In fact, the Li family's property is far more than this, and is also involved in other extremely profitable businesses. However, Feng Xianzhang was afraid that he would make too much of the Li family's property and make His Majesty have bad thoughts, so he did not say more.
And what he said was all the truth, and there was no lie at all. Even if His Majesty later found out that the Li family's property was more than this, he would have no problem. Jin Yiwei's local responsibilities did not include statistics on the property of local merchants.
Strictly speaking, Yunxi completely misunderstood the responsibilities of Jin Yiwei when he asked him about the business of Suzhou Prefecture tonight.
The first thing Yunxi noticed was that Feng Xianzhang actually said that he "should" know that there is Dongting tea (Biluochun) in Suzhou.
Yunxi had a small hobby of drinking tea, and he also liked Biluochun. However, he never asked the local government to pay tribute to tea. He always asked the Duke of Zheng's government for the tea. As for where the tea from the Duke of Zheng came from, he didn't care. As for the capital city
It’s enough that Xungui and Jin Yiwei of Suzhou know that he likes to drink tea, but Jin Yiwei of Suzhou also knows?
Then he thought: 'The Li family's main business is silk trading. The Shanghai Shipping Company accounts for more than half of the silk business? Hangzhou, Huzhou, and Suzhou all produce raw silk, and there are also a small number of sericulture in nearby Jiaxing and other places. They
One family can occupy more than half of the shop?'
Then he asked: "Are they partnering with other silk merchants in Huzhou, Hangzhou and other places, or are they partnering with local snakes in Shanghai?"
Feng Xianzhang thought for a moment and then said: "I have never heard of the Li family forming a partnership with other silk merchants."
"Is there anyone in the Li family who is an official in the court?" Yunxi asked again.
"Your Majesty, no one from the Li family is an official in the capital, but there is a family member who is a county magistrate in Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province; a family member is a civil servant who went to the capital to take the examination this year but failed; and several people have the reputation of being a scholar." Feng Xianzhang said.
'The Li family is very lucky. When they were investigating rebellion against the party in Jiangsu and Zhejiang at the end of last year, no one in Beijing was an official, otherwise they would have been implicated. Moreover, if a member of the clan became an official in Ningbo, he might have found a way to influence the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Ningbo is also an important coastal trade center. Most of the silk sold by the Li family in the past was smuggled from Ningbo.'
'Besides, there is also the tyranny of selling tea, maybe someone died because of it.' Yunxi thought.
However, Yunxi will not punish their family because they are suspected of smuggling and domineering in selling tea. The primitive accumulation of capital is not bloody. If you really want to pay attention to fairness and justice and make decisions for the people, then you will have to wait until it becomes developed in a few hundred years.
Western countries come to your doorstep.
Yunxi thought for a while and said, "Do you have any contact with the Li family?"
"Your Majesty, as the person in charge of Jinyiwei Suzhou, I would never dare to appear in public in Suzhou. On the surface, I am just an ordinary gentry. How can I be connected with the largest businessman in Suzhou?" Feng Xianzhang said immediately.
"You really have no contact with the Li family?" Yunxi asked again calmly.
Hearing Yunxi's tone, Feng Xianzhang felt that pretending to be stupid would lead to a very miserable end, and said: "Your Majesty, forgive me, I do have some connection with the Li family. Most of the big families in Suzhou know the status of my royal guard, but it is just for the holidays.
There is one gift to give and nothing else.”
Yunxi then relaxed his expression and said, "In that case, I have something for you to handle..."
Feng Xianzhang listened to Yunxi's instructions and agreed repeatedly.
After Yunxi finished his instructions, he suddenly asked: "How much tea do you plan to serve to the Duke of Zheng every year?"
Feng Xianzhang said smoothly: "I purchase thirty kilograms of tea in Suzhou for the Duke Zheng's government every year." When he realized what he had just said, he immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
"As a royal guard, shouldn't you do what you should do every year to buy tea for the Duke of Zheng? Besides, there must be corruption at the hands of others," Yunxi said.
Feng Xianzhang did not dare to speak, but kept kowtowing.
Yunxi thought for a moment and said: "Since you were respectful just now and are familiar with the affairs of Suzhou Mansion, I will not deal with you on the spot. I will send a message to Qin Song and ask him to deal with it in accordance with the rules of Jin Yiwei.
Okay, get out."
Feng Xianzhang said: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Then he stood up and got out.
Yunxi started to write a letter again, but after writing a few words, he stopped writing and said to himself: "It's better to talk to my uncles in person after I return to Beijing, and let the trusted generals in the local guard station help me."
It's just a matter of buying some tea, but it's absolutely not okay to use the Jin Yiwei. And after returning, Qin Song must rectify the discipline of the Jin Yiwei. It's just that the local Jin Yiwei relies on their power to get greedy for a little money and can't stop it. They absolutely can't fight with the Central Government.
officials colluded."
…
…
Yunxi rested for a while, took a sip of tea, and shouted: "Yellow Road!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Huang Lu immediately came out and stood aside.
"This tea is already cold. Go and make another pot of hot tea." Yun He ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Huang Lu paused and then said: "Your Majesty, the guards previously sent to the capital have returned. Your Majesty, are you summoning them now?"
"Chang Ruijiang has returned from the capital? Immediately declare his presence." Yunxi blamed Huang Lu again: "Why didn't you inform me as soon as he came back?"
"Your Majesty, when Guard Chang came back, Your Majesty was summoning the chief of Suzhou's Jinyiwei, so I could only ask him to wait. After His Majesty had finished summoning the chief of Jinyiwei, it was already Xu time, and it was time for Your Majesty to rest, so I wanted to talk to Your Majesty tomorrow morning.
." Huang Lu hurriedly defended.
"That's all, because of your good intentions, I won't deal with you this time, but remember, you are not allowed to make decisions on such matters in the future. Unless I have already fallen asleep, you must repay me." Yunxi said.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty." Huang Lu agreed and hurriedly went to summon Chang Ruijiang to see him.
Not long after, Chang Ruijiang walked in and saluted: "Your Majesty, Chang Ruijiang, has met."
"Let's get married without any ceremony." Yunxi said.
After Chang Ruijiang stood up, he asked: "Have you brought anyone back from the Imperial College? What is the reputation of Bai Wenxuan and Mu Tianyan in the Imperial College? Has Mu Tianyan ever changed his name?"
"Your Majesty, I have brought an official named Jiang from the Imperial College. He has been an official in the Imperial College for eleven years and has served successively as academic, assistant, doctor, and supervisor, and now he is the secretary." Chang Ruijiang said.
‘I have served as an official in the Imperial College for eleven years, from the ninth rank to the sixth rank. I am a total bust in the officialdom. It was not easy to have such a person during the Hongwu period.’ Yunxi thought.
"As for their reputations, both Bai Wenxuan and Mu Tianyan had good reputations in the Imperial College. They also graduated from the Imperial College with excellent results and were elected as officials."
"Furthermore, according to the files of the Imperial College and the Ministry of Personnel, Mu Tianyan had his current name before he entered the Imperial College to study, and there was no change of name." Chang Ruijiang said.