The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Inside the theater.

When the lanterns first came on, there were many guests in the theater. Zhang Zhou was still in his private room. The hustle and bustle outside seemed to have nothing to do with him. He could still receive guests at ease, or handle official duties, or do some simple things. Things are going smoothly.

With the fragrant tea nearby, Zhang Zhou drank the tribute tea given to him by the emperor. He didn't think it was that good, but the fragrance of the tea could spread far away.

Cheng Minzheng was sitting there, looking a little restless. The previous Cheng Minzheng would never bend to the powerful for anything. But now that he is a powerful person, or in a high position, he understands that feeling. It was so cold at the high place that he even had to bow his head to face Zhang Zhou.

Time has changed.

Even Cheng Minzheng didn't understand why he had such a change...either because of feelings, or because of changes in the situation, or because...people's hearts are full of flesh, and sometimes they have to succumb to the situation.

Zhang Zhou said: "I didn't expect that someone actually came to me to plead with Mr. Xie Ge, and that person was actually you, Bachelor Cheng."

Cheng Minzheng smiled awkwardly and said: "We are all old friends. I will help if I can. What he did is not his fault alone. Maybe... if I were to put myself in his shoes, some things would have to be done."

As he spoke, Cheng Minzheng seemed to understand Xie Qian very well.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Scholar Cheng is quite honest, but Mr. Xie Ge refused to admit that what he did was done under the instructions of others or after consultation with someone."

"Haha." Cheng Minzheng smiled bitterly.

"But what does it matter whether he said it or not? If the matter was what Mr. Xie Ge meant from beginning to end, then His Majesty might not pursue it. Bachelor Cheng, do you understand what I mean?" Zhang Zhou asked with a smile.

Cheng Minzheng nodded helplessly.

What else do you need to understand?
The emperor was using Xie Qian to scare the monkeys. If Xie Qian had not been party-minded from the beginning and did not do anything in line with traditional civil servants, even if Xie Qian sometimes said something outspoken and did wrong things, the emperor would not bother to pay attention to him.

"So, this matter depends on what His Majesty wants." Zhang Zhou said.

Cheng Minzheng said: "Since Mr. Cai Guo has told me clearly, I will also tell you directly. Although you say that this is a case designated by His Majesty, your words are more effective than what others say. It can be said that as long as you One word can save him from fire and water, and you can also win praise from others. You can help others and save yourself, so why not do it? "

Zhang Zhou smiled and said nothing.

Want me to sell favors and become a good person? Why are you taking all the good things?

What's more, do you, Cheng Minzheng, know which side you should stand on? Don't you know that if I hadn't saved you, your bones would have turned to ashes now? Do you really think that the title case back then was simply criticized? If someone hadn't stabbed you in the back, you would have been...

Zhang Zhou said: "I will try my best. If your Majesty asks, I will tell you. But if your Majesty doesn't ask, then I won't mention it because I also want to avoid suspicion."

Cheng Minzheng said: "Then you just want to avoid it? Please forgive my abruptness. In my estimation, your Majesty will most likely not mention this matter in front of you, because Your Majesty also hopes that you will avoid suspicion. In fact, if there is not a sudden incident in the northwest, After hearing the good news, maybe this matter should be dropped."

Cheng Minzheng is not pedantic when it comes to court issues, and he also knows the current attitude of the emperor and Zhang Zhou on the issue of Xie Qian.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "If it really is nothing, what should I say?"

"What do you mean?" Cheng Minzheng seemed puzzled.

Zhang Zhou smiled and shook his head and said: "The way to be an official is to advance and retreat at the same time. Others say that I advance too much and retreat too little. In fact, this is not the case. When it comes to disagreements with officials, I often I retreated one step at a time. Now I want to take another step back...Do you understand what I mean, Master Cheng?"

"This……"

After Cheng Minzheng thought about it for a moment, he knew what Zhang Zhou meant.

What's the benefit of asking me to speak for Xie Qian?
I can’t be the one who loses every time, right? One step forward and one step back is actually equivalent to an exchange.

"If Bachelor Cheng feels embarrassed, just pretend I didn't say anything," Zhang Zhou said.

Cheng Minzheng said: "I can't make the decision on such matters. Look..."

"It doesn't matter, I can wait first. Based on what I know before, Mr. Xie Ge didn't receive much ill treatment last time in prison, or he was just hurt. But a courtier who is about to retire should treat him no matter what. He has expectations for his future, and I believe he can face it calmly." Zhang Zhou hinted again.

