Emperor Ming Dynasty

The Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, like the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, not only shouldered the important task of reforming the land and returning it to exile, he also essentially shouldered the power to make decisions on all matters concerning foreign vassals.

The Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou is naturally responsible for Myanmar.

When talking about Myanmar, we have to talk about Yunnan.

The Yuan and Ming dynasties' rule over Yunnan continued to deepen. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Duan family was autonomous and guarded by the clan kings, while in the Ming Dynasty, the military households were suppressed and the Mu family was guarded.

Years of immigration and repatriation have truly made Yunnan an inherent territory that is indivisible.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang would rather spend a lot of effort to relocate hundreds of thousands of military households than capture Yunnan and burn the burning inscriptions of Nanzhao and Dali that had been passed down for hundreds of years, that is, the white inscriptions.

The reason is very obvious.

Because of Yunnan’s important geographical location.

If the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a condescending and advantageous position for the Indian Peninsula, then Yunnan can be said to be the central highland for the Indochina Peninsula.

Through Yunnan, you can reach Myanmar to the west, Laos to the south, and even reach the Red River Plain.

The Mekong River originates from Yunnan.

With the central court controlling Yunnan, the Ming Dynasty could take the initiative at any time and put pressure on the south. Whether it was war or peace was decided by the court.

This is block strategy high and low.

With Yunnan in hand, how dare Myanmar refuse to accept it?How dare the Indo-China peninsula dare to cause chaos?
Zheng Sen knew a little bit about this, but regarding the responsibilities of the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, what he valued most was to return to his hometown:
"Xinian Jin Guogong pursued Sun Kewang and wiped out dozens of lands, but it was just a drop in the bucket for Yunnan."

"It's full of chieftains. If you want to completely change the status quo, it will take a hundred years."

"There's no rush to change your land and return to your current position." Zhu Yixi shook his head, looked at the border official of similar age, and said casually:
"There are many barbarians in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. After you take office, the chieftain should be slow rather than hasty. Maintaining local stability is the most important thing."

As he said that, Zhu Yixi thought of the previous Yunnan Copper case and said with a gloomy face: "Besides this, the most important thing is the Yunnan Copper case."

"The copper round is heavier than Mount Tai."

Zheng Sen was slightly confused.

Zhu Yixi did not explain too much, just said: "Nowadays, most of the imperial court's copper depends on Yunnan, so the Yunnan copper task is very heavy."

"Weigh millions of silver dollars every year."

At this time, Zheng Sen immediately became serious.

In fact, Yunnan Copper is related to the imperial court's economic war.

Since the establishment of the silver standard during the Wanli period, the Ming court was unable to control silver.

Very simply, a large amount of silver was imported into the country from overseas, causing inflation in coastal areas. At the same time, there was a lack of silver in inland areas, which caused deflation.

Although a huge empire thrived because of silver, the economy within it also became a mess.

The most important thing is that as the country's currency, silver cannot be controlled by the Ming court.

This means the collapse of the financial market, and it also means that the court cannot benefit from it.

However, Zhu Yixi remedied this problem by casting silver coins and banning the circulation of silver, thereby controlling finance through the right to mint coins.

But in the final analysis, only copper is truly in the hands of the imperial court.

Copper yuan and copper coins are the currencies used daily by the people and are also the most widely circulated.

Every year, he makes over one million profits from casting copper rounds.

Even sometimes, when financial difficulties are encountered, copper coins can be issued to alleviate the crisis.

Therefore, in the Qing Dynasty, in order to alleviate deflation, copper coins had to be issued in large quantities, so that the amount of Yunnan copper mined increased day by day, reaching 2000 million jins annually, which was dozens of times that of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, one tael of silver was worth one thousand two to one thousand six copper coins.

"Dian Copper is extremely profitable and cannot be ignored."

Zhu Yixi warned: "In addition, Myanmar is not a vassal state after all, and it is adjacent to Yunnan. The chieftains are colluding with each other, so we have to be careful."

Zheng Sen nodded in agreement.

Immediately, he returned to the mansion.

Although he is about to take office as governor, Zheng Sen is not panic at all.

After returning home, a large number of nobles and civil servants came to visit, which can be said to have crossed the threshold.

Among the imperial court, he was considered a special one.

Among the nobles, because his family surrendered and presented the boats accumulated by the Zheng family for decades, his father Zheng Zhilong fulfilled his long-cherished wish and became Nan Anbo, part of the Ming Dynasty nobles.

Nowadays, a large part of the four major naval divisions of the Ming Dynasty (including the Nanyang Navy that is about to be established) come from the Zheng family. This influence cannot be stopped.

