These words made Li Zhigang feel very comfortable.
As long as you are human, no one is willing to admit that you are narrow-minded or have a low vision!
"Thank you Shaoying for your blunt reminder!" Li Zhigang clasped his fists and said gratefully.
"Hi!" Liu Guan smiled and waved his hand, "You are just too busy and didn't think of this at the moment!"
Li Zhigang felt more at ease in his heart and said with a smile, "Unexpectedly, Shaoying, your situation is now a bit stronger than before!"
Liu Guan smiled heartily and said, "Those who are close to Zhu are red! You and I are close friends. How can we not be high-ranking under the influence of what we hear and see?"
"Haha, yes! Haha!" Li Zhigang laughed.
Then he thought for a while, frowned and said, "Well, you're right! As for me, as long as I have the achievements of the New Deal in hand, my future will be worry-free. There is no need to compete with them for a short period of time!"
"That's right, Long Live Lord, can I still treat you badly?" Liu Guan said with a smile.
"The more it is at this time, the more lenient it is to appear gentle. This is called retreating in order to advance!" Li Zhigang said thoughtfully, "So, today I have some... strong words for Tie Xuan and the others!"
Liu Guan thought about it, "I'll give you a tip later and tell you what happened today. Remember, don't say anything bad about Tie Xuan and the others. Just say that you let those taxis outside the car drive alone."
The officials and gentry were in a state of unrest, so they just spoke too harshly for a while!"
"I know!" Li Zhigang nodded and sighed, "If you have such a close friend in life, what more can you ask for!"
"Too serious, who made you my friend?" Liu Guan also sighed.
"Well..." Li Zhigang pondered for a moment, "Tomorrow morning I will send someone to inform Tie Xuan to go to Suzhou!"
Going to Suzhou is the best way right now.
Hangzhou is where the Chief Secretary is located, under the noses of Tie Xuan and others.
Nowadays, students from three provinces are on strike to take exams, and the officials and gentry are besieging the Imperial Envoy's palace. The best way is for him, Li Zhigang, to just leave.
This definitely gave Tie Xuan enough face! Otherwise Tie Xuan and the others would not be human inside and out!
This was also a rare concession and compromise for Li Zhigang.
~
"You haven't eaten yet?"
After figuring out these joints, Li Zhigang was in a good mood. He smiled and ordered, "Tell the kitchen to turn on the fire. Shaoying and I want to have a few drinks!"
"No, no!" Liu Guan stood up, "The family is ready, I have to go back!"
"Tsk..." Li Zhigang said displeasedly, "It's rare for us to get together once!"
"I can't do it if I don't go back! The whole family is waiting for me!" Liu Guan said with a smile, "If I don't go back, neither the old nor the young will eat!"
Li Zhigang pulled Liu Guan, "What are you afraid of? I'll send someone to tell my aunt and my wife!" As he said, someone shouted to the outside, "Tell the kitchen... No, let's go outside and order a table of eight-jean swallow-wing banquet."
, send it to Mr. Liu’s house! Tell the old lady of the Liu family again that she will stay with me for dinner! Tell me that I will go over and kowtow to her later!”
"no, I'm fine....."
"Why should we be so polite? Let's take a walk. The view of the Accord over there is great!"
Li Zhigang pushed Liu Guan and turned around to give his personal attendant a look as he set off.
~
The book boy who has been with Li Zhigang since he was a child has been a master and servant all his life, and he knows what he means by just one look.
Immediately he hurriedly went to give instructions, then turned back to the accounting room.
I paid twenty one-hundred-silver yuan bills, folded them, put them in a brown paper envelope, and placed them at the bottom of the food box.
After thinking about it, I took it out and put it close to my body.
Then he said to the other servants of the Li family, "Hurry up and make the master's banquet. I will personally deliver the banquet to Mr. Liu's family!"
~~
The elegant building where Li Zhigang's imperial envoys traveled can overlook the beautiful scenery of the West Lake.
The two of them were sitting opposite each other in the building. A servant had already laid out the tablecloth and placed the tableware.
"The beauty of the West Lake is unparalleled in the world!" Li Zhigang wiped his hands with a handkerchief and said with a smile, "To be honest, in terms of scenery, this place is a bit better than the capital!"
"It's also more extravagant!" Liu Guan put his hands behind his back and looked at the West Lake. "The extravagance in the capital is nothing more than romance. And the extravagance here..." He said, shaking his head, "You can see it everywhere, even unheard of!"
"Oh?" Li Zhigang said with a smile, "Is there something in Shaoying's words?"
"You are about to go to Suzhou. There is a wealthy family in Suzhou!" Liu Guan whispered, "Their old man will be sixty years old in September! To celebrate, the filial son and grandson of the family built a garden for the old man. How much do you think it cost?"
Li Zhigang thought about it, "How much?"
"Four hundred thousand silver dollars!" Liu Guan sighed, "That's four hundred thousand, not four hundred or four thousand, but four hundred thousand!" He said with a sneer, "I heard that just a few longevity pines in the garden cost thirty thousand.
