First Minister of Ming Dynasty

When the matter reached this point, Zhang Ximeng cleared away all legal obstacles and accomplished this almost impossible task.

But this is just the beginning.

Let girls go to school, but the question is are there so many schools?

Even if there is, can the current Mr. Xuetang teach girls well?

Or just shaking your head and reciting the book, hitting the palm of your hand if you make a mistake, and beating your little hands like hair cakes, will it work?

These things cannot be resolved by law.

Zhang Ximeng knew that he had to play the Mashi card!

Running women's schools, setting up military uniform workshops, weaving cloth, weaving silk, training female workers, improving professional skills... and even preparing for the development of industry, Ma was busy in an instant.

There are so many things that Ma Shi can't handle alone.

After some discussions, Jiang Nan successfully obtained the title of Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple. From the perspective of rank, he was only one level lower than the minister of the Six Departments. Considering that he had just entered the officialdom, this starting point was already ridiculously high.

How many officials in later generations who were born as Jinshi may not be able to climb to such a high position after a busy life.

But at its root, this position is nothing more than helping Ma Shi, giving orders for her, clearing accounts, running errands, nothing more.

Is it really?

"Come, sit with me."

Ma looked at Jiang Nan and couldn't help laughing, "In terms of age, I'm not a few years older than you, and in terms of background, our family started out as a small business, and it's far behind yours. Now we're together Together, it's not about monarchs and ministers, it's nothing more than helping each other, we can't let those men look down on us."

Jiang Nan lowered her head. Although Mrs. Ma was polite, Jiang Nan knew very well that she had just entered the officialdom, and there were too many people staring at her. If she made a mistake, it would be unimaginable.

"If Madam has any orders, I will naturally do my best, but I'm worried that I don't understand anything, and I'm afraid that something bad will happen."

Mrs. Ma smiled, "Don't be afraid, I will support you... The biggest thing right now is nothing more than raising a batch of military uniforms and jackets. In the past, I led some family members in the army to do it. Now there are more and more soldiers and horses. A lot, we can't do it alone. Can you see if there is any way?"

Jiang Nan thought for a while, and suddenly came up with an idea, "Ma'am, I'm just talking casually, it may not be effective... Our family received a batch of orders for tables, chairs and benches a while ago. The carpenter came to contract...they took the wood back home, made the table top and table legs according to the size, and sent it back to the carpentry shop, we only need to put it together."

Hearing this, Mrs. Ma thought for a while, and was overjoyed.

"This method is good. Making clothes is easier than making tables. We have cut the fabrics here. As long as the prostitutes come over, pick up the fabrics, make clothes, and return them on time, we will give them a labor fee!"

The more Mrs. Ma thought about it, the happier she became, she couldn't help but grabbed Jiang Nan's hand, and praised with a smile: "You girl, you are resourceful, and you are almost catching up with Zhang Xiang!"

Jiang Nan couldn't help blushing, she just came up with an idea, how could it compare with Zhang?

Like Zhu Yuanzhang, Mrs. Ma has the vigor to act vigorously. After the discussion was completed, he immediately posted the notice.

And almost overnight, the women in Jinling City also started to move, people came to line up before dawn, and everyone who received the fabric was infinitely happy...

Chapter 234 Status

"Mr. Li, Mr. Zhang, how is the current situation? Is our treasury full?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with joy.

Li Shanchang quickly stood up, "If you return to the superior position, 150% of the summer grain has already been put into storage. According to current calculations, the government's stockpile of grain is more than 35 million shi... This is after deducting the 20 shi sold to Liu Futong, and the sales to Fang Guozhen and Fang Guozhen. Chen Youding's [-] shi. The situation will only improve when the autumn grain is put into storage. As for the grain bank, I don't know how much stock there is."

Zhang Ximeng has always been in charge of the food bank. He quickly stood up and said with a smile: "My lord, Mr. Li, I think the matter of the food bank can be put aside for now. We have issued a total of 500 million banknotes, and the operation is in good condition." .As far as I know, people in Suzhou and other places have already started using our banknotes."

When it comes to bank currency, Li Shanchang and Zhu Yuanzhang are not in the same dimension as Zhang Ximeng. .

