my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 112 Your Majesty's Silver Is Here
The book was bought by Mrs. Yang for 500 taels.

only one copy.

There is no way, at this moment, I can only make do to let the six children in the family watch it together.

His heart was bleeding.

Zhou is not a human being!

This is so wicked that it smokes from the ancestral grave.

But Taigong Yang had no choice.

Even if this book can only increase the probability of the six children by [-]%, if you don't buy it, then this [-]% probability belongs to another family.

For a family like Yang Taigong, the way to make a fortune is actually impossible to be the so-called thrifty family management. As for the saying that there must be Yuqing in a family of good fortune, it is just a lie to outsiders.

The fact that the Yang family has been an official for many generations and accumulated such a large family fortune is essentially a monopoly.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the Tartars who ruled here didn’t know how to manage at all, so the Yang family got the right to pay taxes, that is, in this place, as long as the Tartars pay the amount of taxes they set on time every year, everything else is up to them. The Yang family came to take care of it. As for how much the Yang family collected and how to collect them, it was beyond the control of the Tartars.

With the help of these, the land was monopolized immediately. After the fields were in his hands, he piled up a lot of money and food on his nephews to study.

Others have no money to buy pens, inks, papers and inkstones, but Yang’s family has enough pens, inks, papers and inkstones. Others invite low-ranking scholars to teach people knowledge, while Yang’s invites scholars, even Jinshi who have become scholars.

Others' families or even a clan provide for one child to study, while the Yang family provides for ten or twenty.

Because of this, for Taigong Yang, the so-called reading is essentially a monopoly and a zero-sum game. This is not just the Yang family in Taihe County, but all big families are like this.

At the beginning, they won others, and now they have become masters. They have promises, great wealth, countless fields, and their descendants are spreading branches and leaves. Naturally, they have formed a path dependence, which cannot be changed.

It's a pity that, as wise as Taigong Yang, this time, he was still missing because someone was more ruthless than him.

If you lose, you lose, and if you lose, you have to obediently give the money, even if it is 500 taels, this is still a friendship price.

Although someone suggested that you can go to the next county to buy it, Taigong Yang knew that it was futile because you couldn't buy it!

The Yang family was born a winner in life, how could a winner in life not understand what the winners in the next county would think?
Even Taigong Yang was very glad that he was not bought by the Huang family and Li family in Taihe County. These two are also rich families. If they were bought by them, it must be for their own children to study. Everything must be burned.

Although Zhou's surname is black-hearted, he is just a superficial hoarder after all. He knows that he is a merchant, and his children have nothing to do with it.

Thinking about it this way, my heart is finally balanced. I think there are not a few big families in Taihe County who are willing to spend money to buy them. After spending such a large sum of money, everyone is back on the same starting line, but it is better than being taken the lead by others. , seize the opportunity and be strong!

He read the second edition with great interest for a while, then continued the emotional conduct he had read the first edition, and couldn't help cursing: "The one surnamed Zhang is not human."

As usual, it is still the routine of the first edition, but the paper is even worse, and it has almost reached the point where it has been turned over and destroyed.

So much so that Taigong Yang couldn't help but wonder how such inferior paper was made?

It's just that the content in this book does have a lot of eye-catching feelings. The only fly in the ointment is that... it soon reached the stage of wanting to know what will happen next.

"Despicable!" Taigong Yang was so angry that his head hurt, he cursed, and finally felt that such a curse would be demeaning of his identity, so he tried his best to suppress his anger.

"Master, master..." The manager came again, out of breath, and said, "The bookstore... there are many people around now."

Taigong Yang glanced at the steward, frowned and said, "Just replenish the stock?"

He was almost suffocating. If he replenished the goods at this time, wouldn't he be taken advantage of?
"That's not true, it's the bookstore selling mansion newspapers."

"Residence newspaper?"

"At first, everyone was not interested, but someone bought it first, but saw the first article on the mansion newspaper, which is the imperial edict that His Majesty requires that the imperial examination must pass the policy and theory before the admission of merit."

When Taigong Yang heard this, he immediately raised his eyebrows, and the strategy was qualified...

Policy theory has always been tested, but the examiners didn't pay attention to it at all, so everyone gradually ignored it.

Anyway, just write whatever you want, as long as the stereotypes are well written, you can be named on the gold list.

