[Big Chapter, Happy May Day]

Before he arrived, a news spread in Songjiang Prefecture.

Five days ago, the fleet of a firm was attacked by pirates Wang Zhong and Wang Jin near Chen Qian Mountain in Yangdong, Suzhou. The officers and men of the water battalion fought fiercely with the bandits, sank several thief ships, beheaded the thieves Wang Zhong and Wang Jin, and killed their leaders, the three kings, Xiang Gong, Rong I Lao, and others, and won hundreds of heads, and countless thieves drowned in the water.

As soon as this incident came out, the patrol Jia Yunyuan and the governor Su Maoxiang were in a good mood, and the officers and soldiers of the dry water battalion were also rewarded this time, the chief soldier Wang Liangxiang, and the general Yang Weiyuan, one of them were all credited, and the documents for the victory were already being prepared. Soon, well-informed people learned that the attacked fleet belonged to Wantong in Shanghai County, and as soon as this news came out, Songjiang was even more like an earthquake, and all kinds of speculations and rumors came out.

But while many merchants in the cloth shop were asking around, Guo Xingshou had been closed for two days.

That's because three days ago, someone gave a big gift to Guo Dongzhu's family.

Although the subordinates of Guo's mansion were silenced, the rumors would always spread inadvertently, and soon there were rumors in the cloth line, saying that in the middle of the night before yesterday, someone unknowingly touched into the backyard of Guo's house, and stacked more than ten wooden boxes with human heads in the courtyard, and it was said that there were Guo Zengfu's concubines who were the brothers of the pirates, and Guo Xingshou was so frightened that he couldn't afford to fall ill that day.

All this is the handiwork of Ma Qianhu, five days ago, the Wang family's gang was completely wiped out under the attack of the Liuxiang fleet, and those who were lucky enough not to die became prisoners and became part of the labor force on Jeju Island. In the end, under the identification of the captives, Wang Zhong, Wang Jin and a number of leaders were found from the dead bodies, all of whom had their heads cut off their heads, and naturally there were Guo Zengfu's cheap brothers-in-law among these heads.

After transferring the cargo and the wounded to Liu Xiang's ship, the Daifuku ship rearranged the ship and turned around towards Songjiang. On the way, they happened to meet Lu Jing, Zhao Feng and others of the sentinel of the Ninghai Zhongzuo Station, after they boarded the ship and found the heads of the pirates on the ship, Ma Qianhu originally planned to kill people and exterminate their mouths, but what they didn't expect was that these two soldiers actually fought for the advantage of forcibly occupying these heads, because these two people recognized Wang Zhong and Wang Jin brothers at a glance. Originally, this group of pirates walked in this sea area, and they had some money dealings with the officers at the bottom, but since these two pirates had become credits, it did not prevent them from immediately changing their faces, and they didn't even think about how an ordinary merchant ship could kill so many pirates, and none of them survived.

But Ma Qianhu was happy with this sudden accident, he originally planned to let Hu Barong himself dedicate this head to the government, so that he would give Guo Zengfu a 'gift' The effect would be better, but then it also seemed abrupt, just how to fight is not easy to say, I didn't expect to meet such a team of goods to solve a trouble.

As expected, within two days, this Lu Jing and Zhao Feng reported the first-level merit, without mentioning the matter of Wan Tongtong at all, and Wang Liangxiang, the general soldier of Zhejiang, is now in trouble, at first in order to rectify the sea frontier, he once sent his staff Shan Fengxiang to Japan to send a letter hoping to negotiate with the Tokugawa shogunate on the issue of piracy, but was returned by the Japanese with unetiquette and refuted a lot of face. Later, there was the Taizhou Shuiying Mutiny, the rebel army burned down the general outpost, attacked Linhai County and burned the house and released the prisoners, which caused a great turmoil, and he was also impeached by Su Xianggong.

This good news is that when I was sleepy and met a pillow, I saw the first level to verify my body, and Mr. Wang didn't delve into the details of the problem, and directly reported it.

And Ma Qianhu only secretly hid the heads of Zhang Lei and the others, and made some points to Lu Jing and Zhao Feng, so naturally no outsiders knew about the problem.

