Chapter 1321 Calling your position when working!

Half an incense stick later, Zhang Juning left Cui Shao's classroom and returned to his own classroom in the Ministry of Revenue. As the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the second-in-command of the Ministry of Revenue in Daqian, he still had a separate classroom in the yamen.

After returning to the classroom, Zhang Juning sat down on his rosewood chair. The chair, which was worth hundreds of taels of silver, immediately made a creaking sound. Zhang Juning was a man in his forties this year. As a civil servant, he had no habit of exercising.

In addition, as he held a high position as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, there were many people who fawned on him on a daily basis, and he had more and more drinking parties and social events. Therefore, Zhang Juning's weight had been increasing in recent years, and his belly was getting rounder and rounder. It could only be barely covered by the loose official uniform.

At this moment, Zhang Juning was not concerned about his weight or the painful groan of the Huanghuali chair under his butt. His mind was full of Cui Shao's words and actions.

Just now, when facing Cui Shao's inquiry about the situation of Dadongsheng Company, Zhang Juning also gave Cui Shao a brief introduction.

Zhang Juning's job has always been to manage accounts, whether in the Fengwu Army in the past, the Yijing court, or the current Daqian, so he is very concerned about the contents of the account books, which is also his forte.

So the first thing he introduced to Cui Shao was the accounting situation of the Dadongsheng Company. For example, how did the people in the Dadongsheng Company do the accounting, how did they turn the profit of tens of thousands of taels of silver into a loss, and then transferred the silver to other companies to divide it privately? And how the shopkeepers of the Dadongsheng Company turned losses into profits in order to whitewash their performance...
Because this is what Zhang Juning is good at, and he has spent half his life studying this area, so when he talked to Cui Shao, he could talk about it effortlessly and boastfully.

Zhang Juning thought that what he said was profound and easy to understand, but unfortunately Cui Shao was not very interested in this aspect. Cui Shao, who lacked interest, interrupted Zhang Juning when he was speaking most excitedly and asked him to introduce other aspects.

Although Zhang Juning was unhappy about Cui Shao's simple and rude interruption, he did not dare to go against Cui Shao's wishes, so he talked about how he cooperated with the Ministry of Justice and the General Coordination Office to raid the homes of shopkeepers and investigate the G members involved in the case, and how much silver and property he obtained.

Zhang Juning originally thought that Cui Shao would be interested in this aspect. After all, the finances of the Ministry of Revenue are still relatively tight at present, and one of Cui Shao’s main tasks as the Minister of Revenue is to ease the financial pressure and reduce the financial burden of the court!
Ye Mingsheng had already approved that all the silver and valuables seized from the house searches would be deposited into the Ministry of Revenue’s treasury, thus alleviating the Ministry’s financial strain!
However, to Zhang Juning’s surprise, Cui Shao still lacked interest in this aspect. When Zhang Juning was hesitating about how to explain his plan to split up the various departments of Dadongsheng Company and how to deal with some junk assets, Cui Shao took the initiative to ask Zhang Juning about the transactions between Dadongsheng Company and some other companies.
Although he was very puzzled as to why Cui Shao, the old fox, asked him such questions, Zhang Juning attached great importance to the task of splitting up the Dadongsheng Company and believed that it was an important step towards the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Therefore, he took this task very seriously and read a lot of files and archives about the Dadongsheng Company.

So when faced with Cui Shao's inquiry, Zhang Juning thought for a moment and then reported to Cui Shao some major transactions he knew about Dadongsheng Company and other companies.

After explaining the situation in this regard, when Zhang Juning was about to introduce how he planned to deal with some heavy assets of Dadongsheng Trading Company, Cui Shao took the initiative to end the questioning and let Zhang Juning come back.

Zhang Juning was somewhat confused by Cui Shao's questions this time. Although Cui Shao's expression did not fluctuate much during the entire report, Zhang Juning could see that Cui Shao did not care about the accounting situation of Dadongsheng, nor did he care about how much silver the Ministry of Revenue could recover by raiding the homes of those shopkeepers this time!

