eldest son of Ming dynasty

On April [-], the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, in the land south of the Yangtze River, in late spring, there were scattered peanut trees and flocks of orioles flying around.

There are poplar trees on both sides of the official road, and the flying white catkins fill the air, which is annoying.

The sunshine at noon was still warm, passing through the mottled shadows of the trees. Occasionally, some birds suddenly dispersed in fear when they saw the human convoy, splashing nameless petals all over the ground.

There were a dozen people resting under the shade of the trees. They were all dressed in peasant attire, with coarse linen clothes and patches, and the cuffs on their wrists were turned up. When they heard that there was a government convoy heading south from the north, they wanted to see it but didn't dare to see it, but they felt a lot of awe.

"...There are merchants in Suzhou Prefecture who sell raw silk. These are local mulberry farmers. They carry it on their backs, thinking they can exchange it for some money in the city."

These words were spoken by a young man with a sword who was riding a horse and guarding a carriage.

After he finished speaking, a voice came from the carriage, "Unlike the tea farmers in Fujian, Suzhou doesn't grow tea, right?"

"Little. The characteristics of Suzhou are other things. For example, there is something called loquat in the West Mountain of Wuzhong. Its flesh is white and tender, and its taste is sweet and sweet. Since Zhongcheng is in Suzhou, he might as well try it. How about Jiang Yong and Jiang Zhibai? Handover time."

"No, we are guests, don't go looking for food and drink in Yingtian Mansion's territory."

"……Yes."

Quiet for a while.

Another voice came from the carriage, "I heard that Bai Shiweng passed away last year. Let's see where his tombstone is. I'll go pay my respects."

The young man outside was wearing a long robe and a scarf. Although he was holding a sword, his movements were somewhat graceful as a scholar. He responded slowly, "Yes."

Bai Shiweng is a famous person in Wuzhong.His surname is Shen, his single name is Zhou, his courtesy name is Qinan, his nickname is Shitian, and in his later years he was nicknamed Bai Shiweng.This person is the founder of the Wumen School of Painting. He is good at landscapes and flowers, and is especially famous for his light crimson ink landscapes.

Unfortunately, in the fourth year of Zhengde, Shen Zhou died of illness.

The person who wrote his epitaph was the second assistant of the dynasty, Wang Hao.

Although Shen Zhou was not an official, he was highly accomplished in poetry and painting. Wen Zhengming and Tang Bohu were both his students, so there is the term "worship".

After some inquiring, I learned that his hometown and tomb are located in Jianwei, west of Xiangcheng, which is right on the edge of Yangcheng Lake.

So the group went to the dock instead, found a boatman, and got on the awning boat.

The boat is sailing on the blue waves, with no end in sight. There are only a few swaying boats on the clear blue lake. The smoke is lingering, and the time is quiet. The so-called elegance of Jiangnan is generally like this.

There is a wooden table placed on the bow of the boat. Behind the wooden table sits a middle-aged man wearing a blue gown. He has slender fingers and a fair complexion. It can be seen that he was born in school.

The view of the lake was really vast and shocking, so he also got interested and took out a flute and played it. The sound was soothing and lingering for a long time.

Not long after, another boat came over, and a young man with buck teeth and an ugly face came over.

Wearing a blue official robe, he stepped onto the boat holding the lower corners of the official robe, lowered his head from one end of the boat awning to the other, and then greeted him, "I am going to be the governor of Suzhou, Jiang Yong. I have met Zhang Zhongcheng."

The sound of the flute stopped, and then words came out.

"Since you came here in such a hurry, you must already know it. Zhibai, does it seem a little wrong for you to call yourself the prefect of Suzhou again?"

"Thanks to Zhongcheng for looking up to me. I will never forget the kindness of Zhongcheng."

Zhang Li turned around and took a closer look at the Suzhou magistrate in front of him.

This man was young, only 26 in the new year, and had been an official for no more than four years. In the first three years, he served as county magistrate in Deqing, Zhejiang.At the beginning of last year, a scandal occurred in Huai'an Mansion. After Long Yan was furious, the prefect was imprisoned.

It happened that at that time Lin Hanzhi, the Minister of Rites, was impressed by his virtue, so the imperial court transferred his son Lin Ting to be the prefect of Huai'an. Huai'an was an important thoroughfare.

In this way, Lin Ting's original post as Suzhou magistrate was vacated.

It was the Shaofu Ling Gu Zuo who secured this position for Jiang Yong.

Now less than a year later, Gu Liqing came to work as a lobbyist for him again and recommended Jiang Yong to the governor's Yamen in Zhangli to participate in politics.

He was so valued and promoted... but in fact he looked unattractive, and even looked a little ugly because of his buck teeth.

Zhang Li was in a complicated mood. He actually had no intention of recruiting this person, or they should all think about how to lend themselves to Gu Zuo's favor.

"There is no need to be grateful to me. There is someone else who recommended you in the Ministry of Personnel. Now that you are here, sit down and follow me to worship Bai Shiweng."

"Yes." The boat made a splashing sound on the water.

