Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Su Bancheng did not have a strong official background. The reason why he became the number one silk merchant in Suzhou was because of his vicious eyes.

Although I am sure that the little old man in front of me is not a real businessman, he does not look like a charlatan. There is always an indescribable feeling.

The most important thing is, as the other party said: If it wasn't to buy salt, why go to all the trouble to deposit a large sum of money at Jiangdu Bank in exchange for the ticket to board the ship?

If I had to use one word to describe the extraordinary old man in front of me, it would be two words: weird.

"Except Yuan Su, everyone's business style is different! Although I am new to this business, I am still afraid of being deceived. Observing first may not be worse than rushing to get things done!" Wang Yue is well versed in the art of war, and he acts as if he is the master of business.

Su Bancheng actually made some sense when he thought about it, and his purpose in doing business was just to expand his contacts and make the business bigger. Even if this person wanted to deceive, he would be deceiving the transfer envoys of the two Huaidu capitals. Dangjie Weiwei raised his hands and apologized: "Mr. Hu's words are reasonable, but I am being rude. I am Shen Baishi, a native of Suzhou. My ancestral business is weaving. Now I come to Yangzhou because I want to do salt business. Please take care of me in the future!"

At this time, there was a sudden commotion among the people here. Everyone turned towards the door, and many people's faces immediately showed signs of shock.

However, they saw that the last group of people had already boarded the ship, and the ship was slowly heading east. What appeared here was Li Zhiqing, the transfer envoy of the Huaidu and Huaihe capitals, Yang Mingyuan, the prefect of Yangzhou, and Zhang Lushan, the salt inspector of the Huaihe and Huaihe Rivers.

In many people's expectations, only Li Zhiqing, the transfer envoy of the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, would come forward, but they did not expect that Li Zhiqing, the transfer envoy of the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River, Yang Mingyuan, the prefect of Yangzhou, and Zhang Lushan, the salt inspector of the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, were already in the game.

It was okay for Yang Mingyuan, after all, the Yangzhou prefect had every reason to get a share of the pie, but many people did not expect that Zhang Hushan, the iron-faced censor in charge of patrolling the salt, was also a member of the interest group.

Now the iron triangle of Yangzhou City has really appeared here, followed by Gao Huan, the deputy envoy of the Huaidu and the three division chiefs under his jurisdiction. This lineup has undoubtedly shown them enough hard power.

"Mr. Li, your style has not diminished!"

"Prefect Yang, please take good care of me in the future!"

"Zhang Yushi, you are young and promising, and your future is limitless!"

…

Facing the Iron Triangle of Yangzhou City, some salt merchants who had some dignity came forward one after another and exchanged greetings with great enthusiasm.

"Haha... These people are really in a group. There's no guarantee that their Yanyin can mention salt!" Su Bancheng suddenly realized the truth when he saw the lively scene.

Although Wang Yue had always known that Yangzhou officials were colluding, it was only when he saw the three Yangzhou yamen chief officials appearing together that he realized that local corruption was far more serious than imagined.

If they were in the court, or came under the banner of imperial envoys, who would have thought that they were all Jinshi officers who were familiar with the books of sages, and disciples of saints who advocated Zhou rites and Confucianism, and they were actually colluding together to embezzle salt and profits.

If there are just some black sheep in the officialdom of Huguang, then in the officialdom of Yangzhou it is true that "it may be unfair to cut off two or three of them all, but there will definitely be fish that slip through the net".

At this moment, he felt that it was necessary to ask His Majesty to open Enke every year, otherwise it would be difficult to find people to fill the many vacancies suddenly vacated in Yangzhou.

"Everyone, I am Li Zhiqing, the transshipment envoy of the two Huaihe Rivers. The two people next to me are Yang Zhifu and Zhang Yushi. In the territory of Yangzhou, nothing else can be guaranteed, but your business will be smooth. And if you have any trivial matters, I can't guarantee it. The prefect can solve it!" Li Zhiqing stood with his head held high and assured the salt merchants present.

Magistrate Yang always got a lot of money, so he stood up and said with a smile: "Master Li is right! As long as it is a matter within the jurisdiction of my government, as long as I come here, I will definitely help you relieve your worries!"

this……

The new salt merchants present couldn't help but feel moved in their hearts. They dared to buy salt here. From now on, they can walk around in Yangzhou. These people are really kind.

"Everyone, the banquet has been prepared. Let's eat and sing here. The two adults and I are up there first!" Li Zhiqing saw that the effect had been achieved and said goodbye.

"Master Li, please go slowly!" The salt merchants suddenly felt confident and said respectfully.

