Li Si, Yu Kecheng, nicknamed Jiexuan, was a native of Nanhai County in the Ming Dynasty. Born in the first year of Xuande, he passed the provincial examination in the twelfth year of Zhengtong. He was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Jingtai. He once served as the head of the Nanjing Household Department and is now the left minister of the Household Department.
Peng Shao, courtesy name Fengyi and Congwu, was born in Hankou, Putian in the fifth year of Xuande. He was elected in the seventh year of Jingtai and became a Jinshi in the first year of Tianshun. He once served as the right deputy censor of the capital, governor of Yingtian, and is currently the right minister of the Ministry of punishment.
Li Si and Peng Shao did not dare to slack off after receiving Zhu Youtang's edict. They immediately packed their luggage and set out on the road to Huaihe and Zhejiang the next day. When they arrived in Fengyang, the central capital, the two discussed it. Li Si would stop in Fengyang for the time being to conduct on-the-spot inspections, while Peng Shao continued south to Zhejiang.
The study room of Liu Ji's mansion, the chief assistant of the cabinet in the capital.
Several candles as thick as arms illuminated the place brightly, and Chief Assistant Liu Ji was walking back and forth on the ground. Zhang Peng, Minister of the Ministry of War, sat in front of the writing desk, holding a pen in his hand and looking at Liu Ji solemnly. Sitting next to the desk are Li Guang, the Minister of Rites, and Wei Zhang, the Prime Minister of Dali Temple. Sitting in the right column are Lu Ling, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and Zou Mo, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Liu Ji said as he walked: "Write letters from He Maoxun, Zhang Wenzhao and Lu Kun, telling them to ignore Peng Shao and go ahead and do it. No matter life or death, this is the last chance to make money! Peng Shao is in Beijing. He is just a mere right-hand minister of the Ministry of Justice, so there is nothing to fear. If he raises the price of salt and asks his merchants to raise their prices, this year’s payment will remain the same!"
Zhang Peng's eyes widened. He never expected that the emperor had just warned Liu Ji in a subtle way, but he remained unmoved and so bold. Although Zhang Peng was extremely reluctant to collude with Liu Ji, his son failed to live up to his expectations and fell into the hands of Liu Ji. Zhang Peng closed his eyes and said desperately: "I understand, how should I respond to He Maoxun's memorial?"
Liu Ji snorted coldly and said, "Don't worry about it. I will approve He Maoxun's memorial. I have to let the officials in Zhejiang Province understand that they only have one piece of sky in the sky, and that is me, Liu Ji!"
After hearing this, Li Guang stood up with a smile, walked beside Zhang Peng, patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Master Ling will still have a bright future in the future."
Zhang Peng's writing hand couldn't help but tremble. He knew that Li Guang was warning him, asking him to write according to the words of Chief Assistant Liu Ji and not to play any tricks.
…
Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province.
"You profiteer, tell me, why is the price of your salt getting higher and higher?" shouted a big man in a turban in the crowd.
"Yes, if you can't give me an explanation today, I'll take advantage of you!" Another man also echoed, and all the people behind him yelled.
These two men were tall and tall, and they were both farmers. After years of hard work, their bodies were much stronger than the average person. Standing at the front had already made the vendor in front of him tremble. In addition, more and more people gathered behind them, and the merchant knew that if he couldn't give an explanation today, he would be killed or disabled.
Although the merchant was very scared, in order to maintain his image among these people who he considered to be mud-legged, he still pretended to be calm and said: "What do you want to do in broad daylight? Are you going to do it? Believe it or not, I will send you all away. Go to the government! What do you all know? This is the market, and the price of salt follows the market. You don’t even ask, the salt in the surrounding area is not the cheapest sold by me, Lin Hongzhi!"
When the people heard Lin Hongzhi's answer, they thought about it and realized that what he said was indeed true. The salt sellers in the surrounding area really sold it the cheapest.
At this time, someone in the crowd shouted: "The officers and soldiers are coming. As soon as everyone heard this, they quickly dispersed.
Sure enough, a group of Tiqi came walking down the street. Other vendors might have turned around and left, but Lin Hongzhi greeted them with a smile.
"Brother Chen, Brother Chen! I have finally seen you. I haven't seen you for a few days and I miss you very much. Can we go find a place to have a drink?"
The man who was called Brother Chen by Lin Hongzhi curled his lips and waved his hands: "Didn't you see me doing routine business under the orders of my superiors? How many times have I told you, don't talk to me when I'm leading people?" call each other brothers!"
When Lin Hongzhi saw Chen Fu's expression change, he didn't dare to get too close anymore, so he could only say with a smile: "Master, please do your business first, please do your business first."
Chen Fu snorted coldly, rolled his eyes at Lin Hongzhi and continued patrolling. Lin Hongzhi looked at the backs of Chen Fu and others leaving arrogantly, angrily spit on the ground and cursed: "Fuck you grandma, what's the big deal?" !”
Suddenly, the sound of drums came from behind, which instantly struck Lin Hongzhi's heart. Along with the sound of drums, there is also the gentle sound of flute. This kind of music can only be found in the prosperous Jiangnan area!
Lin Hongzhi turned back and glanced at the restaurant not far behind him. The carved beams and painted pillars, the green tiles and red roofs, and the flying pavilion were all exquisite and gorgeous. This restaurant is Jinguan Restaurant, known as the No. 1 restaurant in Hangzhou.
Lin Hongzhi touched the silver in his pocket and immediately pursed his lips and smiled: "There is still some money, please go and be happy."
