Since the Song Dynasty, and even the Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial examination was flourishing, and the merchants at the end of the four people had many financial resources to invite famous teachers for their children and grandchildren, in order to be able to title the gold list, so as to change the attributes of the family from the merchant family to the scholar family. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Such examples are not uncommon, and Zhang Siwei, the first assistant of the cabinet of the same era as Wang Shimin's grandfather Wang Xijue, was born in a family of salt merchants in Puzhou.

There is not much difference between the status of salt merchants in ancient China and the oil tycoons of later generations, as far as Chen Wen knows, now the two great riches in the north and south - Nanji and Beikang, the foundation of these two families are salt merchants, among which Ji Zhenyi, the current head of Nanji, also did Lanxi Zhixian back then, which was the time when Chen Wen attacked Jinhua Mansion. And Shen Shixing, who served as the first assistant and was closer to Wang Xijue, was also a wealthy businessman in Suzhou City.

Shoufu is like this, and the gentry below have many such backgrounds, which is actually something that can't be helped.

In ancient China, the economic status of merchants was higher, but the social status was too bad, just like a childish man holding on to gold to make trouble, the accumulation of wealth came quickly, but it also went quickly in front of the government, and even when the national economy was in difficulty, the phenomenon of relying on fabricated charges to kill businessmen and wealthy households to solve financial problems existed.

If a businessman wants to change his social status, it is the best way to support his family's children in the imperial examination. In addition, it is natural that he will become an official, relying on bribery and the status of an official to run a business in his hometown and even become a local billionaire.

In this way, one has money and the other has power, and there is a more secure connection channel than the transaction of power and money, and Confucian scholars and wealthy businessmen are often one and the other, and the two and one exist. For example, in the Donglin Party, a college and a group of scholars who like to discuss current affairs can form a party that affects the direction of Chinese history? It's impossible.

Among them, interests are the key, behind the Donglin Party is the existence of the southeast gentry, mine owners, maritime merchants, and workshop owners, so when the Donglin Party is in opposition, it must lash out at the Wanli Emperor's collection of industrial and commercial taxes, so when the Donglin Party comes to power, it must be exempted from industrial and commercial taxes.

The Wang family is a huge rich man in the south of the Yangtze River, and now it is the Ming and Qing dynasties, as the remnants of their own free time, Wang Shimin, like most of the remnants, focuses on cultivating children and grandchildren to study, and has nine sons under his knees, and later he is also an official in the Qing court, of which the eighth son Wang Luo is an official to Wenyuan Pavilion University Scholar and Ministry of Rites. In his free time, he was obsessed with poetry and painting, and he was taught by Dong Qichang, and he founded the Loudong School, and he was also a famous painter in the early Qing Dynasty.

However, all this of the Wang family is based on the interests of the merchants and the gentry, and now that Chen Wen has issued two decrees, the Wang family has also suffered a lot in it, and at this moment he can no longer draw and teach his children according to his temperament.

"Look at it, this is Suzhou, and there are no less than a million Dingkou in Fucheng and Fuguo alone. Let's strike the market, and don't let those vegetable farmers enter the city, in less than two days, these hungry people alone can completely collapse the credit of the Qi Wangfu in the people, and this Jiangnan is still our world. ”

Outside the window, the people in front of the shops gathered and dispersed, but the complaints had already spread across the Shantang River, and they were like fairy music in their ears.

This is true of Tiger Hill in the northwest corner, as well as in other places inside and outside the city. People buy goods, but the shops everywhere are all hanging signs that are sold out, as if they have received the same order.

Suzhou was the economic center of China in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and its status was not inferior to that of Shanghai, the magic capital of the Far East.

It is precisely because of Suzhou's economic status that the confidence of Wang Shimin and others is not without reason, and it is difficult for the feudal bureaucracy to deal with the boycott in such a giant city. This has been the case before, and it has been the case in future generations, and this is the killer weapon for merchants to survive in such an environment, and its power should not be underestimated.

On the first day, the people of Suzhou still had some vegetables and vegetables in their homes, and the rice jars were not completely empty, but in the city, the food was all transported from outside the city, and the people were dissatisfied at the same time, but they still hoped that a compromise would be reached between the government and the merchants, at least until tomorrow, the market would be opened, so that they would not be hungry because they could not buy food because they had money. However, on the second and third days, the market was still in swing, and all the shops in the city were closed.

Don't say New Year's goods, now you can't even buy food, but the people of this year do not have the habit of stockpiling grain, especially in such big cities, go to buy grain every few days, although it is now the third day of the strike, but many people's rice jars have bottomed out, and the insults of people who have returned in vain have become more and more high.

