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Wuzhou Mansion is located in the southeast of Yong'an and is also the eastern gate of Guangxi. Because it is close to Guangdong and the capital of the state, there is a large flow of people, many vendors, and many goods, almost everything. What can't be bought in the surrounding counties, everyone comes to Wuzhou Mansion to buy.

Daikin Commercial Bank is the largest trading house in Wuzhou Province, located in the heart of the bazaar, and it is also the most lively place in Wuzhou. There is a street here that sells everything, clothing, home use, and food in your mouth, as long as you can think of it, almost everything is sold here.

The popularity of the large number of goods has also given rise to a variety of businesses from the surrounding small traders and vendors. those who sell firewood, vegetables, pork, hares, etc.; Clay people, candy sellers, calligraphy and paintings, ghostwriters or family letters, their business is also good; There are also various utensils, water tanks, wooden barrels, bamboo baskets, cloth for women, rouge, etc., which are also very popular; More of them sell a variety of delicacies, including steamed rice cakes, egg cakes, sesame shortbread, roast goose, roast duck, meatballs, fried dumplings, mung bean soup。。。。。。。

The streets are full of appetizing smells, and people who are not hungry will feel hungry as long as they smell these scents, and then they will not be able to walk on the road, and most of them will stop first to satisfy their hunger before walking.

Not only is it useful and there is food, but there are also many craftsmen who serve passers-by. The head shaving master holds a razor, a cloth, and then moves a bench to start a business at the intersection, as well as those who help people pick out their ears, help people pull teeth, play tricks, fortune tellers, and all walks of life.

Of course, the biggest brand, the widest area, and the highest floor are still Dajin firms, but their family does not do small business, only big business of more than 100 taels of silver. There were two doormen standing at the door, both muscular men, with fierce faces, and no one who was poorly dressed could enter his door.

"You please, you please." The young man of the trading house saw a customer walk in the door and immediately came to greet him warmly.

It was a tall and thin old man, dressed in a light blue robe, a black coat with a black shoulder, and a small black satin hat.

Although the young man is young, he still has this bit of eyesight after a few years of reception work. Although the old man is dressed ordinarily, he has an extraordinary bearing and a lofty gait, and he is not an ordinary person at first glance, and the entourage that follows behind him is not like an ordinary businessman's buddy, all of them are also walking like flying and have a strong body.

"What would you like to buy, this guest?" Our firm can't say that it has everything, but if there is something for sale within a radius of 100 miles, our family must have it. The young man was very respectful, he felt that the other party should be a big boss, and the etiquette was very thoughtful.

The old man looked at him and did not answer. His expression was calm, and he just said lightly: "You can't be the master of this matter, please ask your shopkeeper to come and talk to me." ”

The young man was shocked, such a statement can only be found by large customers. He glanced at the old man again, and affirmed the thoughts in his heart. He didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly laughed, "Guest, please, this is our living room." Later, I'll go and ask our treasurer to come. ”

The gold shopkeeper is the old shopkeeper of Dajin Commercial Bank, serving the owner for decades, since his grandfather's generation has been a partner in the firm, even the surname follows the surname of the owner, three generations have been loyal to the owner to do things, won the trust of the owner. He is in charge of almost all matters up and down the business bank, and the owner generally doesn't ask.

"Oh, distinguished guest. If you don't hurry up and serve tea to your guests, you want good tea. The golden shopkeeper's eyesight is naturally higher than that of the man, and he only needs to look at the old man's hand to know that this person is by no means a flat-headed commoner. The person who works has calluses on his palms, but this person does not, but there are thick calluses on the middle knuckles, which are practiced at a glance. Judging from his demeanor, expression, and bearing, he was definitely born in an official family.

In these years, the big businessmen were all born in official families and had a foundation, and some of the children of the family were responsible for studying and becoming officials, and some were responsible for doing business and buying belongings. No matter what you do, the people who come out of the big family have the smell of being officials, which can't be hidden.

"The small shop is not well entertained, please bear with me, what do you want to order?" The golden shopkeeper was very polite and asked very warmly.

The old man didn't speak, nor did he drink the tea that had just come up, he took out a note from his sleeve and handed it to the golden shopkeeper.

The golden shopkeeper didn't dare to slack off, so he hurriedly took it and opened it to see that there were two words "sulfur" written on it. He swallowed, a little nervous, and asked softly, "How much?" ”

The old man held up three fingers.

"Three hundred pounds?" The golden shopkeeper asked with caution.

"Three thousand pounds." The old man glanced at him and replied.

"This。。。。。。 You can have a government approval. When the golden shopkeeper heard about the three thousand catties, he was taken aback, this is a big deal.

