After eating a few glasses of wine, a maid sent the peeled mangosteen for all the old and young owners to relieve their drinks and clear their mouths.

"Alas! Old! Now I get drunk after a few glasses of wine, and when I was young, I traveled from south to north, thinking only about being able to drink a big bowl of meat in the future. Now, the wine is also available, and the meat is also on a large plate in front of me, I can only look at it, but I can't afford it! ”

With Wang Dengku's sigh, there was a chorus of echoes in the hall. Several heads of the family also lamented that the years are fleeting and life is short.

But soon it quieted down, everyone knew their identities very well, several heads of the family were so complete, there must be something big to happen, otherwise, not in their respective houses, they gathered in one place in the wind and snow just to eat a few fruits from the south road?

"How are the young students eating? If you're in the mood, head to the flower hall for a few more drinks. Let's talk and catch up with a few old guys. Fan Yongdou's words were polite, but the tone was non-negotiable.

The underrepresented people of the second generation of the Eight Families immediately got up and left very self-consciously, and went to the flower hall to drink tea and wait.

Looking around, in addition to the seven heads of the family, who remained here were the eldest son and the right-hand man of each family. Fan Yongdou's old eyes, which were still dim and cloudy, swept away the blurred light, emitting a sword-like cold light, and he said in a calm tone: "This Liaodong War, I don't know if you shopkeepers have heard any new rumors?" ”

"Hong Hengjiu won first and then lost, and nearly 100,000 horses were surrounded by the Eight Banners in Guangning City!"

"Young Master Zu was once again surrounded in Jinzhou by Prince Zheng of the Eight Banners, Ji'er Harang!"

"The two generals of Wu who were in the limelight some time ago, one of them shrank in Ning Yuan. One hides in Matsuyama! ”

"I heard that Uncle Ning Yuan's palm, the county lord of Hejing, has led troops to Ningyuan, and is about to start opening up the grain road with Songshan and Jinzhou!"

"The shopkeeper of the trumpet in Jinan sent a letter yesterday, claiming that Ning Yuanbo had landed in Weihaiwei and that the army was marching towards Jinan. In this way, Shandong will soon be pacified, and the day when the canal will be reopened is not far away! ”

Everyone has summarized the information they have obtained from different sources here.

Fan Yongdou is getting old, and he rarely goes to the front of the scene, and most of the business in the clan is handled by his son Fan Sanba, not to mention Fan Yongdou's age. the number of his goods. Among the merchants, it is also of the same rank.

He also traveled extensively, had supporters in both the DPRK and the region, and served as the head of various merchant guilds for many years. Prestige. This is also the reason why he lived in seclusion at the head of the Jin merchants. What he said can be described as a masterpiece, and few people dare to refute it.

These Shanxi merchants had business names and acquaintances everywhere. Regardless of the slightest disturbance in the economic, political, or military fields, they will receive the most detailed and reliable information at the first time. Then, after comprehensive analysis, the advantages and disadvantages are avoided.

"Then, you say, the battle is so confusing, how should we deal with ourselves?"

Although Fan Yongdou was smiling in his mouth, but in his tone, there was no trace of joy, but some worry and sadness.

Oh, yes! The headquarters of Inspector Hong was divided and surrounded, and Ning Yuanbo's army reached the waist and abdomen of the Qing army, and he could give Huang Taiji a hard blow in the back at any time, but he was afraid that this blow would kill Huang Taiji!

"It's a good thing that the official army has won, and we are all subjects of the Celestial Empire. If defeated, it will naturally be beneficial for us to wait. If the imperial army needs to be rectified and replenished, it is our opportunity to come. ”

Huang Yunfa, who looks like a typical rich man in the dough, although he is dressed in cloth, the sea dragon skin under the cloth fully shows his identity and strength, and the two pieces of Hanyu ring around his waist show his cultivation and hobby.

He said it in a very subtle way, but everyone understood. With the practice of betting at both ends of the Jin merchants, the official army won, naturally they have their war dividends, and if the official army is defeated, then the Liaodong military horses are bound to suffer heavy losses and need a lot of material supplies. And whether Huang Taiji wins or loses, he inevitably has to purchase a large amount of materials from them.

It's like a fat pig arch.

"Lao Huang's words make sense! Let's just eat the grain, rice, cloth, salt, herbs and other things, and wait for the news from the front! ”

is completely different from Huang Yunfa's Han Yuhuan Pei, but Wang Dengku is carrying an excellent ice seed wrench, crystal green, and it seems that the surroundings are dyed with a faint green halo.

