The first assistant of the poor family

Chapter 481 old acquaintance

Zhu Houzhao only felt that the lyrics were very familiar, and he rubbed his forehead while thinking.

After a long time, he slapped his head and said, "Isn't this the song written by Mr. If Life Is Just Like First Sight?"

Xie Shen smiled a little embarrassedly: "Your Majesty is wise. This is indeed my humble composition."

He knew that this masterpiece would be popular all over the world, but he didn't expect it to have such a high status in the hearts of brothel singers.

Alas, it turns out that an idol group like Liu Yong is more attractive to singers than a powerful group like Su Dongpo.

In fact, it makes sense when you think about it carefully. You can't ask the singer to sing "the mast and scull fly into ashes while talking and laughing", right?

In comparison, Liu Ci is more gentle and clear, and naturally it is more suitable for a beautiful woman's singing voice.

This song "Life is just like the first time you see it", ahem, is obviously closer to Liu Yong's style, and it is not difficult to understand why it is sought after by brothel singers.

Of course, this also has something to do with Xie Shen's personal charm. Who told him that he was already a well-known talent when he wrote this song.

"Haha, it is said that Mr. Liu's talent is not much less than that of Liu Yong, and now it is true."

Emperor Zhengde obviously meant that Xie Shen, like Liu Yong, was very popular with women, while Xie Shen was that depressed.

Liu Yong was forced to go to the brothel song hall to sell jokes because he couldn't devote himself to official career, er, no, he sold poetry. He was also a cabinet scholar after all, so why was he assigned to Liu Yong.

His official career has been smooth.

Of course, Xie Shen believed that Emperor Zhengde had no other superfluous intentions, he was just expressing emotion.

"Don't talk, don't talk. I can't disturb the beauty's playing and singing."

Zhu Houzhao simply closed his eyes and slowly enjoyed the clear singing.

This Jiangnan's Wu Nong's soft language really sounds very pleasant, as if someone is scratching his heart.

The painting boat also gradually sailed into the lake. The West Lake was very quiet at night, like a singer who was tired of singing, leaning on the bed and applying makeup to the bronze mirror.

After a long time, the song was sung.

Zhu Houzhao opened his eyes, and said repeatedly, "Good song, the song is better sung by good people. Come here and let me have a look."

Zhu Houzhao pointed to the tall singer.

The singing girl was obviously stunned. She never mentioned that there was such a link before, so it needs to be paid extra, right?
But after all, the guest is the Son of Heaven, so the singer hesitated a little and went to Zhengde.

"Nunu see Your Majesty."

The singing girl pretended to kneel, but was held back by Zhengde: "This is not a palace, so there is no need to abide by so many red tapes."

He held the singer's chin with his right index finger, and said softly, "Tell me, what's your name?"

The singing girl felt a numbness all over her body, and said in a trembling voice: "The name of Nunuyi is Shantao."

Zhengde shook his head and said, "I'm asking about your real name."

"Nunu doesn't know either, she has been learning how to play and sing with her mother since she can remember."

"Pity."

Zhengde pondered for a moment and said: "The name Shantao is too vulgar, why not call it Xizi."

Uh, Xie Shen, that waterfall is sweating.

Zhu Houzhao's level of naming is really a bit
However, since the emperor has given the name, there is no reason to refuse, the singing girl bowed slightly to express her thanks: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

"Okay, you go back first."

The painting boat is very big, there is enough room for these singers to rest.This is also in order not to disturb the emperor watching the night view of West Lake.

"Nu Nu resigns."

The two singers bowed to Zhu Houzhao and retreated respectfully.

"Sir, please talk to me."

Zhu Houzhao walked to the railing of the painting boat and said calmly.

Xie Shen said in a deep voice, "I obey the order."

The two monarchs and ministers looked at the bright moon in the sky and the somewhat dark lake surface, and they were both silent.

It was Zhu Houzhao who spoke first: "Sir, you must think that I came to Jiangnan for fun, right?"

It's not easy to accept that.
In fact, Xie Shen really wanted to reply, didn't he?
But considering the consequences of such a death, forget it.

"I dare not."

Zhu Houzhao smiled wryly and said, "Actually, I came here for the rich merchants in the south of the Yangtze River."

Uh.
This answer was really beyond Xie Shen's expectation.

"Sir, have you forgotten that the war in the northwest is not over yet?"

Xie Shen understood now that it turned out that Zhu Houzhao was raising military rations for the rich merchants in the south of the Yangtze River.

"Your Majesty is wise. With His Majesty, those rich merchants will definitely donate money and food."

"I'm not robbing them." Zhu Houzhao paused and said, "Didn't I give them the right to open factories?"

