The infinite heavens start from the red building

Chapter 99 4.6 Zhenguo Nanzong's new source of income
Chapter 4

4.6 Zhenguo Nanzong, new source of wealth

Personnel resettlement, house renovation, furniture purchase, servants' replenishment, construction of manors outside the city, and government-related procedures, even though Cao Yunqi and Zhou Yunyang have been busy for almost two months, there are still many things that have not been completed.

By the time it was completely tidied up, nearly half a month had passed, and it was only a few days before the Spring Festival of Yongzheng's tenth year.

"I have heard the name of the second son of the Wei family for a long time. My old man's ears are almost getting callused. When I saw it today, he is indeed young and promising. As the saying goes, there is nothing worthless under the famous name!" Niu Jixun, the Patriarch of the Southern Sect of the Duke's Mansion, greeted him warmly.

"Haha, Mr. Niu praised you absurdly. My nephew is often taken care of by Uncle Niu in the capital. I heard about the name of the Duke of Zhen Guo's Mansion when I first arrived in Jinling. I am lucky to meet you today!" no stranger.

Niu Jixun's current position is the commander of Jinling Guards. Unfortunately, the entire army in the south of the Yangtze River has long been corrupted. He doesn't have much strength now, but considering the inheritance of the Jingcheng Guogong, his voice in Jinling is actually not low.

In fact, it is not just the government of Zhen Guo, the four kings and eight princes are divided into two branches, the north and the south, and each family has an old house in Jinling, including the Ningrong Second Mansion, and the power of the nobles in Jinling is even greater.

This is because the capital city is the land of the emperor after all, no matter what kind of power it is, it is impossible to surpass the royal family, it can only develop secretly, and if it goes too far, it may be suppressed.

But Jinling is not. No one here can have a higher status than these founding nobles. Even if Jiangnan has always had a prosperous literary style, the strength of Confucianism is much worse than these centuries-old nobles.

Coupled with the so-called "Tirenyuan" Zhen family sent by the Supreme Emperor when he was still in power, now the entire affluent Jiangnan is the base of the noble line, even if the royal family wants to intervene, it is actually difficult.

Originally, the Zhen family was arranged here, and the main purpose was actually that the royal family wanted a piece of the pie here. After all, the internal treasury also needed money. Unfortunately, the Zhen family has long regarded this place as their foundation after decades of existence.

What's more, the Zhen family also stood in line with Prince Yizhong back then, and in order to show their sincerity, they even married the eldest daughter to Prince Yizhong as his concubine, and even acquiesced in the fact that the second daughter "worked together as a husband".

No one expected that Prince Yizhong would be defeated. In order to stabilize Jiangnan, Emperor Yongzheng, who had just ascended the throne, specially recruited Zhen'e, who had long been inseparable with King Yizhong, into the palace in the name of "draft". Shi.

The problem was that it was no secret that the Zhen family stood in line back then. Even if Emperor Yongzheng accepted Zhen E as his concubine, no one thought that this cold-hearted emperor would let the Zhen family go.

This is also the fundamental reason why the Zhen family still strongly supports Yizhong County King under the current situation. They have already boarded the thief ship and really can't get off, not to mention that the opponent has made it clear that they don't want to let it go, so they can only gamble.

Although the Zhen family and Wu Xun do not belong to the same system, the situations faced by both sides are roughly the same, and they can barely be regarded as a family, which makes everyone able to cooperate so closely.

"My lord, since you can call Jizong Uncle, is it possible that you still see yourself when you come to my place?" Niu Jixun said with an expression of "I'm very angry".

"Since that's the case, my nephew has climbed high. I've seen Uncle Niu!" "Very skilled.

After a good exchange of hello, me, everyone, more than ten minutes passed, and the two sides finally started to get down to business.

"Nephew, I also know the purpose of your visit from the capital city. Your talent and learning should not be a problem for mere fame, and we will help you when the time comes, so I won't ask any more questions.

But Jizong also said that it is not a problem that you want to officially enter the army after the Zhongju, but I just want to ask, do you have a specific plan now? " Niu Jixun asked directly.

"It's not really a plan, it's just an idea. My nephew's idea is to find a position around Jinling where he can decide after next year's middle school exam, so as to cultivate some useful people.

Uncle must have heard that my nephew has made some useful gadgets in private, and if necessary, I can send some here now, but I haven't settled it yet, and now I only have the old stock in hand. "

"Yes, there just happens to be a suitable place now, Jiangdongmen Qianhusuo, which was also an important garrison point in Jinling, the former capital, in the Ming Dynasty, but it has long been abandoned in this dynasty, and only the name is kept.

