Volume 5 Chapter 6 Transactions
Zhao Jiu suddenly asked the question, but Zhang Jun was not caught off guard, because he realized long ago that he had to answer this question...but before, he thought he had to hand over the answer to the Privy Council and public opinion, but after the emperor began his large-scale inspection of the Yellow River defense line, he knew that he had to report directly to Emperor Zhao.
To be honest, Zhang Boying felt that the latter situation would be more comfortable, because he did not need to think so much and could just tell the truth. Relatively speaking, facing the current public opinion and official rules, he was a little confused and felt a little afraid... He felt a little bit unable to keep up with the new era.
Of course, this unexpected situation makes people a little nervous.
"Your Majesty, I have to tell you the truth." Zhang Jun said as he stood up and carefully poured half a glass of wine for Emperor Zhao.
"It's a private banquet at a private house, so there's no need to deliberately call yourself a vassal." Zhao Jiu took the wine glass and said casually. "Say whatever makes you feel comfortable."
"Yes." Zhang Jun sat back in his seat, sighed softly, and sighed repeatedly. "Your Majesty... I actually really want to say that it was my suggestion for that kid to cross the river this time... If I tell it to others, I guess everyone in the world will believe it... And according to what was said in the court newspaper, as a military governor, I already had the opportunity to go to the battle and respond... "
Halfway through the conversation, Zhang Jun couldn't remember what the word was, so he could only look back at his son-in-law under the strange gaze of Emperor Zhao, while Tian Shizhong also gritted his teeth and whispered a reminder under Emperor Zhao's gaze:
“Power and responsibility.”
"Yes, authority and responsibility." Zhang Jun took over the conversation and turned his head, speaking very sincerely. "If I admit it, I will lose face, but Zhang Zongyan will be saved. The emperor doesn't know that since Zi Gai was placed in the front army of the Imperial Camp by the emperor, Xiao Tian and him have basically been in charge here... Besides, he just wanted to make a contribution, so he underestimated the enemy and made a mistake on the battlefield. His intentions were good. But then again, I am afraid to admit it. First, I have deceived the emperor and I can't explain it to myself. Second, I am the commander of the Imperial Camp. If I admit it, people will think that the Imperial Camp Right Army is so incompetent in fighting, which will tarnish the reputation that the Imperial Camp has worked hard to build over the years."
"So, this was done by Zhang Zongyan on his own initiative?" Zhao Jiu understood it more or less.
"yes."
"You didn't doubt it at the time?"
"I was busy with a private matter at the time..." Zhang Jun explained helplessly. "I was working with the sea merchants in the east of Jingdong and my old friends in Huai River in the south. I was going to use the ships and sailors in Jingdong to sell the goods in Huai River to Japan... At that time, I was competing fiercely with Li Bao for the ships, so I believed Zhang Zongyan's lies and thought that his dispatches and the fight for military equipment and supplies were to help me! Who would have thought that he would take the opportunity to conceal the situation from both Jingdong and the rest of the people?"
Zhao Jiu was finally stunned, as if thinking about something.
"Your Majesty." Tian Shizhong also lowered his head and interrupted, adding, "Zhang Zongyan used mostly the logistical supplies assigned to the Imperial Navy by the Privy Council and the local authorities when crossing the river this time, and did not use the large warehouses in Qingzhou... That's why we were deceived by him."
Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, picked up another meatball, and then turned his head and laughed while chewing: "Boying, how big a business did you do in Japan this time? How could you not even have time to take care of the things under your nose?"
Zhang Jun stood up awkwardly, but dared not not answer: "Thirty ships, 20,000 rolls of silk, 3,000 dan of tea, 500 boxes of porcelain, ready to exchange for some silver and lacquerware... In addition, when we go, we have decided to use boxes of copper coins as the weight of the warehouse, and when we come back, we have decided to use barrels of sulfur mixed with water."
Zhao Jiu couldn't help but wonder: "I heard from Wang Lun, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, that Japan has always been cautious about the letters from the Song Dynasty. They pretend not to know anything about the word tribute, and there are many restrictions on trade. You have so many things... especially the 20,000 rolls of silk, which is the largest part this time. Compared with the 800,000 to 900,000 rolls of silk taxed by Lianghuai every year, it is not much, but Lianghuai itself can't sell much. 20,000 rolls is almost the total annual sea trade volume of Lianghuai in previous years when the country was prosperous. Aren't you afraid that the Japanese will not buy it?"
