Daming: Mixed in Dangzhi County, Beiping

Inside the spacious and deserted Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Di looked through the pile of memorials in front of him expressionlessly, and threw them aside after reading each one.

On the side, Yi Shiha stood by carefully.

Suddenly, Zhu Di remembered something and looked up at Yi Shiha.

"You said, let the merchants monitor the officials and gentry in each state capital on my behalf, and then let the Jin Yiwei handle it.

However, those Jinyi guards stationed in various state capitals, will they slowly become like those gentry officials, uniting for some greed, exploiting the people and oppressing the merchants? "

"This……"

Yishiha's face changed greatly, and he said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I am just a slave without eggs, and I don't understand these important matters of family and country!"

"When did you become so timid?"

Zhu Di took a deep look and lost his temper, and then said: "The Jin Yiwei is in charge of the prison and has the power to patrol and arrest hundreds of officials, but even when Huang Kao was still alive, these Jin Yiwei began to abuse their power and take advantage of the situation.

Nowadays, the Jin Yiwei has slacked off. There are so many corrupt officials in the areas directly under the capital, and they are so oppressive and exploiting the people, but they can't find them out...

Jin Yiwei has already shown these symptoms. What will they become in a few decades? "

Yi Shiha's expression changed drastically again.

"The Ming Dynasty is becoming more and more prosperous day by day. We will not allow officials and royal guards to hold back the Ming Dynasty. As for those merchants, we cannot fully believe it...

We plan to establish a yamen in the palace that can control the royal guards.

Using merchants as eyes and ears and postmen as messengers, they monitor the world's gentry, officials, and dignitaries..."

Hearing this, Yi Shiha's eyes widened.

Zhu Di asked again: "You have been with us since we entered the capital. If you are responsible for this matter, can you handle it well?"

Yi Shiha knelt down in a hurry, with a face full of fear, "I am just your Majesty's servant. Your Majesty trusts me so much and leaves this matter to me. I must do my best!"

"It's good to try your best!"

Zhu Di nodded slightly, "As long as you try your best, we can rest assured!"

He also kowtowed repeatedly.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will carefully select my slaves and send some loyal and clever eunuchs to the Chamber of Commerce!"

Or in the past, Zhu Di would have been very conceited. He replaced the Jin Yiwei with his trusted confidant, and also increased the salary of all officials, and then used the year-end bonus to motivate all the vassals and courtiers!

With the combination of power and kindness, the officials of the Ming Dynasty should not go too far.

However, after this series of events, he was shaken.

Everyone in the Ming Dynasty, whether they were the loyal officials, the royal guards, the gentry, or the merchants, all only served their own interests.

It has even reached the point where he is not afraid of death and becomes crazy.

Perhaps, in the entire Ming Dynasty, only Guo An and the eunuchs in the palace were worthy of his trust.

……

And on the other side.

Maritime Trade Chamber of Commerce.

Shen Zhuang was sitting in the main hall of the Chamber of Commerce, entertaining some wealthy businessmen from the south of the Yangtze River.

"... Shopkeeper Shen, you and my family have had a deep friendship since the previous generation, so we won't say those false polite words!"

Those wealthy businessmen who were outside with happy faces and were followed by many escorts when traveling, all of them now had miserable expressions on their faces.

"I'm having a hard time waiting now. Fortunately, the sea ban has been lifted and I can go out to sea for trade.

However, you also know that if you go out to the sea, you have to squeeze in most of your belongings.

Even those of us who are quite wealthy are still a little bit overwhelmed.

However, I didn’t expect that we could take great risks and bring those overseas treasures back to the Ming Dynasty.

But it’s hard to betray them. Those officials and gentry are becoming more and more greedy..."

"Shopkeeper Shen, you don't know that the officials in Hanzhong Mansion and Changde Mansion are eager to get 90% of the profit from me..."

"Shop Manager Shen, you have met His Majesty and have a very good relationship with Mr. Dingguo. Can you please beg us and let them help us?"

"Yes, instead of feeding the money to those evil tigers, it is better to donate the money to Duke Ding..."

"Everyone, Duke Dingguo will not collect your money!"

Shen Zhuang shook his head firmly.

"This……"

The faces of all the merchants changed slightly.

Shen Zhuang said: "As you all know, I was originally in charge of several shops in Beiping Mansion.

At that time, Duke Dingguo did not charge any money.

At this point, I will regard the Duke of the country as the Duke of the country, and I will not collect money from anyone..."

"What should I do?"

Each of these merchants suddenly looked anxious.

"Manager Shen, no matter what, you must help us!"