You can go back and talk to Liu Jian and Li Dongyang.

I will treat you as a middleman, running errands on both sides, and as the messenger for our negotiations.

After all, it is inappropriate for me, Zhang Zhou, to meet with the two cabinet ministers, so you will be the envoy.

I can stand the wait, and you can rest assured that Xie Qian will not be tortured in prison now. As for his future, it is in the hands of your cabinet. It all depends on whether you want him to have a better life or not. Your own choice.

……

……

When Cheng Minzheng left, he realized that Zhang Zhou couldn't be a sheep now.

Help Xie Qian in order to ease the relationship?
Such a noble thing is tantamount to digging a hole for oneself. Even Cheng Minzheng knows that Liu Jian and Li Dongyang will never tolerate Zhang Zhou no matter what. It seems that they should take a step back... It is better to negotiate the terms directly. This is the best way to solve Xie Qian's jail sentence.

After Cheng Minzheng left, someone came into the private room again, this time it was Sun Shangqi.

Sun Shangqi had just returned from Yongping Mansion. Apart from being dusty, he also carried an indomitable momentum.

"My lord, I have submitted the accounts of the expenses for the past two years. This time I am returning to Beijing with a batch of money and food. It is said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Revenue will allocate it. In addition, while you are away, the seaport The beams have been loaded, and the first ship has docked, bringing up some supplies from the south, and another large amount..."

"According to the previous holy will, this batch of supplies will be kept at the port for dispatching purposes and does not need to be sent to the capital. But now everyone is asking when the sea voyage will take place after the spring of next year, and how much food and troops will be brought. It seems that some merchants also want to go to sea with the ship, and some are already buying berthing seats.”

"It was revealed secretly that a trip to sea requires two hundred taels of silver. The merchants are still flocking to it. Even if it is raised to five hundred taels, there are probably many people who want to go..."

Sun Shangqi has initially gained the momentum to be a city lord.

As a member of the Jinyiwei Qianhu, he was just a military commander, but because he had been with Zhang Zhou for a long time, he began to have a certain understanding of economics and management, and began to use some of the resources around him to build new cities and ports. , which serves as a bridge between Zhang Zhou and the local government.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Those merchants probably only heard how much silver we shipped back by sea, and thought it was profitable, so they all wanted to go with us. But you must know that there is no trade in overseas places, only plunder, and Only with a strong fist can the resources be brought back. Silver and gold are the most valuable things in their eyes, but in my opinion, these are just by-products of our plundering." Sun Shangqi said. I don’t understand very well, but should I take the merchants to go to sea with me?”

"You can take them to Nanyang and other places... If they want to go, that's fine, but tell them not to die on the boat. Going out to sea to hunt for food is not just a simple trip. If you can endure the hardships of the journey, you have to endure it. If they can survive the plague and war in a foreign country, tell them that those who are willing to invest in building a port will have priority to go to sea. It is like the merchants who previously received dividends, turned around and cashed in the dividends of those people, and found another group of people to come in. , build more ships, cast more cannons..."

Zhang Zhou's plan to build ships and go to sea began with raising money and food in Nanjing.

What was mentioned at that time was the right to distribute dividends to the merchants who invested in shipbuilding in the south. At first, many people did not join for the dividends. After all, they felt that it was unrealistic to reap the benefits of going to the sea. It was more of a way to curry favor with Zhang Zhou by paying for it. , in exchange for the support of the imperial court.

But with the smooth return from Hongzhi's voyage in the 14th year, the ships brought a large amount of gold, silver and supplies, making everyone jealous.

What Zhang Zhou has to do is to let those who invested first see the returns, so as to attract more people to join... As for how much returns the following people can get, Zhang Zhou will not make any promises, but still There will be a lot of people investing and jumping in headfirst.

……

……

Sun Shangqi sat down with Zhang Zhou and explained the affairs of Yongping Mansion to Zhang Zhou one by one.

"... Now there is basically no problem with the allocation of money and food, but... the number of people is a little less. From the few thousand at the beginning, there are now 20,000 to 30,000, and a large number of military households and civilians are migrating there. , but it is still difficult to recruit people in some trades, especially labor-intensive jobs. The prices offered now are very high. All the available people in Yongping Mansion are used, but it is still not enough..."

Sun Shangqi said, looking longingly at Zhang Zhou, "Would you like to ask His Majesty to send people over from somewhere else? The Beijing camp...maybe that's also possible."

