"I'm a salt merchant, and I earn my fortune by selling grain?" Zhu Su said with a sarcastic look on his face. "Just now, I opened my mouth and was young, but I kept my mouth shut and the prince didn't know."
"Why, do you really think that this king is young and ignorant and is ready to draw chestnuts from the fire?"
"How dare you common people? Your words are serious. Please calm down."
Ma Fengsun lowered his head and kept begging for mercy, pretending to be scared, but the eyes hidden in the shadows revealed a bit of disdain and cunning. "Dongdong, Dongdong, are the common people not commanding the Suzhou Guards?"
As a relative of General Yang."
"Can we, the Ming Dynasty court, have my own family?"
"...Yang Lu?" Zhu Su was startled, remembering Commander Yang who had the same smiling face.
"Ah, that's right, that's right. It's Commander Yang who just had a banquet with his master a few months ago!" Ma Feng and Sun Mei said with a smile, but there was a hint of unnoticeable pride deep in his eyes.
"The civilian is the uncle of Commander Yang in the guard station. To be honest, the lady Yang in the palace is also the niece of the civilian!"
"Ha." Zhu Su laughed. Sure enough, there are people in the court who are good at doing things. The man surnamed Ma can handle the castration of a wealthy state like Suzhou. Sure enough, he has some connections in the court.
It has been known since ancient times that salt merchants are not easy to get along with. They are the combatants among merchants and the most difficult to mess with. This group often has a very high status in both the black and red circles.
, the rich ones are not as powerful as him, the powerful ones are not as strong as him with connections, and the ones with strong connections are not as powerful as him!
Aside from other things, let’s just say that among a group of Suzhou salt merchants from decades ago, who was the most famous person? Zhang Shicheng!
Zhang Shicheng, who dominates Suzhou and competes for the east, has a background as a salt merchant!
Salt merchants pay salt fees to the yamen in exchange for castrates to transport salt to all directions. When transporting salt, they often ask for more "private salt" than the number of castrates. In order to sell those private salts, salt merchants often have salt transport forces loyal to themselves.
, called "salt stick". Even some salt merchants themselves are not a good leg in the world.
As a salt merchant in Suzhou, Ma Fengsun had the backing of a powerful general like Yang Lu, and had Concubine Yang in the court. He wanted the "locality" countless times more than other "local snakes". No wonder, he was not very afraid of himself.
"Strong Dragon".
Thinking about it, he also heard that he was polite to Yang Lu before, and Yang Lu lent him another thousand soldiers. Is it considered "kind"? That's why he dared to show that kind of relationship to his face, thinking that he would definitely know how to network.
Let’s open up, shall we?
After all, hoarding may not sound good when mentioned, but in reality, it is not a big deal. After all, there are currently no provisions in the law that address that aspect.
Even if the Suzhou magistrate and others go to Beijing to sue, given Concubine Yang’s face, they can at most just fine her a few taels of silver and settle the matter, right?
In the east wing, Ma Fengsun looked at Zhu Su knocking on the armrest thoughtfully, and couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth with a hint of control. Sure enough, as he expected, the young prince made a mistake and weighed it.
Here come the pros and cons.
Earlier, my nephew, who was the commander, had said that the Prince of Wu was not a child at all, so now, he just wanted to show his support in front of the emperor.
The "combination of kindness and power" with one move has frightened so many people into taking out their food. This is enough to make a difference, and the tough hedgehog will definitely not come back to bite him.
Moreover, even if the shipping of military rations is really profitable, with his nephew's connections in the military, he will probably lose his place?
Why pay such a high price to fill the bottomless pit of King Wu?
Ma Fengsun thought that Zhu Su would never move his legs, but he didn't know that Zhu Su was already sitting high above Lindong and caught the smile at the corner of his mouth.
Is he really weighing the pros and cons? It is true that he deliberately wanted to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey" from the beginning and wanted to "force" a few disobedient businessmen to rebel.
But Ru Ming, who took the lead, was unexpectedly related to Suzhou Guard Commander Yang Lu, so he had to reconsider.
There is no harm in a businessman harboring resentment. It can be used as bait to catch turtles in a urn.
But if he could force the government to rebel... Although he didn't want to rely on Suzhou Wei Yang Lu, a guy who seemed unreliable. But if this person had an affair, he would be very happy.