The resentment inside and outside the market is getting higher and higher, but the gentry and the rich people in the Deyue Tower are content, looking at the people's anger in the city with great interest.

"There was no grain to sell for three days, and the vegetable farmers outside the city did not dare to leave the village, and the people in the city could not survive."

"Haha, exactly. If you want to say that it is all to blame for the chaos of the Qi Palace, otherwise the scholars can study with peace of mind, wait for the opening of the department, and we businessmen can do sea trade with peace of mind, how can there be such a thing now? ”

The rich merchant bowed to the gentry over there, and in the past few years he had been looking for celebrities, but he was born as a smuggler and had a bad reputation, and he could not find a suitable gentleman to teach the two sons of the family. Now that this matter is together, he is desperately squeezing in, in order to be able to fight for a good reputation, and in the future, his son will gain fame in the examination, and the family's industry can be completely whitewashed.

The "smuggler salt dealer" was generous and courteous, and the gentry also gave enough face, which really made him happy. At this time, the short and fat grain merchant sitting next to him took over the conversation and told him everything he had seen and heard in the past two days.

"You may not know, it's ridiculous to say, the day before yesterday, the government was in the past, but he still spoke sharply, forcing the store to open for business. To this day, Fuzun still forced his composure, but the tone had also dropped an octave, and he also expressed his willingness to explain to His Royal Highness King Qi on his behalf. Haha, that face, it's really ridiculous. ”

"That's why Tang Gong can stick to his principles, otherwise he wouldn't have seen this ugliness."

The grain merchant laughed, and the others echoed him. But hearing this, on the side of the gentry, Gu Shu seemed a little absent-minded, and pondered for a moment before saying to everyone: "Gentlemen, King Qi is cunning, Cao Yunlin doesn't mention it, characters like Huanglizhou are all played around, we still have to be careful." ”

Gu Shu has suffered a loss, and now the reputation of the Gu family in the countryside has not eased up, seeing that the Suzhou government is so passive, a prefect is just that, but there is also a governor in the city, which is from the Qi Palace, and there has been no movement, which is really unsettling.

"Brother Gu, don't worry about the banquet, don't worry too much. Now the merchants of the whole Suzhou City are working together, the goods are in our hands, can the government still kill us, and how can the business of Suzhou City be maintained in the future. If the government wants to support it, only by closing the position can the grain be able to last for some time, and then a private position will be enough for them. And even if it moves the Changping position, this Suzhou is a million men, women and children, and it can support it for a few days, and if the grain is transported from the Changping position in other places, we will just make this matter to the field, and the government can only give in. ”

The merchant Zhizhu was in his hand, and Gu Shu looked at the local gentry in Suzhou around him with a look of conviction, but he also calmed down.

"Tomorrow is the fourth day, and it's time to go out and guide public opinion. Our goal is not to starve the local people, but to let the government hear our voice, and tomorrow is the best time. ”

"Xun Weng is benevolent, if Xun Weng holds the country, the world will inevitably be ruled greatly, how can there be a matter of Tartars entering the customs?"

"Deserved, deserved. The old man is just doing something for the villagers, and he can't let those thieves from eastern Zhejiang and the villagers ride on the heads of our Suzhou people. ”

The principle is there, and tomorrow is the key, but there is no need to stop the banquet, they are all the people in charge, and tomorrow's performance has its own people to worry about. Those who work hard govern people, and those who work hard govern people.

There was laughter and laughter in the Deyue Building, the sky changed from daylight to the bright moon, and with the softness of Jiangnan women's music, the glimmer gradually emerged from the sky. The older ones left early, and the next morning, the others all went home to rest, waiting for the afternoon bargain.

The sky was bright, and a large number of people had already gathered in front of the grain shop in Tiger Hill. Seeing that the store was still not open, angry scolding sounded, and some of the more grumpy ones squeezed directly to the door and slapped the door panels heavily.

This kind of situation was not without it two days ago, but the shopkeeper and the guy of the store got the order of the owner, and they were determined to be a turtle with a shrunken head, and everyone at most used this to vent some grievances, and finally returned in vain. Only this time, after a few shots, the door panel was removed, but a sharp-toothed guy came to the window where the grain was sold on weekdays and told the words of the professor in charge of the shopkeeper.

"What's the shot, didn't you see the sold-out brand?"