"No, what's the matter, you don't sell it?" The old man not only didn't seem to mind, but there seemed to be a little relief in his tone.

"Do you know that now all Guangxi must have the approval of the government to buy sulfur, and it must be stamped with the official seal of Sai Shoufu. I heard that the long hair is very noisy, sulfur is a contraband, it can make gunpowder, and more than one pound must be approved, let alone three thousand catties. "The golden shopkeeper's demeanor is a little depressed, it's a pity that such a big business can't be done.

"Oh? I just bought it to make medicine, but I didn't expect this thing to be controlled by the government now? How much do you sell for sulfur a pound? I will come back if the price is right. The old man stroked his beard and asked.

"Ten pounds of sulfur for a tael of silver, and if it were usual, the three thousand pounds would be three hundred taels of silver. If you want a large amount, we can also give you a 10% discount. But now the government is strictly investigating。。。。。。 "The gold shopkeeper is a little painful, Xianfengnian silver is still very valuable, the court paid a lot of silver to the British, so there is not much silver on the market, and its value has been rising again, so it's a pity that this business can't be done.

"If I pay a thousand taels, I will buy three thousand pounds of sulfur. This is the silver ticket of Wuzhou Qianzhuang, please take a look. The old man took out a brand-new silver ticket and placed it on the tea house.

The golden shopkeeper sweated out, and he was very entangled when he looked at the silver ticket. It's so lucrative that I've never made such a good deal. He suddenly hated the government in his heart, he had nothing to ban any sulfur, and he didn't let people do business, and he couldn't eat meat. "I really can't do this, you wait a minute, I'll go upstairs and invite the owner to come."

The golden shopkeeper took three steps and two steps to the room of the proprietor on the third floor. The owner had just finished drinking flower wine with the last family from Guangxi last night, and reached a big deal, and he was still asleep in bed.

"I told you a long time ago, don't ask me about the affairs of the firm, what do I have to worry about you?" The proprietor was woken up by the shopkeeper, and he was a little angry and complained.

The golden shopkeeper hurriedly told the proprietor about what had just happened.

"Is it really a thousand taels?" The proprietor raised an eyebrow.

"It's true, I've checked all the silver tickets, and it's absolutely true." The golden shopkeeper replied.

The owner thought for a moment, stomped his foot and said: "Sell him, if you have money, you don't make a bastard, what are you afraid of?" I'll take care of something happens. Take me to see this guest, I have to do such a good business often in the future. "The owner is very bold, it's not that he was born bold, their family is a big family in Guangxi, and his grandfather's generation also served as the governor of Guangxi. Although he is just a concubine, his father is also a Beijing official of the imperial court, and people in the officialdom of Guangxi have to give some face.

The proprietor and the shopkeeper went downstairs to the parlor and met the old man.

"So, you agreed to sell me." The old man took a sip of tea and asked calmly.

"Sell, don't blame the shopkeeper, he looks at your face. Once born and twice cooked, we can do more business in the future, and if you want sulfur in the future, just come to our firm. "The proprietor's heart is happy, this sulfur is purchased from Guangdong, and twenty catties are only one tael of silver. Sold to this old man, it has multiplied six or seven times, and this transaction is too profitable.

"Come on, arrest them for me!" The old man said sharply, and the entourage behind him rushed up, tying up the owner and the shopkeeper like an eagle catching a chicken.

"Who are you? Why arrest me? The proprietor was pinned to the ground and struggled.

"Look, I'm Yao Ying, the envoy of Guangxi. You dare to sell contraband from the government without authorization, or such a large amount, do you still have the royal law in your eyes? Yao Ying raised the official seal in her hand, her expression was angry, and she wanted to behead the two people in front of her immediately.

"Oh, the villain has eyes and doesn't know Taishan, it turns out to be Lord Yao. The villain is wrong, please spare the villain. "As soon as the owner saw the official seal, he knew that he had encountered a hard stubble this time, and according to the envoy, he was an official parachuted in from the imperial court, so he was afraid that he would not let himself go easily.

"Spare you? What is the law of the imperial court? It is because of you profiteers that Long Hair is getting bigger and bigger, you are the emperor's people, do you know how much gunpowder can be made into so much sulfur if it falls into Long Hair's hands, and how many officials and soldiers of the imperial court will be killed, can you afford this responsibility? The more Yao Ying talked, the more angry she became, and the longer her hair became bigger and bigger, she couldn't get rid of these people who secretly made enemies. Eating the food of the court, but demolishing the court for his own selfish interests, it is really hateful.

