After listening to Xu Qian's explanation, Jiajing finally understood the key. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Only you can come up with such a stupid idea. It's just that my certificate of commendation became their lead.
A hundred taels of silver seems to be a bargain for them."
Xu Qian smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, it is not three to five hundred taels at a time, but three to five hundred taels a year."
Jiajing asked curiously: "Why is this?"
Xu Qian chuckled and said: "The students have tampered with this certificate of commendation. The large seal used for the seal is not ink pad, but other pigments. The seal stamped with this pigment will fade over time and the handwriting will be difficult to read."
If it’s not clear, it will be invalidated in about a year.”
Of course Xu Qian is not willing to suffer a loss. If you buy a certificate of commendation for three to five hundred taels and let you use it for a lifetime, how can you do this business? How can the Road Administration Bureau last for a long time? In fact, before this, he made precise calculations.
This kind of "road guide" can generally save money for merchants who pledge goods.
It saves 400 to 1,000 taels of silver. After all, some are running outside day and night, escorting goods every day for 365 days a year, while some only make four or five trips a year, and some do not
They transport goods thousands of miles away, while some only travel as far as Tongzhou and Tianjin.
Xu Qian's calculation was based on the wealthy businessmen. Those small businessmen could not afford such luxury goods for the time being. Therefore, Xu Qian set the price of the certificate of commendation in this 'reasonable' range.
Businessmen are profit-seeking. Buying a certificate of commendation can save some money and worry. You will no longer have to worry when you go out. Spending this amount of money in a year is a great value.
Jiajing frowned and said: "If these awards spread out, I am afraid that the number of merchants will increase day by day, and the people will not do their jobs properly, and will imitate the merchants and do this opportunistic business."
After all, Jiajing was not a fool. At this time, he couldn't help but think about the national policy of the Ming Dynasty. Xu Qian's move undoubtedly completely shaken the Ming Dynasty's national policy of light business. The reason why businessmen are low is mainly due to policy discrimination. Businessmen must
To pledge goods, according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, there must be a road guide, and the road guide is issued by the government, and someone must guarantee it. Although there were many refugees in the Ming Dynasty, the need to carry a road guide when going out has become a piece of paper, but each
Road checkpoints are extremely strict in inspecting merchants. To put it bluntly, these people don’t inspect the refugees because the refugees have no money to make, and the merchants have a lot of money, so the refugees don’t need road guides, and the scholars don’t need road guides. Scholars and peasants don’t need road guides.
In industry and commerce, they only arrest businessmen. Those who have no way to lead them will inevitably be imprisoned and let their families take care of them. Even those who have a way to lead the way will inevitably find some excuse to embarrass them. This discriminatory policy makes merchants miserable.
Word.
It is extremely difficult for people who go out to do business. Although they look glamorous, they eat meat sometimes and get beaten a lot. This greatly restricts the development of business. They are not special people, or when it is a last resort.
Most people will never engage in business.
At this point, the imperial court showed acquiescence, because in their view, if these restrictions were removed, the obstacles to doing business would be reduced, and the number of merchants would increase day by day, becoming the target of emulation. Finally, more and more people would engage in business.
Farmers are unwilling to make progress and abandon their fields one after another to do this activity. In the end, it will not only corrupt the social atmosphere, but also lead to a reduction in food production.
After all, Jiajing was a veteran who was well versed in politics, and naturally he would not avoid this issue. He continued: "Given time, not to mention how many people in the court objected, once the merchants were let go, the palace would certainly make money, but
This ancestor's national policy will probably be changed beyond recognition.
Xu Qian was silent for a moment and said: "Students have heard an allusion. Without the meat sellers of the Zhang family, there will still be meat sellers of the Li family. The imperial court suppressed ordinary merchants very tightly, which made many people not dare to do business easily. But I am the Ming Dynasty.
North Korea is still not a businessman
Are there merchants all over the land? Businessmen are indispensable. Otherwise, our Ming Dynasty has a vast land, thousands of miles of fertile fields, and countless prefectures and counties. How can we communicate with each other? It is certainly not easy for ordinary people to do business, but what I know is that some high-ranking officials and dignitaries took advantage of the opportunity.
defecate
They saw the huge profits and ordered their family members to engage in business. Just like the Yongchun merchants, they could use their own connections to achieve unimpeded access and make countless profits. The laws of their ancestors restricted ordinary people from doing business, but they greatly encouraged them.
imperial court
Officials do business with the wealthy gentry in various places. As a result, the officials have huge wealth, hold power, and call the shots in the local area. There are even people with thousands of mansions and tens of thousands of servants. Your Majesty, the disaster of tyranny is more fierce than that of a tiger, so you have to be careful.
"
Being a man for two generations has made Xu Qian's speaking skills high. If you tell Jiajing that businessmen are beneficial to society and that businessmen are good or bad, Jiajing will probably not want to hear it, because in the emperor's opinion, what are the benefits of businessmen?