Old Zhu frowned and said, "Mr. Zhang, why don't you simply say, is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "My lord, don't worry, we really have to take this matter slowly... Zhang Shicheng, a private salt dealer, does have something. When he was in Gaoyou, he tried to mint copper coins. After taking Suzhou, he took the Chengtian Temple. The Buddha statues were all melted down, and a lot of gold, silver and bronze wares were collected, and then Tianyou Tongbao was cast. Zhang Shicheng replaced Yuan Ting’s treasure banknotes with minted copper coins. It can be regarded as stabilizing prices and facilitating market transactions and business exchanges. Now Su The prosperity of business and trade in Hangzhou and Erzhou also gave Zhang Shicheng a lot of taxes, otherwise, Zhang Shicheng would not be able to live in such a stable way!"

Zhang Ximeng paused, and then said: "In terms of currency, Zhang Shicheng's copper coins are actually cheaper than our banknotes."

Old Zhu murmured: "Mr. Zhang, what do you mean, what kind of Tianyou Tongbao is better than our banknotes? Then, can we also learn from Zhang Shicheng and issue copper coins?"

Zhang Ximeng waved his hand and said with a smile: "My lord, we don't have so much gold, silver and copper materials. What's more, if the money is well designed, it may not be a good thing."

Zhu Yuanzhang scratched his head. He is a farmer and really doesn’t understand money and finance. He is only interested in Zhang Shicheng’s method. This guy melted the Buddha statue in Chengtian Temple, and we can do it!

Don't forget, we have been in the temple for almost five years, and we have long since looked at those golden Buddha statues that are not pleasing to the eye. We melted and cast money, and there is no burden at all.

But Zhang Ximeng obviously didn't intend to do that.

"My lord, Zhang Shicheng asked us to buy grain, but we didn't agree. But I predict that he will definitely let merchants come to us to buy. After all, we have the most grain in the world today. In fact, as long as grain trading is stipulated, we must be used. The treasure banknotes, forcing Suzhou merchants to exchange their copper coins for our treasure banknotes."

Old Zhu pondered slightly, "Is this okay? Didn't that fox Zhang Shicheng talk about exchanging salt for food?"

Zhang Ximeng laughed and said, "My lord, if it's bartering, no matter what we do, Zhang Shicheng won't hurt his bones. But if we exchange his coins with precious banknotes and take some of his coins, At that time, our precious banknotes will be able to flow into the Suzhou market. At that time, we will use our banknotes to buy their silk and salt."

Zhu Yuanzhang was still thinking about it, but Li Shanchang came to his senses and suddenly felt that this idea was great!

"Zhang Xiang, what do you mean... what we pay is precious banknotes and paper, but we can get copper coins, salt, and silk from Zhang Shicheng?"

Zhang Ximeng nodded with a smile, "That's right, but it's not necessarily true that our banknotes are paper, because once we really treat the treasure banknotes as paper and issue them indiscriminately, then the treasure banknotes will completely collapse like Yuan Ting's. Then Zhang Shicheng can rely on his God Blessing Tong Bao to reap us."

Zhang Ximeng said to Old Zhu: "My lord, what I'm talking about is not the quality of the currency, but the source of the credit of the currency. As long as the lord is more trustworthy than Zhang Shicheng, stronger in force, and harder in the wrist... No matter how Zhang Shicheng tosses, he They can't beat us. After all, it's hard for a smart woman to cook without rice, not to mention that Zhang Shicheng is not a smart woman either!"

Li Shanchang clapped his hands and laughed, "Wonderful! Zhang Shicheng is indeed not a clever woman, his ability is far worse than that of Zhang Xiang!"

Zhang Ximeng said humbly: "Li Xiangmiao praised... In fact, we can take advantage of Zhang Shicheng with currency. Behind it is that our soldiers and horses can defeat Lao Zhang. If he dares to fight us, he will only lose more. If not The real strength is here, as long as Zhang Shicheng leads his troops and defeats us, the treasures will immediately be inferior to waste paper! Having strength but not using it, and not having strength are two completely different things!"

Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang listened... Gradually, the two of them also realized that fiddling with currency is just writing fancy gadgets, and what really matters is strength.

But they also knew that these little tricks couldn't be ignored. After all, they could peel off a layer of skin from Zhang Shicheng's body quietly, so why not do it?

What's more, he can use the benefits he earned from Zhang Shicheng to deal with his biggest enemy... Tian Wan!

What a beautiful thing!

"Originally, we planned to use troops against Tianwan after autumn, but recently there have been news that Ni Wenjun, Zhao Pusheng, and his subordinate Chen Youliang have captured the city and occupied the entire territory of Fuzhou, and they are going to get their hands on Shaowu again. , Ruizhou and other places, if we don't give him a head-on blow, they won't take us seriously!"

