Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"Special entry to Dr. Ronglu!"

"oh."

"Follow the heavens to support the movement and serve the civil servants sincerely!"

"oh."

"Shangzhu Kingdom!"

Looking at Jiang Xuan who wanted to frame the edict and hang it on the wall, Jiang Xinghuo was speechless.

What's the use?

"This Qilin suit is pretty good-looking." Jiang Xinghuo lifted the suit up to his shoulders and measured it. He felt that it was quite affordable to give him one suit, but the rest was really useless.

The Qilin pattern in the Ming Dynasty is a dragon head, with double horns on the head, scales on the body, often tooth-shaped back, and ox-hooves on the feet. The length of the body is much shorter than the patterns of dragon robes and python robes. The official uniforms of the princes, marquises, uncles and princes, in red and gold colors, are quite majestic.

But then I thought about it. Logically speaking, if there is a python suit, the Kirin suit should not be given, because the level of the Kirin suit is lower than the python suit. Since they are all given to the Shangzhu Kingdom, the equally precious python suit is more suitable. Jiang Xinghuo remembered from his previous life that "History of the Ming Dynasty·Yu Fu Zhi" recorded: "Given a python, it is not easy to obtain by a first-level civil and military official." Among civil servants, Zhang Juzheng liked to wear it.

"Does this dress have a meaning?" Jiang Xuan asked curiously as her cousin stared at him for a long time.

"Of course there is an explanation."

Jiang Xinghuo handed the Qilin suit to Jiang Xuan and put it away. While giving it to him, he said: "Qilin is a famous benevolent and righteous beast in ancient legends. It is said that 'when the phoenix sings and the bird sings in the prosperous times, the Zou and Yu respond to the people.' Qilin appeared. , the world is auspicious. There is an allusion called "Xishou Huolin", which means that Duke Ai of Lu hunted and killed a unicorn. After hearing the news, Confucius came to identify it and sighed: "The benevolent beast is a unicorn!" After burying the unicorn, he built Tai Fuqin composed a song to commemorate him. His song said: "In the Tang Dynasty, when the Yu Dynasty came, Lin Feng came to visit. Now is not the right time to come here. Why come here? Lin is here! Lin is here! My heart is worried." Confucius traveled around all his life, teaching students and traveling around the world. In order to restore the Zhou rites, he was writing the "Spring and Autumn Annals" at that time. Lin's death was considered very unlucky, and the queen of the song cried: "When Lin came out and died, my way is at a loss." He returned to seal his pen and stopped teaching disciples. Soon he died of depression. Death. Therefore, there is a saying that Confucius Huolin's last writing."

Jiang Xuan seemed to understand something, but she didn't dare to say it. Seeing that there was no one around, she whispered in her cousin's ear: "What do you mean by His Majesty the Emperor, is to let your cousin be the one to kill Qilin? Give Confucianism and Daoism Extremely poor?”

"maybe."

Crossing his arms and looking at his spacious mahogany wardrobe, Jiang Xinghuo lost all worldly desires for a while.

What's the use of a mansion in the capital, a famous minister, a BMW with gorgeous clothes? Still wearing a green shirt and riding a little gray horse, he was very excited.

Emperor Yongle gave a bunch of things. Of course, it was not the "advantageous measures to defeat rebellion" as mentioned in the imperial edict, but all the merits from the imprisonment to the present were settled in one go.

To be honest, based on the value Jiang Xinghuo created for him, it really wasn't too much.

As for the reward this time, Jiang Xinghuo could roughly guess what it meant, but it was still unclear what Emperor Yongle wanted to do, so he could only take it one step at a time.

But no matter what, it is inseparable from maritime trade and maritime prohibition.

"All the old monks are on duty today. Why don't my cousin go to the President's Reform Office? I heard that people in the office have to order mao every day." Jiang Xuan packed up the closet and took out the clothes that needed to be washed. He came out and put it on the chair next to him, and asked curiously.

"Well, I'm the one in charge of Dianmao."

Jiang Xinghuo had half a day's free time, which was certainly not due to laziness, but to avoid suspicion.

Because the auction held by the Japanese mission to support Annan's restoration movement had begun today, Jiang Xinghuo simply didn't even go to the Yamen in order to prevent others from looking for him.

Jiang Xuan went out to wash clothes. Jiang Xinghuo sat in the room and thought about things. He paced a few times and then went to the desk to write down something.

