The autumn rain is like silk, and with the autumn wind, waves of chill hit my heart.
Pedestrians on the street were running hurriedly in the swaying wind and rain, and it really felt like passers-by were dying. [bsp; A carriage came gently, with four horses riding on the shaft, and it drove smoothly and steadily.
If you look at it at first glance, you won’t think there is anything unusual about this car. The car is very sophisticated in its manufacture, but it is by no means luxurious. The car is wide and large, but it uses very few materials and decorations. This is really unusual in a place where wealthy businessmen from Lianghuai and Huaihe River gather.
It was not a very conspicuous car. However, sitting in this car was Pan Qiren, the head of the Pan family, the largest salt merchant in Lianghuai.
The Lianghuai Salt Fields are located along the Yellow River north of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu. The one north of the Huaihe River is called the Huaibei Salt Fields, and the one south of the Huaihe River is called the Huainan Salt Fields. They are the largest salt fields in the history of our country. They are known to have "the benefit of boiling salt since ancient times."
In the southeast, the two Huaihe Rivers are the highest." It is said that "the two Huaihe Rivers have the highest salt tax in the world".
There are many salt fields in Lianghuai and there are also many rich people, but when it comes to the long history of the business and the rich family wealth, the Pan family is the leader. It is said that the Pan family salt field existed as early as the early years of the Song Dynasty. Over the years, the Pan family’s heritage has
It is conceivable. Therefore, there are many rich people in Lianghuai, and the Pan family is like an aristocratic Hui family among the rich. Whether it is style, taste, or sitting, lying and walking, they are far from being comparable to those of the nouveau riche.
The car owned by the head of the Pan family is plain and plain, because the Pan family no longer needs to decorate its appearance with wealth. However, although the car does not look gorgeous inside, it is extremely spacious and comfortable. The tables, chairs, couches and curtains are all
Under the erosion of time, it has a kind of precipitation over time. As long as the vision is not too bad, who would underestimate it because it is not a magnificent color at first glance.
Pan Qiren is over sixty years old, but he looks like he is in his early forties. He is very well-maintained. He is tall, has a clear face, has very bright eyes, has a neatly combed long beard, and wears a blue gown.
, sat in this car, his momentum was calm, but he had a kind of imperial majesty. Here, he was the emperor. There were countless salt merchants in Lianghuai, many of whom were rich enough to rival the country. Behind these people, there was a huge force.
Political power, and the king of these people is Pan Qiren.
Seeing the master's car coming back from a distance, the two gatekeepers ran out holding umbrellas, opened the gate, stood by the door and bowed to welcome the master. The carriage bowed straight in, and when the car entered, the gate slammed shut again. This is just
There is a side door, and the door is much wider than the front door of an ordinary house. There are two welcoming pine trees at the door, and when you enter the yard, you will see a long straight road, with sycamores planted on both sides.
The car drove until it stopped at the corridor at the end of the road. The pedal was put down and the car door opened. Pan Qiren slowly stepped out of the car and stood firmly on the ground. The steward of the Pan family, who was wearing a long robe, looked as gentle and elegant as a
Master Shaoxing gently lifted the front train of his robe to come up to him and helped Mr. Pan. Pan Qiren was still in good health and did not need help, and the steward did not really use his strength to help him, but the two of them
Lifting his arms and putting his hands together was very natural and didn't feel artificial at all.
Under the dripping eaves on both sides of the corridor, raindrops were like curtains, slapping against the fat plantains on the corridor. Then he smiled and said: "Two million catties, what do you think?"
Pan Qiren's expression was calm, and there was no sign of surprise when his son heard what Shen Wendu said just now. He said directly without blinking an eyelid: "My nephew, since it was Mr. Ji who spoke, I have no objection to it. But, you
I also know the salt method of the Ming Dynasty. The salt produced in this salt farm has a fixed amount. I asked my nephew to take away these two million kilograms of salt. Even though there was some in the library, there was not much, so I transferred it to the Salt Envoy.
, how should I deal with the Salt Class Tijuan Division? Since my nephew is here under the orders of Master Ji, Master Ji should solve this problem for me, right? "
Shen Wendu laughed, with the arrogance of a villain and said: "Shibo, I know that the name Master Ji alone cannot scare you! Hahaha, maybe in Shibo's heart, I, Shen Wendu, pretend to be a fox and a tiger, and I am pretending to be Ji.
Are you going to blackmail me in your name?"
Mr. Pan smiled and said: "My nephew is serious. It's only two million jins, which is not a small amount. My nephew asked me to bring out this batch of salt. I can indeed afford it, but if I take out this salt, even if I can't exchange it for nothing,
The extra money should be worth it, right?"
"What does it mean to be worthy?"
"Eliminate disasters, not cause them!"
"Okay, okay, okay..."
Shen Wendu laughed again. He glanced at Pan Qiren triumphantly, touched his arms, took out two things, put them gently on the table, pushed them to Pan Qiren's hand, and said proudly: "Shibo, you also know that Jin Yiwei is
Those who work directly for the emperor need to spend more money to do more, bigger and more secret things. The money allocated by the Ministry of Accounts is not enough!
