For Jiangnan Jinshen, their mood yesterday was like a roller coaster.
First of all, they had a public debate with the Huangzhuang forces in the Confucius Temple yesterday morning, and they were completely at a disadvantage. Under the debating method of the Huangzhuang forces’ debating representatives, who told facts and listed data, they were not only speechless.
, all kinds of evil deeds were also exposed in public, it can be said that the ugly appearance was exposed and the reputation was greatly damaged;
But soon, Song Jicheng, the direct grandson of the Song family who was originally just playing soy sauce, suddenly stood up to turn the tide. He was not afraid of the stage when he argued with the seventh prince Zhu Hejian in public. Not only did he save the reputation and face of the Jinshen Group to a great extent,
He even forced the Huangzhuang forces to admit defeat;
Then, something even more exciting happened for the gentry. The Seventh Prince issued an order to severely punish profiteers. The merchants of the "United Shipping Company" were all arrested and imprisoned for the crime of driving up prices, and various industries were also severely punished.
After being seized by the government, and then under the operation of Zhou Shangjing and the Song family, these astonishingly valuable properties fell into the hands of the Jin gentry one after another. As a result, the net worth of many Jin gentry quickly increased by 50 to 60%!
But before the gentry could be excited for too long, a piece of bad news reached their ears - the cabinet minister, the second most powerful official in the dynasty after Zhou Shangjing, the controller of finance and taxation in the Ming Dynasty, and the founder of the "United Shipping Company"
And his backer, Zhao Junchen, who is known as the living god of wealth in the world, actually appeared in Nanjing without warning!
Moreover, after Zhao Junchen arrived in Nanjing, he showed an extremely tough attitude and immediately sent people to rob Yingtian Mansion Prison and rescued the merchants who joined the "United Shipping Company".
Frightened by Zhao Junchen's reputation and toughness, the gentry all postponed their actions to embezzle the "United Shipping Company" industry and began to wait and see the situation worrying about gains and losses.
But soon, another piece of good news came. The negotiation between the chief minister Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen broke down, and they officially fell out. So they sent instructions to the gentry, asking them not to have any scruples, and not only to step up their actions to embezzle "
It is necessary to destroy the property of "United Shipping Company", destroy all the account books of "United Shipping Company", remove all the materials of "United Shipping Company", and empty out all the assets of "United Shipping Company"!
This approach is clearly intended to give Zhao Junchen a disincentive!
With Zhou Shangjing's support, the Jin gentry no longer had any scruples and sped up their actions one after another. Because they were worried that the situation would change again, most of the Jin gentry had no time to sleep last night and had been busy all night!
And all this busyness was worth it. By noon today, they had destroyed all the account books of "United Shipping Company" in accordance with Zhou Shangjing's request.
In this way, even if the situation is reversed in the future and the merchants of the "United Shipping Company" want to take back the property, there will be no verification since all the relevant account books have been destroyed.
More importantly, the gentry also emptied all the warehouses of the "United Shipping Company" and harvested astronomical amounts of money and supplies.
Take the Du family in northern Anhui among the Jin gentry as an example. This Jin gentry family took the opportunity to take over two large-scale trading firms, "Zhang's Shipping Company" and "Yongfeng Grain Company" among the many franchised firms of "United Shipping Company"!
Among them, "Zhang's Shipping Company" owns 28 large merchant ships of various types, 35 medium-sized merchant ships of various types, and a bank deposit of more than 300,000 taels; as for "Yongfeng Grain Company", its assets are even more amazing
, the rice grain inventory is as high as 180,000 taels, and the gold and silver inventory totals more than 200,000 taels!
However, the Du family's headquarters is not in Nanjing, but in two prefectures and nine counties in northern Anhui.
After embezzling the properties of "Zhang's Shipping Company" and "Yongfeng Grain Company", the first reaction of Du Yuande, the head of the Du family, was to transport all these properties to northern Anhui.
