The ruthless emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty forced Chongzhen to abdicate at the beginning Chapter 188 Vice President of the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Chapter 188 Vice President of the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Chapter 188 Vice President of the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry
As Zhejiang, which is actually integrated with Southern Zhili, it pays the most attention to the New Deal and understands it best.
With the imperial edict issuing a sea ban, important terminals such as Ningbo were renovated and expanded under the leadership of the imperial court. Although officials have not yet been dispatched to establish a municipal shipping department, almost all maritime merchants in Zhejiang know that it is only a matter of time before the imperial court collects tariffs.
, it is also something that cannot be avoided.
Compared with other maritime merchants who worry about how to avoid and evade taxes in the future, the Zhou family, the largest maritime merchant in Ningbo, is worried about survival.
The Zhou family was originally a large family in Ningbo, and their ancestors also had high-ranking officials. It was only when their family fell into decline that they turned to business. After making money, they thought about becoming an official through the imperial examination.
Because in Jiangnan, if there are no Jinshi for three generations, it is not considered an official family. No matter how great the family is, it does not have much say.
And if for three generations, there is not even a single person in the family, then it is not even considered a scholarly family, and it has really become an existence where people can be exploited.
The Zhou family doesn't know if the feng shui of their ancestral graves has been damaged. Since the Wanli period, the family has never had a successor, so they had no choice but to rely on the powerful to survive.
Unlike most of the declining families in the south of the Yangtze River, who chose to attach themselves to official families, the Zhou family chose to attach themselves to the nobility of Nanjing City.
As for eunuchs, no family would choose to attach themselves to eunuchs unless they had to, because once they attached themselves to eunuchs, the family's reputation would be ruined. In the future, even if the family has a Jinshi or a scholar, it will be difficult for them to join the family of officials and scholars.
Since the Zhou family chose to attach themselves to Wei Guogong in Nanjing, although the imperial examination was still unsatisfactory, the family business has grown bigger and bigger.
At its peak, the family owned more than 100,000 acres of mulberry fields, hundreds of workshops, produced more than 100,000 pieces of silk every year, dozens of large and small ships, and earned millions of taels from sea trade every year.
But what the Zhou family never expected was that the Duke of Wei, who had been hereditary for more than two hundred years, would be completely destroyed and uprooted by the imperial concubine, causing the Zhou family to completely lose support.
A big family with an annual income of several million doesn't even have a single member of the family, and it doesn't have much say in the officialdom. It's almost like a huge piece of fat that everyone wants to take a bite of.
Almost as soon as Wei Guogong was finished, all the maritime merchants in Zhejiang united and wanted to carve up the Zhou family. Officials in Hangzhou and Ningbo also tried to extort money from time to time.
This situation of the Zhou family can no longer be solved with money. Likewise, with the current business and wealth of the Zhou family, they can no longer rely on other official families.
In the past, you could have made a desperate move and sought refuge with the Nanjing garrison eunuch, or you could have gone directly to the capital to seek refuge with the chief eunuch.
But today is different from the past. The eunuch group in Nanjing City has been wiped out, and the eunuchs in Beijing City can no longer interfere with the affairs of the south.
The familiar rules in the past seemed to have suddenly become unfamiliar, leaving the Zhou family a little at a loss.
Fortunately, the other forces in Jiangnan finally took care of the Queen Mother and the noble concubine and did not dare to annex them blatantly and unscrupulously. However, after a year, the Zhou family's business still suffered a huge blow.
In particular, most of the dozens of sea-going ships were detained by the Zheng family, which was a fatal blow.
There is no way, the Zheng family also comes here to see who they are. If the Zhou family is in this situation, they have obviously lost their qualifications to be a maritime merchant.
With a little pressure from other maritime merchants, Zheng Zhilong no longer cared about his old friendship and could only join the team that carve up the Zhou family.
"Father, at this point, our Zhou family has no other way out except joining the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry."
"Hey, why do you think Wen'er is so unsatisfactory? My father doesn't expect her to be a queen, but she can be a concubine, or at the very least, a talented person!"
"Father, what's the use of talking about this now?"
"Forget it, let's treat a dead horse as a living doctor. I will go to Nanjing for my father tomorrow."
In the study room of the Zhou family, the head of the family Zhou Xing, no matter how unwilling he felt, had no choice but to say helplessly in the end.
Originally, the Zhou family had pinned their hopes on this draft. They selected dozens of girls from the clan to participate in the draft and spent more than 100,000 taels of silver on it.
Although dozens of girls were sent to Nanjing, they were all sent back one after another. In the end, even his daughter, who had high hopes for him, was eliminated.
Although he was not sent back and stayed in the palace, he did not even seal a talented person, which could not play a big role in the family. Instead, his daughter was brought in.
"Father, it is said that the Queen Mother has spoken this time. Except for the top ten beautiful girls, if the other beautiful girls do not want to enter the palace, they can be taken back."
"Forget it, let Wen'er stay in the palace. After all, the emperor is young, and Wen'er's appearance and temperament are excellent. As long as she stays in the palace, she will have a chance."
Zhou Xing waved his hands, obviously still holding on to the last trace of fantasy.
The road to the draft was over, and the Zhou family did not hesitate any longer. After all, once the New Deal was implemented in Zhejiang, no one could tell what kind of situation the Zhou family would encounter. Zhou Xing quietly rushed to Nanjing the next day.
Six days later, they arrived in Nanjing City and went directly to the former Duke of Wei's Mansion, now the Ming Dynasty Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Before Zhou Xing, I would come to this Duke's Mansion of Wei almost every year.
At this moment, standing in front of the gate, looking at the majestic gate and the golden dragon plaque above, I am filled with emotions.