"Your Majesty, I have found out everything." Zhang Jun hurriedly explained. "First, after the Jingkang Incident, trade between the two countries has been tight for many years, and there is indeed a shortage of goods over there. Second, the current situation in Japan is said to be a bit wrong... On the one hand, the central foreign court in Japan is increasingly not involved in matters, and on the other hand, the governors of the counties and states below are doing whatever they want, just like the princes during the Three Kingdoms period... My idea is that if we can't sell out all the goods in Kyushu Island in the east, we will try to go further east. If that doesn't work, we can go back to Goryeo."
"What if it still doesn't work?" Zhao Jiu asked seriously.
"Look at what the emperor said." Zhang Jun immediately stamped his feet and explained. "Doing business, especially maritime trade, let alone other things, just exchanging copper coins for silver, that is double the profit. If it is silk or tea, it is several times the profit. For porcelain, it depends on the quality. Good porcelain can make more than ten times the profit... Therefore, if six or seven of the thirty ships come back, I can break even. If more than ten ships come back, I can double my money. Thirty ships means that I have exhausted all methods, but only sold twenty ships. So what? It's back!"
Zhao Jiu was thoughtful at first, then shook his head suddenly: "I know. After I came back, I vaguely heard Li Bao and several commanders of the Imperial Camp Right Army talking about this matter, but I didn't expect that your business is so big."
Zhang Jun was very proud for a moment.
"Has the ship gone out to sea?" Zhao Jiufu asked again seriously.
"I was delayed by Zhang Zongyan's incident..." Zhang Jun retracted his attitude and responded awkwardly. "We should have gone out to sea quickly while the Dragon King of the Sea was less angry in winter."
While the emperor and his ministers were talking, Liu Yan, Tian Shizhong, and Zhang Zigai were already dumbfounded... Because no matter how they looked at it, this topic seemed to be a little off, right? Zhang Jun was fine, but how could the emperor be so concerned about doing business?
"Officials."
But soon, as Tian Shizhong gave a slight nod under the table, Zhang Boying immediately came to his senses and quickly stood up in awe. "I know that the emperor is worried about the finances, and I still say the same thing... If the emperor has anything to ask for... If he has any words, I am willing to give up everything I have to serve him."
"Bo Ying." Zhao Jiu shook his head slowly.
"I am here."
"Let me first talk about how to deal with Zhang Zongyan... He is more or less a courageous general, so I will not kill him. You submit a document to the Privy Council and take half of the responsibility. Then I will issue an edict to demote him to a captain and have him serve in the army! The dead and wounded must also be properly compensated, and not a single cent can be leaked!"
"I thank you on his behalf..." Zhang Jun quickly agreed.
"Before today, we two have actually talked about this in detail three times, right?" Zhao Jiu suddenly interrupted.
"Yes." Zhang Boying also changed his mind again as the emperor said, and still responded. "Once outside Yingkou Pavilion, once at night in Xiacai City, and once when the emperor called me to the mulberry forest next to the fish pond, and that time there was also Wu Jie."
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly: "In fact, the three times before, I have hinted that you can indulge yourself a little in money, but you are not allowed to delay the war, right?"
Like the other three people present, Zhang Jun became nervous again, but he still responded immediately: "Yes."
"I came here early today, not only because of Zhang Zongyan's matter, I don't think you dare to hide this matter from me." Zhao Jiu said with emotion. "The reason I came here is mainly because I met Ma Kuo in Heyin, and I once again understood the difficulty of the Northern Expedition. Moreover, I have been here all the way, from Zhang Rong's Imperial Camp Navy, to Li Qiong's Imperial Camp Right Army (formerly the Eight Character Army), to Yue Fei's Imperial Camp Front Army, and finally to you... No matter how you look at it, the Imperial Camp Right Army has the worst combat effectiveness, the worst military appearance, and the worst discipline."
At this point, Zhang Jun had already stood up, followed by Tian Shizhong. Zhang Zigai had no choice but to look at Liu Yan, then at his uncle and brother-in-law, and could only follow Liu Yan's example and lower his head to eat.
"Everyone sit down." Zhao Jiu continued with a sigh. "I know that what you have done now is not to let me down... What I meant in the mulberry forest that day was that you can hold off for a while, as long as you take less... And from the information I have heard, the commander of the right army of the Imperial Camp can already receive 80% of the salary of the front army of the Imperial Camp next door, and the commander should be able to get about 90% of the salary. You also need to support the Beiwei Army outside the city, so keeping 10% and giving out 90% is already very grand."
Zhang Jun sat down again. His mood fluctuated with the official's words, but now he felt relieved.
