Ma Yongliang saw only eight big characters on the prince's kind and tender face - those who obey me will prosper and those who go against me will perish!
Fortunately, neither he nor the Ma family made the wrong choice and did not die in this business catastrophe. Instead, they became stronger and stronger.
Although I had paid a lot of money back and felt so distressed that the whole family almost fainted, the benefits were obvious.
Although the prince acted arbitrarily and violently, as long as the merchants were obedient, they would naturally get a lot of benefits.
The Ma family has been engaged in the Huai salt consignment business for generations in Jifu. They are not as powerful as the Liang Huai salt merchants, but their lives are still pretty good.
In the future, we should start a sea salt business, but the purchase channels are different, but the items sold are still salt, and sea salt is more profitable than Huai salt.
The imperial court required Jifu salt merchants not to increase prices at will, which completely cut off the salt merchants' profit margin.
It is impossible to make more money by making Huai salt. The shipping price of the previous company is set there and cannot be changed.
If agents like them want to make more money, there are only two ways.
Either let the Lianghuai salt merchants lower their shipping prices, or do other business.
It is almost wishful thinking to let the former reduce the price. The Lianghuai salt merchants are more greedy than the government.
The Ma family and other salt merchants in the Jifu area knew that this road was impassable, so they all took refuge with the prince.
The reason why acting as a sea salt agent allows salt dealers to make more money is not because sea salt is more expensive than Huai salt, but because sea salt reduces the profits of upstream salt farms.
This benefited all parties including the common people who bought the salt, the salt dealers, the workers responsible for drying the sea salt, and the court.
The prince kept saying that the purpose of drying sea salt was to combat illegal salt sales and increase the court's annual income. In fact, he wanted to attack the salt merchants of Lianghuai and Huaihe Rivers. This was Sima Zhao's intention.
This is one of the first, and the second is to ask Shen Xun, the left deputy capital censor, to lead a large number of factory guards south to investigate the case of a large amount of missing salt tax money. It is a two-pronged approach. It is surprising that the two Huaihe salt merchants can withstand it.
As long as Ma Yongliang, most of the salt merchants in Lianghuai and Huaihe are profit-seeking people, but the prince is a master who wants money rather than life, and the two tigers are fighting...
Shen Xun couldn't handle this matter, and was afraid that after autumn, he would send another confidant south, and he might even send Hong Chengchou to lead an army to the south of the Yangtze River.
If you pay one million taels of silver a year and collect all the taxes and fees for fifty years at once, that's a huge amount of fifty million taels of silver!
Of course, not all salt merchants will be allowed to hand over the blame. All the porcelain merchants, cloth merchants, grain merchants, iron merchants and other colleagues will have to kneel down and kowtow to admit their mistakes.
It’s no good if you don’t admit your mistake. The account books of the Shanxi merchants are in Shen Xun’s hands. When they arrive in the south of the Yangtze River, they first recruit two Huai salt merchants and ask them to explain how the Huai salt is transported to the Donglu controlled area through the Shanxi merchants.
If you say even one wrong word, you will be jailed by the factory guards for the rest of your life.
Even if he dealt with it perfunctorily, Shen Xun still had a way to deal with those things.
Shen Xun and Zuo Maodi, the governor of Shaanxi Province, were from the same hometown of Laiyang, Shandong Province. They were both good-natured people and difficult to bribe, so they were favored by the prince and promoted to important positions.
Whether he is worthy of a big job depends on how much money he can bring back from this trip to Jiangnan. Ma Yongliang has been in contact with Shen Xun and knows that this official is not an easy guy to deal with, so he thinks so.
Furthermore, the prince is wise, powerful and resourceful, and he will definitely not send a weakling, a weakling but a weakling, to handle such an important matter.
With the help of Haiyan, the prince's move was a plan to kill the salt merchants in Lianghuai. It is conceivable that under the court's vigorous purge, the salt merchants in the Lianghuai area would be littered with corpses.
What's ridiculous is that some merchants here in the capital actually think that the prince is afraid of dozens of unarmed salt merchants. Even if Donglin pleads grievances for the salt merchants, it will be of no avail.
The prince's uncle, Zhou Yanru, is Donglin Tangkui. Now he is ordered to stay at home and has to live with his tail between his legs.
With this kind of relationship, which Donglin would be so hot-headed that he would jump out and complain to the salt merchants?
Even if it does happen, the prince will not take advantage of it.
As long as you take out the money, everything will be easy.
If you don't want to take it, please refer to the current situation of the prince's grandfather, Zhou Kui, the national warrior.
You can imagine that the Crown Prince will disown all his relatives just for money. Now there is news that His Majesty will move to the south of the Yangtze River and be named Regent by His Majesty.
"...Natural and stable!"
