Domineering Daming

"Threatening me?" Zhu Xu narrowed his eyes with a murderous look on his face.

Zhu Zonghan knelt on the ground and said without any fluctuations in his tone: "I know that this is not enough to convince the emperor, but here is what I can do. Please the emperor give me a death sentence."

Zhu Xu was a little disappointed, thinking how many cards Zhu Zonghan could have, said: "Since you want to die, I will grant you, come!"

Immediately, eight guards rushed out and held Zhu Zonghan tightly.

Zhu Zonghan didn't struggle, he tried his best to look up at Zhu Xu, and said: "Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Zhu Xu snorted coldly, and said: "Let him spit out something, and then execute him, pass on the title of Jin Yiwei!"

"Yes!" The imperial guard responded and dragged Zhu Zonghan outside.

Su Yinyin stood beside her and said, "Your Majesty, what should I do with that Chen Rujiao?"

When Zhu Zonghan heard this, he struggled violently and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, please let Chen Rujiao go, she doesn't know anything, please don't implicate innocent people!"

Just as Zhu Xu was about to speak, a guard ran in and said, "Your Majesty, there is a woman in Xingyuan asking to see her, she says she is an old acquaintance of the Emperor, her name is Liu Rushi."

Zhu Xu was startled, but he didn't expect Liu Rushi to be here, turned to look at Cao Huachun, and said, "Know what?"

Cao Huachun shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"Let her in." Zhu Xu thought for a while and said.

"Yes." The guard turned and left.

Hearing Liu Rushi's arrival, Zhu Zonghan felt somewhat relaxed, and was dragged out by the imperial guards.He knew that he wouldn't be able to die for a while, and he had too many secrets in his mouth, which would be revealed slowly.

Liu Rushi entered the Xingyuan, feeling somewhat apprehensive. When he came to the side hall, he looked at Zhu Xu who was sitting there with a dazed expression.

She had forgotten it for so many years, but this face slowly overlapped with the one in her memory, which made her feel at a loss.

The famous courtesans in history have been silently killed by Zhu Xu. Looking at the woman in her early twenties, she faintly frowned and still had the strength of a strong woman.

Zhu Xu waved his hand, asked Cao Huachun and others to push them down, got up from the chair, sat down on the chair next to him, greeted Liu Rushi with a smile, and said, "Miss Liu, long time no see, I've saved the formality, sit down, let's catch up. "

Liu Rushi suddenly came to her senses, walked quickly to Zhu Xu, knelt down and said with a plop, "Your Majesty, I implore the Emperor to spare Chen Rujiao's life!"

Zhu Xu poured a cup of tea, looked at her and said, "Get up and talk."

Liu Rushi was impatient, got up and stood in front of Zhu Xu, anxiously said: "Your Majesty, Chen Rujiao is innocent, she will not seek rebellion, please give her a chance..."

Liu Rushi was worried, worried that Chen Rujiao had already been executed by Zhu Xu.

Zhu Xu knew that Chen Rujiao was from Qinhuai River, and it was normal to know Liu Rushi, so he stretched out his hand to give Liu Rushi a hand, and said with a smile, "She's not dead yet, sit down and talk."

Liu Rushi pursed her lips, sat down a bit staggeringly, breathed a sigh of relief, and tried her best to explain for Chen Rujiao: "Your Majesty, Chen Rujiao is a romantic woman who doesn't understand military affairs, please spare her life."

Zhu Xu poured a cup of tea for Liu Rushi, and said, "Relax, have a cup of tea, I don't care about a romantic woman, come on, let's talk about the old days, how are you doing recently?"

Liu Rushi looked at Zhu Xu who hesitated to speak, knowing that he should not push him too far, held the teacup respectfully, and said, "Recently, folk girls are doing some small business, and they are not in Qinhuai River anymore."

Zhu Xu nodded, and said like an old friend: "Business? What kind of business do you want to make money?"

Liu Rushi leaned over, avoiding Zhu Xu's gaze, lowered her head, trying to calm herself down, and said, "The brocade made by the folk girls is some exclusive craftsmanship in the south of the Yangtze River. It's okay to sell in the capital. Since last year, the dragon mansion There is a silk merchant association who finds folk girls and orders a batch every six months, earning about 10 taels a year, and about 5 taels after deducting expenses..."

Silk has always been lucrative. If the Dragon Mansion takes it out to sea, it will be even more lucrative. It can earn 10 taels a year. Liu Rushi seems to care about many people.

Zhu Xu thought to himself and wanted to know more, so he asked, "Drink tea, tell me how many people and how many looms are there in your place?"

Liu Rushi occasionally glanced at Zhu Xu quietly, feeling a little deer in her heart, but still tried her best to calm down, and said: "There are twelve looms in the women's place, and there are more than forty people. They are all women with good craftsmanship in the capital. Earn more than ten taels of silver a month to supplement the family..."

More than a dozen taels is not a subsidy for the family. An income of more than ten taels a month is quite a lot in the capital.

Zhu Xu turned sideways, fiddled with the water with the tea lid, and said, "Are there many places like yours?"

