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The more he understands the power structure of the Ming Dynasty, the more Zhao Junchen understands that the power of imperial power is difficult to resist, because the military power of the Ming Dynasty has always been in the hands of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, even if Even powerful officials like Zhang Juzheng and Zhou Shangjing were completely unable to interfere with military power.
Although Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing always fought openly and secretly with each other, as if they were evenly matched, that was just because Emperor Deqing cherished his reputation and was unwilling to use violence to solve problems unless it was absolutely necessary. If Emperor Deqing suddenly became violent one day, , whether it is factory guards or forbidden troops, they can uproot Zhou Shangjing's power in an instant.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen must try to control a certain amount of military power, otherwise Zhao Junchen will not be able to fight against Emperor Deqing, and can only be at the mercy of Emperor Deqing, constantly taking the blame for Emperor Deqing, attracting public resentment, and becoming a fat pig to be slaughtered. One day in the future, he will face the fate of being demolished across the river, demolished the bridge, unloaded the millstone and killed the donkey by Emperor Deqing.
Of course, Zhao Junchen would not sit back and wait for death. Before accompanying him on his southern tour, Zhao Junchen secretly established the "Jubao Trading Company" and invested countless money. This trading company specialized in military business in order to corrupt the army near the capital and control part of the army. To suppress military officers and take the opportunity to infiltrate military power,
Among Zhao Junchen's many plans, this is the one that Zhao Junchen is most concerned about and the one in which Zhao Junchen has invested the most resources and energy.
At this time, after Zhao Junchen asked about the situation of Jubao Trading Company, he saw Fang Ru's expression was strange and thought that the plan had encountered some trouble, so he asked: "What? Isn't this going well?"
Fang Ru shook her head and said: "No, this plan is going very smoothly. Sir, you have a keen eye for people. Zhao An is indeed a good player. After he established Jubao Trading Company, he quickly used various means to acquire more than ten companies. The Yu family is a small trading firm that specializes in military business, and has integrated the resources of these firms, and has also fully taken over the business and connections of these firms. Now Jubao Trading Firm has begun to take shape, and it has the matchmaking support of Guan Wuyuan, the commander of Longxiang Guards. . The business is progressing very fast. All the military towns near the capital have become the customers of Jubao Trading Company. Although it has only been four or five months, the profits of Jubao Trading Company are already amazing. Last month alone, it made a profit of more than 30,000 yuan. If we continue to develop at this rate, it will only take about a year for Jubao Trading Company to become more profitable than Yuerongfang."
After hearing Fang Ru's introduction. Zhao Junchen was not surprised, he just nodded as a matter of course and motioned for Fang Ru to continue.
Zhao Junchen had already expected the profit status of Jubao Trading Company. After all, under the general environment of the Ming Dynasty, the military business was inherently profitable.
In today's Ming Dynasty, military towns all over the country have become extremely corrupt - military households can't stand the miserable life in military towns and are always escaping and forgetting. However, the officers in the military towns not only do not stop it, but secretly encourage it. They also took the opportunity to annex the property of the fleeing military households. After the officers annexed the property of the military households, they would sell part of it to trading houses at very low prices. The trading company only needs to change hands slightly to obtain several times the profit;
In addition, due to the constant flight of military households, the situation of empty pay in military towns in various places has become very serious. However, the court still distributes grain and grass according to the number of registered persons every year, so the officers in the military towns will also sell grain and grass to commercial banks, and the price is also It's very cheap, and between resale, the profit is several times higher;
Another example is the inventory in the military town. There will always be "excess" ordnance and armor after the trading house comes into contact with the military town. You can also buy them cheaply, and then resmelt swords, guns, and armor into iron blocks. Replacing leather wood into civilian utensils eliminates the need for initial refining and processing, and is a hugely profitable business.
All these show that the profits of this kind of business are astonishing. Zhao Junchen had already anticipated this when he founded Jubao Trading Company. Therefore, after hearing Fang Ru's explanation, he was not surprised and just waited quietly. Fang Ru continued, after all, Zhao Junchen's main purpose in establishing Jubao Trading Company was not to make money.
Fang Ru naturally knew what Zhao Junchen was thinking, so she continued: "In addition, the current situation of military towns in various places is more corrupt than imagined, so Jubao Trading Company's plan to infiltrate military towns in various places was unexpectedly easy. Zhao An In addition to doing business with the military towns, he only used some tricks and gave some benefits to buy a large number of thousands and hundreds of households. The commanders of each military town also easily became the business partners of Jubao Trading Company. Although the time is still short, Jubao Trading Company has already collected a lot of evidence and evidence about them. I believe that as long as we continue, these people will be under our control sooner or later."
After hearing Fang Ru's further explanation, Zhao Junchen nodded with satisfaction. Unexpectedly, the progress of Jubao Trading Company was even better than imagined.
However, when Fang Ru said this, a hint of weirdness flashed across her expression again, and she added: "However, when Jubao Trading Company was doing business with military towns in various places, it was discovered that there was another trading firm doing the same thing. Not only did he take advantage of the rotten situation of the military town to make profits, but he also wanted to take the opportunity to bribe the officers in the military town and gradually infiltrate the military towns in various places... It seems that the people behind this business firm had the same intention as the master and wanted to Use this method to control some of the military forces."
