Silver!

In the seventeenth year of Shunzhi, the entire Beijing Division, whether it was a Manchu official or a Han official, talked about the two words the most, that is, silver.

It seems that unless there is silver, there is nothing else, and one by one, it seems that black eyes can't see silver, and when they meet, they will talk about silver.

The high-ranking officials in the prominent positions talked, the Manchu officials talked, and the Han officials also talked, and even together with the miscellaneous servants in the yamen, the soldiers of Manchuria, so that ordinary people would go to talk about silver.

In the past, the most talked about jokes about the Han people were jokes, but now they are talking about how the Han officials, whom they usually despise, can get money for the imperial court!

Silver!

Grain!

Almost since the New Year, these words have continued to appear repeatedly in the excerpts of the people in the court, and again and again in the excerpts of various ministries, the reason why silver appears, and appears so frequently, is precisely because the emperor of Jinan continues to order the household to allocate silver, after all, hundreds of thousands of troops are outside, always need to pay silver.

Originally, the money in this household was quite abundant, after all, more than ten years of looting, but also robbed a lot of silver, but after losing the autumn tax in Jiangnan, plus the use of hundreds of thousands of troops, the little silver in this household department has already been spent, and even the silver treasury is empty enough to run mice.

Nothing can be done without money.

Even the emperor who was in charge of the imperial shelf, because he had no silver, could only stay in Jinan, because he had no money to replenish his salary, even in Yunnan, the same was true.

Although the tax and silver of Jiangnan Province have always been related to the foundation of the DPRK and China, what is even more troublesome is that after the cut off of grain in Jiangnan, the price of grain in Beijing has become higher and higher, so that people's hearts have become panicked. Fortunately, the 200,000 men of the Eight Banners are now in Shandong and Henan, and they eat on the spot in the two places, which has also saved a lot of food in Beijing.

But the problem is still not solved - silver, grain, still two words "no".

Especially the former, it is even more a headache for Wang Hongzuo, who is the head of the household department, as the head of the household Han Shangshu, he naturally does not dare to ask Che Ke that full book to share his worries, but he knows very well that if he can't raise enough silver taels, in the end, the emperor will definitely vent his anger with him, the head of the Han Shangshu.

It's like Cao Cao killing a military commissar.

Take his head to calm the hearts of the army.

But where does the money come from?

For Ming Chongzhen's three-year move, he was appointed as the governor of Jizhou, and later promoted to Langzhong. In the first year of Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty was lowered, and the prince was added to the prince's Shaobao and the prince's Taibao. After the Qing Dynasty, Wang Hongzuo, who had been an official to the head of the household department, said that he naturally did not want his head to be regarded as the head of a military food officer and used by the emperor to calm the army's heart.

The problem now is this, if he can't come up with any more money, when the time comes, his head will never be saved.

Even if you barely keep this head, what's the use of losing your official hat?

As for Wang Hongzuo, a native of Yongchang, Yunnan, he naturally does not worry about his family being exiled to Taiwan, and now, all he worries about is silver, how to raise enough silver.

The treasury of the household department had been exhausted long before the emperor's personal conquest, but fortunately, Wang Hongzuo was tighter at the beginning, so that the treasury still had 3.3 or 400 million taels of silver. However, after the emperor's personal conquest, more than 200,000 troops were outside, plus Hong Chengchou's training in Changsha, as well as Yunnan's military salary, as soon as these few things were done, the silver was spent like flowing water, and in less than three months, the 3.3 or 400 million silver was spent again.

After the emperor's decree that 400,000 silver was urgently needed to pay military salaries, Wang Jiwen said to Wang Hongzuo with a sad face:

"There is really no silver, don't say 400,000, now I can't take out 100,000 taels."

Not to mention the military salary of 400,000 taels, even the Beijing official's salary this month may not be able to be paid, as a person with a yellow flag in the Han army, when he said this, his face was full of bitterness.

This errand was really not done by a man, and everyone asked him for money all day long, but where did it come from? Without Jiangnan's silver solution, how can this household make silver? Even if you kill him, you won't get much money.