A few rockery rocks and rocks cost 70,000 to 80,000 yuan... and a whole set of porcelain with longevity patterns was specially burned in Foshan... They are priceless!"
"hiss....."
Forget about him, Li Zhigang also came from a wealthy family, so he took a deep breath when he heard this.
"Did the wind bring his money?" Li Zhigang asked.
"The big salt merchant..." Liu Guan snorted, "The big silk merchant, the big porcelain merchant..."
Li Zhigang pondered and said, "They are all related to Foshan? Isn't he also a big businessman?"
Guangdong is rich, but the richest places are those in Guangfu District.
And among those places, Foshan is outstanding.
Because in addition to trade, Foshan also has iron-making and porcelain-making industries. In particular, iron-making is well-known at home and abroad!
It is said that there are four gatherings in the world, which is the richest city in the Ming Dynasty.
The capital is in the middle, Foshan is in the south, Suzhou is in the east, and Hankou is in the west...
"Does their family have support?" Li Zhigang asked again.
"The uncle-in-law of Qi Zhu, the Chief Secretary of Guangdong!" Liu Guan turned around, sat down and said with a smile.
Hearing this, Li Zhigang's eyebrows stood up.
Qi Zhu was originally nominated as the Right Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the 30th year of Hongwu, but because the emperor's grandson at that time was the current emperor and wanted to promote people in his own pocket, he was not appointed as the Minister.
But now he is also a feudal official, and he is also a feudal official of Guangdong Province!
Furthermore, this person has a strong foundation. Xu Ben, a veteran of the Hongwu Dynasty who was the previous Chief Secretary of Guangdong, was also his father-in-law.
"This wealthy family in Suzhou not only has the nephew of the chief minister, but also has seven Jinshi and twenty-four imperial officials since the Chinese Dynasty. There are six fourth-rank officials, nine fifth-rank officials, and even more sixth- and seventh-rank officials.
Yes!" Liu Guan continued to laugh.
At this time, the servant crept over with the steamed sea bass that had just come out of the pot, placed it on the table and then left.
Li Zhigang looked at the carefully cooked seabass and said, "Shaoying, I'm afraid your words are not without purpose, right?"
"When you were talking about the New Deal, you said something casually. Do you still remember it?" Liu Guan said with a smile.
Li Zhigang thought about it and said, "Forgot!"
"You, you, you!" Liu Guan laughed, and then said seriously in a low voice, "Open the sea!"
~
Although maritime trade is now flourishing in the Ming Dynasty, on the surface it still continues the old policies of the Hongwu period and has not fully relaxed the maritime ban.
As the person who knew the emperor best, Li Zhigang knew that the emperor's biggest motive for using troops abroad for many years was to infinitely expand maritime transportation, so as to achieve the full opening of the sea naturally.
"In my opinion! After the New Deal, the opening of the sea will fall on your shoulders!" Liu Guan picked up the ivory chopsticks and took a bite of the seabass, as if savoring the deliciousness, and said, "The New Deal is difficult, open the sea."
The sea is even harder!”
As he said that, he glanced at Li Zhigang and said, "You think, the New Deal is about the land! For the officials and gentry, the land is their life, but for the wealthy families, sea trade is their life! If once it is liberalized, they will not be able to form a monopoly, then
Can they still be called a wealthy family?"
Li Zhigang squinted his eyes, thoughtfully.
What Liu Guan said is right. Haitrade is an endless treasure.
Today's maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the officialdom, consists of these wealthy merchants.
The emperor wanted sea trade, but he would never allow anyone to monopolize sea trade, leaving only a few companies to dominate.
"Come, have a drink!" Liu Guan smiled and raised his glass, "I wish Yi Xing a prosperous career in the future!"
"Haha!" Li Zhigang smiled, "What do Shaoying have in mind?"
"I have a lot of ideas, but I'm timid!" Liu Guan smiled bitterly, "I can talk about some things on paper. But if I really do it, I'm at a loss. Compared with you, it's like heaven and earth. You are in heaven and I am here.
land!"
Li Zhigang pondered for a moment, "The reason why you are at a loss is because no one supports you!" After saying that, he put down the wine glass and pondered for a long time.
"Suzhou Prefect, I want to get rid of him!" Li Zhigang said slowly, "You have no intention of being the governor of a province... As you are a fourth-level political participant, it is not a grievance to take charge of Suzhou Prefecture temporarily!"
Suddenly, Liu Huan paused with his chopsticks.
"Yi Xing, don't be joking!"
"No kidding!" Li Zhigang said seriously, "You have to help me!"
Liu Guan wanted to say more, but suddenly there was a burst of noise and curses outside the camp.
Someone came over and said in a low voice, "Sir, are the inspectors driving away the troublemaking officials and scholars outside?"
"Haha!" Li Zhigang stood up with a wine glass in hand, "Shaoying, come to the show!"