Zhu Qizhen thought about Li Qing's words and remained silent for a long time.
Li Qing did not continue. He had finished speaking. It was up to Zhu Qizhen himself to decide how to proceed.
He could only make up his mind, and Zhu Qizhen could only make the final decision.
The hall fell silent, and both the monarch and his ministers were silent.
After a long time, Zhu Qizhen sighed quietly and said calmly: "From the standpoint of the Ming Dynasty, I will kill Shen Xin sooner or later. Your so-called capital system and all-round industrialization will most likely not happen. I will not allow it to grow."
Zhu Qizhen said in a determined tone: "Sir, you may think that I am selfish, but any emperor with a right mind would not allow that situation to occur."
Li Qing was silent for a moment and asked: "The emperor is still afraid that capital will force the imperial power, right?"
"It's not that you're afraid, it's inevitable." Zhu Qizhen said seriously, "Human nature is greedy, and the world is never satisfied. Don't talk about your so-called capital, just take the existing officials, gentry, and officials of the Manchu Dynasty. Which of them is content with the status quo?
If they are allowed to grow barbarically, the imperial court will surely be unable to withstand it over time. "
Li Qing was speechless.
"What does the Emperor plan to do?"
"I will listen to you this time," Zhu Qizhen said. "As you said, the advantages of contracting to individuals outweigh the disadvantages. I will not kill the goose to obtain the eggs;
You can rest assured that even if I deal with Shen Xin in the future, it will be on the premise that it will not affect the people or the various industries of the Ming Dynasty. "
Hearing Zhu Qizhen's assurance, Li Qing felt much more comfortable, and at the same time, he also felt a little apologetic.
It can be said that Shen Xin's future fate is already doomed.
The final fate is to be harvested.
Li Qing pondered for a long time and sighed: "I have an unkind request."
"Sir, please speak." Zhu Qizhen took a sip of tea and nodded slightly.
"When the day comes, let him live." Li Qing said, "After all, the things he did are beneficial to the emperor and the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Qizhen nodded: "I can promise you this. As long as it is not an unforgivable crime such as treason, I will not kill him."
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "How much money is the emperor prepared to approve?"
"Approving money?" Zhu Qizhen was surprised, "Approving what money?" gōΠb.ōγg
"...Of course it's the money for buying goods!" Li Qing said, "Didn't Shen Xin settle the account a few years ago? Millions of taels of silver were all put into internal funds!"
"That's what happened." Zhu Qizhen did not deny it, "but the money is for emergency needs and cannot be touched."
Li Qingren was dumbfounded, "Just... robbing?"
"Look at what you said, am I such a worthless person?" Zhu Qizhen glared at him and snorted: "If Shen Xin can owe money to the court, can't the court owe him money?
As the saying goes: It is rude to come and not reciprocate; it makes sense for me to do this. "
"so……?"
"Credit!" Zhu Qizhen straightened his back, quite proud.
Li Qing didn't know what to say. He finally saw that it was extremely difficult to take out the money that had gone into Zhu Qizhen's pocket.
This guy belongs to Pixiu, he can only go in and out.
"Your Majesty, Shen Xin's funds are quite tight right now. If he doesn't give him any cash and relies solely on credit, it will be too difficult for him." Li Qing felt a headache for Shen Xin.
Zhu Qizhen thought for a while and said: "Well, I'm not an unkind person. Part of the account will be used to offset the taxes on his maritime trade, which can alleviate his financial pressure."
"Just... or don't pay?" Li Qing asked.
"Sir, you have to understand me. It's not that I'm stingy, but that I have to nip things in the bud." Zhu Qizhen said sternly, "I've been a bit harsh on the big officials and gentry this time. They won't stay like this all the time. , I need to keep some reserve funds."
You didn't cut too hard, you cut off only the bones... Li Qing said helplessly: "Your Majesty, you can make some achievements, let alone far away. As far as I know in the past two years, the inner hall has at least made money. More than five million taels;
The inner hall is richer than the national treasury, not even a little bit. Li Qing said angrily, "Your Majesty, don't cry about poverty. This is something everyone knows." "
"Sigh... When you're not a family, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are. The expenses in the palace are also very high!"
Don't be ridiculous. The expenses in the palace are huge, but they are far from that much. After the Yongle Dynasty reduced the vassalage for the second time, the expenses of the vassal king's family were reduced by more than half, and a large part of it came from the national treasury. How much can you spend?
"You can help me a lot," Li Qing said.
