Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 235 Chapter 4.31 Your Majesty is ready to take action on the salt affairs
Volume Four

4.31 His Majesty is ready to take action on the salt affairs
The canal in August coincides with the golden autumn, with sparkling waves and clear skies. The lingering heat has slowly subsided, at least it is no longer unacceptable; a ship that looks quite "maverick" The cruise ship is docked at the largest berth on the pier. Even if it has been a few days, it can still attract all kinds of eyes.

It is about ten feet long and less than two feet wide. The mainmast stands proudly, and there are auxiliary masts at the front and rear, making it easy to take advantage of the wind in various directions. There are two floors above the deck, and there are sailors on the front and rear decks, which is different from what is common on canals in this era. A sloop, this cruise ship is unique in both size and shape - of course, there is also an ordinary cargo ship to transport sundries.

"Master Zhou really knows how to enjoy it." As soon as they arrived on the second floor of the cruise ship, they saw Princess Yongchang sitting casually on the couch with a satisfied look on her face, "Is this the new speedboat from the second room of the Xue family? Can it run? Not to mention how fast it is, at least the interior decoration is very appetizing, I also want one, Master Zhou will not have any objection?"

"Yes!" Zhou Yang retorted angrily, and waved his hand to signal the Zhao sisters, Qingwen and Dongfang Bing who were standing nervously next to them to go out. Then he closed the room door, sat down next to the princess and hugged her, saying, "I don't know why Your Highness has such an elegant intention to board the ship, but you plan to go to Daye for a day or two with the last general?"

Yes, Princess Yongchang and Dongfang Bing also boarded the cruise ship. It turned out that Zhou Yang was very busy these days to explain clearly the matters in the capital. Even Sanchun's place was specially left to explain to Li Wan and let her take care of it as appropriate. Of course, there are also Her Royal Highness the Princess and Master Qianhu were not missing, but it was not until before boarding the ship that he received the report from Li Xiong who was flying down the ship. These two important figures had already boarded the ship.

"Stingy man!" Princess Yongchang rolled her eyes at him, but still talked about him. "You must pass through Jinling when you go south this time, right? According to the court's practice, you must take office before the end of August, and you have already moved ahead of schedule. Arrange for someone to go and visit the front station, and you will have at least ten days to play in the middle. Why don't you go and see your little lover?"

"That's natural!" Zhou Yang didn't bother to hide this. He hadn't seen Xue Baochai for some days, and of course Wang Shuying was definitely going to stay in Jinling. He had even sent someone to deliver a letter, but this didn't stop him from continuing to insult people. "But I don't know that the censor of Yongchang wants to impeach him with a few words, saying that he will abolish the public affairs for private purposes?"

"Okay, I said it's okay, right?" Princess Yongchang was also disinterested by someone's yin and yang, so she had to turn to the topic, "I remember that the Xue family's snow brand was originally divided into two places, Jiangnan and North. Now it is controlled by you and the second wife of the Xue family respectively; but there is another part that has not been taken care of yet. I want it, so I will give you a price."

These words made Zhou Yang silent.

Xuezihao is indeed divided into two parts, the north and the south, but a business cannot be cut into two parts like cutting a watermelon. There must be a means of communication in the middle; in the entire feudal society, the north-south connection after the Sui Dynasty basically relied on the Grand Canal, and Xuezihao is where Facades were set up in many places along the canal - these places have not yet been sorted out.

In fact, there are not many Xuezihao industries along the canal. There are only a dozen or so in total, most of which are just used as footholds when necessary; there are only three that can really be called semicolons, located in Linqing, Xuzhou and Zhenjiang and Hangzhou are considered subordinates of the Jiangnan Branch, but Yangzhou has not arranged a semicolon due to special circumstances.

Since Xue Tu was assassinated and Xue Zihao was "divided between the north and the south", Zhou Yang and Xue Xun each sorted out the territory in their hands, but they both had a tacit understanding not to touch anywhere along the canal. On the one hand, because Xue Zihao has now completely changed its maritime transportation, the canal's The function is basically gone; on the other hand, because the water along the canal is too deep, it is actually difficult to say where these so-called "semicolons" belong.

Therefore, in the past two years, except for a few "profit handovers", Zhou Yang and Xue Xun have ignored these places and left everything to their own arrangement. But now, judging from Princess Yongchang's intentions, there may be something difficult to handle here. s things.

"If possible, can you please explain it to Your Highness the Princess?" Zhou Yang thought for a while and decided to ask clearly, "Of course, if Your Highness wants it, there is no need to mention the price, just take it as you like."

"Clever!" Princess Yongchang nodded with a smile, indicating that she recognized his statement, "I remember telling you that the power in my hands now covers the northern region, and it doesn't have much influence on Jiangnan."

