Private letters can be sent by flying pigeons, but official letters can only go by post. Therefore, Gao Pragmatic only learned about the main matters discussed by Wen Huazhao on this day the next morning. He thought for a moment and immediately called for a meeting with the guests in his shogunate.
The shogunate here does not mean the shogunate in Japan. The word "shogunate" originally referred to the camps of senior generals who led troops to fight abroad. This extended the meaning of the office of a high-ranking official. Later generations used it to refer to high-ranking officials, or Refers to the entire auxiliary staff hired by these high-ranking officials.
The term "shogunate" first appeared in the Warring States Period. It was used by the Qin and Han Dynasties and expanded the scope of application of this term. Not only the camps of senior generals can be called shogunate, but also the officials of the three gongs and nine ministers and even the subordinates of state and county chiefs can be called shogunate. job.
After the Ming Dynasty, the shogunate could also refer to the camps set up by senior civil and military officials when they went on expeditions or the government offices when they patrolled local areas. The chief executive in the "shogunate" is called the "shogunate master", and the people who assist the "shogunate master" include "shogunate officials" and "shogunate guests".
In short, the "bureaucrats" are the subordinate officials in the general offices. They themselves belong to the formal bureaucratic system of the imperial court. This was a system formed after the Song Dynasty. This part of the bureaucracy system was basically preserved in the Ming Dynasty. The other type of people who assist the "curtain master", the "curtain guests", are the people summoned by Gao pragmatically at this time.
The term "curtain guest" first appeared in the Jin Dynasty. At that time, Xie An and Wang Tan went to Huan Wen to discuss political affairs. Huan Wen asked his think tank Xi Chao to lie down in the tent and listen to their discussion, so that he could give him suggestions afterwards. As a result, during the discussion, the breeze blew and the curtains were blown open. When Xie An saw Xi Chao, he smiled and said: "Xi Chao can really be said to be the 'guest of the guests'."
"Xie An and Wang Tanzhi met with Wen to discuss matters, and Wen ordered Chao to lie down in the tent and listen to it. The wind moved the tent open, and An smiled and said: Xi Sheng can be said to be the guest of the curtain." Therefore, the term "guest of the curtain" spread.
The difference between the shogunate and the shogunate is that although the shogunate also takes orders from the shogunate, the shogunate is a subordinate official assigned by the court, with official status and official status; the shogunate is an assistant hired privately by the shogunate. The staff, as guests, do not receive royal salary, and all treatment is provided by the chief of staff. The two together are what people often call "staff".
The Ming Dynasty implemented a "small government" system, and many local officials were actually too busy, so the profession of master became very popular. In addition, there are many unreasonable things in the Ming Dynasty's official system. For example, the central court still has arrangements such as "Jinshi to observe politics", which can have an opportunity to learn working methods before actually taking power. However, many local governments such as counties However, real power positions such as orders were directly taken up by Xinke Jinshi. This has led to many new officials who could only study before to be completely blind when it comes to actual work. Without the help of a few masters, they will not be able to carry out any work, and they will be pinched by local subordinates.
Therefore, it is very common for Ming officials to have their own shogunate, especially for high-level officials. It is rare that they do not have a staff. Of course, before this, Hai Rui had no staff because he was too clean and too poor, and Gao Gong did not have staff because students were enough. These were exceptions.
Gao Jingshi also had a shogunate, but his shogunate had different names: Jinghua Secretariat. The secretary of the secretariat was actually his shogunate. From this perspective, Liu Xin is actually his chief guest.
However, Gao Pragmatic did not take Liu Xin with him on this expedition. Although the Ming Dynasty is tolerant of female generals, in fact, if you think about it carefully, you will find that female generals do not exist in the so-called "economic army", and they are mostly led by their own private soldiers.
Gao Pangshi didn't use many "private soldiers" in this battle, so it was naturally inconvenient to bring along female generals, and it was even more inconvenient to have female staff, as it was easy to tell the truth.