Their Wang family, operating raw silk, silk, cotton, grain, sugar, tea, medicinal materials and other industries, millions of family assets, and Datong border generals Wang family, also has a close connection, counted as a clan, Wang Pu has to be appointed as the chief military officer of Datong Town, without their full support, it is impossible, Wang Pu this time to fight in Liaodong. They also subsidize large quantities of money and food.

Since the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Wang family has quickly established close contacts with the strong northbound Longsheng, and a large number of grains, rice, cloth, salt, sugar, wine, meat, etc., have not been unloaded on the sea vessels, and they have been purchased by the Wang family's merchants, or transshipped to various places, or distributed to those small merchants.

In the past few years, it has also accumulated wealth rapidly, and there is a faint tendency to compete with Fan Yongdou. The rest of the merchants privately said that the Wang family was not only engaged in the above-mentioned business, but also sold gunpowder, weapons and other items purchased from the merchants of Nanzhong to the Mongolian tribes and the Central Plains thieves. Although everyone does this kind of thing in private, businessmen are always jealous that others occupy more market share than themselves.

"Fan Dadong, I won't tell you, from the day Hong Hengjiu entered Jinzhou, I ordered my shopkeepers to quietly eat Nanzhong Grain rice everywhere, hoard half of it, and wait for the news of Liaodong to come!"

"So do I! In my warehouse, there are almost 200,000 stone grains and rice in my Tian family! ”

"Hah! Now the grain piled up in the grain depot in Beixincang is all from my Jin family! ”

Having said this, everyone tore off their masks and counted their own numbers. Counting seventy-seven eighty-eight, the Wang family, the Tian family, the Jin family, the Liang family, the Fan family, and the Huang family together have nearly two million stones of grain and rice, millions of catties of salt, and as many as two or three hundred thousand pieces of cotton cloth of various colors.

"Ladies and gentlemen. These things can be hoarded and sold for a good price. However, from the old man's point of view, it is better to send charcoal in the snow than to wait for the price to sell. ”

Fan Yongdou expressed his opinion with some sympathy.

"I received a secret letter from Mr. Fan, a subordinate of the Eighth Prince of Liaodong. Now that the Eighth Prince's army is underpaid, in order to allow the soldiers to be full, the Eighth Prince's army only eats once a day. Ask us to deliver food to the former enemy at once. You say, "If we are transporting grain at this time, is it considered to be a charcoal in the snow?" ”

"At this time, the Liaodong army and horses gathered. Although there was Ning Yuanbo's brigade, the sea ships mobilized grain and grass to go north. However, the distant water does not quench the thirst of the near, we sell grain and grass materials to the imperial court, and to the generals of Liaodong, is it considered a thousand miles to help? Can there be a military merit? ”

Listened to Fan Yongdou's words. Everyone couldn't help but chuckle. Provide food and grass supplies to the warring parties. It's great to have a favor on both sides.

Now everyone planned.

It is a very upright thing to transport grain to the official army in Liaodong, and it only needs to go to the military headquarters and the household department. Invite those ladies to have a drink, find a few young ministers to accompany them, and then stuff some silver to ask for the next paperwork.

The trouble is how to transport the grain and rice to Huang Taiji.

After thinking about it, I still have to exit from the old place, Zhangjiakou and Jimen.

After exporting, it was handed over to Wu Keshan, who had a relationship with Huang Taiji's uncle and nephew, and asked him to send more cattle, horses and camels to the west of Quang Ninh and hand them over to Huang Taiji. This area is the territory of the Mongolian tribes, and the Mongolian tribes have already been called ministers in front of Huang Taiji, and their big leader, Wu Keshan, is already Huang Taiji's nephew and brother-in-law. Therefore, as long as the grain and rice are out of the customs, they can be declared safe.

Eight major business grain and all kinds of military supplies, many industries in Zhangjiakou, started by smuggling to Mongolia, and later Nurhachi rebellion, from the Jianzhou Dragon and Tiger General to today's Qing Dynasty, they took Zhangjiakou as one of the bases, and carried out trade and smuggling in an endless stream.

Trade with Manchus and Mongolians is very profitable, can be called huge profits, those Manchurians and Mongolians, nothing, there will be no silver, this kind of smuggling, but also very safe, than the sea trade has no risk, after all, there is no wind and waves on the land route, smuggling on the side, involving a huge number of interest groups, under the cover of all parties, it is difficult to think of accidents.

