Thinking of this, Yan Song cleared his throat and waved his hand, and the entire venue immediately fell silent.
He pondered for a moment longer before saying, "Zhu Mo, your strategy has some merit... let's talk about the anti-Japanese public debt first. The Wokou pirates invade everyone, so we can't just let the wealthy households bear it. Ordinary people must also acknowledge some of it. Otherwise, where is justice? Second, the official money shops issuing treasure notes, this matter... the previous Yuan dynasty had this. If too many were issued, the realm would fall into great chaos..."
He seemed to have more to say but stopped himself. He cleared his throat and said to Xu Jie, "Grand Secretary Xu, what do you think? If not, we can just use the first point, and forget about the money shops...?"
Xu Jie also cleared his throat and replied, "This so-called Great Ming Jiangnan Money Shop or whatever, we few have only heard of it for the first time... *cough cough*, how exactly is it done? I think we should first hear what Zhu Mo has to say? Grand Secretary Yan, what do you say?"
Yan Song nodded.
Zhu Mo's mind finally cleared a little. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "Tired, truly tired..."
He had never participated in court discussions before. As a result, the experience was more awkward than scenes in movies and TV dramas. This was simply like ruffians quarreling, where was the slightest bit of scholarly demeanor? However, it was fine, as long as the Yan father and son couldn't guess his true intentions.
He calmed his mind and thought for a while longer, then continued, "Let me put it this way, if after issuing public debt, I raise one million taels with an annual interest of five percent; to repay the principal and interest, I would lend out this one million through the money shop at an interest rate of eight percent. In this way, wouldn't I then earn three percent? This way, I not only repay the interest but also gain three percent... Do you understand? My public debt has a term of three years, and the principal repayment is due three years later. The business of the money shop is very profitable. In three years, I can still earn quite a lot. I've calculated it, and the accounts work out..."
...
Eight percent.
That could be lent out, and if there were many people who wanted it, a large portion of the principal would be returned in three years. The business was profitable... However, with only five percent, they expected wealthy households to subscribe? They certainly wouldn't agree. Who would lend money at less than two fen? It seemed the yamen would have to use the name of resisting the Wokou to suppress them...
Yan Song pondered for a moment and felt that this matter was not entirely outrageous. If he asked Zheng Bichang and the others to suppress it, it could still be done.
However, what about disaster relief? What would he say about that?
So he asked again, "Zhu Mo, the cabinet has heard your strategy, but what about disaster relief? What do you have to say about that?"
Zhu Mo's heart immediately tightened. This was the crucial point. Whether he could get away with it depended on this... If he revealed the bottom line of the weaving bank at this moment, the Yan family would definitely fight him to the death...
He cleared his throat and said calmly, "Grand Secretary Yan, Junior Grand Secretary, it's like this... The money raised from public debt enters the money shop. I will then take out a portion and lend it to the disaster victims at an interest rate of one or two percent, so that no more people will die, after all, everyone in the world is watching, aren't they...? As for whether the disaster victims buy grain to survive, continue planting rice, or switch to planting mulberry seedlings, that is up to them... A thousand years of land, eight hundred masters, even if they want to sell their land, no one can stop them, right..."
Mm-hmm.
Yan Song nodded as he listened.
Yan Shifan also found it much more agreeable—
This Zhu Mo, no different from Gao Hanwen, both are bookworms! One wants to change rice to mulberry, the other wants public debt and money shops. To put it bluntly, neither affects the original plan...
Gao Hanwen's changing rice to mulberry could later be used to buy disaster-stricken land cheaply under the guise of national policy. Of course, the profit would be the greatest, but the contradictions would also be large, and it was inevitable that some trouble would arise...
Zhu Mo's public debt for disaster relief, later on, could naturally be used to force donations under the guise of national policy. Forcing donations would not target the disaster victims, but rather those in the well-off households. This would not cause trouble, and the money would come in quickly and cleanly...
As for the so-called money shop, that would be even better, as it could legally charge high interest. With 300,000 disaster victims, where could millions of taels be raised to lend to them at low interest? At that time, they would still have to borrow at high interest, and then selling land to repay the debt would be even more natural. This method was even more convenient than Gao Hanwen's plan...
The Yan faction exchanged glances and instantly understood—
Agree to Zhu Mo's strategy!
With this thought, they all turned their gaze to Yan Song.
Yan Song looked at Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng, and then at Zhu Mo. He finally made up his mind, slowly closed his eyes, and said no more.
Yan Shifan understood: The decision had been made, and only one thing remained—to lay the groundwork in advance, so that the blame could be firmly pinned later...
Xu Jie and the others originally wanted to disrupt the situation. By suddenly recommending Zhu Mo as a compiler at this time, wasn't it for the sake of the Jiangnan chess game? Their wishful thinking was that Zhu Mo's strategy, even at its worst, could trick some money. As long as it was sent to the Taizhou grand camp, it would be a contribution...
These pure officials were very weak. If they could achieve even this small success, they would naturally be willing to let Zhu Mo go personally. However, if the public debt turned into forced donations, and the official money shop became a usurious loan, then this black pot would be yours, the pure officials!
This method of pinning blame was a consistent practice of the Yan faction, which had been tried and tested for many years. Each time, the groundwork was laid in advance, leaving people unable to refute.
Therefore, Yan Shifan then sang the opposite tune and said strangely, "Grand Secretary Xu, this strategy, I listen and it's all good, really, all good, quite good! But there's one point, I'm always unsure—since ancient times, the court does not compete with the people for profit. This is public debt, and money shops, I'm worried the common people will point their spines and curse us..."
Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng, and Gao Gong had been fighting with the Yan family for more than a decade. How could they not understand Yan Shifan's tricks? If they spoke up at this moment, there would be endless trouble later. Therefore, none of them made a sound.
At this moment, Luo Longwen suddenly smiled and said, "Young Master Zhu Mo, Zhu Mo, is now famous throughout the land. Wherever there is a well, people are chanting that scroll of Qing Ci... Such a person, great fortune and auspiciousness, the common people will definitely not curse! If they curse, they will curse us mediocre talents... Haha..."
Zhu Mo had personally experienced the venom of the Yan faction this short morning. However, since he had decided to do it, he was no longer afraid of anything. At worst, he could just leave. He had no family to drag him down...
He immediately also smiled and said, "Wang Anshi said that ancestors are not to be followed, and people's words are not to be heeded. In my opinion, I am like a monk holding an umbrella, lawless and unrestrained. I only seek to save more lives, and I can't bother with anything else. Even if the common people curse me, then let them curse! Hahaha..."
Good!
Good!
Good!
Yan Song couldn't help but clap his hands and repeatedly praised, saying, "To do work for the court, how can merits and demerits be judged by ordinary people? We are in the court, and we should be like Zhu Mo. Wherever the court's justice lies, we must be willing to go through fire and water!"
He paused, then looked at Xu Jie and the others, and said, "Grand Secretary Xu, I think it's feasible! Zhu Mo's strategy is unrelated to changing rice to mulberry. It should still be changed, and it can also provide relief to the disaster victims. This is the best of both worlds... The cabinet should finally combine the two. Well, Zhu Mo is a famous person now, and the Jiangnan region is prosperous in scholarship. It is more suitable for him to go than Gao Moqing... I think we should draft a proposal, and report it to the Directorate of Ceremonial at noon. What do you think?"
Xu Jie, Zhang Juzheng, and Gao Gong all felt something was not quite right, but they couldn't pinpoint it for the moment. Moreover, Yan Shifan's discussions were always aggressive and filled with vulgar language, and they didn't want to argue with him. Therefore, they could only nod.