long and is expected to cost 1000 billion yuan, and the follow-up is expected to not exceed 500 billion yuan."

"These two roads were funded and constructed by Chidao Yamen, but because of the listing and financing, the total cost of these two roads has been shared a lot."

Zhang Haogu nodded, and looked at Qian Qianyi: "Qian Xiang, this road is more than 300 billion, and the cost is not small."

Qian Qianyi said: "The gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang can come up with this number."

Lu Xiangsheng, who was listening on the sidelines, widened his eyes, more than 300 billion? !

Can the gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang take it out? !

Although Zhang Haogu had a prediction in his heart, he still looked at Qian Qianyi in surprise when he heard such a definite answer.

"Right now, we are all our own people. Prime Minister Qian, let's open the window and speak frankly. What are the requirements of the gentlemen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang?" Zhang Haogu asked.

Qian Qianyi knew that this was not the time to say polite words. After all, everyone was a cabinet assistant, and it was enough to simply explain these things clearly.

"If it is a single road, the gentry of Jiangsu and Zhejiang hope to occupy more than [-]% of the shares. If they can build two roads, the gentry of Jiangsu and Zhejiang are willing to reduce their shares to [-]%." Qian Qianyi said the requirements of the gentry of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Zhang Haogu nodded: "300 billion, accounting for [-]% to [-]% of the shares, this price is okay."

"The gentry from Jiangsu and Zhejiang have handed over the control of Chidao to the imperial court."

Qian Qianyi said: "Yes, they said that no matter how much they take, more than [-]% will be given to the imperial court."

Zhang Haogu thought for a while and said: "Speaking of which, this is the first time that the gentry from Jiangsu and Zhejiang have served the imperial court on such a scale. If we don't provide something, it will appear that the imperial court is stingy. They are willing to hand over the initiative to the imperial court." , then the imperial court will not treat them badly."

"Afterwards, Balanadu and Chahar's roads, they choose one, and the cabinet decides, giving them [-]% of the shares. As for the other road, if they want to, I have another road to Nanzhili Dao, they can account for [-]%."

Qian Qianyi was a little surprised: "There is already a plan for Chidao in Nanzhili?"

Zhang Haogu said: "Well, after the Chidao in Northern Zhili reaches Jinan and Kaifeng, it will connect Xuzhou and Fengyang, and then go straight to Yangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou."

"The Chi Roads of Jinan Mansion and Kaifeng Mansion will go straight to Xuzhou and then connect to Fengyang. They can choose one of Xie Chi Roads."

"This is the right of choice given to them by the imperial court."

Hearing this, Qian Qianyi knew that it was impossible for those Jiangsu and Zhejiang gentry to refuse the conditions offered by Zhang Haogu. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang generation would be completely taken down by the New Party.

(End of this chapter)