But at this moment, Taigong Yang was thinking about it, his expression gradually became serious, and he subconsciously said: "There are many people rushing to buy at the bookstore, right?"

"Exactly." The steward said, "Everyone says that if you haven't tried this theory, wouldn't it be a waste of effort?"

"There are also scholars who say that the most important test of policy theory is the current understanding of the important affairs of the family and the country. If you don't even know the recent memorials and intentions of the palace and court, you may not be able to write the article."

"The one surnamed Zhou went to snap up again?" Mr. Yang was startled when he heard that.

"That's not true." The steward said, "It is said that the mansion newspaper is in sufficient supply. There are thousands of copies in our county alone!"

"And it's been heard that three copies will be supplied every month in the future. In this way, there is really no need to cover it up, and this mansion newspaper is cheap, fifty cents is a big sheet..."

Grandpa Yang immediately said: "Then what are you doing in a daze! Hurry up, hurry up and buy ten."

At that moment, the steward hurriedly went to the county, and in the afternoon, he bought the residence newspaper.

This Mr. Yang is a knowledgeable person. Just looking at the content of this mansion newspaper, he knows that it is definitely copied from the Secretary of General Administration.

Fifty cents a piece is only cheap for Yang Taigong, but it is considered rare for ordinary people.

After reading it carefully, he raised his head and said to the steward, "From now on, if you have this newspaper, you will buy ten copies and put it on the old man's desk on time."

The steward said: "Master, will you let me go after the exam?"

Taigong Yang opened and closed his eyes, looking thoughtful, and said in his mouth: "What do you know, there will be news from Beijing in the past, but these news, if it is true or false, it is difficult to distinguish, and it is true and false. Either the person who transcribed it made a mistake, and sometimes, if a sentence is wrong, the meaning will be completely different!"

"Don't underestimate this kind of mansion newspaper. It seems to be full of official articles, but people who can understand can always see the changes in the current situation, as well as the future movements of the imperial court and local governments! There are many mysteries in it. Furthermore, it is not only useful for the students to read more, but it will also be of great benefit to them if they are able to obtain fame in the future.”

After the steward listened, he quickly responded.

Yang Taigong continued to read the residence newspaper.

The more I look at it, the more I feel that the movement in the court seems to be a little different at this time.

"How come there is the atmosphere of Emperor Taizu Gao?" Taigong Yang put down the mansion newspaper, fell into deep thought, and then subconsciously said: "Also, to kill a county magistrate and three clans, there must be someone in the court to intercede for him. After all, it is too Strict! But why did the Xiejin and others in the court not say a word, and did not see their memorials? Did it not be recorded in the residence newspaper, or... did they smell something?"

"Also, the emperor ordered the crown prince to welcome Zheng He, who returned from the country of Wa. With such grace, it can be seen that the voyage to the Western Seas in the coming year is inevitable."

"The floods in Suzhou and Songjiang have finally been settled, and His Majesty has given him permission to exempt taxation for a year. Isn't it difficult for the treasury these past few years? Besides, Your Majesty is very happy, why... is he willing to give generously at this time?"

Taigong Yang frowned, thinking carefully, slowly digesting the contents of the mansion report.

Soon he couldn't sit still, so he hurried to his study, got a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and began to write for his son Yang Xiang who was far away in the capital.

"My son Yang Xiang, my father is still safe, and now I heard the trend in the capital, I have a warning, remember, remember: my son will take the high school exam, the county has come to announce the good news, I am very comforted for my father, you are in the capital, and you will be elected soon When an official enters the court, whether he enters the court or not in the future, he must be cautious in his words and deeds, especially not to talk about state affairs, let alone involve in palace affairs. Anyone who discusses this with you, my son should avoid it, and remember this Say, don't be rash. Your mother is safe, don't read it!"

After writing, he immediately sealed the letter and ordered someone to send it out with a fast horse.

Taigong Yang had a premonition that there would be drastic changes in the future court situation!
Although he doesn't know what the change is, he knows that if there is a change, someone will criticize it, and these people headed by Xie Jin, who take the world as their own responsibility and are good at judging the right and wrong of the court, are so silent, so it must be Because the wind direction is wrong.

At this time, if his son can't be cautious in his words and deeds, he may become a young bird at that time, and he will die without a place to bury him.

