"Your Majesty," Zheng Zhilong smiled, "as far as I know, this Marquis Shen actually wants to be an official! He is different from me. I am a vulgar businessman and really don't want to be an official and be restricted. And Marquis Shen was born in the Imperial Academy. Why don't you want to be an official? But when he reaches his position, ordinary officials have long looked down on him."
Of course Shen Tingyang wants to be an official, but the officialdom under Emperor Zhu has always had an unspoken rule that southerners suffer! Otherwise, with Shen Tingyang's qualifications and talents, he would have been a cabinet minister long ago. Even if he was not in the cabinet, he should have a governor. How could a Beiyang minister continue to be a minister? The Beiyang Minister sounds quite big, but in fact he is just the general office of an armed transportation company that is a public-private partnership (with very few public shares).
In the early days when the Ming Dynasty had no navy and the private shipping industry had not developed, it was indeed necessary for the two "companies" of Beiyang and Nanyang to exist. But now that private shipping and the imperial navy are on the rise, it is time for the two "companies" of Beiyang and Nanyang to return to their true nature as private enterprises.
"That's right!" Zhu Cixiang nodded lightly, "Duke Quan, what official position do you think I should give him?"
"Don't your Majesty want to set up a special yamen to deal with the unofficial properties of the Northern Expedition?" Zheng Zhilong said, "Besides, aren't there still loud voices in the imperial court to return the capital? Your Majesty, why not set up a cabinet for retaining the capital, headed by Duke Shi Yu, and add The Minister of the Household Department of the capital was awarded to Marquis Shen, and the Household Department of the capital was ordered to be in charge of the unofficial properties of the Northern Expedition.
The pavilion elder who stayed in the capital is also the pavilion elder, and His Majesty can also promise to let Shen Hou serve as the pavilion elder in Nanjing in the future. In this way, he will definitely be happy to stay in the household department! "
Zhu Cixiang laughed: "Okay! Okay! This is a good idea! Shen Tingyang must be willing to be the cabinet elder. There is no civil servant in the Ming Dynasty who doesn't want the position of the cabinet elder. And the capital should indeed have a cabinet, so can To appease the northerners who want to move north."
He paused and said, "Old Taishan, don't talk about today's discussion outside. In addition, the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue still need to be a little poorer... and then make a plan to borrow debt! The cabinet meeting on the third day of April We need to prepare early cases beforehand, and we need to discuss it with Mr. Wei Ge and the others to explain all the difficulties in the household department clearly."
Zheng Zhilong said repeatedly: "I know, I know, I will definitely cry out for my poverty!"
Emperor Zhu smiled and said: "Okay, I will cry with you then! Let's stop talking about business... I have asked the imperial concubine to prepare a family banquet, let's have some together!"
Zheng Zhilong quickly stood up and saluted: "I thank your Majesty for the banquet."
...
Shen Tingyang, the second richest man in the Ming Dynasty, also shouldered a great responsibility in the Northern Expedition in the past three years. His Beiyang Governor's Office was the general contractor for the shipping of logistics supplies for the Northern Expedition. Especially after Shi Kefa captured Tianjin Wei and opened the Wei River channel, Shen Tingyang had more things to do. He not only had to bear the responsibility for shipping from Shanghai to Tianjin , and is also responsible for the dredging and water transportation of the Wei River and canals. Later, when he attacked Beijing, he had to transport the grain, fodder, baggage, and siege artillery needed for the 250,000-strong army all the way to the city walls of Beijing.
His contribution to the Battle of Beijing is not small!
Therefore, in Emperor Zhu's merit book, Shen Tingyang's name is very high, behind Shi Kefa, Prince Kong Dai, Yan Yingyuan, Gao Jie, and Huang Degong. The reward for the title of Duke Kenanshen has been determined.
Because he was going back to the court to be granted a title, Shen Tingyang also returned to the south, but he did not arrive in Nanjing yet. Instead, he returned to his hometown of Shanghai. At this time, he was visiting his fellow countrymen Luo Dagong, Xia Yunyi, and Hou Xuanyan.
Grand Duke Luo was the prefect of Shanghai and a diplomatic envoy. He did a good job as an official, so he continued to work endlessly...
Xia Yunyi is now over sixty years old and has retired at home. He has run a Gezhi Academy and teaches the standard curriculum of Nanjing Primary School and Nanjing Middle School. Recently, he has also been working with several Shanghai gentry officials to organize the Shanghai University Hall.
Hou Xuanyan was from Jiading County in Suzhou, but he was one of the same people as Su Song, so he was considered a fellow townsman with Grand Duke Luo and Xia Yunyi. He was also a Jinshi in the 18th year of Chongzhen's reign, but his official career was mediocre. Now he is serving as the magistrate of Shanghai and is the deputy of Grand Duke Luo.
