For several days in a row, the officials at the Hedong Saltworks drank freely every day and feasted every night. In the morning, the officials were hungover and couldn't wake up. When they finally woke up at noon, they were told to drink. After a meal, they were in a daze and did not wake up.
, and in the evening there was another banquet...
The younger ones were okay and had strong recovery capabilities, but the older or in poor health officials gradually couldn't bear it anymore and started to take sick leave one after another.
Wang Fukiao complained endlessly and had no choice. Others might ask for leave to hide for a day or two, but how could he, the salt farm supervisor, hide away?
In desperation, I had to ask my family for help...
The most famous surnames of the Hedong family are the three surnames "Pei Xue Liu", but these three surnames maintain their own identities and rarely send people to hold positions in the salt field. The only Liu Changyun is just a distant branch of the "Liu family in Jie County".
The slightly inferior "Longmen Wang Family", "Anyi Sima" and other aristocratic families are the main force in charge of salt production.
But once encountering difficulties, "Pei Xue Liu" still needs to come forward...
…
The sun shines brightly, the glass shines brightly, the remaining snow accumulates in the corners of the walls and on the eaves, the branches of dry trees are criss-crossed, and the birds flutter their wings and fly over the eaves and brackets of the continuous houses.
In the Xue family's ancestral house, Wang Fukiao met Xue Mai, the head of the Xue family's south ancestral house, the oldest and most senior of the three existing "Pei Xue Liu" families.
Xue Mai is now in his prime years, but he still has fair hair and a childlike face, and is full of energy. Sitting on the ground mat with a thin and withered figure, there is a vague awe-inspiring aura of dead branches in the wind and snow, just looking at his complexion,
I'm afraid it won't be a problem if I live another ten years.
But the younger brother Xue Shou sitting beside him was obese, with a sluggish expression, gray hair, age spots on his face and hands, and an aura of decay...
Normally, Wang Fijiao's status is not enough to receive personal reception from the two heads of the "Fenyin Xue family", but the Hedong salt farm is not only one of the most important financial resources of the Hedong family, but also the foundation for the Hedong family to influence the world, so it is favored by various families.
Wang Fijiao, who was elected as the supervisor of the salt field, had a sudden rise in status and could sit at the same table as Xue Mai and Xue Shou.
Even so, Wang Fukiao did not dare to slack off at all. He knelt down on the floor with his back straight, his upper body slightly leaning forward, his hands neatly placed on his legs, and his expression respectful.
When Wang Fijiao finished describing the current predicament, the plump Xue Shou was very dissatisfied: "You were selected from thousands of people like us and placed in the salt field. We expect you to control the salt field well to protect the interests of everyone. How can you face a hammer?"
But we are helpless? Thousands of people on the salt field are ours. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is an iron wall. We can squeeze him away by any means. Why come over and cause trouble to us two old people? Useless things.
."
Wang Fukiao ignored the scolding and smiled bitterly: "It's true that Fang Jun cannot be treated with common sense. This junior really doesn't know how to deal with it."
It's not completely helpless, but Fang Jun has a different identity and has a holy family. If the method is too strong and angers His Majesty behind him, who knows what the consequences will be?
Now the whole city of Chang'an is in turmoil, and the struggle for power is everywhere. If it leads to unexpected consequences and ruins the affairs of the Hedong family, it will be troublesome...
Xue Shou is impatient to hear this. If things are easy to handle, what do you need to do?
Just as he was about to say more, Xue Mai raised his hand to stop him...
Xue Mai took a sip of tea and asked, "What are you doing in the salt field these days?"
Wang Fukiao replied respectfully: "I only took the saltworks officials to drink and have banquets all day long. His drinking capacity is huge and unfathomable. No one can drink more than him. He is drunk every time, and he doesn't care about business. What he brought Some officials and followers just walked around the salt field and drew some incomprehensible drawings without any substantial involvement."
Since we are here to "rectify the salt affairs", we must have some understanding of the operation of the salt works, right?
How much is produced, where is it sold, how much is sent to the court, how much is kept for one's own use, how much is the selling price, the composition of the personnel... Such a large salt farm earns more than one million guan every year, and involves countless matters. There is no familiar process for a year and a half. What about "rectification"?
Unable to figure out Fang Jun's tactics, but not daring to use any means to "drive him away", Wang Fuxiao naturally didn't know how to deal with it, so he could only come to the boss to ask for advice. The stakes were really high and he couldn't bear the responsibility...
Xue Shou looked older and less energetic, but he was impatient. He couldn't help but ask: "He didn't reveal the purpose of this trip?"
Before His Majesty's imperial edict was issued, the Hedong family had a discussion on the so-called "rectification of salt affairs." The consensus was that this was His Majesty's attempt to control the Hedong Salt Pond. It was impossible to expel all the Hedong families in one go. After all, The Hedong Family has controlled the salt pond for hundreds of years, and everyone from top to bottom is a member of the Hedong Family. Once the officials, clerks, civil servants, and saltmen go on strike collectively, the Hedong Salt Pond will be paralyzed, even if manpower is drawn from elsewhere to fill the salt pond and restore production capacity. It would take three to five years. Even if the imperial court could withstand the huge losses caused by this, the consequences of the people not being able to eat salt would be even more serious.
In this case, His Majesty's intention can only be to increase profits from the existing salt pond interests.
The most important thing is how much profit your Majesty wants to share...
