Yang Chao's quickly stabilized the situation in Yangzhou Prefecture.

At the beginning of May, the wealthy businessmen who already had a love for their homeland slowly returned.

When the Duoduo Ministry appeared on the outskirts of Yangzhou, most of the wealthy merchant groups, led by salt merchants, fled.

But there are also those who have a fluke mentality, such as Qiao Chengwang, a big salt merchant, Qiao Chengwang was a Jin merchant, then known as a Western businessman, referring to the merchants in Shaanxi and Shanxi who did business in Yangzhou.

As we all know, the Jin merchants in Shanxi had a close relationship with the Manchu high-level officials, and when the Manchu group was outside the customs, the Jin merchants traded with them, and most of the property looted by the Manchu group was realized into various military supplies through the Jin merchants, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty was able to strengthen step by step, which was not unrelated to the Jin merchants.

The high-level leaders of the Eight Banners are well aware of the power of this, so they treat the Jin merchants extremely favorably, and have repeatedly ordered the soldiers of the Eight Banners not to harm the Jin merchants, and a consensus has been formed in the hearts of the Eight Banners soldiers, that is, the only thing that the Ming Dynasty needs preferential treatment is these Jin merchants.

Of course, Yangzhou's Western merchants can not be equated with Shanxi's Jin merchants, Yangzhou's Western merchants have a huge power, from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, in exchange for salt to cause a family, there are hundreds of such Western merchants in Yangzhou, the power is much greater than the Hui merchants, the foundation of the group of Western businessmen behind the most, in fact, the family has already moved to Yangzhou, Shanxi, Shaanxi is just as a hometown, the sacrifice needs to go back.

Qiao Chengwang is such a Jin merchant, although his family has no contact with the Manchu group, but he took advantage of the opportunity opened up by the Jin merchants, after the Eight Banners entered the city, before the looting began, he sent someone to find Duoduo for the first time, paid a tribute of 100,000 taels of silver, and dozens of beauties, in revealing his identity as a Jin merchant, Duoduo soon camped to protect Qiao's family, and when the robbery occurred, a team of guards was sent to protect Qiao's family.

Qiao Chengwang's family was miraculously unscathed and escaped the catastrophe.

But then he was denounced by someone with a heart, saying that he had fornicated with Tartars and was a traitor.

Qiao Chengwang was miserable. Who would have thought that the imposing Eight Banners had only been in the city for three days, and they were once again beaten out of the city by Yang Chao.

So Qiao Chengwang once again thought of using money to buy peace, and sent someone to ask to see Yang Chao, expressing his willingness to contribute 200,000 labor troops. I hope Yang Chao can protect them.

Although Yang Chao didn't have a good impression of Jin Shang who had no bottom line, he still appeased Qiao Chengwang.

As a representative of Western merchants, Qiao Chengwang was quite famous among the salt merchants in Yangzhou, and this time as many as ten salt merchants finally took refuge in his home to escape the catastrophe.

Yang Chao appeased Qiao Chengwang, but made a request. That is, now the people in the city have suffered a catastrophe and are displaced, and I hope that these salt merchants can play a role, absorb some labor, and give the people a mouthful of food.

To put it bluntly, I hope that through these people, order in Yangzhou City can be restored as soon as possible.

Yangzhou City, prosperous for thousands of years, the accumulated commercial culture is very thick, it can be said that this is a prosperous city dragged up by commerce.

The core of Yangzhou's business is the salt industry, which is very profitable. Let the salt merchants build gardens, they can have all kinds of enjoyment, and at the same time, they can also make a living for many people in Yangzhou City.

For example, a salt merchant's family can fully support a family, so there is also a class of idlers in Yangzhou City, who do not go to work and have nothing to do, make teahouses in the morning and gun bathhouses in the evening, jokingly called "water in the morning, water in the evening". Some people even leave their toiletries in the teahouse and go straight to the teahouse early in the morning to wash and brush their teeth.

There is also the phenomenon that salt merchants are rich, but have no political status. Moreover, out of a certain cultural complex, they like to sponsor cultural people, and poets and painters are often sponsored by them before they become famous, just like the wealthy merchant class in Italy funded artists like Leonardo da Vinci during the Western Renaissance.

Salt merchants also like to raise opera troupes, and every household has a unique opera troupe. Otherwise, people will laugh at it.

At the same time, because of the strong consumption power, in addition to the production of thin horses, Yangzhou is also very prosperous in the painting boat industry, and the painting boat of the thin West Lake will be famous in later generations.

Idlers, artists, opera troupes and painting boats, these four key words constitute Yangzhou's cultural symbols, and it is the salt merchants who fund them.

