Mei Kejia understood the words of the Crown Prince, "Send your young son over."
He had three sons, and the youngest was the one he loved the most and was the smartest.
Is this a coincidence?
Maybe.
But Mei Kejia didn't think in the direction of 'other people are stupid'. He would rather think that the prince did it on purpose.
This actually tells him that I have investigated you clearly and it is not a lie.
"Do you have anything to ask me?"
Zhu Houzhao paced at the entrance of the palace, talking as he walked.
Mei Kejia thought to himself that he had a lot to ask. But this is the East Palace, and you can’t ask anything, let alone keep asking.
After much thought, he picked a question.
"Little man, I do have a problem."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and gestured, "Ask."
Mei Kejia raised his eyes to confirm the prince's mood.
He was very careful in what he said, and based on his expression, if something was wrong, he would quickly change the question to another one.
To some extent, this is not a scheming, but a habit over the years.
At the moment, the Crown Prince seems to be in a good mood.
"The villain dares to ask His Highness. Why did you go all the way to find the villain? And what will happen if the villain refuses?"
"The biggest problem with smart people is dishonesty." Zhu Houzhao pointed at him teasingly, "You have two problems."
"You made a mistake! Your Highness, please forgive me!" Mei Kejia quickly knelt down.
"Okay, get up. You will get to know me from now on. I said, you can ask any questions you have. As for this first question, I asked you to come here because of what I want you to do. It can't be done by a very smart person. Such people are hard to find. I found you when I received the report from the northwest, so I naturally chose you. Of course, if you don't want to serve the East Palace, you can leave. , As long as you abide by the law and don't really liaise with the Tatars, I won't kill you. But I know you will definitely agree."
Mei Kejia was curious, "Why is Your Highness so convinced?"
"Because I am the prince, you are willing to cooperate with Zhang Tao, but you are not willing to rely on me, the prince? There is no such reason in the world."
For Zhu Houzhao,
This is not a very costly thing.
If he doesn't agree, just find another one. There are many people who want to climb the lintel of the East Palace.
As for Mei Kejia going out and talking nonsense... a smart person would not do such a thing.
If he gets too much of this fatal thing, he won't survive today.
"Your Highness is brave and wise, and I am very convinced." Mei Kejia then asked, "But I don't know, does this villain know now what the purpose of your Highness is to appoint this villain?"
"No." Zhu Houzhao turned around without hesitation and walked towards his bookcase. "You can go down now. I will let you know everything when your little son is sent to the capital."
Mei Kejia: "..."
This is... really straightforward,
He has never met such a person in all these years.
"Yes, I will take my leave, villain."
"Go back and take good care of yourself. You are so weak, no matter how smart you are, you can't do anything." Before leaving, the prince warned. ….
"yes."
Zhu Houzhao naturally knew that he should treat the virtuous corporal with courtesy.
But he also knows that being a master does not mean being kind to him. He also needs to have a certain style that makes them respect him.
It is the subordinates who are accommodating themselves, not themselves who are accommodating their subordinates.
Therefore, it is said that Mei Kejia entered the palace from Hutu and left the palace from Hutu. However, the ups and downs over the years did not make him overly anxious. The prince did not mention that he had not lunched yet, so he could just relax for a few days and calm down his mind.
…
…
"If Your Highness wants money, I have a solution."
When Liu Jin was serving Zhu Houzhao's meal, he suddenly
Then he said this.
The prince glanced at him from the corner of his eye and asked, "What can I do?"
"My servant, you see, many of the noble disciples or people in the palace go out on errands and will beg the emperor for salt. If they can ask for it, why can't His Highness ask for it?"
A piece of land, a salt guide.
These were the rewards given to vassal kings, nobles and eunuchs during the Hongzhi period.
Perhaps in the eyes of people of this era, it was ordinary for royal people to use these things, and it was nothing.
Liu Jin's thoughts probably had no other purpose.
However, Zhu Houzhao still refused, "I came here looking for Mei Kejia, saying it was for the money... but it wasn't."
"Didn't His Highness use him as an imperial merchant?"
"In a few days, his little son should also be here. You can bring him over and listen to us all."
Liu Jin was surprised, did the prince have any more clever intentions? And he must wait until Mekejia's child arrives before speaking.
"yes."
"Has anyone been begging for salt lately?"
"...If a vassal king from various places has a big wedding, the emperor will usually give him some salt."
"knew."
These are all things waiting for him to reform.
In fact, there are many things that he, the prince, can slowly see and come into contact with.
