Xie Sanbin's method can be said to kill four birds with one stone.
first.
As long as the salt merchants paid next year's salt tax in advance, they would be eligible to buy an official position.
This will temporarily solve the problem of empty treasury now and in the first half of next year.
Secondly.
By auctioning off officials, not only can the price of selling officials be maximized, but the deficit in the national treasury can also be made up again.
The third point.
What are the salt merchants afraid of when buying officials?
Afraid of spending money but not getting things done!
It’s different now. Salt merchants can immediately become officials and get official uniforms after bidding for official positions!
With this guarantee, they have no worries.
The last point is also the most important one.
The official position was granted not by the Beijing Ministry of Personnel but by the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel.
Who are the officials of Nanjing Ministry of Personnel?
Almost all of them were people who were demoted to Nanjing after failing in party struggles in Beijing.
There seems to be a small court here, with the crown prince as regent.
But all this is superficial.
The so-called power is nothing but a mirage and a passing cloud.
As long as Chongzhen issued an imperial decree, all that power would vanish in an instant.
But just like the distance between Nanjing and Beijing, they are thousands of miles away from the center of power!
They always want to return to Beijing and get closer to power.
Your Ministry of Personnel in Beijing is unwilling to go through the procedures for selling official positions?
The Nanjing Ministry of Personnel will handle it!
They were eager to achieve some results to attract Chongzhen's attention.
After all, as long as Chongzhen noticed him, there would be hope of returning to Beijing.
After listening to Xie Sanbin's plan, Chongzhen couldn't help but admire him.
It’s not that I admire Xie Sanbin, but I admire himself.
Only he could find someone like Xie Sanbin among all the officials.
In fact, Xie Sanbin is not such a person at heart.
It was because of Chongzhen's coaxing, deception and intimidation that things turned out like this.
Strictly speaking, Xie Sanbin was Chongzhen's white glove.
The gentry in Jiangnan also have white gloves.
Zheng Zhilong was one, and the other was a court official.
Chongzhen had to find a way to deal with them.
It’s not about solving the problem of people, there are endless people to solve.
We need to resolve the class issue.
"Thank you, Minister." Chongzhen raised his head. "Your method is very much in my favor. Let's do as you say."
"Thank you for your appreciation, Your Majesty," Xie Sanbin saluted and reminded, "The Crown Prince is in Nanjing as regent, Your Majesty..."
The head of the Nanjing court was Crown Prince Zhu Cilang.
Xie Sanbin didn't dare to issue an official document directly to Zhu Cilang.
Chongzhen had to come in person to handle this kind of thing.
Chongzhen nodded and said, "Don't worry. When you return, draft the imperial edict immediately. I will have the Royal Guards take the imperial edict and my oral instructions to Nanjing."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I'll take my leave now!" Xie Sanbin bowed again and left the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
The moment he stepped out of the palace, he felt extremely relieved.
All three things passed Chongzhen's test.
Not only was the previous pressure swept away, but the long-lost vigor and vitality also returned to him.
The last time I felt this way was in the fifth year of Tianqi.
That year he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi.
Looking at Xie Sanbin's receding back, Chongzhen felt much more relaxed.
As long as the money problem can be solved, there will be no problem for the Ming Dynasty.
He looked outside and found that the sun was already setting.
"Wang Chengen," Chongzhen shouted outside.
"I'm here," Wang Chengen ran in with small steps.
"Let Concubine Zhao sleep with you tonight."
When the news reached Chengqian Palace, Concubine Zhao Shen Peiqing was practicing sword.
As a descendant of the famous general Shen Yourong, Shen Peiqing has a special liking for martial arts.
No matter how busy I am, I will always take some time every day to practice martial arts.
Hearing that Chongzhen asked her to sleep with him again, Shen Peiqing didn't know whether to be happy or worried.
Logically speaking, he should be happy to hear that he was going to sleep with the emperor, after all, it was a sign of being favored.
But the key point is that she has been serving him in the emperor's bed for almost three months in a row.
For...three months in a row!
What is the concept?
Neither Empress Zhou, the mistress of the harem, nor Concubine Yuan, Chongzhen's favorite concubine, had ever received such treatment.
If he could continue to be favored, Shen Peiqing would certainly be more than happy.
I was afraid that one day Chongzhen would lose interest in her and turn from doting to neglecting her...
Shen Peiqing put down his sword and bathed and changed his clothes as quickly as possible.
After a simple dinner, she walked to the Palace of Heavenly Purity with a nervous mood.
When the palace door closed, the candlelight in the Qianqing Palace flickered, and the atmosphere was very ambiguous.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you," Shen Peiqing walked to the dragon desk and bowed to Chongzhen who was writing a book.
Chongzhen put down his pen and stared at Shen Peiqing.
Tonight, Shen Peiqing was wearing a pink double-breasted gown with sleeves so long that they almost touched the ground.
It is embroidered with colorful flower and bird patterns.
The red cloud shoulder strap with auspicious cloud pattern passed through the chest and shoulders, matched with various jewels, made Shen Peiqing show an elegant yet gorgeous temperament.
"Come," Chongzhen grabbed Shen Peiqing's hand and dragged her to the dragon desk, "see what I wrote."
Shen Peiqing looked with the help of candlelight and found that Chongzhen had written more than a dozen lines densely on a piece of paper.
After reading it once, Shen Peiqing pursed her lips and said, "I can understand your majesty's words, but I don't understand what these words mean when put together."
"Oh?" Chongzhen pointed at the paper and asked, "Which sentence do you not understand?"
"Palace...Jade Wine, one hundred and eighty per cup?" Shen Peiqing's delicate face showed a puzzled expression, "Your Majesty, what does this mean?"
"Is there anything else?" Chongzhen asked instead of explaining.
"Yes," Shen Peiqing pointed to the following sentence, "What does the big hammer mean eighty and the small hammer means forty?"
"And..." Shen Peiqing continued, "What does it mean to have a monkey on a tree and a monkey on the ground? I really don't understand!"
Chongzhen smiled but said nothing.
He asked Shen Peiqing to read these words for one thing, a very important thing.
But I can’t say it now. I’ll have to wait until the time is right.
At this time, Shen Peiqing was still reading.
She didn't understand a single sentence on the paper.
It’s not that I can’t understand it, but that I don’t understand the meaning of the sentence.
Because these words are neither famous quotes nor poems.
It just happens to be easier to read together, that's all.
After Shen Peiqing finished reading all the sentences, Chongzhen asked with a smile: "Which of these sentences do you like best, my beloved concubine?"
"I like this sentence the most," Shen Peiqing stretched out his slender fingers and placed them between the black words on the white paper.
Chongzhen looked carefully and found that this was a classic saying.
"I am the white cloud, I am the black soil." Shen Peiqing recited and pointed to Chongzhen.
"Well," Chongzhen nodded and said to Shen Peiqing, "My beloved concubine must remember this sentence."
"I obey your order, but..." Shen Peiqing hesitated and then asked: "I don't understand why I should remember this sentence."
"Because this is your signal for contact."
"A code for contact?" Shen Peiqing was even more confused. "Your Majesty, I have lived in the palace for a long time and have never gone out. I don't need to contact anyone. I really don't understand what the code for contact is."
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