Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 392 Supporting Salt Merchants
Yang Chao's quickly stabilized the situation in Yangzhou Prefecture.

In early May, rich businessmen who already love their homes slowly returned.

When the Duoduo tribe appeared on the outskirts of Yangzhou, most of the wealthy merchant groups headed by salt merchants fled.

However, there are also those who are lucky, such as Qiao Chengwang, a great salt merchant. Qiao Chengwang was a Shanxi merchant. He was called Xishang at that time, referring to the merchants in Yangzhou in Shaanxi and Shanxi.

It is well known that the Shanxi merchants in Shanxi have a close relationship with the high-level Manchus. When the Manchus were outside the customs, the Shanxi merchants traded with them. Most of the properties looted by the Manchus were converted into various military supplies through the Shanxi merchants. The Manchu Qing was able to strengthen step by step, not unrelated to Shanxi merchants.

The Eight Banners executives are well aware of the power of this, so they give extremely preferential treatment to Shanxi merchants. They have repeatedly ordered Eight Banners soldiers not to harm Shanxi merchants. A consensus has been formed among the Eight Banners soldiers that the only people in Ming Dynasty who need preferential treatment are these Shanxi merchants.

Of course, the Western merchants in Yangzhou cannot be equated with the Shanxi merchants in Shanxi. The Western merchants in Yangzhou are very powerful. Since the early Ming Dynasty, they have exchanged grain merchants for salt to lead merchants. There are hundreds of such Western merchants in Yangzhou, and they are more powerful than Huizhou merchants. Many, the group of western merchants with the most foundations actually moved to Yangzhou with their families a long time ago. Shanxi and Shaanxi are just their hometowns, and they need to go back when they sacrifice.

Qiao Chengwang is such a Shanxi merchant. Although his family has no connection with the Manqing Group, he took advantage of the opportunity created by the Shanxi merchants. After the Eight Banners entered the city and before the looting began, he immediately sent someone to find Duoduo. After paying a tribute of 10 taels of silver and dozens of beauties, Duoduo quickly set up camp to protect Qiao's family after revealing his identity as a Shanxi merchant. When the looting happened, he sent a team of guards to protect Qiao's family.

Qiao Chengwang's family miraculously escaped the catastrophe unscathed.

But later, he was reported by someone with a heart, saying that he had an affair with the Tartars, and he was a traitor.

Qiao Chengwang was miserable, who would have thought that the menacing Eight Banners had only entered the city for three days before being beaten out of the city by Yang Chao again.

So Qiao Chengwang once again thought of using money to buy peace, and sent someone to see Yang Chao, expressing his willingness to contribute 20 laborers, hoping that Yang Chao could protect them.

Although Yang Chao didn't like Shanxi merchants who had no bottom line, he still comforted Qiao Chengwang.

As a representative of Western merchants, Qiao Chengwang was quite famous among the salt merchants in Yangzhou. This time, there were as many as ten salt merchants who took refuge in his home to escape the catastrophe.

Yang Chao appeased Qiao Chengwang, but made a request, that is, now that the people in the city have suffered catastrophe and are displaced, he hopes that these salt merchants can play a role, absorb part of the labor, and give the people a bite to eat.

To put it bluntly, I hope that through these people, the order in Yangzhou City can be restored as soon as possible.

Yangzhou City has been prosperous for thousands of years, and its accumulated commercial culture is very rich. It can be said that this is a prosperous city that has been dragged down by commerce.

The core of Yangzhou's commerce is the salt industry. The salt industry is lucrative, allowing salt merchants to build gardens and enjoy various enjoyments. At the same time, it also allows many people in Yangzhou to make ends meet.

For example, a servant of a salt merchant can fully support his family. Therefore, a class of idlers appeared in Yangzhou City. They do not go to work and do nothing. Some people even put all the toiletries in the teahouse, and go directly to the teahouse to wash and brush their teeth early in the morning.

Another phenomenon is that salt merchants are rich but have no political status, and out of a certain cultural complex, they like to subsidize intellectuals. Poets and painters are often sponsored by them before they become famous, just like the rich merchants in Italy during the Western Renaissance. The same is true for class funding of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci.

Salt merchants also like to raise opera troupes, and every household has their own unique opera troupes, otherwise they will be laughed at.

At the same time, due to the strong consumption power, besides the production of thin horses, Yangzhou also has a very prosperous painting boat industry. The painting boats of Slender West Lake are famous for later generations.

Idlers, artists, opera troupes and painting boats, these four key words constitute the cultural symbols of Yangzhou, and the salt merchants fund these.

