About a quarter of an hour later, they came to Qinhualou.

Qinhualou is actually on the edge of Fuxue, and Fuxue and Gongyuan are together, close to Tongji Gate.

Fuxue is a school run by the local government of Yingtianfu, Gongyuan is the place of examination, and Guozijian is run by the state, not the local government.

There are a lot of students here, and after Zhu Gaoxu arrived, he saw a lot of young people coming and going, which was very lively.

The official Ming Dynasty did not allow officials to go to this kind of occasion, and the rules set by Lao Zhu Shi caught officials going to Qinglou to beat sixty boards, which was very ruthless, but when it came to the end of Hongwu and Jianwen, everyone tacitly knew it, as long as no one reported it, it would generally not be caught.

After Yongle ascended the throne, he didn't take care of this matter, and he only thought about it after he moved the capital to Beiping.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu came to Qinhualou, and an old bustard had already stepped forward at the door and asked Zhu Gaoxu if he had any regular customers.

Zhu Gaoxu asked what is the approximate price here?

The old bustard saw that Zhu Gaoxu went straight to the point, and the price was different, and then introduced it to Zhu Gaoxu.

Because there is a curfew, some guests will stay here, some will leave quickly after playing, and some will only accompany you to eat and drink.

Zhu Gaoxu said that there would be a few dishes, and the three of us would call a few girls to come and accompany us, and there was no shortage of money.

The old bustard was very happy, looking at Zhu Gaoxu and the three of them as if he were looking at three Kaizi.

Zhu Gaoxu picked a table in the left corner of the first floor, then served the food and wine, and ate slowly with Zhou Hu Zhongxian.

They had dinner when they came out, and they could only eat casually, Zhong Xian and Zhou Hu didn't know why the emperor was sitting here watching, but Zhou Hu could feel that the emperor had been looking at the door.

Zhu Gaoxu was calculating how many people would come in and out this night.

When it was close to the time, the bustard came again, saying that it was about to be time, and there was a curfew outside, so the three masters might as well stay here tonight.

Zhu Gaoxu asked how much is a night?

There are twenty taels with the little lady, and there are no ten taels.

This is tantamount to blackmail, and it is ridiculously expensive.

But the bustard deliberately chose this time, and it will be time soon, if you want to go out now, you may encounter the Jinyi guard to check the curfew halfway through.

Usually some guests have drunk too much, and when they react at this time, they can only stay here without leaving.

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head after hearing this, don't stop, let's go.

Leave with two of you.

After arriving outside, Zhu Gaoxu went directly to Song Li's house, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites.

During the Chinese New Year, the emperor suddenly arrived at Song Li's house, and Song Li's family was frightened and hurried to greet the emperor.

Zhu Gaoxu came with preparations, and a few sergeants were invited behind him to hand over some gifts, saying that they were gifts for Song Li for the New Year, and Song Li was very moved.

After the emperor sat down, Zhu Gaoxu asked, "Who is the person in charge of the Teaching Workshop Division, and call him." ”

The official position of the person in charge of the Department of Teaching is Fengluan, Zheng Jiupin, the smallest official of the Ministry of Rites.

Song Li immediately sent people to Zhu Gaoxu's people to call a Fengluan named Xu Chongjiu over.

In the middle of Xu Chongjiu, Zhu Gaoxu listened to Song Li talk about the Red Mansion of the Ming Dynasty.

At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, it was similar to Zhu Gaoxu now, and he also felt short of money, so Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang made a red mansion.

At that time, a red mansion called "Fuller House" was set up in Gandaoqiao, and later moved to Wuding Bridge. At that time, many generals and officials from all over the country had tricks and drank and made trouble, so Zhu Yuanzhang moved the technical girls from all over the country into the "Fuller Academy".

At this point, the Ming Dynasty officially had official skills, note that only the Beijing division had it at that time.

At first, Zhu Yuanzhang was established in order to stimulate domestic demand, promote consumption, and of course, more importantly, increase treasury revenue, but Lao Zhu saw that the business was very good, and this thing could be done, but relying only on a red mansion did not seem to have much effect on the entire empire.

Therefore, he ordered the construction of the "16th floor of Kyoto" to deal with official skills.

