Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 206 Your Majesty, are they playing you?

"Congratulations to scholar Wang Shiqi for winning the glass statue of a Confucian sage at a bid of 81,000 taels!"

When Yu Xiangdou's small hammer slammed hard on the table with a loud "bang," the buyers present finally snapped out of their shock.

Longyou merchant Tong Pei frowned and looked in that direction again. There was a very young-looking scholar wearing a blue Confucian robe, who put down the sign without expression, seemingly not caring at all about the attention of others.

Hu Mao, also a merchant from Longyou, couldn't help but say indignantly.

"Where did this brat come from, shouting out 80,000 taels of silver? Just how much silver does he have? Is he deliberately trying to antagonize us?"

In recent days, the merchants of Longyou have lost countless collections to this man, and naturally they are filled with resentment.

“It’s not expensive,” Tong Pei said, shaking her head. “This glass statue of Confucian sages is a combination of seventeen statues, with profound meaning. Our Great Ming Dynasty reveres Confucianism and Taoism, and I wonder how many people will fight tooth and nail to get it.”

Just you wait and see, once this portrait of a sage is released, it will surely cause a huge uproar.

Even 100,000 taels wouldn't be enough.

Hu Mao couldn't help but say regretfully, "It's a pity we didn't bring enough silver. Although 80,000 taels is a lot, it's not impossible to raise the funds."

Tong Pei said, "It's not a bad thing if we can't get the picture. A common man is innocent, but he is guilty of possessing a treasure. If we do manage to get the picture, we have to act quickly."

Without that ability, one cannot protect this statue of the sages.

The Confucian Sage Confucius, the Four Great Sages, and the Twelve Philosophers of the East and West truly resonated with the needs of the vast gentry class, and one can imagine how many people envied them.

"That brat Shiyuan has really mastered the art of commerce. He sells Guan Yu to military officials and Confucian saints to civil officials, and he's made all the business in the world."

Zhang Rong was quite indignant, but also very worried.

"The money is indeed earned, but the stench of money can tarnish the saint's reputation. The condemnation from scholars all over the world is inevitable!"

Many Confucian scholars are used to making a big deal out of nothing. They were already dissatisfied with Zhang Yunxiu, and now that they had found a reason to criticize him for daring to sell statues of Confucian sages for profit, they were all in an uproar.

Zhu Yingzhen, however, was unconvinced and shook his head.

"Uncle, you are mistaken. In the past, did scholars spend money to buy portraits of sages? Did they spend money to buy the Four Books and Five Classics for reading and writing?"
In my nephew's opinion, his superb craftsmanship in depicting the Confucian sage is not driven by greed, but rather by merit.

At this point, he gave Zhang Rong a meaningful look.

"My uncle's Guan Yu has really made quite a splash."

“The statue is good, of course, but Zhang Shiyuan also deserves to be scolded.” Zhang Rong stroked his beard awkwardly, looking quite self-righteous.

"Ru Mo, release me! I will definitely go find that wicked son! He is utterly audacious! He dares to sell even a Confucian sage like myself! Never before in history has such a heretical act been seen!"

In the corner, Zhang Juzheng looked furious. Fortunately, Shen Shixing tried his best to stop him, otherwise he would have really rushed into the backstage to find Zhang Yunxiu.

Shen Shixing clung to Zhang Juzheng's leg and earnestly offered his advice.

"President En, calm down! Calm down! This is just a glass statue! Why are you acting like this! Why are you acting like this!"

"A mere statue?" Zhang Juzheng clearly saw further than others. "Does Ru Mo know that this is the root of all the trouble!"

He looked at the scholar in the crowd who was highly sought after and envied, and said sternly.

"Zhang Shiyuan could auction just one statue of Confucius, so why did he insist on selling seventeen at once, making it possible to sell them all at once?"

"Perhaps it's just that it has some unique features?" Shen Shixing was very puzzled.

“No,” Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said. “This is precisely where this boy’s ulterior motives lie. These statues of sages are exquisitely crafted, and the fact that they are seventeen in number makes them even more valuable for collection.”