"Fan Dadong, my Lao Wang has a business plan to do, but the family can't eat it. We have to come forward together with the eight of us, and then pull the Shanxi minister to do it together, so that we can barely support it. However, my Lao Wang dares to pack tickets, if this business is done, the profit in a year will be less than the income outside the mouth! ”

Listening to what Wang Dengku said so solemnly, he couldn't help but feel that the other seven big proprietors were also sitting upright and listening carefully. The hall suddenly fell silent, and only Wang Dengku's Jinzhong accent echoed in everyone's ears.

"A few days ago, Russia went to the house of the household servant to send charcoal respects. In his study, he saw an official document about the minting of coins by Ning Yuan Bo on behalf of the Ming Dynasty. After that, the running horse Chongzhen and the privately cast sand shells in the Ming Dynasty can no longer be used, and the circulation can only be the Tongbao and Yongle Tongbao cast in the first year of Chongzhen. Treasury silver, official bank, military salaries, and public expenses are all settled in Nanzhong silver dollars. ”

"You are all big experts, so it's not difficult to calculate how big the oil and water is!"

"Fat Wang, since you have been thinking about it for a few days, you already have a quasi-spectrum in your heart. Then don't sell it with us anymore. Pour out any medicine in the gourd! ”

"Every family used to have an account office, and they kept their own accounts. One of the most troublesome things we have in business is the exchange of money. The silver of Sichuan is not a fine color when it arrives in Hubei, and the fine silk silver of Zhejiang is much better than that of Shandong. Not to mention that you have to add 10,000 cautions, don't accept fake ingots wrapped in lead ingots. Now Ning Yuanbo's move is tantamount to a move that greatly benefits us and other businessmen. So, why don't we take a step forward? ”

"Wang Dadong, what do you mean?" Fan Yongdou seemed to hear some taste from Wang Dengku's mouth, but it was a little vague, so he simply opened his mouth to ask.

"Ladies and gentlemen, each of us has a pawnshop, a tea shop, a grain store, and a silk shop. Over the years, in order to facilitate the operation of positions, various companies have begun to do some foreign exchange business. It is convenient for your own business, and at the same time, you can collect some water from Xianghe. Now that Ning Yuanbo has uniformly produced silver money, then we don't have to worry about receiving fake money in our silver money exchanges. A certain family plans to open a business name, which is spread all over the country, specifically to facilitate the business contacts of merchants, and the silver dollar is deposited in this business, and you can go all over the world with a voucher. Just like the flying money in the Tang Dynasty, the silver dollar is paid when you see the ticket everywhere. ”

"Please think about it, we also have our own shops to do foreign exchange business, and the water collected in various places is collected according to the different places, and the larger towns and safer places will collect less. Because the big place is loose. Small places, places where there are thieves, are higher, because these places are not peaceful, and the money is tight. But in the whole calculation, it is also necessary to collect according to the system of drawing one out of every hundred. Everybody. You can think about it. Now I won't talk about anything else. How much business is there between the north and the south alone? After a year, everyone can sit firmly in the shop, and they can collect huge profits! ”

Wang Dengku's words showed a full yearning for the silver dollar in everyone's eyes. There was a greedy look in his eyes.

"Slow, slow. Wang Dadong, your method is good, but it is missing a key point. After listening for a long time, Fan Yongdou slowly opened his mouth.

"We business people have traveled all over the world, and we have seen a lot of taxes in the government treasury everywhere. Officials, how much are they paid? The salary of a second-grade official is only one hundred and fifty taels, and that of a seventh-grade official is only forty-five taels! If the officials in the capital want to make a living, they have to collect charcoal and respect Bingjing, and when others enter Beijing and have official business to do, they have to pay some public expenses to do the errand well. If these local officials want to put on a show, have someone to serve them, and pay salaries to the clerks and masters in the yamen, they can only make up their minds on the heads of the common people. In addition to the floating harvest of grain and rice, this idea is the consumption of fire. Wang Dadong, your method is undoubtedly to cut off the wealth and jobs of the officials and clerks everywhere, and it is strange that they can agree! ”

What Fan Yongdou said is also true.