Zhao Junchen raised his brows, and a solemn look flashed in his eyes.
Unexpectedly, at this time, Zhao Junchen would also encounter competitors.
So, Zhao Junchen said: "Have you checked the background, origin and current situation of this trading company?"
Fang Ru nodded and said: "I have checked. This trading company is called 'Sihai Trading Company'. It seems very ordinary, but its background is very mysterious. Although I sent people to secretly investigate in detail, I still can't find this trading company." Who is the person behind the scenes? In fact, this firm started doing business with military towns all over the country four years ago, but it was much earlier than us. It was just that it lacked funds at the beginning. Although it has been secretly infiltrating and control military towns in various places, but the progress has been very slow. It was not until the past two years that we have made some progress. However, our Jubao Trading Company has sufficient funds, so although it joined this business several years later than Sihai Trading Company, it soon became It has overtaken Sihai Commercial Bank, and its progress in penetrating military towns in various places is much faster than that of Sihai Commercial Bank. It is now able to suppress the business of Sihai Commercial Bank, and Sihai Commercial Bank's influence on military towns in various places has also shrunk a lot."
After hearing Fang Ru's explanation. Zhao Junchen quickly found the key words - he wanted to infiltrate the army and started taking action five years ago, but his strength was insufficient at the beginning...
So, who in the whole court is ambitious enough to take over military power? They have had this idea since five years ago, but their strength is insufficient?
again. Zhao Junchen set his target on the seventh prince Zhu Hejian!
"Interesting, I didn't expect Zhu Hejian to have the same idea. And he started arranging it five years ago... Fortunately, he is just a prince with limited financial resources, otherwise there would be no room for my intervention in this matter... It seems, Like me, Zhu Hejian also has many plans going on secretly. This person is really a careerist..."
While thinking secretly, Zhao Junchen suddenly laughed, raised his head and said to Fang Ru: "When I am about to contact the seventh prince Zhu Hejian. This information is crucial... It seems that before meeting him, I will first It was the right decision to seek information from you.”
Fang Ru was slightly stunned and asked: "Master, are you saying that the person behind the Four Seas Shipbuilding Company is the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian?"
Zhao Junchen shook his head and said: "Maybe, maybe not, but the possibility is extremely high. After all, I can only think of him as a person who has ambitions to infiltrate the army but is slightly lacking in strength."
After Fang Ru thought for a moment, she agreed with Zhao Junchen's guess. He nodded and said: "If this is true, this seventh prince Zhu Hejian is really ambitious."
Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "Under the current circumstances, it is a good thing for me that he is ambitious."
Next, seeing that it was getting late, Zhao Junchen did not continue to discuss Zhu Hejian's affairs with Fang Ru, but continued to ask Fang Ru about the progress of other plans.
When Fang Ru reported the progress of all plans to Zhao Junchen, it was already half an hour later.
Although Fang Ru liked to participate in Zhao Junchen's plans and was always energetic, reporting so many things to Zhao Junchen at once took a lot of effort. But he inevitably showed a hint of fatigue.
After noticing Fang Ru's tired look, Zhao Junchen's eyes flashed with emotion.
In the final analysis, Fang Ru is just a little woman. It was really difficult for her to worry about so many things at the same time.
During Emperor Deqing's southern tour. Fang Ru's life may not be as easy as Zhao Junchen's.
It's a pity that Zhao Junchen really couldn't find a suitable candidate before, so he could only let Fang Ru supervise these plans... Fortunately, Zhao Junchen has now formed a large and reliable staff team, and many things can be done Let the staff team be responsible, so from now on, both Fang Ru and Zhao Junchen can be much more relaxed.
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen suddenly said to Fang Ru: "I am really lucky to you during this period."
Fang Ru was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and said with a smile: "Ru'er doesn't feel lucky to work for the master."
Zhao Junchen said: "Although you don't feel lucky, I can't bear it. Let's do this. I have now formed a reliable staff team. In the future, except for the affairs of Tongji Temple and Jubao Trading Company, other matters and plans You don’t have to be specifically responsible, you can transfer all the responsibilities to the staff, so you can be much more relaxed."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's proposal, Fang Ru's expression did not show much happiness and relaxation, but instead she felt a little disappointed.
For Fang Ru, being able to participate deeply in Zhao Junchen's plans not only helps Zhao Junchen, but also proves his importance to Zhao Junchen. Now that Zhao Junchen suddenly wants to "take back power", Fang Ru is naturally a little bit worried. Lost.
However, this was Zhao Junchen's order after all, so Fang Ru still nodded obediently and agreed.
Then, Zhao Junchen said: "After handing over those things, you can use your free time to prepare other things."
Fang Ru was stunned again and asked, "What's going on?"
Zhao Junchen smiled softly, looked into Fang Ru's eyes, and said slowly: "I once promised you that after the southern tour, I would marry you. Although due to various reasons, I can only give you the identity of a concubine. , but it is a status after all... Now, it is time to prepare for this matter!"
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ps: Well, I’m a little tired today, so I only have one update, sorry!
…(To be continued.)