There were not many secretaries he brought with him in the army. There were only a few of them: Secretary of Commerce and Trade Cao Ke, Secretary of Military Affairs Ruan Fuyuan, Secretary of Finance Gao Wuzhong, Secretary of Intelligence Gao Qi, and trainee secretaries Gao Wuzheng and Gao Wuruo, a total of six people.
Among them, Cao Ke and Ruan Fuyuan are both Gao Pragmatic's disciples, one is the son of Cao Gan and the other is the son of Ruan Huang; Gao Wuzhong is Gao Pragmatic's younger brother and has studied finance with Gao Guoyan since he became an adult; Gao Qi He is Gao Jingshi's cousin and the second son of his cousin Gao Wuben; Gao Wuzheng and Gao Wuruo are Gao Jingshi's concubines. They have no clear leadership in the Jinghua Secretariat, so they are collectively referred to as trainee secretaries.
In general, it can be seen from the age of the members of this secretarial team that the Jinghua Secretariat is somewhat like a "Jinshi who observes politics". Their tasks are more about learning, rather than actually providing much advice to Gao Pragmatic. Of course, it would be better if you can provide advice.
Gao pragmatic distributed the news to everyone. Cao Ke, as the "disciple", spoke first, saying: "The Secretary-General's previous guess was indeed confirmed. As soon as the teacher left, some people couldn't help but jump. They came out to stir up trouble. First it was Yang Yinglong from Bozhou, and now it’s the Jiangnan Chaebol."
"Why do you think it's the Jiangnan chaebol?" Gao pragmatic smiled slightly and asked, "Aren't they Japanese pirates?"
"The teacher is teasing the students again. This incident is said to be caused by Japanese pirates. In fact, how many Japanese pirates are there outside of Jiangnan? The Japanese pirates' homeland, Japan, is within Jinghua's sphere of influence. The Kanto and Kyushu squadrons have already mixed in with the previous ones. The Japanese 'Navy Army', which has invaded a lot, has been trained to be submissive. How can they dare to invade our Ming Dynasty again?
As for the several navies from Gyeonggi, China, and Shikoku, they have now been integrated by Toyotomi and Mori, and are gradually getting on the right track. They will not risk offending the Maritime Trade Alliance to do such a thing. On the contrary, the Ryukyu side once reported that several of their islands were occupied by some pirates who fled Japan, but this matter should be almost settled... Brother Moritada, right? "
"Shou Zhong" is the name of Ruan Fuyuan. He is the military secretary mainly responsible for the navy, and he is in charge of this matter.
"Yes, this is indeed the case." Ruan Fuyuan nodded after hearing this and said: "The Ryukyu side reported this matter to the Nanyang Fleet last autumn. Later, the Nanyang Fleet ordered the Quanzhou Squadron to destroy it, but something unexpected happened. "
Cao Ke was a little surprised: "What accident?"
"Although the Japanese pirates who escaped from Japan were not strong, the ships they used were not Japanese ships, but Western-style ships with large soft sails. Our Quanzhou Squadron only dispatched a few armed transport ships at that time, and they happened to catch up Arrived on a windy day.
This group of Japanese pirates originally fled Japan, so they were extremely cautious and were able to detect them in advance on the watchtower and escape in time. Our fleet was unable to catch up and only took back the islands they abandoned and handed them back to the Ryukyus. "
"Then where have these Japanese pirates gone? Could it be that they are the ones who harassed Nanjing this time?" Cao Ke was surprised.
"That shouldn't be the case." Ruan Fuyuan shook his head and said, "At first, it was said that the Japanese pirates fled to Luzon, but Luzon later reported that the Japanese pirates did not stay in Luzon, but went all the way south. It is expected that they went Sulu or Polo.”
Then don't worry about it for the time being, and it's not easy to control. Cao Ke nodded and said: "In other words, the theory that Japanese pirates harassed Nanjing is still impossible to be true."
He turned to Gao Pingshi and said: "Teacher, the students think this is obvious. They must be from the Jiangnan Chaebol. They have recruited some Japanese pirates from the past, not to mention their own family. In the early years, they engaged in maritime trade. At that time, who was not a 'Japanese pirate'?"
