Ming Dynasty: Tanks blocked the door and you said to me, "Long live Ming Dynasty"

"Sir Shangshu, it's not that we don't want to help you."

"According to what you just said, this Western Factory belongs to His Majesty, not to us."

"So, if you want us to send someone to help you, you have to give us a suitable reason!"

Guo Yunhou was disappointed.

He originally wanted to use the emotional card to get Wang Chengen to agree to the matter first, and as for what would happen in the future, they would talk about it when the time came.

But now Wang Chengen's attitude of not releasing the eagle until he sees the rabbit made him feel uncomfortable.

Just like Wang Chengen said before, the Western Factory has money and people, so why should it cooperate with the Ministry of Revenue for such matters?

Guo Yunhou rubbed his temple, his head spinning frantically, trying to find something that the Ministry of Households had but the Western Factory did not to use as a bargaining chip.

This bargaining chip must be what the Western Factory needs!

Unable to think of anything while sitting there, he stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the lobby.

Wang Chengen couldn't help but complain: "Sir Shangshu, our place is so small, can you please stop walking around? You're making me dizzy!"

Guo Yunhou walked out subconsciously, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and stood there.

"What did the factory manager just say?"

"I said, you're spinning so fast that I'm dizzy!"

"Not this one, but the one before it!"

"Would you mind stopping walking back and forth?"

"No, say it again!"

Wang Chengen didn't understand and became a little impatient with his questioning.

"The next sentence is, our place is so small, what's the problem?"

Guo Yunhou burst into laughter when he heard this.

"Hahahaha!"

"The factory owner thinks this place is too small. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Who am I? The Minister of Revenue!"

"In the entire Ming Dynasty, apart from your Majesty's imperial farm and the people's farmland, which I have no control over, all the mountains, rivers, wastelands and grasslands are under my control!"

Having said that, he glanced around the lobby and found a map of the Ming Dynasty hanging on the wall on the left. He immediately walked over and pointed.

"Just tell me what you like, and I'll get someone to get the paperwork done for you right away!"

"Not only that, I heard that the West Factory has been actively purchasing grain, cloth and other goods, but the local treasury is used to store these goods..."

"I'm going to say something that the factory owner may not like to hear. It's not a big deal that you always have to borrow other people's space. The West Factory is not short of money. Don't you plan to find a place to build your own warehouse?"

"By then, the two capitals, fourteen provinces, and six hundred and seventeen cities will all have warehouses. This will be a great achievement of the factory master during his tenure, right?"

"Please look again......"

With an idea in his mind, Guo Yunhou talked incessantly, and a huge pancake was outlined by his three-inch old tongue.

Wang Chengen couldn't help but widen his eyes, and became more and more excited the more he listened.

Until finally, he slammed the table and couldn't help but shout loudly.

"Makes sense!"

"Why didn't we think of this? This could actually be done this way!"

"The Minister is indeed the backbone of the country. His vision is beyond our reach!"

After a sigh, he slowly closed his eyes and began to imagine...

As for the content of my imagination, it was the details that were not complete in Guo Yunhou's big picture.

Two capitals, fourteen provinces, six hundred and seventeen cities...

By then, every state and county will have a warehouse of the West Factory...

Do not!

As long as the Ministry of Revenue allocates land, the West Factory can build more than just warehouses!

Today, the telegraph has been improved to the fourth generation, and there will definitely be the fifth and sixth generations in the future........

By then, transmitting sound over thousands of miles may not be impossible.

Now that I have the land, I will buy some telegraphs from Shanhe College and set up a telegraph office.

This business is sure to make money!

also.

With the land, the warehouse built does not necessarily have to be used only to store the goods of the Western Factory.

I heard that the Ministry of Industry is already discussing the use of cement roads to connect all the states and counties. By then, travel conditions will become better and more and more businessmen will come.

Whether it is an inn for people to live in or a warehouse for storing goods, it can bring considerable income to the Western Factory.

In this way, banks can also set up branches in various states and counties.

The reason why Your Majesty reopened the Western Factory is not only to stimulate the Ministry of Revenue to generate revenue, but most importantly, to grasp the dynamics of various industries and collect relevant information.

In order to achieve this, the West Factory has to send personnel to conduct mobile investigations in various places.

But if you gather all the merchants in your own territory and then build a trading house, will this task be difficult?

Chapter 535 Petition

Guo Yunhou had no idea that his proposal today would make him regret it to his heart's content in a few years.

A quarter of an hour later, when he walked out of the lobby of the West Factory, he could not control his inner joy.

I couldn't even help but feel proud of my own wit in my heart.

After returning to the Ministry of Revenue, he immediately called the Right Vice Minister Fang Yuegong into the duty room.

