……

……

Hearing the content of Hong Gaogong's report and looking at Hong Gaogong's eyes, Zhao Junchen didn't need to talk privately at all, and he could guess what Hong Gaogong wanted to say to him.

The Wang family is the richest man in Shaanxi and Gansu, and the 37 friends of the Wang family are all rich and wealthy families from all over Shaanxi and Gansu, how can the combined wealth of these people be only 1.35 million taels of silver and 67,000 taels of gold? It's almost as much as double again.

In other words, Hong Gaogong and the Jinyi guards concealed at least half of their gains in this raid.

Of course, Hong Gaogong is a "particular person", he is well aware of the officialdom, and he also knows that Zhao Junchen deliberately gave them benefits by handing over the fat difference of the Wang family to Jinyiwei, so Jinyiwei can't monopolize all the benefits, and now he wants to have a secret conversation with Zhao Junchen, which is nothing more than wanting to share the spoils with Zhao Junchen.

For Hong Gaogong's heart, not only Zhao Junchen can see it, but even Zhang Shengde and Zheng Yu can also see it.

After Zhao Junchen stretched out his hand to take over the accounts and roster, the corner of his eye swept to Zhang Shengde and Zheng Yu, only to see Zhang Shengde silent, as if he had become deaf and blind at this moment, Zheng Yu was full of envy on his face, wishing that he could also participate in the sharing of spoils, but it was obvious that neither of them planned to expose the matter.

Seeing the two of them behaving like this, Zhao Junchen felt a little regretful in his heart.

This feeling of regret is mainly aimed at Zhang Shengde.

*

In the temple, if any official wants to achieve something, he must have his own officialdom wisdom, no matter how high or low these officialdom wisdom is, the most important thing is to persist in it, and must not be capricious and capricious, otherwise he will give up his previous achievements, give up halfway, and will not be able to win the trust of others.

For example, Zhou Shangjing's officialdom wisdom can be summed up in the four words "taking into account both public and private interests", he will never endanger the overall situation of the court because of his personal interests, and he will never sacrifice the interests of himself and his friends because of the overall situation of the court, he can always find a delicate balance between the two, and he always fights for the interests of himself and his friends, and he always adheres to such a principle, so he has become a representative of the courtiers and has the support of hundreds of officials. Even Emperor Deqing will trust Zhou Shangjing's judgment more when he reaches a critical time.

For example, Zuo Lanshan's officialdom wisdom can be summed up as "neither the head of a chicken, nor a phoenix tail, just a claw beak", and he has always adhered to this principle, loyally attached to the ministers in the court, and spared no effort in the case of partisan struggle, so every minister is willing to accept him, so he also stands tall in the temple, so Zuo Lanshan is also successful.

For another example, Shen Changmao's officialdom wisdom can be summed up as the four words "Eyes must be repaid", anyone who violates his interests will be violently retaliated against, when he adheres to this principle, no one in the temple dares to provoke him easily, so he has also succeeded for a time, and has a high prestige among the hundred officials, and even replaced Zhou Shangjing as the first assistant of the cabinet, but when he became the leader of the hundred officials, he suffered from gains and losses, and was no longer as strong and combative as before, so he could not sit firmly in the position of the first assistant of the cabinet. It's about to fail.

Zhao Junchen also has his own officialdom wisdom, that is, to integrate his own interests with the interests of the imperial court, so that the two form a relationship of both prosperity and loss, so the imperial court has gradually become inseparable from Zhao Junchen, and from the current point of view, Zhao Junchen can also be called a success.

Zhang Shengde is now only in his early forties, and he can sit in the position of the governor of Shaanxi, and he obviously insists on his officialdom wisdom.

According to Zhao Junchen's guess, Zhang Shengde's officialdom wisdom is nothing more than the words "and light and dust" - he completely restrained his personality and ideas, and completely integrated into the surrounding environment, with the different environments in which he lived, Zhang Shengde's performance was also completely different.

