"This..." Cheng Qian was supposed to be quibbling, but he couldn't help but fell into a fierce psychological struggle.
Seeing that he was pale and speechless, Zhu Zhen sighed softly: "I guess you will say, 'I am just a kiln burner. I will sell to whoever pays for it. Who knows who they sold to?
Right?'"
Cheng Qianxin said, 'That's not possible.'
Just as he was about to nod, he heard His Highness change the subject and said quietly: "But you have to think clearly. It is me who is asking you this time, and it may not be who it is next time."
Although the tone was calm, the threat suddenly became full of meaning. Even the dignified imperial envoy, Shangshu, could not withstand it. How could a businessman like Cheng Qian be able to withstand it?
His knees suddenly weakened and he knelt on the ground, almost peeing in his pants.
Jingdezhen is not a paradise. On the contrary, it is the "Twelve Provinces Wharf" which is very well-informed. Cheng Qian, the leader of the association, has certainly heard of many terrible rumors surrounding the two His Highnesses.
It is said that Xiong Qitai, a former high-ranking official in Jiangxi Province, was skinned and stripped of grass by them, and he is still hanging like a kite at the top of Nanchang City.
It is said that even Zhang Tianshi was imprisoned in the palace by them and tortured day and night. Even the Zhengyi Alliance was to be disbanded and all the believers were to be sent away...
It is also said that they killed tens of thousands of people and turned the land outside Nanchang red...
There are many similar rumors, each one more sinister than the last.
In short, these two terrifying demon kings would crush themselves to death just like crushing an ant to death, without any hesitation.
Now one of the big devils has issued a serious warning. If he still doesn't tell the truth, the consequences will be unimaginable...
As long as you don't get confused, this is simply a multiple-choice question with no choice.
~~
"I said, I said, Your Highness, don't kill me..." Cheng Qian's nose was full of tears, and his demeanor as a confident industry leader was gone.
"That's what I said." Zhu Zhen said aggrievedly: "I have brought so many good friends here for a special visit, not to shout or kill. It's just that you don't seem to cherish my friendship."
"Yes, yes, the villain was confused for a moment." Cheng Qian hurriedly slapped himself twice, then poured beans out of the bamboo tube and said: "Actually, the villain has not done any illegal acts. The main reason is that he subconsciously wants to keep the client's confidentiality."
"Hey, look, you're shirking responsibility again." Zhu Zhen shook his head and said: "I like people who have the courage to criticize themselves. People who know their mistakes and can correct them are still good friends. I don't like this kind of shirk of responsibility. It's always others who are wrong.
.”
As he spoke, he glanced at everyone in the inspection team and asked, "Right?"
"Yes, yes." Everyone nodded quickly, and Zhu He quickly appeared and said, "Cheng Hui, we also made mistakes. Making mistakes is not terrible. The key is not to make the same mistake again and again."
"Yes, I know they sell all their porcelain overseas." Cheng Qian was finally shaped into the shape of Lao Liu and answered honestly:
"The same jade pot and spring vase, sold for two taels of silver at home, can be sold for twenty taels overseas. Those maritime merchants can give us five taels, so of course we give priority to selling to them... But most of the blue and white flowers are not available.
It’s so expensive, that’s what I mean.”
"What are those maritime merchants doing?" Zhu Zhen asked calmly.
"They are the bosses in Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Guangzhou." Cheng Qian replied hurriedly: "The wealthy people who used to control the Quanzhou Shipping Company and the Guangzhou Shipping Company."
"Don't you know that in the seventh year of Hongwu's reign, all shipping companies were closed down?" Zhu Zhen asked without changing his tone.
"I know." Cheng Qian nodded.
"You know and you still supply them?"
"Early, I placed the order long ago..." Cheng Qian swallowed.
"It is now the eleventh year of Hongwu! Even the orders placed in the seventh year of Hongwu have been digested!" Zhu Zhen suddenly changed his face and said: "It seems that it is really difficult for you to tell the truth!"
As he spoke, he stood up with his sleeves fluttered and was about to leave. He accidentally brought the precious underglaze red piece to the ground and smashed it into pieces.
