Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 310 Candidates

In fact, the biggest wealth taken over this time was still the Chase Bank.

Datong Money House extended its tentacles into all walks of life in Daqian through lending and investment.

Even the names of many officials were on the loan list of Datong Money House. No wonder the six major merchants were able to mobilize so many officials to work for them.

Datong Money House did not have much cash, and the cash it had in Beijing was just enough to cope with the 10 million taels of silver that Li Qiang transported over.

The amount of silver deposits in Datong Money Houses in other places was affected by the transportation of silver to Beijing and reached the lowest level.

But this does not mean that the value of Chase Bank is low. The wealth on the books of Chase Bank is an unimaginable astronomical figure.

It’s just that these wealth were invested in lending and investment, turning these silver into golden eggs that continuously produced wealth.

Li Qiang looked at the account book and shook her head.

Not to mention others, even he, who had little sense of wealth, was affected after seeing the numbers in the account book.

If the industries of the six major merchants were taken over by the Daqian Yamen, given the greed of those officials, not to mention how much wealth would eventually reach the palace, even these industries would not be able to last long under the management of the officials.

With such a huge fortune, it would be difficult to find suitable people to manage it in any dynasty.

Because in the face of the temptation of huge wealth, it is really hard to find people who can remain true to themselves.

In other words, Li Qiang used the "Mirror of Love and Lust" to convert all the managers into 100% loyal ones, otherwise he could only watch these industries being exploited layer by layer.

But now it is different. We have a steward who is 100% loyal, and every bit of wealth is delivered to him intact.

"Jin Dong, put away these account books!" Li Qiang ordered Jin Dong.

Jin Dong and the other three eunuchs came over and carefully put the account books into a cabinet nearby.

"Please ask Tanakatang to come over!" Li Qiang ordered again.

Not long after, Tian Zhongtang arrived at the main hall of the East Palace. There was more awe in his eyes when he looked at Li Qiang.

In today's court, Li Qiang's authority far exceeds that of Emperor Jingwen. Even at the peak of his power, Emperor Jingwen was far inferior to Li Qiang now.

Only when the emperor was at the peak of his powers could he compete with Li Qiang.

But it took so many years for the emperor to become the retired emperor, and Li Qiang was still just the crown prince, not the real emperor.

"Please take a seat!" Li Qiang helped Scholar Tian up and said.

Scholar Tian sat opposite Li Qiang. He was just sitting there in vain, just like when he was facing the retired emperor.

"Have you found a candidate for the cabinet minister?" Li Qiang asked in a deep voice.

It has been quite some time since Grand Secretary Deng retired, but the cabinet has not yet reported any candidate.

"The right person has been selected!" Academician Tian replied respectfully.

In fact, the issue of selecting the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet has caused many conflicts of interest within the cabinet and even in the court.

The retirement of Grand Secretary Deng represented the decline of his faction.

In particular, the raids on six major businesses affected many officials.

Even Mr. Tian did not dare to make a choice easily. If the person chosen was involved with the six major merchants, even he, the recommender, would be in trouble.

As long as the cases of the six major merchants are not resolved, the people in the court will not be stable.

Just look at the case of the theft from the Ministry of Revenue’s granary. How many officials were arrested and how many officials were implicated.

In the Daqian court, there are very few officials who have absolutely no connection with the six major merchants.

The six major merchants used their wealth to establish a huge network of relationships, and all Daqian officials were more or less included in this network.

But there was an exception. After a cabinet scholar proposed this person's name, no one objected.

"Oh, who is it?" Li Qiang asked, feeling a little curious.

"Lord Lin Ruhai!" replied Grand Secretary Tian.

Li Qiang was really surprised. Although Lin Ruhai was already the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, when he was promoted to the position, he was given a high position. Even if his rank was upgraded, he would not be promoted to the first-rank cabinet minister all at once.

The Grand Secretary of the Cabinet is the highest civil servant in Daqian, and the two Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet are the representatives of the civil servants.

To be honest, Lin Ruhai's qualifications were not enough, and it was very difficult for him to be promoted to the position of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet all of a sudden.

But the problem is that if the cabinet scholar mentioned Lin Ruhai's name and the others objected, they would have to consider the thoughts of Lin Ruhai's son-in-law, Li Qiang.

Li Qiang demonstrated his invincibility through martial arts performances and the blood of three thousand assassins.

In addition to the news coming from the palace, the Daqian army now completely obeys Li Qiang's orders, and even the newly emerged generals are related to Li Qiang.

