Then it will soon be the time for the New Year, and this year's Jia family's New Year will naturally be more lively.

And Jia Ke also came back from the palace several times, one to meet the old lady, and the other to offer incense to the ancestors of the Jia family.

After these things were done, Jia Ke returned to the palace.

After the beginning of spring, there will be more affairs in the imperial court, especially the arrangement of spring ploughing, which is the top priority of the year, which is related to the stability of the imperial court in the coming year.

Jia Ke has been in charge of the world for a year, but he doesn't want anything to go wrong. So Jia Ke issued several edicts in succession in the name of the regent. Officials in various localities are required to attach importance to spring ploughing, and the chief officials of various localities must personally go down to the fields.

There is a way that is good at the top, and it will be pursued at the bottom. Jia Ke's statement made the officials below who were in a hurry to be promoted naturally do a good job.

Therefore, in this year's county orders in various places, the state officials all suffered in the fields one by one, but they did not complain, but instead sang praises to Jia Ke one by one, saying that he cared about the suffering of the people.

And during this time, there were things happening again in the salt factories in Huainan.

It turned out that this year's salt farms produced much more salt than in previous years, but the salt merchants consumed a lot less salt than in previous years.

The stewards of the salt factory felt bad when they saw this situation, although they had all been fed by the salt merchants, but this time the salt merchants had gone too far.

If the court finds out, how should they explain to the court?

So the stewards of the salt factory discussed with each other, and then they collectively invited all the major salt merchants in Huainan to a restaurant.

And the salt merchants in Huainan are headed by Wang Yinggeng, this Wang Yinggeng is not a good stubble, and when he arrives at the restaurant, he doesn't pay attention to the salt works he has fed at all.

And the stewards of the salt factory got a lot of money from him, and now they begged him to be in front of him, so they naturally whispered.

Wang Yinggeng sat in the middle, and it was not the same thing for those stewards to ask for soft words.

"This year, the salt needed in various places has decreased a lot, and these salt merchants have no way to report to the imperial court, so I think you should find another way."

And among the extended stewards, there is a person named Li Yingtai, although this person is also honored by the salt merchants, but he still has a bit of public heart.

Li Yingtai was a little annoyed after listening to Wang Yinggeng's words, "Mr. Wang, this matter is not a matter of our salt factory, if the salt tax paid this year and the profit of the salt factory are less." The court blamed it, Mr. Wang, can you afford to be guilty? ”

Wang Yinggeng was a little silent after hearing this, this is indeed what he is worried about, to be honest this year, the salt used in various places has not decreased, and even more than in previous years. It's just that the current salt patrol imperial history is not like the original Lin Ruhai who didn't enter the water, this person has been bought by them, so these salt merchants dare to be so unscrupulous.

In addition to eating salt from regular salt factories, the main source of income for these salt merchants is to make their own private salt.

If the salt patrol is more strict, they will not dare to be unscrupulous, and the imperial court can also get a lot of salt taxes and profits from the salt factory.

But now that this salt patrol envoy has been completely bought by Wang Yingtai, he is naturally no longer in charge, so these salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River have become unscrupulous in recent years.

And the stewards of these salt factories are also well aware of this matter, but their main purpose as officials is to make some money, naturally in line with the principle that more is better than less, and there is no publicity.

Now when they hear the statements of these severely punished stewards, these people are also a little worried, if this year's salt tax is too small, the court will check it, and these people themselves will not feel good.

And what worries Wang Yinggeng even more is that the Jin merchants in Shanxi have always been eyeing the matter of salt trafficking, if this matter leaves them a handle, then let them mobilize their power in the imperial court, and in the end, although their salt merchants are also protected by some officials, I am afraid they will not be able to pass Jia Ke's level.

After Wang Yinggeng thought it through, he said to the managers of the salt factory: "In this case, I will make up another 800,000 taels of silver, what do you think." ”

After hearing this, the stewards of the salt factories all looked at each other, to say that the 800,000 trucks of silver could make up for the profits of the original factory, but the salt tax was not something that the 800,000 trucks of silver could make up for, and without 2 million trucks, I am afraid that they would not be able to calm the grievances of those bigwigs in the court.

So the stewards of the salt factory looked at each other, and finally focused their eyes on Li Yingtai.

Li Yingtai naturally took it seriously, he stood up with a gloomy face and said to Wang Yinggeng: "Boss Wang, is this a joke on us?" ”

Wang Yinggeng was not in a hurry at all, he picked up the wine glass and drank a glass of wine, and then took a bite of braised carp easily.

