First Minister of Ming Dynasty

First Minister Section 424

"Sir, I have made up my mind. The soldiers are suffering too much. I, I will give them the management of the Changlu Salt Farm!"

Zhang Ximeng smiled and nodded, "Then follow His Highness's wishes."

Zhu Biao was stunned, looking a little helpless. As Zhang Ximeng said, if he was in Yingtian, he would definitely let the civil servants come over, but when he arrived in Beiping, he saw the hard work of Hu Dahai and the others, and understood the sacrifices of the soldiers on the border. With Zhu Wenzheng, Li Wenzhong and the others around, it was hard not to hand over the salt field to Wu Fu.

"Sir, you, why don't you object? What if the warriors are rebellious, control the saltworks, are greedy for money, and act recklessly?"

Zhang Ximeng laughed loudly, "Your Highness is right, because these matters are for the minister to deal with, and that's why I don't object to Your Highness."

Zhang Ximeng smiled and took out two sets of plans, and put them in front of Zhu Biao.

One set is managed by civil officials, and the other set is managed by generals.

The two sets of methods are clear and plain, and the words are clear.

What is a high-level player!

Zhang Ximeng naturally doesn't care which side he chooses, because no matter which side he chooses, he has a countermeasure, and he can handle it regardless of martial arts.

But does Zhang Ximeng have any inclinations?

He arranged Zhu Biao to Hu Dahai and the others, and encouraged the prince to speak for the warriors. Don't you understand what he meant?

Looking at his master, Zhu Biao felt that Zhang Ximeng was so tall and unfathomable that he seemed to be a bit more powerful than his father!

"What do you plan to do, sir?" Zhu Biao asked boldly.

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "His Royal Highness, it is a good idea to hand over the management of the salt field to warriors. But if it is handed over to the Duke of Yue, I am afraid that a famous general will be ruined. He can manage well, but he is overqualified and will cause some troubles." .”

"What should I do?"

Zhang Ximeng said: "Does Your Highness know that Peng Zao lives?"

Zhu Biao nodded hurriedly, "I know, he is the son of Marshal Peng. When my father was in Haozhou, he helped him a lot. Over the years, he was stationed in Yangzhou, Sizhou and other places, and he even led troops to participate in the decisive battle in the Central Plains."

Zhang Ximeng said: "Your Highness knows this, so why didn't Marshal Peng get a knighthood?"

Zhu Biao was stunned, and then said: "He, he is not the emperor's confidant after all, and his qualifications are too old, it is very difficult to arrange, we can't let him rank in front of Xu Da!"

After a pause, Zhu Biao added: "I heard this from my father chatting with the queen mother. Sure enough, the master said nepotism, and the father is not exempt!"

The young man was thoughtful.

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "Your Highness, it is indeed difficult to arrange for Young Marshal Peng, but now that there is Changlu Salt Farm, how about transferring him?"

Zhu Biao was dumbfounded, can he still use people like this?

After thinking about it again and again, Zhu Biao finally nodded, and then Zhu Biao wrote a letter together with Zhang Ximeng, who was left behind in Beiping, in the name of the prince on behalf of the town of Beiping, recommending Peng Zao to live in the admiral Changlu Salt Farm.

After sending this memorial, Lao Zhu finally stopped being angry. Instead, he laughed heartily and clapped his legs excitedly!

"It's wonderful! It's wonderful! My son is filial, my son is very filial!"

Chapter 592 Zhang Ximeng's Big Chess Game

Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to the proposal almost without thinking, and sent Peng Zaozhu to Changlu.It's just that Empress Ma hesitated a little, and couldn't help but said: "Chongba, even if you want to appoint Shaoshuai Peng as the admiral of the Changlu Salt Plant, do you think you should give him a title first, or add a title of participating in politics? Let him go to Beijing to receive rewards. Look better!"

Zhu Yuanzhang made a sullen face and shook his head decisively, "Sister, we know what you mean. Marshal Peng was older than us and had more soldiers than us. He surrendered to us, and he was somewhat helpless. But after all these years, he is also loyal. What's wrong, he cooperated very well in several battles..."

"Shouldn't he be rewarded?"

"No!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sternly said: "No, we have already established a pattern of civil and martial arts. It is useless to increase him. If he is lowered, he will complain, and if he is higher, he will annoy Xu Da and the others. Neither high nor low, we have no suitable position. In this case ,Better not to!"

