My father is Jiajing

Chapter 449 No One Can Touch My Money
Yu Huatian respectfully handed Wang Zhi's confession to Zhu Zaigui. Zhu Zaigui took a quick look at it and almost couldn't help laughing.

Wang Zhi was really good at boasting about his achievements. If a pirate who was entrenched in the sea and did not obey the law had not been surrounded by the Ming navy under the command of Yu Dayou, would he have been so obedient as to accept the imperial edict and surrender to the shore according to Hu Zongxian's wishes?
Generally speaking, Wang Zhi's surrender was a result of helplessness due to the situation being stronger than he was.

Zhu Zaigui continued to read Wang Zhi's self-defense statement. Wang Zhi said, "I am a commoner seeking profit in the business world. I sell goods in Zhejiang and Fujian, share the profit with others, and defend the border for the country. I have never seduced bandits to invade. This is known to all gods and people in heaven and earth. Why have I repeatedly made minor contributions but have been deceived and unable to report to the higher authorities? Instead, my family property has been confiscated. I am really unwilling to accept this."

Look at what he said. How can he be a criminal? He is like a loyal hero who took the initiative to contribute to the country.

Zhu Zaigui then continued reading, and Wang Zhi also began to talk about some important intelligence content in order to show his value.

Wang Zhi also revealed all the intelligence he knew about Japan, "Although Japan is under one ruler, the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong, so it is just a name. There are still 66 countries in the country, and they are stronger than each other."

This sentence may be new to ordinary people, but it is not new to Zhu Zaigui.

Because Zhu Zaigui already knew that this was the Warring States Period in Japan, and it was precisely because the domestic annexation wars in Japan were too brutal that there were so many Japanese pirates who risked their lives by sailing in small boats to the coast of the Ming Dynasty to seek profit.

And because the Ming Dynasty's way of governing the people was more cruel than that of the previous dynasties, most of the people either did not have enough food to eat and had no strength, or were treated as serfs by the aristocratic landlords, and they did not have the courage and bravery of the people of the Han and Tang dynasties.

Therefore, when the common people living along the coast encountered these brutal Japanese pirates coming from the battlefields of the Warring States Period in Japan, they had no psychological preparation and could only be robbed and massacred one-sidedly.

For hundreds of years, the Ming Dynasty had no powerful enemies along the thousands of miles of coastal areas, and it could even be said that it had done nothing.

Suddenly encountered such a group of Japanese pirates who fought fiercely and killed people like flies, for a time the coastal garrisons of the Ming Dynasty found it difficult to resist such brutal enemies.

So, the final situation is predictable.

In order to survive and continue to live, the samurai and ronin who were defeated in Japan had no choice but to transform themselves into Japanese pirates and harass the innocent people along the coast of the Ming Dynasty who had not known war for hundreds of years.

After reading this, Zhu Zaigui said to Yu Huatian: "The Japanese monarch is weak and cannot command the whole country, which has caused the country to be divided among heroes and led to constant wars. He has also disturbed our sea borders and killed our people. He deserves death! You should pay more attention to this matter in the future. Maybe in the future I will send eunuchs to follow Zheng He's example and set foot in the East Ocean!"

After hearing what Zhu Zaigui said, Yu Huatian also became excited. He immediately bowed and said, "I will serve you like a dog and a horse!"

Zhu Zaigui continued to read Wang Zhi's confession. Wang Zhi had almost finished telling all the above things and began to express his loyalty and role.

Wang Zhi continued, "If the prince is merciful and forgiving, and pardons my crime, I will be able to serve as a dog or horse and work hard. The ports of Zhejiang, Dinghai, Changtu and other ports will continue to open customs and pay taxes as in Guangzhou, and the tribute will not be missed."

What this sentence means is that if Guangdong's practice of allowing the opening of trading ports and setting up customs to collect tariffs is extended to the Zhejiang coast, and Japan's tributary trade relations are restored, then the so-called "Japanese threat" on the southeast coast can be resolved.

This statement is insightful, but lacks any political foresight.

What the imperial court cares about now is Japan's tribute?

The battle for tribute in the second year of Jiajing was a complete disgrace to the Ming Dynasty.

The officials who were receiving the Japanese envoys in Ningbo thought they had received an envoy from Japan who came to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty and were preparing to report it to the court as a serious matter. However, two teams of Japanese envoys actually came to pay tribute.

Moreover, the two Japanese tribute missions fought each other in Ningbo without waiting for the certification and judgment of the Ming court.