Liu Rushi was clever, and understood the meaning of Zhu Xu's words, and said: "There are not many in the capital, and there are more mines near the capital, especially in Tianjin in recent years. In addition, before the Ministry of Industry built large-scale bridges and roads, cement and other industries were more popular. Most of the weaving industry is still in the south of the Yangtze River, especially in Suzhou and Hangzhou. I heard that several large households have united and employed hundreds of people. The cloth and silk sold every year can be piled up into a small mountain..."

Zhu Xu nodded to show that he was listening.The imperial court did not have specific statistics on the industrial and commercial industries, and Zhu Xu's knowledge of the situation was only fragmentary, and it was impossible to have a specific outline.

Zhu Xu fiddled with the tea, thought for a while, and said, "What do you think of the current tax situation?"

Liu Rushi has calmed down, without the previous panic, she has a clue, and she sorted it out: "The tax set by the State Administration of Taxation is one size fits all, and there is a set of calculations. 10 taels is one out of ten, which is not too much for women. .”

Ten percent?

Zhu Xu was thoughtful. During the period of capital development, taxation is the first point. It is beneficial to be general, and it will be more detailed in the future.

Zhu Xu took a sip of tea, then said to himself, "Do you think there is any difficulty?"

Seeing that Zhu Xu didn't look at her, Liu Rushi looked at Zhu Xu's side face boldly, her heart was pounding, and she reluctantly replied: "Minnv used to sell Yunjin to shops in the capital, and they sold it. The price has been suppressed very low. Now it is not difficult to be taken away by the Chamber of Commerce of Shenlong Mansion. Minnv heard from the merchants over there that the aborigines overseas either don’t wear clothes or wear them poorly. Compared with Ming Dynasty. Not only clothes, hats, shoes, socks, pots and pans for food and clothing, but also carriages and boats are all bought from our Ming Dynasty. For this reason, many people in Zhejiang and Fujian have made a lot of money..."

Zhu Xu listened fascinated. The current level of development of Daming, even in terms of technology, is only slightly inferior to that of Europe. In terms of exquisite life, it is arrogant to the world. The surrounding or several continents are basically dominated by indigenous people. The products of Daming are absolutely unique. The advantage, as long as the door is opened, sales are basically not a problem.

"To open the door, you must have guns."

Zhu Xu thought to himself, now Daming's maritime trade is still in the exploratory stage, it has not reached the point of colonization, plus the national power is empty, it is not the right time.

"hold on."

Zhu Xu silently cheered himself up, and when Liu Ru stopped, he said with a smile: "It seems that Miss Liu has a big business, and she knows a lot about Shenlong Mansion?"

Liu Rushi lowered her head slightly, and said, "The girl has a little savings, so I don't dare to say how much she earns. The Shenlong Mansion is where the girls live and eat, so I don't dare not understand. I heard that Mrs. Chen..."

Liu Rushi paused, and continued: "I heard that Madam Chen's fleet not only travels to and from North Korea, Ryukyu, Japan, and the South China Sea, but also travels thousands of miles away. There are hundreds of branches of the Chamber of Commerce, all over the sea... "

Zhu Xu nodded to show that he was listening.

Liu Rushi didn't know whether Zhu Xu knew about it or not, and said cautiously: "I heard that Mrs. Chen has dozens of chambers of commerce, almost including all my businesses in Daming. Various chambers of commerce, there are also chambers of commerce established by Japan, Mongolia, Xiyi, etc., with hundreds of large and small, and tens of thousands of ships going to sea every year..."

Zhu Xu made a "hmm" sound, and said, "Shenlong Mansion is my experimental place, and it has become more and more important to me in recent years. By the way, who do you think is more appropriate to be in charge of Shenlong Mansion?"

It is a well-known fact that Bumbutai manages the Shenlong Mansion under the pseudonym Mrs. Chen. Someone mentioned it, but most people ignored it and acquiesced.

Liu Rushi naturally knew about it, she didn't know the reason, and said respectfully: "As far as the daughter of the people knows, Mrs. Chen managed it properly, and there were no major mistakes."

Zhu Xu came to his senses and pointed out: "Yi'er is getting older, and she can't stay outside for a long time. Tell me, who is more suitable except her?"

Liu Rushi breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and after a while, he said softly: "I heard that shopkeeper Wei Da, shopkeeper He Da, etc. are all in Shenlong Mansion."

Liu Rushi was talking about Wei Liangqing, He Yunshan and other people who followed Zhu Xu in the early days. They have rich experience in business and have a certain status in Shenlong Mansion.

Zhu Xu pondered for a while, and denied: "Shenlong Mansion is a special place, and ordinary people can't suppress it. This person must be special, and can be accepted by many parties in Shenlong Mansion. There is no 'New Deal' in Shenlong Mansion, so it cannot be repeated."

Liu Rushi is a folk girl, after thinking for a while, said: "Folk girls don't know."

Zhu Xu heaved a sigh of relief, it was not difficult for her, just about to get up, suddenly turned to look at Liu Rushi, his eyes were burning.