Empress Ma was stunned for a while, but she was also speechless.

Peng Zao's embarrassment was higher than that of Fang Guozhen and others... After all, at that time Zhu Yuanzhang had already accomplished great things, and Fang Guozhen took refuge in him, but he couldn't squeeze into the core. With his qualifications, almost none of the existing Red Turban veterans could compete with him.

The existence of such a person is embarrassing... Although Zhu Yuanzhang does not shy away from humble background, he still doesn't like being mentioned about his quarrel with Guo Zixing at the beginning, but the existence of Peng Zaozhu always reminds him of the embarrassment of starting a business in the first place.

Zhu Yuanzhang was embarrassing, and the people below were even more embarrassing. This was also the reason why Peng Zao was not allowed to live in Beijing and mix with the civil and military core for a long time.

There is no doubt that Lao Zhu is somewhat ruthless, but this ruthlessness is not without reason.

……

"Young Marshal Peng, I can't hold alcohol, so you just do whatever you want." Zhang Ximeng said with a smile.

Opposite him, Peng Zaozhu, with gray temples, grabbed the wine jar, poured out a bowl, and drank it immediately. After a few sips, his face flushed, "Zhang Xiang, this wine is good. The subordinates are fooling around, this wine must be enough!"

Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly, "Alcohol is not a good thing. No matter what time it is, enough is enough. Getting drunk is not a good thing."

Peng Zaozhu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said: "I think it's good to be drunk, and I feel dizzy, and a day has passed before I know it. Doesn't that poetry fairy Li Bai just like drinking?"

Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "That's right, Li Bai likes to drink, but he is the kind of person who is depressed and unable to show his ambitions, so he can only use alcohol to relieve his worries."

"Really!" Peng Zaozhu rolled his eyelids helplessly, took another sip, and then said, "Listening to what Zhang Xiang said, I really want to buy a volume of Li Bai's poems. I have nothing to do and read them carefully." .”

With a smile on Zhang Ximeng's face, he brought food for Peng Zaozhu, and the two exchanged cups. After a while, seeing Peng Zaozhu drunk, Zhang Ximeng said, "Young Marshal Peng, you are right to feel aggrieved. But if you Transferring to the court, not only is His Majesty in trouble, even those civil and military are not happy... How can you gain a foothold in the court when you are alone and make everyone unhappy? When the time comes, everyone wants you to resign, how can Your Majesty protect you? Got you?"

Holding the wine bowl, Peng Zaozhu stopped halfway, his eyes rolled back and forth, and after a long time, he smiled helplessly, "Yeah, I'm an eyesore. That's why I want to get drunk!"

Zhang Ximeng shook his head, "You're wrong again, Young Marshal Peng, you're an eyesore, that's why I dragged you to the salt field!"

Peng Zaozhu was stunned again, "Master Zhang, what exactly do you mean? Why don't you just say it straight! My brain is slow and I can't turn it around. You let me take care of this salt, isn't it just for retirement!"

Hearing what he said, Zhang Ximeng couldn't help laughing, "Salt and iron monopoly is a method of earning money that has been established since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Now that the iron monopoly is gone, there is only one salt method left. How big is it?" Deli, don't you know? I have worked so hard to plan to let you take charge of the Changlu Salt Field. Will the things here be that simple?"

Peng Zao couldn't hold back any longer, so he simply put down the wine bowl, leaned over to Zhang Ximeng, and asked for advice: "Mr. Zhang, what do you mean? Stop playing charades with me, tell me quickly!"

Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "I have now figured out the sun-dried salt method. Although it is still being improved, the cost has dropped to one-fifth. Burning wood and iron pots are all saved. There is no need to carry sea water, and labor costs are also reduced. It’s much less, a salt worker is worth as much as a dozen kitchen households in the past.”

Zhang Ximeng briefly talked about the benefits of drying salt, and then said: "The current situation is very clear, as long as our salt flows into the market... Huaidong, Liangzhe, and even pool salt and well salt will be affected. It can't beat us at all. Those old salt merchants will be affected, and the entire salt situation will be written down!"

"So powerful?" Peng Zaozhu asked in surprise.