"This officer is so polite, what's the point of doing this?"
The two waiters at the door saw Zhou Xing standing in front of the door, lost in thought. After waiting for a while, they stepped forward and asked.
"My dear brother, I am polite. Zhou Xing is a businessman from Ningbo. I am here to apply to join the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I would also like to ask my brother to pass on my thoughts..."
Zhou Xing hurriedly returned the gift with his fists clasped in a very low posture. As he spoke, he took out a hundred-tael silver note from his sleeve and prepared to hand it to the clerk.
Although he really didn't want to call himself a businessman, he came here to apply to join the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, so he could only call himself a businessman.
"What? Are you here to apply to join the Chamber of Commerce and Industry?"
The waiter exclaimed and forgot about the banknotes stuffed into his hands.
"That's right. I would like to trouble you to pass it on to you. I'd be very grateful." Zhou Xing said respectfully again.
"No, there is no need to send a message. Her Royal Highness the Princess has ordered that anyone who comes to join the Chamber of Commerce and Industry should go directly to the lobby. Member Zhou, please!"
The clerk said overjoyed, and while putting the banknote in his arms, he made a gesture of invitation.
Until he stepped through the gate, Zhou Xing still couldn't believe that one day he would be able to enter directly from the main entrance of Wei Guogong's mansion, and he couldn't believe that he would be taken directly into the luxurious hall to sit down.
Seeing the beautiful maid serving tea, Zhou Xing was a little flattered and felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
"Mr. Zhou, sit down outside for a moment. I've already asked someone to report this to our vice president."
"Thank you for your help, Liu, in charge."
The person accompanying him was a middle-aged steward. The two of them just chatted for a while, then Chen Yuanyuan walked into the hall from the back, and the two of them hurriedly got up.
"Except Member Zhou, this is our Vice President of the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chen Yuanyuan, Mrs. Chen."
"The villain Zhou Xing has met Madam."
Zhou Xing had naturally heard of Chen Yuanyuan's name, but he didn't expect that she was actually the vice president of the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He was a little flattered and said rudely.
"No need to be polite, Mr. Zhou, please take a seat!"
Chen Yuanyuan said after coming to the main seat.
Nowadays, Chen Yuanyuan's temperament has undergone earth-shaking changes. Every word and deed reveals a kind of grace and elegance. She is no longer as soft and weak as before.
"Thank you, Madam."
After Chen Yuanyuan sat down, Zhou Xingcai sat down carefully.
"I heard that Zhou Yuanwai wants to apply to join the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry?"
Chen Yuanyuan didn't use too many polite words, but asked directly.
Although his tone was calm, his heart was already filled with excitement.
Because she has heard of the Ningbo Zhou family and has a general understanding of it. It is definitely one of the top large merchants in Zhejiang. Even if it is in decline now, it is still qualified to become a gold member.
"Back to Mrs. Chen, my Zhou family really wants to apply to join the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and become a gold member. This is a detailed list of all the business and wealth of my Zhou family. Please take a look at it, Madam."
Zhou Xing also straightforwardly took out the declaration list booklet that he had prepared long ago.
Chen Yuanyuan took the brochure handed over by the maid and did not read it directly. Instead, she looked at Zhou Xing and said: "Executive member Zhou, I believe you also know the rules of our Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Wealth can be concealed. Gold members only need to deposit money at the Royal Bank."
It is enough to invest one million silver, but all businesses under the Zhou family are not allowed to hide anything. Once you hide anything, you will be directly expelled from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and you will not be able to join again in the future.
And there is a new rule, that is, the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry will establish ten vice-presidents, one term every two years, and the highest-ranking member will serve. In other words, as long as your application is approved, you will automatically become a vice-president of the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
long."
"What?"
Zhou Xing was so shocked by this huge surprise that he stood up directly.
No matter how ignorant he is, he still understands the difference between the vice president and the members.
"Her Royal Highness the Princess just decided this three days ago. The announcement will be officially issued tomorrow. Member Zhou, are you sure this list does not need to be modified? Once I have read it, it will be too late to modify it."
Chen Yuanyuan picked up the list and reminded her kindly. It was obvious that she cherished this first member, a gold member, very much, and did not want to be rejected because he did not understand the situation.
Sure enough, seeing what Chen Yuanyuan said, Zhou Xing also woke up and said with some embarrassment: "I came in a hurry, so there may be some omissions in this list. Please give me some more time, so I can check and organize it carefully."
"That's it. Mr. Zhou can stay at the head office first." Chen Yuanyuan said, then handed the brochure to the waiting girl, and then ordered someone to take him down.
The Duke of Wei's mansion is very large and luxuriously built. The princess usually lives in the palace, and Chen Yuanyuan also lives in his own mansion next door. Therefore, the huge mansion is full of staff. Zhou Xing, a quasi-gold member, has become
The most distinguished guest in the mansion was taken to the upper room to stay.
This really made Zhou Xing feel valued, and he was also full of expectations for joining the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Originally he only planned to declare a business that could earn one million taels of silver per year, but now he did not dare to hide it anymore.
The next day, Zhou Xing resubmitted the application list. After Chen Yuanyuan read it, he ordered someone to file it, and then dispatched a large-scale verification mission to various places in Zhejiang to check one by one according to the list and finally make an evaluation.
As for the Ningbo Zhou family's application to join the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, due to deliberate publicity, everyone in South Zhili and Zhejiang became aware of it in just a few days.
Coupled with the new regulations of the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Royal Chamber of Commerce and Industry once again became the hottest topic in Jiangnan.
Countless businessmen have focused their attention on the Zhou family.