All-Heavens Dream Plunderer

2021-06-03

Chapter 33 Banquet

Haozhou is an important town in Huaixi, with a population of about 300,000, including food and grass equipment countless.

Its geographical location is particularly important. It is the center of Huaixi and the fortress of north-south traffic.

In a position like this, it stands to reason that there should be a strong military garrison, but in fact there are only more than 10,000 Han military households and hundreds of Mongolian Semu cavalry.

The actual situation may be less than 10,000 people.

Wang Meng even knew that a few thousand households in the Han army were selling their ordnance, and most of the weapons in the hands of the rest of the soldiers were rusted. As a result, their battle strength can be imagined.

Outside the city, there is a vast expanse of snow, and many displaced refugees gather together. On the side, there are many corpses that have long since died of starvation and freezing.

Wang Meng brought his caravan into the city. Seeing such a scene, his heart was calm and he had already adapted.

Wasn’t he like that seven years ago?

Mourning for misfortune, anger for not fighting, people always have to rely on themselves.

Wang Meng can’t help, he’s not a bad guy, and he doesn’t have time or energy.

To lay down a dynasty and create a prosperous world is what Wang Meng wants to do.

After a while, he brought a caravan of 200 people into the city. The military households at the gate recognized the banner of the king and did not dare to stop him.

Wang Meng’s official power is not weak, and many thousands of Han households call him brothers and sisters.

As he said before, seven years is enough for him to plan too much.

Haozhou, Dingyuan, Hezhou…

A Haozhou is just the starting point for him.

Wang Meng can go higher step by step!

For others, the high walls and thick walls of Haozhou City are the biggest obstacles, but for Wang Meng, it is like a thin layer of paper.

The strongest barriers are also easy to break from the inside!

The internal and external topography of Haozhou City, the defenses of the army…

Wang Meng knew all of this by heart, and he had already made a plan.

For him, acquiring Haozhou is a time for a meal of wine and meat.

……

As night fell, Wang Meng took a donkey cart from his own Trading Company to Wangchun Tower.

He was the host of this dinner, and there were a lot of guests. We all know that Magistrate brought four or five Han households together.

These are the official relationships that Wang Meng has managed over the years.

We are all acquaintances and know the details of Wang Meng. Looking at Wang Meng, this smiling tiger, he does not dare to despise this “salt dealer”.

That’s right, Wang Meng’s main business for the past seven years is salt!

Since ancient times, salt and iron are official monopoly, which is almost the economic branch that supports the entire Imperial Court, and no outsiders are allowed to interfere.

Wang Meng’s business is naturally private salt, speaking of which is also a business that loses its head.

But if there is demand and interest, there must be provision.

The Great Yuan Dynasty inherited the salt tax of the former Song Dynasty, which was extremely heavy!

According to records, the average salt tax for table salt in the Song Dynasty was 23 yuan/catties, and the implied tax rate reached 33%.

The acquisition cost of the government from the salt households in the Song Dynasty was about 5 yuan/catties, and then sold to the salt merchants at a price of 40-50 yuan. The salt merchants included the transportation cost and sold them to the common people at a higher price.

Among them, dozens of times of profits support the prosperity of the Song Dynasty.

However, the economic gap between Yuan Dynasty and Song Dynasty was huge, so it was obviously extremely unreasonable.

Many people cannot afford salt.

But salt is a necessity for human life. If you can’t afford official salt, you can only eat private salt.

As a result, a prosperous private salt market was born.

With dozens of times of benefits and a huge market, there are naturally brave men who want to make this money.

On both sides of the Huaihe River, a large number of private salt smugglers who are not afraid of death organized themselves to sell illicit salt by arms.

In the beginning, after Wang Meng had primordial capital, he also wanted to do some serious business, but after seeing the huge profits of private salt, he decided to quit.

This thing really comes faster than grabbing the capital. Wang Meng can develop rapidly in these years without this.

Of course, if you really want to stand firm in it, you will need the support of official forces.

In addition to maintaining its own martial power, it also needs to have an official umbrella.

Obviously, this Wang still you did good, throwing out a lot of money and making up and downs.

The relevant government organizations in the entire Huaixi region and the local tea and salt transfer department, who were in charge of the salt, were arranged perfectly by him.

The same officials are also happy to accept Wang Meng’s money, and help to tip off when the time is right. After all, the salt tax belongs to the Imperial Court, but Wang Meng’s filial piety is his own.

And the salt dealers who are armed and are not afraid of death are these porcelain organ masters who are unwilling to fight hard.

The barefooted are not afraid of the shoes, and the porcelain does not want to touch the stones.

So Wang Meng took Haozhou as its base and expanded its huge private salt business to the surrounding area.

Even gradually expanded General’s business beyond Dingyuan and Hezhou to the south, competing with other private salt dealers for the market.

Raising thugs, organizing armed forces, and privately owning ordnance are what every smuggler must do.

Peers are the biggest enemies.

Wang Meng’s Trading Company and fleet, on the surface, seem to be merchants in the name of regular trade, but in fact they are armed and smuggled salt sellers. quite famous.

At the same time, Wang Meng is generous and has the style of Mengchang. It is in the green forest that he has the reputation of Juyifu.

And there are many benefits of selling salt, such as cultivating armed forces, supporting official figures, making friends with green forest heroes…

This big network of uprisings can be used through Complete it by selling smuggled salt.

With reference to the life of Zhang Shicheng, the king of Wu in history, this industry has developed a lot!

It’s a pity that Wang Meng is not destined to be as big as Zhang Shicheng.

The conditions in Taizhou are not comparable to those in Haozhou.

……

Wang Meng arrived at Wangchun Building first, asked for a private room at the highest level, ordered a table of dishes, warmed up a good high-level wine, Awaiting guests for dinner tonight.

After a while, the guests came one after another, and the last one was Tongzhi Sun De, Wang Meng’s biggest supporter.

Of course, Sun De didn’t dare to take big on Wang Meng at all. Others didn’t know how he got up, but he knew he was supported by Wang Meng.

How to support?

Kill the previous Tongzhi, kill the rest of the competitors, and use a lot of silver taels to get through the relationship, and it will naturally rise.

So in the eyes of outsiders, Sun De is Wang Meng’s backer, but in fact Sun De is just an official umbrella introduced by Wang Meng.

Sun De is most aware of Wang Meng’s vicious and merciless, as well as the power in Wang Meng’s hands. His family and children are all under Wang Meng’s control, even himself. It can be regarded as half of the core of Wang Meng’s forces.

For Wang Meng, Sun De did not dare to disobey the slightest.

At the banquet, everyone was drinking and having fun.

After three rounds of wine, Wang Meng saw that he had almost finished eating, so he clapped his hands, the door opened immediately, and one after another, the little ladies with heavy makeup came out.

This is a service feature of a high-level restaurant.

For a while, in the box, there are many more charms and amorous feelings that only men can understand…

At Hai Shi, this private dinner is over.

Everyone, holding the beauty in their arms, walked up to the wing of Wangchun Tower, thinking of spending the spring night together, the clouds and rain in Wushan.

Wang Meng watched everyone leave, the corners of his mouth raised slightly.

“This night, you will have a good dream, and everything will be different tomorrow.”

In this banquet, Wang Meng supported most of the high-rise in the city, especially As the leader of the army, a lot of things are easier next.

(End of this chapter)