Jia Cong, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, was in charge of Yu Heng's Department of Civil Affairs and was also in charge of the Daxia Ordnance Research Institute.
In charge of manufacturing, sending and receiving various official utensils, writing off local military expenditures, military supplies, and arms expenditures, in charge of the national weights and measures system, smelting and casting money, and purchasing copper, lead, nitrate, and sulfur.
After entering June, the second firearms transaction between Daxia and Satsuma Domain has come to an end. Qianda Goichi is worthy of being Jia Cong's "good friend" and purchased 350 firearms at a price of 3,500 taels apiece. Cannon.
The price of the artillery was five hundred taels higher than before, but Goichi Chida still felt it was worth it. Because this time the artillery is the Shenwu General Cannon Type II foreign trade version, its range and power are greater than the first-generation foreign trade version.
It comes with the purchase of 10,000 Yuanyou Type II flintlock guns at a unit price of 120 taels. Including the gunpowder, projectiles and other items required for artillery and muskets, the total amount is 3,110,084 taels of silver.
Since we were all friends, Jia Cong generously wiped off the change and only received 3.12 million silver from Chida Goichi, and even invited him to watch a play and listen to music at Miaoyinfang for a meal.
He treated him to a treat, and Chida paid for it!
The Satsuma clan had a lot of money. Jia Cong thought about it over and over again. The three million taels of silver could not clear the pockets of the Satsuma clan, so he found a bunch of naval battleship designs from the discarded drawings of the Ministry of Works. .
After a good meal of deception, Chida Goichi's heart became hot.
"Uncle Yongfeng is so considerate to his foreign ministers. Just tell me the price and Satsuma will buy it!"
As a result, all the more than 7 million taels of silver sent from the Japanese mainland last year, except for fractions, went into the bank of Daxia Hubu.
Ten miles south of the city, under the pavilion, Jia Cong personally sent off Chida Gouichi and his entourage who kept wiping tears.
Looking at Qianda who was gradually going away, Jia Cong couldn't help but sigh: "Oh, this Qianda Goichi is so... so real, I'm embarrassed to continue to fool him. Nie Langzhong, do you think we should do something a little better next time?" Make it cheaper?"
Nie Chaoyi from the Ministry of Etiquette who came with him curled his lips and said: "Uncle, the money has been put into your pocket. If we say these words again, it will be a bit unnecessary... uh, a bit of that. Besides, those firearms and warships are all ours." He hammered it out day and night, so what's wrong with charging more? If he can sell it to them, we think highly of him!"
"Any talk of benevolence and righteousness these days is all nonsense. As long as it can bring benefits to Daxia, the person being cheated is a 'good friend'. Now that the Japanese are in civil strife, they are fighting inextricably, and their consumption of firearms has increased dramatically. They are rare but expensive. Next time we come, the price will be doubled. Don’t want to buy? Okay, we will sell them to the hostile forces of Satsuma Domain.”
"It just so happens that people from the Hizen Clan and Higo Clan are coming in the next few days. I'll test the waters with them first to see if I can earn a few million more taels of silver. Alas, money is spent everywhere, and Si Li is still waiting. Cooking with rice..."
The two officials from the Department of Etiquette and the Department of Officials behind them looked at each other and smiled bitterly after hearing this.
It's over, the doctor in his family was completely led astray by Uncle Yongfeng. A gentle gentleman now only needs to open his mouth to get money and benefits.
Nie Chaoyi was deeply resentful. He felt that Jia Cong was not ruthless enough, and he only made a "mere" five million taels of silver in this trip.
The Japanese people are now losing their minds. The Satsuma clan is in urgent need of replenishing firearms. If they don't double or triple the price at this time, it would be a waste of money.
As the suzerain state of Daxia, it is only natural to maintain the peace and tranquility of the vassal states. How can we stop fighting? Of course, the strength of the various feudal vassals in the Japanese country must be balanced.
Since the Satsuma Domain has Bactria's firearms, other domains should also have them.
Well, that's how it should be. It seems that the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry will be hammering day and night again!
Thinking of this, Nie Chaoyi looked at Jia Cong alertly: "Uncle, let's make an agreement first. This time when people from Hizen and Hihou come, you can stay at home and don't come out. Everything will be handled by the official. .”
ha?
