The temperature in the south of the Yangtze River is naturally much warmer than in Kyoto, although the heavy snow in Suzhou and Hangzhou has also fallen in the past few years, and the snow clouds in the sky have been pulled directly from the seaside to the hinterland of Qingguo, so that all the pastoral rivers are shrouded in snow, but as soon as the year has passed, the winter has come to an end, and the snow in the south of the Yangtze River has stopped.

It is the trees on the side of the road outside the city of Suzhou that have stretched out their young and tender leaves in advance.

The contemporary master of the Ming family, known as the richest businessman in the world, Ming Qingda, was sitting under the hill pavilion in the Ming Garden at this time, his eyes climbed over the high courtyard wall, and fell into the green and tender among the trees. Although the walls of the Ming Garden were extremely high, and once the gates were closed, they would become a well-guarded fortress, but these high walls could not stop his gaze, nor could they hide the still weak but gradually erecting chūn meaning.

Even though it's winter, I'm still looking forward to it.

Ming Qingda sighed, a little tired and old face added a hint of brilliance, he thought happily, this winter is about to pass, the flowers and grass are going to come back to life, his own Ming family, this huge Ming family, should also come back to life.

In a year's time, the Ming family has experienced too many changes, and the huge profits made by relying on the inner treasury in previous years have been reduced by half, and the marketing routes of various roads have been constantly disturbed by the Supervision Yuan, and the flow of commercial money and silver is very difficult.

Moreover, the old lady who secretly controlled the Ming family was also "forced to death" by Lord Qincha, Ming Laosan was almost exiled, and suddenly there was another Ming Laoqi who robbed the family property.

There were all kinds of swords, and countless swords slashed at the head of the Ming family, making it a little difficult for Ming Qingda to breathe and survive. He knew that behind these things was the Supreme of the World who sat on the dragon chair, and the executor was Fan Xian, the gentle-faced and dangerous-minded Qincha Lord, who was fortunate to ...... In the past six months, Fan Xian basically stayed in Hangzhou, played in Wuzhou, and rarely went back to Suzhou Neiku Yamen to see things, especially in the two months before and after the New Year's Festival, Fan Xian left Jiangnan and returned to Kyoto.

Fan Xian left Jiangnan, and the dark clouds hanging over the head of the Ming family also moved, although the Jiangnan Branch of the Supervision Yuan was still working hard to implement Fan Xian's instructions and suppress the business of the Ming family, but after all, the Ming family was deeply connected in Jiangnan and had countless officials secretly helping, so the business of the Ming family suddenly came to life and ushered in a rare activity.

Therefore, Ming Qingda sighed happily when he looked at the young branches outside the courtyard wall.

............ However, his face immediately sank, for he suddenly found himself carried away by joy, and the day had come, and the trees had sprouted, but ...... Lord-sama is also coming back.

His mood suddenly became depressed, and he got up angrily and walked towards his courtyard with a flick of his sleeves. Ming Garden occupies a huge area, most of the men in the two rooms live in the garden, originally according to the theory, after the death of the old lady of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Qingda, the master of the house, really grasped the right to speak, and should move into the highest courtyard of the old lady, but Ming Qingda resolutely did not agree to the public discussion in the clan, and changed the courtyard into Siqin Hall under the pretext of cherishing his mother.

He knew why he didn't dare to move into that small courtyard, because he was afraid that once he woke up in that small courtyard, he would see the white scarf tied on the beam, and the little feet that kept bouncing.

............ In the morning of the same day, after dealing with the affairs of the merchant grange below the clan in the Ming Garden, Ming Qingda picked up the hot towel and wiped his face vigorously, feeling a tiredness oozing out of his bones. This family is too big, there are too many things that need to be cāo's heart, and in the past, he could handle specific affairs relatively easily as the head of the house, because the general direction and collusion with the powerful people in the DPRK and China were all handled by the old lady of the Ming Dynasty, and he didn't need to bother.

