The emperor's words immediately made the atmosphere in the palace become a little heavy. All the feudal kings looked at each other with some surprise and uncertainty in their eyes.
Could it be that their previous guesses were wrong and that the emperor had no intention of relaxing his control over the vassal kings? If that was the case, what would be the consequences of their reckless actions today?
For a moment, the eyes of the kings present were a little panicked, as if they couldn't sit still. Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu immediately reacted and understood what they were thinking, so he raised his hand and pressed down, calmed everyone down, and spoke.
road.
"However, since the elders have come to the palace today to speak, then I will definitely take care of this matter. Please rest assured, I will summon the Minister of Rites to the palace to discuss the matter together."
"Thank you, Your Majesty..."
After saying these words, the faces of the kings present calmed down, but the surprise and doubt in their hearts still did not recede.
The previous experiences of so many years had cast a deep shadow on them. Even though the emperor said this now, it was hard to say whether it was an excuse or not.
What if the emperor had the idea of rejection in his heart, but was worried about the dispute between the government and the public, so he did not want to speak directly, so he used the Ministry of Rites as a shield?
You must know that the current eldest uncle of the Ministry of Rites is a good person. There are some things that the emperor cannot say, but if it were him, he would not necessarily sell the face of people like them.
Therefore, although these vassal kings calmed down on the surface, they were still agitated and a bit uneasy in their hearts. However, the emperor had said so. No matter how panic they felt, they could not show it. They had to hold on.
With a smile, he continued talking to the emperor.
It was difficult to find the eldest uncle of the Ministry of Rites, especially at the beginning of the new year. The yamen was quiet. The old man slipped back to the mansion early to rest. The servant who delivered the order went around a lot and finally found the person. When he came back
, more than an hour has passed.
Naturally, the emperor did not have the time to chat with them for such a long time, so he sent them to the side hall early to wait. But the more times like this, the easier it is for these vassal kings to think wildly, so during the long period,
After waiting, Hu Xi, dressed in a scarlet robe, finally arrived belatedly.
Entering the Qianqing Palace, the old man quickly knelt down and admitted his mistake. He glanced to the side and took a panoramic view of the restless feudal princes.
"Kowtow to Your Majesty, I am late. Please forgive me."
Zhu Qiyu was already used to this kind of scene, he raised his hand with a smile and said.
"It's just after the Chinese New Year. It's rude of me to summon the eldest uncle into the palace. Please make peace with your eldest uncle."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Mr. Hu didn't hesitate at all and stood up directly.
Such swift movements made Zhu Qiyu sigh. Speaking of which, if he remembered correctly, in a few months, this eldest uncle would have celebrated his eightieth birthday.
But look at the old man's current body and bones. It would be no exaggeration to say that he has sharp ears and eyes, and a strong spirit. In terms of good health in this court, Hu Hui is unparalleled. Even at his age, his beard and hair are only gray.
, it can be seen that his method of maintaining health is really admirable.
After sighing in his heart, Zhu Qiyu quickly recovered his thoughts and ordered someone to give Hu Hui a seat. After that, he briefly and concisely stated what the vassal kings had just said.
"The matter of sea trade is a major matter of the imperial court. The kings have put in a lot of efforts in the affairs of the Imperial Palace before. Now that they want to continue to share the worries of the imperial court, it is naturally a good thing. However, this matter involves clan affairs after all, so
, I summoned the eldest uncle to come and discuss it with several elders to see if we can come up with a preliminary charter."
Different from what the vassal princes expected, Zhu Qiyu didn't mean to be muddled at all, and expressed his attitude directly... He did not object, and he was very supportive!
The purpose of calling Hu Hui over was just to discuss how to handle the matter, not whether to handle it...
Hu Hui is naturally a clever person. After listening to the emperor's words, he immediately understood the meaning, so he pondered for a moment and said.
"Your Majesty, there are two difficulties with this matter. One is that as the lords of the feudal lords, if the kings surrender their status and send people to deal with merchants, it will definitely cause disputes between the government and the public. The other is that the kings' fiefdoms are scattered in various places, and merchants are trading
The cost needs to be calculated. If the goods are transported from each vassal area and sold at the port, it may be difficult to make a profit."