Although Zhang Shijing, the deputy envoy of Zhejiang, had raised some doubts, the Wang family's gang did seem to have disappeared after that, and there was nothing to say after the head was identified. However, Guo Zengfu was annoyed by the news that he had misjudged the relationship between Hu Barong and the Zhejiang government, but now he is in a panic, because the government obviously will not do anything to secretly put people's heads in his courtyard.

That night, Shanniang was sleeping in the room, and she got up early in the morning to wash and found the boxes containing human heads first, and in her panic, she still recognized the identities of these heads under Guo Zengfu's reminder, and even fainted.

Although Guo Zengfu has a much stronger heart, he can't help but feel the chill all over his body. Not only did the other party avoid the street guards and his own guards in the night, but he put these boxes precisely into the courtyard where he slept in the dark, without paying any attention to the housekeepers, and the indifference revealed by this precise action and action made him extremely frightened, as if telling him: 'We know your every move, and we can take your life at any time.' But this calmness and calmness made Guo Xing's heart sink to the bottom of the water.

And once this kind of behavior appears, it means that Guo Zengfu has understood that the great victory at sea may not be the work of the water camp of Dinghai Zhongzuo at all, this is Hu Barong's warning, and there is a cold and realistic threat in this warning - Wan Tong is not helpless to deal with him, but he just doesn't want to make a big deal about it, as for the moment, they probably don't think that Guo Xingshou still has the means to fight back.

Although Guo Zengfu had not previously revealed the collusion with the pirates to those in the industry, it did not prevent well-informed people from connecting them. In addition, Guo Xingshou closed the door for many days, which made the position of the proprietors of a dry cloth shop begin to change.

The day after the bad people gave gifts to Guo Zengfu, Hu Barong appeared in Songjiang Mansion for the first time in public.

Although some of them were still reluctant to let their families block the car at the door, several families who had already planned received Hu Barong and his party politely after knowing about the affairs of Guo Mansion and accepted the gifts.

In fact, everyone also understands in their hearts that Wan Tong is indeed a threat in the long run, but this year alone, Wan Tong has not purchased much cotton, and Guo Zengfu's problem is that he looks too far ahead, which is why he has such a big enmity with Hu Barong. The rest of the people naturally don't want to follow in his footsteps, and now that Hu Dongzhu has come to the door in person, it doesn't seem that he can't be kind.

But the tense atmosphere was still lingering, and Hu Barong learned from Liu Fengchun that in the next few days, there were not a few cloth shops in private connection, and even the business of the restaurant in Fucheng was much better.

During this period, Gu Changzuo's body also became more and more refreshing, and he saw Hu Barong once in the middle, saying that it was the cloth company entrusted to his name, hoping that Wantong would reduce the cotton purchase price back to the original level, but Hu Barong politely refused in the name of goodwill, Gu Lao didn't say anything, turned his head and asked Hu Barong with great interest about some things about Australians.

In fact, after this secret fight, both Hu Barong and the elders also realized that it seems that Guo Zengfu is poor in donkey skills, if he can take a step back, there will be his business to do in a year or two, but after the Australian cloth completely occupies the Daming market, he will turn into a comprador or sell it to make money to become his rich man. But after this naval battle, the people of Wantong recognized the character of this one, coupled with the sacrifice of sailors, it was already a situation of endless death, and Guo Zengfu's head was also remembered in Ma Qianhu's heart.

Returning to the safe house in the backyard of Wantong, Ma Qianhu gathered the bad people and Hu Barong together.

"The matter of Deyuntang is no longer possible, what do you think of Commissioner Hu?"

"The villain thinks that instead of putting the chiefs in danger, it is better to take a salary from the bottom of the kettle."

"Tell me?" Ma Qianhu was a little surprised, he originally thought that Hu Barong would say that it was up to the chief to decide.

"That's it, two days ago, Gu Changzuo mentioned to me that the people in the cloth store wanted us to adjust the price, although I refused, but I felt that this may not be an opportunity to include Songjiang cloth store under our umbrella." Seeing that Ma Qianhu did not interrupt, he continued: "The villain means that a separate cotton industry association will be established, and cotton will be collected and dispatched in a unified manner in the future. ”

"Then you thought that the cloth shop would agree? There are quite a few weavers underneath them. ”

"If you can really earn more than you do now, they won't take care of the people below, isn't the Senate trying to recruit people, I heard that Fujian is doing well, and Shanghai Station wants to follow suit."

