Zheng Yuanpei immediately ordered a few servants, and rushed to the Quji silk shop with them violently, he wanted to see who the other party was, even if it was an official who was bigger than him, it was not right to beat people on the street like this, he also had something to tease him, if the other party was purely bluffing to scare him, then he would definitely let that group of people peel off their skin today.

Mrs. Zheng, who had been beaten, stood in place with a puff, she didn't dare to sprinkle on Zhu Ao and the others anymore, she could only suppress the anger in her heart, everything was waiting for the master to come and do the tricks, but seeing this group of people so calm and relaxed, coupled with those few tiger-backed guards, her heart began to weaken again, could it be that this person really has some origins? It shouldn't be, I've seen all the powerful people in the family in the country, but I've never seen or heard of this person.

The shopkeeper of the Quji Silk Shop served Mrs. Zheng a cup of tea with a smile on his face, and ordered a few of his maids to fan her, no matter what the origin of that group of guests was, he knew that this Mrs. Zheng was definitely an existence that he couldn't provoke, and now she suffered a loss in her own store, if she didn't behave well, I was afraid that the relationship would not be easy to do in the future.

Mrs. Zheng can only find a little sense of existence here in the shopkeeper of the canal, sitting there like a person enjoying the services provided by the shopkeeper of the canal, the arrogance on her body has not weakened at all, but she no longer dares to release it to Zhu Ao and the others.

At this moment, Zheng Yuanpei finally arrived with a group of officials. "Sir, that's them." Mrs. Zheng's personal maid pointed to Zhu Ao's group of humans, wondering why this group of people hadn't left yet?

"Master, you have to be the master of the concubine. The concubine was bullied by these bullies today, and the concubine has never suffered such grievances since she was a child. As soon as Mrs. Zheng saw Zheng Yuanpei coming, she immediately cried and mourned, ran to him and grabbed his arm, swaying left and right and begging.

Zheng Yuanpei looked at his favorite concubine's swollen face, and he was distressed, and the nameless fire in his heart was arched all of a sudden, and an old face sank.

Seeing Zheng Yuanpei's expression of wanting to eat someone else, the shopkeeper was very frightened, for fear that it would make a big deal here and affect the future business of his Quji Silk Shop, so he immediately sprinted two steps, walked to Zheng Yuanpei, and hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "The villain sees Lord Zheng." Adult ......"

"Get out of the way!" Without waiting for the shopkeeper to finish speaking, Zheng Yuanpei scolded with a straight face, his woman was bullied by him, although he didn't do his business, but he was angry when he saw him.

"Lord Zheng is so powerful." Zhu Ao looked at Zheng Yuanpei's face that had swelled like pig's liver, and his heart was very unhappy, but on the surface, he still said in an indifferent tone.

"Master, this is the person who slapped the concubine three times with his dog's legs." Mrs. Zheng pointed at Zhu Ao and cried loudly, today's breath must be out no matter what, otherwise it will definitely be laughed out by her card friends, how can she compare with them in the future?

Then, only to hear "Smack! With a bang, Mrs. Zheng received a fourth slap in an instant, this slap was personally slapped by Zheng Yuanpei, and it was even louder than before.

Zheng Yuanpei looked in the direction pointed by his little wife's fingers, and when he saw Zhu Ao's face that had cooled down, he instantly gasped, I am obedient, how dare you provoke this person? Seeing this also made him unhappy, an old face originally turned into the color of pig liver because of anger, but at this moment, it turned pale because of extreme fear, and then turned green because of the stupid behavior of this stupid woman, and after being stunned for a few seconds, he remembered to perform the courtesy of the monarch and ministers, and hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Ministers, ministers Dunhuang political envoy Zheng Yuanpei see the king, the king is thousands of years old." ”

Your Majesty? The expressions of all the people in the room froze, this is the owner of this land, the legendary His Royal Highness King Su? No wonder it's so arrogant.

The lady Zheng was also dumbfounded, she didn't care about the hot pain on her face, she didn't want to let out that breath anymore, she was so frightened that she immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "The concubine is the king." The king, the king is a thousand years old, a thousand years old. ”

Zhu Ao is very dissatisfied with Zheng Yuanpei, although his political performance is not too bad, it is definitely not very good. A dignified second-class member of the imperial court, the political envoy of one side, actually connived at his family to such an extent, if he hadn't let the widow bump into him today, he wouldn't have been more ruthless to rectify the other party.

