Chapter 188: The confrontation between Wei and Han (4) [two in one]
At the turn of the new year, that is, in the eighth year of Wei Xing'an, the imperial court issued an edict in the name of Chui Gongdian, announcing an increase in relevant domestic commercial taxes. The increase was approximately 30% of the previous total commercial taxes.
After this edict was issued, the merchants doing business in Wei State were very resentful. Both Wei merchants and merchants from other countries were quite dissatisfied with this move of the Wei court.
In view of this, the Luoyang court also explained that the purpose of increasing the commercial tax rate was to better improve transportation roads and make road transportation more convenient.
After hearing this explanation, the complaints of the merchants were reduced a lot. After all, over the years, the Wei State has indeed been committed to developing domestic road transportation. The spacious and well-connected roads, especially the Chidao, have made
When merchants transported goods, their schedules were greatly shortened - perhaps because of this, the merchants did not continue to protest.
After all, compared to the commission of "increasing the original 30% commercial tax", merchants prefer to have convenient roads and stable public security in return.
Among these people, many people saw the signs: The imperial court was increasing the pressure on merchants from other countries in a disguised form!
Think about it, even if the Wei court keeps its promise and uses the newly collected commercial taxes for domestic road construction, this will also enhance the basic national strength of Wei. What does this have to do with the country of merchants from other countries? But unfortunately,
These merchants from other countries could not raise objections. After all, they did hope that road transportation in Wei would become more convenient and the public security in various markets would become more stable.
"This is really a good idea."
In the prosperous area of Bolangsha Port City, on the third floor of a large store called "Wenshi Pavilion", Wen Shaobo, a wealthy Wei man who was born in Anling, was wearing a Qiurong cloak and standing by the window with his hands behind his back.
He opened his mouth and stared down at the busiest street in Hong Kong City - Wende Street.
This is the street named after Wei King Zhao Run in memory of his father, the late king Zhao Si.
Similarly, there is another street called "Yongwang Street", which commemorates the former prince Yongwang Zhao Yu.
It is said that the relationship between the brothers, the former Prince Yong Wang Zhao Yu and the current Wei Wang Zhao Run was quite good, but it was a pity that God's will caused various conflicts.
At this time, on Wende Street, there were two groups of local rangers from Borangsha Port City, who seemed to be quarreling and bickering - probably for the purpose of dividing the territory.
The reason why Uncle Wen watched this scene from the third floor of his shop was because the quarrel between these two groups of local rangers today was a bit strange.
"...Brother Li, we made an appointment with each other in the past two years. This street was half for each of our two groups. The first two years belonged to you. From this year onwards, it will be my turn, right?"
In front of a shop, a bald man in his thirties said to another strong man in front of him.
"Fuck you!"
The strong man opposite the bald man was estimated to be more than nine feet tall, with a strong back and a strong waist. He was tall and strong. One look at this appearance, and you knew he was a fierce man. He hit the bald man hard with his chest.
Disdainfully said: "When
In the beginning, we used martial arts to make friends. The winners settled on Wende Street, and the losers went to Yongwang Street. But now, you have been robbed of your territory by a group of knights who defend the country, and you actually want to take food from me? You ask
Will my brothers agree?"
As soon as he finished speaking, more than twenty brothers behind him started shouting in confusion.
"No!"
"Fuck you!"
After hearing this, the group of rangers and ruffians behind the bald man also widened their eyes with anger, as if they couldn't hold back their anger and were ready to fight. This frightened a young man passing by on the roadside and backed away again and again, fearing that it would affect him.
"Little brother, be careful."
The shop owner next door supported the young man with one hand and said with a smile.
The young man immediately realized that he had stepped on someone else's foot while retreating, and quickly apologized. However, the store owner was very generous and waved his hand to show that he didn't care.
Seeing this, the young man thought of the matter at hand and asked the shopkeeper: "Who are these two people, this wise brother?"
As he spoke, he pointed to the quarrel not far away, where a bald man and another strong man were arguing.
