Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 239 Even the Grand Secretary has to deliver on his promises!
In the third year of the Zhiping era, Su Xun passed away. Su Shi and Su Zhe resigned from their official posts to observe the mourning period for their father.

It has been three years now.

Three years is neither a long nor a short time, and the political turmoil has been considerable.

When the two were in mourning, the emperor was still the late Emperor Zhao Zhen; when they returned to the capital after the mourning period, the emperor had changed to Zhao Ceying, one of the five members of the imperial clan.

When a change of emperor occurs, the political situation becomes extremely turbulent, inevitably resulting in both victims and beneficiaries.

The Han Zhang and Jiang Zhao lineage, who seized power from the emperor, are undoubtedly among the beneficiaries.

As a result, Su Shi and Su Zhe missed out on a lot of political benefits.

To be precise, the two missed out on two waves of political benefits.

One wave is the "talent dividend" from the emperor's ascension to the throne and the lack of capable personnel; the other wave is the political achievement dividend from territorial expansion.

Zhang Heng, Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu, and others, without exception, all enjoyed the benefits of both talent and political achievements.

Zhang Heng was promoted from Transport Commissioner to Vice Minister of Rites, a promotion from the fourth rank to the third rank. Considering the gap between local officials and officials in the capital, this was actually a promotion of three ranks.

Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu were both promoted from fifth-rank prefects to fifth-rank officials, a promotion of two ranks in a row.

Apart from the six years they spent compiling books in the Hanlin Academy and being granted official positions, the two were only demoted for six or seven years, yet they were already at the fifth rank, a remarkably rapid promotion.

In addition, Xue Xiang, Shen Kuo, Han Jiayan, and others also enjoyed the political benefits of the two waves to varying degrees.

On the contrary, Su Shi and Su Zhe missed out due to unforeseen circumstances.

Conventionally speaking, once the two men return to the capital after the mourning period, they will most likely be reinstated to their original positions, namely, prefects of the fifth rank in the local government.

Fortunately, the two of them happened to encounter the third wave of political dividends since the emperor ascended the throne—the reform!
After a brief gathering at Fanlou, Jiang Zhao wrote a single stroke of his pen, and the two were appointed as officials in the capital.

Su Shi was appointed as a fifth-rank assistant minister in the Ministry of Works, and Su Zhe was appointed as a fifth-rank assistant minister in the Ministry of Revenue. Both of them were promoted one rank.

When a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet is promoted to a minor official of the fifth rank, naturally no one dares to say anything.

So, about six or seven days later, it was May 25th.

This is the Emperor's birthday.

However, perhaps due to considerations of the reforms, or perhaps to save money and address the issue of "redundant expenses," the emperor's birthday celebration was not held in a grand manner. In fact, local officials were strictly prohibited from presenting "offerings" or "auspicious omens" to the capital. Instead, the celebration was limited to a banquet held within the palace.

Apart from the Empress Dowager, the Empress, the princes, the Emperor's maternal uncles, close relatives of the imperial family, and a few ministers, there was no one else.

And so it went, in June and July.
August 3rd, cloudy.

Junyi Bridge, a long thoroughfare.

As one of the most famous long streets in the capital, adjacent to the Taifu Temple, it was a place where many imperial relatives and nobles lived, making it a truly prosperous place.

Even the official's maternal uncle, Shen Congxing, often resided here.

Upon entering the main road, one finds a wide, brick-paved street, over a hundred paces in width, lined with gold shops and money stores, bustling with carriages and horses.

Gold, silver, jewelry, medicinal herbs, brocade, and lacquerware lined the streets, while meat, rice, charcoal, and salt were piled up almost like small mountains—all exuding an air of wealth and luxury.

With vermilion gates everywhere and copper rings strung together, it is a tangible representation of unparalleled wealth.

Even a cursory glance is enough to shock ordinary people.

However, today is a little different.

Today, it was the turn of the aristocratic scions to be dumbfounded!

The cabinet issued a decree to establish a bank at Junyi Bridge.

To the left of the main road, more than ten main gates were wide open, with banks and government offices stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

At first glance, the gate is made of vermilion lacquer, with a long vermilion plaque hanging above it, inscribed with the words "Da Zhou Tong Hui Bank," which is simple, vigorous, majestic and solemn.

