However, Liu Ren keenly discovered that the people who knew about this matter were all old people from the Liu family. People like Guo Zhankui who entered the government later had no news at all. This made him think a lot!
After the military parade, Liu Haojia waited in the capital for a few more days, and then received a decree. The content was very simple. It said that according to Wu Ning's inspection of the border, he found that the supply of salt in Jiubian was insufficient, so the imperial court planned to open another one next to the Changlu Salt Factory.
A new salt factory, the salt produced is specially used by Jiubian. This thing is co-organized by Wu Ninghou, and the money used is raised by himself!
The addition of a place similar to the Imperial Palace in the inner court is not a big deal, so not many people notice it. And even if they notice it, the officials won't care! They don't think those eunuchs can compete with salt merchants and wealthy families.
Because the share of salt in Jiubian has been occupied by fixed people for a long time, how much can they earn by joining in? It is just to lower the price of salt for the border army! Besides, maybe before the salt farm can recover its cost, those
The eunuchs themselves brought down the salt factory through corruption!
In particular, the sentence that the silver taels should be raised by oneself makes the civil servants feel very happy! Considering the stingy temperament of Lao Zhu's family, this self-financing probably means giving some food and lodging to the eunuchs, which is not bad! Besides, the salt field is a
Is it so easy to open? Does the kitchen owner not need wages? Does the firewood not need copper coins? So no one took this decree to heart.
However, some people felt that it was inappropriate for Wu Ninghou to co-organize this matter, but they did not think it was a big problem, so the decree was successfully carried out without any obstruction.
On the second day after this decree was passed by the imperial court, a young eunuch knocked on the door of Gu Ninghou's mansion. Liu Haojia guessed that Zhang Jia had something to explain, so he naturally wanted to receive him.
When Liu Haojia and others took a look at the study, they found that the eunuch who came in was actually a very young eunuch, who looked to be in his twenties. This made him feel a little strange, because this eunuch was not the one who often came to deliver messages.
.
When the eunuch saw Liu Haojia and paid homage, Liu Haojia said, "Get up! What's your name? Why haven't I seen you before? What do you need to explain to Zhang Banban when he calls you here?"
After the eunuch stood up, he still bowed and said: "Back to the Marquis, my name is Zhang Zhi. It was my own idea to come to see the Marquis this time, because my ancestors have already left the preparation of the salt factory to me!"
Liu Haojia frowned when he heard this, feeling very unhappy! Because in his opinion, it was very important to transport food to the immediate area. Why did Zhang Jia send such a young eunuch here? No matter how he looked at it, he didn't value this matter.
The way things are!
And Zhang Zhi is a very discerning person! He saw the worried look on Liu Haojia's face and guessed what he was thinking. He hurriedly said: "When I came here this time, my ancestors also told me that the Marquis will take charge of everything! And the old man said
The ancestor also felt that this matter might not be feasible this time, and there was really no one around the ancestor, so he sent the slave over!"
Liu Haojia understood the meaning of Zhang Zhi's words, that is, neither Emperor Wanli nor Zhang Jia had confidence in his actions this time. They felt that the power of the salt merchants and the aristocratic families was too great, and it would be difficult to steal food from them! So they completely ignored this
Treat the matter as a dispensable thing and send someone over casually! If it succeeds, it will be gratifying, but if it fails, there is nothing to regret!
Thinking of this, Liu Haojia's heart became even more angry! I have been thinking about you with all my heart, and I have been careful to guard against the rise of the Jin Dynasty and the Mongols in the future, but you are here to deal with it casually! Who is the world in this world?
He thought so in his heart, but did not show it on his face. Instead, he became much kinder. Then he asked directly: "Eunuch Zhang, I wonder how many years you have been studying in the study?"
Zhang Zhi immediately replied: "I don't dare to be a father-in-law! Lord Hou, just call me Xiao Zhang! As for studying, I entered the palace at the age of six and was selected to study in the inner study at the age of nine and studied for eight years! Now!
I have been working in the palace for four years!"
Liu Haojia was very satisfied with his detailed answers, so he asked some random questions, and Zhang Zhi answered them fluently! This made Liu Haojia change his mind a little! It seems that although Zhang Jia felt that things might not be possible, at least the person he sent was not
What a fool!
After he finished asking, Liu Haojia smiled with satisfaction, told him the general plan, and then said: "Zhang Zhi, do you know the significance of this matter?"
Zhang Zhi said with a serious face: "This servant naturally knows, but I think the ancestors' worries are justified! After all, whether it is salt or grain, those who dare to do it are the rich families! Moreover, the inner court does not give much money, and they want to build something out of thin air.
Getting to a salt farm is naturally as difficult as climbing to the sky!"
Liu Haojia laughed and said: "This kind of thing is naturally difficult for others, but it is extremely simple for me! You only need to carefully watch how I do things and you will know!"
Zhang Zhi complimented and said: "I naturally know that the Marquis is wise and powerful, and he will succeed immediately when doing things! But I have a small request, and I hope that the Marquis will grant it!"
Liu Haojia said: "If you have any requirements, can you tell me?"
Zhang Zhi said: "Master Hou, in fact, I am from the border town. I only entered the palace after the Tatars destroyed my family! So I want to do this seriously and don't want any more Tatars to thresh the grass."
Something happened! Moreover, I am still young and willing to do things. I want to imitate Lord San Bao and become famous in history! However, my abilities are limited, so I hope that the Marquis will not hesitate to give guidance when doing things!"
After saying this, Zhang Zhi knelt down again and kowtowed three times to Liu Haojia! Liu Haojia was also very moved when he heard this! No matter what he said was true or false, as long as he worked seriously and could help Liu Haojia succeed, he would be willing to support him.
of!
Thinking of this, he said: "Get up! You can ask questions at any time when I am doing things in the future! If you do a good job, I will guarantee your future!"
Zhang Zhi was naturally overjoyed when he heard this and thanked Liu Haojia again. Liu Haojia took the opportunity to tell him that in the future, the scale of the salt farm may not be small and it will require a lot of manpower. You can contact more people from the inner court to do the work.
Zhang Zhi was even more happy when he heard this! Because there are quite a few eunuchs trained every year in the inner study, but there are not many people who can actually get errands! So he immediately patted his chest and said that he would definitely recruit more people.
So when he set off a few days later, Liu Haojia had seven more eunuchs by his side! These eunuchs were generally young, and the older ones were all about 20 years old. And what surprised Liu Haojia was that he accidentally discovered these eunuchs.
People were actually reciting poems and composing poems while they were on the road, and they were all good at composing poems!