Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 330 5.12 The Yangzhou Salt Merchant Case Is Basically Over

Volume [-]

The 5.12 Yangzhou salt merchant case is basically over

Skipping various matters in the capital, as Princess Yongchang expected, Zhou Yang encountered a lot of trouble in Yangzhou - starting from June, the salt merchants' counterattack "came as promised", and the entire Yangzhou Prefecture entered A comprehensive "market strike" was launched, and all salt merchants, regardless of size, would not sell even a pound of salt in Yangzhou!

Of course, the officials at all levels in Yangzhou will not watch helplessly, because salt is a basic need for everyone. It will be okay if it is gone for a day or two, but it will definitely be unbearable for more than three days. It is already the fifth day of June, and even if it is not available to the people at the beginning, Unexpectedly, no one was selling salt for five days in a row, and people in the city were already panicking.

Of course, salt merchants are also businessmen. Can't the government directly force them to open the market with an administrative order?Sorry, let’s not talk about whether the officials at all levels of Yangzhou Prefecture who have been fed for a long time are willing to do this. At least the prefect of Yangzhou did personally convene salt merchants at all levels to ask - don’t ask, asking means the supply of goods is insufficient, asking means people’s hearts are unstable. Dare to sell.

What, how could the salt merchants be so unstable?Didn't you see that the so-called "Eight Big Salt Merchants" who were so impressive at the time, the last three families have been reunited, and the corpses are almost eaten up by wild cats and dogs in mass graves?What, their homes were confiscated because they violated imperial laws?Do you believe me?Do you think I believe it or not?

"Mr. Lin, as the salt inspector of the imperial court, are you just watching the people have no salt to use?" That night, four members of the Lin family died. Sitting in the living room of the Lin Mansion with a worried face, he spoke sternly to Lin Ruhai, "If we still can't come up with a solution, even if I am willing to care about the friendship of my colleagues, the people of Yangzhou cannot afford to wait!"

"Master Yang, I am also worried that the people can't afford to wait. There happens to be a batch of salt in Yangzhou that can be used as an emergency. I would also like to ask you to send someone to help put the salt on the market." Lin Ruhai, who has been with Moya for four days, At this time, I realized that it was almost done, "It's at the Yangzhou pier, where 30 kilograms of salt cargo is piled up, as long as there are enough manpower."

"How did this happen?" Yang Nan, the magistrate of Yangzhou, changed his expression suddenly. "Since these things have been seized and reported to the court, naturally they have to wait for the court commissioner to inspect them before deciding where to go. How can they be sold privately without reporting them? Mr. Lin is not afraid. Is it the law of the imperial court?

I also heard that Mr. Lin used soldiers, horses and even firearms when raiding three salt merchants. How come I have never heard of any officers and soldiers entering the country?Isn't Master Lin pretending to pass military orders?As the saying goes, 'The military is a major event for the country.' As the censor of the Salt Patrol, Mr. Lin is not afraid of sending troops without permission from the court."

"Don't be afraid!" Lin Ruhai coldly interrupted Yang Nan's singing, "This batch of salt goods was inspected by the Salt Patrol Officer's Yamen, and was also guarded by the Salt Guards. It was reported to me by my officer. You don't need to worry about how to deal with it, Mr. Yang." , I will provide you with an apology letter afterwards, and as for the outcome, I don’t need Mr. Yang to worry about it!”

"伱——" Yang Nan was so blocked that he almost lost his breath. More than 30 kilograms of confiscated salt goods had to wait for the court to deal with it. The Yangzhou government office could have a hand in it and pull it a few times, and he would definitely escape in the end. It's just his own pocket; but if he follows Lin Ruhai's method, how can he make money.

"Starting from tomorrow, I will arrange manpower to release all salt products to the Yangzhou market at a price of 45 Wen per catty and a purchase limit of one catty per person." Lin Ruhai looked at Yang Nan coldly and said, "Normally speaking, It’s been too long and I can’t hold on, but it’ll be no problem if I hold on for three to five days; then I’ll fill it up with the salt goods dispatched by me, let alone Master Yang!”