Beneath the eaves, a bronze notice board hangs, solemnly proclaiming: "All large merchants involved in monopolistic businesses shall deposit 50,000 strings of cash as collateral; for withdrawals of 10,000 strings or more, a report shall be submitted within 30 days; withdrawals of less than 10,000 strings shall be made immediately."

The bank faces the entrance, with rows of taotie-shaped hats and bixie-shaped rings on their heads. From time to time, imperial guards with spears walk around, scanning and inspecting, or stand at attention with their hands on their swords, one every five steps.

Upon entering the main hall, one sees a few three-foot-long pear wood tables and openwork wooden windows, all carved with the character "卍" to separate the clerks from the merchants.

There are also separate signs for "Ministry of Revenue" and "Court of Judicial Review" on one side, with dedicated staff standing by.

Everything was clearly orderly and solemn.

Of course, perhaps because it was not yet an auspicious time, there were still imperial guards blocking the gate and not allowing the merchants to deposit their money.

This resulted in merchants standing in long rows along the street.

"Wheele!"

The horse neighed loudly, its voice echoing through the long street, attracting the attention of many noblemen.

"As wealthy as Tao Bai, and as rich as Cheng Luo! The ancients were right!"

"This is insanely rich!"

"A mere merchant, why not find a pretext to give him a warning?"

"Don't do anything reckless. These big merchants are all people affiliated with civil officials."

"Everyone says nobles are rich, but damn scholars are even more greedy!"

A few noblemen gathered together, looking at the obediently queuing merchants, and chattered incessantly.

Many people looked over, their gazes darting around, never leaving the merchant's carriage for a moment.

Even the wealthy young nobles, who were never short of money, developed the illusion that "I am too poor".

The reason is simple: the silver on the main road is so dense and continuous that it's practically like a "mountain ridge".

At a glance, the long street was lined with large merchants, and horse-drawn carriages carrying money stretched for miles, with undulating terrain that seemed to have no end in sight.

Occasionally, servants would lead carriages carrying money past, the finest horses panting heavily, their backs seemingly broken, showing just how heavy the contents of the carriages were.

Or perhaps a gentle breeze blows, causing the cloth covering the carriage to flutter, creating a dazzling white spectacle that invigorates the senses.

How could such a scene not touch people's hearts?

(As shown in the picture:)

"Oh my God!"

"That's incredibly wealthy!"

"Isn't Uncle Jiang implementing new policies? These people must be the big merchants, right?"

"Huaijin, fifty thousand strings of cash, how wealthy must that be?"

At a corner of the long street, Jiang Huaijin, Su Mai, Su Chi, Han Shu, Han Zhao, Zhang Yiwen, Zhang Ze, Zeng Gang, and Zeng Yan stopped to watch, all of them taken aback.

Adults have their own social circles, and children naturally have theirs too.

Among them, Su Mai was the son of Su Shi, Su Chi was the son of Su Zhe, Han Shu and Han Zhao were both sons of Han Jiayan, Zhang Yiwen was the son of Zhang Heng, Zhang Ze was the son of Zhang Dun, Zeng Gang was the son of Zeng Gong, and Zeng Yan was the son of Zeng Bu.

Because their elders held real power, the children were all exceptionally well-informed. Su Shi's son, Su Mai, was a master of ideas. He happened to mention the establishment of a bank, and the children became interested and came to observe.

Thus, he was deeply shocked by the silver mountain.

"Fifty thousand strings of cash?"

Jiang Huaijin was taken aback.

After pondering for a moment and doing some mental calculations, he replied, "It's probably about a hundred cartloads of copper coins."

"If we're talking about copper coins, one string of copper coins is about three or four catties, so fifty thousand strings of copper coins would be more than one hundred thousand catties. If we were to transport it by horse-drawn carts, it would take at least a hundred cartloads!"

"what?"

The group of people were all startled, their hearts filled with shock.

Su Mai hissed and exclaimed, "A hundred cartloads of copper coins, we couldn't spend them all even in ten lifetimes!"

"Even in ten lifetimes, it would probably take more than a lifetime to spend it all."

Jiang Huaijin did a quick calculation in his mind and nodded seriously: "Even if you eat meat every meal, you still couldn't finish it in ten lifetimes."

How much exactly is 50,000 strings of cash?

One coin is a sesame seed cake.

Eight hundred and fifty coins is one string of cash.

Fifty thousand strings of cash is equivalent to forty-two million five hundred thousand sesame seed cakes!
In the marketplace, mutton was priced at around 120 wen, so 50,000 guan was equivalent to nearly 300,000 jin of mutton.

