Chapter 13: Wang Yue's Ambition

Wang Shu frowned, it was a vigilance against Wang Yue's ambitions.

He didn't like the Shaofu, or the institutions in the inner court, to be deeply involved in the governance of the Ming Dynasty.

Because in his heart, Shaofu is not a serious yamen, but a private minister of the Son of Heaven.

Although the Son of Heaven is the Ninth Five-Year Emperor, he should also abide by the principle of sharing the world with scholars. You can't be arbitrary.

Under the palace, there are Dongchang, Jinyiwei, and Shaofu's yamen, and they are not subject to any restrictions from civil officials at all, which should not be done in general principles.

Now, in the collection of commercial taxes, let the Shaofu intervene, I am afraid that the commercial tax may not all be in the hands of the household. This is not what Wang Shu wants to see.

Wang Shu was promoted by Zhu Qizhen, and it can be said that now, the members of the Privy Council of the six ministries of the cabinet were all promoted by Zhu Qizhen, and they all felt that they were loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty and loyal ministers of the emperor.

But loyalty is not the same as loyalty.

Everything goes according to the emperor, it is not loyalty, but flattery.

However, Wang Shu quickly suppressed the unhappiness in his heart. Because Wang Shu is a realistic person after all, or a person who fights in the officialdom, he is a very realistic person.

Wang Shu understands very well that the emperor intends to participate in Jiangnan, otherwise Dongchang and Jinyiwei will not cooperate with Wang Yue, although what Wang Yue said is what he thinks.

But Wang Shu is a fool to believe that all this is what Wang Yue thinks.

At least, there is a hint of the emperor behind this.

In this way, he could not refuse the matter to his face. The work of tearing up with the emperor, no, the work of communicating with the emperor, has always been the first assistant.

Wang Shu naturally wouldn't touch the emperor's moldy head.

And he also felt one thing, that is, when he was on a mission in Jiangnan, I am afraid that it was not the local officials who could really help him, but the emperor's manpower, such as Shaofu, Jinyiwei, and Dongchang.

He said: "What Lord Wang thinks is good, no matter what, he will implement this monopoly first, and then talk about other things." Right. ”

Wang Yue heard that Wang Shu didn't want to just say this, so he smiled slightly and said, "My lord, what you said is extremely true. ”

Half of what Wang Shu thinks is right, and half of what he thinks is too much.

Zhu Qizhen wants to control Jiangnan.

After all, the share of the entire Daming economy in the south of the Yangtze River has expanded rapidly, although Zhu Qizhen does not have detailed economic data, but he only looks at the flow of a few bulk goods, and he knows that the economic share of the Jiangnan area is estimated to have exceeded that near Beijing.

The economic base determines the superstructure.

Zhu Qizhen naturally understands this.

He didn't want to increase the control of Jiangnan, it was impossible.

Therefore, although Wang Shu was the minister who investigated Jiangnan this time and whether to implement commercial taxes, Zhu Qizhen passed through Shaofu, Dongchang, and Jin

The clothes guard intervened, but it was normal.

As for wanting Shaofu Bank to assume the power to collect taxes, it is Wang Yue's ambition.

Over the past few years, Wang Yue has created a financial system single-handedly, although this financial system cannot be compared with the developed banking system in later generations.

However, most of the gold and silver circulation went through the Shaofu Bank, although the threshold of the Shaofu Bank was very high, but after all, it had the endorsement of the royal family.

The reputation and credit of the Ming royal family are very good.

In addition, in the Shaofu economic system, a lot of money is passed through the Shaofu for various factories and mines. As a result, people who do business with Shaofu are forced to trade in Shaofu Bank.

In Wang Yue's view, there is so much money flowing through his hands, and even many businessmen can't leave Shaofu Bank, after all, if you take silver along the way, some big roads are fine, such as along the canal, such as the main channel of the Yangtze River, etc., this is a little better, and the main route that is slightly off is very likely to be looted by bandits.

Silver is hard to hide, but silver tickets are very easy to hide.

Although there are some other silver shops or pawnshops, and even new ticket numbers, all of which have undertaken the business of off-site storage, none of them are comparable to Shaofu Bank.

