After hearing the content of Hong Gaogong's report and looking at Hong Gaogong's eyes, Zhao Junchen didn't need to have a private conversation at all, and he could guess what Hong Gaogong wanted to say to him.
The Wang family is the richest businessman in Shaanxi and Gansu, and the thirty-seven friends of the Wang family are also rich and powerful. How could the combined wealth of these people only amount to 1.35 million taels of silver and 67,000 taels of gold?
Just double it again.
In other words, Hong Gaogong and the Jin Yiwei concealed at least half of their gains during this house raid.
Of course, Hong Gaogong is a "fastidious person". He is well aware of the ins and outs of the officialdom. He also knows that Zhao Junchen gave the Jinyiwei the responsibility of inspecting the Wang family's fat servants deliberately to benefit them, so the Jinyiwei cannot monopolize everything.
The good thing is that he wants to have a private conversation with Zhao Junchen now because he just wants to share the stolen goods with Zhao Junchen.
Not only Zhao Junchen could see the fishy nature in Hong Gaogong's heart, but also Zhang Shengde and Zheng Yu.
After Zhao Junchen reached out and took over the accounts and roster, he glanced at Zhang Shengde and Zheng Yu from the corner of his eye. Zhang Shengde remained calm, as if he had become deaf and blind at this moment, while Zheng Yu's face was filled with tears.
They were envious and wished they could participate in dividing the spoils, but it was obvious that neither of them intended to expose the matter.
Seeing the two people's performance, Zhao Junchen felt a little regretful.
This feeling of regret is mainly directed at Zhang Shengde.
*
In the temple, if any official wants to achieve something, he must have his own official wisdom. No matter whether it is high or low, good or bad, the most important thing is to stick to it. He must not be erratic or capricious, otherwise all his efforts will be wasted.
, giving up halfway will not win people’s trust.
For example, Zhou Shangjing's officialdom wisdom can be summed up in four words: "taking both public and private interests into consideration". He would never jeopardize the overall interests of the court because of his personal interests, and he would never sacrifice his own interests and those of his cronies because of the overall interests of the court. He would always
Being able to find a delicate balance between the two, he always strives for the interests of himself and his cronies, not too much, not too little, just right. He has always adhered to this principle, so he became a representative of ministerial power and gained
With the support of hundreds of officials, even Emperor Deqing would trust Zhou Shangjing's judgment more at critical moments.
For example, Zuo Lanshan's official wisdom can be summed up as "neither be the head of a chicken, nor be the tail of a phoenix, just be a claw and beak." He has always adhered to this principle, loyally attached to the powerful officials in the court, and in the party
During the battle, he charged into the battle and spared no effort, so every powerful official was willing to accept him, so he remained standing in the temple, so Zuo Lanshan also succeeded.
For another example, Shen Changmao's officialdom wisdom can be summed up by the four words "Yi Zhi must retaliate". Anyone who infringes on his interests will be violently retaliated. When he adheres to this principle, no one in the temple dares to provoke him easily.
For him, he was successful for a time and had a high prestige among the officials. He even replaced Zhou Shangjing as the chief minister of the cabinet. However, when he became the leader of the officials, he worried about gains and losses and was no longer as good as before.
He was strong-willed and good at fighting, so he was unable to secure his position as the chief minister of the cabinet, and was about to fail and collapse.
Zhao Junchen also has his own officialdom wisdom, which is to integrate his own interests with the interests of the court, so that the two can form a relationship in which both prosper and lose. Therefore, the court has gradually become inseparable from Zhao Junchen. From the current point of view, Zhao Junchen
Junchen can also be called a success.
Zhang Shengde is now only in his early forties, and he is able to sit in the position of the second-rank governor of Shaanxi. He is obviously adhering to his official wisdom.
According to Zhao Junchen's guess, Zhang Shengde's official wisdom is nothing more than the four words "harmony with light and dust" - he has completely restrained his personality and ideas, completely integrated into the surrounding environment, and adapted to the surrounding environment.
Different, Zhang Shengde's performance is also completely different.
When Liang Fuchen was still the governor of the three sides, Zhang Shengde showed himself to be mature, prudent, loyal and patriotic, so Liang Fuchen always trusted Zhang Shengde and spoke highly of him;
After Liang Fuchen returned to Beijing to assist in the administration, the Mongolian coalition attacked in large numbers. Seeing that all the governors were afraid of the enemy and wanted to appease and beg for peace, Zhang Shengde also actively joined forces with governors from various places to intercept the imperial court's food and grass relief supplies, and detained people fleeing famine everywhere.
