nucmednet Chapter 553: A woman who is not useful
Chapter 553: A woman who is not useful
"However, I don't travel often. I just want to reorganize the imperial merchants that are already in name only. After everything is sorted out, I can control the overall situation in the imperial capital. If I am not at home, Dong Ling will take charge of the general affairs of the mansion."
"Okay, everything depends on Madam."
Ji Chuhe didn't say anything else, but was secretly thinking in his mind.
Not to mention saving the Huaiyang Palace, even for her own sake, she couldn't let the emperor sit on the throne and control everything with such dirty intentions.
On the second day, the emperor announced in the court that Ji Chuhe was in charge of the imperial merchants.
Some people in the court had already noticed this vacancy and immediately opposed it.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's wife is a woman. Being an imperial merchant requires traveling far and wide and being in the limelight. It is really not suitable for a woman. Is this matter something that needs to be considered in the long run?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, although the Crown Prince's wife has business talent, she is, after all, a royal merchant. Your Majesty can send someone else to take charge and let the Crown Prince's wife assist."
"Your Majesty, I am also against this." Marquis Wuyang also stood up. "Since ancient times, the imperial merchants have all been men. This has never been the case. If the Crown Prince's wife becomes an imperial merchant, will the news spread out and other countries will laugh at our dynasty for having no men capable of taking on important tasks?"
Marquis Wuyang said this just to find a reasonable excuse.
He thought that the emperor saw Ji Chuhe's ability to make money and wanted to exploit Ji Chuhe.
Recently, he has been preparing supplies and he knows better than anyone how much the emperor needs money.
These matters can be borne by the court officials, but Ji Chuhe, a delicate girl, cannot be allowed to bear it!
The emperor's decision made him angry.
As soon as they saw that Marquis Wuyang had stood up to oppose, the voices of opposition became even louder.
The emperor knew that this would happen.
"Tell the Crown Prince's wife to enter the palace." He ordered Chao Sihai.
Chao Sihai immediately went outside the palace to invite someone.
Ji Chuhe walked in slowly from outside.
He walked to the front of all the ministers and saluted the emperor.
"Meet the Emperor."
"No need to be polite." The emperor waved his hand. "Officials in the court are all evaluated based on their abilities. The position of imperial merchant is no exception. Today, I summoned Ji Chuhe to the court to let everyone know that she is definitely qualified for the position of imperial merchant. If you still have any objections, you can test her on the spot."
As soon as the emperor said this, the whole court fell silent.
The emperor's eyes swept over everyone one by one.
These people still thought that there was some profit to be made from the imperial merchants.
I don't know what the national situation is like now, but these people are still calculating their own interests.
"May I ask, Madam Crown Prince, what are the duties of the imperial merchants in our dynasty?" someone stepped forward to ask.
"The main responsibility of the imperial merchants of our dynasty is to do business for the emperor. The business areas that the imperial merchants of our dynasty used to be responsible for included copper, iron, salt, tea and horses, silver casting, etc. Now, these are all under the jurisdiction of the Grand Minister of Agriculture. They can't be considered as business at all. Moreover, the income has long been fixed, and there is no obvious fluctuation in the profits that these industries can create for our dynasty. I think that since they are doing business for the purpose of making money, they can try to get involved in any industry." Ji Chuhe responded with ease.
The person who asked the question was suddenly speechless.
Ji Chuhe answered his questions unfairly and also blocked many of his questions.
Before anyone else could think of a new question, Ji Chuhe's voice rang out again, "Whether I can make money or not, whether I have the ability to make money, I believe everyone can see it. If someone stands up and says that he can make more money than me in the same amount of time, I will voluntarily give up my position as the Royal Merchant and take the initiative to let him take over."
This sentence directly shut up those who wanted to recommend the imperial merchant.
Who has the ability to make money like Ji Chuhe?
There was a little more smile on the emperor's face.
As expected, it’s Ji Chuhe.
"My dear ministers, do you have any opinions?" He deliberately asked everyone.
No one in the court responded.
The emperor picked up a pure gold plaque on the dragon table.
"Since no one has any objection, Ji Chuhe will be the Royal Merchant and we will restart the Royal Merchant House from today."
Chao Sihai held the token in front of Ji Chuhe.
Ji Chuhe took the token and said, "I will definitely live up to the emperor's expectations."
After saying this, she turned around, raised the token, and faced the civil and military officials in the court.
She wasn't showing off, she wanted to prove to everyone that she got the token with her own strength.
It is rare to see such an extraordinary, confident and calm woman. Many people looked at Ji Chuhe with complicated eyes.
They even had a feeling that if Ji Chuhe were a man, he might be able to take over the position of Prime Minister Qin and become the head of all officials.
Marquis Wuyang didn't say anything else, but he still felt a little sad when he thought about it.
Ji Chuhe left the court first as the emperor had other court affairs to discuss.
After the court session, Marquis Wuyang went directly to the Prince's Mansion.
Ji Chuhe has taken over all the information about the imperial merchants sent by the Minister of Agriculture, including five large boxes of account books.
When Marquis Wuyang arrived, Ji Chuhe was holding the information and looking at it carefully.
Xiao Yan'an brought Marquis Wuyang directly in, and neither of them disturbed Ji Chuhe.
It took Ji Chuhe a long time to notice them.
"Teacher, why are you here?" Ji Chuhe immediately put down what he was holding and turned to look at Xiao Yan'an. "Teacher is here, why didn't you remind me?"
"The teacher couldn't bear to disturb you." Xiao Yan'an responded with a smile.
"Teacher, please take a seat. Mianzhu, serve the tea." Ji Chuhe hurriedly prepared.
Marquis Wuyang sat on the chair and spoke slowly, "After hearing your answer in the court today, I am sure that you became an imperial merchant voluntarily, not because of the emperor's coercion. However, I am still a little worried, so I came here to confirm it again."
"Teacher, don't worry. I volunteered to become an imperial merchant."
"I'm just afraid that the emperor, because he's so short of money, will see that you have a talent for business and put some pressure on you."
"I understand what you are thinking. However, even if I become an imperial merchant, it is not realistic for the emperor to make a lot of money in a short period of time. Everything has to be done step by step."
"That's natural, but it really makes me sad that you, a girl, have to work so hard."
"I like these things, so I don't find them hard. Teacher, don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing."
"That's good." Marquis Wuyang breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, there was another burst of hurried footsteps outside.
Rong Yuchuan walked in quickly, and the servant in charge of communicating could not catch up with him even though he ran all the way.
He was handling business outside today and was not in the court.
As soon as he heard about this, he immediately rushed to the Prince's Mansion.
"He'er, have you really become the imperial merchant? Why didn't you discuss such a big thing with me in advance? The emperor is really too much. How could he let a weak woman like you bear such a big responsibility!" Rong Yuchuan clenched his hands, feeling angry.
"Uncle, calm down. Sit down first and we'll talk slowly." Ji Chuhe hurriedly comforted Rong Yuchuan.
Rong Yuchuan's mood at this moment was the same as Marquis Wuyang's when he heard this matter, and he was even angrier than Marquis Wuyang.