There is only one thing that the old fox Cui Shao really cares about, and that is the transaction between Dadongsheng Trading Company and other trading companies!
After realizing this problem, Zhang Juning became even more confused. He couldn't understand why Cui Shao would pay attention to this situation. Is there any unknown secret here?
Just when Zhang Juning was puzzled, the door of the classroom was pushed open, and Zhang Wen, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, walked into the room with a booklet and said to Zhang Juning:
"Brother, I have completed the task assigned to me. Now the five branches of Dadongsheng Bank in Yijing have resumed normal operations..."

Zhang Juning, who was thinking about the problem, was interrupted when he heard Zhang Wen's words. He immediately said angrily:

"Is this the Ministry of Revenue's office? Who is your eldest brother?"

Zhang Wen was a little at a loss when he heard this. He didn't know what his elder brother was so angry about, but facing Zhang Juning's angry glare, he could only lower his head and say:

"Minister Zhang! I was wrong, please forgive me!"

Seeing that his cousin had indeed admitted his mistake and did not argue with him, Zhang Juning continued to admonish him:

"I've told you before that when you work in a government office, you're called by your position. I transferred you from Liaoyang to the Ministry of Revenue, and there were a lot of rumors in this government office. Now that you call me Big Brother, how will others view you and me?"

"You have to remember that this is the Ministry of Revenue of Daqian! It's not our own home!"

After Zhang Juning finished speaking, Zhang Wen bowed his head again and admitted his mistake:
"I was wrong! You are a minister and need to be aware of the impact."

"Alright! Remember this mistake and don't make it again next time!"

After saying that, Zhang Juning picked up the booklet that Zhang Wen brought and looked through it. Seeing that Zhang Wen had calmed the storm with only tens of thousands of taels of silver, Zhang Juning nodded with satisfaction and said:

"You did a good job on the task assigned to you this time! You also shut those people up so that they have nothing to say!"

Hearing Zhang Juning talking about this, Zhang Wen's expression could not help but change, and he cautiously tried to test:

"Then, Minister Zhang, do you think I can make progress?"

"I heard that Yuanwailang Niu Yu has not been in good health recently and plans to retire and return to his hometown to spend his remaining years in peace. This position of Yuanwailang will be vacant..."

Seeing that his cousin had set his sights on Niu Yu's position as a deputy minister, Zhang Juning glanced at him with a serious look. Feeling his cousin's gaze, Zhang Wen lowered his head with a guilty conscience and said:

"I was a sixth-rank official when I was in Liaoyang, and I am still a sixth-rank official when I came to Yijing. I have been standing still for two or three years!"

Hearing Zhang Wen say this, Zhang Juning also said unhappily:
"Can you, a sixth-rank official from Liaoyang, compare with a sixth-rank official from the Ministry of Revenue? You are now a Beijing-G!"

"Your coming to the Ministry of Revenue is the result of my best efforts. Zhang Wen, don't be ungrateful. You have been in the Ministry of Revenue for less than half a year. You should be honest and work hard for a few years before thinking about promotion and advancement. How many people in these six ministries want to advance? If you get promoted so quickly, aren't you afraid that others will stab you in the back?"

Zhang Wen was silent after hearing this. Seeing this, Zhang Juning continued to teach him:

"You are too impetuous now, always thinking about getting promoted to G. It's not that easy to get promoted to G. Just do your job honestly, and then you will naturally have the chance to get promoted to G. You must remember that accumulation is the right way to go!" Zhang Wen did not take Zhang Juning's teachings to heart. His life creed was to become a G as early as possible. After all, no one knows what will happen in the future. Enjoy life to the fullest and seize the present moment so as not to regret it later!
However, one has to bow his head under the eaves, so when facing his cousin's teachings, he also respectfully nodded, not daring to be negligent in the slightest. Seeing this, Zhang Juning also waved his hand and ordered:
“Okay, if you have nothing else to do, just go out! I still have some things I haven’t figured out…”

Hearing that Zhang Juning had something he hadn't figured out, Zhang Wen also became interested and asked:

"Tell me what you are thinking about. I will help you think about it!"

Zhang Juning cursed without hesitation:
"What can you figure out? Get out of here right now!"

In response to this, Zhang Wen still said with a playful smile:
"As the old saying goes, three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang. What if I can help you figure it out? Although I am not as educated as you, I am smarter. What if I can help you figure it out?"