It can be said that the common people spared no effort, so the governors from various places also regarded Zhang Shengde as one of their own;
Now, the person in charge of the Shaanxi-Gansu border has become Zhao Junchen, so Zhang Shengde's performance has changed again. Suddenly he has become a hawkish official who actively takes the lead in the war, and a practical and promising frontier official.
, even a realist, he handled everything Zhao Junchen told him in an orderly manner, thought and acted from a practical perspective, and turned a blind eye to some of Zhao Junchen's shady practices... Therefore, Zhao Junchen
Junchen was also very satisfied with him.
In short, what kind of official Zhang Shengde is depends on the performance of his superiors first. If his superiors are loyal ministers, then Zhang Shengde will also become a loyal minister. If his superior officials become traitorous ministers
, he will also become a treacherous minister. If his superior is a hawk who is determined to fight, he will actively prepare swords and guns for his superior. If his superior is a weak and capitulating faction, he will also kneel on the ground together.
Hang your head.
Obviously, it was precisely because Zhang Shengde persisted in such official wisdom that he was deeply loved and valued by his superiors, so he climbed to the high position of governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.
But it was precisely because of this that Zhao Junchen felt regretful after seeing Zhang Shengde's calm expression at this time.
Seeing that Zhao Junchen and Hong Gaogong were about to divide the huge wealth of millions of taels, whether Zhang Shengde showed jealousy, envy, indignation, disdain or any other emotions at this time, Zhao Junchen could see his true nature.
, but Zhang Shengde remained calm at this time, as if he had become deaf and blind, and as if it was a matter of course for Zhao Junchen and Hong Gaogong to divide the stolen money - in short, Zhang Shengde's performance remained the same.
This is what Zhao Junchen "hopes" to see.
In this way, Zhao Junchen still could not see through Zhang Shengde's actual character, so he did not dare to accept Zhang Shengde as his confidant and entrust him with important responsibilities.
According to Zhang Shengde's consistent performance, if Zhao Junchen accepts Zhang Shengde as a confidant, once his boss becomes Zhao Junchen's political enemy in the DPRK, he may betray Zhao Junchen without hesitation
, and will also inform his superiors of all Zhao Junchen’s secrets.
Zhang Shengde is obviously a talented person, and Zhao Junchen also appreciates his practical ability and shrewd vision, but because he adheres to the officialdom wisdom of "harmony with light and dust", Zhao Junchen can only stay away from him.
*
"If I were replaced by the prince Zhu Heyu, who couldn't tolerate any scorn in his eyes, Zhang Shengde would have jumped out at this time and accused Hong Gaogong of being corrupt and perverting the law, right? After all, the prince likes his ministers, so Zhang Shengde also
I will definitely become a direct minister... It's a pity. In terms of ability and vision, it would be most appropriate for me to leave the Shaanxi-Gansu affairs to Zhang Shengde after I return to the capital. It's a pity that this person's position
It makes me feel uneasy, and I can only look to Fang Zhenshan, Wu Qifan and others from now on..."
While he was thinking secretly, Zhao Junchen also looked calm. He observed Zhang Shengde with his peripheral vision, and soon turned his attention to the list of accounts presented to him by Hong Gaogong.
The list listed the Wang family members and Wang family cronies arrested by the Jin Yiwei, and the account books detailed the gold and silver properties, properties and houses that the Jin Yiwei had seized.
Zhao Junchen knew that both the list and the account books were fishy, so he was not particularly serious when reading them. He just glanced at them for a few moments before nodding and saying: "Hong Baihu has been lucky during this time. The Jin Yiwei have done a good job.
The Wang family and their cronies were wiped out in one fell swoop, and their property happened to be used as military supplies, which could be used as military rewards for the soldiers, which solved an urgent need... Now, in the midst of successive natural disasters, the property of the Wang family and their cronies is also at risk.
It’s also very useful…”
After saying that, Zhao Junchen raised his head and said to Hong Gaogong: "After you go back, send all the gold and silver seized to the warehouse of Huamachi Camp. I will reward the army soon, and this silver will be used soon.
Those properties should not be sold off for the time being, I still keep them for use, and those jewelry and antiques must be inventoried as soon as possible..."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Hong Gaogong nodded repeatedly to express his acceptance.
Next, Zhao Junchen explained some things one after another. Seeing that it was getting late, he signaled to Zhang Shengde, Hong Gaogong, and Zheng Yu that they could leave.
