In this land of China, the status of merchants has not been high since ancient times.
The specific manifestation is that businessmen cannot participate in politics, and there are many restrictions on food, clothing and daily necessities.
Of course, what makes businessmen most disappointed is that whenever the country is short of money, it will always pick one or two fat sheep to be slaughtered.
As for the charges, they can just list them however they want.
Therefore, nowadays, merchants in Da Qi generally find a nobleman to support them, so that if something really happens, there will always be someone to help them.
Lu Chen has now set his sights on this group of people, accusing them of treason. I'm afraid few nobles would dare to come out and intercede for them.
Even Lu Chen felt that there were too many nobles in the country. Taking this opportunity, he could let Li Zhuo take back several noble titles. Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?
Anyone who can reach the position of Minister of Six Ministries must be a ruthless and black-hearted person.
They thought Lu Chen's idea was good, but the only problem was, would anyone be so stupid as to risk the world's condemnation and help those barbarians purchase Saint Grace Pills in bulk?
After he asked the question in his mind, everyone looked at Lu Chen with curiosity.
Lu Chen laughed heartily and said, "You all really underestimate the allure of wealth to a person. Let me make this clear today. As long as we set the price of the Saint's Grace Pill at one or two ounces of silver, there will definitely be a large number of merchants and even nobles helping to make this happen."
"After all, merchants alone don't have the means or energy to get so many cheap Saint Endan pills."
"Okay, then this matter is settled. Who do you think should be responsible for this matter, Master Lu?"
"Your Majesty, this involves Sheng'en Dan. Why not have the Ministry of Justice and the military send some people, and I will take the lead to form a brand new department. Sheng'en Dan is just the beginning. As the Chinese Academy of Sciences develops more and more good things, we will have to control more and more. Establishing a new department will help improve work efficiency."
Xu Yan felt very sorry that the Ministry of Justice could not take the lead in this matter, but at least he could still participate in it, so he immediately came out and said, "Your Majesty, I think Master Lu's words are reasonable!"
General Pang also said excitedly: "Your Majesty, leave this matter to us. The men below will definitely be able to handle it well."
"Your Majesty, if this involves confiscating evidence, then we'll definitely need to dispatch a few accountants from our Ministry of Revenue, right?"
"Your Majesty, since this is a newly established department, there will definitely be a series of official appointments and dismissals. Our Ministry of Personnel would like to send a few people over to learn about it."
"Our Ministry of Rites will also be closely monitoring those barbarians during this period!"
"Although our Ministry of Industry has nothing to do with this, I still feel it's inappropriate not to say something. If anyone has any use for our Ministry of Industry, please let me know. I'd like to know how the confiscated funds will be allocated. Our Ministry of Industry is a bit strapped for cash these days."
Sure enough, confiscating property, especially the homes of certain nobles and wealthy businessmen, was the most popular thing in the entire court.
Li Zhuo was very satisfied with the attitude of his subordinates. He smiled and said to Lu Chen, "Master Lu, what would be a suitable name for the new department?"
"Since they are currently primarily responsible for pharmaceuticals and will likely be responsible for military rations and other foods in the future, why not just call it the Food and Drug Administration?"
"The Food and Drug Administration, although it's very straightforward, I always feel that it's not domineering enough!" Li Zhuo sighed.
You want to be domineering, right?
Lu Chen thought for a moment and said, "Otherwise, let's call them Jinyiwei!"
"Jinyiwei is a great name! I don't know why, but when I hear this name, I feel full of energy!"
In this way, the notorious Jinyiwei in later generations was established during this joking discussion between the emperor and his ministers.
…
Ge Ming is a businessman in Beijing. Although he is nearly fifty years old, he still has great prestige in the Beijing business circle.
That day, Ge Ming hosted a banquet for several colleagues at Hongbinlou, the best restaurant in the capital. After drinking and chatting for a while, Ge Ming put down his wine glass and said, "Everyone, I asked you to come here today because I have something I want to ask for your help."
"Hahaha, Mr. Ge, you're too polite. Everyone here is your junior. If you have any questions, just tell us and we will do our best."
Seeing that everyone was so knowledgeable and understanding, Ge Ming nodded happily and said, "Thank you all for your respect for me. Now I have something to say. As you all know, I have business dealings with the north, and they have recently asked me to help them purchase some Sheng'en Pills."
"Originally, this is a small matter that doesn't require your help, but the court recently issued a ban, limiting the purchase of Sheng'en Dan. Now I don't have any better solutions, so I can only ask for your help and ask my subordinates to buy some. As for the price, how about I give you three times the market price?"
Upon hearing this kind of thing, those who had just said they wanted to help hesitated.
Someone even said bluntly, "Master Ge, if it were anything else, we would definitely agree, but things like Sheng'en Dan are not easy to handle. After all, the imperial court has already issued an order."
"Don't worry, we won't be purchasing too much. In addition, as long as you are willing to help, I can give up some of the profits from the northern trade route in the future."
When the businessmen heard that there was indeed profit to be made, they were tempted.
After the meal, the matter was settled. Ge Ming got on the carriage and swayed back home.
As soon as he entered the house, Ge Ming's son came up to him and said, "Master, the north has sent another 200,000 taels of silver, saying that we must get more Sheng'en Dan at all costs. By the way, how did your talks with them go this time?"
Ge Ming took the towel, wiped his face, and said, "It's all settled. Starting tomorrow, they will mobilize their people to help us acquire Sheng'en Dan."
"I'm afraid these few merchants alone won't be enough. The demand from the north is quite high this time."
Looking at his son, Ge Ming smiled mysteriously and said, "Of course it's not enough. How can we expect those useless people to achieve anything? Asking them to buy us out is just a trick. In fact, I have already bribed several medical clinics, and they will all ship large quantities to me."
Upon hearing this, Ge Ming's son's eyes lit up, and then he said with some worry, "Is there going to be any problems?"
"Don't worry, the consumption of this stuff is quite large. We can just do some accounting when the time comes, and no one else will notice anything."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ge Ming heard someone knocking on the door outside.
The housekeeper hurried over and said in a deep voice, "Who is it in the middle of the night?"
"Open the door, the Royal Guards are checking the water meter!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door collapsed, and Lu Chen walked in from outside with a group of people, walking without recognizing any relatives.
That night, the same thing happened in various places across the country.
A few days later, good news came that in this operation, the Jinyiwei had confiscated a total of seven million taels of various valuables!
In an instant, the court was in an uproar!
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