Hearing Zhang Wen talking about this, Zhang Juning was a little hesitant. Although his cousin Zhang Wen looked gentle and refined, he was actually not good at studying. After seven or eight years of studying, he was still a student. Finally, he had to give up studying and used his connections to find a job in the county government.

Later, because Zhang Juning followed Ye Mingsheng to become rich, his cousin Zhang Wen also rose to prominence, and became a sixth-rank G in Liaoyang. Finally, with the help of Zhang Juning, he came from Liaoyang to Yijing and became the head of the Ministry of Revenue!

Although his academic performance was not good and he only had the title of Tongsheng, Zhang Wen was still very good at his job. Otherwise, even if he was his cousin, Zhang Juning would not have transferred him from Liaoyang.

Facing Zhang Wen's gaze at this time, Zhang Juning thought about it and felt that it was okay to talk to Zhang Wen, because Zhang Wen was his cousin and a family member!

Thinking of this, Zhang Juning told Zhang Wen what he had just reported to Cui Shao. After hearing these words, Zhang Wen fell into deep thought...

Seeing that Zhang Wen was speechless, Zhang Juning was a little disappointed and said
"Go away! Go back to work!"

Hearing his cousin say this, Zhang Wen suddenly spoke:
"Brother, have you told Minister Cui about the business dealings between Dadongsheng and Baodehe?"

Seeing that Zhang Wen was so eager to eat and not to be beaten, and called him "big brother" in the government office, Zhang Juning was a little annoyed. However, seeing Zhang Wen's serious look, he subconsciously put the matter aside and said:
"Of course I did. Dadongsheng has developed several streets in Yuyang and Yijing. Baodehe spent a lot of money to buy more than ten shops. Because these streets are in prime locations, the value of this transaction is not small, 70,000 taels of silver. I also mentioned it to Minister Cui!"

Zhang Wen continued to ask:

"Brother, do you know who this Baode and Dongjia are?"

Seeing Zhang Wen talking about this, Zhang Juning spoke without hesitation:
"Isn't it the Liu family from Yuyang? They used to be in the horse business! I heard they made a lot of money!"

Zhang Wen shook his head and said:
"I heard a piece of news that the Yuyang Liu family sold 30% of Baode's shares to someone else some time ago!"

Upon hearing this news, Zhang Juning was somewhat surprised and immediately asked back:

"The Liu family sold Baodehe shares to someone else? Who did they sell the shares to?"

"I'm not very clear about the specific situation, but I heard that the other party is related to Jiangnan. Ever since the higher-ups wanted to lift the maritime ban, the Liu family has been interested in overseas trade, so they have had contact with Jiangnan..."

"Since the unification of the world, the businesses in Jiangnan have also been interested in investing in the north, so I think the Liu family should be cooperating with them!"

Zhang Juning pondered for a while and said:

"What do you mean by that?"

Seeing that his cousin hadn't reacted yet, Zhang Wen continued:
"Although Bao Dehe has only bought a dozen shops, they are all located in first-rate locations. You can say that every shop is a goose that lays golden eggs. You don't have to do any business after buying them. You can earn several thousand taels of silver a year by renting them out. It will take less than ten years for the 70,000 taels of silver to pay back!"

"So based on my understanding of the shopkeepers at Da Dongsheng, there is a high probability that there is something fishy going on in this deal between Da Dongsheng and Bao Dehe!"

Hearing Zhang Wen say this, Zhang Juning seemed to realize something, but after thinking for a while, he still couldn't figure out the key, so he looked up and said to Zhang Wen:
"Just say whatever you want to say! If you have anything to say, just say it now and don't keep us in suspense!"

Zhang Wen also said directly after hearing this:

"Brother, I think Minister Cui is not interested in wine, but in the mountains and rivers!"

"His target is most likely Hu Ming!"

"Are you talking about Hu Ming?"

When Zhang Wen mentioned another vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue who was ranked alongside himself, Zhang Juning looked very confused.

Under Zhang Juning's gaze, Zhang Wen nodded seriously, and then whispered:
"Brother, I've also heard about Minister Cui's affairs. I heard that Minister Cui has always been close to Hu Ming..."