He doesn't plan to use this person anymore, or the same sentence, there are not many people who want to do things these years, and there are really a lot of people who want to be officials. How can the widow rest assured that you can serve the people for the widow? You've read so many books that they've all been in the belly of a dog? ”

This was too serious, Zheng Yuanpei was frightened, "Knock knock!" After a few knocks, a cold sweat of the bean came out of his forehead, as if someone was holding a knife to his neck, and he trembled in fright and said, "The minister is guilty." After the minister returns, he must be strictly disciplined. Strict discipline. ”

"It's late." Zhu Ao glanced at him angrily, not everyone can give a chance, just a political envoy, who should not be? Someone else must be worse than you? In other words, the value of removing you from your post is far greater than the value of continuing to appoint you, so he turned his head and said to the guards beside him: "First remove Zheng Yuanpei from his position, let him face the wall at home, and wait for disposal." ”

"Yes." The guard bent down at Zhu Ao, said respectfully, then turned around and left, and ran to the official Cao Yamen to go through the formalities, I believe that such a big matter, they will verify it clearly.

"Huh?" Zheng Yuanpei, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his head suddenly, and said with a look of disbelief, he never expected that he had studied hard for ten years and stayed up for so long to get this position, and it was gone in the blink of an eye, his facial expression began to twitch, his expression was very painful, and he sighed bitterly: "Hey! "That's unlucky.

"Don't get out of here! Do you want to send eight people to carry you away? Zhu Ao shouted with a straight face, he didn't have a good impression of this Zheng Yuanpei, and his speech would naturally be much stiffer.

Zheng Yuanpei was hit by this, his heart hurt and he couldn't breathe, his legs were so weak that he couldn't stand up tremblingly, and with the support of the maid and the concubine, he barely stood up, saluted Zhu Ao, and went back tremblingly.

The shopkeeper of the canal opened his eyes today, when he saw the political envoy of Dunhuang, it was like a mouse seeing a cat, the biggest official he had seen in his life was the second grade, I didn't expect to see the king himself today, the king is the king, a sentence made a once glorious second-grade master become a dead dog, immediately ran to Zhu Ao, hurriedly knelt down and said: "The grass people see the king, the king is a thousand years old, a thousand years old." I don't know if the king is coming, and I hope that the king will forgive his sins. ”

Zhu Ao looked at his skillful movements, and felt happy in his heart, this thing is really a character, this etiquette, this wording, I don't know, I really think that he has been in the court for a few years? It is really not easy for someone to open such a big shop, and he smiled gently: "Get up." Haven't you answered the question of the widow? Where are you from? What is your name? ”

The shopkeeper immediately straightened up, bowed his hand to Zhu Ao, and said respectfully: "Thank you, the king." On the king of Qiyu, the grass people are from Qi County, Shanxi, and their name is Qu Zhongxin. ”

Zhu Ao has a good impression of this shopkeeper, he can adhere to the principle of a businessman under Mrs. Zheng's obscenity, do not do anything that damages integrity, and is a person who can be friends.

Qu family is a big family in Shanxi, originated in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, founded by the three brothers Qu Jingxin, Qu Yuxin, Qu Zhongxin, the three brothers began to do only some small business hawker work, selling some pears, jujubes, and then gradually accumulated capital, developed into a large business family in Shanxi, known as Qu Bancheng, has been prosperous for more than 500 years, until the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China gradually declined, than Zhu Yuanzhang's family business has been maintained for a long time.

Unexpectedly, he met the future leader of the Jin merchants today, Zhu Ao was still a little surprised, in order to be sure, he still asked tentatively: "Dare to ask who else is in the family of the shopkeeper Qu?" What kind of industry are they engaged in? ”

Qu Zhongxin saw that Zhu Ao was so interested in him, and suddenly came to his senses, the three brothers were already planning to develop well in the Su country, and it would be a good thing to get the favor of the king of Su, so he immediately bowed his hand and replied: "King Qiqi, the grass people are the third in line, and there are two brothers in the family. All do business locally in Shanxi. Our three brothers admired the prosperity of Suguo and decided to come here to show their strength, but the family's business could not be your Excellency, so we discussed, and the grass people came here to open a silk shop first, and when the business over there was on track, the two brothers were getting out. ”

In fact, they didn't know what the prospect of Su Guo was, so for the sake of insurance, they sent the third child over to explore the way, and the two of them postponed to see the situation, but they couldn't say it, and it was easy to hurt the other party's self-esteem.

Sure enough, it was the later Shanxi Qu family, after it was determined, Zhu Ao couldn't help but be happy, was dozing off, there was a pillow to send over, the business of selling silk, porcelain, tea, etc. was too profitable, and he also had the heart to intervene, but he had never done this business before, he didn't know the depth, and he was afraid that he would be accidentally pitted.

