My Brother-in-law is the Prince

  Chapter 471 Longyan Joy

  Zhang Anshi smiled, then stretched out his slender fingers, and said slowly: "There are three benefits."

There are three…

  The faces of everyone in Zhou Ju were extremely ugly, and they all knelt on the ground in despair. At this moment, they felt more and more that they were like lambs being sold.

  Even... At this moment, I couldn't help but have a thought, why did I fall into this kind of trick, and even ran to the capital?

   Are they throwing themselves into the trap?

  Zhu Di cheered up, as if listening attentively.

But I heard Zhang Anshi say slowly: "One of these things, the Taiping Mansion is the one that benefits the most, Your Majesty... After the Taiping Mansion purchased grain on a large scale, the shipping industry developed greatly, because buying grain requires large-scale ships. The boats are all urgently needed to transport food, but other products such as spices, ivory, rubber, cotton, etc. are also urgently needed by Ming Dynasty.”

"So... many sea-going ships are hard to find if you want to hire them to transport the goods. So now the shipyards in various places are waiting for orders for two years. In order to buy the ships, everyone has resorted to all means. Do your best. Many shipyards have also expanded their production."

Zhang Anshi continued patiently: "Of course, the development of the shipping industry is actually not outstanding in front of Baiye. This time, for relief, millions of sets of ready-made clothes were purchased. Your Majesty... these millions of ready-made clothes are spent. It is the silver used by these evil gentry to buy food at a high price, but with such an order, a piece of clothing, from cotton, to dyes, to spinning and weaving, and even needles and threads, is a huge order of such a scale. Spinning workshops, textile workshops, and dye workshops all make a lot of money."

"The same is true for ready-made clothes, and the same is true for iron and steel utensils, carriages, and cloth shoes. These large sums of silver bought from the hands of evil gentry in exchange for grain are worth hundreds of millions of taels of silver. Up and down, hundreds of thousands of workshops earn income. Not only that, because of the income of these workshops, they have to expand production on a large scale and recruit more craftsmen. Large-scale orders need to be transported, and they need a lot of horses and horses. The cost of oxen, horses and manpower, so many laborers and craftsmen have to eat, drink and scatter, Your Majesty... The value of the industry brought about by it can reach at least tens of millions of taels of silver."

  As soon as this remark came out, people couldn't help but gasp.

  After all the calculations, it is equivalent to Zhang Anshi taking the evil gentry's money to help the disaster.

   It seems that Zhang Anshi didn't get any profit from it, but in fact... relying on various orders, his Taiping Mansion has made a lot of money from upstream to downstream.

  It's frightening to think about it this way.

  After Zhu Di listened, he nodded frequently, but he was still thinking about whether Qixia Commercial Bank would make any profit from it.

  Zhang Anshi finally did not disappoint him, and said with a smile: "The prosperity of all industries also means that the tax revenue that the Taiping Mansion can obtain from it is at least two to three million taels. Your Majesty... this is the most direct benefit."

   "..."

   Good guy...

   How could it still be like this? The eyes of all the officials were straightened, and they were convinced now.

   But if you think about it carefully, this account is really not wrong.

  Taiping Mansion is indeed very fair. Even if they stockpile grain, even if they sell grain at a high price, any income from it is distributed to the victims and people in the four provinces.

  So much grain, so much ready-made clothes, cloth shoes, steel, chariots and horses, and all necessities for basic necessities of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, such a large-scale relief has never been seen in ancient and modern times.

  But this guy...but he took advantage of this, grandiosely...to make a lot of money.

  After listening to Zhu Di, he couldn't help turning his head around. Only then did he realize that he was only limited to whether Qixia Commercial Bank made profits, and the structure was really too low.

   Zhang Anshi still has a broad mind!

  So, I couldn't help being overjoyed when I heard the words.

