The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 729 Opportunity
In the blink of an eye it was the end of April.

That day, Zhang Yunyi returned home after work, but found Xue Ke coming to greet him from the gatehouse.

"Greetings, Master Yi... Duke!"

He had already learned from Mrs. Xue that Zhang Yunyi had agreed to arrange Xue Baoqin's engagement and marry his sister, but nothing had happened yet.

In addition, since he now holds the post of the Maritime Customs, he uses the honorific title.

"We're almost a family. Don't be so formal. Just call me Brother Yi."

Seeing that he was too reserved, Zhang Yunyi hinted at something and then asked, "Why are you back?"

"Yes, Brother Yi!" Xue Ke agreed.

While following closely behind him, he carefully looked at his back and said, "There is something going on at the Maritime Customs Office. Second Brother Lian is undecided. It just so happens that the school at Big Brother Fu's place is almost finished, so he asked me to come back and report in person."

But a year later, when Xue Ke saw Zhang Yunyi again, he felt as if he could not breathe.

He is now in charge of the Maritime Customs and has a deeper understanding of Zhang Yun逸's power.

At the beginning, I thought that letting Xue Baoqin be Zhang Yunyi's mistress would be a permanent solution. Now, I feel even more fortunate.

Zhang Yunyi did not rush to ask. He led him into the hall and asked him to sit down. After the servants served him tea, he asked, "What's going on?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Ke quickly put down the teacup in his hand, cleared his throat and said, "The red-haired devils are protesting to us, asking us to open up import and export trade..."

At this point, he paused and said, "Because the Duke instructed that imports and exports must be bartered, and only a small amount of gold and silver will be collected each year. I... and my second brother Lian both think that this is good for the Immortal Academy and Tiangong Academy, but we couldn't make up our minds for the time being, so he asked me to come back and ask the Duke's opinion."

In fact, Jia Lian didn't have so many thoughts. He believed that it was better to be cautious and did everything according to Zhang Yunyi's instructions.

But Xue Ke had a different opinion. He felt that it was somewhat contradictory for Zhang Yun逸 to import a large amount of raw materials, mostly through barter, and impose various restrictions.

Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that the school was about to be completed, he volunteered to come back and report.

He is quite active in thinking and his attitude changes very quickly.

Since Zhang Yun逸 already had the idea of ​​taking his sister as a concubine, he naturally had to hold on to this big tree.

It can not only reflect one's own value, but also increase Xue Baoqin's position in Zhang Yunyi's heart.

Of course, he still had some sense and knew that Jia Lian was the chief officer, so he did not forget to take him along as well.

However, Xue Ke was still a naive man and was eager to show off. Seeing Zhang Yunyi's hesitation, he quickly continued, "In fact, the red-haired devil has a huge demand for our silk, porcelain, tea and other products, and is willing to pay a high price. If the restrictions are lifted, wouldn't it fill the national treasury?"

Zhang Yunyi was not considering Xue Ke's proposal, but Xue Ke's words brought back some memories for him.

He took a sip of tea, put down the cup, looked at Xue Ke, and asked inquiringly: "Don't you think that I only import goods through barter and expand the production capacity of Tiangong Academy, but I have many restrictions on trade. This is a bit putting the cart before the horse and contradictory?"

"Xue Ke doesn't dare!"

"It's okay. I'm sure the Second Madam has already told you that Baoqin will marry into the family in the future. And this is at home. What is there to be afraid of?"

Hearing Zhang Yunyi's words, Xue Ke couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He weighed the pros and cons and said tactfully, "I don't quite understand. I hope Brother Yi can help me clear up my confusion."

“As the saying goes, low grain prices hurt farmers, but if grain prices are high, does that really benefit farmers?”

Zhang Yunyi did not wait for Xue Ke's answer and continued, "You followed your family to do business in your early years and had contact with the red-haired ghosts. You must know that they are now expanding everywhere and have a lot of gold and silver.

