While Chongzhen was giving lessons to his two sons, a gorgeously decorated double-decker ship sailed past Yanziji Pier and slowly sailed from the river mouth into the Qinhuai River.
I saw that the second floor of the big ship was surrounded by curtains.
The windows on the first floor are hung with ordinary bamboo curtains, and a few of them are rolled up.
Through the open window, one could see two rows of tall men standing in the cabin with their hands behind their backs. They all wore black straight jackets, leather wristbands inlaid with copper nails on their hands, and sabers hanging from their waists.
Just by looking at its appearance, you can tell that it is a private boat belonging to a wealthy family.
There happened to be a painting boat going down the Qinhuai River. There were two scholars on the bow of the boat, drinking and chanting poems in front of the Xujiang River wind.
Behind the two scholars, a beautiful Qinhuai prostitute was playing the harp at the window. The river breeze blew by, carrying the sound of the harp and chanting to the shore and to the luxurious ship on the Shuo River.
When the two ships were crossing each other, one of the scholars on the bow of the painting boat turned around inadvertently and happened to catch a glimpse of the curtains on the second floor of the big ship next door being blown by the river wind. Then he saw a girl with picturesque features sitting behind the window.
The girl had a simple hairdo, obviously she was still unmarried.
After seeing this girl, the scholar was immediately shocked and froze there.
"You're a bastard!" the girl scolded, and pulled down the curtains, so that her dimples could no longer be seen.
However, the scholar's soul had already drifted away with the girl, and he was completely stunned.
"Brother Zifang? Brother Zifang?" Another scholar shouted several times, but the scholar was stunned. It wasn't until his companion came closer and patted him on the shoulder that he finally came to his senses.
"Brother Zifang, what happened to you just now?" his companion asked.
The scholar named Zifang sighed softly and asked his companion: "Brother Ciwei, whose ship was it just now?"
"Just now?" The scholar called Ciwei looked back and said, "It seems to be a word for Kang. It should be the ship of the Yangzhou salt merchant Kang Wanwanjia. There is no other Kang family in the eight prefectures and states in the south of the Yangtze River that has such a big ship.
.”
"Kang family?" Brother Zifang said quietly, "This girl only exists in heaven, and is rarely seen in the world."
"This girl?" Brother Ciwei said in surprise, "Have you just met the eldest daughter of the Kang family? I heard someone mentioned that the eldest daughter of the Kang family is beautiful, but she is a bit older."
Brother Zifang: "You're a little old? What's going on?"
Brother Ciwei: "My younger brother also heard from hearsay. It is said that the eldest daughter of the Kang family has been smart since she was a child. She has been proficient in calculations since she was six years old. She started managing money with her father at the age of nine. By the age of thirteen, she has taken care of the Kang family's accounts in an orderly manner.
Once, Kang Wanwan encountered a huge crisis when selling raw silk. In the end, he was able to resolve it with the help of this woman's intelligence. After that, Kang Wanwan relied on this woman as a business assistant, and as a result, her life-long event was ruined.
No delay, this year is already the 29th year."
According to the law of the Ming Dynasty, a woman can marry at the age of thirteen, and she is indeed considered an old girl at the age of twenty-nine.
After hearing this, Brother Zifang was inexplicably surprised: "Twenty-nine years of glory? Wonderful, simply wonderful!"
"What, brother Zifang, do you want a daughter from the Kang family?" Brother Ciwei asked, "Although your Wuxi Gu family is also a famous family, you may not be able to afford the betrothal gift of the eldest daughter of the Kang family."
Good guy, I bet this brother Zifang is Wuxi Gu Gao, the nephew of Gu Xiancheng, the founder of the Donglin Party.
The other brother Ciwei also came from a famous family. Wu Yingji, the fourth son of the Wu family in Guichi County, Nanzhi County, was both a well-known son in Nanjing. They had always been on good terms with Chen Zhenhui, Mao Xiang, Hou Chaozong and others.
These young men from aristocratic families are the dream patrons of many prostitutes on the Qinhuai River.
"Bride price?" Gu Gaoran asked, "Where can I, Gu Gao, need a bride price for taking a concubine?"
"That's true." Wu Yingji slapped the folding fan and said with a smile, "Given Brother Gu's talent and learning, not only will Kang Baiwan not accept a betrothal gift, but it is also unknown that he will give Brother Gu a dowry of 100,000 yuan."
Gu Gao smiled and said, "I'll send a matchmaker to Yangzhou later."
Wu Yingji smiled and said: "I heard that Kang Baiwan has arrived in Nanjing."
"Really?" Gu Gao was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately ordered the boatman, "Turn around! Go back to Nanjing quickly."
Looking at Mr. Gu who was looking happy, the prostitute who was playing the piano by the window had a look of resentment on her face. It seemed that her lovesickness was going to be paid in the wrong way after all.
…
"Hahahahahaha!"
Kang Baiwan sneezed twice in a row just after getting off the carriage.
"Master, are you okay?" the accompanying healthy servant asked with concern.
[Note: Since the Southern Song Dynasty, the word "master" has been widely used among the people]
"It doesn't matter." Kang Baiwan waved his hand and said, "I just got caught in the rain. It's okay."
While they were talking, the master and the servant had already entered the Shexian Guild Hall, and a waiter immediately came forward to greet them. Just when he was about to ask the two guests whether they wanted to stay or eat, when he looked up, he found that it was Kang Baiwan.
The waiter immediately greeted him warmly: "It turns out to be Kang Yuanwai."
Kang Baiwan hummed and asked, "Have members Zhang and Fang arrived?"
The waiter responded with a smile on his face: "Yuan Zhang has not returned from visiting friends, and Yuan Fang has collapsed."