At the same time, Zheng Sen studied under Qian Qianyi and was deeply involved with the Donglin Party. Later, he even directly inherited his connections in the officialdom.

It was precisely because of this that he learned that success was inevitable.

Otherwise, it would just depend on the emperor’s relationship.It's not that smooth.

After all, the Donglin Party's skinny camels are bigger than horses.

However, what surprised Zheng Sen was that the Duke of Guizhou, who had always been indifferent among the nobles, also came to visit this time.

The person who came was none other than the son of Duke Qian, Mu Zhongxian, the future heir to Duke Qian.

You know, his aunt was favored by the emperor in the palace!

Regardless of family background or connections, although the Duke of Guizhou is low-key, it just lacks work and cannot raise its head in the army. However, it is quite powerful in the court.

Apart from anything else, when officials from Yunnan came to Beijing, how could they not pay a visit to the Duke of Guizhou?

This is customary.

Mu Zhongxian is now 27 years old, but he looks dignified and graceful. He probably has never eaten anything so bitter, with fine skin and tender meat.

Standing next to a person like Zheng Sen, who was turned rye by the sea breeze, he was a completely different person.

But Mu Zhongxian did not dare to look down on the future governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, but was very polite.

"Brother Shi has never been in Beijing, so we are not allowed to meet him." Mu Zhongxian said with a smile: "Now that I have arrived, I have reached the high position of governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. It is really enviable."

"Yunnan is my homeland, and I hope Governor Duojia will take care of it."

Although the Mu family's ancestral home is in Fengyang, Anhui, everyone regards them as Yunnanese, and he himself thinks so. After all, if his Anhui ancestors can't be found, who can he worship?

"This is what I should do." Zheng Sen also wanted to use the influence of the Mu family to secure his position and seize power as soon as possible. That would be the best.

So the two of them chatted quite happily, and there was no contradiction.

It's nothing more than that the Mu family has many manors and businesses in Yunnan, so I hope they just turn a blind eye.

Zheng Sen said truthfully: "Now that your Majesty has spoken, even the imperial merchants have to pay taxes, and no one can escape."

"Mu Mansion has always been content and safe, so I think everything will be fine."

Speaking of this, Zheng Sen smiled and said: "When the Yunnan Copper Case came out, the Yunnan Province was shocked. I guess your house was not involved, right?"

Mu Zhongxian smiled awkwardly: "This is natural."

"Although my house is mining, it has not been in contact with Yunnan for a long time, so I don't know about it."

This time, the atmosphere became awkward.

However, in order to take the overall situation into consideration, Zheng Sen still hinted that he would handle the finishing touches so as not to look ugly later.

As a governor, he is not short of money.Although the Zheng family no longer has the exaggeration of making millions a year in the past, a large number of merchant ships are still there, and they are still managed by the old people. With many years of relationships, it is fun to make two to three hundred thousand yuan a year.

Not an imperial merchant, but better than an imperial merchant.

It is difficult for those princes to surpass this.

His wealth is crowned with honor.

"Sir, come up and play." Suddenly a woman from a window upstairs smiled charmingly, stretched out her jade arm and waved a handkerchief.

Jia Daishan's heart was shaken, and he felt that this woman was pretty good-looking. Although she had become a prostitute, the taste was different. There was movement in her crotch for a while, and various pictures emerged in her mind, and her heart began to sway...

Suddenly, a sturdy figure appeared in his mind, and he immediately turned off the fire.

The steps were hurried and the head was buried in the ground.

The Jia family was originally very strict, but they married a family of people who strictly controlled their wives, which made him miserable, and the good places he used to be were gone.

The same is true. Honorable nobles all laughed at his family for having the lion's roar from the east of the river.

After passing Hualiu Lane, you will find the most prosperous street in the inner city.

Many dignitaries like to come here to buy clothes, and they like to have tailor-made clothes. Therefore, the clothes in these shops are made of a lot of silk and satin, and there are also many famous brands, which are of high value and are highly sought after.

After opening the curtain, I suddenly saw a low-key and elegant courtyard, which was very abrupt in the bustling area. Inside, I saw a tailor immersed in cutting and there were only a few dresses hanging on the hangers next to it. They were obviously made for women. place.

The plaque of this business is called "Zheng's Weaving" and it is a large shop.

Unlike other shops that just open a facade, theirs is an entire courtyard filled with shops.

The outside shop receives ordinary customers. There is a wooden and silk screen in the depth. From the screen to the left and right are side rooms and attics, all of which are filled with various materials, brocades, and ready-made clothes.

The house inside is the warehouse.

It seems that this is the main store, with branches in other parts of Beijing and other cities.

