Wang Tong was completely confused. He never imagined that the middle-aged man who gave him 500,000 yuan was actually the Grand Master of the dynasty, the almost sage Master Zhang.
This one is really not too old!
He seems to be in his forties, with a calm demeanor and a strong bookishness. Seeing him is like seeing a mobile library. This is not wrong, after all, Zhang Ximeng wrote it himself and presided over the compilation over the years.
, has exceeded one hundred copies.
The first person in the world, a scholar in the literary world, and the first official in the court.
Throughout history, no one has been able to achieve this position.
It is even rarer than Holy Lord Mingjun. If you can see him, why is your ancestral grave struck by thunder?
Wang Tong suddenly thought of what he had done in the past month...eating and drinking, going to cocktail parties, taking beautiful women with him, shopping all over the world, spending money everywhere, but he had never done anything serious.
I'm afraid the Grand Master will know all this!
Dead, dead!
My life is finished.
Wang Tong thought Zhang Ximeng would question him, but he didn't expect that Grand Master Zhang just wanted to take him to see His Majesty... Now Wang Tong knelt down directly.
Help!
The Grand Master is kind-hearted and would not kill anyone, but His Majesty is not good at it. If he knew what he had done, not even the nine tribes could be saved.
Dad!
I'm sorry for you, kid!
After he entered the door, he threw himself on the ground, tears welling up, and he was dumbfounded.
Lao Zhu saw Wang Tong, pondered for a moment, and then walked over and reached out his hand to pull him up.
"Okay, since you have given us a lot of fun, I won't kill you!"
Wang Tong was trembling, and didn't know whether to be happy or to cry... In the end, he still knew everything.
"Your Majesty, the grassroots deserve to die, the grassroots are in the lake!"
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, "What are you talking about? I see you talking and laughing every day with scholars and no white people coming and going. The whole of Xi'an is surrounding you. You are so beautiful!"
When Wang Tong heard this, he was trembling all over and sweating constantly.
But the Lord Magistrate on the other side was struck by thunder and his soul was gone.
After all, Wang Tong is a small person, and he won't do anything. Zhu Yuanzhang also said that he won't kill him, but the prefect is different. What he did was to follow people's influence, collude with merchants, and set him up to corrupt the national code, but it was not much at all.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Please listen to the guilty minister's heartfelt words and ask for mercy from Your Majesty!"
As he spoke, he kowtowed, and within a few moments, his forehead was covered in bruises.
At this time, Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "Master, let's listen. Don't be anxious yet."
Zhang Ximeng turned his head and said, "Prefect Tao, please speak slowly."
After hearing the Taishi's comfort, Magistrate Tao finally calmed down and gained a little courage... He expressed his thoughts.
His Majesty and the Grand Master arrived in Xi'an, naturally to wait for the report of the war in the Western Regions.
Now Xi'an is responsible for the task of transporting ordnance and baggage, which is very important and cannot be delayed. Unfortunately, the Xi'an government is unable to handle it and has to rely on the strength of merchants.
It happened that a very wealthy young businessman appeared at this time, and Magistrate Tao wanted to use his momentum to win over some businessmen and get the matter done.
It can be regarded as relieving the emperor's worries and relieving the army's difficulties. It is the best of both worlds.
"Your Majesty, I would never have imagined that this Wang Tong is your Majesty's man, I am Hu Tu!"
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said: "You are not Hu Tu! If you were Hu Tu, why would you give him your niece? Wang Tong is not one of us, but we asked the Grand Master to give him 500,000 yuan so that we can take a look at you people.
Ugly! It really disappoints us! As a parent official, you are so weak-minded. This time I am transporting baggage, and next time I ask you to take bribes and bend the law, are you colluding with him? "
Magistrate Tao was speechless and could only kneel on the ground, kowtow and beg for mercy.
Zhang Ximeng laughed twice and said, "Lord, actually, we might as well take stock of what happened this time. Who suffered the loss?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly startled, but still nodded, the grand master's face must be given to him!
Who suffers?
Let’s talk about Lan Yu’s side first. They have received a sufficient amount of supplies and have met the conditions for a decisive battle. Naturally, they will make a lot of money.
Those merchants and civilian husbands who were responsible for transporting supplies...the merchants made a lot of money, and the civilian husbands also got some hard-earned money. This trip was almost half the family's income, and they could live a good life for a few days.
Let's talk about Magistrate Tao. He accomplished this. If it weren't for Zhu Yuanzhang's questioning, he would have made great contributions and achieved great political achievements.
As for Wang Tong, this guy is even more interesting.
Not only did he come back to life, but he also got a beauty. Apart from his capital of 500,000 yuan, he actually made a profit... After all the calculations, no one was harmed!
"Sir, is there really such a thing?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked coldly.
Zhang Ximeng laughed and said: "How could it be! In fact, the biggest problem in this entire chain is risk!"