"You mean them?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said with a familiar smile: "The bald guy is called "Liu Shi". I heard he was a bandit and a good person..." After saying this, he shook his head and said with a smile: "These days,...
Bandits raid homes and rob houses, but they can't make money as quickly as these, and more and more bandits are doing good work..."
The young man opened his mouth and looked at the shopkeeper in shock.
Seeing this, the shopkeeper also realized that he had made a mistake, coughed and continued to introduce: "The other one is the tall and strong one, his name is Li Liang. It is said that he was once a ranger in Zhengcheng, and later came to Bolangsha.
To make a living, I have gathered a group of rangers under my command, which is quite powerful..."
"That's it." The young man nodded, then pointed to the chaos not far away and asked: "Brother Xian, does this thing happen often in Bolangsha Port City?"
"How can that be possible?" The shopkeeper smiled and said with a bit of disdain: "Don't look at how violent these people are at the moment. Waiting for the men who know "Bo Langwei" to come, these people will definitely
He runs faster than anyone else..." At this point, he pointed to the pedestrians who were watching on the street, and said: "How many of those onlookers on the street are worried about you? Don't worry, these two groups don't dare
Using force on the street in broad daylight."
Hearing this, the young man took a careful look at the pedestrians who were standing on the street and watched. He saw that these people included ordinary people in ordinary clothes, as well as wealthy people who were well-dressed. The common thing was that these people seemed not to be the same.
He was not worried that the dispute between the two groups of rangers would implicate him. Everyone stood aside and watched, and some of them even encouraged the two groups of rangers to use force.
Seeing this, the young man calmed down a little, and said with some praise on his face: "It seems that Captain Bolang from your place is also a great person."
"It's not bad." The shopkeeper shrugged upon hearing this.
"Eh?" the young man asked in surprise: "Isn't it because of the relationship with Captain Bolang that these two groups of rangers dare not use force in broad daylight?"
"Of course not." The store owner blinked his eyes and said, "Although Lieutenant Bo Lang is indeed a bit of a deterrent, he is not what those rangers fear most... What those rangers fear most are the one hundred thousand imperial guards of the imperial court."
Having said this, he looked around and lowered his voice and said: "In the past few years, the Rangers caused trouble.
When something happened, the imperial court was furious and dispatched the Imperial Guards to suppress the Ranger forces nationwide. Since then, the Rangers have formed unwritten rules among themselves. If anyone alerts the Imperial Guards, the Rangers will be the first among each other.
We can't spare him... Therefore, these rangers will never dare to use force in broad daylight."
Indeed, because of the existence of the imperial guards, the knights of Wei State did not dare to be too presumptuous. Even if they were extorting money, they would do so in a good manner and not as arrogant as before.
But having said that, if you become 'docile' because of those rangers and ignore their blackmail, they can also use other methods to disgust you.
To be cruel, for example, when there are many customers in your shop, a few rangers suddenly ran in and slashed themselves several times, splattering blood all over the room. Would you say it's disgusting or not?
What makes me angry is that it’s not easy for you to report this to the official.
Firstly, those rangers did not smash anything in your shop, nor did they forcibly plunder it; secondly, they did not hurt anyone, they only hurt themselves.
In this case, how do you report it to the official?
Even if you report to the police, the local county government in Bolangsha will only advise you: This one did not hurt anyone, and the second one did not rob anyone. For this reason, the whole city will hunt down those rangers. If they are not worthy, you yourself
It can be cleaned up.
In addition, the rangers also have many other methods, such as throwing excrement in front of your shop, making your shop stink, etc. Anyway, they are some methods that do not hurt people, but can disgust you.
Therefore, in order to prevent these rangers from causing trouble, the shops in Bolangsha Port City tend to lose money and eliminate disasters.
Even after building a good relationship over time, sometimes if you ask those rangers for a little help, those rangers will be willing to help you.
