In the winter of the south of the Yangtze River, the first thin snow swayed with a light and graceful posture, from the Nine Heavens Yao Pond colorful and falling like a white butterfly, to the quiet West Lake put on a plain white feather coat, like a white lotus blooming between heaven and earth.

Snowflakes fall on the black tiles of Hangzhou Academy, and the whole academy presents a kind of natural dignified and quiet beauty that belongs to the south of the Yangtze River on the shore of the West Lake.

At the beginning of the snowfall, in the Yingzhou Pavilion not far from the academy, Xiao Zheng was drinking with more than a dozen gentlemen from the academy, looking out through the glass of the window, through a few blooming plum trees, the remnants of snow on the West Lake embankment were faintly visible.

Gavinda took a piece of lamb bone with meat from the hot pot, dipped it on the sauce, took a big bite and chewed it for a while, swallowed it slowly, took the wine glass and poured a mouthful of white sprinkling the meat into his mouth, and let out a sigh.

"I had heard of the dishes in this restaurant when I was in Chang'an, but I was shy at the time, but I just smelled the fragrance outside," Gai Wenda raised his wine glass and saluted Xiao Zheng and said.

"Look at what you said is pitiful, but then again, it's really a mess of eating seastuffs here every day, and ordinary officials really can't afford to toss like this," Xiao Zheng said with a smile.

"That's it, the old man is not complaining that your Xiao Gong is not complaining about the lack of money for us to open a land case, but that this restaurant's method of making money is too clever, the price is so expensive, and customers welcome the door every day, your Xiao Gong's method of making money, I admire it!" Gai Wenyi also said with a smile.

"Well, in the future, I will give the gentlemen in the academy the opportunity to come here twice a month to drink and party, and also tell the students of the academy that the top ten in the monthly exam will come together, which is considered the welfare of the academy," Xiao Zheng said with a smile.

"Thank you Gong Xiao!" More than a dozen gentlemen in the academy raised their wine glasses and shouted loudly.

After the wine and food were full, the maid served fragrant tea, and after two teas were eaten, Gai Wenda pointed to the businessman who was drinking downstairs and said: "The merchants in Chuzhou and Hangzhou in Jiangnan are all under the rule of your chamber of commerce, and the means are so wonderful that I have never seen them. However, Xiao Gong knew that there were other merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, and they were in their own group and never showed up."

"Oh, that's interesting, those merchants are also under my rule?".

"Of course, and this businessman is bigger than the people in the Chamber of Commerce between you and the two places, it's just that you Xiao Gong didn't pay attention," Gavenda squeezed his eyes and said.

Xiao Zheng originally thought that Gai Wenda was just an old master who was teaching in the academy, but he didn't expect this old man to grasp the current situation so accurately.

"Mr. has something to say, I really haven't paid attention to this," Xiao Zheng said with a smile.

"It's normal that you don't pay attention, I'm talking about Shu merchants," Gavenda squeezed his eyes and said.

"Sir, please".

Gai Wenda took a sip of tea and said: "There are many Shu merchants in Chuzhou and Hangzhou in Jiangnan, Jiangnan silk weaving is the first in the world, and the exquisiteness of silk is recognized by the world. However, only Shu brocade can compete with silk in silk weaving, and surpass silk in terms of high-quality products. This Shu brocade is the most delicate and gorgeous treasure in the silk fabric, because of its complex production process, time-consuming and laborious, so it has the name of 'brocade gold', the saying of inch brocade has been in place since ancient times, so many Shu merchants will transport Shu brocade from Sichuan to the south of the Yangtze River to seek high profits."

"I understand when you say this, but I don't understand, they also see my attitude towards these merchants, why haven't they sent someone to me?" Xiao Zheng asked with some curiosity.

"Do you still understand this? First, they came from afar to leave their hometown cautiously, and secondly, there is a way to be a peer is a rival, Shu merchants and Jiangnan businessmen have some grievances, although they will not draw swords against each other, but they are also well water does not violate the river water. Now the chambers of commerce in Jiangnan and Chuzhou are thriving, but the Shu merchants have a long foundation, and the two sides are evenly matched.

"I see, then why do these Shu merchants dare to go to the territory in the south of the Yangtze River to grab food?"

"Hehe, after Emperor Yang Guang of Sui ascended the throne, it caused wolf smoke everywhere, but Shu has never been affected, making it a rare stable area, and it has not experienced war for decades, so these Shu merchants have a great business, and they can compete with local merchants in the south of the Yangtze River."

"No wonder, Mr. Gai, it stands to reason that this Shu Jiannan Dao is also under my rule."

"That's right, one of the ways of your Sannan Dao is Jiannan Dao, but you have always been in Jiangnan to give grace, but you have never mentioned Shudi," Gai Wenda said with a smile.

"In the past two years, I have tried my best to smooth out the affairs of the land south of the Yangtze River, and I have not taken into account the fact that Shu is limited by the road, and secondly, I am not able to catch it, which is my sin."

"The old man is in favor of your method of governance, he didn't stretch out his hand everywhere, but first picked out the important places to make an appearance for everyone to see, without a beard and eyebrows, what is it called in your words, oh, that's called 'bringing noodles with points', this method of governance The old man has checked all the classics and has no precedent, the old man admires, and only Li Gong can teach a disciple like you. After more than two years of governance, Jiangnan has never seen a beggar gather, and the old man is impressed", Gai Wenda said with a toast to Xiao Zheng after speaking.

"Thank you Mr. for reminding me, this point has long been thought of, but there is no such depth as Mr. Understanding, not in Shu land, step by step, these two years Jiangnan has just been a hundred industries set to show their heads, this seedling needs to be cared for in order to become a tree, now in the next can free up your hands, there is time to meet these Shu businessmen."

"Hey, you are in a high position, although you are quite close to the merchants, and the old man also knows that you are not accumulating wealth for your own selfish interests, but you don't need to be so low to meet these people, and there is still a big merchant in Shu Merchants who has not appeared, if you lower your profile to meet them, it will make people look down on you", Gai Wenda said to Xiao Zheng drunk.

It seems that Gai Wenda still has a little low opinion on these merchants, but Xiao Zheng heard him say that there is another big merchant in Shuzhong in Jiangnan, and he suddenly became interested, so he said: "I want to hear about it."

Gai Wenda looked at Xiao Zheng approvingly and said, "The other big businessman has less, but there is more money than you think."

"How rich are they?".

"The emperor borrowed money from them when he raised his army, Yang Guang borrowed money from them when he opened the canal, and the Wagang army also borrowed money from them when the war broke out."

"So did they pay it back?".

"Nope! Including the current Emperor Taishang borrowed money from others and did not pay it back, and people said they didn't want it."

"This means that these people are betting around with money, and whoever rules the world will be safe and sound?"

"Yes!".

"Who is this? Unexpectedly, Dafang Cheng is like this, that is, he donated money to the Emperor Taishang and made a prince of the country to a wealthy businessman like Wu Shi Tong, these people must have contributed a lot more money than Lao Wu, why haven't I heard of the existence of these people."

"These people are pure businessmen, and it's not that they have a lot of money and have nowhere to spend it, but they have money in their hands to bet, and whoever wins the world will have money to make," Gavenda replied with a smile.

"I like such people, but the old gentleman can uncover this mystery now," Xiao Zheng said with a smile.

Seeing that Guan Zi had sold enough, Gai Wenda took a sip of tea and said: "There is only one of these big merchants I am talking about in the whole world, and that is - salt merchants."