The situation in the treasury, Wang Jiwen couldn't be clearer, it was empty, and even the tens of thousands of taels of silver were deliberately left behind - left for the big guys to pay for the money, the silver for the military salary was not enough, but it could cover a month's salary.

This military salary can not be paid, but the Beijing officials' salaries cannot be withheld. Is it possible that when the time comes, let the big guys starve to death? Therefore, this Beijing official's money must be sent. Of course, that's not tens of thousands of taels, but ...... More.

It is at this time that in front of the military salary and the salary, the latter can only be chosen. It's not that he's disloyal to the emperor, it's that he has to take everyone's stomach into account! Otherwise, he, the head of the household, would have to do something.

"What if you don't have any money? Does the emperor have a will?"

Although he wanted to get angry, but because this Wang Jiwen was also a waiter, he could only hold the fire and say,

"This silver is not made for Wang, something wrong, are you Wang Zaiyan responsible?"

In the past few months, Wang Jiwen has often been disciplined by two Manchu Han scholars because of the appropriation. He found that since there was no silver in this silver vault, Wang Hongzuo's personality had changed significantly. In the past, he was not polite to Man Shangshu, but he didn't lose his temper with him, but now it's different. He speaks with a commanding tone, does not allow you to put forward different opinions, and is impatient to listen to even a few explanations, and oppresses people with aggressive words like "you are responsible" at every turn. Wang Jiwen knew that this person was also anxious by the empty treasury, and he had to be careful everywhere in the future.

"Lord Shangshu,"

Wang Jiwen said in a tone that was as calm as possible.

"The lowly knows that this silver is what the emperor wants, and you worry about these things, and others can't see it, can't the lowly job see it? But there is no silver in this treasury, and the lowly position has no ability to turn a stone into gold, nor can he forcibly loot the people! ”

"Looting the people?"

Wang Hongzuo thought in his heart, did he enter the customs from the Qing Dynasty, did he do less to loot the people? I have never heard that the people were not looted that day, if you can raise your hand in this place, how can the whole world turn against it?

So he suddenly said angrily, and then waved his hand.

"Go down first! Think of a way to see if you can get some more silver, and be sure to prepare the silver for the emperor! ”

Wang Jiwen hurriedly got up to say goodbye, and it wasn't until he walked out of the door that he took a long breath. But there was a bitter look on his face.

Where is the money going to be raised? Is it difficult to really take all that bit of money?

There's not much silver left in the Tobe Treasury!

Wang Jiwen did not tell a lie. These are known in Wang Hongzuo's heart, who is a Hanshang book. Now there is at most a little bit of silver in the treasury, and that bit of silver is not enough, but it is enough, and it cannot be moved, because it is the rations of the Beijing officials, and if anyone touches the silver, the impeachment of him must drown him!

At this time, what is the use of forcing him again?

But what about the silver that the emperor wants?

The emperor's side also matters!

If it really doesn't work...... However, he just moved the idea of that little bit of silver, and he still informed the idea of taking the big guy's salary as a military salary, this thing can't be done, and he doesn't dare to do it.

"It seems that I can only borrow it!"

Borrow!

After all, over the years, as long as the court is insufficient, it will always borrow silver from the eight imperial merchants, which is a convention, the most one year, the eight families have lent more than 10 million taels to the imperial court, and even until now, the imperial court still owes them millions of taels.

These eight families didn't make a lot of money from the Qing Dynasty back then! I have borrowed so much silver, and I have never borrowed anything!

Thinking of the eight families of this rich country, while envying the thickness of their family business, Wang Hongzuo secretly thought in his heart, but another thought in his heart was thinking there.

"Even if you borrow 10 million taels from the eight of them, how long can you last? Moreover, whether they are willing to borrow or not, I am afraid it is still a matter of saying, after all, the current situation ......"

The current situation is not when the Qing Dynasty was in full swing, but now the situation is not favorable to the Qing Dynasty, at this time, how can these eight families willingly take the silver out?

In this regard, Wang Hongzuo has no bottom in his heart, but in addition, he has no other choice. After all, now in the entire capital, only these eight imperial merchants can come up with silver. No one but them could give the money, and no one was necessarily willing to lend it to the court.

