The next day, the father-in-law of the Admiral of Wuchang Ma Jun sent a few henchmen to Hanyang, led by a man who had been a tent man, and who had followed the gentry for many years. After arriving at the barracks of the Ming army, they thought that they would have a preliminary discussion with the baggage officers under Deng Ming's account, but they did not expect that the reception specifications for them were exactly the same as for Zhou Peigong, Deng Ming attended the meeting, and the three majors of the army and Ye Tianming, the representative of the Sichuan salt industry, sat on both sides.

Since he did not expect to sit opposite Deng Ming, the bookkeeper and several people accompanying him were speechless in horror. After seeing that the negotiator kept nodding his head and saying yes, and did not have the courage to raise any objections, Deng Ming sighed, he knew that this kind of negotiation was meaningless at all. So the second round of negotiations between the two sides ended here, and Deng Ming signaled that they could return, and asked the other side to send someone more authoritative.

"These people are all small horns who have no decision-making power," After the other party's envoy left, Deng Ming took the trouble to explain his decision-making reasons to Ye Tianming, and now Chengdu is in ruins, and Deng Ming has to do many things himself, hoping to get rid of the passive situation as soon as possible: "In addition, if it happens, their backstage boss will also be easy to push it away." ”

"The bad part is that it wastes time!" After Deng Ming's continuous training along the way, Ye Tianming also began to have some experience.

"Yes, back and forth, without more than a dozen or twenty rounds of negotiations, you can't come up with a charter. If you delay for a long time, the good things you said at the beginning may change again. It only took us one day to fight Hanyang, and we don't want to drag on for a month or two for this negotiation. Deng Ming shook his head and sighed.

The current shape is that the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the Ming army needs to race against time to strengthen its strength. For a while, Deng Ming really wanted to show off his strength again and urge Wuchang to seize the time, but he was afraid that it would backfire.

Until the third time Wuchang came, Deng Ming still didn't think of a good way to further beat Wuchang.

"Old man Lu Chenyin." The leader was a middle-aged man about fifty years old, and he saluted Deng Ming as soon as he entered the tent. Hearing that the other party did not use too humble self-title, nor did he pay homage as busy as the previous envoy, Deng Ming estimated that the other party was most likely famous.

Deng Ming did not ask immediately, but motioned for the other party to sit down. This time, the envoy of Wuchang was more satisfied, and after sitting down, his demeanor was calm, and he did not lose his hands or feet or break out in a cold sweat.

Lu Chenyin is really a lifter, and he is also a famous person in the Ming Dynasty, claiming to be the old father-in-law of the Admiral of Wuchang Ma Army. After listening to the reports of his henchmen and learning that Deng Ming personally attended the negotiations, Lu Chenyin struggled with his thoughts, finally gritted his teeth, and had the courage to rush to the Ming army camp in person. In addition to the chief shopkeeper of the firm under his name, there are also several capable shopkeepers of the gentlemen who also want to participate in this matter.

When Lu Chenyin introduced himself, Deng Ming kept paying attention to a small guy standing behind him. This person seems to be a little familiar - art students always have a special ability to remember people they have met. After recalling for a few seconds, Deng Ming suddenly realized that this guy had sent a letter to Zhongxiang to himself, telling Li Shixun all about his troops and action route.

"How can such a strong man be a servant?" After recognizing this person, Deng Ming said to Lu Chenyin with a smile.

"The Admiral reproaches." Originally, Lu Chenyin brought this person here today to make friends, if the other party couldn't recognize it, it could only mean that the information provided by Lu Chenyin last time didn't have a big effect, so he wouldn't insist on clinging. Now Deng Ming actually recognized this person at a glance, Lu Chenyin felt that this showed that he had a lot of credit last time, and he said with a smile on his face: "The old man will let him go out to be a manager." ”

Deng Ming nodded, and the two sides had already tacitly understood it.

