Chapter 880 Ji Zijuan is confident

Zhu Zhiren's frankness made Feng Ziying stunned. This was not in line with his understanding of this person.

To be able to endure for so many years and remain calm in such an unfavorable situation should not be the case for someone who is so upright and forthright. It is difficult for such a temperament to persist in such an environment.

Seeing that Feng Ziying was a little surprised, Zhu Zhiren laughed and said, "Do you feel that my understanding is a little different from yours?"

 Feng Ziying nodded.

"Ziying, you came the day before yesterday and we were talking about official business. But today, since you came as my nephew, if I still talk to you in secret, then Dongxian and Zishu will definitely write about it in the future. The letter comes to blame the old man."

Zhu Zhiren picked up the tea cup and took a sip. This was not a farewell, but a gesture to show that he was ready to open his heart and talk freely. However, it is not that it is difficult to open up your heart, but it is necessary to talk freely.

Zhu Zhiren knew very well that maybe this was really an opportunity, but he wanted to hear what the other party relied on, what conditions it offered, and whether it was worth his investment.

The past few years in Yongping Mansion have not been easy for him. He managed to maintain this situation almost by stumbling. Doesn’t he want to go further? But the conditions don’t allow it.

He also knew very well that if he could not achieve anything in the next year, then continuing to serve as the prefect of Yongping would be a luxury, and transferring would be a wishful thinking. Maybe he would really have no choice but to become an official. .

"I know that Ziying could have chosen places like Ningbo and Baoding that are far better than Yongping Mansion, but she chose Yongping Mansion instead. It makes sense, and it can make Mr. Qi Ge and Mr. Qiao agree with you. There must be a reason for this choice, so I want to hear the reason, is that okay?"

Zhu Zhiren's question also made Feng Ziying hesitate for a moment and then smiled, "Ziying has nothing to say to others. Before, Master Qi and Master Qiao actually didn't agree with my nephew's choice of Yongping. The official teacher also suggested that my nephew could choose Yongping." Huangzhou, um, the hometown of officials and teachers, but later they still agreed to my nephew’s choice for two reasons.”

"First, Yongping Mansion is located at the chokepoint between Liaodong and the Central Plains, and the Central Plains out of the customs. My father serves as the governor of Jiliao. If Jizhen and Yongping are not on good terms, it will directly affect the morale of the Liaodong army. My nephew also has this condition. Handle these conflicts that shouldn’t exist;…”

Zhu Zhiren nodded. This should be the main reason why Qi Qiao and Guan Yingzhen put Feng Ziying in Yongping. Without Feng Tang's status as Governor of Ji Liao, no one else would have the conditions to suppress the Jizhen military. .

"Secondly, Shibo probably knows that my nephew's strategy of opening up the sea has made many fellow scholars in the North dissatisfied. Although the nephew also refuted it, it is a reality that the people in the North and Jiangnan have different sentiments. So the nephew hopes that he can Let’s try it out in Yongping to see if we can bring the benefits of opening up the sea to benefit Yongning...”

Zhu Zhiren thought deeply, "Yuguan? Do you want to open a port in Yuguan?"

Yuguan is Shanhaiguan, but Shanhaiguan is under the jurisdiction of Shanhaiwei and cannot be controlled by Yongping Prefecture. However, there are many good coastal ports south of Shanhaiwei, which belongs to the ancient Yuguan area. It should be regarded as Funing County now, but Shanhaiwei, Funingwei and Funing County are complex in this area, and their population is sparse, so they are not taken seriously by Yongping Prefecture.

 Feng Ziying nodded.

Zhu Zhiren was a little disappointed. It was relatively simple to open a port and build a wharf. It was nothing more than people and money. Feng Ziying had this plan. Naturally, he wanted to take advantage of the needs of Shanhaiwei and Funingwei, so that southern products could continue to flow from Jiangnan, Guangdong and Guangxi. Go straight to Yuguan Port.

It just became a simple commercial port, which would certainly be of great benefit to Shanhaiwei and Funingwei, but what about Funing County and Yongping Prefecture? Maybe some business tax revenue? But if the goods are all imported for Shanhaiwei and Funingwei, there is still a question mark on how much commercial tax can be collected. Military supplies have always been exempt from commercial tax.

"It is a good idea to open a port near Yuguan, but the surrounding population is too small. Except for Shanhaiwei in the north, Ziying, you plan to transfer rice grains and military supplies from the south to Shanhaiwei by sea, and then from Shanhaiwei. Transporting it by land to Guangning Zhuwei and Ningyuan?" Zhu Zhiren said with a smile: "Of course it is a great thing for Liaodong Town, and it is also a good thing for the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the court, but it is not of much significance to our Yongping Mansion. Oh, Ziying, you are a co-president of Yongping Mansion, not a guerrilla general of Ningyuan Guards and Guangning Guards."

Before Feng Ziying could explain, Zhu Zhiren continued: "Ziying, I know it's not easy for your father now in Liaodong. It's normal for you to have such a plan. It's unreasonable not to have such an idea. But you also have to consider Mr. Qi Ge, Mr. Qiao and Mr. Qiao. I'm afraid Dongxian and the others arranged for you to go to Yongping for more than just providing logistical support for Liaodong Town, right? You said it yourself, the Northland scholars are quite dissatisfied with your strategy of opening up the sea. I am afraid that the northern scholars will be a little disappointed if they use Buyu Pass to import military supplies to Liaodong."

Zhu Zhiren's words are true. Of course, they are also considered from the perspective of Yongping Mansion. As a fellow magistrate of Yongping Mansion, he has purely provided logistical support for Liaodong Town, and instead neglected his own duties, even if he can collect some business taxes. , but it may be a bit far from Zhu Zhiren’s expectations.