This fight not only affected innocent people, but also dragged in the commander of the Japanese army Liu Jin and captain Zhang Tong who were trying to mediate. They died in this stupid fight caused by the two Japanese delegations competing for tribute.

Therefore, after that, the internal officials of the Ming Dynasty also reflected on the root cause of this incident, but the direction of their reflection was very confusing.

Xia Yan, who was just a small official at the time, directly put the blame for the incident on the Maritime Customs.

Xia Yan submitted a memorial to the Emperor Jiajing, who had just ascended the throne for more than two years, stating that "the Japanese invasion started with the Maritime Customs" and requesting the abolition of the Fujian and Zhejiang Maritime Customs and leaving only the Guangdong Maritime Customs.

Such a memorial was sent to the desk of Emperor Jiajing, but he had no idea what was going on at sea. Moreover, all his energy was focused on the dispute over the Great Ceremony at that time, and he had no energy to study the serious consequences of closing the Fujian and Zhejiang Maritime Customs.

Therefore, it was no surprise that Xia Yan's request was approved by Emperor Jiajing.

From then on, the Fujian and Zhejiang Maritime Customs Offices were abolished, which also led to the severance of trade routes between the Ming Dynasty and Japan. The Ming Dynasty could no longer learn about changes in the domestic situation in Japan through tribute and trade channels, and thus ignored the proliferation of Japanese pirates, laying the groundwork for the later "Japanese pirate disaster in the southeast."

Therefore, if we want to trace the root cause of the current Japanese invasion in the southeast, Xia Yan is the first person responsible.

But what is Xia Yan’s identity now?

Xia Yan was once a top politician who served as the Prime Minister. Although he was defeated and beheaded in the struggle with Yan Song, the so-called clean officials in the court who now hated Yan Song's party all deified Xia Yan in their hearts as a loyal minister who was unjustly killed.

If Zhu Zaigui really followed Wang Zhi's last argument, pardoned his crime, re-established the Zhejiang and Fujian Maritime Customs, restored the tribute trade with Japan, and eased the breeding environment of Japanese pirates, then Zhu Zaigui dared to bet that not only would this be impossible, but Wang Zhi would also have no chance of survival.

Because once Wang Zhi's suggestion was adopted, it would be like nailing another deep nail with an unforgivable sin into Xia Yan's coffin.

Although Xia Yan has been dead for more than ten years, he has become a spiritual totem of the Qingliu and will not be allowed to be tarnished by "dirty water" again.

So although Wang Zhi's last sentence was very correct, it lacked any political foresight and awareness. He had no idea how turbulent the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty was. The turbulence of those waves was definitely more terrifying than any storm he had ever seen on the sea!
Therefore, as long as his words were spread, it would only make him die faster! Even if Zhu Zaigui wanted to save him, he would have no chance of survival.

Zhu Zaigui snorted, "A small pirate is so shameless as to talk about important matters of the court. Yu Huatian, go back and ask Wang Zhi to write a new confession. I don't want to hear any smart-aleck suggestions."

Zhu Zaigui simply took Wang Zhi's confession and did not give it to Yu Huatian.

Although Yu Huatian was still unclear about Zhu Zaigui's ultimate intention, he vaguely guessed that Zhu Zaigui did not want Wang Zhi to die.

Since they didn't want Wang Zhi to die, then the direction of the next re-interrogation would be easy to decide. Yu Huatian immediately replied, "I will go and re-interrogate Wang Zhi right away."

Zhu Zaigui waved his hand and asked Yuhuatian to retreat.

Then Zhu Zaigui got up and returned to his study.

In addition to Yu Huatian's interrogation of Wang Zhi today, there is another very important thing, that is, Hai Rui's three-year performance evaluation is approaching, and he will soon be replaced from his position as the Imperial Envoy of Shanxi.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui had to consider a new place for Hai Rui, otherwise this sharp sword would rust if it was left there.

Moreover, Hai Rui had supervised the post-disaster reconstruction work in the north very well in recent years, and he must have been a top choice in the performance evaluation. Even if Zhu Zaigui still wanted Hai Rui to stay in office, he had to at least promote him to the rank of governor.

However, it was not Zhu Zaigui's original intention to send Hai Rui to be the governor of a certain place right now.

Zhu Zaigui still wanted to keep Hai Rui's magic sword by his side for use. After all, there was "no one available" around Zhu Zaigui now. He still needed a pioneer who could cut through the thorns and open up a smooth road for him.

So at this time Zhu Zaigui was also very confused about how to arrange for Hai Rui.