Both Zhang Shengde and Zheng Yu quickly said goodbye and left, but just as Zhao Junchen expected, Hong Gaogong found a reason to stay.
After Zhang Shengde and Zheng Yu walked away, Hong Gaogong immediately walked to Zhao Junchen, bent down and said: "Your Majesty, the imperial envoy, regarding the search for the property of the Wang family and their cronies, my humble position actually concealed it.
Issues."
Zhao Junchen nodded slightly and said: "I guess you can't help but take action... tell me, how much gold and silver have you hidden in total?"
Hong Gaogong said with a smile: "You can't blame the low-level people for being greedy. It's really because the Wang family is so rich. This family alone has confiscated nearly two million taels of silver. They are extremely rich! Those cronies of the Wang family
They are all wealthy people. Now they are all criminals who collaborate with the enemy and betray the country. Their property is all stolen money. The more property they have, the more serious the crime. After checking their property in a lowly position, they concealed some of the amount, which is also true.
To alleviate their guilt."
After hearing Hong Gaogong's sincere defense, Zhao Junchen remained noncommittal, just picked up the tea cup and drank lightly.
Seeing Zhao Junchen like this, Hong Gaogong did not dare to continue rambling, and immediately went straight to the point, saying: "Actually, after the low-level inspection of the property of the Wang family and their cronies, a total of three hundred and thirty-five pieces of silver were confiscated.
Ten thousand taels, gold 117,000 taels... Because most of the shops and houses of the Wang family and their cronies have government notes, it is difficult to get started in low-level positions. Fortunately, these families concealed the reports to the government in order to evade taxes and evade taxes.
There are 2500 yuan worth of land, and all of these lands were taken over by humble officials. However, these lands originally belonged to different families and were distributed throughout Shaanxi and Gansu. They are in bits and pieces, and it is probably difficult to deal with them."
After hearing Hong Gaogong's report, Zhao Junchen shook his head and sighed: "You are quite courageous. You actually concealed two million taels of silver, fifty thousand taels of gold, and two thousand five hundred taels of land in one go!"
Hong Gaogong, however, looked like he was asking for credit, and said: "That's not all! In fact, the Wang family has vast power in Shaanxi and Gansu. They have more than thirty-seven factions in the government and the opposition, such as the Ningxia wealthy businessman He's family, Deputy Guyuan
Hu Cheng, the commander-in-chief, Xu Rui, the prefect of Yulin, and others are also closely related to the Wang family. However, they are not deeply involved in the case and have not participated in the Wang family's collaboration with the enemy and the country. Moreover, these people are all smart and sensible people.
After seeing that the Wang family was raided by Beizi, they quickly contacted Beizi secretly. Each family paid Beizi 50,000 taels of "atonement silver" to Beizu, and also provided Beizi with a lot of information, so Beizu let them go.
, these 'atonement silver' add up to another three hundred thousand taels of silver!"
Hong Gaogong became more and more excited as he spoke, and continued eloquently: "In addition, after inspecting a total of thirty-eight wealthy families in Shaanxi and Gansu this time, I obtained a large amount of land, shops, mansions, as well as jewelry and antiques. According to the
According to the rules of the imperial court, these things must be sold into gold and silver and added to the national treasury, so the wealthy squires from all over Shaanxi and Gansu are now ready to take them at a low price... In the past few days, many people have asked humble officials.
I said hello and said that as long as I do something convenient for them, they will give me another hundred thousand taels of silver!"
Zhao Junchen still looked noncommittal, just nodded slightly and asked: "In other words, you got a total of 2.4 million taels of silver, another 50,000 taels of gold and 2,500 fertile fields... What do you plan to do?
How to deal with these gold, silver and fields?"
Hong Gaogong's smile became more flattering and he said: "Without the arrangement of the Imperial Envoy, people like me would not be able to get such a lucrative job. I am also a person who knows how to repay my kindness. The boss here naturally wants to be filial to you, the Imperial Envoy."
But after all, I and my brothers have been suffering for such a long time. After returning to Beijing, I have to spend a sum of money to honor my uncle, and I also have to manage the relationship, so..."
At this point, Hong Gaogong's face showed a look of pain and he gritted his teeth and said: "So, I only leave one million taels of silver here, and the rest of the gold, silver and land will be dedicated to you. What do you think, Imperial Envoy?"
After speaking, Hong Gaogong looked at Zhao Junchen with an anxious expression.
One million taels of silver is by no means a small amount, and Hong Gaogong is naturally worried that Zhao Junchen will be dissatisfied.
