"Come, come, uncle, drink this cup to the fullest." Mu Jiu's white and chubby face was full of smiles, and his two white and tender hands like a woman held wine glasses to persuade the obedient official to eat wine, and the obedient official couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Mu Gong, I can't eat anymore, although the wine is good, eating too much hurts my body." ”

Putting down the wine glass with a smile, Mu Jiugong smiled meaningfully: "Uncle Guo, where is there anyone in this officialdom who doesn't drink, if you don't drink, won't you not give face to others!" The obedient official shook his head, "The wine is not separated, the wine is casual, it doesn't matter if you invite me to visit the Qinglou." ”

This is an excuse he often used to push and prevaricate in later generations, you toast me, if I don't drink, I won't give you face, then I will invite you to a sauna, call you ten young ladies, if you don't do a full set, you just don't give me face. Who has what it takes to do a full set of ten ladies? That can't be exhausted, so there is no disadvantage, the face is given to each other, and no one will really pull down their faces to make a full set of ten young ladies just to let others drink.

It's just that he is now fourteen years old, and when he says this, it is in the ears of others, how strange it sounds, the faces of the two Mrs. Ru are strange, and the old eunuch is also stunned when he hears this.

Looking at the other party's expression, he suddenly understood that the other party was afraid that he had misunderstood, but, as soon as the words came out, it was not easy to change his mouth for a while, and he was suddenly embarrassed, fortunately, this wine is a sealed jar wine, which belongs to a kind of rice wine, and the degree is extremely low, so he took a sip to cover it up, and he refused to drink it anymore, and he refused to say more, for fear that the other party would misunderstand again, but unfortunately, the words he said were like water spilled out of the door, but he couldn't take them back. Then he touched the good officer's leg.

In short, the obedient official who ate this meal was restless, smiled bitterly in his heart, and said that he was eaten tofu by the eunuch's wife, which was also the first time.

After the meal, the guests and hosts sat down, and a maid served fragrant tea, ate two cups of tea to eat, and said some gossip, and the old eunuch instructed the two ladies to leave, and then said to the obedient official: "Uncle Guo must wonder why our family is so close, and if we don't hide it from Uncle Guo, our family also has something to ask for." ”

"The shepherd just speaks, as long as I have it, there will be nothing who will not want to, but there is a word to say ahead, I don't have the habit of giving away the maidservants and maids." The obedient official immediately took care of everything, and the dignified Nanjing garrison eunuch opened his mouth to ask for something, and others really couldn't ask for it, but this old eunuch had a special hobby, but he had to open his mouth first to block his mouth.

Mu Jiu immediately laughed when he heard this, "Uncle Guo is a young man, and it is natural that he is reluctant to be beautiful, but this is not what we are asking for." ”

When he finished speaking, the obedient official couldn't help but smile bitterly, feeling that this old eunuch was Jiang Taigong fishing, and it was ridiculous that he was still sent to the door, but this thing may not be impossible to do, and the Nanjing garrison eunuch borrowed money, which is not something anyone can borrow.

Nanjing as the capital of the Ming Dynasty, as long as Yanjing has it, Nanjing should have it, Yanjing has the military department, Nanjing must also have it, but the power is much smaller, the only special thing is the Nanjing garrison eunuch, the power is very great, he may not be able to keep an official sitting in the position of the six books of Nanjing, but he only needs one sentence, he will definitely be able to move the ass of the six books of Nanjing from the position.

And the Nanjing garrison is generally a cronie of the Son of Heaven, the south is rich, the rich are very, it stands to reason that most of the world's taxes must come from the south of the Yangtze River, such as the later Qing Dynasty, but in the Ming Dynasty, in fact, this is not the case, the southern gentry are too powerful, a hat to compete with the people is thrown out, no one dares to wear it, even Huang Yanjing.

Like this kind of dirty work, someone needs to do it, Nanjing garrison eunuchs do this thing, to help the emperor make money, in fact, many eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty are powerful, Huang Yanjing turns a blind eye, why, the emperor is poor and crazy, and he can't pull his face, this kind of bad name is naturally done by eunuchs.

But this kind of dirty work is not something that any eunuch can do, such as Zhang Hong, the best eunuch in the court today, and the officials say that he is as kind as a bodhisattva, why? Because Zhang Hong is a good talker, he took the holy decree and went to the cabinet to ask for silver, and the cabinet replied that there was no money, Zhang Hong turned his head and left, unlike Feng Bao in the past, Feng Gonggong came to ask for money, who dared not to give it, so today's Dongchang palm seal eunuch Zhang Whale fought down Feng Bao at the beginning, Zhang Hong disagreed, saying [Feng Gong has backbone, how good it is to keep it], Wenchen wants a eunuch like Feng Bao to deal with it.

