Believe the emperor?
Or do you believe in the powerful?
This choice is actually not difficult to make.
After all, Zhan Yuquan had just spoken very clearly.
Merchants have a humble status. Although they have wealth but no power, they have to rely on high-ranking officials.
After working hard for most of their lives, most of the money they earned went into the pockets of the powerful. They were just money-making tools for the dignitaries.
Why don't the merchants know this? That's why they, like Zhan Yuquan, try their best to make friends with powerful people and train the children of their clan, hoping that one day their children can also enter the officialdom and control a certain amount of power. , changing the fate of the entire family.
The so-called merchant children are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination, which is nothing more than a piece of paper.
As long as the money is in place, the local government can change the children of businessmen to civilians by any name, such as adoption, and transform them into children of ordinary farmers. Even if it is found that the local officials are responsible, it will have no impact and no one will be able to find it. Wherever the law is violated, the court allows adoption, and stepchildren enjoy the same rights as biological children.
But the problem is that after Emperor Wu De ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, everything was renewed and everything was renovated. He implemented more stringent entrance examination laws than before, so that the entire officialdom was completely new. Unless it was necessary, there were very few officials. Dare to openly violate the law.
Most of them knew the source of the disaster this time.
Emperor Wude wanted to implement the policy of dividing the land between men and women, cutting off the foundation of interests of the gentry and the gentry.
Therefore, the gentry and Jin gentry fought back desperately, hoping to force Emperor Wude to compromise by closing the shops in the capital!
To put it bluntly this time, it was actually the civil servants who were competing with the emperor for power. They, the merchants, were just pawns that could be played in the hands of the civil servants.
Since it is just a chess piece, it may be abandoned by the powerful gentry at any time!
Once these merchants choose to obey the orders of the powerful and go against Emperor Wu De, their fate is bound to be miserable.
Besides, businessmen are not chess pieces after all, but real people!
They don’t want to be chess pieces, they want to be chess players. Once the chess pieces have thoughts, will they still be willing to be manipulated by others?
Of course I don’t want to!
However, if they directly offend the powerful benefactor behind them, then they will have no way to survive.
Not to mention continuing to do business in this capital city, those powerful benefactors took revenge and used all possible means!
The faces of all the merchants were uncertain, and they did not dare to say anything for a short period of time.
Seeing this situation, Zhan Yuquan couldn't help but sigh.
"Everyone, do you still think this is a time for opportunism?"
"There are actually only two ways before you. One is to obey the orders of the powerful and go against His Majesty the Emperor. You will not get any benefits after the thing is done. The glory and wealth will still be obtained by the powerful and gentry, but you will incur trouble for this. If His Majesty the Emperor holds a grudge, the outcome will be no different than failure!"
"I have made it very clear before. We merchants are just tools for the powerful and benefactors to make money, so tool people must have the consciousness of tool people. Once the war between the powerful and the emperor breaks out, you will be involved. There is no doubt that he will die, and the powerful will never completely break up with His Majesty the Emperor because of tools like you!"
"So, in fact, you have no choice at all. At this time, you can only choose to believe in His Majesty the Emperor!"
After Zhan Yuquan said these words calmly, the expressions of all the merchants changed drastically in shock.
They never imagined that the situation had become so dangerous.
If you make one wrong step, not only will you be shattered to pieces, but your family and descendants will also be affected!
In fact, everyone also understood that Zhan Yuquan had an irreconcilable relationship with His Majesty the Emperor, similar to the existence of imperial merchants, so they tacitly accepted that Zhan Yuquan was the leader of merchants in the Beijing area. After something happened, they would immediately gather at Zhan Mansion to report to him. Ask for help.
Therefore, they can actually understand that Zhan Yuquan prefers His Majesty the Emperor.
"Brother Zhan, the problem is that we surrender to His Majesty the Emperor, but the powerful people..."
"Don't worry, you can always trust His Majesty the Emperor!" Zhan Yuquan said with a smile, "I think everyone knows how Zhan made his fortune."
"Zhan was just a small businessman back then. It was through the tasting that he hugged Prince Han tightly and followed him all the way without hesitation. Only then was he able to make a fortune and accumulate such a strong family fortune!"
"It is not difficult for you to see through Zhan that His Majesty the Emperor's attitude towards merchants is completely different from that of the world. The Emperor is wise and powerful and really wants to develop industry and commerce and enhance the status of craftsmen and merchants. You should also be able to see it!"
"The reason why business in the Ming Dynasty has prospered over the years is not because His Majesty the Emperor has been vigorously developing industry and commerce, suppressing the gentry, dividing the resources occupied by the gentry, and replenishing industry and commerce. You should all know this."
"The attitude of His Majesty the Emperor and the attitude of the Jin gentry and the powerful are all before your eyes. If you still can't make the right choice, it will be really hopeless!"
The merchants looked at each other and started talking in low voices.
What Zhan Yuquan said was actually the truth, and they knew it in their own hearts.
The powerful merchants regarded them as tools. Only His Majesty the Emperor wanted to develop industry and commerce and treated these merchants as individuals!
In this case, making a choice is actually not difficult!
"Done!"
"Those damned bitches, if they don't give me a way to survive, then I won't even survive!"
A merchant shouted with an angry face.
"Yes, you usually rely on us to make money for food and drink. Now if something happens, you want us to jack up the tank. It's too much!"
"They don't treat us as human beings, so why should we listen to them?"
"Brother Zhan, we will surrender to the emperor as you wish!"
Everyone was filled with indignation and expressed their opinions one after another.
Zhan Yuquan was quite happy to hear this, and finally had a chance to go further.
"Brother Zhan, what should we do now? Hand these secret messages directly to Jin Yiwei?"
"No!" Zhan Yuquan shook his head, "These things alone cannot be used as evidence, let alone those powerful gentry!"
"Look carefully at these notes. Are there any signatures on them? Is this handwriting familiar? It may have been written by the housekeepers of those powerful families."
As soon as these words came out, everyone woke up and secretly said that it was very dangerous.
They carefully examined the handwriting of these secret letters and found that no one recognized the handwriting, and as Zhan Yuquan said, there were no clues left on them to prove their identity.
Seeing this situation, everyone couldn't help but feel chills running down their backs. If they really wanted to hand this note to Jin Yiwei, they might be the ones who got caught.
Those powerful gentry are really not the sons of men!
This has long been planned to treat them as abandoned children to appease His Majesty the Emperor's anger!
What a bastard!
"Brother Zhan, what should we do now?"
All the merchants looked at Zhan Yuquan with sad expressions on their faces.
Zhan Yuquan chuckled.
"Nie Shizun, the Jinyi Guard, and Zhan are close friends!"
"Unfortunately, Nie Shizun has been busy with official duties, so Zhan and he may not have seen each other for a long time."
"Now is a good opportunity. Zhan will invite Nie Shizun to come over and talk about old times. You can just accompany me."