①Wang Jing’s Trap, how to plan for a series of changes in maritime bans and even domestic and foreign trade?

②On the anniversary of Taizu’s death, will the other party’s plan mentioned by Xie Jin change? how to respond?

③What if there are variables in the southern expedition to Annan and Zhu Neng’s body? How to lay it out?

Focusing on the three most important items in front of him, Jiang Xinghuo thought about it for a long time, then breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hand to rub his swollen eyebrows, and murmured: "It's really troublesome."

Jiang Xinghuo folded the paper and put it in the drawer. After thinking about it, he took it out, lit it with a fire stick and burned it. Watching the blackened embers disappear in the copper basin, he felt relieved and wrote another one. A small note.

"Wang Bin."

"Why!"

Hearing the call, Wang Bin, who was standing guard not far away, came over with a knife in his hand: "Master National Preceptor."

"Give this note to Kong Xilu, who is in prison, and tell Ji Gang that Kong Xilu will provide him with whatever he needs, including distillers (which were highly developed in the Han Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty), and the high-altitude liquor used in them. If you have enough, ask the second prince to transfer it directly, the kind used in the military for disinfection. Then when making this distillation, the temperature should not be too high. Keep it when the water is not boiling, and it is most likely to succeed."

Jiang Xinghuo thought for a while and then said: "Tell Kong Xilu to work hard and try to get it done within twenty days. If it can be done, I will go to the prison to find him after I finish my work for this period of time, and tell him about The deeper secrets of things in this world.”

Looking at Wang Bin's leaving figure, Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and lay back on the bed. All the arrangements that needed to be made were arranged, and the rest would just wait for the results. He believed in the conditions he gave, and Kong Xilu was Impossible to refuse.

"I have troubles every day in my life. What the hell, let's take a nap first."

"Boom!"

Wang Bin left and came back.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Xinghuo got up and opened the door.

Wang Bin scratched his head and said, "The soldiers standing guard at the door said that His Highness the Third Prince left something behind, this."

Looking at the bag of salt handed over by Wang Bin, Jiang Xinghuo's eyes gradually brightened, and he seemed to understand something.

"You first go to Zhao Prison to find Kong Xilu."

After sending Wang Bin away, Jiang Xinghuo shouted again: "Jiang Xuan!"

"ah?"

Jiang Xuan's response came from the kitchen.

"That Kirin suit hasn't been washed yet?"

"No, let's make lunch first."

"If I don't eat at home for lunch, I'll wear that dress and go out."

——————

Jiang Xinghuo didn't have time to eat, but Xun Zhan couldn't even eat.

"What?!"

Xun Zhan had just invited a member of the criminal department to have lunch with Cao Run in a restaurant, when he heard the news that the servant came to report, and his face changed slightly for a while.

"What, what's wrong?"

This guy asked vaguely while using his chopsticks to pick up expensive and delicious dishes with a vengeful attitude.

This means that there is a reason why Cao Run, the Yanguan man, doesn't seem to be doing well.

The so-called Ke Dao Yan Guan is the collective name of "Ke Dao Official" and "Dao Official". "Dao Official" is the Metropolitan Procuratorate that was previously managed by Chen Ying and Huang Xin. The thirteen supervisory censors under the Metropolitan Procuratorate are now The Fourteenth Road, with a current capacity of 118 people, is mainly responsible for supervising local areas and, by the way, supervising the central government; and the "Section Officers" are another supervisory system independent of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Lao Zhu made it, in the Sixth Department There are six corresponding departments, each with less than ten people, and a total of about fifty people. They are mainly responsible for supervising the six ministries of the DPRK and the Central Committee, and incidentally supervising other departments.

Ke Daoyan officials say they are noble, but in fact they are "clean and not noble". They receive a very low salary and no extra money, and do the most offensive work. Officials from other places who come to Nanjing usually show their filial piety to various ministries and temples. The young ministers, doctors, and bosses who are in charge of their own stalls, who cares about you who are responsible for scolding people? You can't blame me anymore.

But everyone has to live, and there is no need to worry about making money.

So in order to pay the rent, buy Yanzhi gouache for his wife, and pay off the debt, Cao Run boldly sold out the only power he had.

I will scold anyone who gives me money. Cao Run's business has a good reputation. He has already done four jobs this year. From the minister to the clerk, everyone will be treated equally when the money is available.

