It turned out that this tall and thin man named Kong and Zhang was a descendant of the Confucius saint of Qufu, Shandong. At the beginning of this dynasty, the north experienced many years of wars, with no ten household registration left, and there were many empty lands. However, the Jiangnan and other places did not receive the damage from the war and the economy was very prosperous. Especially the textile industry in Songjiang (near Shanghai today), which was very prosperous, with the saying that "Songjiang is wearing a common man and quilting half the world."

Since the textile industry in Jiangnan needs a large amount of cotton, and cotton is a crop that likes dryness and hates wetness, it is not very suitable for the heavy rain in Jiangnan. More importantly, Jiangnan has a dense population and large areas of land are used to plant economic crops such as mulberry silkworms and tea with higher added value. There is no large amount of empty land to plant cotton on a large scale. After the Qing Dynasty defeated the Qing Dynasty, large areas of empty land in the north became an important place for growing cotton. Due to the large demand for raw materials in the south, the price of cotton has risen to an astonishing level, so that for the same acre of land, the income from growing cotton is four to five times that of growing grain.

Under such circumstances, although the imperial court repeatedly banned the abandonment of grain and growing cotton, it was useless. Large cotton manors exporting cotton to Jiangnan cotton textile mills appeared in the empty land in the north. Due to the lack of population in the north after the war, and the need for more labor to plant cotton than food, in order to ensure sufficient labor, a system of forced slavery between serfdom and slavery appeared in these cotton manors. Later historians used a very vivid vocabulary name - the "cotton guest" system.

At first, the main source of cotton-men was prisoners of war or their families, but as more and more manors appeared, the labor gap continued to expand. The greedy manor owners began to buy and even directly forced their neighbors to become cotton-men, and incorporated those small pieces of land into their manors. The Kong family in Qufu was one of the best.

As time goes by, a large number of large cotton manors with an area of ​​dozens of hectares or even hundreds of hectares appeared in the north. However, as the cotton manors expand, new problems arise: the consumption of land by a single economic crop of cotton is very amazing. Often after a piece of land is cultivated for a few years, it will be so barren that it cannot be planted. The owners of the manor often discard it or rent it to cotton customers to plant corn, sweet potatoes and other crops that do not have high requirements for soil. Even so, the yield is pitifully low.

By the end of the 17th century, the population in the north increased greatly, and the expansion of cotton manors became extremely difficult. More importantly, with the continuous increase in cotton production, the demand for cotton in the south did not grow rapidly. The unit price of cotton gradually decreased, and cotton manors gradually became less profitable. In 1693, the cotton harvest in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River was booming, with output exceeding 2.5% higher than that of the usual years, while the nineteen largest textile giants and cotton merchants in the south joined forces to join forces.

, released the stock of previous years and announced that the purchase price of new cotton that year was only 50% of that year. Under this heavy blow, countless small and medium-sized cotton estates and small cotton households in the north went bankrupt. Because the income from selling cotton was not enough to pay for freight and the salary of pickers, many of the cotton in the fields were simply no one to pick them and let them rot in the fields. From a distance, the fields were white, full of cotton pods that had matured and cracked. Later history books called it "the terrifying 93rd year!"

In this case, the northern cotton manor owners had only two choices. They either left the cotton planting industry, divided most of the land into small pieces, rented them to tenants, and changed to plant grain; or expanded the scale of the manor, lowered the unit price, and increased the power to compete with southern cotton merchants and textile factories. At this time, the war with the Khalkha Mongol and Weila Mongol alliance broke out. It turned out that after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, a temporary power vacuum appeared on the Mongolian Plateau. The Junggar people who rose at this time completed the Kara

The Kameng and Weilat Mongolia alliances and tried to forcibly annex the Inner Mongolia region that was already under the control of Shunchao, and Shun immediately sent troops to prevent new threats from appearing on the grasslands. Therefore, during the reign of Xuanzong, Zhezong and Wuzong, China was involved in a 70-year war with the rising Junggar tribe on the Mongolian grasslands. It was not until the mid-18th century that Shun defeated Junggar's attempt and promoted his own power to today's Xinjiang and Outer Mongolia region, and on this basis, established the four Protectorate Palaces, Anxi, Beiting, Shuofang and Zhangbei.

The new expansion war obtained a large area of ​​empty land, and a considerable part of these lands were very suitable for planting cotton. For these cotton manors, it was like a life-saving straw falling from the sky. These cotton manors with strong economic and political power strongly supported the war and quickly established larger and larger cotton manors on the occupied land. For this reason, some historians in later generations simply called the war with the Junggar people the instigated by the cotton manors behind it, and called it the "Cotton War".