"Where did you get the salt?" At this time, Yang Nan couldn't even maintain the most basic politeness. He stood up suddenly and shouted, "As the imperial censor of salt inspection, do you have to know the law and break the law? You are not afraid that I will participate in a book. "

"Since this batch of salt was seized, I hastened to report it to His Majesty for [-] miles, and was granted special permission to allow Xue Zihao to urgently purchase a batch of salt from overseas. I dare not say if there are too many, so as to ensure the supply for the people of Yangzhou. No problem." Lin Ruhai said calmly, "If these people without kings and fathers continue to be 'out of stock', that's okay.

Xuezi, a big merchant in the world, is just a little troublesome to supply the salt goods needed by a prefecture. If it is not possible, I will apply to His Majesty. Based on this as a rule, the eight general merchants of salt transportation in Yangzhou Aren't there three empty seats?It just so happened that the Xue family of the Xue family was added as one of them, so the problem should be solved. "

"Mr. Lin, you should know what you are talking about." After Yang Nan realized that his visit today was in vain, he slowly put away his anger and sat down, and his tone became much calmer, "I think Mr. Lin should have been acquainted with what happened today." Is it possible? Can I ask why it was postponed until today? "

Even if Lin Ruhai cleaned up three of the eight major salt merchants, the two sides are still within the "rules of the game". Even if Yang Nan has been fed by the salt merchants for a long time, he is still willing to admit it; Being the candidate for the general merchant of salt transportation would be tantamount to breaking with the entire Yangzhou salt merchant group.

The so-called "Eight Major Salt Merchants in Yangzhou" underwent many "changes" after the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, but no matter which ones were replaced or replaced, they never left the circle of Yangzhou salt merchants, just like Ma Yueguan, Although Ma Yuelu and Cheng Zhiying were Huizhou merchants, they had actually been based in Yangzhou for two or three generations.

But the Xue family is different. No matter how crazy the salt merchant is, they still understand the current power of the Xue family. In terms of backstage, the salt merchants each have their masters, but they can't match the Xue family's backing of the entire camp of four kings and eight princes. In terms of financial status, even the Xue family As far as the big house is concerned, it is no worse than any salt merchant. What's more, as "people in the circle", they know better how terrible the supply of salt for the second house of the Xue family is.

"Such a big thing requires enough manpower to carry out." Lin Ruhai looked at him indifferently and said, "With less than five hundred salt cubes, the guards are enough. If you want to sell salt, Master Yang should also know not enough."

"So, Mr. Lin has prepared his manpower?" Yang Nan's tone was very dignified.

"They should have arrived at the pier now." Lin Ruhai picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then gently closed the lid. The crisp sound of the clinking porcelain reminded Yang Nan like thunder.

"I'll take my leave!" Magistrate Yang took a deep look at Lin Ruhai, stood up and left without saying anything else - of course he didn't understand the rule of "bringing tea to guests".At the same time, Yangzhou Pier.

"I have met you in this humble position!" Zhao Tong was the first to step off the transport ship and bowed respectfully to Zhou Yang, "According to your request, this time another matchlock gun and a spearman's flag were transported. , most of the remaining cavalry and three other infantry artillery pieces are now being taken care of by Brother Dongjie (Yuan Xiu), but there are only one hundred spearmen, half of the artillery hundred and a small number of cavalry left!"

"It's okay!" Zhou Yang smiled and patted his subordinates on the shoulder, "You are here under orders. Daye just needs to take care of the home, and don't worry about the rest - since Dongjie didn't come, there is still one person on the boat - okay Now, you don't need to say anything, just go!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhao Tong suppressed a smile and saluted and left, because Meng Kun's rough shouting on the transport ship had already reached his ears. This kid always had such a loud voice wherever he went.

What came down in front of us was naturally the second batch of reinforcements transferred from Daye. The number of troops was not large, but it was completely sufficient, especially when the three infantry cannons disembarked one after another, and the salt guards stationed on the dock guarded the salt cargo. In their eyes, Zhou Yang saw stability and victory—the powerful power of this artillery had already been demonstrated when Dongfang Bing inspected Wang Yinggeng.