But Zhang Anshi didn't intend to stop there, and he continued directly: "As for the second thing, it is borrowing. Your Majesty... To be honest, most of the loans of these evil gentry are United Banks, which hang a sign in each province, but in fact, But it is still the money released by the United Bank. This loan... has interest, because it involves a commercial loan, and the interest is not low."

Speaking of this, Zhang Anshi glanced at Zhou Juren with a half-smile, with a bit of sarcasm in his eyes, and then continued: "It's just a pity, these evil gentry, although they also know that the interest rate is not low, they only think about it by hoarding goods to make money." To make huge profits, I think that as long as I earn enough, I ignore the interest, and I think that I will make a steady profit. Your Majesty, the interest silver, calculated by the bank, is at least two million taels of silver, of course... this is still Not the most important."

  Zhu Di: "..."

   I have to say, if you want to say black, it's Zhang Anshi who is black! This is simply a one-stop service, from birth to cremation, all arranged for you.

   But if you think about it carefully, if you want to say that he is bad, it seems that he is not.

  Because all of this, in the final analysis, stems from the greed of those evil gentry who hoard goods. Speaking of bad things, Zhang Anshi is still a younger brother.

Zhang Anshi looked at Zhu Di with a smile and said: "The most important thing is... the property mortgage. Your Majesty knows about the bank. I have always been conservative in the management of the bank, and my biggest worry is bad debts. Because of this, so for loans, I have always been cautious. Any loan must be secured, and the valuation of the mortgage has always been conservative.”

  Zhu Di also vaguely understood something at this time.

  Actually, everyone in Zhou Ju understands this meaning better than anyone else, because they are the ones who feel the most pain.

   But the officials were speechless. They are all smart people, and they can already empathize.

  Zhang Anshi generously continued to analyze: "The so-called mortgage is only in kind, and when evaluating its value, let me use an analogy."

   Speaking of this, Zhang Anshi looked at Zhou Juren again, and said, "This Juren, if my guess is correct, your name should be Zhou Tao."

  Zhou Juren's face was pale, but he still nodded silently.

  Zhang Anshi smiled, and continued: "I have asked about his account before I came here."

  When Zhou Juren heard this, he became more and more aware that he had been clearly arranged. It was even possible that when he was called to see him, Zhang Anshi had already greeted the eunuchs, and he must be brought in.

Regardless of Zhou Juren's complex gaze, Zhang Anshi said, "This Zhou Juren has a great family and business. His family has a thousand hectares of fertile land, a large number of cattle and horses, mansions, and oil-pressing workshops. There are quite a few shops. If I remember correctly, the market price of the shops in Kaifeng should be three hundred and seventy taels, right? And Zhou’s family is in Kaifeng, and there are more than twenty shops like this. When he took out the loan, when the bank evaluated the mortgage, it would not calculate it based on three hundred and seventy taels of silver, but halved it, that is, one hundred and eighty-nine taels of silver to calculate its valuation. Three hundred Seventy taels of shop front is used as collateral, and you can only borrow less than two hundred taels of silver..."

After a pause, Zhang Anshi continued: "Of course, as long as the Zhou family can repay the interest and principal, the shop will still belong to his family. But if it is not available...then the bank has no choice but to sell his shop, land, cattle, horses, houses, etc. All the mansions are confiscated, this is the rule! After all, it is only right and proper to pay back the debts.”

Zhang Anshi looked at Zhou Juren again with burning eyes, and said, "Zhou Juren, if I remember correctly, your Zhou family borrowed a total of 23,400 taels of silver from the bank. Let me ask you, how much money is this money worth?" Are you still paying it back, and are you going to pay it or not? If you still don’t pay it, then not only your family property, but also the grain in your barn will all be confiscated.”

  After Zhou Juren heard this, he flew into a rage, stared at Zhang Anshi fiercely and said, "You...you are despicable and shameless, you...you deliberately framed us..."