"Princess, you have to think clearly. If the intelligence network in your hand really covers the whole Zhou Dynasty and is accessible to the whole world, I'm afraid your Majesty will..." Zhou Yang interrupted her worriedly.

"Of course I know this." Princess Yongchang did not deny it, "But even if you don't need it, you should have heard of the benefits of the canal. It is completely a flowing golden river. I don't want to interfere in it. But I wanted to leave some means in case anything happened, but I couldn't receive any news.

I don’t take what you have for nothing. These days, your little lover from the Central Plains Escort Bureau is working very hard. I guess it’s to keep some eyes in Beijing and deliver some necessary news, right?No need to go to such trouble. If you want to know anything in the future, just send someone to Bing'er. You don't dare to use this palace. You should trust your own woman, right? "Thank you, princess!" "Zhou Yang was silent for a moment, then nodded his thanks.

He has never asked Princess Yongchang to "share information". The fundamental reason is that the strength of the two parties is completely unequal. It is not that he is worried about being plotted, nor is it "a favor that is hard to return", but that he feels it is unnecessary, given his current status. Said, in fact, there is no need for too deep or too high-end news.

Under normal circumstances, there is enough information on the market, which can be obtained by Zhao Qiying's means; if he gets too high-end things, it will be useless, and he cannot expect a fifth-grade Qianhu to intervene in court affairs; after comparing the two sides, Zhou Yang chose Abandoned Princess Yongchang's intelligence network.

However, now that he has said it, if he wants to refuse again, he will be in vain. Anyway, it is his woman's things, so you can use them as long as you use them. It doesn't matter if you owe a favor, you can just pay it back when necessary; If he really refuses, it will definitely leave a rift between the two parties.

"Since you have given me a salt road, you must also know how corrupt the salt policy in Jiangnan has been, right?" Princess Yongchang looked at Zhou Yang and said, and only continued after he nodded, "The great Zhou Dynasty used the south to rule the north. During the Taizong period, Jiangnan salt tax collection was the most comprehensive, with the peak amount exceeding 500 million taels.

Now a mere hundred years have passed, and the world's population has more than doubled. It stands to reason that people must eat salt to survive. Since sales have increased, the salt tax should also increase, right?However, today's salt tax revenue is only a little over 300 million taels left. You can probably guess how much money has been eaten by those moths. "

"So, Your Majesty is ready to take action on the salt affairs?" Zhou Yang frowned, remembering Lin Ruhai who worked directly in the position of patrolling the salt censor in the original work until his death, until his family was ruined, "Your Highness means to help His Majesty investigate Clear the root cause?”

"Everyone in the court who has brains knows the root cause of the sharp drop in salt tax. What to investigate?" Princess Yongchang said disdainfully, "I have arranged for people to go there to find out the evidence of those people's crimes. If necessary, we can directly take action. This You need a place to stay, a hand to reach out to.

There are quite a few snow signs along the canal, but they have been out of control for a long time, right?It just so happens that you don't have any use for it anymore, why not let me pick it up and give you some benefits in exchange for it, which is a benefit to both parties. As for whether those people are honest, I will clean them up, so why not bother you? "

"Yes, your highness is free!" Zhou Yang nodded, "But your highness must also know that with my current status, I can't carry the things behind me. Although your highness can take these semicolons and storefronts, you can no longer use the snow font." as a sign; as for the price, His Highness can just pay it if you like, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t pay it.”

"You, it's easy to get angry when you say these things." Princess Yongchang got into his arms angrily, "I can't have you messing with me every time I talk about business, just to smooth over your bad points. A little emotional, right? If that’s the case, it doesn’t matter, I’m right here——”

"I'm sorry, I'm still a little nervous." After savoring the sweetness of Her Royal Highness, Zhou Yang said with a wry smile, "You don't know how much pressure I feel in front of you; and only at this time can I confirm that you are mine. A woman, not a fifth-grade Qianhu, is standing in front of Her Highness the Princess."

"Pfft--" Princess Yongchang couldn't help but laugh, "Do you know why I let you do anything wrong? Because only with you can I feel that I am a woman who is weak and will be bullied by my own men. Woman, I believe that one day, sooner or later, when you gain strength, I will be completely weak and become the little woman in your arms - Bing'er!"

"You!" Zhou Yang could only smile bitterly. Obviously, Her Royal Highness the Princess sounded nice, so how could she really not be dissatisfied in her heart?Otherwise, why would Dongfang Bing be brought to the stage again?

"She will follow you to Linqing Mansion, but not just for a mere semicolon, because the situation there is a bit chaotic, so you don't need to worry about the specific issues." Princess Yongchang raised her head charmingly and made a gesture to Dongfang Bing. With a look, "Now, my little man, Rong'er, will you be satisfied now?"

"Humph!"

(End of this chapter)