"Are you going to let them be responsible for selling salt?" Dongfang Bing asked curiously, pulling Ai Lang slowly away from the dock - yes, directly fill in the blanks with this batch of inspected salt, and then replenish the salt shipped by Xue Zihao The approach was what Zhou Yang suggested to Lin Ruhai, which was similar to the material price war in the Magic City in the early days of Red China.

"No, they are here to ensure that the sale of salt can proceed stably." Zhou Yang smiled and shook his head, "As for the specific work, I have transferred 30 people from Daye Xue Brand, including three shopkeepers, and the remaining The next one is a buddy, professional things should be left to professional people, I just need to ensure that they sell salt safely."

"After this incident, the Yangzhou salt merchant case is basically over." Dongfang Bing breathed a sigh of relief, and finally looked at the awe-inspiring eyes of the salt merchants around him, knowing that there would be no more problems, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to do the rest. Get involved again; but the 700 million taels of silver seized will need you to be responsible for escorting them to the capital."

"Seven million taels?" Zhou Yang was obviously in a daze, but he clearly remembered that Dongfang Bing once mentioned that this number should be no less than 1000 million taels. This was also talking about cash, and did not mention properties, houses, etc. Real estate, she ate up [-]% of it with just one mouth.

"Princess and His Highness each have half." Anyway, there were no outsiders around, so Dongfang Bing had no intention of hiding anything. "Although these days, with your help, both Your Highnesses are relatively well-off, but if they want to do big things, money is not enough." There is no harm in having more, you must remember to make it clear to Mr. Lin, there is no need to hide it - this is what the princess means."

"Oh?" Zhou Yang smiled. This was considered a chance for Lin Ruhai. It could also be said to be a threat, but it didn't matter. Over the past month or so, he had also seen that Lin Ruhai's father was indeed worthy of Emperor Yonghe's regard. It is no exaggeration to say that he is a "talented prime minister", and he will be able to be used by the eldest prince Guo Kai in the future before he reaches the age of [-]. "No problem."

"Also, if you enter Beijing in a few days, you won't be able to go back. Have everything over there been arranged?" Dongfang Bing asked again.

"I have already sent a letter to ask Qiying to make preparations." Zhou Yang breathed a sigh of relief, "I have also arranged for Dongjie to recruit a group of new soldiers according to the original data. I will take the main force here in Yangzhou to Beijing as a foundation, but There is a hundred arquebuses and some cavalry that need to be sent back.”

"Yes!" Dongfang Bing nodded, "One spear baihu, one arquebus baihu, half cavalry baihu and half artillery baihu, less than 400 people, just happened to be used to escort the 700 million taels of silver. "

"Zhao Tong, Zhao Guangsheng, Meng Kun, Meng Xianwen, and Jiao Zhen, who I just spoke to, and Jiao Guanqun, I want to bring them to the capital. Daye has left Yuan Xiu, Yuan Dongjie, Li Feng, and Li Yilong. They are exactly the same, so we should be able to arrange them Right?" Zhou Yang must take care of his brothers.

"It's a little troublesome, but it's not a big problem." Dongfang Bing frowned, but nodded in agreement, "However, Niu Jizong needs to say hello; with these 700 million taels of cash, and the next real estate worth tens of millions Bottom line, it shouldn’t be difficult to tell.”

"That's no problem." Zhou Yang nodded with satisfaction, "Everything else can be arranged, but I need to go back to Jinling before leaving. Some things need to be done quickly."

"Oh?" Dongfang Bing looked at him and smiled sarcastically, "Going to meet your old lover?"

"Dongfang!" Zhou Yang glared at her angrily, "You should have seen this operation. Although the matchlock gun is good, it has a lot of problems. It happened that news came from the second room of the Xue family. I asked them to do it in the first place. The thing finally succeeded."

"Is it the self-generated fire gun you mentioned?" Dongfang Bing's heart moved and he asked curiously.

"Or to put it another way." Zhou Yang smiled slightly, "Flintlock!"

(End of this chapter)