Looking at the mysterious appearance of the building, Zhong Nan was confused, "Help me solve the siege?" ”

"Your Excellency, are you worried about the money?" Lou Dong asked with a smile.

"Yes, you are your own person, I won't hide it from you." Zhong Nan smiled bitterly.

"My lord, in fact, we can help the court with this money." The building speaks amazingly.

"What?" Zhong Nam almost jumped. He looked at the building and saw that the other party was not joking.

"Do you know how big the gap is in the silver? At least 400,000 taels, where can we find so much silver? Zhong Nan pulled Lou Dong aside and asked the other party in a low voice.

"Sir, have you forgotten what I said that day? Didn't I tell you that in the first half of last year, we had a profit of two million taels of silver? Because it is the first year, the cost of dealing with all parties is a little more, and after calculating it, there are nearly one million taels of silver in our hands in the end. ”

Lou Dong's words made Zhong Nan see hope, and he asked overjoyed: "Then can we take out the 400,000 taels of silver in our hands?" ”

"Give me half a month to make up 400,000 taels of silver, it's not a big problem. If it weren't for our business, we must have a certain amount of liquidity, even if there is more, we can get it! The building looks like a wealthy man, but at this time, Zhong Nan looks at it and feels pleasing to the eye.

"Shopkeeper, it's not easy for you to make this money, if it weren't for me, I guess you wouldn't have made this plan, right?"

"My lord, this is not just my money, it is our money together, you must remember that." Lou Dong said happily, "As long as the adults are willing, what am I reluctant to do!" ”

"Shopkeeper Lou, don't say anything, someone Zhong has thanked you here!" Zhong Nan bowed solemnly.

"My lord, you don't have to be polite to me, I have conditions." The building added.

"Yes, there should be conditions, and you can't be allowed to spend such a large sum of money in vain." Zhong Nan reacted.

"Yes, it's not easy for us to make money, we have to ask the court for benefits." Lou Dong smiled like a fox.

Regarding the performance of the building, Zhong Nan not only did not dislike it, but agreed very much - in business, even if it is a father and son brother, he should take care of it.

"Count it out, it was we who helped the court relieve the siege, as long as it is not too demanding, the above should not object." Zhong Nan responded.

"That's ......"

Then Lou Dong said what he wanted.

In fact, it is very simple to say, that is, in exchange, Lou Dong hopes that the imperial court can set up a maritime directory, and the commercial houses in the directory not only enjoy various policy preferences of the imperial court, but also have various priority rights. In other words, the firms in the list are the objects of support from the imperial court, and they will get bigger and bigger, gradually crowding out those small firms.

Regarding the requirements of the building, Zhong Nan's analysis is that the imperial court will definitely agree. In fact, the integration of politics and business was too normal in ancient times, and the building just made all this clear.

"Shopkeeper Lou, when the time comes, I will give the above advice and make a donation ceremony for you, which can improve your reputation in the Jingshi merchant circle, and it will also be of great help to the development of the business bank in the future." Zhong Nan remembered those charity evenings in later generations, while doing public welfare, he also made businesses advertise, which was famous, so he might as well learn from one or two.

"That's great!" Lou Dong didn't expect that Zhong Nan would fight for such a benefit for him. At that time, the status of businessmen was not high, so they were more eager for fame, and Zhong Nan's approach undoubtedly scratched the tip of Lou Dong's heart, which immediately made him excited.

Without further ado, early the next morning, Zhong Nan arranged the affairs of Jizhou, and returned to Beijing with Lou Dong.

The commercial bank in the building is called "Hongyun Commercial Bank", which is headquartered in Beijing, and has a branch in Fujian and Shandong. This time, he helped the imperial court to issue silver and distributed part of the salary to the soldiers of Jizhou, which was carried out in the name of the commercial bank.

Zhong Nan found Zhao Zhigao, the first assistant of the cabinet, and first informed the latest developments in the Jizhou military camp, and then told the other party a good news: the "Hongyun Commercial Bank" of the Beijing Division, knowing that the soldiers of Jizhou were living in difficulty, was willing to donate 400,000 taels of silver to help them improve and improve. However, on the side of the commercial firm, it was hoped that the imperial court could draw up a directory of maritime merchants and include "Hongyun Commercial Bank" in the directory. All firms in the list will enjoy preferential treatment.

In addition, Zhong Nan proposed: A donation ceremony should be held for the shopkeeper building of "Hongyun Commercial Bank". This can not only educate other businessmen, but also advertise the firm, and express gratitude to the firm.

Zhao Zhigao thought about it for a while and agreed to this plan.

Half a month later, Lou Dong collected 400,000 taels of silver and donated it to the imperial court. The imperial court also reciprocated the favor and compiled a directory of maritime merchants, in which there were only ten commercial firms, and "Hongyun Commercial Firm" was also among them. It also stipulates that all commercial houses in the directory can give priority to participate in part of the bidding and procurement of the imperial court, have priority in customs clearance at the port, and have priority in receiving the protection of the imperial court's sailors......