For this matter, we can no longer ask for money from the Ministry of Household Affairs, so the emperor issued an order to transfer salt from the salt farm, and his nephew will come forward to run it. All the proceeds will be used for military supplies. It is good for Shibo to know about this. Please note
After all, it is difficult to say clearly that trouble comes from the mouth. If the envoy of the Salt Envoy and Tiju Division knew about it and wrote a bitter remonstrance, refuting the emperor's face, this matter would be difficult to handle. "
"Of course I know this!"
Pan Qiren picked up the waist tag and looked at it. It was indeed the ivory waist tag of a senior military attaché of the Jin Yi Guard. He then took the piece of paper and unfolded it gently. It was actually an order from Emperor Yongle to Ji Gang, the commander of the Jin Yi Guard. What he said was the same as Shen Wendu's.
It is indeed the same as what he said, and there is the small seal of Emperor Yongle on the bottom.
"My nephew, this warrant..."
Shen Wendu said displeasedly: "Shibo, isn't Mr. Ji's face enough? If you want this warrant, my nephew will keep it for you, but if Mr. Ji is not happy,
Shibo, my nephew can't bear the burden for you! My nephew doesn't believe it. With the Gu family's position in the Taishan Beidou of the Lianghuai Salt Farm, the Gu family will have no way to explain to the Salt Envoy after this batch of salt is allocated!"
Pan Qiren chuckled: "Of course I know my nephew's difficulties. Well, since this is the emperor's will, how can I not agree? When will you need this batch of salt?"
"The sooner the better!"
"Okay, give me three days to prepare. After three days, you come to pick up the salt!"
Shen Wendu was overjoyed. He grabbed back the waist badge and the warrant written by Emperor Yongle to Ji Gang, carefully put it back into his arms, and said happily: "Then I won't bother you. My nephew takes his leave. I'll come back to see Shibo in three days!"
Pan Qiren then stood up and said with a smile: "It's raining, and it's rare for my nephew to come to my Gu family. How can I just leave like this? Let's stay for a light meal!"
Shen Wendu sneered in his heart: "Do you know how to flatter me now?"
He said: "No, no, thank you very much, Uncle Shi. My nephew still has a lot of things to do, so I'll take my leave now. Uncle Shi, stay here, brother, stay here!"
Pan Qiren stood under the dripping eaves, with one hand behind his waist and the other stroking his beard, looking thoughtfully at the rain and fog in front of him. After a while, Pan Sanye, who had sent Shen Wendu away, hurried back and waved to him. The servant holding an umbrella said to Pan Qiren: "Father, do we agree to him now? Two million pounds of salt, he...he will leave with just one word! I just sent him out and listened to what he said. I mean, it seems... it seems that it's not just this time, I might have people come to ask for salt in the future, when will this end?"
"Be calm in everything. If you are so impatient, what problem can you solve?"
Mr. Pan glared at his son displeasedly, turned around and went back to the living room, and Mr. Pan followed him in.
"Tomorrow morning, you go to the Salt Transfer Department to pick up the salt section. The salt that should be delivered will have to be delayed."
"this……"
Pan Sanye said: "Father, there are quite a lot of merchants, big and small, who come to the salt field from all over the country to bring salt. I don't know how long this delay will last. They..."
"We only need to explain it to the Salt Envoy and the Liji Division. We don't need to worry about this matter!"
"yes!"
Sanye Pan lowered his hands and listened to the instructions, muttering in his heart. The salt method implemented in the Ming Dynasty was the Kaizhong method, which originated from the compromise method of the Song Dynasty. Because transporting grain to the frontiers is long and expensive, it is a huge burden. This There was also a supervision issue involved. Therefore, the imperial court implemented this method and asked merchants to transport grain to the border areas for military supplies. After the shipment arrived, they would be given salt guides according to the amount of grain and rice, and then go to the salt field to collect salt based on the salt guide. Sell back salt for profit.
In this way, using the power of salt merchants to transport grain to the border will not have any impact on the current system of the official government. As long as part of the profits are transferred to the salt merchants, the transportation of grain and wages can be completed by the merchants alone, and the official government does not need to Anyone who invests in manpower and material resources can enjoy the benefits. At the same time, through the opening of the Central Law, merchants can be effectively mobilized and private capital can be used to solve the transportation of military supplies. This not only reduces the people's corvee burden, but also promotes the economic development of border areas.
Therefore, there are all kinds of salt merchants from various places who are waiting to get salt. Among them are rice merchants and big salt merchants who are very powerful in various places. These people are also very powerful, so Mr. Pan is a little guilty. Goo.
Mr. Pan added: "Also, if someone wants to keep an eye on Shen Wendu, he will never only look for our family. After he has found several salt merchants, he will find a way to get his 'warrant'. The means must be Clever, you can’t let him know that it was stolen, but that it was ‘destroyed’!”