But today, to be honest, the situation is a bit special. In fact, even the store owner felt strange. It was strange why the two groups of rangers were quarreling on the street - the rangers never did this kind of thing in the alleys in the back alleys.
Is it solved?
"That shop is also unlucky. When this happened, they were blocked by these rangers, and even the customers couldn't get in..."
The other end of the store took a look at the plaque of the store and saw the words "Lexumi Wine" engraved on the plaque.
Lesu, this is a place name in South Korea.
At this moment, there was an exclamation in the street: "Bo Langwei's men are coming!"
As soon as he finished speaking, just as the shopkeeper had guessed, the two groups of rangers Liu Shi and Li Liang, who had been quarreling with each other before, escaped in an instant, so that they waited for Bo Langwei's men.
When I arrived late, the only people left outside the shop were the shopkeeper and the shop assistant.
"The king's team leads."
I saw the shopkeeper trotting up to the front of Bolangwei's men and telling the team leader: "You are finally here. Just now, two groups of rangers made trouble in front of my shop and destroyed all the business in my shop.
Delayed..."
"Sorry, sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the road, so I was a little late."
The leader of the team leader clasped his fists, then looked around and asked, "Have those brats ever hurt anyone?"
"That's not true," the shopkeeper said honestly.
"Then...did the goods in your shop get damaged?" Wang Duixue asked again.
"This... doesn't happen either." The shopkeeper said again.
"Oh, that's good, that's good." The captain nodded and said, "Since there's nothing wrong, I'll leave first."
"You, you just left like that?" The shopkeeper was a little dumbfounded.
As if he had guessed what the other party was thinking, Team Wang led the team and said helplessly: "This one didn't hurt anyone, and the other didn't rob anyone, so it's not worth filing a case... Do you know how many rangers there are in Hong Kong? For such a little reason
Do you still need to trouble your Lord Commander to search the whole city?"
"This..." The shopkeeper was speechless.
"Let me tell you." Captain Wang looked around, pulled the store owner aside, and whispered: "If you haven't given me the "regular money" in the past few months, I advise you to give it.
Well, spend a little money to eliminate the disaster, those bastards are just looking for money, you can open a shop on Wende Street, do you still care about this little money?"
"But we gave them all!" the shopkeeper said with a sad face.
"Seriously?" Captain Wang touched his chin, frowned and said, "If that's really the case, then those bastards are a bit dishonest... Shopkeeper, don't worry, I'll ask you to find out what's going on.
Something happened."
"Thank you very much, I'll thank you for your help."
The shopkeeper thanked him profusely, took out a small money bag from his sleeve in a cryptic manner, and stuffed it into Captain Wang's hand.
"Shopkeeper, you're already in trouble, aren't you?"
Captain Wang pretended to shirk it for a few times, but finally stuffed the small money bag into his sleeve and left with satisfaction.
After walking very far, when he turned into an alley, the leader of the team turned back and glanced at the "Lexumi Wine" shop, weighed the money bag in his hand, and smiled inexplicably.
.
At this time, a soldier beside him who didn't know what was going on said, "Leader, I know a few rangers under Li Liang. Let me go and ask what's going on."
"Let me ask you your name!" Captain Wang slapped the young soldier on the back of the head with a gentle slap. Then seeing the aggrieved and confused look on the other side, he hugged the other man's neck and said to the nearby soldiers with a smile:
"What does he care about? Let's go. After the defense is changed, my brothers will go have a drink."
The soldiers were overjoyed when they heard this, and they left the alley with the leader Wang.
But at this time, in another alley, the bald man Liu Shi and the strong man Li Liang stood together and gasped for air.
During this period, some of their rangers asked in fear: "Brother Liu, Brother Li, if we do this, nothing will happen, right? You see, even Bo Langwei's men have been dispatched..."
"Bo Langwei's men and horses are nothing!" Liu Shi said casually, but then realized that it was inappropriate, and immediately changed his words: "Don't worry, the people above have instructed us to do this, I bet, even if
Even if Captain Bo Lang sees us, he will just pretend not to see us..."
