Chapter 375

Xu Xu Jie discovered that playing the rogue with the Emperor was not a wise decision. He was now truly desperate. He had played the "relying on old age to sell old age" card many times. During the reigns of Emperor Shizong and Emperor Muzong, he had luckily gotten through it, but now he couldn't get past it.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was not an emperor like Emperor Shizong or Emperor Muzong. Emperor Shizong in his later years and Emperor Muzong were both very lazy, the kind of people who preferred doing less to doing more.

Even Xu Xu Jie's darkest schemes hidden in the bottom of his heart did not play any role at all before being interrupted by the Emperor.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng was an extremely powerful assistant minister. Before he went into mourning and resigned, he even dared to directly oppose the Emperor's imperial edicts. Qi Qi Jiguang was the controller of the Ming capital camp and a great general of the Ming Dynasty. Xu Xu Jie mentioned Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Qi Qi Jiguang just to make the Ming Emperor feel suspicious, suspicious of Zhang Zhang Juzheng's offense, Qi Qi Jiguang's threat, and their alliance.

With one sentence of "Xu Xu Jie is threatening me," and by being unreasonable, what was the Emperor like now?

Relying on Zhang Zhang Juzheng to act recklessly.

"Take him down." Zhu Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows, revealing an imperceptible smile. Playing conspiracy and intrigue with me? You didn't even look at who my teacher is!

The Emperor waved his hand, signaling the Embroidered Uniform Guards to press Xu Xu Jie down. To prevent Xu Xu Jie from talking nonsense, the professional guards stuffed Xu Xu Jie's mouth with a square scarf. Under normal circumstances, they would use socks.

Zhu Zhu Yijun let out a breath of turbid air, took his hand off the sword hilt, and said with melancholy and helplessness: "Xu Xu Jie, I didn't want to make things look so ugly. Why must you anger me again and again? When you were the Grand Secretary, you didn't work diligently, but now, your methods are ruthless."

"Take him away."

Xu Xu Jie was a former Grand Secretary. Just as he said, even if he had no merit, he had his hardships. He had been the leader of the Qingliu party for so many years, and his students were all over the world. If it were not necessary, Zhu Zhu Yijun would not deal with him. When the ministers saw Xu Xu Jie's fate, they would inevitably feel a sense of sorrow, and it was hard to avoid the feeling of "the rabbit dies and the fox grieves."

The ministers who assisted the country and the position of Grand Secretary—from Zi Xia Yan, Yan Song, Xu Xu Jie, and Gao Gong during the Emperor Jiajing era—all paid a very heavy price, making it very easy for people to have the idea of avoiding disaster.

But when people looked at Gao Gong, the feeling of "the rabbit dies and the fox grieves" instantly dissipated.

Everyone knew that the Ming Emperor disliked Gao Gong very much and wished to get rid of him quickly, because Gao Gong not only scolded the Emperor for being stupid but also wanted to cut off the Directorate of Ceremonial, preventing the Emperor from bypassing the Cabinet to read memorials, truly imprisoning the Emperor and imperial power in the palace, and he expressed this emotion to his face, outputting directly to his face.

But Gao Gong was still living well, and even when the Emperor went to Xitucheng, he still had to give Gao Gong face! He invited Gao Gong over as a senior official to have tea and talk.

This was the virtue of the Imperial Court in honoring the old.

Seeing Gao Gong calmly cracking melon seeds, everything became reasonable. In terms of offending His Majesty, Gao Gong was the sinner among sinners, but Gao Gong was fine and could still crack melon seeds. Whose problem was it? It was entirely Xu Xu Jie's own fault.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng had given him so many opportunities, but Xu Xu Jie refused to cherish them.

The charge for which Xu Xu Jie's home was raided was the great crime of secretly colluding with barbarians and plotting rebellion. Opening the sea was a new policy presided over by the Emperor. Xu Xu Jie let Xu Heng, Sun Xuan, and others incite the Zhao clan of Quanzhou to set up a private market in Luzon, which was destroying the great cause of opening the sea, so it was naturally plotting rebellion.

If one thought about it carefully, everyone present would break out in a cold sweat. If Xu Xu Jie's plan had succeeded, things would have developed in an extremely terrible direction.

