Chapter 215 The Countermeasures of the Salt Merchants
Zuo Yingxuan looked at Zhong Jinwei's serious look, and remembered his good impression of Zhong Jinwei before, so he told the truth: "There are many people fleeing in Changli City. They have been besieged by the Tatars for many days, and there is not much food left. Now these food are all
Appropriated from surplus rations."
"The amount of food you eat is enough to sustain half of Changli City for a day." The yamen servant also risked his life and emphasized loudly.
Upon hearing this, Zuo Yingxuan turned around and was about to scold this bold government official, but was stopped by Zhong Jinwei. He then asked Zuo Yingxuan: "Then where does the meat we eat come from?"
Zuo Yingxuan looked at Zhong Jinwei and the generals standing behind Zhong Jinwei, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "It was pieced together by the common people and squires in the city to feel that the army came to rescue them."
After Zuo Yingxuan finished speaking, Zhong Jinwei fell silent, others did not speak, and the front office suddenly became quiet.[
After a while, Zhong Jinwei said to Zuo Yingxuan: "I won't say any more words. Please write down the specific circumstances of the battle of Changli and attach it to the victory memorial to me. I will convey it to the emperor.
.The list of meritorious personnel must be written down, but no fictitious exaggeration is allowed.”
Before Zuo Yingxuan could respond, Zhong Jinwei turned around and said to He Kegang, who was standing behind him: "We will return to the capital tomorrow and move out the excess dry food in the army. In addition, we will also set aside some war preparation materials such as gunpowder and hand them over to Changli City.
"
"Yes, Supervisor." He Kegang agreed with clasped fists.
After He Kegang agreed, Zhong Jinwei turned back to Zuo Yingxuan and said: "The dry food in the army is a bit unpalatable, but you can still make do with it by boiling it with water. I underestimated the war and never thought about the food in Changli City.
Question, this time can be regarded as giving me an opportunity to learn."
Zuo Yingxuan didn't expect that Zhong Jinwei not only gave out food to the army, but also blamed himself, and he couldn't help but be stunned. Most people have a good reputation, and they won't say it even if they know they are wrong, not to mention that Zhong Jinwei is a high-ranking supervisor of the army.
What a surprise.
Zhong Jinwei didn't know what Zuo Yingxuan was thinking, so he continued: "The Jianlu have retreated, and it's time for us to go back. If there is still war in the future, we can send people to the capital to ask for help."
After finishing speaking, Zhong Jinwei cupped his fists to the left and said, "See you later."
Then he took the lead and went out, followed by other generals and guards, and the crowded front office suddenly became empty.
Seeing that Zuo Yingxuan was still stunned, Shi Guozhu quickly tugged on his sleeves to snap him out of his daze, and hurriedly chased him out to see him off.
There were only a few servants left in the front office. They looked at each other and one of them said, "Have we offended Uncle Zhongxing?"
"Go, why did you offend Uncle Zhongxing? Have you ever seen someone who was offended still think about us like this?" Another Yamen servant retorted.
"I think the county magistrate will be Zhongxing Bo's people from now on. Anyone who dares to embarrass the county magistrate should report the matter to Zhongxing Bo. Zhongxing Bo will definitely make the decision for the county magistrate." Another yamen official also expressed his opinion.
.
Early the next morning, the five thousand Guan Ning cavalry began to pack their things, while Zhong Jinwei and his generals were supervising the handover of grain, gunpowder and other supplies, and Zuo Yingxuan was also accompanying them.
By about the beginning of Si Shi, all supplies had been handed over and the army was ready to go.
The leading figures in Changli City were behind Zuo Yingxuan, while other ordinary people stood at the top of Changli City, crowding the ground to see off the supporting army.
When Zhong Jinwei was saying goodbye to Zuo Yingxuan, some horses came galloping towards him and found Zhong Jinwei. Emperor Chongzhen sent a message to him, asking him to return to the capital as soon as possible to see his rider.
Zhong Jinwei thought it was the previous victory of annihilating four thousand Tatars, and the emperor was so happy that he wanted to recruit him back to ask for details. However, the envoy shook his head and said that it was not for this reason. He asked Zhongxing Bo to return to the capital to meet with the emperor, and then he would know the specific situation.
Zhong Jinwei's heart sank. He didn't know what happened in the capital. The emperor must have encountered a problem and wanted to discuss it with him, so he hurriedly gathered his army and returned without further delay.
Until the five thousand cavalry troops left, the people of Changli were still waiting and watching. Shi Guozhu approached Zuo Yingxuan and said: "Your Majesty, this Uncle Zhongxing seems to be very favored by the saints."[
"Isn't it good for the emperor to be a dear and virtuous minister, but to be a faraway person?" Zuo Yingxuan asked rhetorically.
