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When Zhao Junchen asked the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang for a "deposit", the apparent reasons were of course very sufficient, such as the fact that the silver was a proof of the strength of the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang, for example, that he wanted to use this to regulate the behavior of the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang, and that he wanted to use the silver as the start-up capital of the United Shipping Company, and so on. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

It's just that in this era, there is no concept of margin, and the real strength of these Huizhejiang merchants who joined the United Shipping Bank, Zhao Junchen has investigated in detail before, and he does not need a deposit to prove; Whether there will be illegal actions after the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang join the United Shipping Company is not something that can be restricted by just a few tens of thousands of taels of silver; As for the start-up capital of the United Shipping Company, it does not need so much silver.

In the final analysis, many high-sounding reasons and meanings are all made up by Zhao Junchen, and the real purpose of Zhao Junchen asking for a "deposit" from the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang is just to come up with a sum of money as soon as possible to prove to the Deqing Emperor and the hundred officials of the imperial court that he has made up his achievements in rectifying commercial taxes, so as to gain more support and block the attacks of some political enemies!

Therefore, Zhao Junchen's move to ask the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen for the "deposit" can be described as unjustifiable, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is not an exaggeration to say that they are using power for personal gain, I thought they would resist and be reluctant, but I didn't expect that the Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen did not even blink their eyes when they paid the deposit, not only paid the "deposit" in full, but also feared that the silver was not enough, and repeatedly took the initiative to Zhao Junchen to propose that the amount of the "deposit" could be further improved, and when they paid the "deposit", they did not even ask for a receipt from the household department!

It seems that the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang mistakenly thought that Zhao Junchen was asking them for bribes in the name of "security deposit", so they didn't care about the name and use of the silver, as long as Zhao Junchen was willing to accept it, and they were afraid that the silver would be less.

However, in the matter of the joint shipping line, Zhao Junchen can be said to have bad intentions, planning to take the opportunity to control the power of Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants, and set up many traps, and has already saved the mind of turning his face afterwards, all Zhao Junchen does not intend to accept too many bribes from Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen, otherwise his own handle will fall into the hands of Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen, and his reputation as corrupt officials will also be damaged.

Yes, corrupt officials also have the bottom line and criteria for corrupt officials, a qualified corrupt official must have the excellent quality of "eating people's mouths and taking people's hands short", taking people's money and people to eliminate disasters is the most basic requirement, "pick up the bowl to eat, put down the bowl and scold the mother" This kind of thing, Jiang Qian can do this kind of thing, but Zhao Junchen is a court member who must not, otherwise Zhao Junchen's reputation as a corrupt official will be completely ruined, and it will be even more difficult to find someone to cooperate in the future.

Therefore, although the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang did not ask Zhao Junchen about the name and purpose of the silver, nor did they ask for a receipt from the household department, and even secretly increased the amount of silver a lot, Zhao Junchen was a businessman, solemnly explained the meaning and specific purpose of the "security deposit" to the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants, distributed the receipts of the household department to them, and even returned all the silver given by the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang.

It's a pity that in the face of Zhao Junchen's clean official demeanor, the businessmen of Huizhou and Zhejiang all showed obvious regret.

The process of requesting a "security deposit" will not be mentioned for the time being.

When the thirty-seven merchants of Huizhejiang paid the so-called "security deposit" in full, Zhao Junchen suddenly had a huge wealth of nearly five million taels of silver in his hands.

After receiving this silver, Zhao Junchen did not deposit the silver into the treasury, but immediately entered the palace to ask for a meeting with Emperor Deqing.

After all, although Zhao Junchen did not intend to accept bribes from merchants in Huihui and Zhejiang, his own efforts to bribe Emperor Deqing never stopped.

And this silver, Zhao Junchen naturally wanted to hand it over to Emperor Deqing.

With the existence of such a large sum of silver, Emperor Deqing will definitely trust the future prospects of the United Shipping Company more, and his support for Zhao Junchen will be further increased.