"On the sixteenth floor, those who are in the city are called Nanshi Beishi, those who are outside the Jubao Gate are called guests, those who are outside the door are called the main translators, those who are in the tile are called Jixian and Lemin, those who are in the north of Ximen Middle Street are called Minghe, those who are in the south of Xijie Middle Street are called Zuixian, those who are in Xiguan South Street are called light smoke, those who are in Northwest North Street are called Liucui and Mei Yan, those who are outside the Shicheng Gate are called Yage, and those outside the Qingliang Gate are called Qingjiang and drum."

Therefore, in the area of Jubaomen that Zhu Gaoxu just passed, many red mansions are government-run.

Later, Lao Zhu changed the teaching workshops that had all the previous dynasties into the Teaching Workshop Division, and all the Red Mansions were managed by the Teaching Workshop Division.

The initial was the ambassador and deputy envoy of the Teaching Workshop Division, and the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu was changed to Fengluan (Zheng Jiupin), and the left and right Shao Dance (from Jiupin).

After the establishment of the Teaching Workshop Division, in addition to managing its own 16th floor and one courtyard, it also managed, taxed, and issued documents to the private sector (i.e., the private red building).

Like the Qinhualou where Zhu Gaoxu went at the end, it was run by the people.

Of course, this will be able to open the Red Mansion in Beijing, only rich is not enough, if you check the background, it will definitely be a nobleman of the imperial court.

After listening to this, Zhu Gaoxu asked: "You are in charge of the Department of Rites, how much did you earn on the sixteenth floor of the first courtyard last year?" ”

Song Li did not hesitate: "The total amount of silver is eighteen thousand four hundred and sixty-four taels." ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled, Old Song, there are more than so many buildings in a year.

But in the past, it was almost the same, and no one cared, mainly these civil officials didn't care about it.

Thinking about Fengluan's official rank, you know that Song Li and these people may not have seen Xu Chongjiu in ordinary times.

"In other prefectures in the Ming Dynasty, can there be an official-run Red Mansion?"

"Not yet."

"What about the private office?"

Song Li's face was slightly red, and he said cautiously, he wanted to ask Xu Chongjiu.

Xu Chongjiuguan is small but powerful, and all private red mansions are approved by him.

"The surname Xu?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Song Li thought about it, and had no choice but to say: "I heard that it is Xu Zengshou's servant." ”

“。” Zhu Gaoxu didn't expect it to be his fourth uncle's family.

However, although Xu Zengshou has a good relationship with him, one yard is one yard, and this money-making weapon must not be allowed.

He ordered again to call Xu Jingchang, the Duke of Wei.

After Zhu Gaoxu entered Beijing, he transferred Wei Guogong to Xu Zengshou's son Xu Jingchang.

In less than half an hour, Xu Chongjiu and Xu Jingchang arrived almost at the same time.

Xu Chongjiu looks about forty years old, thin and lean, for some reason, when Zhu Gaoxu saw him, he felt that this guy usually played too much, and he was like this, he had never seen such a thin person, and he was addicted to wine at first glance.

Thinking about how many officials and princesses were locked up by the Teaching Workshop Division when Zhu Dijing was difficult to succeed, this guy can play if he wants to play afterwards, and he is not happy to die, thinking about it like this, Zhu Gaoxu is a little unhappy.

"Xiaguan, knock to see you—Your Majesty -——." After Xu Chongjiu came in, he knew that the emperor was also there, and he was scared all over, after all, he had never had a chance to see the emperor in his life.

"Your Majesty." Xu Jingchang is two years younger than the emperor and is a cousin.

"Cousin, excuse me, sit down."

Zhu Gaoxu waited for him to sit down and looked at everyone.

Everyone looked different, and during the Chinese New Year, the emperor suddenly called them to Song Li's house, and everyone could feel that something was happening.

Zhu Gaoxu asked Xu Jingchang: "Xu Chongjiu is your servant?" ”

Xu Jingchang said that the ninth ancestor used to be in the same village as his grandfather Xu Da's hometown, and later followed Xu Zengshou and became a servant of the Xu family.

