Shi Fenglai talked with Qian Qianyi with a smile on his face, and walked out of the courtyard of the Wenhua Palace, and the carriages of the two were already waiting at the gate of the courtyard.

Glancing at his own carriage parked at the door, Shi Fenglai said goodbye to Qian Qianyi beside him and boarded the carriage.

He was originally smiling, but after boarding the carriage, he became gloomy. Like Wu Chunfu, he has become less and less present in the cabinet.

From the original second assistant in the cabinet to the current minister in charge of the postal service, Shi Fenglai found that his status had changed not ordinarily.

In the past, there was no such strange rule that cabinet ministers were in charge of business, and as long as they were ministers on duty, they could ask about anything in the imperial court, but it was the first assistant who made the final decision.

Therefore, except for the first assistant, the status and power of the other cabinet ministers are basically not much different. But now, the status and power of the cabinet ministers come more from the content they are in charge of.

Under his command there was only the newly established Ministry of Trade and Postal Affairs, which was not as large as one of the other six ministries, and Shang Shu Tian Yang did not have much prestige in the ministry because it led to the dissolution of Taifu Temple.

In order to expand the power of the Ministry of International Trade and Postal Affairs, in addition to the staffing, the most important thing is financial power. Although Chongzhen and Huang Liji both said that the Ministry of Trade and Postal Affairs was very important, since the establishment of the Ministry of International Trade and Postal Affairs, except for the 150,000 taels allocated at the time of its establishment, there has been no follow-up.

Although the Ministry of International Trade and Posts was able to manage overseas trade, the power to tax overseas trade was vested in the Imperial Palace.

With the knowledge of Shi Fenglai and Tian Yang, they naturally couldn't think of how to profit from the management of overseas trade in addition to taxation.

On the contrary, the work of converting land and water post stations into post offices in various places seems to be quite able to support the scene of the Ministry of Trade and Postal Affairs.

However, in order to turn the post stations into post offices that deliver mail and parcels, it is first necessary to invest in the renewal of horse-drawn carriages and boats, and transform the post stations, which were originally only inns and provide means of transportation, into postal outlets that sort and transfer mail and parcels at regular times.

After Tian Yang reformed the post routes in the counties around Gyeonggi, he found that the postal service still had a lot to offer.

In particular, there was a strong demand for mail and money for business travelers and scholars traveling from the north to the south.

It is good to say that the mail of letters and parcels is enough to increase the number of people and vehicles and ships, but if you want to mail money between the provinces of Daming, it is impossible to complete it without the support of a bank with a network all over the country.

At first, Tian Yang was ready to cooperate with the Central Bank of Daming, and wanted to use the central bank's outlets in various places to complete the business of private delivery of silver and silver.

However, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry have treated the central bank as their own private treasury, and they are not willing to allow other departments to intervene in the central bank, thereby squeezing out the bank funds at their disposal.

As far as Wang Fengyuan is concerned, the postal department's attempt to collect money in other places is obviously in competition with banks in the future.

He was afraid that after the Ministry of Posts took this opportunity to become familiar with the banking business, it would simply open a bank on its own, and then the imperial court's attitude towards the central bank might not be as supportive as it is now. After considering this, Tian Yang's request was politely declined by him.

Originally, Shi Fenglai wanted to ask Chongzhen on this issue today, hoping that the emperor could order the central bank to cooperate with the Ministry of Posts, but as soon as Wu Chunfu's big project was exported, it attracted Chongzhen's attention.

When he proposed the plan of the Ministry of Posts, before the emperor could speak, he was stopped by Guo Yunhou and Wu Chunfu, and Chongzhen naturally had to ask him to re-examine the plan of the Ministry of Posts and submit it to the cabinet for discussion when the time was ripe.

Of course, he did not know that the reason why the emperor did not agree was indeed because the plan drawn up by the Ministry of International Trade and Postal Affairs was too wishful thinking. According to this plan, basically all the work and risks are borne by the central bank, and the postal department is just sitting back and enjoying the results, which is obviously not in line with Chongzhen's idea.

Shi Fenglai had a gloomy face and wanted to think about something, but the bumps of the iron wheels of the carriage on the stone pavement of the Imperial City soon made him feel quite sore all over his body, making him unable to concentrate on his thoughts.

"Well, it is of course your Majesty's good government that the carriage of the cabinet ministers can travel in the imperial city. But with this level of bumpiness, the four-wheeled carriage was slightly better than the old one.

Rather than riding in a carriage, Shi Fenglai preferred a smooth eight-lift sedan chair, but His Majesty refused to give his ministers the right to use the sedan chair in the imperial city. There are carriages to travel, and everyone is not willing to walk 3 or 4 miles a day to enter the cabinet on duty. Shi Fenglai sighed in his heart.

Shi Fenglai returned to the mansion to wash up, and just changed into a relaxed civilian clothes, he heard the housekeeper come to report that Tian Yang had brought a businessman to ask for a meeting.

"Nonsense, when is it now, he is still in the mood to do these things. You go and tell him that the old man is unwell today and he doesn't see any outsiders. Shi Fenglai said to the housekeeper Shi Ren with annoyance.