Zhang Zhou said: "The port is equivalent to a new city. When everything is prosperous, the most needed thing is people. This is not beyond my expectation. The construction period will be delayed a bit, and it seems that this is the only way for now. If you transfer people, you will have to do it yourself. If they do not comply with the Ming Dynasty household registration rules, I am afraid that they will be criticized again. They will send people back to Beizhili and Shandong to transfer a group of people back... In addition, Liaodong will also transfer people back, including Jurchens and Koreans. ...They will also migrate here.”

Sun Shangqi asked: "Is it too late?"

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "It may take decades or hundreds of years for this city to realize its value. Why rush it? With the current speed of immigration, if it takes a few more years, you say there will be a shortage of people." Is it possible that the initial steps are too big?”

"Yes." Sun Shangqi saluted.

"After you return to the capital, quickly settle down your family members. Are you going to take them with you? In addition, you should deal with more matters in the capital. You don't have to be so busy. Maybe Tang Yin will come back at the beginning of the year. When he comes back, he will use his work In his capacity as the right minister, he will be in charge of these matters, and he will be able to handle many handovers and social interactions that are inconvenient for you. "

After all, Tang Yin was a court official and a civil servant.

No matter how awesome Sun Shangqi is, he is still just a guard in fine clothes.

No matter how hard Sun Shangqi tried, there were some things he couldn't accomplish.

"I understand." Sun Shangqi stood up, "Master, there is one more thing. Several workshops in Yongping Mansion are also recruiting workers at the same time. There is not much shortage of people now, but... various The materials prepared here, do you think they are..."

Zhang Zhou also gradually moved his textile workshops to Yongping Mansion.

Because many of the workers used in light industry are female workers, and women's social status in this era is low. They can come out to make a living. As long as they are in such workshops where women gather, it will not cause many social problems, and many people even rob them. Go.

This brings about the problem that there are many female workers and the production capacity can keep up, but the raw materials cannot keep up.

After all, the quantity of raw materials for many light industries in the Ming Dynasty was rationed based on the originally backward production efficiency. Zhang Zhou suddenly improved the production efficiency. For a time, without chemical fertilizers and other factors to increase the output of raw materials, it was difficult to solve the shortage of materials. problem to be solved.

Zhang Zhou said: "This requires the assistance of local officials. Your Majesty has prepared to find a few people with outstanding local political achievements, or people with ambitions, and let them start to increase the planting of grass, cotton and other crops on a large scale in some provinces. In addition, In addition, we will also purchase from overseas... Sometimes there is no need to purchase, just grab it directly. In addition, the overseas land is vast and sparsely populated, so we can just find some tribesmen to help us plant... Liaonan and other places, also. A lot of farmland will be opened up to assist production... and there will be farming in various parts of the north... This can only be solved slowly. "

Sun Shangqi said: "My humble position is just to raise difficulties. With you here, I believe these are all expected."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said: "After the spring, a large amount of fabrics may be used in the north. Have the batches that were previously planned been produced?"

"Everything that can be built by the end of the year is said to have been built. The specific... position is not clear."

After all, Sun Shangqi is not responsible for the workshop.

"Did you bring the accounts?" Zhang Zhou asked.

"Yes." Sun Shangqi said, "I'm waiting outside. Do you want to invite me in?"

"Ah."

Zhang Zhou nodded, "You should be busy with your own business first. I am not your direct boss, and you do not need to report to me about your official duties. Go ahead."

"Yes."

……

……

Sun Shangqi had just left the house when another person who helped Zhang Zhou run the workshop, Huang Zhao, came in with an account book.

Behind her, there was also a person who looked like a follower. The person who looked like a follower had a wooden box in his hand, which obviously also contained accounts and information related to the workshop.

"Those who have nothing to do with it will go out first," Zhang Zhou said.

The little attendant handed the wooden box to Mrs. Huang Zhao, and then went out. After the door was closed, Mrs. Huang slowly walked up to Zhang Zhou, and then knelt down respectfully.

"Get up and talk." Zhang Zhou said.

Mrs. Huang Zhao stood up slowly and placed the account book in front of Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou picked it up, looked at it, pointed at it and said, "Sit down."

Then the woman sat down. It was obvious that she was very reserved in front of Zhang Zhou. Although she came from a wealthy family, no matter how big her family was, she could not compare with Zhang Zhou, a powerful person in the dynasty. However, she, a female classmate, could compete with Zhang Zhou. Being on equal footing is something she doesn't think is true.

So much so that she didn't dare to face Zhang Zhou head-on. (End of chapter)