Zhou Shangjing's advice really reminded Zhao Junchen that as his status changes, his environment will also change!
From now on, not only Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao and other core figures in the court will pay more attention to themselves, but even the middle and low-level officials in the court will never let go of their every move.
Before that, Zhao Junchen only paid attention to the former, but somewhat ignored the latter.
However, although Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao and others were high-ranking and powerful, there were only a few of them after all, and their temperaments, methods, habits, etc. were all well known to Zhao Junchen. It may seem like a threat, but Zhao Junchen can face it calmly.
As for those middle and low-level court officials, although they have low power and limited influence, they are still numerous and everywhere, and Zhao Junchen cannot fully control their positions, motives, and attitudes. If he ignores their existence, They might suddenly appear at any time, and they might disrupt Zhao Junchen's plan, causing Zhao Junchen to fall short and suffer a disastrous defeat.
From this aspect, Zhou Shangjing is indeed experienced and discerning, and Zhao Junchen is also very grateful to Zhou Shangjing for his reminder and advice.
However, gratitude is gratitude, but Zhao Junchen will only decide based on his own interests whether the two will cooperate in the future and what level this cooperation will reach.
Previously, Zhao Junchen vaguely agreed to the cooperation between the two, but in fact it was just a preliminary intention. Next, Zhao Junchen had to make a specific decision based on Zhou Shangjing's sincerity and the changes in the court situation.
However, after being reminded by Zhou Shangjing, Zhao Junchen completely lost his leisurely mood and became more cautious. In the next few days, Zhao Junchen locked himself in the room and repeatedly reviewed and revised it with his staff. Think about your future plans.
Of course, Zhao Junchen claimed to the outside world that he was ordered to conduct research on the rectification of commercial taxation, and he wanted to hand over a specific feasible plan to Emperor Deqing after returning to Beijing, so he confidently rejected those political speculations. The requests made by scholars to visit him, and the temptations from various forces against him.
Nowadays, Zhao Junchen's staff team has begun to take shape. Xiao Wenxuan, Su Xiqing, Li Lun and others have their own strengths. Niu Fude, Ouyang Bo, Li Chuanwen and others are even more experienced and can stand alone. After Zhao Junchen passed After a detailed investigation, he now initially trusted them. He also informed them of his plans for commercial and tax rectification. With their supplements and advice, Zhao Junchen did find out after deliberation among the group. He found many loopholes in his plan.
In fact, when the staff learned that Zhao Junchen was about to be responsible for the rectification of commercial tax, they all burst out with great enthusiasm, even more active than Zhao Junchen himself. After all, as Zhao Junchen's staff, they The interests of Zhao Junchen and Zhao Junchen have become consistent. If Zhao Junchen's power increases, their status will also rise and they can get many benefits, so they will do their best to assist Zhao Junchen without any slack.
In this way, between repeated discussions, deliberations and revisions, five days passed quickly.
During this period, the southern patrol fleet was still moving at full speed and had arrived in Zaozhuang, Shandong!
When Emperor Deqing went south, the Yellow River was in a gentle period, so the southern patrol fleet went to South Zhili through the Xuzhou Channel.
But when Emperor Deqing returned to Beijing, because the Yellow River had gradually entered the flood period, in order to prevent flooding, the Xuzhou waterway had been completely blocked and closed. The southern patrol fleet also changed its route and entered Shandong. Instead, we headed east from Weishanhukou, passing through Hanzhuang, Taierzhuang and other places, and finally arrived at Pizhou, and then returned to the capital along the original road.
This section of the canal was one of the most significant political achievements during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and is called the "Ji Canal".
In fact, the "Yan Canal" has very significant significance and benefits. It not only ensures water transportation, reduces floods in the Yellow River, but also drives the economic prosperity of Taierzhuang and other places.
Of course, after the opening of the "Jia Canal", it also caused the gradual decline of Xuzhou and other places.
In Zhao Junchen's plan to rectify commercial taxes, Taierzhuang was a very important strategic location, so after the Southern Patrol Fleet arrived in Taierzhuang, Zhao Junchen finally left his room and planned to take advantage of the Southern Patrol Fleet's temporary During the rest time, we conducted a detailed inspection of the current situation in Taierzhuang.
However, after Zhao Junchen was fully prepared and just about to go to Taierzhuang, he suddenly received a greeting card.
During this period of time, Zhao Junchen has been very popular because he is about to be responsible for the rectification of business taxation. He has attracted the attention of thousands of people. He receives not only 100 but also 80 invitations every day. There are so many people who want to see Zhao Junchen. They had different identities, including officials and wealthy businessmen, nobles and scholars, but Zhao Junchen found reasons to refuse to see them all.