For example, last year, the tenth year of Hongzhi, the country's annual income was about 19 million shi of rice, 8.9 million shi of wheat, 3,600 kilograms of silk, and about 2.65 million kilograms of cotton... These combined together accounted for more than 30 million taels of silver.
One of them is shocking, that is, the income from farming is 2.93 million shi.
Zhu Yuanzhang proudly said that he could raise a million soldiers without costing the people a grain of grain. Zhu Houzhao found it strange that he could raise a million soldiers with less than 3 million shi of grain? Just kidding.
So he went to look up Taizu's true records, and he was dumbfounded when he looked up.
During the Hongwu period, the country's military camps earned more than 20 million shi of grain, and during the Yongle period, there was a record of 23 million shi. How long had it been? There's just a little bit left!
He is not someone who likes to kill people everywhere, but if such profound interests are to be touched, it is unimaginable to do so without bloodshed.
Of course, money is not only from this source.
Our great Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou of the Song Dynasty once said a very interesting thing: The profit of shipping is the greatest. If it is handled properly, the income can be worth millions, wouldn't it be worth taking it from the people?
In other words, sea trade is very profitable.
But sea trade was very difficult during the Ming and Hongzhi periods.
About twenty days later,
Zhu Houzhao finally met Mei Kejia's younger son. Although he was young, he was still three years older than him.
The child is very beautiful, with a tall nose, red lips and white teeth. It almost makes people wonder if the son was brought in instead of a daughter. ….
Mei Kejia also said that the child is like his mother. Zhu Houzhao thought, it seems that this Mei Kejia is also a pure and lustful person.
The child was taken aside by the eunuch.
Liu Jin followed the prince, and Mei Kejia was last. The three of them wanted to talk about serious business.
"...The child's name is Mei Huaigu, who named it?"
Mei Kejia said, "My father started it."
"Good name."
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness."
"If you accept my mission, you won't be able to come back for at least three to five years. Your family will settle down in the capital from now on. As long as you are still from the East Palace, they will live a more secure and comfortable life than when they followed you. , at least not as much as worrying about someone coming to catch them.”
"I would like to thank Your Highness for your kindness! I will repay Your Highness's great kindness and kindness in this lifetime."
Zhu Houzhao rolled his eyes and said, "Okay. Stop saying the things you usually do to coax Zhang Tao in front of me."
Mei Kejia was slightly dumbfounded, what kind of trick did the prince do?
"Everything I say speaks from the bottom of my heart."
Zhu
Hou Zhao's tone turned slightly stern, "Mei Kejia, you are a smart person, so don't pretend to be a fool in front of me. These people came to the capital as hostages, so you are really so grateful to me? I The last time I saw you, I was very direct in my words and actions, because I knew that none of my methods could deceive you. Why, do you think you are smarter than me and can deceive me?"
so,
Mei Kejia could not speak.
Everyone is acting, but the prince doesn't want to act anymore.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has outstanding talents, which are rare in the world. I admire you, little man!" He finally stopped crying and was no longer as fake as before.
Zhu Houzhao prescribes the right medicine.
If he is Wang Chao, he can talk about the country, the great righteousness, and the people.
For a businessman like Mei Kejia, just tell him the costs, benefits and transaction conditions directly.
"My actions are not very noble, and are even a bit despicable. But I told you when we first met, I don't trust others easily, and what I want you to do is not trivial. I hope you can understand. You Don’t take it as what the prince said, just take it as the person you are doing business with. But having said that, if I want to harm you, I won’t go through so many twists and turns, so you can rest assured that they only need to live in the capital, and they only need to live in the capital on weekdays. No one will disturb you."
Mei Kejia looked solemn, and he knew what a person like the prince liked to hear. "I understand. To put it bluntly, if His Highness does not put my family in the capital, I still think it is What's the trap?"
"Look," Zhu Houzhao raised his head and followed Liu Jin and said, "This is his true face! I was thinking about how this prince, the prince, can calculate him."
"Your Highness, forgive me." Mei Kejia smiled along with him, "I am really used to being on guard. Now I understand that this villain is just a businessman and is not worthy of His Highness's schemes."
"It doesn't matter. If you weren't smart, I wouldn't want you."
Not to mention the above,
Then let’s get down to business.
The Crown Prince thought about it for a while and organized his words, "... After much deliberation, I decided to say it directly, Mei Kejia, what I want you to do is to do business along the southeastern coast."
"May I ask, Your Highness, what kind of business do you do?"….
"Business at sea."
