"Okay, OK."

Fatty Zhou was very happy to hear Chen Xi introduce the preferential policies that the court will introduce soon.

In the middle and early Ming Dynasty, household registration management was extremely strict, and farmers were firmly tied to the land. Before the implementation of the One Whip Law, the people paid taxes with food, but in fact, many farmers no longer had land and could only rent other people's land to produce grain to pay taxes, creating a staple food class.

During the reign of the Ming Dynasty for a hundred years, the population has increased several times. A large number of surplus laborers have appeared in the countryside, and they have to take the risk of going to the city to work as handymen and become handicraftsmen. Chen Xi's father Shen Mingjun originally went to Ninghua County to do odd jobs. Strictly speaking, this destroyed the Ming Dynasty's household registration system and was an illegal act, but the local governments did not pursue it.

Those who go to the city to work spend a lot of money every year due to food tax issues.

Chenxi reformed this system and liberated labor can greatly promote the development of handicrafts and primitive industries.

Fatty Zhou was born in the bottom of society, so he naturally understood that his subordinates had to buy food every year because of paying taxes, and were bullied by the government. Some people were imprisoned for resisting labor service, which was extremely miserable.

Chen Xidao: "If those merchants are willing to take the initiative to accept donations, you can tell them any requests and summarize them to me... If you have time, I want to meet representatives of major chambers of commerce in the capital and sit down with them to talk about raising military funds."

Fatty Zhou looked forward to it: "That gentry in the capital..."

"The gentry who is not doing business is mostly big landlords. They have nothing to do with you. These people will be met separately. You don't have to ask about it, nor are you qualified to ask about it!" Chen Xi said coldly.

Fatty Zhou originally wanted to contact the gentry in the capital. Most of these people were inherited from poetry and books. Some people in their family became officials and had many more resources than him. Fatty Zhou dared not offend him easily.

Seeing that Chen Xi refused, Fatty Zhou did not show too disappointment. He simply contacted major chambers of commerce in the capital, which made him profit a lot.

"Sir, the villain will definitely help you get things done." Fatty Zhou patted his chest and expressed his opinion.

Chen Xi smiled and shook his head: "I'm afraid you can't go alone. I will send someone to accompany you when I look back. He will do things on behalf of me."

"ah!?"

Fatty Zhou didn't expect that Chen Xi would actually send someone to supervise.

Chen Xi suddenly raised his face and shouted loudly: "Don't Zhou's family have any objections, right?"

"No... I dare not, I dare not!" Fatty Zhou quickly declared.

Chen Xi smiled and said, "Don't worry, the people I sent were just to better pass on the meaning of my official. If the Zhou family took the opportunity to fill their pockets, they would also inform me... The Zhou family must protect this person. If he has any problems, then you..."

"A villain must protect the messenger sent by the adults even if he fights to his death." Fatty Zhou raised his hand and swore.

Chen Xi nodded, as if he was very satisfied with Fatty Zhou's performance. Then he turned his head and waved to Yunliu: "You send someone to call Brother Peng here. I plan to let Brother Peng be the intermediary. I cannot come forward in person for many things, so I can only ask someone to be the representative... I will only appear when I negotiate with the merchant!"

...

...

After Fatty Zhou left, the people sent by Yunliu took Peng Yu to the teahouse.

After helping to find Sui'an, Peng Yu operated through Chenxi, transferred from the Imperial Horse Supervisor to the Works Department, and appointed an eighth-rank vocational department as the deputy of the Construction and Repair Institute. At the same time, he got a job in the head office in the East Factory to facilitate his work. But in fact, like Yunliu, he just needs to obey Chenxi's orders.

"...Brother Peng, please come to Zhou's boss in the south of the city for a few days. Don't worry, Zhou's boss and I are old acquaintances. This time he will maintain your safety and will usually be good at drinking and treating food. After you go there, just follow my instructions, monitor this person, and pass on the things I told you and supervise the execution..."

This is the first time that Peng Yu is the following person who is in charge of Chen Xi, and he seems extremely eager: "Sir, please rest assured, villains will be able to handle things well."

Chen Xi smiled and nodded, expressing his approval to Peng Yu, saying, "Your task is not heavy. Every day is just to eat and drink, and then to tell me what you see and hear through special channels... You must always keep your mission in mind and not be corrupted and won over by the Zhou family. This person is not an ordinary businessman, but a powerful man with all his hands and eyes, and he has hundreds of desperadoes under his command."

"The villain knows that he has dealt with him several times before, and this person is indeed not simple." Peng Yu actually knew about Fatty Zhou.

Chen Xi nodded slightly, and saw that the matter had been explained almost completely, he asked someone to send Peng Yu to Fatty Zhou.

After Peng Yu went downstairs, Yunliu asked for instructions: "Sir, do you not believe that person with the surname Zhou?"