The most important thing is that now, the cabinet vacancy is pending, and Emperor Deqing's attitude is extremely critical, which directly affects Zhao Junchen's future plans, but Emperor Deqing seems to have other plans, which makes Zhao Junchen a little uncertain, so Zhao Junchen's most important task now is to find out the true thoughts of Emperor Deqing, and after Emperor Deqing receives foreign money, he is often in a good mood and is very good to speak, after Zhao Junchen handed over the silver to Emperor Deqing, it is easier to find out Emperor Deqing's true thoughts.

With this thought, Zhao Junchen immediately entered the palace and asked to see Emperor Deqing, and was soon summoned by Emperor Deqing.

"Minister Zhao Junchen greets Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"

Emperor Deqing still summoned Zhao Junchen in the imperial study, and after Zhao Junchen stepped into the imperial study, he habitually put on a pair of courtier masks and greeted Emperor Deqing with great humility.

"Flatten, don't be polite." Emperor Deqing seemed to have guessed Zhao Junchen's intention, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, a gentle expression, and raised his hand and said: "I heard that the Hubu Yamen is now busy with the matter of piloting the ship, why did you suddenly come here?" But because of the pilot ship? ”

After Zhao Junchen calmed down, his face was full of flattering smiles, and he said: "Your Majesty is wise, you know everything, and nothing can be hidden from Your Majesty's discernment. ”

Emperor Deqing asked, "Oh? Could it be that the pilot ship line encountered some problems? ”

The smile on Zhao Junchen's face became thicker, and he said: "Thank Your Majesty, although the matter of the pilot boat is complicated and complicated, but now the dust has finally settled!" The minister had already signed an agreement with 37 powerful merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang, and the imperial court would provide preferential policies, and they would provide silver, manpower, and ships to form a joint shipping company, and the future benefits of the joint shipping company would be shared by the imperial court and the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants. ”

After hearing Zhao Junchen's answer, Emperor Deqing didn't show much surprise on his face, but he asked, "Thirty-seven merchants from Huizhejiang?" Didn't you say that there was only one pilot boat company? How could there be thirty-seven merchants from Huizhejiang? ”

For Zhao Junchen's small actions, Emperor Deqing naturally knows that since Zhao Junchen was ordered to rectify the commercial tax, and selected a ship company for the pilot, although it is related to the overall situation of the imperial court, but Emperor Deqing did not privately summon Zhao Junchen to inquire about the progress, it is precisely because Emperor Deqing knew that Zhao Junchen's "pilot boat line" is by no means so simple, but wants to take the opportunity to do a big job, and Emperor Deqing avoided private contact with Zhao Junchen during this period, which is not only a tacit approval of Zhao Junchen's small actions, but also an opportunity to get rid of responsibility, save being dragged into the water by Zhao Junchen, and endorse Zhao Junchen in the future.

Zhao Junchen naturally understood Emperor Deqing's thoughts, but since Emperor Deqing was pretending to be unaware, Zhao Junchen could only cooperate.

So, Zhao Junchen explained to Emperor Deqing: "Your Majesty, these thirty-seven merchants from Huizhou and Zhejiang have now joined forces to set up a shipping company, which is strong and willing to cooperate with the policies of the imperial court, which is the best choice for the pilot shipping company, so the minister will take this shipping company as a pilot." ”

Then, Zhao Junchen explained the details of the joint ship to Emperor Deqing in detail.

Although he had already gotten the news, after hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation, Emperor Deqing was still a little shocked in his heart, and he only felt that Zhao Junchen's actions were greater than he imagined, and the impact was far greater than expected.

