prosperous age

Chapter 190 Chapter 189
At this time, Wei Guangde's lack of official background was exposed, and he didn't know who to ask about the news about the court.

Previously, Wei Guangde's plan after the examination results came out was that as soon as the results of the palace examination came out, he would start actively going around with the Yan family, spending money as he needed, and in short, giving himself a better background.

But after he won Chuanlu in the palace examination, Wei Guangde became a little uncertain.

Although after receiving the news from the Yan family, Wei Guangde still went to visit the Yan family, but it was a polite visit, completely different from what he had thought before.

He didn't think about sending hundreds or thousands of taels of silver to one of his official positions, because Wei Guangde knew that staying in Beijing for the first place in the second class is a certainty, and he should wait for the imperial examination to observe politics before thinking about it.

Are you going to Yan's house to inquire now?

Don't be funny, Wei Guangde didn't want to have too much to do with the Yan family from the beginning, not to mention that he knew that day that the Yan family seemed to be a force that firmly supported the reform of rice and mulberry.

What I am going to do now runs counter to their purpose, if I really want to ask, what will I do then?
Wei Guangde doesn't want to be embarrassed in the future, the best way is to pretend to be deaf and dumb, even if he does it himself, the Yan family will definitely know.

Well, now Wei Guangde is the only one who can talk, who should be able to know the movements of the court, and it seems that the only one who is currently in charge of the Imperial Academy and his immediate boss is Yin Tai.

Wei Guangde looked at the sky, it was already afternoon, and he didn't know whether Zhangyuan Yin was working in the courtyard at the moment.

Wei Guangde came to the door of the public house in charge of the courtyard, and sure enough, what he saw was that the door was closed.

Wei Guangde only found out after asking the clerk in front of the door that Yin Tai came in the morning and left before noon.

Calculating the time, it was almost noon when Zhang Ji came to inform him that it was time to leave the Imperial Academy to attend to his own business.

Yes, Wei Guangde still has arrangements today, that is, to sign a house purchase contract with the owner of the Nanxunfang yard and the people from the dental shop, and then go to Shuntian Mansion for filing.

Wei Guangde had no choice but to make up his mind and come over tomorrow morning to ask Yin Zhangyuan to see if he can understand the situation.

I told the clerk about my purpose of coming, but of course I didn't say that I came to ask questions about the court, I just said that I wanted to ask for half a day off.

The clerk smiled and said, "Master Wei is going to go, come here tomorrow and talk to the Master in charge to make up for the leave."

It turned out that Yin Tai did not stay in the Hanlin Academy all the time because he was also on an errand in Zhan Shifu, so he explained to other people in the academy that he would come in the morning if he had something to ask for leave, and he would usually not be there in the afternoon.

For a newcomer like Wei Guangde, of course he didn't know about it.

However, the clerk knew that Zhang Yuan Yin was a reasonable person, and Wei Guangde came here to ask for leave, and he would only need to meet Zhang Yuan tomorrow morning to talk about it, and Wei Guangde would come to make up for his leave at that time, so he would not say anything if he wanted to come to Zhang Yuan Yin.

In this way, Wei Guangde left the gate of the Imperial Academy, and he was off work early.

When he walked out of the gate, he saw the carriage driven by Li San on the opposite side. At this moment, he was standing on the side of the road talking with Zhang Ji. When he saw Wei Guangde who was going out, he greeted Zhang Ji immediately. After picking up Wei Guangde, he went to the courtyard of Nanxunfang Walk.

The whole transaction process was very fast. After Wei Guangde checked everything in the yard, under the witness of Ya Xing Yaren and Nanxun Fang's Zong Jia and others, both parties signed and pledged. Wei Guangde asked Li San to hold a box of silver coins. Both the Japanese and Ya people signed the contract.

The owner of the house took the money, and simply handed over all the keys to the yard to Wei Guangde, and the deal between the two parties was concluded.

"Master Wei, I will send the contract to the Daxing County Government right away, and I will send the house deed later."

The Daxing County Government is not in Beijing, but in the northeast of Beijing.

Speaking of the administrative division of the capital city of the Ming Dynasty, it is also very interesting. The east and west of the central axis of Beijing belong to Daxing County and Wanping County respectively.

More than 20 eastern cities such as Wuyunfang, Baodafang, and Nanxunfang belong to Daxing County, while Wanbaofang, Shiyongfang, Fucaifang and other western cities are managed by Wanping County.

Wei Guangde nodded, but he was not afraid of anything from Yaren.

"Zhang Ji, you go with me and tell Li San to drive there, hurry up."

At this moment, the original landlord and Nanxunfang's Zongjia and others were sent away. Yaren and Zhang Ji followed, and Wei Guangde wandered in the yard.

When he walked to the backyard and saw the Babu bed, Wei Guangde suddenly remembered that he hadn't sold anything yet.