Fire consumption and miscellaneous expenses to the Ming Dynasty officials and officials in the small treasury and gray income, the early Ming Dynasty fire consumption per bucket seven he, one stone seven liters, to now, these fire consumption and miscellaneous expenses have been equivalent to the positive tax, and even in some places is several times higher than the positive tax.

You are a businessman who jumped out at this time to carry out exchange business on your behalf, and those officials can't afford to provoke Ning Yuanbo Li Shouhan, who is sitting on a strong army base and opening a mansion, do they still care about you as a Shanxi businessman? Even if you usually have a wide range of friends and deep friendships, but in the face of interests and public anger, even the elders of the court dare not touch this mold.

"That's it! It is! ”

"Lao Wang, business is good business, but now is not the time!"

"Wang Dadong, you are a little bit of a manipulation!"

Wang Dengku's little eyes were slightly contemptuous, and a little proud and cunning, and he smiled and walked in a circle towards these friends for many years, and the wrench in his hand left a faint green halo on people's retina.

"Ladies and gentlemen, who is I, Wang Dengku? If you don't have a good score in your heart, can you be in the same position here and sacrifice ugly? ”

He made a look, and the big shopkeeper of the Wang family's business who was in the hall with him immediately understood, took out dozens of silver coins from his waist, and handed them to several big proprietors and the heads of the families and the big shopkeepers who were with them.

"I got it from Tobe Langchu. The sample that Ning Yuanbo sent to the Baoquan Bureau, the mother money. In the future, the coins that circulated in various places in the Ming Dynasty were like this. ”

In front of these big merchants who don't know how much money they have in their hands every day, they only need to weigh it with their hands and sweep it with their eyes, and they will find the benefits of these silver coins. Silver dollars are not enough, those copper coins are all copper-colored purple and red, and the size of the pattern text is similar to that of silver yuan. It's just that at the bottom of the front, there are several big characters written "Each piece should be used as a money system", and the back is written with two big characters of "One Cent", which are also beautifully cast and of high quality.

Ming coinage, the early Ming Dynasty Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, only handed over to the Ministry of Industry Baoyuan Bureau responsible, at that time the annual coinage is not much, and vigorously pursue the treasure money policy, the copper money control zhì strict, three times twice stop casting prohibited, so although the private casting was rampant at that time, but overall copper coins are very valuable.

However, in the Wanli period of Mingshenzong, the household department that obtained the right to mint money because of the war to aid Korea vigorously set up a coinage furnace all over the country to follow suit, and finally the whole Ming Dynasty has how much money furnace can not be counted, especially a large amount of private money, light and inferior money mixed into the official money to fill the number, so that many official furnaces have closed their doors.

During the apocalypse and Chongzhen, the same private money was overflowing, and the provincial money bureaus were indiscriminate and bad money, earning profits, and in the first year of Chongzhen, Chongzhen Tongbao was cast. Each document weighed one penny and two cents and five cents, and it was well-cast, but because the imperial court's finances almost collapsed, it was not maintained for a long time.

Later, the official money was minted in a small and light manner, which was jokingly called horse money, and the money system at this time was the most complicated. There are more than 100 species.

As in the past. Chongzhen Tongbao is mainly a small flat money, which is a small money with a face value, and of course, there are two coins, three coins, five dollars, ten dollars and other big money. It is used as two, five, ten and other money.

Within the Great Ming. Mint money to make huge profits. It is a common phenomenon that copper is used for coinage at this time, per 100 catties of copper. After the sale, you can get at least more than 16,000 yuan, but the cost of 100 catties of copper is less than half, and the profit margin is almost three times.

Therefore, starting from the Ming Taizu, there are more and more people who mint coins privately, although the capital crime cannot be stopped, and the development to the present, it is becoming more and more widespread, and it is full of official generals, gentry, eunuchs and other accusations and participation, and the power of private money dealers is getting bigger and bigger.

Which of these big businessmen did not have a large amount of copper stored at home, ready to open or be in the process of opening a furnace to mint money?

At present, the Ming Dynasty can be described as a flood of private money, not only the central government, but also the local provinces, all kinds of silver and copper coins are available, and the quality of each is unsightly, and the people are miserable.

In this regard, although the imperial court has repeatedly ordered and reaffirmed, let alone the private money dealers, it is the provincial money bureaus, which have made special coins on a large scale, so that Chongzhen Tongbao has become the most diverse and complex coin in the history of Chinese currency, and in the end, only the interests of the court and the people are damaged.

"This money is really minted according to the regulations of the top ten coins!"