Tian Yang brought the businessman to see him, obviously because he had a benefit, so he was in the middle to lead the meeting. Shi Fenglai doesn't think there is anything wrong with the behavior of a political broker like this, it's just that the timing is not right today. He was not interested in listening to a businessman's troubles until his own troubles were resolved.

Listening to Shi Fenglai's words, the housekeeper did not go out immediately, Shi Fenglai glared at him with some dissatisfaction, this servant who grew up with him since he was a child, and he was also the person he trusted the most.

"Is there anything else wrong?" Shi Fenglai finally restrained his temperament and asked the housekeeper.

Shi Ren hurriedly handed over the gift list in his hand, and said, "Master, let's take a look for yourself." ”

Shi Fenglai took the gift list and looked at it with some doubts, in addition to some valuable southern goods, there was also a cash draft issued by the central bank in the gift list, and Shi Fenglai was also quite surprised when he looked at the words on the ticket that could be exchanged for 5,000 yuan.

According to the market and unspoken rules, when these businessmen visit officials at all levels, they have different levels of greeting gifts. However, even if it is a pavilion elder like him who comes to visit him, the first meeting gift will not exceed one thousand taels, otherwise it will be a broken rule.

Tian Yang introduced him, and it stands to reason that the people he brought should not be so ignorant of the rules, unless Tian Yang thinks that the businessman's request is worth meeting himself.

As the direct department he is in charge of, Tian Yang can be regarded as an ally with the same interests as him, and to a certain extent, he also needs his support in order to behave in front of the emperor.

After hesitating for a long time, Shi Fenglai finally sighed and said, "Lead them to the living room, let them take this gift list back when they leave." ”

Shi Ren agreed, then took the gift slip from Shi Fenglai's hand and walked out. When Tian Yang took Hu Guangyuan and followed Shi Ren through the vestibule and entered the living room, Shi Ren turned around and saluted the two and said politely: "Two guests, please wait, the master will be here in a while." ”

It wasn't until the housekeeper left that Hu Guangyuan dared to look up and take a look at the surrounding environment. Although Shi Fenglai has lived in the capital for a long time, as a Jiangnan native, the living room in his house is more similar to the Jiangnan style, except for the heavy Huanghuali furniture in the living room.

When Hu Guangyuan was still thinking about it, a melodious cloud board sound came into his ears, Tian Yang and Hu Guangyuan hurriedly got up and waited aside, and soon under the guidance of the two maidservants, Shi Fenglai slowly walked out of the back hall.

After he sat down on the main seat, he waved his hand expressionlessly and motioned for the two to sit down and talk.

"Tian Shangshu, is there anything you can't say at the official office? And catch up with the door. Shi Fenglai said with Tian Yang in an official tone, but he didn't look at Hu Guangyuan who was sitting on the side.

Tian Yang didn't take Shi Fenglai's attitude to heart, he didn't even say a few polite sentences with cooperation, so he said excitedly: "Elder Ge, Yu came to the door this time, but he brought good news. ”

Regarding Tian Yang's abnormality, Shi Fenglai was a little stunned, and he asked subconsciously: "What good news makes you look like this." ”

"Yu's previous idea of the new business of the postal department has finally found a solution, why should we go to the central bank, can I not solve the problem if I prepare a bank by myself?"

Looking at the self-righteous Tian Yang, Shi Fenglai not only did not feel happy, but felt a little dazzling, if this bank can be opened with a touch of the upper and lower mouths, it is estimated that there are already banks everywhere in the capital today.

Even if he could get a license to open a bank in his capacity, he wouldn't be able to make the huge reserves needed to establish a bank.

Shi Fenglai was about to frown and reprimand Tian Yang, but the corner of his eye was aimed at Hu Guangyuan, who was sitting next to him.

Looking at Hu Guangyuan, who looked respectful with his eyebrows lowered, Shi Fenglai swallowed back the reprimand that came to his lips.

"Oh, it seems that Baiyuan already has a comprehensive plan, so it's better to let the old man hear it." Shi Fenglai relaxed his brows and asked Tian Yang gently.

Tian Yang suddenly turned sideways, then pointed to Hu Guangyuan on the side and said: "This is the representative of the 27th Jiangnan Firm, and it is his suggestion to jointly establish this bank with our Ministry of Trade and Postal Affairs.

Please listen to the elder of the cabinet whether the plan mentioned by this person is feasible, and it will not be in vain to take the liberty of today. ”

Under Tian Yang's introduction, Hu Guangyuan hurriedly got up and saluted Shi Feng again. After getting his permission, Hu Guangyuan said eloquently: "Yu asked to see Ge Lao on behalf of the twenty-seven businesses in Jiangnan, precisely to set up a bank..."

Shi Fenglai only listened to a paragraph, then waved his hand to interrupt him, Hu Guangyuan was wondering if he had made a mistake, Shi Fenglai had already sent a message to send away the servants in the hall, and ordered Shi Ren to guard the outside of the hall, and no one was allowed to come and disturb them.

Hu Guangyuan's heart was suddenly relieved, knowing that today's matter was already half successful. He has stayed at home for the past few days, immersed himself in reading the Daming Times for nearly half a year, and his efforts have not been in vain.