"Yes, we and the others have always been on the same page, so I came here out of necessity..."

"Masters, please allow me to consider this matter carefully."

Shen Zhuang sighed softly, with a look of helplessness on his face. He naturally knew how greedy those officials were like evil tigers.

"Ugh……"

All the merchants had sad faces.

At this time, everyone saw someone from the Chamber of Commerce coming in with a servant.

Before the servant from the Chamber of Commerce could speak, another servant directly held up his hand and said, "I've seen Shopkeeper Shen. My master wants to invite you!"

Shen Zhuang was stunned, "Your master?"

"I am Duke Dingguo!"

The servant said.

Hearing this, all the merchants suddenly widened their eyes.

"My father-in-law summoned me?"

Shen Zhuang stood up directly and bowed his hands to the merchants, "Ding Guogong summoned me, Shen Zhuang did not dare to delay, I am sorry that I cannot entertain you all!"

"Ding Guogong summoned me, there must be something important. Shopkeeper Shen, go quickly!"

"Exactly, Shopkeeper Shen doesn't need to worry about me!"

Shen Zhuang once again bowed his hands to the wealthy businessmen, and then followed the servants of the Guo Mansion out of the Chamber of Commerce and headed towards the Duke Dingguo's Mansion.

soon.

That’s when I came to Dingguo Duke’s Mansion.

Guo An sat on the chair with a leisurely expression, not in any hurry, which made Shen Zhuang breathe a sigh of relief.

As long as it's not a bad thing.

"Shen Zhuang has met Duke Dingguo!"

"Sit down and talk!"

"Thank you, Lord Dingguo!"

Shen Zhuang bowed again, and after sitting down, he noticed the charter on the coffee table beside him.

"I don't know if my father-in-law is here looking for a villain, but what's the matter?"

"Great thing!"

Guo An chuckled, pointed to the charter and said, "There is a severe drought in the north. In order to encourage merchants to transport grain to the north and relieve the victims, His Majesty gave some rewards to the merchants of the Ming Dynasty..."

"Your Majesty's favor?"

Shen Zhuang's eyes suddenly widened. He looked at the charter and his breathing became rapid.

Guo Andao: "Pick it up and take a look!"

"Yes, sir!"

Shen Zhuang hurriedly picked up the articles of association and carefully opened them. When he saw the contents above, he froze instantly.

Immediately, his whole body trembled with excitement.

After reading it word by word, he hurriedly looked at Guo An and said, "Gong...Gongye, what is said here is true. Are you making fun of the villain?"

"Humph!"

Guo An snorted coldly, "Isn't there a small seal on it? Are you illiterate?"

"Small seal?"

Shen Zhuang was stunned, quickly picked up the charter and read it again.

After seeing the small seal at the end, my pupils suddenly widened!

"Hong Ding..."

"Master, is this true?"

"Is it possible that I dare to imitate this seal?"

Guo An glanced at Shen Zhuang and said angrily.

"This...this...we merchants can not only be exempted from business taxes, but also accumulate merits, leave the country, exchange for official positions...and even inform on those illegal officials and gentry?"

Shen Zhuang's excited voice changed its tone.

"Ok!"

Guo An nodded lightly.

"Pfft!"

Shen Zhuang knelt directly on the ground and gave Guo An a big gift.

"This little man has replaced thousands of merchants in the Ming Dynasty. Thank you for your kindness!"

"No need for this!"

Guo An waved his hand very calmly, "Get up quickly."

Shen Zhuang stood up as he was told and continued: "My lord, you don't know how much we, the merchants, were looked down upon by the gentry and officials during our business trip, and how much we were bullied by them!"

"Know something!"

Guo An said quietly.

Shen Zhuang: "..."

Guo An continued: "In the past two years, your merchants' role in the Ming Dynasty has been noticed by His Majesty.

Therefore, Your Majesty changed his attitude and put you to use.

You must not disappoint His Majesty, let alone deliberately retaliate. Otherwise, if His Majesty is disappointed, you merchants will have no chance to turn around..."

"Please don't worry, sir!"

Shen Zhuang looked confident, "We, the merchants, do business all over the world, and at least 70% of the money we earn every year is bribed to the officials and gentry.

It would be easiest for me and other merchants to find out their illegal activities! "

"Ok!"

Guo An nodded slightly and said again: "Of course, when you are searching, you should also understand that you merchants must show your contribution to the Ming Dynasty as much as possible."

"Don't worry, sir, I understand!"

Shen Zhuang responded quickly.

"Now that you understand, let's go!"