"You would." Ma Qianhu said with a smile, but he also had some appreciation for Hu Barong's ability to work hard.

Hu Barong said again: "If this matter can be done, then Guo Da will become a loner, and he will have no scruples at that time." ”

"I'm afraid he won't have any scruples when the time comes."

"It's all up to the chief."

"You go and arrange it, the conditions have already been set by the Senate."

Hu Barong took the order and left.

After Hu Barong left, Ma Qianhu said to the others: "Now that the sailors have gone back, there are only a few of us left here. ”

Qian Suiting and the others nodded one after another.

…………

Hu Barong soon gathered some interested cloth proprietors and cotton merchants through Gu Changzuo.

"The price of the flowers will never change." Hu Barong got straight to the point, he had already made up his mind about this, and he also passed on a message through Gu Changzuo, but there were still some luck among the people who came today, but when he heard this, his face became ugly.

"Can proprietor Hu still think about one or two?" The middle-aged man who spoke was named Rong Zongjin, and he was the owner of the Fuxing cloth shop, although the scale of the cloth shop was not large, but he acted fairly and uprightly, and he had some prestige.

"Needless to say, the owner of Rong doesn't dare to make a mistake when it comes to goodwill." Hu Barong didn't give this face, but he didn't finish his words, "However, your difficulties are also saved, you just don't accept the instigation of others, in fact, it's just that things are clearly divided, and there is more than one way to make money." ”

This is to make it clear that each family and Guo Zengfu draw a clear line, the previous rumors about the 'gift-giving' of these cloth owners know a little, naturally no one comes out of this again, see that each family has acquiesced, Hu Barong continued: "The meaning of the name, in the future, the flowers collected by each family will be handled by us, the price will naturally remain the same, and those flower farmers are not easy, so it should be regarded as leaving a good reputation for you." ”

Everyone couldn't refute, but they just waited for the more than one way of wealth in Hu Dongzhu's mouth.

"As long as each family sends the pledged silver, we also promise that we will never deduct some hats from it, and it is only a waste of errands, but it must be cash."

There is nothing wrong with the cloth shop collecting flowers in cash.

But what's in it for us? Doubts were written on everyone's faces.

"Any merchant who subscribes to the acquisition can obtain the right to underwrite Australian cloth." Although some people thought about the Australians, they did not expect that the conditions given by Wantong would be like this. "A flat machine white cloth folded silver two taels and five dollars to calculate, after the goods arrive in Hong Kong, each family with the silver stack to take the cloth, I don't know what you think?"

As soon as these words came out, it was finally impossible to be quiet, and the proprietors of each family were talking to each other to confirm that they had heard correctly. It is indeed a flat white cloth, not a white linen cloth, which is a little too good.

Rong Zongjin was still a little determined, and hurriedly asked: "I don't know what the proprietor Hu said, the width of the cloth?" ”

"Naturally, it is a standard cloth one foot and two inches wide, and it is two feet long."

Now the discussion became more lively, and those who were good at financial planning immediately calculated in their hearts.

The official cloth woven by the imperial court is two feet wide and three feet long, which is naturally not. But the standard cloth used by the folk for trade, buckle cloth, and thin cloth are mostly the size that Hu Barong said, and the standard cloth produced by the folk is one pound and fourteen taels (note: 16 taels system, 1.875 pounds), and it is at least six or seven pounds to replace seed cotton, according to the price of previous years, the cost of a flat white cloth is one or two one or two, and according to this year, it will be one or two seven eight. It takes seven jobs to weave a piece of cloth, which is at least five dollars. In addition, it is necessary to add warehousing, transportation, tooth money, and official taxes, and the retail white cloth on the market is about four taels or eight dollars a horse, but the wholesale price of the cloth shop is more than three taels, so that the profit in the middle is still getting less and less. But even if it is calculated according to the price of previous years, it can't be done, and if you look for Hu Barong to subscribe to a load of seed cotton in exchange for a standard cloth, it will not be just for the convenience of settling accounts.

