Chengdu.
At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month of this year, Liu Wei led his troops to surround the Shu Palace here.
Therefore, Zhu Xuanqi, the king of Shu, learned from Changshi Liu Huangshang that Liu Wei came to seize the palace under the order and took him to Nandu to face the saint. He also knew that the emperor wanted Liu Wei to copy the salt.
"It should be because the salt merchants in Yangzhou made him lose face, so he wanted to deal with the salt merchants and came to raid our house. He also made it clear that he would not stop until he got the salt, in order to lower the salt price and clean up the house. Salt merchant.”
Zhu Xuanqi even murmured to himself because of this.
Bang!
Immediately, Zhu Xuanqi punched the table hard: "It's just that the person who offended him was the salt merchant. What does it have to do with Gu."
"Your Highness, what you said is wrong."
"His Royal Highness participated in the smuggling of well salt. He is already a salt merchant himself, and he is considered one of the top salt merchants in the country."
Chief Shi Liu Huangshang replied with a smile.
"you!"
"Which side are you from?"
At this time, Zhu Xuanqi stood up and looked at Liu Huangshang, pointed at Liu Huangshang and twitched his lips, said a few words, and then asked: "So, the smuggling of Sichuan salt in the palace was caused by you, a despicable and shameless person." A secret from the imperial court?"
"Gu Ke treats you well!"
"Your Highness is wrong. I was appointed by the imperial court, and my duty is to look after your highness for the imperial court. Therefore, it is my duty to report your highness's true situation to the imperial court."
"His Highness treats me well, but just because His Highness treats me well, I cannot sit back and watch His Highness go astray."
Liu Huangshang continued to reply at this time.
Zhu Xuanqi gritted his teeth after hearing this.
After a while, he sneered and said: "Since you know about my smuggling and selling of salt, you should know that I have entrusted you to sell all the salt to Yangzhou salt merchants. Where is the salt?"
"Why would you lie, Your Highness?"
"Although I am not responsible for your highness's smuggling and selling of salt, I know that your highness has just introduced tens of thousands of new salt to the palace recently, and it has not yet been sent out for sale."
"besides!"
"Your Highness should understand that your Majesty's purpose of raiding the palace this time is to get enough salt. It can be said that the more the better. If you don't let His Majesty get the salt, and get enough salt, what do you want His Majesty to think? , do you feel that your family won’t cooperate with your family?”
"Your Highness should also know that the vassal princes who were raided this time were not just His Highness and his family who smuggled official salt. Therefore, if His Highness gives the most salt, I am afraid that the punishment will be the lightest."
Liu Huangshang said with a smile at this time.
Zhu Xuanqi, who usually paid the maid in the house as much as he could, now felt veins popping out on his forehead after listening to Liu Huangshang's words. After a while, he said:
"Okay! Please ask Chang Shi to go out and inform Liu Hou so that he can bring his troops in, and Gu Gu will take him to collect salt."
"Your Highness is indeed a man who understands justice well."
Liu Huangshang bowed to Zhu Xuanqi and then left the Shu Palace.
After Liu Huangshang left, Zhu Fengquan, the eldest son of King Shu, walked up to Zhu Xuanqi and asked, "Father, do you think today's emperor belongs to our Zhu family?"
Zhu Xuanqi, who had been sullen all the time, suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhu Fengquan: "Why do you ask?"
"If so, how could anyone be so ruthless to his own family!"
"What's wrong with us reselling some official salt?"
"We just want to make more money. It's not rebellion, let alone murder. He won't even do this. He is unkind, mean and ungrateful!"
Zhu Fengquan said.
"Aren't you mean and unkind?"
"I said that all the salt for our palace will be given to me by ICBC. Have you given me enough?"
Zhu Xuanqi asked Zhu Fengquan at this time.
Zhu Fengquan lowered his head: "No!"
"You bastard!"
"I said, it's okay for people in the government to withhold some money, but people on the salt field can't withhold. You can't withhold, but you dare to withhold! Are you not giving Liu Huangshang a chance to use silver dollars to win people's hearts, and then let the court Do you know our details?"
Zhu Xuanqi pointed at Zhu Fengquan, cursed him, and began to scold him.
After the reprimand, Zhu Xuanqi put his hands on his hips and complained:
"However, you are not wrong. The current emperor is indeed cruel and mean to his own family. He dares to control and even kill!"
"Since Taizu, there has never been anyone as mean as him. He obviously only wants to be comfortable for himself and is not willing to suffer any losses. We have joined forces with the gentry and wealthy businessmen to smuggle official salt and made huge profits. In order to prevent him from seeing our A rich man wants to rectify the salt administration, and if he is aggrieved, he will kill his relatives out of justice!"
"It's just such a little grievance!"
As Zhu Xuanqi spoke, he stretched out his hand and put his fingers together, said something accusingly, and then said again:
"Moreover, the Yangzhou salt merchants also collected eight million taels of silver dollars and asked him to confiscate them before entering the officialdom. This gave him enough face, which is much more than the face he gave to the Shimiao back then!"
"But he's still not happy and refuses to let go of the matter. He still refuses to show some kindness. He is really heartless!"
"However, this is all Zhang Taiyue's fault. He taught the emperor to respect new rites and no longer carry out old rites, so he no longer relies on benefiting his own people to support his army and strengthen the country. As a result, salt interests have a negative impact on the country. For an emperor, it’s not important at all!”
"And precisely because the emperor no longer relies on salt to support his army, he is annoyed. He can waive the salt tax and stop everyone from getting rich by selling salt!"
"The real thing is that the emperor doesn't want to make money, and no one else can make it. This world really belongs to him."