The two of them sat cross-legged side by side, with Jiang Yong sitting slightly further back.

"I saw a lot on the road. You pushed some people in Suzhou Prefecture to convert rice fields into mulberry fields. It is said that it was quite effective."

Jiang Yong lowered his head slightly, "It's a good time to catch up. Before the opening of the sea, silk was only sold in the mainland. Each piece cost seven or eight taels of silver. When shipped overseas, the price would be doubled or tripled. Mulberry fields were originally more profitable than rice fields. , the price of raw silk has gone up, and it is more cost-effective to plant mulberry fields. You can earn about two taels more per mu of land every year."

Zhang Li nodded after hearing this. The reason why Gu Liqing recommended him was that he had the ability to manage people's affairs. Now that he was eloquent, no matter what, he should have put his heart into being the prefect.

"After the imperial meeting in March, His Majesty has issued an imperial edict. Each of the two capitals and 13 provinces has its own responsibilities. You also know the affairs in the north. Therefore, there must be no situation in the south. Not only cannot it happen, but Zhejiang must also gradually cancel it. All the various regulations that have been set up in the past to restrict people's participation in maritime trade are only allowed to be established by governments, not counties and prefectures. At the same time, in order to avoid the decline in grain production in Zhejiang, grain merchants operated by Shaofu offices in Zhejiang are very close. The province has set up grain purchasing and selling points to balance grain demand.

At the end of the fourth year of Zhengde, Zhejiang Haimao Bank was 80 taels short of last year.Maritime trade has become more important than the more than 200 million shi of grain and rice produced every year, especially sweet potatoes, which are being promoted in various places.Your Majesty can do without this food, but you cannot do without sea trade.Zhibai, I know that you are good at economics. Now that you are going to Zhejiang, I need you to do your best. "

Jiang Yong would understand even if he didn't tell him.

Everyone knows about the Great Court Meeting in March, and it has been about half a month since the news reached Jiangnan.

This year the emperor has already been at odds with the army, and several troubles have occurred in a row, which has made the court a little nervous. At this time, no one is willing to touch that brow.

At this time, such a request was made to Zhejiang... Everyone felt that the imperial court wanted to use troops, so it was most in need of money.

But Jiang Yong didn't think so.

"Zhongcheng, I think the imperial court is not short of silver."

Zhang Li turned his head. A man who had just been the prefect was talking to him about the court, and he was talking with such certainty, which was rare.

Jiang Yong continued: "Haimao Bank has been deposited into the treasury in the three and four years of Zhengde. Although it is less this year, I heard that there are more than 100 million taels. In addition to last year's, your Majesty alone has more than [-] million taels of silver deposited. [-]. As the cleanup of military camps continues, the military salary paid by the court will decrease significantly, and the number of seeds will also increase. The promotion of sweet potatoes will gradually fill the inland granaries.

In addition, the court's border troubles have been eliminated, and the military settlements are being cleaned up. Given the emperor's thoroughness and prudent attitude in doing things, the court should not have any plans for a large-scale military expedition in the fifth year of Zhengde.So even if Haimao Bank continues to drop to less than 100 million taels at the end of the year, it doesn't matter.The official dares to say that there will be a balance in the treasury this year, perhaps even a balance of millions of dan.

Your Majesty is a very smart person. Your Majesty can see this, and your Majesty must also be able to see it.Therefore, even if His Majesty asks Zhejiang to encourage business, it will not be for the sake of Haimao Bank. "

After saying this, Zhang Li was a little surprised.

As the saying goes, people should not be judged by their appearance, and they should not be despised just because they are ugly.

"Then what do you think His Majesty expects from Zhejiang?"

This question is not easy to answer.

Jiang Yong can understand some economics, but he is too far away from the emperor and has only met him once so far, so it is difficult to answer what the emperor is thinking.However, when the governor asked, he could only try to talk.

"I can only confirm that your Majesty's plans are always for the overall situation rather than just one area."

"What is a domain?"

"A few hundred thousand more taels of silver every year."

"Are a few hundred thousand taels still a domain?"

"Ten years ago it didn't count. But in the fifth year of Zhengde, for the current Ministry of Revenue and the current His Majesty, it does."

"Then what's the big picture?"

"It's hard for me to tell you. But your Majesty is planning to build a navy, so I might be able to get a glimpse of it."

Or just give him a little more time. After all, it had only been a few days since he was sent to Zhejiang to participate in politics, and Jiang Yong hadn't had time to think about things in Zhejiang.

As he spoke, the ship was about to dock.

Zhang Li led a group of people onto the pier. Because it was a ceremony for worship, he straightened his hat and continued walking, "Gu Shaofu recommended this person. Zhibai, the governor's office in Zhejiang really needs you." "

Jiang Yong bent down and cupped his hands, "I don't dare to be a lower-ranking official."

"Haha, let's go. If we continue to have a leisurely trip, we will have to drive through the night later, which will delay us for another day. Picking you up in Suzhou Mansion has already delayed your appointment."

After the imperial meeting, the imperial edict flew to various places, and many people were gearing up. Zhang Li, the governor of Zhejiang, was no exception.