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

Chapter 237 Father, let me teach you!

"Treasonous and unethical! Treasonous and unethical!"

Zhang Juzheng clutched his chest, feeling as if he was about to faint.

"Zhang Shiyuan! Are you trying to disrupt the fundamental principles of morality and ethics? Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, Teacher, and Your Majesty!"

He was becoming somewhat incoherent.

The youngest son's words are becoming increasingly outrageous. Before, he only disobeyed his father, but now he's even trying to take over his father's identity.

It's just that Zhang Juzheng didn't know martial arts, otherwise he would have taken out a big knife and cut Zhang Yunxiu in half.

He was still cursing.

"As a son, one should uphold filial piety and brotherly love as fundamental principles, and carefully follow one's father's teachings. You have acted rebelliously and disregarded family rules."

But as I kept shouting, I found myself running out of words.

No amount of profound道理 (principles/truths) can compare to the powerful impact of a young child's statement, "A father is one who possesses virtue."

Seeing his father's expression, Zhang Yunxiu realized he had gone a little too far and stroked his chin as a reminder.

"Father, you can't get hurt! What if you get so angry that you have a heart attack?"

These words reminded Zhang Juzheng that if he were to be angered to death by his young son, wouldn't he be going to rebel against heaven?
"I will not be angry! I can endure this humiliation for a moment!"

Zhang Juzheng shouted slogans, but then began to take deep breaths.

He continued muttering things like, "I'm not angry, I'm not angry, I want to live to be a hundred!"

He's become very skilled through practice.

Having been angry so much, I also know how to deal with it. Relying on the methods taught by Renmin Medical Hall, I gradually calmed down in less than half an incense stick's time.

The anger in his eyes gradually subsided.

Zhang Juzheng returned to his desk, drank a cup of tea in one gulp, and sat upright, muttering something to himself: "Without tranquility, one cannot attain virtue; without serenity, one cannot achieve far-reaching goals."

In the back and forth they went, the anger in his eyes miraculously subsided.

His eyes gradually cleared.

Another half incense stick's time passed.

Zhang Juzheng then turned to his youngest son and said, "Shiyuan, you are talking nonsense again. As your elder brother, I will naturally teach him properly. There is no need for you to overstep your bounds."

He spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Tell me, what's the situation with the glass in the capital these days?"

This series of bizarre actions, so drastically different from his previous behavior, left Zhang Yunxiu completely stunned.

Goodness, he truly deserves to be called a prime minister of all time; his incredible ability to regulate emotions is simply unparalleled!
Even in later generations, it would be extremely difficult for the head of a top company to calm down so quickly and not handle events emotionally.
It seems that Old Zhang's obsession with not being driven to death by his own anger has become ingrained in his very being.

Zhang Yunxiu smiled somewhat awkwardly and tried to explain.

"Father, there's no need to be angry. I was just thinking that my brothers could have some personal hobbies. Besides, the school is newly established and needs help. My brothers are all virtuous and talented, so they are naturally the first choice."

But Zhang Juzheng seemed not to hear him, waving his hand and saying, "Let's not talk about this matter again. Now that we're in Wenyuan Pavilion, let's not discuss family matters."

Good grief, they've completely refused to communicate.

The way Zhang Juzheng closed his eyes to rest resembled a Taoist hermit cultivating his mind in the mountains.

A voice seemed to be saying from the depths of the darkness: "Zhang Shiyuan, go ahead and cause trouble. You can't anger me, the sky won't fall, I will remain calm and serene."

This can be considered a form of self-protection after being persecuted.

Zhang Yunxiu was somewhat stunned, so he stopped mentioning the matter and instead said with a smile.

"When Father talks about the Xishan glass industry, he says it has been very successful. The Xishan glass workshop has been making great profits for months."

The Xishan Glass Workshop and auctions form a complete production and sales chain.

While bringing high-quality and inexpensive glass products to the people, it also raised sufficient funds for Xishan Money Exchange.