Old Zhu was full of murderous intent, obviously, he had run out of patience with Tian Wan.

The appearance of Zhang Ximeng undoubtedly greatly accelerated the expansion of Zhu Yuanzhang's power.

But it is also undeniable that everyone is linked with each other. It is impossible for Lao Zhu to develop rapidly without others being indifferent.

First of all, let’s talk about Liu Futong, because Zhu Jiajun played the banner of restoring China, so he, the "Song orthodox", naturally had to work harder on the Northern Expedition to recover Yanyun as soon as possible.

Therefore, it can be clearly seen that Liu Futong's Northern Expedition accelerated, and he even did not hesitate to buy food from Zhu's army for this reason.

In addition, Zhang Ximeng set up a prisoner-of-war camp and captured so many high-ranking officials of Dayuan. Although no one in other teams has copied it, the morale of Yuanting's army has collapsed very seriously.

Including Tianwan, the progress of siege was greatly accelerated. Zhao Pusheng easily captured Xiangyang Road, and Wang Fengguo easily captured Xinzhou.

The whole of Huguang, except the Tusi Miao Village in the southwest, was almost included in the territory of Tianwan, and Ming Yuzhen also entered Bashu smoothly, aggressively attacking the city and conquering the territory.

In Jiangxi and other places, Ni Wenjun, Chen Youliang and others are also making rapid progress.

Although these people can't completely imitate Zhu's army's measures, they can still do as they please, win people's hearts, and cut off some bad governance.

Therefore, it can be seen that Tianwan's momentum is quite fierce.

Two equally fast-growing beasts are about to collide!

"Mr. Li, the military supplies are ready recently, so we are going to send troops. You are in charge of the Jinling side. There must be no mistakes in the supply of military supplies." Li Shanchang nodded quickly, "Please rest assured, I will do my best... just Regarding things like treasure banknotes, I am afraid that Zhang Xiangcai will have to be troubled."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, "Who said it wasn't... We have no wine or meat, and we cannot live without Mr. Zhang in the army. This is the first time we have a formal contest with Tianwan, and we must have elite soldiers and strong generals by our side. Let Xu Da lead the army and be the vanguard, Chang Yuchun and Hu Dahai are his deputies. Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhu are with us as military counselors."

Lao Zhu put out a very luxurious lineup, Xu Da, Hu Dahai, and Chang Yuchun, these three were in charge of the striker, they were absolutely wise and courageous, and their fighting strength was unparalleled.

Even if he meets Zhang Dingbian again, it will probably be Lao Zhang who suffers.

And Zhu Yuanzhang was in the central army, and brought Zhang Ximeng and Zhu Sheng with him. One of these two men had excellent vision, and the other was sophisticated. They were also a perfect match. It is no exaggeration to say that Zhu Yuanzhang showed all his strength.

In addition, Lao Zhu also brought Zhu Wenzheng, Hua Yun, Fei Ju, Lu Zhongheng, Tang Shengzong and others to gather the stars, and the stars are brilliant.

Zhu Yuanzhang dispatched troops here, but the most surprising thing about sending troops this time was not which generals were dispatched, how many fierce people there were... but Ma's side, which took less than ten days, a total of [-] sets The bright red mandarin duck battle jackets were sent to the army and handed over to the soldiers.

The soldiers who got these battle jackets were all taken aback...they were delivered so quickly, couldn't they be shoddy?

After they inspected, they found that almost every piece was first-class with excellent workmanship.

Some of the battle jackets had four stitches on the collar, cuffs, and plackets, and the stitches were so tight that they couldn't be pulled apart.

This needle work is absolutely perfect!

There is no doubt that Ma Shi was successful and won a good start.

At the moment, in Jinling City, there are tens of thousands of women who are enjoying the harvest... For example, Han Xiuniang, she stayed up all night to make three sets of war jackets, and after handing them in, she got a pair of two hundred Wen Baochao.

The money is not much, but in the past, the husband had to work as a porter for ten days to earn it.

Making clothes for the military requires good craftsmanship, but it does make money!

After receiving the money, Han Xiuniang bought a piece of mutton and stewed it at home. When it was time for dinner, there was another big dish on the table.

As the eldest daughter-in-law, Han Xiuniang has to raise two children, and she will feed the two children at the side of every meal.