"Could he have a higher background than Captain Bolang?" a ranger asked in surprise.
Liu Shi and Li Liang looked at each other, and then the former said vaguely: "Don't ask, it's just a big deal..." After that, he turned to Li Liang and asked: "Where to change next?"
Li Liang took out a piece of paper from his arms and saw that some shops belonging to Korean merchants in Bolangsha Port were listed on it.
At the same time, Wen Shaobo stood at the third floor window of his shop and watched the whole incident carefully.
"Ha, that's not authentic..."
I saw him twirling a jade ring on his thumb, with a half-smile expression on his face.
At this moment, hurried footsteps came from the stairs, and then a voice announced outside: "Master Wen, shopkeeper Zhong Kezhong of "Zhong's Jade" on Yongwang Street. I heard that Master Wen was in the shop.
Come and ask for a meeting.”
Wen Shaobo rolled his eyes slightly, nodded and said, "Please."
A moment later, a man who was estimated to be in his forties pushed open the door and saw Uncle Wen standing by the window in the house. He quickly raised his hands in greeting and said, "Brother Wen Xian, you are well."
"Brother Xian is so polite." Wen Shaobo smiled and replied, "I wonder why Brother Xian is so anxious to see Mr. Wen?"
"Well..."
The forty-year-old man named Zhong Ke pondered for a moment, and then said slowly: "Brother Wen Xian, it's like this, I, Zhong's Jade, negotiated a deal with Lantian Jade from Lantian Jun of Qin State last year.
, but a few days ago, people under Lord Lantian suddenly informed us that Brother Wen Xian had intercepted these jade stones... Haha, I just wanted to ask Brother Xian if he had any misunderstanding or dissatisfaction with us.
?”
"What did Brother Xian say?" Wen Shaobo said with a smile: "How could Wen and Brother Xian be dissatisfied? In fact, the jade in Wen's hand was indeed missing. It was the entrusted person to negotiate with Mr. Lantian.
...But Mr. Lan Tian didn’t mention that the batch of jade had been promised to Brother Xian.”
After hearing this, Zhong Ke said with a smile: "Brother Xian, what is your relationship with King Wei is known to all my colleagues. Even the rangers on Wende Street do not dare to cause trouble in the shop named under Brother Xian.
And Mr. Lantian is Qin Ji’s uncle, and he is also friends with His Majesty the King of Wei.
Shen Shen, knowing that you are short of jade, wouldn't Mr. Lantian not help you? It's just...it's just a pain for Brother Yu, who is just waiting for these jade to be shipped to Qi State for sale? Brother Xian, your family has a big business, why bother?
Are you competing with Brother Yu for food in this small business? Do you think..."
"this……"
There was a hint of hesitation on Mr. Wen's face, and he said in embarrassment: "But my batch of jade has been carved and is just waiting to be shipped to Qi."
"Ah?" Zhong Ke was startled when he heard this, and then said quickly: "Brother Yu will bear all the losses suffered by the wise brother!...Xian brother, I am in a tight financial position recently, so please show me your noble hand and help me."
"Money is tight? Is it because your Zhong family donated a large sum of money to Han Ran?"
Uncle Wen snorted coldly in his heart, but his face remained calm. After deliberately pondering for a moment, he finally nodded and said: "Well, considering the friendship between you and me for many years."
"I'm extremely grateful!" Zhong Ke thanked him repeatedly.
A moment later, after Zhong Ke left, Wen Shaobo called one of his guards and told him: "Hu Liu, go to King Chengling's fiefdom and tell him about the batch of food in my hand.
The jade he was waiting for has been sold, so he can prepare to transport the good jade on those ships to Qi."
"Yes, sir!" The barbarian guard who had followed Mr. Wen for many years nodded and responded.
A month later, the Korean businessman Zhong Ke spent a lot of money to purchase several shipments of jade from Wen Shaobo and traveled long distances to Qi State, only to find that the market in Qi State was already flooded with a large amount of jade.
