In the south of Jiangning City, on the bustling Jiyang Street, there is a Yiyuan Garden.
Yiyuan is built along a stream. It is a winding place with lush trees and countless pavilions.
This place was once a property purchased by Chen Jin, the Yayuan of the Jiangnan Provincial Examination in the 17th year of Tiande's reign, but the current owner is Song Dequan, a well-known wealthy businessman in Jiangnan Province.
The reason why Song Dequan was so rich was not only because he owned extensive land and manors, but also because he was a great businessman.
The so-called negoshang refers to merchants who are engaged in the transaction of specialty goods, such as salt, iron, wine and other state-monopolized goods.
Although these commodities are nominally sold exclusively by the government, various problems arise in the government operation. Therefore, it is now common practice for certain individuals or firms to accept the government's entrustment and exercise the monopoly rights on their behalf.
These entrusted merchants are the businessmen.
If you want to become a consultant, you must have a profound background, and Song Dequan's background is Liu Xun, the governor of Jiangnan.
Song Dequan's sister was Liu Xun's favorite concubine. Song Dequan also relied on his brother-in-law's lap to become one of the only government-run wine merchants in Jiangning Prefecture.
Last night, Song Dequan gathered a group of friends to drink and have fun at home. They slept with prostitutes until midnight. If he hadn't been woken up by something, he would have stayed up all day long.
Song Dequan yawned, crawled out of bed and washed and dressed under the service of the maid.
When Song Dequan came to the front hall, he saw that one of his friends, Mr. Huang from Futai Yamen, was already dressed and eating breakfast.
"Brother Huang is really full of energy, he got up so early..." Song Dequan smiled and sat next to Master Huang, taking a bowl of bird's nest porridge from the maid.
This Master Huang was also an old man who followed Governor Liu. However, he was not very capable and was fond of petty gains. He was never reused and could only do menial jobs such as running errands and doing odd jobs. He was quite neglected in the government office.
Song Dequan also met Mr. Huang by chance. The two had a similar affinity and soon became sworn friends. They colluded internally and externally, and committed many evil deeds in the name of Governor Liu.
Nowadays, the wine shop that seeks to prosper the family is the same as in the past.
"I had something on my mind and couldn't sleep well, so I simply got up early." Master Huang said with a pair of dark circles under his eyes: "I didn't expect that Sheng Hong would be soft when pinched, but his cousin Sheng Wei is like a piece of meat!"
Song Dequan exhaled a breath and said: "I thought that a little scare would make Sheng Wei surrender, but who would have thought that this guy has been holding on until now. I even showed him my brother-in-law's seal, but he still made excuses to delay."
If Mr. Huang and Song Dequan want to eat the fat meat of amber wine, they naturally cannot avoid the official backer of Shengjia Trading Company, Yangzhou Tongpan Sheng Hong.
Originally, the two of them were wary of Sheng Hong, a sixth-rank official who was a Jinshi, and acted very cautiously. Unexpectedly, they just revealed their identities slightly, and Sheng Hong surrendered without even a token resistance.
However, Sheng Wei, a commoner without official status, has been struggling to support him, which is beyond Song Dequan's expectation.
As for the seal Song Dequan mentioned, it was naturally not the large seal of the governor's office, but the private seal of Governor Liu, which had been kept by his concubine, Song Dequan's sister.
It is common practice for Song Dequan and Mr. Huang to secretly take the seals out and pretend to be a tiger. They just need to put them back after use. With Song Dequan's sister helping to cover it up, Governor Liu did not find any clues.
Master Huang went to threaten Sheng Wei this time and brought this seal with him beforehand, but the result was not satisfactory. Two days have passed and Sheng Wei still has not relented.
Song Dequan snorted coldly: "There are a few stubborn people like this everywhere. We must give them a taste of their power!"
"Well, with our power, it wouldn't be a big deal to manipulate a small wine merchant."