Shen Tingyang, who was settled in Chongming Institute of Suzhou Prefecture, had always been the leader of Su Song's official circles because he had joined Zhu Cixun early enough and his official title was high enough.
Now is another critical moment when the political situation is about to change, so as soon as Shen Tingyang returned to his hometown, Luo Dagong, Xia Yunyi, and Hou Xuanyan came to visit together.
After some rambling pleasantries, in the back garden of Shanghai Shenyuan Garden, Grand Duke Luo turned the topic to moving the capital and finance.
"Master Marquis, I heard that Your Majesty completely rejected the proposal to move north due to financial deficit?"
Shen Tingyang snorted and smiled: "A loss? Today, the Holy Lord and Duke Quan are working together. How can we still lose? Grand Duke, you have been an official in Shanghai for more than ten years. You don't know whether you have a loss or not?"
Grand Duke Luo chuckled: "The imperial court will not lose money if it is in Nanjing. But many people are worried about what will happen in the north! Especially in the towns of Anbei, Peiping, Daning, and Shuofang... "
Xia Yunyi nodded and said: "The King of Jinling is not enough after all. When Emperor Taizu was still alive, he wanted to move to Xi'an and Kaifeng, but unfortunately he could not make it."
"If you want to go to Kaifeng or Xi'an, you might as well go to Beijing!" Shen Tingyang shook his head, "Beijing can still be maintained by sea transportation. If the capital is moved to the Central Plains or the northwest, there will be problems in eating and drinking in a capital with hundreds of thousands of people."
Hou Xuanyan was a talented man from the south of the Yangtze River. He had never been to the north. He was surprised and said: "How can the Central Plains be so dilapidated? Can't even support hundreds of thousands of people in the capital?"
Shen Tingyang said: "Even if we can make a living, there is no future... The wealth of the world has long been gathered in the southeast! And the wealth in the southeast is still increasing day by day!"
"The southeast is not a place to use force!" Xia Yunyi said, "Since ancient times, the only people who have determined the south and the north are Taizu Emperor Gao and Jinshang, and no one else."
Shen Tingyang shook his head: "In the past, the military force in the North relied on war horses, and the military force in the southeast relied on boats. And if boats and ships did not go to sea, they would not be able to go to as many places as war horses. The strength of the northern people's military power should be Here it comes. But today’s force relies on flintlocks and smoothbore cannons! However, both of them came from the south. And now the population in the south is several times or even ten times that of the north. With more people and more guns, the force can still Weak? Even the horses from the north are now no match for the horses from the south coming from the sea... Therefore, the proposal to return the capital to Beijing will not succeed, and we must be aware of it."
While he was talking, one of his sons hurried in, holding an envelope folded out of yellow paper.
Seeing this envelope, the faces of everyone present changed slightly, and they cast envious glances at Shen Tingyang.
Shen Tingyang said: "Is it an edict?"
"That's the order," Shen Tingyang's son said, "these are the imperial guards."
Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty's edicts are divided into two categories: imperial edicts and central edicts. Imperial edicts are issued through the channels of the cabinet or the Grand Marshal's Palace and require the joint signature of the chief assistant or military advisor to be valid. Central edicts are issued directly from the palace.
However, the central edict is not an "illegal" imperial edict. Zhu Cixiang will not issue an "illegal" imperial edict. The difference between the central edict and the imperial edict is that they have different uses. The main purpose of the imperial edict was to summon foreign ministers and other people to the palace for audience, to issue orders to the royal guards, or to use internal funds to distribute rewards.
Shen Tingyang was not a royal guard, but also the second richest man in the Ming Dynasty. He did not need Emperor Zhu's money, so the sudden imperial edict summoned him to the palace for an audience.
The meeting between the two governments has not yet been resumed, and the emperor is still recuperating in name. So he is anxious to issue a decree to summon "Shen Erfu". Should he be allowed to join the cabinet?
Since the Ming Dynasty moved south, Emperor Zhu has been pursuing the goal of using the north to control the south, using exiled northerners to suppress the gentry in the south. Now the only southerners among the cabinet ministers are Qian Qianyi and Zheng Zhilong. Qian Qianyi has always been of no use, just a vase. And Zheng Zhilong is not a southern gentry, but he is also the head of the country... Of course others can't compare to him!
But now that the north has recovered, is it time for the official fortunes of southerners to improve? Is it time for the governors of the northern provinces and the top leaders of each state government to give some jobs to southerners?
Should the ratio of north to south among cabinet ministers be adjusted to three to three?