And now it's different, there is a secret communication with Kyoto, and he needs to handle it personally, the most headache for Ming Qingda is that Lord Qincha has not stopped suppressing the Ming family, and when external troubles are coming, there are problems within the Ming family...... And Ming Laosan recently heard that he and Xia Qi flew very close.

In the face of the pressure of the imperial court, Ming Qingda had no good way, so he had to watch Xia Qifei get closer to the core of the Ming family step by step, and even on the first day of the Lunar New Year a month ago, he watched Xia Qifei return to the clan and sacrifice to his ancestors.

Internal and external troubles made Ming Qingda a little unbearable, but he had to persevere, for the sake of this family, he had to stay up until the eldest princess succeeded.

He glanced at the two people beside him, and sighed in his heart, a man and a woman beside him were the people he could trust the most now, one was his son Ming Lanshi, and the other was ...... It was the old lady's personal big girl ring, and now her second aunt.

If it weren't for this big girl, it would be impossible for Ming Qingda to take over the secret of the old lady Ming and become the real master of the Ming family, so he also made enough compensation and love for this woman.

And the Ming Lan stone ...... Ming Qingda glanced at his son and frowned, in fact, he knew that Ming Lanshi had good ability and good vision, but the father and son had a great conflict about the future of the Ming family recently.

According to Ming Lanshi's view, since the imperial court suppressed so fiercely, and the inner treasury was firmly controlled by Fan Xian, it was impossible for the Ming family to seek large profits from the inner treasury as in previous years, and they should take advantage of the current opportunity to gradually withdraw from this business, relying on the Ming family's large number of fields in the south of the Yangtze River and the network of various places, no longer being the imperial merchant of the inner treasury, but instead carrying out the import trade between Qingguo and Dongyi. In this way, the court and Lord Qincha can appreciate it, and secondly, it can also keep the foundation of the Ming family.

But Ming Qingda resolutely opposed this mention, even though the Ming family is now very hard to support, he still does not allow the family to have the slightest intention of breaking away from the inner library and developing in other directions.

The second aunt left the front hall, and Ming Qingda looked at his son and frowned and said, "You mentioned it last night...... No way. ”

"Why?" Ming Lanshi said sadly: "Who can go against the imperial court? If we don't retreat at this time...... When Fan Xian returns to Jiangnan, he is afraid that he will not be able to retreat if he wants to. ”

"What can Fan Xian do?" Ming Qingda glanced at him and said, "Can he transfer troops to kill us all?"

"Hmph, who knows? That Lord Qincha is the illegitimate son of the Emperor, if he really comes to the ...... Who else will you be afraid of?" Ming Lanshi knew that Fan Xian could not use this method, but he still couldn't help but say.

"We also have people in the palace. Ming Qingda frowned and said, "The Empress Dowager and the eldest princess...... Are these nobles no match for one of His Majesty's illegitimate sons?"

"What about the business? If Fan Xian still does this like last year...... How much silver do our Ming family have to fill in to make up for the shortfall?" Ming Lanshi said indignantly: "In the past, when we did the inner treasury business, we could make as much money as we wanted, but now we are making a single loss and a single order, and the price is set too high when the bid is set, and it is impossible to make a profit, and the people of the Supervision Yuan make trouble every day...... Father, if this continues, it won't last long, and in another three months, I think the clan will start selling their land. ”

"What's the hurry?" Ming Qingda said disapprovingly: "Neku's business must be done, this is what the eldest princess means, if we get rid of it at this time, Fan Xian may let us go, but how can the eldest princess explain it? Without Neku's quota, our Ming family is just a piece of fat, which may be eaten at any time." ”

He didn't realize that he had said this to his son a year earlier.

"That'...... At least the goods on the other side of Dongyi City...... If you give less, you can also lose less. Ming Lanshi said tentatively.

Ming Qingda shook his head and said categorically: "No......! We also need cash from Taiping Money. ”

Speaking of cash, the father and son were silent at the same time, under the full suppression of the court and Fan Xian, the Ming family has been able to stand up to the present, and can also keep the thousands of hectares of fertile land in the clan, relying on the good relationship with Dongyi City, Taiping Qianzhuang and China Merchants Qianzhuang A steady supply of cash.

