prosperous age

Chapter 1162 1253 Cooperation
Feng Bao set his sights on the Burmese gem mines, but he thought that the emperor was far away and he couldn't get involved.

But don’t forget that at that time, the imperial palace of the Ming Empire had to purchase some treasures from abroad almost every year. In fact, there were not only rare antiques, calligraphy and paintings, but also pearls and gems.

Although the emperor is still young and has not yet chosen a concubine, Empress Dowager Chen and Empress Dowager Li in the harem also like pearls and jade.

In the early years when Emperor Longqing was in power, they were restricted by the previous dynasty and could not buy the jewelry they liked.

Every time Emperor Longqing ordered the Ministry of Revenue to ask for silver to purchase treasures, the outer court would submit a memorial to object and demand that the royal family maintain a simple lifestyle.

It often took Emperor Longqing two or three years to successfully get money from the Ministry of Revenue to buy new headgear for the beauties in his harem.

Things are different now. Zhang Juzheng, who is in charge of the outer court, relies on the support of the inner court. Therefore, when the palace issues an imperial decree to purchase treasures, he will hint to the Ministry of Revenue to meet the needs of the inner court as much as possible.

Does the inner court really need this silver?
Of course there is no shortage. In fact, with the increase in Yuegang’s income in the past two years, the inner court’s income has also skyrocketed.

However, although the income increased, the royal expenses also increased greatly.

The expenses of the twelve offices, four departments and eight bureaus in the inner court, collectively known as the twenty-four yamen, also rose sharply.

To put it bluntly, no matter how high the royal income was, it could not satisfy the appetites of the eunuchs. Eggs costing a few taels of silver each were by no means unique to the Qing Dynasty.

In fact, according to the account books left in the Ming Dynasty Palace, the price of eggs eaten by Emperor Wanli was as high as thirty taels of silver each, which was even higher than that of the Qing Dynasty.

Some of these businesses were collaborations between eunuchs and merchants, who simply got most of the profits, while others were simply the eunuchs' own businesses, earning money for themselves.

Of course, this kind of behavior of damaging the public interest for personal gain was definitely not limited to the eunuchs in the inner court. In fact, the amount of materials purchased by the court was even greater, especially in the Ministry of Works.

It can be said that as long as one has certain rights in the Ministry of Industry, especially the right to determine the purchaser, the value will be enormous.

Many of Wei Guangde's industries, that is, his shares in the business, contain valuable values.

Think about why the Yan family held on to the Ministry of Works so tightly back then. It was because the benefits were so great that Yan Shifan, having tasted the sweetness, was unwilling to give it up no matter what.

Officials from Jiangxi also got a piece of the pie to some extent.

So even now, even though Zhu Heng had made up his mind to leave, he still had to support Jiang Zhi so that their small group could continue to profit from purchases from the Ministry of Works.

Behind the scenes are not only Jiangxi officials, but also Jiangxi's chambers of commerce. The chain of interests has become very large.

As for Feng Bao, as long as he controlled the inner court, he would make a fortune.

As for the gem mines in Myanmar, I can only say that those little things are so adorable and Feng Bao likes them very much.

"Someone is coming."

Feng Bao was on his way to Wenhua Palace. The little emperor was having class today, so he had to go and see.

However, when he walked outside the Wenhua Hall, he saw the Wenyuan Pavilion opposite, and his heart moved.

He stood still and shouted to the followers behind him.

"Grandpa Gan, what can I do for you?"

Most of Feng Bao's godsons have been promoted by him to certain positions in the Twenty-Four Yamen in recent years, and they no longer need to work by his side.

At the same time, they also became Feng Bao's eyes, watching every move in the palace.

Now Feng Bao is surrounded by these godsons who are smart and clever, and they are asked to learn from Feng Bao.

In fact, it was also an opportunity for Feng Bao to test them and see if they could be used.

Those that are unusable will be sent out of the palace directly.

The palace also has many businesses outside, including royal farms, ranches, etc.

"Go to the cabinet and ask what Lord Wei is busy with now?"

Feng Bao gave an instruction to the eunuch beside him, then stepped into the Wenhua Hall.

After receiving the order, the young eunuch ran quickly to the cabinet.

Feng Bao walked lightly and quietly went to the side hall of Wenhua Palace, where the young emperor Zhu Yijun was taking classes, and hid in the crack of the door to look inside.

The lecturer was giving a lecture, and next to him was a Hanlin scholar turning pages for the little emperor. Zhu Yijun was sitting in his seat, seemingly listening to the lecture attentively.

Feng Bao nodded slightly. Your Majesty is so hardworking. When Empress Dowager Li asks him about it later, he will have something to say.

Suddenly, Feng Bao's vision was blocked. When he looked carefully, a face appeared in front of him inside the door.

Feng Bao took two steps back and waved his hand, and the person inside pushed the door open cautiously.

