Fan Yongdou saw that everyone was already aroused by Fan Sanba's resentment towards Zhang Cheng, and he was very satisfied with his son's performance.
But he couldn't let everyone talk like this. After the shopkeepers vented for a while, he coughed loudly. Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him again, he said: "Be patient... …Be patient and don’t be impatient!”
The hall suddenly became quiet. Even Wang Denku and Wang Dayu were looking at Fan Yongdou to see what he had to say.
"I heard that the new Governor Jiang has some opinions on what Zhang Cheng has done."
Fan Yongdou said, his eyes resting on Zhai Tang, and then said: "Brother Zhai, when Governor Jiang was in office, you traveled frequently with him and had a good relationship with him. This time, I asked you to go to Yanghe Fort.
I wonder if brother Zhai is willing to go? "
Zhai Tang looked left and right and saw that everyone's eyes in the hall were focused on him at the moment. The sense of honor that arose immediately overflowed. He clasped his fists and said, "Since Mr. Fan and all the shopkeepers trust Zhai so much, a little bit The hard work of the journey is nothing!"
This Zhai Tang walked around Tian Shenglan frequently on weekdays. He was also a businessman who liked to write, write and be elegant. He had many contacts with Futai, Liangtai, and Li Xing officials in the town, and also had many contacts with literati in the city.
Fan Yongdou nodded to Zhai Tang, then moved his eyes to Jin Liangyu, and said to him in a very gentle tone: "Shopkeeper Jin, I would like to trouble you to go to the capital and ask a few familiar father-in-laws for help."
Although Jin Liangyu has always been at odds with Tian Shenglan, he also knows that the overall situation is of paramount importance. He continued: "Fan, everyone is joking. For the benefit of our brothers, Jin will not hesitate to go through fire and water."
but……"
Fan Sanba, who was still looking happy at first, couldn't help but feel guilty when he heard him say the word "but", and his face looked a little messy, but Fan Yongdou didn't look anxious at all. It can be seen that "Jiang is still old and spicy." "ah!
"As far as Jin knows, one of the two princes in Beijing is a good friend of Zhang Cheng, and the other is in cahoots with Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War. I'm afraid this road will be difficult to follow."
As soon as Jin Liangyu finished speaking, Fan Yongdou said directly: "No matter how difficult the road is, we will continue to walk on it. At this stage, we have no room for retreat.
Just as Brother Yunfa said just now, 'either the fish dies or the net breaks', we have no way out and we must go all out whenever there is a glimmer of hope. "
"Okay. Since everyone Lian Fan said so, I, Jin, will lick this old face and go to the capital. Even if I lose everything, I will kill Zhang Cheng." Jin Liangyu agreed readily.
Fan Yongdou nodded with satisfaction, and then said to Wang Dayu: "Everyone Wang, Mr. Zhou Ge still needs to do some more work. Now is the time when our Shanyou businessman's life is at stake, so we don't dare to spare any effort."
Wang Dayu smiled and replied: "Brother Fan, just don't worry. This matter is related to the life and death of our Shanyou company. I will do my best."
The reason why Wang Dayu didn't have much respect for Fan Yongdou was because the person he relied on was Zhou Yanru, the chief minister of the current cabinet.
Fan Yongdou looked at Mr. Liang again and said to him: "When it comes to the ability to make friends, we still have to look at our brother Liang."
Without waiting for Liang Jiajia to speak, Fan Yongdou continued: "The 'Sitting Dragon' side must not relax at all. If Zhang Cheng cannot be dealt with by all means, he will be our last 'killer'!"
Liang Jiabin looked unconcerned and said carelessly: "Fan, you don't need to worry about this, it may be a little difficult to completely eradicate the 'Yongyi Army'.
But if it’s just Zhang Cheng, in my opinion, it’s not difficult! "
Next, Fan Yongdou talked with Wang Dengku and others about his intention to win over the garrison officers in various forts in Xuanfu in case of emergency.
Finally, he said to Tian Shenglan: "Brother Tian, your censor friends have raised us for so many years. Now it's time for them to repay us."
Tian Shenglan stroked the beard on his chin and said, "That's easy to say. But... if officials want to criticize Zhang Cheng, they must choose a good reason."
Wang Dayu, who had been rarely speaking, suddenly said: "Everyone Fan, I don't often walk around the town, but I also know that the Yuangu Palace in the middle of the North City has been abandoned until now. What a pity!"
Everyone was stunned when they heard this, wondering why he mentioned Gu Prince's Mansion at this time. Huang Yunfa continued: "Since the Yongle period, when Prince Gu was deposed as a commoner, the Prince of Gu's Mansion has been abandoned to this day.
Everyone Wang mentioned at this moment, what is the purpose of unknown? "
Wang Dayu raised the corner of his mouth, smiled evilly, and said: "Zhang Cheng has made great contributions to the country, and was even awarded the title of Yongning Bo, but he still lives in Zhenshuo Mansion. It is really disgraceful. We will report to the imperial court and the emperor. Prince Gu's Mansion has been renovated and turned into the 'Yongning Bo Mansion', so that it can serve as the pillar of the country!"