"But Boying." Zhao Jiu continued to settle accounts with the other party while holding the chopsticks. "You have certainly done me justice by releasing 90% of the troops here, but what about the lower ones? If you control 90% and lead 80%, how much will the chief get? How much will the soldiers get in the end? Moreover, is this 90% or 80% really 90% or 80% of the total salary? It is 80% of the front army of the Imperial Camp! The front army of the Imperial Camp also needs to support the Beiwei Army and the Tabai Army, but they have made the accounts public at the military headquarters, so that everyone is scrambling to be a Beiwei Army! In addition, the biggest problem is the use of soldiers in your army! The salary of the lowest soldiers is 60% to 70% of that of their neighbors. They don't go to training, but instead have to build houses, work, and transport goods for their superiors. They are scolded for being useless... You are also an old soldier. Tell me yourself, can your soldiers compare with the soldiers of the front army of the Imperial Camp when they go into battle?"
Some things are one thing to know in your heart, but another thing to say them to someone's face. Zhang Jun was so embarrassed that his face turned red, but he could only lower his head and listen to the lecture.
Emperor Zhao vented his anger to the extreme: "Bo Ying, I know you didn't break our agreement. It was I who went back on my word this time. But what can I do? If the Right Army of the Imperial Camp is not reorganized now, when we go north one day, if the front army of the Imperial Camp is defeated, I will only be convinced and know that I am powerless. But if the Right Army of the Imperial Camp is defeated, I will only be frustrated and want to die!"
"Your Majesty, I still say the same thing." Zhang Jun looked up at Zhao Guanjia after hearing him stop. "If your Majesty has anything to ask for, I am willing to serve you with my whole family..."
"You don't need to do anything for me." Zhao Jiu frowned. "I've already told you to do everything you could, but I went back on my word and failed you..."
"Then I will work hard to rectify it..."
"Can you fix it?" Zhao Jiu asked again. "Don't worry about the business? Without you, can the goods from Lianghuai be shipped together with the ships from Jingdong?"
"Then I am willing to give way to you." Zhang Jun looked back at his son-in-law, and finally said this sentence with difficulty. At the same time, Tian Shizhong, Liu Yan, and Zhang Zigai all stood up. "Let's use Zhang Zongyan's case as an excuse, and the emperor should dismiss me! Then, and then choose another senior official... How do you think?"
"I do mean that."
Zhao Jiu responded, but shook his head, and his words were equally difficult. "But I can't do this... because I am an emperor, and I must keep my word to my subjects, especially you military officials who risked your lives for me."
The other four people standing in the empty main hall of Zhang's mansion were almost stunned.
"If you hadn't been in Cai, I would have been driven out of the sea by Wanyan Wushu! Your merits are known to the world! In the past, you have done your best, and you didn't delay the overall situation at all! As for the private relationship between Zhang Qing and me, we have just said it several times. You didn't betray me, but I was a little inconsistent..." Zhao Jiu became more and more helpless, but there was a sense of determination in his helplessness. "Zhang Qing, the imperial camp army has now reached 200,000, and most of the generals in the world are already there. Tell me yourself, if I easily move you today, how can I win the trust of the other eight or nine governors in the future? Win the trust of dozens of commanders? Win the trust of the 200,000 imperial camp troops who finally have a sense of honor and 70% to 80% of their military pay? Let them believe me, I will treat meritorious officials properly in the future, and attach equal importance to civil and military officials? Using civil officials to control military officials is an institutional design. The equality of civil and military officials depends on me setting an example!"
The hall was silent.
During this period, Zhang Jun was overwhelmed with emotion several times. He wanted to muster up the courage to express his feelings to the emperor, imitate the storytelling of the emperor and his ministers in a heart-to-heart talk, the so-called self-sacrifice, and give up everything completely. However, every time he was reluctant to give up the power, wealth and conveniences brought by this position, and then he was discouraged again and again.
In the end, he was so discouraged that the most senior commander of the imperial camp didn't even know what to say and simply stood there in silence.
"But the emperor went back on his word for the sake of the general situation!" At this moment, Tian Shizhong, the deputy commander of the right army of the imperial camp, suddenly spoke from behind his father-in-law. "When the emperor talked to my father-in-law for the first two times, what a desperate situation it was. Who would have thought that it would take only three years to win in Yaoshan? When it was the last time, who would have thought that the northwest could be swept so quickly? The emperor was forced by the general situation and it was so difficult. If we, as ministers, rely on our merits and the emperor's reasonableness and trustworthiness, and do not know how to advance or retreat, it will be a real way to disaster!"
Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment, then he looked back at his son-in-law and his silent nephew, and was stunned again. Then he hurriedly turned back and knelt down again. Then, while kneeling, he poured a glass of wine for Emperor Zhao: "Emperor! You have the final say in everything! I know that you are so sincere to me today and you spared Zhang Zongyan's life. You must have a reason. No matter what, I will listen to what you say without any second thoughts."
Zhao Jiu looked at Tian Shizhong, then at Zhang Jun, nodded, picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank it all, then crossed his fingers in front of him and said something:
"I have two opinions... The first one is to keep you in public but get rid of you in secret... Meaning, I will not do anything to you, Zhang Qing, in public. You will still be the commander-in-chief of the Right Army of the Imperial Camp, but in reality, you will hand over the military power of the Right Army of the Imperial Camp to your son-in-law, Deputy Commander Tian, and let Deputy Commander Tian directly obey Yue Pengju, and let Yue Pengju take charge of the Right Army of the Imperial Camp. Only Yue Pengju and the five people in the hall today will know about this arrangement... In this way, both our monarch and minister will be respectable, and you can continue to do your business with your airs."
Zhang Jun knelt beside Zhao Jiu and thought for a while. He didn't know why, but he thought of the conversation between the emperor and his ministers at Yingkou on the Huai River, and the words of the loser on the roadside. Then he felt weak all over. Finally, he simply nodded and said, "I said, if the emperor has something to say, I will listen... But there is one thing. The front army of the imperial camp already has 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers. If I give him my 25,000 troops, he will directly control 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers... The emperor trusts this man, and I have nothing to say, but there must be institutional defenses, and we must leave a backup for Xiaotian."
When Zhao Jiu saw that the other party agreed, he naturally just nodded and fooled around with the rest of the conversation.
After the other party finished speaking, Emperor Zhao continued, "Besides that, I have another reason, which is that I cannot let you suffer any loss... As I said, Zhang Qing's merits and qualifications are here. Not only can I not let you down in public, I have to compensate you in private!"
Zhang Boying suddenly perked up.
"However, Zhang Qing must also know that I really don't have much money right now, so I have to make a long-term arrangement with you... How about this? From today on, I will do the business in Japan with you! You can do it freely under my name! If you make money, I will take out my share in the future and give it to you in installments?!"
Zhao Jiu leaned slightly to the side and finally grabbed the other person's hand. This action completely eliminated Zhang Jun's doubts and fears. It also made Zhang Taiwei forget to reply to Zhao Guanjia's question, and Zhao Guanjia was able to continue talking:
"And we need to do not only business with Japan, but also business with South Vietnam! South Vietnam's food and Japan's silver, like the war horses in the west, are things that the country needs in the long run! As long as we can do it, it will definitely be a long-term benefit like collecting rent from the land!"
Zhang Jun listened to these words and seemed to want to say something but stopped himself several times. It seemed that he was very excited and had countless words and ideas on this topic, and he was ready to communicate with the official.
But Emperor Zhao just held the other party's hands and continued to explain earnestly: "And if it can't be done, you don't have to worry. I actually asked about it a long time ago. Now, east of Malacca, the sea affairs are still decided by the Song Dynasty! There is no need to rush to destroy the country or go to war. Who dares not to buy our goods, not to sell our gold, silver and grain, let the Imperial Camp Navy burn their ports! There is no need to worry about opposition from the court. I will take the lead, and the two of us will get the various families in the Secret Pavilion and the Public Pavilion together. Those who have money will be forced to contribute, and those who have no money will also give some dry shares, and then we will set up a big company together to manage this maritime trade! How can they not agree? As for slightly larger countries such as Japan and South Vietnam, I don't believe it. It's just trade, why is it so? The future world must be an integrated East Asia... No... It must be a future where China and the four barbarians form a community of shared destiny... This is the general trend! There must be people among them who understand the times and are willing to cooperate with us!"
Zhang Jun certainly didn't understand what the terms community of shared future and East Asian integration meant. He didn't know where Malacca was, and he could only understand the meaning of shares literally. But he understood that the powerful people across the country would get together and do big business under the name of Emperor Zhao. He also understood that if the Japanese did not buy goods, the Imperial Navy would be sent to burn Japan's ports.
Thinking of this, Zhang Boying couldn't help but feel regretful. If he had known that his fortune would be tied to this matter, why did he exclude Li Bao in everything? !
