I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 128 This is a threat to this official

Chapter 128 This is a threat to this official

Chapter 127 With the imperial physician's explanation, Emperor Tianqi finally understood Chen Boying's real problem. He couldn't help but smile wryly, but of course, he understood; they were both men. Chen Boying, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, had gone to Shuangchengwei shortly after his marriage, spending over half a year risking his life—it wasn't easy for him.

The Tianqi Emperor's anxiety finally subsided. He sat for a while longer, instructing Chen Ying to take good care of himself before getting up to leave. As he reached the door, he suddenly turned back, looked at Chen Ying, and smiled meaningfully, saying, "Minister Chen, I know you've been working hard, but you must also take care of your health. After all, the Da Ning Commandery is counting on you."

Chen Ying smiled wryly and could only nod, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!"

After seeing the Tianqi Emperor off, Song Yanniang returned to her bedroom and looked at Chen Ying with eyes full of apology: "Husband, I—was I too much?"

"You think you've gone too far? Even if I were an iron man, I couldn't lose weight!"

Chen Ying had to admit that there's no such thing as land that's been overcultivated, only oxen that have died from exhaustion. Song Yanniang was radiant, while he felt terminally ill. But the question was, could Chen Ying blame Song Yanniang? The answer was no. She hadn't actually done anything wrong. This world is unfair to women. For example, on the issue of whether or not to have children, the responsibility is usually placed on women, but in reality, it's not something women can do.

In later years, Chen Ying's boss suffered from congenital azoospermia and ultimately had to use artificial insemination to have a child. If things hadn't gone wrong, Chen Ying wouldn't have been able to get this gossip.

"Yan Niang!"

Seeing Song Yanniang's aggrieved expression, Chen Ying sighed, "Yanniang, I know what you're thinking. But these things can't be rushed."

Song Yanniang lowered her head, her eyes slightly red: "I'm also afraid—afraid that the Chen family line will end."

"No way!"

Chen Ying was silent for a moment, then reached out and took her hand: "I promise you, I will definitely leave an heir for the Chen family. But you also have to promise me not to do this anymore. I still have military affairs to handle, and I can't always be lying in bed. If this gets out, how can I still have the face to command tens of thousands of troops?"

Song Yanniang nodded, her tears turning into a smile: "Then my husband, please drink this bowl of medicine first."

Just as Chen Ying was drinking his medicine, Song Yanniang suddenly said, "Husband, there's something fishy about the accounts submitted by Chen's Trading Company!"

Chen hurriedly put down the medicine bowl: "How did you know?"

"I've discovered it!"

"Who would dare to be so bold?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ying flew into a rage. This wasn't a public account; his Chenji Trading Company was his private property, and had no direct connection to the Shahe Guard. "How much silver did they embezzle from us?" he demanded.

"There are sixty or seventy taels of silver!"

"Sixty or seventy taels of silver? You can't hide such a tiny mistake from me, impressive!"

Song Yanniang proudly raised her chin and laughed, "Of course! I've been learning accounting from my mother since I was seven. What kind of accounts haven't I seen? No matter how secretive they are, they can't hide anything from my eyes. However, their tricks weren't very clever; the flaws were too obvious. Hmm, they must have miscalculated. It was an unintentional mistake, so it can be forgiven—"

Looking at the radiant woman before him, Chen Ying suddenly realized he had underestimated her. He had married not just a wife, but a senior executive, a capable assistant who could help him manage his business.

The Song family of Yongcheng, one of the eight prominent families of Guide Prefecture, is a wealthy and influential family whose ancestors included a high-ranking official. How could a daughter raised by such a family be just an ordinary woman who only knows embroidery and housekeeping?

"Yan Niang————"

Chen Ying grasped her hand and said earnestly, "From now on, you will be in charge of all the accounts of Chen's Business and the accounts of Daning Bank."

Song Yanniang's eyes lit up: "Really? Yes, husband, what is a bank?"

"A bank is—"

Chen Ying's purpose in establishing the bank was actually to facilitate the development of business. Now Chen Ying is the CEO of a large enterprise with hundreds of thousands of employees. Every month, just paying the salaries of his employees is a huge sum of money. Moreover, he has the soldiers of the Shahe New Army and the Daning New Army under his command, and the military pay of these soldiers is also a large sum of money.

By establishing banks, officers can reduce their exploitation of soldiers. With banks, money can be directly transferred to soldiers' accounts, allowing them to withdraw it at any time. Reducing the officers' involvement can prevent corruption to some extent. Whether they are military households or artisans, they all like to save money and have very low consumption desires. Even though the military households were issued work clothes, in reality, most of them were reluctant to wear them.

