Empress Dowager Li is a harem woman, and it is difficult to see foreign ministers unless it is a very important occasion like Mu Zongbintian. Today, Zhang Hong hinted at it, and because she couldn't figure out Zhang Juzheng's true purpose, she felt a little uneasy.
Before, it was Feng Bao who explained Zhang Juzheng's ideas to her. Because of the Minister Wang case, Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng were deceived. After she expelled Feng Bao in anger, she almost made random guesses for a while.
At this time, after hearing that the emperor said that he wanted to talk to Zhang Juzheng, he seemed to have returned to the past. Feng Bao always said: "I will wait until I ask Mr. Zhang and then report back to the Queen Mother."
Zhu Yijun understood what Zhang Juzheng meant, but he didn't want to tell the Queen Mother in detail. During the previous meeting, Zhu Yijun and Zhang Juzheng had an in-depth discussion on state affairs.
With no public opinion preparation outside, no financial support inside, and no talents except eunuchs, Zhu Yijun basically accepted Zhang Juzheng's reform ideas and promised to entrust him with the big deal. After returning to the palace, he followed Empress Dowager Li
It also unified their thinking, and Empress Dowager Li deeply believed in it.
He has no power, no wealth, no one, and only a semi-master of political affairs. He has not yet passed the clear path. At this time, Zhu Yijun can only think of ways to reform the inner court - at least, gather the wealth first.
Zhang Juzheng should be well aware of the scene in the Duke's Mansion today. Zhu Yijun wanted to show his kindness to his ministers and make preparations for taking over the military power in the capital. Although Zhu Yijun expected Zhang Juzheng to react, he did not expect that he would slap him in the face.
The way hits head on.
In fact, this completely reflects the difference in political thinking between the director and the prime minister. Political struggle is completely different from business war. Although there are political strategies, most of them are used to suppress others. Business war is like a card fight. Both sides hold trump cards, but they use
All kinds of tricks confuse people, making them want the other party to take all their belongings.
Only when the political struggle is life-and-death can one dare to use this method. For example, in the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Zhuang of Zheng was in a life-and-death struggle, so he played tricks, but was ridiculed by Confucius for two thousand years.
Otherwise, most of the time in political battles, one shows strength first, hoping that the other party will understand what one wants as soon as possible, so as not to lose both sides. In political fights, trump cards are always hidden. Before the other party is confused, one's pig teammates will run away first, and the power will rise and fall in a blink of an eye.
between.
Of course, nothing is absolute, and you have to choose the right time to show your trump card. Sometimes those in power want to see people's hearts and distinguish between close and distant, and sometimes they will hide something. Political opponents who are evenly matched often cast stones first to ask for directions, and they don't care about the life or death of the little pebbles. During this period
It’s ever-changing, but it always remains true: when it comes to important matters, if you don’t want the other party or your teammates to misunderstand, it’s better to reveal your trump card early.
Today, Zhang Juzheng showed his cards at the Duke's Mansion: I, Lao Zhang, will deal with anything that goes against the ancestral system! Emperor, I can only agree - everyone's eyes are bright, who is the "number one order" of the imperial court!
When Zhu Yijun faced Zhang Juzheng at this time, except for the righteousness that accounted for half of the pro-government, his other strength was not at the same level. If he repels Zhang Juzheng like he expelled Feng Bao, he estimated that Empress Dowager Li would dethrone him first.
Therefore, when he summoned Zhang Juzheng in the afternoon, how should we discuss it? How should we discuss it? Zhu Yijun kept thinking, analyzing, and inferring in his heart. Until he sat down in Wuying Hall, he was still speculating on how likely the answer Zhang Juzheng gave him was.
After Zhang Juzheng came to see him, he lay down normally, was given a seat, and placed a three-piece set of tea. Zhu Yijun was tired all afternoon, and at this moment his thoughts suddenly started to fly, and he actually had the feeling of "setting tea and talking about numbers" in a Hong Kong movie.
Zhu Yijun first asked: "Old sir, what do you mean by your statement at the Duke's house today?"