Zhu Xuanqi continued to speak and sighed:
"It's better to be an emperor!"
Zhu Fengquan nodded and said: "My child is just distressed now, and I have to hand over all the salt from the palace."
"Who lets someone hold a knife in their hand?"
"Remember, no matter how much you hate in your heart, you have to be polite and respectful when you see him and his people. Don't say anything mean, unkind, or unkind. If you want to say that the emperor's kindness is great, and you share the same hatred with His Majesty, how can you hate it? Cut the salt merchant into pieces."
Zhu Xuanqi also asked Zhu Fengquan to come.
Zhu Fengquan nodded in agreement.
Not long after, Liu Wei walked in. After seeing Zhu Xuanqi, he announced the decree and then saluted Zhu Xuanqi: "Your Highness!"
Zhu Xuanqi hurriedly supported Liu Wei and said with a smile: "Marquis Liu does not have to be like this. He is a sinner. How dare he accept the courtesy?"
Then, Zhu Xuanqi started sobbing, squeezed out a few tears and said: "I'm sorry to your majesty and to the court. I did buy a large amount of Sichuan salt from the kitchen households privately. As Liu Changshi said, if it is the largest salt in the southwest, Whoever is Shang is naturally Gu! Although Gu had to do this for the sake of the government's expenses, it did violate the king's law. Fortunately, His Majesty is good at governing and no longer relies on salt profits to support the army. Otherwise, if this caused the Nine-Border Border If wages are scarce, Gu’s sin will be even greater.”
"Your Majesty, it's good if you know!"
"Before His Majesty came to the throne, the chieftains of the southwest did not take the officers and soldiers seriously because the officers and soldiers were short of pay and were unwilling to fight. It must also be related to the fact that His Highness swallowed too much salt and profit."
Liu Wei responded directly to Zhu Xuanqi's words.
Zhu Fengquan therefore gave Liu Wei a vicious look on the spot.
Zhu Xuanqi also stopped speechless, and then said with a smile: "What Liu Hou said is true."
"Your Highness, hurry up and lead the way. Before leaving, Your Majesty has already told me that if the Shu Palace cannot get more than 200,000 yuan of salt, His Highness's head will be taken to the capital."
Liu Wei replied at this time.
Zhu Xuanqi breathed a sigh of relief: "I will take Liu Hou to buy salt now."
Half an hour later, Liu Wei saw a large number of salt warehouses in the endless storage areas in Chengdu, and he couldn't help but asked, "How many are there?"
"Not much, more than 520,000 quotes."
After Zhu Xuanqi returned, he gave the account book to Liu Wei.
Liu Wei suddenly grabbed Zhu Xuanqi's lapel and asked with wide eyes, "Why did you steal so much salt?"
"Do you know that if this salt had been in the hands of the court earlier, my father would not have to kneel to the soldiers because of lack of pay!"
Liu Wei suddenly asked with blood-red eyes.
Zhu Xuanqi was frightened and turned pale for a moment: "Liu Hou, please calm down."
Liu Wei came to his senses after a while, then put Zhu Xuanqi down, and then cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness, please forgive me, I was rude just now."
"No problem!"
"No problem!"
Zhu Xuanqi smiled.
Liu Wei was indeed so excited by seeing so much salt that even though he let Zhu Xuanqi go due to his status, his chest was still heaving violently.
After all, he had personally experienced the difficulties caused by lack of pay.
And next.
Li Rusong and Liu Wei led the army to the southern capital, escorting the king of Jin, king of Shu and other vassals and a large amount of salt.
at the same time.
The vassal kings from other places also came to the southern capital one after another according to the order.
Because Zhu Yijun's announced intention was to summon the vassals to Beijing to discuss the reform of the clan system.
Therefore, the vassals who were serving as vassals outside the country had to come to Nandu to meet the Holy Spirit.
However, the King of Jin and the King of Shu were special because they had to be escorted to Beijing for selling illegal salt.
Just after New Year's Eve in the twenty-third year of Wanli, when the snow had not yet melted, Zhu Yijun learned about the salt situation in Nandu City that had confiscated the Jin Palace and Shu Palace.
"More than seven hundred thousand citations."
“So much salt was copied!”
"My dear, the real great salt merchant is indeed one of my own family members!"
Zhu Yijun also said this to the officials after learning about the salt copying situation.
Pan Jixun replied at this time: "It is indeed amazing. This is equivalent to the output of Fujian salt in three years. However, with so much salt, even if the Yangzhou salt merchants do not sell any Huai salt, they are not afraid of eating Huai salt." The soldiers and civilians in the salt area have no salt to eat.”
After hearing this, Zhu Yijun held in his hand a copy of the book about the confiscation of the property of three salt merchants in Yangzhou presented by Zhang Qigong, the former Wang Xijue's Central Army Lieutenant General Zhang Qigong, and threw it on the case:
"In this case, while reforming the sectarian and vassal system, we should formally rectify the salt administration, a two-pronged approach!"
After finishing speaking, Zhu Yijun ordered: "The Privy Council Governor Li Chengliang will handle this matter, the Minister of Personnel Wang Lin, the Minister of Hubu Pan Jixun, the Minister of Rites Shen Yiguan, and the Governor of Water Transport Song Yingchang will assist in handling this matter!"
"Furthermore, I don't believe that the millions of money that the salt merchants paid to the imperial court for the assassination of Wang Qing's family were used by the Ming Dynasty Bank to issue special small loans to ordinary people. All of them are interest-free. There are no ordinary people who are unwilling to borrow money to open a small shop and sell salt to make a small profit!"
"According to the order!" (End of this chapter)