The color of these jade stones is more crystal clear than the batch in his hand, but the price is almost the same as his, or even cheaper than him. This makes the jade stones in his hand destined to rot in his hands for the time being.
At the beginning of the year, businessmen from South Korea didn't feel it, but in April and May, they gradually felt that something was wrong, because they found that their peers seemed to be working together to suppress them.
For example, a merchant from South Korea has just transported lamb meat produced in their country to a certain market. Within three to five days at most, a merchant from Wei State will immediately transport lamb meat produced in Sanchuan County to that place, and
Selling it cheaper than them.
Another example is that a Korean merchant transported the dates produced in his country to a certain market. Within a few days, a Wei merchant followed him. They had both fresh and dried dates available, and the land was sold cheaper than him.
Anyway, as long as the specialties available in Wei State, Wei merchants gradually and premeditatedly began to confront Korean merchants, seriously affecting the market balance. Although the local people were very happy, under the malicious competition between the two shops, they were able to sell more goods at a higher price.
They purchased the necessary items at low prices, but Korean merchants were worried about losing money and even dying.
The very few exceptions are probably Korean chestnuts and chestnut wine. The reason is that there are very few wild chestnuts in Wei State and cannot pose any threat to Korean merchants doing this business.
But the good times did not last long. Soon, Wei merchants launched a tonic wine called "ginseng wine", claiming that this tonic wine was more effective than Korean chestnut wine.
Even in the early Zhou Dynasty, the novelist quietly advertised "Shangdang Ginseng Wine" in "Yitan", which was popular throughout the Central Plains, directly referring to Baili Ba, Xu Yin, and Zhu Hai.
The reason why several Wei veterans who are over sixty years old are still strong and strong is because they drink ginseng wine all year round.
This caused the sales of Korean soybean wine to plummet, especially the high-end soybean wine. At this time, the main income of Korean soybean wine was still from the high-grade soybean wine consumed by the royal families and nobles of various countries, rather than the inferior wine.
What's even more terrible is that "Yitan" also records that even Wei King Zhao Run said "good" with satisfaction after drinking "Shangdang Shen Wine".
With just the word "good", Codonopsis pilosula wine immediately captured a large market of Korean chestnut wine shortly after its release.
Of course, it is a bit exaggerated to say this. The main reason is that ginseng wine does have a nourishing effect, and the effect comes very quickly. People who drink it will feel their whole body heat up within a moment, as if they have endless strength, and even some people
Some people with weak constitutions suddenly have nose bleeding after drinking this kind of ginseng wine.
All this has invisibly elevated the status of "Wei Guoshang Codonopsis Liquor" and gradually eroded the market of "Korean Chestnut Liquor".
"This is malicious competition in Wei State!"
The Korean merchants believed that they had been treated unfairly and jointly made a voice to the Luoyang court, hoping that the Wei court would stop this abnormal behavior. After all, Wei had promised that no matter what the relationship between Wei and other countries was, it would not
It affected these merchants from other countries who came to Wei to do business.
In view of these voices, "Yang Yi", the Minister of Household Affairs of the Luoyang imperial court, came forward to explain, saying that the imperial court had not done such unfair things.
Yang Yi, the Minister of Revenue, said this with confidence and a clear conscience, because Tiance Mansion was not affiliated with the Wei court. It was completely different from the Luoyang court.
Moreover, the Luoyang court had no right to interfere with the decision-making of Tiance Mansion.
Therefore, no matter what Tiance Mansion does, it has nothing to do with Luoyang Court.
What's interesting is that after Yang Yi, the Minister of Household Affairs, came forward to explain, local merchants from Wei State immediately came forward to take responsibility for the matter. These merchants clearly informed the Korean merchants: Yes, we are jointly suppressing you. Who told you to Korea?
We are currently actively preparing for war with our country Wei? We are all loyal and patriotic merchants!
It must be said that this explanation is quite sufficient, and the Korean businessmen have no reason to refute it.