Chapter 169 Seeing Ouyang Lun making money, Zhu Yuanzhang felt extremely uncomfortable (please subscribe!!) "Hmph, this 'insurance' and 'year-end bonus' must have been created by that guy Ouyang Lun." Zhu Yuanzhang said contemptuously: "Isn't it just to give more rewards? I think when I was still a rebel, the soldiers won the battle. , I didn’t give any reward that time? If a brother was killed in battle, that time I didn’t give him a pension?”
"His name is still good, 'insurance' and 'year-end bonus'."
"But in this case, isn't he afraid of losing money?"
Jiang Wei shook his head, "I don't know the details, but I heard that the 'insurance' compensation is very simple. As long as you pay the 'insurance', you don't have to worry about not having enough money if something happens, and you can just rest assured and recuperate."
"What kind of tricks is this kid playing?" Zhu Yuanzhang had doubts in his eyes. If it weren't for the busy government affairs, he would have wanted to go to Beizhili to see if there were any new changes.
"If you take out 200 yuan as the final bonus for 50 million yuan, what are your plans for the remaining 150 million yuan?"
"Your Majesty, the remaining Qian Chen plans to spend 100 million to replace the equipment of Jin Yiwei!" Jiang Wei said truthfully.
"Update equipment? What equipment should be updated?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously.
"When I went to Yong'an Mansion this time, I found a shop selling some special equipment, such as disguise masks/anti-stab soft armor/binoculars/sniper weapons, etc." Jiang Wei continued: "Your Majesty also knows that our Jinyi Guards often They will perform some special tasks, so these special equipment are very suitable for Jin Yiwei. If they can be replaced with these equipment, Jin Yiwei's combat effectiveness will be greatly improved!"
"Special equipment? What is the background of this store?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice.
"Back to Your Majesty, this minister has investigated. This store is opened by a trading company called 'Kaiping Military Industry'. It is a listed trading company on the stock exchange market. It is very powerful. This is the armor we wore when the bandits besieged the city. Produced by a family, the reason they opened this special equipment store is to serve some people in the world. After all, they have a temporary mission hall there, which attracts many people from the world. There is also a huge demand for these special equipment. !”
"I have already communicated with the store owner. If we can reach a long-term cooperation, we can get these special equipment at a very favorable price so that Jin Yiwei can equip them in batches."
"Kaiping Military Industry? This name seems familiar." Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that Ouyang Lun was probably behind this trading company. The equipment produced by Ouyang Lun's ability must be good. After thinking for a while, he nodded, "This is also true. Got it!"
"Your Majesty Shengming!"
"Where is Ouyang Lun? There has been no news about this kid since the Eastern Expedition, and I don't know what he is doing!" Zhu Yuanzhang was most concerned about Ouyang Lun.
"Back to Your Majesty, Prince Consort Ouyang is very busy. Since Dongying was defeated, Prince Consort Ouyang began to encourage merchants from Beizhili to go abroad and trade through Jieshi Wharf. He said he wanted to completely occupy the Dongying market. It seems that the profits are very good. It is said that it also led to an increase in tariffs along the coast of Ming Dynasty!”
"Of course, most of these tariffs have gone into Ouyang's pocket. It is said that the customs tariffs in the past month alone have exceeded one million."
Um! ?
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard what Jiang Yu had said, he was immediately stunned.
First of all, I was shocked that the tariff in one month exceeded one million. You must know that the customs tariff in the past year was only 80! In other words, one month's tax now is equivalent to the tax collected in the past year.
But why did all this money go into Ouyang Lun's pocket? !
Ouyang Lun actually dares to embezzle customs duties. Is he so courageous?
If this kind of thing happened in the past, Zhu Yuanzhang would have jumped up with anger, but now instead of being angry, Zhu Yuanzhang is a little excited.
Ouyang Lun's reputation among the people now is even better than that of him as the emperor. He had long wanted to beat him, but he couldn't catch this kid. Moreover, Ouyang Lun was hiding in Beizhili, and Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly took advantage of it. Ouyang Lun really had no choice.
Now that an excuse has come to his door, Zhu Yuanzhang is naturally very happy.
So he asked in a deep voice: "Are you sure that all the tariff money fell into Ouyang Lun's hands?"
"There is evidence!"
Eh? Why does Your Majesty feel so excited? Zhu Yuanzhang's performance made Jiang Wei a little confused, as if His Majesty seemed to expect Ouyang Lun to be greedy for money.