Today, Xishan Money Shop only has branches in Beijing and Nanjing.

I believe that in the near future, Xishan Money Shop will surely grow bigger and stronger, providing convenience and security for the people, and also coordinating and maintaining the stability of the financial economy of our Great Ming Dynasty!

Zhang Yunxiu's words were so eloquent that they almost overwhelmed Zhang Juzheng, who was in the process of "cultivating his mind."

Fortunately, with such a "masterpiece" before him, he wasn't too bothered by it and quickly calmed down, asking in a detached tone.

"You manipulate the price of glass by using your money-making skills, causing the gentry and merchants in the capital to go crazy. You may be able to make money, but the atmosphere in the capital will become a mess, and extravagance will prevail."

You once claimed you were merely swindling money from wealthy people, but have you ever considered where their wealth comes from?

Zhang Juzheng's eyes turned serious: "It is indeed a good method to extort money from them, but once they lose their money, they will extort even more from the common people. Have you ever thought about this?"
Xishan caused them to lose money, even though His Majesty was there to oversee things.

But it's inevitable that grudges will arise, and then a mob will rise up to attack. How do you plan to deal with that then?

He sighed, "You may surpass the likes of Xu Xuemo and Zhang Siwei, and even rival the Shanxi merchants, but have you ever considered that one day you might stumble?"

Zhang Yunxiu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Father summoned me here today just to bring up this matter?"

Zhang Juzheng looked solemn.

"Times have changed. Xishan has become a vital asset of our Great Ming Dynasty, and we must not allow any trouble to occur there."

Compared to before, you must be much more cautious now.

As your father, I don't want to argue with you much, but I hope you can understand the reasons behind this.

In the past, Zhang Juzheng could still have been a little arrogant, thinking that Xishan was the product of his young son's foolishness with the emperor.

But now that things have come to this, he can no longer ignore the existence of Xishan.

Today, Xishan accommodates nearly 100,000 people, which is considered a medium-sized city in the Ming Dynasty.

Furthermore, Xishan Mining produced nearly half of the coal briquettes in Beizhili each month.

Autumn has arrived in Beizhili, and winter is just around the corner. Without cheap and efficient coal briquettes for sale, who knows how many more people will freeze to death this winter.

Not to mention, cheap coal briquettes have permeated every aspect of life for Beijing residents, and their complete disappearance is absolutely unacceptable!
Furthermore, there was the huge income brought by Xishan workshops, such as glass workshops, money shops, and textile workshops.

Although most of the revenue went into the pockets of nobles and the emperor, the taxes collected from Xishan were fully collected at one-thirtieth of the total. This revenue alone was almost comparable to the salt and iron taxes.

Not to mention, Zhang Yunxiu had previously insisted on getting a small share of the Ministry of Revenue's profits.

In just six months, countless people have been drawn onto Zhang Yunxiu's ship.

Whether it was the emperor or the court nobles and officials, many people's lives and fortunes were tied to the Western Hills.

How could something go wrong in Xishan like this?
It was Zhang Yunxiu who was in charge of Xishan. If it were someone else, Zhang Juzheng would have had to use swift and decisive measures to bring them to the hands of the court.

Zhang Juzheng looked serious and solemn.

But as Zhang Yunxiu listened, a smile appeared on his face, and he asked in return.

"Father, are you aware that another press conference was held in Xishan today?"

"A press conference?" Zhang Juzheng frowned. "Is that the scheme you used to deceive the entire capital?"

"How can Father be so vulgar?" Zhang Yunxiu said with considerable dissatisfaction. "It seems Father still harbors many prejudices against my Xishan."
Yesterday's press conference in Xishan outlined two strategies specifically designed to address the father's concerns.

"Strategy?" Zhang Juzheng asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhang Yunxiu gave a brief explanation of what was presented at the press conference.