Now that there are three giants endorsing it, the matter of raising salt will undoubtedly be very smooth. As for doing things in Yangzhou in the future, with the Yangzhou Iron Triangle covering them, they can almost go sideways.

The upper reaches of the Bianshui River is Slender West Lake, but the sludge has not been cleaned there yet, so it has already become a smelly lake. The ship sails eastward to the east canal, and then goes south along the canal to circle back to Yangzhou Wharf.

The itinerary has been finalized in advance. As long as the voyage around Yangzhou City from north to south is completed, the sales promotion activity to increase the salt fee will be successfully concluded.

As for the imperial envoy who was ordered to investigate the case, I am afraid that he is still wandering around in Taixing County like a headless fly at this time.

Gao Huan, deputy envoy of the Lianghuai Capital Transport Department, stayed here. After greeting a group of familiar old salt merchants one by one, he explained it in person.

Gao Huan is an old man in his early fifties. He was initially appointed as the imperial eunuch by Enyin, but he failed to gain any merit in the examination. Instead, he was awarded the title of seventh-rank Zhongshusheren by the imperial court. Now he is the fifth-rank Lianghuai Dujian. Deputy envoy.

In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, although sons were not particular about inheriting their father's legacy, Gao Heng's father was Gao Gu, the original chief minister. This was one of the reasons why Li Zhiqing dared to form a gang in Yangzhou City.

Facing the dozens of salt merchants present, Gao Heng seriously revealed the information: "You may not know that, in order to encourage everyone to actively use silver to buy silver, the imperial court clearly stipulated that the salt sold must be able to be raised that year. to the salt, otherwise the transfer envoys of the two cities will be punished! So as long as you buy these salt imports, our transfer envoys in both Huaihe and Huaidu will guarantee the imports that year, and if you pay the salt silver, you will be guaranteed to arrive at the salt factory. It’s cash upon sight!”

They are using the power of salt exchange in their hands to seek rent through the power of these salt merchants. He opened the door of convenience for this group of salt merchants, and these salt merchants provided them with salt and silver. It can be said that everyone is happy.

"Sir, Deputy Ambassador Gao, it is stipulated that the salt sold must be salt-in-the-year. Why don't we know about this?" After hearing this, a salt merchant immediately seemed very puzzled.

Bullying the superiors and concealing the truth from the inferiors!

Wang Yue discovered that this group of people was really very clever. They just used a small asymmetry of information to fool everyone into playing around.

If everyone knows that the Zhese Yin sold has this special regulation, then once they buy this kind of salt Yin normally, they don't have to worry about not being able to get the salt, and they don't even need to pay such a high salt fee.

But now that they are on this ship, it is obvious that the imperial court put pressure on the transfer officials of the two Huaidu capitals, but in the end, it became a bargaining chip for Li Zhiqing and others.

Since there are clear regulations from the court and the green light and guarantee given by Li Zhiqing and his gang, there is really no need to worry too much about not being able to lift the salt.

Gao Heng smiled slightly and explained: "This matter was actually a small scam at first, but after Mr. Li found out, he chose to omit this stipulation every time. If you don't believe it, the official document from the Ministry of Household Affairs is here Now, everyone can come forward and take a look.”

As he said that, he displayed the official documents from the court that he had brought over, and on them were the official seals of the three household divisions, halls, and departments.

"Exceptor Hu, the official document of the Ministry of Household Affairs really stipulates this!" Su Bancheng is a serious person. When he saw that the official document of the Ministry of Household Affairs really stipulates this, he couldn't help but admire the humanity of these people.

Wang Yue discovered that he was actually a fan of the authorities. He originally thought that they would write a guarantee letter to each salt merchant, but it turned out that they had taken advantage of a small loophole.

But from this incident, we can also see that once we get an opportunity, even if it is just a small loophole, we will take advantage of it to make a big profit.

In fact, it's not that China doesn't have people who really understand how to govern the country, but no matter how good the scriptures are passed down to the lower levels, these greedy officials can open their eyes and help you distort the scriptures.

Today's young emperor is ambitious and may want to implement a lot of reform measures that will benefit the country and the people, but he must not be aware of the local problems.

In fact, the problem of China's governance has never been a problem of high-level officials. The high-level officials have been trying to play the role of a clean stream. The main reason is that the place governed by the civil servant group has long been rotten.

"Sir Gao, the imperial court only gives out a relatively small amount of salt yin for coloring every year. The maximum number in the 16th year of Chenghua was one hundred thousand yin. How can you release so many salt yin all at once this year?" Although raising salt's concerns Most of them were dismissed, but a new salt merchant raised another question.

The salt merchants present have actually realized this problem for a long time. Now the quota of discounted salt issued by Lianghuai Yamen is really too much, and some people even suspect him of forging the quota.