He sent out the letter with a serious face, still feeling uneasy, so he ordered people: "I repeat, there is the latest mansion newspaper, go buy it immediately, don't be afraid of delay, buy ten copies, no, buy thirty copies, ask It is distributed to people from all houses in the clan to see, as well as to the ethnology department, and those who want to study also have a look."

Immediately, he picked up the mansion newspaper again, looking at the meticulous official articles in it, his eyes were complicated.

…………

The booksellers who represent it are crazy.

At first, they thought that if such a large amount of books and newspapers were put into the market, it would be much more difficult to get the funds back.

Therefore, the purchase this time is actually taking a huge financial risk, and the pressure is too great.

But what happened next was completely beyond their expectations.

All the books were distributed to various prefectures and counties, and after more than an hour, all the shops actually sent people to the provincial capital quickly.

Sold out.

All sold out.

Restock, restock quickly.

In this world...why are there so many scholars suddenly appearing?
Just when they were suspicious, when someone told the truth, the booksellers suddenly realized.Those people are crazy... No, those people are not crazy, they are all too smart.

Can an unsavvy person, who can pass on poems and books to his family, become a superior person in these four villages and eight miles of land?
In fact, the goods in the provincial government have also run out, so they had to ask Zhang Anshi to print them with a large amount of pre-order money.

Seeing that the mountains of gold and silver are right in front of you, and there is no stock in hand, can this still make people stop jumping?

Not only that, the sales volume of Di Bao also far exceeded expectations, and within two days, it was sold out.

On the one hand, the price is within the tolerance range of readers, on the other hand, it is influenced by policy theory, and on the other hand, some people actually have a huge demand for information.

It is heard that not only scholars but also many merchants, even officials in the Yamen, are willing to order.

Perhaps people in the capital, or those who have experienced the baptism of the information explosion in later generations, cannot feel that under the information conditions of ancient times, it is very difficult to obtain information.

Even if it was the news from the court, by the time people in all the states in the world knew about it, the news had already been passed on more than a dozen hands.

Maybe a month ago, the emperor had a bad appetite and asked the imperial doctor to see a doctor. A month later, in a certain place, the message became that the emperor was eating shit, and he was eating happily.

Even if it is the local government, they entrust special people to copy the mansion newspaper and bring it back to understand the trend of the court. In fact, the cost of obtaining information is also very high. People rushed back day and night, and they may have collected information for a month, or several months, and then sent it back together.

At that time, when you see me again, the day lily is already cold.

On the other hand, the transcribers are often ordinary civil servants, but they do errands. The magistrates, state officials and county magistrates have always had a natural distrust of civil servants. Just one oversight and the meaning is completely different.

The Mansion newspaper published now is obviously different. This is obviously the original version released by the Secretary of General Administration, and it has been printed in large quantities, so it must have been proofread and reviewed again and again before printing, which can almost eliminate the possibility of mistakes. !
The main reason is that they are profitable, and they can basically guarantee that an edition will be issued every ten days, and then they will be sold quickly through various trade routes to various state capitals.

Of course, when everyone can buy it, it may indeed be ten days or even a month later, but it is much better than before.

As a result, the agent in Jiangxi alone received [-] orders!
This is definitely a terrifying number, which means that, following the Stereotyped Writing Talk published once a year this year, the booksellers have gained another stable source of income through cooperation with the Zhang family.

At this time, everyone was convinced, so they sent people to the capital to urge the goods like crazy.

And here in the capital, countless orders have been received, and they have to print desperately!
Even if it is too late for the examination, the market demand for it is still huge. After all... 50 is sold out, but the vast majority of scholars still haven't bought the second edition.

Zhang Anshi had no choice but to set the goal of reprinting 30 copies. In addition, according to the orders from the provinces, he planned to release the second edition of the Dibao.

Zhang Anshi never hid other things in this mansion newspaper. All the content in it was sorted out and proofread by the Secretary of the General Administration. Zhang Anshi was only responsible for maintaining the channel and doing typesetting and printing.

As for other means of profit, it cannot be moved now, and the time is not yet ripe.

This huge printing gap has also brought about the prosperity of the printing industry. In addition to the fact that almost all the printing workshops in the capital are now cooperating with the Zhang family, Zhang Anshi also plans to build a large-scale printing workshop here at Qixia Ferry.