In the two prefectures and nine counties in northern Anhui, the Du family is the emperor who dominates the sky with one hand. Only by transporting all these properties and materials to northern Anhui can this delicious feast be truly eaten. Otherwise,
Everyone in the Du family couldn't feel at ease!
Because the stakes were so high, Du Yuande personally rushed to the river dock in the north of Nanjing and personally directed the domestic slaves to carry supplies onto the ship.
After Du Yuande arrived at the pier in the north of the city with a large amount of supplies, he was not surprised to see that all the gentry were busy with the same thing.
Whether it was the Bai family in southern Gansu or the Zhang family in Suzhou, they both sent core members of the family to appear at the dock in the north of the city, and they were instructing their slaves to carry various materials onto the ship.
It was obvious that each of the Jin gentry families had the idea of pocketing safety and wanted to transfer the windfall they had gained to their respective families' spheres of influence as quickly as possible.
If he saw such a large number of core figures of the Jinshen Group in normal times, Du Yuande would definitely seize the time to socialize, but now he is busy directing his slaves to carry supplies onto the ship, and he can't even take care of socializing for a while, so he simply
Pretend that you haven't seen the people from the major Jin gentry families and take the lead in transporting away the windfall that the Du family has gained.
The other major gentry families all had the same idea. They were all quietly making money without disturbing anyone.
Under the command of Du Yuande, the rice grains and deposits from "Yongfeng Grain Company" and the deposits and materials from "Zhang's Shipping Company" were moved into the cargo ship of "Zhang's Shipping Company".
Seeing that all the wealth of astonishing value was about to fall completely into the Du family's pocket, Du Yuande felt contented as never before.
But soon, an accident happened.
*
A descendant of the Du family hurried to Du Yuande and reported: "Uncle, because all the gentry are rushing to the dock to transfer supplies, the dock space is not enough... There is also a dock reserved by our Du family, which has been
The Wang family has taken possession of it!"
"Wang family? Nanjing Wang family?" Du Yuande asked after being slightly stunned.
The Du family disciple nodded, with a flash of disdain on his expression: "Yes, that's the Spider King family!"
Among the entire Jiangnan Jingentry group, the Nanjing Wang family is considered to be the most prominent. The biggest characteristic of this family is that they are "extremely good at raising children." It can be said that they are full of children and grandchildren. Although there are not a few top-notch figures, there are a large number of children all over the government and the public.
There are also a large number of daughters and granddaughters who are married to major forces, and are called "Spider Kings" by the outside world, which means they are good at weaving webs;
Precisely because there are so many members of the Wang family, there are branches of the Wang family in almost all prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River, and the Wang family's industries are spread throughout Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Generally speaking, the Wang family has wider connections, while the Du family has a more stable foundation. The overall strength of the two families is roughly equal, and no one can overpower the other.
Under such circumstances, Du Yuande was not willing to conflict with the Wang family easily. After pondering for a moment, he asked: "Is Wang Jiahe, the head of the Wang family, at the dock?"
The Du family disciple nodded and said: "The Wang family's head is not far away, and he is also instructing the Wang family's slaves to carry supplies onto the ship. It is precisely because of the Wang family's head's personal fate and relying on his old age that our Du family was robbed of a dock by the Wang family.
.”
Du Yuande snorted softly and said, "Let's go! I'll go meet that big spider myself!"
After saying that, Du Yuande walked towards the dock.
But after walking a few steps, Du Yuande stopped again, turned around and said: "However, after meeting the head of the Wang family, you can't be rude! We and the Wang family are both big families, so we still have to maintain dignity!
"
After hearing Du Yuande's instructions, several of the Du family disciples behind him reluctantly agreed.
Among the major gentry families, although the Wang family has the largest number of members, due to their mediocre upbringing and extensive influence, the reputation of the government and the public is also the worst. In the public debate at the Confucius Temple yesterday, the forces of the Huangzhuang were caught up in the various evils of the Wang family.
