Led by a middle-aged eunuch, Tian Hongyu and another executive director of the Four Seas Trading Company trembled through the side door of the courtyard of the Wenhua Palace into the center of the Ming Dynasty's power. Although it is not the first time that Tian Hongyu has entered the palace, the layout of this Wenhua Hall is similar to that of other courtyards in the palace, except that the number of guards here is a little more.

But somehow, walking on this bluestone path shaded by the green shade on both sides, Tian Hongyu always felt that the pressure was not ordinary, and his palms were holding a hand of sweat. And another director surnamed Jiang who was traveling with him behaved even more unbearable than him, and he didn't even dare to raise his head after him, like a little duck following his mother duck closely.

Finally, they finally walked to the entrance and exit of the main worship hall, and the eunuch who led the way stopped and turned around, and said to Tian Hongyu with a smile on his face: "Tian Guozhang, please wait here for the two of you, and wait for me to enter the hall to report." ”

Tian Hongyu, who was old and sophisticated, immediately stepped forward, grabbed the eunuch's right hand with both hands and clenched it tightly, and said: "Thanks to my father-in-law's care, I don't know what my father-in-law is called?" ”

When the two shook hands, the eunuch obviously felt that there was an extra purse in his hand, although the purse was fluttering, but he knew that it would definitely not be empty. However, he hurriedly stuffed the purse back into Tian Hongyu's hand, and said with a panic: "Don't dare, don't dare, my surname is Zhao, just call Xiao Zhao by the national abbot." I'll go in and pass it on, and you'll wait. ”

Looking at Zhao Gonggong, who turned around and walked up the steps, Tian Hongyu pinched the purse in his hand that could not be sent, but he thought about it. When he was young in Shaanxi, he did business, accumulated a lot of family business, and then got a martial arts position in Yangzhou, when he happened to hear from a friend, the Emperor of the Apocalypse wanted to select a show girl among the people, and spent a lot of energy to send his daughter into the palace, wanting to seek an imperial identity for himself.

He didn't expect that his speculation would be ruined, because the Emperor of the Apocalypse did not choose beauties for himself, but for his younger brother, the emperor's woman and the vassal king's woman, and the status was too far apart.

But he didn't frustrate for long, the young Emperor of the Apocalypse actually fell into the water and died of illness, and Zhu Youzhen, who was supposed to only have the order of the vassal king, actually ascended the throne of the Ming Emperor. At this time, Tian Hongyu's chagrin was even greater, because he almost became the father of Empress Daming in one step.

Fortunately, his daughter was more angry than the queen, and Mr. gave birth to a prince, which made his heart a little nervous. Since his daughter gave birth to the prince, whether it is in the palace or outside the palace, others have become more respectful and affectionate towards him, which makes him, who has always nodded to people in the first half of his life, can always get a sense of satisfaction from those he originally needs to look up to. This feeling made him feel that his life had not been in vain.

Soon he returned to normal from his emotion, and now the person sitting on the throne is still very young, he doesn't want to bury himself because of his **, after Tian Hongyu's eyes returned to clarity, he found that the tension he had just now was gone.

When Eunuch Zhao entered the palace to report, Zhu Youzhen was already discussing with the representatives of the three banks, the Ministry of Household Affairs and relevant officials.

After listening to the briefing, he instructed Eunuch Zhao: "Let them wait outside for a while, and then I will discuss a few questions before beckoning them in." ”

Zhu Youzhen replied to Eunuch Zhao, then withdrew his gaze and looked at Guo Yunhou and the others in front of him and said, "Everyone understood the information that Wang Chengen read just now, right?" Yesterday afternoon, I also had a meeting with the General Staff on this matter.

According to the results of the discussion of the General Staff, they believe that after Huang Taiji cleans up Amin, in addition to eliminating Amin's control over the blue flag as soon as possible, he must also re-establish his image as a wise Khan in the country.

After all, Amin is not an ordinary Baylor, he is not only the hero of the founding of the Later Jin Dynasty, but also the heir of Aixin Jueluo Murhaqi's political legacy, and one of the four major Baylors who control the political situation of the Later Jin Dynasty after Nurhachi. If Huang Taiji entered the customs last year and won a complete victory, then with the three major exploits of forcing North Korea to form an alliance, Lin Dan Khan moving westward, and breaking the border pass of the Ming Dynasty, his prestige will naturally far exceed that of the other three Baylors, and the disposal of Amin will not set off any storms.

But now, Huang Taiji's reputation in the country is not stable enough, and after Amin and we reached a trade agreement, they have made a lot of benefits for the people with the blue flag. Therefore, no matter what others think, the people with the blue flag must be dissatisfied with Amin's captivity.