Chen Xi did not answer, frowned, as if he was thinking about something. After a while, he suddenly looked up at Yunliu and asked, "Yunliu, how credible do you think your godmother is?"

"My lord, I don't understand very well."

Yun Liu was a little surprised, frowned and thought for a while before looking at Chen Xi and said solemnly, "My godmother said she was willing to serve the adults, but what was her intention... she was not easy to comment on her humble position."

Chen Xi shook her head: "I don't want even your goddaughter to be wary of her. She always acts with the flow, or is a fence-bearer. Whoever gets the power today will stand on whoever she stands... But now I can be considered a person who can support her. It should be no problem to ask her to help do something, right?"

"I don't know what to say."

Yun Liu lowered her head, looking very cautious, as if she was unwilling to face everything about Yu Niang.

Chen Xi raised his head and sighed: "Since that's the case, let the call to your godmother aside for the time being... Let Fatty Zhou throw a stone to ask for directions first, and there is no need to rush to raise military expenses. There is still a long time before the beginning of next year. People who do business regard everything as an exchange of interests and do not give them benefits. How can they contribute the money they have earned with hard work?"

"Sir, do you need to send someone to invade them?" Yun Liu asked for instructions.

"Perform as you think."

Chenxidao, "I don't want to interfere too much in your work. The two things of industrial and commercial tax reform and the request for the court to allocate military expenses have not been approved by the court. I can only rely on my exploration to solve them. I am also upset at this moment... Please help me more, make decisions on many things by yourself, and don't have to come and ask for instructions. I believe you can handle them well!"

Yun Liu bowed respectfully, but did not express her opinion because she was not so confident in herself.

Chen Xi waved his hand, and Yun Liu turned around and retreated.

After that, Chen Xi stayed in the teahouse and waited until the sun set before leaving.

...

...

When Xie Qian learned that Chen Xi had left the palace, his most concerned thing was whether Zhu Houzhao would pass the cabinet and the rank of the literati supervisor, do his own thing, and destroy the established rules of the Ming Dynasty.

When he took He Jian to ask the people from the Hanlin Academy, he even tried every means to obtain "insider information" from the palace, but still did not get the answer.

"... Yu Qiao, the saint of Zhifeng, soon left the palace, and obviously did not discuss in depth with His Majesty... After that, His Majesty did not issue an edict to the Silijian and Hanyuan, and even the cabinet was not notified. Could it be that the matter was stopped?" He Jian wanted to reconcile the conflict between Xie Qian and Chen Xi and think about the better direction as much as possible.

Xie Qian asked in anger: "Do you think this is possible?"

He Jian didn't say much, but Xie Qian still didn't want to give up. He took He Jian back to the courtyard on Chang'an Street to discuss countermeasures. As soon as the two arrived at the place, they saw a carriage resident at the entrance of the courtyard. The person who got off the carriage was very familiar with him. It was Zhang Yuan, the chief supervisor of the Sili, who had seen in the court before.

"Eunuch Zhang?"

Xie Qian was shocked when he saw Zhang Yuan.

Logically speaking, the inner court officials should not be too close to the court officials. Before, Zhang Yuan came to visit him in private and was already a violation of the ban. However, because it was a secret meeting late at night, Xie Qian didn't feel anything. But now Zhang Yuan is coming to the door in broad daylight, which made him feel a sense of inexplicable crisis.

Seeing this situation, He Jian was very embarrassed and asked, "Yu Qiao, you are..."

Xie Qian did not dare to let He Jian know that he and Zhang Yuan had gone privately, so he pretended to be calm and calm, "Shishangshu, I will discuss this with you today. I will meet Eunuch Zhang in the past, maybe he wants to convey His Majesty's will."

He Jian then remembered that Xie Qian was the chief minister of the cabinet and Zhang Yuan was the chief seal of the Sili Supervisor who had a job handover with him. This time, he was probably here at the emperor's order, and he felt relieved: "You Qiao knew the general situation and should not knowingly committing some things."

"Then I'll say goodbye."

He Jian did not want to investigate in depth what Zhang Yuan came to see Xie Qian for, and he wanted to leave early and avoid all troubles. For an old minister like him, he was completely celebrating the mentality of being a monk and hitting the clock for one day. He did not think that Chen Xi was a bad thing to go to power, and he maintained a humble attitude towards everyone.

Xie Qian sent He Jian away in a sedan chair, then went over to meet Zhang Yuan, and then asked, "Is there anything important about Eunuch Zhang?"

"That's right, let's talk inside."

When Zhang Yuan came up, he didn't seem to be talking about official business, and he was sneaky and subconsciously wanted to avoid people.

Although Xie Qian was full of worries, he still walked into the courtyard gate first, and Zhang Yuan followed him in.