The reason why Cao Run was bold was that although the official position of Kedao Yanguan was not high in the court, he had the privilege of "talking about things" and it didn't matter if he said something wrong. Therefore, he still had great power in the temple struggles of the Ming Dynasty. It is a very important position. Other officials are responsible for giving advice, but Kedao officials are not required to do so.

Of course it was not convenient for Wang Jing to come forward to do this kind of thing, so Xun Zhan could only go into battle in person.

As for Cao Run, Xun Zhan found out that there are a few Kedao Yanguan who are willing to sell and do things for money. After all, they have just experienced the temple purge at the turn of Jianwen and Yongle. Most Kedao Yanguan are still relatively ethical. , or rather timid.

Today, Xun Zhan invited Cao Run to eat at a high-end restaurant and gave him gifts and money, all in order to get him to help impeach Zhuo Jing, the Minister of Etiquette.

Of course, the two parties have not yet reached an agreement, because Zhuo Jing's rank is a bit high, and what the Criminal Division officer meant is that since the minister is to be impeached, it will cost more to impeach the minister across departments!

The other party's lion opened his mouth, and Xi Zhan touched the bottom of his pocket. The teacher didn't give him a budget, so he didn't dare to hold on.

But if you don't give money, the meal will be in vain and the gifts will be in vain.

Just when Xun Zhan was struggling, the servant sent over the news that the businessmen who came with the Japanese mission had begun to spread the news about selling goods and holding auctions, which made Xun Zhan feel uneasy for a while.

"Brother, let's eat slowly. I have something else to do. How about we invite you to go have fun on the Qinhuai River in the evening? We'll talk about it then. How about that?"

"Excellent, excellent."

Cao Run continued to work, ignoring Xun Zhan who got up and left. In fact, Cao Run had no intention of helping Xun Zhan impeach Zhuo Jing. The lion opened his mouth to persuade him to quit, so as not to damage his reputation of "doing things for money".

Impeachment is meant to offend someone, let alone the leader of the Imperial Preceptor. Cao Run is not stupid.

In fact, in the history of Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, Cao Run, a man from the Yongle Dynasty, was famous for bullying the weak and fearing the strong. In order to complete the impeachment target, he did not dare to impeach difficult people, but he was very accurate in dealing with all kinds of soft persimmons among the people. For example, in the ninth year of Yongle, the Criminal Investigation Bureau reported to Cao Run, "Begging for an order to the court: From now on, the people's prostitutes will dress up in dramas, in addition to dressing up in accordance with the laws of gods and immortals, righteous husbands and chaste wives, filial sons and grandchildren, and advising others to do good deeds." , and those who are happy and peaceful are not allowed to leave, but those who blaspheme the emperor's sages, lyrics, music, and dramas that should not be published by the law firm dare to collect, recite, print and sell them, and take them to the judicial department for investigation. "

Zhu Di's approval was also very Zhu Di: "But for this kind of lyrics and music, he must be clean within five days after they are released, and they will be burned. Anyone who dares to collect them will be killed by the whole family."

The whole family was killed.

The "court dramas" in Yuan dramas, such as "The Civet Cat for the Prince" and the like, have been wiped out since then, all because of Cao Run's good deeds.

After finishing the meal, Cao Run slowly packed the leftovers for his wife, children and mother, then left the high-end restaurant and walked in another direction.

Not long after, Cao Run turned around and arrived at an inconspicuous safe house.

"I, Hiccup, I want to see His Highness the Third Prince. I am His Highness's direct informant."

Yes, Xun Zhan paid Cao Run wrong after all. Not only did he do the work and accept the gifts, but he also wanted to sell him to Zhu Gaosui again.

In fact, when Xi Zhan was looking for a spray agent, there was a problem that he didn't figure out at the beginning.

Why were the other Ke Dao Yan Guan Du Jin Yiwei who came out to be sold out and were taken to prison to learn Taoism, while only Cao Run and a few others remained unharmed?

Is it really because they were lucky that their private transactions were never discovered?

There must be good luck, but the most important reason is not because there are people above, so they turn a blind eye.

——————

The venue for the auction was chosen in a commercial building in the dock area in the west of the city.

While Jiang Xinghuo was strutting out in his unicorn uniform, Xian Zhan was also rushing here. At this time, it was useless to go back to find Wang Jing. The difficulties he had made through the Ministry of Rites' own authority had been passed by Jiang Xinghuo. The nominal consignment method has been cracked. What Xun Zhan needs to do now is to get first-hand information about the auction to prepare for the teacher's subsequent moves.

