The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 504 Shooting yourself in the foot

A few days later.

The imperial court received the stubs for four million taels of tax silver sent by Xiao Jin.

The head of the tax bureau stationed in Kansai even submitted a memorial to the emperor regarding this matter.

The text naturally details how the General of the Western Garrison swindled foreigners.

After stating the facts, he then gave extensive praise to the general for his righteous act of contributing customs duties to the imperial court.

The whole thing is just mindless hype.

When the chief eunuch finished reading the memorial with dramatic intonation, the civil and military officials at the grand court assembly were in an uproar.

The generals were filled with passion:
"The General is awesome! The garrison brothers in Kansai are so lucky!"

"The General is truly the God of Wealth's favorite daughter! She can earn this year's disaster relief funds with just a flick of her finger!"

"The General's achievements are beyond our reach; he deserves a reward!"

"I second the proposal"

The military officers, led by Xiong Zhen, the Minister of War, vied to recommend the General for credit, acting as if they were honored to do so.

The civil officials, however, had something to say:

"The tax revenue from the Kansai region accounts for more than half of the imperial court's annual tax revenue, with trade tax revenue being the most important. It seems that there is great potential in trading with foreigners."

"We can't concentrate all our trade in Kansai, can we? Should we consider opening more seaports in the East China Sea to trade directly with foreigners? Besides the East China Sea coast, there are still many people in the interior who are barely able to feed themselves."

“No! There are also prosperous areas within the pass. As far as I know, at this autumn trade fair, the Sichuan Provincial Administration sent a large amount of tea bricks, medicinal herbs, silk, Shu brocade, Shu embroidery, and bamboo handicrafts to Guanzhong.”

I wonder how many eyes are on this year's Autumn Trade Fair.

The court officials received the news so quickly.

Emperor Qianwu, in a good mood, glanced sideways at the civil officials who had just chosen their sons-in-law.

To put it bluntly:

"Who stopped the merchants from the various provincial administrations from going to Guanzhong to trade? Or did the General Who Guards the West forbid silk products from Jiangnan from entering Guanzhong? Border trade has been open for three years, don't they know which goods sell well in Guanzhong?"

The civil servants were collectively rendered speechless by the rebuttal.

It's not that silk merchants in Jiangnan don't send silk products to Guanzhong to participate in border trade; rather, due to the large-scale loss of weavers, they are now struggling to fulfill export orders for some maritime merchants in Nanyue.

Most of the merchants from the Jiangnan region who come to Kansai at present are here to purchase goods.

Take the Four Treasures of the Study, which had been monopolized by Jiangnan for hundreds of years, for example. Not only did they completely withdraw from the Kansai market, but they were also exported in reverse.

Merchants from Jiangnan: The stationery from Guanxi is indeed cheap and easy to use, what can they do?
As long as there is market demand, they still have to import goods from the Kansai region!
Another civil official offered his advice:

"It has been less than five years since His Majesty personally led the expedition to the southwest, and the people of Bashu Province have already begun to live a peaceful and prosperous life with plenty of food and clothing."

This demonstrates the effective governance of the Sichuan Provincial Governor! With his abilities, he should be sent to the disaster-stricken areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Zhuo River to gain experience!

The civil officials nodded repeatedly:
"I second the proposal!"

"Your Majesty, those who are capable are always given more work!"

"Your Majesty, young people should be given more opportunities to showcase their talents!"

Emperor Qianwu: These old foxes really know how to avoid the important issues, change the subject, and shift the blame.

The autumn harvest had just ended, and he was still waiting for the fifteen provincial administration offices to send him the grain yields from various regions this year, so that he could use them to promote General Gan and grant him a higher rank and title.

It's truly unexpected that the General is so capable, single-handedly accounting for 60% to 70% of the court's tax revenue this year.