Culture, in the eyes of the common people, can not be eaten or drunk, so often peasant emperors like Zhu Yuanzhang will sneer at culture, even in later generations, when the poor class is in power, they will launch a special blow to culture.

But is this thing really useless, the Chinese in the 21st century only discovered that culture is a kind of soft power, when the West through soft power overheated infiltration of a large number of foreign slaves, the government suddenly realized and began to carry forward traditional culture, but it was too late, too late.

The end of the Ming Dynasty was the time of the political collapse of the Ming Dynasty, and it was indeed the time when culture was at its peak, and it was revered to a very high position by the West.

Yang Chao uses his worldview across time and space, naturally he will not do anything to destroy culture, and destroy the construction, which is full of food and support.

Therefore, he will not crack down on these salt merchants who are cultural symbols, but will have to support them and let them start Yangzhou's cultural industry as soon as possible.

Encouraging Qiao Cheng to hope that these salt merchants who escaped the catastrophe would build gardens, build gorgeous estates, appreciate the art of painting, and sponsor more painters, Yang Chao did not want to see Westerners sing the praises of those Renaissance funders, but China is cracking down on these figures, simply because the wealth in their hands is simply due to the hatred of the rich at the bottom of society.

But Yang Chao's statement made Qiao Chengwang very confused, this general didn't want money or beautiful women, but let them build a garden, and they really couldn't see through it.

After Qiao Chengwang and others, the salt merchants who were hiding in other places also came back one after another, their homes were gone, but the wealth was not all lost, some people hid the silver well, and some kept the money in the field, but the heavy losses were certain.

You must know that Yang Chao has a large amount of silver in the treasury, but most of it comes from these people's families, if you don't plunder these people, forget it, Yang Chao can't do this kind of hypocritical thing if you go back, this is what he took back from the Qing army, it is a trophy, no matter if he came from the right way or not, wouldn't it mean that his behavior is not legal, and if it is not legal to resist aggression, it will be nonsense.

Therefore, I will not return it in love and courtesy.

Merchants who have lost most of their wealth will also be eager to restore their industries, which will help restore the economy of Yangzhou City.

But they couldn't raise the capital for the time being, so Yang Chao lent it to them!

With money that can't be spent for a few years, Yang Chao is not a local tyrant who stores his silver. Money is money that is spent.

Money, it has to be circulated in order to create value.

Borrow money, circulate. Obviously, Yang Chao plans to become a bank.

"Everyone, you are all engaged in the salt industry, Jianghuai has suffered a military disaster, and everything is waiting to be rebuilt, and Benjue supports everyone."

The fifth day of the fifth month of May. With the help of the Dragon Boat Festival, Yang Chao invited nearly 100 salt merchants to a banquet and promised them.

The salt merchants hurriedly thanked them, in fact, Yang Chao didn't trouble them, which was the greatest support for them.

"Ben Jue said that he supports you, but it is not an empty word, Ben Jue knows that everyone has been harmed. So Benjue decided that if you are short of silver, you can borrow it from Benjue! ”

One sentence made the scene suddenly cold. Borrow money? Find an earl to borrow money, when this earl has a heavy army in his hands and controls the life and death of a city?

None of them dared to open their mouths.

Yang Chao made a gesture towards Qiao Chengwang.

Qiao Chengwang is the head of the Western Commercial Bank, which has been prestigious for a long time, and this time he sheltered a group of salt merchants, and he is even more prestigious among the Western merchants, and he can basically represent the attitude of the Western merchants.

And it just so happened that Western merchants suffered the heaviest losses.

The two major groups of salt merchants, Huizhou merchants and Western merchants, Huizhou merchants have geographical advantages and are qualified to return their wealth to their hometowns. Just look at the magnificent buildings in She County, Huizhou, and you can see that they are not short of money.

Therefore, the main reason is that the Western merchants are short of money, and in history, it is because the Western merchants lost too much, and after the establishment of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they were squeezed out of Yangzhou salt industry by the Hui merchants step by step.

Qiao Chengwang stood up at this time and said, "Uncle is sympathetic to me and other businessmen. It's really the creation that we have cultivated. I made a decision to take out three million taels of silver and borrow money from my colleagues with Uncle Yang. After all, they are all like-minded people, and they can't bear to see everyone's family business wither. I heard that there are several shops selling gardens recently, but they can't find buyers. Even if it is ten thousand, it is sold cheaply. ”

Qiao Chengwang shook his head and sighed as he spoke.

Lend money to the Western merchants, not afraid of them colluding with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, look at the bamboo forest in the Jiuqu Corridor of the salt merchants, full of elegant gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, compare the Jin merchants built in Shanxi, majestic, blue bricks and green tiles, square, full of the serious atmosphere of the north of the compound, you know that Yangzhou Western merchants and Shanxi Jin merchants, in addition to the same ancestral hometown, whether it is industry, or culture, are completely different.