For this reason, Zhu Jin started to get busy again. He was actually a little bit crazy by this operation.

What is the concept of selling 80 copies of a book?
The frightening thing is that these 80 copies cost three taels of silver each. After deducting the bookseller's meager profits, transportation costs, and printing costs, the remaining net profit is beyond Zhu Jin's imagination.

Shipments of silver have already begun to be delivered to the capital.

The Zhang family only built a warehouse at the ferry, just a temporary warehouse, but countless gold and silver were randomly piled up.

There is no way...there are too many, and the money is too much to be counted every day!
For this reason, Zhang Anshi has recruited a lot of trustworthy strong forces and asked them to guard.

Zhang Anshi couldn't help being moved to the point of tears by his righteous deed. Of the more than 70 people recruited in total, none of them protected himself, all of them went to protect Yinzi.

Naturally, there is already a lot of scolding in the capital, and many scholars know the local situation, some through family letters, and some feedback from the counties and counties in Nanzhili.

This is a huge amount of money, and it's really a black heart!

Be scolded, scolded, Zhang Anshi was unscathed.

And he opened up a school field here at the ferry, specially for Qiu Song to play with gunpowder.

Qiu Song is at ease here and never tires of it.

Gunpowder is not as simple as detonating, maybe for some people, it is just that.

But professional people are different. He will determine the different effects after the explosion according to the amount of gunpowder and the location where the gunpowder is buried.

As for what to add to the gunpowder bag, which kind of gunpowder bag is the most lethal, and which kind of gunpowder is more suitable for destroying buildings, these are all big questions.

This is professional!
Only when one thing is studied thoroughly and all its properties are understood, the power of the same gunpowder in the hands of Qiu Song will be completely different from that of other people.

One is to destroy the world, while the other may only cause damage.

"Brother, I think Qiu Song is very dangerous. Sooner or later he will be blown up by his gunpowder." Zhu Yong expressed his worry.

Zhang Anshi sighed helplessly: "You all saw it, I didn't encourage him to play, but he wanted to play."

bang...

There was a loud noise, and the earth shook again.

The violent explosion seemed to make Zhang Anshi stagger again.

The gunpowder buried in the ground broke out of the cocoon, and countless gravel and soil flew into the sky, and gunpowder smoke rose.

Qiu Song raised his head calmly, looked at the rising little black mushroom, then lowered his head, thoughtful.

Zhang Anshi had no choice but to sigh again: "Tell someone to watch him, we don't stay here anymore, if something happens, Duke Qi will kill our heads to sacrifice the flag."

At this time, Zheng He's fleet had already returned.

When his ship arrived at Songjiangkou, Emperor Yongle ordered Prince Zhu Gaochi to greet him in person, and immediately entered the palace to have an audience after entering the capital.

It is said that in the Wenlou, Zhu Di closed the door and had a private conversation with Zheng He for three full hours, so that even Zhu Di's closest confidant could only watch outside the Wenlou.

Among the eunuchs, Yi Shiha was the most favored on the surface, but Yi Shiha knew the most in his heart that Zheng He was the most trusted by His Majesty.

After all, a fleet of tens of thousands of people plus hundreds of ships was built by Ming Dynasty with all its strength.The sea is no better than the land. Once a person goes to the sea, the court will be beyond reach, but Zhu Di entrusted all this to Zheng He, naturally convinced.

Zhu Di not only trusted Zheng He, but also recognized his ability, and believed that he could bring the fleet back intact.

After discussing with Zheng He.

Zhu Di didn't sleep all night.

He seemed to have wild horses in his heart.

This body can no longer hold his unrestrained wild horse.

desert...

western...

Great achievements.

Qianqiu's achievements are within reach, but they seem to be far away.

Along the way, you will encounter countless difficulties and setbacks. You have to be patient and able to withstand the hardships. When ordinary people hear about these difficulties, they will definitely shrink back without hesitation.

Wouldn't it be nice to be an emperor, rich all over the world, with three thousand beauties, and immerse yourself in it every day?
At this time, Zhu Di seemed to have the blood of Emperor Gaozu awakening in his bones.

He was in the bedroom, the tiger's eyes suddenly became as sharp as a blade, and he murmured: "Sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat!"

