Chapter 156 There is a cloud over King Yan’s head! (Third update)
The next day.
The home of salt merchant Ma Wenhua.
The shopkeepers of the other fourteen salt merchants have arrived.
They were dressed very plainly, without any silk around them. They were all dressed in coarse linen and linen, and they fully complied with the requirements of the court.
Side room.
Ma Wenhua and the others lined up in two rows.
After a moment of silence, Ma Wenhua took the initiative to speak.
He picked up the tea bowl so that no one could see his face. While drinking the tea, he said slowly: "Everyone, you all received the news yesterday, right? The No. 1 Scholar is planning to attack us. , you want us to give up the great salt city of Beiping, what do you think?"
Finished.
Ma Wenhua just put down the tea bowl and looked at the audience with an indifferent expression.
The other salt merchants looked at each other with a bit of coldness and a bit of disdain in their eyes.
Peng Jiasheng sneered and said: "Give up the salt market in Peiping? Are you kidding me."
"There are hundreds of thousands of people in Peiping. If such a large salt market is abandoned directly, then what will happen? How much money do we lose in a year? And we have been running the Beiping Salt Market for so long. How can this young boy take it away with just one sentence? .”
"I won't hand it over."
Peng Jiasheng's attitude was very determined.
He also has this capital.
He has been traveling with the generals of the Prince of Yan's Palace in recent years. After the incident with the Chief Secretary of Peking, the Prince of Yan's Palace was the only family in Peiping. Xia Zhibai, a foreigner, wanted to ride on them. What kind of dream is this?
Do you really think that the people in Prince Yan’s Mansion are just decorations?
What's more, he inquired and found that many generals in Prince Yan's palace had opinions about Xia Zhibai.
How can an unpopular number one scholar succeed in Peiping?
Aside.
Yang Wensong also picked up the tea bowl, blew the hot air gently, and said with some confusion: "The top priority now is to find out what Xia Zhibai is doing."
"He is not Are you here to set up an iron factory?”
"Why did the limelight suddenly turn around and start taking action against us?"
"Could it be that he was angry with King Yan and failed to get a good result, so he wants to take it out on us?"
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Others looked at each other and agreed with this statement.
"That seems to be the case."
"From the news I heard recently, he did not get good results from King Yan."
"And he can't vent his anger to King Yan's people. The only place where he can vent his anger seems to be us."
"."
Listening to the echoes on the side, Ma Wenhua He said expressionlessly: "He does have this qualification. According to the news from Prince Yan's Mansion, the imperial court seems to have agreed to hand over the salt market in the north to Xia Zhibai alone. In other words, we will not be able to sell salt in the future." Salt, all require his consent."
Peng Jiasheng sneered.
He tapped his fingers on the table, making low muffled sounds.
Peng Jia said: "So what?"
"What he does works well in Yingtianfu, but it may not work well in Peiping."
"Wait for what he thinks , but I don’t know how long it will take for it to be implemented throughout the north. By then, who knows if there will be any surprises?”
“People will change, and things will also change.”
"Is it possible that he still wants to change the salt market in the entire north on his own?"
"He can change the entire north by himself?"
"Salt seller, how many people in the world are staring at this mouthful of fat? How can he let him fly with this fat in his mouth? Besides, we can't We are not really just selling salt. According to the instructions of the imperial court, we are also responsible for the delivery of food to various health stations. Without us"
"The Dongsheng Guard, Daning Guard and other guard stations in the north will run out of food. ”
Others also laughed.
Xia Zhibai’s official power is enough to scare the salt merchants in the south, but scaring them is not enough.
Because they are not just selling salt.
He is also responsible for transporting food to these remote guard posts in the north.
Ma Wenhua held the tea bowl, with a satisfied smile on his lips, and said relaxedly: "It seems that you have already thought of countermeasures, so I feel relieved. We will go together later to have a look. What does this champion want to do? As long as the Ming Dynasty still implements the Kaizhong method and we still have the government's salt in our hands, he will not pose a threat to us."
Others also laughed and agreed.
“It is.”
"With so many of us, why are we still afraid of him?"
"Do you really think that Peiping is the same as Yingtian Mansion? Just one decree can make people obedient?"
"You are looking for the wrong person to vent your anger on us. ”
“.”
At this time.
A servant came and told Ma Wenhua that Xia Zhibai had arrived.
Just outside the door.
Ma Wenhua smiled and said: "It seems that our top pick is still a little impatient. Since the top pick is so enthusiastic, how can we have stage fright?"