Although Hong Gaogong has his uncle Hong Jin as his backer, he also knows that Zhao Junchen is now in the limelight. Hong Jin's status as the commander of the Jin Yiwei can scare others, but not Zhao Junchen. Zhao Junchen usually treats him less friendly than usual.
I hope I can easily offend Hong Jin, but when it comes to competing for interests, Zhao Junchen will never sell any face to Hong Jin.
Zhao Junchen frowned and thought for a moment, then asked: "How much of the one million taels of silver is to honor Hong Jin? How to manage the relationship after returning to Beijing? How do you plan to divide it?"
Hong Gaogong saw that things were serious and quickly said: "Without his uncle's arrangement, Beizhi and his brothers would not have had the chance to follow the imperial envoy to the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu. Therefore, Beizhi and his brothers calculated that they would leave three hundred thousand taels.
Yinzi waits until he returns to Beijing to be filial to his uncle...
At the same time, the humble post and the brothers have received so many benefits. After returning to the capital, they will inevitably be jealous of their colleagues. Most of the Jin Yiwei are from noble backgrounds, and they usually don't obey anyone. If they are allowed to be jealous because of their jealousy,
If the commotion started, I was afraid it would cause trouble, so I prepared to spend another 50,000 taels of silver to win people's hearts...
Also, when we first entered Shaanxi with the imperial envoy, we encountered a surprise attack by the Mongolian Tatars, killing more than thirty brothers in one fell swoop. I humbly planned to spend another 150,000 taels of silver to appease the families of these brothers who died in the battle.
Survivors...
At the end, the humble position and the more than 70 brothers under his command distributed the remaining 500,000 taels of silver according to the size of the official position. On average, it was 7,000 taels of silver per person..."
After hearing Hong Gaogong's explanation, Zhao Junchen pondered for a moment, then nodded and said: "In that case, let's handle this matter according to your wishes... However, the houses, shops, and jewelry you searched
Antiques can all be sold at low prices to the gentry and wealthy families in Shaanxi and Gansu, but don't sell the four thousand land at will, I will keep it for future use."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's reply, Hong Gaogong was immediately elated and said quickly: "Thank you so much, Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy. I will obey your orders, Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy!"
Zhao Junchen specifically asked Hong Gaogong how to distribute the one million taels of silver. It was not that he was reluctant to part with the money. Using this money to feed these Jinyi guards was something that Zhao Junchen had already planned. Zhao Junchen was just worried that the Jinyi guards would
It was just the trouble that arose because of the uneven distribution of the money. Now that Hong Gaogong has considered it carefully, he naturally stopped entangled in the matter.
In fact, Zhao Junchen no longer particularly cares about money.
Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, with the continuous discovery of silver mines in various places and the gradually active commercial activities, the depreciation trend of silver has become more obvious, and the purchasing power has become increasingly declining.
In the early days of Emperor Tianqi's accession to the throne, the Ming Dynasty's annual treasury income was only more than 3 million taels of silver. However, during the Wanli period, the treasury income had stabilized to more than 7 million taels of silver. After Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, the treasury income continued to increase.
It quadrupled and reached the peak of 25 million taels of silver.
During the reign of Emperor Deqing, the imperial court's treasury revenue was even greater. Last year alone, more than 57 million taels of silver were put into the treasury.
(Note: According to the setting of this book, because the Ming Dynasty did not perish during the Chongzhen period, the population size has approached the late Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, so the treasury revenue figures of the mid-Qing Dynasty were used for reference)
However, the revenue of the treasury seems to be doubling continuously, but the purchasing power of silver is falling faster. The Ming Dynasty's finances still have more income than expenditure. The treasury is now even more silver-rich and short of food.
Disaster relief officials in Shaanxi and Gansu used their money to buy grain everywhere, but in the end they achieved very little.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen is not particularly concerned about money now, but more concerned about fields and food. During this period, he has been using various means to control more fields.
Now, with the property confiscated by the Jin Yiwei from the Wang family and their cronies, Zhao Junchen has more confidence in relocating the people who are fleeing the famine.
*
But he said that after receiving one million taels of silver from Zhao Junchen, Hong Gaogong left happily soon.
After Hong Gaogong left, Zhao Junchen saw that it was getting late, so he planned to take the opportunity to rest.
However, at this time, Su Xiqing, his staff member who stayed in Huamachi Camp, hurriedly asked for an audience.
Su Xiqing sent two secret letters to Zhao Junchen, one from the Zhao Mansion in the capital, and the other from Xu Qingyan.