The pursuit and fierce fighting put the Jin Gentry power at a disadvantage, so the other major Jin Gentry families all criticized the Wang family.
After about half a stick of incense, Du Yuande arrived at the pier that was snatched away by the Wang family. He looked up and saw Wang Jiahe, the head of the Wang family, walking towards him quickly. He had obviously expected Du Yuande's appearance.
After the two heads of the Jinshen family met, they were in harmony, just like close friends without any quarrel or resentment. Wang Jiahe shouted loudly from a distance: "Brother Du is here! I can't welcome you from a distance, it's rude and disrespectful."
!”
Du Yuande laughed, quickly walked two steps to Wang Jiahe, held Wang Jiahe's hands and shook his head: "Brother Wang is wrong! It's my fault that I didn't go far to welcome Brother Wang! After all, this wharf is owned by our Du Yuande.
This is the Du family’s territory now, so I am the landlord, so I should be the one to welcome Brother Wang from afar!"
After a pause, Du Yuande looked up in the direction of the pier, only to find that the Wang family's cargo ship had already occupied the middle position of the pier, while the Du family's cargo ship was squeezed to the edge. An angry look flashed in his eyes.
But on the surface, Du Yuande didn't care and asked: "What? Brother Wang has taken a fancy to this dock? If so, just send someone to tell him. Our two families are family friends and everything is easy to discuss.
Naturally, I will give it to you and stay away!"
Wang Jiahe was slightly stunned after hearing this, as if he didn't understand what Du Yuande was talking about at all.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Jiahe turned to a member of the Wang family and asked, "Wang Qi, wasn't this dock reserved by our Wang family? Is there some misunderstanding?"
A descendant of the Wang family named "Wang Qi" immediately took a step forward and explained: "Let me tell you, the head of the family, because all the major gentry families reserved the dock location yesterday, the official who managed the dock made a mistake and reserved this dock at the same time.
Our Wang family and Du family, so..."
"Asshole!" Before Wang Qi could finish his words, he was slapped hard by Wang Jiahe: "Why didn't you say something like this earlier? The Du family has been friends with our Wang family for generations, so we should take the initiative when encountering this kind of situation.
It's only right to give the dock to the Du family. If you hide it and don't report it, it's like our Wang family has taken over the Du family's dock. How can I have the face to get along with Brother Du in the future?"
After saying that, Wang Jiahe bowed deeply to Du Yuande and said: "Brother Du, my Wang family is rude about this matter. I will give up the dock to the Du family for use now."
Although he said this, Wang Jiahe did not directly order the Wang family's children to give up the dock. Instead, he quietly waited for Du Yuande's response.
After seeing this scene, Du Yuande's eyes became even more angry. He never believed that Wang Jiahe had no knowledge beforehand. It must be that Wang Jiahe knew that this dock was booked by Wang and Du at the same time, but he pretended not to know and pretended to be confused.
Waiting until the Wang family has seized the dock before revealing the truth is to create an established fact.
The Wang Qi who was slapped by Wang Jiahe was obviously just a member of the Wang family, and the slap was just to block Du Yuande's mouth so that Du Yuande could not perform.
But the next moment, Du Yuande suppressed the anger in his heart and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter! It's the people at the dock who did something wrong. They shouldn't blame the Wang family... Well, since this dock was reserved for Wang at the same time.
, the Du family, then our two families can use it together. As long as we squeeze a little more, we can still squeeze out a boat space."
Wang Jiahe originally thought that after he acted so hypocritically, Du Yuande should give him a face and hand over the pier to the Wang family first. Unexpectedly, Du Yuande did not want to suffer a loss after all, and instead proposed that the two families use the pier together!
As a result, Wang Jiahe was also unhappy, thinking that the Du family was really careless.
But on the surface, Wang Jiahe followed the good advice and immediately nodded and said: "What Brother Du said makes sense, let our two families use this dock jointly. We are all our own people anyway!"