Zhu Ao helped Qu Zhongxin up, and said with an appreciative expression: "Qu shopkeeper, hurry up, you can support such a big silk shop, you must also be a capable person." I don't know if the shopkeeper has time today, but the widow wants to invite you to the palace for a while, how about it? ”

Qu Zhongxin's heart fluttered wildly, he has been immersed in the shopping mall for many years, and has long practiced the ability to observe words and colors, just a few words can judge what the other party is thinking in his heart, if he guessed correctly, the king is going to talk to him about the merger, if he can merge with the king of Suguo, then who else in Suguo can stop it, immediately rolled his eyes, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty." It is the honor of the small shop that the king and the ladies can come to the shop, if the king does not give up, how about letting the villain prepare a little wine today? If the king has anything to command, he may talk while eating. ”

This kid, go up. Zhu Ao was even more satisfied with this Qu Zhongxin, and gave him this face today, and said with a smile: "Since the shopkeeper Qu is warmly invited, the widow will not refuse." "At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Jin merchants in Shanxi sold a lot of important materials to the Houjin, which provided great help to the Houjin, and they also earned a lot of wealth.

But at this time, they are still relatively honest. What's more, Zhu Ao from later generations is very aware of the power of merchants, although these people do not produce, but the circulation capacity is very strong, they can transport their scarce goods to Su State, to solve their urgent needs, of course, they will definitely get a lot of benefits from the middle, this is just to take what they need, there is no need to linger.

Qu Zhongxin saw the king's approval, his heart was very happy, the Qu family has been poor for so many years, and the day of his career has finally come, and he immediately paused: "Thank you to the king, the villain is willing to serve the king's dogs and horses, go to the soup and fire, and never give up." ”

"Okay, the shopkeeper of the canal, the widow doesn't need you to go to the soup, I just want to cooperate with the shopkeeper and make money together." Zhu Ao smiled and helped Qu Zhongxin up, learning from the appearance of a literati, picking up a fan and shaking it gently, while saying, looking confident.

In order to appease the prince, Qu Zhongxin set up a large table of rich banquets and called the best Lingyou in Dunhuang City to sing songs, creating a very warm atmosphere. Queen Sun Yunqi and others were accompanied by Qu Zhongxin's wives to the backyard for dinner.

"Wang Shang really has a good eye, to be honest, although it is hard to sell silk from Jiangnan to the northwest, it is indeed possible to earn huge profits. In addition to silk, we can also sell salt, tea, iron, porcelain, and other goods. It is also possible to dump spices, ivory, gems and other materials purchased from foreigners in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. After hearing Zhu Ao's idea of merging shares, Qu Zhongxin couldn't help but be very excited, and after drinking a lot of wine, he immediately spat and painted a huge blueprint for Zhu Ao's future.

Although tea and salt are the materials of the national monopoly stipulated by Lao Zhu, Zhu Hao does not have the strength to take care of it now, so he can only choose to cooperate with powerful businessmen, making money by himself is nothing, and letting everyone in the kingdom make money is the real ability, and said with a smile: "That's right, the widow will first invest 100,000 taels of silver, and you will purchase spices and other things from the Western Domain in Suguo, and then transport them to Daming to sell." After the silver is sold, it buys silk, porcelain and other materials from Jiangnan, and the cycle repeats. ”

Qu Zhongxin hurriedly poured a glass of wine for Zhu Ao, brought it to Zhu Ao diligently, and said with a smile on his face: "The king is right, in this way, we will have a lot of money." Hahaha. ”

Zhu Ao took a sip of the wine glass, groaned slightly, and said with a slight smile: "The widow has been busy fighting in Tuntian before, and has never done business. I don't have any talent in this area, so I'll leave this matter to you. In addition, the widow is sending you a few people from the palace as companions, and you can teach them so that they can also understand this business business. ”

Qu Zhongxin has been doing business all his life, how can he not understand Zhu Ao's intentions, these people must be learning the way of doing business while monitoring him, this is also understandable, who will rest assured to throw 100,000 taels of silver to others and ignore it, and immediately replied respectfully: "The grass people obey the order, and the grass people will definitely give them their money." ”

"Good, good. Then let's make a contract. Zhu Ao said, beckoning one of his subordinates behind him and asking him to draw up a contract according to his intentions.

Qu Zhongxin never expected that Zhu Ao would sign a contract with him, to be honest, he didn't think that this prince would eat black, but he was really unwilling to let go of such a big opportunity, and said very frightened and incredulous: "King, king, how can the grass people be qualified to sign a contract with you." ”

"In this way, since you and I are partners, it is natural to sign a contract. In the future, we will uphold the spirit of contract, and all commercial activities must be based on the contract signed voluntarily by both parties as the highest principle. Zhu Ao said lightly, then snapped his fingers and motioned to the entourage behind him to sign the contract.

