Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 80: The Conspiracy Between the Ruler and His Ministers Causes Trouble for the Treacherous Officials (Part 1)

The emperor's father-in-law, Zhou Kui, was riding high during this period.

The residence of the Grand Princess Ning'an was the largest and most luxurious mansion in the capital, and the current emperor actually bestowed it upon him directly.

His eldest son also got married, and those powerful officials in the court gave him a lot of gifts. He made more than 100,000 taels of silver just from that.

More importantly, the current emperor has entrusted him with the glass and mirror business, and he receives more than 10,000 taels of silver in dividends every month.

In an instant, he went from a miserable hermit to a powerful figure in the imperial court!
He also knew that all of this was given to him by the current emperor.

Therefore, upon hearing that the current emperor had summoned him, he immediately abandoned everything, rode his horse, and followed the imperial guards who came to deliver the imperial edict to the capital.

Inside the Yuxi Palace, Zhu Jue was still discussing matters with Wei Zhongxian and Bi Maoliang when Zhou Kui, the emperor's father-in-law, strode over, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Father-in-law, how's the glass and mirror business?"

That's really good.

However, he couldn't show off recklessly in front of the current emperor.

Zhou Kui thought for a moment, then said modestly, "Your Majesty, the glass and mirror business is doing well. All the goods are sold out every day, and we can earn more than 200,000 taels of gross profit a month."

This amount of money is nothing to me.

If I'm going to make money, I'll make a lot of money.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then said solemnly, "Father-in-law, the glass factory in Tongzhou City is almost completed and put into production. At that time, the output of glass and mirrors will at least double. Do you think we can sell all this goods in the capital?"

what?
At least double!
I can't guarantee that.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, I can only do my best. It's hard to say whether we can sell them all."

If you can't sell them all, I'll teach you how to sell them all.

Zhu Jue suggested, "Go sell them in Nanjing. There are even more wealthy people in Southern Zhili. You can easily sell all this glass and mirrors there."

I'm going to sell in Southern Zhili?

Business is definitely easier over there.

The question is, who will do the business in the capital?

Zhou Kui cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to ask, what will happen to the business in the capital if I go to Jinling?"

I have my own arrangements for this.

Zhu Jue replied without hesitation, "You can leave the business in the capital to Xiao Jian."

That kid's no good.

If the glass and mirror business were handed over to that kid, he would definitely ruin it.

Zhou Kui thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, Xiao Jian is good at medicine, but I'm afraid he's not good at business. He's too honest."

Honesty is good.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "From now on, Xiao Jian doesn't need to sell these glass and mirrors anymore. We can just put them in shops that sell valuable goods. Xiao Jian only needs to distribute the glass and mirrors to people based on the sales situation of each shop every day."

"Don't worry, you'll definitely get your share of the profits. And that includes the business in Southern Zhili; if you succeed, I'll give you half of the gross profit as a bonus."

That's wonderful! This means I can get at least 20,000 to 30,000 taels a month.

Zhou Kui repeatedly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How many of the families of the selected ladies-in-waiting are from merchant families?"

There are far fewer merchants than farmers and artisans.

Zhou Kui cautiously said, "Your Majesty, there aren't many merchants among the families of the selected ladies, only about two hundred."

Yes, that's enough for now.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then carefully instructed: "From these two hundred or so merchants, select forty reliable and capable ones, preferably those who have sold valuable goods such as dried goods, tonics, and delicacies from land and sea."

We plan to acquire forty shops in the capital, specializing in valuable goods, including glass and mirrors. Xiao Jian will be responsible for delivering the goods and, incidentally, making rounds to see if they're honest in their business dealings.

Is light just glass and mirrors?
It seems you've forgotten something.

Zhou Kui nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I understand. You seemed to have asked me to promote the heating system. If I go to Jinling, what will happen to the heating system?"

It's not that I forgot about this, the key is that there isn't enough copper right now. There isn't even enough copper for making lathes, and we'll have to wait for the sealing copper sheets for the heating systems.

Zhu Jue pondered, "Heating isn't urgent. We don't have enough sealing copper sheets right now, and the weather isn't cold enough to warrant heating. When it gets cold, we can just install heating in the shops that sell valuable goods. That's perfect, since those who can afford valuable goods are all wealthy people. They'll definitely be curious about why the shops are so warm, and we can have the shopkeepers promote them."