These words were similar to what the emperor said before, but when Hu Hui said them, they were obviously more convincing. Therefore, the princes below also began to seriously consider whether they were being a little reckless.
However, who is Hu Hui? He has been in the court for many years and knows that as a minister, the greatest role is to solve problems for the king, not to raise questions. People who only ask questions will not stay in the court for a long time.
Naturally, the old man would not make such a mistake.
So, after talking about the difficulties, he paused for a moment and then spoke.
"However, I do have a way to solve these two problems."
"Tell me……"
Zhu Qiyu sat up straight, looked at Hu Xi expectantly, and asked.
So, Hu Hui turned to look at the vassal kings aside and said.
"My lords, before you participated in maritime trade, your lords contributed money to finance the construction of sea trade projects. Later, the imperial store coordinated the sea trade, and the proceeds from the trade were divided among your lords in proportion. I think that your lords can also use this to finance the construction of sea trade projects.
way as a reference.”
"What you mean is that we pay the money and the imperial shop is responsible for the sales, and then the profits are shared back?"
Among the several vassal kings, Prince Xiang was the youngest and the most impatient. He immediately asked.
At the same time, other vassal kings also showed a look of contemplation on their faces.
If their understanding is correct, then Hu Hui's method is obviously a variant of the current Huangzhuang. They will still provide the funds, and the specific operations will be handed over to the Huangdian, and they will wait for the money in the end.
This method cannot be said to be inappropriate, but it is still a little bit different from what they expected.
It's not that they really want to use this to cultivate some power, but the incident at Huangzhuang has indeed caused them to suffer a hidden loss.
All grain harvests are handled by local governments. They collect taxes first and then pay them land rent. Under this model, their land rent is often not enough to make up for it.
If Huangzhuang is like this, if Haimao is like this, the result may not be much different.
You know, if local officials withhold money and food, they can still appeal to the emperor, but behind the imperial store is the emperor himself. When the time comes, the imperial store will give priority to pulling the money to the inner palace. How dare they still come to the emperor to argue?
Therefore, for a moment, everyone present was silent and looked at the emperor. However, unexpectedly, just when they thought that Hu Hui's words were trying to figure out the emperor's thoughts, the emperor shook his head.
, directly rejected the proposal.
"What Uncle Zong just said is indeed a solution. However, Huangdian is now responsible for both the mutual trade in the north and the management of maritime trade. It is no longer easy to take care of it."
"In this sea trade, I have no intention of letting Huangdian end personally. Instead, I plan to select some imperial merchants according to the previous proposal of the Ministry of Revenue. Huangdian will only take a commission and will not directly participate in the operation. Previously, honorable nobles
Their money was directly invested in the construction of the seaport, so I allowed them to distribute some dividends to them."
"However, if the vassal kings also get involved, the Imperial Store may have to deal with such a large sum of money personally. This situation is not what I want to see."
As soon as these words came out, not only the vassal kings, but also Hu Hui were slightly stunned. They did not expect that the emperor would have such an attitude.
However, he quickly realized that he might have gone astray just now.
Regarding this summons, the vassal kings naturally speculated on the emperor's intentions, and Hu Hui himself, who was summoned, was naturally considering this issue.
As for the answer, it was actually pretty much the same. In Hu Hui's view, the emperor simply refused to save face, but he agreed directly and was afraid that the vassal king would use this to cultivate his power, so he was asked to come up with a solution.
Therefore, Hu Hui directly moved the Huangzhuang model over. If the vassal king wanted to get involved, he could just let them get involved. As long as they did not directly participate in the operation openly, then it would not be a big deal to give them some benefits.
.
But now it seems that the emperor obviously has a deeper intention, or maybe even though the emperor asked him to come for discussion, maybe he already has an idea in mind?
So, Hu Hu hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively.
"Then what your Majesty means is..."
"The Huangdian is now too big to be taken care of, but this matter doesn't necessarily have to be left to the Huangdian, right?"
Zhu Qiyu looked at King Min among the vassal kings beside him and spoke meaningfully.
Following the emperor's eyes, Hu Hui immediately understood something and said.
"Your Majesty means to let the clan government handle this matter?"
"What do you think?"
