Fengwu Tower occupies a large area, with several front and rear sides. There are large gardens on the left and right sides, rockery pavilions, small bridges and flowing water, which means you can find tranquility in the bustle.
The hall of the main building is about fifteen feet wide, about nine feet deep, and about five feet high. Hundreds of people are scattered inside, and there is no crowding.
If Zhang Heling had not been a marquis, his father Zhang Luan was a duke, and his sister was the queen mother, this building specification alone would be a serious crime of arrogance.
"Why did Admiral Zhang appear here?" After finding the table he had reserved, Han Bangjing took a few sips of tea. Only then did he regain his composure and asked the elder brother beside him in a low voice.
"Well, there," Han Bangqi pointed to the railing of the patio on the second floor with a subtle movement, and said in a low voice, "Shi Wenyi, the new commander of the Jinyiwei, is followed by thousands of Jinyiwei.
Look around the hall. The people dressed as waiters are either the warriors of Jinyiwei or the captain, or the fans of Dongchang, Xichang and Neixingchang. And, there, the governor of Dongchangqiu Juqiu and his thirteen Taibao...
…”
Han Bangjing asked in confusion: "How did you tell that those shop waiters were dressed as factory guards?"
Han Bangqi smiled bitterly and said: "The golden robe corners are exposed under the coats of those shop waiters. If it's not a flying fish suit, what else could it be? There are also official boots on the feet. If you look carefully, there are several shop waiters who have worn their own clothes.
Isn’t it obvious that the waistband is hanging on the waist?”
Han Bangjing took a closer look and found that it was indeed the case. He was even more puzzled: Isn't this just a waste of taking off his pants and farting?
"Don't think about it," Han Bangqi scolded in a low voice, "The capital is deep in water, don't ask if there is anything available, my brothers just need to complete my father's arrangements."
A few days ago, he received a letter from his father from Fujian, instructing him to obtain three red diamond qualifications and fifteen first-level agent qualifications in this auction.
When he first heard these strange names, Han Bangqi was really dumbfounded.
But the buzzword in the capital recently is: company.
In the past, people mostly asked "Have you eaten?"? But starting from a few days ago, the greeting has changed to "Is your company ready?"
Han Bangqi is familiar with Confucian classics and knows that the word "company" first comes from Confucius' "Datong": "The public means the wealth of several people, and the secretary means the operation." Zhuangzi also said: "Accumulate shortcomings to make a high, and combine small ones.
The way to become bigger, merge and become a public company is called "company".
It means gathering the wealth of many people to operate together, but the "company" here is not an organization.
It is said that it was named by the emperor himself, and the Royal Donghai Company became the first business organization in the Ming Dynasty. It seems that all future business names and firms must be changed into companies.
There is no way, who makes the emperor the greatest?
The company is easy to understand, but the hardest thing to understand is the hierarchical agency system and the seven-color diamond system.
Han Bangqi, who was familiar with the sages' books, looked at the system description that was about half a foot high. In order to complete the task assigned by his father, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and read half of it with his younger brother. It actually took them three full days.
I heard from my father-in-law who was acquainted with him in the palace that this was dictated by the emperor alone and more than 70 eunuchs were responsible for recording it. It took more than ten days of work to formulate it.
Then it was handed over for printing. In just one day, nearly a thousand copies were sold in the capital.
"The Emperor is preparing to impose a sea ban!"
This was the first news coming out of the palace, which immediately aroused the anger of all officials. Officials at all levels were preparing to write letters to denounce this act of betraying their ancestors and abandoning their ancestors. Officials with conscience felt that they should not deal with this kind of cruelty to the people.
fight to the end.
"The emperor is planning to impose a maritime ban, and he is also planning to allow maritime merchants to join the board of directors of Donghai Company!" This was the second news from the palace. "It is said that the board of directors is the second chief eunuch, and the chief eunuch is Luo Xiangluo.
Father-in-law, this is a great opportunity to honor our ancestors.”….
Upon hearing the news, one-third of the officials at all levels who were preparing to submit a letter immediately disappeared.
"Bah! It's such a shame to be ranked alongside the eunuchs!" The conscientious officials continued to prepare the letter.
"Eunuch Luo said that no matter who you are, as long as you pay money, you can join Donghai Company. From then on, you only need to pay an annual fee every year, and you can continue to make money," the spreaders of the gossip also said, "It is said that there are promotions
What a chance, in a few years, you can become an official official of the court, and you can be promoted faster than a Jinshi. If you are not careful, you can become a duke or a marquis, at least the sixth rank. If you get the seventh rank, you will be embarrassed to say hello to others.
.”
As a result, another third of the officials who petitioned disappeared.
"Confucius said, riches and honors cannot be licentious. We must resolutely fight against those who compete with the people for profit, contend with those who have their eyes on Brother Kong Fang, and maintain the last bit of conscience in the Ming Dynasty." The last remaining conscientious officials, Da Ming Dynasty.
Most of them came from the coastal provinces and disdained the small profits offered by the court, so they decided to continue petitioning.