In the eyes of ordinary people, culture is something that cannot be eaten or drunk. Therefore, peasant emperors like Zhu Yuanzhang often sneer at culture. Even in later generations, when the poor class came to power, they would launch a special attack on culture.

But is this thing really useless? Chinese people in the 21st century discovered that culture is a kind of soft power. When the West infiltrated overheating through soft power and a large number of foreign slaves appeared, the government suddenly realized and began to promote traditional culture. It's too late, too late.

The end of the Ming Dynasty was the time when the politics of the Ming Dynasty collapsed. It was indeed the time when culture was at its peak, and it was praised by the West to a very high position. It would be a pity if it was not used for cultural aggression and infiltration.

With his world view that spans time and space, Yang Chao will naturally not do anything that destroys culture, destroying is building, that is enough to eat.

That's why he won't crack down on these salt merchants who are symbols of culture. Instead, he has to support them so that they can start Yangzhou's cultural industry as soon as possible.

Encourage Qiao Chengwang, these escaped salt merchants, to build gardens, build gorgeous manors, appreciate painting art, and support more painters. Yang Chao doesn't want to see Westerners praising those Renaissance sponsors. However, China is cracking down on these characters simply because of the wealth they have in their hands, and it is only because of the mentality of hating the rich at the bottom of society.

But Yang Chao's statement made Qiao Chengwang very confused. This general didn't want money or beautiful women, but asked them to build a garden. I really couldn't see through it.

After Qiao Chengwang and others, the salt merchants who hid in other places also came back one after another. Their homes were gone, but their wealth was not lost. Heavy losses are certain.

You must know that most of the large amount of money in Yang Chao’s treasury comes from the families of these people. It’s fine if you don’t plunder these people, but Yang Chao still can’t do such a hypocritical thing. This is what he snatched back from the Qing army. , It's a spoil of war. Regardless of whether he came from the right way, if he goes back, doesn't it mean that his actions are illegal. If fighting against aggression is illegal, then it is nonsense.

Therefore, I will not return it due to affection or courtesy.

Businessmen who have lost most of their wealth will also be eager to restore their industries, which will help restore the economy of Yangzhou City.

But they couldn't raise capital for the time being, so Yang Chao lent them!

With money that can't be spent for several years, Yang Chao is not a local tyrant hoarding silver, and the money spent is money.

Currency must be circulated to create value.

Borrowing money, circulation, obviously Yang Chao plans to become a bank.

"Everyone, you are all engaged in the salt industry. Jianghuai suffered a military disaster, and a lot of waste is waiting to be done. This Lord supports everyone."

On the fifth day of May, taking advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival, Yang Chao hosted nearly a hundred salt merchants and made a promise to them.

The salt merchants quickly thanked them. In fact, Yang Chao didn't bother them, which was the greatest support for them.

"The lord's support for you is not empty words. The lord knows that everyone has been harmed. Therefore, the lord has decided that if you are short of money, you can ask the lord to borrow it!"

One sentence made the scene suddenly cold, borrow money?Find an earl to borrow money, when this earl holds a heavy army and controls the life and death of a city?
None of them dared to open their mouths.

Yang Chao flirted with Qiao Chengwang.

Qiao Chengwang is the head of the Western Merchant Bank, and he has a long-standing reputation. This time, he has protected a group of salt merchants, and he is even more prestigious among the Western Merchants. His appearance can basically represent the attitude of the Western Merchants.

And it just so happened that Western merchants suffered the most.

There are two groups of salt merchants, Anhui merchants and Western merchants. Huizhou merchants have geographical advantages and are able to return their wealth to their hometowns. If you look at the magnificent buildings in Shexian County, Huizhou, you will know that they are not short of money.

Therefore, the main reason is that Western merchants lack money. Historically, Western merchants lost too much. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, Huizhou merchants were squeezed out of Yangzhou Salt Industry step by step.

Qiao Chengwang stood up at this time and said: "Uncle Yang is sympathetic to our merchants. It is really a good fortune we have cultivated. I have made a decision to take out 300 million taels of silver and borrow money from colleagues with Uncle Yang. After all, we are all in the same way. People, I can't bear to see everyone's family property withering. I heard that several gardens are selling recently, but they can't find a buyer, even if they sell their gardens at a low price."

Qiao Chengwang shook his head and sighed.

If you lend money to Western merchants, you are not afraid of their collusion with the Qing Dynasty. Look at the elegant gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, which are covered by bamboo forests in the nine-curved corridors of salt merchants. Compare the magnificent gardens built by Shanxi merchants in Shanxi, with blue bricks and tiles, square and square. In the compound full of the seriousness of the north, you know that the Western Merchants of Yangzhou and the Jin Merchants of Shanxi, apart from the same ancestral home, are completely different in terms of industry and culture.