"Stay."
Fan Sanba suddenly clapped his hands and said happily: "As expected of the Wang family, this method is really wonderful."
Huang Yunfa also seemed to have an idea, and added from the side: "Not far to the east of the abandoned 'Guwang Mansion' is the 'Zhenguo Mansion' where Emperor Wuzong once lived. It has also been abandoned for many years.
In my opinion, we can repair it together and expand it into the 'Yongning Bo Mansion'. That would be called grandeur, and only in this way can it be worthy of Yongning Bo! "
Tian Shenglan also said: "I will first find someone to write a memorial to ask for credit for Zhang Cheng, and then ask the Gu Palace and Zhenguo Palace to be expanded into the 'Yongning Bo Palace', so that the censors can use this to criticize Zhang Cheng."
He added: "'Trespassing' is a serious crime!"
Fan Yongdou looked at Wang Dayu and said to him: "Even so, the strength is still a little weak."
Wang Dayu naturally knew what he was thinking, and replied bluntly: "I can go to Zhou Ge's house, but it's hard to say what the outcome will be."
"Yeah. It's better to go than not to go."
Fan Yongdou continued: "Also Mr. Zhang Ge and several court officials from Shanxi are about to move around."
Without waiting for Wang Dayu to answer, he turned to face the people in the hall and said: "My fellow shopkeepers, Zhang Cheng and I are now in a situation of extreme danger. We must not sit back and wait for death.
This time, we are just spending more money, but money is an external possession. As long as we can defeat Zhang Cheng, what we spend now will be earned twice as much in the future.
But if we fail this time, I'm afraid we won't even be able to save our bones! "
Wang Dengku also continued at this time: "Everyone knows how vicious Zhang Cheng is. Back then, when he was just a general, he dared to kill Deputy General Zhang Guowei and his family in the name of thieves.
What happened today is just as everyone Fan said, we have no way out. You must not be stingy with money. You must know the principle of "you will gain only if you give up". My king, Deng Ku, assures you that as long as Zhang Cheng is successfully killed this time.
The money we give away today will definitely be earned back twice as much in the future! "
Fan Sanba then continued: "There are some weird places on the North Road. Let's talk about grains, salt, cloth, medicinal materials, and bank accounts. This piece of shit like Zhang Cheng actually opened an official store. Not only do they compete with the people for profits, but they also collect commercial taxes from private shops.
Moreover, official grain stores and government-run banks are specialized in the business of collecting grain and lending money, but private shops are not allowed to lend money privately, nor can they collect grain at will. Shopkeepers, think about it, if Zhang Cheng is allowed to gain a firm foothold in our Xuan Town, will we still have a way to survive? "
With a sinister smile on his face, he cast his gaze at the other businessman on the lower right who had never spoken a word, and continued to say sadly: "Zhang Cheng has had a prosperous official career in recent years. He has jumped from a small CEO to a We have become the commander-in-chief of Xuanzang Town, and now we have to be granted the title of earl.
If we retreat and endure today, and wait until he takes control in the future and becomes more powerful, then if we want to make a difference and fight against him, I am afraid we will never have such an opportunity as today! "
"Let's fight. We have gathered all the caravan guards from each family, as well as the cavalry of 'Sitting Dragon' and 'Fan Tianwang', plus the castle guards we support, we may not be able to give it a try."
"If Zhang Cheng doesn't leave us a way to survive, we can't just sit back and wait for death!"
For a moment, the crowd in the hall became angry again. Everyone was talking to each other and clamoring to gather their strength and give it a go. Some people suggested that we should not fight head-on. It was only a low-end method that could be used as the last blow. .
"What do you think, Shopkeeper Kang Da?"
Zhai Tang suddenly said this, and the discussion in the hall stopped for an instant. Everyone looked at the old man on the lower right who had a kind face but very sinister eyes.
…………
The Fan family's main business is grain and various military supplies. Its industrial center is in Zhangjiakou border trade. At the beginning, it mostly profited from smuggling with various Mongolian ministries.
Later, the Jiannu forces gradually grew, especially after the defeat of Lin Dan Khan. They used Zhangjiakou as their base. On the surface, they were still trading with Tumut and other Mongolian tribes in Guihua City, but in reality they were smuggling grain, grain, and grain to the Jiannu. Iron materials, gunpowder and other military supplies were used to make huge profits.
The normal border trade with various Mongolian ministries is already very profitable, and the trade of smuggling military supplies is an absolute huge profit.
You must know that the Jiannu and the Mongols gained gold and silver. Since the early years of Chongzhen, they had invaded the interior of the Ming Dynasty several times and plundered them. In addition to small livestock, they also obtained a large amount of gold and silver each time.
