East Factory Governor

Chapter 296 Sea ban and smuggling

The fire was lit, and the flames shot up to the height of a person.

Hua Chen found some dead vines and a thick wooden stick, saying that he wanted to tie Zheng Zhidong to the stick and roast it like a suckling pig.

Zheng Zhidong thought that Qin Shuhuai and the others could really do it, because since they could easily rush out of the heavily guarded yamen, they would definitely not be afraid of the officers and soldiers.Ordinary gangsters would still be afraid of murder, but the martial arts of these three people are unfathomable, so how could they put the government in their eyes?

Old and cunning, he couldn't bear it anymore.

He hurriedly shouted, "Good man, good man, I didn't say I didn't want to say it, I just remembered it, just remembered it!"

Qin Shuhuai laughed sinisterly, "Remember? Then have you recalled well? Let me tell you, my patience is very limited."

Zheng Zhidong nodded hurriedly, "The memory is over, the memory is over!"

"Okay, let's talk about it, I hope your memories are not too outrageous, or my patience will really run out."

"No, no, I promise to tell the truth. That Mr. Zhao, he used to do overseas business in Ningbo Mansion. Although his business is not big, he is quite well-known."

When Qin Shuhuai heard "foreign business", he was slightly startled, and thought, isn't overseas business just foreign trade?

The Ming Dynasty began to implement the sea ban policy since the Hongwu period, and it was absolutely impossible for ordinary merchants to participate in foreign trade.Although there were periods of slack during the period, such as the opening and closing during the Longqing period, the sea ban was strengthened again during the Jiajing period, and the Ming Dynasty almost cut off trade with the outside world.In the Chongzhen Dynasty, except for the big pirates in Fujian, there was almost no non-governmental foreign trade.

After Chongzhen ascended the throne, although he intended to reopen the sea ban to increase income, he was unanimously opposed by the Donglin Party members, so the lifting of the ban had to be abandoned.

From Qin Shuhuai's point of view, the opening up of trade with each other is naturally very good for the Ming Dynasty.At that time, the Ming Dynasty was the country with the richest products in the world. As long as the sea ban was lifted, a large amount of global silver would inevitably flow into the Ming Dynasty.In addition, if the sea ban is lifted, the Ming Dynasty will be able to look at the world, so that it will not be eliminated by the world in the next wave of industrial revolution. Maybe this can avoid a long history of humiliation.

But now is not the time to discuss whether the sea ban is good or not, but under the strict sea ban policy of the imperial court, how does Mr. Zhao open up various relationships for foreign trade?To put it bluntly, this is called "foreign business", but to put it realistically, it is smuggling!And if you want to smuggle, it is absolutely impossible not to bribe officials at all levels.

Qin Shuhuai knew with his toes that there must be many officials at all levels along the southeast coast secretly engaged in smuggling activities with unscrupulous businessmen.And based on his intuition, he thought that the Donglin Party must have something to do with it!

why?Because all scholars in the world are Donglin!Nowadays, more than [-]% of the officials in the Ming Dynasty belong to the Donglin Party. How can such a big matter of smuggling be carried out without the participation and acquiescence of the Donglin Party?
In other words, the Donglin party members first prevented Chongzhen from opening the sea ban, and then quietly supported a group of smuggling businessmen in private, allowing them to monopolize the smuggling trade across the country!
Why are they doing this?First, in this way, there are only a few oligarchs who smuggle across the country, because it is easy to control because there are few people. It can be said that as long as these oligarchs are controlled, the Donglin Party will control the entire "customs" of Ming Dynasty in disguise.Second, the customs tax during the lifting of the ban in the Ming Dynasty was extremely high. According to the usual practice, it was worth ten to five, that is, a 50% tariff was charged, but if it was directly smuggled, you would not have to pay a penny!
The Donglin Party really has a good plan!They would rather let Chongzhen clink with poverty, but also feed themselves first!That's right, otherwise, how can those Donglin Party members who are known as "Qingliu" enjoy life?For example, Qian Qianyi, known as the Qingliu among the Qingliu, has not been an official for many years and has not received a salary. After getting to know the famous prostitute Liu Rushi, he was able to spend a lot of money to build "Jiangyun Tower" and "Red Bean House". A mansion was given to Liu Rushi, where did the money come from?

