Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 468: Changes in the New Era
Wang Chengen is now the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department. In terms of rank, he ranks fourth among the tens of thousands of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty, after Cao Huachun, the Imperial Household Department, Wei Zhongxian, and Liu Shimin, the Imperial Horse Department. However, he has been with Zhu Youdong since he was four years old and has served him for more than ten years. With such qualifications, even bigwigs like Cao Huachun and Wei Zhongxian are very polite to him - he controls the personnel and supervision power in the Imperial Household!
Why would such a high-ranking person regularly meet with a remote clan member? It was because Zhu Youdong regarded Zhu Yunkeng and Zhu Shengmiao as the benchmark for the new policy for the clan members. Whether such a benchmark can go a step further depends on personal luck, but it must not be overturned.
Therefore, in a recent meeting, Wang Chengen intentionally or unintentionally let out a hint: There is such an opportunity to make a fortune, let's see if you can seize it.
In Zhu Youdong's plan, after the implementation of the new policy for the royal family, he needed to have at least one representative of the royal family who passed the imperial examination and served as a powerful bureaucrat, and at least one wealthy businessman among the royal family members who needed to be self-reliant. Only in this way could the progressive impact brought about by the new policy for the royal family be effectively expanded through the six major newspapers - the weight of the restaurant owner was still a little light.
In this case, Zhu Yunkeng and Zhu Shengmiao are the best backup candidates. In Zhu Youdong's view, as long as the father and son work hard enough, he is willing to give them some convenience.
Lu Xun once said: If you are in the wind's outlet and the tide is right, even if you are as heavy as a pig, you can still fly.
Zhu Shengmiao keenly grasped the key point from Wang Chengen's words, and then quickly made up his mind.
His father was old, and all he thought about all day was how to maintain the restaurant, and then buy some land appropriately, so that he could be content with a small fortune. But in Zhu Shengmiao's view, the tide of the times had already rolled up, and if he didn't seize this opportunity, his family might never have the chance to achieve true wealth.
"Uncle Li, how much money do we have left in our store now?"
"Young Master, let me take a look. Oh, there is more than 3,700 yuan in cash in the store. In the bank, there is still 32,000 yuan in the store's account."
"Hmm." After a moment's silence, Zhu Shengmiao said, "Uncle Li, please go to the bank this afternoon to get a bill for thirty thousand taels. I need it."
"Ah? Young Master, this..." In the eyes of the accountant, this young master is very reliable: as a scholar, and it is said that he is very likely to pass the imperial examination this year, he still gets up early every day to prepare morning tea and snacks with the masters in the store, treats his eldest brother's son as his own, and is very filial to his parents. At the same time, apart from singing and responding to each other among scholars, he has no bad habits. Logically, such a person is very reliable. But, spending so much money at once?
"Uncle Li, this is what happened... Father has already agreed to this matter. If you are cautious, you can go and ask Father."
"Ah? So you want to serve the court. Of course, of course. Young Master, there is no need to bother you. I will go to the bank to withdraw the money after the guests leave at noon and the account is deposited. However, you have to sign the account book."
"Of course!"
According to the rules set by Zhu Yunkeng, the daily turnover of the store, after deducting various costs such as rent, wages, and ingredients, 80% of the net profit must be deposited in the bank - to earn some interest. The remaining 20% is pocket money for Zhu Yunkeng's family of six.
After receiving 30,000 yuan of store funds in the afternoon, Zhu Shengmiao took out more than 3,000 yuan of his daily savings, and then went south with this huge sum of money: Now the Daming Royal Bank has spread to all prefectures and most counties. For example, in the economically developed eastern provinces, it has achieved 100% coverage of counties. Therefore, no matter how much money you have, in addition to leaving a small amount of cash, you can easily go on the road with a few bills in your arms.
Almost at the same time as Zhu Shengmiao, dozens of Jinyiwei and elite troops from the Beijing Camp escorted the imperial edict to the south. As for the content of the imperial edict, of course, the emperor asked the local governments on both sides of the canal to prepare for the overall migration of the canal workers.
After being repeatedly harassed by Li Jia and hearing from officials such as Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou through various connections, Zhu Youdong finally realized how much the Taiwan government and the five overseas states wanted local people. And he was convinced that once this news was released, the four states of Fujian, Guilin, Tang, and Zhou would definitely ask for a large number of Han people to be introduced.