His Majesty has classes in Wenhua Hall almost every day, so the eunuchs are diligent in cleaning and the doors and windows are often oiled, so there is almost no sound when the door is opened.

After the man came out, he took a look inside. He was relieved when he found that he did not disturb the scholar and the little emperor who were giving lectures inside.

"Eunuch Feng."

"Chen Ju, it's your turn today."

The person who came out was Chen Ju. Today he was accompanying His Majesty and followed him from the Qianqing Palace to the Wenhua Palace, and was also serving in the palace.

"Yes, Eunuch Feng, Zhang Hong and I have been accompanying His Majesty these past few days."

Chen Ju replied in a low voice.

"Then why don't you just serve me in there instead of scaring me."

Just now Feng Bao was secretly watching His Majesty studying, when Chen Ju suddenly popped his head out from the crack in the door, which really scared Feng Bao.

"I noticed something strange under the door, so I came to take a look."

In fact, it was Feng Bao who was peeking through the crack in the door, blocking the light coming in from outside, so Chen Ju noticed it.

He was also curious about who dared to peek at His Majesty here.

The palace has its own rules. Chen Ju simply thought that it was the eunuch working in the Wenhua Palace who was curious, so he lay down at the door and looked inside.

He never expected that what he saw was Feng Bao's old face.

"Okay, today when I entered the palace I went to Ciqing Palace to ask what your majesty had for breakfast."

Next, Feng Bao asked Chen Ju about what happened after Emperor Wanli got up today, and then let him in to continue serving.

"Did you find out? Does Lord Wei have anything to do?"

When he walked outside the Wenhua Palace, Feng Bao saw that the eunuch he had sent out had returned, and immediately asked.

“Grandpa Gan, Elder Wei is still on duty in the room handling official business and has no plans to meet with officials.

Not long after Wei Ge Lao entered the duty room today, the clerk beside him took a note and went out. No one knew where he went. "

The young eunuch said hurriedly.

In addition to the secretaries and clerks in the cabinet, there are also eunuchs who are responsible for cleaning, after all, this is the imperial palace.

However, these people were actually arranged by the Imperial Household Department, and they also had the task of monitoring the cabinet members for the inner court.

"I handed the note out."

Feng Bao nodded and said casually, "Lead the way, I'll go meet him."

"Yes."

The eunuch hurriedly led the way, and several people quickly walked into the cabinet.

When Feng Bao came to the cabinet, the news naturally could not be concealed. From the moment he entered the door, everyone in the cabinet saw it.

Wherever he went, all the people in the cabinet put down their work and bowed to him.

This is the power of the Prime Minister, everyone must bow before him.

"Eunuch Feng, what brings you here?"

Wei Guangde was very puzzled when he heard the news in the duty room. He thought that the two ladies in the palace disagreed with what happened last night, so they called him over to pass on the message.

"Shandai, I just happened to pass by for a small matter, so I came over to talk."

Feng Bao smiled, then dismissed his attendants, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Seeing Feng Bao like this, Wei Guangde was shocked, thinking that something really went wrong. But even if the palace was worried, at most he could just drag Zhang Juzheng into the palace and talk about it. With Feng Bao as an insider, it shouldn't be difficult to convince the two women.

Now, Wei Guangde has actually roughly figured out the attitudes of the two people in Ciqing Palace and Cining Palace. They actually know very little, so they just combine opinions from many parties and finally make a judgment.

Therefore, as long as they can hear what they should hear, their judgment will naturally be influenced.

Among them, the voice of the nobles in the capital and Feng Bao is very important.

Seeing Wei Guangde's expression change slightly, Feng Bao hurriedly smiled and said, "Don't panic, Shandai, what happened last night was a good thing, and the two ladies have no objection."

Feng Bao was very capable and he first gave Wei Guangde reassurance.

Wei Guangde was relieved when he heard this, and forced a smile, saying, "Brother Shuanglin came here so early, I thought there were different opinions in the palace.

In that case, what brings Brother Shuang Lin here?"

When he got to the latter part, Wei Guangde changed his tone to a relaxed one and asked directly.

"Has the Ministry of War received the report on the Burmese war? Has the situation there been decided?"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Although there was no one in the room, Feng Bao still asked in a low voice.

"I don't have the latest news yet. I remember there was a report on the Burmese war the day before yesterday. Li Chengliang is still chasing after the Burmese king Mang Yinglong, but he can't escape and will be caught anytime soon.

Now there is Yu Dayou's tribe in southern Myanmar. Where do you think Mang Yinglong can run to?
Take Li Chengliang and Yu Dayou to join the Burma expedition? "

Wei Guangde chuckled.

"That is to say, the overall situation in Burma has been decided, and the court will soon begin arrangements for the establishment of a province in Burma."

Feng Bao said in a low voice.

"The Prime Minister has no objection. The next step is to have the Ministry of Rites prepare the ceremonies and the Ministry of Personnel select officials."