"What do you want to do?"
Nie Chaoyi smiled mysteriously and whispered in Jia Cong's ear: "Earning five million taels from one business is too little. I plan to earn this amount from the two feudal clans of Hizen and Hihou..."
Jia Cong was stunned when he saw Nie Chaoyi stretching out two fingers.
"Two hundred...no, twenty million?"
Good guy, does this guy want to drain both the Hizen and Higo clans at once?
Officials in the Ministry of Rites have always given people the image of being polite and gentle gentlemen, but in fact, if you cut them open and look at them, every one of them would be black.
In particular, the officials in the Ministry of Rites who are in charge of diplomacy have few good deeds.
During the reign of Emperor Taizong, Wai Lang Xia Zhice, then a member of the Ministry of Rites, was ordered to serve in Gaochang. Unexpectedly, during the civil strife in Gaochang, the traitor Wu Guanming deposed the young king of Gaochang, proclaimed himself king with the support of the Temur Khanate, and declared that Temur was the suzerain. The Celestial Empire seized the Daxia envoy.
Xia Zhice escaped from Gaochang under the desperate rescue of the Dragon Guard agents.
Normally, he should find a way to return home at this time and ask the court to send troops to quell the rebellion, but Xia Zhice was only twenty-five or six at that time, and he was still young and energetic.
Thinking of those Daxia warriors who died in Gaochang to save themselves, I was so angry that I walked around the Western Regions.
One man borrowed the armies of the twelve countries in the Western Regions to form an 80,000-strong coalition to attack Gaochang. In just ten days, he conquered the royal city of Gaochang, beheaded the rebellious minister Wu Guanming, and restored the Ju family's throne in Gaochang.
And in the royal city of Gaochang, he allied with the countries of the Western Regions and re-established the vassal system of the Central Plains Dynasty and the Western Regions. Only then was there a precedent for Daxia's army to garrison in the Western Regions, and Daxia's control of the Western Regions was initially completed.
After Xia Zhice returned to the capital, he was promoted by Emperor Taizong and served successively as a foreign minister of the Ministry of Rites, a minister of the Ministry of Rites, a minister of the Ministry of Rites, and an assistant minister of the cabinet. After his death, he was given the posthumous title of Wencheng and was enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
By the way, the descendants of this fierce man are also fierce. His grandson is named Xia Lingxing. He once served as the Minister of Rites, and now he is the Second Assistant to the Daxia Cabinet and the Bachelor of Jianji Palace.
At first, because the Tatar Khan was disrespectful to the Supreme Emperor, when the Supreme Emperor gathered all nations to form an alliance, he rode through the Tatar Khan's tent and beheaded the Tatar ministers alone.
On the way back to the city, Nie Chaoyi and Yourong Yan told Jia Cong about the glorious deeds of the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette in the past dynasties with adoring expressions on their faces, and they beat their chests loudly to reassure Jia Cong.
"Uncle is so soft-hearted that he even wiped out a fraction of the eighty-four taels of silver from Chida. Don't worry this time, the people of the Hizen and Higo clans will never have a penny with them when they go back!"
hiss!
Jia Cong took a deep breath after hearing this. These people in the Daxia Rites Department are really more capitalists than capitalists!
After being complained all the way by Nie Chaoyi, Jia Cong was defeated in the end. He smiled bitterly and said, "Okay, okay, I'm done with you. I'll leave it all to you. I'll leave it all to you. It just so happened that the textile department recently There are many things to do, so I won’t care about the firearms, you can just go ahead and do it.”
During dinner at night, Jia Cong told Lin Ruhai about this. The God of Wealth of Daxia, who had received Wen Lao Pixiu, his eyes widened with a smile.
"Nie Chaoyi is a man of the highest integrity and ability. His Majesty once told me that this man will be of great use in the future."
Jia Cong also agreed with this point. With the help of Nie Chaoyi, he had tricked the eleven feudal vassals of the Japanese country into chaos, which frightened the Japanese vassals and begged Daxia to sell them firearms.
"Although the Ministry of Revenue says there is no shortage of money for the time being, His Majesty intends to promote four-year compulsory education. There will be many places where money will be used. It is also a good thing to make more money from the pockets of the Japanese. Let Nie Chaoyi try it."
