At this time, it was getting late, and the moon hung lonely in a corner of the quiet black night sky.
The county prince's palace not far away was brightly lit, making the night look like day.
When Xie Jin came out of the carriage, someone had already handed him a name card.
Not long after, a man slowly came out, came to him, and said respectfully: "Jie Gong, please."
Xie Jin didn't know who this person was.
However, this man recognized Xie Jin, and he was none other than Yu Qian.
At the moment, Yu Qian led Xie Jin inside, walked around several doorways, and finally saw Zhang Anshi working steadily in a side hall of the palace.
Xie Jin bowed and said, "Foolish minister Xie Jin, I have met His Highness."
Having said that, salute.
Yu Qian stood aside, looking at his giegie. Seeing the magnanimity in his movements, he was filled with admiration.
Zhang Anshi raised his eyes to look at Xie Jin and said to Xie Jin, "Ah... sit down."
Xie Jin seemed neither humble nor arrogant, and calmly leaned over and sat down.
Zhang Anshi said: "I heard that King Zhao actually detained more than a hundred of my Tiqi. What's going on?"
Everyone had express reports arriving, so to some extent everyone knew the news from Java.
Xie Jin said calmly and calmly: "This is a misunderstanding. His Highness King Zhao did not know that His Highness the Prince of Wuhu County actually arranged people... among the scholars. After all, Java has already set up hundreds of offices, so there should be plenty of manpower. Naturally. , His Royal Highness King Zhao is thousands of miles away, and sometimes behaves a little frivolously, so it is appropriate for the Jin Yiwei to send more people to keep an eye on him."
As soon as he said this, he blamed Zhang Anshi for not doubting King Zhao and sending so many people to monitor him. This was obviously far beyond the scope of monitoring a prince.
Zhang Anshi was not stupid, and he immediately understood the deep meaning of these words. He laughed and said: "Haha, mainly those scholars are criticizing the imperial court on weekdays. I have long suspected them. This time they went to sea, Jin Yiwei The people over there thought they had a plot, so... they put about a hundred people inside, just to take precautions, not because they had any doubts about King Zhao."
Xie Jin nodded and said: "His Royal Highness is in charge of the Jinyi Guards, and he is thorough in everything. When Yuchen was in Java, he had dealt with hundreds of local households. Everyone in the Jinyi Guards is dedicated to their duties. It is really well trained by His Highness."
Zhang Anshi said: "Everything I say is just a matter of loyalty to the emperor. I already know a little about Java. After all, these scholars are my subjects of the Ming Dynasty. But now... they have been moved to Java and imprisoned in Java." On the island, this...is a bit unreasonable."
What Zhang Anshi raised was a legal issue.
To be honest, King Zhao is too dark-hearted, and his game is like killing pigs. Righteous people like Zhang Anshi cannot stand it.
Xie Jin said at this time: "Speaking of this, His Royal Highness King Zhao has long wanted to submit a letter, but he is afraid that His Majesty will worry about him, so he has not made up his mind."
Zhang Anshi became suspicious for a moment, raised his eyebrows and said: "Send a letter, what kind of letter?"
Xie Jin said: "Java is not as good as Annan and Luzon. Annan and Luzon have a large number of Han people crossing south as early as a hundred years ago. Because of this, the kings established vassals, let's say the King of Han. The King of Han is in Annan. This Annan According to statistics, there are nearly one million Han people. With these foundations, the king of Han can be said to be like a fish in water in Annan."
"But His Royal Highness King Zhao, who is also His Majesty's legitimate son, went to Java. In the land of Java, there are very few Han people. So far, almost all the Han people are from the guards and family members brought by King Zhao, but there are only a handful of them. They are just households. It is really unsustainable for these people to be placed in Java. In the past few years, His Royal Highness King Zhao has tried hard to attract Han people, but the results have been mostly limited. After all, Java is isolated outside the territory, and there are many native people around, which can be said to be full of dangers. Your Majesty How can we be so generous to the King of Han and be so disrespectful to the King of Zhao?"
Zhang Anshi: "..."