Xun Zhan rushed to the auction site in a hurry, but was embarrassed to find that he couldn't get in.

There are thresholds for auctions, and the lottery is certainly not a problem for wealthy businessmen. If you let your guys do the lottery, you can always win if the base number is increased.

Although the daily purchase limit results in a relatively limited number of bargain knives that each merchant can obtain, it can be divided into several people. They don't care about the profits of these goods, but focus on longer-term things, such as tomorrow's unarmed people. free trade zone.

Therefore, on the first day of the auction, although there were some small businessmen and hawkers who were purely seeking profit, the majority of the lottery numbers were still taken by wealthy businessmen.

But this means that the probability that Xun Zhan, who arrives late, can get in through lottery is very small.

"Shake it?"

The Japanese businessman asked with a smile while speaking half-baked Chinese.

"Shake your head."

"My sister has a lottery number, so I can't enter."

Xun Zhan angrily shouted: "Get out of the way, I am an official of the imperial court!"

Xun Zhan still wanted to show off his official authority, but the Japanese samurai who was taken out to block the enemy didn't care about this and just pulled out his samurai sword.

Looking at the sharp blade, Xun Zhan had no doubt that if he really dared to break in, then these Japanese samurai would really dare to cut him!

"Shake it?"

"My sister has a lottery number, so I can't enter."

The Japanese businessman continued to ask with a smile, as if he didn't mind that Xun Zhan scolded him just now.

After a short observation and chatting with the chickens, Xun Zhan discovered that these Japanese people really didn't mind, because they didn't understand Chinese at all, and they would just stand here and repeat what others taught them.

"Shake it?"

".shake."

As soon as Xun Zhan finished speaking, some kind of NPC dialogue mechanism seemed to be triggered. The Japanese businessman in charge of the lottery immediately turned cold and handed him the rope in his hand.

“I was tired after laughing for a long time as I was asked. The auction staff’s lottery on the first day is finally over (Japanese).”

Xun Zhan tugged on the rope, and a ball with numbers painted on it rolled out of the box. Unfortunately, it did not meet the entry requirements.

No matter how Xi Zhan threatened or explained, the Japanese would not let him in.

At this moment, a small gray horse, surrounded by several horses in the distance, stopped at the tethering post of the business building. The leader was wearing a unicorn suit. A little far away, Xun Zhan I couldn't see the specific appearance, but looking at the clothes, I guess it was a Japanese leader who looked like a prince, Bo Xungui, who came out to greet him in person, nodding and bowing grovelingly.

Facing the newcomers here, the Japanese businessman is still repeating his reading.

"My sister has a lottery number, so I can't enter."

Seeing the people in unicorn uniforms in the distance being led into the private door of the business building, Xi Zhan asked the Japanese businessman angrily.

"Why can he go in?!"

Although he didn't understand the meaning, he could guess it by looking at Xun Zhan's expression. The Japanese businessman looked at him like an idiot and said only two words in a clear tone.

"Guess?"

In a relatively spacious hall of the shopping mall, the auction on the first day had not yet officially started. Many people gathered in groups and chatted in low voices.

When several top businessmen in Nanjing, dressed in gorgeous clothes and gold and jade jewelry, led by Li Zengzhi, the second son of Qiyang King Li Wenzhong, came to greet Jiang Xinghuo, they naturally attracted the attention of some of them, but soon Those gazes consciously shifted their gaze.

Because these people can only look at it. Although they can be considered to have little wealth, they are still far behind these people. If they dare to use their brains, they will definitely seek death.

Lao Zhu stipulated that "farmers are not allowed to wear silk, yarn, silk, or cloth; merchants are only allowed to wear silk or cloth. If a farmer's family has a merchant, he is not allowed to wear silk or yarn." Merchants cannot wear good clothes.

However, each of these top businessmen in Nanjing has a background, and some of them cannot even be called "businessmen" according to the official definition.

Because standing here to greet Jiang Xinghuo were not only representatives of Hui merchants and Huai merchants who were entrenched in the north and south of the Yangtze River, but also Nanjing's top connections.

For example, the father-in-law of Li Zhigang, the former Minister of Rites, ran a large-scale and high-end antique store. It was an antique store in name, but in fact, the items sold at high prices contained many tricks.