At these words, Mei Kejia and Liu Jin's eyelids twitched.
Mei Kejia was even more surprised, "But Your Highness...the maritime ban is a national policy of the imperial court and an ancestral system. How should we do this business on the sea...?"
"You do what the merchants in the southeast do." The prince's words are rich in connotation.
The two people who heard this were both smart and understood immediately.
smuggling!
In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that "people near the sea are prohibited from going out to sea privately." By the time of Yongle, Emperor Taizong had repeatedly emphasized the national policy of sea ban. It can be said that this is really an ancestral system.
It is not an ordinary difficulty to change the ancestral system in such a political and moral environment.
Although by the time of Longqing, things had indeed changed.
At this moment, both Liu Jin and Mei Kejia knew why the prince had to wait until Mei Kejia's family arrived in the capital to speak out.
This is probably related to the secret plan in the prince's heart.
Others are not allowed to know, and those who know must be the own people in the East Palace.
But Mei Kejia didn't have much contact with Donggong, so he could only control it through that method.
"Your Highness, please make it clear!" Mei Kejia must know what the purpose behind this is.
Is it silver?
It can be said that, but how difficult can money be for a prince?
It can only be...
"I want to take action on this national policy!"
The candlelight in the room flickered, and across the faces of the three people, there were either determination or shock.
Liu Jin knelt down and said, "Your Highness! This matter is not trivial. Please be careful, Your Highness!"
This is not the same as leaving the palace and killing a few corrupt officials.
In public opinion, this is an ancestral system.
In terms of interests, Zhejiang and Fujian still have a large group of vested interests that oppose them.
Yes, if it is not properly managed, many Japanese pirates can appear overnight.
But Zhu Houzhao knew,
If the maritime ban is not lifted and the benefits of maritime trade cannot be obtained, then there is no need to talk about other reforms.
Land annexation also involves the whole country. Is it difficult? Is it difficult to investigate those in military camps? Many of them were occupied by generals. At least the maritime ban only involves a few coastal provinces, which is better than a nationwide war.
After all, at this point, it is difficult unless you lie down.
"Get up, I didn't say I had to move now." Zhu Houzhao has never been an impulsive person.
How can something as big as this happen easily without planning well?
After Mei Kejia was shocked, he also thought more clearly, "In my opinion, His Highness's plan should take several years, so I say that I may not be able to come back in three to five years... But I mean, I can't come back." I still don’t understand, I wonder how Your Highness wants to change it?”
Zhu Houzhao was also willing to explain. Otherwise, how could it be possible if Mei Kejia didn't understand the essence and just left like this? The guiding ideology is wrong.
"The policy of maritime ban has not been changed since Emperor Taizu Gao made it. Only during the Chenghua period did Qiu Jun propose to restore the Song and Yuan Municipal Shipping Division, but it fell into disgrace and nothing happened. Because please open it The first difficulty of the sea ban is that it violates the ancestral system.”….
"However, under the national policy of maritime ban, are the merchants in Zhejiang and Fujian really not doing business? In that place, there are seven mountains, two rivers and one farmland. They live close to the sea. How can they make enough food just by growing food? So I know that in the southeast There is actually a lot of smuggling along the coast."
By the time of Hongzhi, the central government's control over local areas had weakened, and smuggling became more rampant.
"So the second difficulty in establishing a sea ban is the obstruction from wealthy businessmen on the southeast coast."
It's a bit paradoxical to say that they clearly need to do overseas business, but they are opposed to opening up the sea. The reason is that the sea ban makes their smuggling more profitable. After all, it is illegal and only a few people related to the government can do it. It is actually a monopoly.
Mei Kejia was inexplicably shocked, "There is such a ridiculous thing..."
"However, my ultimate goal is not just to ask you to smuggle." Zhu Houzhao also has a third-level purpose, "Think about it, what will happen after you open the sea?"
"Japanese pirates!" Liu Jin knew this.
In fact, it is not particularly accurate. What about Japanese pirates? Part of it was caused by the maritime ban. People had no land to farm and were not allowed to go to sea to make a living, so they could only become Japanese pirates.
Opening up the sea will reduce some of these people.
Of course, there are still Japanese pirates overseas.
Zhu Houzhao nodded, "The imperial court does not have a decent navy, nor does it have the money to build a decent navy. If we rush to sea without the power to protect merchant ships, what is the use of expending so much effort? In the end, we will get fat by plundering. Japanese pirates who were born?"
Hearing this,
Mei Kejia was no longer impressed, but felt incredible.