Xie Jin continued: "It's difficult, it's too difficult. Now, there are 24,000 Han Chinese households in Java, or only one hundred thousand people, but the native people are like dark clouds covering the sun, and they are as numerous as cow hairs. King Zhao is worried, in
Java is already difficult
As a successor, I can no longer maintain it, and I want to complain several times, but I am afraid that the father will worry about his son, and the emperor will worry about the affairs thousands of miles away. As for sons and ministers, they should share the worries of the emperor and father, rather than giving them to the emperor.
Your father adds to your troubles."
Zhang Anshi could only say: "Okay, okay, I understand, it's difficult for everyone now."
"That's not necessarily the case." Xie Jin said: "Let's talk about the King of Han. The King of Han is in Annan, which is connected to the Ming Dynasty by land. I heard that it has been attracting border people from Yunnan and Guizhou. There are also the kings of Zhou and others. As far as I know, they actually
After I went to Ryukyu and Korea and lied about the Jingnan War, many of my Ming men died in the war.
, many women are widowed and running the family business, and they are looking for men to marry. In the North Korean country, they recruit men on a large scale and ship them to Luzon and other places. Although the North Korean country knows that there is something fishy, it is worried that it will cause trouble, so it has to swallow its anger.
.The King of Zhao is honest and refuses to do this unjust thing. Instead, he suffers a heavy loss."
In fact, Korea can also be used by Han people. On the one hand, the Central Plains Dynasty has ruled Korea for a long time, so the customs are the same. Moreover, Korea also uses Chinese characters and the official language is also Chinese. It pulls ships of Korea.
Chinese male Ding can almost be used as a Han Chinese, and there will basically be no communication and cultural problems.
Zhang Anshi's face turned dark: "Is there such a thing?"
Xie Jin sighed: "It's not easy for the kings outside. After all, they are watched by the natives. Now there is nothing we can do to survive."
Zhang Anshi wanted to morally condemn King Zhao.
Unexpectedly, Jie Jin's words first exposed all the methods of various countries, indicating that King Zhao was already moral compared to his uncles and brothers.
At the same time, Zhang Anshi was speechless for a while.
What can Zhang Anshi say? After all, he does the same thing. He has a deal with Jinyiwei over in Xinzhou. All family members who have committed crimes are sent to Xinzhou. In addition, when he is trying to attract people, he will inevitably tell some lies.
, if we really talk about it, no one is clean.
Zhang Anshi then smiled and said: "Yes, we all have difficulties. Since we all have difficulties, we should understand each other. Why did Jiegong come here this time?"
Jie Jin coughed, and the entourage who had been waiting outside came in.
I saw this attendant holding a stack of official documents and books in his hands.
Zhang Anshi silently winked at Yu Qian.
Yu Qian understood the idea and hurriedly stepped forward to greet the attendant.
After a while, Yu Qian said: "Your Highness, it is about the situation of some mines and fields in Zhao State."
Zhang Anshi said: "Zhao is thousands of miles away, and the transportation costs for the mines are too high, so they are of little use."
Xie Jin said: "Your Highness, I have also thought about these issues, so after careful consideration, I roughly sorted out some opinions."
Zhang Anshi looked up at him and said, "I would like to hear the details."
So Xie Jin said: "The transportation cost of ordinary grain and minerals is indeed too high, and the transportation time is too long. Not to mention that the Central Plains is rich in products, and it is indeed of little use. As for spices, ivory and other items, to be honest, whether it is Annan or
His Royal Highness the King of Han,
The King of Zhou in Luzon, or other vassal kings, are all trying their best to transport spices and ivory to the Central Plains. As far as Yuchen knows, the prices of spices and ivory in the Central Plains have plummeted nearby, and now all countries are earning less.
It’s just hard-earned money.”
After a pause, Xie Jin said again: "So the foolish minister is thinking that there must be something that is profitable and can use the land of Java... So... His Royal Highness King Zhao discovered a large number of high-quality materials in Java."
There is a sulfur mine in the country. Your Highness must be quite interested in it if you want to come here."
Zhang Anshi said: "Sulfur...even if the quality is lower, it is not impossible."
