Chapter Three Hundred and Fifteen Salt Merchants' Countermeasures
Xin'an Guild Hall is located in the southeastern district of Yangzhou City. It is the largest gathering place for Yangzhou salt merchants.
The way of showing off seems to be connotative and cultural.
Xin'an Guild Hall is probably the most well-funded guild hall in the world. There are countless rich people who are willing to pay money just to show off in front of their fellow villagers. The guild hall occupies a large area and is equipped with temples, gardens, halls and pavilions.
In the past two days, the flow of people in the guild hall has increased sharply, but the deacons of the guild hall are not surprised. Whenever salt merchants encounter something they think is a big event, they will gather here, firstly to meet and discuss, and secondly to inquire about news. The recent big event is obviously
It's the new ban issued by the county government that blocks people's path to advancement.
At this time, there were more than a dozen people sitting around in the Jingyuan Hall of the Xin'an Guild Hall. They were discussing the ban on Hui people from participating in the county examination and registering for the government examination, and the expulsion of Hui students from the county school.
A dozen people may seem like a small number, but it's not like they can't find more people.
At this time, Jingyuantang did not impose any strict rules on who was not allowed to come in, but in fact there was an invisible line in the salt merchant's mind. Those who did not show their identity was not required to come in.
As for whether the identity is sufficient or not, the judgment standard is very simple and intuitive. The number of gang salt stipulated in your nest book. For the dozen or so people in the hall, the per capita nest number is 40,000 yin. If the number is too far below this number, do you have the nerve to come in?
Whenever a group of people get together to discuss how to deal with a certain challenge, there will always be two styles of opinions, moderates and hardliners. For example, if there is a civil uprising, there will always be two voices in the court to appease and suppress.
Faced with Li Xianzun's powerful offensive this time, the salt merchants present discussed a lot and came up with two countermeasures.
Doves believe that what Li You only wants is face and money. As long as he is satisfied with these two things, the matter will naturally be solved.
The hawks resolutely oppose the appeasement policy of the doves and believe that this is an unprecedented situation. If others see that Li You can succeed so easily, there will definitely be many imitators in the future, and they must give a warning to those who come after him.
The doves thought that as long as those six idiots and cheap-mouthed slaves were sent to the county government to plead guilty, accept this year's salt class in Jiangdu County, and at the same time give Mr. Li some benefits, the ban would be wiped out.
The hawks advocated inviting officials from Huizhou and the Salt Transportation Department to come forward to put pressure. At the same time, the lawsuit was brought to the Governor of Fengyang and the Nanjing Ministry of Rites. At the same time, all salt merchants should go on strike to protest for a month, and Li You should suffer no matter what.
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Jin Wanwan, one of the seven giant merchants in the Yangzhou salt industry with a capital of 60,000 yuan, sat in the middle, silent all the time, frowning and thinking about his own thoughts. He also had to consider that he was being pursued by Li You.
Wan's "arrears" in salt lessons, as well as the matter of his cousin-in-law Meng Gongming being expelled from Dianshi by Li You, are all entangled with Li You, making it difficult to deal with them together.
At first, he made three posts inviting Li You to solve the problem, but Mr. Li didn't hear a single reply. After that, the situation changed drastically, and Li You almost became a public enemy of the salt merchants. He also stopped the invitation and planned to wait until a quiet period before trying again.
Contact. Unexpectedly, Mr. Li's move was really shocking, he actually threw out such a thing.
Other salt merchants have not dealt directly with Li You, but Jin Wanwan has met Mr. Li twice. Although the times are not many, he can still feel that Mr. Li hides behind his arrogant and domineering appearance.
His agility and cunningness were what worried him the most.
Another giant, He Yanshang, seeing Jin Wanwan's unusual silence today, asked: "To settle this matter, does Brother Jin think it is better to be soft or hard?"
Hearing this, Jin Wanwan shook his head and said: "There are disadvantages in all of them. If it becomes the norm to care first, how will we deal with imitators? If every magistrate follows suit, we will be tired of dealing with it. Who is going to do it?
Carrying a thorn to plead guilty? If the weight is light, it will have no effect. If the weight is heavy, who is willing to talk down to him? Anyway, I won't go."
"If we use hard measures, it will be postponed for a long time and take a long time. The county examination is held in August, and there is only one month left. No matter whether you invite fellow townsmen or go to the governor's Yamen or the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, it will be difficult to conclude the matter in one month.
Besides, I have met Li You twice, and he is very ruthless in his actions. If I anger him again, I don’t know what shocking things he will do. Don’t even mention the suspension of Gangyan."
Jin Wanwan continued to shake his head.
Someone on the opposite side asked: "Why can't we stop the operation of Gangyan?"
Jin Wanwan knew Li Xianzun quite well, "As long as we dare to stop the transportation of salt, then Li You dares to dismiss all patrols and stop checking the salt!"
If Si salt is compared to a flood, then Jiangdu County, which guards the exit of the salt-producing area, is the sluice that blocks the flood. Without the sluice, the flood will hit fertile land and cities.
Jin Wanwan's guess was indeed correct. If the salt merchants really dared to use the strike of gang salt as a means of protest and pressure, Mr. Li's fierce revenge character would definitely let the crackdown on salt in Jiangdu County be completely relaxed. In this way, the entire two
The official salt market in Huaiyan District has been severely affected, and in the end the unlucky ones are the salt merchants who hold official salt monopoly certificates.
