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

Chapter 230 Zhang Tongzhi is truly a great philanthropist!
Wenyuan Pavilion.

Shen Shixing took the report handed to him by the clerk and read it.

He then handed it to Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary beside him, with a strange expression.

"What kind of press conference is the En family holding in Xishan this time?"

Zhang Juzheng merely glanced at it and asked without turning his head.

"Why?"

"It must be something like the 'boiler explosion at Xishan Liulichang'," Shen Shixing said, looking embarrassed.

"."

Zhang Juzheng remained silent, his writing brush stopped, and then suddenly spoke.

"When we went to Xishan that day, did we see any explosion at Liulichang?"

“No,” Shen Shixing recalled. “They said it happened six days ago.”

Zhang Juzheng fell silent again.

Shen Shixing added, "I haven't heard of anything major happening in Xishan these past few days. This boiler explosion in Xishan seems to have appeared out of nowhere."

Feeling that he might have instigated the situation, Shen Shixing tried to make amends.

"Perhaps the news from Xishan is well concealed? There's no word from outside?"

"But why the grand display today?"

Zhang Juzheng immediately grasped the key point.

Shen Shixing's face stiffened: "This student...does not know."

He had some answers in his mind, but fearing that Zhang Juzheng would get angry again, he simply kept quiet.

Zhang Juzheng already had a general idea in his mind, and he was very familiar with the way his youngest son behaved.

If it were an ordinary person, after being scammed so many times, they would have learned their lesson.

A struggle between his inner voice and his own thoughts lingered on his face.

"Never mind, never mind—"

Finally, Zhang Juzheng sighed and said.

"As long as he doesn't cause trouble, let him be."

Zhang Juzheng was indeed a genius in political maneuvering, but his youngest son was a troublemaker, and he was now at a loss.

They also lost the will to discipline them.

After thinking it over, Zhang Juzheng felt it was somewhat inappropriate, so he instructed, "Have the Ministry of Revenue and the Shuntian Prefecture go and keep an eye on things."

Shen Shixing's face showed a bitter expression: "My lord, your son is the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; I'm afraid he can't control these people."

Zhang Juzheng said, "Have them report at any time, and if anything happens, report it to the Wenyuan Pavilion immediately."

“Students understand.”

"Instead of thinking about that rebellious son, we have more important government affairs to attend to."

Zhang Juzheng said with a somewhat tired expression.

"How is the Jiangnan Textile Bureau doing?"

There were so many reports submitted to the Wenyuan Pavilion that even Zhang Juzheng couldn't attend to them all. The two of them handled them separately, and discussed the important ones with each other.

Shen Shixing recalled briefly: "According to the report from Southern Zhili, as well as the letters from Yin Yangshi and Hai Ruxian, the construction of the weaving bureau must have already begun. Xishan has transported four or five hundred Tiangong textile machines to Southern Zhili."
Now that things are on track, we should see the results in about a month.

“Of course.” Shen Shixing emphasized, making amends for Zhang Yunxiu, “This plan cannot be separated from money. It is likely that Zhang Tongzhi’s large-scale fundraising at the Xishan Auction was to raise enough money for the Xishan Bank so that the Jiangnan government could be implemented.”

Zhang Juzheng asked, "Has the silver allocated by the imperial court arrived?"

"I have already ordered the Imperial Stud to allocate 200,000 taels of silver, the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing to allocate 200,000 taels of silver, and with the donations from the two empress dowagers and His Majesty, the total amount is more than 500,000 taels of silver. I think that if this money is allocated to the south of the Yangtze River, it will surely stabilize the situation in Southern Zhili."

Zhang Juzheng was somewhat surprised: "There's so much silver in the palace?"

As was customary, each of the two empress dowagers received 10,000 taels of silver, and the remaining 80,000 taels must have been allocated by the emperor.

He knew the Wanli Emperor all too well; this stingy emperor was actually willing to take out a full 80,000 taels of silver.

Shen Shixing looked rather embarrassed: "Does Your Excellency not know that the palace has invested in Renmin Medical Hall and Xishan Workshop, as well as the Wanli Xinbao newspaper? The palace is involved in all of these. With these multiple sources of income, the imperial treasury must be able to earn hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every month."

