Northern suburbs of Yangzhou, Jiangyuan.

In the study of Wang Wanchun, the head of the four major merchants of Yangzhou Huibang salt merchants, several people sat like wooden chickens. This year, more than 50 years old, known as the Confucian merchant genius Wang Wanchun Wang Dacaizi, today even the Lichun Courtyard of the Qing Dynasty poetry endowment, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting are first-class Wei Chunhua did not want to go to the meeting, just summoned the doorman in the study, holding a copy of the order, looking at it carefully over and over again, I don't know how long I watched, I just couldn't say a word. Ji Kun, who went to Zhu Cihong to report Zhu Guobi and Xu Yongji's rebellion, was also in this spacious and bright study, gently shaking the paper fan, frowning, and looking like he was thinking hard.

The room was quiet, and only the sound of Wang Dacai's sighing could be heard.

In the end, Wang Wanchun sighed even more, gently placed the copy of the decree on the desk in front of him, and said with a wry smile: "Where is this to abolish the salt law and abolish the salt government...... I obviously want the life of a salt merchant like the old man...... The salt industry is very profitable, it involves too wide, and all aspects have to be fattened, and a general businessman like the old man just looks at the scenery, but in fact, there are not many family ......"

“...... Once the salt law is abolished and the salt government is abolished, the old man will not be able to make money for all kinds of people! When the time comes, will they still be able to let the old man go and let the old man enjoy his old age in peace? The old man's little family background has not been wiped clean in a blink of an eye? Maybe even your life will have to be put into it! ”

Listening to Wang Dacai's desperate words, the guests present were all sour, and a few tears came down. These people are not businessmen, but poor scholars who have been sponsored by Wang Wanchun, and most of them have a reputation for showing talents. As a guest under the Wang family, on the one hand, he studied and prepared for exams; On the one hand, he ran for the Wang family to seek benefits.

This kind of practice of giant businessmen subsidizing the children of poor families to study, expecting them to become the backstage of officialdom after high school is very common among the giant businessmen in the southeast in the late Ming Dynasty. Because of its core competitiveness is the relationship between government and business, Yangzhou salt merchants pay more attention to subsidizing talented poor children.

In Huaiyang Erfu and Huizhou, Chizhou, Ningguo, etc., the base camp of Huizhou merchants, as long as the talented people from the poor families are selected, most of them can get the support of businessmen, and they no longer have to worry about food and clothing. If you win the lift, you will be the VIP of the Hui Gang salt merchants.

And these guests under Wang Wanchun's door are the best among the talented people of the poor family, not only do the eight articles well, but also have some real talents, and they are sophisticated, once they are officials, they must be able officials.

However, this group of future capable officials can't understand why the decree to abolish the salt law and abolish the salt government came down so quickly. When did the Ming court become so resolute? It's too late for the big guys to find a relationship and go through the door......

In addition, the old Qian Ge, who only joined the cabinet not long ago, is an old friend of the Hui Gang salt merchants, why don't you want to delay a thing or two? Could it be that Qian Ge wants to turn his face and deny people, and want to eat the family background of the four major salt merchants of the Hui Gang?

Wang Wanchun knew that his group of disciples could no longer deal with this turmoil, so he had to turn his attention to Ji Kun for help - the news of the abolition of the salt law and the abolition of the salt government was all brought by him yesterday morning!

Ji Kun shook his head: "He doesn't really want to abolish the salt law, but he is reaching out to ask for money!" How can the annual output of the entire Daming salt not be less than 2 billion catties, how can the total selling price be thirty or forty million taels, and the imperial court only has hundreds of thousands to more than one million taels, can anyone be satisfied? ”

"How much does he want?" Jiang Wanchun asked with a bitter face.

"If you don't have 10 million a year, I'm afraid you won't be able to feed it! During the Song Dynasty, how much did the imperial court earn from the salt industry every year? Why are there more than 10 million guan, right? What about this dynasty? How much was it last year? How many are there this year? I think the Lianghuai salt industry gets 6 million taels of silver a year......"