The new manor requires a lot of labor. Because locals and Mongolians who are familiar with the local conditions are not suitable, they are mainly bankrupt farmers from the Central Plains. This has become a very profitable trade. Thousands of men and women tied into strings of hemp ropes were escorted from human traffickers riding horses and camels, from the densely populated Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan to the border areas. In this cruel journey, the loss rate of "cargo" was very amazing. About one-third to half of the people would die halfway, but the profit was still very amazing. The traffickers transported people and various tools, transported back cotton, fur and other raw materials, and the profit was as high as 150 or even 200%. The Kong family obtained huge amounts of gold from this dirty trade and used it to establish Renyi Bank, one of the largest private banks in the Shun Empire.

Kong Zhang was grabbed by Chen Zaixing and could not walk. He suddenly shook his sleeves, pointed to the fat man opposite, and shouted: "Fatty Liu, don't talk nonsense in front of the second-level official. No matter how dark my Kong family is, can you still be as dark as you southern barbarians? Those cotton guests are poor men with no tiles on their heads and no inch of land on their feet. Staying in their hometown is a life of starvation. It is better to go to the frontier. At least we have enough food and clothing. It is also a matter of accumulating virtue and doing good deeds when we send them to them.

The workshop mines opened by your Liu family are really like bone-knocking and marrow-sucking. A strong man in his early twenties entered, from at least three years to five years, he became a declining old man, and then he was kicked out to beg for food by you. You are not a workshop, it is clearly the flesh and blood grinder of the King of Hell. Your Liu family earns so much that they are all black-hearted and have the face to say to us. At least when the cotton chef is old, he can still live in his own house, and he will not expose his body on the street like your worker!"

"Bah!" The fat man surnamed Liu scolded: "Accumulating virtue and doing good deeds. There is no place to open up land on the frontier, so why do you need to work for others in the cotton farm? The cotton shops who go to the frontier are tied up by you and untied the ropes on your hands when you urinate and defecate. Is there such a person who accumulates virtue and does good deeds in the world? No matter how our Liu family calls workers, you are willing to fight and the other is willing to be beaten, which is very fair. The sage family of the Confucius family has been passed down from thousands of years, and you can say these words."

It turned out that this fat man surnamed Liu, named Liu, is from Songjiang, and is a prominent family in Jiangnan. Since the Chongzhen period of the previous dynasty, he has had several weaving workshops in Jiangnan. His workshops are well-managed and are famous for being mean to workers and craftsmen. After more than two hundred years of operation, he established the Houde Bank. Since the founding of the country, these two companies have been hating each other for a long time due to cotton prices. Later, the two families have become richer and have become money banks. They are even more enemies, and they have been enemies for more than two hundred years. When they see each other today, they are even more jealous. If it weren't for Chen Zaixing standing among them, they would have been fist-and-foot-to-fighting and fighting.

"Two, two, stay here, stay here!" Chen Zaixing was stuck in the middle, and while pulling the two, he smiled: "I'm looking for two of you today, but it's for a big business. If you do this, then you can only give up today!"

Kong and Liu were cursing, but when they heard the word "big business", their hands and feet stopped immediately. They had been with Chen Zaixing for many years and knew that this second-level official was not only a good imperial examination, but also had a good business style. They had created a huge foundation in Myanmar in a few years. The family's capital was probably no less than one million. The "big business" he said was not a false statement. These two people were both businessmen. As long as they had money to make money, they could greet each other with a smile, let alone a little bit of cheapness. Thinking of this, Kong Zhang was the first to let go of his hand and snorted coldly: "Today, for the sake of the second-level official, Kong would not be as good as you, a southern barbarian!"

"Hmph!" Liu Qingyang snorted coldly and said, "If it weren't for the second-tier official today, I would definitely look good with you, a hypocrite!"

Chen Zaixing hurriedly made a smooth move and said with a smile: "You two have been here for so long, but I'm afraid you're a little hungry. You're in the house with a little wine. It's better to go in and drink a few drinks together and talk about the important things!" After that, he reached out to invite him. Liu and Kong followed Chen Zaixing into the house. Chen Zaixing ordered the maids in Lu Mingting to present the wine and food. After three rounds of wine, the three of them went through the wine. Chen Zaixing saw Liu and Kong's faces gradually became calm. He knew that it was time to speak, so he used a color first. The maids beside him understood the intention and quietly retreated. Only Chen, Liu and Kong were left in the house.

Chen Zaixing poured a glass of wine and stood up to honor each other. Liu and Kong hurriedly stood up, but Chen Zaixing signaled the two to sit down and said, "You two, I'm going to invite you today, not for anything else, but there is a business to do, but I'm short of money. I want to borrow some from you. I'll agree!" After that, he drank the glass of wine and smiled and said, "Mr. Chen is doing it first!"

