I learned about the situation of this case from Hou Tongzeng, Yin of Shuntian Prefecture. In these extraordinary times, I understand what Hou Aiqing is thinking. "
After sending away Ma Yongliang, a certain prince summoned two merchants who had been fighting each other before, cloth merchant Chen Xin and salt merchant Dai Lu.
"In my view, the evidence in this case is not conclusive. It is all witness testimony, and it is all a dispute of words. I have never advocated a one-sided argument. Due to different personal opinions, it is common for court arguments to happen. You are not the imperial court. As a businessman, listening to books in a teahouse can cause disputes and even cause trouble in the government office. It is not common for me to do so. Business pays attention to harmony and wealth, and follows the principle of turning hostility into friendship. In my opinion, this case is not as good as this. Chen Xin will compensate Dai Lu five hundred taels of silver, and Dai Lu will not be allowed to enter the teahouse for five years. What do you think? ???"
These two people are just full of food, especially the plaintiff, who is making money on my territory and wants to increase his ambition. He is really full of nonsense.
"..."
Neither of these two idiots gave any immediate feedback. The scene was extremely peaceful and awkward.
"His Royal Highness, what are you asking? How dare you pretend to be deaf and dumb???"
But Li Jizhou was so angry that this was the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, not an ordinary citizen who went to your store to buy goods.
"What? Are you dissatisfied with this palace's Holy Judgment?"
A certain prince was ten steps away, looking at these two idiots happily, like looking at two toads.
"Your Highness is wise, Cao Min thanks the Holy Grace!"
The defendant Chen Xin was the first to speak. Since it was the prince who decided the case and paid the other party five hundred taels of silver, he accepted it, even if he was unlucky enough to have a toothache.
"...Your Highness is wise, Cao Min thanks the Holy Grace!"
When Chen Xin finished speaking, Dai Lu thanked him angrily, with a very unwilling tone. He originally thought that he could put Chen Xin in prison or even torture him.
He never expected that Hou Tong Zeng's fellow would report the case to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince opened his mouth, and Dai Lu had to accept the result no matter how unwilling he was.
So what if you don't accept it?
Are you saying that you are not convinced in person, are you judging the case blindly?
That would be really boring!
In the blink of an eye, he could turn from the plaintiff to the defendant, and he would have to be arrested and sent to the prison in Dongchang to be severely tortured.
It's a lot to get five hundred taels of silver. At least it can offset the part of the filial piety I paid earlier.
As for the good guy in front of me, I’ll take care of him again when I have the chance.
The two of them did not dare to raise their heads, so they could only bow their heads and exit the courtyard, and then walked out of the back mansion.
Prince Hou's thoughts were not on them at all. It was incredible that Li Jizhou also suffered from smallpox.
After asking around, I found out that one of the criteria for selecting chamberlains in the imperial palace was to give priority to those who had survived smallpox.
This way, if a noble family member gets the disease, it will be much easier to take care of him without having to worry about being infected.
"Brother Xu! Why do you have time to come to my place today?"
As soon as Dai Lu arrived home, he saw his colleague Xu Haoran, who had been waiting here for a long time. He didn't know the reason why he came.
"Brother Dai doesn't know yet, does he? That Ma Yongliang used the name of the prince to pocket all the refined salt quota we won!"
Xu Haoran did not intend to admit defeat. Although he had never fought against the wily Ma Yongliang in the club, he still planned to make a comeback and gain more allies.
"Ah? Is this happening? I was in the government office yesterday and never heard of it. I just came back from the back mansion today!"
Dai Lu didn't know anything about what happened in the Chamber of Commerce. Before he could meet his brothers, he met his colleagues.
"Brother, what Brother Xu said is absolutely true. I went to the Chamber of Commerce in the morning and saw the bully behavior of Ma Yongliang. According to the rules set in advance, our family should have received nearly three percent of the quota, but under the operation of that old man I was really pissed off when I was lowered to more than one point."
When Dai Lu's younger brother Dai Tu saw that his brother was being detained by the government, he hurriedly called on his family members to help inquire about the situation. He also had to go to participate in the discussion. He did not expect that Ma Yongliang would play such a trick.
"Ah? Then how did Ma Yongliang reduce our share in public?"
After hearing his brother's narration, Dai Lu was surprised, but he still had to understand the other party's methods so that he could make plans in advance and maybe recover the lost share.
"The old man said that the ratio should be based on the total amount of Zijin bonds, overseas Jinshan shares and back taxes. Those with a higher total amount will naturally get more, and those with a lower total amount, like ours, will definitely get a lot less."
Dai Tu, like his elder brother Dai Lu, was not willing to buy Zijin bonds and overseas Jinshan shares at all. These were just tricks used by the young prince to deceive businessmen.
Now that Ma Yongliang said that allocating quotas according to this method is an act of retaliation against merchants like them who are unwilling to be deceived.
"How can Shenzi? Just based on his empty words? Can he know the payment of each family?"
Dai Lu vaguely felt that something was wrong, but the leaders of each company did not report it publicly. Even Ma Yongliang, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, had no way of knowing the relevant amount.
