Chapter 784 Those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish
Li Banghua was greatly shocked when he heard Zuo Mengeng interpret the events in Yangzhou from another angle.
This is an aspect that he has never been involved in, and it greatly conflicts with his style of doing things.
However, Li Banghua did not have any resistance.
He also knows that he is now in a brand new regime, and this regime is developing vigorously and positively, and everything is new.
If the new regime wants to replace the old forces and rule the world, it is obviously not just about talking nicely.
"Will anyone die?"
Zuo Mengeng smiled.
"Jianghu gangs have to fight for territory with blood, let alone we want to fight for the world. If we don't wash it with blood, the world will not be clean."
Li Banghua nodded silently, but he didn't feel it was unacceptable.
As a big boss in the officialdom, he has experienced countless ups and downs in his life, and he does not lack decisiveness in killing.
Now, being guided by Zuo Menggeng, I have become enlightened again. I am obviously more knowledgeable and have become a more mature politician.
"Then I'll wait and see what Zhongheng does."
Zuo Mengeng did not disappoint him, nor did he wait too long.
Jiada Zheng is back.
He arrived in Yangzhou earlier than Zuo Mengengeng and completed the tasks assigned by Zuo Mengengeng.
"The former magistrate of Yangzhou, Guo Qinai, was from Shanxi and had a close relationship with the Shanxi merchants in Yangzhou City. In the fifth year of Chongzhen's reign, Hui merchants and Qin and Jin merchants had a quarrel over their academic status. It was because of Guo Qi's protection that Hui merchants suffered.
Big loss. This time we captured Yangzhou and Guo Qi died, so these Qin and Jin merchants became hostile to us. At the same time, they did these things in order to gain the right to speak in Yangzhou."
There is no doubt about the power of the Ministry of Intelligence.
Yangzhou has been operating here many years ago, and you can get any information you want at any time.
No, as soon as Zheng Jiada took action, he opened up the fog of chaos.
Only then did Li Banghua, Qu Shi?, and Wang Yun learn why the merchants in Yangzhou were having trouble with them.
"Commander, why don't we take action immediately and catch all these ghosts and monsters and see who dares to go against us?"
Wang Yun has a hot temper and has already thought of the most violent means.
Zuo Mengeng waved his hand, signaling him to calm down.
"Although these businessmen are extremely wealthy, they can be wiped out easily by our force. But it is easy to eliminate them. How to restore Yangzhou's former prosperity is the key. If these businessmen are eradicated, what will happen to Yangzhou's economy?"
Seeing Zuo Mengeng consider this, Li Banghua was extremely pleased.
"The reason why I am walking on thin ice is precisely because of these concerns. I wonder if Zhongheng has any clever tricks?"
Zuo Mengeng had already thought of the method.
"There are not only Qin and Jin merchants in Yangzhou City, but there are also Hui merchants. In this case, let's fight against each other. Some will eat sticks and some will eat sweet dates. I believe it will be as we wish."
During the founding of the Ming Dynasty, in order to cope with the Northern Expedition and consolidate the border areas, Zhu Yuanzhang implemented the policy of "opening up the country with salt".
Allow private merchants to transport grain to border areas in exchange for a salt distribution license - Yanyin.
Because of this policy, merchants in the Qin and Jin Dynasties became the biggest beneficiaries.
Shaanxi is a large granary, so it is very convenient for merchants in Shaanxi to purchase grain locally and deliver it to Jiubian.
Shanxi was short of grain, so merchants from Shanxi went to Shandong to buy grain and then transported it to Jiubian in exchange for salt.
After the merchants of Qin and Jin Dynasty obtained the salt guide, they went south to Yangzhou and used the salt guide to extract table salt and earn huge profits.
From then on, Qin and Jin merchants settled in Yangzhou and gradually took control of the salt industry in Huaihe and Huaihe Rivers with their capital.
However, the harm of monopoly was also visible to the court.
In the fifth year of Hongzhi, Ye Qi, the Minister of Household Affairs, took office and changed the Kaizhong method to the Zhese method.