Naturally, it is difficult for these people to imagine the production efficiency of the cotton spinning factories in Luzon, as long as there are 70,000 weavers in Minli, the name of this garment will be transferred to the world.

The cottonseeds, which were completely useless in the eyes of these cloth merchants, were full of treasures in the Ministry of Industry, and after separating the wool cottonseeds, even in the later crafts, there would still be a small amount of linter remaining. After stripping, wool cotton seeds can be divided into three piles, one layer of wool can be used for papermaking, and two or three layers of wool can be used to produce film and smokeless gunpowder. The stripped seeds can also be used as livestock feed and edible fungus culture medium, and there is no waste at all. Moreover, the Ministry of Industry even thought of using crude cottonseed oil to cause azoospermia and infertility, and provided special secret medicine for some people with special needs in Daming.

But in any case, this condition is quite generous for the cloth shop that comes today, as long as Wan Tong can really do it.

Hu Barong said again: "You may still have concerns, you might as well say it directly." ”

Immediately, someone said the doubt about the cost.

"You don't have to worry about the cost, the price of Australians in Tianjin is not much higher than this, they have their own secret method, otherwise with this year's price, how dare we collect so much cotton?"

There was also a mention of how to keep the silver safe.

"This name has already been decided, and each family can publicly recommend a few trustworthy deacons to do this together."

Some people also asked how to deal with the weavers, which also made it difficult for Hu Barong.

More and more people asked questions, but Hu Barong's answer was also recognized.

It didn't take long for someone to make a decision.

"Fuxing, five thousand taels." Rong Zongjin maintained his usual sanity, there is still a period of time in the cotton season, but there is not much cotton that can be received, these two thousand five hundred taels of silver will not hurt the Fuxing, and in a few months there should be Australian cloth to ship, the right to try the water, at least he already has some trust in Hu Barong.

"The Rong Owner is happy." Hu Barong arched his hand, turned his head to the account room and said: "Remember, Fuxing subscribed for 2,000 Australian cloth, and tomorrow the stack list will be sent to your account." ”

"Zhen Xinxing, a thousand horses." Another one followed suit. "I'll send someone tomorrow to bring the silver."

Someone took the lead, and the other families who had been waiting and watching also expressed their opinions, and the total number soon reached 20,000 horses. Hu Barong knew that in fact, these people still had great reservations, but it was a good start to have such a foundation for cooperation.

Then there is only one question left, what should the original cloth shop do?

In terms of shopping malls, there is no need to worry about good combination and good dispersion, but although Guo Zengfu has no way to get ten thousand passes, those people under his hands have done everything, if anyone takes the lead now, he will undoubtedly be offended severely, and there are some other cloth shops that have not come today, I am afraid that they will also be resentful at that time, so that everyone is a little hesitant.

Hu Barong has long been prepared for this question, "Don't worry, if the cloth line is not allowed, the negotiation will be carried out by me, if the cloth line dares to trouble you, Wan Tong will definitely come out for you." I think you also know that Wan Tong has the power to stand up for you. ”

The last remark was so loud that no one objected.

"Today it will be as the chief expected." After sending everyone away, Hu Barong came to the safe room to report to Ma Qianhu.

Ma Qianhu was a little puzzled, "Didn't you say that you wanted to set up a guild, why did it become an underwriting and underwriting?" ”

"That's it, I also learned from the three divisions, and put a long line to catch big fish." Hu Barong was a little proud in his heart, but seeing that Ma Qianhu had been watching him, he still stretched his face, "Let them taste some sweetness first, and when this deal is completed, then the matter of the guild and even the joint-stock company will be completed." ”

After that, Ma Qianhu explained carefully, and came down to hand over a post to Gu Changzuo, asking him to send a message to each family to hand over the silver within five days, so as not to have too many dreams at night. There is also a need to arrange guard work on this side, and the sum of these silvers is 50,000 taels, which is not a small amount.

It seems that the financial institutions of the household department are about to start to lay out here, Ma Qianhu was thinking like this, and saw Hu Hai running in.

"Someone is going to work against us." The message Hu Hai brought was simple and straightforward.

[References]

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