Lin Yunpu's attitude has been very respectful and humble since he met Zhao Junchen. At this time, when he asked, his expression was still humble and submissive, making it impossible for anyone to find any fault.
However, Zhao Junchen clearly felt a questioning tone from his words.
Obviously, Lin Yunpu's true character is not as low-key as he showed before. When Zhao Junchen rejected his kindness, Lin Yunpu finally showed a little bit of his edge.
However, Lin Yunpu is different from Bai Mingyu. He understands when to show his edge and when to hide it.
At this time, Lin Yunpu's implicit questioning was not only to express his attitude, but also to once again confirm Zhao Junchen's true intentions. If Zhao Junchen was indeed hostile to the Hui-Zhejiang merchant gang, then Lin Yunpu would probably have to take some necessary measures.
Take action!
After all, Zhao Junchen is not only the Minister of Household Affairs of the imperial court, in charge of the world's money, food, taxes, but also has a certain influence on the formulation of imperial policies. If Zhao Junchen is hostile to the Huizhou-Zhejiang Merchant Gang, this will not be the best for the Hui-Zhejiang Merchant Gang.
, is undoubtedly a huge hidden danger and needs to be eliminated as soon as possible!
Zhao Junchen also understood Lin Yunpu's thoughts, and Zhao Junchen did not intend to force the Huizhou-Zhejiang Merchant Gang again and again. After all, the power and influence of the Hui-Zhejiang Merchant Gang should not be underestimated.
Therefore, under the gaze of Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu, Zhao Junchen smiled softly, relaxed the atmosphere slightly, and then said: "Boss Lin misunderstood, I have no ill intentions towards the Hui-Zhejiang Merchant Gang. In fact, I
I also admire the shrewdness and pragmatism of the Huizhou-Zhejiang merchant gang. If it were to change the direction, I would be very willing to cooperate with you, but this is definitely not possible with the Sichuan Salt Affairs matter."
After a pause, Zhao Junchen did not continue to show off. He further explained: "First, credibility is crucial for both officials and businessmen. As for the Sichuan salt matter, I have already discussed it with the Shanxi merchants.
I have also made many promises and guarantees. Although you are very sincere, I cannot arbitrarily overturn my previous promises. Otherwise, not to mention offending the Shanxi Merchant Group, my future credibility will inevitably be lost. Secondly, Sichuan Salt
Rectify and introduce Shanxi merchants to Sichuan. Although this policy was first proposed by me, it was not promoted by me alone. There were many knowledgeable people in the court who were dissatisfied with the current situation of our salt tax and fully supported this policy. In addition,
, the Shanxi merchant collective has also bribed many important officials of the imperial court to support them. Now this policy has become a foregone conclusion. If I want to reverse the change, it is definitely not something I can do by myself."
Having said this, Zhao Junchen glanced at Lin Yunpu and others, and saw that they did not argue fiercely. Instead, they showed deep thoughts, and continued: "Third, and most importantly, as a minister, I must consider your Majesty.
As far as I know, His Majesty also supports this policy, so why should I deliberately go against His Majesty for a mere piece of property?"
Very frankly, Zhao Junchen stated his reasons. He did not hide anything. These reasons were so sufficient that Lin Yunpu and others could not refute them.
Especially after hearing Zhao Junchen's third reason, the expressions of Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu changed slightly. Among them, Dai Fengfu's eyes even flashed a hint of panic.
Obviously, Zhao Junchen was hinting at Emperor Deqing's suppressive and distrustful attitude towards the Hui-Zhe merchant gangs.
In fact, it is not surprising that Emperor Deqing would have such an attitude.
The historical trend of this world is very different from the world where Zhao Junchen originally lived.
In another historical time and space, the Ming Dynasty should have perished during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, and one of the reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty was the existence and strength of the "Donglin Party"! Although the Donglin Party members in the Ming Dynasty were
Qingliu claimed to be good at using moral weapons, but to a large extent they only represented the interests of Jiangnan landlords and Jiangnan merchants. Subjectively, they had lost their will to contribute to the court and put class interests above national interests.
It was used by the landowners and merchants in Jiangnan to fight against the imperial power, or even to refute the imperial power!
In the end, under the resistance of the Donglin Party, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty fell into a vicious cycle of party unity and opposition. All tax reforms and economic policies came to nothing. The landlords and businessmen in Jiangnan also had the support of the Donglin Party.
The refusal to pay commercial taxes and mineral taxes put the Ming Dynasty in a state of extreme financial distress. Coupled with successive years of drought in the north, the people had no harvest, but the court had no money or food to provide relief. This caused Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others to riot and revolt.
, in the end, the Ming Dynasty naturally perished.
What is especially ironic is that after Li Zicheng captured the capital, Emperor Chongzhen ordered people to ring the bell and planned to summon the ministers for the last court meeting. However, the "loyal" Donglin Party members were either in a hurry to escape or were busy surrendering.
