"Spending money?" Li Ruo Lian thought for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, can you please tell me the purpose of spending money?"
"Show off your wealth to the hostages from the various Mongolian tribes who came to Beijing!"
Hearing these two words, Li Ruo Lian said somewhat embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, I am willing to take on this important task!"
"You..." Chongzhen's eyes showed a trace of disdain: "You know how to spend money? You know how to show off your wealth?"
"I can! Spending money to show off wealth is the easiest thing in the world. Of course I can!" Li Ruolian puffed out his chest and answered seriously.
"Don't jump to conclusions. First tell me how you will spend money when you have it!" Chongzhen said slowly.
"First buy a house, then buy land, and then buy furniture, antiques, calligraphy and paintings."
"After buying these, think about food and clothes. Eat what's delicious and wear what's pretty!"
"When he goes out, he rides a tall horse, sits in a sedan chair carried by eight people, and is followed by thirty or fifty minions. Everyone who sees him is envious!"
"Let me put it this way. As long as you want to spend money, there is no money you can't spend in the capital!"
After saying this, Li Ruolian lowered his head and observed Chongzhen's expression.
Chongzhen shook his head slightly: "No, Commander Li doesn't know how to spend money."
"This..." Li Ruo Lian was a little bit unbelievable, "Is the way I spend money wrong? Your Majesty, please enlighten me!"
"I asked you to find someone who knows how to spend money, not someone who can spend money! You have to spend the least money to do the biggest thing, otherwise even if you have tens of millions of taels of silver, it won't be enough to show off!"
Seeing that Li Ruolian still didn't understand, Chongzhen added: "The point of spending money to show off is not to spend money, but to show off! That is to attract the attention and envy of onlookers, so as to gain vanity and satisfaction!"
Li Ruo Lian thought about it carefully for a while and then asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, do you mean that we should spend money to enjoy ourselves, but also let others see the process of enjoying ourselves?"
"Well," Chongzhen smiled with relief, "Commander Li finally got it."
"I am ashamed!" Li Ruolian lowered his head, his face flushed.
He can't even spend money. If this gets out, will he still be able to continue his job as the commander of the Imperial Guard?
Chongzhen was still a little worried. After thinking for a while, he said, "I recommend someone who is good at spending money."
"Your Majesty, please let me know!"
"This man's name is Zhang Dai, and he is from Shanyin County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. His father's name is Zhang Yaofang, and he once served as the chief secretary of the Prince of Lu's Palace."
Historically, Zhang Dai was known as the number one prodigal son in the late Ming Dynasty.
His great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all passed the imperial examinations and served as officials in the court.
A family of scholars and officials.
When it came to Zhang Dai, he failed the imperial examinations many times and could not become an official, so he could only return home and inherit the countless properties.
After inheriting the family fortune, Zhang Dai completely let himself go and became an expert at spending money.
In his "Self-written Epitaph", he wrote: "Zhang Dai, a native of Shu, was also known as Tao'an. When he was young, he was a dandy, and he loved luxury, fine houses, beautiful maids, catamites, fine clothes, delicious food, fine horses, bright lights, fireworks, operas, music, antiques, flowers and birds...
Of all his hobbies, Zhang Dai loves eating the most.
There are three things he doesn't eat.
1. Don’t eat food that is not in season.
2. Don’t eat anything that is not a local specialty.
3. Do not eat unless it is cooked exquisitely.
He also added milk to the tea to make milk tea.
When it comes to playing with money, Zhang Dai has the most experience.
"Zhang Dai!" Li Ruolian carefully wrote down the name.
After arranging this matter, Chongzhen remembered the important matter.
He whispered to Li Ruolian, "Commander Li, some time ago I asked you to ask merchants from various provinces if they had any idea of going overseas to do business. How did they respond?"
"Uh..." Li Ruo Lian hesitated for a moment, "Although the contents of the replies are different, the meanings are generally similar."
"Most of the merchants who cooperated with Jinyiwei had no experience in ocean trade. They wanted to go out to sea to make money, but they were afraid of being robbed by pirates. At the same time, they were afraid of being cheated by the barbarians because of the language barrier. So..."
"That's not a problem!" Chongzhen tapped the table with his right hand. "The fleet going out to sea for business will be escorted by the navy sent by the court! In addition, there are many people who are proficient in the barbarian language in the Four Barbarians Hall in the capital and on the southeast coast. We can recruit some of them to travel with the ship!"
"As for the cost..." Chongzhen thought for a moment: "In order to get more merchants involved, the first trip is free! But not everyone can participate. The number of merchant ships going out to sea for the first time is limited to about 30, and only those with strength can be selected!"
"Immediately send people south to hire ships and prepare for sailing in two months!"
Li Ruo Lian asked: "Where does your majesty intend to send the fleet to sea? Yuegang in Fujian?"
"No!" Chongzhen shook his head. "Fujian is too far from the capital, which is very disadvantageous to merchants in Northern Zhili! Let's change it to Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture, Southern Zhili."
"But there is no port there..." Li Ruolian reminded in a low voice.
"It's not that there is no port there, but it has been abandoned!" Chongzhen said as he recalled, "In the past, the Tang Dynasty set up Qinglong Town on the south bank of the Yangtze River for ships to dock, and later it gradually became a port."
"During the Song Dynasty, there were many ships coming and going in Qinglong Town, and it soon gained the reputation of 'the first port in Jiangnan'. Later, due to changes in the river channel, the Southern Song Dynasty moved the port to the area of today's Shanghai County. Later, due to the influence of the maritime ban, the port was abandoned."
"Now, I plan to reopen the port here!"
Li Ruolian raised his head and glanced at Chongzhen, not knowing what to say.
Adding a new port is a big deal!
The ministers in the court are not aware of this matter yet. If they object, the construction of new ports will be hindered.
Without the support of ministers in the court, the officials below will certainly not support him.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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