Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

“Another point is that this state-owned bank has no government office, and therefore, no officials.

I will keep an eye on it in the early stage, and when it is on the right track, it can be managed by the Ministry of Revenue, but the Ministry of Revenue can only regulate certain parts, and I will carefully study the details in the future."

Zhang Shikang thought for a while and then said.

After he finished speaking, everyone present frowned. What was this? It could be managed and yet it couldn't be managed. It didn't act like a yamen, yet it had some of the functions of a yamen. It seemed a bit like the General Administration of Manufacturing.

"You may not understand it now, but once the General Administration of Manufacturing, the Liansheng Chamber of Commerce, and this money house are all up and running, then you may know what is going on," Zhang Shikang explained.

In fact, this type of institution is somewhat similar to the state-owned enterprises of later generations. It is supported by the imperial court, and naturally the state takes the lion’s share of the profits.

Moreover, Zhang Shikang believed that such very important industries could only be state-owned enterprises, which would be more conducive to the stability of the court.

"Wuji, you are already in charge of so many things, can you really take care of it?" Emperor Chongzhen said after thinking for a while.

This kid has complained many times about having too many tasks and too heavy responsibilities, but this time he took the initiative to take on the responsibilities again, which surprised him a little.

“Your Majesty, you asked a good question. I really don’t want to deal with these things that sound so stressful, but these things are actually great things for the court and the people.

There is no way, Your Majesty. Even a great man like Lord Hai can't understand the common sense of economics that I just talked about. I can't force him to do anything, right?"

After Zhang Shikang finished speaking, Hai Zhongqi frowned somewhat depressedly. It was unclear whether what he said was a compliment or an insult.

Fortunately, Hai Zhongqi had become numb to Zhang Shikang and simply treated him as if he was talking nonsense.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded vigorously upon hearing this. What he valued most about Zhang Shikang was that even if this guy didn't like something very much, he would try his best to do it as long as it was helpful to the national economy and people's livelihood, even if it didn't benefit him at all.

This is unlike some court officials who did this deliberately in order to gain power.

"But your majesty, I have a few wise wives who can help me run the business. I have been teaching them about money houses for the past two years, and now they are basically ready to become masters."

"Nonsense! How can a woman enter such a noble place?" Cabinet Chief Minister Li Banghua said subconsciously.

"What are you saying, Lord Li? Do you dare to say this in front of the loyal marquis?

Or, if you can do it, then go ahead?" Zhang Shikang replied rudely.

He did not doubt the loyalty of these old men to the court, but he had to admit that after being immersed in Confucianism for too long, their thinking had become too rigid.

Besides, a money shop is not a government office. In the eyes of ordinary people, it is nothing more than a form of business.

Although most of the business in the Ming Dynasty was run by men, there were also cases where women were in charge of some merchant families that lacked male members.

You are the one making a fuss here, why don't you take charge? Do you understand economics?

"Wuji! Be careful with your words! You can say anything to me, but you must respect the elders!"

Seeing that Li Banghua looked unhappy, Emperor Chongzhen tried to smooth things over again.

This sentence instantly made the court feel sour. No wonder the emperor didn't get angry when this kid said this and that in public about the emperor's death. It turned out that he was spoiled.

Thinking of this, Li Banghua was not so angry anymore. Look, this kid even dared to slander the emperor.

Alas, what is this? It is really a disgrace to civility and an insult to the majesty of God!

"Oh, okay." Zhang Shikang said honestly again.

"However, I really don't have much energy to devote to the affairs of the bank. It's ok for me to provide some macro guidance occasionally.

If you really don't agree to let my family take care of it, that's fine, just don't do it, and Lord Hai can save money."

"Of course we should do it! Why not do anything that is beneficial to the national economy and people's livelihood?" Emperor Chongzhen said sensitively.

No matter what, Emperor Chongzhen never forgot his original intention, which was to revive the Ming Dynasty.

After spending a long time with Zhang Shikang over the past few years, Emperor Chongzhen also learned a lesson from Zhang Shikang.

If you want to accomplish something, you can't worry too much. The more you worry about the consequences, the less likely you are to accomplish anything. If you want to do big things, you can't get too hung up on minor details.

"This matter is settled. You, Wuji, will be in charge of the overall situation, and Minister Fan of the Ministry of Works and Minister Hai of the Ministry of Revenue will cooperate. However, if there are any issues that cannot be resolved, we will hold a court meeting."

Emperor Chongzhen finally made the final decision.

"I obey your command!" Fan Jingwen and Hai Zhongqi stood up and said one after another.

"Your Majesty, there is another matter that concerns our Ming Imperial Guards, Tiger Guards, and even the Yongning Army.

This matter may seem unimportant, but when I think about it carefully, I feel that from a certain perspective, it is extremely important.”

It was rare for Zhang Shikang to be inconsistent in his statements, and the matter was indeed a little complicated.

"Why be so hesitant? Everyone present here is a key minister of our Ming Dynasty. If there is anything that can improve the combat effectiveness of our Ming army, just speak up." Emperor Chongzhen encouraged.

Seeing this, Zhang Shikang could only try his best to express his thoughts.

"It is like this. During the past two years of leading the army, I have discovered a problem. This problem is actually very old and has not changed much in the past thousands of years.

The generals of our Ming Dynasty usually lead the troops in battle, thinking that this will boost the morale of the entire army.

If the commander is brave, the soldiers will naturally be brave as well. However, this behavior leads to another problem. If the commander unfortunately dies, the soldiers will immediately lose their fighting spirit and even be at a loss as to what to do.

Of course, elite troops would be better.

Although if the main general dies, the deputy general can temporarily take over the military post, even so, it is difficult to restore the fighting spirit of the grassroots soldiers.

I have been researching the reasons for this over the past two years, and after much thought, I seem to have gotten some clues.

This is because our army lacks military spirit!"

"Military soul?" Emperor Chongzhen frowned.

"Yes, without this thing, even if the army is very powerful, if it loses its fighting spirit, it will be nothing more than lambs to be slaughtered.

Without this thing, the army will not be able to fight hard and tough battles, and will not be able to stimulate its potential in hard battles and enable it to burst out with extraordinary combat effectiveness.

The soul of the army is faith.

This belief may seem mysterious, but it can always make people firm at critical moments and prevent them from being easily defeated by difficulties. "

Zhang Shikang tried his best to use simple words so that those present could understand him clearly.

"The belief that Minister Zhang is talking about is like the Taoists believing in Taoism and the monks believing in Buddhism?" The Minister of Rites Cai Guoyong guessed.

"That's almost what I mean, but I don't mean to let our soldiers believe in Taoism," Zhang Shikang reminded.

"Then what do you think, Wuji, should be done to make soldiers have faith?" Emperor Chongzhen asked when he did not understand.

Zhang Shikang was silent, stood up and thought for a while before saying:

"My Great Ming should have an official flag to represent the country.

The Imperial Guards, Huben Army, and Yongning Army should also have their own unique military flags, and even the number and flag of a certain unit under the Huben Army.

If a certain unit has made great achievements in a major war, or paid a great price for the final victory of the war.

The imperial court could reward them by allowing them to embroider a dragon character on the flags of their own troops, or other honors that could arouse competition among the various troops.

This is one of them.”

……