He was extremely frugal with his food, and he couldn't understand how an officer like Chen Daniu, who could earn hundreds of taels of silver a month, would eat coarse grain buns, coarse grain noodles, and pickled vegetable dumplings.

Chen Ying explained the bank to Song Yanniang, but Song Yanniang only listened halfway before saying, "Isn't this just a money exchange?"

"Banks are banks, and money shops are money shops—they're not the same. Money shops use their own money to lend and make profits, while banks use other people's money, making profits through mortgages!"

"Let's talk about it after your bank is built!"

"but----"

Chen Ying changed the subject abruptly: "You have to promise me you won't torment me anymore. I want to live a few more years."

Song Yanniang blushed and spat, "Who's been tormenting you? I was—I was thinking of the Chen family."

Chen Ying smiled wryly and said no more.

After whispering for a while, Song Yanniang suddenly said, "Shouldn't you give Su Meimei a betrothal gift?"

Chen Ying was completely baffled: "A betrothal gift? What kind of betrothal gift?"

Song Yanniang pinched Chen Ying: "Why are you pretending to be confused? Do you really intend to let her live an awkward life in our Chen family like this?"

"When did she get into our house?"

"Still pretending, huh? Su has known you for over a year, and she's been doing everything for you. Don't you understand her feelings?"

Are you going to keep dragging this on? She agreed, but I won't!"

Chen Ying stammered, "What—what are you talking about! She and I are just ordinary subordinates, friends, really, I swear!"

"But that's not how she sees it, and that's not how outsiders see it either! To outsiders, Sister Su is already a member of the Chen family—whether you're truly confused or pretending, just resolve this matter as soon as possible!"

Chen Yingdao said, "Are you forcing me to take a concubine?"

"You won't lose out by taking her!"

Song Yanniang said earnestly, "So much money has passed through her hands. Are you sure you can rest assured that you won't take her as a concubine?"

"Aren't you afraid that once she's in the Chen family, things will get messy?"

"Hmph—I could take on a dozen of her, and those women you have in Shuangchengwei, just take care of them, so people won't gossip!"

After Song Yanniang left, Chen Boying sighed deeply, "How could such a wonderful tradition have been lost?"

To be fair, Chen Ying didn't dislike Su Mei. Although she had a shameful past, the point was that she wasn't after money or wealth, making her far more noble than those lazy princesses.

"Brother-in-law, I've finally met you!"

Song Xianze rushed in. If it weren't for his height, Chen Ying wouldn't have recognized him at first glance. Was this tired-looking young man with sunken eyes and a few strands of white hair still the spirited Song Xianze from before?

"Brother-in-law!"

Song Xianze's voice trembled, his eyes were red, and he was about to cry: "You're finally back! I thought I would never see you again!"

Looking at his fingers, deformed from holding a pen for so long, Chen Ying felt a pang of guilt.

"Thank you for your insightful suggestion—you've worked hard."

Song Xianze smiled wryly, "Brother-in-law, I'm not afraid of hard work. But could you please stop dumping everything on me? Official documents for Shahe Guard, accounts for Chenji Trading Company, resettlement of immigrants in Xingzhou's four guards, construction projects at Yongning Port, and those tribal disputes—I barely get two hours of sleep a day, and my fingers are all deformed from writing!"

He stretched out his hands, and thick calluses had formed on the joints of all ten fingers, with his middle and index fingers noticeably bent and deformed.

Chen Ying fell silent.

He indeed neglected Song Xianze. From Yongcheng to Shahe, from Shahe to Dalu Island, from Dalu Island to Shuangchengwei, and from Shuangchengwei to Yongning Port, almost all the rear affairs were placed on Song Xianze's shoulders. Meanwhile, he himself led the army to fight on the front lines, enjoying the glory of making achievements.

"Bo'an, what do you want me to do?"

Chen Yingwen.

Song Xianze took a deep breath and mustered his courage to say, "Brother-in-law, I want to go to war with you."

"no."

Chen Ying refused without hesitation: "The rear can't do without you."

"Then you should find someone else to replace me!"

Song Xianze grew anxious. "Brother-in-law, I'm a man too! I want to achieve great things, and I want to secure a good future for my wife and children! You can't always leave me stuck in the rear doing the dirty work!"

Chen Ying looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

He knew Song Xianze was right, but the problem was, he simply didn't have a suitable candidate. Su Mei was capable, but she was, after all, a woman, and it was inconvenient for her to appear in many situations. Zhou Bin and Wang Tiezhu were excellent at fighting, but getting them to handle government affairs and manage accounts was harder than killing them.

"Bo'an,"

Chen Ying sighed: "Just bear with it a little longer. Once I find the right person, I'll definitely let you go."