If the private market that Xu Xu Jie instigated Sun Xuan and Xu Heng to incite the Zhao clan to set up had not been discovered, it would definitely have led to a great disaster.

This was very likely to happen. At the time of the sealing, even the coastal defense inspectors were corrupted and bought off, and the main energy and military strength of the Luzon Governor's Office were concentrated in the Strait of Malacca. The scale of the private market grew larger and larger. Borrowing the private market, the wealthy households of the Ming Dynasty increased their transaction scale in the private market, and their infiltration into the Luzon Governor's Office also increased, so much so that when Yin Yin Zhengmao discovered it, he could not solve it with thunderous speed. Then an unbridgeable gap would inevitably have arisen between the Ming Dynasty and Luzon.

At that time, it would be the failure of the Ming Dynasty's new policy of opening the sea.

This move by Xu Xu Jie was extremely vicious, but in the end, it was reported to the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Luo Luo Bingliang by Sun Sun Kehong of the Sun clan of Songjiang. Li Li Yougong, Yin Yin Zhengmao, and others handled it properly, so it did not lead to a great disaster of alienation.

No one dared to stop the Embroidered Uniform Guards from making arrests. The Ming Emperor's carriage slowly drove out of Xitucheng. Zhu Zhu Yijun looked out the window and said to Feng Bao: "Is that Sun Sun Kehong's son?"

"Yes." Feng Bao looked at him. Sun Sun Kehong's son was smiling so hard that his mouth reached his ears. In order to watch this excitement, Sun Sun Kehong represented the old Sun family and sent 200,000 silver to the Maritime Academy to buy teaching aids.

It could be seen that he was very satisfied with this show as the number one fan of the Ming Emperor.

"Go back and ask Wang Qian how much money he spent to buy off that foot-warming maid, report a number, and reimburse him. The Emperor does not mistreat hungry soldiers." Zhu Zhu Yijun certainly would not forget Wang Qian, who provided the key witness. Wang Qian's buying off this person—I dare not say anything else, but the work of buying off, he did it very authentically.

The wealthy households of Xitucheng respectfully sent the Ming Emperor away. When the honor guard completely left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, whispering to each other, still feeling unsatisfied, and some even praised the Emperor for his gentleness and benevolence. That night, Xitucheng even held a flowing banquet to celebrate, celebrating their survival after the disaster.

The Emperor took the Xu family and several other wealthy households in Xitucheng, representing the great case of the Guiyanwan private market, which was coming to an end. It meant that the Ming Emperor did not implicate others, and even Xu Xu Jie's former subordinates breathed a sigh of relief. His Majesty did not expand the scope of the pursuit, and the investigation stopped at Xu Xu Jie. Even the matter of someone tipping off Xu Xu Jie was not really investigated.

Who dared to say that His Majesty did not have a gentle and benevolent heart?

"This Xu Xu Jie, I must treat him well. I discovered that he is actually afraid of people mentioning the old things of the past, especially the business of the Huishan Hall. At night, find a few people to pretend to be ghosts and scare him. Hehe, just entering the prison, feeling uneasy, it is easiest to be disturbed by external evil." Zhu Zhu Yijun instructed Feng Bao.

Feng Bao's eyes lit up. This method of His Majesty is good!

"Before pretending to be ghosts, send him to the Dissection Institute to take a look, especially those 10,000 specimens of Zhang Zhang Siwei's. They must not be missed." Zhu Zhu Yijun especially reminded Feng Bao of the details of pretending to be ghosts. Just entering the prison, plus the huge impact of the Dissection Institute, would completely collapse Xu Xu Jie's psychological defense, and then pretending to be ghosts would become easy.

Falling into Zhu Zhu Yijun's hands, Xu Xu Jie's old bones, if he didn't suffer a bit, he definitely couldn't leave this world so easily. That would be too cheap for him.

Zhu Zhu Yijun leaned back in his chair and said with a heavy expression: "At present, Xu Xu Jie has three ways to die. The first is to order him to commit suicide. He will have dignity, and the Imperial Court can quickly resolve this matter; the second is to order him to die in prison, starving him to death. How did Minister Hu die back then? Today, he will die the same way, treating him with his own way; the third is to beheaded and displayed to the public. This move is open and aboveboard. The only drawback is that it will take a long time, and people will be panicked, and party strife will rise again."

