Chapter 282 Someone is cowardly!
The second meeting ended quickly.
It only took less than an hour for everything to be settled.
The merchants didn’t say much from the beginning to the end, and they were basically at the mercy of others.
What surprised Xia Zhibai was that Li Benmo, Zhang Tong, Lin Shijia and other officials did not take the initiative to fight for it, but all gave up. As long as it did not involve letting the imperial court send people to settle in They almost gave the nod to the large salt factory.
The speed of the agreement surprised even Xia Zhibai.
The meeting is over.
Looking at the empty lobby, Hua Lun said cheerfully: "Brother Xia, you miscalculated this time. The local government did not stop you at all and passed directly. However, from this speed, why I feel like something is wrong in the south?"
Lian Zining nodded in agreement.
He said solemnly: "I also feel something is wrong."
"It's so smooth."
"When we first came to Yuhang, Zhou Shenzheng and others greeted each other with smiles, but generally speaking, their smiles hid their knives. Now that I think about that smile, I feel a little embarrassed. My back feels cold, and the officials of the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang do things the same way. Once everything is explained, if you ask, you will pass it on to the subordinates. "
"As soon as I ask about the specific process, I will send someone to ask. Just don’t talk about the actual progress.”
“With such a pushy and obstructive government, there is also an equally slippery Salt Transportation Department. If they stumble in various ways, there will be at least several more meetings. How can this be passed? After two days, they suddenly changed?”
“Why?”
Lian Zining was a little confused.
Xia Zhibai didn’t quite understand. He was actually ready to fight with the heroes, but Li Benmo and others didn’t seem to have this intention at all. They just made a simple struggle and then gave up directly, and It was a rapid decline, and in the end he even stopped saying anything.
It has completely become Xia Zhibai's one-man show.
Jie Min hesitated for a moment and said uncertainly: "Could it be that Jin Yiwei found something?"
After hearing Jie Min's words, several people were stunned for a moment.
Then a look of surprise appeared on his face.
After Jiang Wei came to Yuhang, he has always seen the dragon but not its tail. Even Xia Zhibai has not seen him a few times in the past six or seven days. Moreover, when he sees Jiang Wei, he usually looks in a hurry, not Know what you are doing.
Xia Zhibai didn’t ask either.
And not only Jiang Yu, but also Tang He.
Basically no one is there.
Xia Zhibai touched his chin and thought to himself: "It's really possible. Duke Xin Guo still has great influence in the south. Many meritorious groups want to give Duke Xin Guo face, at least they don't dare to make Duke Xin Guo look bad. , and Jin Yiwei doesn’t know what they are investigating during this period, and we are constantly stirring up trouble here. I’m afraid that the local government is already a few big ones, and it is really difficult to resist.”
“ Finally."
"Let me take advantage."
Xia Zhibai also grinned.
Hualun and the others shook their heads, they didn’t think so.
Maybe Tang He and Jiang Wei did put pressure on the local government, but if Xia Zhibai hadn't made such a big noise himself, how could the local government have given in so easily? I'm afraid they would have continued to hold on. All of this was Xia Zhibai's fault. Deserve it.
At best, it’s just the lesser of many harms.
As for what Tang He and Jiang Yu were secretly investigating, they didn't have the guts to inquire.
Don’t dare to ask.
How could Tang He and Jiang Yu be so interested in him? How could they dare to pay attention to it? I didn't find out whether the things were in good condition. If I found out, I guess how many people would die. Tang He and Jiang Yingke also came under His Majesty's order.
"What are you going to do next?" Hua Lun looked at Xia Zhibai.
Xia Zhibai stretched his body, feeling much more relaxed, and said: "Register all the salt factories, and then work with the Chief Secretary to integrate the salt factories, and at the same time let the engineers go Change those machines.”
“Why are you so determined to improve the machines?” Hua Lun was a little confused.
Xia Zhibai smiled mysteriously and said: "Machines are different from people. It is easy to see something. And if something goes wrong with the improved machine, it can only be arranged by me. After going back and forth, I can understand the use of these machines."
"Then I can have a general assessment of the operation of the salt plant."
"In the machine age, technology is very important."
"And I control the technology!"
"In addition, if the parts of the improved machine are damaged, you can only replace them with me. Of course it’s not that you can’t replace it yourself, it’s just that the factory in my hands is currently producing strictly according to standards, while the ones produced in other places may not be as standard.”
“My price/performance ratio is the best.” >
“In the end, all salt factories and parts in the world must obtain my approval for a period of time.”
Hua Lun and others were stunned.
They don’t know the secret.
I just felt a little scared.
A mere machine has so many ways. If Xia Zhibai hadn't mentioned it, they might not have even realized it. However, these people in the south regard these machines as money-making tools, but they don't know that they have been using them from the very beginning. Falling into Xia Zhibai's trap.