This item, once it appears, will surely attract the attention of scholars all over the world, and everyone will want to collect these seventeen statues.

At that time, Zhang Shiyuan could sell them individually, thus arousing the desire of scholars across the land to collect them all!

Shen Shixing hadn't thought that far ahead and offered an explanation.

"It seems to be just the way of merchants; it's understandable that they want to make some money."

“He has made money off the treasures.” Zhang Juzheng sneered. “But the scholars of the world, having acquired these treasures, will become increasingly competitive and extravagant, leading to the decline of literature and scholarship!”

"Is it really that serious?" Shen Shixing frowned, looking like he didn't quite understand. "Perhaps the En family is overreacting and thinking your son is too wicked."

“He has such methods!” Zhang Juzheng was very certain, not at all feeling that he was exaggerating.

"I've made money! I've made money again!"

Inside the private room on the second floor, Emperor Wanli was as excited as if it were New Year's Day. The price of 80,000 taels of silver greatly stimulated his nerves.

The emperor couldn't help but praise Zhang Yunxiu.

"Shiyuan, you've got some brilliant ideas! This set of glass Confucian sage statues is unique, so its price is bound to skyrocket! If it can promote the flourishing of literature, which scholar in the world wouldn't want it? In the future, my Xishan Auction House will surely grow bigger and stronger!"

Making money is far better than suffering through paperwork in the imperial court and constantly scheming against officials.

But Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and said...

"Your Majesty is mistaken. It would be a waste to sell only one such fine statue of a Confucian sage."

These words failed to impress the emperor, who narrowed his eyes and said.

"Old Zhang, are you playing me for fools? You were the one who said things are valuable because they're rare, but now you're saying we can buy and sell more. What's going on?"

Zhang Yunxiu felt a little embarrassed, but fortunately he had excellent composure and explained with a slight smile.

"Your Majesty is wise. It is certainly true that scarcity increases value. However, we are not stopping selling. Instead, we are selling gradually, like boiling a frog slowly or harvesting leeks one crop at a time. We must not drain the pond to catch all the fish."

"Chives?" Emperor Wanli asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhang Yunxiu thought for a moment and said, "In the Tang Dynasty, Meng Shen's 'Dietary Therapy Materia Medica' records that 'leeks, also known as aphrodisiac grass,' can be cut when they are growing and can be harvested about ten times a year. Later generations also called them longevity leeks.

Upon hearing this explanation, Emperor Wanli paused for a moment, then sighed with emotion.

"Your analogy is quite vivid and descriptive." He noticed the words "rising sun" and silently memorized them.

After thinking for a moment, the emperor asked again, "How do you plan to sell them?"

He used to not understand economics very well, but now he thinks it's amazing.

"Another auction is not possible, and I think even the auction of glass will have to be suspended for a while."

Zhang Yunxiu analyzed.

"Let's take a break and let the leeks grow on their own for a while. But the statues of sages are different. We deliberately divided them into seventeen sets for sale to facilitate subsequent marketing."

A smile appeared on his face.

"Subsequently, they secretly lied on the market, claiming that it was Wang Shiqi, and sold the item in pieces, selling each one as a glass statue of a sage, from Confucius to the Twelve Philosophers, with different prices for each."

Once this set is available on the market, people will surely spend a lot of money to buy it from all over the place in order to collect all seventeen statues.

In the end, it's more profitable than selling the whole thing together.

What the hell!

After listening to it once and thinking about it in his mind, Emperor Wanli finally understood what the other party wanted to do. He immediately shuddered and looked at the other party as if he were looking at a monster, and said in a high-pitched voice.

"Shiyuan, you are extremely insidious."

Zhang Yunxiu was immediately displeased: "Your Majesty, what are you saying? I'm just trying to make money for us."

The emperor thought about it again and realized it was true, so he didn't say anything more and just chuckled.

"Shiyuan, isn't what you're doing a bit unfair? Wang Shiqi paid a high price to buy it back."