Feng Bao said with a flickering expression: "Your Majesty, some people are hoping that Xu Xu Jie will die quickly. If you loosen your hand a little, you can let others do it."

A new emperor, a new set of ministers. It is true that the Emperor has changed and promised not to investigate the past, but those who did bad things back then dare not pin their hopes entirely on the Emperor's credibility and kindness. They are afraid that Xu Xu Jie will really confess in prison and anger the Emperor, so they all hope that Xu Xu Jie will die quickly.

For example, Wang Wang Chonggu, for example, the Jin Party. Back then, they used privilege trade and border markets, and they didn't have less contact with the outside of the Great Wall. If others didn't know, could Xu Xu Jie not know? When the Jin Party's power was not yet great, they didn't give Xu Xu Jie less silver.

"No need. Whatever is asked out will be filed. If someone is not honest, then we will investigate further." Zhu Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said: "Order him to commit suicide."

"Your Majesty has a heart of great benevolence." Feng Bao bowed again and flattered him. According to Feng Bao's understanding, at the very least, he should be starved to death, but His Majesty considered Zhang Zhang Juzheng's face and the judgment of the Spring and Autumn period in the future, so he chose to issue an edict to let Xu Xu Jie commit suicide.

"Then how much money did Wang Qian spend to buy off the maid?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked about the old matter.

"20,000 silver." Feng Bao tentatively reported a number. In fact, Wang Qian himself reported less, wiping out the fraction for His Majesty. According to Wang Qian's idea, reporting a few hundred taels of silver would be enough, but with the six-book account, Wang Qian could only minimize the cost.

Wang Qian was not short of this money, but he could not deceive the Emperor.

"That's fine, that's fine. 20,000 silver, it's really expensive, but expensive is expensive." Zhu Zhu Yijun's breathing quickened a little when he heard this number, but in the end, he calmed down. It was expensive, but it was very useful.

"Is it still the old rule, counting as his investment in opening the sea?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked.

Feng Bao hurriedly bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Censor Wang said that it is appropriate to follow the old precedent."

"Consider him still having a heart of submission." Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled. Last time Wang Qian watched his excitement, so he wouldn't settle accounts with him.

Wang Qian did not lose money. He indeed did not get the silver; it went through the account and was invested in the opening of the sea. But in the future, when Wang Wang Chonggu is gone, even if the Wang family collapses, this silver will be enough for Wang Qian to live without worry for the rest of his life. This is a retreat for charging into battle for the Emperor.

Late autumn has arrived. The sensational Xu Xu Jie case did not affect people's lives and slowly became a topic of conversation after tea and dinner. The things Xu Xu Jie did were compiled into plays, storytelling, and books, spreading everywhere. Among them, the three things that attracted the most attention were the death of Hu Hai Zongxian in prison, the conscience-less Huishan Hall, and the little Emperor's hatred of evil.

In the eyes of the people, it was a matter of course for the Emperor to kill Xu Xu Jie. It had already begun to be laid out since Hai Rui returned to the capital back then. His Majesty hated Xu Xu Jie, and what he hated was not just Xu Xu Jie, but also that era of wind and rain, where the ruler was not a ruler, the minister was not a minister, and the evil was full of traps, empty of being a ruler.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was a political machine in his bones. If it weren't for Xu Xu Jie insisting on seeking death, he wouldn't have bothered to look for Xu Xu Jie's trouble, because it wasn't worth it.

In late autumn, the sound of camel bells rang out on the ancient road. The continuous camel team, carrying the last round of wool of autumn, began to enter the capital. The craftsmen by the Yongding River were once again busy, with shouts everywhere, busy and bustling, and even the chill of late autumn was forced back a bit.

And when San San Niangzi saw the bags of wool being handed over, she picked up the wool sacks on the ground and put them on the cart. The wool sacks could still be used next year. After weighing and entering the warehouse, San San Niangzi finally revealed a satisfied smile. No matter what kind of mess Andahan and Tumanhan fought into, at least she did not neglect her duty, bringing salt, iron pots, tea leaves, and kelp back to the grassland.