Gao Qingpang said "hmm" in a moderate tone and asked, "What's their purpose?"
Cao Ke replied: "I think it is just to hold back the imperial court, and even make the teacher unable to supply enough, so that the Yuan Dynasty cannot be destroyed smoothly."
Gao pragmatic looked around at everyone and asked, "Do you have anything to add?"
Everyone looked around, and then Gao Qi said: "My nephew thinks that although this matter is most likely the work of the Jiangnan Conglomerate, there are still some doubts in it that need to be eliminated one by one."
"Well, you say." Gao pragmatically nodded.
Gao Qi said: "Although most of the Xinxue faction is integrated with the Jiangnan plutocrats, the interests between the two are still different after all. The thing that the Xinxue faction is most concerned about at the moment must be the uncle's attack on the Yuan Dynasty. If the victory of the attack on the Yuan Dynasty can be delayed, It might be a waste of time, which would be a great benefit to them.
However, the interests of the Jiangnan chaebol may be different from this. For them, although their uncle's success in conquering the Yuan Dynasty would make them more famous, the main benefit brought by this victory should be political, that is, it would be difficult to reward their uncle for his great achievements, and he would most likely be elected to the cabinet. However, it is not entirely a bad thing for the Jiangnan chaebol that my uncle joins the cabinet. On the contrary, it is likely that because he joins the cabinet, he will have less energy to suppress them in business, thus giving them a chance to breathe..."
When he said this, Gao Wuzheng expressed his objection and shook his head: "I'm afraid that's not true? Even if the eldest brother joins the cabinet, he will probably be in charge of finance. Since he is in charge of finance, what about the comprehensive unification of Jiangnan's financial power and the comprehensive business taxation? The relaxation of expropriation and other matters must still be a top priority, so how can the Jiangnan chaebol have any chance to breathe? I think for them, the danger is getting closer."
Gao Qi said: "Uncle Eleven, my nephew thinks that if Uncle Six joins the cabinet because of his contribution to conquering Yuan Dynasty, the first trouble he will face will be the stubborn resistance of the Xin School. I am afraid that they will not be able to deal with the Jiangnan plutocrats for a while, and... …”
In fact, Gao Qi and Gao Wuzheng are the same age, but due to their seniority, etiquette cannot be discarded, and one must pay attention to the tone and attitude when speaking. In contrast, Gao Wuzheng was much more casual, so he asked directly: "And what?"
Gao Qi replied: "Moreover, my nephew thinks that Uncle Six has always been tolerant and rarely kills anyone. Although the Jiangnan plutocrats are selfish, they will do anything in order to pay less taxes. However, looking at Uncle Six over the years, Regarding the tolerance of the nobles, my nephew made a bold guess: if one day the Jiangnan plutocrats admit defeat, Uncle Liu will not beat them to death with a stick. Lead them to the right path.”
Gao Wuzheng thought for a while and said, "Do the Jiangnan chaebol dare to do things with this kind of mentality?" The implication of this is, do the Jiangnan chaebol dare to gamble their wealth and life on a pragmatic character?
You know, once Gao Pragmatic does not intend to "let bygones be bygones", but insists on suppressing dissidents, or simply acts in order to let Jinghua or the Sea Trade Alliance annex them, then the Jiangnan chaebols may be eaten up. Okay, who can bear this?
At present, there are huge interests, but pinning their hopes on the other party's character is probably not what the Jiangnan plutocrats dare to think of.
Gao Qi also agreed with this view, but he still said: "My nephew is not saying that the Jiangnan chaebol would dare to gamble with his family and life, but he is saying that since what the sixth uncle wants is not to beat the Jiangnan chaebol to death with a stick, then maybe he won't Too eager to deal with this matter..."
When he said this, Gao Pragmatic seemed to be a little interested, and asked with a smile: "Then what do you think I will do?"