At the same time, Gao Gong's term as chairman of the Ming Federal Reserve will also end, and he can no longer continue to serve as the chairman of the Ming Federal Reserve. Zhu Zaigui also has to consider the next candidate for the chairman of the Ming Federal Reserve.

Although Zhu Zaigui talked about nomination at the beginning, whether nomination can work depends on who is standing behind the person being nominated.
For example, if the next chairman of the Ming Reserve after Gao Gong is recommended by the Ming Bank controlled by Zhu Zaigui and other directors of the Ming Reserve, will the other boards of directors have a hard time with Zhu Zaigui?

Even if they are reluctant, they will eventually choose to obey and follow Zhu Zaigui to support the new person in charge. This is the charm of power. It can directly change the choices in people's minds. Of course, this choice must also be in line with their partial interests.

If it is a decision based on popular support, then even if it is correct, the final implementation effect will certainly be extremely poor.

This is also one of the reasons why reformers of all generations have failed.

Because their reforms not only affect the interests of others, but also fail to take into account the interests and emotions of some people. Therefore, as long as they introduce new policies to get rid of old problems, there will always be a group of people who secretly disobey them, misinterpret the meaning of the new policies, and cause the reforms to fail.

Therefore, in order to avoid being isolated, Zhu Zaigui is considering that the next candidate for the Ming Federal Reserve may come from the Northern Construction Bank.

Because Zhu Zaigui also wanted to use the power of these Shanxi people to let them wave flags and shout slogans in the court to fight for maritime interests that they had never touched before.

After all, because of the reconstruction of the North in recent years, many southerners have participated in it and gained a lot of benefits from it.

Therefore, in order to maintain balance, the next chairman of the Ming Federal Reserve will definitely be someone from the northern forces represented by Shanxi merchants.

"Someone, go get President Qiao Wanjin."

After Zhu Zaigui thought about this, he sent someone to find Qiao Wanjin.

Now Qiao Wanjin has also upgraded his muskets to cannons. In order to control these banks, the imperial court, after several rounds of bargaining, tacitly agreed to give certain ranks to the bank presidents according to the background and size of these banks.

Of course, this kind of rank is time-limited and only those who serve as bank presidents can have it. At the same time, they will be subject to dual supervision by the Ministry of Revenue of the imperial court and the censors of the Censorate, and this was one of the key points of the last power game.

Although these old men in the court lack pioneering spirit, they are all savvy in the operation and control of power. Although they cannot directly control the major banks, they can use this regulatory model to influence them and thus gain certain benefits.

Zhu Zaigui also acquiesced to their actions.

Because Zhu Zaigui was also very clear that if he did not give these people any benefits and let them act on their own and influence the banks behind each other, big problems would definitely arise.

It would be better to go with the flow and let them deal with this regulatory model, allowing them to use the court's administrative power to influence the Ming Federal Reserve and the banking affairs under its management.

In a sense, this can also be regarded as a kind of control of the market by the court's visible hand.

It's not a bad thing anyway.

Because even without the active bargaining of these court officials, Zhu Zaigui would gradually establish a regulatory department headed by the court to supervise the Ming Federal Reserve and the banks under its management.

Otherwise, if such a huge financial organization is controlled by this group of businessmen, something bad will happen sooner or later.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui did not actually hinder the game at all, he just pretended to do so and said a few meaningless words.

In the end, it was Emperor Jiajing who made the final decision and finally resolved the matter.

Afterwards, Zhu Zaigui heard from Huang Jin that Emperor Jiajing’s attitude towards this matter could be summed up in three words: “My money”!
The meaning of this sentence is very clear: "No one can touch my money!"
As long as the Ming Federal Reserve and the local banks controlled by the Ming Federal Reserve can operate smoothly, and as long as it can bring a steady stream of real money income to Emperor Jiajing, then Emperor Jiajing will be willing to talk.

Therefore, based on the rank of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue currently held by Gao Gong, the chairman of the Ming Federal Reserve, the presidents of the fifteen director banks like the Northern Construction Bank will automatically receive administrative treatment similar to that of fourth-rank officials. The second-level presidents under them can receive administrative treatment similar to that of fifth-rank officials, and the third-level presidents can receive administrative treatment similar to that of seventh-rank officials.

These three levels of banking institutions have already covered the provinces, prefectures, and counties in the Ming Dynasty. Of course, due to population and economic differences among regions, many prefectures or counties still do not have a formal banking institution and still rely on their local money house model to maintain ancient financial activities.

However, in some places with obviously developed economy and dense population, banks at all levels are opened very quickly and the competition among them is very direct.

So this can be considered a kind of social progress. At least that’s what Zhu Zaigui thought.

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Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)