He has a fart connection, whether he has merchants or not, the emperor sings and dances all the time. It is impossible for him to overcome all difficulties and break the national policy of his ancestors just because of this reason, just because he has some sympathy for merchants.
Of course Xu Qian would not tell Jiajing that although businessmen were only interested in profit, they also had their advantages. He only needed to tell the emperor that ordinary people could not engage in business. In the end, it was the dignitaries and officials who engaged in business. These people not only held great power in the court, but also accumulated money through business.
They have gained huge wealth, which is even greater than that of the inner treasury of the palace. Their servants, tenants, and clerks add up to a considerable number.
Xu Qian continued: "The Han Dynasty fell to powerful people, and the Sui Dynasty also died to powerful people. These powerful people had strong family backgrounds, complicated connections, were rich and noble, and usually obeyed the court's orders. Once the country was in trouble, the disaster would arise within Xiaoqiang, and they would have the heart to replace them.
Your Majesty, this is what the student has said, please make your own decision."
If it had been someone else, such as Emperor Hongzhi, he might have just laughed it off after hearing this, because Hongzhi was a generous man, generous to those around him and to others, and would not have made groundless speculations. If it had been Emperor Zhengde who had heard this,
, may feel that there are some problems, but he will never have such courage. For such an emperor, timely enjoyment is the most important thing.
However, there were two emperors in the Ming Dynasty who would never take Xu Qian's words lightly. One of them was Emperor Taizu. This man was very wary of officials and dignitaries and was extremely suspicious. He was afraid of Xu Qian's death.
After a few words, this man will go on a killing spree and won't stop until the blood is shed.
The other one is Jiajing. Jiajing is essentially the same person as Emperor Taizu. Unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time. By the time he succeeds to the throne, the Ming Dynasty will no longer be decided by the emperor alone, nor by you.
He can kill whoever he wants. Therefore, although he has the same temperament as Taizu, being smart, wise, suspicious and even cruel, he will never be able to cut through the mess with a quick sword like Emperor Taizu.
At this time, Emperor Jiajing's face was horribly gloomy. He paced aimlessly in the room with his hands behind his back, his eyes flashing, and the cruelty and suspicion in his bones were clearly revealed.
The corners of his mouth immediately curled up, revealing a bit of a sinister smile unconsciously. Finally, he reached a few tables, knocked them with his fists, and said slowly: "Okay, you did a good job, you are worthy of my humerus,
You have made great achievements this time, and I will definitely reward you well."
He did not directly say that officials and dignitaries needed to be wary, nor did he say how difficult it was for local tyrants to check and balance. He just praised Xu Qian, but he showed his true intentions. Obviously, Emperor Jiajing's suspicion was aroused by Xu Qian.
At this time, he suddenly realized that there was no need to continue the national policy of light business. Of course, with his political status, it was absolutely impossible to directly oppose the ancestral system now.
There is a saying in later generations called discounting the red flag and countering the red flag, that is, the more you oppose it, the more you must hold high this flag. Under this flag, the previous ideas and the previous established policies will be changed beyond recognition. The Ming Dynasty
In fact, this is also the case. Every emperor who ascends the throne sacrifices his ancestors one by one.
Ancestors are mentioned in one's mouth in a catchy way, for fear that others will not know how today's people respect their ancestors and maintain their ancestral laws. However, in fact, the so-called ancestral system has long been thrown into the wastebasket by them. During the Hongwu period,
The Ming Dynasty and the current Ming Dynasty during the Jiajing period are two extremes.
After praising Xu Qian, Jiajing immediately smiled, and his smile was a bit eerie. He said slowly and authentically: "The road administration bureau must be run well and must not be abandoned halfway. It must be done not only in the capital, but also in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Liaodong and other places.
It also needs to be spread out. You can withhold 30% of the Highway Bureau's revenue every year for expenses, and put the rest into the internal treasury."
Xu Qian said quickly: "Your Majesty is wise."
Jiajing stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder and said: "You have done a good job and are very loyal. I am a lonely man. Although I have countless subjects, what I can really use is very limited. You and your son are willing to do your best."
Use your life, and I will definitely not treat you badly."
He was silent for a moment and then continued: "I'm afraid that the staff of the Road Administration Bureau are insufficient. Let's recruit more. Don't be afraid of people gossiping. I am your backer. Come, sit down and drink tea with me."
Xu Qian was not polite. He sat down and waited for Huang Jin to serve him tea. Xu Qian took a sip of tea and Jiajing smiled at him: "I have drunk a lot of tea, but you are the only one here."
This tea is to my liking. What kind of tea is this? Huang Banban, please pick up a few kilograms and take them to the palace."
Xu Qian couldn't help but curse in his heart: "How good is the tea here? Then I would like to trade with you. From now on, you can eat the tea here and give me the tea from various places as tribute."
However, Xu Qian thought that even if the palace was willing to give him the tribute tea, he might not be willing to eat it, and would probably have to sell it secretly in exchange for some real money. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly. It was indeed a poor life.
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