"I don't have any money." Zhu Qizhen spread his hands, "The money from the Baoyuan Bureau cannot be spent directly. I have to spend it there. There is a family to support in the palace. Where do you want me to get the money?"
After a pause, "Then let's make a compromise. Once the purchased goods are shipped out of the sea and the money is sold, I will pay back the debt as soon as possible. Is that okay?"
Li Qing was completely speechless and teased: "You call this compromise?"
Zhu Qizhen said in disbelief: "If you think so, there's nothing I can do about it."
Look, what kind of scumbag quote is this? !
~
Li Qing asked for nothing but a promise.
But he didn't run in vain, at least Zhu Qizhen agreed with his strategy.
After returning to Jinling, Li Qing went to Shen Mansion immediately.
"What? Credit?!"
Shen Xin almost broke through, "Sir, the emperor is sitting all over the world, can't he not be able to afford this little money?"
"The imperial court has its own difficulties. Please understand." Li Qing said, "I won't owe you for too long. This is the greatest benefit I have obtained for you. You must be content."
Shen Xin smiled bitterly and nodded: "I understand the truth, but...can the court do something practical?"
From the beginning, the imperial court did not exert any effort. From beginning to end, he was the one who took the lead, and then the imperial court reaped the benefits.
He has been painting a pie for him and has never given him any substantial benefits.
I ate too much pancake and got choked up!
However, Shen Xin was now trapped. He had no choice but to follow Li Qing's method and follow the emperor all the way to the end. As for what would happen in the end, he himself was not sure.
Shen Xin sighed and asked: "Sir, after the imperial treasure ship returns, will you really settle the accounts as soon as possible?"
"That's natural." Li Qing nodded, "The emperor keeps his word, how can he break his word and get rich?"
"That's good, that's good." Shen Xin felt much better. Now he could only trust the court and the emperor.
Li Qing smiled and said: "Tomorrow I will bring the Sixth Eunuch from the Weaving Bureau. We will discuss the handover of goods and plan the future development direction. Don't worry, the imperial court will not default on its debts."
After a pause, I couldn't help but remind myself: "Don't take too big steps, let alone aim too high. Being down-to-earth is the right way."
Shen Xin was stunned for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully: "Common people, please keep this in mind."
Li Qing didn't know if he heard it specifically, but he had done the best he could. As for how Shen Xin would go in the future, he couldn't control it.
~
Zhu Mansion.
The master and the apprentice were drinking tea and reading. Zhang Sugao was reading "Yongle Dadian" and Zhu Yunwen was reading the account books.
The two of them were basking in the sun and chatting from time to time, which was quite leisurely and comfortable.
"Master, junior brother, I'm back."
Hearing Li Qing's voice, Zhu Yunwen was startled for a moment, and quickly stood up with a cane on his side. Zhang Sugao remained calm and continued to read the canon without raising his head.
"Come back as soon as you come back, what are you yelling about?" Zhang muttered sloppily, but the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.
Not long after, Li Qing came over and said with a smile: "Unexpectedly, I came back in only twenty days."
"It's indeed unexpected." Zhu Yunwen nodded with a smile, "I went back and forth between the north and south of Zhili for twenty days, even if I didn't eat, drink or sleep, it was difficult for ordinary people to do it. Senior brother is amazing;
By the way, has what senior brother has to do done? "
"So be it." Li Qing complained, "The emperor is very stingy, so I tried my best to force it through."
"As long as the result is good." Zhu Yunwen smiled, "Senior brother, sit with the master for a while, and I will go and explain some things to the housekeeper."
Li Qing caught a glimpse of the account book in his hand and asked, "Is there something wrong with the business?"
"That's not true." Zhu Yunwen shook his head and explained: "Now that private maritime trade is in a slump, Shen Xin made adjustments and began to work inward. We have also been affected. Business is not as easy as before, so I have to make adjustments. "
Li Qing became interested, "How to adjust?"
"It's nothing." Zhu Yunwen smiled, "It's nothing more than reducing expenditures, abandoning some unprofitable shops, and leaving high-quality industries."
"This is the right thing to do. If you sell more, cash flow is king." Li Qing nodded: "This is just the beginning. In the second half of the year at the latest, you will know how difficult it is to do business."
As he said this, he couldn't help but feel worried. It wasn't just Jinling where it was difficult to do business.
Zhu Qizhen acted like this, and all the wealthy gentry in the world were implicated. Even if Li Qing was used to seeing such big disputes over interests, he couldn't help but feel dizzy.
The future...is destined to be uneven.