Looking at the red and white broken porcelain pieces on the ground, Cheng Qian seemed to have seen his own ending.
He knelt down hurriedly and said in a tearful tone: "The villain doesn't dare to do anything anymore. I just want them to give me more money. I just turn a blind eye and continue to supply them."
"I see you have both eyes closed!" Zhu Zhen pointed at him and said angrily: "You are already so rich, how do you think you still want to earn such a stupid amount of money!"
"The villain has lost his wits, Your Highness!" Cheng Qian regretted at least at this moment and slapped himself so hard that his nose was bruised and his face was swollen:
"Actually, when the sea ban was just launched, the villain and his colleagues also thought about stopping supplying to them." He confessed with tears in his nose: "But they gave too much. If there was no such sales channel,
We only sell it to the domestic market. We can buy a jade pot and spring bottle for up to one thousand yuan, which is the price of most porcelain kilns..."
He was about to say 'shut down', but his heart, which had been tamed by His Highness, immediately sounded a warning, and he abruptly changed his words:
"It's too much to make too much less. If everyone is really unwilling, we will ask the maritime merchants to increase the money, and then continue to supply them with eight taels per piece."
"Good boy..." The big business owners in the inspection team were secretly stunned. How much money did these porcelain households earn? They became increasingly determined to transfer part of their production capacity to their own homes.
"You quite negotiate the price." Zhu Zhen couldn't help but smile: "It's not like them, who were all manipulated by maritime merchants."
"It's different. First of all, our Jingde porcelain has been exported since the Southern Song Dynasty. After more than a hundred years, we naturally know how much our porcelain can sell overseas." Cheng Qian said hurriedly:
"Besides, Jingdezhen is not big. There are about 500 kiln households in total. If they form a guild to advance and retreat together, they can negotiate prices with merchants. It is not as big as Jiangnan, where thousands of households can produce silk, so it is naturally difficult to negotiate with merchants.
price."
Under the education of His Royal Highness the King of Chu, he quickly learned the two virtues of being humble and being kind to others.
"It won't happen now. The silk exported from Jiangnan must be certified by the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau." Zhu Zhen said with a smile: "The Weaving and Dyeing Bureau and the Shipping Department will negotiate prices uniformly, so weavers will not suffer losses."
"Yes, yes, yes," the big names in the inspection team hurriedly said, "Your Highness is the most fair!"
I dare not mention at all that the big bosses of the Dyeing and Textile Bureau and the Shipping Department are the same person...
At this moment, Cheng Qian's mind was enlightened. He understood immediately and asked tentatively: "From now on, our Jingde porcelain will not be sold to those Fujian and Guangdong maritime merchants, but only to the Taicang Shipping Department?"
"Haha, you misunderstood. The Shipping Department is only responsible for transporting and protecting shipping routes, not purchasing goods." Zhu Zhen smiled and pointed at the investment group: "They are the maritime merchants responsible for buying and selling goods."
"Yes, yes, our porcelain will only be sold to Jiangnan merchants from now on." Cheng Qian didn't care much now, as saving his life was the most important thing.
"That's not necessary. It's just a piece and cannot be sold to smugglers." Lao Liu corrected him and said solemnly: "One of the important responsibilities of my Prime Minister Maritime Yamen is to combat smuggling at sea and maintain legal trade!"
"Yes, we won't sell it to smugglers." Cheng Qian changed his mind for the third time, thinking, is there any difference between these three statements?
"I know what you are thinking." Zhu Zhen said calmly, as if he could see through his mind:
"Don't worry, the imperial court has also given me the quota of a number of shipping companies. I will not just set up a shipping company in Taicang. When the conditions are mature, I will definitely reopen the shipping companies in Quanzhou and Guangzhou."
Cheng Qian understood at once that what His Highness meant when the conditions were ripe was, of course, that the Fujian and Guangdong maritime merchants were all as obedient as the Jiangnan maritime merchants in front of him.
But before that, their Jingdezhen goods could only be sold to these Jiangnan merchants.