If there is anyone in the world who hopes most for the extinction of Si salt, it must be the salt merchants, although salt merchants often secretly carry Si salt on salt ships.
This won't work, and that won't work. Is there really nothing we can do? Everyone fell into deep thought. After Jin Wanwan's analysis, it is true that there are serious problems, both soft and hard, but there is no solution.
Just as the salt merchants were looking for other solutions, they saw a servant reporting at the door: "A mage has come outside, saying he has an idea to solve the plight of the gentlemen."
Mage... Everyone has read story books and listened to storytelling. There are plots like this in countless novels and plots. When the protagonist is at a loss, a Taoist priest or a monk with a solemn appearance suddenly appears outside the camp, and his magic power and wisdom are boundless.
The protagonist's problems were easily put to rest. It's just that now it's them who encounter this clichéd plot. Sure enough, literature comes from reality...
This was an old monk who seemed somewhat majestic. He entered the hall and only put his hands together in the middle as a salute.
"Master, what's the best way to solve our crisis?" Jin Wanwan asked directly. They all just wanted to give it a try.
The old monk replied easily: "This is an easy matter! From the perspective of the poor monk, Prefect Luo seems to have a grudge against Li You. I don't know why they are hostile to each other. With the help of you and other salt merchants, the situation can be used."
"
"Li You is currently facing a great crisis. Why does the Palace Master fight against Li You?" Someone next to him questioned.
The old monk coughed and said eloquently, "Although Li You is becoming more and more powerful, the prefect also has the strengths of the prefect. Let's talk about the county students first. Then Li You expelled the registered students from the county school and seems to be living in exile.
There is nowhere to go outside. But don’t forget that there is not only a county school but also a government school in the city. As long as Prefect Luo gives an order, these people can study in the government school. Isn’t it several times better than the county school? "
Both the government school and the county school were schools for scholars. The only difference was that they were under the jurisdiction of different yamen. After each academy examination, the best among the admitted scholars were assigned to the government school as a reward, and the second best were assigned to the county school.
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"Of course it would be better to enter a government school, but the government school is already full. You can't get in just by spending money and relying on the respect of the government master. Doesn't the Master know?" someone asked.
"Then what's the difficulty? Jiangdu County School currently has forty or fifty vacancies. You can ask Prefect Luo to move the local students from the government school to the county school. This will free up the seats in the government school."
OK! Someone in the hall cheered.
If, as the monk said, the operation is successful, it is tantamount to transplanting flowers and grafting trees. It is equivalent to changing the places of the original students who are salt merchants in the county school and students who are Jiangdu County students in the prefectural school. To use a 21st generation terminology, it is similar to starting from
The ordinary school was changed to a key school.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became lively. The more the salt merchants thought about it, the more they realized that this idea was brilliant and very feasible. The relationship between the prefect Luo and their salt merchants was still good, and they were not as insufferable as Mr. Li.
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Although the Fu Zun cannot directly control the county school, he is the chief official of the Fu school and the chief official of the entire Yangzhou Prefecture. He has the right to allocate students to the schools within his jurisdiction, and Li You cannot stop him.
The old monk closed his eyes and rested his mind. After everyone gradually calmed down, he continued: "As for the county examination, it is easier. Then Li You was not born in the imperial examination. He has not even passed the boy examination. What qualifications does he have to take the county examination?
Test? As long as Prefect Luo is willing to uphold justice, there is no need for conspiracy with this excuse. It is enough to order Li You to be deprived of the qualification to take the county examination and replaced by the government office. No one can refute this! As long as Li You cannot take the examination.
County examination, then the relevant ban he issued will naturally be invalidated."
What a great idea! Everyone applauded the old monk’s idea again.
"This is a way to draw fire from the bottom of the cauldron!" Jin Wanwan couldn't help but praise loudly. At this time, he remembered that since the old monk entered the room, he had not asked about the origin of the Dharma title, and quickly asked again: "May I ask the master's title?
?Where are you? I often go to temples in Yangzhou, and I have never seen such an eminent monk as Master."
The old monk bowed his head and said: "The poor monk Yuanrong is from Suzhou Prefecture. He has traveled all over the world and arrived in Yangzhou. He has only recently registered at Tianning Temple. I heard on the streets that you are in trouble, so I came here to resolve it."
Jin Wanwan bowed his hand in greeting and invited: "Thank you so much, Master, for resolving the problem. I have a Buddhist hall and meditation room in my house. I dare to ask Master to enjoy the disc for a few days."
Master Yuanrong replied: "Where is the monk's home? You can go and get it. Donors don't need to be polite."
If you readers have any impressions, you may have remembered that Master Yuanrong is the monastic name of Mr. Li's real father-in-law, Mr. Liu Xinxun. The old Xinjiang has been entrenched in Xujiang County for many years, so he naturally has his own connections to get the wandering voucher.
, and secretly went to Jiangdu County to place an order.
For no other reason than he was very dissatisfied with his son-in-law's slight treatment and contempt (Li You shouted that he was wronged). He ran to Yangzhou City without telling Li You just to find ways to teach his son-in-law a profound lesson! An old man who no longer has much fun in life, also
Just this stubborn pursuit.
At this time, Jin Wanwan didn’t know that Master Yuanrong was the biological father of Li You’s second family, and Master Yuanrong didn’t know that Jin Wanwan was the biological father of Li You’s second family...
If Li You saw this scene, he would be shocked and exclaimed that this is simply the "Ninghan Confluence"!!