The negotiations were about to start, and Lu Chenyin asked the irrelevant idlers and others to go out, leaving only him and the few shopkeepers he brought. The last time the Ming army asked for a ransom fee, Lu Chenyin took the opportunity to use his connections to make some gold and silver transactions, and earned tens of thousands of taels of silver. This time, the Ming army came to the city, and the business of buying and selling salt fell into the hands of Lu Jinshen, and he hoped to make another profit.

However, Lu Chenyin is not clear about the details of the salt business, he only came today to make friends and town, and the specific content is handed over to the shopkeepers to finalize.

"How much salt does the Admiral have?"

"How's the quality?"

"Can you let the villain see the sample?"

"How much does Lord Admiral cost?"

Deng Ming coped with the inquiries of the shopkeepers, and when his eyes swept to Lu Chenyin, who was sitting calmly and leisurely opposite, he was envious in his heart. Next to him was the joint representative of the five major commercial houses of Sichuan Yan, but he couldn't help at all, and even the details of the salt price had to be brought forward by Deng Ming, the military commander.

This time, the Ming army brought 3 million catties of salt and loaded more than 20 boats, which were all produced by the five major salt stores before the Ming army sent troops. For the purpose of supporting industry and commerce, Deng Ming announced that he would not ask them for ship transportation and handling fees this time, and he would talk about it later. Therefore, for the salt merchants, there is no difference between the CIF price of Wuchang, the FOB price of the capital and the cost price of this batch of salt. If we do not count the large number of production tools ordered by the five major salt stores, the cost of salt is about 1 yuan per 10 catties, and the cost of 3 million catties of salt totals about 300,000 yuan -- this cost will continue to decline after the scale of production is further expanded.

"Two yuan per catty," Deng Mingbao's price was discussed with Ye Tianming in advance, and he had already considered the price of Huguang salt, grain, and silver: "Three million catties of salt is equivalent to an IOU of six million yuan." ”

Since the IOU compensation agreement had just been reached, Zhou Peigong and the Huguang hawk group did not have one in their hands, and Deng Ming agreed that one-third of the salt would not be used as a reserve for those who had IOUs in the future, and the remaining two million catties of salt would need to be paid by Wuchang in silver.

Although the shopkeeper brought by Lu Chenyin did not know the details of the IOU compensation system, he knew that there would be a channel to provide such IOUs to offset part of the salt payment. Because they didn't know what an IOU was, the shopkeepers didn't care at all about the exchange between IOUs and the price of salt, and besides, this part of the exchange had nothing to do with the trading houses, what they cared about was the exchange price of salt to silver.

"How much silver does a pound of salt cost the Admiral?" Lu Chenyin's shopkeeper asked. After inspecting the quality of this batch of Sichuan salt, the purchase price he gave in his heart was two cents of silver, that is, two taels of silver per 100 catties.

After hearing this question, Deng Ming casually wanted to answer two cents of silver. When Huai salt arrived in Wuchang, it was basically this price, although the Sichuan salt in Deng Ming's hand was better than Huai salt in terms of quality, but after all, the way was not right, the other party must consider the risk, Deng Ming felt that the price and Huai salt should be the same as the result acceptable to both parties.

After entering the retail market, the price of salt will rise further, reaching about one penny in cities with convenient transportation. However, Deng Ming never considered these profits, and this part belonged to the Huguang officials, gentry, trading houses, bullies and other head snakes. As a producer of salt, Sichuan Salt can get about one-fifth of the whole cake, and for them it is more than ten times the profit, which is enough to be satisfied.

However, Deng Ming did not answer immediately, Ye Tianming did not say a word in the whole negotiation, thinking of this, Deng Ming turned around and pointed at Ye Tianming and said: "I can't be the master of this matter, how much the price is up to this Boss Ye." ”

While speaking, Deng Ming also raised one foot, if Ye Tianming was too modest, he would kick it over fiercely to remind him. However, Ye Tianming's appearance was much better than Deng Ming imagined, although he flashed a trace of nervousness and surprise, but he did not hurriedly say anything like "it's all up to the admiral".