And he was trapped.
Then several people nodded secretly, there is no free lunch in the world.
These people in the south thought that they had easily deceived the blueprints of the steam engine, but little did they know that Xia Zhibai had deliberately released them. Just baiting them.
But to be fair, facing such great temptation and worry, I’m afraid everyone will fall for it.
They also make no exceptions.
It can only be said that Xia Zhibai calculated too shrewdly.
He is counting on people’s greed!
Xia Zhibai stood up, looked at the sky, and said: "The next step is to solve the problem of Zaohu, but before solving the problem of Zaohu, we need to establish our prestige first. No one can stand without trust. , the prestige of the local government has been lost. If you want Zaohu to trust the government, you have to put more effort into it."
Lian Zining said: "What are you going to do?"
Xia Zhibai said: "Of course I will do what I said. Let the engineer publicize the use of the machine, move it emotionally, explain it rationally, first comfort it, then explain the situation, and at the same time explain the pros and cons to the stove owner, and then Let them make their own choices.”
"Now that the Chief Secretary has relented, the Zaohu matter is actually not that difficult."
"As long as you can sit down, there is basically no big problem."
"After all."
“Things have reached this point, and they don’t trust the local government. They are unlikely to stay there and live in fear. Going north is actually a better way out, and the treatment they get from going north is Obviously better than the ones in the south.”
“It’s hard to move to your homeland,” Xie Min said.
Xia Zhibai nodded and said: "It is indeed difficult to move to the homeland, but there are circumstances."
"How many people can stay there if they are worried and frightened all day long? Wait until the Zaohu matter is resolved. , we may be able to set off back. This trip south is much smoother than I expected."
Lian Zining looked at Xia Zhibai with a serious face and said in a serious voice: "I. There is a question. Judging from the current situation, it is obvious that what happened in the south was caused by you. Even if you did not take the initiative, it must be inseparable from you. Why did you do this? "< br>
"What is your purpose?"
Xia Zhibai stood tall, letting his clothes flutter in the wind, and said lightly: "Do you really want to know?"
"Think."
"Then let me tell you." Xia Zhibai raised his head slightly and said: "The things in the south are not caused by me, but they do have something to do with me. It's just cause and effect. To me, it’s really unfair. I just revealed the true situation in the South.”
“The more the South makes excuses, struggles, and opposes, this shows their selfishness. The heavier it is.”
“I told your Majesty a long time ago”
“There is something wrong with the Ming Dynasty’s tax system and it must be changed, but your Majesty didn’t listen, and this time he took advantage of it. Going south, I asked His Majesty to open his eyes and take a look at the actual situation in the South. Of course, I am not the only one. Perhaps Duke Xin, Commander Jiang Yu and others are also acting as His Majesty's spies."
"No matter who it is, they will report the true situation in the south."
"The south is not so peaceful."
"On the contrary, there are too many evils hidden under the prosperity. "
"There are local officials, there are guards commanders, there are meritorious children, there are also landlords and bullies, etc. These are actually found in other places, and the worst thing in the south is that these interest groups have already A sign of unity, this is a very dangerous signal for the central court.”
“The south is the south of the Ming Dynasty”
"We must not turn it into a few places in the south to protect themselves."
"And to a certain extent, it also verifies what I said a long time ago."
"The emergence of the taxi class in the Ming Dynasty "It's a big problem."
"It's so big that it can shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, and even directly affect the Ming Dynasty's direct control of the world. The south needs a big problem. The purge will kill people and will also cause turmoil in many aspects, so I need to prove one thing to the world, that is, the south can quickly restore stability."
"Salt is a good example."
"The emergence of the steam engine did cause some troubles."
"But if you look at it now, are the troubles really big? As long as there is no problem with the supply of salt, do the local people really care?”
“No.”
“The local people are even happy to see the officials die.”
"Throughout the ages, many people say that the people are stupid people."
"This sentence seems reasonable at first glance."
"Because the people don't know so much about right and wrong, as long as the people they kill If you have a higher status than them, they clapped their hands and praised me, and they were secretly happy. If your Majesty kills me today, the people in the world will also cheer when they hear about it. When your Majesty kills you tomorrow, the local people will also cheer. "
< br>“Appeasing the people has never been a problem.”
“The real problem has always been the merchants, gentry, and officials who mobilized people.”
"They have enough power to stir up a big farce."
"But these people are not monolithic."
"As long as they can be differentiated and dismantled, big problems can also be made small. ”
“With the application of steam engines, the power of local forces and the number of people they can coerce will only become smaller and smaller, and it will become easier and easier for the court to return to normal.”
“And now the local forces are retreating.”
"They are cowardly!"
(End of this chapter)