After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng was quite surprised: "You didn't hoard the goods and speculate, sell the glass from Xishan at a high price, and then make a fortune?"

As Zhang Juzheng had anticipated, based on his youngest son's past tactics.

It shouldn't be like the previous sale of briquettes, where glass was sold in bulk at the peak of prices, using the immense production capacity of the Xishan workshops to completely overwhelm the entire glass market in the capital.

Didn't the Shanxi merchants stumble on this very issue before?

Subsequently, the merchants and gentry in the capital who were already "envious" of Liuli would completely lose everything in this wealth bubble built by Xishan.

In the end, only Xishan will be the winner.

Because of this expectation, Zhang Juzheng was prepared to mobilize all the yamen runners of Shuntian Prefecture when the relevant situation arose.

He even prepared to report to the emperor and have Duke Zhang Rong of England prepare to use the three major battalions to suppress any possible unrest in the capital!
He had gone to great lengths, but to his surprise, Zhang Yunxiu not only didn't intend to make a fortune, but was also very kind and planned to give the gentry and merchants a way to survive.

Is this still Zhang Yunxiu?
So all that anger I suffered today was for nothing?

Looking at his father, whose expression kept changing, Zhang Yunxiu asked in return.

"Father, what good will it do me to bankrupt these people?"

Zhang Juzheng asked with a strange expression, "Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

"Do not."

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and said.

“The gentry and wealthy merchants certainly deserve to die, but if they are all killed off, not only will the court be thrown into chaos, but the common people at the bottom of society may not be able to live a good life either.”

His expression was meaningful.

"Even if you can earn a huge amount of silver in a short period of time, glass will lose its credibility just like the Ming Dynasty's paper money. How will Xishan Glass Workshop continue to operate then?"

"This"

Zhang Juzheng frowned; he hadn't expected his youngest son to see further than he had.

This is combined with the Ming Dynasty banknotes, which are practically worthless.

For a moment, he felt that his thoughts were getting a little out of sync.

It wasn't that Zhang Juzheng was unwilling to engage with economics; it was just that every time Zhang Juzheng had just figured out the principles behind his young son's actions, he understood the economic laws involved.

Then this kid will come up with an even more novel theory.

This way of thinking was something Zhang Juzheng had almost never considered.

He instinctively sensed its importance.

So Zhang Juzheng bent down and stared at his young son, as if seeking advice.

"Is there a way to have the best of both worlds?"

"Naturally there is."

Afterwards, Zhang Yunxiu repeated the theory he had mentioned to the Wanli Emperor to his father.

"It is very important to maintain the image of glass as a symbol of wealth and luxury in people's eyes."

Our Ming Dynasty has a vast border and a large population. A few thousand pieces of glass can saturate the capital market in a short time, but as time goes by, merchants will transport the glass elsewhere.

At this point, the market in the capital will become scarce again.

"In this back and forth, confidence is very important!"

"It can also create a brand effect and differentiate products. For example, Ningguang Kiln mainly targets the auction and luxury market, and is specially supplied to dignitaries."

Those glazed windows and glazed bricks can then be used to expand into lower-tier markets, allowing more merchants without official status to participate.

"Finally, by maintaining a fluctuating but stable price for glass, Xishan can earn more money. Do you understand, Father?"

This detailed market analysis truly stunned Zhang Juzheng.

Which of the court affairs he usually deals with is simple or easy?

To be honest, if Zhang Yunxiu were to handle state affairs, he might not be as good as Zhang Juzheng.

However, when it comes to things in the field of economics, it's a completely different story.

The ideas brought by Zhang Yunxiu and those followed by Zhang Juzheng were fundamentally two completely different systems.

However, in the clash between these two, Zhang Juzheng would inevitably combine them together.

New policies? Government affairs? Can they be handled in the same way?
For a moment, Zhang Juzheng was completely stunned.

"Hey~"

With a gasp, he realized that he had accidentally spilled the tea on his robe.

(End of this chapter)