"You should immediately send people to Jiangnan to purchase porcelain, tea, and silk as much as possible."

"As many as you can get, as many as you want!"

"Whether we can turn things around next year depends on this time!"

Fang Yuegong could not help but feel stunned: "Sir Shangshu, what are you doing..."

Guo Yunhou explained his plan to him in detail. After he understood it, Fang Yuegong was overjoyed.

"Don't worry, sir. I'll do it right away!"

But Guo Yunhou stopped him again: "If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools."

"Time is limited. Go to the Ministry of Industry first and get some fire bulls from Wu Pifu."

"Only with that thing can we bring back enough goods before the New Year!"

Fang Yuegong nodded heavily, bowed, and turned to leave.

Looking at his back, Guo Yunhou stroked his beard and smiled happily.

But this smile did not last long.

Fang Yuegong had just left when he saw a minor official running in with a sad face.

"My Lord Shangshu, something bad has happened!"

"Someone is coming to Beijing to cause trouble again!"

Guo Yunhou frowned instantly: "Is it about the farmland?"

The clerk nodded: "Yes, this is the twenty-third time in the past six months!"

"Who is coming this time?"

"My Lord, I am from Fenyang, Shanxi!"

Guo Yunhou took a deep breath, tried hard to suppress the tightness in his chest, and pointed to the desk.

"Put down the information of the person who came and tell the Dali Temple to keep him in my custody first!"

"Wait until I finish reading it, then make a decision!"

The problem he faced at this moment was the remnant of the "land reform" of Li Zicheng and others.

The entire Shanxi, Shaanxi and half of Henan were visited by the Qin army.

A large number of unscrupulous businessmen, evil gentry and corrupt officials were executed, and the remaining land was distributed by the Qin army to the local people.

but.

Things don't end there.

Occasionally, there would always be one or two families whose descendants were spared because they were away at the time.

After returning home, these people found that not only their homes were gone, but even their farmland had been generously distributed to the people by the Qin army. How could they swallow this?

They immediately went to the government office, hoping that the county magistrate would make the decision for them and recover the land.

However, the archives in the county government were also burned by the Qin army. Faced with this situation, the newly appointed county magistrate could not find any evidence to prove who the real owners of the land were even if he wanted to take charge.

When these people's demands were not met, they began to have other ideas.

For example, appeal to the state government.

Or, you can choose to come to Beijing directly.

Half a year ago, people began to kneel in front of the Dali Temple to appeal for justice.

Ultimately, arable land is the responsibility of the Ministry of Households.

Therefore, every time something like this happened, the Dali Temple would report it to the Ministry of Revenue.

But what can the Ministry of Revenue do about this matter?

Only the county government had the basic files for registering the people's cultivated land. If the files were burned, there would be no physical evidence.

It is even more impossible to find witnesses!

Those people who got the farmland wanted to keep this matter secret. Who would be willing to come forward to testify?

As a result, those who came to appeal for justice were first appeased and then sent away on the grounds that the investigation would take time.

All their properties were seized by the Qin army. Even if these people still had some wealth left, it was not enough to support them staying in the capital for a long time.

After waiting for a long time without any results, they had no choice but to give up.

It would be okay if something like this happened once or twice, but when it happens every now and then, it's really uncomfortable.

Guo Yunhou tried to submit memorials to the emperor, but all his memorials fell on deaf ears.

The same thing happened at the Dali Temple, which did not receive any response from Zhu Youxiao at all.

If it were a year ago, they would still suspect that it was Wei Zhongxian who interfered and intercepted the memorial.

But now Wei Zhongxian is either serving the emperor or working in the East Factory all day long. He is the chief clerk of the Imperial Household Department, but he has never been to the Imperial Household Department again. This matter cannot be blamed on the old eunuch at all.

So........

Guo Yunhou pondered for a long time, looked at the information of those people who were crying out for injustice, and helplessly stood up and walked out.

A quarter of an hour later, he appeared in Wenyuan Pavilion.

The stack of information was also placed in front of Wen Tiren.

Guo Yunhou said with a frown: "According to the time calculation, the rebel army started the uprising a year ago, first in Shaanxi, then in Shanxi, and then in Henan, and now they have gone to Shandong to cause chaos."

"The first people who came to the capital to petition were only people from Shaanxi, but two months ago, people from Shanxi also began to come to the capital."

"I predict that soon, people from Henan and Shandong will come to the capital to ask for orders."

“And there will be more and more!”

"The Chinese New Year is only two months away. If we can't suppress this matter, I'm afraid the court will lose all its face because of these people coming!"

"I have submitted several memorials to His Majesty, but His Majesty has not given me any instructions."

"So, I need your advice on this matter. I can't just sit there and wait for death, right?"