Today, the military camp is still there, but there are only a dozen old soldiers guarding it. The nominal thousand households are actually in the capital, and no one has been in office for more than ten years. I don't know who is in charge now.However, even if there are any loose ends, they should be taken care of after next autumn. If you are willing, you can take office at the end of next year, and you will have to solve the rest by yourself. Niu Jixun said happily.

"Thank you, Uncle Niu, for taking care of me!" These are the achievements of Wei Xu's hard work for more than a year, and what he said is very straightforward. Once he takes office, his credit will be exhausted.

It can also be seen from here that Niu Jixun is actually handing over Wei Xu on behalf of the Xungui Group. This is also the reason why Wei Xu's first family came here. Niu Jizong specifically explained it when he left the capital.

In the future, if he still wants to divert resources, he will have to perform more prominently. Wei Xu is actually not worried about this at all. He has not even implemented [-]% of the technology he obtained in the world of "Biochemical".

"One more point, when you came here, you mentioned that you want us to provide shelter for the Xue family, but the price is to let them hand over the sea trade business, so that everyone gets what they need.

The problem is that the Xue family's sea trade has not actually declined much, and its overall strength is still very strong, second only to the Zhen family in Jiangnan. This is because the Zhen family has a higher status. In terms of pure strength, the Xue family is actually stronger.

But the most important thing is that the maritime trade business is not in the hands of Mr. Xue's family, but "Niu Jizong explained the difficulty of the problem in a few words.

"The second wife of the Xue family, the younger brother of the late Xue Xun, the head of the Xue family in Jinling, is in the hands of Xue Tu!" Wei Xu interrupted Niu Jixun, covering his face with his hands in pain, remembering the biggest mistake he made.

In the original book, Xue Baochai's cousin Xue Baoqin appeared relatively late, but she showed a strength that did not belong to any other sisters. The most important thing is that she made it clear that she once traveled to various countries with her family's caravan.

Wei Xu's plan was correct, and there was nothing wrong with the general direction, but he ignored a serious detail, that is, the Xue family is not a certain person or a certain family, but a big family, and there is also a division of labor inside.

The reason why Xue Tu, the second master of the Xue family, fully supported Mrs. Xue's continued power, was that the sea trade business that Erfang was in charge of had no commercial network within the Dashun Dynasty, and had to rely on Dafang to guarantee the final sale.

The two parties have been cooperating for decades. Xue Xun and Xue Tu brothers have divided labor in this way since they were young, and they have already formed a complete division of interests. Mrs. Xue has also clearly admitted this point, and is even willing to let some benefits come out.

This is the root cause of the close unity between the first and second families of the Xue family, that is, the two parties have huge common interests and are completely inseparable. As for the so-called "family relationship", it is the benevolent see benevolence and the wise see wisdom.

In this way, the idea of ​​letting Xue's family give up the sea trade business cannot be implemented at all, because the eldest family of Xue's family can't do it at all, and the second room has no possibility of agreeing at all, and the plan has failed.

"It's okay, after Jizong knows about this, let me tell you not to worry, he believes in your ability and that you can solve it." Niu Jixun said with a smile.

This made Wei Xu even more distressed, because the two had already discussed the matter of "remuneration" just now, but Wei Xu's original guarantee was invalidated, so the hole must be filled as soon as possible.

Because Niu Jixun also mentioned just now that if Wei Xu passes the Juren examination next year, he will be able to take up the post of Jiangdongmen Thousand Households at the end of the year—if he is unable to make up the hole.
"Then we have to change the direction." Originally, this was the source of income that Wei Xu left for himself, but now he can only hand it over first, and find a way to get a foothold before talking about it, "The Xue family should also have a salt business, right? "

"Although they can't keep up with the eight largest salt merchants in Lianghuai, they are also second only to the Zhen family in Jinling. At their peak, their annual turnover was no less than one million taels." Niu Jixun nodded.

"The meaning of 'peak period' just now is that it can't be done now?" Wei Xu grasped the point instantly. In fact, he thought about it. After Xue Xun's death, the Xue family has no successors, so don't blame outsiders for erosion.

"That's right. Now this salt road is all managed by a group of old people. However, the Xue family did not find a backer after Xue Xun's death. In the past three years, it has been declining day by day, and most of the salt road has been lost." Niu Jixun's answer was more straightforward.

"That's easy to say." Wei Xu breathed a sigh of relief, "My nephew doesn't dare to say anything else, but he still has a bit of force, and I will arrange for Cao Yunqi to take over this business.

But the most important thing is that my nephew has mastered the "salt drying" technology that is much more advanced than the current "boiling salt", which can easily reduce the cost by up to [-]%! "

"What?" Niu Jixun was shocked.

(End of this chapter)