Wang Yue also had a deep understanding of this problem. A salt merchant like him who had just entered the industry could get five thousand coins, and other experienced salt merchants must have received more. However, I had the impression that the Ministry of Household Affairs only stipulated that the imperial household department only issued a small amount of colored salt every year. lead.

Facing this problem, Gao Heng smiled mysteriously and said: "This matter involves another secret. Since it has nothing to do with our transaction, there is no comment! But now I have all the adults to protect you, and I have given you all the salt." Are you still worried that the seal of the Lianghuai Capital Transfer Envoy is fake? No matter how courageous we are, we wouldn’t dare to forge a fake seal, right?"

Wang Yue couldn't help but feel secretly disappointed. He thought he would be able to learn the whole truth this time, but he only found out that they had taken advantage of a small loophole.

"Yes, we all have regular salt guides, so what are we afraid of?"

“Anyway, it’s like this every year, so hurry up and start subscribing for Yanyin!”

"Explain all this to them. If you don't want to subscribe to Yanyin, just get off the ship!"

…

The old salt merchants present had been dealing with Li Zhiqing and other officials for many years, so they seemed to have great trust in the organizers, and they all expressed their opinions impatiently.

"It's our first time to participate, so naturally we want to find out! Since it involves the secrets of all of you, it's not easy for us to find out. I've subscribed to all of this salt quotation!" The new salt merchant observed the reaction of the new salt merchant next to him. , even if it is a statement.

The new salt merchants present also gradually gave up their concerns. Although the amount given by the Lianghuai Transport Envoy was abnormal, it was indeed impossible for them to give false quotations.

For them, the most important thing is always whether they can lift the salt smoothly.

“I subscribed to them all!”

"I'm more conservative and only accept half of the quota!"

"Life and death, wealth and honor are determined by heaven, I subscribed for them all!"

…

After listening to the personal explanation of Gao Huan, the deputy envoy of the Huaidu and Huaidu transfers, the new salt merchant had gradually dispelled all his concerns and immediately expressed his position.

For a moment, the scene seemed happy and joyful.

Wang Yue couldn't help but feel embarrassed when faced with this situation.

He has a fake deposit of 20,000 taels in his sleeve and now faces two choices: either continue to use the fake deposit to buy salt, or reject the transaction.

It's just that using fake deposit receipts can easily be seen through, and refusing to trade will also make people suspicious. In fact, these are both risky choices.

The two benefits should be given priority, and the two evils should be given priority.

Now as long as he successfully reaches Yangzhou Terminal and can continue to muddle through with the fake deposit in his hand, he will be able to turn his passivity into an initiative.

Before Wang Yue could express his position, a new salt merchant next to him suddenly stood up and said: "What? Do you want to deduct 10% as an information fee?"

"It's not a deduction, but 10% of the amount will be withheld and kept at the Jiangdu Money Store. If you don't publicize it everywhere, you can fully refund it after one year. You won't tell the truth!" Gao Heng seemed to be used to this situation, and even said patiently explained.

The new salt merchant looked at the burly men around him and expressed his position: "In that case, I will subscribe for half of the quota!"

Gao Heng smiled slightly and asked the staff to help him handle it.

In fact, the operation is not complicated, because you have to pay the full fee to board the ship, and now you have to subscribe for at least half. If you choose to subscribe in full, you will not need to return the silver salt, but if you subscribe for half, you will get back half of the silver salt.

"Hu Yue, what do you say?" Gao Heng came to Wang Yue and said with a slight smile.

Wang Yue didn't expect that there would be money deductions, but he still had to bite the bullet and said: "I am doubtful about the authenticity of your salt quotation, so I will not subscribe!"

"In this case, you should know our rules! We will withhold 10% of the knowledge deposit as a security deposit, which can be fully refunded after one year. Please take out your deposit slip first and we will give our instructions!" Gao Heng looked at Wang in front of him. The more kind-hearted you are, the more genuine your smile will be.

Faced with this reasonable request, Wang Yue had no choice but to take out his fake deposit receipt and then handed the fake deposit receipt into Gao Heng's hands.

Gao Heng took the fake deposit and took a look at it, but found nothing wrong with it, so he handed the deposit to the accompanying clerk.

The scribe was already familiar with handling this matter, so he stamped it with "withhold 10%". But when he picked up the seal again, he was immediately stunned. The seal he had just stamped was inexplicably missing most of it, and then he looked at the bottom of his seal with enlightenment.

Gao Heng was about to continue greeting Su Bancheng next to him in person, but he suddenly caught a glimpse of this scene and looked at Wang Yue with a smile on his face and said: "Uncle Hu, which song are you going to sing?"