"Yes! Yes! We are all our own!"
After saying that, the two laughed in perfect harmony, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.
Wang Jiahe and Du Yuande are both respectable people with status. Even when there is a conflict of interest and quarrels and calculations, the two of them still behave with such dignity and elegance, and they will not easily fall out and lose their composure, damaging their harmony.
As for those things that are not decent and elegant, they must naturally be left to the people below.
This incident is not the first time that the Wang and Du families have had a conflict of interest.
Just three years ago, a conflict broke out between the Wang and Du families over the source of irrigation water.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! During that conflict, several large-scale fights broke out among the tenant farmers and laborers controlled by the Wang and Du families, and dozens of people were killed or injured in total.
This incident still did not harm the friendship between the Wang and Du families. The two families still called themselves brothers and drank and talked happily.
After all, the people killed and injured were just sharecroppers and long-term workers, and it was not worth the harm to the peace between the two families.
Big men always keep their hands close to the edge and their eyes never see the blood, but in just a few words, they can cause a lot of death and bloodshed.
And these casualties and bloodshed are just a few words of temptation and pressure from the adults during banquet negotiations.
The same is true now. After the two families decided to use the same dock together, the domestic slaves carrying supplies naturally became more and more busy. The sailors who controlled the merchant ships were even more nervous and were always on guard against collisions between the two merchant ships. The Wang family
The members of the side tribe also received slaps in vain, but Wang Jiahe and Du Yuande remained harmonious and cordial. They even sent people to arrange tables, chairs and awnings on the pier to drink tea and chat together.
While sitting down to drink tea, Du Yuande saw the slaves of the Wang family carrying various supplies onto the ship. He couldn't help but secretly envy him and said: "The head of the Wang family has gained a lot this time! He actually grabbed the 'Pengyu Trading Company'
!Hey, this 'Pengyu Trading Company' has a very wide business scope. It not only monopolizes nearly 60% of the tea business in Nanjing, but is also quite famous in the silk, satin, porcelain and other businesses... It swallowed 'Pengyu Trading Company'
After that, the Wang family will definitely become more prosperous!"
While Du Yuande was envious of the Wang family's harvest, Wang Jiahe was also envious of the Du family's harvest. He shook his head and said, "How can I compare to Brother Du! This time, the Du family won the 'Yongfeng Grain Company' and 'Zhang's Ship Company' at the same time.
', These two commercial banks are both famous for their large deposits of money. Even if we put aside the cargo ships and grain storage, the total deposits of these two commercial banks are at least 500,000 taels, right? The Du family has
With such an astonishing harvest, the power must be raised to a higher level!"
Du Yuande shook his head and sighed: "The one who really takes the big advantage is the Song family... That's all. After all, our two families cannot be compared with the Song family. Not only is this family closely related to Zhou Shoufu, but also outstanding people have emerged for three consecutive generations, and they are recognized as the modern gentry of the world.
The leader..."
When Wang Jiahe heard this, he suddenly lowered his voice and asked: "That's what I said, but... has Brother Du heard any news from the capital?"
Du Yuande's eyes flashed and he asked: "Brother Wang is referring to...the news that Song Qiwen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, has been placed under house arrest and dismissed from office?"
Wang Jiahe nodded lightly: "Although our roots are in Jiangnan, we can't just focus on Jiangnan. The changes in the situation in the capital are equally important! With the support of Zhou Shoufu of the Song family, the Nanjing game is winner-take-all, but Zhou Shoufu is in charge.
On the occasion of Nanjing, it is beyond our reach to change the situation in the center of the capital! Judging from various signs, the situation in the capital is also winner-takes-all, but the winner is not the 'Zhou Party', but the current majesty!"
Du Yuande shook his head and sighed: "After I heard the news, I was also a little worried! If Zhou Shoufu is in good health, there is no need to panic. With Zhou Shoufu's method, he can still make a comeback after returning to the capital, but...