"I don't mean that, I just think that if Zhongxing Bo conveys the good news, the county official will be put into good use." Shi Guozhu explained quickly.
Then, he added: "I would like to congratulate the county magistrate first!"
After hearing this, Zuo Yingxuan stopped talking. After seeing no trace of the cavalry, he returned to the city and started busy with post-war affairs.
In a large manor on the outskirts of Yangzhou, Jiangsu, luxury carriages entered from time to time, and finally they all gathered in front of a single building inside.
The single-story building was surrounded by servants. People who got off the carriage, all wearing valuable silks and satins, were helped up to a meeting hall on the second floor by several personal maids.
There was a man who looked like a butler standing at the door of the meeting hall. When he saw someone coming, he nodded and bowed and said hello: "Mr. Wang, please sit inside."
"Master Li, walk slowly and be careful of the threshold."
"..."
As he spoke, he motioned to the maids to stay. Everyone was familiar with the rules and knew the rules, so the master could just go in by himself, while the maids would go to the next room to wait.
When the last person entered the meeting hall, the person at the door retreated into the hall and closed the door.
There were five people sitting on the left and right sides of the meeting hall, and two people sat on the upper seat. One thing they had in common was that their faces were gloomy, and they seemed to be in a bad mood.
Seeing that everyone was here, an old man of half a hundred people sitting in the seat spoke first: "You all know about the imperial court's bullshit new policy, right?"
The news from the capital has spread to the local area. Even the transfer envoys and Tiju who are relatively close to the capital have returned and started working on the reform of the salt policy. The relevant newspapers are expected to be spread to the world within these days.
.
"Then what does Zhou Yanru do for food?" the man just called Mr. Li said angrily.
"Liao Bin, come and tell the gentlemen about the capital." The half-century-old man said to the steward standing aside.
"Yes, sir." Liao Bin took a few steps forward and reported everything about how he found Zhou Yanru after arriving in the capital, and then returned to where he was standing.
Liao Bin was one of the confidants of the half-hundred-year-old old man Chen Liang, and he came into existence as a foreign affairs liaison after they, the big salt merchants, united.
"Brother Chen, we sent Zhou Yanru to the cabinet, but it's still not of much use. Isn't this a waste of so much silver?" A fat salt merchant complained.
The reason why Chen Liang was regarded as the chief executive by these big salt merchants was because he was calm and scheming.
He shook his head and said: "Zhou Yanru is already a cabinet minister at a young age. Although he is one of the few high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty, his foundation is still shallow. He has tried his best this time, so don't expect too much.
.”
"What should we do? If we pave the way for him, we must pay him back, right?" Another big salt merchant followed up and spoke.[
"I have been thinking about it for the past two days. There are many people in the imperial court who are older and more prestigious than Zhou Yanru. It is difficult for him to make a difference now. It will take time for him to show his role. Therefore, we need to do something
Good in two aspects." Chen Liang expressed his thoughts.
"What two aspects? As long as it's really useful, money doesn't matter." The fat salt merchant asked generously.
The other salt merchants in the meeting hall also looked at Chen Liang, wanting to hear what he had in mind.
"The first thing we have to do is to bribe court officials, use any means to attack Zhou Yanru's political opponents, and pave the way for him to truly gain power, because the previous investment cannot be in vain."
"Secondly, we need to step up our support of another person and respond to him from a distance, so that we can truly influence the situation of the government and control the salt administration of Ming Dynasty in our hands. Maybe in the future, we can also gain great benefits in other aspects!" Chen
Liang told him everything he wanted to do after careful consideration.
"Brother Chen, are you talking about Zhang Pu, who was born to a concubine?" the fat salt merchant asked with a bit of disdain.
"He is talented, knowledgeable, and ambitious. We have agreed to support him before. I think he is a person who can achieve things and will be rewarded." Chen Liang saw that the fat salt merchant was judging people based on their background, so he started again.
Emphasized the reason for choosing Zhang Pu.
After finishing speaking, he looked at the other salt merchants and said again: "This is a move that Brother Guo and I both felt necessary to make after discussing it."
The salt merchants sitting on the left and right looked at the other person in charge, Guo Lun.
Guo Lun nodded and said: "The government and the public are in our hands, and not all the wealth in the world is ours. Please look further ahead."
Seeing that the two principals had the same opinion, these salt merchants stopped saying anything. Anyway, they just wanted to provide some money, and the most important thing they needed was money.
"Then how to deal with the current new salt policy?" A big salt merchant asked.
"For the time being, let's take it step by step. Production has really increased. Let's talk to those in charge and exchange the warehouse notes we have on hand first." Chen Liang answered.
This had never been done before in all dynasties, there was no precedent to follow, and other salt merchants didn't have a good idea, so they acquiesced to Chen Liang's statement.
After they discussed some details, they dispersed.