Then there are Zhu Gaoxu's important supporters, Yongchun Hou and Prince Consort Wang Ning, and his second son Wang Zhenqing, who also manage his property.

As the grandson of Lao Zhu, Wang Zhenqing was a good scholar and was known as the "Golden Su Master" at that time. The Jubaoshan Villa was so large that it occupied almost half of the mountain, and was also known as the "Wang Banshan". Where did the money come from?

In addition, there are several noble relatives who are also as good as Wang Zhenqing and are also among these people.

"Master National Preceptor?"

Although Li Zengzhi was a little surprised, according to the plan, Jiang Xinghuo was not supposed to show up, but since the other party was here, he had no choice but to come and greet him in person.

"It's okay. I heard about the new things here. I just had nothing to do, so I came over to take a look at the auction on the first day." In front of everyone, Jiang Xinghuo couldn't say much, so he could only pat Li Zengzhi on the shoulder and said .

Li Zengzhi understood that there were some unplanned variables.

"Let me introduce you."

If it were before, of course Jiang Xinghuo would not have time to deal with these merchants, but now since the dispute is over the sea ban and involves maritime trade, and Zhu Gaosui has made it clear that Emperor Yongle wants to move the Salt Law, then in the Huanghuai Governor's Naturally, you need to know something about the Huai merchants who hold a monopoly position in the Liang Huai Salt Fields of Shisi, the Hui merchants who are also very large, and the leading figures in the Nanjing business community.

Otherwise, the subsequent reform of the Salt Law, the abolition of sea bans, maritime trade, and sea transport of grain will all have to deal with them. If not handled well, conflicts will arise. Jiang Xinghuo is not afraid of conflicts, but if these businessmen can be pushed in the other direction, He would be more happy to see a more beneficial positive cycle formed.

Li Zengzhi introduced: "This is Jiang Ge, the head of the Jiang family of Huizhou merchants."

An elegant man bowed deeply to Jiang Xinghuo: "The common people have seen the national master."

Li Zengzhi smiled as if he was chatting: "Master, the Jiang family has a good background. When my uncle (Zhu Yuanzhang) came to Anhui and was in need of pay, it was Jiang Yuan, the previous generation head of the Jiang family in She County, Huizhou. He helped pay for it all at once. One hundred thousand taels have just solved the urgent need of the army."

It goes without saying that the price of silver was strong in the early Ming Dynasty, but even if the entire Cao Guogong government was emptied, it might not be able to come up with 100,000 taels of silver. This is evident from the wealth of Huizhou merchants.

Li Zengzhi added: "This is Wu Chuanjia, the head of the Huai merchant Wu family."

Another burly middle-aged man with a Chinese character face saluted Jiang Xinghuo.

Jiang Xinghuo already roughly knew what was going on when he heard the surname "Wu".

Lao Zhu relied on the Huaixi Group to start his business, and the Huaixi merchants' business can be so big, naturally it is inseparable from the Huaixi Group. Now the Huaixi Group has experienced the temple purges in the late Hongwu years, except for the leaders Cao Guogong and Wei Guogong The remaining backbone of the two families is the four marquises: Wu Gao, Marquis of Jiangyin, Wu Jie, Marquis of Anlu, Zhang Jie, Marquis of Fengxiang, and Lizhuang, Marquis of Luancheng. Both of them are surnamed Wu. This Wu Chuanjia, you can tell by his name that he should be the same as Wu Gao. The Marquis of Jiangyin and the Marquis of Anlu were from the same clan.

Li Zengzhi's smiling words also confirmed Jiang Xinghuo's conjecture.

"A relative of the same lineage as Duke Qian (Wu Fu)."

The businessmen made a round of introductions, and the last one was Wang Zhenqing.

Jiang Xinghuo didn't wait for Li Zengzhi's introduction and asked with a smile: "Does Mr. Jinsu have Jinsu?"

There are only wrong nicknames in the world, and Wang Zhenqing naturally has one. In fact, the reason why he has this nickname is because he gave away Jinsu (millet-shaped gold particles), and Zhu Gaoxu It can't compare to the golden beans, but it's still generous enough.

But in front of Jiang Xinghuo, how could Wang Zhenqing dare to show off? He was just a little flattered and held his hands in his hands and said: "Master National Preceptor has actually heard of this kid, I'm ashamed of myself!"