Before he arrived at the door of the building, Lin Hongzhi saw two men guarding the door with knives. He thought to himself: "Looking at this, is it possible that some dignitaries came to Jinguan Tower today? I'd better go in and take a look. Maybe he will become famous. In front of you.
Lin Hongzhi was about to walk in with high expectations when he saw the two men crossing their swords and saying fiercely: "Stop, do you have an invitation?"
Lin Hongzhi frowned at first, then said with a smile: "Yes, yes, I'll look for it."
The two men saw that Lin Hongzhi was groping up and down on his body but could not find the invitation. The two men looked at each other and shouted: "If there is no invitation, please come back. Jinguan Tower will not accept guests today!"
Seeing this, Lin Hongzhi spread his hands and said, "I may have forgotten the invitation at the post house. Your master and I are family friends. Please let me go in first. I will ask your master to tell you later."
The two men were half-convinced, and seeing that Lin Hongzhi was dressed gorgeously, he didn't seem to be a talker. If he was really a family friend of his master, he would definitely be scolded afterwards. Then he put his knife and fork in his hands and said with a smile: "I was so offended just now, please!"
Lin Hongzhi snorted coldly when he saw that he had managed to get through, and strode in with all his might.
As soon as Lin Hongzhi stepped onto the stairs to the second floor, he heard a burst of applause from the north side of the hall.
Someone sitting on the row of chairs on the north side burst out laughing. Lin Hongzhi looked over and almost screamed in fright.
Sitting in the middle of the row of chairs was He Maoxun, the governor of Zhejiang. Next to him on the left was Zhejiang's political envoy Lu Kun, and on the right was Zhejiang's envoy Zhang Wenzhao. Next to Zhang Wenzhao is Dong Jianzhong, the largest wealthy businessman in Zhejiang and the "boss" among their businessmen. This person has great prestige among Jiangnan merchants, and he determines a large part of the price of salt sales. The people next to Dong Jianzhong are all officials from Hangzhou Prefecture. The people on the far left and right don't look like locals. They are gorgeously dressed, blond and blue-eyed, with a high nose and deep eyes.
Lin Hongzhi knew that he was riding a tiger and it was difficult to get off. If he went forward shamelessly, Dong Jianzhong would not be able to spare him. In addition, these are all military and political officials from Zhejiang Province. How can they drink at the same table as a small businessman like me? If we go back now, the two people outside the door will definitely become suspicious. You might as well stay here for a while, just to listen to what they have to say, and then leave when the show is about to end, so that no one will suspect it.
"Hold the candle!" Dong Jianzhong shouted with a smile.
Immediately after hearing the order, two rows of beautiful girls came out from the two screens on both sides of the hall holding a lit candlestick. Dong Jianzhong said with a smile: "What do you think, these women are right, please don't be polite to me. If you are right, I will have them sent to your house.
He Maoxun, Lu Kun and several wealthy businessmen from other places all smiled and took a candlestick from the girl's hand, taking advantage of them from time to time. Upon seeing this, Dong Jianzhong immediately understood, clapped his hands and shouted: "Here comes someone, send these beauties to your master's house!"
He Maoxun laughed loudly, pointed at Dong Jianzhong and said, "You still know what I'm thinking!"
Only Zhang Wenzhao did not take the candlestick from the girl's hand, and everyone turned to look at him.
"He Butang, Lu Zhengshi, and Boss Dong, please go and see the goods. I'm a little tired." Zhang Wenzhao said tiredly.
He Mao After dividing the money, it’s not too late to go back.”
Without waiting for Zhang Wenzhao's response, He Maoxun smiled at Lu Kun and the foreign merchants and said, "Come on, come on, let's go take a look at the goods first."
After saying that, He Maoxun held the candlestick and led everyone towards the back of the screen. Lin Hongzhi also wanted to see what it was, but the distance was limited. In order not to expose himself, he had to give up.
There were several large boxes hidden behind the screen, all covered with red cloth. Several foreign businessmen showed surprised expressions.
Dong Jianzhong said: "All the salt you want is here. This is the best salt I have in the Ming Dynasty!"
The foreign merchant smiled back, but still retained his reserve.
"Open the box and open the eyes of these friends." He Maoxun ordered.
A few candlelights shine in one place.
Lieutenant General Dong Jian lifted the red cloth covering the box and slowly opened the box.
"Hmm... good salt, good stuff." One of the foreign businessmen blurted out. Apparently this person often came to the Ming Dynasty to do business. Although he could speak Chinese, he had a difficult foreign accent.
Another foreign businessman babbled and said a few words that no one could understand, and the foreign businessman who could speak Chinese also explained it with his similar accent.
The foreign businessman smiled happily, nodded, and spoke a few more words in foreign languages.
The foreign businessman who could speak Chinese smiled and explained to He Maoxun, Lu Kun, and Dong Jianzhong: "This friend of mine said that he likes your salt from the Ming Dynasty very much, and he wants all of it!"
He Maoxun and Lu Kun looked at each other and both showed proud smiles. They both clearly understood that these boxes of salt had earned them a lot of money.
Dong Jianzhong laughed a few times and said, "Master Bu Tang, let me show them other things."
Others are not under the control of the government. Naturally, He Maoxun and Lu Kun couldn't ask about the details, so it was inconvenient to follow Dong Jianzhong, so they sat down on the chairs behind the screen.
In order to expand business channels, Dong Jianzhong led the foreign businessmen down a staircase behind the screen.
"Bu Tang, do you think the profits from Dong Jianzhong's other items will be given to us?" Lu Kun asked. He knew that once the salt business stopped, there would be no other source of income, and his salary from the court alone would not be enough to meet his needs.
He Mao paused for a while and said, "Yes, they can't move forward without us, our superiors and leaders!"
