Chapter 137 Shanxi merchants’ coping methods!
Just when Wang Yan and others came to Pingyang Mansion, there was a place called Puzhou County below Pingyang Mansion, and there was some unrest.
In a huge traditional northern courtyard, several people in extraordinary clothes were having a secret meeting in a room.
There are two people sitting side by side at the top position.
One of them is Zhang Ning, the head of the now famous Zhang family of Shanxi merchants, and also the owner of this huge courtyard.
He has a son named Zhang Yi.
Now that Zhang Yi has grown up, he has just begun to gradually take over the Zhang family's business.
Zhang Yi has two children who are still in their infancy.
The eldest son was named Zhang Yunling, and the second son was named Zhang Xialing.
The other person sitting side by side with Zhang Yi is Wang Ze, the head of the Shanxi merchant Wang family.
Wang Ze also has an adult son named Wang Yao, who is being trained by Wang Ze as his successor.
After that, Wang Yaohui gave birth to a son named Wang Chonggu and a daughter who married Zhang Yunling.
Zhang Yi's eldest son, Zhang Yunling, will give birth to a child with Wang and name him Zhang Siwei.
Decades later, Zhang Siwei and Wang Chonggu will bring Puzhou Shanxi merchants to a new peak.
At this moment, there are only two father and son pairs in the room, Zhang Ning and Zhang Yi, Wang Ze and Wang Yao.
They are the Zhang family and the Wang family, the present and future of the two major Shanxi merchants.
It is no exaggeration to say that the decision made by the four of them together is enough to affect the future direction of the entire Puzhou County and even the entire Pingyang Prefecture.
"Brother Wang, what do you think about this matter?"
Zhang Ning frowned, with a worried look on his face.
Wang Ze sighed: "I can only say that the person who came here is not kind."
"As far as I know, in Beizhili, the land of countless landlords and gentry has been clearly touched by them. Not only the hidden land, but also the newly reclaimed land has been registered."
< br>"From now on, these lands will have to pay taxes to the court."
"That's right." Zhang Ning then said: "If we have to pay taxes on our hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the future, it will be a huge sum."
"Now people are coming to look for trouble, and we can't do it." Just sit back and wait for death?”
“What if you don’t sit back and wait for death?”
Wang Ze scratched his head irritably: "It's true that there were no landlords and gentry in Beizhili who tried to resist, but what was the result?"
"Our top priority now is to take care of the business in the north first. As for the land... …”
“Of course we have to take care of the business in the north, but can we do without the land in Puzhou?”
Zhang Ning interrupted Wang Ze with a look on his face. With anger.
Zhang Yi and Wang Yao, who were sitting below, looked up at Zhang Ning with worried expressions on their faces.
Wang Ze frowned and asked: "Then I don't know what Brother Zhang is planning to do?"
Zhang Ning: "Brother Wang, don't forget, the imperial court is coming to Puzhou to clear out the land. Now it's the most scary thing. It’s not our two families who are afraid.”
After being reminded by Zhang Ning, Wang Ze suddenly remembered something.
"You mean... Hou Wei Hou Qianhu?"
Zhang Ning nodded: "I guess this Hou Qianhu must be anxious at home now. He wants to It won’t be long before he takes the initiative to contact our families.”
Hou Wei is the Qianhu of Puzhou Qianhu Office and is in charge of the military and horse affairs of Puzhou Guard Office.
Qianhusuo, subordinate to the Guard Command Department, is the grassroots unit of the Guards system and the grassroots military organization of the Ming Dynasty.
As mentioned before, the guard system was on the verge of collapse in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
A large number of guards officers occupied the fertile farmland of their military households, turning these military households from semi-professional soldiers into de facto land slaves of the guards officers.
These military households no longer participate in any military training, but work in the fields all day long for the officers.
The number of acres of land in the hands of this Houwei Qianhu is no less than what the two major Shanxi merchants, the Wang family and the Zhang family in Puzhou, want.
Moreover, the Wang family and the Zhang family relied on cleverness and spent some silver to buy the land.
Hou Wei, on the other hand, simply plundered. Without spending a penny, he occupied most of the land owned by the military households in the guard station.
When it comes to urgency, Hou Wei is definitely more anxious than them.
Wang Ze was still puzzled: "Occupying the fields of military households is a capital crime. Hou Wei should be anxious, but what's the use of Hou Wei being anxious?"
Zhang Ning: "Hou Wei is anxious, so we can make this matter bigger. Only when the trouble becomes bigger will the court feel the pressure." Something has changed.”
“At least this one in Pingyang Mansion. This place cannot engage in this matter."
"Then... how big does it have to be for this matter to be serious?"
Zhang Ning picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea: "The Puzhou Civil War. , is this a big deal?”
"What?!"
Wang Ze exclaimed, his eyes widened, and his body suddenly sat upright.
He looked at Zhang Ning in shock, not expecting Zhang Ning to be so bold.
A civil uprising will kill many people!
Zhang Yi also looked at his father in astonishment: "Father, is this... too risky?"
Zhang Ning glanced at Zhang Yi: "You have been studying business with me for so long. Don't you still know that the greater the risk, the greater the benefit?"
"If you want to make money, how can you not take risks?"
"Isn't business in the north not risky?" "But the civil uprising... is too risky!"