The businessman who was asked what to say took a long time to hold back such a sentence. He didn't dare to say that the capital was being stirred up by the prince, otherwise he would be arrested and imprisoned by the factory guards that day.
"The Crown Prince has been named Regent by His Majesty. As Jifu merchants, we naturally have to prepare a generous gift. Now that I have mentioned this, everyone should be aware of it, right?"
Ma Yongliang did not choose to reveal the matter, but his colleagues here should all know it very well. The prince didn't say it explicitly, but he clearly wanted it. Spending money to buy shares of "Overseas Jinshan" would be a generous gift.
Now that the rebellion in the Beijing camp has long been suppressed, the moths in the court have been cleaned out, the prince is in power, and a large number of generals loyal to the prince are stationed around Jifu.
It is not an exaggeration to say that he will be the "Second Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty", but he is not as decisive as Li Shimin. He did not push Chongzhen to the position of Supreme Emperor, but persuaded him to move to the southern capital so that both father and son's faces would look better.
"...I wonder, from Vice Chairman Ma's point of view, how many shares should each of us purchase to be considered appropriate?"
Another merchant asked about this kind of thing. If he buys too much, he feels distressed. If he buys too little, he feels scared, so he is very embarrassed. Not only him, but other colleagues in the industry also think so.
"Well, it varies from person to person. A certain person buys 5,000 taels per year. Everyone here can refer to it, but you have to make a decision as soon as possible. Furthermore, this is a long-term gain, and the total investment is 5,000 taels. The final total income will be 250,000 taels, and it can only be higher or lower. The prince sold the Zijin Bond alone for more than 10,000 taels, and also had Shandong Gold Mine as collateral, so naturally he will not owe us anything. . If you insist on asking for it, just let us wait for the donation. There is no need to go through all the troubles to do the "overseas gold mountain" thing. If you buy this share, you can also enjoy the right to have priority in buying shares in the railway company. The most important thing is that as businessmen, in The status in the heart of the prince is measured by money. Whoever spends more money has a higher position in the heart of the prince. If the prince has an errand, he will give priority to who should do it. Someone is in It is no exaggeration to say that the prince can satisfy anyone who drinks the soup!"
Ma Yongliang has a deep understanding of this. As long as he buys shares of 5,000 taels, the prince will reward him with a business profit of 10,000 taels per year. Even after tax, there is still a profit of 8,000 taels.
From the eight thousand taels, five thousand taels were used to honor the prince, and the remaining three thousand taels were at his disposal. Moreover, the five thousand taels sent out were not never returned. They would all come back in ten years. Yes, it is still five times the amount returned.
"Okay, we have explained the benefits to you. You can decide where to go. Colleagues who don't want to buy can leave on their own. Colleagues who want to buy shares can sign up here, write down the purchase amount, and apply in the afternoon. I have already prepared the payment for the goods and sent them here.”
Yu Songyi felt that everything that needed to be said had been said clearly. If someone still didn't want to buy it, it would be useless no matter how much they said. It was just a waste of words and words.
"...Okay! Someone bought five thousand taels!"
When everyone heard the words, someone recognized the source of the voice. It turned out to be a sugar businessman named Gao Rui.
He had previously tried to find a way to join the prince, but he had been unable to do so.
Buying a purple gold bond worth ten thousand taels is just like buying an amulet.
Later I learned that there were people who bought much more than him, such as the three people in front of me.
Gao Rui also wanted to buy Zijin bonds, but the bonds have been suspended because the prince believed that there was no need to raise funds.
Taking advantage of today's opportunity, Gao Rui wanted to show off again. If the prince takes a fancy to him, the Gao family will prosper.
Gao Rui believes that if he had purchased more capital bonds, the position of president would have been his.
I heard that the merchants who purchased the highest amount of Zijin bonds later received rewards from the prince, such as military supplies orders that made others envious. It was a big business that made the whole family laugh out loud in their dreams.
More importantly, with the large-scale launch of new snowflake candy, the consumer market for high-end sugar has been completely controlled. After Gao Rui inquired, he found out that the snowflake candy factory was funded by the prince.
The price of this new type of snowflake candy is the same as that of regular snowflake candy, but it has a delicate texture and excellent taste. It almost melts in your mouth and has an endless aftertaste.
The new type of snowflake candy just came on the market. Within a few days, it defeated the old type of snowflake candy and drove it out of the high-end white sugar market.
Nowadays, no one among the dignitaries buys the old-style snowflake candy, as they despise it as being crude and hard to swallow, so they have all become loyal fans of the new-style snowflake candy.
Gao Rui wanted to be an agent for the new snowflake candy business. Even if he couldn't sell it in the capital, he could still sell it to other places. However, he had no way to give gifts, so this was an opportunity.
"Okay, okay! Brother Gao is so far-sighted!"