"
Wang Jiahe frowned slightly, his fat white face full of sadness: "That's right! Looking at it now, His Majesty is still superior after all. After he removed Zhou Shoufu and Zhao Junchen, he no longer had any constraints in the center of the temple, and took the opportunity to greatly expand the imperial power.
, the 'Zhou Party', the 'Zhao Party', the 'Princeling Party' and other factions were all severely damaged, but the physical condition of Chief Minister Zhou... Sigh!"
Du Yuande asked tentatively: "So, should we gentry prepare in advance and make multiple bets?"
Wang Jiahe lowered his voice again and said slowly: "While Zhou Shoufu is still alive, we naturally want to follow Zhou Shoufu, but in order to be on guard, we naturally need to make multiple bets! You see, the Lu family has caught up with the Seventh Prince in advance.
Connections! I heard that Lu De is very important to the Seventh Prince and has been regarded as a confidant by the Seventh Prince. In this way, even if something happens to Zhou Shoufu, the Lu family's position will still be stable... So, we also need to
Have more contact with the Lu family, and it is best to establish a relationship with the seventh prince along the line of the Lu family!"
Du Yuande shook his head and retorted: "Not necessarily! Judging from the current situation, it is no longer certain that the Seventh Prince will take over as Crown Prince, so... we'd better find another home!"
"Looking for another home? Brother Du means...?"
"Brother Wang, what do you think of Zhao Junchen?"
Wang Jiahe was slightly startled: "Zhao Junchen? He has already fallen out with Zhou Shoufu. I'm afraid it's inappropriate for us to try to get in touch with him at this time, right? What's more, Zhao Junchen's hidden worries are not small."
Du Yuande chuckled and said: "Zhao Junchen does have various hidden worries, but he is young after all, and the court's finances cannot do without him, so his position is still stable in a short period of time! It is said that Zhao Junchen is
The backer of the 'United Shipping Company'. Now that we have taken over the property of the 'United Shipping Company', we can be considered a member of the 'United Shipping Company'. Letting Zhao Junchen become our supporter is also the proper meaning of the title."
Wang Jiahe was a little shaken and couldn't help but fell into deep thought.
If someone heard the conversation between Du Yuande and Wang Jiahe, they would be stunned and would only think that Du Yuande and Wang Jiahe had gone crazy!
After all, they had just misappropriated the "United Shipping Company" industry and seriously damaged Zhao Junchen's interests. Now they have no intention of returning it, but they have already planned to get in Zhao Junchen's way and let Zhao Junchen protect them.
But for Du Yuande and Wang Jiahe, this kind of thing is not surprising at all.
Facing the changes in the situation in the imperial court, the gentry were like grass on the wall. They would fall in whichever direction the wind blew.
But at the same time, the gentry were definitely not ordinary wallflowers.
For the wallflower, swaying with the wind without any opinion is just the lowest level.
Assessing the situation, taking multiple bets, and changing positions in a timely manner are only at a medium level.
However, these Jiangnan gentry and powerful families have experienced countless changes in the political situation, and after the rise and fall of dynasties, they have reached the highest state of being a grassroots, that is - no matter what the wind is, I am deeply rooted!
Swinging with the wind is just the outer appearance, deep roots are the core!
As long as the roots are deep and the stems are solid, the wall grass seems to be swaying with the wind, but in fact, no matter which direction the wind blows, these wall plants with deep roots and solid stems are not affected, and the swaying in the wind is just to relieve the force!
The Jiangnan Jin gentry are such a group of entrenched wallflowers, so they can embezzle the "United Shipping Company" industry while considering Zhao Junchen's connection, because they have already determined that Zhao Junchen has no ability to retaliate against them, even if
After suffering the loss of being mute, I could only forcefully swallow the broken teeth and happily accept their surrender!
However, Wang Jiahe and Du Yuande ignored one thing.
A truly violent hurricane can even scrape the ground three feet away. No matter how deep-rooted the grass on the wall is, it has no resistance.