If there is no restriction and they are allowed to purchase at will in Daxia, then there will be collusion between the inside and the outside. Although there will be more gold and silver, it will not flow to the people. However, the prices of silk, porcelain, tea and even cotton and grain will inevitably skyrocket. Do you think this is a good thing?" "This..."

After all, Xue Ke had been doing business with his father for many years, and with his limited thinking, he subconsciously felt that if he didn't make money, he would be losing money.

But Zhang Yun逸 did not think so. After all, gold and silver are just currencies. If their purchasing power decreases, their value will be greatly reduced.

However, he is currently powerless and has not yet spared the time to take action, nor can he take care of these things. He can only restrict them first, and when the time is right and the national strength of the Great Xia Dynasty and the power in his hands are sufficient, he will be able to defeat them with one force.

Even if there is too much resistance in promoting credit currency domestically, it can be piloted in foreign trade to avoid taking too big a step and causing trouble, and also to avoid inflation caused by the influx of a large amount of gold and silver into the Great Xia Dynasty.

For ordinary people, the influx of large amounts of gold and silver will only enrich a small number of people and will not benefit ordinary people.

"It is true that low grain prices hurt farmers, but does high grain prices really benefit farmers? Whenever there is a disaster, grain prices rise tenfold or even a hundredfold, but people are displaced. Stability is the most important thing."

Although, Zhang Yun逸 could have left it alone, or even condoned it secretly, in order to complete the transition from agriculture to industry and cultivate a group of new elites.

However, this will inevitably lead to the displacement of a large number of people.

Besides, he had a better way, so he would not use such a rough method.

Of course, he didn't intend to throw all these ideas and follow-up plans to Xue Ke at once, but just mentioned them briefly.

However, even so, Xue Ke was still in awe and felt ashamed of himself.

The reason why Zhang Yun逸 gave advice to Xue Ke was, on the one hand, because he wanted to pick a general among the dwarfs. Although Xue Ke was not as good as Wang Hui and others, he could still be used among the Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue families.

If he was like Jia Lian, Jia Baoyu and Xue Pan, who only knew how to eat and wait for death, Zhang Yun逸 would naturally not bother to say so much to him.

On the other hand, although Xue Ke's opinion this time was just self-righteous, the news he brought was very timely.

Red-haired devils was originally the name given to the Dutch by Daxia, but because of the mentality of the Celestial Empire, it was too lazy to distinguish between European countries, and over time, it became a synonym for Europeans.

Zhang Yun逸 naturally understood the nature of these people better than people of this era.

Originally, they could use gold and silver to purchase silk, porcelain and other commodities from the Great Xia Dynasty, which brought them sufficient profits. In addition, since they had to send troops on a long expedition, they might not dare to act rashly.

However, because they had set up such a barter system and imposed restrictions on exports, they were forced to choose to use more time-consuming and labor-intensive minerals to purchase what they needed. I am afraid they have long been dissatisfied.

The protest was ineffective, so Zhang Yun逸 naturally knew very well what the next step would be.

However, today's Daxia is far from the weak Qing Dynasty of later generations. What's more, Tiangongyuan's many firearms and ironclad ships are ahead of contemporary Europe by more than an order of magnitude.

If he really dared to resort to military action, not only would he lose a lot of money, but it would also give Zhang Yun逸 an opportunity to seize military power and build a navy.

He was eager to prepare for the future and think about the next step. Seeing Xue Ke was deep in thought, he gave him another advice: "Before, you were just talking about business, but now that you have a job in the Maritime Customs, you have to take a long-term view in the future. You can't be so limited and only focus on the present."

Then, Fang picked up the teacup, fiddled with the lid, and said, "It's not easy to come back. Just stay a few more days before returning to Tianjin. Go back and think about it. If you have any questions, come and ask me."

"Yes! Thank you, Brother Yi, for your advice. Xue Ke has learned a lot!"

Xue Ke quickly stood up and said, "Brother Yi is busy first, Xue Ke will take his leave first."

……

(End of this chapter)