"Anyone who is an enemy of the Donghai Company will be punished by the Nine Clans!" Emperor Zhengde was angry and threw a pile of memorials at Jiao Fang's feet, "Xuan, arrest the governors of southern Zhejiang, northern Jiangxi, and Fujian, and put them in jail.
."
"Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with northern Gansu..." The governor of northern Gansu is Liu Jin, the godson of Boss Liu, so Boss Liu had no choice but to step forward.
The governors of southern Zhejiang and Fujian wrote letters criticizing the shortcomings of opening up the sea, which angered the emperor. It is no wonder that these two places are the areas hardest hit by smugglers. The emperor made it clear that he was going to steal money from them, so he could not provoke resistance.
Weird.
Under normal circumstances, smugglers and the court were on good terms, and the Ming Dynasty did not dare to exploit commercial taxes anyway.
Why not?
Commercial tax is the fate of big landowners and businessmen. Any emperor who dares to change the Ming Dynasty's ancestral law of thirty-one tax will be overthrown and killed within two months. Of course, unless you are Zhu Chongba.
Become an unparalleled warrior, otherwise even if you are a time traveler, you will still die.
Naturally, the otaku Zhu Shou didn't dare to think of himself as Zhu Chongba. He was just a guy with no brains and no deep knowledge. He had read too many YY history books and knew not to touch commercial taxes.
But those big landowners and businessmen along the coast have gone too far. As an emperor, I shamelessly went to do business with you. Even though my worth is so low, you actually still object. Is there any natural justice? Is there any king?
It’s law!
Zhu Shou felt bitter in his heart: I don't want to levy taxes on you. I just want us to work together to make money. With the righteousness of the court, you can also earn more comfortably, isn't it? Being a smuggler who never sees the light of day all day long is very honorable to your ancestors.
What?
What a short-sighted guy.
In fact, he didn't think about it seriously. This was obviously a waste of money. It's strange that the idea that the gambler Luo Eunuch came up with was normal. The dark psychology and greed of the big eunuch must have made the big bosses along the coast feel uneasy.
.
They are not fools. The emperor's face must be worth a lot of money. But if the emperor becomes unhappy one day, he is ready to take away all the money in the place, and then lifts the gambling table and says he doesn't want to play any more.
Then we won’t be able to cry bitterly then?
Therefore, the smugglers must be opposed to it. Without the righteousness of the court, there is no point in hiding in the dark to make money. It is better than seeking skin from a tiger.
There is no way, the credibility of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty has never been good, no wonder people don't believe them.
"Lock him up for a few months and then use him again." When Emperor Zhengde was unreasonable, it was very unreasonable.
Wang Zhe, the governor of northern Jiangxi, was just a fish in the pond that was affected by the fire at the city gate. His memorial was actually to restore the guard of Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao. This was a political task assigned by Liu Jin and Boss Liu.
Boss Liu accepted countless bribes from Prince Ning, and when he saw that the task was not completed, he felt very embarrassed. He was about to persuade him again, when he heard the emperor say: "Prince Ning, do you know Tang Bohu?"...
Tang Bohu? Who is that?
Mr. Liu naturally cannot remember the unlucky Tang Jieyuan. Only those who like to watch Xingye comedies in the future will remember the resume of such a small character.
Boss Liu, who is always busy with everything, can usually only remember people at the level of Shangshu and above, and those at the level of minister, who must be in key departments such as the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Officials, before they can enter Boss Liu's mind. The rest of them will definitely be ignored automatically.
"You don't even know about Tang Bohu?" Emperor Zhengde spat. He seemed to feel that this was not in line with the emperor's style. He couldn't let the old guy Liu Jin see the joke. He said seriously, "Xuan, Prince Ning, please be honest with me."
All the eunuch bosses were stunned. They had all received bribes from Prince Ning. When they heard the emperor's nonsense imperial edict, they all wondered: Prince Ning is staying well in Jiangxi. He is very honest and smart all day long.
, how could you offend the little emperor?
Forget it, a dead Taoist friend is not as good as a poor Taoist.
After polishing by the Chief of Ceremonies, an imperial edict reprimanding Prince Ning was quickly sent out. Seeing the imperial edict, Prince Ning was so frightened that he could not sleep well for three months. There was nothing he could do, he had something wrong with him.
This is a postscript, so let’s not mention it for the moment. I will give King Ning to Wang Shouren, a sage. They are a good pair of friends.
In short, the unlucky governor of northern Gansu became a member of the trio who were imprisoned.
Seeing that the governors were imprisoned, the smugglers along the East China Sea coast became quiet: Forget it, since the emperor is so sincere, let's try to cooperate.
Therefore, a family letter came from Fuzhou to the capital, sending the Han brothers to the auction meeting to participate in the strangest and weirdest business gathering since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
Along with them, there were dozens of representatives from various forces along the southeast coast.
The first large-scale auction of Royal East China Sea Company is about to kick off its magnificent prelude.