Lin Ruhai made a rough calculation in his mind. If four-year compulsory education were rolled out across the country, the amount of money that would be invested every year would definitely be more than millions of taels.
Daxia's family is still not strong enough, so it is right to earn more money. As for the Japanese being impoverished due to the war, it has nothing to do with Daxia.
…
The second day of July is auspicious. It is forbidden to consecrate lights or build houses, but it is better to get married and pray for blessings.
In the Ningguo Mansion, Captain Qingche, General Zhaoyong, and Commander Youwuwei, Jia Qiang, married Tu Siqi, the princess of Qingcheng, the daughter of the eldest princess of Deqing.
On the same day, Jia Rong's wife Qin asked the imperial doctor to check her pulse due to physical discomfort. Unexpectedly, she was pregnant.
The saint was overjoyed when he heard this, and gave a large number of rewards in the name of Queen Mother Cao, and sent several old ladies in the palace to look after Qin Keqing.
After Jia Jing carefully warned Jia Cong, he went back to Xuanzhen Temple outside the city the next day, hung Jia Zhen, who was "a monk as a Taoist," from a tree and gave her a good beating.
Throughout the summer, Jia Cong devoted almost all his attention to the wool industry. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the first batch of wool sent from Anbei was finally turned into various wool fabrics and appeared in various shops in the capital.
The soft and warm woolen sweaters immediately became a favorite of the people in the capital. The price was so affordable that even ordinary people could buy one for their families.
Of course, wealthy people will not lose their identity. Ordinary cashmere sweaters produced by machines are not gorgeous enough. There are also high-quality handmade woolen sweaters produced by Royal Textiles. The gold and silver thread tattoos on them are definitely enough to show the noble status.
This batch of wool industry business alone has sent more than one million taels of commercial tax to the Ministry of Household Affairs, and for the first time, the herdsmen in Anbei have enough money to store food and salt to spend the winter comfortably. .
According to the news sent back by the Dragon Imperial Guard, almost every household of the herdsmen in Anbei tribes set up longevity tablets for the two saints, and placed them on both sides of the throne of the longevity god.
The poor women accepted by the Imperial Mansion also earned a lot of money by working in the Imperial Textiles, and they were able to truly support their families by their own skills.
On August 14, the emperor summoned his ministers and held a court meeting in Fengtian Hall.
As soon as it dawned, many carriages had already gathered in front of Daxia Gate. Great Xia holds great court meetings on the first, fifth and tenth days of the year. Yesterday, it was suddenly announced that a great court meeting would be held today. There must be something important to say.
Therefore, early this morning, all the civil and military officials of the seventh rank and above in Beijing got up early, took baths and incense, dressed up and headed to the imperial city.
"Huh? Look over there..."
The officials who were chatting in a group all looked at the carriage that appeared not far away and looked at it curiously.
As long as the Ning and Rong mansions are of high rank, they will naturally come as well.
However, Lin Ruhai, Jia Zheng, Jia Lian, Jia Cong, Jia Rong, Jia Qiang and Baoyu all came on horses, with a carriage guarding them.
When the people in the car got off, Gongqian Wenwu was even more confused.
I saw Daiyu wearing a long dress today, a crown with nine pearls and emeralds, a red shirt, a Xiapei with Luan and Phoenix patterns, a gold pendant, holding a jade gui, and stepped out of the carriage with the help of Jia Cong.
"Why is Princess Wen'an here?"
"Perhaps the Chancellor of Finance will escort you here to pay your respects to the Queen."
"It's not like it's no time. It's impossible to come so early to say hello."
"Tell me, will you also come to attend the imperial meeting?"
"Huh? Huh? Huh?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
There has never been a precedent for a woman to participate in a court meeting in Daxia!
Daiyu, led by Lin Ruhai, walked up to several cabinet bosses to say hello.
"Good morning, gentlemen!"
Zhou Jiong smiled and gave him a hand, and said kindly: "Good morning, Your Highness, it is your first time to attend the imperial court. Are you nervous?"
Oh my God! What did I hear? Is Princess Wen'an really here to attend the court meeting?