Guo An nodded slightly and said: "By now, His Majesty should have sent some eunuchs to the Maritime Trade Chamber of Commerce.

You receive it with care and rest assured that the eunuch is the person beside His Majesty.

In addition, as a steward of the Maritime Trade Chamber of Commerce, you cannot deceive His Majesty or do anything illegal.

If not, the punishment received in the future will be more serious.

In addition, you should also pay more attention to businessmen with righteous hearts and unite around you..."

"Yes, I understand!"

"Take this charter and go!"

Shen Zhuang stood up, bowed to Guo An, and left with excitement on his face. From now on, the Shen family will be the benefactors of all merchants in the Ming Dynasty.

The merchants of the entire Ming Dynasty are no longer lowly people who can be bullied by officials and gentry!

Duke Dingguo is really a great benefactor to all their merchants!

Your majesty is wise!

Back at the Maritime Trade Chamber of Commerce, Shen Zhuang hurriedly called over two of his confidants.

"Go quickly and invite Shopkeeper Liu, Shopkeeper Wen, and the shopkeepers who just asked me for help!"

"Yes, sir!"

After a while.

A group of wealthy businessmen hurried into the main hall.

Seeing Shen Zhuang above, whose eyes were filled with joy, everyone couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"Shop Manager Shen, Duke Dingguo is looking for you, but is there any big happy event?"

"What a happy event!"

Shen Zhuang said directly.

Then, he waved his hand and asked all the servants around him to get out.

Under the expectant eyes of all the people, he said: "This time, due to the severe drought in the north, coupled with the Songjiang Mansion case, His Majesty is very disappointed with those gentry officials.

On the contrary, His Majesty is very satisfied with us merchants! "

Liu Fangming asked hurriedly: "What then?"

Shen Zhuang said: "Your Majesty has given us merchants a favor!"

"Enquan?"

All the merchants looked puzzled.

"Exactly!"

As Shen Zhuang spoke, he remembered something, his expression straightened, and he said slowly: "Today, Shen Zhuang invited you all here. He felt that you are all members of his family, so he invited you here.

I wonder if you guys can keep what you said today private? "

"Manager Shen still doesn't know who we are?"

"Exactly. How could we do such a thing if we know everything about it?"

A group of wealthy businessmen suddenly looked solemn and said.

"Don't be offended, this matter is really too important!"

Shen Zhuang said apologetically and then got down to business.

"There is a severe drought in the north. Your Majesty encourages merchants like us to transport grain to the north for disaster relief. Transporting grain can be exempted from the corresponding commercial tax..."

All the wealthy businessmen looked unconcerned.

"You can accumulate meritorious service. If you have enough meritorious service in the future, you can quit your citizenship and even be awarded an official position!"

"really?"

Everyone's eyes widened immediately, and a few even stood up directly, staring closely at Shen Zhuang, their faces full of excitement and some disbelief.

How is this possible in exchange for an official position?

"Ok!"

Shen Zhuang nodded slightly and continued: "The most important thing is that Your Majesty allows me and a group of merchants to secretly monitor those officials and gentry to see if they have done anything illegal. If you report them, there will be Jinyi guards or special personnel to investigate.

If you succeed, you will be rewarded with meritorious deeds! "

"...monitoring officials and gentry everywhere?"

"Your Majesty, you don't believe in Jin Yiwei?"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"Manager Shen, this matter is too important, we can't just laugh about it!"

Shen Zhuang smiled softly, took out the charter and handed it to Liu Fangming and Wen Feng.

"This is the charter given to me by Dingguo Bus. You can take a look at it, especially the little seal at the end!"

"Small seal?"

"Let me see!"

"I also……"

"...Hong Ding...hiss!"

"Manager Shen, is this true?"

After reading it, everyone's eyes widened with excitement.

"It's true!"

Shen Zhuang smiled faintly, "Everyone, falsely sealing this small seal is a serious crime that will destroy the nine tribes!"

"call……"

"So, when we, the merchants, face those vicious tiger-like officials and gentry, we have a chance to resist?"

"naturally!"

"Hahaha, your majesty is wise!"

"God finally opened his eyes!"

"Yeah, God..."

"Shopkeeper Shen, could this be the Duke Dingguo..."

"Don't say any more, I'll just wait until you understand!"

"That's right, that's right!"

"The shopkeeper, several father-in-laws from the Chamber of Commerce, and some father-in-laws from the palace are here!"

Suddenly, a servant ran in from outside the door and reported to Shen Zhuang anxiously.

"Ok?"