This was thanks to the Ming Emperor's heart of gentleness and benevolence, not taking advantage of the war in the grassland to continue to rob while the house was on fire.

San San Niangzi came again, bringing a first-hand message: Andahan and Tumanhan didn't want to fight anymore; they couldn't fight it out at all!

After the fierce conflict, the conflict between the left and right wings entered a long period of garbage time. Both bought the Ming Dynasty's military intelligence services and also bought the Ming Dynasty's eliminated military equipment. While neither could do anything to the other, they discovered that all the sheep they raised were working for the Ming Emperor. Thinking about this point, they became even more depressed.

Qi Qi Jiguang once said that the conflict between the left and right wings must not allow Andahan to win quickly. As long as Andahan could not win quickly, they would fall into a long tug-of-war.

San San Niangzi saw Wang Wang Chonggu again. She widened her big eyes, looked him up and down, and said: "Grand Secretary Wang, are you still alive?"

"Look at what the Madam is saying. Am I not living well?" Wang Wang Chonggu knew that San San Niangzi had resentment in her heart. Last time, he took advantage of the fire to raise the prices of salt, iron pots, and other things, and San San Niangzi's pent-up anger was almost making her sick.

In Wang Wang Chonggu's view, San San Niangzi was just incompetent and furious.

San San Niangzi sneered, leaned back in her chair, and said quite dissatisfied: "I heard that you have two Jin merchants under your command who followed that old thief Xu Xu Jie and messed around with the private market together, almost delaying the Emperor's great cause of opening the sea! Good fellow, the Emperor was so angry that he personally went to the door to catch Xu Xu Jie. The Emperor actually didn't kill you. Could it be that in the past two years, the killing star's killing nature has begun to converge?"

The Ming Emperor Zhu Zhu Yijun's personality was that when he had to take action, he would never be soft-hearted. Raiding homes, exterminating clans, and exiling—he was extremely ruthless.

"The Ming Dynasty is so big, and there are so many people in the Jin Party. There will always be some stupid people who can't see clearly." Wang Wang Chonggu clenched his fists. Those two Jin merchants must have wanted to put a monument on their ancestors' graves, telling their ancestors what stupid things these two families had done. This joke had spread to the grassland.

San San Niangzi keenly sensed that Wang Wang Chonggu was really angry, so she immediately waved her hand and said: "Just teasing you a couple of times, that's enough. Besides, Grand Secretary Wang should be angry."

"The situation in the grassland is like this now. You can't win against anyone, you refuse to admit defeat to anyone, and you dare not unite, so you can only be confused like this. The Ming Dynasty is different from the grassland. Whatever the Ming Dynasty does, there must be a result, but the conflicts on the grassland are often like this: starting in a muddle and ending in a muddle."

San San Niangzi stopped while she was ahead. If she scolded Wang Wang Chonggu, Wang Wang Chonggu would scold her back. After scolding, business should still be done, but if she laughed at Wang Wang Chonggu, Wang Wang Chonggu would really lose his temper.

The grassland is different from the Central Plains. There are many wars on the grassland that end in such a muddle, and in the end, it is just nothing. San San Niangzi sometimes couldn't understand it either. With the Ming Dynasty on the side, neither Andahan nor Tumanhan could win. This war started very unreasonably and ended very unclearly.

"Opening the sea is very profitable. I am envious even in the grassland. It is said that this year the Jin Party shared a dividend of nearly 800,000 silver?" San San Niangzi's voice was very low, obviously she had received some inaccurate rumors.

Wang Wang Chonggu thought for a moment and felt that this was not a secret. He smiled and said: "It was 1.03 million, of which 230,000 was from our old Wang family. The account has been calculated clearly by the inner treasury eunuch Cui Min. Regardless of other families, this 230,000, our old Wang family added it to the Emperor's sea-opening matter, which has been confirmed."

"Whoa!" San San Niangzi suddenly widened her eyes. The stingy and greedy Emperor actually exploded so many gold coins!