After all the shopkeepers' eyes focused on Ye Tianming, Deng Ming briefly introduced Ye Tianming's identity. After hearing that he was the general representative of the Sichuan salt merchants, the eyes of those shopkeepers looking at Ye Tianming were suddenly full of envy. Even Lu Chenyin couldn't help but look at Ye Tianming twice. Although he has a meritorious reputation, Lu Chenyin also knows that the salt merchant's wealthy Cheng dù is beyond his reach.

"If it weren't for Admiral Deng, I wouldn't have seen that he was actually a salt merchant." Lu Chenyin pondered in his heart: "Just now I thought he was a poor soldier." ”

Next, Ye Tianming's appearance made Deng Ming even more happy, and he actually told the shopkeepers that he needed to think about it, because he didn't know much about the salt industry here in Wuchang when he first arrived.

"Although it's still a little immature, it's a bit of a bargain," Deng Ming looked at Ye Tianming from the side, glad that his previous efforts were not in vain: "I really shouldn't interfere in everything, I should have given him the opportunity to play on his own." ”

Since the price of salt cannot be set immediately, the negotiations have come to an end. Deng Ming is very satisfied with today's progress, the big framework has basically been decided, and only the final price is finalized. As for the final price, he and Ye Tianming had already negotiated it.

"I wonder if Boss Ye is free?" After the negotiation, Lu Chenyin's shopkeeper suddenly invited Ye Tianming: "If Boss Ye wants to know the price of salt in Wuchang and Hanyang, the contemptible person can accompany Boss Ye around the city." ”

This sudden invitation made Ye Tianming feel a little overwhelmed, and subconsciously turned his head to look at Deng Ming.

Just now, the shopkeepers in Wuchang thought that Ye Tianming was Deng Ming's mouthpiece, and at the same time a buffer. It is inappropriate for Deng Ming to propose a price by himself, and it is not beneficial to both parties, if this price is unreasonable, it will be difficult for Wuchang to refuse; If he really refused, it would be difficult for Deng Ming to step down, and the negotiations could easily reach an impasse. After seeing Ye Tianming's reaction, the people in Wuchang were even more convinced of their judgment, thinking that most of these salts were still Deng Ming's, and Ye Tianming was most likely just a puppet.

Shut down

When negotiating, a person of Ye Tianming's status is needed, and Deng Ming's relationship with this person is also so that Wuchang can bargain boldly with confidence. Since the other party is a businessman, there is nothing wrong with inviting the other party into the city to negotiate. Ye Tianming is not even an officer of Deng Ming, he is just a businessman with a low status, and even if Wuchang arrests this person, he will not have the slightest credit.

"Boss Ye has his own ideas." Deng Ming thought about it and felt that Wuchang did not dare to trap his own people at this time and do something that angered the Ming army.

After thinking nervously for a while, Ye Tianming resolutely made a decision, he did not ask Deng Ming's opinion again, but turned to look at the shopkeeper who made the invitation, nodded and agreed: "I also have this intention below." ”

Ye Tianming knew that Deng Ming was very concerned about the market in Wuchang, and at this time he secretly decided that he must take a good look at the two cities of Wuchang and Hanyang, and bring back more useful business information.

In this way, Ye Tianming followed Lu Chenyin and his party back to Wuchang.

……

Lu Chenyin, as a well-known gentleman, of course would not deign to accompany a businessman, and this job naturally fell on those shopkeepers. Ye Tianming walked around Wuchang for an afternoon accompanied by them, he asked the price of a lot of goods, and asked his companions to help him write it down on paper, and soon Ye Tianming's arms were full of all kinds of information.

As for the price of salt here in Wuchang, it was higher than Deng Ming and Ye Tianming expected. The cost of Huai salt is about the same as Sichuan salt, and now they are mainly stove households, and the cost of 100 catties of salt is about one penny of silver. When the salt merchant bought from the Qing court, he had to pay one tael of silver to one tael of two dollars for a hundred catties of salt. If the salt merchants have their own sales channels in the local area, they will make more money, and the major salt merchants are also actively establishing their own sales networks, and the same is true here in Huguang. At present, the sales channels of the big salt merchants in Huguang have not been fully established, and they sell the salt that cannot be sold to the local snakes in Huguang. The same is true for those salt merchants who do not have their own sales channels, and the price they give to Wuchang Ditou Snake was about two cents of silver for a pound of salt earlier, but now it has risen to four cents of silver due to the war on the Yangtze River last year.

Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Chenyin's shopkeeper suggested that he go to the restaurant for a light meal, and then go to listen to Duan Quzi, and get up again in the morning to inspect the market - through Guò's observation of Ye Tianming, these people all thought that Deng Ming's interest was not limited to salt. Since Ye Tianming has such a great interest in the Wuchang market, he obviously won't say the wholesale price of salt before he sees enough.

"Let's just eat some coarse tea and light rice, let's snub Boss Ye." After booking a box at the best restaurant in Wuchang, the big shopkeeper smiled at Ye Tianming.

After finishing speaking, the big shopkeeper turned to look at the guy again: "Is there a flower carving?" ”

"Yes, yes." The guy replied busily, and at the same time did not forget to show off: "Last year, the sea reversed the Yangtze River, and Deng reversed the traffic ......."

Last year's fighting cut off traffic on the Yangtze River for months, and both civilian and military ships were swept away by Deng Ming and Zhang Huangyan. Jiang Guozhu, who acted as the governor of Liangjiang, carried out another large-scale raid for this year's transportation, causing the shrunken freight transportation in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. When the capacity to transport grain is insufficient, the luxury of rice wine naturally becomes extremely rare, but the restaurant where the big shopkeeper comes still has enough inventory.

The man's show-off was interrupted by a cough from the big shopkeeper, he glanced at Ye Tianming's expression, and reproached the man: "We are here to drink and listen to music, are we here to listen to what you say about the war?" ”

"The villain knows it's wrong." The guy hurriedly bowed down and apologized.

"What's the best dish today?"

After hearing this question, the guy reported a string of names as if he had slipped out of his mouth. Ye Tianming didn't understand anything in a daze, but the big shopkeeper politely asked Ye Tianming which dish he thought was good.

"The big shopkeeper has the final say." Ye Tianming was embarrassed to say that he didn't understand anything, so he said politely.

"How's that going to work? It was originally coarse tea and light rice, of course, Boss Ye had to order it. The big shopkeeper did not allow Ye Tianming to refuse.

For this restaurant, the shopkeepers of several trading houses were regulars, so as soon as they walked to the door, the man politely led them into the door and took them to the second floor without command.

"Why does the outsider brought by Boss Li look so angry?" After walking into the kitchen, one of the guys couldn't help but whisper to his companion.

"Live like a soldier!" Another guy felt the same way. Ye Tianming gave him the impression that he was five big and three coarse, dirty and dirty: "But looking at the appearance of Boss Li and Boss Wang, they are very polite to him, and they must have a big background." ”

A jar of flower carvings was carefully carried out of the wine cellar by the guys, gently wiped off the dust on the red lacquer seal, and took out the matching small wine stove, jīng porcelain cups, plum blossoms and other things, and the guys sent these things to the elegant seat together.

"Where's the live fish?"

Although the menu has not yet been reported, after the big shopkeeper entered the door, the kitchen was busy, and a few fresh river fish that had just been caught had been packed in the basket and sent to the side of the board, and the chef checked them with a critical eye: "Boss Li is delicious, if it is a little worse, it is indispensable to blame." ”

"Since it is Boss Wang's distinguished guest, I will definitely recommend our crispy duck." After inspecting the live fish, the chef yelled at the other guy, "Why don't you go looking for a duck?" ”

The little second who reported the menu didn't come back for a long time, and the guy who served the tea secretly came to report, saying that none of those bosses, including Boss Li, were willing to order, and they all had to let that guy who was like a military man decide tonight's dishes.

After hearing about this, the chef, who has always been calm, was also a little nervous, he subconsciously touched the handle of his beloved kitchen knife, and muttered to himself: "I can't do it today without showing my housekeeping skills." ”

I don't know how long I waited, but Xiao Er, who reported the dishes, finally came back, and the chef, who had been ready to go, jumped up and hurriedly asked, "What did that distinguished guest from out of town order?" ”

The expression on Xiao Er's face changed for a long time, and he hesitated and said, "Your guest ordered a chicken ......"