It turned out that Yao Ying learned that the Taiping army was using pine cannons less and less, and knew that the Taiping army's gunpowder was the same as she expected, and it should be in short supply. Although Sai Shoufu had already stipulated that supplies such as gunpowder were classified as contraband, and that the purchase and sale required the approval of the government, Yao Ying was not at ease with the local implementation, so he brought some elite soldiers in civilian clothes to Wuzhou, where he thought that the Taiping army was most likely to come to investigate the local situation. As he had predicted, the local vendors were unreliable.

The golden shopkeeper who followed and begged for mercy took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, and he gave the young man outside a look very cleverly. The young man ran out in understanding.

After a while, the Song Governor of Wuzhou received a call for help from the young man of Dajin Commercial Bank, and hurriedly rushed over. ”

"Governor Song, you came just in time, these two people sold sulfur to people without approval without authorization, and they caught me right. Now is the eventful season of long hair, although people are in your realm, I still have to take them away, in order to correct the law of the country. Yao Ying had a straight face, and her tone was very serious, and she had to do business. As the procurator of Guangxi, he is in charge of the criminal law of a province, and he has every right to do so.

"Lord Yao, please take a step to speak." Governor Song invited Yao Ying to a corner of the living room, "My lord, you are from other provinces, the ancestor of this owner surnamed Jin once served as the governor of Guangxi, and it is a big business here, please take it lightly." ”

"You don't need to say much about this, it's useless for anyone to say it today." Yao Ying glared at Governor Song.

"Your Majesty, you are angry. The official has just learned about the matter, and the owner also heard that you are medicinal, so he planned to sell sulfur to you, and he didn't expect it to be made into gunpowder. The official position of the lower official is low, and he can't say anything for him, but this Dajin firm was greeted by Governor Zhang and asked us to take care of one or two, which is related to the face of the governor. My lord, do you think it's 。。。。。。 On the way here, Governor Song asked the young man what happened in the shop, and temporarily thought of an excuse for the owner.

Yao Ying was silent for a long time, he knew the darkness of officialdom, but he still couldn't imagine that this small business house could still reach the governor level. Governor Zhang is in charge of Guangxi's military, political and civil affairs, and he is a high-ranking official, and he can't ignore it.

If it were normal, I might not have to deal with him if I was not in Guangxi, but now I am fighting bandits in Guangxi, and tens of thousands of people rely on local supplies for food and drink. Offending Governor Zhang, in case he makes it difficult for him to use it, this is not a trivial matter. Yao Ying has not been in the officialdom for a day or two, he knows very well that you know this kind of thing, you know that he can't catch the trick, and he can't talk about it.

Yao Ying sighed, he couldn't pit Sai Shoufu for a small businessman, and he also cheated himself. The extermination of the long-haired head and other major matters cannot be affected by a little military external factors, "What does the Song prefect mean?" ”

When Governor Song heard Yao Ying's tone soften, he knew that this matter had taken a turn for the better. He is also an old fritter in the officialdom, especially borrowing a donkey from the slope, "Press the official's idea, it is better for the adult to let him go, let him wear the crime and make meritorious service, if there is still someone to buy something related to gunpowder, let him come to report to the official immediately, maybe he can catch the spy who came to Wuzhou with long hair." ”

Yao Ying glanced at the Song Governor's Mansion, he had no confidence in the local yamen, and thought secretly: "Relying on you to arrest people, it is estimated that you will not be able to catch them in eight lifetimes, and you will definitely not be able to be counted on in this matter." But he still said: "In this way, I will put my subordinates here, and as long as I find someone suspected of being a bandit, I will arrest him immediately." If I arrange it this way, the Song Governor will not blame me for meddling in local affairs. ”

"Don't mind, don't mind at all." The Song prefect is too lazy to care about these things, as long as Changmao doesn't come to attack Wuzhou, he is very stable as an official. More things are better than less, not to mention that if you do more things in these years, it will be much more wrong, and if you want to be a peace officer, you don't care about anything. Anyway, this owner has been saved by himself, and it has nothing to do with me if you like to toss as much as you like.

"Let them all go." Yao Ying instructed his subordinates.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." The owner was shocked, and it was the first time in his life that he was arrested.

"I had my men watch inside and outside your store. Do you remember that if another stranger came to buy gunpowder or anything related to it, he immediately called my men to arrest him? It's better to catch the wrong one than to let it go! Yao Ying kept a straight face, it was not his intention to let these two go, but the unspoken rules of officialdom made him have to do so.

"It must be, the villain must do what the adult wants." The proprietor and the shopkeeper kowtowed like pounded garlic and agreed.

Three days later, as Yao Ying had guessed, Wei Changhui and Yang Xiaoshan came to Wuzhou with a group of people dressed as vendors, intending to buy gunpowder here to support Yong'an.