No one cared about Zhao Guan's sentimental and hypocritical analysis, not to mention he didn't mention it to outsiders.

Even if Pan Guifei becomes Pan Xianfei, it will not have any impact on the overall situation of the government and the public... On the contrary, in the eyes of the governors, Pan Guifei's downgrade is a rare promotion to the overall situation, and it will make Zhao Guanjia say

The pattern of establishing a prince without an east palace is clearer, thus making the court more stable inside and outside.

Stability is the natural pursuit of bureaucrats, especially those in power. It has nothing to do with whether they are radicals or what their views are.

As for Zhao Jiu also copying two million yuan and beheading a "Hanlin bachelor", it is not a big deal at all... You know, Cai Mao and this group of people are really the dregs of history, lambs to be slaughtered, from them

As soon as he came back, he was ignored by those in power and targeted by speculators, so he could get a glimpse of it.

In a sense, this incident may not have caused as much shock to people as the big, fancy balloon.

As for Zhao Guan's family using some means to divert Ma Shen away, it is not that they are worried that Ma Shen will have too much involvement with these old dignitaries... It is true that they are all in the southeast, and they are all frustrated, but Taoists follow

In the old days, the powerful were not comrades-in-arms. Things like what happened to Wang Tse-weng back then were relatively rare.

What's more, even if other Taoists are frustrated, Ma Shendang, the chief officer of the Criminal Department, is definitely not a frustrated person.

It's just that Zhao Guan's family was mindful of past mistakes and worried about Ma Shen's procedural justice, just in case.

And after Ma Shen returned to the court, nothing happened. He just wrote a letter to Zhao Guan's family, and then went to work with his heart.

To put it bluntly, the real life and death situation of the imperial court is the Northern Expedition, and the real problem caused by the Northern Expedition is the huge financial hole faced by the ruling Northern Expedition radicals. And when it seems that this hole can be plugged through a series of measures, of course the situation will

That's great.

Along with this, all doubts and objections have also subsided, and Zhao Guanjia and his ruling team have taken advantage of this trend to become more arrogant.

At this time, nothing seems to matter.

In fact, in the spring of the following eighth year of Jianyan, the entire imperial court and even the entire society were in a high-spirited attitude. In February, the imperial court struck while the iron was hot and launched a new policy, which was aimed at the reform of the clan.

The so-called royal family reform is nothing more than reducing the supply of money and food, and relaxing restrictions to allow and encourage the clan to engage in production activities... For example, if you want to do business, you can directly give a royal operating qualification, or use it to make an empty pie. In fact, it is still there.

The maritime trading company under establishment will be given shares to work for as a reward; those who want to become a career will be given certain bonus points in the Taixue, Prefecture, and County school promotion examinations.

In a sense, this matter is actually a matter of course.

You must know that the clan management in the Great Song Dynasty was not as healthy as imagined. On the contrary, huge problems were revealed as early as the Shenzong Dynasty, the situation was complicated and the management was chaotic... But fortunately, the Jingkang Incident happened.

The Jingkang Change not only eliminated the problem of redundant soldiers and officials in the Song Dynasty, it also achieved unprecedented thoroughness in assisting the Song Dynasty in resolving the clan problems. Because even if the Zhao Guan family later brought back these close clan clans,

Not only did these people lose their most basic political influence, but also because of the inexplicable estrangement between them by the Zhao Guan family, these people directly lost the protection of the imperial power.

Therefore, considering that the Tian family's heirs are safe and the crown prince's position is secure, coupled with the court's overall political task of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, this matter is of course as logical as dealing with the old escaped dignitaries in Yangzhou.

According to the final result, even the dozens of brothers from Zhao Guan's family had to fend for themselves because of their previous downgrades in Shaoxing.

For a time, the officials' unsympathetic opinions were once again noisy, but they could no longer stir up any waste.

By the beginning of March, another financial matter was completed - the fleet heading towards Goryeo returned with full load for the second time. The entrepot trade was indeed the success expected. Zhao Guan's family officially held a warm ceremony in front of the public pavilion outside Xuande Building.

Under the vertical banner hanging from the balloon, the establishment of the Song Dynasty Royal Sea Trade Company was announced.

This company has been brewing for more than a year, from the time the Zhao Guan family proposed the plan to Zhang Jun the winter before last, to the official establishment now... But there is nothing that can be done about it, because this is a new thing, and many people are a little bit concerned about it.