The corners of Zhang Anshi's lips curled into a slight smile, and he asked mockingly: "What is deliberate framing? This loan was forced by me? It is clear that you evil gentry want to exploit the people and maintain food prices in disaster years. Sell ​​grain at a high price, and then buy people’s property at a low price, and then eagerly come to borrow money! Now you are still blaming this king, since you call yourself a mere grass man, and you are a mere grass man, how dare you bark in front of this king and commit crimes, What's on your mind?"

  After Zhou Juren heard this, he almost died of anger.

  Many people who came with him began to weep secretly.

  When it comes to this, they feel that they are really stupid.

Zhang Anshi immediately ignored Zhou Juren, but looked at Zhu Di and said, "Your Majesty, so...if these people still don't pay the loan, then if there are no accidents, the nearly ten million taels of silver borrowed by the bank will not be received. The collateral must be worth more than 20 million taels of silver, or even... more!"

"The only trouble is how to dispose of these properties. Fortunately... many of the physical objects they mortgaged are all hard currencies on the market. Don’t worry about not being able to sell it.”

  Zhu Di said: "Okay...okay..."

  Zhu Di felt refreshed all over his body!

  He said two good words in a row, and when Ben wanted to say another good word, he realized that it seemed inappropriate to say these things at this time.

So he immediately put on a straight face, with an angry look on his face, and said sharply: "If you borrow money for the purpose of hoarding goods, just to oppress the people, trap the people in misery, and abandon them, then...these people are not only worthy of punishment, It is even more insane and heinous!"

   Zhou Juren began to tremble when he heard this.

  Zhang Anshidao: "Your Majesty calm down, this third benefit... is actually not small..."

  Zhu Di was taken aback for a moment, and everyone was paralyzed.

   One by one, it is clear that the people have given relief, not only received relief, but also received excellent treatment. According to Zhang Anshi's relief method, the court can be said to have gained a huge popularity.

   Not to mention everything is done well, there are still so many benefits, whether it is taxation, bank interest, or even the confiscation of collateral, it can be said that Zhu Di and Zhang Anshi are the most direct beneficiaries.

  Others gave money to others, but he, Zhu Di, gave money to the people, and made the people so grateful that they could still earn money.

   There is such a miracle in the world.

  But at the same time that Zhu Di looked joyful, he couldn't help but feel that Zhang Anshi's mouth was a little too big.

   If you earn it, you earn it. You can say it in private, but now you say it one, two, three, four, five in front of everyone, which is... a little unstable.

   I want to think so, but Zhu Di couldn't help asking: "What is the third?"

Zhang Anshidao: "The Taiping government's relief, in addition to providing enough food, also distributes clothes, tools, etc., to teach the people to eat and drink enough, to keep warm from the cold, and at the same time, they also take this opportunity to enlist the people to work. , the so-called teaching a man to fish is not as good as giving him a fish.”

"Therefore, in the four provinces, in all the prefectures and counties, the ministers ordered people to organize the people affected by the disaster, and teach them to read and write for the young children and teenagers. For the elderly, support them, For the women, let them be responsible for cooking and mending, and for the strong men, teach them to build bridges and pave roads, let them build reservoirs, dig canals, and even... lay the roadbed. Your Majesty is rich all over the world, because... the people of the world, all They are His Majesty's subjects, and all the land in the world is His Majesty's territory. These benefits are not real money, but Your Majesty... the development of these lands is the most precious wealth for Your Majesty."

  After hearing this, Zhu Di couldn't help being excited. Finally, he didn't directly talk about such vulgar things as gold and silver.

  Zhu Di nodded in satisfaction and said, "That makes sense."

Zhang Anshi continued: "Don't talk about other things, just talk about the roadbed. From Guanzhong to Henan, it has been built hundreds of miles long. As for the other projects, it is even more uncountable. And these roadbeds...before that, the railway department. Through planning and calculation..."

  Zhu Di suddenly felt that there was something in his words, and his expression became a little more serious.

Zhang Anshi continued: "As for the land used for the roadbed, most of the land is either unowned or mortgaged, and there are a few that I have also spent some money to buy. If necessary, as long as His Majesty gives an order, the Sleepers and rails can be laid at any time."

