Li Si, Yu Kecheng, nicknamed Jiexuan, was born in Nanhai County in the Ming Dynasty. He was born in the first year of Xuande. He passed the township recommendation in the twelfth year of Zhengtai. He was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Jingtai. He once served as the head of the Nanjing Household Department and is now the left minister of the Household Department.

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Peng Shao, courtesy name Fengyi and Congwu, was born in Hankou, Putian in the fifth year of Xuande. He was elected in the seventh year of Jingtai and became a Jinshi in the first year of Tianshun. He once served as the right deputy censor of the capital, governor of Yingtian, and is currently the right minister of the Ministry of punishment.

Li Si and Peng Shao did not dare to slack off after receiving Zhu Youtang's edict. They immediately packed their luggage and set foot on the road to Lianghuai and Zhejiang the next day. When they arrived at Fengyang, the central capital, they discussed it.

Li Si temporarily stopped in Fengyang for on-site inspection, while Peng Shao continued south to Zhejiang.

The study room of Liu Ji's Mansion, Chief Assistant to the Cabinet in Beijing.

Several candles as thick as arms illuminated the place brightly. Liu Ji, the first assistant, was walking back and forth on the ground. Zhang Peng, the Minister of War, was sitting in front of the desk, holding a pen in his hand, looking at Liu Ji solemnly. Beside the desk on the left

Sitting in the row are Li Guang, the Minister of Rites, and Wei Zhang, the Prime Minister of Dali Temple. Sitting in the right row are Lu Ling, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and Zou Mo, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Liu Ji said as he walked: "You write letters to He Maoxun, Zhang Wenzhao, and Lu Kun, telling them to ignore Peng Shao and go ahead and do it. No matter life or death, this is the last chance to make money! Peng Shao is in Beijing.

He is just a mere right-hand minister of the Ministry of Justice, so there is nothing to fear. If he raises the price of salt and asks his merchants to raise prices, this year's payment will remain the same!"

Zhang Peng's eyes widened. He never expected that the emperor had just warned Liu Ji in a circumstantial manner, but he remained unmoved and so bold. Although Zhang Peng was extremely reluctant to join Liu Ji, his son was unwilling to do so.

In order to keep up the good work, the handle fell into the hands of Liu Ji. Zhang Peng closed his eyes and said in despair: "I understand, how should I criticize He Maoxun's memorial?"

Liu Ji snorted coldly and said, "Don't worry about it. I will approve He Maoxun's memorial. I have to let the officials in Zhejiang Province understand that there is only one sky in their sky, and that is me, Liu Ji!"

After hearing this, Li Guang stood up with a smile, walked beside Zhang Peng, patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Master Ling will still have a bright future in the future."

Zhang Peng's writing hand couldn't help but tremble. He knew that Li Guang was warning him, asking him to write according to the words of Chief Assistant Liu Ji and not to play any tricks.

…

Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province.

"You profiteer, tell me, why is the price of your salt getting higher and higher?" shouted a big man wearing a turban in the crowd.

"Yes, if you can't give me an explanation today, I'll take advantage of you!" Another man also echoed, and all the people behind him yelled curses.

These two men are tall and tall, and they are both farmers. After working all year round, their bodies are much stronger than ordinary people. Standing at the front has already made the vendor in front of him tremble. Plus, behind them

More and more people gathered around, and the merchant knew that if he couldn't give an explanation today, he would be either dead or disabled.

Although the merchant was very scared, in order to maintain his image among these people who he considered to be mud-legged, he still pretended to be calm and said: "What do you want to do in broad daylight? Are you going to do it? Believe it or not, I will send you all away.

Go to the government! What do you all know? This is the market, and the price of salt follows the market. You don’t even ask, the salt in the surrounding area is not the cheapest sold by me, Lin Hongzhi!"

When the people heard Lin Hongzhi's answer, they thought about it and realized that what he said was indeed true. The salt sellers in the surrounding area really sold it the cheapest.

At this time, someone in the crowd shouted: "The officers and soldiers are coming. As soon as everyone heard this, they quickly dispersed.

Sure enough, a group of Tiqi came walking down the street. Other vendors might have turned around and left quickly, but Lin Hongzhi greeted them with a smile.

"Brother Chen, Brother Chen! I have finally seen you. I haven't seen you for a few days and I miss you very much. Can we find a place to have a drink?"

The man who was called Brother Chen by Lin Hongzhi curled his lips and waved his hands: "Didn't you see me doing routine business under the orders of my superiors? How many times have I told you, don't talk to me when I am leading people?"

call each other brothers!"

When Lin Hongzhi saw Chen Fu's expression change, he didn't dare to get too close anymore, so he could only say with a smile: "Master, please do your business first, please do your business first."

Chen Fu snorted coldly, rolled his eyes at Lin Hongzhi and continued patrolling. Lin Hongzhi looked at the back of Chen Fu and others leaving arrogantly, angrily spit on the ground and cursed: "Fuck you grandma, what's the big deal?

!”

Suddenly, the sound of drums came from behind, which instantly touched Lin Hongzhi's heart. Accompanying the drums was the gentle sound of flute. This kind of music is probably only found in the prosperous Jiangnan area.

Yes!

Lin Hongzhi looked back at the restaurant not far behind him, with carved beams and painted pillars, green tiles and red roofs, and flying pavilions. The whole building was exquisite and gorgeous. This restaurant is the Jinguan Building, known as the No. 1 restaurant in Hangzhou.

Lin Hongzhi touched the silver in his pocket and immediately pursed his lips and smiled: "There is still some money, please go and be happy."