The expressions of Shen Zhuang, Liu Fangming and others changed drastically, "Why are those people here?"

"Please come quickly!"

After saying that, Shen Zhuang, Liu Fangming and others quickly stood up and walked outside.

really.

Before I even walked out of the door, I saw it.

Not far away, the palace eunuchs who had been stationed at the Chamber of Commerce were walking towards this side, following a few middle-aged eunuchs with flattering faces.

Seeing this, Shen Zhuang, Liu Fangming and others suddenly looked at each other with concentration.

Immediately, he greeted him with a smile on his face.

"Several father-in-laws have come to visit me. I'm sorry that I missed you so much. Please forgive me!"

"Yes, please invite some father-in-laws!"

After entering the main hall and sitting down, the leading eunuch glanced at the people in the main hall.

Immediately, he asked Shen Zhuang, "I wonder if Shopkeeper Shen could go to Duke Dingguo's Mansion and learn about that matter?"

"I know, I know!"

Shen Zhuang responded quickly.

"It's good to know!"

The eunuch smiled slightly, pinched his orchid fingers, and said loudly: "We are the officials sent here by His Majesty to handle that matter.

Regarding this matter, if you have anything to do, feel free to come to us! "

"Yes, yes! Thank you for your work, father-in-law!"

"Besides, just relying on merchants like you is not enough to make things happen. We need to find more merchants who are loyal to Your Majesty and not so cunning to serve Your Majesty!"

"What my father-in-law taught me is that the villain must try his best to handle this matter well..."

"Very good……"

None of the officials in the capital knew about the Maritime Trade Chamber of Commerce.

Even Jin Yiwei only heard a little bit, but didn't know much about the inside story.

but.

Regarding the report from the Ministry of Household Affairs about exempting taxes from the north and providing relief to the people, word spread throughout the capital.

All the courtiers were talking about it in their hearts.

immediately.

Then I heard it again.

The cement straight road from the capital to Shaanxi Xingdusi was immediately completed.

His Royal Highness the Prince wants to set up two more construction teams to build cement straight roads from the capital to Sichuan and Yunnan. He wants to use work as a relief!

"I heard that tens of thousands of young men from the north are to be recruited!"

"With so many young people, wouldn't it be easier if they were recruited from several southern states and counties?"

"You can only ask His Highness the Crown Prince about this matter!"

"Hmph, the prince only listens to Duke Ding, how can he pay attention to what we say?"

"Alas! Traitors harm the country!"

"Is it possible that we just watched helplessly as the traitor seduced His Majesty and His Royal Highness, and only benefited the North a lot? How unfair is it to us in the South?"

"Yes, today is Songjiang Prefecture, tomorrow it will be Nanchang Prefecture, and the day after tomorrow it will be Zhangzhou Prefecture!

If this continues, one will wax and wane, then won’t we in the south be completely suppressed by the scholars in the north? "

"Everyone, we should make plans for this matter!"

"Not only the prince, but also his majesty has great trust in that thief Guo. What other tricks do we have?"

"Is it possible to get rid of that Guo thief? Or let Dong Palace..."

"No!"

The faces of everyone changed drastically.

"No matter what it is, Jin Yiwei will be called in for a thorough investigation. Until then, there is no way to hide the noses of those vicious dogs from Jin Yiwei, and it will only harm us!"

"This won't work, that won't work either, so what should I do?"

"If not, bring the guy from Shouchun Mansion in..."

"Shou Chun Mansion..."

Someone's heart is moved.

Immediately, there was immediate opposition.

"Absolutely not, the Shouchun man is too sensitive, Your Majesty will keep a close eye on him!

If we are not careful and His Majesty finds out something is wrong, we will implicate the whole family..."

"Exactly, you must not touch the one from Shouchun Mansion!"

"Then what should I do?"

"...How about the one from Beiping Mansion?"

"Beiping Mansion? Yan..."

"This……"

"Don't forget, your Majesty was promoted from Beiping Mansion!"

"This is a great plan!"

“Your Majesty and the Crown Prince don’t seem to be too wary of Beiping Mansion!”

"If the one in Beiping Mansion succeeds, we will also serve as ministers of the Dragon! But if it fails, we will retreat. Your Majesty and the Crown Prince will hate the north, and will even be suspicious of the Guo thief!"

"As long as we act cautiously, no matter what happens, we won't lose anything!"

"So, then send someone to the north to see if that person has that kind of intention?"

"Humph, even if he doesn't have it, let him have it!"

"Exactly! Who among the royal family doesn't want that seat?"

...(End of chapter)