After hearing this, the others all turned their attention to this handsome young man who was young, dressed in gold and silver, but had a good temperament. They thought, how could the Imperial Master have friendship with him?

Jiang Xinghuo said calmly: "I heard my disciple mentioned you."

Everyone suddenly understood after hearing this. It was not surprising. The second prince Zhu Gaoxu was a disciple of the imperial master, and Wang Zhenqing's father, Prince Consort Wang Ning, was an important supporter of Zhu Gaoxu. It was not surprising that Jiang Xinghuo heard Zhu Gaoxu mention Wang Zhenqing.

Wang Zhenqing was actually driven by his father to attend the auction today, because Wang's consort had recently heard some news from Zhu Gaoxu, so he hoped that his son could go there in person to help him, which was considered a favor. Of course Wang Zhenqing knew about this. He had to go, after all, their identities were here. If the auction on the first day was successful, it would definitely be more beautiful, but if it could not be successful, he would probably make his father angry again, so Wang Zhenqing actually felt anxious and helpless, so he set off Maemoto thought that if not many people came, he would wait until the auction was over to apologize to his father.

However, the lively scene at this time was beyond Wang Zhenqing's expectation. Apparently, he was not the only one with news and connections. Cao Guogong's government was behind the matchmaking, and basically all the prominent businessmen in Nanjing came.

After the introduction, several people saluted again, and Jiang Xinghuo returned the salute slightly, and then Li Zengzhi took him to the auction lounge. This lounge was on the second floor, quite far away from the auction stage.

"It's inconvenient to ask just now. If anything happens, just send someone to say hello. Why did the Imperial Master come in person?" Li Zengzhi poured him tea and water with his own hands and asked tentatively.

What Li Zengzhi didn't ask was that Jiang Xinghuo was wearing a red and gold unicorn suit, which was eye-catching. This was different from his usual style, and he didn't know what the situation was.

"Plans can't keep up with changes."

Jiang Xinghuo sighed. Of course it was not convenient to explain the specific reasons to Li Zengzhi in detail, but the identity of the other party was extraordinary after all. He was Li Jinglong's biological brother after all. It was inappropriate not to say anything about it. Besides, there were some things that he didn't understand, so he had to Get some news from the other person's mouth.

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the smoke rising from the teacup, thought for a moment and then asked, "Who are the companies here that engage in inland river trade and sea trade smuggling?"

"The dark and skinny Fujian businessman I just mentioned, as well as Li Zhigang's father-in-law, and Wang Zhenqing, are all doing this in private." Li Zengzhi didn't have anything to hide. The country had a maritime ban policy, and smuggling this To others, this is a serious crime of decapitation, but to them it is nothing.

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and said, "You can give a message to Li Zhigang's father-in-law later. After the auction, go to Annan Prince Chen Tianping to learn about the situation in Annan. Tell him and he will understand. "

"good."

Li Zengzhi also had some knowledge of the rumors, and now he was just watching that in less than half a month, the army would march south to Annan, and Li Zhigang was saved by Jiang Xinghuo and Yao Guangxiao. If nothing went wrong in the three halls, the Ming Dynasty's second The first chief envoy of the fifteen chief envoys of Cochin was him.

"In the Huanghuai Chief Envoy's Department, I heard that the Lianghuai Salt Farm is responsible for the majority of projects in China and France. Who is doing this over there?" Jiang Xinghuo asked again.

"The Huai merchants who live in the land are doing it, but the Hui merchants have been trying to get a piece of the pie." Li Zengzhi said carefully. The Salt Law involves too many things. Even with his status, he dare not speak casually for fear of Get yourself into trouble.

Jiang Xinghuo's question was sharp: "Then the law in China does not allow it, but in fact they all contract military rations to Shanxi merchants in the north? Do they earn the money by subcontracting or directly selling the salt and lead?"

"Yes, Huai merchants usually bring the salt, and Hui merchants distribute it. Some Hui merchants will also transport it to other places."

Li Zengzhi hesitated for a moment, then said: "However, the price of grain in the north is quite low now, and merchants from Shanxi have built large-scale commercial land. Therefore, the military grain supplied to Shanxi and Beizhili is not actually transported from the south of the Yangtze River via the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Those that go to the north are grown locally and transported to the border.”

"I see."

The two chatted for a while, and Jiang Xinghuo had some concerns.

Just then, the auction began.

Just before the auction started, Xun Zhan finally asked a businessman he knew and was led into the venue.