"My nephew can't predict the methods of the Sixth Uncle." Gao Qi said modestly, "But my nephew thinks that the Sixth Uncle will generally separate the Heart School and the Jiangnan Plutocrats step by step, and separate them. , handle it individually.”
"Yu Fu (Gao Qi) has made great progress, I am very pleased." Gao pragmatic smiled and praised Gao Qi, but then said: "But you are digressing, let's get back to the topic."
Gao Wuzheng was a little embarrassed, because what Gao Wuzheng said was "going too far". If he was to be held accountable, he would be the first to go too far.
Gao Qi saw this and was afraid that the eleventh uncle would not be able to come to the stage, so he immediately took over the conversation and said: "Yes, Sixth Uncle. My nephew just planned to say it. In fact, there is currently a dispute between the Jiangnan plutocrats and the top leaders of the Xin School. Maybe he’s already discordant.”
Gao pragmatism still aims to enlighten thinking and asks: "How can we see it?"
"This action is proof." Gao Qi said: "My nephew is in charge of intelligence in the Secretariat. After gathering all the intelligence, my nephew believes that the Japanese pirates' attack on Nanjing cannot be the work of Shen Yuanfu. Even Wang Mr. Ge may not dare to do such a reckless thing.
There must be someone else behind this incident. My nephew thinks that the governor of water transportation, Shu Yinglong, conspired with the Jiangnan plutocrats. Shu Yinglong's purpose of doing this was probably to create an opportunity for himself to make meritorious deeds, while the Jiangnan Chaebol were even more ruthless... They wanted to completely cut off water transportation! "
Everyone was shocked, especially for his last sentence, almost no one could understand it. Only Gao pragmatically focused his eyes, looked at Gao Qi deeply, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Continue talking."
Gao Qi perked up and knew that Gao Jingshi's words confirmed that his analysis was at least reasonable, so he immediately said: "Shu Yinglong did this because..."
"Don't mention Shu Yinglong for now, let's talk about the Jiangnan Chaebol." Gao Pragmatic interrupted with a wave of his hand. Shu Yinglong's purpose of doing this was really easy to guess. Gao Pragmatic knew what Gao Qi was going to say even if he didn't listen, so he skipped it.
"Uh, yes, Uncle Six." Gao Qi quickly adjusted his thoughts and continued: "Since the Japanese pirates have gradually calmed down, and the technology of sea-going ships produced by Jinghua has improved, now there are very few accidents or unexpected delays in transporting food northward. , and there is obviously a lot of surplus in shipping capacity, so it is not a problem for shipping to take on the responsibility of transporting grain alone.
However, Jinghua, and even the entire Sea Trade Alliance, are not very enthusiastic about transporting grain. After all, the harvest from overseas trade is far more cost-effective than transporting grain. However, this deal is still a good deal for the Jiangnan maritime merchants who benefit less from the scale of Jinghua's fleet: the route is safe and the profits are decent.
In this way, if water transportation can be completely stopped and replaced by sea transportation, Jiangnan maritime merchants can get an extremely stable income (income), and at the same time, it will not intensify competition with Beijing or the sea trade alliance, which is a great benefit. As for "the food and clothing of millions of water workers", this is a trouble for the imperial court, but not for the Jiangnan plutocrats. My nephew thought they would not care. "
Gao pragmatic laughed and said: "Your analysis in the first half of the paragraph is very reasonable, but there is something wrong with the last sentence. 'The food and clothing of millions of workers' is certainly not a matter that the Jiangnan plutocrats care about, but in fact this matter is now It’s not difficult anymore.
I mean, the problem of "the food and clothing of millions of water workers" is easy to solve. The Jiangnan plutocrats can even guess that I have a way to solve it, so they think that completely cutting off water transportation will not incur revenge from me, the Minister of Household Affairs. .
As for another trouble that might be caused by the Japanese pirates attacking Nanjing, that is, the court was too nervous and ordered my class to return to the court. I am afraid there are other stories between the Jiangnan Chaebol and Shu Yinglong... Haha, they are so united. "
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