You know, the total transaction scale of the grassland pulling wool to the Ming Dynasty three times a year was not even 1 million silver, and Wang Wang Chonggu actually got a dividend of 230,000 silver alone!

In the fifth year of Emperor Wanli, the Ming Emperor invested all the 10 million silver saved in the inner treasury into the sea-opening matter. Wang Wang Chonggu was overjoyed when he heard the news. The Ming Emperor finally wanted to use silver, so he immediately withdrew all the silver of the Jin Party in the fine wool business and sent it to the palace as life-saving money.

Two years passed, and the Ming Emperor Zhu Zhu Yijun finally distributed the profits of the sea-opening investment. In the seventh year of Emperor Wanli, the total investment income was 2.79 million. According to the investment ratio, it was distributed. Wang Wang Chonggu's family was really not short of money, so he simply added to the investment.

"Surprised, right? I am also very surprised. Sometimes His Majesty is indeed frugal, but he never breaks his promise on what he promised. He is truly a gentleman." Wang Wang Chonggu looked at San San Niangzi's dumbfounded appearance and shook his head.

The fact that the Jin Party and Jin merchants became stakeholders and beneficiaries of opening the sea is very ironic. It was entirely because the Jin Party wanted to save their lives that they got on the Emperor's boat of opening the sea. Who would have thought that after getting on the boat, they actually saw a return! And it was a dividend of more than 1 million silver!

Zhu Zhu Yijun, who has a way of making money, the main sources of the 27.12 million silver investment income: a large number of plantations recovered by the Luzon Governor's Office, shipbuilding, workshops, cotton, silk, tung oil gardens in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, overseas gold, silver, copper, iron, alum, sulfur, etc., and imported grain. Agriculture accounted for 30%, and industry and commerce accounted for 70%.

A behemoth is quietly appearing.

Wang Wang Chonggu remembered some happy things and said happily: "Because of this, the wealthy households in Huguang, Nanya, and other places dared to run to the Quanchu Guild Hall to pressure Zhang Zhang Juzheng. They patted the table and asked Zhang Zhang Juzheng, His Majesty's sea-opening investment is such a big thing, why did the Jin Party eat all the meat, and what about their Chu Party?"

"You, Zhang Zhang Juzheng, are noble, you are amazing, you don't want to make money, you want to be a moral saint, but people lift people in flower sedan chairs, you have to let these mortals drink some soup!"

"Guess what Zhang Zhang Juzheng said?"

This was the only thing in Wang Wang Chonggu's life that he had beaten Zhang Zhang Juzheng. Speaking of it, Wang Wang Chonggu couldn't suppress the smile on the corner of his mouth. The feeling of being able to beat Zhang Zhang Juzheng was really... too cool!

"What did he say?" San San Niangzi also asked with great interest. Zhang Zhang Juzheng had been winning all his life. Wang Wang Chonggu being able to win here once was really strange.

Wang Wang Chonggu shook his head and said: "Back then, the 10 million silver His Majesty opened the sea with was far from enough. I had talked to Zhang Zhang Juzheng about this. Zhang Zhang Juzheng talked to those wealthy families about this. They thought it was asking them to donate, so naturally, they were not happy at all. Zhang Zhang Juzheng took out a document, which was signed and fingerprinted by everyone back then. These wealthy households were speechless."

This matter did not affect His Majesty's attitude of supporting Zhang Zhang Juzheng, nor would it affect the relationship between the ruler and the minister. At that time, the Emperor took out all his silver and asked people to invest together, which was fate. The wealthy households refused to follow, and the Emperor did not pursue it. His Majesty was young at that time, which naturally seemed absurd. The Jin Party was not far-sighted; it was purely to send money to His Majesty to save their lives. It was this coincidence that allowed Wang Wang Chonggu to win this once.

"The old saying goes that meat-eaters are despicable, and their vision is as short as a mouse's. Sure enough." Wang Wang Chonggu was full of emotion. He never felt that he could see a return, and he didn't even look favorably on the Emperor's investment. This silver of His Majesty made Wang Wang Chonggu feel terrified, so he simply invested again.