But will they give their money?

Wang Hongzuo had no choice, and Fan Yongdou, who was the head of the Eight Great Emperor Merchants, also had no choice.

If it weren't for the silver, how could Fan Yongdou collude with the Qing Dynasty and be willing to be a traitor, when he colluded with Houjin, sold cloth, grain, and iron tools to Houjin and later provided intelligence to it, and even sent people to lead the way, the fundamental purpose was for silver, and because of this, eight merchants, including the Fan family, contributed to the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, so after the Qing Dynasty was established, Emperor Shunzhi did not forget to establish eight merchants who had made great achievements in the Central Plains, set up banquets in the Forbidden City, and gave clothing. Shunzhi also wanted to give them official rewards, and the eight major merchants were flattered and tried their best to refuse. As a result, Emperor Shunzhi named them "imperial merchants" who were subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Fan Yongdou was appointed to preside over trade affairs, and since then the Fan family has been prosperous.

It is precisely because of this that the Fan family at this time has been firmly bound to the Qing Dynasty, with both glory and loss!

The more at this time, the more you can't retreat, if you retreat, maybe this net worth will belong to someone else!

Therefore, almost as soon as Wang Hongzuo opened his mouth and proposed to borrow silver from the eight families to ease the expenses of the imperial court, Fan Wendou, who was already old, immediately patted his chest and responded.

"Dad, that's a million taels!"

Fan Sanba looked at his father and said with a heartache, when the Great Qing Kingdom did not enter the customs, I don't know how many times Fan Sanba took the caravan out of the customs and transported the grain and cloth urgently needed by the Great Qing Dynasty to them.

"Dad, in the current situation, even if we lend this silver to the imperial court, how can the imperial court keep the world?"

Fan Sanba's tone was skeptical, as a businessman, he was extremely sensitive to the situation, he knew that the current situation was not optimistic, at least not as optimistic as outsiders imagined.

At this time, lending silver to the imperial court was simply a loss-making business, and as a businessman, he naturally couldn't understand his father's actions. So much so that he asked urgently.

"In case the imperial court is defeated in Shandong, or defeated with Jiangnan, it will definitely have to escape from the pass at that time, let's lend the silver to the imperial court now, aren't we using the silver to waste?"

His son's words made Fan Wendou glance at him, and there was always some disappointment in his eyes, and then he shook his head and said.

"You're still too confused!"

With a long sigh, Fan Wendou looked at Fan Sanba and said.

"You say, if we don't lend money to the court, what will happen to us?"

Don't lend money to the court?

Fan Sanba was stunned for a moment, and didn't even react, and then said,

"If you don't borrow silver, the court will not have enough money, and I am afraid that you will lose the war."

No silver is definitely not good, why did the Ming Dynasty die back then, isn't it because there is no silver to pay military salaries, there is no silver to recruit the army, so it lost the world!

"Defeated?"

For the first time, Fan Wendou was disappointed in his son, not to mention just losing the battle, didn't he see what the imperial court would do in the face of such a problem?

"Zhu Mingzhong in the south of the Yangtze River, for the sake of silver, copied all 51 Jin salt merchants, do you think the imperial court will not dare to copy us? We...... If the emperor makes a will and confiscates the family business of the Fan family, in the eyes of outsiders, it is just that the master uses the things of the slave, who can say it? At that time, not only will the Fan family's family business not be guaranteed, but how can our lives be saved? When the time comes, our Fan family will be a fat sheep in the eyes of the royal family, understand? ”

For many things, Fan Wendou saw far more thoroughly than his son, and it was precisely because of this that he would willingly take out the silver to help the court tide over the difficulties.

"Besides, do you think we have any other options now?"

Staring at Fan Sanba, Fan Wendou sighed.

"We have no other choice now, don't forget what we are in the eyes of the south, if we let the south win the world, when the time comes, our Fan family will probably be cut down by them...... We have to take this money! No matter what, you have to keep the world of the Great Qing Kingdom! Only by preserving the Great Qing Kingdom can the Fan family be saved! ”