The war in Myanmar was in full swing, but Gao Pinggong's life in the capital was uneventful. Apart from greeting his three disciples and paving the way for their future, his main task was nothing more than fundraising.
To some extent, Jinghua’s golden brand may be stronger than that of the Ministry of Revenue. No one among the wealthy people in Jinghua, whether they are dignitaries, wealthy businessmen or officials, thinks that the “Yunnan War Treasure Banknotes” can still be used after Jinghua has secured them. Is there any possibility of a credibility crisis?
Since credibility is not an issue, Qian Jing... Anyway, Gao Pragmatic said there is no problem. Even if the money scene of Gao Pragmatic's commitment is discounted, everyone thinks it is acceptable. After all, cash in hand is becoming more and more useless these days - speaking of it, this idea seems to have been proposed by Gao Pragmatic in the first place. Yes, he said that money must be used to make money. If not, then the silver will be no different from bricks.
It is good to make money, but before the advent of high pragmatism, everyone's ability to make money was really not worth mentioning. The most common financial management method was nothing more than buying land.
However, in fact, it is very slow for land to make money back. Let’s put it this way: usually the money spent to buy an acre of land cannot make back the money in less than thirty years.
The biggest advantage of this thing is that it maintains its value. In other words, although you make a small amount of money, you generally won't lose money - if you have to say that you can catch up with floods, droughts, and locust plagues every year, then it's boring. This is luck. Why invest? You can just admit your failure to God.
However, since the emergence of the highly pragmatic Jinghua, several new ways to make a fortune have appeared in front of everyone. Ports, maritime trade, border trade, private mining, iron smelting, selling coal, soap, sun salt, private military industry, cement infrastructure, reopening Yu Ci, and even loan sharking - of course, the interest rates charged by Jinghua Bank for lending are very low , at least in this era, it is very low. Leng said it is usury, which seems to be a sign of borrowing money.
All in all, the characteristic of Jinghua is that it makes money in everything it does. After being dazzled, everyone only remembers one thing: you will not lose money if you invest money with high pragmatism, so you will definitely not lose money with the "Dian War Treasure Banknotes".
As for what means he has to turn war into making money, that's none of your business. In short, just leave it to him.
Just kidding, those who can buy "Dian War Treasure Banknotes" now are all high-profile people. Such a large group of high-profile people have spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. How dare Myanmar not bleed? The palace was demolished by him!
Because of this kind of mentality, Gao Jingshi issued three batches of Yunnan War treasure banknotes in Beijing. If it were not seen horizontally and vertically, it was enough to defeat Burma twice. Gao Jingshi would have been fine even if he continued to issue two more batches. There would always be someone Be willing to pay.
Only then did he realize that it was no joke that some countries in later generations would go to war because of the interests of consortiums. As long as there is a group of people in the upper class who hold power who have a golden hook of interest in this war, this war will be inevitable, and it will be fought until the winner is determined.
He took the lead on the Yunnan War Baobao issue at the beginning, but when it came time to issue the second batch, he actually had nothing to do. Gao Guoyan handled it neatly. At most, he only needed to tell Gao Guoyan how to allocate these bonds proportionally. .
So for a while, he actually felt a little leisurely, and he was able to find time to live in Baiyu Tower.
Until one day, several young eunuchs came out of the palace and invited him into the palace, saying that someone wanted to see him.
Gao Pragmatic was a little puzzled. Now that the front line is going smoothly and there is money in the rear, why is the emperor looking for me at this time? Could it be that it's not the emperor who wants to see me, but Huang Mengyu or Chen Ju who wants to see me?
If the two of them want to see him, there should be something important. Maybe Zhang Jing or Liu Shouyou made some trouble, or else Huang Mengyu and Chen Ju came up with a way to deal with them. Anyway, without further ado, let’s go.
Gao pragmatic didn't think much and took his servants on the road. Since he had become the right minister of the Ministry of War, it was no longer convenient for him to ride a horse in the capital. Now he could only travel in a sedan chair. As a result, he set out in the morning and was not able to enter the palace until nearly noon.
But this is not a big problem. Huang Mengyu and Chen Ju are the "first assistants" and "secondary assistants" of the inner court. They are not afraid of starving themselves when they rush in for meals.
However, unexpectedly, Gao Qingshi realized something was wrong before he went very far after entering. Why did he keep walking to the west of the palace?
He subconsciously stopped, looked around, and asked: "Everyone, are you taking the headquarters to Cining Palace?"
The leading eunuch quickly bowed and said: "Zhongcheng is joking, we are the slaves of Changchun Palace. If you go ahead on the road of Zhongcheng for a while, turn left and you will find Cining Palace. If you continue walking, you will find Changchun Palace."
There is no need for him to say this. Gao Gongshi has been in the palace for ten years, especially when the late emperor was still in power. He often followed Zhu Yijun to the harem to visit the two palaces and concubines, so he was familiar with the harem. , there is actually no need for the eunuch to introduce this road.