Mr. Huang's face was filled with uncertainty as he said: "But the decree only requires the tribute of ten tanks of amber wine, not to mention the original wine..., and the purchase price has also shrunk by more than half..."
"What's wrong with this? I finally managed to get the advantage of buying tributes for you in front of my brother-in-law. Isn't it just to take the opportunity to make more money?"
Song Dequan said confidently: "Besides, I don't want to occupy the wine shop named Sheng. I just saw that the amber wine was selling well and wanted to join in. We can all make money together. Why not?"
"I know all this..."
Master Huang said with a bitter face: "But who knows if the Sheng family has any backers. After all, the governor doesn't know about the things we do. If we are exposed, the consequences will be disastrous!"
"What are you afraid of! I have already inquired about it. The Sheng family relies on Sheng Hong in officialdom." Song Dequan said nonchalantly: "Then you also know what Sheng Hong's virtues are. How can he dare to provoke my brother-in-law?"
"I hope so."
Master Huang was just about to stop talking and eat breakfast when he heard footsteps coming from outside. When he looked up, it was his own boy who had arrived at the door.
"What's up?"
The boy of the Huang family reported truthfully: "This morning, Lord Shen Dushen, the prefect of Jiangning, sent someone to our house. He said that he heard that our amber wine from Jiangning was honored as a tribute, and the whole house was honored. Shen's mansion ordered someone to be there. Celebrating banners have been hung on the major colorful buildings in Jiangning City, and I specially invite you to come and watch the ceremony."
"Bitterness, something bad is going to happen!"
Master Huang and Song Dequan's hearts sank at the same time.
If Shen Du makes such a fuss, won't he make the amber wine tribute matter known to the whole city?
In this case, how could they attack the Sheng family's winery?
The two of them could no longer sit still, so they came to the front yard wall, climbed up the ladder, and looked outside.
On the street, I saw bright and eye-catching red banners hanging on the tall colorful buildings built with colorful silk.
"The fine amber wine is famous all over the world. Waiting for the imperial edict and tribute, the whole family will be happy!"
"My mother!"
Seeing this joyful scene, Mr. Huang felt dizzy and almost fell off the ladder. Fortunately, the boy beside him held him up.
"If you want to hide it now, you can't hide it..." Song Dequan didn't expect that Shen Du would do this.
"Is this Shen Du a reinforcement invited by the Sheng family? I haven't heard of any relationship between the Sheng family and Shen Du?"
Song Dequan was a little confused for a moment. Was this Shendu an accident, or was it intentional?
Not long after, the disciple of the Song family came to report again: "Master, someone from the government office just came. They said that a flowing banquet was set up at the Shen Mansion Terrace to celebrate the tribute of amber wine, and they specially invited you to come over."
"Go to hell!"
When Song Dequan heard this, he jumped down from the ladder angrily and fell to the ground.
Just ask Mr. Huang. After all, he is an official and is in charge of tribute matters.
But what does it mean to make a special trip to invite Song Dequan?
In the eyes of outsiders, Song Dequanke had nothing to do with the tribute wine matter!
At this time, no matter how slow Song Dequan was, he could still see that Shen Du was trying to control his army!
"Brother Song, what's going on?" Master Huang pulled Song Dequan up from the ground and said in panic: "Could it be that Shen Du is really a reinforcement invited by the Sheng family?"
"You still underestimate the Sheng family!"
Song Dequan patted the dust on his body and said with a gloomy face: "Sheng Hong must have found Shen Du secretly and asked Shen Du to help him. After all, they were all hanging out in the officialdom of Jiangnan Province, and they could always get through each other's way. Make some connections. Hey, this group of scholars has always been like this, a den of snakes and rats, working together in a treacherous manner!"
"You mean, that Sheng Hong was pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger, deliberately retreating in order to advance, and then taking advantage of our unpreparedness, he suddenly attacked?" Master Huang's eyes widened, shocked.
"This Sheng Hong has such a forbearing character and such vicious strategies!"