These are already two groups. They have not gone back for several generations, and they all speak Yangzhou dialect, so they are considered Yangzhou people.

So Yang Chao decided to help them because he was worried that these people would not trust him. After all, Yang Chao has an official status, and businessmen fawn on the government and officials, but they don't trust them, just like the government and officials don't trust businessmen.

But they all trusted Qiao Chengwang. It was not only Yang Chao who lent them money, but also Qiao Chengwang.

Immediately afterwards, several families said: "Uncle Xie's kindness, thanks to Master Qiao's kindness, my family is really struggling recently, so I dare to open my teeth, I wonder if I can borrow 10 taels!"

Yang Chao said with a smile: "This lord comes from 700 million taels, and I can make up 1000 million taels with Mr. Qiao, and a mere 10 taels is not a problem."

The businessman asked again: "I don't know how much money and interest uncle will take?"

This is also a key point. They don’t dare to ask for usury with too high interest rate. Apart from selling salt at high prices, the second biggest income of salt merchants is loan usury. If you don't use money to make money, it would be a waste.

I am a loan shark to drink human blood, and I know the evil of loan sharks. Yang Chao can use them to search for salt households, because compared to them, Yang Chao is more powerful. , They should sell the garden.

Yang Chao laughed and said, "The monthly interest rate is three minutes!"

Three-point interest is not considered a huge profit in later generations, it is completely a charity loan in Daming, and the law of Daming does not prohibit lending with a monthly interest rate of less than three cents.

The salt merchant immediately relaxed.

Yang Chao then said: "Sit on the ground and smoke!"

The salt merchant's face changed slightly, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't hear Yang Chao followed by "Nine Out and Thirteen Returns", so he was relieved.

Sit on the ground and draw one means that if you borrow ten taels, you will only be given nine taels. One tael will be deducted as interest in advance, and when you return it, you need to pay back 13 taels, so it is called nine out of ten and thirteen returns. The standard usury practice, many The people were forced to go bankrupt because they couldn't afford it for a while, and then they were forced to go bankrupt with interest.

Yang Chao sat on the ground and took a draw, which was actually a ten-point profit, and the latter three points could be ignored.

The monthly interest rate is equal to [-] cents. For Yang Chao, this business can still be done. The reason why he chooses to sit on the ground for one cent is firstly because it is a tradition, and secondly to avoid the three-point low interest rate constraint in the Great Ming Law.

Even if Yang Chao violated the Ming Law, no one would offend him for this matter, but Yang Chao has always believed that obeying the law is a virtue, and he also emphasizes military law in his own army, so he is unwilling to take the initiative to destroy him. Yang Chao believes that High-level violations of the law will create an atmosphere where the upper and lower are effective, which is not conducive to the rule of law.

"I don't know, Master Wang, where do you plan to use the loan?"

The borrower's surname is Wang, and he is a well-known salt merchant in Yangzhou. However, he is famous not because of his wealth, but because of his stinginess. He is a very special salt merchant.

This man has a lot of money, but he doesn't use a single penny, and he doesn't use a second penny. He eats scales and cooks with firewood for a few meters. Obviously he is a miser.

In order to protect his family property, he built a not gorgeous but extremely strong courtyard, and built a lot of iron water chestnuts, which were scattered in the courtyard at night to prevent thieves, and were only put away during the day.

It's a pity that after the Qing army entered the city, all his wealth was taken away, and the salt merchant Wang almost died of anger.

But Yang Chao sympathizes with this person. He is not a famous big salt merchant, but a middle-level salt merchant. The reason why he is so stingy is that it is not easy to make a fortune. simple.

After Wang's salt merchant opened his mouth, the salt merchant surnamed Ji also borrowed money, but Ji's family is a big salt merchant, with a loan of 30 taels.

Then the Kang family also came to borrow money.

Yang Chao waved his hand: "Let's discuss this matter with Mr. Qiao's family. I still have important matters to attend to, so I won't mention this matter today."

Among the salt merchants in Yangzhou, this Kang family is one of the best. It is said that there are heaven above and millions of Kang below.The Kang family has hundreds of warehouses at the Yangzhou wharf, which is very luxurious. In addition to the salt industry, his family also operates pawns and grain trade.

But Yang Chao didn't immediately agree to borrow money from the Kang family, not only because the Kang family had a bad reputation and was unkind, but also because the Kang family's ancestral home was in Pingyang, Shanxi, and they were rich for generations. Hundreds of families, Yang Chao suspected that the source of wealth was not right, so he refused to borrow money.

(End of this chapter)