Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 257 The nobles ignited new ambitions, and the relatives by marriage expressed that they were not afraid of the gentry!
After Zhu Houcong finished speaking, Shao Xi, Gu Shilong and other nobles all smiled happily.

Because among the three paths given by the emperor, one of them is indeed a good way to make a fortune!

Although they think the best way to get rich is different.

Zhenyuan Hou Gu Shilon decided to ask for permission to go to Korea to open an iron mine.

He is not afraid of hard work.

Because he came from a family of military honors, and had nothing else but many military households and craftsmen who served as slaves in his house.

Therefore, he could take these people to open mines, and then let his own children make some military achievements in the border town with the help of servants.

For him, this was better than offending the gentry at home or competing for some projects with relatives by marriage who were closer to the royal family.

"I am willing to open a mine. Although it is hard work, as a military official, I should serve the country and monitor the vassal states!"

At this time, Gu Shilon stood up, knelt before Zhu Houcong, and began to speak.

"very good!"

"The Gu Qing family is still a sharp sword, and they have the style of their ancestors!"

"I'm so relieved!"

Zhu Houcong nodded, then looked at the other nobles and relatives: "What about you?"

Changhua Earl Shao Xi and Yutian Earl Jiang Lun, the two relatives closest to Zhu Houcong, looked at each other.

Then, Shao Xi spoke first: "It is better for me to stay in the capital and buy land in the western and southern suburbs to develop houses. The main reason is that I am old and cannot stand the trouble of going to other places."

"It is the same for me. I just want to stay with the Queen Mother and Your Majesty, and come to the palace to pay my respects from time to time."

Jiang Lun replied.

Zhu Houcong nodded: "That's good!"

He could also see that his great-uncle and his uncle, as new-generation in-laws, knew that apart from their closer relationship with the emperor, their foundation in the court was not as strong as that of other nobles, so they did not dare to go out and compete for benefits. They only dared to do things to compete for benefits in front of the emperor, relying on the protection of the emperor and the empress dowager in the harem.

Zhu Houcong was also afraid that these two relatives would do something excessive, which would lead to a bad ending in the future. It would be a great help for them to make money in front of him and he could keep an eye on them at any time, so he agreed to their request.

Then, Zhu Houcong looked at Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling, the funny couple, and asked, "Where are the two uncles-in-law?"

"After thinking about it, I would like to ask Your Majesty to grant me the certificate to open a bank and let me open a bank in the south."

Zhang Heling replied.

Zhang Yanling followed up and said, "That's right. If for no other reason than to benefit the people in the south, my brother and I should be willing to continue to make more low-interest loans in the south."

"Aren't you two afraid of offending the gentry?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

"Not afraid!"

The two of them answered almost at the same time.

Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were indeed not afraid.

Mainly since the Hongzhi period, they have no idea how many times they have offended the gentry, and how many times they have been scolded by the civil servants who represent the interests of the gentry.

how to say?

The two of them were angry at the beginning, but gradually they became indifferent.

In fact, for the two of them now, they would feel a little uncomfortable if there were no civil servants impeaching them once or twice every month.

Zhang Heling has had this feeling recently.

Because the two new foreign relatives, Shao Xi and Jiang Lun, began to attract more attention from the civil servants, and after more civil servants were willing to focus on the impeachment of these two new foreign relatives, Zhang Heling felt that he was no longer the top foreign relative of the Ming Dynasty, and felt that he had lost power.

This made him quite uncomfortable.

Zhang Yanling also had this feeling, and for this reason he deliberately did some things to displease the civil servants. For example, if he didn't like a civil servant, he would instigate his servants to go to the door and curse at him, or he would deliberately provoke a civil servant in front of him and beat his servants.

But to Zhang Yanling's disappointment, many civil servants were very tolerant and were not very active in impeaching the two of them, which was completely different from the civil servants during the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties.

In fact, the civil servants were also very annoyed by these two people.

The reason why they no longer focused on impeaching the Zhang brothers was naturally because most of them were still the ritual-protecting party. To protect ritual, they had to respect Empress Dowager Zhang. To respect Empress Dowager Zhang, they had to reduce the negative public opinion about the two brothers of the Zhang family, so as to prevent more Japanese party members from no longer protecting ritual.

In addition, there were also many civil servants who were more concerned about the overall situation. They knew that the current emperor and the Zhang brothers were not close relatives, and they were also afraid that impeaching the Zhang brothers would make the emperor hate Empress Dowager Zhang and cause unrest in the harem.

The civil servants who wanted to improve their reputations naturally knew that impeaching the two new foreign relatives, Shao and Jiang, would make it easier to show that they were not afraid of the powerful. On the contrary, impeaching the Zhang brothers would be accused of currying favor with the powerful. They knew that the Zhang family was not as good as before, so they deliberately targeted the Zhang family at this time.

Therefore, the civil servants now try to avoid the Zhang brothers as much as possible, and turn a blind eye as much as possible.

However, the Zhang brothers loved to provoke them, which naturally annoyed the civil officials. Since Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were not afraid of offending the gentry, and even hoped that the gentry would pay more attention to them, they were naturally more willing to open money houses in the south and continue to lend at low interest rates.

