On the day the overseas recruitment center was decided, the feudal princes had already begun active operations.
Industry? There are plenty of them ready.
Several feudal princes thought about it privately and decided not to wait.
Whichever company's industry is the busiest in the capital will be directly changed to a recruitment hall.
Several vassal princes checked and found that there were quite a few shops that met this requirement, so they directly gave one of them with the largest area to the internal funds.
Then we worked on the plaque overnight, and it was estimated that we would be able to open the door the next day.
The earlier this recruitment hall starts, the earlier it will attract talents.
For the vassals who wanted to go overseas to establish their country, it was certainly a dream.
After the morning court, Qi Tai also came to Zhu Ying to report on his work.
"It's been more than a month, but I still understand the situation."
In the main hall of Kunning Palace, Zhu Ying was the first to speak.
Qi Tai must be a capable minister, and Zhu Ying can be absolutely certain on this point. Such a minister is very loyal, very knowledgeable, and even has the ability to have a photographic memory, which is quite useful.
When Qitai heard this, his face felt bitter.
"Reporting to Your Highness, my trip to Henan is really consistent with what Your Highness said. I disguised myself and visited secretly. As expected, many people's private lands have been sold to local squires."
"Some squires are blatant and have no scruples, while others are more shrewd and don't let outsiders know. If I hadn't worked deep inside, I might not have known about it."
Qi Tai's tone was a bit sad. In order to get the real information, Qi Tai was willing to risk everything.
Disguise yourself as a refugee and go undercover to work as a day laborer among the squire.
Qitai is not from a wealthy family, and he is not unfamiliar with these things. After some probing, he found that the situation was almost the same as His Highness Taisun's guess.
These squires, for fear of paying taxes or because of the problem of large trees attracting wind, did not go to the government to notify them after receiving the land deeds from the people, and just hid them.
If someone from the government comes to investigate, it will be these ordinary people who come forward.
At that time, Qi Tai was actually a little confused as to why the common people did not expose this matter, but instead tried their best to help the squire conceal the facts.
After some questioning, I found out that in the eyes of the people, the squire's rescue was considered a kindness.
The squires and the common people, who were mostly from the same village, were given relief grains. After surviving the most difficult period, they worked for the squires as long-term workers and did not have to worry too much about the harvest. Even if there was another famine, there would be landlords standing in the way. , at least not starving to death.
In this way, helping the squire conceal it seemed to be a natural thing.
From a moral point of view, there seems to be no problem, because these land deeds were not bought and sold by the gentry, but were accepted by the people themselves after begging hard.
Qitai has visited many places and found that such things as seizing land are rare. Most of them are good people.
This made Qitai feel very uncomfortable in his heart.
Qi Tai also slowly told His Highness Taisun these thoughts.
"Your Highness, I am a little confused. I was originally investigating as a royal censor, but I found that I had no way to punish those squires. Instead, I felt that what they did under such circumstances was very reasonable."
After hearing what Qi Tai said and the expression on his face, Zhu Ying nodded slightly and said, "You are right. In this matter, if the squire is punished too much, it will lead to complaints from the people."
"And your feeling is correct. These squires are indeed good people, not bad people."
Qitai replied: "But they have violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty by buying and selling property privately."
According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, land deeds can be traded, but they must be registered with the government and must bear corresponding taxes.
Those with more land will naturally have higher taxes. Although it is said that there are privileges for raising people, only a certain amount of land does not need to be taxed.
This does not mean that no tax will be paid on any property in your name.
It's just because of the person's status, the county magistrate would generally be more respectful towards him and would not conduct a thorough investigation easily.
A certain candidate may be appointed as a candidate for an official position.
Zhu Ying sighed softly: "It's similar to what I thought. In fact, things like this are very common in all dynasties and generations, but no one really cares about it."
"When the accumulation reaches a certain level, any fluctuations will be very uncomfortable for the entire country."
