Domineering Daming

The expansion of salt merchants should actually be said to be a kind of budding of the bourgeoisie, which began to pursue the right to speak in politics. Although it is still very low-level, it is also a kind of progress.

It's just that some of the progress was not at the right time, and it happened to catch up with the internal and external troubles of Ming Dynasty, natural disasters and man-made disasters. The development of business can only be limited to the accumulation of the past, and there is no way to go further.

"By the way, what's the current situation of the chamber of commerce?"

Zhu Xu turned his head, looked at Cao Huachun and said.

Cao Huachun hesitated a little, looked around, approached and said in a low voice, "Returning to the emperor, now merchants are all grouped together, no matter if they are Shanxi merchants, Qin merchants, or Huizhou merchants, they all gather together from their hometown and exclude outsiders. He Yunshan is the Chamber of Commerce General Assembly." Long, but it has always been a title, it is difficult to integrate, it is not as good as Wei Liangqing, the big shopkeeper of Huitong Commercial Bank, let alone Mr. Fu."

Mr. Fu Tao is a special existence in the business environment of the Ming Dynasty. The fundamental reason is his great ability. In the business of the entire Ming Dynasty, there is nothing he cannot do, and no one dares to oppose him!

After all, everyone knows that he is not only the eldest son of the Minister of the Household Department, but also the emperor's pocketbook!Back then, when the big families such as the Fan family, which were at the forefront of Shanxi merchants, were wiped out, it was rumored that the emperor ransacked the family and wiped out the family because they offended Mr. Fu!

These Zhu Xus knew what they were doing, nodded and said, "Haimao, who is in charge now?"

Cao Huachun said: "After the integration of Huitong Commercial Bank, He Yunshan should be in charge of maritime trade matters."

Closing the fan in Zhu Xu's hand, he said: "Okay, make a note, when the war at sea is over, find a chance to send him to see me."

"Yes." Cao Huachun said.

After walking for a while, Cao Bianjiao looked up and said, "Your Majesty, this is our inn, which has been vacated and is ready."

Zhu Xu nodded, stepped in, and said, "Go and inquire about the largest academy in Yangzhou. After lunch, let's go shopping."

Cao Huachun said: "Yes."

Zhu Xu walked over, the inn was already emptied, and it was specially for Zhu Xu, when a thin middle-aged man saw him, he ran over in a panic and cautiously, knelt down and said: "Caomin Yuan Kezhong sees the emperor, long live my emperor! "

This is also the inn with the initials Hui, Zhu Xu smiled and waved his hands and said: "Pingshen, I live here with you, I guess it will delay a lot of your business, what needs to be filled, I can ask Cao Huachun to ask for it."

Yuan Kezhong stood up cautiously, not daring to really want it, bowed his body and said: "The emperor can live in the inn of the grass people, it is the virtue accumulated by the ancestors, the emperor must not abuse the villain again."

Zhu Xu smiled, sat down on a table in the lobby, poured a cup of tea, and said, "Tell me about the prefect of Yangzhou."

Chapter 656 General Chamber of Commerce

When Yuan Kezhong heard it, he quickly recalled it.

After a while, he glanced at Cao Huachun and Cao Bianjiao, hesitated to say anything.

Cao Huachun snorted coldly, folded his hands and said, "Your Majesty told you not to hide a single word!"

Yuan Kezhong panicked, and quickly said: "Yes."

Yuan Kezhong wiped his sweat quietly, and said: "The magistrate of Yangzhou is called Cao Bushan, he is from Datong, Shanxi, he is Cao Zongbing, the family of Cao Tongling, he served as the magistrate of Tongzhou prefecture for three years in Chongzhen, he was in charge of politics in Shanxi at that time, and he is now the governor of Fujian. Recommended by Zou Weilian, and reviewed by the Ministry of Officials, he was transferred to the magistrate of Yangzhou."

The relationship sounds chaotic, but in fact the meaning is very clear. This Cao Bushan is Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao's family, and was recommended by the current governor of Fujian.

The relationship here is not complicated, and it fully reflects the energy of the prefect of Yangzhou.

Everyone in the world knows that Cao Wenzhao is the old man in the emperor's hidden residence. Outsiders think he is the emperor's number one confidant, and now he is the general of Jiangsu, controlling the most prosperous place in the world.His nephew, Cao Bianjiao, was the commander of the forbidden army and guarded the palace. It can be said that the emperor's life was in his hands.

Although the Cao family is very low-key in Daming, no one in the officialdom, and not a wealthy family, but if the Cao family is ranked in the order of the Daming family, even if the Cao family is not the first, the top three will be second to none!

And Zou Weilian is now the governor of Fujian, and the imperial court's investment in Fujian is obvious to all courtiers, especially the navy, which has invested tens of millions of taels of silver in the past three years.

This Cao Pushan was recommended by Zou Weilian, and he is also the head of the Cao family. Who would dare to do anything to him?Not to mention the governor, even if it is the officials of the Six Departments and the ministers of the cabinet, they must be cautious!