"Does sir think they will appreciate me?"

"A gentleman's kindness is beyond heaven." Xie Shen paused every word, "There is no son who does not appreciate his father."

"Sir will really make me happy."

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said, "But since I'm here, I will definitely take the money back. The war in the northwest cannot be delayed."

Xie Shen was silent, really didn't know what to say.

It is well known that Zhu Houzhao is warlike, otherwise he would not have been given the posthumous title of Wuzong by civil officials after his death.

But it's at least a sign of aggressiveness.

Sometimes Xie Shen wondered if it would be a good thing if the emperors of Ming Dynasty followed the rules like Hongzhi?

Then the emperor is just a puppet symbol, and it is the civil servants who really rule the country.

On the contrary, people like Zhengde, although rebellious, have the possibility of change.

For Xie Shen, a gentleman like Zhengde is obviously better than Hongzhi.

"Your Majesty, the matter of the northwest is my top priority in the next few years of the Ming Dynasty. It is true that there is no room for loss. It is not enough to have money and food, and there must be sufficient troops to march west."

If you want to push down Yili Bali, you need at least 20 troops. The defenders in Gansu Town alone are definitely not enough, and you must mobilize the troops from the rest of the border towns.

"Sir, don't you want to train the new army? Is it feasible for the new army to join the army on the Western Expedition?"

Xie Shen shook his head and said: "This is not realistic. Although the training cycle of the new army is shorter than that of ordinary troops, it is impossible to accomplish it overnight. Besides, it is impossible to complete the firearms in one step."

In the case of the new army, Xie Shen is Zhu Houzhao's adviser and chief steward.

No way, who said that this plan was first proposed by him.

"Your Majesty, rushing into this matter will only be counterproductive. Only when the new army has been trained can it be put into the standing army."

Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly and said: "I know. But since you are here, let's start the conscription first. According to what Mr. said, I allow you to recruit troops."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

Xie Shen originally thought that this matter would be delayed, but Zhu Houzhao directly authorized it with a wave of his hand.

Xie Shen did plan to recruit troops in the south of the Yangtze River.Firstly, the Qi family army and Yu family army of the later generations are all soldiers from the south of the Yangtze River, which shows that their combat effectiveness is not bad.Secondly, due to the relationship between the nine borders, there are already enough troops in the north, and it may not be appropriate to recruit new troops.

but
Would it be inappropriate to recruit soldiers during Zhu Houzhao's southern tour?
After all, everyone's attention is on the emperor.Conscription at this time is a bit overwhelming.

Although with Zhu Houzhao's personality, he may not take this matter to heart, but if someone provokes it, many unnecessary troubles may really arise.

At this moment, Xie Shen was really helpless.

Recruiting new troops and getting rich merchants from south of the Yangtze River to donate money to buy military rations are two major tasks that are on Xie Shen's shoulders. It takes a lot of energy to do one alone, let alone do two at the same time.

So Xie Shen decided to find a helper.

Early the next morning, Xie Shen went to Ning Yuanwai's residence in Hangzhou.

Before he won the exam, he formed a long friendship with Ning Yi.

Without Ning Yi's righteous action, Xie Shen would not have been able to push Yuyao Xianming to the current height, and he would not have that important first pot of gold.

Therefore, Xie Shen is very grateful to Ning Yi.

Of course, it is also impossible to say that Ning Yi has no ambitions or desires at all.It can only be said that Ning Yihui's eyes are like a torch, and he recognized Xie Shen, a thousand-mile horse.

Ning Yi is the largest salt merchant and tea merchant in Hangzhou and even the entire Zhejiang Province, and his influence cannot be underestimated.

Xie Shen came to him because he hoped that he could contribute to donating money and food.

When a person is rich in the world, he will usually be in high spirits, but Ning Yi is an exception.

No matter from the way he speaks and behaves or how he treats people, you will feel that he is a loyal and honest businessman of Ming Dynasty.

When Xie Shen came to the backyard of the Ning Mansion, he saw Ning Yi throwing fish food into the pond, and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for many years, Ning Yuanwai is still the same."

Ning Yi turned around and coughed: "The little old man is still the same little old man, but Mr. Xie is no longer the talented gentleman he used to be."

Ning Yi invited Xie Shen to sit down in the pavilion by the pond, poured two glasses of wine and said with a wry smile: "The little old man has long been sure that Mr. Xie is not a thing in the pond, but he never thought that Mr. Xie's promotion would be so fast. .”

Xie Shen waved his hands in embarrassment and said, "It's just a coincidence."

Ning Yi sighed and said: "The little old man really shouldn't have softened his heart back then, he should have tied Master Xie tightly, and now he should be the old father-in-law of the great scholar of the court."

