Although the two sides are now interested in contact, whether it is Shen Mo or Jinshang Group, they are undoubtedly extremely cautious.

As far as the Jin merchant group is concerned, although they are rich and rival the country, their conservative surnames and their satisfaction with the status quo make them unwilling to take the risk of offending the maritime merchants of Fujian and Zhejiang, and rashly speculate in a trade project that has not yet revealed its embryonic form and has an uncertain future.

As for Shen Mo, to be honest, he actually didn't have a good impression of Jin Shang, because he once took a train in his last life, and he read books on this subject in his spare time, which is about the history of this group of people - it is said that it is these people, in order to grab huge profits, ignore the country's ban, and wantonly smuggle grain, salt and iron to Houjin, so that the imperial court's blockade order becomes a dead letter, so that the Jurchens can survive the most difficult years. In the later stage, it will be even worse! All the gunpowder, eighty percent of the grain, and more than sixty percent of the metal of the Jurchens were provided by these mercenary and forgetful things.

What's even more odious is that they also sold all kinds of intelligence to the Jurchens -- you know, they basically monopolized the supply of military supplies to the Ming army, and their understanding of the situation of the Ming army was even more thorough than that of the generals who led the troops.

However, it is now the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing, and Nurhachi's father is not married, of course, such charges cannot be imposed on the body of Jin Shang, but the disgust is always in the heart, so that Shen Mo can not let go for a long time.

If he was surnamed by his surname, he would even be willing to drink and have fun with Wang Zhi, and he would not have anything to do with these people.

But in fact, since he is determined to change something, he must bury his personal likes and dislikes forever in his heart, unite all the forces that can be united-even Xu Hai, who is full of evil and evil, and will definitely go to the nineteen layers of hell after death, and will never turn over, if he can be used by me, he will also support him in the same way, so that he can become the Drake of China...... It is said that Captain Drake, the British sea demon king, is not yet twenty years old, and if possible, Shen Mo hopes that he will be called ...... The Demon King of the Xu Sea of Britain. Although this hope is slim, he still hopes to give it a try.

There is no good or evil, only right and wrong. This is the code of conduct that Shen Mo has set for himself in this life.

So it was impossible for him to let go of the hope of dragging Jin Shang into the water, but he was in distrust of these people, and he reminded himself that he must be cautious and not be sold and give back some money.

That night, he stayed in the prefect's yamen, and the next morning, when he was having breakfast with Wang Chonggu, a staff member outside hurriedly came in, crouched in Wang Chonggu's ear, and whispered a few words.

Wang Chonggu nodded when he heard this, and whispered a few words to the staff, and then asked him to retreat. After pondering for a long time, he said slowly: "The people of the Lu family have arrived in Songjiang." ”

Shen Mu, who was drinking porridge, paused for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and asked, "When did you arrive?" ”

"Last night." Wang Chonggu said: "I stayed in the Huating Station. ”

"It seems that there are indeed masters." Shen Mo smiled and said, "As soon as I moved, the other party guessed my intentions." Last night, he had already told Wang Chonggu the ins and outs of the matter in detail.

"Well, that's true." Wang Chonggu nodded, not worried: "It seems that they are going to cause you sabotage." ”

"If they succeed, I'm finished." Shen Mo smiled, put down his rice bowl and said, "There is something that please Zhenchuan Gong must help." ”

"What's the matter?" Wang Chonggu asked noncommittally.

"Help me take care of the Cao Bang Wharf," said in a deep voice: "The 200,000 stone grain there is where my confidence lies, if anything goes wrong, I will have to let the mermaid flesh." ”

This kind of thing is just a gesture, and helping others is helping himself, Wang Chonggu finally nodded and said: "Okay, you just don't worry, I will send someone over, and I will personally take charge if necessary." "At the end of the day, he's not afraid of those people.

"Great!" Shen Mo said happily: "Thank you Jianchuan Gong!" ”

After breakfast, he left the prefect's yamen, boarded the carriage waiting at the door, and went straight to the 'Xu family wall gate' in the south of the city.