"The old man has a booklet in his hand, saying it was given by the prince. I've seen our family's accounts, and it's true!"
Dai Tu had to briefly describe the matter. This booklet was the old man's most powerful weapon. With this, you would have no way to refute.
"Huh??? Seriously?"
With this object, it means that Ma Yongliang has won the support of the prince, but Dai Lu dare not risk his wealth and life to go against the prince.
He had just come back from his residence, and he had thought of a way before. After being summoned by the prince, he would cry and cry in an embellished manner, so as to win the prince's sympathy and pity.
Unexpectedly, the empress was so majestic, so frightened that his words were swallowed back alive. The prince did not allow himself to defend himself at all, and could only say that he agreed, not even the possibility of disagreeing.
There were dozens of sword-wielding feudal lords present, looking directly at him and Chen Xin. Who was not afraid?
If you accidentally say the wrong thing, it will be a crime of disrespect. If you leave Shuntian Mansion, you will be arrested and taken to the East Factory.
After entering Dongchang's prison, if you think about it again, you will probably be carried out by someone and will be put into a coffin soon.
"maybe!"
Dai Tu was not sure, let alone unwilling to be sure, which meant that old man Ma had succeeded.
"..."
When Dai Lu heard this, he sat on the chair in despair, his eyes were a little dazed, and he didn't know what he should do.
"Brother Dai, please don't do this. That old man controls the Chamber of Commerce in such a way, leaving his corpse to eat nothing and filling his own pockets. Isn't it a blessing for us salt merchants?"
When Xu Haoran saw this, he took advantage of every opportunity. Without Dai Tu's words as a foreshadowing, he might not have achieved such results by expressing his opinions directly.
"Hiss...Brother Xu means..."
Dai Lu felt that Xu Haoran must have something to ask for when he came home, but if the other party didn't take the initiative to tell him, there was no need for him to ask more questions.
"The salt sold in Brother Dai's shop is the same as at home, all of which are Huai salt. But now Mr. Ma is pushing sea salt. One is going down, the other is going up. If sea salt is booming, Huai salt will be declining. We are determined not to sit back and wait for death."
Xu Haoran's thoughts are those of Dora's colleagues who sell Huai salt, especially those whose supply quota to the imperial court has been greatly reduced this time. After their interests are damaged, they will definitely have similar thoughts to his own.
"I also know that the situation is like this, but using Huaiyan salt to fight against Haiyan is tantamount to fighting against the imperial court. I'm afraid..."
Dai Lu wanted to hear Xu Haoran's idea before making a plan, so he deliberately looked embarrassed.
"While sea salt has not yet been put on the market in large quantities, we will go on strike first, and then ask the Lianghuai salt merchants to stop sending salt to the north on the pretext of Jifu being invaded. At the same time, we will ask the Lianghuai salt merchants to start a strike and ask the court to stop making sea salt and protect Huaiyan salt, otherwise we will Let the people of the world have no salt to eat. I will jointly sign a letter with many colleagues and request Ma Yongliang to be replaced. When one of us is selected and takes office as the president, the salt merchants will be able to stand upright!"
Xu Haoran knew that Ma Yongliang's back moss was very hard, so he came up with the trick of linking the Jifu salt merchants and the Lianghuai salt merchants, with the north first and the south the most important.
More than half of the world's salt comes from Lianghuai. Once the Lianghuai salt fields cease production and the Lianghuai salt merchants go on strike, not to mention the young prince, even the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian, who recently moved to the southern capital, will have to make compromises and concessions.
Minwuyan was unstable, and this was not the first time that the Lianghuai salt merchants went on strike. Naturally, the imperial court knew the consequences of the salt merchants' strike. If the imperial court did not give in, the strike would continue.
Sea salt has threatened the interests of Huaiyan. It is impossible for the two Huaiyan salt merchants to be unaware. It is just that the first batch of sea salt was launched in Jifu, so the impact on Huaiyan is not great for the time being.
The Lianghuai salt merchants are still in the wait-and-see stage, but if someone takes the lead at this time, Chen Ming has a stake in threatening that if the northern market is lost, Huaiyan salt will no longer be able to enter the market north of South Zhili, and the Lianghuai salt merchants will also seriously considerate.
That's an income of tens of millions of taels a year, who doesn't care?
The Lianghuai salt merchants really don't care about the money, so they don't have to do it.
"...Hmm! Not bad! This strategy is really feasible! Brother Xu is such a talented person, I admire you so much!"
After thinking about it carefully, Dai Lu also agreed with this method. He didn't contribute much, but mainly wanted to see what was happening on the Lianghuai side.
Once the Lianghuai side takes action, it will endanger the Jiangnan region and seriously affect the court's tax revenue. Both the northern and southern courts will be unable to suppress it.
From Dai Lu's point of view, his family has not contributed much, but has benefited a lot. There is still a leader in front of him, so this deal can be considered.
"So, Brother Dai agrees?"