Xie Jin then said: "If it is just pure mining, of course the transportation is expensive and may not be profitable, but what if Qixia Trading Company opens a refining workshop there and then transports the finished sulfur back to the Central Plains? This account,
In fact, Yuchen has calculated it, the advantage is not small, and Qixia Trading Company can also get a share of the pie."
"Furthermore, His Highness King Zhao now has demands for the Central Plains. Every time, he invites Qixia Trading Company's ships to send a large amount of steel products, weapons, and the required silk and tea to Java. This ship goes there.
The time is full, and when it’s time to return,
But it was all empty. In this case, wouldn't it be a waste of the merchant ship's transportation capacity? It is better to bring my Javanese specialties, especially these sulfur products, on the return trip. In fact, it is just a matter of convenience. The freight, in fact, is calculated.
It’s just minuscule.”
After hearing this, Zhang Anshi thought deeply for a while, and then said: "It benefits everyone, and it also saves the transportation capacity for the return trip. If you calculate it this way... it may not be impossible. I will tell Zhu Jin about this matter."
Go do it.”
Jie Jin hurriedly said: "Your Highness, please don't be anxious. Besides, what Yu Chen wants to talk about next is the most important thing. Java is a place with abundant products, especially crops, which are in great demand. Yu Chen is here
Plantations in Java grow a large amount of sugar cane. White sugar and brown sugar have always been expensive, and the people's demand is great."
After a pause, he sighed and continued: "It's a pity... Although sucrose is good, it can be brewed and transported over long distances, so it is often prone to mold. It is sent to the ship from Java, and when it is distributed in the Central Plains, it may be of such high quality.
The sucrose became the lowest sucrose. After that, Yuchen suggested to His Highness King Zhao, but
After working hard on storage, I learned that once the Qixia Trading Company's glass bottles are sealed, it is most convenient to store sucrose. If... the trading company does some processing of sucrose in Java, opens some workshops, and also sets up a glass workshop.
If we then send this cane sugar to Songjiang Port for sale, we will definitely succeed."
Zhang Anshi smiled and asked a question: "If that's the case, why don't you do it yourself?"
Jie Jin shook his head and said calmly: "It can't be done."
"Why?"
Xie Jin said truthfully: "Although cane sugar is expensive, the difficulty lies in distribution. If it cannot be distributed to state capitals and delivered to thousands of households through various channels, then this business will not be possible. The cane sugar in Java is indeed of the highest quality.
However, if we don’t let the profits go out and want to monopolize this business, I’m afraid...it won’t work. So what His Highness King Zhao means is...it’s better for everyone to join forces to do this business.”
"Java is responsible for growing a large amount of sugar cane on plantations and providing manpower for harvesting and processing, while His Highness is responsible for transportation and distribution. In this way, the people of the Central Plains can obtain more cane sugar, and Qixia Trading Company will have more
With this transaction, the plantations in Java have also gained an additional source of wealth. Not to mention, these are just a piece of cake for His Highness. As far as Yu Chen knows, Qixia Trading Company has distributors all over the world. In this way, isn't it killing three birds with one stone?
have to?"
Zhang Anshi was somewhat interested after hearing this, and said: "This is easy, you can ship a batch first and give it a try."
Xie Jin smiled and said: "If His Highness is willing to do this, His Highness King Zhao will definitely be grateful. Oh, by the way, there is one more little thing."
Zhang Anshi said: "Say it."
Then Jian Jin took out a book and handed it to Zhang Anshi with a solemn expression.
Zhang Anshi took it and felt a little strange, so Zhang Anshi took a closer look and found that he was asking for a list of weapons and gunpowder.
This appetite is not small, there are all kinds of artillery, firecrackers, and even machine guns, as well as self-defense swords, guns, swords, halberds and even armor, all in a dazzling array.
Jie Jin was afraid that Zhang Anshi would be dissatisfied, so he explained: "His Royal Highness, King Zhao, plans to step up a decisive battle with the natives in Java to ensure that Zhao State will no longer be burdened by the natives. I sincerely ask Your Highness to facilitate this matter."
Zhang Anshi just said calmly: "This will cost a lot of money."
Xie Jin said: "King Zhao is naturally willing to give up the money. Although he can't get it back for a while, he can borrow money from the bank."
Zhang Anshi reminded: "If it is a loan, it requires a mortgage."