It's done!

Not only do you have to do it, but you also have to do it beautifully.

Zheng He is a steady person. He didn't mention the magnificence of the sea to Zhu Di, nor did he mention the glory carried along this journey, nor did he mention the fear in the eyes of the Japanese king after he saw the Ming fleet, and the fear it showed. obedience.

Needless to say.

He just told the emperor that the journey was very difficult, the wear and tear was great, and the fleet cost a lot. The military households and sailors on board the ship had a lot of resentment.

Suffering, risk, unknown!
And if you want to sail to the west, it means...more suffering, more danger, and the unknown unknown!
Zhu Di is not a gambler, although in the eyes of others, his life is a lot of gambling.

Every time he makes a difficult decision, he always considers the worst-case scenario.

And once he made up his mind, no one can stop him.

That night, Empress Xu woke up from a dream, and saw Zhu Di running anxiously in the palace like a madman under the dim light of the palace lantern.

She didn't move, and didn't say anything. If she woke up at this time, Zhu Di would definitely apologize, so she continued to sleep with her eyes closed.

As the sun was rising and the sky was getting brighter, Zhu Di immediately shouted to the outside guards, "Call all the officials!"

Yi Shiha took the order and left.

Within Qionglou Yuyu, there are countless side halls and side halls, as well as the main hall surrounded by buildings.

All officials arrived.

Zhu Di sat tall on the imperial chair, with a solemn face, in front of all the officials, Zhu Di said in a deep voice: "Come here, let the officials read."

With an order, a team of eunuchs who had prepared a long time ago came in, took the drafted list, and distributed it to the ministers.

Xie Jin got a copy first, and opened it to see. Although things had been expected, Xie Jin still had an indescribable feeling after reading it.

This is the money and food needed for the voyage to the West.

This time the scale is bigger, it can be said that it is three times larger than the scale of going to Japan.

Such a huge fleet was like a huge army. After seeing it, Xie Jin fell silent.

In fact, all the officials were silent.

Prince Zhu Gaochi sat sideways, leaning forward, only looked at the list, folded it carefully, and said nothing.

Seeing the silence in the hall, Zhu Di was slowed down for a while before finally speaking: "What do you think?"

In the main hall, there was only the echo of Zhu Di.

All the officials were dumb.

Zhu Di frowned, and asked again sharply: "How?"

"..."

To some extent, in the minds of all the officials, His Majesty is not as good as Emperor Jianwen.

Emperor Jianwen worked for a few years, and he only did one thing to cut down the vassal, although it was also a mess.

But people don't mess around.

The money and food expenses required in this list can be said to have exceeded everyone's expectations.

At least 300 million taels of silver.

2 manpower, including soldiers, doctors, cooks, logistics, recording officers, sailors, and interpreters. In addition, a large amount of porcelain, silk products, tea, printing paper, and a large number of weapons need to be purchased.

With nearly a thousand ships, such a huge scale is really unimaginable.

What's more, Daming is already rich in the world, why waste people's resources and financial resources to open up the world?This is simply a joke. Will the rich care about the food of the beggar?

With so much money and food, it is better to improve people's livelihood and exempt several provinces from taxes!
The people are already suffering. A few days ago, in Shangyuan County, His Majesty even killed a good citizen, Huang Renyi.

At this time, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaochi first, and said, "Prince, tell me."

"My son..." Zhu Gaochi's face was flushed, he knelt down and said, "I think it's a bit too much, why not reduce the scale and explore the way first."

Zhu Didao: "I thought so too, but I learned from Zheng He's visit to the country of Wa last year that there are now many pirates in the world, and there are as many as 2000 large-scale pirates. There are many countries that have passed through. If the wolfish and ambitious people were not on such a scale, once they were attacked or robbed, how would Da Ming deal with it?"

After Zhu Gaochi heard this, he said: "Father is far-sighted, my son... my son didn't expect it, and it is really dead."

Zhu Di turned his eyes, but looked at the officials below again, and said: "You all also say that I am very lenient. If you have anything to say, it's okay to say it, and you will never add any crime."

All the officials seemed to be waiting for this sentence. It was fine if Zhu Di didn't say it, but when he said it, there was an uproar in the hall.