Of course, Yu Songyi will not hesitate to express his kind words to those who respond to his call. It's just that he didn't know Gao Rui, and it was Vice President Fan Qiaozhi who reminded him.
"Where! Where! The president is so complimentary. I also care about the Ming Dynasty and want to serve the prince. The prince has managed the capital in an orderly manner. As merchants, we will naturally benefit from it. If we can buy the 'Overseas Gold Mountain' 'The shares are really a great thing for merchants like us!"
Gao Rui's kind words were unanimously despised by everyone, and he talked about hugging the prince's thigh in such a high-sounding way, even though they also wanted to hug the prince's thigh and wanted to say that.
Yu Songyi, Ma Yongliang, and Fan Qiaozhi all arranged their own entrustments among grain merchants, salt merchants, and tea merchants, just because they were afraid that no one would be willing to pay.
But before the "trustees" could exert any force, Gao Rui jumped out on his own initiative, which made the three of them confused. However, in the end, this was something that was beneficial to them, and of course they must be highly praised.
No one dared not buy at all, it was just a matter of buying more and buying less. In view of the many benefits and kind reminders before, the merchants’ purchase amounts ranged from one thousand taels to five thousand taels.
But the total amount was only more than 800,000 taels, which was only equivalent to 20% of the total amount. The difference was too far away, which made the three presidents and vice presidents extremely embarrassed.
Because they bought Zijin Bonds, many businessmen were no longer so afraid of the prince, and were unwilling to invest all their efforts in buying shares of "Overseas Jinshan".
Even the share of one million taels of silver was not sold. As a result, Yu, Ma, and Fan didn't know how to deal with the prince.
In desperation, the president took the lead, and dozens of partners with good relationships had no choice but to purchase more on their own, and finally managed to collect a share of one million taels.
After the group of people reported the situation tremblingly, a certain prince took the list full of merchant names and the purchase amount at the back and read it with interest. He was mentally prepared for this result.
"You are all hard-working people. There is no need to worry or be afraid. Naturally, I will not blame you. Anyone who purchases shares worth more than five thousand taels of silver per year will be personally summoned by me. Those who purchase ten thousand taels of silver will be summoned by me personally. There is a reward. As for the specific reward, you will know by then. Today... it seems that there is still some time before sunset. When you enter the court, please invite in the merchants whose names are called. "
As a "good dog", Yang Jinchao understood immediately and happily went to take orders to run errands. Only then could he show his companion's presence.
The merchants were all waiting outside the Donghua Gate. As merchants, they were naturally not qualified to go through the main gate, which was reserved for officials. The ability to go through the side gate depended on the emperor's elegance.
Donghua Gate is very close to the East Palace. As long as you cross the moat, enter Donghua Gate, pass by the Wenhua Hall, and then walk through an open space, you will reach the main entrance of the East Palace.
"You are all merchants who have purchased a large amount of money. I am naturally very pleased. Our court has always valued merchants and levied light business taxes. However, this is a special period, and I have no choice but to do so. You can still do it without hesitation. , Be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, be brave and loyal, and you can learn from it by the sun and the moon. For the merchants who buy ten thousand taels of silver, I have specially prepared a small gift. When entering the court, give the gift boxes one by one to the merchants whose names are called."
Each of the chamberlains held a tray with a gift box inside. As for the contents of the gift box, you would only know after opening it.
"Don't worry, you have donated so much silver, so naturally I will not give you fried locusts!"
A certain prince is not that stingy. Since there are red-top merchants in the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will not be any worse.
"Open it and take a look! If you are a fat person, you really can't wear it!"
What a certain prince prepared for everyone was a purple half-style Confucian shirt with yellow edges. There was an embroidered yellow box on the left side of the chest, with four one-inch square regular script characters embroidered in it, "Prince's Imperial Gift".
This is equivalent to an iron seal for merchants. Wearing this dress, ordinary officials would not dare to arrest merchants. It is not an exaggeration to say that they can walk sideways.
A certain prince could not count the specific number of dog legs, so he asked Shangyi Supervisor to make a hundred pieces. In reality, he would definitely not use so many, because many "dogs" are short-sighted.
"...Cao Min thanks the Holy Grace!"
Yu Songyi, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, was so excited that his arms were shaking. He had no choice but to kowtow directly to express his gratitude. This gift was exactly what he had dreamed of.
Although it is not a yellow Confucian shirt, it is trimmed with yellow, which means that from now on, I will be recognized by the prince. This is a great gift.
He and more than 30 colleagues gritted their teeth and each invested between 10,000 and 20,000 taels of silver. They had to pay this amount in the next ten years, and life was quite difficult.
But at this moment, the thirty or so merchants seemed to have forgotten all the worries about money. Even if they spent 20,000 taels of silver every year, they would never be able to buy this treasured garment.
You must set up an incense table when you go home and offer it!
In one word, it’s the ancestor’s manifestation...