On the day of the donation, the imperial court specially held a ceremony. Chen Shengyan, the left attendant of the household department, and Zhong Nan, the right attendant of the military department, and other high-ranking officials of the imperial court, attended the donation ceremony and awarded a plaque to the "Hongyun Commercial Bank", on which was the name of the firm written by Zhao Zhigao, the first assistant of the cabinet. So far, "Hongyun Commercial Bank" has become famous in Beijing and even the whole country.

After that, 400,000 taels of silver were distributed to the hands of the Jizhou soldiers in two installments. Zhong Nan took care of the whole process, ensuring that all the silver taels were distributed in place, and no one deducted the slightest.

Of course, some people talk about the relationship between "Hongyun Commercial Bank" and Zhong Nan. After all, the relationship between Lou Dong and Zhong Nan is not a secret in the upper circle of Jingshi.

Only this time, whether it was the court or the people, no one paid attention to this kind of "chasing after the wind" attack, on the contrary, everyone unanimously praised the noble sentiments of Lord Shilang.

In the imperial study, Zhu Yijun and Zhong Nan sat opposite each other.

"Zhong Nan, you did a good job this time, and you gave me a long face. At the beginning, I tried my best to let you sit in the position of the right attendant of the military department, and there were many people who made irresponsible remarks, but now they all praise me, saying that I have a good eye. Haha...... "Zhu Yijun was very proud.

"I'm just worrying about the emperor." Zhong Nan did not take credit.

"It's really for me! You also know that there is a shortage of silver everywhere in the court now, and even my ice cubes in summer and charcoal in winter have decreased a lot. The imperial court really couldn't come up with so much money for a while, so I owed the salaries of the Jizhou soldiers, and I was also helpless! Zhu Yijun sighed.

"Your Majesty, in fact, I think there is still some room for improvement in the tax system of the imperial court." Zhong Nan said thoughtfully.

"Oh, you have studied these matters too?" Zhu Yijun was surprised. He originally thought that Zhong Nan would only lead troops to fight, but he thought that the other party was still "versatile".

"I know a little bit about it, and there is an official in the household department, which has given me a lot of inspiration. According to my analysis, if the system is properly reformed, it will definitely increase a lot of taxes and silver for the imperial court. Zhong Nan tempted Zhu Yijun.

"Really?" Zhu Yijun was really interested. However, he also has concerns, "Where is it so easy to change the tax system, let's talk about it slowly." ”

Zhong Nan knew that it was not easy to convince the emperor on this issue. He did not continue the topic of changing the tax system, but echoed the other party, "It is indeed not easy." ”

"Changing the tax system is a matter that affects the whole body, and we can only take it slowly. On weekdays, you can make a plan first and talk about it when the time is right. ”

Zhu Yijun set the tone for Zhong Nan's proposal: you can investigate and make a plan first, and as for the rest, it will be slowed down for the time being.

"It's still the emperor who thinks about it. I'll communicate more with that household official. Zhong Nan replied.

"By the way, which household official is it, it seems that he still has some talents, and he can be recognized by you." Zhu Yijun suddenly asked this question.

"It's Jin Shicheng, a member of the household department." For his subordinates, Zhong Nan has always seized the opportunity to help them continue to improve. In front of Zhu Yijun, he said a lot of good things about Jin Shicheng.

"In this case, a foreigner is too wronged by him. It just so happened that on the side of the household department, Shangshu's position had been vacant, and Chen Shengyan and Liu Chengyuan were each promoted to the next level; The Jin Shicheng you are talking about, first be a Lang Zhong for a period of time, if he performs well, after a year and a half, he can be promoted to the right waiter. Zhu Yijun made the final decision.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhong Nan didn't expect the emperor to be so generous.

"Your strength is still relatively weak now, how can I fight those old men if I don't help you promote a few people." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, we will live up to your expectations." Zhong Nan stepped forward and thanked him.

After leaving the palace, Zhong Nan found Jin Shicheng and informed him of the good news in advance. Jin Shicheng knew that he could be promoted, all thanks to the sponsorship of Lord Shilang, he had always been cautious, and immediately expressed his willingness to "die for his confidant".

Before, Jin Shicheng took refuge under Zhong Nan, more because of the wishes of Shen Shixing and Xu Guo, and he himself was not very optimistic about Zhong Nan. In his opinion, although Zhong Nan is highly valued by the emperor, his foundation is very shallow, and he will not develop much if he follows Lord Shilang.

It's just that with the passage of time, Zhong Nan's power has grown, and there are gradually officials who take the initiative to vote. Especially the time when he defeated Wang Zhonghua, Jin Shicheng saw Zhong Nan's strength, and from that time on, he was really willing to serve Zhong Nan.

As a result, it didn't take long for Zhong Nan to surprise Jin Shicheng again - after being a foreigner in the household department for more than five years, he finally went one step further and sat in the position of Langzhong; What made Jin Shicheng even more excited was that after a while, he might be promoted to the high position of the right waiter, which was a position he once didn't even dare to think of!

It seems that as Xu Guo wrote in his letter to Jin Shicheng after leaving Beijing: As long as he follows Zhong Nan closely, his official career will definitely be smoother.