His Majesty the Emperor could have taken this silver himself and continued to invest in opening the sea, without even telling Wang Wang Chonggu. It was all supervised by the inner treasury eunuch Cui Min, but His Majesty distributed the dividends according to the signed contract. This is great faith and great righteousness.

The great opportunity of original share subscription, the Jin Party got on the boat by mistake, and only the Jin merchants got on the boat to save their lives.

"Is His Majesty still short of silver?" San San Niangzi asked with full expectation.

"Short. Opening the sea is a bottomless pit. At least tens of millions of silver need to be invested, but not everyone is qualified. So much silver is not something that must be invested overnight." Wang Wang Chonggu said very affirmatively.

In the past, when His Majesty invested, everyone ignored him. Now, wanting to get an admission ticket is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Chu Party, Jin Party, Zhe Party all have shares, each family is no more than 1.5 million silver, plus the inner treasury's 5.5 million silver. In the seventh year of Emperor Wanli, this period is 10 million silver." Wang Wang Chonggu did not hide it. The subscription for the royal sea-opening investment in the seventh year of Emperor Wanli has already begun.

Wang Wang Chonggu was somewhat disappointed with the Jin merchants. The two Jin merchants followed the wealthy households of Xitucheng to mess around, which made Wang Wang Chonggu very dissatisfied with the Jin merchants. He only cared about his own dividend of 230,000 silver. If the Jin merchants didn't follow, he would make up the remaining shares himself. If the Jin merchants wanted to follow, they had to really listen.

"Can I enter this big boat?" San San Niangzi asked very nervously.

"How much can you take out?" Wang Wang Chonggu asked curiously. He saw San San Niangzi stretch out a hand, five fingers. Wang Wang Chonggu shook his head and said: "If it's 5 million silver, you have to talk to His Majesty."

"I can only take out 500,000 silver." San San Niangzi was discouraged. 5 million silver, Wang Wang Chonggu really thought highly of her! Selling the left and right wings of the Northern barbarians wouldn't be worth that much!

Wang Wang Chonggu was stunned: "So poor?"

It's no wonder Wang Wang Chonggu was surprised. You know, Andahan's territory was not limited to the Hetao and Yinshan areas, but also the Western Regions, Xining, and other places. They were all Andahan's territory. As a result, San San Niangzi only took out 500,000 silver, and she was the actual controller of the right wing.

Just this little bit?

San San Niangzi slapped the table and stood up, extremely angry: "You are rich! You, Wang Wang Chonggu, are rich enough to rival a country, you, Wang Wang Chonggu, are the richest in the Ming Dynasty! Wait until one day you learn from Xu Xu Jie and are caught by the Emperor and thrown into the prison! Don't expose people's shortcomings when scolding people, don't hit people in the face when hitting people. So what if I'm poor!"

San San Niangzi didn't make Wang Wang Chonggu break his defense, she broke her own defense first. The right wing of the grassland was much stronger than the left wing. The silver saved by the right wing for so many years was only Wang Wang Chonggu's two-year dividend. It would be strange if she didn't break her defense.

Wang Wang Chonggu raised his eyebrows and said with a full face of smiles: "You are anxious, you are anxious."

In this business negotiation, whoever gets angry first loses. San San Niangzi was indeed angry from embarrassment.

"I am no different from Xu Xu Jie. The only difference is that my silver is in His Majesty's hands, and Xu Xu Jie's silver is in his own hands. Evil is full of traps, empty of being a ruler." Wang Wang Chonggu, this Minister of Justice, never felt that the law could restrain meat-eaters; he only believed in interests.

The Ming Emperor should also stop staring with wide eyes, thinking about how to raid homes. I'll just give it all to you.

After Zhang Zhang Siwei was destroyed by the Emperor's "Imperial Escape Nine Clans Separation Technique," although Wang Wang Chonggu was specially pardoned for private amnesty, he was also severely injured and gave all his silver to the Emperor.

Intentionally planting flowers, the flowers don't bloom; unintentionally planting willows, the willows become shade.

His own interests were tied to the Emperor, and instead, he became richer and richer, so rich that Wang Wang Chonggu himself was a little afraid. Wang Qian's name as a rich young master became bigger and bigger, and his family property was so much that he couldn't finish spending it no matter how he spent it. The difference between Wang Wang Chonggu and Xu Xu Jie was that Xu Xu Jie even dared to embezzle the property of Yan Song's home raid.