However, the North and Liaodong did not produce tea, and the food they produced was not enough to cope with the daily increase in consumption. There were also military supplies such as iron and gunpowder, which were urgently needed to expand their military strength.
However, in addition to tea, the Ming court also strictly controlled military supplies such as grain, iron, gunpowder, etc., and did not allow them to be sold to each other. Even if the Mongolian ministries wanted to purchase, they had to report at various levels, and only one was finally approved. Click.
Therefore, they could only rely on the smuggling trade of Shanxi merchants such as Fan Yongdou and Wang Dengku and buy them at high prices.
However, Jiannu actually did not suffer a loss, because Shanxi merchants not only sold them smuggled military supplies at high prices, but also gave them a lot of information about the Ming Dynasty. This meant that part of the high price paid by Jiannu was the cost of purchasing intelligence.
Of course, smuggling in frontier fortresses was strictly prohibited by the Ming government, and since the benefits were so huge, it would naturally involve an extremely large interest group. In this way, under the collective cover of the government, military, business and other officials, ten Nothing happened in the remaining years.
Originally, this smuggling business was a sure profit, but with the rise of Zhang Cheng's power in Xunzhen, it has increasingly threatened the smuggling interests of the eight Shanxi merchants in Zhangjiakou.
When Zhang Cheng first arrived at Beilu, he thought about the smuggling trade. At that time, he sent people to Zhangjiakou to join their smuggling group, but how could they like a small general.
After being rejected by Fan Yongdou and others, Zhang Cheng began to establish his own smuggling channel in Dushikou and began smuggling trade with various Mongolian tribes outside the mouth.
Although Zhang Cheng's move is far from threatening the core interests of Fan Yongdou and others, the profits from smuggling and border trade are too great, and Fan Yongdou and others will never allow outsiders to get involved in this field.
Therefore, Zhang Cheng's private border trade was tantamount to touching their objections and taboos, and Shanxi merchants joined forces to create fake military invoices, hoping to destroy Zhang Cheng's financial foundation and make him lose money. The ability to feed an army under his command.
But I never thought that although their move had some effects and had a certain impact on the credibility of Beilu's military tickets, it could not destroy Beilu's finances. On the contrary, various products from Beilu began to impact their business territory.
Now, Zhang Cheng has been growing bigger all the way, and has obviously threatened their existence. Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku and others were afraid that Zhang Cheng would retaliate against them once they knew about the fake military tickets, so they decided to strike first!
Most of the businessmen in the Ming Dynasty were educated. Although they had been influenced by the books of sages since childhood, they made their own choices when the interests of their family and the country conflicted.
In order to protect your family interests, you can give up your country!
Although Fan Yongdou and others cannot represent all the businessmen and aristocratic families in the Ming Dynasty, they clearly reflect what most of them think.
This is just like those officials, wealthy merchants and gentry of the Ming Dynasty who were willing to die under the swords of rogue and Tartar thieves rather than pull out a single cent to make any contribution to the national treasury!
And the shopkeeper Zhai Tang mentioned just now is the Kang family who is as famous as the Wang family in Shanxi.
Their family's main business is salt and grain. Its scale is so large that there are thousands of warehouses in Pingyang Prefecture alone. They also have a grain store outside the Zhengyang Gate of the capital, which is the largest grain store in the capital.
Even many Beijing businessmen with deep pockets, strong backgrounds, and arrogance are willing to be defeated!
In addition, the Kang family is also a pawnbroker with strong capital, and their loan sharking business is even bigger. After several generations of hard work, the Kang family has the potential to surpass the Wang family and become the richest man in Shanxi.
The Kang family in Shanxi is said to have tens of millions in wealth. The Pingyang Mansion reaches the sky with clouds, the Kang Garden is as wide as ten miles away, and the trees, rocks, ponds and terraces are as deep as a thoroughfare.
Fan Sanba just mentioned that Zhang Cheng wanted to ban the smuggling outside the country and monopolize the smuggling trade in the name of the official family. The Kang family could not take the initiative to show off. However, the official grain store, salt shop and bank that Zhang Cheng started started a large-scale operation. The official camp of grain and salt is not allowed to lend money to the public. This is equivalent to a shot in the heart of the Kang family.
Where is the profit from the food business?
Isn't it just relying on buying low and selling high? Where is the profit from loan sharking? Isn't it also compounding interest? Zhang Cheng's move is to dig out the roots of their family from the bottom of their bones!
As for the salt business, if all purchases are made from official stores, how much profit will be left?
Although the Kang family's business in Xuanfu does not account for a large proportion of the family industry, Zhang Cheng's momentum is so strong that there is no guarantee that he will not extend his tentacles to Shanxi in the future.
The Kang family also wanted to prepare for a rainy day, so they were invited to come to Zhangjiakou, hoping to use Fan Yongdou and others to completely kill Zhang Cheng's career!
(End of chapter)
