Chapter five hundred and ninety-two Zhang Ximeng's big chess game
Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to the proposal almost without thinking and sent Peng Zaozhu to Changlu. However, Empress Ma hesitated a little and couldn't help but said: "Chongba, even if Marshal Peng is to be appointed as the admiral of Changlu Saltworks, do you think he should be given first?"
Give him a title, or add a title to participate in politics? Let him go to Beijing to receive rewards, that would look better!"
Zhu Yuanzhang grimaced and shook his head resolutely, "Sister, we know what you mean. Marshal Peng was older than us as an officer and had more soldiers than us. He surrendered to us, which was a bit helpless. But after all these years, he has been loyal and loyal.
No mistake, he cooperated extremely well in several battles..."
"Then shouldn't he be rewarded?"
"No!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said sternly: "No, the civil and military structure of our men has already been established. Add him for nothing. If it is too low, it will be a complaint. If it is too high, it will annoy Xu Da and the others. It is neither too high nor too low. We don't have the right position. In this case
, it’s better not to see you!”
Queen Ma was stunned for a moment and was speechless.
The embarrassment of Peng Zaozhu was even greater than that of Fang Guozhen and others... After all, Zhu Yuanzhang had already achieved great success at that time, and Fang Guozhen couldn't squeeze into the core even if he took refuge in him. All he had to do was give him the title of Wang Jue, but Peng Zaozhu was different.
With his qualifications, looking at the existing old Red Turban veterans, almost no one can compete with him.
The existence of such a person is embarrassing... Although Zhu Yuanzhang is not taboo about his humble background, he still doesn't like to be mentioned about his original quarrel with Guo Zixing. However, the existence of Peng Zaozhu always reminds him of the embarrassment of starting a business in the first place.
Zhu Yuanzhang was embarrassed, and the people below him were even more embarrassed. This was the reason why Peng Zao had not been allowed to live in Beijing and infiltrate the core of the civil and military circles for a long time.
There is no doubt that Lao Zhu is somewhat ruthless, but this ruthlessness is not without reason.
…
"Young Marshal Peng, I can't drink well, so just do it casually." Zhang Ximeng said with a smile.
Opposite him, Peng Zaozhu, with gray hair on his temples, grabbed the wine jar, poured out a bowl, drank after grabbing a few sips, his face turned red, "Xiang Zhang, your wine is good, I will be with you from now on."
My subordinates are messing around, so I have to control the wine enough!"
Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly and said, "Wine is not a good thing. No matter when it is, enough is enough. Being drunk is not a good thing."
Peng Zaozhu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said: "I think it's good to be drunk. I feel dizzy and a day has passed before I know it. Doesn't that poet Li Bai just like drinking?"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Yes, Li Bai likes to drink, but he is a depressed person who cannot express his ambitions and can only drink to relieve his sorrow."
"Really!" Peng Zaozhu rolled his eyelids helplessly, took another sip, and then said: "After hearing what Zhang said, I would like to buy a book of Li Bai's poems. I have nothing to do and read it carefully.
.”
With a smile on his face, Zhang Ximeng served Peng Zaozhu with food, and the two of them exchanged cups. After a while, when he saw that Peng Zaozhu was getting drunk, Zhang Ximeng said: "Young Commander Peng, you are feeling aggrieved. It is natural for you to feel aggrieved. But if I take you
Being transferred to the court will not only embarrass His Majesty, but also the civil and military officials will be unhappy... If you alone make everyone unhappy, how can you gain a foothold in the court? When the time comes, everyone will want you to resign, and how will Your Majesty protect you?
Got you?"
Peng Zaozhu was holding the wine bowl and stopped halfway. His eyes rolled back and forth. After a long time, he smiled helplessly, "Yeah, I'm an eyesore. That's why I want to get drunk to death!"
Zhang Ximeng shook his head, "You are wrong again, Marshal Peng, you are an eyesore in the court, that's why I dragged you to the salt field!"
Peng Zaozhu was stunned again, "Xiang Zhang, what do you mean? You might as well say it straight! My brain is slow and I can't turn around. If you ask me to take care of this salt, isn't it just for old age!"
Hearing what he said, Zhang Ximeng couldn't help laughing, "The salt and iron monopoly is a method of making money that has been established since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Now that the iron monopoly is gone, there is only one salt method left. How big is it?
Don’t you know the benefits? I have worked hard to plan for you to take charge of the Changlu Saltworks. Will the things here be that simple? "
Peng Zaozhu couldn't hold himself any longer. He simply put down his wine bowl, leaned over Zhang Ximeng and asked for advice: "Xiang Zhang, what do you mean? Stop playing riddles with me and tell me quickly!"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "I have now figured out the salt-drying method. Although it is still being improved, the cost has dropped to one-fifth. Firewood and iron pots are all saved. There is no need to carry sea water and labor.
It’s a lot less. One salt worker is as good as a dozen or so kitchen households in the past.”
Zhang Ximeng briefly talked about the benefits of the salt-drying method, and then said: "The situation is very clear now. As long as our salt flows to the market... Huaidong, Zhejiang and Zhejiang, and even pool salt and well salt will be affected. They
There is no way they can defeat us. Those old salt merchants will be affected, and the entire salt landscape will be written off!"
"Is it so powerful?" Peng Zaozhu asked in surprise.