In a daze, a simple statement about doing business with Zhao Guan's family and making a fortune cannot make everyone feel relieved.

Even Zhang Jun, who had been a general in Lianghuai for so long, expended a lot of effort to promote such a one-time sea trade activity, let alone such a large-scale, institutionalized company?

In fact, when the financial hole seemed to be far away, it was impossible for this thing to succeed. Only the benefits of sea trade could be brought out. This kind of joint operation had been successfully executed many times, plus the opposition of a prestigious monarch.

Only with the concerted efforts of everyone can we truly make this happen.

But no matter what, it was successful in the end.

This company includes the royal family, the clan, numerous wealthy silk merchants in Lianghuai, all the famous porcelain kilns in the Central Plains, and almost all large-scale merchants north of the Yangtze River. At the same time, it has also attracted almost all the Central Plains and Kansai who participated in the Qingmiao Loan.

Jiangnan temples and other wealthy businessmen in other industries automatically subsidize the control and control of nearby clan clans, secret pavilions, public pavilions, and imperial camps in the form of shares... And this type of setup automatically monopolized almost as soon as it was established.

China's traditional East China Sea trade with Goryeo and Japan.

At the same time, all these people are only qualified to participate in capital contributions and dividends, but the specific operations have to be left to the maritime merchants, silk merchants, and official kiln owners. The only person who represents the Zhao family and the public cabinet to arrest the boss

He was called to be the president of the company, but the former Taichang Wang Shuzhan, who had been unemployed for a long time, was appointed as the president.

What is done is done. According to Zhao Guanjia, this is just the beginning. If this method works properly, then in the future, a royal shipping company for the south ocean direction and a royal land transportation company for the northern part of the western region may be established.

The benefits must be shared equally so that more people can enjoy the fruits of maritime trade.

Of course, everyone knows that last sentence is nonsense!

Because everyone can guess that when necessary, the Zhao Guan family will definitely take away all the principal and profits of everyone and put them into the Northern Expedition!

But how to say it?

The Northern Expedition treasury bonds were all bought, not to mention this matter?

Compared with the already zero-interest national debt, this company will definitely be profitable in the future, right? However, the premise is that the Northern Expedition is successful!

To put it in the words of some students in Taixue, what the Zhao Guan family did was not so much a maritime trade company, but actually just like other things, it was a Northern Expedition company!

But at this point, I have to add another twist. Now that the Northern Expedition Company has been successful, it also shows that everyone's confidence in the Northern Expedition is actually gradually increasing.

The situation is indeed getting better... There are more and more people willing to take advantage of this opportunity.

Let's look back. Since the establishment of the Finance and Finance Administration in the middle of last year despite all difficulties, everything has happened one after another, such as the official's family getting sick, the harem, the prince, the hot air balloon, the old nobles, the clan, the company...

One by one, everything seems to be of great concern, but in fact it is just a matter of daily life in this huge central country.

But the imperial court is still a imperial court. Even if it loses the two rivers that have always been the traditional core area, it is still a powerful country with thousands of miles in the center. Therefore, even the daily life of this country is worthy of the attention of all people inside and outside the government.

.

No, the company had just been established, and within a few days, another incident attracted the attention of both the government and the public.

"Who wrote the letter?"

"Li Ruopu, a Hanlin scholar!"

"It turns out to be this person? This person has always been a gentleman. Don't you understand that writing a letter about this matter in his capacity is somewhat suspicious?"

"There is no suspicion... Li Xueshi released the economic envoy from Jingdong East Road. The Japanese document passed through the Ministry of Civil Affairs the day before yesterday. I saw it with my own eyes... This is obviously a draft that has been prepared for a long time. In order to avoid suspicion, he wrote a letter recently to express his opinions.

"

"That's not bad. What's more, it's even more appropriate that Academician Li, despite having the convenience of internal control, did not speak directly to the officials, but instead submitted a letter publicly."

"It makes sense to say it this way...but what is the attitude of the officials? I am afraid that it will be difficult for the ministers to intervene in this matter, right?"

"Yes, I'm afraid only Li Zhongcheng (Li Guang) is suitable to say it, but in fact it still depends on the official's wishes."

"The official family..."