How could the current prince have such thoughts? !
"Your Highness," he stood up, lifted his robe and knelt down, "Your Highness thinks too highly of the villain. If according to what His Highness said, the villain will be more than just a businessman..."
"So I say, people who are not extremely smart must never do this. Mei Kejia, there is no regret medicine at this time, you already know it. I can only accompany me to make my ancestors proud. It is said that businessmen like to take risks, you I have lived for more than thirty years, are you willing to follow me to accomplish this great thing?!"
"Of course I am willing! Please give your orders, Your Highness! Your Highness is a direct person, and I must keep my word - go through fire and water, no matter what!"
"Okay!" Zhu Houzhao said his real request at this time, "First, I will give you a sum of silver. It may be five hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand. If you have done business, you can decide the number yourself. . I will also ask you to bring some people to protect your safety. On weekdays, you will use the banner of the Royal Horse Supervisor in the palace. Naturally, the local officials will not dare to touch you too harshly. After you go, I don’t care what business you do. ,porcelain
Utensils, silk, tea...anything is fine. In short, you start a business. The competition between businessmen is your old profession. I can't help you much in the capital. "
"Young man understands." Mei Kejia felt quite confident when he said this. After all, he was also a very powerful businessman.
"Secondly, maybe in three years, maybe in five years, you will hear the imperial court's announcement of a sea ban, and then there will be people on the southeast coast who will loudly protest and even use force to disobey. So in these three to five years , you have to get to know the details of the wealthy businessmen along the southeast coast. If someone wants to raise private armies or disguise themselves as Japanese pirates to cause trouble, I must at least know who the enemy is. This is your second task."….
"Third, after your business grows, you will build a fleet at sea. Once the sea ban is lifted, people along the coast will go to sea in large numbers to make a living. By then, I don't want to be a prince who cannot protect his people. But this section I can’t plan, you can only act according to circumstances, the most important thing is to increase your strength.”
Liu Jin was horrified after hearing this.
If this is done,
Isn't Mei Kejia equivalent to a prince with a heavy army? !
"The day you succeed, come back and I will reward you with a title!"
Lord...title? !
Mei Kejia didn't dare to hear this word,
His father is a businessman, and he is just a businessman, with a title!
These two words can make him tremble all over!
"Your Highness...Your Highness..."
"You don't have to reply right away, think about it carefully. But you should be able to figure out some simple things, such as why I must leave your family in the capital. If it were you, why wouldn't you do the same?"
Mei Kejia was naturally excited. He originally thought that His Highness the Prince was looking for him as a businessman just for money. Even if you are looking for him to do something, you just want to find an imperial businessman.
Who would have thought that such a big game was being arranged? !
And the layout started several years in advance.
Who the hell can do this kind of thinking and planning? !
On that day, could the wealthy businessmen on the southeast coast imagine that the Prince of the East Palace would have his thoughts on them in the spring of the eleventh year of Hongzhi?
"Meikejia, what did you say?!"
Mei Kejia took a few deep breaths, and then bowed very formally, "I am so lucky to have you in this life! I am willing to work together with the Ming Dynasty Prince! It is not a waste of my life, Mei Kejia. What if I can only be a rich man like before?" mean?"
"Okay!" Zhu Houzhao slapped the table, "In May, you set off south. I will give you a month to get together with your family. Before you leave, I have an explanation for you to enter the palace again."
"yes!"
Businessman Mei Kejia kowtowed deeply!
Naturally, he left the East Palace with turbulent emotions in his heart.
Liu Jin, on the other hand, was about to speak now.
"Your Highness, such a plan is no small matter. Mei Kejia was born in the northwest and is not familiar with the southeast. What if it fails? Do you think it's better to change someone else?!"
Zhu Houzhao said quietly: "You are familiar with the southeast... If you want to find someone who is familiar with the southeast, who can be more familiar with the local people? But the local people... no one will draw a sword against him. Mei Kejia was born in the northwest, and it is A piece of blank paper. I sent him to the southeast to do business. To put it bluntly, he was trying to steal food from the tiger's mouth. So, besides relying on the capital, who else could he rely on for this blank piece of paper?"
Yes, if you can't send one person and he is assimilated by others, that's not a good thing.
Liu Jin's lips trembled slightly, this... turned out to be specially found from the northwest.
"But what you said is right. If he fails, I can't hang him on a tree." Zhu Houzhao's words hadn't lasted long.
Zhang Yong's voice came from outside the hall.
"Slave Zhang Yong, please see Your Highness!"
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