He had only been here before, but then he remembered that he had seen this name in other places.

At this time, I saw that the environment was quiet and the shopkeepers were almost all women, each with their own style. I couldn't help but come in and take a look in person.

Even if you can't eat it, just take a look.

"Hey, young master, stop here. This is where the female family members are, and they are not allowed to enter!"

At this time, a female shopkeeper dressed elegantly came forward, covering her mouth and smiling.

Seeing the young and strong boy who was burying his head in the door, he couldn't help but laugh.

Jia Daishan glanced at him, and he looked pretty good. A smile appeared on his lips: "Cut me some clothes."

"Just according to your size..."

"Sir, if my size is suitable, let your wife come, or we can come directly to your door..."

The female shopkeeper said with a smile, her words already indicating rejection from thousands of miles away.

In response, Jia Daishan also lost his smile: "Here comes a box of rouge, made from the rouge flowers of Yinshan Mountain."

"Don't worry, Yinshan will keep it."

With that said, the female shopkeeper took two steps until she came to the next door. After giving a few instructions, she came over with a box of rouge.

Those who sell women's things, rouge, gouache and jewelry, ready-made clothes can never be taken off.

He turned around and returned to the house. His wife did not complain. Instead, she murmured: "Don't let me feel wronged because you brought me rouge. This is a hot commodity in the capital."

“Isn’t it normal for a husband to buy rouge for his wife?”

Jia Daishan sighed.

It's normal, this is rubbing his dignity on the ground. I'm afraid this matter of being afraid of his wife will spread throughout Beijing.

While he was still sitting down, Xue Chongwen came to visit and dragged him to Nan Anbo Mansion.

His brother Jia Dai became the uncle of Chuzhou and the Prime Minister of Liao. Jia Daishan was not very afraid of Zheng Sen, but he felt a little uncomfortable when he visited him directly.

Xue Chongwen knew what he was thinking and said seriously: "Yunnan's jade, spices, tea, leather, peacocks, and Yunnan copper are all treasures and valuable. If we can build a relationship, we will make a fortune."

There is another layer that he didn't mention. The Zheng family has a lot of connections in Japan. If they can catch a ride and get involved, that would be even more important.

Although there is little hope, there must be pursuit after all.

"Uncle's Mansion in Chuzhou?" Zheng Sen was a little surprised when he heard this invitation.

He has little contact with the Jia family, needless to say, it's just business.

Seeing the visitor, Zheng Sen said bluntly: "My dear nephew, this matter in Yunnan is very difficult. It is difficult for me to summarize, but the business is so difficult that not even I can make the decision."

"I just want the governor to treat everyone equally." Xue Chongwen took the initiative: "Of course I don't dare to mention taking care of you. I just want a chance."

"Okay, I agree to it!"

Zheng Sen agreed.

On the way, Xue Chongwen was overjoyed. As long as he was connected to the line, with the relationship between the four companies, why worry about different business routes?

Facing more and more invitations, Zheng Sen felt overwhelmed and could only thank the guests behind closed doors.

At this time, the few who came late were all regretful.

In particular, Dingguofu suffered the most.

As a former noble minister, after the Shaowu Dynasty, although his title was restored due to his sacrifice, his parents were completely confiscated, and the emperor had no power to grant him.

In this way, Duke Dingguo's mansion is a powerful one.

"What is this?" Xu Yanzong sighed, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

After many years of frustration in Beijing, he has always burst out today.

Drink wine and vent freely.

The dignified Duke has a more miserable life than the earl, living with his neck hunched over. Who can bear this?

On the side, Hui Anbo and Zhang Chengzhi were also drinking wine and feeling equally uncomfortable.

Hui'anbo's line originated from Empress Zhang of Renzong, and they were veritable relatives.

His uncle's family burned themselves to death in Beijing, but he retired from the country. Then Shaowu revived, gave him the face of the Zhang family, and attacked the earl again.

But the title was inherited, but the dignity was not there, and the role of earl was very unsatisfactory.

Without rights, wealth is in vain.

Especially compared to those group of Shaowu nobles, it is even more tasteless.

"How about we also join the army?" Zhang Chengzhi suggested.

Xu Yanzong rolled his eyes at him: "Don't make such a joke. Do you still know how to ride a horse?"

"Even if you join the army, where will you have a place? Where will you have military exploits?"

"Are we just going to ignore it?" Zhang Chengzhi said sadly, "If this goes on for a long time, how can we still have this dignity?"

"I'm afraid even the emperor has forgotten us."

The former Ming Dynasty is just a facade on the table. You spend money to support it and it's enough to keep your face. How can you dare to reuse it?