"Sometimes the choices made were not made at the beginning. Like this land annexation, the current squire is kind, but as more and more annexations occur, the situation will slowly happen. Variety."
"Besides, even if it doesn't happen now, what about the future? He won't. What about his descendants?"
"When hundreds of miles of surrounding land are in the hands of one person, what would happen if he had any bad thoughts at this time?"
"At least, even the county magistrate should give him some face."
"Have you heard of a saying? It was before the Yuan Dynasty, a family with strong iron and an emperor with flowing water."
"What you see now is the rumored thousand-year-old family. They didn't look bad at first, but as time goes by, they become completely different."
"Our Ming Dynasty is different. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, almost all the aristocratic families in the Central Plains were wiped out by the Mongols. That's really clean."
"So, do you think that such a family, like the family that existed hundreds of years ago, or even thousands of years ago, should continue to exist."
Zhu Ying briefly introduced the formation of the family, and then asked Qitai.
Hearing this, Qi Tai said firmly: "The family must be resolute and clear that this will do a lot of harm to the country without any benefit. It seems to be a small gain for the people, but it is trapping everyone in their own hands." .”
"It's just that I don't understand how to punish them in the current situation."
Qi Tai finally said with some distress that in fact, as a censor, he had a lot of power to investigate Henan, but even after he came back, he did not submit the memorial in the end, but chose to report his work to His Highness Taisun.
"Why do they need to be punished? Not only are they not guilty now, but they have countless people alive. They can be considered meritorious."
Zhuying asked rhetorically.
"This..." Qitai was a little confused.
Zhu Ying replied: "This is not the fundamental problem. What you are seeing now is just that it only happened in Henan, and it happened after the plague, so that's why it happened."
"Do you think the entire Ming Dynasty can manage such a large territory? Even if dozens or hundreds of people are killed, it will not solve the problem at all. On the contrary, it will cause resentment among the people."
"The most fundamental reasons for this are private land transactions and the problem of people's food and clothing."
"It's just the right time for you to come back. I will tell Grandpa recently that you will be responsible for the promotion of sweet potatoes."
"These high-yielding crops are very important to the Ming Dynasty. I need someone who can actually do things and put the seeds of these sweet potato crops into the hands of the people."
"Only in this way can they quickly break away from the relationship with the squires. If the people all over the world depend on the squires for their lives, do you think our Ming Dynasty is still the Ming Dynasty?"
Upon hearing this, Qitai immediately realized that His Highness Taisun was going to reuse him.
Regarding the sweet potato, it is no secret in the court now, but it is still in the expansion stage.
He did not expect that His Highness the Grand Sun would be responsible for such an important matter.
This also makes it clear why His Highness Taisun asked him to secretly investigate the situation of land annexation in Henan and other places.
Only by understanding these situations can we better understand how these sweet potato crops can be truly put into the hands of the people.
And as His Highness Taisun said, if the people are controlled by the squire, the court's orders will not reach the people at all.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will do my best and go all out, and I will not disappoint Your Highness."
Qitai said in a deep voice.
To be able to win the favor of His Highness Taisun, in Qi Tai's view, this is a rare opportunity.
It is also the first step for you to realize your ambition.
Zhuying nodded slightly in approval.
Zhu Ying still highly recognized scholars like Qi Tai.
Being able to make no mistakes in my nine years as an official is something more than rigorous.
This represents the principle of high self-discipline.
From what Qitai himself said, in order to find out the truth, he was able to put down his posture and disguise himself to work in the squire's home.
Such behavior, even in the previous life, was rare.
For such officials, it is natural to use them more and reuse them more.
Not long after Qi Tai left, Ye Yueqing came over.
Ye Yueqing is not permanently stationed in the palace. Because of the Chamber of Commerce information, he often needs to travel back and forth.
"Your Highness." Ye Yueqing bowed.
It's just that this time the eyes looking at Zhu Ying were slightly evasive.
On the way to Kunning Palace just now, I happened to meet Concubine Ning today.