"Your Majesty, no, the people are suffering, how can you sit back and watch the people suffer unspeakably, and do such a great feat?"

Zhu Di immediately regretted what he said just now, "Your mother, you scold me for being overjoyed?"

At this time, another one said: "Your Majesty, I think that the time limit is not enough. This matter needs to be discussed in the long run. The vast ocean is just a barren land. How can we spend so much manpower and material resources to expand the vast ocean in the central country of the Ming Dynasty? When Emperor Zugao was around, he once..."

"His Majesty……"

"His Majesty……"

While everyone was chattering, one person slowly stood up and said slowly, "Your Majesty, I also think it's impossible."

When everyone looked at it, they were all silent.

This is the left servant of the household department, Xia Yuanji.

The current Minister of the Household Department, Yu Xin, is weak and sick. In fact, everyone knows that Yu Xin will not live long.

And Xia Yuanji, the left servant of the household department, is the real helm of the household department now. He is very trusted by Zhu Di, and he knows the money and food situation in the world like the back of his hand. In addition, he has a high prestige in the officialdom, and all officials respect him very much. he.

To some extent, Xia Yuanji represented the entire treasury!

At this time, he saluted Zhu Di first, and then said: "Does Your Majesty know the real situation in the world today?"

Zhu Di stared at Xia Yuanji, and this time it was Zhu Di's turn to be silent.

Xia Yuanji said: "Since your Majesty ascended the throne, there have been floods in western Zhejiang first, and last year, Songjiang and Suzhou suffered frequent floods. Since the Ming Dynasty went to sea last year, there has been no harvest. Eighty-nine out of ten of the grain and grass reserves have been used up, and there are constant famines. When it happened, the inside and outside were exhausted, the treasury was empty, and there was no time to give relief to the people, so how could there be money and food for the squandering of the Western Seas?"

Zhu Di couldn't bear it after all, and said, "Then what is Xia Qing's original intention?"

Xia Yuanji said: "I think the most urgent thing is to relieve the hungry people, reduce taxes and corvee, stop building treasure ships going to the West, and stop buying gold and silver from Yunnan and Jiaozhi. Resting with the people is a great virtue."

After hearing this, Zhu Di said coldly: "Relieve the hungry people, but where did the relief money and food go? Have the hungry people been relieved? Taxes and corvees have been reduced. As far as I know, the people have not been reduced or exempted. On the contrary, the rich get richer and the poor get richer." The poorer the poorer."

"The tax set by Emperor Taizu Gao is appallingly low compared to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, but Xia Qing's family understands the people's sentiments. I'm here to ask you, with such a low tax, can the burden of the people be eased?" ? Now we want to reduce taxes and corvees, where did the reduced taxes and corvees go?"

Xia Yuanji had nothing to say about this for a while, he still knew about some situations, but from his standpoint, it seemed that was the only way.

So he said: "It's just that the national treasury is out of silver. If your majesty continues to print treasured banknotes, the treasured banknotes are now in the hands of the people, and no one is willing to accept them. Your majesty has the ambition to rise to the sky, but my minister... has no choice but to make a loyal statement. The people are exhausted, taxes and taxes have already been spent, and there is no more money to meet the needs of the voyages, so I implore Your Majesty to learn from you."

Stop pretending, showdown, just run out of money, you can figure it out.

Zhu Di was furious, but the whole court seemed to be silent, even his son Zhu Gaochi was silent and did not stand up to speak for him.

…………

At this time, the carriages began to be loaded one by one.

After several calculations, the calculation of the cartloads of silver was finally completed.

Zhang Anshi almost crossed his hands, and now he can be said to be smug, and said in his mouth: "Be careful, be careful, and, second brother, third brother, keep an eye on me, don't let anyone steal us of silver..."

Deng Jian was standing by Zhang Anshi's side. He was ordered by the Crown Princess Zhang to visit Cheng Enbo today, who knew he was arrested.

At this time, he couldn't help but said: "Cheng Enbo, you are..."

Only then did Zhang Anshi shift his gaze from the carriage containing the silver to Deng Jian's body, and said, "I'm worried about keeping the silver here. After thinking about it, it's better to send the dividends from the palace to the palace."

Deng Jian was dumbfounded and said, "This... this... how much money does it cost..."

(End of this chapter)