Chen Boren took a sip of tea, looked at the crowd with complicated eyes, and exhaled softly: "The price of official salt in Guangdong is only a quarter of ours. When it is shipped back to some counties that are short of salt, the price is even only

one tenth."

Marx said that if capital has 50% profit, it will take desperate risks; if it has 100% profit, it will dare to trample on all laws in the world; if it has 300% profit, it will dare to commit any crime.

crime, and even the risk of being hanged.

Just by taking some Cantonese salt back with you, you can make ten times the profit. Why can't these adventurous Ming businessmen crazyly participate in smuggling?

The salt of the Ming Dynasty is divided into regions, such as Lianghuai Salt District, Liangzhe Salt District, Shandong Salt District, etc., and these salts are strictly regulated to be sold in certain areas.

It's just that there is an unreasonable thing here. The price of salt in the area is often not determined by the shortest distance from the salt field, but by the distance from the administrative salt field.

Prefectures and counties such as Huguang and Changsha are only a few hundred kilometers away from the salt field under the jurisdiction of the Guangdong Salt Industry, but they are nearly 2,000 kilometers away from the Huaiyan salt field. However, the region can only eat Huaiyan salt transported from the Huaiyan salt field.

.

Guangdong Salt has the longest sea line in the Ming Dynasty, rich salt fields, and adopts advanced salt production technology. However, due to the fact that there are only several administrative regions in Guangdong and Guangxi, the price of Guangdong Salt has not been high.

Nowadays, there is "cheap" Cantonese salt on one side and expensive quasi-salt on the other. There are also many merchants returning along the way. Naturally, these brave and well-connected businessmen take risks and transport Cantonese salt back to benefit the folks.

Ouch!

After hearing this price difference, Zhao Minghuan and others took a breath of cold air. But they didn't know whether to blame some Huai salt merchants for their greed, or whether to blame Guangdong Salt for selling the price so cheaply that the salt prices in the two places were actually as low as

There is such a big gap.

"Then let's start with the local officials in Guangdong and ask them to stop the salt shops from selling large quantities of Guangdong salt to foreign businessmen!" Zhao Minghuan didn't seem to give up and made another suggestion.

Gao Yao just took a sip of tea. Hearing this, he shook his head gently and said: "Zhao Yushi, this method is useless! Lin Haoran just participated in the foreign inspection in Guangdong. I don't know how many officials in Guangdong accepted his love. He

The words of Mr. Yan Ge are more effective than those of Mr. Yan Ge. Besides, this Cantonese salt is a big piece of cake. I am afraid that the family members of those local officials have more or less obtained the salt. How can they spit in the bowl they are eating?

"

He has spent most of his life in Hubu, which is the superior yamen of each salt class promotion department. I am afraid that no one has a more thorough understanding of the salt industry than him.

People who can obtain salt citations have never been ordinary people. Most of these people are family members or relatives of local powerful officials. He even suspected that Lin Haoran became rich by collecting salt citations.

"Is Lin Haoran's influence really that great in Guangdong?" Zhao Minghuan frowned and asked in confusion.

Gao Yao looked at Zhao Minghuan with a wry smile and said seriously: "The name of the newly appointed Guangdong Salt Class Examiner is Su Changgui. I personally came forward to win over him, but he received my invitation and did not come.

Instead of keeping the appointment, I went to Shuntianfu Yamen early the next morning to meet Lin Haoran, and then left the capital through Xizhimen."

Although Su Changgui was a loyal person, his dignified Minister of Household Affairs wanted to see him, but Su Changgui did not dare to come to meet him. This also implies Lin Haoran's authority.

"If he avoids you like this, isn't he afraid that you will punish him?" Zhao Minghuan said bitterly.

Gao Yao held the tea cup and lightly poured the tea, and then said helplessly: "Although local officials are afraid of Beijing officials, they usually do it when they are on inspection. But now that the inspection has ended, even though I, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue,

It is also impossible to remove a Salt Class Secretary who is far away in Guangdong for no reason." After that, he looked at everyone and said bitterly: "In the next three years, Guangdong will probably have to have the surname Lin!"

"This won't work, that won't work either, what should we do?" Zhao Minghuan agreed with Gao Yao's analysis and looked at Chen Boren helplessly.

Gao Yao and others also looked at Chen Boren. After all, it was Chen Boren who first proposed the matter. He wanted to combat the movement of Guangdong Salt to the north, and he should have a way.

Chen Boren gently put down the tea cup, faced everyone's gaze, and finally turned his gaze to Xu Fan, and said in an astonishing way: "Get rid of Lin Haoran!"

These five short words shocked everyone's hearts and immediately gave them a feeling of enlightenment.

Chen Boren was a big salt merchant, and he was originally unwilling to enmity with Lin Haoran, a rising political star. However, the development of Guangdong Salt had already deeply threatened Huaiyan, forcing him to kill Lin Haoran.

Yan Song stood in their way, and they all dared to try to get rid of the chief minister of the current dynasty, let alone the Shuntian Prefecture Yin who was only a third-rank official.

"To untie the bell, you also need to tie the bell. This is a wonderful strategy!" Gao Yao was the first to respond.

Zhao Minghuan also nodded and said in agreement: "This method is indeed good. Only by getting rid of Lin Haoran can the problem of Guangdong salt smuggling be solved!" As he said this, he also looked at Xu Fan.

"President Chen, what do you want me to do here?" Xu Fan drank all the tea in the cup and asked calmly. He had long had a grudge against Lin Haoran, and now that he could get rid of Lin Haoran, he also

I decided to add some strength.

Seeing Xu Fan agree, Chen Boren said excitedly: "You should have heard about Mrs. Zhang's case, right?"

"I know!" Zhao Minghuan and others nodded.

Chen Boren no longer pretended, but directly stated his plan: "Lin Haoran's judgment is contrary to the law. This kind of judgment will definitely not be liked by the scholar-bureaucrats. We can use this case to work together!"

"Okay, let's do it like this!" Xu Fan's eyes suddenly lit up, knowing that this matter could be exploited.

They have targets to attack, and what they have now are arrows to attack, especially with their impressive record of killing Wu Shan, which already gives them great confidence.

Everyone discussed some details again, and after getting rid of Wu Shan, the target of the attack turned directly to Lin Haoran, a local official and the real leader of local forces in Guangdong.

Likewise, in the following days, the attack on Lin Haoran was a full-scale public opinion war. From the restaurants in the capital, to the office clerks in the yamen, to the memorials impeaching Lin Haoran one after another.

For a moment, if one only listens to the remarks in the capital's restaurants, or reads the memorials of hundreds of officials, then Lin Haoran is undoubtedly a comatose official who abuses public power, despises the law and is unfit for duty.
Chapter completed!