However, no one showed up, and only Wang Chengen, a "remnant of the eunuch party", accompanied Emperor Chongzhen. This shows the character of the Donglin party members.
What's even more ridiculous is that after Li Zicheng captured the capital, although most of the Donglin Party members simply defected to Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng's attitude towards them was not as friendly as that of the Ming emperor. Those who should have their homes confiscated should be beheaded.
The beheading of Donglin Party members made the Donglin Party members mourn! Then, by chance, Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and led Qing troops into the pass. The remaining Donglin Party members simply defected to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty treated
Their attitude was much worse than that of Li Zicheng. Tragedies such as the Three Massacres in Jiading, the Ten Days in Yangzhou, and the Literary Prison continued to occur. In addition to the suffering of the people, the Donglin Party completely lost its foundation because of this. By the time Donglin
The party members finally discovered the benefits of the Ming Dynasty and shouted the slogan "Oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty", but they could no longer make any waves.
However, in the historical time and space where Zhao Junchen is now, the situation is different. Emperor Chongzhen in this time and space is not a blind boy who believes blindly. Not only was he not confused by the moral articles of the Donglin Party members, but he took many actions.
These measures were taken to suppress the Donglin Party. Because the factory guards were not abolished, the imperial power was still strong. Through differentiation, checks and balances, bribery and other means, the power of the Donglin Party was gradually weakened, and finally the power of the Donglin Party was completely driven out of the imperial center.
As a result, the landlords and merchants in the south of the Yangtze River lost their influence on the court's policies. Although tax evasion was still common, the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty was finally eased a lot. In this way, the victims in the north received relief.
The uprisings of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others were put out as soon as they emerged. In the end, the Ming Dynasty not only did not perish, but continued to this day; Wu Sangui not only did not surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but the Wu family became a family of famous generals guarding the border; the originally arrogant Manchu Dynasty
Qing was unable to enter the pass, so he could only linger and gasp among the white mountains and black waters...
Although there is inertia in the development of history, the influence of personal factors should still not be ignored. Every time he reads this different historical development, Zhao Junchen will always feel so emotional. It is just because Emperor Chongzhen's talents have improved. The history of the Chinese nation
It actually went in a completely different direction...
It is a pity that although Emperor Chongzhen in this time and space could barely be regarded as the leader of the Ming Dynasty's resurgence, he was limited by the perspective of the times and did not make effective corrections to the various shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty. After Emperor Deqing succeeded to the throne, he only learned
Emperor Chongzhen's centralization methods and imperial scheming made the Ming Dynasty's various ills worse and worse. Although God was good, there were no major natural disasters in various parts of the Ming Dynasty over the years*, coupled with the tinkering of the chief minister Zhou Shangjing.
, it seems that the ruling and opposition parties are stable, but in fact it is already in deep trouble and is terminally ill.
Naturally, Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu would not know about that completely different historical process, but they knew very well how Emperor Chongzhen dealt with the Huizhe merchant gang in this historical time and space, even though it had been decades.
time, but they still remember that period of history and are still afraid.
Therefore, after hearing Zhao Junchen's hint, Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu did not have too many doubts, and soon believed it, thinking that Emperor Deqing had seen the Donglin Party interfere in politics back then, and now he saw Hui
The Zhejiang Merchant Gang gradually regained its strength. In order to prevent it from happening, they inherited Emperor Chongzhen's policy and once again suppressed the Huizhou-Zhejiang Merchant Gang.
Introducing merchants from Shanxi to Sichuan to develop Sichuan salt and indirectly weakening the economic strength of Huizhou and Zhejiang merchant gangs was one of Emperor Deqing's specific methods.
In fact, this is the biggest reason why Zhao Junchen is unwilling to become the spokesperson of the Hui-Zhejiang Merchant Gang in the DPRK.
Thinking of this, Lin Yunpu and others were naturally frightened and at a loss. At the same time, they also lost the idea of continuing to bribe Zhao Junchen.
Firstly, they just wanted to go back to discuss countermeasures. Secondly, they also understood that Zhao Junchen, as a favorite of Emperor Deqing, would never forcefully oppose Emperor Deqing's established policy unless absolutely necessary.
.
So, after a moment of silence, Lin Yunpu spoke again: "So it turns out that I was the one who was rude and made it difficult for you, sir. I'm really sorry. Now that the matter has come to this, we don't dare to force it anymore, so we left."
, However, thank you for telling me the reason, it has benefited us a lot. I only hope that through today's incident, your relationship with the Huizhou-Zhejiang Merchant Gang and others can be closer. I also hope that you will understand that we, Huizhou, etc.
Zhejiang merchants will never treat you badly."
After finishing speaking, Lin Yunpu led Bai Mingyu and Dai Fengfu to bow to Zhao Junchen, and then planned to turn around and leave.
"Wait a minute." Just as Lin Yunpu and others were about to leave, Zhao Junchen suddenly said: "I just said before that there is no possibility of cooperation between me and you about the Sichuan Salt matter, but if it is about other matters, I think we can