If you have to make an analogy, Daming is a big company, the chairman of the emperor sent people to get profits, the following department managers are in arrears and refuse to give, there are only a few cronies around the chairman, some are easy to talk, the department managers will send a bodhisattva title to pat the ass, but there are also such as Feng Bao is not easy to speak, the chairman asked you to be the department manager, you lose money every year, your own family is getting fatter and fatter, don't give money to our family to kill you.

Eunuchs and Wenchen, either the east wind overpowers the west wind, or the west wind overpowers the east wind, playing seesaw at both ends, in fact, the eunuch is not necessarily a bad guy, and the Wenchen is not necessarily a good person.

Today's situation in Nanjing is like this, most of the officials of the six departments in Nanjing are like Wang Shizhen, they have talents, but they can't do things.

Lao Tzu's sentence of ruling by inaction, and Confucius's absence from his position and not seeking his own government, are often used to play tricks, but there are not many people who understand the true meaning.

Later, Nanjing's political affairs were basically handled by guarding eunuchs and staying behind, and the guards were generally held by the princes and other nobles, as for the civil officials, they were generally formed poetry societies, and they were engaged in, like the famous seventh son at this time, headed by Wang Shizhen, who dominated the literary world for 20 years, and his status was unshakable.

A big city with a population of one million, the official poetry society has been organized, it is conceivable how far this inaction has become, it can no longer be described by inaction, but incompetence, not to mention that Nanjing is still in charge of the entire Nanzhili, and in most areas of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces in later generations, the entire Nanzhili relies on this group of poets to be the masters.

So the old eunuch wants to ask the good official to borrow money, and it is indeed no problem, he is already able to make money, like Governor Cai Taicai, he has to honor him for tens of thousands of taels of silver every year, so he also works hard to protect the other party.

This is the Ming Dynasty, which was said by later film and television works to be [eunuchs in power, the people are not happy], for tens of thousands of taels of silver, the Nanjing garrison will make every effort to protect the governor of Zhejiang, you give money, I will help you do things, clean and cool.

Moreover, the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty also reformed and changed the law, such as Liu Jin in the time of Wuzong, [the courtier played Jin to change the law, the ministry of twenty-four things, the household department of more than thirty things, the military department eighteen things, the Ministry of Engineering thirteen things, the edict is just like the old system], many of these things made the people at that time incomprehensible, such as let the widow remarry, the dead were cremated, the disaster area was exempted from money and food, the officials were derelict in their duties and pursued responsibility, and created a unique fine system, called [penalty rice example], when the official does not act, you will be deducted from your money.

In fact, if you look closely, Liu Jin really looks like a traverser, but the change is too hasty, especially offending the entire civil official group, such as the loss of the granary in Ningxia at that time, Liu Jin thoroughly investigated, and fined nearly 200 officials, half of whom were officials, that is, they stepped down and went home to eat old rice.

This has to be seen from the perspective of future generations, it can't be lighter anymore, you gang of corrupt officials, you will be fined some rice, and if the circumstances are serious, it is just a dismissal, and God forbids you if you don't cut off your heads.

But at that time, it was a huge earthquake in the officialdom, and everyone in Wenchen was terrified, according to Liu Gonggong's thorough investigation method, no one was clean under his buttocks, a pile of shit, what should I do? There is only one way...... As for what road, history has given the truth, so there is no need to elaborate, anyway, the history books are compiled by Wenchen, so Mu Jiu is now making money, and even wants to ask the good official to borrow money, it is indeed no way, he can't say this to outsiders, so he has to complain to the good official, next year the Empress Dowager Cisheng will be thirty-eight years old, according to custom, to do the forty-year-old birthday in advance, but the inner library is now empty, where is the money for the Queen Mother's birthday? Asked the household department, the household department said that there was no money, I really don't know where the money went, anyway, the household department from the Shangshu to the staff of the foreign lang, all of them live in a mansion, and there are groups of servants and slaves at home...... He complained a lot of bitterness, and finally subconsciously said, "Slaves and maids can't do anything, and they are greedy for hundreds of thousands ......of taels after a year."