Kong Zhang was impatient and wanted to overwhelm his old opponent. He quickly raised his head and drank the wine in his glass, and smiled and said, "The second-tier official statement is heavy. If it is a matter of money turnover, why bother so much? Send a servant to the store with your name to the store. It would be 100,000 taels of silver, which would only take five or six days." As he spoke, Kong Zhang's face was full of pride. At that time, a middle-class family earned only a hundred years of silver in a year. He could take out 100,000 taels of silver at one's own mouth. It was no wonder that he was so content.

Liu Qingyang thought much more deeply. He also knew Chen Zaixing's reputation in Hanjing. He was a bachelor of Hongwenguan in his early twenties and a famous minister of the court. He could almost certainly have a bright future for his future. However, this person was able to abandon him like a piece of shoes and ran to Myanmar. In just five years, he had built a million-dollar foundation. Such a person actually specially set up a wine to invite him and greeted him in person outside the courtyard. Could it be just for a mere 100,000 taels of silver? Thinking of this, Liu Qingyang carefully sipped the wine in the glass, put it back on the table, and smiled and said, "Why not the second-level man should tell you the business and the number you need to do, and let me tell you if it is within the capacity of the little man!"

Chen Zaixing glanced over the fat man in front of him with admiration. Those who had dealt with Houde Bank said that the manager of the Liu family really had a calculation hidden in his hair. He always planned to plot against others and would never suffer any loss. Chen Zaixing put the wine glass back on the table and smiled and said, "Everyone knows where to earn this family business?"

Liu and Kong thought to themselves: Everyone knows that although Chen Bangyan is a prominent family in Nanyang, he claims to be a family member through farming and studying. His family has not become rich, and most of the current family wealth is earned by mining in Myanmar. The two looked at each other and replied in unison: "Bangyan is a family business in Myanmar."

"Not bad!" Chen Zaixing nodded and asked, "I'll ask one question, how are you doing in the past few years?"

Kong Zhang was stunned when he heard this, and after hesitating, he replied: "I don't care about the second-tier man. Domestic business in the past few years has not been easy to do. The cotton, wool and other products in the west have already reached the end. There is not much free land. The Russians secretly support the Tartars to cause trouble. The freight is very expensive. Many cotton households and shepherds simply do not grow cotton or raise sheep. Although our bank does not do these businesses directly, they are not easy to live, and we will not live well sooner or later." Speaking of this, Kong Zhang sighed, stared at Liu Qingyang opposite, and cursed: "It's all the blame for those barbarians who opened factories in the south, who have suppressed the price! At that time, the people in the north do not raise sheep and do not grow cotton, and it depends on how you open a factory."

Liu Qingyang sneered and said, "If you don't raise sheep and don't grow cotton, you will naturally have others planted it. Even if you don't plant it, there will naturally be wool on the dock, and the cotton will be transported. If you take out the white silver, are you still afraid that you can't buy anything? A joke!"

"Stop the anger, stop the anger!" Seeing that Kong Zhang was about to jump up, Chen Zaixing hurriedly reached out to stop him. When he was a little quieter, he turned to Liu Qingyang and asked, "Brother Liu, how is your business there?"

When Liu Qingyang heard Chen Zaixing ask himself, his face became bitter and sighed: "Hey, my business is getting harder every year. The poor people in the north of China weave cloth themselves and sell the cloths they produce. The goods outside rushed in like a tide. A few years ago, the foreigners charged heavy taxes on my Dashun goods in Nanyang, and the market there was a large amount missing, but the workers' wages increased by one in a few years. Alas, this business cannot be done!"

Kong Zhang sneered and said, "It's strange. You will also pay workers a wage. It will snow in June!"

Liu Qingyang glared at Kong Zhang fiercely and wanted to say something, but then sighed and said, "Who is willing to process money for those poor people? The rice price has been rising over the years. This spring, a bucket of brown rice in Hanjing has increased to 2.5 cents of silver. In any case, the wages paid must be enough to make the workers eat and work hard! Alas, this is all blamed for the court. The Thai rice that arrived at the port is only 1.7 cents, but the officials in the court said, "If you import foreign rice, you will only harm the farmers and harm the country's capital!", and a total of 50% tariffs were added to such a high grain price. Small farmers did not have so much excess grain for sale, but they all got cheaper for those big grain households. The money was scraped from us!" Speaking of this, the fat meat on Liu Qingyang's face was trembling without any tremor. Obviously, his heart was already extremely painful at this time.
Chapter completed!