It would take ten lifetimes to finish eating it all.

"What if it's calculated in silver?" Su Mai quickly asked again.

"One car, or two cars!"

Jiang Huaijin slowly said, "If we talk about silver, one tael of silver is about one to one and a half strings of copper coins, which is about two thousand catties of silver."

"Transported by horse-drawn carriage, it would cost about one or two cartloads of silver!"

"Wow!"

The group was startled again.

One or two cartloads of silver?

"So that means one or two money-carrying wagons represent a big merchant?"

"There are so many merchants here, they're practically forming a mountain!" Su Mai exclaimed in amazement.

"The world is so vast, there must be many rich people, so it's not surprising that they're so rich that they stretch into mountains," Jiang Huaijin said calmly, gazing into the distance.

The empire has two capitals and fourteen circuits, with approximately three hundred prefectures and counties. If each prefecture has three prominent families, then there would be around a thousand "great merchants".

That is, one or two thousand cartloads of silver!
The silvery mountain stretches for miles, isn't that a silver mountain?
For a moment, the children were talking about it.

At almost the same time, the sons of nobles were also dazzled.

Many noble sons and imperial relatives were greatly astonished and discussed it endlessly.

It is said that noble families inherit their positions and enjoy wealth and honor for generations. Who would have thought that the so-called upright civil officials would be exactly like that!
That's fucking greedy!
The sun rises high in the sky, and the clouds are light and the breeze is gentle.

Merchants would occasionally huddle together and whisper among themselves.

"Reinforcing industry and commerce is truly a wise strategy!" exclaimed a prominent merchant. "I support the reform!"

In the past, the system for industry and commerce was a monopoly system in which government and private enterprises coexisted and both served the imperial court.

Now, with Jiang Ge Lao's decree abolishing government-run businesses, it means that the market occupied by government-run businesses has been completely handed over to private enterprises.

This is no small discount; it's quite generous.

Who says reform is bad?
Some inappropriate ancestral rules should be changed, and the more such changes, the better!
“Yes, yes,” someone echoed.

Once a free market is established, industry and commerce will flourish several times over.

If the opportunity is seized, the clan's wealth will surely increase significantly.

"Could we... take stock of the land?" A young man in his early twenties or thirties, who had only recently started trading, hesitated.

The cabinet issued three decrees in succession: in addition to establishing banks and promoting industry and commerce, there was also a decree to conduct a land survey!
If heavy industry and commerce are a great thing, then land surveys are a terrible thing.

Once the land is completely surveyed, real money will have to be paid.

“Brother.” An old man in gray shook his head and comforted him, “Heavy industry and commerce are new policies, and so is the land survey. If the land survey cannot be implemented, the court may not leave the heavy industry and commerce policy alone.”

“Wang thinks so too,” someone echoed.

“That’s right.” One person clapped his hands and said, “If I’m not mistaken, the policy of heavy industry and commerce is to make up for the losses of large clans in land surveying. If land surveying doesn’t work, the policy of heavy industry and commerce will definitely be canceled as well.”

"Wu also shares this view." Someone echoed, "After all, Grand Secretary Jiang is also from a prominent family, and he certainly wouldn't let such a family suffer a loss for nothing."

"I see!" The young man, who had been somewhat hesitant, suddenly realized, pondered for a moment, and asked doubtfully, "But what if the reform fails?"

The old man in gray sighed, "As the saying goes, when a person dies, his policies cease. If Grand Secretary Jiang's reforms fail, the government will definitely not simply retain policies focused on heavy industry and commerce. At that time, the reforms will be nothing but a pipe dream, and so will the policies focused on heavy industry and commerce!"

"That means that Minister Jiang represents the interests of the powerful clans, and we must support him..."

"when!"

The soft chime of the bell interrupted the discussion.

A loud shout followed:
"Grand Secretary Jiang has arrived—"

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Who?
Jiang Ge Lao?
Someone realized what was happening and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

This single sentence served as a reminder to many of the large businessmen who had been caught in the trap.

In an instant, many people immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

As major merchants and contributors to tax revenue, many of them also had influential families backing them up, so their status was actually quite high.

At the very least, it is rare to kneel before officials in local areas.

But the capital city was different; it was full of high-ranking officials.

Grand Secretary Jiang is different; he is one of the highest-ranking officials in the capital!