I really want to weigh it up.
After thinking about it, Zhu Su decided to take out the man named Ma alone and teach him a lesson. At first glance, Yang Lu seemed to be a selfish person. Although Ma Fengsun and he were not close relatives,
This person has finally climbed to the position of commander, and he may not necessarily stand up for a mere uncle.
Secondly, while I was thinking about the pros and cons, some of the merchants in Didong who had promised to "provide grain" had expressed regret and pain. If the horse salt merchant was not allowed to run free, I was afraid that
After those merchants who obediently served the food went back, they must have complained about themselves!
It's the lesser of two evils, and besides, I really don't like the person named Ma.
"Di Meng." Zhu Su said.
"What are your orders from the east of the palace?" Upon hearing this, a soldier standing next to Zhu Su immediately turned around and half-knelt to the east and responded. The clatter of armor while squatting to the east also made the man in the east think that the overall situation was decided.
Ma Fengsun was stunned on the spot, and the other merchants who were watching could not help but hold their breath and concentrate.
"Whether he was an official or a general in the Ming Dynasty, he was always honest and self-responsible. All the people in the palace also understood the righteousness and never interfered in politics."
"The salt merchant surnamed Ma dared to arbitrarily accuse the general of the imperial court and mentioned the names of the concubines in my father's palace in front of a large crowd, in order to suppress the king." Zhu Su said calmly.
"Gah?" Ma Fengsun was immediately confused. Then...isn't that just telling the truth? When did he falsely accuse the general? As for Concubine Yang's name, he didn't even say a word of it!
"I will make some calculations and find out that the person surnamed Ma must be relying on the name of General Yang and Concubine Yang to dare to hoard. In ordinary months, he must be doing a lot of illegal things."
"Otherwise, how could he, a salt merchant, accumulate so much grain?"
"I'm going to check it out and find out what punishments should be deducted. Can this be the first major case I've encountered since I came to Suzhou? I can't be vague about it."
"No!" Di Meng suppressed his laughter and tried to show a dignified expression with a straight face. The merchants in Didong also had strange expressions on their faces. That palace owner had a nice mouth, and, what's more, he counted with his fingers? That palace owner, that one?
Is there any brand new method of trapping?
"Palace...East of the palace, the common people are willing to donate! The common people are willing to donate 70,000 dan!" Ma Fengsun's knees went weak in shock and he screamed immediately. He never expected that the prince would actually use the matter of hoarding food.
, and slapped a hat on his head that said he was "standing in the name of General Yang and Concubine Yang."
Although there is no prohibition in the teaching, when it comes to "virtue", whether it is Concubine Yang in the palace or Yang Lu, the commander, she will definitely not stand up for it.
If you don't stand out, you can bet on your official career and the favor of the emperor in the harem!
My family knows their own affairs. If I were to stir-fry with those things, it would be hard to say whether my nephews and nieces, who are now separated by a layer, would miss my "close relative"!
"It's so quick to give in. It's too late." Zhu Su sneered. Unlike the reactionaries who only know how to be afraid at the critical moment, even if he withdraws his legs at this time, he will still hate himself deeply. In this case,
Why not get the food from his house first?
Anyway, you have to hate it if you take it, and you have to hate it if you don't take it. People on the left and right don't hate it, so it's better to give the Susong victims more confidence first.
"Master! The common people are willing to donate 80,000, no, 90,000..." Ma Yanshang continued to add more money. I have to say that this person is indeed a ruthless person. Once he knows the direction of the trend, he will not hesitate to spend money. Zhu Su has already gone.
I made up my mind to have him operated on, but not only was I unmoved by this, I even raised the corner of my mouth, intending to humiliate and tease him.
"Ah, this person has such a sharp voice!" Zhu Laowu looked frightened with his legs clasped in front of his heart. "Are you trying to get violent and hurt someone?"
"I am still young and cannot withstand that kind of fright. Di Meng, please shut up this man and drag him away!"
"My body is weak and I will suddenly fall ill!"
"No." Di Meng twitched the corner of his mouth. He had received professional training and successfully maintained the seriousness on his face and walked away. In Ma Fengsun's horrified and unbelievable eyes, he knocked him out with the handle of a knife and dragged him away.