"Not only that, I have also calculated that salt, as a commodity second only to food, is needed by everyone. If we master the salt, we can support the movement of carriages, caravans, and fleets, thus
"Cargo trafficking is in our hands." Zhang Ximeng added: "With cargo trafficking, we can then improve all roads. The roads, bridges, canals, docks, and all key nodes connecting everywhere will be affected.
.”
"Moreover, we have the trade routes in our hands, and the banks, freight yards, pawn shops, restaurants, restaurants, as well as trading venues and guild halls along the routes all have to obey our orders..."
"etc!"
When Peng Zaozhu heard this, he was already sweating on his forehead and shuddering.
He looked at Zhang Ximeng stupidly, "Um...Zhang Ximeng, may I venture to ask, what on earth are you going to do?"
With all these things in hand, if you say that Zhang Ximeng wants to imitate Prime Minister Dong and Prime Minister Cao, everyone will believe it. After all, this is too scary. Is Zhang Ximeng really not satisfied with King Lu and wants to be promoted?
The more Peng Zaozhu thought about it, the more frightened he became, feeling like he was on a pirate ship.
Zhang Ximeng laughed loudly, "Young Marshal Peng, if I had evil intentions, His Majesty would have taken action long ago... In fact, I have been planning this plan for a long time, but I just have the chance to execute it now."
Peng Zaozhu calmed down a little before asking for advice: "Xiang Zhang, what exactly are you planning to do? Can you tell me a little bit about it?"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Young Marshal Peng, you know I mentioned the great unification, right?"
Peng Zaozhu said: "I have read Prime Minister Zhang's articles carefully over the years. When you talk about great unification, could it be that the north and the south are one and the world is one?"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "That's natural, but goods can be connected from north to south, roads are accessible, materials are transported smoothly, commerce is prosperous, and taxes are fair. These are the proper meanings of unification! To put it simply, traditional merchants are too efficient.
We are low, clinging to the old, and working hard to evade taxes. I plan to support a new group of businessmen to replace them. At the very least, the tax department must successfully collect commercial taxes. Today, our land tax still accounts for half of the country.
This is a shame!"
Listening to Zhang Ximeng's words, Peng Zaozhu gradually understood that Zhang Ximeng's plan was a grand idea to reshape the business structure...
Plan new business routes through salt transportation.
This line includes both tangible and intangible ones.
For example, if the roads in some places are inconvenient, the government must be responsible for repairing them.
If you extort merchants, set up private tax cards, and exploit people's trade... salt can pass, and other things can pass. If you encounter something that you can't carry, and you still want to take a bite, you will lose your head.
In addition, new trade routes are new opportunities. The wealthy merchants who originally relied on the Yuan Dynasty to make their fortunes are still continuing to do so. Some people have joined the Ming Dynasty, but there are still some who have ulterior motives.
In this case, it is better to have a new reshuffle and take the opportunity to let more of our own people rise up.
This kind of thing cannot be planned by Zhu Yuanzhang, so Zhang Ximeng can only start the layout first. When it is done, Lao Zhu will not be able to object if he wants to.
Peng Zaozhu gradually understood, "Xiang Zhang, I, I feel that the burden on my shoulders is heavy. Who do you want to support and what should you do specifically? I don't know what to do!"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "When it comes to who to support, according to my opinion, it is naturally some old brothers in the army who have been fighting for so many years. Many of them are also getting older. Some have returned to the fields and become farmers, and some have become farmers.
People go to the Central Plains and work for the people in village communities. It is not easy for everyone. If they are not allowed to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, control commerce, and become the dominant force in commercial goods...those scholar-bureaucrats, wealthy families, and wealthy merchants, they
Our relatives will come back, after all, even if they lose their property, they still have vision, courage, and keen sense of smell."
"Young Marshal Peng, we are not only building a country, but we are also reforming two thousand years of old laws! Every step we take must be cautious and far-reaching, otherwise we will fail in our efforts, people will perish and the government will cease. It is not impossible for Ming Dynasty to go back to the old path of Zhao and Song Dynasties!"
Peng Zaozhu looked at Zhang Ximeng stupidly. He had never imagined that Zhang Ximeng's layout was like this.
"Zhang Xiang, you, are you telling me these things?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "That's what I said. As long as I leave this door, I won't recognize a single word!"
Peng Zaozhu grinned and laughed at himself, "I don't dare to slander Prime Minister Zhang!"
The two of them couldn't help but laugh. In fact, it was not a bad idea to tell Lao Zhu what Zhang Ximeng said, but when he got to Lao Zhu, I guess he would prefer to wield a sickle, rather than Zhang Ximeng, who moisturized things silently.
"Xiang Zhang, I'm really afraid that I won't be able to handle it well. Apart from other things, I just don't understand how to sell salt." Peng Zaozhu became more and more embarrassed. The burden was too heavy for him to lift.
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Don't worry, I have prepared a group of people for you. In addition, I also hired someone who knows the salt business best to be your consultant!"
"who?"
"You're not busy, you'll know tomorrow." Zhang Ximeng said with a smile.
The next day, Peng Zaozhu had just gotten up. After washing up, his men came in a hurry, "King Huai Zhang Shicheng is here, saying he is here to obey orders!"
Zhang Shicheng!
Private salt dealer!
What a good consultant! Peng Zaozao strode out and ran outside...