These are already two groups, and they haven't gone back for generations, and what they say is Yangzhou dialect, so they can be regarded as Yangzhou people.

So Yang Chao decided to help them, but also because he was worried that these people would not be able to trust him, after all, Yang Chao has an official status, and businessmen collude with the government and officials, but they don't trust them, just like the government and officials don't trust businessmen.

But they all trust Qiao Chengwang, not only because Yang Chao lent them money, but also because of Qiao Chengwang's part.

Immediately, several families said: "Uncle Xie's good intentions, Cheng Qiao's kindness, the family has really been poor recently, so I dare to open my teeth, I don't know if I can borrow 100,000 taels!" ”

Yang Chao said with a smile: "Benjue is from seven million taels, and he and Master Qiao have enough 10 million, and it is not a problem to make up only 100,000 taels." ”

The merchant asked again: "I don't know how much money and interest are taken by the uncle?" ”

This is also a key, the interest rate is too high, they dare not ask for usury, salt merchants in addition to selling salt at a high price, the second major entry is usury, there is a lot of spare money in hand, and the government is in the government, after being rich and powerful, do not use money to make money, it is too wasteful.

He is a usury who drinks human blood, and he knows the badness of usury, and Yang Chao can completely use them in the method of looting salt households, because compared to them, Yang Chao is the most powerful and powerful, if they raise usury and release usury to them, they should sell the garden.

Yang Chao smiled: "Three points per month!" ”

Three points of interest, in later generations is not considered a large profit, in the Ming Dynasty is completely a charitable loan, the Ming law does not prohibit the lending of monthly interest within three points.

The salt merchant suddenly relaxed.

Yang Chao then said: "Sit on the ground and smoke one!" ”

The salt merchant's face changed slightly, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't hear Yang Chao follow a "nine out of thirteen", so he put his mind at ease.

Sitting on the ground and drawing one means that borrowing ten taels, in fact, only nine taels, one tael is deducted in advance as interest, and when it is returned, it needs to be repaid thirteen taels, so it is called nine out of thirteen returns, the standard usury practice, many people because they can't afford to pay it back for a while, and then they are forced to go bankrupt with interest.

Yang Chao sat on the ground and smoked one, which is actually a dime of profit, and the next three points can be ignored.

The monthly interest is equal to one dime, for Yang Chao, this business can be done, the reason why he chose to sit on the ground and smoke one, first, this is traditional, and second, in order to avoid the constraints of three points of low interest in the Ming Law.

Although even if Yang Chao destroys the law of the Ming Dynasty, no one will offend him for this matter, but Yang Chao has always believed that abiding by the law is a virtue, and he also emphasizes military law in governing the army, so he is unwilling to take the initiative to destroy him.

"I don't know where you plan to borrow money, Master Wang?"

This borrower's surname is Wang, and he is a well-known salt merchant in Yangzhou, but he is famous not because he is rich, but because he is stingy, and he is a very special salt merchant.

This person's family has a lot of money, but he doesn't use one money, he doesn't use two dollars, and he eats firewood and cooks for a few meters, which is obviously a miser.

In order to protect the family's wealth, he built a large courtyard that was not beautiful, but extremely strong, and built a lot of iron water chestnuts, which were scattered in the yard at night to prevent thieves, and only put away during the day.

It's a pity that after his Wanguan family wealth and Qing army entered the city, all of them were robbed, and Wang Yanshang almost died of anger.

But Yang Chao is quite sympathetic to this person, he is not a famous big salt merchant, just a medium salt merchant, the reason why he is so stingy, but because it is not easy to make a fortune, he is begging to Yangzhou, knowing that it is difficult to start a business, so he has been simple.

After Wang Yanshang spoke, the salt merchant surnamed Ji also borrowed, but the Ji family was a big salt merchant and borrowed 300,000 taels.

Then the Kang family also came to borrow.

Yang Chao waved his hand: "Let's discuss this matter with the Qiao Dong family, this lord still has important business, so I won't mention this matter today." ”

Among the salt merchants in Yangzhou, this Kang family is one of the best, known as the old sky and the millions of Kang. The Kang family has hundreds of warehouses on the wharf in Yangzhou, which is very luxurious, in addition to the salt industry, his family also operates pawn and grain trade.

But Yang Chao did not immediately agree to the Kang family to borrow, in addition to the Kang family's bad reputation, for the rich and unkind, but also because the Kang family's ancestral home is Pingyang, Shanxi, and a generation of rich, not only in Yangzhou, but also in Shanxi His family also has thousands of acres of fertile land, hundreds of pawnshops, Yang Chao suspects that the wealth is not coming from the right way, so he refuses to borrow. (To be continued.) )