Chapter 505 Extra Chapter: The First Noble Family of Dayu (Part 5)

To everyone's surprise, Emperor Xiaowu had absolute trust in the Shen family.

Even Madam Shen, the pillar of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, felt that it was enough for her eldest son to enter the imperial court.

The other two sons can do whatever they want.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Xiaowu issued an edict that Shen Qingming, the second son of the Shen family, was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, and Shen Qingrui, the third son, was transferred to the Ministry of Works.

These two used to work as servants.

But they were both low-ranking officials, and no one expected them to achieve anything great.

later......

Shen Qingming was in charge of border trade, which earned a lot of gold and silver for Dayu. He also established a huge intelligence system in the northern lands and the northern Hu territory through those royal merchants.

In just three years, Shen Qingming helped Emperor Xiaowu triple the amount of silver in his private treasury.

It was precisely because Emperor Xiaowu had enough silver in his private treasury that Dayu had more financial resources to research gunpowder.

Those who initially thought the second young master of the Shen family had lost his mind and that his sudden decision to go into business would damage the Shen family's reputation fell silent.

Everyone knows that the second young master of the Shen family is good at making money.

But it didn't make money for itself.

He had the imperial family build one private treasury after another, while he himself received only a meager monthly salary from the court.

Even Madam Shen would laugh and joke with everyone.

They say the second son of the Shen family is all show and no substance; when it came time to get married, he couldn't even afford to take out any money.

After trade in the northern border city returned to normal, Shen Qingming returned to the capital.

He originally wanted to go back to the Ministry of Revenue and be that lowly official who collected taxes all day.

Who knew that Emperor Xiao Wu would issue another imperial edict?

He was promoted from a fifth-rank official to a third-rank official, serving as the Vice Minister of Revenue...

Shen Qingming was dumbfounded.

He has the ability to make money, but the Ministry of Revenue manages the money, especially the kind of money where you have to stretch every tael of silver into many smaller portions...

This is too difficult for Shen Qingming.

He's good at making money and good at spending money, but he's not good at sharing money with others.

Everyone knows that among the six ministries, the Ministry of Revenue is the most popular, as all the other ministries come to it.

But that's precisely why the work is so difficult.

"Your Majesty, would it be alright if you arranged for someone else?"

Or should I go to the southern coast and build you another trading city?

"You should give it to someone else, Vice Minister of Revenue!"

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Shen Qingming immediately went to the palace to find his cousin, the emperor.

Emperor Xiao Wu, having spent a long time learning from Prime Minister Shangguan, also developed his eloquence.

"Cousin Ming, your cousin believes in your abilities."

You can earn money, spend money, and you must know how to manage money!

Actually, there's something else your cousin hasn't told you.

I do have the intention of building a trading city along the coast there.

In recent years, many overseas merchant ships have come to the coast, with red hair and green eyes, although they don't look like humans.

But I heard he has quite a lot of jewelry.

Cousin, I believe you can definitely handle this matter well.

Furthermore, all profits from the border trade along the southern coast will be distributed by the Ministry of Revenue. Is that acceptable now?

Shen Qingming thought about it and realized that if that were the case... it wouldn't be impossible.

The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of spending money, and the reason why the work was difficult was simply because there wasn't much silver in the treasury, which was why they were short of funds.

Since there isn't much silver, I'll just have to earn more.

Anyway, making money is my forte.

With enough money, nothing is a problem...

My mother always said that anything that can be solved with money is a big deal!

If something can't be solved with money... then you haven't earned enough money!

Shen Qingming immediately found the key to working in the Ministry of Revenue... it's all about making money!

He can!

And so, Shen Qingming took on the position of Vice Minister of Revenue, beginning a new round of money-making endeavors...

Of course, the Ministry of Revenue needed the cooperation of other departments to make money.

Shen Qingming was more experienced than others in handling these relationships. He never used his power to oppress people, but instead reasoned with them and offered them money...

"Lord Ling, please help me out. Next year, I will decide to increase the amount of money you applied for by 20%."

"Lord Zhu, I'll have to trouble your men."

Don't worry, I guarantee everyone will receive 30% more in subsidies next year than this year.

"Lord Liu, do you still want to receive the silver for the river channel as soon as possible next year?"

Such a large sum of money, I have to start preparing now!

"Don't worry, as long as you lend a hand now, I guarantee the money for the river channel will be in your account before the peach blossom season next year."

......

Through a combination of threats and inducements, Shen Qingming thrived in the Ministry of Revenue.

At the age of thirty-two, he was promoted to Minister of Revenue.

Because he controlled the treasury of Dayu, most people in the court treated him with great respect.

Emperor Xiao Wu even bestowed upon Shen Qingming the title of Tao Zhugong...

Thus, the second Duke of the Shen family was born.

However, there were two people in the court who were not very fond of this newly appointed Tao Zhu Gong.

One of them was Shen Qingming's elder brother, the youngest prime minister of Dayu, Prime Minister Shen.

Shen Qingming also treated his elder brother and superior, the Prime Minister, with great respect.

“Brother Ming, let me tell you, you can earn money however you want, Da Yu needs money right now.”

But if you dare to break the law or violate regulations in order to make money, I, as the eldest brother, will be the first to not let you off the hook.

However, if you encounter difficulties in making money, you can also come to me.

I will definitely do whatever it takes to make things convenient for you.

Shen Qingming was in a very good mood after listening to his elder brother's words.

It's truly remarkable that your older brother, who has always opposed your business ventures since childhood, would say something like that.

Another person who didn't like Shen Qingming was his younger brother, Shen Qingrui.