When he was at the public school, he heard that Concubine Yu suddenly sent a sum of money for no apparent reason. After Zhang Shou thought about it hard, he felt that it might not be a reward.
After all, Zhu Ying is not short of money. He is not as cash-strapped as he was when he first came to Beijing. If a group of students hadn't sent them to him when they were studying in Cuiyunjian, and if not Zhao Guogong's mansion and Ge's mansion hadn't given him
He lived casually, but if the Imperial College had not provided him with a dormitory later, he would have had to live in the northwest.
Therefore, now that he is considered a wealthy man, there is no reason for Concubine Yu to specially reward him with this small amount of money.
Moreover, for Zhu Ying’s dowry, Concubine Yu added a box and gave her a box of jewels, all of which were very rare. Ten bolts of brocade damask were also tributes from the palace, which were difficult to buy if she had money. Later, when he married Zhu Ying, Concubine Yu also
A congratulatory gift was sent, and it turned out to be an "Autumn Evening on the Pond" by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. If calculated in terms of money, ten boxes of gold and silver would not be enough. A hundred boxes might be enough.
Therefore, he guessed that Concubine Yu had given birth to a son, so he took part of his private money out. He hoped that he could help think of an investment method, so that the money could make money and profit in the future, and it would also be considered as saving for his son.
family property.
But this amount of money is not particularly large. For Concubine Yu, it is best if she succeeds. If she does not succeed, it will only be regarded as wasted, but it does not matter. As for whether there will be Princess Yongping among them.
If it's his daughter's share, then he doesn't know about it. After all, this is someone else's family's business.
However, he did not expect that when Zhu Ying went to the palace to seek confirmation from Concubine Yu, Concubine Yu actually revealed her feelings directly in front of the biological mothers of the third and fourth princes, the imperial concubine and the concubine Xian, so those two people actually
They follow others... The most outrageous thing is, why did the Queen Mother join in the fun? Could it be that the Emperor would also deduct money from his own mother?
No matter Zhang Shou was surprised or confused, he had given away all the boxes of gold and silver in the palace, and he would not return them at all. So after Zhu Ying confessed frankly, she whispered with some guilt: "It's me too."
I didn’t expect that the empress would say it directly in front of people, and I didn’t expect that the imperial concubine and the virtuous concubine would also get involved, and I didn’t expect that the empress dowager would..."
She paused suddenly when she said this, and then said hesitantly: "But it seems to me that they have agreed upon it!"
When Zhang Shou heard this agreed-upon sentence, it was as if he was hearing thunder in silence. He suddenly felt that he had grasped some key. He immediately laughed. It turns out that Zhu Ying is really unique, and he trusted her
Her blessing has also become unique.
"Do the ladies regard me as a money-making boy? But they are not afraid of losing money, so what do I have to worry about? You know, I was originally worried that the efficiency of cotton ginning and spinning has increased several times, so the demand for cotton has increased.
It is large, but excessive expansion of cotton fields can easily crowd out grain fields, especially in the southeast. Therefore, I originally thought the northwest was good, but I didn’t dare to do it without the support.”
Zhu Ying's eyes suddenly widened: "Northwest? Cotton fields? Do you mean... Hetao? Or Hexi?"
Zhang Shou chuckled. If this was a virtuous lady who came from a scholarly family and had three obediences and four virtues, she might have a geographical concept of the northwest, but when she heard the word "cotton field", she would at most just pick up the huge Shaanxi and experience it, which is not like Zhu
Like Ying, as soon as you open your mouth, you will see two places that are quite remarkable in the entire northwest?
There is Hetao, which is called Xiaojiangnan, and there are Suzhou, Ganzhou, Liangzhou and other provinces in Hexi that connect the east and west!
Seeing that Zhang Shou had clearly admitted it, Zhu Ying suddenly became worried: "I have heard from my father and elder brother before that it is a strategically important place suitable for farming. However, the two armies of the Northern Expedition came from Xuan.
Although those who fled from Fufu and Datong achieved a complete victory, in addition to those from the North who fled to the north, there were also many people who fled to the west, so I heard that the guards in Hetao and Hexi were facing a formidable enemy."
"and……"
Although Zhu Ying had always been convinced of Zhang Shou, this time she had to pour cold water on him: "Moreover, the Hetao has fertile water and soil, and has always been the largest granary in the northwest. Emperor Taizu issued a death order back then, whoever dares to lose it
Anyone in Hetao is the sinner of the Ming Dynasty. If anyone dares to destroy the farmland in Hetao, then his head will be hung on his ancestral mausoleum!"
"So if we want to plant cotton in Hetao, even the emperor dare not say it! As for Hexi, the land there is a little worse than that in Hetao, but there are fewer people. If we want to plant cotton there, probably,
Maybe, maybe...it's okay?"