The merchants knelt in obeisance, while the officials bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

From beginning to end, with just one loud shout, neither merchants nor officials had time to even see where "Grand Secretary Jiang" was before they hurriedly bowed.

His reputation and prestige are evident.

"Da da da!"

Light footsteps sounded, and about ten breaths later...

At the main gate of the yamen, two figures in purple robes stood side by side, one of them raising his hand and saying calmly, "No need for formalities."

Officials and wealthy merchants alike were rectified.

However, compared to officials, many businessmen keep their heads down and dare not look up directly, for fear of being seen as lacking respect.

Of course, occasionally a businessman will look up "unintentionally" with his head down.

After all, a person who entered the cabinet as prime minister at the age of thirty, governed the country, and presided over reforms at the age of thirty-one, wielding great power, is indeed a source of great curiosity.

If I could actually see what Grand Secretary Jiang looks like, I'd have plenty to brag about in the future.

The main gate of the government office.

Jiang Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, calmly scanning downwards.

After about ten breaths, he slowly said, "I, Jiang, have come to the bank mainly to deposit money."

"However, since we rarely meet, let me offer a few words of advice."

A hundred or so imperial guards and minor officials hurriedly stepped forward and lined up on both sides of the main road to convey the Grand Secretary's words.

From beginning to end, hundreds of merchants bowed their heads in unison.

First, get your position right.

Second, adopt the right attitude.

"Therefore, as long as Jiang is in office and the new policies continue, you can continue to do business."

"Once the new law is implemented, officials will govern, people will farm, craftsmen will specialize, and merchants will make money, creating a peaceful and prosperous scene."

After saying those two sentences, Jiang Zhao walked away slowly with his hands behind his back.

"I will keep in mind the Grand Secretary's teachings!"

More than a thousand businessmen all paid their respects.

"What...what does this mean?" someone asked, puzzled.

"To put it in the right place means to let merchants do what merchants should do; to put it in the right attitude means to let large clans conduct land surveys in a proper manner."

Someone whispered, "If the new law is successful, the powerful clans will have at least a few decades of good life."

Many people looked enlightened and nodded repeatedly.

"when!"

A bell rang, and all fell silent.

Zhang Heng, dressed in a purple robe, slowly walked out and said, "Let's start saving money from now on."

……

A hundred paces away, Jiang Zhao glanced back and shook his head.

The purpose of this special warning to the great merchant is simply twofold:
First, reduce resistance to the new policy.

Second, express your attitude towards the powerful clan.

Even a high-ranking official has to give an account one day!

……

Tea stalls outside Donghua Gate.

A few people gathered together and silently drank tea.

"Sir, is it really possible?" a rather well-off tea merchant asked hesitantly.

Today, he saw Grand Secretary Jiang from afar.

That demeanor, that imposing presence…

It can only be said that he is the only person in the last hundred years to lead the Great Zhou in expanding its territory, and he has the demeanor of an ancient sage.

Calling them "celestial beings" is not entirely wrong.

His intuition told him that even a sneak attack might not be enough to defeat that person!
Chen Xiang, the official in charge of the Salt and Iron Bureau, changed his expression.

How can anything be accomplished with people like this in the team?

"Take it or leave it, it's not like I'm losing money anyway," Chen Xiang muttered dismissively, seemingly indifferent.

"Liu Xi, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Why not? A run on a money shop isn't that difficult."

"We still have to do what we're supposed to do! Otherwise, we'll suffer for decades."

The remaining people quickly spoke up to refute it.

They were hoping for a bank run so that the Salt and Iron Bureau could petition to have the relevant government orders revoked!
The wealthy tea merchant was taken aback and quickly said, "I misspoke."

Chen Xiang waved his hand dismissively, "Hurry up and raise the money to deposit in the bank. If one person doesn't have enough for 50,000 strings of cash, then several or a dozen people can pool their money together."

"By the way, give me a list of the tea merchants who joined the bank run."

"List?"

"What does the lord need the list for?"

The group was somewhat surprised.

Chen Xiang's eyes flickered slightly, and he calmly said, "I can't work for nothing, can I?"

The implication was that they wanted to use this opportunity to gain benefits.

“This humble servant will deliver it to Your Excellency’s residence,” one of them replied.

Anyway, it's better for me to die than for my fellow Daoists.

Chen Xiang glanced at it and sighed deeply.

This... I'm afraid it won't work out, right?
Very well, better to die than to die myself!

……

(End of this chapter)