Qin Shuhuai was angry and excited at the thought of this.He was angry that the bottom line of these Donglin Party members was so low that he had completely exceeded his imagination, and he was excited that he found the black material of Donglin Party members again.

There is no doubt that this is another big nest case!If this case can be investigated clearly, not only can it be beaten softly, but it will also be expected to blacken the Donglin Party in the future.The Donglin party members first suggested the Chongzhen sea ban, and then privately engaged in smuggling. If such a hypocritical, cunning and deceitful thing is announced, it will definitely deal a heavy blow to their reputation.Now I have accumulated several pieces of black materials about the Donglin Party. With these things, as soon as the time comes, I can launch a powerful public opinion offensive. If I don't make the Donglin Party bad, I will lose!
Thinking of this, he said to Zheng Zhidong again, "Master Zheng, you said that Mr. Zhao is engaged in overseas business. I have heard about this too. The imperial court is now banning the sea, so Mr. Zhao must clear up a lot of connections if he wants to do this business?"

Zheng Zhidong said, "You're right. To do this business, it is necessary to clear it up and down. However, he is doing business in Ningbo Prefecture, and we are in Yangzhou Prefecture. I don't know exactly how he cleared it up. You can see if this is the case. reason?"

Qin Shuhuai nodded, "That's true, after all, it's so far away, you can't reach it."

Zheng Zhidong breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly said, "Yes, yes, it's out of reach, out of reach!"

Qin Shuhuai suddenly changed, and said again, "But since it's out of reach, why do you help hide the real culprit? Who did the Zhao family's massacre, I think you know all about it, right?"

Zheng Zhidong was startled, and hurriedly said, "No, no, no, we really don't know! I did meritorious service and was eager to close the case, so I wronged you. This is my fault. But who is behind this tragedy, I am I really don't know!"

"I don't know?" Qin Shuhuai sneered, "If you were just eager to do meritorious service, then you would also bring those men in black who were killed by us to justice, but now you don't mention a word and quietly remove them from the file." You said, you are not wiping the ass of the mastermind behind the scenes, what is it?"

"This……."

"Zheng Zhidong!" Qin Shuhuai yelled angrily, "Did you fucking treat me like a three-year-old? Old Hua, don't mess with him, burn his hand first!"

Hua Chen chuckled, "Okay, I've gotten impatient for a long time!"

After speaking, he grabbed Zheng Zhidong's hand and roasted it on the fire.

Zheng Zhidong struggled desperately, screamed and begged for mercy, but Qin Shuhuai was unmoved at all.

Within a few seconds, a burning smell spread out, and Zheng Zhidong's hand suddenly had countless blisters, which was extremely terrifying.

"I said it, I said it all!" Zheng Zhidong shouted, scratching his neck.

Hua Chen was very shrewd, knowing that if Zheng Zhidong's hands were really scorched, he would definitely not survive tonight, seeing that his hands were already covered with blisters, he loosened his hands on purpose, pretending that Zheng Zhidong broke free.

Zheng Zhidong was in so much pain that he rolled and cried crazily on the ground, tears and snot coming down his nose.

Qin Shuhuai said angrily, "Old Hua, haven't you eaten? Can't even hold your hand?"

"A moment of carelessness, a moment of carelessness! Otherwise, I'll just throw him in the whole thing?"

"Throw it all in? That's not cheap for him! This is just the beginning, come a little bit, anyway, there is plenty of time!"

After listening to the conversation between Hua Shen and Qin Shuhuai, Zheng Zhidong's psychological defense completely collapsed.

Weeping bitterly, he said, "Masters, I was wrong, I was really wrong! Please give me another chance, and I will tell you everything I know! There will be no false words, if there is another Fake, you don't need to do it, I will jump into the firepower myself!"

(End of this chapter)