The eldest lady was very domineering when she should be domineering, but she was still very wise when she should be wise. Seeing her looking at him eagerly with an expression that said, "Don't do anything wrong," Zhang Shou couldn't help but think she was extremely cute.
So, he deliberately blinked his eyes and said, "What if I insist on having my own way?"
"Then I..." Zhu Ying's objection was already on her lips, but when she caught the hint of a smile in the corner of Zhang Shou's eyes, she was smart enough to react immediately, and she was immediately furious, "
You actually lied to me! You are so evil but you still act like a gentleman... Tell me, what is your idea? If you don't tell me, I won't help you!"
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you what I said!" Zhang Shou chuckled and said nonchalantly, "The Hetao has fertile water and soil, so growing rice is naturally the most suitable, but growing cotton is not. Cotton does not need such fertile land, and it does not
It is suitable for planting in Hetao, so of course I will not occupy the grain fields in Hetao where even Taizu issued a ban."
"As for Hexi... the land there is actually quite suitable for growing cotton, and it is definitely no worse than the southeast. Moreover, you must know that the entire northwest is a place with bitter cold in winter. Cotton-padded jackets, quilts... these cold-resistant things are the least likely to be sold.
.And the materials for spinning wheels and looms can all be sourced locally. If cotton is grown locally, ginning, spinning, and weaving, how much cheaper will it be than that shipped from the southeast?”
Zhu Ying could naturally understand what Zhang Shou meant. The Zhao Guogong Mansion was certainly famous in the capital, but if it was far away in a place like Hexi, the reputation of the Zhao Guogong Mansion would not be so useful.
But if the money of the empress dowagers in the palace were invested there, the effect would naturally be completely different. However, the empress dowagers and the others certainly believe in Zhang Shou and her, but are they willing to publicize it like this? After all, if they are exposed to outsiders
I feel that the concubines in the palace are so greedy for money, and it is not just one person's reputation that is being ruined...
Just as she was thinking this, feeling a little embarrassed, she heard Zhang Shou suddenly say: "Yingying, I remember that the Duke of Chu once served as the chief soldier in the northwest? It seems that he was the chief soldier of Gansu?"
Zhu Ying was stunned for a moment. She looked at Zhang Shou dumbfounded, but she only saw him smiling and showing his crystal white teeth: "I heard that the Duke of Chu still has many old troops there. I don't know if he is interested in this."
Interested in this matter? You must know that although Hetao is still relatively wealthy, Hexi, a place where wars have been fought for a long time, is not a good place. Those old troops must have complained to the Duke of Chu about their poverty, right?"
"Ah Shou, you said before that I would go to the Duke of Chu's Mansion to settle accounts with the Duke of Chu. This was really ungraceful... But now aren't you just avenging a private vendetta? You hold more grudges than me!"
Zhang Shou saw that Zhu Ying's face was both angry and happy, but there was no hint of anger or accusation. He did not answer Zhu Ying's question, but asked with a smile: "Then will you go to the Duke of Chu's Mansion to help me?"
Say it?"
"Go, of course!" Zhu Ying finally smiled, but said with joy, "Not only the Duke of Chu, but also I will go back to find Uncle Weinan. Although the emperor said that many properties are in his name,
But this time I want to ask him if he is willing to use his own name to join in. After all, in such a big place, although there are many people, it is easy to make more voices, but it is also powerful."
Don’t look at the area from Ganzhou, Suzhou, Liangzhou and Guazhou, also known as the Hexi Corridor. From the map, it seems to be just a long and narrow piece of land, which doesn’t seem to be very eye-catching. However, starting from the Silk Road that started in the Han Dynasty, it was an east-west corridor.
The strategic position of this important node cannot be ignored to this day. Moreover, just as the north is not peaceful, the west has never been peaceful in the past hundred years.
Emperor Taizu started his career very early, and because of his slightly off-kilter skills, his firearms capabilities were off the charts. He created various long guns and short cannons that were completely cheating devices at that time. Therefore, when he first established himself, he began to consider powerful enemies in the West.
The problem was that Timur was suppressed before he could fully rise. But Taizu left too early, and subsequent generations of emperors were not so lucky.
Especially the Hexi guards, it was really a place where they fought for a long time. Until not long ago, during the Northern Expedition, Turpan and Hami were still playing tricks on each other. The former king of Turpan’s brother, Harjiali, provoked the Hexi guards after he succeeded to the throne.
His actions never stopped.
Therefore, even though Zhang Shou is now the son-in-law of the Duke of Zhao, Zhang Shou does not think that his little power can do anything there. Zhu Ying can draw inferences from one example, and he is naturally happy to see the success of attracting a group of allies.