This is a good idea.

Zhou Kui said with admiration, "Your Majesty is wise."

You like taking pictures too.

Zhu Jue then instructed in detail: "Take one hundred of those two hundred merchants to Jinling this time. We also need to take over forty shops there, specializing in valuable goods, including glass, mirrors, wild ginseng, mink fur, mountain delicacies, and so on."

These shops require money to be acquired, and the inventory also requires money. Go to Xiaohui and get one million taels of silver. This time, we will also send those who originally ran shops selling valuable goods in the capital with you.

They are familiar with this business, so you can let them be the managers. But you have to arrange two of your own merchants under them to handle the purchasing and finances, keep an eye on them, and prevent them from embezzling funds.

Also, you don't need to purchase wild ginseng, sable fur, or other wild game for the time being. I will have someone send you goods worth several million taels of silver, including glass and mirrors. I will also send grain transport ships to deliver them to you regularly.

You'll also be responsible for sourcing dried goods and delicacies from the mountains and seas for the shops here—the kind that aren't available in the capital but are cheaper in Nanjing. The grain transport boats will deliver the goods, and you'll load them onto the boats and bring them back.

This business is huge! It involves goods worth millions of taels!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui cautiously said, "Your Majesty, it's not safe for me to take over a hundred merchants with me to do such a big business. A business worth millions of taels of silver will definitely attract unwanted attention."

Uh, let's hope that what we stole won't be taken back by someone else!
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue solemnly said, "Zhongxian, you should explain to the Grand Tutor how this batch of goods came about, and give him a heads-up."

Wei Zhongxian quickly began to describe it vividly.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui surprisingly asked with great interest, "Is Lord Wei also proficient in unorthodox methods?"

I'm just a half-baked amateur.

Wei Zhongxian quickly replied modestly, "Father-in-law, I have only learned a little bit, and I dare not say that I am an expert."

Zhou Kui surprisingly said enthusiastically, "Lord Wei is too modest. Your method uses many secret techniques from the thieves and robbers."

Wei Zhongxian shook his head repeatedly and said, "Father-in-law, I have only heard of the secret arts of the Thousand Gates and the Thieves' Gate, and I only have a superficial understanding of them."

What are you talking about?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue couldn't help but ask curiously, "What secret techniques of the Thousand Doors and Thieves?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian looked directly at Zhou Kui.

He wasn't entirely being modest; he genuinely didn't know much about it.

Zhou Kui quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the secret arts of the Thousand Gates can be summarized in five words: deception, concealment, coaxing, cheating, and fraud; the secret arts of the Thieves can also be summarized in five words: swindling, deceiving, abducting, robbing, and stealing."

Oh, so that's what it is.

No wonder you were so adept at swindling and cheating before; it turns out you studied the secret arts of the swindlers and thieves.

It seems I worried for nothing. It's unlikely that someone would try to fool an expert like you. You just need to guard against robbery and theft.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then decisively said, "Zhongxian, dispatch a thousand imperial guards to accompany the Emperor to Jinling."

Wei Zhongxian nodded hurriedly and said, "This servant obeys the decree."

Zhou Kui, however, wisely reminded him, "Lord Wei, your method actually has some flaws. Fan Yongdou is no pushover for becoming a wealthy merchant in Shanxi. We need to set a good trap to lure this old fox into it."

Oh dear, I hope all my efforts haven't been in vain.

Wei Zhongxian quickly replied, "Please enlighten me, Father-in-law."

Zhu Juena also said solemnly, "Father-in-law, please tell us how to proceed. This time, we must punish those traitors who collude with the enemy and betray the country."

The key issue is that he's genuinely short of money; he urgently needs to acquire this batch of goods, or rather, this sum of money.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui immediately began to analyze the situation carefully, drawing upon his own experience in swindling and deception.

Zhu Jue and Wei Zhongxian would also chime in from time to time.

This emperor and his minister were actually plotting to cheat and swindle!

Seeing this, Bi Maoliang couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

However, he couldn't hold the position of Minister of Commerce in the inner court for nothing.

Soon, he joined the conspiracy.

(End of this chapter)