"There are so many?"

Zhang Juzheng hadn't paid attention before, but now, upon hearing this number, he was immediately startled.

After a simple calculation, he became increasingly alarmed.

"If this were to be done over a year, wouldn't it be higher than the national land tax revenue of last year?"

In the eighth year of the Wanli reign, the tax revenue was approximately three million taels of silver. Based on this calculation, the emperor's revenue from the imperial treasury this year is likely higher than the court's annual fiscal revenue.

This is simply...
Shen Shixing sighed and said, "Your Majesty, the ever-increasing abundance of the imperial treasury is not a good thing. I fear that His Majesty will become increasingly extravagant due to the tight budget."

In the eyes of traditional scholar-officials, the emperor's money was not a good thing.

Especially during the Ming Dynasty, the officials and scholars in the court were always thinking about how to squeeze some money out of the emperor so that he would be frugal and spend less money.

Zhang Juzheng once mentioned in his "Memorial on Current Affairs" that "Heaven and earth produce wealth according to a fixed amount. If it is taken in a controlled manner and used frugally, there will be abundance; if it is taken without a control and used without frugality, there will be scarcity."

Too much money for the emperor will cause trouble!
A few years ago, when the Wanli Emperor asked the Ministry of Revenue for money, he was rebuffed by Zhang Juzheng with a long lecture.

But now...
Zhang Juzheng's eyes also turned somewhat red.

Damn it, he worked so hard to promote reforms for nearly ten years, all for the sake of increasing revenue and cutting expenses for the court.

But in just six months, Zhang Yunxiu's business model had completely surpassed his efforts over the past ten years.

It is
Zhang Juzheng's expression shifted between light and shadow as he said in a deep voice, "The industries in Xishan are related to the very foundation of the nation. Can the imperial court still intervene?"

This silver was simply too tempting! Zhang Juzheng began to understand why the emperor was so protective of his youngest son.

If someone had such a money tree, wouldn't they treat it like their own father?

"Why does Your Excellency ask such a question?" Shen Shixing's expression was strange, and his eyes seemed to be saying something.

Aren't these all your Zhang family's businesses? Why don't you just ask your son directly?
"Cough cough~"

Zhang Juzheng blushed and said rather awkwardly.

"I'll ask that rebellious son another day."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Juzheng gave further instructions.

"From today onwards, neither the Court of Imperial Stud nor the Ministry of Revenue shall issue funds to the Imperial Treasury. If the court needs any funds, it should speak to His Majesty and strive to have them allocated from the Imperial Treasury. Furthermore, all future ceremonies, such as sacrifices to Heaven and Earth and royal weddings and funerals, should be funded by the Imperial Treasury."

The imperial court has no money.

He emphasized this very highly.

"And the Wanli Accounting Records, which were still being copied before the Lunar New Year due to the epidemic."

"Have Minister of Revenue Zhang Xueyan come later. It is imperative to demonstrate that the court is short of funds! The treasury is in crisis!"

As is customary, the Wanli Accounting Records compiled in the sixth year of the Wanli reign were to be submitted to the palace for verification and publication at the beginning of the year.

However, due to the frequent problems that have occurred over the past few months, it has naturally been put on hold.

Shen Shixing was quite worried.

"Your Majesty, with your temperament, might be somewhat displeased, wouldn't you say?"

Zhang Juzheng said with a stern face, "This matter concerns the fate of the nation. The court alone cannot support it. The imperial treasury is so full that if it is not restrained today, it will surely cause trouble in the future."

After thinking for a moment, Shen Shixing sighed.

“Students understand.”

He understood now; in any case, whether it was the Xishan workshop or the money from the imperial treasury, it was all earned by Zhang Yunxiu.

In the past, Zhang Juzheng was known for his "tough" approach to the emperor, so the presence of Zhang Yunxiu now is not a big deal.

Shen Shixing then added, "An imperial edict has arrived from Cining Palace. Empress Dowager Li says that the Prince of En should offer further advice to His Majesty."

His expression was meaningful.