Could it be that I haven't been with His Majesty for a long time and something happened? Although he was full of doubts, Jiang Wei still replied: "If I tell you, your Majesty, more than [-]% of the customs duties money has indeed fallen into the hands of Ouyang Prince Consort. The account books of the customs offices in various places have clearly recorded them, and the Jin Yiwei also If there is a copy, let the Ministry of Finance check it and find out."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled inwardly, pretended to be angry, and waved his hand, "Jiang Wei, since the evidence is conclusive, what are you waiting for? Send someone quickly to capture Ouyang Lun and bring him to the capital!"
Jiang Wei quickly said: "Your Majesty, you absolutely must not do this!"
Um! ?
Zhu Yuanzhang was really angry. He looked at Jiang Yu with gloomy eyes and said in a deep voice: "Jiang Yu, could it be that you went to the north for half a year and were bribed by that boy Ouyang Lun?"
heard.
Jiang Wei was so frightened that he quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I am absolutely loyal to Your Majesty. How could I be bribed by Ouyang's consort? This is absolutely impossible!"
"Since you were not bribed by Ouyang Lun, why did you refuse to arrest Ouyang Lun!! Do you think I am a three-year-old child?" Zhu Yuanzhang roared.
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Ninety percent of the customs duties go to Prince Consort Ouyang. This is what you personally agreed to!" Jiang Wei said quickly.
"Have I promised? When will I agree to this?" Just halfway through his words, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly came to his senses and said, "I remembered, you are talking about the customs mortgage agreement!!"
"Yes, I once saw a contract on the Yong'an Mansion Stock Exchange, which was about coastal defense construction bonds. Ninety percent of the Ming Dynasty's customs tax revenue in the next ten years was used as collateral to issue bonds worth about 1000 million. For the construction of coastal defense, the contract has the signature and seal of Duke Xin and your signature and seal, which cannot be faked."
"Well" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly looked embarrassed.
"Good boy, it turns out that Tang He was asked to rush back from Yong'an Mansion to get my visa stamped. He was just to guard against me!" Zhu Yuanzhang muttered in a low voice.
Recalling the situation when Tang He reported to him, Zhu Yuanzhang fully realized that most of what Tang He said to him was also taught by Ouyang Lun. At that time, he still felt that something was wrong, but he could not say it. The key was that Tang He The description is so good that you only need to stamp and sign it, and then use 1000% of the ten-year tariff as collateral to get a loan of [-] million. Doesn’t this mean giving money away for free? be cheated! Ouyang Lun has long expected that customs tariffs will rise in the future of Ming Dynasty! Now it is more than 100 million a month, and it will be more than 1000 million in a year. It is equivalent to repaying the capital in one year. The taxes and fees in the next nine years will be pure profits. Even if the customs tariffs are not increased in the future, the total will be a [-] million!
Invest 1000 million, earn [-] million with capital and profit in ten years, ten times the profit! This business was a huge profit. Of course, this refers to Ouyang Lun. For Zhu Yuanzhang, this was no less than poaching a piece of meat from him.
It hurts. My liver hurts because of the loss!
But things have already happened. Ouyang Lun has long thought that he, Zhu Yuanzhang, might fall out and hang the signed contract directly on the stock exchange. With so many people watching, if he, Zhu Yuanzhang, really dares to break the contract, then his reputation as a coward/tyrant will be lost. Take a seat.
Zhu Yuanzhang's back molars clenched.
Jiang Wei also noticed that something was wrong with Zhu Yuanzhang's state, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, are you okay?"
Zhu Yuanzhang suppressed the anger in his heart and forced a smile on his face, "It's okay. How could something happen to me?"
"Since the imperial court and Ouyang Lun have signed a contract, then... the contract will be implemented!"
"Yes!" Jiang Wei nodded quickly and breathed a sigh of relief, admiring Ouyang Lun even more in his heart. "Do you have any other news about Ouyang Lun here?" Zhu Yuanzhang continued to ask.
"Back to Your Majesty, with the rise of maritime trade, the safety of sea freight has become the most concerned point for many merchants. Although Dongying was conquered, there are still many pirates/pirates/Japanese pirates running around and committing crimes on the sea, and merchant ships are often robbed. .”
"In order to solve this problem, Ouyang Prince Consort launched the escort plan. Merchant ships can apply for the escort of the ocean fleet. Of course, they need to pay some fees. It is said that they need to pay 10 taels for every [-] nautical miles. They have made a lot of money through the escort plan."
One hundred nautical miles earns 10 taels, and one thousand nautical miles earns another 100 million taels!
You bastard, why is it so easy for Ouyang Lun to make money?