Since Nurhachi raised troops against the Ming Dynasty, the foundation of Houjin has been built on military victories one after another. Therefore, if Huang Taiji wants to suppress the discontent of the blue flag and gain the support of the domestic people, the best option is to win a military victory.

The Korean kingdom has succumbed to the Houjin, and although the ethnic minorities in the middle and lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River in the north have taken refuge in our Ming Dynasty, it is a bitter cold place after all, the roads are difficult and difficult, and the logistics supply is inconvenient, so the number of troops cannot be too much. Huang Taiji was not at ease when he wanted to, so he took a small number of elite soldiers to attack, and handed over Shenyang to the other two Baylors for several months.

Therefore, if the Later Jin wants to start a war, the target is either my Ming Dynasty, or Lin Dan Khan in the current Hetao area. Only the victory of the Ming and the Mongols can make Huang Taiji truly gain the respect of the domestic Jurchen nobles.

Lin Dan Khan's precautions are not in advance, I have summoned the officials of the household department and the representatives of your three banks to come here, just to ask you, if the Houjin really attack our Ming Dynasty again after this autumn, can the household department allocate resources according to the scale of last year's operation? Will the three banks be able to provide sufficient funding for the operation? ”

Although Guo Yunhou had already made some preparations, he still whispered a few words to the two household officials around him, and then shook his head and replied to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, in order to resist the war of the Houjin invasion last year, a lot of taxes in kind have been embezzled this year, plus the pensions for several prefectures and counties affected by the war and the construction of cities and roads in the area outside Jizhou Guan, the household treasury is almost empty.

If we want to fight another war this year on the same scale as last year, I am afraid that we will have to stop the Haihe River control project, the third phase of the Tangshan Iron and Steel Plant project, the Tianjin-Ningyuan railway project, and several large-scale projects in Shandong, so that the materials saved will probably be enough for this war. However, if we do so, it will not only disrupt the economic development plans of Hebei, Shandong and other places formulated by the previous cabinet and the six ministries, but also bankrupt the cash-for-work plan, and more than 100,000 displaced people will lose their jobs and become a hidden danger to local public security..."

After Guo Yunhou finished speaking, the representatives of the three banks also recommended representatives of the central bank to come forward to reply, and the representative explained to Chongzhen with a sad face: "Back to Your Majesty, the funds that our three banks can withdraw by the end of October will not exceed 3 million yuan, and they will probably be able to transfer another 5 million yuan before the end of December. We think that the best way for Your Majesty to obtain sufficient funds is to print an additional batch of banknotes..."

After hearing two bad news in a row, Zhu Youzhen's heart also felt heavy, and he couldn't get more help from the household department and the bank, so he could only call the two executive directors representing Sihai Trading Company into the palace.

At this time, the Sihai Trading Company was no longer the small trading house he had when he first ascended the throne, and it was established because Zhu Youzhen was unwilling to pay the arrears of the three major palaces. With the support of the emperor, it has developed from an ordinary commercial bank with less than one million taels of capital and more than 40 shareholders to a large-scale trading company with assets of more than 10 million and more than 100 shareholders today, and its trade scope covers Bianjun, Liaoxi, Hebei, Shandong and other places, involving nearly 100 industries.

The rapid development of the Sihai Trading Company was greatly surprised even by the initiator Chongzhen, who almost soon knew how to use state policies to maximize the company's interests after he pointed out the direction.

These businessmen may not be aware of the various economic theories invented by later generations, but what they did verified a famous saying summed up by later scholars, that capital always pursues profit as its only goal. In last year's battle with Houjin, nearly 35 percent of the supplies were sent to the front-line munitions warehouses through transportation channels controlled by the Sihai Trading Company.

Perhaps these merchants were confined to China's thousands of years of agrarian society and could not properly understand the power in their hands, but Chongzhen knew very well what it meant in this era for a super-large trading company that had been fostered by the state. No one could have predicted that a hundred years from now, the British East India Company, which still seemed weak, would become the masters of the Indian continent and change the history of South and Southeast Asia.

The Dutch East India Company, which controlled the Spice Islands, was ushering in its most glorious era, with a small European country of more than a million people, relying on the power of commerce to confront the most powerful Spanish Empire in Europe, and was able to open colonies all over the world, and import wealth and resources overseas for the Dutch.

The 17th century was supposed to be the era of this so-called sea coachmen's state, and it was the power of merchants who forged the Dutch crown of the sea. It is precisely because Chongzhen knows the power of these businessmen that he has been reluctant to let them get involved in national politics. But now it seems that in the current situation, the day when Ming businessmen will enter the political stage of Daming is not far off.

When Zhu Youzhen ordered the two executive directors of the Sihai Trading Company waiting outside the palace to come in, he couldn't help but comfort himself in his heart, when he promoted the establishment of the Sihai Trading Company and established the central bank, it was inevitable that the businessmen would have the right to speak on national politics.