"Aren't they Japanese pirates?" Tang Shunzhi frowned.
Xu He shook his head: "Huzhou is located inland, far away from the sea. I don't know how many secret posts the imperial court has placed along the way, but the other party can avoid them one by one. This is obviously not a way that ordinary fake Japanese can lead out!"
Tang Shunzhi was shocked when he heard this: "You mean someone among the court officials tipped off the news?"
"No!" Xu He said, "It may not necessarily be an official serving in the imperial court, it may also be a more powerful official who wants to serve!"
In an instant, Tang Shunzhi's expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Xu He with burning eyes.
After a while, he slowly said: "Liangsheng, you mean the Shen family?"
Xu He nodded: "It's just my guess at the moment!"
Tang Shunzhi nodded silently.
Xu Song had just asked for the lifting of the sea ban. At this time, there happened to be a Japanese war in Huzhou, which really made people suspicious.
To understand the logic, it is actually very simple.
If the imperial court completely lifts the maritime ban, it will undoubtedly be bad news for the wealthy families who have made a lot of money from smuggling.
But if the pilot project is carried out first and Songjiang Shipping Division is opened up, the impact on them will be within a controllable range.
The reason why it is said to be controllable is that although the imperial court has established guidelines for foreign trade, the content of sales in these guidelines has not been stipulated.
The biggest industry of the Songjiang Shen family is Songjiang fine cloth. This kind of cloth is soft and durable after being worn for a long time. It is a very good clothing fabric.
But what is China most famous for in its foreign trade?
Silk, porcelain, tea.
Porcelain and tea are key industries of the Qin family in Jiangxi and several major families in Fujian.
The Shen family has no strength and cannot compete with them.
Then, silk will inevitably become the Shen family's biggest trade competitor.
Someone said, silk? Raw silk is produced in Jiangnan, can the Shen family suppress it?
Yes, and it's very easy.
First of all, silk is especially famous in southern Zhili and Zhejiang.
However, the raw silk industry in Southern Zhili was too large and scattered, making it difficult to control. Moreover, the imperial court had special officials in Nanjing to manage raw silk and silk weaving. On the one hand, it was used in the palace, and on the other hand, it was also the main source of the emperor's inner treasury. One of the economic sources is distribution to the domestic market.
Therefore, the raw silk from South Zhili cannot be touched, and there is no need to touch it. Its consumer group is mainly domestic, and it is the emperor's cake.
What about Zhejiang?
This is different.
The raw silk industry in Zhejiang is better and more developed than that in South Zhili.
Huzhou, in particular, is known as the "Silk City". The raw silk produced here every year is large in quantity and of good quality.
Moreover, there are also professional guilds that underwrite and underwrite sales.
Several leaders in the guild are none other than the leaders of Zhejiang Qixing, headed by the Hou family.
Don't look at the dozens of silkworm houses in Hou Yue's family. That's because of the small-scale farmer economy in his mind. In fact, the real big business of his family is the purchase of raw silk every year.
Moreover, there are seven families like Hou Yue, who monopolize almost half of the raw silk industry in Zhejiang Province.
As long as people like Hou Yue are eliminated, Zhejiang's raw silk industry will not be able to stand up and compete with outsiders for at least five years.
In the past five years, the Shen family has already completed its industrial layout and can transform the flagship product of foreign trade from raw silk into Songjiang fine cloth.
In a market, consumption habits developed over five years cannot be shaken casually.
In another five years, the Shen family will take the opportunity to enter the raw silk market. With their human, financial, and material resources, even if raw silk is still in short supply five years later, their family can rely on their strength to crush all competitors.
At that time, the Shen family's flagship industry was removed from an egg basket to combat risks.
This is undoubtedly a [good thing] that achieves multiple things with one stone!
The reason why Xu He said that these were just his guesses was because he believed that as long as nothing unexpected happened, interesting people would come to the door of Tang Shunzhi, the prefect of Huzhou.
When the time comes, when he sees the person coming, he can confirm his guess.
After listening to Xu He's analysis, Tang Shunzhi still had hesitation in his heart. It wasn't that he didn't believe Xu He, but as a serving official, he couldn't analyze a matter based on imagination, but had to consider the evidence.
But at this moment, someone suddenly reported outside the door: "Sir, Shen Hong, the steward of Songjiang Shenge's old mansion, is asking for an audience with the name of Shenge's old manor!"
When Tang Shunzhi heard this, his eyes widened and he looked at Xu He in disbelief.
Xu He said with a smile: "Yes or no, Mr. Jingchuan will know after a try!"
Tang Shunzhi nodded with a complicated expression and said, "You go to the tent first and listen with me."
Xu He nodded, got up and walked around to sit on the chair behind the tent.
After a while, I heard someone in front say: "Student Shen Hong pays homage to the prefect!"
Tang Shunzhi must have known Shen Hong, so he stood up and said with a smile: "Mr. Kuoyuan, what kind of wind has brought you here, hahaha..."
When Xu He heard this, he thought that Mr. Jingchuan was also an actor.
Shen Hong in front quickly bowed and said: "Students don't dare to be called sir, just call me Kuoyuan!"
"Brother Kuoyuan, why are you here in Huzhou this time? Is it my own business? Or is it Mr. Shen Ge's business?" Tang Shunzhi said straight to the point.
"How dare I use Mr. Shen Ge's name card to do my own business? Haha, that's what happened. I heard that there were Japanese invaders in Huzhou, and the gentry and people in Huzhou were massacred?"
Tang Shunzhi sneered. He really came here for this matter. Xu He really guessed right, but he nodded lightly and said: "Indeed, what happened just now, I didn't expect Mr. Shen Ge to know about it very quickly!"
"This, haha!" Shen Hong smiled awkwardly, and then said, "That's right, Mr. Jingchuan, what our boss means is that Qiu silk is about to be taken off the market. I heard that many silk shops are in trouble. If it affects When autumn silk is off the market, it will be difficult for the court to collect taxes. I, the Shen family, have been blessed by the country, and I am willing to tide over the difficulties with the Zhejiang government!"
Tang Shunzhi's heart was cold, but he smiled and said: "Mr. Shen Ge is really an old minister who shares the worries of the imperial court. Brother Kuoyuan's trip..."
"That's right, I would like to ask Mr. Jingchuan to help convene several other leaders of the Huzhou Raw Silk Guild to discuss the important matter of saving Huzhou Raw Silk!"
Tang Shunzhi asked curiously: "With the prestige of Mr. Shen Ge, you can just call it yourself? Why do you need me to come forward?"
Shen Hong laughed and said: "Of course when you come to the precious land, it is only right to cooperate with the government!"
Tang Shunzhi knew that what he said was not the truth, but he couldn't ask again, so he agreed on his face. The two chatted for a while, and then he served tea to see off the guests.
After Shen Hong left, Xu He walked out from behind the tent, and Tang Shunzhi was frowning and sitting on a chair thinking about the problem.
Seeing Xu He come out, he asked curiously: "What is the plan of the Shen family?"
Xu He sneered: "It's nothing more than using the government to put pressure on other silk merchants, either to make them withdraw from the raw silk industry, or to lower prices and act as middlemen for the Shen family. The Shen family's appetite is not small. It seems that they are going to eat it all in one go. Eat up Zhejiang’s raw silk purchase!”
After speaking, he smiled and said: "Mr. Jingchuan, just wait. Shen Hong cannot say this clearly, but the gift must be generous!"
Sure enough, the next second, the doorman handed in a gift list.
Tang Shunzhi was shocked just by looking at the first line on the gift list, which was to redeem a full amount of 20,000 taels of silver!
