amaotonovel Chapter 1080 The Most Important Thing is the Lively Atmosphere
Chapter 1080 The Most Important Thing is the Lively Atmosphere
Jiang Fenghua sat in the attic, looking at the people in the yamen, and said, "They really are all mixed up!"
Gongsun Ling also looked around and said, “Why did Your Majesty ask Prefect Zhang to invite all the merchants from Yuzhou? As far as I know, the situation in Yuzhou is very bad after the natural disaster. The court’s relief has only temporarily eased their immediate needs. Yuzhou still needs to recover and recuperate before the people can live a better life. They probably won’t be of much help to us.”
"The most important thing is to have a lively atmosphere!"
Jiang Fenghua added, “Mr. Gongsun, don’t be anxious. Let’s probe their strength first. They didn’t expect Prefect Zhang’s move and they’re here to probe their strength as well. Great Zhou is currently at war with Northern Xiao Kingdom, so of course we need to focus on the battlefield and gather supplies without delay.”
Gongsun Ling was speechless. "From them? How much money can they possibly donate to us?"
He thought the Empress only wanted the wealthy Wan family and a few other relatively rich people to donate grain and money. No one would do this willingly, and the Empress's actions would probably provoke public anger.
However, there have been many instances in history of coercing and enticing merchants to donate money and grain to the imperial court for military needs. The most common method was forced fundraising, and it would never be done in such a high-profile manner.
The Empress's commotion is making people think the court is short of money, which will be detrimental to our war effort.
Jiang Fenghua had never fought in a war, nor would she presume to give advice on how to fight. However, she had read many history books and knew that wars had never stopped from ancient times to the present. Officials used every means to raise military supplies, the most common and most effective of which was forced fundraising.
At times like these, the people are full of curses and even more afraid of war.
She said, "Does Mr. Gongsun think I am the kind of evil person who exploits the people?"
Gongsun Ling quickly replied, "Of course not, how could Your Highness be an evil person?"
She continued, "Consort Jing once told me that her purpose in entering the palace was to petition for the people of Yuzhou. Having grown up by her father's side, she had witnessed the suffering of the common people most of all. She only knew that Yuzhou was short of money and food, and that natural disasters had also caused considerable trouble for Yuzhou, in addition to..."
There were some things she didn't say. During Emperor Jing's reign, places like Yuzhou were completely ignored. Zhang Qian took over a dilapidated and corrupt Yuzhou, which the previous prefect had already plundered.
She continued, “Since so many people can make a living by doing business, why can’t the people of Yuzhou do the same? My grandfather’s family has always supported a group of people by escorting goods. I’m thinking that other people can also seek a way to make a living by going around, or the government can step in.”
“Prefect Zhang is a good official, but he is not good at dealing with merchants, so the court needs some people with this talent to help the people.” She pointed to the crowd below, “Mr. Gongsun, do you see if there are any people you like? The court can recruit talented people and hire them as officials.”
Gongsun Ling said, "Does Your Majesty mean to sell official positions? But the law does not allow buying and selling official positions. If the Empress leads the way in selling official positions, I'm afraid it will cause chaos throughout the land."
"How did you also learn Zhang Zhifu's pedantry?" she said lightly. "Relying solely on the imperial examinations to select talent will miss out on many capable individuals. For example, some common people who don't want to take the imperial examinations but never worry about food and drink can still make a fortune without studying to enter officialdom. With the passage of time, they may even become extremely wealthy."
Officials always look down on merchants, and the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants places merchants at the very bottom. The truth is, they are the ones who have no worries about food or clothing, and their households are filled with servants. They live like gods. Even in the poor city of Yuzhou, these merchants live quite well; just look at the clothes they wear.
Whether they were big merchants or small vendors, the clothes they wore were indeed more respectable than those of ordinary people who depended on the weather for their livelihood. He no longer objected to Empress Jiang's plan to sell official positions, as this method was feasible for the time being.
However, this matter cannot be approved by the Empress. Everyone in the world wants to be an official. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry will become an official as long as they pay money. The court is really going to be in chaos.
Jiang Fenghua would never do something that would backfire on her, and she would certainly not cause trouble for the emperor. After all, all officials in the world are corrupt, so character is still very important.
Of course, her main purpose this time was not to sell official positions, but to genuinely recruit talent to help the people of Yuzhou become wealthy.
She had inquired about Wan Qianshan from Feng Qingyu. He was a decent person, and he had just subtly defended Zhang Qian. Zhang Qian was a bit pedantic, but he was a rare breath of fresh air in the officialdom.
Gongsun Ling added, "They are meant to serve the court. If the Wan family's granaries have enough grain to relieve the court's urgent needs, I would not hesitate to use extraordinary measures."
Jiang Fenghua glanced at him. Gongsun Ling meant that if Wan Jia refused to listen to reason, he could lead the Shenyin Camp to rob them secretly.
Prefect Zhang slowly explained, “This move by the imperial court is to open up a new trade route for our Yuzhou, which is very promising for the development of Yuzhou. It concerns your future, so I dared not neglect to convey His Majesty’s decree in time and personally wrote an invitation to invite everyone to come and discuss it.”
After hearing this, everyone started discussing it and whispering among themselves. Someone asked, "The imperial court wants to open a new trade route in Yuzhou, but the official hasn't made it clear what trade routes Yuzhou has!"
"Has the Prefect really received the imperial edict?" someone asked doubtfully. "Could Your Excellency please show the imperial edict to us all?"
Zhang Qian smiled slightly, "Since it is an imperial decree, I will naturally announce it. Rest assured, the notice will be posted soon."
Wan Qianshan said directly, "Lord Zhang, please stop beating around the bush and just tell us directly! It will save everyone from making wild guesses when they get back."
It was indeed strange that Prefect Zhang suddenly wanted to join forces with Yuzhou merchants to develop Yuzhou's commerce. Zhang Qian was a stubborn and inflexible old man, so his sudden enlightenment must have been orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.
He thought of "Brother Ruan," who was in the back courtyard of the yamen at that moment.
Zhang Qian smiled and said, "Young Master Wan, please don't be impatient. I invited everyone here for the sake of fairness."
“Merchants of all sizes from Yuzhou have come. Those who haven’t come must not have been notified by the prefect. If they don’t come, we can discuss it ourselves! Lord Zhang, please discuss it first. Our time is also precious.”
"Prefect, please stop being so mysterious. The imperial court is currently at war. It doesn't seem right for them to suddenly want to develop commerce in Yuzhou."
Perhaps it was because Zhang Qian was usually approachable and had no airs of an official, but everyone was free to express their opinions. The people who came were not high-ranking officials, but small merchants and vendors. Everyone was very enthusiastic, so they were all eager to find out the answers before they would give up.
Seeing everyone's keen interest, Zhang Qian thought to himself: The Empress is right. If we had only invited a few leading merchants from Yuzhou, I'm afraid everyone would be too cunning and scheming. But by inviting the merchants as well, even the bigwigs of Yuzhou are getting restless.
At this point, everyone started arguing.
Zhang Qiancai said, "Everyone, please be quiet. The imperial court is going to establish the Imperial Merchants Bureau in Yuzhou, and of course, Yuzhou will be the first to establish it. The imperial court also needs to select a capable person to serve as the first director of the Imperial Merchants Bureau. This matter needs to be discussed!"