When Liang Fuchen was still the governor of the three sides, Zhang Shengde showed an old-fashioned, loyal and patriotic appearance, so Liang Fuchen has always trusted Zhang Shengde and spoke highly of him;

After Liang Fuchen returned to Beijing to assist the government, the Mongolian coalition army attacked in a big way, seeing that the governors were all afraid of the enemy like tigers and wanted to appease and beg for peace, Zhang Shengde also actively joined forces with the governors of various places to intercept the imperial court to provide grain and grass, and detain the people fleeing the famine everywhere, which can be said to be sparing no effort, so the governors everywhere also regarded Zhang Shengde as their own people;

Now, the principal of the Shaanxi and Gansu sides has become Zhao Junchen, so Zhang Shengde's performance has changed again, and he suddenly became a hawkish official who actively fights, a practical and promising feudal official, and even a realist, he handled the things Zhao Junchen explained in an orderly manner, and everything he thought and did was from a practical point of view, and he also turned a blind eye to some of Zhao Junchen's shady practices...... Therefore, Zhao Junchen is also very satisfied with him.

In short, what kind of official Zhang Shengde is, first of all, depends on the performance of his superiors, if his superiors are loyal ministers, then Zhang Shengde will also become a loyal minister, if his superiors become traitors, he will also become a traitorous ministers, if his superiors are hawks who are determined to fight, he will actively prepare knives and guns for his superiors, if his superiors are weak and afraid of death surrenderers, he will also kneel on the ground and hang his head together.

Obviously, it is precisely because Zhang Shengde adheres to such officialdom wisdom that he will be deeply loved and respected by his previous superiors, so he will climb to the high position of governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.

But it is precisely because of this that Zhao Junchen will feel regret after seeing Zhang Shengde's impassivity at this time.

Seeing that Zhao Junchen and Hong Gaogong were about to divide the huge wealth of millions of taels of silver, Zhang Shengde was able to let Zhao Junchen see his true temperament at this time, whether he showed jealousy, envy, indignation, disdain, or any other emotion, but Zhang Shengde was quiet at this time, as if he had become deaf and blind, and it seemed that it was a matter of course for Zhao Junchen and Hong Gaogong to divide the stolen silver - in short, Zhang Shengde's performance was still what Zhao Junchen "wanted" to see.

In this way, Zhao Junchen still can't see through Zhang Shengde's actual temperament, so he doesn't dare to accept Zhang Shengde as a confidant and entrust him with important tasks.

According to Zhang Shengde's consistent performance, if Zhao Junchen accepted Zhang Shengde as a confidant and friend like this, once his boss became Zhao Junchen's political enemy in the DPRK and China, he might not hesitate to betray Zhao Junchen, and he would also inform his boss of all Zhao Junchen's secrets.

Zhang Shengde is obviously a talent, and Zhao Junchen also appreciates his practical ability and shrewd vision, but because he insists on the officialdom wisdom of "being with the light and dust", Zhao Junchen can only stay away from him.

*

"If you replace me with the prince Zhu Heyu who can't tolerate sand in his eyes, Zhang Shengde should jump out at this time and accuse Hong Gaogong of being corrupt and perverting the law, right? After all, the prince likes direct ministers, so Zhang Shengde will definitely become a direct minister...... It's a pity, if it's just about ability and vision, after I return to the capital, it would be most appropriate to hand over the matter of Shaanxi and Gansu to Zhang Shengde, but it's a pity that this person's position makes me unable to feel at ease, and I can only hope for Fang Zhenshan, Wu Qifan and others in the future......"

While thinking in secret, Zhao Junchen also looked silent, and the afterglow of observing Zhang Shengde's eyes also flashed, and he quickly shifted his attention to the list and accounts that Hong Gaogong presented to him.

The list lists the Wang family and the Wang family friends arrested by the Jinyi Guard, and the account books are marked in detail with the gold and silver property, land and family houses confiscated by the Jinyi Guards.

Zhao Junchen knew that this list and account books were all boring, so he was not particularly serious when he flipped through them, but after a few glances, he nodded and said: "Hong Baihu has been fortunate during this time, the Jinyi guards have done a good job, the Wang family and their friends have been wiped out, and their family property is also used as military funds, which can be used as a reward for the military merits of the soldiers, which solves the urgent need...... Now that we are in the midst of natural disasters, the land of the Wang family and its friends is also very useful......

After speaking, Zhao Junchen raised his head and instructed Hong Gaogong: "After you go back, send all the gold and silver confiscated to the treasury of Huamachi Camp, I am about to reward the army, this silver will be used soon, don't sell those fields for the time being, I still keep them useful, and those jewelry and antiques, I must also finish counting them as soon as possible......

After hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Hong Gaogong nodded again and again to express his order.