His Majesty, armed with the overwhelming power of destroying Guanlong and the King of Jin's two defeats, sent a strong man like Fang Jun to take control of the Hedong Salt Fields. Naturally, he was determined to win. The Hedong family could not resist forcefully and had to make concessions.
A consensus has been reached on the extent of concessions, but it still depends on how Fang Jun rectifies the salt affairs...
"Not even a single word was revealed."
Wang Fukiao naturally knew that each family had decided to make concessions, but Fang Jun did not say how much he wanted, so concessions were naturally out of the question. He couldn't be the first to agree to give up how much, right? If that were the case, Fang Jun would definitely have to push further.
The Xue brothers are also in a dilemma. This Fang Jun is so arrogant, what should they do?
Xue Mai sighed and said: "This Fang Jun is indeed difficult to deal with. He has made up his mind to use means rather than negotiation. He will definitely catch us off guard and only throw out the bottom line after seizing the opportunity."
Xue Shou was very angry: "He will use means if he wants to? The Hedong Salt Field is the salt field of the Hedong Family, and he still wants to use means? We haven't used means yet!"
With the strength of the Hedong family in the Hedong area, even the wise and mighty Emperor Li Er and the powerful Guanlong clan had to retreat. Even if Li Chengqian is now successful, with only a mere Fangjun, why should he be afraid?
Then compare your means!
Xue Mai put down the teacup and looked hesitant: "What's the use of fighting? Don't even look at what year it is! The world is settled, the four seas are unified, even Guanlong has fallen into the sand, we don't want to continue fighting.
Are you following in the footsteps of Guanlong?"
Xue Shou suppressed his anger and said angrily: "This is not because we want to fight, but because others are forcing us to come. We can't do it without fighting! Brother, can't you see? That His Majesty regards the family members as a thorn in his side, a thorn in his flesh, and wants to get rid of them.
quick!"
Emperor Taizong was wise and powerful. After eliminating the Turkic threat and subduing the Tibetans on the plateau, he turned his attention from the outside to the country and listed the family members as the top enemies that threatened the imperial power. A series of policies were prepared to suppress the family members. However, the British
He died young and all his plans were temporarily shelved.
When Li Chengqian ascended to the throne of emperor in the midst of turmoil and eliminated all hostile forces, he turned around and resumed the national policy of Emperor Taizong, targeting the noble families.
Is this a matter of regression and regression?
This is a life-and-death struggle!
For aristocratic families, there is nothing more important than inheritance, and whether it is the imperial examination or the measurement of land, this is all about digging up the foundation on which the aristocratic family relies on inheritance...
Xue Mai sighed and said helplessly: "At this time, at that time, people are now thinking about things, and everything is waiting for improvement. The aristocratic families no longer have the foundation to have both sides. They can only face the imperial power. Who will win and who will lose in the fight is almost destined.
…What’s the point of a struggle that’s destined to fail?”
After comforting his brother for a few words, he turned to Wang Fijiao and said: "Go back and tell Fang Jun that half of the profits from the Hedong salt field will be given to the court. Adding the original share, the court will occupy two-thirds, and the Hedong family will only keep one-third.
That’s it, this is the bottom line. If he ignores the Hedong Family’s bottom line, let him drown in the salt pond!”
The old man who had a boyish face and a cheerful face just now, now has a taut beard and murderous intent: "I don't believe that your Majesty would mobilize the army to go to war against the Hedong family just for a mere Fangjun!"
You can't just be tough when dealing with Li Chengqian, you must be courteous first and then attack with force, and you must uphold the righteousness, so that all the famous families in the world will see it. It's not that the Hedong family is unwilling to retreat, but that the emperor is simply greedy and wants to cut off the roots of the Hedong family!
The lips are dead and the teeth are cold, and we are all connected. Today we are the Hedong family, tomorrow we are the Luoyang family and even the entire Nanyang family, and the day after tomorrow we are the Shandong family and the Jiangnan gentry!
If the Xue family of Fenyin is really forced to rebel, and the whole body is affected by one move, it is very likely to cause the world's elites to fight against each other, and the war will be chaotic everywhere. By then, the country will be shaken and the country will be in turmoil... How can Li Chengqian not be afraid?
…
When Wang Fijiao left happily, Xue Shou looked at his brother with complicated eyes, clicked his tongue, and said dissatisfied: "Why did you lie to him?"
No matter what, it is absolutely impossible for the Fenyin Xue family to rebel.
During the two mutinies of Guanlong and Jin Dynasty, the Hedong aristocratic families, the Shandong aristocratic families, and the Jiangnan nobles all participated in it. They openly and covertly provided countless amounts of money, grain, cloth, logistics, and even private soldiers. As a result, both battles ended in failure.
The losses were heavy, and thirty years of rest and recuperation were not enough to recover.
Rebellion requires soldiers, money and food. With the current weak state of the world's elites, what can they use to rebel?
Xue Mai still sighed. His straight spine was now bent, and all the energy he had held up seemed to be exhausted. His whole body was no longer as sharp as before, and he was hunched over and old: "It's just a last effort.
The salt pond is too important to us...but it probably can’t be saved.”
For the same reason as not being able to rebel, facing an unprecedentedly weak family, how could Li Chengqian not go all out and overcome the enemy with all his strength?
The aristocratic families had to retreat, and had to let the imperial court eat away at the foundations of each family bit by bit...
There are a lot of things going wrong every day... Sometimes I really want to be a full-time writer. It would be great to turn my hobby into a career.