However, he actually wants to say that planting cotton in the Hexi Corridor is actually just an introduction. What he wants to do is to continue planting cotton farther west in Suzhou, to Guazhou, and even further west to the Turpan Basin.
and further west.
However, with the northwest far from being at peace, this hope is really premature.
Therefore, thinking of the situation in the northwest that he had investigated, Zhang Shou smiled nonchalantly and said: "In that case, Yingying, you can go to the Duke of Chu's Mansion in person tomorrow. It's all up to you."
Although she knew that Zhang Shou was pretending to be serving the public and avenging his own revenge, when Zhang Shou opened the map in person and explained certain joints one by one, Zhu Ying of course agreed without hesitation. Of course, she did not forget to put forward her own conditions.
That is to borrow Little Fatty Lu.
So, early the next morning, Little Fatty Lu, who had no idea what had happened, was sneaked to Zhang Yuan by Ah Liuti. Unfortunately, he had a good night's sleep. After washing and changing clothes in a daze early in the morning, before he had time to eat, he was killed by Fengfenghuohuo.
Ah Liu broke in and pulled him away. At this time, his mind was full of confusion.
However, when Zhang Shou said that the four carriages of the palace, the Queen Mother, the Imperial Concubine, the Imperial Concubine and the Xian Concubine, all took out a large amount of money and entrusted them with "financial management", he was immediately stunned, and then
Just slap her hard.
"Why didn't I expect that!" He said, even beating his hands with his fists excitedly, "Financial management, financial management, this is really a great name! It is more suitable than stocks, investment, or dividends! It's also
What better way to raise funds than using people’s money, and the people who provide the money can’t point their fingers? This money can be used for anything!”
You kid is just too imitative, isn't it? I'm just talking about financial management, but you even thought of the name fundraising!
Zhang Shou had already learned about Lu Sanlang's alternative numerical mind, but he still couldn't help but sigh at this moment. However, he really wanted to use the money of the nobles in the palace, but he wanted to prevent them from making decisions based on their investment.
Path - of course, it also prevents other ways of injecting capital to dictate the path in the future, but the little fat man actually shouted this out loud.
Therefore, he who originally wanted to speak simply stopped talking. When he saw Zhu Ying angrily slapped the armrest and shouted Ah Liu, followed by Ah Liu with a cold expression on his face, and threw the weight directly at the two hundred kilograms little boy.
The fat man was carried out. As the sounds of ghosts crying and howling for mercy came from outside, he couldn't help but sigh and said: "When can this kid control his mouth?"
Lu Sanlang, who was escorted in by Ah Liu again, had his face intact, but the smile on his face seemed a little more exaggerated. He limped and sat down again, but this time he directly slapped his chest and said: "Teacher and Mrs.
Don’t worry, I won’t tell any nonsense when I get to the Duke of Chu’s mansion, I’ll just say whatever you ask me to say..."
"Okay, I'll leave the important task of deceiving the Duke of Chu to provide money and people."
Knowing that the little fat man didn't need to beat around the bush, Zhu Ying simply said something in a calm and nonchalant manner. Seeing that the little fat man was simply stunned, she said with a half-smile: "I'll take you with me, why?"
Are you not sure?"
"I'm sure, of course I'm sure." Lu Sanlang couldn't help but swallow hard, and then asked cautiously, "Teacher, if we really manage our finances according to what you said... there won't be only one Duke of Chu, right?
?Who else are you going to drag along with me? Let me be mentally prepared?"
Even with the example of the four nobles in the palace, when Zhu Ying replaced Zhang Shou, she named the Duke of Chu Zhang Rui, the Bo of Xiangyang Zhang Qiong, the Bo of Weinan Zhang Kang and the Marquis of Huaiqing Nanyang, all of whom were named Zhang.
After becoming a "big family", he still couldn't help but feel the chills on his back, and uttered a dry sigh: "This is really the same family in the world with the surname Zhang!"
Zhu Ying had not thought about it before, but when Lu Sanlang said it, she realized that in this big list, not to mention others, all the distinguished people named Zhang were really included. For such a coincidence, she was really surprised.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but then he said seriously: "That's because we haven't attracted enough people now. Anyway, according to the old rules of these empresses in the palace, we only charge this amount of money from each family."
"One hundred taels of gold, one hundred taels of silver, one share for each person, never charge more!"
Hearing Zhu Ying plausibly shout out the slogan, Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh. Is this a fixed share of fund-raising, and you won't be given any more if you want? Everyone is a genius. The first illegal fund-raising in the Ming Dynasty was like this.
It's begun! In this case, he might as well put a beautiful coat on this fund-raising, so as not to make future generations laugh.