Ming Zuo

Chapter 786 Economic War?
The Qinhuai River in Nanjing is famous all over the world, and the Little Qinhuai River in Yangzhou is no different.

Compared with the smell of fat and powder on both sides of the Qinhuai River, the only thing that people can feel in the Little Qinhuai River in Yangzhou is the smell of money.

Here, mansions are like clouds, and gold and silver are everywhere.

It is the granite for paving the road. If you dig out a random piece, it is enough for ordinary people to live for a year.

In a magnificent courtyard with carved beams and painted buildings, a big drama is being staged.

A few actors on the stage were babbling, singing like an oriole, which was intoxicating.

And the most eye-catching thing is that the headdresses of these actors are studded with gold and silver jewels, and the costumes on their bodies are also sewn with gold threads.

The sitting and beating team next to them played golden suonas and golden drumsticks.

Looking around, there is nowhere that is not dazzling, and nowhere is not amazing.

Under the seats in front of the stage, several middle-aged men sat in a group. The table in front of them was full of delicacies, water and land, which did not allow them to feast on it, as if it was commonplace.

But in Yangzhou, no one knows these people, no one knows them.

"What is the boundary of Yangzhou? When a dragon comes, you have to coil up, and when a tiger comes, you have to lie down. He can kill and set fire in Shandong, but if he wants Yangzhou to be safe and sound, he has to listen to us."

The one in the middle was domineering and domineering when he spoke.

Just by looking at the gemstone rings the size of a bull's eye on all ten of his fingers, one can tell that this man is poor and only has money left.

But the people around him echoed his words.

"Lianghuai, Nanzhili, Huguang, Henan, all the salt has to go through our hands. Without us, I don't know how many people will not be able to eat salt. I wonder when Li Mengan will turn around?"

The person on the left side is holding something in his hand, turning it over and over at will. It is the invitation card sent by Li Banghua.

After finishing speaking, he raised his hand casually, and the invitation flew across the air, and finally landed in the incense burner.

Soon, the hot candles burned up the invitations.

"Let's just wait until Li Mengan comes to beg us. Otherwise, this Yangzhou city... will never stop."

The invitation was sent out, but there was no news.

Inside the magistrate's yamen, Li Banghua, Wang Yun, and Qu Shi were really furious.

Now Shandong is sweeping all directions and Liuhe, and no one is invincible.These high-level people are even more powerful. I can't remember how long it has been since no one dared to give them face.

This time, the mere merchants were invited to negotiate, but they were ignored.

"The commander-in-chief is right. Businessmen can succeed, but they must be controlled. Otherwise, these bastards are just examples. Meng Angong, give the order. Send troops over there, and they will obey."

Seeing Wang Yun yelling for beating and killing, Li Banghua was terrified.

"This is not a battlefield, so don't act recklessly. Otherwise, one hair will affect the whole body, and the overall situation will collapse, and the reputation of our Shandong will be ruined, and there will be endless troubles."

Li Banghua disagreed, and Qu Shi was also somewhat entangled.

"Do you know why these merchants are stubbornly resisting? It stands to reason that Shandong promotes commerce and treats merchants kindly. These people should be on our side."

None of the three had an answer to this question.

Li Banghua racked his brains and finally came up with a solution.

"Since these businessmen want to show off their skills, we have to show our skills. If they don't open their doors for business, then we will do it. The truth is that we plan to mobilize materials from Shandong and specialize in business operations to ensure market stability. At that time, we only need to lower prices. They will definitely bow their heads."

Qu Shi and Wang Yun understood that Li Banghua was planning to start an economic war with Yangzhou businessmen.

Obviously, after this battle, which side wins will completely control Yangzhou's discourse power.

Regarding Li Banghua's approach, Qu Shi and Wang Yun have different ideas.

Qu Shi sided with Li Banghua, thinking that economic means must be used to deal with the economic crisis.Only in this way can we ensure the event and at the same time demonstrate Shandong's ability.

Although Wang Yun disagreed, the minority obeyed the majority, and he could only reserve his own opinion.

But after going back, Wang Yun thought about it, and quickly wrote a letter and handed it to his secretary.

"Immediately send this letter to the commander-in-chief without any delay, otherwise there will be chaos in Yangzhou."

Zuo Menggeng received Wang Yun's report three days later.

And within these three days, Li Banghua had already started to act, ordering Shandong to prepare materials to be shipped to Yangzhou.

Just because of the long distance, his order has not yet reached Shandong.It must take a long time to go back and forth and prepare the materials.

In just three days, the prices in Yangzhou City rose thirty times in a row like a rocket.

Ordinary people are miserable, and many families have run out of food.

On the canal outside the city, boats traveling from south to north even blocked the canal.

But because the trackers could not be found, the people who used to manage the river have disappeared, and it is impossible to guide them.

Yangzhou City has reached the most critical moment.

During this period of time, Li Banghua summoned Yangzhou businessmen several times in a row to discuss, but these arrogant Yangzhou businessmen all avoided seeing them.

They felt that they had already won the game.

After another three days, Zuo Menggeng arrived when the turmoil in the city continued and gradually showed signs of getting out of hand.

"Meng Angong's response, if the regime is stable, will be foolproof. As the saying goes, making a fuss within the rules and regulations is Meng Angong's forte. It's just that Yangzhou has first occupied, and countless people are waiting to see and find out our confidence. At a time like this, if you go for the bottom line, you will destroy the Great Wall.”

As soon as he came up, Zuo Menggeng vetoed Li Banghua's approach.

He also made it very clear.

Li Banghua's approach is definitely the best choice if it is in a period of stable dynasty.

Because when the dynasty is stable, all kinds of rules have been finalized, and everyone from top to bottom needs to act within the rules.

Li Banghua has been an official in Daming for many years, and he has long been used to tossing around in the rules and regulations.So when he encountered a problem this time, the way he thought of was still the same.

But Zuo Menggeng saw through the essence at a glance.

Yangzhou is a newly occupied land, the people's hearts are not attached, and the businessmen here are extremely powerful, holding a huge amount of wealth in their hands.

To put it bluntly, although there were officials appointed by the imperial court in Yangzhou before, it was these wealthy businessmen who really had the final say here.

Now Shandong has expelled the imperial court system, who will have the right to speak in Yangzhou in the future, there will inevitably be some competition.

This time, the Yangzhou businessmen did it to show their strength, and they committed crimes if they wanted to force Shandong, so that Yangzhou would still be their Yangzhou.

It's not that Li Banghua couldn't see their purpose clearly, but he took a relatively safe approach based on experience.

But Zuo Menggeng is a magical weapon to change the world, how can anyone challenge Shandong's authority.

He decided to use these bold Yangzhou businessmen to teach a good lesson to all the ambitious people in the world.

(End of this chapter)