"Go and take the top pick with you. When you go to the lobby, remember to be polite.”
“Don’t be disrespectful to the scholars.”
Ma Wenhua gave a few words of advice. He obviously had great experience in receiving scholars.
The group walked towards the lobby talking and laughing.
When Ma Wenhua just walked to the lobby, Xia Zhibai also arrived.
Ma Wenhua and other salt merchants did not dare to be negligent, and hurried forward to greet them. Their backs were slightly bent, their attitudes were very respectful, and their faces were filled with smiles. They treated people and things like these salt merchants. It can be said that he is so familiar that no one can find any fault with him.
Xia Zhibai accepted it with a smile.
He entered the lobby first and then sat directly at the main seat.
Ma Wenhua's eyelids raised slightly, but the smile on his face did not diminish. Instead, his smile became brighter and his attitude became more respectful.
Xia Zhibai also had to admire the character of these businessmen.
I can keep my composure in front of him.
Of course Ma Wenhua noticed that Xia Zhibai’s eyes were always looking at him, but he didn’t seem to notice it. He greeted him warmly and asked the villain to give him a cup of good hot tea. , while pouring tea for Xia Zhibai, he said: "Master Xia, I heard that you like hot tea, and this tea is specially prepared for you."
"This is Dahongpao from Fujian. I don't know much about tea. When I get this tea, it has reached the price of one tael of tea leaves and one tael of silver."
"If Master Xia hadn't come here, , I will never bear to drink this tea.”
“Master Xia, please drink tea.”
Xia Zhibai reached out to take the tea cup and put it aside.
He said calmly: "In business, you don't need to be so polite. I, Xia Zhibai, can be regarded as half a businessman to a certain extent. I can also understand your thoughts and ideas. , you all know my purpose.”
"I won't talk nonsense."
"I'm here this time just to hear your thoughts."
Ma Wenhua's face froze.
He squinted his eyes slightly, a smile appeared on his face again, and said softly: "My lord, are you a little too hasty?"
"The north is very big."
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"You don't have to rush to Beiping."
"And Yingtianfu is Yingtianfu and Beiping is Beiping. The two are different."
Xia Zhibai said with a half-smile but not a smile: "Oh, really? Then I dare to ask, what is the difference between Yingtian Mansion and Peiping?" Ma Wenhua's eyes darkened, and his eyes gradually became cold.
At this time.
Peng Jiasheng said: "Sir, there is indeed a difference between Peiping and Yingtian Mansion. It is true that we are salt merchants, but we are also responsible for the food supply of other guards. And it is not that we must sell salt, but the imperial court needs us to transport food. This is why we made a special transfer to get a certain amount of salt.”
“The court needs us.”
“My lord just said it, half of it. "Businessmen."
"Then your Excellency should know that merchants are not profitable. Without salt, just transporting grain is a losing business. The loss of long-distance transportation costs is not ordinary." The land is big, and there is a shortage of food in the north. In many cases, food has to be transported from the south, and the cost on the road is even more staggering. "
"We are businessmen, we can't always do business at a loss, right?"
Yang Wensong also followed: "I believe your thoughts are good, but the situation in the north is different from that in the south and Kyoto."
"The imperial court is also aware of this."
"Why else would the imperial court implement the 'Open China Law' in the past?"
"Isn't it just clear that if we just transport food, we merchants will not be able to make ends meet and would not dare to transport it at all."
" Kaizhongfa is a remedy given to us by the imperial court.”
"My lord, you can take it back if you want. After all, your lord's officials are just low-status merchants. How can merchants dare to go against the officials? But if your lord takes back these salts, then in the future, you will have to transport the food to the various health stations in the north yourself." ”
“We don’t have enough money to give back.”
Yang Wensong looked very respectful, but his eyes were full of ridicule.
A confident attitude.
The eyes of other salt merchants also turned cold.
Xia Zhibai wanted to take away the salt market in Beiping and cut off a large amount of their income, so they would never give him a good look.
And they also played a little clever trick.
Don’t argue about the salt market at all.
Because they couldn't argue.
Xia Zhibai has obtained the permission of the imperial court and has the qualification to seize the salt market in various places. They insist on the salt market. They are not reasonable at all, and the government will not reason with them, so they choose It was a different approach. Since we couldn't compete in the salt market, we had to transport food and open the Chinese method.
In Yan City, Xia Zhibai has the final say.
But Xia Zhibai has no say in other matters.
They deliberately ignored the important, and they were also stating a fact to Xia Zhibai.
Xia Zhibai also knows.