With such a strong momentum, after someone proposed Lin Ruhai's name, no official would risk offending Li Qiang and oppose Lin Ruhai's promotion to the position of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

Anyway, there has been no result in the nomination of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, so handing it over to Lin Ruhai, who has relatively little influence in Beijing, can be regarded as a compromise among all parties.

"Has the cabinet been decided?" Li Qiang confirmed.

"Yes, this is a memorial from the cabinet!" said Tian Daxueshi as he took out a memorial and presented it.

Li Qiang took the memorial, read the contents, took out the imperial brush, wrote a few words, and stamped it with the seal.

"Is there any candidate for the position of Dali Temple Minister?" Li Qiang still respected Grand Secretary Tian very much. When it came to the appointment and removal of officials, the cabinet knew better than he did which officials were suitable.

"You can choose one from the two Shaoqings of the Dali Temple!" Grand Secretary Tian did not make a decision on his own, but said that the two officials would be chosen by Li Qiang, which was also a kind of respect.

"Then let's choose the Right Shaoqing!" Li Qiang thought that the Left Shaoqing of the Dali Temple seemed to be at odds with Lin Ruhai, while the Right Shaoqing was close to Lin Ruhai, so this was an easy choice.

With power in hand, he could decide the appointment of a third-rank official with just a word.

"Yes!" Scholar Tian nodded in reply.

"Jin Dong drafted an edict to appoint Lin Ruhai as Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and his position as Chief Justice of the Dali Temple will be replaced by Right Junior Justice of the Dali Temple!" Li Qiang instructed Jin Dong who was standing aside.

He only had to express his own thoughts in the imperial edict, and Jin Dong was left to use rhetoric.

Jin Dong spent a lot of time learning from Dai Quan, and combined with his research on previous imperial edicts, it was very easy for him to write a qualified imperial edict.

Li Qiang took the imperial edict from Jin Dong, looked at it and nodded.

Jin Dong took the seal of Emperor Daqian and stamped it on the imperial edict.

"Let Tian Zhongtang announce the decree!" Li Qiang said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!" said Grand Secretary Tian as he took the imperial edict with both hands.

Li Qiang asked him to announce the decree so that he could establish a good relationship with Lin Ruhai in advance. With the help of this announcement, the relationship between the two sides would naturally become more harmonious.

"Tian Zhongtang, there is one more thing. When will you give me a reply regarding the status of the craftsmen?" Li Qiang asked again. "Please give me three days, Your Highness. After three days, the cabinet will submit a memorial regarding the status of the craftsmen to Your Highness!" Tian Daxueshi did not refuse. He thought for a moment and replied.

There have been a lot of things going on recently, the most important of which is the retirement of Grand Secretary Deng, which has affected many affairs of the cabinet.

"Then I'll wait for the news!" Li Qiang said with satisfaction.

Grand Secretary Tian bowed and stepped back, leaving the Eastern Palace with the imperial edict.

Li Qiang was very welcoming of Lin Ruhai's promotion to the position of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

Scholar Tian was relatively easy to talk to, and with Lin Ruhai completely on his side, it could be said that he was in control of the cabinet.

"Master, the emperor wants you to come over!" A young eunuch came to the door. Jin Dong went out for a while and came back to report to Li Qiang.

Li Qiang couldn't think of what the retired emperor wanted to see him about. Normally he would go to pay his respects to him every day, and he would tell him if there was anything he wanted to ask.

He took Jin Dong and left the Eastern Palace. Usually he was too lazy to use the imperial carriage, as it was not as fast as walking.

Today, he no longer needs to display his majesty through ceremonies, because he himself is a majestic being.

Walking into the Daming Palace, Li Qiang saw several familiar people. They were relatives of the Daqian royal family. She had only seen them before but didn't even know their names.

After seeing him, these royal relatives tried to shrink their bodies to reduce the amount of their bodies visible to him.

At the same time, he lowered his head, afraid of meeting Li Qiang's gaze.

"Prince, what are you going to do with those five elders? We can't keep the mansion sealed forever!" The retired emperor asked helplessly.

This time, representatives of the royal family came and requested that the five elders be spared.

No matter how unwilling the emperor is, he still has to consider the face of the royal family.

"They are implicated in treason and rebellion, but considering that they are elders of the royal family, let them retire in the clan's land and not stay in the capital!" Li Qiang thought for a moment and replied.

When the royal relatives heard what Li Qiang said, they were obviously dissatisfied with the result, but they did not dare to say a word in front of Li Qiang.