"Crispy chicken? Paper-wrapped chicken? Fried chicken? White cut chicken? Chef asked impatiently.

"No, the guest said that he wanted a boiled chicken, a whole one." The man replied in a low voice, as if he had made a big mistake.

Several assistant chefs were stunned, but how could the chef be good at sitting in this position in Wuchang's premier restaurant? He pondered for a moment, and then said with a smile: "Distinguished guest, this is a test for us." ”

"White boiled chicken, that is, the village women in the countryside, the most ordinary, it must be Boss Li They said a lot of good things about me, and the guests will take a test of the next problem to see what tricks we can make for this dish. If they don't do it well, the distinguished guests will inevitably walk away, and Boss Li will also lose face. If it's good, the guest will continue to order the next dish. Seeing that there was still incomprehension on everyone's faces, the chef broke Ye Tianming's deep meaning. Although I know that the other party is deliberately making things difficult, but there is a way that the artist is bold, and the chef was still a little uneasy when he didn't know the topic just now, but now that the topic is out, he is not nervous at all.

The heat is just right, the knife work is perfect, and the seasoning is too heavy and too thin, and after finally completing this boiled chicken, the chef is already sweating on his forehead, and he personally supervised when he added to the stove just now to ensure that the chicken is bloody and the meat is smooth and soft.

As the chef expected, not long after this dish was delivered, a follow-up explanation came.

"The guest said that this chicken is well done, and there is another one."

"Hehe, it's really good." The chef laughed loudly, and then was stunned: "Why do you want one?" ”

In the chef's mind, the guest probably has a taste of the boiled chicken, and he still has a good dish waiting for the guest to taste.

No matter how much confusion there is in his heart, the wish of the distinguished guest must be satisfied, and the chef played a twelve-point jīng god and cooked a chicken carefully.

"The distinguished guest said, another one!"

Not long after the second chicken was delivered, a new order came.

When the third chicken was delivered, the chef couldn't help but run to the private room to see what was going on. When the guy opened the door, he happened to look at Ye Tianming from the crack in the door. The latter was holding the carved wine jar with both hands, tilting his head and pouring the wine down his throat. The rice wine transported from Zhejiang was like bad wine on the roadside, spilling all over the ground along the clothes of distinguished guests--Ye Tianming was in too much of a hurry to eat just now and choked.

The table at Ye Tianming's hand was dripping with juice, and there were chicken bones everywhere, and several shopkeepers were stunned, looking at the distinguished guests who were drinking like a cow in a daze.

"Eat meat casually, it's good to be a salt merchant." After clearing his throat, Ye Tianming grabbed the bones that had not been gnawed clean, glanced at the third chicken that had just been served, and said to himself in his heart: "You can ask for it again." ”

……

"Master, something happened."

Lu Chenyin, who had gone to bed to rest, was woken up by the servant, and when he put on his clothes and walked to the study, the big shopkeeper was waiting there with a worried face, and after seeing Lu Chenyin, the big shopkeeper hurriedly shouted: "Boss Ye has an accident!" ”

"What's wrong?" Lu Chenyin asked unhurriedly, in his opinion, the biggest thing was that he was caught by the yamen: "Which guy who doesn't have long eyes?" ”

Lu Chenyin was a little angry that the shopkeeper was not cautious enough, but at most it was just a trouble, and sending a message to Zhou Peigong, the prefect of Wuchang, could solve it.

"Boss Ye is going to die." The big shopkeeper was so anxious that tears seemed to fall out.

"No more?" Lu Chenyin was taken aback, if Ye Tianming had an accident in Wuchang City, then he and Deng Mingke would not be able to explain clearly: "What's wrong with Boss Ye?" ”

"Boss Ye held on." The voice of the big shopkeeper was filled with crying: "I have eaten several chickens in one go, and I have already carried them to see Lang Zhong, who said that the shape is critical, and life and death are uncertain." ”