"risk?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "Lord, this whole process is the power of financial credit... Because Wang Tong has come forward to guarantee it, as long as he is there and puts the money in, others will follow out of trust. If it is really profitable
, everyone can benefit. This is to use currency and credit to achieve rapid economic growth."
Zhu Yuanzhang has been practicing for so many years and can understand it. In fact, he and Zhang Ximeng have discussed it several times in the past month and have understood it clearly.
Currency is like a kind of adhesive.
Use currency to bring together labor, commodities, markets, and various factors to achieve an increase in profits, and a rapid increase.
In the agricultural era, economic growth was so slow that it gave people the illusion that the world's wealth was constant.
But after entering the industrial age, this method is no longer the case.
In the industrial age, in addition to large-scale machine production, there was also finance, currency and credit.
Relying on the power of currency to connect production factors, quickly complete business projects, obtain sufficient profits, and invest in the next project, achieving continuous appreciation of capital.
It is through this method that we can break the shackles of the small-scale peasant economy and quickly increase wealth... But the problem also stems from this system.
"Lord, the risks here are also obvious... For example, what are the intentions of those who own capital? Do they simply want to make a fortune, or do they want to benefit the country and the people? Furthermore, what are the intentions of the officials involved!
"
These words shocked Magistrate Tao and made him sweat profusely.
In fact, he also understood it, and he was indeed a meritorious official, and what he did was no problem.
But once the heart is killed, it will be troublesome, ten heads are not enough!
Zhang Ximeng added: "Lord, there is another layer here. Even if everyone is well-intentioned, if something goes wrong or there is an accident on the way, they may not be able to make money! After all, the situation this time is extremely ideal and everything goes smoothly.
It can be regarded as catching up with the imperial escort. If we encounter other situations and lose money, what should we do?"
Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes, how do we know what to do?
We can’t lose any money, so let’s cover it up, right?
Lao Zhu couldn't help but have a headache. Taking the industrial and commercial route would be troublesome.
It’s better to just farm honestly!
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but want to laugh. This is how things are. If you want the benefits of industrial and commercial development, you have to bear the consequences... Money and credit can accomplish things that were previously unimaginable, and they will also create new troubles.
For example, merchants with huge sums of money have grown in power and commanded the world, and even officials have to compete with each other to curry favor. This will inevitably lead to various disadvantages.
And who can guarantee that people are definitely seeking wealth for the country? What if they are seeking personal gain?
So standing at this moment and thinking about this matter is worth pondering.
Lao Zhu also gradually understood Zhang Ximeng's intention. This was definitely not because Zhang Ximeng had nothing to do and had to spend a sum of money to test Wang Tong and test the officialdom of Xi'an.
He actually took 500,000 yuan to test out the quality of the Ming Dynasty... To this day, the Ming Dynasty does have the power to accomplish many unprecedented feats.
But if you are not careful, officials and merchants will collude, bent on profit and harming the people... all kinds of things that are thought of and unexpected will appear.
If it is allowed to grow wildly, it is definitely not what Zhang Ximeng and Zhu Yuanzhang want to see.
"Sir, we seem to think that you cannot abdicate yet!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said: "With the current laws of the government, I am afraid that they are full of holes and have too many loopholes. Sir, you still have a heavy burden!"
Zhang Ximeng's face was full of bitterness, "Zhu Chongba, you can't treat people like donkeys!"
In fact, through this incident, he just wanted to tell everyone that they should be wary of money and guard against being influenced by wealth. Especially the officials in the government hold huge power in their hands and must not collude with businessmen. Once they are caught,
They must be severely punished and not allowed to lend money.
This can also be regarded as Grand Master Zhang's last ardent expectation as he bids farewell to the court.
That's all he can do.
As for what Lao Zhu mentioned about continuing to formulate laws and regulations, Zhang Ximeng can at most provide some suggestions. This kind of matter should still be focused on the court.
"My lord, you can't use me to death just because I'm easy to use! No matter what, you'd better let me live!"
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed helplessly, "Sir, you don't want to listen to us, and there is nothing you can do about it. However, we still hope that you will write an article about this matter and send it to all the ministries of the imperial court, the three local departments, prefectural and county governments, including the military.
, everyone should take a good look at this matter!"
Zhang Ximeng couldn't refuse an article.
Now only two magistrates, Tao Zhifu and Wang Tong, are left.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Magistrate Tao with a sullen face, "You are smart, do things well, and are a meritorious official... But you collude with businessmen, seek benefits, and even form relatives. Even if you don't commit corruption now, there is no guarantee that you won't in the future! We don't.
Am I wronging you?"
Magistrate Tao turned pale with fright and did not dare to argue.
"My Emperor's Holy Wisdom!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly: "Well, don't be the governor of Xi'an... you can go to the Hezhong Protectorate now and serve as the chief envoy!"
The Chief Envoy in Hezhong!
This is a promotion!
But there is a war going on over there, so leaving the comfortable Xi'an is considered a relegation...
For a moment, Magistrate Tao didn't know what to do.