"What if...... I mean, what if Taiping and Merchants think that our family can't stand it and want to collect cash?"

"Cashiers, we are mortgaging the land and the trading house. Ming Qingda sneered and said: "What is the use of taking so much money? Can it still be sold? They can only continue to support us...... Otherwise, what will be taken back is only some dead things, dead things that cannot earn money at all. ”

"What should we do?"

"Stay up!" Ming Qingda stood up, clenched his fists slightly, coughed twice, and said firmly: "As long as there is no problem with Taiping Qianzhuang and China Merchants, we can stay up, and Fan Xian has no way to take me." ”

"How long will it take?" Ming Lanshi looked at the ups and downs of the family this year, and the jīng god was really a little unable to support it.

"Stay up until Fan Xian falls, and stay up until His Majesty knows that he is wrong. Ming Qingda's eyes were deep, and he said with a hint of ruthlessness in his exhaustion: "Even if it is two or three years, we have to stay up, we have to wait for the movement in Kyoto." ”

"But now there are too many places to ask for silver at home, and I am afraid that I will continue to transfer silver in the bank. Ming Lanshi said worriedly.

"The share of the clan...... was forced to give Xia Qifei a share. Ming Qingda closed his eyes and calculated, "Even if the two aunts of the third and fourth have different intentions, they don't have anything at hand, most of them are on our hands, and the money transfer over there should not cross the line." ”

Although the scheming businessman did not think that Taiping Merchants Bank would suddenly draw firewood under the pot, he had always been cautious and cautious, and of course he knew that he had to press the risk to the bottom.

............ The streets of Suzhou City, which are full of pawnshops, are not very long, and the streets made of bluestone are exceptionally quiet, and the people who can come here are either poor to a certain extent, or rich to a certain extent.

As the successor of the Ming family, Ming Lanshi was naturally the latter, so when he quietly came to the money village with the China Merchants banner, he was immediately greeted respectfully by the big shopkeeper of the China Merchants Bank.

Since Fan Xian went to Jiangnan, the Ming family's efforts to support the silver from the outside have increased, especially the matter of winning the bid in the inner treasury, with the strong strength of the Taiping Money Village all over the world, it was impossible to raise so much cash for a while, so the Ming family took the risk of turning to China Merchants Money Bank.

I didn't expect that China Merchants Qianzhuang was a painstaking response, this cooperation left a very good impression on the Ming family, after conducting a very detailed background investigation, the Ming family confirmed that the source of funds for China Merchants Qianzhuang was the inheritance of the Shen Chong family and a family in Dongyi City, the commander of the Northern Qi Jinyi Guard, and put their minds at ease.

The cooperation between the two sides has gradually increased, and the cooperation has been seamless, and China Merchants Qianzhuang has become the largest partner of the Ming family in addition to Taiping Qianzhuang, and in more than a year, the Ming family has transferred more than three million taels of silver in this bank.

Ming Lanshi came to transfer silver again today, and the two sides signed the deed and notarial deed very familiarly, and completed each other's procedures.

The big shopkeeper of China Merchants Money Village suddenly looked embarrassed and said, "Young Master Ming, there is one thing that I don't know whether to talk about or not. ”

Ming Lanshi frowned slightly, but he sighed in his heart, thinking that China Merchants Qian Zhuang suddenly had some kind of suspicion about the Ming family, right?

Sure enough, the ordinary-looking shopkeeper said tentatively: "It's been good in the past two months, but I've heard that ...... Lord Qincha is about to return to Gangnam. ”

Ming Lanshi snorted coldly, thinking that the whole world knew that he was at odds with Lord Fan Xian, but you were not afraid of Merchants Qianzhuang before, why are you afraid now?

The big shopkeeper said with a gentle smile: "The Ming family has been in charge of the Jiangnan business community for a hundred years, and our small money village naturally doesn't dare to suspect anything, but it's just ...... Remind the young master, there are more profitable transactions in this world, why do you have to compete with the imperial court?"