The thought that the other party bought back the item for 80,000 taels of silver, and that it was the only one available, but then seeing that it was all loose pieces on the market, made him wonder if he would be so angry that he would hang himself.

Zhang Yunxiu said confidently, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. The individual parts we sell are difficult to collect. Isn't he satisfied with having a complete set?"
Moreover,

He narrowed his eyes.

"Doesn't Your Majesty want to know this person's background?"

"Who is this person?" Emperor Wanli was genuinely curious. Such a young scholar was so generous, throwing out tens of thousands of taels of silver without batting an eye.

Zhang Yunxiu said meaningfully, "I checked and found that this person was the top scorer in the Suzhou prefectural examination in the eighth year of the Wanli reign, and is from Taicangzhou."

"A student from Southern Zhili?" Emperor Wanli frowned and said. "That can be explained. There are many wealthy merchants in Southern Zhili, so this person's family must be very prominent."

But Zhang Yunxiu's gaze grew increasingly profound.

Emperor Wanli was taken aback: "Isn't that so?"

Zhang Yunxiu: "Your Majesty, what do you think an ordinary family would need to manage to accumulate such wealth, allowing its members to spend money so lavishly?"

Emperor Wanli's gaze gradually turned serious: "Aside from the salt and iron trade, even the silk trade would never be as lucrative as this."

Zhang Yunxiu lowered his voice and said, "I do have a guess. This Taicangzhou is near the sea, and maritime trade can bring huge profits."

"You mean, there are people in Taicangzhou who run private maritime trade!" Emperor Wanli said through gritted teeth.

Last time, after Zhang Yunxiu reminded him, the emperor went back to check the expenditures of the palace treasury during the Yongle era, as well as the conversations between his ancestor Zhu Di and the eunuch Sanbao.

I discovered something quite counterintuitive: as Zhang Yunxiu said, the seven voyages to the Western Ocean by Zheng He (Zheng He) were not, as the court officials claimed, a waste of resources and manpower, but rather a display of ambition and a desire for grandiose achievements.

On the contrary, during their westward journey, they engaged in trade with various countries, exchanging porcelain and silk for huge quantities of spices and gold.

Not only did it not cause hardship to the people and waste money, it greatly enriched the imperial treasury!

But why did the ministers in the court oppose such a good thing?
The answer is now obvious: these people prevented the emperor from managing maritime trade, but they all went out to sea to smuggle goods and made a fortune!

A full 80,000 taels of silver! Even the emperor himself wouldn't be willing to take it all out at once, yet these people didn't even blink an eye.

Emperor Wanli was so angry that his face turned red, and his round head looked like a braised pig's head. He felt like he had been tricked.

He slammed his hand on the desk and said.

"These people are utterly audacious! They almost fooled even me! Bring me my decree!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down," Zhang Yunxiu hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. "This is merely speculation. Without any evidence, Your Majesty's arrest might alert the enemy, making it even more difficult to investigate smuggling in Jiangnan in the future."

Yin Zhengmao's investigation into the "bow measuring case" has fully demonstrated how difficult the gentry of Jiangnan can be.

Compared to them, the Shanxi merchants were relatively easy to deal with.

"So we're just going to let them rake in money right under my nose? And I should thank them instead?"

Emperor Wanli was furious. He remembered that every year after seeing the taxes collected from Jiangnan, he would give a speech of encouragement to the local officials in Jiangnan.

Phrases like "You are all my trusted ministers," "The Ming Dynasty needs Jiangnan," and "The scholars of Jiangnan are all virtuous" were used.

Looking back now, it's utterly ridiculous.

Zhang Yunxiu then reassured them, saying, "It's not that we don't want to deal with them, but the time isn't right yet. I have a better way to make these people cough up the silver!"

"Oh?"

Emperor Wanli's eyes lit up.

After leaving the Xishan Auction, Zhang Yunxiu had just returned to the Qianhu Office and was preparing to rest when he discovered an uninvited guest had arrived.

"Father, why are you here again?"

Zhang Yunxiu looked at Zhang Juzheng sitting upright in the hall and felt rather helpless.

(End of this chapter)