Ming Zuo

Chapter 787 Those who obey me prosper and those who oppose me die
Hearing that Zuo Menggeng interpreted the Yangzhou incident from another angle, Li Banghua was greatly shocked.

This is an aspect he has never set foot in, and it also has a great conflict with his acting style.

But Li Banghua did not have any resistance.

He also knows that he is now in a brand new regime, and this regime is flourishing and positive, and everything is new.

If the new regime wants to replace the old forces and rule the world, it is obviously not just about talking well.

"Will someone die?"

Zuo Menggeng smiled.

"Jianghu gangs will see blood if they grab a territory, not to mention we want to fight for the world. If we don't wash it with blood, the world will not be clean."

Li Banghua nodded silently, but he didn't find it unacceptable.

As a big official, he has experienced countless ups and downs in his life, and he is not lacking in decisiveness.

Now being taught by Zuo Menggeng, he has opened up again, and he has become more mature politician obviously.

"The old man will wait and see what Zhongheng does."

Zuo Menggeng did not disappoint him, nor did he wait too long.

Zheng Jiada is back.

He arrived in Yangzhou earlier than Zuo Menggeng, and also completed the task assigned by Zuo Menggeng.

"Guo Qi, the former magistrate of Yangzhou, was from Shanxi, and he had a close relationship with Shanxi businessmen in Yangzhou. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, Huizhou merchants and Qin and Jin merchants had a quarrel because of the dispute over their school status. Because of Guo Qi's cover, Huizhou merchants suffered. It’s a big loss. This time when we captured Yangzhou and Guo Qi died, these Qin and Jin merchants became hostile to us. At the same time, they did these things in order to gain the right to speak in Yangzhou.”

There is no doubt about the power of the Ministry of Intelligence.

Yangzhou has been in business for many years, and you can get any information you want at any time.

No, as soon as Zheng Jiada made a move, he lifted the fog of chaos.

Only then did Li Banghua, Qu Shi, and Wang Yun learn why the merchants in Yangzhou had trouble with them.

"Commander, why don't you take action immediately and wipe out all these ghosts and ghosts, and see who dares to fight against us?"

Wang Yun has a hot temper and has already thought of the most violent method.

Zuo Menggeng waved his hand, signaling him to stay calm.

"Although these merchants are wealthy, they are easily wiped out under our force. But it is easy to eliminate them. How to restore the prosperity of Yangzhou is the key point. If these merchants are eradicated, what will happen to Yangzhou's economy?"

Seeing that Zuo Menggeng considered this, Li Banghua was extremely pleased.

"The reason why the old man is walking on thin ice is precisely because of these concerns. I don't know what tricks Zhongheng has?"

Zuo Menggeng had already thought of the solution.

"There are not only merchants from the Qin and Jin Dynasties in Yangzhou City, but also merchants from Huizhou. In this case, we will fight against each other. Some people will eat sticks and some will eat sweet dates. I believe it will be as we wish."

During the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in order to cope with the Northern Expedition and consolidate the frontier, Zhu Yuanzhang implemented the policy of "opening the middle with salt".

Private merchants are allowed to send grain to the frontier areas in exchange for a salt distribution license - Yanyin.

Because of this policy, businessmen in the Qin and Jin Dynasties benefited first and became the biggest beneficiaries.

The local area of ​​Shaanxi is a big granary, so it is very convenient for merchants in Shaanxi to purchase grain locally and send it to Jiubian.

However, Shanxi was short of grain, so merchants from Shanxi went to Shandong to buy grain, and then transported it to Jiubian in exchange for salt.

Merchants in the Qin and Jin Dynasties went south to Yangzhou after getting Yanyin, and they could extract table salt with Yanyin, in exchange for huge profits.

Since then, merchants from the Qin and Jin Dynasties have settled down in Yangzhou, gradually taking control of the salt industry in Lianghuai with their capital.

However, the harm of monopoly can also be seen by the imperial court.