However, on the surface, Emperor Deqing looked disapproving, and seemed to trust Zhao Junchen's plan very much, so he just shook his head with a smile and said: "You, you know how to be smart, I know that your plan is not so simple, where is this just to choose a ship company for piloting?" It's clearly thirty-seven ship companies! It's just that these thirty-seven shipping companies have become one on the surface...... If this matter is known to the officials of the DPRK and the Central Committee, I am afraid that it will cause a lot of criticism, and you will inevitably be impeached again. ”

Seeing that Emperor Deqing was blaming in his mouth, but he did not mean to object, Zhao Junchen also calmly admitted his careful thoughts, and said: "The minister is also a last resort, everything is to reverse the erosive status quo of the court's commercial taxes as soon as possible......

Speaking of this, the smile on Zhao Junchen's face became more and more flattering, and he said: "The minister also knows that after these small actions of the minister are known by the officials, they will definitely be impeached and criticized, but after all, the minister just took advantage of the loophole, and did not violate the imperial decree, so he will naturally have a reason to refute them when the time comes...... What's more, and Your Majesty, you support your ministers......"

After speaking, Zhao Junchen cautiously watched the change in Emperor Deqing's expression, looking forward to Emperor Deqing agreeing to support him.

However, Emperor Deqing did not respond to Zhao Junchen's expectations, but asked noncommittally: "Speaking of which, thirty-seven powerful ships are united in one place, I am afraid that the strength is even more amazing, and the imperial court will hand over the preferential policy of tax exemption to them, I am afraid that the step is too big, you are specifically responsible for this matter, you must be careful to handle it, if there is a mess, I am afraid it will be difficult to clean up." ”

Then, Emperor Deqing asked again: "Speaking of which, you just said that the dust has settled on this ship, so do you have a specific count of the real scale of this ship?" How many ships, how many men, how much silver? ”

Zhao Junchen took out an account from his bosom and handed it to Emperor Deqing through the great eunuch Zhang De, and said: "The thirty-seven merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang are all actively cooperating, and all the shipping companies under their names have joined the new joint shipping company, and there are even many Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants in order to enhance the strength of their own shipping company, temporarily spent a lot of money to buy a large number of ships, in order to expand their share in the United Shipping Company, so that the strength of this United Shipping Company is naturally extremely strong, with a total of fifty-four giant ships of more than 1,000 stones, There are 671 large ships of more than 500 stones, 1,677 medium ships of more than 100 stones, and 1,152 small boats of less than 100 stones. There was plenty of silver put in, a total of 11,000,000,000 taels of silver! ”

"There are so many? Such a powerful ship company is probably not much inferior to the imperial court's Cao transport fleet, coupled with the imperial court's policy of exempting them from vulgarity, wouldn't it be to monopolize the shipping business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River waterway? ”

Looking at the accounts in his hand and listening to Zhao Junchen's detailed report, Emperor Deqing became more and more shocked in his heart.

Zhao Junchen replied: "This is exactly the goal of the minister's plan, only by letting this shipping company monopolize the shipping business of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River waterway, can those smuggling shipping companies be crushed, and the current situation of the imperial court's commercial tax erosion can be reversed." ”

Emperor Deqing nodded without moving, but he secretly made up his mind in his heart that after Zhao Junchen made his achievements, he would find an opportunity to hand over the affairs of this joint ship to a certain "imperial party" official, such a behemoth must not fall into the hands of Zhao Junchen for a long time!

Although he had the idea of "picking peaches" in his heart, Emperor Deqing looked like he trusted Zhao Junchen on the surface, and nodded: "If this is the case, it will also benefit the country and the people. ”

As he spoke, Emperor Deqing had already turned to the last page of the accounts.

Then a certain figure on the accounts aroused the interest of the Deqing Emperor.