After all, lending money at low interest rates in the south can not only bring long-term high profits, but also requires less hard work. It is better than mining in the freezing cold of the Baishan and Heishui regions.

Zhu Houcong was also happy to see this happen.

He hoped that these two funny guys would offend more civil servants and gentry.

In his opinion, since many civil officials and gentry wanted to protect these two people just like Empress Dowager Zhang, they should endure more pain brought to them by these two people.

then.

Zhu Houcong also clapped his hands and praised: "Very good! After all, the two uncles were trained by two generations of previous emperors. Their love for the people is no worse than that of many gentlemen in the outer court!"

"I decree that the two uncles be given a golden plaque with the words 'Benevolence and Love for the People' written in my own handwriting!"

"Let the two uncles take it home and place it in the ancestral hall. At the same time, I will also make a copy of it and hang it in the bank to show my high hopes for the two uncles in opening the bank vouchers."

Zhu Houcong said.

Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling's eyes lit up when they heard the "golden plaque". They kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. We will not let you down!"

The two brothers Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were naturally very happy.

They have already tasted the sweetness of lending at low interest rates, and now they have the emperor's endorsement, allowing them to lend more at low interest rates in the south. It is as if they have seen a lot of money in the south waving to them.

Although they are relatives by marriage, they also know how wealthy the south is and how big the lending market is.

What's more, there is a gold plaque. They don't care about reputation, but they naturally have no resistance to such tangible gold and silver.

Therefore, the two of them had been grinning from ear to ear for a long time, and they felt more and more that the current emperor was better than their deceased brother-in-law and nephew.

Although Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were very happy, Gu Shilong, Shao Xi and Jiang Lun were not envious.

Because they all knew what the consequences would be if they went to the south to lend money at low interest rates. Just look at how the Liang and Yuan families were targeted. It was said that no nobles of the same class were willing to marry into their families.

And they didn't have the courage to offend the gentry.

Even Shao Xi and Jiang Lun, who had just become prominent relatives of the emperor, naturally did not have the courage to do so. After all, the civil officials were already staring at them and scolding them. If they went to their territory to grab food again, the civil officials would only scold them even more fiercely.

So, they are not envious.

After asking these nobles about their choices, Zhu Houcong asked, "So, after I have given you these options, are you still unwilling to pay taxes to me and the court?"

"If I don't want to, I will be truly disloyal and unrighteous. Even if Your Majesty confiscates my property and implicates my entire clan, I will not be wronged!"

Gu Shilon replied quickly.

Shao Xi also replied: "Yes, Your Majesty has been considerate of us and has shown us such a great favor, even giving us all the land in his palace to run our business. If we don't show consideration for Your Majesty, are we still human beings?"

"That's what I mean. If you don't cooperate with the court, you won't even be a human being anymore."

"Your Majesty is right. Xiong Jia is actually very loyal and has not done anything wrong. Moreover, I saw that he really confiscated the customs duties from the common people and was seriously implementing your Majesty's new tax policy. It can be seen that he is not only a loyal minister, but also a good official who loves the people and is not greedy for money."

Yutianbo Jiang Lun even spoke well of Xiong Jia.

Zhang Heling, Zhang Yanling and others also echoed it, and all expressed that they would honestly pay the customs duties in accordance with the new tax policy.

"Very good, you can be considerate of the court. Not only will I be happy, but the two Empress Dowagers will also be happy."

Zhu Houcong said this, and then said: "The eldest prince's illness has not yet completely recovered. I have to go and see him again. I will not keep you for dinner. Go back."

These nobles then took their leave and left the Qianqing Palace.

Unlike when they came before, full of anger, these nobles and relatives all left with bright smiles, and even congratulated each other on getting rich, but they would also make fun of each other, saying that the other party's choice of financial path was not very wise and that they would regret it in the future, and they all thought that they were the smartest and had the best vision.

When the brothers Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling thought of the golden plaque bestowed upon them by the emperor, their mouths were stretched to the back of their heads, their chests were straightened even more, and they held their heads high, looking with disdain at the other nobles.

They also didn't understand why the other nobles were so timid. It was just to offend the gentry. What was the big deal? It was just a few scoldings. It didn't hurt. If they didn't get scolded, could they still be called relatives? They didn't dare to go to the south to make money by lending at low interest rates.

The court officials also knew that these nobles had entered the palace to make a scene in front of the emperor regarding the new tax policy on banknotes and customs duties, so they all came to Donghua Gate to see what was going on.

Many court officials who were also dissatisfied with the currency and tariff hoped that these noble relatives would really make the emperor give up the new tax policy because he could not be harsh on his relatives and the children of national heroes. Therefore, many court officials even peeked into the underground palace.

"what!"

"Why are these nobles so happy?"

Many court officials were therefore surprised to see these nobles looking so happy when they left the palace.

One of the court officials even smiled expectantly and asked, "Could it be that His Majesty is so happy because of the commotion caused by them, and the new tax policy was rescinded?"

(End of this chapter)