"Shibo, it's not just about importing military supplies for Liaodong from the south. My nephew also wants to do something from several aspects. Opening Yuguan is just to open a portal and serve as a hub for internal and external transportation." Feng Ziying pondered. After a while he said: "I wonder if Shibo knows that Lulong and Qian'an are rich in iron ore..."

Zhu Zhiren laughed, "Why don't you know this? There is a lot of mining in these two counties, but the mineral quality is uneven, and the investment in iron smelting is huge. The locals lack craftsmen and labor, and the government is unable to support it. Although the people have this intention, but Many of them were abandoned due to a lack of smelting technology. Lao Cheng came to Yongping as the prefect five years ago. The emperor also intended to encourage mining. Well, he also levied more mining taxes to replenish the internal treasury. Lao Cheng also had this intention at the beginning, but road traffic, population Labor, iron smelting technology, and external sales also require merchants to operate, and there are many restrictions, so it can only stay on paper..., why, Ziying has this intention?"

"Yes." Feng Ziying nodded affirmatively, "Shibo should know that after the opening up of the sea, Jiangnan benefited greatly, and merchants in the north were quite criticized. So my nephew joined forces with the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce and the Guangdong and Guangxi Railway merchants to plan The main industry of the Northland is mining, and it is connected to sea transportation in order to benefit the Northland."

Zhu Zhiren perked up, but then became a little depressed, "Ziying, if you want to open mines in Lulong and Qian'an, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry will be happy to see it happen. I understand what you mean. Mining and smelting iron, if iron If the materials can be transported out of the country, it can complement the import of military supplies from the south. This is a good thing. However, the mining areas of Qian'an and Lulong are both near mountains. If charcoal is used to smelt iron, charcoal needs to be burned and forests cut down. , and it requires labor, and the transportation of iron materials after smelting is very expensive, and the population in this area is sparse, which is a lot of inconvenience."

"Shibo, you will definitely encounter a lot of difficulties if you want to do something, but we here in the north have to do something. We can't just watch the silk, tea, porcelain, and cloth from the south continue to be exported. When it comes to food, we must do something." Our output is not as good as that of the north. The capital relies on Jiangnan grain, silk and various southern products. In terms of silk, tea, porcelain and cloth, which are the most important in sea trade, we are even beyond our reach. Jiangnan always says that their taxes are several times that of our north. It is a fact that all the food and salary of the nine border areas depend on the food and silver from the south of the Yangtze River. People in the court can naturally be arrogant and louder than anyone else. The northerners are three points shorter. In addition to Qi Shi, the other four ministers in the cabinet , the first assistant and the second assistant, plus the two elders Li Ge (Li Tingji, Li Sancai), are all Jiangnan scholars, I am afraid that Shibo will not think that Daofu Gong still represents the northern scholars now, right?"

Zhu Zhiren remained silent.

Although Li Sancai (also known as Daofu) was a scholar from the north, he had served in Nanjing for a long time and later served as the governor of water transportation. He had very close contacts with the scholars in Jiangnan and was greatly influenced by them. What he said was often reflected in Jiangnan. In his defense, he was no longer considered a Northern scholar. Many Northern scholars even regarded Li Sancai as a traitor and hated him to the core.

Zhu Zhiren was a scholar from Huguang, but although the scholars from Huguang seemed to have always maintained neutrality between the scholars from the north and the scholars from the south of the Yangtze River, in fact, as the scholars from the south of the Yangtze River became more and more powerful, it was no longer possible for the scholars from the Huguang to be impartial. , and became increasingly consistent with the northern scholars.

 Taking a deep breath, Zhu Zhiren nodded.

He knew very well that it was difficult for people like him to gain recognition from people like Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe. The only thing he could rely on was that he was a scholar from Huguang.

The Huguang scholars are now vaguely forming an alliance with the Northern scholars. Although the Jiangnan scholars currently occupy a dominant position in the cabinet, Qi Yongtai was born as a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. In addition, his style is clean and honest, and he has high prestige in the court. Jiangnan scholars also respected him very much. Now that he has resigned as Minister of Civil Affairs, he will have great power to recommend who will succeed him. If he can seize this in the future, he may be able to make some progress.

"Ziying, I understand what you are talking about, but what you are facing is a specific difficulty. Iron materials are in urgent need in large quantities from both the north and the south. Foshan, Guangdong is famous for its iron production. It is said that the iron materials alone are sold every year. The tax rate exceeds 100,000 taels, but Foshan has a dense population, convenient transportation, and advanced iron smelting technology. How can our Yongping Prefecture be like Foshan?" Zhu Zhiren couldn't help but ask.

 The questions raised by Zhu Zhiren are all critical.

 The first is labor force, the second is technical talent, the third is capital, the fourth is transportation capacity, and the fifth is sales channels, none of which are simple.

"Shibo, regarding the labor force, my nephew hopes to coordinate with Jizhen. There are also many people in Tunwei, so we should be able to discuss it. Regarding the talent of craftsmen, there are also some craftsmen in Tunwei and Fuzhong, and Foshan is the main source. The money and silver are from Shanxi Merchant and Haitong Yinzhuang can solve it, and Foshan Zhuangji can also provide some; transportation is a big problem, but now we can only make do with it, but it will become more and more troublesome in the future, but we can only take one step at a time; sales channels It's relatively simple. As long as Yuguan is opened as a port, everything else will be easy to solve." Feng Ziying said it lightly, but her tone was very sure.

 (End of this chapter)