But Wang Yue didn't want to be just like that.

To be honest, what is Daming's biggest business?

Not cloth, not iron, not salt, not sea trade.

The biggest business of the Ming Dynasty is to do business with the government.

Although the largest businessman claims to have a family of more than 10 million, which is already very remarkable, but now Daming has to spend at least 10 million taels every year.

Even the economic development of Beijing in recent years has been the result of the imperial court's innumerable annual purchases and military spending.

For Wang Yue, he has no idea about money at all.

Although he ended all the Wang family's industries. Almost the entire Wang family withdrew from business, but the foundation of the Wang Yue family is still very thick.

A few million taels may not be available, but hundreds of thousands of taels are.

A few hundred thousand taels is enough to be one of the richest handful of families in the Ming Dynasty.

So Wang Yue put his heart on his career.

What is his career? It's Shaofu Bank.

In his opinion, it doesn't matter how much money Shaofu Bank makes, what matters is to participate in the Ming administrative system.

Even he deliberately suppressed the income of Shaofu, because although he was born as a businessman, he has always regarded himself as a scholar and entered the court, and he intentionally or unintentionally wanted others to forget his merchant background.

What he has always wanted is not how much money to make in the palace with Shaofu. Rather, it made Shaofu an integral part of the Ming administrative system.

Even many places sent taxes to the capital through the Shaofu system.

Of course, this is also because of the implementation of a whip law, which converted all taxes into silver. to have

Such an application.

This kind of experiment is Wang Yue's active promotion.

This is even more true today.

Wang Yue even wanted to collect commercial taxes through Shaofu Bank, just like using Shaofu Bank to transport local taxes, all of which wanted Shaofu Bank to become an inseparable part of the Ming administrative system.

He is very active in this.

for it is sent by his deeds.

Wang Yue didn't understand this, but he didn't want to talk about it deeply, he was already ready to write some thoughts in a letter and give them to Shoufu Han Yong.

There are some things for Han Yong to deal with.

For local officials to use private messages to explain some things that cannot be said clearly, it is also another way for Shoufu to communicate in addition to the official communication.

It is also another channel for Han Yong to understand the local situation better than Zhu Qizhen.

Wang Shu flipped over the list again, and said: "Let the affairs of Zhejiang go first, let's talk about the situation here in Jiangsu first," his finger was on the three words "Xu Shenchun", knocked on it, and said: "Who is this person in the background?" ”

Wang Yue said: "Many, such as Wei Guogong who guarded Nanjing, such as Chen Yue, the governor of Jiangsu, this is certain, and there are uncertainties, just rumors." ”

Wang Shu said: "Oh, what rumors? ”

Wang Yue said: "Xu Youzhen, a scholar of the dynasty, and His Royal Highness the Prince. ”

After Wang Shu heard this, he said, "I am a little sure. ”

Wang Yue said: "I don't know. ”

Wang Shu fell into deep thought for a moment, he understood that the water was very deep, but he never expected it to be so deep.

The first is Xu Youzhen, a scholar of the dynasty.

This man was not given for nothing.

If Han Yong's actions in the cabinet are righteous and bright, and very domineering, and what Xu Youzhen does is treacherous, and it seems that it is inconspicuous, but many people are planted in Xu Youzhen's hands without decided.

Han Yong used hegemonic methods to make some centrists have to obey the overall situation of changing the law, while Xu Youzhen's main thing was to beat down those stubborn oppositionists by legal means.

After all, there will inevitably be a conflict of interest in changing the law, and everyone should not support it. Even many of those who insist on opposing it either have too close interests or have their own insistence.

The former is fine, but the latter is difficult.

This kind of official, with a bit of a martyr's atmosphere, rarely has any handle. Especially in some petty officials and idle officials in the center, the so-called if they don't do things, they will be fine.

But Xu Youzhen can make the person concerned dumb and eat coptis, so he can only go home obediently.

Wang Shu also knows Xu Youzhen's personality.

If there were other scholars in the cabinet who were corrupt a lot, maybe he would still be suspicious, but if it was Xu Youzhen, he would believe it.

After all, Xu Youzhen is also an old minister, and I heard that she will retire in the next two years.