When Xu Haoran saw that the other party had no clear objection, he struck while the iron was hot. If he could win one more ally at this time, he would increase the hope of success for the big event.
"With Brother Xu strategizing, great things can be accomplished!"
Dai Lu smiled and saluted him. He didn't believe that Xu Haoran had such ability, but he couldn't resist that his relatives had salt fields in Lianghuai and had deep connections, so they could indeed stir up trouble.
Different from Xu Haoran's ambition to strive for profit from Huaiyan salt, Dai Lu no longer wants to be bullied by Prince Gou. Either he will continue to sell salt in a different place, or he will not change the place but change his master...
In his opinion, in the world, even the ferocious Donglu in the eyes of everyone is not as violent as Prince Gou. It is best for Donglu to break the city as soon as possible to save the merchants from disaster.
The imperial court, which had been unable to make ends meet for many years, actually had a surplus this year, and merchants contributed considerable efforts. Added together, the total amount was no less than ten million taels.
When Emperor Chongzhen was still there, this amount of money would have been enough to cover taxes and other expenses for decades.
In just a few months, they were all plundered by Prince Gou.
Dai Lu didn't know how others were feeling, but he himself was determined not to give in.
What he said in the teahouse before was partly Dai Lu's inner voice.
As long as the dog prince does not die, the merchants of Jifu will not live in peace.
Dai Lu did not dare to hire an assassin, otherwise he would definitely be punished by nine or even ten tribes.
If you want to get rid of the Dog Prince, the only feasible way is to use the hands of Donglu.
As long as Donglu can break the city, Dai Lu is willing to spend three thousand kilograms of refined salt and one thousand taels of silver to honor the "Master of the Qing Dynasty"!
In a sense, Dai Lu looked down on Xu Haoran, a "little troublemaker".
What's the use of knocking down Ma Yongliang?
Even if Ma Yongliang is defeated by Xu Haoran, Prince Gou will still help the current vice president to ascend to the throne.
Then Xu Haoran continued to beat the person behind him?
Dai Lu did not deny that the Lianghuai salt merchants were very capable, but could they really defeat Prince Gou?
Sea salt has been produced, but it has not yet been sold on a large scale.
And compared with Huai salt, which requires laborious cooking, sea salt only needs to be dried in the sun.
This means that the cost is low and the selling price is also low. If you want to prevent sea salt from going on the market, the only way is to destroy the salt farm!
Who has this ability?
Naturally, the Lianghuai salt merchants can't do it, only Donglu can do it!
Not only can it destroy the salt field, but it can also kill all the salt workers!
This is the only way to get rid of the firewood!
In comparison, Xu Haoran's move is a bit...
But it doesn't hurt to let him play first, it's better than waiting for the Qing Dynasty King to enter the pass.
"Brother, are you Xu Haoran? Can this trick work?"
After Dai Tu heard the whole story, he was noncommittal about Xu Haoran's method.
“If you succeed, it’s the best, but if you fail, you still have a backup plan!”
Dai Lu only regards Xu Haoran as one of his chess pieces, which he can abandon at any time.
"Backhand? Zhenzi's backhand?"
Dai Tu was so confused that he couldn't figure out what "backhand" meant.
"The Qing army is about to attack the city!"
Dai Lu looked around and saw that no one else was present, so he spoke bluntly in a low voice.
"Ah? This..."
Dai Tu was so frightened that his brother actually thought of surrendering. It was a capital crime to be known to others.
"Don't make any noise! We can do what Shanxi merchants did before, and we can do it better than Shanxi merchants. In the past, our family only sold salt, but in the future, salt, sugar, grain, cloth, silk, porcelain, and tea were all sold. But after a few years of business, wouldn’t it be possible to become the richest person in the world?”
Dai Lu took a long-term view. As long as he joined the Qing Dynasty and concentrated on supplying goods to his master, his own industry would certainly prosper.
"Hiss...it's not bad!"
According to my brother's opinion, this is an opportunity, but the risk is a bit high. If it doesn't work well, everything will be lost.
"This matter is of great importance. Our family's future depends on it. My brother must keep it secret and must not reveal it to others."
To be on the safe side, Dai Lu had to give some warnings to avoid being told by his younger brother, which would be terrible.
"Of course! Of course! Brother Yu knows the stakes!"
Dai Tu didn't dare to say anything about it. He could only think about it in his mind.
"By the way, Chen Xin was severely punished by the prince?"
Guang Gu talked about what happened at the Chamber of Commerce. Dai Tu was relieved to see that his brother was safe and sound, but he still wanted to know about the defendant.
"I'll give it up after paying my brother five hundred taels of silver!"
When Dai Lu heard this, his eyes became a little unwilling, and he just gave the summary angrily.
"Ah? That doesn't make sense!"
Dai Tu was aggrieved for his brother. According to the standard of slandering others, Chen Xin would at least be jailed, and maybe his home would be ransacked.
"The prince makes the decision himself, who dares to speak out against it?"
You didn't see the situation at that time. If you objected, you might not even get the five hundred taels of silver.