When Zhang Yuan entered the yard, Xie Qian turned around and closed the gate himself, then looked at Zhang Yuan and reminded him seriously: "Eunuch Zhang, you should avoid some things. You are the leader of the inner minister. You will come out of the palace to meet the court officials on a sunny day and a bright sun. If your Majesty knows it, it will probably have an impact on your father-in-law's future."

Zhang Yuan was not very clear about the rules of the palace, but even if he knew, he would ignore it with his arrogant and arrogant attitude. He felt that Liu Jin was so extreme at the time, so what happened to me just left the palace to meet the chief minister?

Zhang Yuan said: "Mr. Xie Ge is worried too much... Our family is here to see you. It is also something that our family just heard about. The matter of the matter of adding industrial and commercial tax and increasing the allocation of military funds to the Ministry of War next year... has been suppressed and will not ask for it again for the time being."

"Um!?"

Xie Qian widened his old eyes and asked in confusion, "Just... stop?"

Zhang Yuan shook his head: "As far as I know, although Your Majesty has suppressed these two things, he is still very tight about the military expenses next year. He issued an order to let Shangshu Chen be fully responsible for raising the funds, and he clearly ordered that he could not obtain them from the people... According to Shangshu Chen's intention, he should have the idea of ​​making merchants, which is no different from the previous memorial to add industrial and commercial tax."

Xie Qian thought for a while and then said, "As long as you don't break the rules of the court!"

Zhang Yuan asked in surprise: "Gei Master Xie will not care about this?"

Xie Qian said: "How else can I care? Even if I want to meet the saint, I can't do anything about it. As your close minister, Eunuch Zhang should advise you more... It is not realistic to raise military expenses from merchants. The military expenditure in the coming year may be measured in million taels of silver, and two or three million taels of silver may not be able to fill this huge hole... And how much is my annual investment in the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhang Yuan looked "righteous": "This is exactly what our family is anxious about. He came to discuss with Mr. Xie in a hurry and wanted to ask Mr. Xie to continue to impeach Shen Zhihou of the Ministry of War. If he was allowed to collect money and grain from the people, the prices of the capital would rise rapidly. By then, the people would not be able to live and work in peace, and they would probably be difficult to survive... Shen Zhihou was simply a disaster to the country and the people!"

Xie Qian heard Zhang Yuan’s words have a reasonable and well-founded view, and I don’t know if it was thought out by himself or someone reminded him behind the scenes.

Xie Qian said: "I will naturally submit a memorial, but I am afraid that Eunuch Zhang will not be able to make a decision on this matter and need to submit it to Your Majesty. Finally, he went around to the starting point, and Your Majesty will definitely not pay attention to it."

"As long as you submit a memorial, you will leave the rest to our family. Our family will definitely not allow Shen Zhihou to continue to be arrogant and domineering in the court."

Zhang Yuan said, "By the way, Master Xie, you mentioned that Shen Zhihou had contact with the eunuch party before. At that time, Your Majesty was skeptical. Do you want to continue to investigate? As long as you can verify this matter, even if Your Majesty trusts Shen Zhihou anymore, he will still press Shen Zhihou down in the future. At that time, Master Xie was in court, so he would have a final say!"

"Yes." Xie Qian nodded slightly.

Originally, he felt that he could use Zhang Yuan to let the civil servant group control the overall situation, but he always felt something was wrong. "Zhang Yuan came to me again and again, wouldn't he want to treat me as a gun?"

Zhang Yuan said again: "Our family has recorded all the details. Master Xie Ge saw it by himself. Our family will go back first. Goodbye!"

After saying that, Zhang Yuan stuffed a book into Xie Qian's hands and left.

...

...

After sending Zhang Yuan away, Xie Qian returned to the courtyard and immediately took out the book that Zhang Yuan gave him to cross, and his brows quickly frowned.

The things recorded in the book include not only Shen Xi’s industrial and commercial tax reform and the details of increasing military expenditure, but also some matters in the court that were not supervised by the cabinet and the ranks of the rituals, including the military information of the nine borders, as well as the subsequent appointment of the imperial court personnel assessments and appointments, Zhu Houzhao’s usual language sorting out, and even carefully listing the expenses in the palace.

"What does Zhang Yuan mean?"

Xie Qian's back felt a chill. He found that he had taken a hot potato. If things were allowed to continue, he would be suspected of being in the same vein as Zhang Yuan.

"Zhang Yuan clearly informed me that I can cooperate in close cooperation and share all the news, but if His Majesty knows this, how can I give up? If the matter is made big, I am afraid that I will still be guilty and harm my family..."

Xie Qian quickly read the contents of the book carefully, then tore them off one by one, put them in a brazier and burned them.

After destroying the corpse, Xie Qian still found it difficult to calm down.

"This father-in-law Zhang does not have the ability of Liu Jin, and even his cunning is far inferior. He is clearly hurting me, making me feel like a traitor who monitors the priest's daily life and is ready to rebel at any time. What's the deep meaning of his doing this?"
Chapter completed!