Before he arrived at the door of the building, Lin Hongzhi saw two men guarding the door with knives. He thought to himself: "Looking at this, is it possible that some dignitaries came to Jinguan Tower today? I better go in and take a look, maybe I will become famous.

In front of you.

Lin Hongzhi was about to walk in with high expectations when he saw the two men crossing their swords and saying fiercely: "Stop, do you have an invitation?"

Lin Hongzhi frowned at first, then said with a smile: "Yes, yes, I'll look for it."

When the two men saw that Lin Hongzhi was groping up and down on his body but couldn't find the invitation, they looked at each other and shouted: "If there is no invitation, please come back. Jinguan Tower will not accept guests today!"

Seeing this, Lin Hongzhi spread his hands and said, "I may have forgotten the invitation at the post house. Your master and I are family friends. Please let me go in first. I will ask your master to tell you later."

The two men were half-convinced. They also saw that Lin Hongzhi was dressed gorgeously, and he didn't look like someone who just talked nonsense. If he was really a family friend of his master, he would definitely be scolded afterwards. So he picked up his knife and fork and said with a smile: "I was so offended just now, please forgive me!"

Lin Hongzhi snorted coldly when he saw that he had managed to get through, and strode in with all his might.

As soon as Lin Hongzhi stepped onto the stairs to the second floor, he heard a burst of applause from the north side of the hall.

Someone sitting on the row of chairs on the north side burst out laughing. Lin Hongzhi looked over and almost screamed in fright.

Sitting in the middle of the row of chairs is He Maoxun, the governor of Zhejiang. Next to him on the left is Zhejiang Chengxuan Lu Kun, and on the right is Zhejiang's punishment envoy Zhang Wenzhao. Next to Zhang Wenzhao is Zhejiang

Dong Jianzhong, the largest wealthy businessman in the area, is also the "boss" among their merchants. This man has great prestige among Jiangnan merchants, and he determines a large part of the price of salt sales. Next to Dong Jianzhong are some officials from Hangzhou Prefecture, the most influential ones.

The people on both sides don't look like natives, they are gorgeously dressed, blond, with blue eyes, high noses and deep eyes.

Lin Hongzhi knew that he was riding a tiger, and if he went forward shamelessly, Dong Jianzhong would not be able to spare him. In addition, these were all military and political officials from Zhejiang Province, how could they share a table with a small businessman like himself?

If you go back now, the two people outside the door will definitely be suspicious. You might as well stay here for a while, just to listen to what they say, and then leave when the show is about to end, so that no one will be suspicious.

"Hold the candle!" Dong Jianzhong shouted with a smile.

Immediately after hearing the order, two rows of beautiful girls came out from the two screens on both sides of the hall holding a lit candlestick. Dong Jiazhong said with a smile: "How about these women, do you see them correctly?"

You're welcome. If you see the right one, I'll have it delivered to your master's house.

He Mao

Come to your master’s house!”

He Maoxun laughed loudly, pointed at Dong Jianzhong and said, "You still know what I'm thinking!"

Only Zhang Wenzhao did not take the candlestick from the girl's hand, and everyone turned to look at him.

"He Butang, Lu Zhengshi, and Boss Dong, please go and see the goods. I'm a little tired." Zhang Wenzhao said tiredly.

He Mao

After dividing the money, it’s not too late to go back.”

Without waiting for Zhang Wenzhao to respond, He Maoxun smiled at Lu Kun and those foreign merchants and said, "Come on, come on, let's go take a look at the goods first."

After saying that, He Maoxun held the candlestick and led everyone towards the back of the screen. Lin Hongzhi also wanted to see what it was, but the distance was limited, so he had to stop in order not to expose himself.

Hidden behind the screen were several large boxes, all covered with red cloth. Several foreign businessmen showed surprised expressions.

Dong Jianzhong said: "All the salt you want is here. This is the best salt I have in the Ming Dynasty!"

The foreign businessman smiled back, but still remained reserved.

"Open the box and open the eyes of these friends." He Maoxun ordered.

Several candlelights shine in one place.

Lieutenant General Dong Jian lifted the red cloth covering the box and slowly opened the box.

"Hmm... good salt, good stuff." One of the foreign businessmen blurted out. Apparently this man often came to the Ming Dynasty to do business. Although he could speak Chinese, he had a difficult foreign accent.

Another foreign businessman babbled and said something that no one could understand, and the foreign businessman who could speak Chinese also explained it with his similar accent.

The foreign businessman smiled happily, nodded, and spoke a few more words in foreign languages.

The foreign businessman who could speak Chinese smiled and explained to He Maoxun, Lu Kun, and Dong Jianzhong: "This friend of mine said that he likes your salt from the Ming Dynasty very much, and he wants all of it!"

He Maoxun and Lu Kun looked at each other and both showed proud smiles. They both clearly understood that these boxes of salt had earned them a lot of money.

Dong Jianzhong laughed a few times and said, "Master Bu Tang, let me show them other things."

Others are not under the control of the government. Naturally, He Maoxun and Lu Kun could not ask about the details, so it was inconvenient to follow Dong Jiazhong, so they sat down on the chairs behind the screen.

In order to expand business channels, Dong Jianzhong led the foreign businessmen down a staircase behind the screen.

"Bu Tang, do you think the profits from other things in Dong Jianzhong will be given to us?" Lu Kun asked. He knew that once the salt business stopped, there would be no other source of income, and he would not be able to meet his needs just by relying on the salary from the court.
Chapter completed!