The voice of hope amid despair sounded like the sound of nature to everyone's ears.
Everyone followed the voice, and the people who spoke out were Ge Shun, the head of the Ge family who monopolized half of the silk business in Suzhou City, and Ye Longxi, the head of the Ye family whose bookstores were spread all over the south of the Yangtze River.
Although the bookstore business is not as profitable as silk, tea, etc., it has great influence in the cultural sector, especially scholars, who flock to the many bookstores controlled by the Ye family.
All the well-known classics and history collections, novels, etc. on the market are from the Ye family's bookstore. Therefore, although the Ye family does not have a lot of money, they are considered to be the top figures in Suzhou and can speak well.
"Brother Ge, you come first!"
"good!"
At this juncture, Ge Shun did not refuse: "Didn't the emperor want to get rid of the Confucius family? And we have many civil servants and great scholars in Jiangnan.
How about we unite with the Confucius family, mobilize the literati, verbally and physically criticize the emperor and the court, and force the court to retreat?
With the Kong family coming forward, this matter will be easy to achieve. I guess the Kong family also wants it! "
hiss……
Everyone's eyes were filled with shock.
Unexpectedly, Ge Shun, who is usually quite kind, would have such crazy ideas.
After the shock, everyone fell into thinking. Some people's eyes flashed with emotion, some people's eyes were full of solemnity, and some people shook their heads gently.
"Do you really want to seek death so urgently?"
"It's not just a day or two since the emperor wanted to touch the Kong family. He started since the time of Taizu. Think about it carefully. Although the Kong family has repeatedly offered surrender, there has never been any news of collaborating with the enemy.
They don't dare to do this, and they can't do it. But last year, the holy son of the Kong family actually collaborated with the enemy. Isn't this strange?
Now that it is confirmed that the blood is impure, the Kong family has settled the matter.
Now the emperor just doesn't like us and wants to suppress us, but he won't kill us.
But if the two join forces, don't you think you will die quickly enough? "
"Inciting the literati to put pressure on the imperial court is tantamount to rebellion. You can try to see if the emperor will slaughter you!"
"You must not do this, or even think about it. The Jin Yiwei have access to everything. If they find out, you will definitely die!"
After the conversation, everyone was covered in cold sweat.
Although it sounds ugly, it is true and very likely.
Everyone's eyes dimmed, and their hopes were dashed again!
"Don't be disappointed. Brother Ge's idea won't work. Brother Ye just said he had an idea. Let's hear Brother Ye's idea first!"
The person who spoke looked at Ye Longxi who looked calm: "Brother Ye, tell me what you think!"
Ye Longxi put down the tea cup, with a look of wisdom on his face, and said calmly: "Everyone, Zhou Tingru has taken a series of measures to force us to surrender, but these methods are not impossible to break.
The first is the store calendar review, which is nothing more than closing our store and making it impossible for us to do business. In fact, this means killing the enemy 800 and losing 1,000 to ourselves. The impact is not big. It is just a matter of consumption. Let’s see who can spend more;
Secondly, as for the credibility level, if we improve it according to the published standards, it is nothing. If the government cheats, then we can admit it.
But there is no way to solve the problem.
We can do it with a single identity, only as a businessman or a businessman, and we can unite together. For example, the Li family is a businessman and supplies the Lin family, a businessman. The profit can be renegotiated, and we can change it back after the limelight has passed.
The above two points are based on the fact that we can make up for the tax evasion. Otherwise, Zhou Tingru will directly ruthlessly kill us, and it will fail to bring down the government. "
"Brother Ye, your method is good, but there are also huge problems. First, you each know how much tax has been missed.
If you pay ten times the amount, which can range from more than ten thousand to hundreds of thousands of taels, will you be willing to give away the money that falls into your pocket?
Secondly, you don’t know why each of our companies has both business and business at the same time. Can you guarantee that the cooperation between us will always exist?
What would you do if Hongshang was bought out and stopped supplying goods to Zuoshang, or if Zuoshang stopped accepting goods from Hongshang? "
"Hahaha……"
Ye Longxi laughed and said calmly under the urging of everyone: "I have also thought of this. We will jointly set up a chamber of commerce, and all businessmen in Suzhou will join and formulate some rules.
For example, the cooperation between Hongshang and Zushang must be fulfilled within the time limit. If it is broken unilaterally, our Chamber of Commerce will issue an order and the entire Suzhou will boycott him, making it impossible for him to survive in Suzhou.
Even if you do not want to cooperate, you should tell them in advance that it is best if you can contact the merchants or dealers. If you cannot contact them, the chamber of commerce will come forward to coordinate.
What do you think about waiting for the limelight to pass before making other plans? "
PS: Chambers of commerce have existed since ancient times, dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. The Western Zhou Dynasty was Si, the Pre-Qin Dynasty was Xing, and in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it was merchant gangs.
But at this time, the business gangs were based on region, blood relationship, and hometown friendship, forming a spontaneous group that was both close and loose. It was different from the above-mentioned chambers of commerce.
The first modern chamber of commerce in China was the Foreign General Chamber of Commerce established by the West in Guangzhou in 1834! (This paragraph does not count the number of words in this chapter)
After everyone heard this, their eyes suddenly lit up.
"Good method, this way, we can solve today's problem!"
"Yes, I think that even if the limelight has passed, we must continue to maintain it and ensure that our transactions are fair!"
"Brother Ye, this is a good idea, I think that's it!"
"Together, we can exchange information, borrow from each other, and grow together!"
"Since everyone agrees and we are pressed for time, let's discuss it quickly and make it final!"
"Everyone, this idea is that we have to pay back the tax evasion. Are you willing to do it?"
"Brother Wang, as long as we unite and monopolize Suzhou City or even Suzhou Prefecture, then the price of goods will rise a little, and we will make money back in a year or two.
Spit it out now and get it back twice as much later, we have no loss! "
"But what about the Cao gang in the canal? Their attitude is too strange. Without them, we merchants can't do anything!"
"It's easy to say. Without us, they can only drink from the northwest wind and solve the immediate difficulties first!"
"If we set up a chamber of commerce, will the government stop us?"
"What to prevent? We are just ensuring the business environment, and we are not inciting the people. If we can't do it openly, can't we just reach an agreement secretly?"
…
Everyone expressed their opinions and discussed the rules of the Chamber of Commerce.
During their discussion, two ordinary carriages entered the city quietly outside the Helv Gate of Suzhou City.
On top of the city gate tower, several senior officials of Yanshan Guard looked at the carriage that was driving away, and they all sneered.
"The Ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing really don't know how to live or die, and they actually took a trip into this troubled water!"
"It won't work if we don't come. Suzhou and Nanjing are too involved. If we can't suppress them, they will be doomed!"
"Humph, trying to suppress it is simply wishful thinking!"
"My hands are itching after hearing what you said. Next time I have a mission, I will apply to lead the team out!"
…
The motorcade slowly arrived at a small alley in front of Daoqian Street in front of the magistrate's office. Two carriages were blocked at the entrance of the alley, so people outside could not see what was going on inside.
