Due to the favorable terrain, although the area of Dengzhou city is not large, but it has always been a place where businessmen gather, in the Wuqiao Mutiny, the rebels washed Dengzhou in blood, all industries withered, and even the people in the city fled a lot. However, since the years of Chongzhen, Dengzhou City has gradually prospered according to its geographical advantages, and merchants from all over the world have gathered here again.

Deyu business is an old business in Dengzhou City, although it is a semicolon, but the business is thriving. In the sixth year of Chongzhen, when he returned to Dengzhou again, it was also the time when a hundred wastes were waiting to be revived, and now the shopkeeper of the Deyu firm is a serious scholar, it is said that he was still born in Xiucai, because it is difficult to make progress in his studies, so he took over the business of the clan and came to Dengzhou. He also adheres to the word Xinyi in business, but he has taken root in Dengzhou in the past few years.

In mid-August, Zhu Ping'an, the newly appointed deputy chief soldier of Dengzhou Prefecture, rectified military affairs, whether it was a guard or a naval division, all within the scope of rectification, and somehow it was involved in the business of maritime trade. For a time, the Denglai sailors frequently dispatched, and they actually wiped out the caravans that came and went on the sea with pirates.

Several large merchants in Dengzhou City were suddenly in chaos, including Deyu Firm. Compared with several others, the Deyu firm is indeed not a wealthy businessman, but there are three ships of spices from Annam and several grain ships from North Korea that were seized by the Denglai sailors.

The Deyu business was originally opened by Shanxi merchants, and its owner was the Chang family of Yuci. Today's Shanxi businessmen, the most prominent is the eight families on the right side of the mountain, namely the Fan family, the Jin family, the two Wang families, the Tian family, the Liang family and other eight wealthy families. Based in Zhangjiakou, he traded with Manchu and Mongolia outside the Guan, and for a time became the bull's ear of Shanxi merchants. In comparison, the Chang family has fallen behind.

Today's Dengzhou, there are the Fan family's Jinhe business name and the Wang family's Jintong business name. I heard that this time the sailors cleaned up, and the two suffered the most losses.

Fortunately, soon after, the Dusi Yamen notified the merchants. You can go to the Yamen to pick up the seized goods. However, there is a certain amount of fine. At the same time, it was clearly stated that in the future, the relevant maritime trade in Dengzhou must be carried out under the supervision of the yamen of the state capital and the yamen of the capital. It is reported that Dengzhou will also set up a city promotion department yamen, in other words. The imperial court will supervise and collect taxes on maritime trade.

This is not a big problem for Deyu Firm. Ben was in the business of grain, spices, and timber. The imperial court extracted taxes was only an ancestral system of one out of thirty, and the tax burden was not too high. But for Jintong and Jinhe, it is undoubtedly a catastrophe.

Chang Yao, the shopkeeper of Deyu Firm, was very clear. The big patrons of the Fan family and the Wang family are the Manchus and Mongols outside the Guan, and all along, the two families have used the private port of Weihaiwei in Dengzhou as a springboard to send a large number of salt, iron, grain, and medicinal materials to Liaodong.

It's just that in this way, how can this salt, iron and other things flow out of Dengzhou in the future. You must know that if the salt, iron and other things collected from the south of the Yangtze River go all the way from Zhangjiakou, it will be a lot of trouble, even if it is from Guangdong, Fujian and other places to the sea, the cost will be increased several times! It seems that after this, the business of the Fan family and the Wang family will not be good.

Before Chang Yao could figure out these things, there was new news from the Dusi Yamen, just south of Dengzhou City, the Dusi Yamen and the Prefect's Yamen had renovated hundreds of acres of wasteland, and they heard that they were going to set up a trade zone. In the future, all the goods in and out of Dengzhou will be delivered here, that is, inland merchants do not have to go to sea, they can know the overseas goods, and merchants from overseas do not have to go deep into the inland, they can buy the specialties of the Ming Dynasty. Such a news made Chang Yao's heart more than surprised, Zhangjiakou was set up like this, but the dominant power was in the hands of the eight families on the right side of the mountain, and it was only to export all kinds of military materials outside the customs, but Dengzhou in this way, it could immediately become an important commercial town in the north of the Ming Dynasty!

Traditionally, the news of businessmen is the most well-informed, and within five days of the news coming out, there were all kinds of people in Dengzhou City who spoke various accents to inquire about the news. But there was no news about the Dusi Yamen, and the door was closed like the prefect's yamen, which made everyone a little overwhelmed for a while, and all kinds of speculations and rumors were also noisy.

Chang Yaojiu was in Dengzhou, but he had his own way of news, and he got an exact news from the prefect's yamen. The imperial court had already agreed to set up a city department in Dengzhou, and now it was just waiting for the angel to pass the decree and the internal official in charge of the city department to take office. This made Chang Yao a little excited, before, he had sent someone to send the news to Yuci, Shanxi, and the head of the family, Chang Wei, was also very happy, and specially instructed Chang Yao to strike first, and use his connections to take down the shops in a few trade zones first, even if it costs more money.