Fan Yongdou's eldest son, Fan Sanba, found the benefits of this money as soon as he passed his hands slightly, and compared with the large number of running horses on the market, Chongzhen, this money is simply a model of conscience.

The Ming Dynasty stipulates that when the tenth class of big money, at least the money weighs one or two, and how much copper should be reached, but it is rarely done, during the Apocalypse, it was opened to cast when ten coins, but because of the official and private casting, it was quickly ordered to stop casting, and the silver was produced by the imperial court, and the ten coins were recovered.

"This kind of money is only worth ten yuan, and this money can be exchanged for at least more than twenty yuan in the market! Ning Yuanbo's family is really as rumored outside, there are mountains of gold, silver and copper? ”

Everyone has to admit that the copper circle in their hands is of good color, beautiful appearance, high copper content, and sufficient weight.

"My Lao Wang has discussed with several Langzhong of the household department, and in the future, he will write to the provinces, and then pay the finance, taxes, money and grain, and only this kind of money will be collected in the warehouse. However, where do the farmers who need to pay money and grain go to find these coins at one time? We only need to collect as much as we can when Ning Yuanbo issues these coins, so that they do not flow into the market. ”

"In this way, the farmer's floating harvest fire consumption has to be paid the same, and the officials in various places can also say that the money you pay is not good or silver, and the quality is not good, so you have to pay more fire consumption and loss. In this way, officials everywhere not only did not suffer the slightest loss, but on the contrary, they also gained some income, so why should they not do it? ”

Wang Dengku's eyebrows fluttered, and everyone also heard the index fingers, but no one took into account that once this method was tacitly implemented by officials up and down the Yellow River in the north and south of the river, I was afraid that I don't know how many poor people would be ruined again.

"Well, there's only one thing right now. How can we get Ning Yuanbo and his old man to agree to let us do this business? If his old man sees that he is rich and wants to let his business do this thing, aren't we making wedding dresses for others? ”

Everyone immediately lowered their heads and silently calculated.

"Someone needs to go to Jinan and meet his old man in person!"

Li Shouhan had already entered Jinan a few days ago, and such news naturally could not be concealed from the big businessmen who had business all over the country.

"However, if you meet his old man and talk about such a big business, please ask his old man to allow us to do this exclusive business, how can you come to the door empty-handed and ask for a meeting?"

Then we have to talk about the issue of apportionment.

Between breaths, tens of thousands of stones, grains and grass, thousands of pigs and sheep, and hundreds of war horses were gathered.

"Uncle Ning Yuan led the army to fight in Qilu, and there must be a lack of people around him who serve food, daily life, tea, and clothes, Lao Huang," Tian Shenglan smiled and looked at Huang Yunfa who was shaking his head, "Your daughter in that outer house in Jinan, can you give it to Uncle Ning Yuan?" ”

"Lao Huang's baby, but he is the head of the two families of Datong's mother-in-law and Taishan's sister-in-law, and he was born to a princess of a tribe in the Outside Tartars. Lao Huang has worked hard for so many years to invite people to spend a lot of money on training and teaching, but his ambition is not small! Lao Huang, are you willing to do it? ”

"I can't help it! At the beginning, the two most famous bustards in Datong and Mount Tai were invited to teach her, so that one day they could come in handy! As long as the business that Lao Wang said can be successful, let alone the daughter of a foreign house, it is to give all the girls in the outer house of Shandong and Nanzhili to his old man, do you see if the old king will frown? ! ”

A group of people in the hall were laughing and laughing, and a deacon from Fan's Mansion hurriedly ran in and whispered a few words in Fan Sanba's ear.

After hearing this, Fan Sanba couldn't help but change his color.

"Father, the great owner. The latest military information from the front that someone has just sent by boat from Ningyuan. Li Huamei, the county lord of Ningyuanbo, led the army and horses to attack Tashan, and Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Ningyuan, and Wu Biao, the general soldier of the Beijing camp, took the opportunity to send grain and grass to the direction of Jinzhou, and had already joined the Jinzhou defenders on the line of Xiaoling River! ”

The hall that was still laughing immediately became silent.

"Sanba, you take care of the things at hand, and hurry up to Tianjin with your Uncle Huang and go to Shandong at sea. The military situation ahead is like fire, let's do our best to establish a friendship with Ning Yuanbo! ”

"That's right! Old Fan, my son will also go with Sanba! (To be continued......)