I have heard that the residences of high-ranking officials and wealthy gentry are called 'big wall gates', and the residences of small and medium-sized landlords are called 'wall gates'. Although the two have a clear hierarchy, it is not without the possibility of jumping, for example, which son of a landlord's family won the Jinshi and struggled to become a high-ranking official, which will inevitably bring the sublimation of the entire family, from the wall door to the big wall door.

The Xu family, the destination of this trip, is the most typical representative of it - Xu Ge's father, who is not a talented man, has struggled all his life to become the second-in-command of Xuanping County, Zhejiang, and the county leader. Although he felt that he had failed in life, he finally got rid of poverty and became rich, bought land in his hometown, guarded hundreds of acres of fertile land, and became a small landlord, and his family was also called 'Xu's wall gate'.

In Xu Jie's generation, the Xu family is completely developed, he is the second assistant of the cabinet, and the powerful first-class member is an unprecedented big man in Songjiang! Naturally, it has attracted countless people to become inflammatory, and those who 'donate land' have flocked to it, and the land of the Xu family has surged year after year, and it is said that there are as many as 200,000 acres. But how much, I'm afraid even the Xu family themselves can't say clearly, anyway, it's always growing.

But Shen Mo couldn't accuse the Xu family of being greedy, because in the past hundred years, the trend of land 'donation' has prevailed, and it has become a terrible social atmosphere - the so-called 'donation' is to donate land to the emperor's relatives and nobles and gentry free of charge. This kind of dedication is divided into two types: 'vain offering' and 'self-offering'. The former refers to the fact that the fields of the common people are dedicated to the powerful and powerful by the 'cunning people' who falsely claim their own property or 'idle fields without owners', while it refers to the common people, and even small and medium-sized landlords, who dedicate their own fields to the officials and powerful families free of charge.

When Shen Mo first came to this world, he had heard of this phenomenon, and he was very strange at the time, didn't they all say that land is the lifeblood of the common people? Why did the people of the Ming Dynasty abandon it like a shoe?

If the agricultural tax is high, the common people can't afford it, it's easy to understand, but the agricultural tax in the Ming Dynasty has never been high, and the messy taxes add up, never more than 20 taxes, how can it not be affordable.

Later, I learned that it was not the common people who were willing to be proletarians, but because the weight of forced labor even exceeded the tax grain. The conscription was shared according to the number of acres of land, and the specific content was varied, and hundreds of city bricks were escorted and levied from thousands of miles away to Yanjing, which may have been the military supplies produced in the south and sent to the northern front; It may also be to serve in the post house for half a year, or it may be to carry a sedan chair for the official lord for half a year - it is the turn of the kind of family that transports errands thousands of miles, and the end is often bankrupt; Even the latter seriously affects the personal productive labor of the common people, making them very disturbed!

However, the dignitaries enjoyed the right to be exempt from servitude, and once they became their householders, tenants, or even slaves, they could be exempted from state servitude under their shadow. Unsustainable peasants often surrendered to nobles in order to escape the hardships of servitude. Even small and medium-sized landlords, in order to avoid being disturbed by the government and relying on the power of the official family, joined the army of contributors and became a glorious family.

The evil consequences of the sacrifice were obvious, in addition to reducing the tax revenue of the imperial court, and the free labor that could be mobilized became less and less, so it could only be sent to the rest, and the remaining people had no choice but to follow suit. Who should be used to build the Yellow River, build the Great Wall, and transport grain and rice?

Therefore, since the Hongwu period, until now, the emperors of all dynasties have basically issued a holy decree strictly prohibiting contributions, and ordered that 'the fields of sacrifice should be confiscated, and the people who surrendered should be confiscated'. However, there are policies and countermeasures, and the donor and the donor only need to go through the procedure of pawning and selling the deed, and then they can cover up the fact of illegal bidding.