The surrounding civil and military officials all looked sideways, looking at Daiyu in surprise. The whispers gradually turned into a noisy discussion.
Daiyu looked around, and she was indeed a little nervous under the spotlight.
"What the Grand Prime Minister said is that my palms are sweating now. However, I am still very excited to have the honor to contribute to the country and do practical things for the livelihood of the people."
Zhou Jiong blinked at Daiyu and whispered comforting words: "To be honest, I was very nervous when I attended the imperial court for the first time and almost made a big joke. There is also Uncle Yongfeng. His Highness may not know that Yongfeng When Bo attended the imperial meeting for the first time, one of his martial arts disciples actually ran into the ranks of civil servants, which made people laugh for a long time."
Jia Cong on the side covered his face: "Old man, don't mention this matter. I was still young and didn't understand this."
"Okay, let's not talk about this. There is one more thing that Yongfeng Bolong must not have told His Highness. In the fifth year of Yuanyou's hunting in Tiewan Mountain, His Majesty gave Yongfeng Bolong the post of guard Qianhu. He will do it the next day. I have already gone to stand guard in front of the imperial tent for His Majesty..."
hiss! Old man, do you want to say this?
Sure enough, seeing Daiyu's interest, Zhou Jiong ignored Jia Cong's begging for mercy and said leisurely: "At that time, His Majesty was so angry because of something that he threw the tea cup in his hand. Upon hearing the sound, Uncle Yongfeng rushed into the emperor's tent and shouted, "There are assassins." Escort... Then he stumbled on his right foot with his front foot, tripped himself, and fell flat on the ground, forcefully throwing himself and crying!"
Ah ah ah ah ah……
Jia Cong could not stop the mouth of the imperial minister, so he could only try to cover Daiyu's ears "incompetently and furiously", but Jia Lian laughed and grabbed her neck.
This was the first time Daiyu heard about Jia Cong's embarrassment. Her bright eyes turned into crescent moons, and she covered her mouth and laughed at Jia Cong.
After helping Jia Cong recall the past, Mr. Zhou, who had satisfied his bad taste, stroked his long beard and said to Daiyu: "The Great Court Meeting is just like that. What your Highness will do in the future will definitely encounter all kinds of things." It will cause troubles and even setbacks. Don’t be afraid, this matter will be of benefit to the present and will last forever. Your Highness will definitely be remembered in history in the future!”
Boom, boom, boom...
At this time, the Jingyang bell rang and the palace door slowly opened.
Daiyu, who was no longer so nervous, bowed to Zhou Jiongfu again, with a clear and sweet voice: "Thank you for your advice, I will keep it in mind."
…
Since there was no precedent for a woman entering the palace to participate in the imperial dynasty, the imperial censor was also very confused. After much deliberation, he had no choice but to place Daiyu's position in the front row of the clan queue.
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me and stay on your own terms!"
The emperor came to the Fengtian Palace and after shouting long live, he said majestically: "My dear friends, you should be very confused as to why I called you to the palace today, and why I summoned Wen An to the Fengtian Palace to participate with you. The Great Court Meeting…”
After saying this, Liu Heng looked in Daiyu's direction and nodded slightly.
Just listen to him continue: "That's because the country has to make a century-old plan that will benefit the present and the future. Today, the Yuanyou Dynasty will be recorded in the annals of history."
"I have decided that starting from today, Daxia will officially start implementing compulsory education. All our people, regardless of gender, who are over seven years old can attend official schools for free..."
"All required expenses will be 60% from the royal treasury and 40% from the Ministry of Household Affairs."
"The Ministry of Rites has a Department of Compulsory Education, which is headed by the prince. Wen An is the doctor of the Department of Compulsory Education of the Ministry of Rites, assisting the prince in managing the affairs of the Department of Compulsory Education."
“All ministries, temples and yamen must fully cooperate with the Department of Compulsory Education to promote compulsory education nationwide as soon as possible.”
"Sages say that there is no distinction between teachings, and all the ministers are disciples of the saint. How can we talk about such a grand event?"
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
Lin Daiyu, who recited poems and buried flowers, is about to evolve. Do you, readers, like Sister Lin, who is the heroine and pursues a career?
I’ll stop updating here tonight and continue tomorrow.
(End of chapter)