"It's better this way. They have gone too far. They actually interfered in the affairs of the throne for a little money. You are showing mercy!" The emperor was very satisfied with Li Qiang's decision and said with a smile.

He originally thought that Li Qiang was going to kill these five elders, even though he had pleaded with Li Qiang before, but Li Qiang's personality was not such that she would not completely listen to his persuasion.

"You heard it too. Go back and tell the others that there are prices to pay for interfering in some matters!" The retired emperor turned to several royal relatives and said.

Several royal relatives nodded repeatedly, bowed and left in a hurry.

"How rich have you made?" The emperor asked with a smile after the figures of several royal relatives disappeared.

He was also curious. Although there were intelligence organizations collecting intelligence, they were unable to make an accurate assessment of how much wealth the six major merchants had.

"It's enough to double Daqian's annual income!" Li Qiang replied with a smile.

"You mean every year?" The emperor immediately grasped the key point of Li Qiang's words.

If we talk about how much silver we get at once, no matter how much it is, a country as huge as Daqian can digest it.

But Li Qiang said that the income would double every year, which was too exaggerated. Even the emperor who had always trusted Li Qiang couldn't believe it.

"That's it. Every year, the businesses of the six major merchants are taken over by me. They are considered royal businesses. I have calculated that it is not difficult to double Daqian's income every year!" Li Qiang replied with certainty.

"I know you are very good at business, but the business you ran before is not the same as the business you are taking over now. Controlling the industries of six major merchants is not even easier than governing a country!" The emperor shook his head and reminded.

Li Qiang’s business was quite big before, but his business was not as good as any one of the six major merchants, let alone all six merchants.

In order to control the industries of the six major merchants, too many talents are needed. Li Qiang’s foundation is too shallow and he does not have the necessary talent reserves.

"I have taken over the businesses of the six major merchants. You also found that after the six major merchants were raided, Daqian was not affected at all!" Li Qiang explained with a smile.

"That's true. I also plan to prepare a batch of silver from my treasury to help you stabilize the situation in the capital when necessary!" The emperor nodded.

"By the way, today Tanakatang proposed the candidate for Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and I have agreed!" Li Qiang thought about the matter of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and reported to the retired emperor.

"It's up to you to decide on this matter!" said the emperor, waving his hand casually.

Since he has decided to give up power, he has no intention of being involved in power again.

No matter how Li Qiang governed Daqian, the emperor had no spare energy to train another crown prince, nor did he have the ability to choose someone to replace Li Qiang.

After his death, the emperor gave up power and enjoyed the rest of his life to the fullest.

"Who did Tanaka-do choose?" the emperor asked.

"It's Dali Temple Minister Lin Ruhai!" Li Qiang replied.

"It was you who reminded Tanaka-do, right?" the retired emperor asked with some distrust of Li Qiang's character.

He had no ill intentions of course; it was just a private joke between the grandfather and grandson.

"No, it's the cabinet that thinks Lord Lin is suitable!" Li Qiang replied confidently, shaking his head.

"The cabinet has become spineless. It seems they are frightened by you!" said the retired emperor somewhat dissatisfiedly.

Back then, he tried very hard to make the cabinet obey him, but he still failed to completely control the cabinet.

Look at Li Qiang. When he was still the crown prince, he already had one of his own among the cabinet ministers.

"An obedient cabinet is a good cabinet!" Li Qiang said with a smile.

"Yes, an obedient cabinet is a good cabinet!" The emperor agreed.

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

On the other side, the Lin Mansion received the imperial edict from the palace.

For the Lin family, the imperial edict from the palace was not a big deal. From time to time, there would be rewards from the palace, and this imperial edict also came along with the palace rewards.

But this time was different. A eunuch came in advance to notify everyone to prepare for the imperial edict, and it was Grand Secretary Tian who announced the edict.

The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet rarely announced imperial decrees. The only times when they could be dispatched were for important matters concerning the decision-making of Daqian.

Lin Ruhai and Jia Min came out of the house in formal gowns and full make-up to greet them.

Scholar Tian smiled and nodded to Lin Ruhai, then read out the imperial edict.

Lin Ruhai was completely stunned after hearing the imperial edict. How could this be different from what Li Qiang had discussed? Li Qiang originally planned to make him the prince's tutor, but who would have thought that he would get the position in one step and be promoted directly to the first-rank cabinet minister.

Although the Prince's Tutor can be promoted to Tutor after Li Qiang becomes emperor, which is also the first rank, these two first ranks are completely different.

The first-rank Taifu has almost no real power, while the first-rank Cabinet Grand Secretary is the head of all officials.

(End of this chapter)