In the 170 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the wind of dedication has never stopped, but the objects of dedication have changed from the imperial relatives and noble generals at the beginning of the country to the current civil and official groups...... There is nothing strange about this, the prince of the vassal was raised like a pig, and the military generals and nobles had long lost their former glory, groveling in front of the civil officials who were born in the Jinshi, and they were still panting, such 'nobles' themselves were easily bullied by civil officials, and naturally they could not bear the responsibility of protection.

Therefore, the common people have switched to the officials, and basically, as soon as the scholars go to the township, they are all surrendered to the rich. For example, after Shen Mo learned about the Yuan Dynasty, hundreds of people came to his house to donate, and on average, they also brought ten acres and eight acres of land. The most one is that Liu Laoliu, who is said to have 200 acres of fertile land, and is such a small landlord who is richer than him, but he is willing to commit himself to his family and become a porter.

Although he was very disliked, he couldn't go against the social atmosphere, so he had to pretend not to know, but he heard Shen An say that the family's fertile land has exceeded 10,000 acres.

Thinking of coming to Xu Ge's hometown with more than 200,000 acres of land, tens of thousands of tenants and thousands of family members, it is not necessarily his original intention, but the crime of acquiescence and connivance is always certain.

While thinking wildly, the carriage arrived outside the wall of the Xu family's gate, silently ordered the iron pillar to deliver the prayer post, and he opened the curtains to breathe. When he looked out, he saw an elaborately decorated carriage coming from the street and slowly stopping beside him.

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a face so handsome that it did not make sense appeared before Shen Mo's eyes, and from the first sight of him, his eyes erupted with fire, and his gaze seemed to be nailed to his face.

There is a way that the enemies don't meet, and the person who came is the Lu Ji Lu Ziyu who was extorted by him with 70,000 stone of grain before he put it back.

Facing the eyes full of resentment, resentment, and resentment, he smiled silently and said, "The weather is really good today, Ziyu, why don't you say hello when you see Uncle Wei?" ”

That Lu Ziyu gritted his teeth and said: "If you have the ability, you will come out with a smile later!" ”

"Of course I have what I can do." Shen Mo blinked and said, "Don't you have any confidence in me?" He smiled and said, "Ziyu, are you a man or a woman?" ”

Lu Ziyu's face was pulled down, as if he heard something said by the person in the same car, he pulled the door curtain vigorously and said, "Boring!" He cut off his gaze from silence.

Shen Mo also retracted his head, and the smile on his face gradually faded. Ruohan beside him asked in a low voice, "Who is that?" ”

"He is the one who calls himself Lu Ji." Shen Mo whispered.

"He's Lu Ji?" Ruohan pouted the corner of her mouth beautifully and said, "Look at that coquettishness, it's clear that she is a girl." "Women are intuitive, and the so-called intuition is a feeling that is beyond the visual.

"Really? I'm still confused. Shen Mo hurriedly pretended to be confused and said: "I just don't know that Lu Ji, why do you want to use a fake as a stand-in." ”

Ruohan smiled and said, "Maybe the person is a girl herself." ”

"Who knows." At this time, seeing Tie Zhu and a young man dressed as a scholar coming out, Shen Mo hurriedly changed the topic and said, "You wait in the car, it seems that someone from the Xu family has come out." ”

Ruohan nodded and said, "Well, you are careful in everything." ”

Seeing someone from the Xu family, Shen Mo did not get out of the car immediately, but waited for the iron pillar to report: "My lord, the third son of Xu came out to welcome you in." "Xu Jie has four sons, the eldest Xu Pan is like Yan Shifan, relying on his father's shadow, so he entered the court as an official; The youngest son, Xu Hong, is also studying in Guozijian and serves his father in the capital with his eldest brother.

The other two sons, Xu Qiu, and the third son, Xu Zhen, served their grandmother at home, kept the family business, and swelled the huge Xu family bigger and bigger, and it is said that they have become the largest landlord in the south of the Yangtze River.

