The Tea Horse Division naturally had an office in the capital, but because of its low status, the place was a little remote and not in the inner city at all. Zhu Biao arrived at the gate of the palace and got on the carriage driven by Zhao Huai'an.
After this trip to Shaanxi and Gansu, Zhao Huaian suddenly became a popular little eunuch in the palace. Wherever he wandered around, someone would give him a bit of favor, even the big eunuchs around the harem and concubines would do it.
Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of a rather remote government office. The two guards standing in front of the door chatted lazily. Seeing the carriage parked carelessly in front of the door, they frowned irritably. .
It's autumn, and although it's not as lively as it was in March and April, the tea market is still quite lively, especially when tea merchants from all over the place come to visit. After all, if you want to sell tea at a high price, it depends on its reputation.
Tea leaves cannot speak for themselves, nor can they brag for themselves, but tea merchants can. As long as they can bring the tea they grow to the emperor and supply it to the royal family, then the tea will be established.
Once the name tribute tea comes out, why worry about high-priced customers?
The literati, the gentry and the wealthy all wanted to know how comfortable it was to be an emperor, but they definitely didn't have the guts to rebel, so enjoying the life of an emperor appropriately was the best choice.
The two officers obviously mistook Zhu Biao's driver for a tea merchant from out of town who came to greet him. One of them frowned and walked up to him and said, "The carriage is not allowed to stop in front of the Tea Horse Division's Yamen. No matter who you are here to see, you must park the carriage first." Park on the other side of the street, otherwise you'll be dragged into the army and get slapped with trouble. Don't blame me for not mentioning you!"
He has said this more than a dozen times. Merchants have many restrictions on their food, clothing, housing and transportation, but they also pay more attention to dignity and pomp. In addition, the emperor has lifted some of their restrictions, which has caused wealthy businessmen from some places to be unable to turn around after coming to Beijing. My son, I thought my wealth could reach heaven.
But little does he know how deep the water in the capital is. If he wanders around the capital with no roots and no bottom, if he meets that high-ranking official, he will be ready to have his bones and marrow sucked out.
After all, he was the benefactor who came to deliver money, so the servant didn't say anything too much. Zhao Huaian, who was riding in the carriage, jumped out of the carriage and frowned and said, "His Royal Highness is here, why don't you hurry up and call someone to greet him."
"ah?"
The first reaction of the officer was disbelief. In such a cold yamen as Chama Si, not to mention His Highness the Crown Prince, in the four years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there has never been an official of fourth rank or above.
His eyes widened and he reached for the sword at his waist, but he suddenly came back to his senses. If His Highness hadn't waited a moment, he would have discovered this, and then escorted him directly to the Military and Horse Department. He just received a scolding and will be picked up tomorrow. Carrying a jug of wine and going to the execution platform to watch the execution would be considered as venting one's anger.
But if this was His Highness the Crown Prince, the result after he touched the knife would be to change from a reward to a punishment. Although he had not read any books, he still understood the principle of choosing the lesser of two powers. He immediately knelt down and clasped his fists: "I will go and report it now. Please wait a moment, noble man."
Zhu Biao, who was sitting in the car, was still looking at the detailed list of tribute tea from the palace over the years. He didn't need to understand everything, but he had to know some, otherwise the officials below would easily fool him.
Logically speaking, it was just a matter of the Tea Horse Secretary, so he could just summon his chief officer and give orders. However, he thought that although the Tea Horse Secretary did not have much power in the officialdom, his nature determined that he would have a lot of leverage.
Zhu Biao naturally knew how much influence power and big money could have. Moreover, he did not just plan to sell tea to Mongolia to make money. After all, the tea Mongolia needed was not good tea. It was enough that it was large and easy to store.
The market for good tea still depends on the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The literati have a high pursuit of drinking tea and discussing Taoism. They are also the richest people in the Ming Dynasty.
Again, it was actually too easy for the imperial court to make money, because it controlled too many means of production and monopolized many necessities. However, the traditional salary earners were not allowed to compete with the subordinates for profit, and they were subject to the rule of law. Those who are not allowed to take small conceptual influence.
In fact, this truth is not wrong. In Dong Zhongshu's countermeasures against Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there is a passage that says: "Those who were given a salary in ancient times did not live up to their strength and did not move at the end. Those who received great rewards could not take them." "Small means agreeing with Heaven. I accept the big and choose the small. Heaven can't satisfy it, but what about humans."
When Zhu Biao was still the prince of Wu King, he was pulled by Song Lian to read it many times. He was in a high position, his family was rich and he was well paid, so he used the power of high officials and well paid people to compete for profits with the people. How could the world be stable?
The truth is correct. If officials can conduct business openly and honestly, it will be simply terrifying, and there will be no disadvantages. Products no longer need to be judged by quality, but by the rank and status of the officials behind them.
The people also lost their choice. All industries were monopolized, commodity prices soared, the purchasing power of money declined, and inflation became serious. In the end, the people were destitute and revolted...
This is why Zhu Biao has always been reluctant to get involved in the economy. He doesn't need to make any glass when doing business. Even if he sells excrement, he can get a sky-high price. Some people want to give him money in an honest way, but they have been struggling to find a way.
Collusion between officials and businessmen is always unavoidable, but as long as there are restrictions on the surface, no matter how rampant they are, there is a bottom line. If they do not compete with the people for profit, they will not only restrict the officials, but also the royal family. The two will check and balance each other.
Of course, the current situation is not one of checks and balances between officials and the royal family. The founder of the country, Emperor Taizu, is still alive and able to suppress everything. The so-called ancestor dragon dies and the land is divided.
In this era, a majestic king does have the prestige and strength to suppress the world, whether it is the first emperor of Han Dynasty, Wu Mingzu, they are the real emperors.
It's just that they will die, and after they die, they will be just a tablet, and they will no longer be able to talk about being the supreme person in the world, so maintaining the system and rules is more important than anything else.
But Zhu Biao's luck is that he is Zhu Yuanzhang's son. He is Zhu Biao. There is no doubt that Zhu Biao's body can still fight for another twenty or thirty years. According to current estimates, he should be able to take charge of the Ming Dynasty for one or twenty years after Lao Zhu leaves. Year.
This is an opportunity that Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han did not have. Neither of them is considered the founder of the country. It is unavoidable that the inherent power in the country is quite large and it is difficult to give up because they are too deeply involved with the country and the royal family and share weal and woe. Even if they are Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han were not able to kill ruthlessly.
Moreover, both of them were not very friendly to their heirs, and their suppressive attitude in the late period was quite obvious. The prince's prestige and power were not too strong.
Zhu Biao's situation is indeed very different from theirs. Even though the founding nobles are powerful, the founding emperor Jian Zai, facing Zhu Yuanzhang, the true first commander of the Ming Dynasty, both Xu Da and Chang Yuchun admired him.
Moreover, Lao Zhu is cruel and can kill all forces that interfere with the country. Within a few years, Zhu Yuanzhang will be able to train the rebellious nobles into hawks and dogs that he likes, and their minions will never hurt him again. Owner.
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