"6 million taels!?" Wang Wanchun was cold, "How is this possible?" ”

"It's impossible, the general merchant knows better than me." Ji Kun shook his head, "What year will the income of the Lianghuai salt industry be less than 15 million taels?" Is it too much for the imperial court to take forty percent of the salt tax? The big profit of this salt industry came from the monopoly, but it is actually a population tax! In the past, before the abolition of the Kaizhong Law, the salt merchants exchanged grain for grain and sent millions of stone grain to Jiubian every year, and the value of millions of stone grain in today's is how can there be this amount. If you consider the cost of transportation, it will be no less than 10 million taels! ”

"But, there's too much money to be taken out of this salt profit!" Wang Wanchun shook his head again and again, "How many can really fall into the hands of salt merchants?" If you pay another 6 million taels, then everyone won't be able to survive. ”

Ji Kun shook his head, "Now it's not whether you can give out 6 million taels, but whose treasure to bet on?" It was the general merchant who took his life to stake ...... Bet on the prince to succeed, or bet on the prince to lose!

If the prince can become successful, the nobles of Nanjing and Donglin in the south of the Yangtze River have to lie down, then the chief merchant can only tie up the prince alone. Is it really difficult to collect 6 million taels for the prince from the Lianghuai salt industry, which earns at least 15 million taels a year? For the sake of these 6 million taels, will the prince allow those people to eat and wipe out the general merchants?

If the crown prince can't make it...... So who can not let him succeed? ”

Wang Wanchun took a breath and said in a low voice: "The salt industry is profitable, one is the noble, the second is the internal official, and the third is Donglin...... Not to be underestimated! What's on Chitose's side? ”

"The prince has 60,000 new troops!" Ji Kun said, "Now the prince can coerce the Son of Heaven to order the Quartet, relying on these 60,000 new troops...... When I saw him on the dock the day before yesterday, he was counting the fire guns and artillery with Zheng Sen, the young master of the Eighteen Zhis! There were two Zheng family war ships that brought an unknown amount of guns, artillery, and gunpowder! ”

"But Nanjing's nobles also have soldiers and horses in their hands!" Wang Wanchun said, "There are no less than 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers in Nanjing alone. When Zhu Guobi and Huang Shu went south, they also brought a lot of Qinwang soldiers gathered by Shi Kefa. Moreover, those wealthy families in Nanjing who have been honored and honored for more than 200 years have sufficient family backgrounds!

In addition, Ma Shiying and Huang Degong are also loyal to the emperor, and they still have 30,000 soldiers and horses in Fengyang Mansion. There is also a close relationship between Zuo Liangyu and Huang Shu in the upper reaches...... There are few people on the prince's side! ”

Ji Kun smiled bitterly: "General Merchant, then who are you betting on?" ”

Wang Wanchun's eyes rolled, "Can you bet on two ends?" ”

"I'm afraid not!"

Wang Wanchun's eyes swept across the room full of doormen.

"General Merchant, Nanzhili has always been the world of Nanjing nobles and Donglin scholars!"

"Chief Merchant, the prince shouldn't hold the Son of Heaven hostage, he doesn't take care of it now......"

"General Merchant, the heroes don't suffer the losses in front of them, the four Shanxi Salt Generals have been arrested! We're also in the hands of others now! ”

Wang Wanchun nodded, and just as he wanted to make up his mind to stand in line, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, and then a young man's voice: "Father, a letter from Jinan Mansion!" ”

Hearing the letter from Jinan Mansion, the air inside the study door became even more tense.

Jinan Mansion is the frontier of facing the East!

And Gao Hongtu, who is stationed in Jinan, also has scholars who have been funded by Wang Wanchun as staff, and once there is a change on the front line, the news will be sent to Gao Hongtu immediately.

Wang Wanchun took an envelope from a young man in Confucian clothes who came in from outside the door, hurriedly opened it and took out the letter paper. I was only halfway through it, and there was an expression of disbelief on my face.

"General Merchant, is the Tartar calling?"

Someone will ask the question right away.

Wang Wanchun shook his head, "No, it's the Tartar regent who sent an envoy to talk to the crown prince about peace...... The Tartar regent will no longer fight Shandong, and he will marry his only daughter to the crown prince as a concubine! ”

"What?"

"Is that so?"

"Is it true that Dagukou has won a great victory?"

"Impossible, right? Kill 3,000 Tartars in one battle, that's a Tartar! ”

"Then why is the Tartar regent willing to kiss?"

The sound of the people below gasping for a while felt a cool breeze blow through their necks. If the new army of the crown prince can be killed, no, defeated, no, even if it is a draw of 3,000 Tartars, then Nanjing's Jingying, Fengyang's Huang Degong, and Wuchang's Zuo Liangyu will no longer be a problem. This knife handle is reliable, stronger than anything else!

Wang Wanchun stood up suddenly, "Hurry up and prepare 50,000 taels of silver, no, gold!" Prepare 50,000 taels of gold, and the old man is going to meet the prince Chitose! ”