Over there, the parents-in-law, husband, and brother-in-law are only eligible to sit at the table and eat.It's not that anyone made a special rule, it's just that over time, it has become a habit, and the daughter-in-law will eat last, even if there are no guests.

"Sister-in-law, you are willing to spend money, this mutton is not bad!"

The uncle was so happy that he was about to pick it up with his chopsticks, and couldn't wait to try it out.

"lay down!"

The old man suddenly yelled at him in a low voice, which frightened the younger uncle. At this time, the old man whispered to his wife: "The eldest daughter-in-law has worked hard for several days, let her come and sit down!"

The old lady pondered for a while, nodded hurriedly, turned her head and pulled Han Xiuniang over, and sat down by her.

Then the old man looked at the family and said in a deep voice: "Listen up, from now on, just sit like this and eat!"

Han Xiuniang's face flushed slightly, she nodded quickly and agreed gently.

Chapter 235 Doubling the Force

Like Han Xiuniang, there are not a few women whose family status has been improved.

Traditions are difficult to change, but where there are benefits, there are no disadvantages.

An extra labor force means an extra income. With this income, it will be a dish on the table, new clothes at the end of the year, and a new house a few years later.

The simple common people actually see it very clearly.

Especially in the Jiangnan area, even if there was no Red Scarf Army uprising, the order still exists. Huang Daopo, who was a few decades ago, also led the women to grow cotton, weave cotton cloth, and embark on the road to prosperity.

Today's Zhu Jiajun has lifted the restrictions from the law, can go to school, work, and even become an official!

This is very important. In the past, when women went out to work in workshops, if something bad happened, how would they be counted?Don't think that people are sympathetic to the weak. In fact, many people will jump out and say that women are unruly, why don't they stay at home honestly?

If you come out to work and show your face, you are not a serious person, and you deserve it if you encounter misfortune!

Is it weird?

It seems that until a few hundred years later in a magical country, a woman was offended by rudeness, and it was still the woman who was at fault.

To sum it up, isn't it still not giving women property rights, and not treating women as human beings?

Therefore, before the basic principles are established, pushing women to the factory to create more wealth will often backfire and get the opposite result.

Parents are afraid to let their daughters go out, and husbands are worried about their wives entering the workshop... No amount of income can make up for the lack of safety. .

But when the new decree was promulgated, the situation of women became much better. At least the court's attitude was clear... If a woman encountered any problems while she was out working, the yamen must be the one to avenge the woman's grievances.

With this attitude, thousands of women came out.

When the tens of thousands of Zhu Jiajun put on the mandarin duck jackets made by female workers, most of them would prefer to let women come out to do things...

Zhang Ximeng believes that he has made a good start, and he is not sure where he will eventually develop, but now that he has taken this step, it is unlikely to stop.

It will always get better and better.

Zhang Ximeng told himself this, but he didn't expect that some things don't need to wait too long, and the results can be seen immediately.

Zhu Yuanzhang mobilized 5000 people this time, starting from Jinling and going straight to Hongdu.

The navy is still the weakness of Zhu's army, so both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Ximeng just asked Yu Tonghai and Liao Yongzhong to hold on to the existing front.

If you want to achieve results, it depends on the army.

This group of people came out and headed towards Lishui first, then Xuancheng, Shexian, then Xiuning, Qimen, and then Fuliang Prefecture. Maybe the big guys don't have much impression of Fuliang Prefecture, but Fuliang Prefecture There is a town below, most people will have heard of it, the town is called Jingdezhen!

Zhang Ximeng has a soft spot for this town.

"Mr. Fenglin, you are very knowledgeable, but do you know how much money Jingdezhen earns every year?"

Zhu Sheng laughed, "Mr. Zhang, this is hard for me. To be honest, I have a friend named Shen Xiu who died a few years ago. Otherwise, if you invite him over, you will be able to talk about money with Zhang Xiang." road."

Zhang Ximeng was startled, and then said: "This Shen Xiu, is Shen Wansan?"

Zhu Sheng smiled and said: "Indeed, someone called him that. In the early years, the Shen family worked hard to plow the fields, so they could only be regarded as a middle-class family. But Shen Xiu is good at management. In the early years, he took tea and silk to sea. When Bang comes back, he can earn tens of thousands of taels of silver. He told me that if a boatload of porcelain goes out, you can get back half a boatload of silver and half a boatload of spices, and half a boatload of spices can be exchanged for three boatloads of porcelain. The benefits are so great that people Jaw-dropping!"