Zhang Juzheng had already expected that Zhu Yijun would ask this question, so he replied: "I dare not deceive the emperor. Zhu Shitai bribed the minister with one hundred thousand taels of silver. He did not intend to inherit the king's title. As long as he was famous and wanted to show face at the funeral, why not give it to him?" "
In fact, Duke Yuan Shikong Cheng was seriously ill, and his family did bribe Feng Bao with a large amount of money to grant him the title of king. Zhang Juzheng resisted all opinions and really granted the title. He also wrote an article to present the reasons to the ministers, but Zhu Yijun did not I no longer know.
At this moment, he opened his mouth wide, never expecting such an answer. He couldn't help but want to shout: "Who can guess this? What do you want?!"
When Zhang Juzheng saw that the emperor was silent, he still lowered his head and said: "It happens that I want to control the river, so these one hundred thousand taels are enough to make preparations."
After hearing this, Zhu Yijun interjected: "How can a famous national treasure be traded? How can the imperial government use bribes to regulate the river?"
After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng still had no expression on his face and continued calmly: "I will answer the emperor's second question first. The imperial court does not have the money to manage the river now, but the river management cannot wait, so I can only It’s okay to think of other ways and bear some notoriety.”
He continued: "Your Majesty's first question - I think that if every honorable person wants to have a decent funeral, the court can do this business. After all, they only take money from the honorable family, and the title is given to the deceased, and the court and the people have nothing to do with it." No harm done.”
Zhu Yijun smiled bitterly when he heard this and said: "Old sir, don't be ridiculous, I understand what you mean, but do you want to stop the opening of the Imperial Store?"
Zhang Juzheng then raised his head and said: "There is no wiser person than the emperor. Even if the imperial shop opens, it only sells luxury goods and only earns the money that makes a wealthy official a wealthy businessman. There are still five major disadvantages. I will tell you what the emperor says."
"One is to change customs and promote luxury among the people. Luxurious things are not enough for warmth and food, and there is no restraint in one's desires, and people's indulgences are unrestrained. When extravagant desires flourish, the people suffer."
"Secondly, there are many honors and nobles. Officials' homes are glamorous on the surface but cannot make ends meet. Like Zhu Shitai, the Duke's mansion is only glamorous on the surface, but how many people still want to show off their appearance? They spend a lot of extravagant things. Where does the money come from? It can only increase exploitation and harm the people."
"The three imperial stores are set up to compete with the people for profit. If one store uses pancakes, the common people who use saponins will sell less. This disadvantage has been reported to the emperor when he summoned the right one."
"The four principles are good, but they will be worse below. When the emperor does business, all the kings and nobles in the world will be more bold and unbridled. Can he restrain all the officials like the emperor and not harm the business people? Or he may suffer short-term gains. Over time, the world will be affected. Is this what the emperor likes to see if all business is accumulated in the hands of powerful people?"
"Fifth, it is unavoidable that the rich and poor are hungry for food and wine. The resentment between the rich and the poor is getting deeper and deeper. The slightest provocation will lead to turmoil!"
After Zhang Juzheng raised the five disadvantages, he lowered his head and waited for the emperor's answer.
Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment. Zhang Juzheng was about to close the imperial store, which would be equivalent to cutting off Zhu Yijun's financial resources. It was inevitable. But at this moment, if he was not convinced, Zhu Yijun expected that the next step would be a stormy baptism of memorials from Ke Dao, and he would be shaken by then. Queen Mother Li, big things are over!
After thinking about the words in his mind, Zhu Yijun said: "The old gentleman has exaggerated. I told you one by one, and I also said five."
"For one thing, the imperial store does not sell all luxury goods. Most of the items it sells are daily necessities for the common people, but they are more exquisite and more expensive. These things are also used by wealthy families. , I disagree with the first point the old gentleman said."
"Secondly, the old gentleman said that corrupt officials will intensify their exploitation in order to buy things from the imperial shop. I just want to ask, if they didn't have these, would they reduce it a little?"
"The third is about competing for interests with the people, which we will talk about later. The fourth is about the kings and nobles doing business. I ask you, sir, which of the wealthy merchants in the Ming Dynasty does not have the support of the House of Bells and Dining Food?"
"Finally, I have my own way to solve the ridicule of rich people's wine and meat. I will build schools, build hospitals, and do charity!"