Song Xianze lowered his head in disappointment, then suddenly raised it again, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "Brother-in-law, I have an idea."

"explain."

Have you heard of Hai Rui?

Chen Ying was taken aback: "Hai Rui? Of course I've heard of him. What's wrong?"

Song Xianze lowered his voice: "Hai Rui may not have held a high official position, but he was famous. Why? Because some people wanted him dead, so they relentlessly impeached him; but the more they impeached him, the greater his fame became, and the higher his official position rose."

Chen Ying seemed to be deep in thought.

"Brother-in-law, you're in the same boat now," Song Xianze continued. "The Donglin Party wants to harm you, they're relentlessly impeaching you. But the more they impeach you, the more His Majesty trusts you. Why don't you learn from Hai Rui, letting your enemies push you into promotion?"

Chen Ying's eyes lit up: "You mean—"

"Don't try to fight for anything."

Song Xianze said, "You just need to focus on fighting, doing business, and managing the Da Ning Commandery well. Those who want to harm you will naturally step forward. The more they jump around, the more His Majesty will feel that you have been wronged. At that time, His Majesty will take charge for you without you even having to say a word."

He paused, then continued, "Just like this time when you returned to the capital to present your victory report. You didn't want to come back, but the imperial decree forced you to."

And what happened? His Majesty personally came to visit you in your illness, witnessed by the entire court. The Donglin Party, who wanted to harm you, ended up doing you a favor.

After listening, Chen Ying remained silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

"Bo'an, it's a real shame you're not in the capital with a brain like that."

Song Xianze gave a wry smile: "Did my brother-in-law agree?"

"What did I promise you?"

"Promise me that once you find the right person, you'll let me out."

Chen Ying nodded: "Okay. I promise you."

Song Xianze was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

Chen Yongren strode into the study, cupped his hands, and said, "Godfather, Jiang Chun, the vice president of the Anhui Merchants Association, requests an audience. He's already waiting outside the door."

Chen Yingzheng was leaning back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Hearing this, he frowned and said, "I won't see him. Tell him that I am recuperating and it is not appropriate for me to receive guests."

"Godfather," Chen Yongren hesitated for a moment, "Jiang Chun didn't come alone, he also brought with him—Master Fu Yingxing."

Chen Ying stopped.

Fu Yingxing was Wei Zhongxian's nephew. Although he wasn't particularly capable, his status was special. The fact that he came with Jiang Chun indicated that the Huizhou merchants had invested heavily this time, even managing to get things done with Wei Zhongxian.

"Let them in," Chen Ying sighed, straightening his robes.

A moment later, Jiang Chun and Fu Yingxing were led into the front hall.

Jiang Chun was in his early forties, with a thin face and wearing a worn silk robe. His demeanor carried the shrewdness and shrewdness typical of a merchant. As soon as he entered, he bowed deeply, his attitude almost humble: "This humble subject, Jiang Chun, pays his respects to Lord Chen."

Fu Yingxing waved his hand and pointed to Jiang Chun, "This Manager Jiang is the vice president of the Anhui Merchants Association and a prominent figure among Yangzhou salt merchants. He has come to see you today because he wants to have a good talk with you."

"Um!"

Fu Yingxing made an excuse to leave, his attitude very clear: he was only responsible for leading Jiang Chun into the Chen residence, and he would not concern himself with anything else.

Jiang Chun quickly interjected, his voice earnest: "Lord Chen, I have come here today on behalf of the Huizhou Merchants Association to explain this misunderstanding! Your methods are brilliant, and we are truly impressed. However, in business, such reckless price-cutting is not a sustainable solution for you, for the Huizhou merchants, or for the people of the world."

Chen Ying leaned back in his chair, picked up his teacup, and slowly took a sip: "Oh? Then tell me, Manager Jiang, why isn't this a long-term solution?"

Jiang Chun took a deep breath and slowly said, "Sir, you have salt, iron, production capacity, and technology, which we commoners certainly cannot match. But have you considered that the Huizhou merchants have been operating in Jiangnan for generations, with salt routes, railways (referring to the sales routes for iron, not the railways that actually run trains), tea routes, and cloth routes—a complex network where a change in one affects the whole? If you lower the price of salt to seven wen today and the price of steel to thirty wen tomorrow, it may cause us commoners to lose money, but you yourself won't make any money either. In the long run, it will be a lose-lose situation. Why bother? Moreover, you have hundreds of thousands of military households to support and tens of thousands of soldiers to feed, all requiring money. Can you sustain a price war like this?"

Chen Ying put down his teacup and looked at him coldly: "Is Manager Jiang threatening me?"

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