Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 265: So what if the prime minister’s family background is important? There is more than one person who is planning for the country!
"We are from the Fei family of Qianshan. We are ordered by our master to come to Jiangnan to buy cloth, silk and other goods."

When Wang Ao invited Fei Hong's son Fei Maoliang to meet him and asked him why he came to Suzhou, he answered truthfully.

Wang Ao nodded, and without asking any more questions, he asked Xu Jin to accompany Fei Maoliang downstairs.

He then looked towards the direction of Wenchang Pavilion in Hushuguan again.

At this time, in the direction of Wenchang Pavilion in Hushuguan, the merchant ships stationed here saw people coming to buy goods and said they wanted to sell them to the southwest, so they sold the goods after asking their masters for permission.

in fact……

The longer their goods are piled up here, the greater the loss to them. And since the Chinese New Year is approaching, they all want to cash in quickly and pay off their loans so that they can go home for the New Year.

Even those who could keep their composure eventually lost their patience and chose to sell at a lower price as they saw the selling price was getting lower and lower and more and more merchants were scrambling to sell their goods.

As a result, Fei's people soon bought a large amount of goods, and had to send a fully loaded ship north to cross Hushuguan again.

Tax officials such as Ji Tang and Wei Shangchen were naturally very happy to see this.

"It's still the case that Mr. Fei is sensible and didn't stop doing business just because of the new tax policy."

Wei Shangchen smiled and said something to Ji Tang.

Ji Tang asked an old servant of the Fei family who had just paid the tax and was still waiting to leave: "I see that your mansion imported more than 500,000 pieces of silk this time. Can the chieftains in the southwest consume so much? This should be consumed by the dignitaries in the capital, right?"

"How would I know? The master only asked us to mortgage our fields and paper mill, and told us to buy as much goods as we can!"

After the old servant of the Fei family answered, he said, "Please give us the tax payment certificate. We have to hurry!"

Ji Tang hurriedly gave the tax payment certificate and looked at the gradually filling tax cabinet, but still said to Wei Shang: "Unbelievable, unbelievable!"

……

……

"It's unbelievable. This old villain Fei Qianshan is going to completely betray all the gentry in the world!"

At this time, Xu Jin also came to Wang Ao and said something,

"Mr. Yue, I asked my maid to get the truth out of Fei Maoliang!"

"It turns out that the Fei family took the lead in borrowing money from the Marquis of Shouning and the Marquis of Jianchang, using all of their land and property as collateral, including their ancestral home. And they borrowed so much money not to place orders to sell in the southwest, but to go north to the capital to do business!"

"For this purpose, they bought a large number of new sand ships, so that Zhang Fujing in Qingjiangpu could sell a large amount of inferior wood. After getting the money back, he could build more warships!"

"Do not be angry."

"Fei Qianshan, this is also a move for the country."

“We should praise it.”

After hearing what Xu Jin said, Wang Ao smiled calmly and began to speak.

Xu Jin said, "But the villagers are suffering huge losses! The silk and satin that could have been sold for one tael per bolt when transported to Beijing are now sold at almost half the price to Fei and his villagers."

“It’s a big loss!”

Wang Ao replied, then sighed and said, "But there is nothing we can do. The public opinion in Jiangnan cannot represent the public opinion of the rest of the world!"

"Then what should we do?"

Xu Jin asked.

Wang Ao looked at Xu Jin and said with a smile, "There is no other way. This is an open conspiracy. Even if you have guessed the truth, you have to keep it to yourself and sell your goods to them first. Otherwise, it will not be the same price if you are late!"

"Are we just going to sit there and wait for death?"

Xu Jin asked.

Then, Xu Jin spread his hands and said, "The key is that we in Nanzhi have just donated 2 million silver dollars to the court. If we lose a large sum of money now, many postmasters and clerks will have to give up their positions next year. After all, we don't have that much money to pay!"

During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, although the system of selecting and appointing grassroots officials had been implemented in the southeast, it had only been implemented for a few years. In addition, there was resistance from the Ministry of Personnel in the two capitals. Therefore, most of the grassroots officials and tax collectors in the country were still appointed mainly through notification, that is, local wealthy families paid money to buy the positions.

Nanzhi was the richest, so naturally it bought the most clerks in the government offices in the capital, the counties and prefectures, and the Sansi, thus having the strongest control over the world.

And now...

As Xu Jin said, if the economic losses in Nanzhi were too severe, it would mean giving up the power to control all government offices in the country to other local factions.

For the local gentry, how many grassroots officials there are who are their own people is as important as how many high-ranking officials there are who are their own people in the court.

The former is related to whether the policies one advocates can be implemented and how much obstacles one can cause to policies that are not in one's favor; the latter is related to how much information one can obtain from the highest level.

In order to have someone from Nanzhi enter the cabinet and become the ruler, the Nanzhi gentry spent a huge amount of money to get the emperor to appoint Wang Ao as the Grand Secretary. As Wang Ao became the most powerful official among the Nanzhi gentry, Wang Ao naturally had the responsibility to consider the interests of the entire Nanzhi gentry.

Therefore, Xu Jin was so anxious, and Wang Ao was also anxious, but he still advised Xu Jin:

"Don't be in a hurry!"

"I told you to learn how to cultivate your temper, but you didn't believe me. Now that you've encountered something like this, you've panicked. How can you fight against those more powerful villains in the court in the future?"