The furniture in the yard is very complete, but obviously a lot of daily necessities need to be replaced, and if you move, you have to go to the temple to ask someone to look at it.

Wei Guangde said in his heart that it seems that he won't be able to move in in a short time.

However, the house has already been bought, it's just a matter of time, and with such a big yard, Wei Guangde thought about buying some servants to take care of himself and clean the yard.

It seems that you have to deal with the dental staff.

Speaking of Yaren and Yaren, it has a bit of history. It is said that the earliest record about "Yaren" was in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Ren is a name that was changed only during the Tang Dynasty.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't like Yaren, probably because he thought they were as unproductive as businessmen.

But up to now, the tooth shop has spread all over the Ming Dynasty, and the tooth people are naturally the same, becoming the middleman involved in business transactions.

Wei Guangde felt that the function of the shipping department was a bit similar to that of a dental office. They were all intermediary services and made money.

However, this business is not something everyone can do. The government is very strict with their management, so the Yamen and the people in the yamen are quite familiar with it, and collusion between inside and outside often happens.

It is worth mentioning that the Ming Dynasty prohibited the buying and selling of "population", and the servants Wei Guangde wanted to buy through the tooth shop were naturally not included in the "population".

In fact, the Chinese dynasties have strictly prohibited human trafficking. The Han Dynasty enforced the law that human traffickers who abducted and sold human beings were sentenced to be punished, that is, they were executed and their bodies were dismembered; Traffickers are equally guilty.

The law of the Ming Dynasty stipulates that abducting and selling a lover as a slave and maidservant, one hundred rods, and three thousand miles; abducting and selling a wife and concubine as a descendant, one hundred rods, and three years in prison; Reunion with relatives; abduction and trafficking in the name of adoptive heirs, the crime is the same as above
However, these decrees are aimed at good people, that is, civilians and free people with household registration, excluding untouchables. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty often confiscated the property of criminals, and women were used as pedagogues or sold.

Wei Guangde and the others are looking for Guan Ya, so they naturally plan to use them to find servants. For good people, Guan Ya dare not buy or sell, but there are workarounds.

Of course, Wei Guangde wasn't that interested, he was just looking for a few servant girls to take care of the backyard cleaning, and it was enough to leave the front yard to Zhang Ji and Li San.

It's just that we have to wait until we move in, and there's no rush right now.

Later, Zhang Ji brought back the house deed obtained from the Daxing County Government, and this time the real estate purchase in the capital was considered complete.

After locking the door, they still have to live in the Jiujiang Guild Hall. In the car, Wei Guangde handed over the key to Zhang Ji and asked him to purchase daily necessities. He had to do it himself when counting the check-in time.

Early the next morning, when Wei Guangde came to the Imperial Academy, he planned to find Yin Zhangyuan.

But it was still early at this moment, and Yin Zhangyuan might not have arrived at the courtyard so early, so he drank tea in his public room, read a book to kill a while, and then went out.

When he arrived outside the office in charge of the courtyard, he saw that the door had been opened, so he knew that Mr. Yin must have come, so he asked the clerk at the door to go in and make an announcement. After getting the news from inside, Wei Guangde straightened his clothes and walked in.

"Greetings to Master Yin."

When Wei Guangde entered the house, he saluted Yin Tai respectfully.

"Hehe, don't be so polite."

Yin Tai sat on his seat and raised his hand, signaling Wei Guangde to stop saluting.

"I know your reason for coming. If you have something to delay in the future, just try to come and talk to me in the morning."

While speaking, Yin Tai had already picked up a pen and wrote a note on the table case, "You will hand this over to the concierge in a while, and it will be stored with the Dian Mao book at that time."

Wei Guangde stepped forward hurriedly, took the slip with both hands, and couldn't stop thanking him.

But after the matter is over, Wei Guangde still doesn't intend to leave, after all he hasn't said anything about today's business.

Seeing Wei Guangde standing there, Yin Tai was taken aback for a moment and then smiled and said, "Are you still waiting for a bachelor?"

Speaking of this, Yin Tai stretched out his hand to stroke his beard and said: "In fact, most of the concubine scholars in the past did not arrange for a bachelor to guide them. They read books by themselves and submitted an article every month.

I talked with several bachelors. In recent years, the palace and the court have not arranged for book repairs. Everyone has part-time jobs, so there is not much to do in the Imperial Academy.

Last year and this year, Chen Sheng and Wu Qing completed the nine-year exams and were promoted to be Bachelor of Attendance. One of them is transcribing the Veritable Records of Wu Zong, and the other is in charge of the Veritable Records of Xiaozong. Who do you think is the right name? "

Wei Guangde originally wanted to ask about changing rice to grow mulberry, but Yin Tai thought he was waiting for the bachelor teacher.

