The county magistrate was destroyed and the governor of the family was exterminated.

In this era, there is actually no pure business competition. In the end, things are often a competition for political resources. This is why Shanxi merchants can make a lot of money to raise Yangzhou thin horses, while also doing salt business.

Wang Zhi could only make a living at sea.

The reason why the officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty lived such a prosperous life was not only that they had already completed the accumulation of primitive capital, but also that they had the ability to influence the decision-making of local officials and even make local officials use them for their benefit.

The reason why Wang Youyin dared to seize the silk routes of the United Merchant Group was precisely because he had the powerful backing of the Suzhou prefect, which made him almost invincible in Suzhou City.

The rank of the prefect of Suzhou is the fourth rank. Since there is no third division in Nanzhili, it has a high degree of autonomy and is only supervised by the Yushitai of Nanzhili and the governor of Yingtian.

The main streets of Suzhou City are Weiqian Street, Fuqian Street and Daoqian Street. Fuqian Street is a long street that runs through the north-south central axis, and Weiqian Street and Daoqian Street are straight streets that run from east to west. Suzhou Fuyamen

Official government offices such as Su Song Chang Bing Bei Da Yamen are located on Daoqian Street.

Wang Youyin rode a sedan through the lively streets and hurriedly walked into the government office. When he reached the main hall, two government officials blocked his way: "Wait a minute! Who are you? This is the government office of Lord Fu!"

"I am Wang Youyin. Please tell the magistrate that I have something important to discuss with him!" Wang Youyin straightened his back and said with a straight face to the two officials.

One of the yamen looked at Wang Youyin suspiciously, but still chose to refuse: "It is noon now, and the Lord of the Palace will be resting at this time. You can come back later!"

"Just go in and report!" Wang Youyin frowned slightly, his face looking displeased.

The two yamen exchanged glances. The first yamen nodded slightly, and the other yamen hurriedly ran inside.

In just a moment, a servant came out from inside. With a flattering smile on his face, he cupped his hands and said to Wang Youyin: "Wang Yuan, I'm sorry, please follow me inside!"

"Thank you!" Wang Youyin knew that this servant was Ma Jiyuan's confidant, so he responded with a smile.

The two government servants watched Ma Jiyuan being welcomed inside, but they couldn't help but look at each other and said, "It's not that the king is at odds with our master, why is it that the master is so polite to the king?"

These words fell directly into Wang Youyin's ears, and the corners of Wang Youyin's mouth slightly raised.

Since collusion between officials and businessmen would be criticized and would even bring disadvantages to Ma Jiyuan's career, they had always met in private and secretly. Many people were unaware of his close relationship with Magistrate Ma.

It was when the matter reached this point that he no longer planned to hide it. He wanted to show the amazing influence of his Wang family to the entire city of Suzhou, making everyone look at him with admiration, Wang Youyin.

They are both magistrates, but they are actually divided into three levels, and their status is even very different.

Although the status of the Suzhou magistrate cannot be compared with that of Shuntian Fuyin and Yingtian Fuyin, he is in charge of the richest Ming Dynasty. This government office alone is full of magnificence.

The two bypassed the screen in the lobby and came to the second hall. After passing the second hall, they found the third hall, and on the east side was the pledge room. Ma Jiyuan seemed to have a habit of taking a lunch break. At this time, he was not in the pledge room, but in the back house.

Wang Youyin followed his servant into the back house through the Moon Gate, and it was like a flower in the dark. The environment here is quiet, with tall trees in the east, rockery in the west, a small lake in the middle, green water, and pavilions. It is full of the elegance of Suzhou gardens.

When he saw such a beautiful scene, his eyes showed a hint of envy. If he hadn't been a good student, why wouldn't he want to enter an official career and enjoy the wealth and splendor of the world.

Wang Youyin quickly put aside these distracting thoughts and followed the servant from the corridor to a study room at the end. There were several bookshelves here and it was filled with the atmosphere of books.

Ma Jiyuan is over fifty years old, and his hair is half white, but he still looks energetic. His facial features are soft and his skin is fair, but he gives off a refined air.

If we use the words of later generations to describe him, he can be regarded as a scholar-type official.

Because Ma Jiyuan liked ancient books and loved reading, the officials and gentry in Suzhou also liked him and gave him many treasures. Even Wang Youyin gave Ma Jiyuan two unique copies.

When Wang Youyin came in, Ma Jiyuan was reaching out to take down a book from the bookshelf. When he turned around and saw Wang Youyin, he raised his hand gently and said: "Brother, please sit down first!"

When Wang Youyin heard the title of "World Brother", he felt a lot more at ease. The other party had always thought about the family friendship between the two families, and even more so the kindness of his family's support.

The most important thing is that although Ma Jiyuan has been in office for two years, he has never asked Ma Jiyuan to do anything, and has always retained the favor Ma Jiyuan owed him to the Wang family.

Wang Youyin sat down, but he directly stated the purpose of his visit without seeming to show off. He wanted Ma Jiyuan to come forward and seal down the silk workshops in the city.

"Brother, you are eager to find me this time, isn't it... do you want me to help you seal down the silk workshops in Suzhou City?" Ma Jiyuan asked with complicated eyes, holding an ancient book in his hand.

Wang Youyin nodded solemnly, worried that Ma Jiyuan would shirk it, and immediately added: "It only takes three days to seize him! Brother Ma, I have already thought of the name of this seizure for you. Just say that you got a tip and there are people in the city.

The owner of the silk workshop secretly sold the silk to the Japanese pirates and blamed the Japanese pirates!"

These are all experiences summed up in the political struggles of the Ming Dynasty. When dealing with political opponents, they always try to amplify the problem. For example, against the King of Yi, after the accusation of "atrocities and disregard of human life" failed to receive an effective response from the court,

This is to bring the matter to the crime of treason.

As long as Ma Jiyuan used the banner of "pursuing silk merchants who colluded with Japanese pirates", no matter how unreasonable his move to seal down silk workshops was, it would become reasonable and legal, thus successfully achieving the results he wanted.

In just three days, he would be confident that he could get back on good terms with the United Bank, and he would be able to survive this crisis, and even make a lot of money from the wealthy United Bank.

Wang Youyin said his request and immediately looked at Ma Jiyuan with hope. All his hopes of making a comeback fell on Ma Jiyuan.

He believed that Ma Jiyuan would not refuse his small request. After all, Ma Jiyuan owed him the favor of the Wang family, and there was a very good reason for this matter, which did not require much effort at all.
Chapter completed!