"In this way, the railway will be completed soon. Most of the land along the railway is in the hands of the imperial court and the Taiping Mansion, and it can also be operated. Moreover, once the railway is built, it means that places such as Guanzhong and Henan will A large amount of manpower needs to be recruited. In the past few years, a large amount of manpower has been hired to build a railway, which will not only enable Guanzhong and Henan to communicate with each other, but also greatly facilitate the transportation of merchants, common people and goods. It can be said that a strong man can rely on his own labor to support his family."

  Zhu Di: "..."

   Zhang Anshi understood the matter of settling accounts.

  The railway is in Zhili, and the benefits are huge.

After all, the transport capacity of this thing is too large, and the transportation loss in ancient times is too large, the transportation is already expensive, and the emergence of the railway not only greatly reduces the loss, but also makes the railway company earn a lot of money in Zhili at the same time. It's full.

   It's just that this railway department has always been limited to Zhili. At first, it wanted to expand to Jiangxi Chief Commissioner, but because of a huge nest case, it failed.

   This made Zhu Di realize that what can be done in Zhili does not mean that other provinces can do it. On the one hand, the land is in the hands of the gentry in the world. To requisition a large amount of land requires a huge price.

  On the other hand, the construction of the railway is a sky-high price. Such a huge price is not a joke.

   But now... the land is in hand.

  The most amazing thing is that even the roadbed is in hand.

   You must know that building a railway is not as simple as laying rails. The biggest cost is the collection of a lot of labor, the construction of roadbeds, and the construction of bridges.

  These are all huge upfront costs. In terms of current productivity, such a job, a thousand-mile railway, requires at least tens of millions of strong men, and it takes a lot of time to complete.

  But now... the previous work... was miraculously completed.

   It's fine if it's finished, and the evil gentry will pay for it.

  Next, it is only necessary for the railway company to invest a large sum of money and start laying rails and sleepers.

   Zhu Di suddenly became excited.

  Good things like railways are profitable, can strengthen the rule of the court, can facilitate merchants, and can even bring wealth to the people. Such a lucrative business cannot expand Zhili, which is Zhu Di's heart.

  But now...everything is ready, only the wind is missing.

  Zhu Di couldn't help but tremble a little: "All... have been built..."

Zhang Anshi said with certainty: "The roadbed of the main line has been compacted, and even the land leveling work at some stations along the railway line has been completed. The main line has been raised, drainage ditches have been built on both sides, and there are a lot of gravel , are also paved, what is missing is the laying of sleepers and rails.”

"Okay!" Zhu Di's long and joyful face immediately became excited, with a big smile on his face, he said passionately: "That's very good, if this is the case, it will be beneficial for thousands of years. In this way, the country of Ming Dynasty... will be as firm as a rock. "

  In fact, Zhang Anshi still feels a little pity. On the one hand, it is a pity that the roadbed in the Huguang area has not been completed. After all, there are too many mountains and forests there, and the current construction period is only barely completed. Moreover, there are dense water networks, and the work of repairing bridges is also a huge project.

   On the other hand, it is the rivers that have indeed hindered the railway to a certain extent.

  After all, it is impossible to build railway bridges on the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, at least for now.

  Thus, the method Zhang Anshi chose was to set up a ferry at both ends of the blocked railway line. The railway travels to the ferry, then unloads the cargo, loads it on board, and then sends it to the ferry on the opposite bank, and reloads on the railway line on the opposite bank.

  Of course, even so, in this era, such a solution is already a huge improvement, at least increasing the current capacity by ten times, and reducing the loss by an unknown number of times.

  But after all, it can't be done like the later generations, which can directly connect the north and the south, but it is inevitable to regret.

  Zhu Di was ecstatic enough, and said with a smile on his face: "A relief has become a thousand-year achievement. Zhang Qing really has the talents of Guan Zhong and Le Yi."

  (end of this chapter)