Well, given two choices, Wu Qing and Chen Sheng.

Wu Qing was the first adult he met in the Imperial Academy. Chen Sheng also met in the afternoon of the first day. Compared with the two, Wei Guangde felt that Wu Qing seemed to be more kind, so he immediately cupped his hands and said, "Bachelors, please follow Mr. Wu." .”

"Well, I'll talk to him later, and you will also go to see him in the afternoon. If you have any questions in the future, you can come to him. Of course, you can also come to me."

Yin Tai nodded and said.

After finishing the business, Yin Tai took a sip from the teacup on the short-term table and saw that Wei Guangde was still standing there, as if he still had something to do.

"Any thing else?"

Yin Tai put down his teacup and asked.

Wei Guangde knew that he had to stop talking, everyone was serving tea, and it would be rude not to say anything else, so he bowed his hands to Yin Tai again and said: "My lord, the students heard that the Ministry of Industry's proposal to change rice and mulberry in Zhejiang is being discussed in the court. Proposal, I don’t know if it’s true?”

Hearing Wei Guangde say this, Yin Tai frowned slightly, "So what?"

"Students were terrified when they heard about it."

Wei Guangde said immediately, seeing that Yin Tai had no other expressions, he continued: "The student wrote in the essay that weaving and porcelain firing should be encouraged to develop, but the original intention of the student is that the imperial court issued a policy to encourage them to produce more. , lower the price so that more people can afford it, so that the products produced naturally can be sold smoothly, and the imperial court will therefore have more taxes.

However, the students thought it was inappropriate to hear that the Ministry of Industry suggested planting a large number of mulberry trees in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and even using some farmland for mulberry planting. "

"Well, in fact, before you wrote that Shiwen, someone in the imperial court was already discussing this matter, which has nothing to do with you. It's just that your Shiwen happened to mention that matter."

Yin Tai nodded and said, "As for the pros and cons, the imperial court is still discussing it. You naturally know the pros and cons, and they will judge the situation."

Wei Guangde heard that before he took the test, the court seemed to have been discussing this matter, and his article was just a coincidence.

It is estimated that Chen Jin's position is too low, and they received the news later, so they thought his policy theory was the fuse that triggered the discussion about changing rice and mulberry.

Although it could make him feel relieved, since Wei Guangde asked, he naturally wouldn't just go back.

Finding out the situation and writing a memorandum can be regarded as Wei Guangde's first shot after entering the officialdom.

"Yin Zhangyuan, dare to ask if the imperial court has a way to add silk?"

"What do you ask for this?"

Yin Tai was very surprised, stroked his beard and asked.

"Students don't understand the intention of the Ministry of Industry to increase silk production by a large amount, and who will sell the increased silk to? If they do this rashly, they may end up piling up a large amount of silk in warehouses, and a large number of merchants and workshop craftsmen will lose their livelihoods. "

Wei Guangde explained.

"Do you have any ideas?"

After hearing Wei Guangde's words, Yin Tai was silent for a long time before he said, "Since you know that the court is discussing this matter, you naturally know about the Shibo Department. Didn't you check the Shibo Department's books two days ago?"

"Students are really surprised by this matter. According to the eighth year of Jiajing, the Shibo Department is only responsible for receiving tribute from overseas vassal states, and is not allowed to conduct exploration and trade."

Wei Guangde said honestly.

"It was restored a few years ago. At the time, the imperial court was anxious to use the money, and sold a lot of silk hoarded in Nanjing and Hangzhou through Shibosi. It has been doing this since then, but there is no explicit announcement."

Yin Tai didn't think there was anything he couldn't say about it. The whole court knew about it. Although he also knew that the Shibo Division was doing no exploration and cooperation trade, it could indeed turn silk into silver to solve the financial difficulties of the court. It can be regarded as a method.

"Those foreign countries admire the silk and porcelain of the Celestial Dynasty, so they always hope to increase the number of products, so the Ministry of Industry has this proposal."

Yin Tai continued.

"How much silk can they buy?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously, since the foreign businessmen have mentioned it, they will naturally give an approximate amount.

"In the past, we sold about 300,000 pieces of silk every year. They hoped to increase several times. According to the report from Shibo, it was about 500,000 to [-]. What the Ministry of Industry hopes is to make up the raw silk production of this silk. Only then can we increase the number of looms.”

Wei Guangde secretly exclaimed in his heart that it is no wonder, as he guessed, the imperial court really started sea trade quietly, but they did not announce it.

In the Ming Dynasty, it seems that apart from Zheng He's voyages to the West, there was no large-scale maritime trade with the outside world.

Yes, that is also the smuggling trade, not the normal commodity trade.

Wei Guangde suddenly felt that the imperial court's financial embarrassment seemed to be a good way to break the sea ban, and in fact they were already doing so.

(End of this chapter)