For such a major event as setting up a province in Myanmar and establishing the Myanmar Provincial Administration, it must be announced to the world. The young emperor also had to offer sacrifices to the Taimiao, so he asked the Ministry of Rites to prepare the rituals and then send officials to govern Myanmar.

When Wei Guangde said this, he couldn't help but wonder why Feng Bao was concerned about this matter.

Strictly speaking, this is the responsibility of the cabinet and is not within the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department.

Sure enough, Feng Bao’s next words dispelled his doubts.

“Shandai, I heard that Myanmar is rich in gemstones and has many gemstone mines.

You don’t know that the inner court buys a large amount of gems every year.”

When Feng Bao mentioned the gem mine, he himself might not have known that the greed in his eyes was already evident in his words.

“Haha, Brother Shuanglin, I really don’t know much about the gem mines in Burma.

But my Ming Dynasty is about to rule Burma, and the mineral resources there are not a matter of a word from the inner court. "

Wei Guangde smiled.

He really had never thought of the gem mine. In fact, the system of the Ming Dynasty was very strange. The government needed to report to the capital for approval before opening a mine, and the power lay in the inner court.

This is also the reason why Emperor Wanli later sent mine supervisors everywhere. In the words of later generations, they had the right to issue mineral mining licenses.

Therefore, whether Feng Bao wanted the gem mines in Burma for the inner court or for himself, it was all done within the inner court.

As for the local area, Wei Guangde could naturally ask Li Chengliang for help.

In later generations, most of the minerals fell into the hands of warlords in various parts of Myanmar, which were the hands of chieftains in this era.

The mineral resources in Myanmar under the control of the Ming Dynasty must belong to the Ming court.

As for the gem mine that the inner court and Feng Bao wanted, the worst that could happen was that Li Chengliang would send some soldiers to garrison there.

"The barbarians are unruly and will not obey the king's rule."

Feng Bao didn't even think about this and spoke out immediately.

"Li Chengliang has a knife in his hand, so we can just let him take care of these gem mines when the time comes."

Wei Guangde did not mention whose gem mine it was, he just asked Li Chengliang to take care of it with a knife, and Feng Bao understood what he meant.

"Brother Shuanglin, we should find someone familiar with Myanmar to go there as soon as possible to check out the gem mine."

Wei Guangde kindly reminded.

"That's right. This way, the inner court can buy less gems in the future, which can also reduce the expenses for the palace masters.

Shandai, you don’t know that the expenses of such a huge palace are really not small.”

Feng Bao finally said with a smile.

"Hey, isn't there still Brother Shuanglin who's working hard? Just do your best."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"Is there any Chamber of Commerce familiar with that place?"

Feng Bao asked again at this time.

“This, really not.

However, if the imperial court resumes its rule over Burma, I will definitely have to contribute. I will ask people to take a look and send people over there to see if there is any business that can be done."

Wei Guangde did not consider participating in Myanmar's feast of wealth at first. He only considered that Myanmar's special location was very beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

Now, after Feng Bao's reminder, Wei Guangde has also become interested in Myanmar's gold and gem mines.

"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to accompany you, and we can go together. Who knows, maybe we can do business together.

I wonder if Shandai is feasible?"

Feng Bao was not alone. He had a younger brother and nephew in his hometown. At this time, they also rose to prominence and got sinecure positions in the court.

In fact, the purpose of holding a temporary position is just to improve one's status.

As for money, no one would complain about having too much money.

The reason for looking for Wei Guangde this time was, firstly, to get Li Chengliang's help, and also to do business with Wei Guangde and make money.

I heard that the businesses chosen by Wei Guangde have good profits every year.

"What's wrong with that? If Brother Shuanglin is willing, we can bring in two more powerful sea merchants and open a chamber of commerce in Myanmar to specialize in business there."

Myanmar has a good location, and the gems it produces are not only popular in the Ming Dynasty, but also sold in large quantities to the Middle East.

Wei Guangde's impression is that the entire region from Myanmar to India seems to produce all kinds of gems.

The reason why I have such an impression of this place is because I heard that the crown of the Queen of England in later generations was decorated with gems produced locally. It should be said that the quality of the gems produced here is very good.

“Myanmar seems to have more than just gemstone mines, there are also a lot of gold, silver and copper mines.

If we join forces to do business there, it should be very profitable.”

Wei Guangde reminded again in a low voice.

The meaning is very clear. Not only gem mines, but gold and silver mines can also be used.

When Feng Bao heard that there were gold and silver mines in Myanmar, his eyes lit up and he couldn't stop smiling.

"Then I'll have to ask Shandai to keep an eye on Myanmar. Let me know when the situation develops."

Feng Bao bowed and said to him.

"It's easy to talk about."

Wei Guangde said happily: "It's not possible at this time. Once the situation is stable over there, I estimate that it will take at least half a year before we can send someone over to check the situation."

"All state affairs are of primary importance. The inner court will not object to opening a mine in Burma."

Feng Bao put away his smile and spoke seriously.