Next, Zhao Junchen explained some things one after another, and seeing that it was getting late, he signaled that Zhang Shengde, Hong Gaogong, and Zheng Yu could leave.

Zhang Shengde and Zheng Yu both quickly quit and left, but as Zhao Junchen expected, Hong Gaogong found a reason to stay.

After Zhang Shengde and Zheng Yu walked away, Hong Gaogong immediately walked to Zhao Junchen's side, bent down and bowed his head and said, "Lord Qincha, regarding the seizure of the property of the Wang family and its friends, there are actually some things hidden from the humble position. ”

Zhao Junchen nodded lightly and said, "I guess you can't help but do it too...... Tell me, how much gold and silver have you hidden? ”

Hong Gaogong said with a smile: "You can't blame the despicable and greedy, it's really that this Wang family's oil and water are too sufficient, and this one alone has confiscated nearly two million taels of silver, which is simply a rich country!" Those friends of the Wang family are all rich and well-off, and they are now all sinners who collaborate with the enemy and betray the country, and their family property is all stolen silver, and the more family property, the heavier the crime. ”

Hearing Hong Gaogong's insincere defense, Zhao Junchen was still noncommittal, just picked up the teacup and drank it gently.

Seeing Zhao Junchen's appearance, Hong Gaogong didn't dare to continue to talk about it, and immediately went straight to the point, saying: "Actually, after the lowly confiscation of the property of the Wang family and its friends, a total of 3.35 million taels of silver and 117,000 taels of gold were confiscated...... Fortunately, in order to evade taxes and taxes, these families concealed 2,500 yuan of land to the government, and all of these fields were taken down by the lowly positions, but these fields originally belonged to different families, distributed in Shaanxi and Gansu, and were fragmented, but I am afraid that it is not easy to deal with. ”

After hearing Hong Gaogong's report, Zhao Junchen shook his head and sighed: "You have the courage to conceal two million taels of silver, fifty thousand taels of gold, and two thousand five hundred dumps of land in one go!" ”

Hong Gaogong looked like he was invited, and said: "It's not all!" In fact, the Wang family has hands and eyes on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, and their government and opposition friends are not only 37, such as the Ningxia giant He family, the deputy chief soldier of Guyuan Hu Cheng, the Yulin prefect Xu Rui and others, are also close to the Wang family, but they are not deeply involved in the case, and did not participate in the Wang family's collaboratorship and betrayal of the country, and these people are all clever and sensible people, after seeing that the Wang family was raided by the lowly position, they quickly secretly contacted the lowly office, and each family paid 50,000 taels to the lowly office. The money for atonement', and also provided a lot of news for the lowly office, so the lowly office also spared them, and these 'money of atonement' added up to 300,000 taels of silver! ”

The more Hong Gaogong spoke, the more excited he became, and he continued endlessly: "In addition, after raiding a total of thirty-eight families of the Shaanxi and Gansu clans this time, he obtained a large number of fields, shops, mansions, and jewelry and antiques...... In the past few days, many people have greeted the lowly position, saying that when the time comes, as long as it is a little convenient for them, they will give the lowly position another 100,000 taels of silver! ”

Zhao Junchen still looked noncommittal, just nodded lightly and asked, "In other words, you have received a total of 2.4 million taels of silver, another 50,000 taels of gold and 2,500 pieces of fertile land...... What are you going to do with the gold, silver, and land? ”

Hong Gaogong's smile became more flattering and flattering, and said: "If there is no arrangement of Lord Qincha, the lowly rank and others will not be able to get such a fat difference, and the lowly rank is also a person who knows how to repay the kindness, and the big head in this is naturally to be filial to Lord Qincha, but after all, the lowly and brothers have been fortunate to have suffered for so long, and after returning to Beijing, they will have to take out a sum of money to honor their uncle, and they will have to have a relationship up and down, so ......"

Speaking of this, Hong Gaogong's face showed a painful face, and he gritted his teeth and said: "So, only one million taels of silver are left here on the humble side, and the rest of the gold, silver and land are all honored to you, what do you think, Lord Qincha?" ”

After speaking, Hong Gaogong looked at Zhao Junchen with a worried expression.

One million taels of silver is by no means a small amount, and Hong Gaogong is naturally worried that Zhao Junchen will be dissatisfied.