"Thank you." Kang Baiwan gestured to Jian Pu to reward him with a piece of broken silver, and then went straight to the second floor. He had been close friends with Zhang Han and Fang Wenzhen, two wealthy businessmen in She County, for many years, and he came to Huizhou Guild Hall not once or twice.
, so it is clear that Zhang Han and Fang Wenzhen will definitely stay in the upper room on the second floor if they come to Nanjing.
"Brother Fang? Brother Fang!" Kang Wanwan shouted loudly as he went upstairs.
The door to the upper room of Tianzi No. 2 opened quickly, and a middle-aged man walked out.
This middle-aged man is Fang Wenzhen, a wealthy businessman in Shexian County, who can be regarded as a leading figure among Huizhou merchants.
Seeing that it was Kang Baiwan, Fang Wenzhen immediately beamed with joy: "Brother Kang, you are really shameless. You called Zhang Han and I all the way from She County to Nanjing, but you haven't arrived yet."
"I'm so sorry." Kang Baiwan apologized repeatedly, "I went to Suzhou to collect a payment, so I'm late. But don't worry, I'll be the host for you and Brother Zhang tonight. You can choose the place."
"Really?" Fang Wenzhen asked with a smile, "What if I choose Meixiang Tower?"
"Then Meixianglou." Kang Wanwan said proudly, "It's just five hundred taels."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Brother Kang is so heroic." Fang Wenzhen laughed and let Kang Baiwan into the room.
The upper house on Tianzihao is a two-bedroom apartment with a living room and two bedrooms.
The loyal servant who had followed Fang Wenzhen for many years also lived in the upper room and made a pot of black tea for the two of them.
"Brother Kang, try it." Fang Wenzhen said with a solemn hand, "This is what Zen Master Huiming, the abbot of Yungu Temple, personally picked from the two century-old tea trees at Guangmingding Peak in Huangshan Mountain. There are only two cakes in total."
Kang Baiwan took a sip of the black tea, and after a moment of reflection, he praised it repeatedly: "Good tea. When I taste this tea, I seem to be able to see the sea of clouds in Huangshan Mountain on the top of the light, and I can even smell the moist water vapor on the tea trees!"
"I'll give you a piece of cake later." Fang Wenzhen smiled and said with a straight face, "Brother Kang, why did you summon Zhang Han and I to Nanjing so solemnly this time?"
Kang Baiwan didn't answer but asked: "Brother Fang, haven't you heard about it?"
"I've heard a little bit about it." Fang Wenzhen looked serious, "But I don't believe it."
Kang Wanwan's expression also became serious and he said: "Brother Fang, the rumors are true."
"The rumors are actually true?" Fang Wenzhen was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't believe it. Unless the sun can come out from the west, I will definitely not believe in the character of the old Zhu family, believe it or not!"
"But the Yangzhou government did refund some of the tax collected in the previous seven years."
Kang Wanwan said seriously: "Brother Fang, have you ever seen any emperor refund taxes and silver in the past?"
"Did the Yangzhou government really refund the tax?" Fang Wenzhen was stunned for a moment and asked, "How much? Isn't it just a small part of the original amount? It's just a show, to bluff people."
"Five million taels returned!" Kang Wanwan held out five fingers.
"Five million taels?!" Fang Wenzhen opened his mouth wide enough to swallow a goose egg.
"Yes, a full five million taels! One cent is a lot!" Kang Wanwan nodded and added, "In the past seven years, our Kang family has been forcibly taxed by three Yangzhou garrison eunuchs to collect more than one million taels of silver. This is Get back 400,000 yuan each time!”
"You, the Kang family, will give back 400,000 yuan?" Fang Wen Zhen finally believed it.
"So, Your Majesty is really not bluffing, but really wants to make a big deal with us?"
Kang Wanwan said: "There is no doubt that the Holy One wants to make a big deal with us. The only question now is how big is this deal?"
Fang Wenzhen asked: "How big do you think it will be?"
"I can't guess." Kang Baiwan shook his head and said, "But one thing is for sure, this big deal from the Holy Lord can at least cover the white mountains and black waters!"
"White mountains and black waters?" Fang Wenzhen's eyes widened again, "Brother Kang, are you saying that the Holy One is determined to regain Liaodong and wipe out the Jiannu slaves? Is this impossible?"
Kang Wanwan smiled and said: "Brother Fang, you always know about Xuzhou's great victory, right?"
"A great victory in Xuzhou? I have read the Tang newspaper a long time ago." Fang Wenzhen said, "But this must be a lie. Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the biggest victory was only the killing of more than 200 real slaves. This But in one battle, he killed more than 3,000 real slaves, captured more than 1,000 Han soldiers alive, and surrendered the rebels. Who dares to believe this?"
Kang Wanwan said: "But it is indeed true. The silver reward given by the Holy Emperor to the border troops in Xia Town alone is 200,000 taels, and the more than 1,000 slave prisoners will be arriving in Nanjing soon."
"Is it true?" Fang Wenzhen's eyes widened again.
In just this moment, Fang Wenzhen's worldview had been shattered four times in a row.
Kang Wanwan smiled and said: "So, the business this time can be very big. To be honest, I am a little worried. If the business is really big in the future, will it happen like Shen Wansan did?
The fate of the family?"
Fang Wenzhen waved his hand and said: "If what you said is true, we will never make the same mistake as the Shen family, because the behavior of the current emperor is completely different from that of Emperor Taizu Gao back then."
Kang Wanwan nodded: "Don't tell me, their opinions are indeed very different."
PS: The previous seven chapters are more than 3,090 words long, so they are almost there.