Therefore, it is correct to conquer Southeast Asia first, and then carry out the industrial revolution and social reform: in this way, the contradictions will have a place to transfer. As for the large number of Han people who moved to Southeast Asia and occupied the resources and living space of the local indigenous people? What does it have to do with me?
Finally, after asking Li Jia and others to submit a detailed resettlement plan, Zhu Youdong immediately summoned the country's senior officials and revised the previously formulated immigration plan: Taiwan Prefecture, the first phase of the migration of 100,000 people. Five overseas states, 50,000. Of course, this is the upper limit, the lower limit is still a total of 180,000. If a place cannot earn the upper limit, it can only passively accept the lower limit of 30,000 people.
Li Jia and others who received the confirmation letter from the emperor were cheering. Except for Hong Chengchou who was going back to Yangon to deal with the import of drugs, other officials asked their entourage to return quickly with their own handwritten letters, asking the local officials to make preparations for resettlement. After that, they applied to extend their stay in the mainland: Taiwan Prefecture has been developed for four years, and the other five states have been developed for three years. The common affairs of various places have been on the right track. In the case of severe shortage of human resources, there is really not much that the chief officials can do. In this case, it is better to stay in the mainland to recruit the people.
Sun Chuanting, who was originally a military household in Shanxi, returned directly to Daizhou and began to give speeches in the local area. Although he had to give at least two speeches every day, the content was basically the same.
"My fellow villagers, I grew up eating the wheat and drinking the water here when I was little, so how could I not think this place is bad and ugly? However, the Taiwan Prefecture where I am now serving is even better and more beautiful. The entire coastal area of that place is full of fish as big as arms if you cast a net! In addition, the climate is warm and there is no winter all year round, so there are all kinds of fruits that you have never seen or heard of, and all kinds of fruits that are a hundred times more delicious than pears. You can eat them as much as you want!
We are all from the same hometown, so I will never treat you unfairly. My ancestral tomb is still here. I promise you here with my heart patted. As long as you go to Taiwan , the Taiwan government will cover your travel expenses! After you get off the boat, you will be given land and houses. The land standard is fifty acres per household! Ladies and gentlemen, the land there is mostly good paddy fields, with at least two crops a year, and a considerable part of it can be harvested three times! Its yield per mu in each season, as long as you take good care of it, will never be less than three stones! Isn’t it much better than the current situation where we carefully take care of the crops for a year, and the autumn harvest is only one or two stones? As long as you settle down there and cultivate for three years, the fifty acres of land will be all yours. From now on, you only need to pay taxes to the court, and you don’t have to pay rent anymore! As for the house, it will belong to you after three years! If you dislike the house and it doesn’t suit your taste, after three years, you should have some extra money in your hand, right? Tear it down and rebuild it!
If you go there and don't want to farm, there are a lot of ships coming and going in our Taipei Port every day, and various factories are also being built. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can still earn two or three silver dollars a month. It's no worse than farming!
Fellow villagers, do you think that place is good? If you ask me, except that there is no snow in winter, everything is good! Such a good place, why don't you hurry to go? You know, Taiwan Prefecture is about the same size as our Datong Prefecture. Although there are more good paddy fields here than in Datong Prefecture, they are also limited. So, if you go too late, you won't be able to get good land!
What? You said you won't go? Why are you staying here? In recent years, has there been enough rain in Daizhou? Has there been a year without a poor harvest? The Mongols have been completely defeated this time, and the money invested by the court here will be drastically reduced. By then, there will be no relief food or salary, so what subsidy will you get? Do you really want to take your son and daughter to dig coal mines..."
Sun Chuanting was in Jiubian, Li Jia went to Lianghuai, and even Hong Chengchou, who had to return to the south urgently, gave up the convenient and comfortable sea route and chose the land route of climbing mountains and wading through rivers: to return to Yangon by land, one must pass through Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Hong Chengchou also traveled and promoted his work along the way.
The times have really begun to change, whether it is ordinary businessmen seizing business opportunities and investing all their wealth, or officials changing their previous high-handed attitude and rushing directly to the grassroots. The wind of the times has really started to blow.