And what about these seasoned veterans?
Not only are they blind and pretending not to see General Gan's achievements, but they also have their eyes on the lucrative land of the Bashu Provincial Administration Commission!
He actually wanted his son-in-law to vacate this position and go to a poor area to help alleviate poverty.

Do you think he's dead?

He is in the prime of his life now.

In the past three years, more than a dozen concubines in the harem have given birth to four princes and two princesses for him! The Zhao family has finally achieved prosperity in his generation.

Yes, the good medicinal wines from Guanzhong certainly deserve credit for this!

He kept it all in his heart.

Emperor Qianwu pretended to ponder for a long time before saying:
"Your words are wise! However, I believe that the economic center of the Yongtai Dynasty still lies in Jiangnan! Now that Jiangnan's pillar industries are continuing to decline, it truly needs a young person to bring a fresh perspective."

All civil officials: "."

It's over, it's over.

The attempt to shift the blame backfired, resulting in the pot calling the kettle black!
It seems that His Majesty's eldest princess, far away in Sichuan, still holds a high position in his heart.

Moreover, Gan Mingfu, a prince consort with little presence, was favored by everyone because of his status as a prince consort.

Seeing the civil officials who had just been speaking so eloquently now looking like they had swallowed a bitter pill, Emperor Qianwu thought to himself:
Gan Mingfu is not only his son-in-law, but also the father of his granddaughter and grandson. He is also an ambitious man. If his father-in-law doesn't favor him, why would he favor an outsider?
exactly.

He was very unhappy about the salt tax in Jiangnan decreasing year by year.

I've wanted to replace them with my own people for a long time.

Unfortunately, few military generals are as versatile as General Gan.

If we send those ruthless killers to Jiangnan, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause.

He believed that with his son-in-law's abilities, the tax revenue in Jiangnan would definitely increase several times over in a few years.
The Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission, thousands of miles away.

Gan Mingfu sneezed several times in a row for no apparent reason.

After leaving his post, he walked on the streets of Chengdu, where merchants who knew him greeted him one after another.

Before coming to Sichuan, Gan Mingfu only had a few years of experience in making sand tables and urban construction in the military.

He only gradually learned how to be an official after he took office.

The methods used by officials were largely based on practices from the Kansai region.

In summary, the goal was to ensure that most people had enough to eat, and then allow a small number of people to get rich first with the support of the government.

With such a model in place, it's no surprise that many people will follow suit.

Needless to say, tea leaves...

This is a flagship product of Sichuan and Chongqing.

Before establishing the border trade city in Kansai, he had already called on the people of various prefectures and counties to clear mountains and plant tea.

They also hired tea masters to teach tea farmers how to make brick tea.

Today, Bashu Tea Company has specialty stores in Bagua City, Tianzi City, various garrisons in Guanzhong, and several cities in the Yili River Valley.

Given that the Provincial Governor of Bashu is General Gan's younger brother, how could these specialty stores not do well?
Alongside tea, Sichuan's silk products also enjoyed considerable success.

High yields of wheat and rice meant that Sichuan and Chongqing were free from famine.

Besides tea, the extra mountain land can also be used to grow mulberry trees.

In order to improve silk weaving efficiency, the Bashu Provincial Administration Office took the lead in purchasing tens of thousands of looms from the Guanzhong Weaving Bureau.

Unbeknownst to many, the production of silk in Sichuan and Chongqing had reached a considerable level.

In addition to other distinctive products such as Shu embroidery, Shu brocade, silk quilts, and silk cloaks, silk fabrics from Sichuan and Chongqing now account for half of the market in western Sichuan.

Besides its flagship products.

In Sichuan and Chongqing, there were general merchandise merchants who made their fortunes selling rickshaws.

There were also pen shops that sold bamboo to the Kansai region, and exquisite bamboo weaving that supported several counties.
Gan Mingfu didn't know what the standards were for being a good official.

But every time he went out and saw the people smiling at him and calling him Lord Gan, he felt very comforted.