He also didn’t want to argue about these, nor did he want to answer these questions. He said calmly: "I know all what you said, and I am fully aware of the pros and cons, but I have only been in Peiping for a short time. , but I also heard some news that King Yan was investigating corruption in the army recently."
Hear the words.
Ma Wenhua, who was originally calm and composed, suddenly had his eyelids twitching.
Many salt merchants’ expressions changed.
However, they were all people who had experienced strong winds and waves. The expressions on their faces changed in a flash, and they soon calmed down. Ma Wenhua took the initiative to take the conversation and said with a blank look on his face: "Sir, you mentioned these What? This is the prince’s business, what does it have to do with us?”
Xia Zhibai smiled, with a cold smile.
He said calmly: "Yes."
"Because the grain you transported is not clean!"
"And many of you have participated in bribery."
One The words fell.
The salt merchant, who was still able to maintain his composure, changed his expression completely. He looked at Xia Zhibai with a horrified expression and said uneasily: "Master Xia, be careful what you say. Don't say this nonsense. King Yan We are in charge of the military in Peiping. How can we, as a businessman, be involved in bribery? Don’t listen to some rumors.”
"It would be bad if something bad happened."
Xia Zhibai picked up the tea bowl and sniffed it hard. It was indeed fragrant.
He said calmly: "You guys know better than me what is true and false, don't you?"
"You also said before that you are transporting food to the guard in exchange for salt. , Under normal circumstances, you either hire people to produce your own food and cultivate the land, or you can only transport it from the south. "
"But in these years, the food you transported to David has been more and more. More and more are coming, but you don’t have much land in your hands, so they can only be transported from the south.”
"But"
"Is it really transported from the south?"
"Isn't it the occupation of some military households' fields? The food of these military households was robbed?"
"If so, how high is the cost of transporting grain?"
"Is it from Peiping to Dongshengwei? Or from Peiping to Daningwei, a mere hundred miles away? That's what you call from Transporting from south to north? Not only by water, but also by land, and there are all kinds of management losses, manpower, etc. along the way? ”
"Also."
"You are too careless sometimes."
"Knowing that King Yan was investigating corruption in the army, he still contacted some military attachés again and again , Are you really not afraid of attracting other people’s attention?”
“Eventually getting burned?”
Xia Zhibai took out a booklet from his sleeve and threw it on the table.
Ma Wenhua could no longer sit still.
He stood up suddenly and looked at the booklet in front of him, his eyes anxious and uneasy. Finally, he reached out cautiously and picked it up. When he saw some of the information recorded on it, his expression changed. He was extremely pale and his figure became even more unstable.
Seeing this, other people were also a little panicked.
He quickly stood up, helped Ma Wenhua, and at the same time read the brochure.
After reading it.
His face also changed drastically.
There is not much content in the booklet.
Not even completely.
It only recorded their outings in the past few days. Some went to visit military attachés, and some went to military households outside the city. As for what they did in these places, it was not written above, but it is no longer It's important.
These things are enough to kill them.
He could even kill those military attachés.
Ma Wenhua trembled, looked at Xia Zhibai with a horrified expression, and said tremblingly: "How did you find out this information? Didn't you just bring one person here? Why can we take our The traces are so clear, what do you want to do?”
Ma Wenhua was already a little scared.
He couldn't understand what Xia Zhibai wanted to do at all.
Xia Zhibai slowly stood up and said calmly: "Businessmen can pursue profits, and they can seek wealth, but they cannot be unkind. Officials of the Ming Dynasty can be in power, but they cannot use power for personal gain, let alone use power to bully others, take advantage of others by force, and prey on the common people."
"Some things have happened."
"In order to obtain stable salt, you colluded with the civil and military officials in Peiping. I can actually understand this, but you have been able to make profits from it. , you shouldn’t target ordinary military households and ordinary people.”
“I know why you do this.”
“Because you bully these powerless ordinary soldiers. Households, the income is much higher than that of cultivating the land yourself.”
"But my purpose this time is just to take back the salt market in Peiping."
"I don't want to worry about the others."
"I suggest you discuss it with the military attachés and take back the encroached salt market." Return the fields to you. This is my advice to you. Some things may not weigh four ounces if they are not weighed on the scale, but if they are weighed, they may not be able to stop them even if they weigh a thousand pounds.”
“They are indeed. King Yan’s beloved general.”
“But there is a cloud above King Yan’s head, and this cloud covers the entire Ming Dynasty.”
Xia Zhibai reached out and took back the booklet from Yang Wensong.
Then he sat back down.
(End of this chapter)