Xie Shen felt awkward when he heard Ning Yi talk to an adult, so he said suddenly: "Call me Siming outside Ning Yi."

"Is this your lord's nickname?" Ning Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, with a half-smile, like a fox just waking up.

"Ah."

Xie Shen nodded slightly, and said in a harmonious voice, "The idea is from Siming Mountain in Yuyao."

"Haha, the little old man will take advantage of it."

Ning Yi handed the wine glass to Xie Shen, and said softly, "Siming, this time, it's not just to catch up with the little old man, is it?"

Xie Shen knew that he couldn't hide it from Ning Yi, so he simply showed his cards and said, "I'm here this time to ask for something other than Ning Yi."

Ning Yi repeatedly waved his hands and said, "I can't do it, I can't do it. This begging is a shame for the little old man. Siming, you are now a cabinet scholar. If you have anything to say, just tell me."

For some reason, Xie Shen felt very bitter.

This change in identity is reflected in the relationship between the two, and they no longer have the joy of drinking tea and wine, chatting and laughing.

Daming is still a class society where people eat people.

"Member Ning must have heard of the New Deal. One of them is that the imperial court allows merchants to set up factories to weave silk. Weavers are recruited, and the number of looms purchased is determined by the amount of money and taxes paid. The more money and taxes paid, the more The larger the scale of owning a weaving factory."

Ning Yi stroked his beard, and said lightly, "I heard it a little bit."

Xie Shen nodded and said, "Now the imperial court has decided to promote the new policy in an all-round way, and Zhejiang Province is no exception. However, in the first three years, the original tax system may be maintained."

Ning Yi has been immersed in the business world for many years, so he naturally knows that nothing will fall from the sky.

He stared at Xie Shen for a long time, before letting out a mouthful of foul air, he said, "Siming, if you have something to say, you might as well just say it."

"As long as Yuanwai Ning can persuade the Zhejiang Provincial Chamber of Commerce to donate 100 million taels of silver, he can pay the income under the original tax system in the first three years."

Xie Shen spoke very simply, and now Ning Yi fell silent.

As a businessman, he is of course very concerned about the so-called business tax reform.

The commercial tax in the Ming Dynasty has always been one of the thirty taxes, which has led to the fact that the country has not been able to collect taxes, but the merchants have made a lot of money.

In affluent places like Zhejiang Province and Nanzhili, small merchants with a little bit of brains can make a fortune, let alone a big salt merchant like Ning Yi.

And if the new tax system adopts a step-by-step taxation system, Ning Yi will pay almost four out of ten taxes, or even five out of ten taxes.In other words, half of Ning Yi's income will be used to pay taxes.

Although he has ways to evade some of them, most of the properties on the surface cannot be covered up.

Ning Yi's annual income is around 30 taels, which means that he would have to pay 15 taels a year just for taxes.

And if according to Xie Shen's proposal, raise 100 million taels of silver, you can guarantee to pay the tax at the rate of [-] per cent within three years, which is basically equal to no tax.

For 100 million taels of silver, Ning Yi himself had to pay almost 30 taels.This is equivalent to two years' worth of taxes under the new tax system.

Exchange two years for three years, no matter how you look at it, it is a matter of making money without losing money.

What's more, this is still without calculating the increase in income.

After opening the silk factory, Ning Yi's income will also skyrocket. With his contacts and channels, it is easy to earn 20 taels in this area.

All in all, Ning Yi can earn at least three times as much.

Businessmen value profit the most, and they will never hesitate to make a move when it is profitable.

For Ning Yi, he has always wanted to find an opportunity to get involved in the silk industry, and this time is an excellent opportunity.

Open a silk factory to control upstream production, and then use channels to distribute goods, so as to control the entire downstream market, and basically achieve monopoly.

The reason why Ning Yi didn't want to do it before was because the folks didn't have the right to set up a factory. If they wanted to set up a factory, they could only cooperate with the Weaving Bureau, which made them too little.

If you don't do it now, you will miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Ning Yi was really tempted.

Of course, 100 million taels of silver is not a small amount, even for Ning Yi.You must know that Daming's annual income is two to three million taels.

Ning Yi alone will definitely not be able to afford this money for a while. Although he has a lot of money, most of his money is in fixed assets such as shops and paddy fields. The new money he earns every year will also be invested in various industries to maintain normal It is running, and there is not much liquidity on the accounts.

Two to three hundred thousand taels is already the limit, and the rest can only be paid by other members of the chamber of commerce.

"Siming, can the little old man ask a question?"

"Member Ning, please speak."

"Is this policy only applicable to Zhejiang Province, or is it also applicable to Fujian and Nanzhili?"

(End of this chapter)