Ming Lanshi's heart moved, this was just in line with his intention to transfer the Ming family to another track, but he was not a party to the Ming family after all, and he also had a trace of suspicion about the sudden reminder of the big shopkeeper, in front of this outsider, of course he refused to say anything, and said with a smile: "What business can make more money than Neiku?"

The big shopkeeper laughed twice and didn't say anything more.

............ After the carriage of the Ming family left the street composed of bluestone slabs, the big shopkeeper of China Merchants Qian Zhuang leaned slightly and returned to the heavily guarded inner treasury behind, where cash silver and bills were stored everywhere, and the big shopkeeper obviously attached great importance to the Ming family's silver transfer slip at hand, he carefully put it in a separate wooden compartment, and glanced inside.

The documents inside are already very thick, if the Merchants Money Village forces the Ming family to repay the money at this time, and it is impossible for the Ming family to break the contract with the imperial court and break away from the sales of the inner treasury, then they can only sell their strong family property to repay the money.

Of course, China Merchants Bank will not do such a thing.

The big shopkeeper suddenly thought of something, and said to the assistant beside him with a smile: "How much silver has Sixth Master Ming borrowed?"

"It's already over the limit. The assistant said respectfully, he admired the methods of the big shopkeeper very much, because he knew that at this time, the Merchants Money Village actually owned nearly half of the Ming family, although the value of the Ming family's industry is definitely more than these, but wealth This kind of thing, once reflected in the bill, once in some kind of more ingenious moment, will always shrink a lot.

"The guest...... With the seal?"

"Yes. ”

The big shopkeeper nodded, knowing that the master was ready to do it, but he ...... Hasn't he returned to Jiangnan yet?

In the side room behind the Merchants Bank, the big shopkeeper saw the green banner at a glance, and respectfully asked: "This lord, what should I do next?"

As soon as Wang Shisanlang entered Suzhou, he came to China Merchants Bank, of course he knew about the cooperative relationship between this money bank and the Ming family, but he didn't think of it anyway, no, it should be said that people all over the world didn't think of it-this money bank...... It's actually Fan Xian!

His lips were a little bitter, and he once again felt why Shizun attached so much importance to Fan Xian, why he would let himself represent part of his attitude, and he also knew that what Fan Xian said to himself in that broken temple was not false, China Merchants Bank already had enough IOUs from the Ming family, and in this matter, he was just a thug who asked for accounts...... It is not possible to change this qiē.

Even if he notified Dongyi City and the Ming family at this time, it would be impossible to change the fact that it was already doomed.

The Ming family is finished, to be precise, before Ming Qingda knelt in front of Fan Xian, secretly killed the old lady of Ming, and with a sad attitude, he sought the sympathy of the world and dragged Fan Xian's thunderous blow away...... The Ming family is already over.

The qiē efforts made by the Ming family were just a lot of redundant actions, and they struggled very weakly.

The reason why Fan Xian has not done anything has been because he has to deal with pressure from Kyoto before. And now he is doing it, it must be because he knows that the nobles in Kyoto no longer have the extra strength to help the Ming family.

Wang Shisanlang frowned, thinking to himself what kind of means Fan Xian would use to drag down the support of the eldest princess in Kyoto for the Ming family?

"I don't understand that. Wang Shisanlang sighed, "When you go to ask for an account, I'll follow you." ”

The big shopkeeper smiled, a long time ago, he was a very successful official in the household department, and now, he is a very successful usury cāo author, he is very good at this kind of thing: "There will be action cooperation on the owner's side, please wait a few more days in Suzhou City." ”

Wang Shisanlang thought to himself, if Fan Xian wants to liquidate the Ming family, it is definitely not enough to rely on IOUs, what else will he do?

............ Fan Xian's action in Jiangnan started early, because he needed to play this time difference, and the Kyoto action, which really guided the action in Jiangnan, also started slowly at this moment.

One day in mid-February, the owner of Dongyi City Embroidery Cloth Village, who was dragged out, finally got a good news, and the silver ticket sent out worked, tomorrow, yes, it is tomorrow, embroidered cloth...... It's about to enter the palace.