Merchants no longer have to transport food all the way to the border. Instead, they can directly buy salt with silver, which is to obtain a license to sell salt.
This move broke the Qin and Jin merchants' monopoly on the salt industry in one fell swoop.
Because Ye Qi is from Huai'an, he obviously has the shadow of Huizhou merchants behind him.
With the change in policy, Hui merchants began to enter Yangzhou in large numbers and competed head-on with Qin and Jin merchants.
Merchants of the Qin and Jin Dynasties started early and had a first-mover advantage. With their abundant capital, they repeatedly gained the upper hand in Yangzhou City.
Moreover, officials from the Qin and Jin Dynasties appeared in endless streams in the court, providing them with great help.
For example, Guo Qi, the prefect of Yangzhou, repeatedly protected Qin and Jin merchants, and often oppressed Hui merchants.
With Guo Qi's death at the hands of the new army and Yangzhou falling into the hands of Shandong, Qin and Jin merchants lost their asylum and it was clear that they could only take drastic measures to safeguard their established interests.
But Zuo Mengeng could see clearly.
In such a difficult situation, Huizhou merchants would definitely be happy to see the Qin and Jin merchants collapse.
They must have been well prepared, waiting to take over the vacancy left by the demise of the Qin and Jin merchants.
In this case, Huizhou merchants can take advantage of it.
However, the benefits cannot be given too easily, otherwise, today's Qin and Jin merchants will be tomorrow's Hui merchants.
In the city of Yangzhou, the two merchant gangs were clearly distinguished.
The Shanshan Guild Hall, the headquarters of merchants of the Qin and Jin Dynasties, was located in Dongguan Old Street, Dadongmen, near the canal, while the guild halls of Huizhou merchants were concentrated in the Xiaodongmen area.
On this day, a young man with a stern face walked into the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall with an equally taciturn girl.
"Mr. Cheng, those Shanxi people are going to die. Do you Huizhou merchants want to follow in their footsteps?"
Facing Huizhou merchant leader Cheng Jingshu, the young man's tone was filled with murderous intent.
"Who are you, Your Excellency? You don't even know what kind of place this is, how can you be allowed to act so arrogantly here?"
Cheng Jingshu didn't speak, but the rest of the Huizhou merchants were furious.
A mere young man with a humble appearance and a maid dared to come to the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall to show off his power.
I really don't care about people like them.
In the face of the turbulent public sentiment, the young man's expression remained unchanged and he remained as steady as a mountain.
He raised a hand, and the girl standing behind handed him something.
When he opened his mouth to chew, everyone could see clearly that it was a steamed bun.
Although it looks very ordinary and very hard, the young people eat it with gusto, as if it is some kind of supreme delicacy.
"I, Huang Zonghui, the Chief Procurator of Shandong Province, have been ordered by the commander-in-chief to stabilize the place and clean up lawlessness. There is chaos in Yangzhou. It is very chaotic. If we want to control the chaos, we need heads to quell the evil and blood to wash away the ground. I wonder if you... I would like to send you a great favor.
Head?"
The cold wind swept across, and everyone in the Huizhou Merchants Guild Hall shrank.
No one expected that Shandong’s first attack would be aimed at Huizhou merchants.
It was clearly the Qin and Jin merchants who caused the trouble.
Some people were not convinced and started to protest.
"I have always run my business in compliance with the law, and this mess has nothing to do with me. You have found the wrong person. Get out of here!"
Before he finished speaking, the wind sounded like lightning.
When everyone went to look again, they saw a steel crossbow stuck in the man's chest.
The man leaned back and fell into the chair. He kept moaning in his mouth. As dirty blood gushed out, his breath became weaker and weaker.
A living human life was ended right before their eyes, which frightened all the Huizhou merchants to their core.
Huang Zonghui finally finished eating the steamed bun, as if nothing had happened.
"Now Yangzhou is my world in Shandong. Those who obey me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish. Everyone, I wonder if the business will be open tomorrow?"