In the fifth year of Hongzhi, when Ye Qi, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, took office, he changed the Kaizhong method to the Zheshi method.

Merchants no longer have to transport grain to the border for thousands of miles, but can buy salt with silver, that is, to obtain permission to sell salt.

This move broke the monopoly of Qin and Jin merchants on the salt industry in one fell swoop.

Because Ye Qi is from Huai'an, there is obviously the shadow of Huizhou merchants behind him.

With the change of policy, Huizhou merchants began to enter Yangzhou on a large scale, and competed directly with merchants from Qin and Jin Dynasties.

Qin and Jin merchants started early and took the first-mover advantage. With their strong capital, they repeatedly gained the upper hand in Yangzhou.

Moreover, Qin and Jin officials emerged in endlessly in the court, which provided them with great help.

For example, Guo Qi, the magistrate of Yangzhou, has repeatedly shielded Qin and Jin merchants, and oppressed Huizhou merchants.

With Guo Qi's death at the hands of the new army, Yangzhou fell into the hands of Shandong, and Qin and Jin merchants lost their asylum. Obviously, they could only take drastic measures to safeguard their established interests.

Zuo Menggeng could see clearly.

Under such a difficult situation, Huizhou merchants must be happy to see Qin and Jin merchants collapse.

They must have also made preparations, waiting to take over after the death of the Qin and Jin merchants, leaving a vacancy.

That being the case, Huizhou merchants can take advantage of it.

But the benefits cannot be given too easily, otherwise, today's Qin and Jin merchants will be tomorrow's Huizhou merchants.

In the city of Yangzhou, the two merchant gangs are clearly separated.

The Shanshan Guild Hall, the headquarters of Qin and Jin merchants, was in Dongguan Old Street, Dadongmen, close to the canal, while Huizhou merchants’ guild halls were clustered around Xiaodongmen.

On this day, a stern-faced young man walked into the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall with an equally taciturn girl.

"Mr. Cheng, those Shanxi people are going to die. Do you Anhui businessmen want to follow in their footsteps?"

Facing Cheng Jingshu, the leader of Huizhou merchants, the young man's tone was murderous.

"Who is your Excellency? Don't even look at this place, how can you allow you to come here to be presumptuous?"

Cheng Jingshu didn't speak, but the rest of Huizhou merchants were furious.

A mere plain-looking young man with a maid actually dared to come to the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall to show off his might.

I really don't care about these people.

Facing the turbulent crowd, the young man remained as steady as Mount Tai without changing his face.

He raised a hand, and the girl standing behind handed it over.

When he opened his mouth to chew, everyone could see clearly that it was a steamed bun.

It looked ordinary and tough, but the young man ate it with relish, as if it was some kind of supreme delicacy.

"My humble Prosecutor General Huang Zonghui of Shandong, was ordered by the Commander-in-Chief to come here to stabilize the place and clean up the lawlessness. Yangzhou is chaotic, very chaotic. To bring order to the chaos, you need to kill evil spirits and wash the ground with blood. head?"

The cold wind swept over, and everyone shrank in the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall.

No one thought that Shandong's first knife was actually aimed at Huizhou merchants.

Obviously, it was the Qin and Jin merchants who caused the trouble.

Someone was unconvinced and attacked the case.

"We have always operated in accordance with the law. The chaos has nothing to do with me. You have found the wrong person. Get out!"

Before the words fell, the wind was like electricity.

When everyone looked again, they saw a steel crossbow sticking out of the man's chest.

This person leaned back and fell into the chair, his mouth kept hecking, and his breath became weaker and weaker as the blood gushed out.

A fresh human life was ended in such a way that scared all the Huizhou merchants to lose their courage.

Huang Zonghui finally finished his bun, as if nothing happened.

"Now Yangzhou is the world of my Shandong. Those who follow me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish. Everyone, I wonder if we can open for business tomorrow?"

(End of this chapter)