So, Zhu Qiyu looked up at the vassal kings opposite and asked.
Seeing this situation, several people fell into silence.
It's not that they feel bad, but that...the surprise is a bit big, and it looks like they are frightened...
Is it okay if the clan government takes charge? Of course!
Today's Zongren Mansion is different from before. The previous Zongren Mansion was controlled by the Ministry of Rites and did not even have an official office. If the emperor had not reopened the Zongxue, it would have existed in name only.
But although the current Zongren Mansion still cannot get rid of the constraints of the Ministry of Rites, at least with King Min as the great Zongzheng and King Xiang as the Zuo Zongren, at least they have a certain say in many Zong affairs.
right.
If the vassal princes' participation in maritime trade can also be handed over to the Zongren Mansion, then there is no doubt that the power in the hands of the clan lords will usher in an expansion, and under this model, more vassal princes can be accommodated to participate.
Come in, and more importantly, let the Zongren Mansion come forward to integrate all resources, which can not only solve the two problems just mentioned by Hu Hui, but also increase the influence of the vassal king in the court.
As soon as this idea came up, the princes present could not help but tremble...
The benefits of sea trade can be seen from the merchant ships in Huangzhuang before. Moreover, after the opening of sea trade, in addition to merchant ships going to sea, some merchants will also be allowed to trade in the port to a certain extent. In this situation, the profits can be imagined.
How big.
They had inquired before that in the regulations drawn up by the Ministry of Revenue, sea trade would be heavily taxed, and the effect of this method could be seen in the previous mutual trade.
The greater the profits, the greater the taxes. As a result, the imperial court will inevitably rely more and more on maritime trade. If the clan government gathers the power of various vassals and occupies a place in it, then it means that the imperial court will have a large amount of taxes every year.
In fact, it will be affected by the clan government.
Under this situation, the status of Zongrenfu in the court will inevitably improve, and, more importantly, although the status has improved, because the vassal king himself is not directly involved in these matters, and Zongrenfu is in the capital,
Most of the personnel are dispatched by the imperial court, so this kind of influence will only enhance their voice, but will not threaten the imperial court and arouse the emperor's fear.
This is a perfect solution, the only problem is...
All the vassal kings couldn't help but look at the emperor.
This method can almost be said to achieve multiple goals with one stone, but the only problem is that they can't think of any reason why the emperor would give them such a big benefit!
Originally, they thought that they would be satisfied if they could get some places as imperial merchants. However, now the emperor has made such an exciting proposal. The benefits are so great that it makes them hesitate...
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu also understood something and spoke.
"I just have this idea, and there are still many details that need to be discussed. After all, the Zongren Mansion is a court government. If it also handles merchant affairs, it may be inconvenient. Therefore, it is probably better to find some reliable merchants to act on our behalf like the Imperial Store.
Previously, the Ministry of Household Affairs had regulations that all merchants involved in maritime trade must be approved by the Imperial Store. Now that the clan government has to participate, there is no exception, so this process may be a little more troublesome."
Well, no one here is stupid. In other words, when it comes to one's own interests, stupid people will become smart.
What this means is that the Zongren Mansion can participate, but it cannot really end directly. Instead, it must be the same as the Huangdian model. To sum up, the Huangdian has given a group of places to the Zongren Mansion, and the Zongren Mansion will then
These quotas are allocated, and after the clan government selects these quotas, they have to be reviewed by the imperial store and approved again.
In this process, Huangdian will definitely take away part of the final profit. More importantly, Huangdian holds the final decision-making power on the quota, which will form a clamp on the clan government, making it always controlled by the emperor.
shop.
However, when the emperor said this, the hearts of the vassal kings present were somewhat calmed down. The most terrifying thing in the world is unreasonable kindness. The emperor made a request, but instead gave them such a piece of cake for free.
More peace of mind.
Of course, this was not over yet. Soon, the emperor continued to speak.
"Besides that, among the sects, I don't think we should just focus on the Four Books and Five Classics. If the sect's mansion is really involved in sea trade, then there will be a lot of affairs. We can also ask the disciples in the sect to help, which can be regarded as familiarity in advance.
It is also a good thing to take a look at the vassal affairs, what do you think?"