Xu Chongjiu's father and son have two generations, successively with Xu Da and Xu Zengshou, and they are also considered confidants.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and asked Xu Chongjiu: "Last year, how much did you earn from the government-run Red Mansion?" ”

Brush, Xu Chongjiu's face suddenly turned red, and he stammered: "Ten thousand-—— eight thousand-seven thousand taels." ”

As the person in charge, he is not as clear as Song Liji, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites.

"Is there any official one outside the Beijing Division?"

"Not yet."

"How many private ones are there in the Jingshi?"

"Thirty-two."

"How much was the total tax collected last year?"

"One thousand taels per family, a total of thirty-two thousand taels."

"Outside of Beijing, how many private ones are there?"

"Private?" Xu Chongjiu racked his brains and thought about it again.

Outside of the Beijing Division, there are more openings in Jiangnan and other places, plus other places in the country, this is remembered, and he stammered: "Probably, about a hundred." ”

"How much was the total tax collected last year?"

"Five hundred taels per family, fifty or sixty thousand, how much, the minister has to go back and look at the account book--" He glanced at Xu Jingchang as if asking for help.

Xu Jingchang is also frightened now, he knows that Xu Chongjiu's family lives in a big mansion, thousands of acres of grain fields, and a group of wives and concubines.

But Xu Chongjiu honors Xu Jingchang's family with 10,000 taels of silver every year, which is real.

"Bang" The emperor slammed the table.

Song Li and Xu Jingchang all stood up in fright, and then knelt on the ground.

"Bold Xu Chongjiu, full of private pockets, swallowing official silver, do you really think that no one has investigated these things-——" Zhu Gaoxu was furious.

"Your Majesty spares your life, and the minister knows that it is wrong." Xu Chongjiu was not frightened, Zhu Gaoxu didn't check him, so he slapped the table in public, and he was so frightened that he immediately recruited him.

This kind of is called the official is small and powerful, and at this moment, everyone has not noticed how big and terrible the power in Xu Chongjiu's hands in front of him is.

He has to approve the private Red Mansion all over the country, and he is responsible for the income of the Teaching Workshop Department, and ordinary senior officials don't pay attention to this kind of ninth-rate thing, and they don't bother to take care of it, which has caused Xu Chongjiu's power to swell incomparably.

Song Li and Xu Jingchang were stunned after hearing this.

On the 16th floor of the first courtyard of the official office of the Jiaofang Bureau, last year's income totaled 1.48 million taels, and Xu Chongjiu paid tribute to officials at all levels (including Xu Jingchang's family), about 100,000 taels, and then he and several important officials of the Jiaofang Division, including the left and right Shaowu, the left and right Si Le, five officials, and some small officials, embezzled more than 1 million taels together.

Over the years, each family has invested more than one million, which can be described as the richest group of people in the Ming Dynasty.

"Even if it is 1.6 million taels a year, each family on the sixteenth floor only needs to make 100,000 taels."

"I only need to make two hundred and seventy taels a day."

Zhu Gaoxu said sharply: "I have just sat in Qinhualou for less than an hour, and there are at least fifty or more guests in and out, and at least a thousand taels of silver have entered the account. ”

"You, do you know how to do things?" Go up and kick him to the ground.

Zhu Gaoxu doesn't hate him for being greedy, people are always greedy, but he can't do things if he hates him.

If the sixteenth floor of the first courtyard is well run, it will be no problem to earn three or five million a year.

Of course, this will be as good as the private ones, and the official ones will not be operated with care, so the private ones are generally good.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately ordered Jinyiwei and Zhou Hu's government army to raid all the officials and officials of the Jiaofang Division.

He even ordered that he should investigate the past 20 years, and in the past 20 years, all the officials who have served in the Department of Teaching Workshops will be found out.

It's okay if you don't check, but it's all hugely rich when you check.

Just into the second year of Hongxi, the capital has an earth-shattering event, the emperor Zhu Gaoxu has been investigating for 20 years, within a month, he has confiscated hundreds of officials in the teaching workshop, it is said that the family property has been confiscated, and the total silver is more than five million, which shocked the civil and military and nobles of the Manchu Dynasty.

(End of chapter)