I saw Emperor Deqing ask, "What does the margin mean here?" How can there be as much as five million taels? Moreover, I see that this part of the silver is not the investment of Huizhejiang merchants in the ship, but is listed separately. ”

Zhao Junchen saw that Emperor Deqing had finally noticed this, and immediately explained: "Your Majesty, the so-called' The minister thought that after these merchants of Huizhejiang cooperated with the imperial court, their every move was related to the reputation of the imperial court, so they had to have a mortgage, so they collected at least 100,000 taels of silver from them according to the scale of their investment in the United Shipping Company, and they only paid this part of the security deposit to prove that they had enough strength to cooperate with the imperial court, and when they planned to withdraw from the United Shipping Company in the future, this part of the security deposit would naturally be returned to them, but if they did anything illegal during the period of joining the United Shipping CompanyNot only would the imperial court drive them out of the United Ship Company, but it would confiscate their bond as punishment. ”

Emperor Deqing nodded, and said with emotion: "You are thoughtful, but these merchants in Huizhejiang are really as rich as the legend, and the deposit of five million taels of silver is taken out, although I am the son of heaven, I am not as generous as them." ”

Zhao Junchen smiled lightly and said: "These deposits, is one of the reasons why the minister asked to see His Majesty today, the minister thinks that after the official establishment of this pilot shipping company, the household department and the merchants of Huizhou and Zhejiang are both mutual cooperation and mutual supervision, so if this part of the deposit is handed over to the household department, I am afraid it is a little inappropriate, and those Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen may not be convinced, so the minister thinks that this part of the deposit is best handed over to Your Majesty Your internal treasury is in charge, Your Majesty You are the co-master of the world, and your reputation and prestige are much higher than those of the household department. If this part of the deposit is handed over to the internal treasury, I think those Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen can rest assured, and the minister also knows that this is a bit unruly, but the minister has no other better way, so he can only ask Your Majesty for help. ”

After hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Emperor Deqing was immediately happy in his heart.

Emperor Deqing knew that Zhao Junchen's move was ostensibly to ask for his own help, but in fact it was a benefit to himself.

After all, the five million taels of silver, on the surface, can not be used, but in fact, if the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants plan to cooperate with the imperial court for a long time, this part of the silver will not be recovered at all, if the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchants do not follow the rules and do things in violation of the rules, this part of the silver will be confiscated, and then it will justifiably become the inner silver, so after the Deqing Emperor receives this silver, he can use it with confidence.

Although Zhao Junchen often bribed Emperor Deqing, such a large bribe was extremely rare.

As a result, Emperor Deqing was naturally in a very good mood.

I saw that Emperor Deqing's face was full of reserve, as if he was really helping Zhao Junchen, and said slowly: "Since you are so embarrassed, then the five million taels of silver will be temporarily included in the internal treasury." ”

Speaking of this, Emperor Deqing seemed to think of something, and added: "These merchants in Huihui and Zhejiang can pay so many deposits, obviously they are strong and sincere, so it seems that there is a lot to be done to rectify the current situation of commercial tax erosion through pilot shipping lines!" Junchen, although you have played some clever tricks during this period, it is understandable that it is out of public interest after all...... Don't worry, if any minister comes to you because of the matter of the pilot ship in the future, I will naturally come to you to defend it. ”

Obviously, after Emperor Deqing received the benefits, he also reciprocated with his short manpower, and finally decided to completely support Zhao Junchen's position in this matter.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Junchen looked happy on the surface, but in his heart he secretly felt that Emperor Deqing was stingy.

Compared with the benefits of five million taels of silver, the reward given by Emperor Deqing was really insignificant - the difficulties of the hundred officials Zhao Junchen could solve them by himself, and Emperor Deqing's support was just icing on the cake.

Of course, the five million taels of silver originally came from Huizhejiang merchants, and Zhao Junchen handed it over to Emperor Deqing, but in fact, it was just a flower offering to the Buddha, which was not a big loss.

However, Emperor Deqing is now in a very good mood because of the extra money of five million taels of silver, and Zhao Junchen's goal has been achieved.

Next, it is time to take the opportunity to find out the true intentions of Emperor Deqing in the cabinet vacancy.

So, Zhao Junchen reported again: "Your Majesty, the minister has one more thing, I want to ask for your holy will. ”

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PS: Well, a big chapter of 5,000 words!

…… (To be continued.) )