But the question is, why go to Changchun Palace?
Gao pragmatic did not move, but frowned and asked: "Is the Princess Yongning summoned?"
"Yes, Zhongcheng."
Gao Pangshi pondered for a moment and asked: "Excuse me, this matter...has Her Royal Highness the Princess ever reported it to the Emperor or Queen?"
He is a minister of the outer court. The eldest princess summoned him in the palace. As a rule, he should report to the queen. The reason why Gao Jingshi also mentioned Zhu Yijun is mainly because Zhu Yijun, the eldest brother, is very kind to his younger brothers and sisters, and Princess Yongning's marriage ended up like that. Although it was not Zhu Yijun's fault, Zhu Yijun still felt guilty about her, so if she directly Even the emperor can't explain it.
The eunuch took out a token from his arms and handed it to Gao Pangshi, smiling and saying, "Without the Queen's decree, our family would not be able to leave the palace."
After hearing this, Gao Pragmatic remembered that the Ming Dynasty's court rules were very strict. Not counting the emperor and the two empress dowagers, the only one who had the final say in the harem was the empress. Others, whether they are concubines or princesses, have no say in matters. Even the people under their command cannot leave the palace. They must first go to the queen to ask for orders.
He took the token and looked at it. It was indeed the palace ban token from Kunning Palace, and then he felt relieved.
Although Queen Wang and Gao Pangshi rarely met, there was no doubt that they were on the same front. He believed that Queen Wang could not harm him.
So we continued walking forward, and soon we arrived at Changchun Palace.
Changchun Palace was built during the Yongle period. In the 14th year of Jiajing, it was renamed Yongning Palace. Later, Zhu Yijun named Princess Zhu Yao Yongning and let her live here. I don’t know if it was because of the duplication of names that the palace name was changed. Go back and continue calling Changchun Palace.
After arriving at Changchun Palace, Gao pragmatically was invited to the West Wing Hall. This West Wing Hall is called the Chengxi Hall. Just as the emperor liked to receive his courtiers in the Xinuang Pavilion, most of the princesses from other palaces in the palace would also stay in the West Wing Hall if they met with outsiders.
There were only two eunuchs and two maids at the entrance of Chengxi Palace. The door was wide open, and Gao Pragmatic saw the slim figure in the palace while he was still at the door.
Seeing that neither the eunuchs nor the palace maids seemed to want to communicate, Gao Jingshi had no choice but to stand outside the door and loudly said: "I, Gao Jingshi, have met Her Royal Highness the eldest princess."
The woman inside was Princess Yongning. She seemed to be reading a book. After listening to Gao Pragmatic's words, she put down the book in her hand, nodded gently, and showed a smile: "High School Prime Minister, please come in without any courtesy."
Gao pragmatic walked in. Before he could stand still, Princess Yongning said again: "High School Prime Minister, please take a seat."
"Thank you, princess, for giving me a seat." Gao Pingzhi could only walk in the palace, and Changchun Palace was a bit far away, so he sat down politely.
Princess Yongning's smile grew brighter, she looked at Gao Jingshi carefully for a while, and then said: "The Prime Minister of Gao Gao has really not changed at all."
Gao pragmatic didn't know what she was going to do, but he still replied: "The princess is a little thinner, but she is also more elegant."
This is said to be a bit excessive, but with Gao Pragmatic's status, he is indeed not afraid of the princess. Besides, he has helped Princess Yongning a lot before, and he thinks that he will not make the princess angry because of this matter.
Princess Yongning was indeed not angry. She just looked away slightly and replied: "It's hard to be rich after being a widow for many years."
Only then did Gao Jingshi remember that Princess Yongning had a special status. Although she had never even had a bridal chamber, she was indeed a "widow" in name. Thinking of this, Gao Jingshi also felt a little regretful. He sighed and said: "Flowers are not flowers, mist is." It’s not fog, it’s always fate that plays tricks on people.”
He was afraid that Princess Yongning would say something that would be difficult for him to answer, so he asked again: "I wonder why the princess summoned the ministers here today?"
Princess Yongning seemed to be aware of Gao's pragmatic thoughts, and there was a trace of sadness in her eyes, but she quickly covered it up, her face was as calm as water, and said: "Last time, you helped me get a 'charitable fund'. In time, we will get a roster from Huang Zhangyin, which contains records of where the money was spent... Later, I took a closer look and found that the main ones were to support the disaster area, right? "
In fact, Gao Pragmatic was not very clear about this issue, because he had already asked Jinghua Bank to handle the matter on his behalf, but he had indeed promised to use the money in the disaster area as much as possible, just under the banner of Princess Yongning.
"That's what happened." Gao pragmatically said without changing his expression.
"Can I... change the purpose of this?" Princess Yongning didn't seem to be very confident in her words.