It's not just Zhang Yi, Wang Yao also felt that this was inappropriate.
Zhang Ning took a breath and explained: "This thing sounds risky, but in fact the risk is not big."
"It is said to be a popular uprising, but in fact we only need to incite the tenants under us to take the initiative Just come out and obstruct those in the imperial court.”
“Let the tenants take over those in the imperial court. When the post station where people live is surrounded, they will definitely go to Puzhou Guard to mobilize troops."
"Then let Hou Wei cooperate with us to put on a show to create the illusion of defeat. The court will definitely feel it. Pressure."
"Be careful not to hurt those imperial envoys!"
"After the people from the court leave Pingyang Mansion, the tenants will be dispersed and everything will be restored to the original state."
"I think this way, the court will have to weigh it again if it wants to clear the land in Pingyang Mansion. "
"And our Zhang family and Wang family didn't come forward, so the court couldn't find anything to investigate."
After listening to Zhang Ning's words, the room fell into silence.
Zhang Ning's plan is feasible, and the risk is indeed not too big for the two of them.
But Wang Ze always felt that something was wrong, as if there were some important factors that they had deliberately ignored.
Zhang Ning waited for a while before asking: "So Brother Wang, what do you think about this matter?"
Wang Ze took a sip of tea, considered it and said: "Zhang What a great idea, brother, but the north is in a hurry, so now I still have to focus on the business in the north.”
"Let's do it this way. Brother Zhang will decide all matters concerning the imperial court's land clearing. Whatever Brother Zhang wants to do, the Wang family will fully support it. The Wang family's resources in Puzhou will also be mobilized with Brother Zhang."
Zhang Ning knows Wang Ze is actually not willing to participate in this matter. It is not easy for him to achieve this level.
After all, most of the Wang family's property is in business in the north, so it's normal for him to be more interested in the north.
The Zhang family purchased the largest amount of real estate in Puzhou, so Zhang Ning was more concerned about the court's clearing of land.
At the same time, the Wang family also has shares in the Zhang family’s business in the north.
Now that we have finished talking about Puzhou, Zhang Ning also asked about the business in the north.
"How is the business in the north this time? What do you need?"
Wang Ze pointed at Wang Yao: "Yao'er, come and talk to your Uncle Zhang."
"It's father."
Wang Yao stood up and listed the business in the north one by one. Come.
"Uncle Zhang, the most requested thing from the north this time is iron sheets. A total of three thousand pieces are needed. Uncle Zhang needs to think of a way."
"Three thousand Iron pieces, no problem, I can bring them from Zhangde Mansion.”
After Zhang Ning thought for a while, he agreed.
Wang Yao: "There are also two thousand kilograms of tea. Our Wang family only has one thousand three hundred kilograms in stock. We have to rely on Uncle Zhang to make up for the 700 kilograms of tea."
Zhang Ning Nodding: "It's really hard to find tea in this winter, but the Zhang family just got tea this spring. I have collected a batch of tea leaves to make up for it."
Wang Yao continued: "The last thing is food. The shortage of food in the north is severe this winter, and there is still a gap of 13,000 shi."< br>
“Thirteen thousand stones? That much?!”
After Zhang Ning pondered for a while, he suddenly asked: "How much food does the court require this spring?"
"The notice posted by the court is 20,000 dan. According to the rules, each of our families will get half of it."
Zhang Ning did not finish his words: "The land our Zhang family purchased in the north this year will be A total of 8,000 shi of grain was produced in the first year. "
"In addition to Puzhou's inventory, there are 11,000 shi, which adds up to 19,000 shi of grain."
"There are still four thousand stones and two grains left. I will think of a way to see if I can find someone to second me."
"But there is no guarantee that we will be able to raise food."
When Wang Yao heard this, he looked relaxed and said with a smile: "Uncle Zhang can just try his best. Even if he is short of some food from the court, I think General Zhou should It’s understandable.”
The General Zhou mentioned by Wang Yao is Zhou Hongyi, the deputy chief military officer in charge of grain collection in Xuan Mansion.
Every year after the imperial court issued a grain levy notice, the Wang and Zhang families would transport the grain to the Xuan Mansion, and then receive donations from Zhou Hongyi.
Use this voucher to exchange for salt at the court.
A long time ago, smart Shanxi merchants discovered that instead of spending a lot of effort transporting grain to border towns every year.
It is better to buy land in the border town area and recruit tenants from the border town to farm for yourself.
The harvested grain can be supplied to border towns on the spot, saving transportation costs.
The Zhang family owned the most land for Shanxi merchants in Xuanfu and Datongfu.
Finally, Zhang Ning asked: "When will the goods be delivered this time, and who will deliver them?"
Wang Ze showed a smile and replied with some pride: "This time the goods will be delivered in five days, and Yao'er will be responsible for the transportation."
Zhang Ning raised his hands in surprise: "Brother Wang is so lucky, sir. I can already share my worries with you.”
Wang Ze and Wang Yao smiled and said nothing.
After discussing these two matters, the four people ended the meeting.
Zhang Ning asked Zhang Yi to take Wang Yao to the Zhang family's warehouse to get what the north wanted.
At the same time, a greeting card was delivered to Zhang Ning's hands by a servant in the family.
(End of this chapter)