The obedient official laughed, "Mu Gong, hundreds of thousands sounds like a lot, but for the palace, isn't it a drop in the bucket." ”

Mu Jiu slapped his thigh fiercely, with an expression that your uncle is my confidant, "Isn't it, Uncle Guo, the slave maid is heartbroken for the emperor in Nanjing, those civil servants, the family is full of gold and silver, you want to talk to him about money, he disdainfully thinks that it is a blockage, a mud horse, none of them are good things, if it is really a blockage, you donate all the money to the court!" ”

In anger, the old eunuch burst into a foul language, and then his face was full of embarrassment, "Our family has lost its temper, so Uncle Guo will laugh." ”

With a faint smile, the obedient official said that this may not be, in short, there is a problem with the system, and it is inevitable that it will be overkill to blame the head of the hundred officials, he picked up the teacup and took a sip of it, and said: "Mu Gong, I will borrow your silver today, what about next year?" And the year after? ”

Mu Jiugong's face froze, thinking that the good official refused to borrow money, he was inevitably a little angry, and his white face sank a little, and for a while, there was no sound.

Putting down the teacup, the obedient official smiled and said: "Mugong, it's not that I don't borrow silver, and I don't hide it from Mugong You said that I came back from Fusang this time, and now I have this amount of silver." He said, cocking three fingers, and then said slowly, "There is also a lot of gold." ”

Clapping his two hands, Mu Jiugong said: "Uncle Guo, I won't borrow more from you, 200,000, you can keep 100,000 cash is enough to summon, not to mention that you still have a lot of gold." ”

At this time, it was still the early years of Wanli, and one or two pieces of silver could still buy two stones of rice, unlike in the year of the Apocalypse, when one or two pieces of silver could only buy one stone of rice or even one stone of rice, so at this time, 200,000 yuan was indeed a huge amount of silver, as for the old eunuch to send the good official house, and even including the servant slave, that was actually not much money, the good official had just arrived in Ningbo before, Mu Yan and Rong Fu were two maids with a deed of sale, and the price that was sold was a virgin, basically six to ten taels of silver, And one stone of rice can be eaten for half a year to a year according to the differences in each person's situation.

Therefore, the good official can not treat the money as a normal situation, and can only take the money he spent when he first arrived in Ningbo as the normal situation of the Ming Dynasty, and now, his income is even more than a year's tax payment of a country, and money is no longer money for him, it is just a number.

Hearing the old eunuch say to borrow 200,000 taels, the obedient official burst out laughing, "Mugong, I'm talking about 3 million taels, not 300,000, the gold is slightly less, but it's almost 2 million......"

With a bang, the teacup in the old eunuch's hand shattered to the ground, and he himself had a dull look in his eyes and a look of disbelief.

The obedient official came back from Fusang, and the gold and silver seas were moved in boxes, which were seen by countless people in broad daylight, but they could be worn into the ears of others, and they probably didn't believe it, you know, Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Ge Lao implemented a whip law, and the tax was only more than two million silver a year, and you said that Uncle Guo moved back millions of silver from Fusang? I don't believe it, that's impossible, two or three hundred thousand heavens.

The more cultured, the more you understand the situation of the Ming Dynasty, the more you will not believe it, for example, the old eunuch is like this, he is a dignified Nanjing garrison eunuch, a year of hard work, but only made hundreds of thousands, just this, has been the southern officials nicknamed [Mu Cao], is the homonym of the Nanzhili official Mu Jiu Lao, which means that he has to pull the grass roots even when he fishes silver.

This kind of expert in making money is scolded by civil officials, only tens of thousands a year, and the obedient official opens his mouth is three million cash, how can this be embarrassed by the old eunuch, can he not miss the teacup!

Seeing the sluggish face of the old eunuch, the obedient official felt that his self-esteem was greatly satisfied at this time, and slowly picked up the teacup and drank two sips, which was really enough to make a gesture, and then he smiled and spoke, "Mu Gong, is the fugue outside the world?" Soul back. ”

As soon as he was called by the good official, Mu Jiuteng stood up straight, rushed to the good official at a speed that was impossible for his age, and looked at the good official with wide eyes, "Uncle Guo, don't bother our family, we have been sitting in the position of Nanjing garrison for so many years, all kinds of doors are very clear, Zhejiang Guanhaiwei has a silver mine, only a few thousand taels a year, our Daming year's silver class is only 100,000 taels, and last year it was only 88,642 taels, these have accounts in our hearts." ”

He talked about the data, but it was eloquent, and if you ask the civil officials, how much money Daming pays a year, I'm afraid few can say it.

