After all, the two parties failed to reach an agreement and broke up on bad terms.
Xu Yuan actually made a lot of concessions, because it may be a bit early for a showdown, and the interest groups behind the salt merchants cannot be underestimated. Once there is a falling out, Xujiazhuang will face a lot of pressure. Of course, he is not afraid.
But his Xujiazhuang has just developed. If the resistance is too great, it will affect the upward momentum and disrupt the rhythm of development.
It's just that these salt merchants are used to being arrogant and arrogant. They take advantage of the common people and never know how to restrain themselves. They take many unreasonable rules for granted and even think that the world is under their control. Who knows?
You have to follow their rules.
That being the case!
Then give them a profound lesson and let them understand what "obstacles to survival" are.
As a result, the construction speed of the Salt Factory in Harbor City accelerated again.
On March 15, the salt-drying pond covering an area of tens of thousands of acres was completed.
On the 20th, the salt factory began to produce salt on a small scale, with a daily output of only about 100 tons. However, it did not sell large quantities of salt to external parties. Instead, it prioritized meeting the needs of the 11 collective estates and waited until the production capacity climbed up to reach a daily output of 1,000 tons.
, the production capacity of 3,000 tons is the time of large-scale dumping.
On the 25th, the population gathered in Harbor City had increased to 180,000. In other words, during this period, a large number of young farmers and salt workers from kitchen households came to Harbor City to work in the salt industry.
The merchants could not stop them at all. Even if they sent people to use force, threatened and forced the kitchen households, and even killed and maimed many people, they still could not stop the trend of escape.
As for the people who came to work, Harbor City provided shelter. It repeatedly confronted and expelled the salt patrol soldiers and salt owl thugs who came to ask for people. More than ten conflicts broke out, but the village guards had the absolute upper hand.
They were beaten with thick wooden sticks until they screamed, collapsed and ran away, unable to take anyone with them.
This has caused the sea salt production of Yangzhou salt merchants to continue to decline.
Cut production by 30%.
Cut production by 50%.
By the end of March, Huai salt production had dropped by 70%, and there was a shortage of salt on the market, with prices rising sharply. The situation continued to worsen.
The wealthy salt merchants in Yangzhou are naturally not willing to sit still and wait for death. They have already started taking action and gradually gathered into an extremely large force. In order to defend their own interests, they will never remain indifferent and swallow their anger!
…
Nanjing, Wei Guogong Mansion.
Inside the magnificent living room.
"Xujiazhuang, we can no longer tolerate it. If we continue to allow it to exist and grow, sooner or later we will no longer be able to make a living, and we will die without a burial place!"
The salt merchant Ma Jiliang knelt on the ground and wailed and begged to several men wearing official robes and majestic faces sitting on high chairs: "My lords, please wipe out Xujiazhuang! We, the salt merchants, are willing to contribute money and efforts.
, I just want to give you the name of quelling the rebellion. Once Xujiazhuang is wiped out, all the property in the manor will belong to all of you. We, the salt merchants, have nothing else to ask for. We just want to continue our small business."
Hear his pleas.
Several dignified men sitting on the chairs exchanged glances with each other, nodded, and reached a consensus tacitly.
"Get up."
Sitting in the middle, a noble old man in his fifties with a white face and a long beard raised his hand, stroking his long beard, and pondered for a moment. His somewhat turbid eyes suddenly shot out and said: "Xujiazhuang, we have arrived.
It's time to take action. If we continue to let it go, it will be difficult to control it."
"What the official said makes sense."
Zheng Sanjun, the Minister of Household Affairs of Nanjing on the left, nodded and said: "Xujiazhuang did not abide by the laws of the country and did not respect the traditions of the gentry. Instead, it attracted a large number of stupid farmers, hugged each other for warmth, shaved their hair and changed their clothes. They did not abide by the principles of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, and engaged in business.
The Tao is incompatible with our Ming Dynasty in every way, and is just another group of barbarians who are like the slaves of Liaodong. If they are not eradicated and eradicated, the country of our Ming Dynasty will be in danger, and the Taoist tradition of the sages for two thousand years will be in danger!"
"Master Zheng's words are inspiring!"
Zhang Shijun, the prefect of Yangzhou sitting on the right, agreed: "The threat to Xujiazhuang is not in business, but in the court's laws and the sages and sages. Xujiazhuang built his own manor and city, took care of himself, annexed land, sheltered hungry people, and earned countless gold and silver from business.
It has long become an independent small court. It cannot penetrate with needles or pour water. It implements compulsory education and only teaches Chinese and mathematics without any teachings of saints. It seduces with gold, silver, money and food, and controls hundreds of thousands of people without bloodshed.
The surname is still expanding. If this continues, its harm will be no less than that of establishing slaves, and it will become the biggest scourge in the heart of the Ming Dynasty! If it is not eliminated quickly, in less than ten years, the Ming Dynasty will be transformed into the Xu Dynasty. "
"Hmph, a mere overseas businessman dares to think of changing the dynasty."
The noble old man - Wei Guogong Xu Hongji couldn't help but snorted: "If this businessman can successfully rebel, where will our nobles be placed? Where will the imperial law and the principles of the sages be placed? If it is really taken away by Xujiazhuang
Jiangshan Sheji, how will this world collapse?"
"By then, I'm afraid it will be a change that has not happened in three thousand years, and it will be hell and doomsday for us."
Zheng Sanjun shuddered and said, not daring to think about it at all.
"We can no longer allow freaks like Xujiazhuang to grow, we must completely nip them in the cradle!"
Xu Hongji looked at a military attache and said: "Sun Guangde, in the name of the Nanjing Commander, you have issued a troop deployment order to mobilize elite soldiers from various garrison posts in South Zhili and gather three thousand, no, five thousand elite troops, ready to go
Xujiazhuang suppresses the rebellion!"
"Yes, Duke!" Sun Guangde, a tall and sturdy military attaché, stood up and accepted the order.
"In addition, the 500,000 taels of silver needed for the army's departure will be provided by Yangzhou Zhongyi's salt merchant. Ma Yi, merchant, I wonder if there is a problem?" Xu Hongji looked at Ma Jiliang again.
"Nothing, nothing!"
Ma Jiliang was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and knelt down: "The Lord of the country has made the decision for the people. The people are in tears. I'll give you 500,000 taels of silver, and I'll give it to you every cent!"
Ha ha.
Ha ha ha ha!
He was really happy.
Xujiazhuang is over, it will be over soon!
Five thousand elites, a total of five thousand imperial soldiers, what can Xujiazhuang do to resist it? Should he continue to use wooden sticks? Haha, if this is the case, the swords, spears, muskets and artillery of the imperial soldiers will soon be taught to Xujiazhuang's servants
Once you know how to behave, you will understand the huge gap between a private servant and an army of government officials.
As for the 500,000 taels of silver, it is nothing to salt merchants like them. The whole Ma family can afford it, not even 500,000 taels, but one million taels or three million taels. Yangzhou Salt Merchants
I can pay it out, and I will pay it willingly! As long as the Xujiazhuang is destroyed, the money will be earned back quickly.
In addition, relying solely on the imperial army was not enough. Although Xujiazhuang could be defeated, it would be bad if something slipped through the net. Therefore, in order to achieve victory in one battle and to avoid future troubles, the Yangzhou salt merchants also organized
A force of ten thousand people was formed. Although its combat effectiveness may not be strong, it is absolutely capable of taking charge of the subsequent cleaning work and bringing those Zaohu salt workers back to work. It can even be completed very well.
.
"Xujiazhuang, you are dead this time!"
Ma Jiliang secretly gritted his teeth and said happily.