"Perhaps it's about the lady-in-waiting of Jingyang Palace."

"Lady Wang is pregnant, and the imperial heir is the foundation of the court and the state."

Zhang Juzheng said with a helpless sigh, his hands behind his back.

"But today's emperor is beyond my ability to advise."

Nowadays, his only influence is in matters of state, where he can offer advice to the emperor.

When it comes to personal matters, the emperor doesn't even listen to Empress Dowager Li, so how can he listen to the Grand Secretary?
Shen Shixing paused, then lowered his voice and offered his suggestion.

"I do have an idea. Zhang Tongzhi has always been on good terms with His Majesty. The two grew up together and are very close. Now that His Majesty relies on Zhang Tongzhi's methods of making money, he might listen to some of his words."

"The traitor?"

Zhang Juzheng looked at the branches outside the window, where leaves were falling, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, and sighed.

"Never mind. I'll talk to him again."

Inside the Xishan Theater.

On the podium, Yu Xiangdou spoke with great emotion, as if he had lost his mother, as he recounted the entire process of the boiler explosion at the Xishan Glass Workshop to the audience.

"Wang Xiaoer, who was guarding the boiler, was a student in the workshop, but he was also unfortunately affected. When he was brought to Renmin Medical Clinic, his left hand was completely disfigured and could not be saved."

"Our Xishan has suffered heavy losses this time. We have failed His Majesty the Emperor and all the guests who have supported us."

"Absolutely, absolutely."

Yu Xiangdou was on top, sobbing uncontrollably, while the guests below each had their own thoughts.

Longyou merchants Hu Mao and Tong Pei sat below the stage, their brows furrowed.

The two of them were major clients at the Xishan Auction House, and the glassware and other collectibles they purchased were worth almost several hundred thousand taels of silver.

Naturally, he took today's press conference very seriously.

Hu said with some doubt.

"A boiler explosion at Xishan Glass Workshop? That reason seems a bit far-fetched."

Tong Pei looked haggard as she spoke.

"Is that interesting?"

His eyes kept darting around Yu Xiangdou on the stage.

These days, this group of Longyou merchants have made a lot of money by reselling glass.

Originally, I planned to continue hoarding more glass and make a fortune, but in just half a month, the price of glass dropped again and again.

The merchants from Longyou acted quickly, reacting to the situation immediately, and thus did not suffer much loss.

But almost all the money they had earned had been lost, and they even suffered additional losses. How could they not be angry?

The other day when they came to Xishan to cause trouble, Tong Pei and Hu Mao did not show up, but they sent a lot of people to demand an explanation, only to be met with a rebuff.

It's fair to say that before the press conference, these businessmen were eager to cause trouble for Zhang Shiyuan!
However, just a few days later, rumors spread from Xishan that the Xishan Glass Workshop had been blown up a few days ago.

Isn't this news a bit too coincidental?
coincidence?

Tong Pei pondered for a long time, and finally seemed to have a sudden realization, uttering a firm word.

"I believe it."

"what?"

Hu Mao was somewhat surprised and subconsciously reached out to touch his companion's forehead. "Manager Tong, are you not sick today?"
They've fallen for Zhang Shiyuan's tricks again; how can they believe such a far-fetched reason?

The explosion at Liulifang seemed somewhat deliberate.

If someone else were to do it, people might believe it.

However, Zhang Yunxiu's statement inevitably raises suspicions that something fishy is going on.

However, Tong Pei paid no attention to him. His gaze fell on Yu Xiangdou on the podium, whose acting was a bit exaggerated.

This kind of exaggerated acting is worlds apart from the actors in the Xishan Theater.

In that instant, Tong Pei became even more certain of her guess. She slapped her thigh, her face a mixture of joy and sorrow, and exclaimed loudly.

"If Liulichang is destroyed, it's destroyed. What's there to disbelieve?"

Today, Liulichang is blown up, but Xishan will surely create new glories in the future!

The person I admire most in my life is Zhang Tongzhi, the commander of the Xishan Thousand Household Office!

Lord Zhang is truly a man of great virtue and talent! I, Tong Pei, will follow him to the death!

(End of this chapter)