The plan of sending troops to raise wages was solved, but the problem was that the court had to send an envoy to deal with the cooperation between merchants and the army.
Who should serve as such an envoy?
First of all, merchants rent military trophies and then advance military pay to the court, which involves money, land, slaves, and food. Such an envoy can be said to have overwhelming power in his hands. If there is even a little bit of greed, it will cause trouble.
A big disaster. Therefore, this envoy must be upright and not be moved by money.
Secondly, the cooperation between commercial banks and the army involves the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of War and the State and City Supervision. The chief official responsible for this matter should have no factions in the court, so that he will not lean towards any one faction and act in favor of any party.
After thinking about these two points, Zhou Jun had a plan in mind.
The next day, Zhou Jun summoned a father and son alone in the court.
This father and son are Zhou Jun's former brother Zhou Ze, and Zhou Ze's son Zhou Shang.
Zhou Ze once worked as a Yuanwailang in the Ministry of Revenue for a period of time, and was later sent to Shuofang and became a local official in Hebei.
When his son Zhou Shang came of age, he could have relied on his family connections to serve as an official.
But Zhou Shang resolutely gave up this path and instead took part in the imperial examination. Finally, he won the gold medal and went to Yunzhong to become a county magistrate.
Now, both father and son were transferred to the capital by the emperor, and they were both worried.
The place where Zhou Jun summoned his brother was not placed in the political affairs hall, but in Tingquan Xiaozhu.
Zhou Ze, father and son, were led into the small building by the chamberlain. When they saw the surrounding scenery, it was similar to that of Bachuan Villa. While they felt nostalgic, they felt less nervous.
Entering the inner garden of Xiaozhu, Zhou Ze and his son saw the emperor Zhou Jun. They first kowtowed and knelt down, and then shouted long live the emperor.
Zhou Jun said with a smile: "There is no one else here, you all should get up."
After Zhou Ze and Zhou Shang got up, a servant brought a stool.
Zhou Jun asked: "Are your parents in good health?"
Zhou Ze was stunned and quickly replied: "Your Majesty, my parents are fine."
Zhou Jun nodded and asked again: "I heard that you were the governor of Jizhou before. You were meticulous in your political affairs and a clean-minded person. You were highly praised by the people and colleagues."
Zhou Ze stood up from his seat, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I just did what you should do."
Zhou Jun glanced at Zhou Ze and said, "When it comes to you and me, we are all family members, so there is no need for such separation."
Zhou Ze was stunned and hesitated, but finally agreed.
Zhou Jun: "Shuofang's army won a great victory at Baiting. The Uighurs have now retreated to the grassland. I plan to order Shuofang's army to go north and attack the Huihe Golden Tent."
Zhou Ze cupped his hands and said: "The great power of the Tang Dynasty, the wise sage..."
Before Zhou Ze could finish speaking, Zhou Jun shook his head slightly and said, "But, the treasury is out of money."
Zhou Ze was stuck in his mouth for the second half of the words and was stunned in place.
Zhou Jun: "There are commercial firms and shop owners in the country who are willing to provide funds to support the army in continuing the war, but they hope to obtain the priority use rights of the spoils."
Zhou Ze thought for a while and replied: "It would be too much for the imperial court to discuss interests with businessmen..."
Zhou Jun: "I agreed."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ze quickly swallowed the second half of his words and did not dare to speak again.
Zhou Jun: "As long as the land, prisoners, livestock, etc. obtained by Shuofang's army from victory, I plan to open it to merchants in exchange for military pay, supplies, luggage, etc. Among them, there needs to be someone representing the court to coordinate the military department.
The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Punishment and other departments facilitated the achievement of this matter."
Zhou Ze: "Your Majesty, do you want me to...?"
Zhou Jun nodded and said, "You were once on duty in the Ministry of Revenue, and also served as a local official in Shuofang and Hebei. You are also an upright person and have not been tilted in the court. You are the best candidate for this job."