Although Xu Zhen is only a student, he has a very reserved attitude when he sees the silence of the top student and the official residence...... But it's no wonder that it is said that the prime minister has seven officials in front of him, not to mention the son of the prime minister?

The two exchanged pleasantries slightly, and were about to enter Xu's house, when they saw the fierce man Lu Qiang, leading a man with a similar face to Xu Zhen but a lot older, to come out and go straight to the car of the Lu family.

Seeing Shen Mo looking over, Xu Zhen chuckled and said, "That's my second brother, Xu Qiu." ”

It seems that in the eyes of the other party, his weight is still not comparable to the Lu family. Shen Mo said secretly in his heart, so he nodded quietly and said, "I'll see you later." ”

Xu Zhen smiled and said, "Don't wait for them, let's go in first." Then he stretched out his hand and stepped into the door first.

Seeing him so contemptuous, Tie Zhu's face changed slightly, but he was stopped by Shen Mo with his gaze, and the master and servant followed in one after the other.

Entering the Xu Mansion, passing through countless doors, and arriving at the main hall of the back house, Xu Zhen said: "Grandmother is in the hall, my lord will kowtow with me first." ”

Shen Mo smiled kindly: "Of course. He had heard that the Xu family was headed by this old lady, but whenever a distinguished guest entered the house, he always had to visit her first, and no matter how big or small, she would decide arbitrarily. Over time, it has caused her a special status, and when the word 'Mrs. Xu' is mentioned, people can't help but pay respect, but there are also people who are quite disdainful of her strength, thinking that she relies on her son's powerful position, cleverly grabbing and being ruthless.

Shen Mo followed Xu Zhen in, and saw an old woman with sideburns like silver, but in good spirits, sitting cross-legged on the kang, not daring to slack off, and hurriedly held the nephew ceremony, and said: "The younger generation is silent, I have seen the teacher and mother." Then there was a string of congratulatory words such as 'Blessing as the East China Sea, Shoubi Nanshan', and at the same time offering a carefully selected gift from Ruohan.

When Mrs. Xu heard this, she was very happy, and when she saw the gift, she smiled like a chrysanthemum and said: "I heard that Huating won Wen Kuixing, who was six yuan in Lianzhong, and came to our Linfu to be an official, and the old body has long wanted to see it, but my female generation is shocked by the government, and I am afraid that someone will gossip." Said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to come first, you are really sensible." And he commanded his grandson to lift him up.

The old lady asked long and short questions for a while, and Shen Mo answered patiently one by one, and he spoke very measuredly, so that the old man listened to it very ironingly, and his attitude towards him became more and more affectionate. Speaking of which, he finally talked about his purpose of coming to Songjiang: "You are a parent official in Suzhou, you won't come to our Songjiang if you have nothing to do, and you won't come to see me, an old woman, right?" "The speech is extremely dramatic, and it is indeed not like an ordinary old lady.

"It's really a special visit." Shen Mo smiled frankly: "At the same time, there is also a matter to discuss with the old lady. ”

"What's the matter?" The old woman smiled and asked, "Just talk about it." ”

"The price of grain in Suzhou has risen outrageously recently," Shen Mo said; "In order to stabilize food prices, I raised grain everywhere, and now I have raised half or half of it...... I heard that the teacher's family had some grain to sell, and the late student was willing to buy it. ”

"That's true." Old Madam Xu nodded. The Xu family is full of warehouses and hoards, and the grain is enough to eat for several years, and when they encounter this year's once-in-a-lifetime high-price market, they naturally have to cash out some in exchange for high returns: "Selling to someone is not selling, naturally selling to those who are close to you." ”

"Great." Shen Mo arched his hand and smiled: "I have heard that the old lady is extremely kind, and the Buddha of ten thousand families, your move will definitely let the people of Suzhou sing for a hundred years!" ”

"Hehehe...... the old lady said a little shyly: "I'm embarrassed to ask for silver for you to say this." As he spoke, he glanced at him and said lightly, "I want land." ”

(To be continued)