Concubine Ning saw Ye Yueqing and started chatting with her.
Obviously, Ye Yueqing was still a little shy about the content of the conversation.
So much so that when I see Zhu Ying now, her face is still a little rosy.
Zhu Ying didn't think much about it. It was still a bit hot now. Ye Yueqing was already fair, so it was normal for her cheeks to be red.
"Guo Zhong, bring the frozen watermelon from the ice cellar."
"I obey the decree."
After receiving the order, Guo Zhong quickly went down. Only Ye Yueqing and Zhu Ying were in the room.
There is a homemade ice cellar in the palace, and the use of saltpeter to make ice has long been popular. Nowadays, anyone with better conditions at home will make an ice cellar.
Just to cool off in this hot summer.
If the weather is too cold at night, eunuchs will drag large pieces of ice from the ice cellar and put them in the room to eliminate the heat.
There is also artificial fanning.
The feeling is similar to that of air conditioning, but most people can't afford it.
Zhu Ying, who was the first to come into contact with him, was also a little surprised.
However, this kind of enjoyment was already very popular at least during the Song Dynasty.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Ye Yueqing quickly replied after hearing this.
Zhu Ying waved her hand and said, "There's no need to be so polite."
Ye Yueqing lowered her head slightly to hide the shyness in her eyes, and at the same time softly said 'hmm'.
Zhu Ying didn't pay much attention and asked directly: "I heard that my uncles are very concerned about the overseas recruiting centers."
"What happened in the morning seems to be almost ready now that it's not even time for dinner."
Hearing the discussion of business, Ye Yueqing's mind turned back and replied: "Reporting to Your Highness, the relatively large shop currently on the bank of the Qinhuai River, diagonally opposite our tea house, has now put up the sign of Recruitment Hall. .”
"That is the property in the name of His Highness King Qin, but it is said that someone has been sent to deliver the deed to the internal funds."
Zhuying nodded.
He knew that shop. It was originally a pawn shop and the quality was pretty good.
The most important thing is that the backyard is very large.
That was the second uncle's property. When he first arrived in the capital and didn't know his identity, Zhu Ying had thought about buying this shop.
After I found out about it later, I didn't pay too much attention to the development of Qunying Chamber of Commerce in the capital.
Of course, this does not mean that it does not matter to the Chamber of Commerce, but with my own status, I can give the Chamber of Commerce too many conveniences.
If the Chamber of Commerce still cannot make money despite having such a huge advantage, then it will consider replacing a group of people.
"How many of our people have been prepared so far and can be transferred to the capital within the next month."
Zhu Ying suddenly asked, seemingly inexplicably.
Ye Yueqing understood the meaning and replied: "Currently, we have decided on thirty-two people. There are still some who are not sure about their loyalty. After all, we are overseas. If there is any accident, it will also be a problem for other people."
Zhu Ying heard this, nodded slightly, and then said: "Thirty-two people are too few. Let's lower the requirements a little. After leaving the Ming Dynasty and going overseas, some things are very certain, but in terms of interests, we have a lot of confidence. Big control.”
"Furthermore, even if you seem loyal now, you may still make mistakes over time. No one can guarantee these things."
"What we have to do is arrange as many of our people in as possible, and that's it."
Hearing Zhu Ying's words, Ye Yueqing nodded slightly.
"Your Highness means roughly how many people need to be arranged to go in."
Zhu Ying thought for a while and said: "At least about a thousand people, both civil and military. As for the military attachés, I will make other arrangements when the time comes, so don't worry."
Ye Yueqing replied: "Yes, Your Highness."
Regarding overseas recruiting agencies, given Zhu Ying's temperament, she naturally has to arrange more people of her own.
As early as when preparing this plan, Zhu Ying had already told Ye Yueqing to prepare everything that could be used and willing to go.
Anyway, Zhu Ying must be responsible for the recruitment hall. Of course, it must be waterproof for his own people.
This is not something that the feudal king can decide on his own.
. Lewen