Suddenly there was a living person, and the man closest to him was stunned for a moment, and then shouted: "Lao Tzu just filmed, you guys were sold out the day before yesterday, sold out the day before yesterday, and sold out yesterday, and today it is still sold out, is it still over?!" ”

The man is like this, but the guy is not ambiguous: "You think we are willing to do this?" Compare your heart to your heart, the shop is a business, how to make money if you don't sell goods. We are all locals, let's be honest, now the government is making too much trouble in the countryside, the grain is not easy to harvest, and now the sea is going to be banned, we are opening a shop to do business, and we can't do tricks, is it possible to make something out of nothing? ”

"How long will it be closed, and the family is still waiting for the rice to go to the pot!"

Seeing that the people outside lowered their doors a little, their momentum rose sharply, and he pointed to the direction of the county government and said loudly: "When the government doesn't toss around, we can collect the grain and naturally open the door." If you are dissatisfied, go to the gate of the county government to make trouble, and the government will not tell us to do business well, and we will not be able to do anything. ”

The man had the reason of the man, so he closed the door again, and once again acted as a turtle with the shrunken head of the previous two days.

The government has strengthened its efforts to clear acres of land and crack down on smuggling, and the city has heard of it. I thought it was just a dispute in the countryside and a cat and mouse between the government and those maritime merchants, but it has been in the city for so many days, and now it has seriously affected the lives of the people in the city.

In front of him was a sold-out brand, and in his heart was his hungry parents, wife and children at home, the big man shot a few more times without success, so he shouted loudly and took the lead in the direction of the county office. Only inside the shop, the shopkeeper and the guys listened attentively to the movement outside, and determined that those people were running to the county office, and the shopkeeper sent someone to leave through the back door and report to the owner that the place was as expected.

Suzhou is attached to Guo Er, Wu County is in the south, Changzhou County is in the north, and Tiger Hill is located in the northwest of Fucheng, which is within the jurisdiction of Changzhou County. A group of people left here, and went straight to the Changzhou County Ya, along the way there were more and more people, and even merged with several brigades, and when they arrived at the county Ya, it was already a sea of people.

When you open the door for a day, you will have seven things like firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea. The people live in the city, all of which depend on the supply outside the city and the shops in the city, and now the local businessmen are boycotting the market under the banner of the government's chaotic government, and the people have nowhere to vent, so they have to go to the county government to ask for an explanation under the guidance of people with good intentions.

"The student is a member of Chongzhen for fifteen years, and this time, he is no different from all the fathers and elders, all because of the strike."

The gentry opened their mouths and showed their identity and position, even if they won the response of the people present. Scholars read the books of sages, and in common sense, most of them are righteous men and gentlemen, and they also have meritorious reputations, and they are the reserve of officials, and even the government must listen to their voices. Since then, things have naturally become much easier.

“…… The fathers and elders are in the city, and they don't know the outside world. There are treacherous and evil people in the palace of the king of Qi to bewitch His Royal Highness the King of Qi, and now those corrupt officials are killing the gentry and people in the countryside in the name of clearing the acres of land, and some garrisons are even using this to kill the good. In addition, in the name of eliminating smuggling and preventing captives, the government imposed exorbitant taxes on the coast, resulting in the impossibility of business travel, and the shops in the city had to close their doors. ”

"His Royal Highness the King of Qi has two famous kings, and he is powerful in the world, if there is no power of His Royal Highness the King of Qi, I Suzhou will not have such a grand reproduction of the Han family's clothes today. However, the treacherous and evil deceived His Royal Highness the King of Qi, and we, as the people, should fight to the end with those corrupt officials and corrupt officials for the sake of individuals, for Suzhou, and for the world, so that His Royal Highness the King of Qi can get rid of the blindness of those treacherous evils! ”

The righteous words of the students, when even if a group of gentry who came with them echoed it, their wishful thinking was very fine, and now Chen Wenshi is big, and it is clear that it is an unwise choice to compete with him. In this case, he simply put the black cauldron on an unknown "treacherous evil" in the Qi Palace, and praised Chen Wen high, and his words also gave Chen Wen enough face, except for not changing the four of His Royal Highness the King of Qi to the emperor, the other content is clearly the classic passage of the gentry, businessmen resisting taxes, and boycotting the market.

The scholars were impassioned, and the people were also angry, but the officials outside the county yamen were cowering one by one, clearly with a villain face of "fear of justice".

However, just when this cry of justice had the momentum to overwhelm the evil spirit, the gate of the county government opened, and the magistrate of the county strode to the edge of the steps in a blue official robe, and pushed away the gentleman who was still giving a speech just now, picked up an iron thorn and shouted loudly to the crowd:

"Ladies and gentlemen, there are profiteers in the city who disturb the civil order, so don't let anyone take advantage of them. The governor's yamen had mobilized a large number of goods and had already crossed the Hushu Pass at dawn. The official guarantees that within two hours, it will be sold all over the city, and there will be unlimited sales! ”