Although Hong Gaogong has his uncle Hong Jin as a backer, he also knows that Zhao Junchen is now in the limelight, and Hong Jin's Jinyi Guard commander can scare others but not Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen treats him kindly on weekdays, but he just doesn't want to offend Hong Jin easily, but when it comes to competing for interests, Zhao Junchen will never sell any face to Hong Jin again.

Zhao Junchen frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "How many of these million taels of silver are to honor Hong Jin?" How do you build relationships after returning to Beijing? And how are you going to divide it? ”

Hong Gaogong saw that there was a drama in the matter, and hurriedly said: "If it weren't for my uncle's arrangement, the lowly and his brothers would not have had the opportunity to follow Lord Qincha to the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, so the lowly and his brothers summed it up, and they wanted to leave 300,000 taels of silver and wait until they returned to Beijing to honor their uncle......

At the same time, the lowly and brothers have obtained so many benefits, after returning to Beijing, they will inevitably be jealous of their comrades, most of the Jinyi guards are from noble backgrounds, and no one obeys anyone on weekdays, if they are allowed to make a fuss because of jealousy in their hearts, I am afraid that it will also be a trouble, so the lowly position is ready to take out another 50,000 taels of silver to buy people's hearts......

Also, when we first entered Shaanxi with Lord Qincha, we encountered a surprise attack by the Mongol Tatars, and lost more than 30 brothers in one go, and we planned to take out another 150,000 taels of silver to appease the bereaved families of these fallen brothers......

In the end, the humble and more than 70 brothers under his command distributed the remaining 500,000 taels of silver according to the size of their official positions, and the average was 7,000 taels of silver per person......

After hearing Hong Gaogong's explanation, Zhao Junchen pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "In that case, this matter will be done according to your wishes...... However, the mansions, shops, and jewelry and antiques you have seized can all be sold at low prices to those squires and wealthy families in Shaanxi and Gansu, but don't sell the 4,000 dumped land at will, I will keep it and be useful in the future. ”

After hearing Zhao Junchen's reply, Hong Gaogong was immediately elated, and hurriedly said: "Thank you, Lord Qincha, all your humble duties are subject to your orders!" ”

Zhao Junchen specially asked Hong Gaogong how to distribute the one million taels of silver, not that he was reluctant to use this silver in his heart, using this silver to feed these brocade guards was something that Zhao Junchen had already planned, Zhao Junchen was just worried that the brocade guards would have trouble because of the uneven distribution of this silver, and now seeing that Hong Gaogong was also thoughtful, he naturally stopped dwelling on this matter.

In fact, Zhao Junchen doesn't particularly care about silver now.

Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, with the continuous discovery of silver mines in various places and the gradual activation of commercial activities, the depreciation trend of silver has become more and more obvious, and the purchasing power has been declining more and more.

In the early days of Emperor Tianqi's accession to the throne, the annual treasury income of the Ming Dynasty was only more than 3 million taels of silver, but in the Wanli period, the treasury income had stabilized to more than 7 million taels of silver, and after Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, the treasury income quadrupled continuously, and at the peak it directly reached the scale of 25 million taels of silver.

During the reign of Emperor Deqing, the treasury income of the imperial court was even more, and last year alone, more than 57 million taels of silver were put into the treasury.

(Note: According to the setting of this book, because the Ming Dynasty did not fall in the Chongzhen period, the population size has approached the late Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, so it also draws on the treasury revenue figures in the middle of the Qing Dynasty)

However, the treasury revenue seems to have doubled again and again, but the purchasing power of silver is falling faster, the Ming Dynasty's finances are still more when there is no expenditure, and the treasury is now more silver and lack of grain.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen does not particularly care about silver now, but cares more about fields and grain, and has been using various means to control more fields during this time.

Now, with the land confiscated by Jinyiwei from the Wang family and his friends, Zhao Junchen is more sure that he wants to resettle those people who fled the famine.

*

said that after receiving one million taels of silver from Zhao Junchen, Hong Gaogong quickly left happily.

After Hong Gaogong left, Zhao Junchen saw that it was getting late, so he planned to take the opportunity to rest.

However, at this time, Su Xiqing, his staff member who stayed in the Huamachi camp, hurriedly asked to see him.

Su Xiqing sent two secret letters to Zhao Junchen, one from the Zhao Mansion in the capital and the other from Xu Qingyan.

……

Well, it's still a big two-in-one chapter.

……