Gao Jingshi didn't care, and asked instead: "Does your Highness mean to let me get the money back? This matter is easy to handle. After I leave the palace later, I will call the person who handled it and ask. It seems that the princess's fund is still there." How much money, and then let them settle the account, and the money can be returned to His Highness in two or three days at most.
However, in business discussions, according to what I and His Highness said in the past, the principal of the 'Princess Yongning Disaster Relief Fund' was converted from the land granted by the princess, and the subsequent disaster relief money from the Princess Fund was actually converted from this amount into a certain person in Beijing. The dividends generated after the business, so the amount currently owned by the fund is probably just the principal plus the remaining money that has not yet been donated, and may not be much more than the principal. Please be prepared for this in advance. "
Unexpectedly, Princess Yongning shook her head and said quickly: "I don't want to get the money back, I just want to use it in a different way."
Gao pragmatic thought for a while and guessed: "Is... no relief work for now?" He thought to himself: Maybe this girl has finally thought about it and needs money.
But Princess Yongning still shook her head and said: "I summoned a person before, and you know him."
Gao pragmatic reacted quickly and asked: "Your Highness, are you talking about Vice-Capital Annan Huang?"
"The High School Prime Minister knows Miss Huang's whereabouts very well." Princess Yongning blinked, her tone a little weird.
Gao Jingshi coughed slightly and said: "Your Highness Mingjian, I have known Miss Huang for several years. When she was in Guangxi and Annan, she helped me a lot. Whether it was conquering Annan or pacifying Annan, Miss Huang played a considerable role." Therefore, she told me everything she did when she came to Beijing last time."
"Okay, but that's not what I wanted to ask." Princess Yongning paused for a moment and said, "Miss Huang and I didn't talk for too long, but we did mention a few words about her being a female official. "
Gao pragmatic didn't know what the princess wanted to say, so he could only ask: "What then?"
Princess Yongning said: "Then, she said that female chieftains in Guangxi and other places have been in power for generations, and most of them have done a good job. They can at least be considered middle-class. Even more often, female chieftains are relatively political. More cautious and less likely to be too ambitious.”
Gao Pragmatic really wanted to say that this was not necessarily the case. Whether one was ambitious or not had little to do with gender. Some of the female czars in Russia in history were really as ambitious as men.
However, this cannot be answered in this way. Gao Pragmatic only said: "Ambition is proportional to strength, but more often it depends on the education of the person. I have said before when discussing history with the emperor that Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty During the 1960s, Wang Zhongsi was the first person to truly be a soldier, followed by An Lushan. However, history has proven that Wang Zhongsi was a loyal minister, while An Lushan was a traitor. May I ask, Your Highness, what is the real difference between the two of them? No. The difference between nationalities is the difference in education.
Wang Zhongsi lost his father when he was a child and was raised in the palace by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He knew the importance of loyalty and wanted to repay the emperor's kindness. Even though he was also the governor of the four towns, he worked conscientiously and did not dare to go beyond the rules. Later, when Xuanzong dismissed him, he never thought about resisting. It was not because he couldn't, but because he refused.
An Lushan, on the other hand, was a Zahu from Youzhou. He had tasted the warmth and coldness of the world since he was a child. In his mind, strength was the only basis for determining status, so he focused on seizing power. After Wang Zhongsi was dismissed, he was under pressure. The last big mountain above his head was gone, so he chose to rebel with peace of mind. So ultimately, this is an education issue. "
In fact, the reason for this problem is not that simple, but Gao Pragmatic must take this position because he is a minister and is very powerful now.
Princess Yongning did not expect to elicit such a long speech from him, and was a little surprised. Then she laughed again and nodded: "What the high school prime minister said makes sense, so later I thought about it and felt that education is indeed very important... I want to I wonder what the high school prime minister thinks of spending money on this?"
Gao pragmatically said: "Well... that's good, but how to spend it?"
Princess Yongning smiled slightly and said: "Miss Huang mentioned that there are several types of maids around their female chieftains. One of them is those who have studied since childhood. In the future, when the female chieftains grow up and take power, they can help take care of some things. I wondered if we could also teach some girls to read and write..."
Gao pragmatic asked: "It's okay, but after teaching them? What will these girls do in the future? With all due respect, adopting boys and teaching them will have many uses in the future. For example, I have the Jinghua Craftsman School to do this. However, Your Highness If we want to teach women, I have to ask, what is the future for these women after they finish their studies? If this problem is not solved, there really will be no difference between teaching and not teaching."
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Thanks to the book friends "1 Optimistic and Good Young Man 1", "Good Mood on a Cloudy Day", "HAMW05", "Frost Vase", "Sitting at the Door of the Tavern", "Cao Mianzi", "I only read but don't order" "Go in", "Carefree K Book", "Myzen0915", "Mysterious Pineapple", "In Disrepair nn" monthly ticket support, thank you all!