Now Zhu Yuanzhang feels very sad when he hears that Ouyang Lun is making money, as if Ouyang Lun has made away all the money that should belong to him and Zhu Yuanzhang.
Fortunately, Ouyang Lun didn't share all the war compensation from Dongying, otherwise Zhu Yuanzhang would have worked for Ouyang Lun.
"Hmph! Use the Ming army to escort merchants!? How unbecoming is this!"
Regardless of Zhu Yuanzhang's favorable impression of Ouyang Lun before, after Ouyang Lun took away ten years of tax revenue from the Ming Customs, Zhu Yuanzhang completely disliked Ouyang Lun.
Jiang Wei had already sensed that Zhu Yuanzhang was being picky about Ouyang Lun, but at this moment he could only answer truthfully.
"Your Majesty, the escort plan was agreed upon by Prince Consort Ouyang, Xin Guogong Tang and Your Excellency, in order to improve navigation safety in the Bohai Sea/Yellow Sea/Sea of Japan/East China Sea/South China Sea."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes froze.
Good guy! Ouyang Lun has even dragged Tang He into trouble now? In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang's face became solemn. Although one was his son-in-law and the other was his sworn brother, at the same time, both of them were important people in the Ming Dynasty, especially Xinguo Gong Tang He. He was said to be the capital of the military generals. However, it has a very high prestige within the Ming Dynasty.
He asked Tang He to build coastal defense, but now he is involved with Ouyang Lun!
As an emperor, it is normal to be suspicious of serious illness.
Zhu Yuanzhang once again recalled the "Coastal Defense Construction Bond" matter. At this moment, he had begun to suspect that this was a trap set by Ouyang Lun/Tang He!
Not only that, during the Eastern Expedition and the Eastern Victory, some ministers once questioned that the spoils were a little small. Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care at that time, but now it seems that there may be something fishy in it.
Now Tang He and Ouyang Lun are playing the escort plan again, and they haven't seen them hand over the money to the court.
Needless to say, these two guys must be corrupt!
Tang He, ah Tang He, I originally thought you didn’t love money, but now it seems it’s because you don’t have enough money! ! At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang felt very unhappy.
All the money you make is on my head, you are so brave!
"Have you ever found out where Ouyang Lun spent the money he earned? And with such high escort fees, don't those businessmen have any complaints?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice.
Facing Zhu Yuanzhang's questioning, Jiang Wei was a little flustered, because he could feel that Zhu Yuanzhang was holding back his anger and kept thinking whether he had said the wrong thing.
"Your Majesty, most of the money earned by Prince Consort Ouyang went into the bank cabinet. Where did the money go after that? I am sorry that I am incompetent and have not yet found out."
"However, those businessmen have no objection to the escort fee. On the contrary, they are still scrambling to pay the escort fee, for fear that if they pay it late, they will not be able to get a quota."
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang pictured Ouyang Lun/Tang He sitting on a golden mountain, laughing and counting money.
"Asshole, do they still see me as the emperor in their eyes?"
Zhu Yuanzhang roared.
This frightened Jiang Qi, and he directly prostrated on the ground, not daring to express his anger.
After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang calmed down.
"Jiang Yu."
"The minister is here."
"You Jin Yiwei must do everything possible to monitor any official of the fifth rank or above in the court. Even if they eat what they eat for each meal, what time they go to bed, and who they meet every day, I want to know!" Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice! : "If Hu Weiyong is allowed to collude with foreigners again, don't be the commander of the Imperial Guard!"
"Yes." Jiang Yu agreed immediately.
"If you have nothing else to do, please step aside. I still have many memorials to deal with." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.
Jiang Wei hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I have one more thing to do here."
"The Ma family residence in the capital received a letter from Yong'an Mansion. It was written by Ouyang Prince Consort to His Majesty Ma."
"Oh, this guy Ouyang Lun also wrote to me? What did he write in the letter?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously.
Jiang Wei took out a letter and handed it over with both hands, "I and the people below do not dare to open it without authorization. Please take a look at it."
"Yes." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, took the letter, tore it open and read it.
After reading the content of the letter, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled on his face.
Jiang Wei couldn't help but asked curiously: "Your Majesty, I wonder what Prince Consort Ouyang said in this letter?"
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately straightened his face, glared at Jiang Yu, and said calmly: "Jiang Yu, you have been out for half a year, have you forgotten all the rules?"
Hearing this, Jiang Wei's expression changed, sweat began to form on his forehead, and he quickly said: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I shouldn't make random inquiries!"
"Do your part well, you are still far behind Mao Xiang!"
"Yes."
(End of this chapter)