Xie Jin smiled and said: "Isn't what Yuchen and His Highness were talking about just now a mortgage? The income from sucrose, plus sulfur...and...if this battle can be won, the national power of Zhao will be even stronger. These
The amount of expenses is not a problem."
Zhang Anshi suddenly became angry and couldn't help cursing: "I know how to f*cking talk, but I still borrow money to buy firearms."
Although he scolded him a lot, Jie Jin sat still and his face remained calm and calm, as if he was not the one scolding him.
Zhang Anshi found it boring and said: "Qixia Commercial Bank and the bank will review this matter. If there is no problem in the calculation, King Zhao will be satisfied within three months. You can go back and tell King Zhao that I am with you."
If he or she is a relative, he will provide convenience if he can."
It was only now that Xie Jin looked like he was relieved. He stood up and saluted, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Zhang Anshi waved his hand: "No need."
After saying what needed to be said, Xie Jin didn't stay any longer, so he stood up and said, "Farewell."
Zhang Anshi said: "Yu Qian, give me a gift."
Xie Jin said goodbye and left.
Yu Qian came back, and Zhang Anshi saw a strange look on his face.
Zhang Anshi couldn't help but be a little curious, so he asked: "Why such an expression?"
Yu Qian muffled for a while, then said quietly: "Jie Gong has changed."
After that, he sighed.
Zhang An Shiwei said: "You are wrong. Xie Jin has never changed."
Yu Qian was confused.
Yu Qian didn't know that in Zhang Anshi's impression, Xie Jin had always been the kind of scheming person who was good at calculation and eloquent.
In the past, he was a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. Naturally, he wanted to win over the prince and prepare for the rainy day to stabilize his position as a cabinet minister. As for those images that easily attracted the admiration of scholars, it was also his need as a minister.
But now, this guy is in Java, or in other words, his entire family has migrated to Java. From now on, the Jie family will continue to exist in Java for generations.
Java has now become his core interest, so in order to protect his own interests, he will definitely adopt all methods, speak eloquently, and calculate everything clearly.
So deep down, Xie Jin has not changed. He is still running for profit deliberately, and he is still calculating people's hearts over and over again.
The only difference is that his identity has already been transformed. In the past six years, he has accepted his current position and plans to continue to shine in his new position.
And now, the reason why Zhang Anshi is still willing to cooperate with Xie Jin is just because working with him is really fun.
Packing away a group of scholars does no harm to Zhang Anshi.
And the subsequent big business with Java will definitely be profitable for the court, the trading houses, and Zhang Anshi personally.
Interests, favors, face and even the court were all taken care of. What Jie Jin offered was an offer that Zhang Anshi could not refuse.
"You must be careful of scholars in the future. They are too calculating when doing business."
…………
Many pamphlets began to appear in the capital.
Most of these books contain some of Xie Jin's latest articles.
I have to say that Xie Jin's articles are very well written, and any one of them is enough for readers to read with pleasure.
Most of these articles are just on the sidelines.
For example, it will not criticize the current New Deal, but it will lament that people's hearts are not as good as before.
For example, it does not slander the current trends, but it quotes scriptures and calls for abiding by the morals of ancient sages.
There is not a word of morality in the article, but the whole article is full of morality.
It was so addicting to read.
After that, the mail ship brought a large number of letters.
After that group of scholars went to Java, their relatives, friends and old friends had been worried.
But now, getting the letter is like getting a treasure.
After I opened the letter and read it carefully, I was stunned for a moment.
It turned out to be the system of the pre-Qin Dynasty.
You must know that Confucius was the most advocating Zhou etiquette.
So much so that later generations of scholars have a special fondness for this ancient system.
Fang Xiaoru, the idol of scholars, wrote a letter requesting the restoration of the Zhou system after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, which was a perfect copy of the Zhou Dynasty's system.
Of course, even Emperor Jianwen was not dazed and did not dare to play with Fang Xiaoru like this.
But this also shows that at least this trend of thought is very popular, especially among scholars.
Especially when such scholars are about to be marginalized and seem to be beginning to be ignored by the court, this news from Java is nothing short of a life-saving straw for them.