"What Mr. Yue taught me is that I am also too concerned and confused. Please teach me something, Mr. Yue!"

Xu Jin hurriedly bowed and said.

Wang Ao smiled and said, "You are actually right. We should just sit there and wait for death!"

"Why does Yue Weng say that?"

Xu Jin was so shocked that he couldn't help but look up.

Wang Ao said: "Only in this way can His Majesty be satisfied, and it will also make the villagers remember it for a long time!"

"You should understand that we, the powerful local officials, cannot determine the choices of the local people, nor can we fight against the imperial court."

"We can't be compared to the noble families of ancient times. Sometimes we fight against the court because we are forced by the villagers. Since they have pledged their allegiance to you, you must protect them. If you don't, when your family is in decline and your descendants fail in the future, no one will help you." "However, if we fight against the court for them, we will often be the ones who suffer. For example, even if we just hold you back in the imperial examination, you will not be able to escape the bad luck!"

"So what if you are from a prime minister's family?"

"As long as there are no officials in the government for three consecutive generations, the family can still fall into ruin quickly. Even the villagers who once supported the government will turn around and add insult to injury!"

"So, now that the villagers have learned from this great loss, they should not only consider their own benefits, but also think more about the court and the peace of the world. Then those of us who are officials will not be so embarrassed, and we will not have to be caught between the court and the villagers, and become neither human nor ghost."

After Wang Ao said this, Xu Jin nodded as if he understood something.

Wang Ao then added: "Although it means sitting back and waiting for death, it doesn't mean we should do nothing."

"What does Yue Weng mean?"

"Write a letter in my name to Xie Shaofu of Yuyao and Sun Zhongxiang (Sun Jiao), the Minister of Agriculture who distributed the land in Huaiyang, and persuade them to do their part for the new policy, just like Lord Fei."

Wang Ao ordered.

Xu Jin was stunned: "Our Nanzhi is not enough for one family to eat, so Mr. Yue wants to invite a few more families to eat?"

"Can you stop focusing on the gains and losses of your own party and try to look at it from the perspective of the court and the emperor?"

Wang Ao glanced at Xu Jin and asked in a slightly stern tone.

Xu Jin frowned and thought: "From the perspective of the court and His Majesty, then in this case, it is not just the Fei family that is loyal and righteous, but several families. In this way, the emperor will not favor the Fei family alone?"

"Exactly this!"

Wang Ao replied.

Xu Jin said: "People are always blinded by disadvantages or act on impulse. What if they are unwilling to compromise with the court and support the new policy like Fei Qianshan?"

"But at least we advised the court!"

"Now that we have been restored by grace, we should think about the court and let the emperor see our loyalty."

Wang Ao replied.

"My son-in-law understands!"

Xu Jin bowed and saluted.

Wang Ao said, "Since your maid is very popular with Master Fei, consider her your adopted daughter and send her to his home!"

"Yes!"

"Also, write a letter to the great master of this village and tell him everything, so that he won't be fooled by this villain Fei Qianshan!"

……

……

"We were deceived by that old thief Fei Qianshan!"

"It turns out that the emperor and the cabinet had already agreed to set up a government-run store called the Supply and Marketing Store to stabilize prices."

The capital, Wu’s house.

Wu Yipeng took the "Dibao" in his hand and spoke to the Minister of Works Tong Rui.

Tong Rui, the Minister of Industry, looked at a newly opened shop outside and frowned, saying, "Could it be that Fei Qianshan is really willing to sell out the gentry in the world just to make money from the official shop of the imperial court?"

"It's not impossible. He has always been greedy for money, but it would be best to ask him!"

Wu Yipeng stood up and said, "Ask him whether he is deceiving us or has other intentions?"

“You should ask.”

Tong Rui followed up.

……

……

By the way, after Zhu Houcong saw the memorials submitted by Guo Weifan, the director of the Imperial College, and the reviewers of the Hanlin Academy, which reflected the problem of soaring prices in the capital caused by the market strike, he also saw the urgent memorials submitted by Ji Tang, the tax supervisor of Hushuguan, and others, which reflected the problem of a large reduction in tax revenue at the banknote customs caused by the market strike.

to this end.

Zhu Houcong said to the ministers in the Imperial Study: "The upright officials in the capital have submitted memorials one after another, saying that prices in the capital are soaring, and the number of hungry people is increasing. How are the supply and marketing shops and porridge factories doing?"

"Your Majesty, Liu Yuanqing, Xiong Jia and the officials of Shuntian Prefecture have already started opening them."

"So, Your Majesty, don't worry too much."

Fei Hong replied at this time.

Zhu Houcong nodded: "The tax revenue reflects a significant reduction. It seems that they really don't want me to have a good New Year!"

talking.

Zhu Houcong put the memorial in his hand on the table and stood up with a bored look on his face.

"Please don't worry, Your Majesty."

"As for transporting goods to Beijing, the southerners are unwilling to do it, but we northerners are willing to do it! I have called on the villagers to invest money to go south to buy grain, cloth and salt. Soon, a large number of merchant ships will pass through the customs."

"The people below are impatient and believe everything they hear. They have no idea what is really going on."

Wang Qiong replied first at this time.

Fei Hong suddenly widened his eyes at Wang Qiong.

(End of this chapter)