"Not only that, I have also calculated that salt is in the hands, as a bulk commodity next to food, everyone needs it. If we master salt, we can support vehicles, caravans, and fleets, so that Cargo trafficking is in your hands." Zhang Ximeng said again: "With cargo trafficking, all roads can be improved next, and all the main roads, bridges, canals, docks, and all key nodes will be affected. .”

"Besides, with the commercial route in hand, the banks, goods yards, pawnshops, restaurants, restaurants, as well as trading venues and guild halls along the route will inevitably obey our orders..."

"and many more!"

When Peng Zaozhu heard this, his forehead was already sweating, and he was shuddering.

He looked at Zhang Ximeng stupidly, "That... Zhang Xiang, may I ask, what are you going to do?"

Holding these things in your hands, if you say that Zhang Ximeng wants to emulate Dong Chengxiang and Cao Chengxiang, some people will believe it.After all, this is too scary. Could it be that Zhang Ximeng is really dissatisfied with King Lu and wants to be promoted one step higher?

The more Peng Zaozhu thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he felt like he was on a pirate ship.

On the other hand, Zhang Ximeng laughed loudly, "Young Marshal Peng, if I had planned something wrong, His Majesty would have done it a long time ago... In fact, this plan was conceived by me a long time ago, and I have been planning it for a long time, but now I have the opportunity to execute it."

Peng Zaozhu calmed down a little, and then asked, "Master Zhang, what exactly are you planning to do, can you tell me a thing or two?"

Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Young Marshal Peng, you know I mentioned unification, right?"

Peng Zaozhu said: "I have carefully read Zhang Xiang's articles these years. You say that the great unification means that the north and the south are one, and the world is one heart?"

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "That's natural, but goods are connected from north to south, roads are accessible, material transportation is smooth, commerce is prosperous, and taxes are fair, which should be regarded as the proper meaning of great unification! To put it simply, they are traditional merchants, and the efficiency is too high. Low, stubborn, and trying to evade taxes, I plan to support a new group of businessmen to replace them. At the very least, the tax department must be able to collect business taxes smoothly. Today, our land tax still accounts for half of the country. It's a disgrace!"

Listening to Zhang Ximeng's words, Peng Zaozhu gradually understood that spreading out Zhang Ximeng's plan was a grand idea to reshape the business structure...

Plan new commercial routes through the transportation of salt.

This line includes both tangible and intangible.

For example, the roads in some places are inconvenient, and the government is responsible for repairing them.

If you blackmail merchants, set up tax cards privately, exploit transactions... you can pass salt, and you can pass other things.

In addition, new business routes are new opportunities. Originally, those rich merchants relied on the Yuan Dynasty to make their fortunes, and they are still continuing. Some people have already belonged to the Ming Dynasty, but there are still some with ulterior motives.

Since this is the case, then it is better to have a new reshuffle and take the opportunity to let more of our own people rise.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't plan this kind of thing, so Zhang Ximeng could only start to make the arrangements first, and when things came to fruition, Old Zhu had no choice but to object.

Peng Zaozhu gradually understood, "Zhang Xiang, I, I feel that the burden on my shoulders is heavy. Who are you going to support, and what should I do, I don't know!"

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said: "If you want to say who to support, according to my thinking, it is naturally some old brothers in the army. They have fought for so many years, and many of them are also old. People go to the Central Plains, and then work for the people in the village. It is not easy for the big guys. If they are not allowed to take the opportunity to make a fortune, master the business, and become the power to dominate the business... those scholar-bureaucrats, wealthy families, wealthy merchants, and tycoons, they Your relatives will come back again, after all, even if they lose their property, they still have courage and a keen sense of smell."

"Young Marshal Peng, we are not only building a country, but also changing the old law of 2000 years! Every step we take, we must be careful and have a far-reaching plan, otherwise the success will fall short, the government will die, and it is not impossible for Ming to go back to the old way of Zhao Song!"

Peng Zaozhu looked at Zhang Ximeng stupidly. He never expected that Zhang Ximeng's layout was like this.

"Zhang Xiang, you, you told me these things?"

Zhang Ximeng smiled, "Just say it, as long as you leave this door, I won't recognize a single word!"

Peng Zaozhu grinned at himself, "I don't dare to slander Zhang Xiang!"