Since we must make up our minds to develop industry and commerce, the spirit of contract must be promoted, and everything should be signed on the principle of fairness and voluntariness to fulfill obligations, otherwise the whole market will be chaotic.

The entourage took out a pen and paper and wrote the contract with a brush, which roughly means that Zhu Ao and Qu Zhongxin each contributed 100,000 taels of silver to resell silk, tea, spices, gems and other things, and Qu Zhongxin was responsible for the specific operation, and Zhu Ao was responsible for getting the government behind his back, and he was sending some palace people to follow Qu Zhongxin to learn the craft, and the net profit after deducting various expenses was divided equally between the two.

This contract fully shows Zhu Ao's sincerity to Qu Zhongxin's great surprise, his Shanxi is the territory of Zhu Li, the king of Jin, that guy is not a fuel-efficient lamp, once took people out hunting, when he walked to a small village of more than 300 people, just because he was in a bad mood, he slaughtered the whole village, and the whole Jin country was talking about the king's change.

I didn't expect this King Su to be gentle and elegant, very respectful of others, listening to the legend of his war, I thought he was also a five-year-old and three-year-old, short-tempered person, it seems that it is really a matter of hearing and seeing is believing.

After Qu Zhongxin signed the contract, he carefully put away his contract and put it in his arms, and then toasted Zhu Ao frequently, with a happy and flattering expression.

Today's meal is very valuable, according to Qu Zhongxin's plan, he first used the 200,000 taels of capital to buy spices, ivory, gems and other things from the Western Domain in the territory of Suguo, and then brought them to the Jiangnan area to sell, this trip can at least double the income. After the sale, the money was doubled when silk, tea, porcelain and other items were purchased from Jiangnan and transported to Suguo to be sold to the merchants of the Western Domain who came to buy here.

In this way, it takes more than a year at most to earn two times, which is not too cool.

I finally understand why the Jin merchants can be developed, and this economic mind is not convinced. The more Zhu Ao listened to Qu Zhongxin's idea, the happier he became, and unconsciously drank a few more glasses, and when he returned to the palace, he was a little dizzy, originally thinking about walking back by himself, but how could Qu Zhongxin let go of this opportunity to perform, and quickly found a few carriages to send Zhu Ao and his party into the palace.

Zhu Ao was still unsatisfied, and immediately found Huai En, and ordered drunken and hazy: "You go to find a few little eunuchs with flexible minds and reliable work, and then find a few teaching gentlemen to teach them to read and write, and let them go to do business for this king after a while." ”

With eunuchs? Huai En couldn't believe his ears, His Majesty the Emperor strictly forbade eunuchs to interfere in politics, did the king forget, or did he drink high and talk nonsense? In order to avoid the prince from making mistakes, he carefully reminded: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is there ......"

Zhu Ao glared at him angrily, lazily lying on the Luohan bed, and scolded: "Brainless, my father didn't let the eunuchs interfere in politics, and he didn't say that he didn't let the eunuchs do business. Besides, the widow has already established the country, as long as he does not rebel, the widow himself has the final say in everything. Money is such a thing, it is really uneasy for outsiders to look at the widow, do you understand? These words are Zhu Ao's heart.

He thinks that in fact, eunuchs are not as bad as they say in the history books, most of the eunuchs are very loyal, because eunuchs are dependent on the royal power, if the widows fall, they all have to sweep the streets, who will appoint the eunuchs of the previous dynasty as henchmen? Aren't you afraid that one or two faithful eunuchs will poison you?

What's more, the eunuch is a man with broken roots, and he has no offspring, so he has broken off the idea of leaving them a family property, and he will not embezzle too much money, at most, he will only satisfy his appetite, and if a person lets him eat openly, how much can he eat? Isn't the big head a widow to take?

Finally, eunuchs are easy to control. As mentioned earlier, the ministers are actually organized people, and they will form a group, use the ancestral system, use public opinion, and use how the king is recorded in the history books to blackmail the king and force the king to make compromises and concessions. And the eunuchs are unorganized people, and the competition between them is also fierce, and their life and death honor and disgrace are all tied to the emperor's words.

If the emperor kills a minister he doesn't like, he may have a bad reputation for killing innocents indiscriminately and not listening to advice, but if he kills a eunuch, he will not be criticized in any case. Because those ministers didn't treat them as human beings at all, one eunuch after another, in the eyes of these ministers, there was no difference between the death of a eunuch and the death of a dog, and they were not qualified to tarnish the emperor's reputation at all.

Therefore, eunuchs can only rely on imperial power to exist, so they are also the most loyal to the emperor.

This is also the reason why Zhu Di, the wise Ming Chengzu, reused eunuchs, this is not his usual paralysis, eunuchs are used well, and they can indeed play a good role in the government.