Cao Huachun was well aware of this, so he hugged his lower abdomen and said nothing.

Cao Bianjiao is also a thoughtful person, he suddenly knelt down on one knee, and said in a deep voice: "Please learn from me! Although Cao Pushan came from the Cao family, he has already passed the fifth service. He has no contact with his uncle or minister. Willing to guarantee with the head!"

Zhu Xu smiled immediately, waved his hands and said, "Get up, if I don't trust you, there is no one in Daming that I can trust."

Yuan Kezhong's body couldn't help shaking, the emperor's words revealed how much trust he had in Cao's uncle and nephew!

Cao Bianjiao's heart was agitated, he kowtowed deeply and said: "My minister thanked the emperor!"

Speaking of this, Zhu Xu said again: "By the way, Lao Cao doesn't know that I have come to Yangzhou, right?"

Cao Huachun said: "General Cao probably doesn't know yet, but based on his understanding of the emperor, it won't be long before he knows that the emperor has arrived in Jiangsu."

Zhu Xu smiled and said: "You can't hide it from him for too long, lest he complain afterwards, let him come in a few days."

"Follow the order." Cao Huachun said.

Cao Wenzhao was the first person to follow Zhu Xu, and knew Zhu Xu the most, that is, he was sent out to lead the army after he ascended the throne. In terms of qualifications, he was older than Cao Huachun.

Cao Bianjiao stood aside, his expression unmoved, but he was thinking about what to do about this matter.

Cao Bushan is indeed the head of the Cao family. Even though he and his uncle Cao Wenzhao have never spoken, this relationship alone will continue to be cut off, and outsiders will always give some face.He and his uncle couldn't say anything, Cao Bushan was not close to them, and when he opened his mouth, it seemed that there was no silver 300 taels in this place.

But they are military generals and the emperor's close friends. The more the emperor trusts them, the more he must be cautious and not let them down.

"What should I do?" Cao Bianjiao was anxious. It was taboo for military generals to communicate with civil servants.

Cao Bianjiao pondered, he still had to wait for his uncle Cao Wenzhao to come to find a solution. After all, Cao Wenzhao knew the emperor best, so he should know how to make up for it.

"Continue to talk about that prefect Cao." Zhu Xu sipped his tea.

Yuan Kezhong trembled, and said: "Yes, this prefect of Cao has been in office for several years, but his official reputation is not bad, he has not extorted money, he is also very clean, he has done a lot of things, and he has no bad reputation. It was quite criticized."

Yuan Kezhong's words were concise, but they were also clear. This Cao Bushan was not a stupid official.

However, there are still some deviations in some major positions. For example, if the dispute between the Shanshan Gang and the Hui Gang can reach this level, he, the prefect of Yangzhou, cannot get away with it!

Zhu Xu thought for a while, then nodded slightly and said, "How about Jiangsu's reform?"

Yuan Kezhong frowned, and said hesitantly: "Back to the emperor, Nanzhili has been in peace for more than 200 years, and many things have been deeply rooted. Although it has been restructured before, it is impossible to change it again, relying solely on the governor's office. The villain not long ago I heard that Governor Huang wanted to set up provinces in the Governor's Yamen and the Department of Prisons and Prisons. As a result, the governments did not express their views. They wanted to reform the tax system and set up a tax bureau. They were opposed by businessmen. Now there is no sound and it is nothing. ..."

The power of business membership can be seen from the fact that the imperial court allowed the Shanshan Gang to have seven enrollment places in Yangzhou. Although the Donglin Party fell, it just lost the upper echelons of the imperial court. The unity of officials and gentry is still deeply rooted and huge , do not move lightly.

This time, Zhu Xu's reform goal was to go straight to the middle and lower officials, and then the gentry, but the two were intertwined and inseparable, and it was impossible to clean them up separately.

The situation in Nanzhili is completely different from that in Shandong. This is the most prosperous place in Ming Dynasty and the most culturally prosperous place. After more than 200 years of accumulation, most of the officials in Ming Dynasty came from here.

What's more, more than [-]% of Daming's finances come from here!

This is also the place where Zhu Xu has the most headaches. If it is light, it will have no effect, but if it is serious, it will hurt his muscles and bones.

"How is Huang Liji in Jiangsu?" Zhu Xu asked after pondering for a while.Huang Liji is the governor of Jiangsu and was transferred this year.

Although Yuan Kezhong was only the shopkeeper of the inn, he was also in charge of collecting some information and reporting it, so he knew a lot. Hearing this, he said: "This Governor Huang is very upright and upright, but he is a bit forward-looking and lacks courage in doing things. At first, many people were optimistic about him, but he was worried about being suspected of forming a clique, so he turned them all away, and now he seems to be alone..."

Zhu Xu frowned, this was also a sequela of his fight against the Donglin Party. Huang Liji and Wei Zhongxian were originally from the same village, but now that Wei Zhongxian is suspected of "rebellion", it is no wonder that he has to be careful and protect himself wisely.

"Well, I see, you prepare meals, we are all hungry." Zhu Xu said.