The two couldn't help laughing. In fact, it's okay to tell Lao Zhu about the things Zhang Ximeng said, but when he gets to Lao Zhu's place, I guess he would like to wield a sickle more than Zhang Ximeng.

"Zhang Xiang, I'm really afraid that I won't be able to do it well. Apart from other things, I don't understand how to sell salt." Peng Zaozhu became more and more embarrassed, and the burden was too heavy for him to carry.

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have prepared a group of people for you. In addition, I have invited a person who knows the salt business best to be your advisor!"

"Who?"

"Not busy, you will know tomorrow." Zhang Ximeng said with a smile.

A few days later, Peng Zaozhu had just got up, and after washing up, his subordinates came in a hurry, "Huaiwang Zhang Shicheng is here, saying he is here to obey orders!"

Zhang Shicheng!

Private salt dealer!

What a good consultant!Peng Zao lived in striding meteors, so he ran outside...

Chapter 593

Peng Zaozhu rushed out and saw Zhang Shicheng on the steps. The two looked at each other. After a long time, Peng Zaozhu took the lead in clapping his hands and laughing.

Zhang Shicheng's face was black, and he said angrily: "What are you laughing at? Your father is not as good as me!"

Peng Zaozhu laughed even more happily, "My father is just a reckless person, so naturally he is not as elegant and elegant as King Huai, he is outstanding!"

Zhang Shicheng was slightly taken aback, and became even angrier, the veins on his temples tensed up!

"Young Marshal Peng, I was ordered to be your advisor, so don't humiliate me!"

Peng Zaozhu nodded with a smile, stretched out his hand, grabbed Zhang Shicheng's arm, and dragged him inside.

"Don't be angry, don't be angry. From now on, we will serve as ministers in the same palace, eat in the same pot, and help each other!" Peng Zaozhu pulled Zhang Shicheng in, asked him to sit down, poured him tea, and served him attentively.

Zhang Shicheng gradually breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "Young Marshal Peng, you just said that you are in the same palace as a minister, which is not right. Although I belong to Daming, I don't need a salary. I am here to do things for the people!"

"You don't want money? You plan to work for nothing! I've never seen such a request, that's great!" Peng Zaozhu said in surprise.

Zhang Shicheng's old face was even uglier, and he could only cough and say, "I, I don't want a salary, but, I still want the wages of a commercial firm. I, I still have a family to support."

Peng Zaozhu was stunned for a moment, feeling amused.

This Zhang Shicheng, just play tricks!

You have surrendered, why do you still receive wages but not salary... That's right, my salt firm is indeed not an official of the court, but the problem is that the Changlu Salt Farm belongs to Ming Dynasty!

You, Zhang Shicheng, are just a business consultant?

Peng Zao stayed for a while and couldn't figure it out, so he probably had to ask Zhang Ximeng again.But it doesn't matter, let's set up the business first and sell the salt, this is our ability.

"King Huai, you can say whatever you want, I'll listen to you, just tell me, I really don't know how to get this salt!"

Peng Zaozhu took out Liu Bei's heart for Zhuge Liang and served Zhang Shicheng.

Zhang Shicheng pondered for a long time, and his mood was at ease, and he sighed very much: "This salt! It's not easy! The people want to eat salt, the court needs taxes, and the merchants want to make a fortune. Half of the country of the Yuan Dynasty will collapse. On the salt... the other half is the Yellow River!"

Zhang Shicheng talked eloquently, and Peng Zaozhu listened patiently. These two people really made a perfect match, and they talked very happily.

On the other side, Zhang Ximeng cooked a bucket of milk tea and sent it to his wife.

In a few months, their Zhang family will have another importer.

Zhang Ximeng really wanted to get a girl, and it would be a good idea to get together like this, so he was satisfied.

After talking with his wife for a while, he came out and found that Zhu Biao was already waiting here.

After recommending Peng Zaozhu, Empress Ma wrote back to Zhu Biao, asking him to ask more advice, especially regarding the issue of employing people, and he must get Zhang Xiang's advice.

Zhu Biao is different from Zhu Yuanzhang. He can't start from scratch and build a team by himself.He had to use the people Zhu Yuanzhang had under his command.

This is not to say that Zhu Biao cannot cultivate his cronies, but that he must move around and be careful not to smash all the porcelain in the room under the framework that Lao Zhu left him.

This is a common problem faced by almost all non-founding kings.