Later data show that there was a Ming Dynasty, with an average annual silver class of about 100,000 taels, but in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it was actually less than 100,000 taels.

Hearing that the old eunuch reported the number of silver classes for a year, the obedient official couldn't help but laugh, this is the Celestial Empire's boast of the vast land and resources, you want to say that the Celestial Empire people are ingenious, this is a fact, silk and porcelain are unparalleled in the world, monopolize global trade, but the land is rich in natural resources, and there is inevitably a suspicion of slapping a swollen face and being fat.

"Mugong, do you know that the lord of Fusang gave me a silver mountain, how much silver is produced every year?" The obedient official asked the old eunuch with a smile.

Although the old eunuch is pragmatic, but how can he also come out of the study in the palace, his teacher is also Hanlin, to put it bluntly, he is also a scholar, although he is a treasure of the country, but when it comes to Fanbang, it is a black eye, it is precisely because of the general trend that there will be later generations of Wanli Emperor who was deceived and said that Luzon has gold and silver mountains and believes it to be true.

Some were not convinced, and the old eunuch said: "I heard that there is a lot of silver there, and there must be tens of thousands of dollars a year." ”

According to his understanding, Daming is only 100,000 a year is not enough, a silver mountain in a small country, tens of thousands of taels, that's enough!

With a smile, the obedient official raised a finger, "One million taels of silver a year." ”

The old eunuch was suddenly dizzy, almost didn't stand firmly, held the coffee table with one hand, took two steps back, sat on the official hat chair next to him, and muttered: "One million? Million? Million? ”

He muttered a few times, and the higher his voice grew, he suddenly jumped up, "You said that you give out a million taels of silver a year?" It's all Uncle Guo's yours? ”

The obedient official put down the teacup, looked at the old eunuch and smiled, "Mu Gong, do I seem to be joking?" But in my heart I said, "What is so strange about a million...... Later generations said that there is a lot of money to a certain point, it is no different from paper, and the good official now has a certain amount of silver, which is really no different from scrap iron, isn't it silver, to put it bluntly, precious metals, metals, copper, iron, what's the difference, piled up there, that's the same thing.

"One million taels, one million taels......" The old eunuch still thought to himself, and the obedient official looked at it, and he wouldn't stop! seemed to be stunned like Fan Jinzhong, and immediately stood up and slapped the old eunuch in the back, which immediately woke up the old eunuch.

"Shepherd, come on, drink tea." The obedient official said that you can't become a psychopath! I'm still pointing to you to sit in this position for a few more years! It's better to be raw than cooked! Although you are a eunuch, you are still on the road and willing to do things, and it is better to cooperate with you than to cooperate with those literati who can only write poetry.

Mu Jiugong ate the leftover tea that the obedient official had drunk, and suddenly stood up, and knelt down for the obedient official with a puff, "Uncle Guo, you want to pull the slave maid!" The slave maid used to be the old man of Yuwang's mansion......"

He babbled and said, the obedient official understood, Yu Wang Ye was the later Emperor Longqing, Wanli's Laozi, the old eunuch was on the Yu Wangfu, Yu Wang became the emperor, so he developed, but anyway, the so-called once a son of heaven and a courtier, Wanli is now pro-government, and he has been in the position of Nanjing for many years, although the favor is not reduced, it is because he will make silver, and every year there is silver sent to the palace, if there is no silver, what will be the result?

And Wanli pro-government, now it is only a year, it is the time of ambition, but there is no silver on hand, money is heroic courage, but also the emperor's courage, the emperor is not a fart without silver, he can't do anything, this is also the reason why he wanted to copy Zhang Juzheng's house later, to put it bluntly, there is still no money to make trouble.

And Mu Jiu has been in the past year, according to what he said, he is greedy for hundreds of thousands, and the big head here will be sent to the palace, but now Wanli is no longer satisfied with this bit of silver, so he naturally wants to ask him, the Nanjing garrison eunuch, but it is difficult for the Nanjing garrison eunuch to cook without rice! What's more, the Empress Dowager Cisheng will have a birthday next year, and he will be so worried that his hair will turn a few white, so he thought of asking Uncle Guo to borrow silver.

It is said that when he opened his mouth, it was 200,000, and the lion opened his mouth, but now that he hears it, Uncle Guo has a net worth of 5 million, which is equivalent to two years of taxes from the imperial court. This is simply the God of Wealth No. 1 in the sky! It's not a shame to kowtow to the God of Wealth, as long as you can get the silver, Uncle Guo! You're my father.

(To be continued)