But just when Chang Yao was full of ambition, Deyu Firm received an invitation from Jinhe Firm, Fan Yongnian, the head of the Fan family.

Shanxi businessmen are originally a family, and now the merchants of Shanyou are infinitely beautiful, closely connected with the outside of the Guan, and there are also powerful people in the court to take care of them, and they are not businessmen like the Chang family who can afford to be offended, although Chang Yao knows that it is not a good thing for the Fan family to invite each other at this time, but he can only go to the appointment.

The meeting was held in a seaside grange outside Dengzhou. At the door of the village, Chang Yao felt that something was wrong. Around a small grange, there are many more figures probing their brains, many of them seem to be wearing blades, looking at the posture, as if they are the warriors of the Fan family and the Wang family, looking like they are facing a great enemy.

Chang Yao entered the backyard of the grange nervously, Fan Yongnian, the shopkeeper of Jinhe Firm, and Wang Yanshu, the shopkeeper of Jintong Firm, were already sitting in the hall. What made Chang Yao strange was that there was a middle-aged man in his forties sitting next to Wang Yanshu, with an ordinary cotton robe, a goat's beard, and a warm and crystal jade pendant in his hand.

After a while, more than ten people invited arrived, Fan Yongnian and Wang Yanshu glanced at each other, and then looked at the goatee, the goatee nodded quietly, and Fan Yongnian got up and said a few words.

After a few polite words, Fan Yongnian did not introduce the goatee to everyone, but instead pulled the topic to the aspect of the trade zone. "You have already learned that we have come to Dengzhou with a deputy general soldier who does not know the height of the sky. In the past month, we have been clearing the sea day and night, exterminating pirates, not to mention, but we have seized many of our cargo ships. I thought he was just trying to share some profits, and everyone just cashed out some silver. Unexpectedly, he had a great appetite, and he wanted to bring all the maritime trade under his control, and he also asked the court to set up a city shipping department. Tell me, isn't this a dead end? ”

Chang Yao and more than ten Shanxi businessmen looked at each other, among them, there were very few people who did prohibited businesses such as salt and iron, for no other reason, just because these businesses had always been under the control of the Fan family and the Wang family, and even if the others were red-eyed, they did not have the strength to intervene. Now that Fan Yongnian suddenly said this, the big guys all listened to it extremely awkwardly. "Survival? That's the life path of your Fan family and the Wang family, what does it matter to me! ”

But no one dared to say it. The relationship between the eight families on the right side of the mountain and outside the customs is well known in Shanxi, everyone is out of Shanxi, and the family and family industries are in their hometown in Shanxi.

The establishment of the city division means that the prohibited business can no longer be done in Dengzhou, which means that the financial road of the Fan family and the Wang family has been cut off, but now, they have to pull everyone together to fight against the yamen, whether it is victory or defeat, everyone is just being used by others.

But everyone could only nod in silence.

Fan Yongnian became more and more energetic, eager to scold Zhu Ping'an's ancestors for eight generations, but finally pointed out the key point of inviting everyone this time. The Fan family also contacted Liu Zeqing, the general soldier of Shandong, who was already far away in Huguang, and would resist the investment of the trade zone together with the Lin family, the Mo family and other indigenous heroes in Dengzhou, so that Zhu Ping'an could plant a big fight.

Chang Yao and the others couldn't help but secretly complain, and noticed that everyone was looking at them with pleading eyes, Chang Yao had to stand up and say: "What Shopkeeper Fan said is very true, but this matter is very important, and I have to send a message to the master of the contemptible family ......!" ”

Fan Yongnian smiled coldly and waved his hand, "Then there is no need, so that the shopkeeper Chang will know that today in Jiexiu, the eight families on the right side of my mountain have summoned the heads of various families in Shanxi, just to explain this matter!" ”

"Fan is not talented, there is something to say in front. My Shanxi businessmen are all one, and advancing and retreating together is the way to prosperity. I also advise you not to forget the fundamentals for the sake of the petty profits in front of you! Otherwise......! ”

Facing Fan Yongnian and Wang Yanshu's aggressive gaze, Chang Yao had to smile bitterly and arch his hand, "Since that's the case, there's nothing to say below!" But according to the orders of the shopkeeper Fan! ”

The merchants of the other families had to nod their heads and agree.

The words of the Fan family and the Wang family made the Shanxi merchants in Dengzhou City lose their thoughts, and they saw that they were blocked by two families. Although Chang Yao was full of complaints, he was helpless.

He returned to the store without reluctance, thinking about it, Chang Yao felt that he should report to the head of the family, Chang Wei. But after laying out the pen and ink, before I could think of how to phrase it, the family tree came to report, saying that Mr. Shen Mingxian Shen of Fengxian Hall was visiting.

When Chang Yao heard this, his spirits immediately perked. (To be continued......)