Only then did he slowly raise his head, Li Yingtai looked at it and said: "Lord Li, I took out 800,000 taels from my own pocket, and I already take care of the face of the imperial court very much, and I am afraid it is impossible for us salt merchants to pay again, I think Lord Li should think of other ways." ”

After Li Yingtai listened, he laughed out loud, "Boss Wang, can't you still see the situation clearly?" No matter how powerful you are, can you compare to the Zhen family in Jiangnan? I think Boss Wang still hurried to make up the tax money, and everyone had two stools, otherwise, disaster would fall from the sky at that time, and my life might not be guaranteed. ”

Wang Yinggeng was furious after hearing this, isn't this a curse for his family to be ruined? Now that the face has been torn, there is no need to joke with these little people here.

It was Wang Yinggeng who stopped talking, stood up, turned around and walked out of the restaurant, while the other salt merchants saw that their leading brother was gone, so they also turned around and left one by one.

And the remaining salt factory managers began to complain about Li Yingtailai.

"Master Li is too impulsive, so he makes Boss Wang angry, how will we mix in this area in the future."

"I think Master Li should hurry up and apologize to Boss Wang, so that there may be room for relaxation."

After listening to these words, Li Yingtai sneered at the stewards of these salt factories.

"You are still worried about offending Wang Yingtai, and the silver will not be handed over in a few days, and none of us will be able to keep it."

Li Yingtai's words made these stewards silent.

Li Yingtai saw that these people were all shut, so he continued: "Since he Wang Yinggeng is unkind, don't blame us people for being unjust." I think we still play according to the facts, the court is short of so many silver taels, so naturally we have to send someone down to check, and then see how he Wang Yingtai ends. ”

And after listening to it, the stewards also felt that it could only be like this, and they couldn't give him Wang Yinggeng their own money to wipe his buttocks.

So after they went back, they jointly played to Jia Ke, saying that the salt merchants imported a lot less salt this year than in previous years, and the profits of the salt factories and the salt tax had been greatly reduced.

These styles are not fuel-efficient lamps, knowing that this time there will be a big incident, so they hurriedly put out the silver in their own homes, and many of them are all attributed to the official account, and try to settle the accounts as much as possible, so that a lot of silver has been lost, but the prestige of the bad officials and their lives can be saved, as long as this position is not moving, a year or two of these silver will not be fished back.

And the side of the salt patrol also knew that things were not good, and this time if the court found out that his net worth and life could not be saved, so he also went to Wang Yinggeng's mansion several times to show him that he was powerful.

But Wang Yinggeng, who used to be very talkative, is now not in oil and salt, no matter how much he pleads for the salt patrol imperial history, he is an iron rooster.

In the end, the salt patrol imperial history was also helpless by him, and after thinking about it after returning to the house, he felt that this matter was too dangerous, so he packed up all the bribes he received that night and sent them back to Wang Yinggeng's mansion.

After Wang Yinggeng received the silver, he didn't feel any anger, just accepted it silently.

Wang Yinggeng knew that this was for the Salt Patrol Imperial History to jump out of this fire pit, but how could it be so easy.

Not to mention that the stewards of these salt factories have made a break to the court, but Wang Yinggeng himself is not a fool, he knows that this time he has forced the stewards of the salt factory too quickly, and I am afraid that things will not end easily.

But Wang Yinggeng had no choice, this year, the master behind his scenes asked for a lot more silver than in previous years.

Although Wang Yinggeng has some money, it is also a little difficult to sustain the expenditure of millions of taels of silver a year.

But Wang Yinggeng couldn't sit still, and immediately wrote a letter after going back, and sent his servants to send it out, hoping that his master could help him for the sake of being in front of the saddle and behind the horse for so many years.

A day or two later, the letter was delivered to a luxurious courtyard in Yangzhou.

The owner of the annex was a handsome young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, who took the letter and read it carefully, and then gently put it aside.

When an old housekeeper next to him saw the young man's appearance, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Master, this matter is not trivial, in the future, the court will investigate it, pull out the radish and bring out the mud, I'm afraid it will not end well." ”

After hearing this, the young man said helplessly: "Then what do you want me to do?" Aunt Lin is now at a critical time, and the number of spies this year has grown a lot compared to before, and a large amount of silver taels is needed to maintain it. Where did you get me so much money? ”

The housekeeper next to him sighed after hearing this, to say that due to Qin Keqing's relationship over the years, the organization has developed much faster than in previous years, and many dignitaries have already hooked up with them, but the silver taels needed are gold mountains and silver seas.

Because of this, this little master could only raise money everywhere, and finally had to hit Wang Yinggeng's body, although it was a temporary solution to the crisis, but it left a clue, and the court probably would not give up.

The little boy also felt a little troubled now, he stood up and walked back and forth in the garden a few times, it was impossible to stop it from developing, but the court also had to give an explanation.

So the little boy's eyes gave off a gloomy light, "Send someone to scuttle all the salt merchant ships shipped to the north." ”