Mr. Pan said in surprise: "Father, that is the emperor's order, let's... let's take that one..., ah!"
Halfway through speaking, Mr. Pan's expression changed and he said in disbelief: "Father, you mean...?"
Mr. Pan said solemnly: "The Salt Transfer Department and the Salt Class Lifting Department have envoys from the Metropolitan Procuratorate in charge, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is Chen Ying's territory. If the emperor had really issued such an order, do you think Ji Gang would have spent a lot of money? After many twists and turns, bypassing the two salt law yamen and putting pressure on us directly? Humph! Shen Wendu will go directly to the Salt Envoy Department and promote the department, just like Shen Wendu showed his power to the Pan family and showed his power to Chen Ying! "
Mr. Pan said anxiously: "In that case, we shouldn't give him the salt, it's two million catties!"
Mr. Pan shook his head and exclaimed: "The emperor's order may be fake, but the person sent by Ji Gang is not fake. We can't afford to offend him! With the current status of our Gu family, even if it means breaking our muscles and bones,
, As long as life and death are not at stake, can you still risk it and fight to the death with such an incredible powerful minister?"
Mr. Pan lowered his hands and said, "Yes! It's just... in this case, why... why should we steal the warrant?"
Mr. Pan glared at him angrily, shook his head and sighed: "Third brother, compared to your eldest brother and second brother, your experience is really too little. Just do things, one day, you will understand!"
Mr. Pan said with shame: "Yes, my son will make arrangements right now!"
※The newest
In the back garden of the Yang family, under the pomegranate tree, Xia Xun was lying on a leisure chair, looking at his daughters playing in the flowers in front of them. Accompanying them were two beauties from Qiuci, Xilin and Jeanne. They had blond hair.
The two blue-eyed women are already a common sight in the Yang family. The children are not afraid of them and get along very well with them.
Nowadays, the two girls have truly grown up, mature and charming, like two juicy and delicious peaches. Their skin is as white as jade, but not as rough as Westerners, and their physical development is not as rough as that of Westerners.
They are far more three-dimensional than Han girls. The skirts worn on their bodies perfectly outline their proud figures. Their waists are so thin that the curves of their hips are even under the skirts.
The protrusions are extremely exaggerated, like two queen bees with slim waists and fat hips.
Two queen bees lead a few happy little bees to fly around among the flowers. When they bend down, dodge, and jump, their waists are flexible, their hips are plump, and their breasts are swaying.
Show the spring scenery that makes men intoxicated.
However, there were only two men at the scene, one was Xia Xun who was lying on the leisure chair, and the other was Dai Yubin. Dai Yubin didn't dare to look, and Xia Xun... didn't dare to look either.
Because as long as his eyes meet the two girls Xilin and Jeanne, he will see a hint of resentment. Yes, if they tried to flatter Xia Xun before, their main purpose was to have someone to rely on, but now they are completely exhausted physically and mentally.
They are mature, but they want a man even more. And in the Yang family, except Xia Xun, who else dares to touch them?
So they wanted to be locked in a deep palace, surrounded by a group of eunuchs. The women could only glance at Xia Xun from time to time with their fiery and resentful eyes, and at the same time glare hatefully at the person standing next to Xia Xun.
"The Great Eunuch", if it weren't for this guy, they should have a chance to get close to their master.
Eunuch Dai...ah! Dai Yubin reported to Xia Xun without squinting: "The arrangements have been made according to the Duke's instructions, and the emperor will receive the news soon."
Xia Xun said "Yeah" and said: "That's it, you are still mainly responsible for keeping an eye on Ji Gang's news. You can't let up on this matter!"
Dai Yubin agreed, then hesitated: "Ji Gang has become more and more arrogant recently, and has reached the point of being arrogant. The evidence we have now is not enough to defeat him as long as we mobilize enough force. Isn't the Duke too cautious?"
some!"
Xia Xun said: "If you get something, just shake it. That's a child's complaint! A changing heavenly account records everyone's problems. Today's glory is endless, but there may not be any problems, or no one will find his problems. Just because the chess piece is still needed for the official return to the game, the problem is not a problem. If you act rashly at this time, you may hurt yourself. Only when the chess piece becomes useless will the problem become a murder. Knife! Haha, you have to be patient when playing chess!"
Just as he said this, a gust of wind blew by, and a ripe pomegranate suddenly fell from the tree above his head. Xia Xun opened his hand, and the pomegranate fell steadily into his palm. This scene happened to be seen by Si Xun, He immediately jumped up and said, "I'll eat it, daddy, give it to me!" and then ran over.
Xia Xun smiled and handed the pomegranate to his daughter, and then said to Dai Yubin: "Most fruits taste bitter before they are ripe. Why not wait until they are ripe before tasting them?"
Miss Xilin, who was chasing after Sixun and ran up to her, happened to hear these words, and glanced at Xia Xun with a pair of big sea-blue eyes even more resentfully, thinking: "She is already mature, why doesn't the master taste it? "