"Who can predict the official's intentions at this time?" Hu Quan, who had been busy dealing with a salted duck egg at the bow of the boat, finished eating and threw the eggshell directly into the lake, interrupting the dinner with a sneer. "This matter

The stakes are so high, I'm afraid all the secret cabinet officials are worried, so how can we get a glimpse of it... We just have to wait for the result."

"That's true." The person who asked the question immediately laughed, and the rest of the people on the boat also laughed.

Let's say that in the spring of March, Zhao Guan's family opened Jinming Pond, allowing people to have fun at will. From Jinming Pond to the Memorial Temple in Yuetai, and to the Cuju Field in the north of the city, tourists almost filled the roads outside the city.

Today, Xiu Mu, Hu Quan and a group of others naturally had to take advantage of the opportunity to get together, so they found a black flat boat from Bianshui in the city and sailed all the way to Jinming Pond for some wandering.

There is a stage piled up on the shore in the distance. It is the Taoist temple nearby that is performing "The Legend of the White Snake"; nearby in the lake, there are often small boats with purple curtains carrying ladies, and the laughter can be clearly heard; and there is a boatman on the bow.

My wife helped prepare the dishes...the so-called salted duck eggs, pickled snails, green island sprouts, apricot slices, and green plums, all of which are easy and cheap seasonal items, and of course a pot of pickled plum wine is also indispensable.

However, since a group is engaged in team building, it is inevitable to reveal some information to each other and discuss some hot topics in the DPRK. What everyone just said is the biggest thing that has happened in the DPRK recently - the transfer of Hanlin bachelor Li Ruopu

Before taking office, he suddenly submitted a letter and pointed out the improper employment of officials... This improper employment does not refer to the specific governor who is not good, which minister is a villain, which Hanlin bachelor is a fake person, but to the officials.

He likes to form small circles, which leads to excessive concentration of power.

In the prime minister, there are only four people; in the minister, there are only six, and the minister is not permanent; in the Yushitai, from the supervisory censor to the censor, the number of censors in the palace is very small; in the Hanlin Academy, there are only a few.

That is to say, there are only a few people, and there are even fewer official servants, basically the same few people.

Therefore, Li Ruopu suggested that the number of ministers should be appropriately increased, and the number of assistant ministers in the six ministries should be permanent. At the same time, the number of censors, Hanlin bachelors, Zhongshusheren, and pavilion ministers should be increased.

Only in this way can officials avoid being biased and ensure that they have a reliable and large governing team.

This matter is directly related to the quota of more than a dozen secret cabinet-level ministers. Isn't it a big deal for the bureaucrats of the imperial court? It's no wonder that everyone is talking about it, and everyone is discussing it...

...Hu Quan and his gang, even if they know that they are out of reach at the moment, they still have to say something.

Without further ado, Hu Quan turned back to his eyes. Amidst laughter, Hu Quan lowered his head and drank half a bowl of warm tea brought by the store. He spoke a little casually and continued: "But having said that, I can make a rough guess. Officials can't say.

About six ministers have been promised, and it is hard for the ministers to say how many ministers will increase the number of imperial censors, but the number of chief ministers is probably not going to increase...at least not at this time."

"How do you say this?" Mei Qu, a native of Zhishe, asked curiously... He couldn't help but be curious, because his uncle also said the same thing last night. Although he had a guess about this, he hoped that someone could confirm it.

"Nothing else." Hu Quan became more serious. "The prime minister has a heavy position, and a slight addition or deletion will cause changes in the structure of the DPRK and the Central Government. However, the official's mind is still on the Northern Expedition. Before the Northern Expedition, the situation of the DPRK and the Central Government will not be shaken."

Mei Qu nodded immediately, this was exactly what he thought.

"That's right." Someone next to him had already laughed in reply. "If nothing else, the number of prime ministers has been increased. Will Lu Yihao and Yu Wenxuzhong, Xianggong Yuwen, come back? If they don't come back, will they feel aggrieved? But if they do,

When I come back, if Xianggong Yuwen comes back, I am not afraid that he will get together with Xianggong Zhang because of his in-laws. I am just afraid that he will be in trouble all day long and soften Xianggong Zhao again. What will happen then? And if Xianggong Lu comes to the court,

, that’s all for the other Xianggongs, is there any way for Xianggong Zhang to survive?”

Everyone laughed again.
To be continued...