Zhou Ze thought about it for a while and said to Zhou Jun: "Your Majesty, this matter involves a lot. I have never led an army. If you dispose of the spoils rashly, Shuofang's army..."
Zhou Jun: "Shuofang Jiedushi is Sun Aying. You have dealt with him in the early years. I will tell him that everything is subject to you. In addition, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Households, the State and Municipal Supervision and other departments will all
I will send officials to assist you in your work, and I will also draw manpower from the Jinyi Guards to help you."
Shuofang Jiedushi, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Husbandry, the State and City Supervisors, and the Jinyi Guards.
After hearing this, Zhou Ze already understood that the emperor had already paved the way for him, and he just had to do the rest.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ze no longer hesitated and took his son Zhou Shang with him. After leaving the table, he knelt down and said, "I will definitely live up to your Majesty's expectations."
Zhou Jun: "Well, there's one more thing. On this errand to Huihe, I will ask Zhou Shang to follow you. When you go into battle, father and son will take care of each other."
When he heard that his son could accompany him, Zhou Ze felt happy and quickly thanked him.
Leaving the imperial city, Zhou Ze took his son Zhou Shang back to his home in Liangcheng.
His wife, Yu Junniang, had been waiting at the gate early. Seeing her husband's proud face, she knew that the trip to the palace would go smoothly.
Seeing that Zhou Ze wanted to speak, Yu Junniang quickly reached out her hand to stop him: "If you have anything to do, go to the hall and talk about it. Don't talk here."
Zhou Ze nodded and led Zhou Shang into the central hall.
After recounting the experience in the palace, Zhou Ze smiled and said to Yu Junniang: "I haven't seen Erlang for a long time. I thought the family relationship had faded a lot before. But now that we meet, it feels like yesterday."
Yu Junniang frowned and asked: "This job is not as easy as it sounds. There are countless links involved... Besides, do you really think that His Majesty gave you this job because of his past family ties?"
Zhou Ze said blankly: "Isn't it?"
Yu Junniang: "Your Majesty finally said that you have been on duty in the Ministry of Household Affairs and have been an official in the local area, and you have not been tilted in the court. Among these three sentences, the most critical one is the last one."
Zhou Ze: "The last sentence...there is no tilt in the court?"
Yu Junniang: "Since Your Majesty has carried out reforms on land, Ding tax, slave contracts, and imperial examinations, the ministers in the court are now roughly divided into several factions. First of all, most of the first faction are officials from Anxi. These officials are from humble backgrounds.
Many of them are businessmen and miscellaneous people; the second group is the former ministers of His Majesty before he ascended the throne, most of them come from prominent families. Although their vitality was damaged in the palace battle, their power is still there; the third group is the vassal towns stationed on the border, and
Officials from various places who are attached to them."
Zhou Ze heard this and fell into deep thought.
Yu Junniang: "Now that I think about it carefully, the three factions in Liangcheng's court are clearly divided, but you, an outsider, are really not tilted, so you have become His Majesty's priority."
Zhou Ze: "So, wouldn't the job I took on be a trouble?"
Yu Junniang: "Your Majesty talked about Shuofang Jiedushi and Jin Yiwei, which means he is telling you that he has made up his mind to implement this matter. All you need to do is obey the order. Moreover, Your Majesty also asked Shang'er to accompany him.
When you go to Mobei, the implication is that if the errand is done well, Shang'er will have a bright future."
Zhou Ze nodded repeatedly when he heard this.
At this moment, a servant outside the hall came to report that the Luo family had sent an invitation to the Zhou family to attend the banquet.
Zhou Zecai came to Liangcheng. He didn't know the situation of the officials in the court. He picked up the invitation, thought about it for a while, and asked: "If I remember correctly, the head of the Luo family is Luo Nandou, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. Why did he want to
Hand over an invitation?"
Yu Junniang lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said to the servant: "Let the concierge know and say that he understands, and he will definitely go to the banquet on time."