Now, everything is not ready yet, and it is not the time to meet these people.
But after seeing this invitation, Zhao Junchen temporarily changed his mind.
This greeting note was an invitation to Zhao Junchen to attend a banquet. It was filled with names. A rough calculation showed that there were more than 20 people. However, the three people headed by him all had a relationship with Zhao Junchen. They were: Dai Fengfu, the boss of Maosheng Trading Company, Bai Mingyu, the boss of Darong Shipbuilding Company, and Lin Yunpu, the president of the Salt Merchants Association, are all leaders of the Huizhou-Zhejiang merchant gang and can represent the Huizhou merchant group to a great extent. will.
In addition to these three people, the other signees are also powerful figures in the Anhui and Zhejiang merchant gangs.
It seems that nearly half of the powerful figures in the Huizhou Merchant Group gathered in Taierzhuang, and they came specifically for Zhao Junchen!
Zhao Junchen was not surprised by this.
The Huizhou Merchants Group relied on smuggling to make huge profits. When word spread to Jiangnan that Prince Zhu Heyu was going to rectify commercial taxes and crack down on smuggling, these people naturally couldn't sit still. Every time the imperial court rectified commercial taxes and cracked down on smuggling, it meant that a large number of The Huizhou merchants are going to be in trouble. Not only will all the wealth they have accumulated through hard work be confiscated, but their lives and those of their clansmen will also be in danger!
As mentioned above, the nature of the Huizhou-Zhejiang merchant gang is different from that of the Shanxi merchant group. They may seem to be prosperous, but in fact they are just "fat pigs" deliberately kept in captivity by the court! Usually the court tolerates their smuggling just to make "fat pigs" The pigs were fattened, and when the "fat pigs" were fat enough, it was time for the court to slaughter them!
Therefore, after receiving the news that the imperial court was about to rectify commercial taxes and crack down on smuggling, how could these Hui merchants still sit still?
At the same time, there were also smart people among the Huizhou merchants. They also expected that Zhao Junchen would eventually be responsible for the rectification of business taxation, so they naturally rushed to Taierzhuang in a hurry and wanted to take the opportunity to inquire about Zhao Junchen's attitude.
The Huizhou Merchant Group is very powerful, and its financial resources and influence cannot be underestimated. Zhao Junchen adopts a win-win attitude towards them.
When he was in Yangzhou, Zhao Junchen met Dai Fengfu, Bai Mingyu, and Lin Yunpu, and even proposed cooperation. That is, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Hui-Zhejiang merchant gang would jointly establish a large-scale shipping company, and the imperial court would provide preferential policies.
, the Huizhou-Zhejiang merchant gang provided manpower, financial resources and ships, and then relied on the strong strength and policy advantages of this shipping company to completely monopolize the shipping business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River Waterway.
In fact, this proposal is also an important part of Zhao Junchen's plan to rectify commercial taxation.
At that time, after hearing Zhao Junchen's proposal, Dai Fengfu, Bai Mingyu, and Lin Yunpu all became interested and said that they would give Zhao Junchen a reply after going back to discuss it.
However, until Emperor Deqing concluded his southern tour, Zhao Junchen still did not wait for their reply.
Obviously, the Huizhou-Zhejiang merchant gang was wary of Zhao Junchen's proposal.
Zhao Junchen could also guess what their concerns were.
First of all, Zhao Junchen is just a minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. His lack of authority and influence cannot guarantee the smooth implementation of this proposal.
Secondly, through the smuggling business, Huizhou merchants have already obtained enough benefits, and they do not need to take risks and start a new business.
Finally, they are businessmen and Zhao Junchen is a politician. Businessmen and politicians have been inseparable since ancient times, and they do not trust Zhao Junchen.
But now, the situation suddenly changed. The imperial court wanted to rectify commercial taxes and suppress smuggling. Their lives and fortunes were in crisis, but Zhao Junchen already had enough power after taking charge of the rectification of commercial taxes...
This forced the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchant gangs to seriously consider Zhao Junchen's proposal.
Now, they hurried to Taierzhuang to meet Zhao Junchen, not only to test Zhao Junchen's attitude, but also probably because of Zhao Junchen's original proposal.
After Zhao Junchen received the invitation, he thought secretly for a moment, and soon guessed the change in mentality of the Hui-Zhe merchant gang and their specific purpose of asking to see him.
So, after Zhao Junchen pondered for a moment, he suddenly smiled and said: "Although I really want to give them a break and make them more eager, but since they have rushed to Taierzhuang in a hurry, I can't suppress their enthusiasm too much.
Otherwise, it will only make them have other ideas... In this case, let's meet them. Speaking of which, it's time to show off your cards to them!"