"I'll ask His Majesty. Don't think about eating my Jin Party's share. If I give it to you, those Jin merchants will probably eat me." Wang Wang Chonggu felt that this matter could be done. This was strengthening the economic restraint on the grassland.

Wang Wang Chonggu left the Guild Hall and went to the detached palace. When he arrived at the Imperial Study of the detached palace, he saw Zhang Zhang Juzheng's carriage. After waiting for a while, Wang Wang Chonggu was summoned. After entering the Imperial Study, he saw that Tan Lun and Wang Wang Guoguang were also there, obviously coming with Zhang Zhang Juzheng.

Wang Wang Guoguang was standing, and the others were sitting.

"See Your Majes..." Before Wang Wang Chonggu finished his salute, he was interrupted.

Wang Wang Guoguang held his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty! The ruler is selfless! Your Majesty is the master of the world. This sea-opening subscription is naturally a state affair! How can Chu, Jin, and Zhe participate so deeply! Your Majesty is short of these 5 million silver, the state treasury will pay it!"

"It's 4.5 million taels of silver." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Wang Guoguang's appearance and said with some vigilance. He always felt that if he didn't agree, the maverick Wang Wang Guoguang would pounce on him in the next second.

He felt like a heartless man, failing the infatuation of the state treasury.

Wang Wang Guoguang continued to say loudly: "The Ming Dynasty is Your Majesty's Ming Dynasty! The state treasury is also Your Majesty's state treasury! Your Majesty, why let the ministers subscribe if you are short of this little money? This is not in accordance with etiquette, and it will also chill the hearts of the scholars in the world! The Imperial Court is not poor to that extent. Your Majesty, issue an edict, let the state treasury pay this silver!"

Zhang Zhang Juzheng looked at Wang Wang Guoguang's excited appearance and said with a smile: "Grand Minister, if you are envious of the dividends, just say you are envious. Indeed, it is as difficult as ascending to heaven for past dynasties to ask for donations, but His Majesty has a way to make money. Sitting down and talking properly is the right way."

"Talk properly? If I hadn't come today, you three party leaders—Grand Secretary, Junior Secretary, and Minister of War—would have directly handed over the silver, right? You would have succeeded! Do you know the crime of misleading His Majesty's great virtue and reputation?!" Wang Wang Guoguang looked around, and his back teeth were almost broken.

The Emperor actually didn't bring the state treasury along when making a fortune. He, Wang Wang Guoguang, absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen!

"The state treasury took out 7 million silver last time, and this time the dividend is 720,000 taels of silver. The state treasury is also eating meat. Grand Minister, don't be angry, sit, sit, sit, sit down and talk." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Wang Guoguang, fearing that Wang Wang Guoguang would really be angered. This was one of the few Ministers of Revenue who could calculate the Ming Dynasty's muddled accounts clearly.

Since the fifth year of Emperor Wanli, Zhu Zhu Yijun 10 million silver, Jin Party 10.12 million silver, state treasury 7 million silver, that fraction of 120,000 silver was the extra money Wang Qian bought off, 27.12 million silver, continuously invested in the sea-opening matter, and this year is the first time to start distributing dividends according to the agreement.

It seems that there is only a dividend of 2.7 million silver, and the return is not high, but everyone knows that everything is difficult at the beginning. This year there is only 2 million silver, and next year, it will probably double!

Even San San Niangzi smelled the taste.

And for the 10 million silver in the seventh year of Emperor Wanli, Zhu Zhu Yijun did not intend to give the state treasury a share. It was not that he forgot. Blindly expanding the scale might not necessarily achieve the expected effect. It's like eating—meals are eaten one by one. Chu, Jin, and Zhe, 1.5 million each, is enough.

The state treasury was immediately unhappy. Minister of Revenue Wang Wang Guoguang was a bombardment. The Emperor was like a ruler of a dying country, and the ministers were like ministers of a dying country.

What is this about fighting to send money to the Emperor?

Seeking monthly votes, Awoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)