The decline of Qin merchants in Shaanxi, the rise of salt merchants in Yangzhou, this is how the world is!

Yangzhou salt merchants are specified, Qing two generations of government. government, a licensed salt monopoly merchant with the privilege of monopolizing salt transportation.

They took advantage of this privilege to grab huge commercial monopoly profits and became prominent businessmen.

As the world knows, Yangzhou salt merchants rely on the Grand Canal to prosper, and the sale of salt has created the glory of Yangzhou salt merchants.

However, who knows that it was the rise of the salt merchants in Yangzhou that led to the decline of the Qin merchants in Shaanxi.

In the world's business, this cake is so big, some people eat a large part, and some people can only eat a small part...

Different from Yangzhou salt merchants, Shaanxi merchants sold their grain to the border and grasslands in order to obtain salt introduction, and they were also limited by Yangzhou salt merchants...

Let's get it right!

Although the Qin merchants have always been low-key and do not do things as flamboyantly as the Jin merchants and Hui merchants, they are no worse than the Jin merchants and Hui merchants in terms of power, influence, status, and financial resources.

Not only that, these Shaanxi businessmen still have a lot of grain in their hands...

Also, the livelihood of millions of people in Taiyuan Prefecture in the future also needs to start from these Shaanxi businessmen...

Whether it is to provide relief to the victims or to extinguish the locust plague, in this period of autumn and yellow, seeking a way to survive for millions of people in Taiyuan Mansion is inseparable from the support of the Qin merchants...

Therefore, when He Shen was planning to extinguish it, he thought of them as soon as possible.

And the invitation to the Qin merchants was not only the first to send out, but also written by He Shen himself, and it also carried the name of the Qincha, which was quite polite.

The Qin merchants also gave the ministers and Shen a lot of face, and Taiyuan Mansion was originally the territory of the Qin merchants, so a large number of Qin merchants came in the fastest time.

“……………………”

He Shen met with them this time, firstly, to raise and collect the shortage of food and grass for disaster relief, and secondly, to let them support He Shen's action to extinguish the locust plague.

It is not difficult to convince the support of those clan elders and squires, as long as Xiao Yiyi is interested, and Heshen's side can still convince them!

Because most of these clan elders and squires are land-sitting households and rich landowners, the locust plague has both advantages and disadvantages for them!

After the locust plague, the people died, and although the land was empty, there were no more people who farmed it...

Hundreds of acres of farmland cannot be cultivated by just a few people from the landlord's family...

So, to a certain extent, although the landlord can annex the land after the locust plague, there is no land, no one, and it is useless...

Therefore, He Shen is ready to persuade the Qin merchants first, and then confront the clan elders and squires, and finally fix the god sticks, witches, monks and Taoists...

That way, things are much easier.

After all, the ruling power of Qin merchants, clan elders, and squires is deeply rooted in Taiyuan, and most of the gods, witches, monks and Taoists are also attached to them...

As long as the Qin merchants, the clan elders, and the squires stand with He Shen, those

Divine sticks, witches, monks and Taoists will never dare to disobey, unless, they want to die...

Compared to those gods, witches, monks and Taoists who regard faith as a means of accumulating money, or even the only means of life...

Qin merchants, clan elders, and squires are undoubtedly much easier to convince, because Taiyuan is their home and their foundation...

……

"Sir, the guests are all here."

Just when He Shen was secretly thinking about his countermeasures after meeting Qin Shang, He Er entered He Shen's room at this moment and reported softly.

Hearing this, He Shen nodded, tidied up his clothes, and then walked towards the living room with He Er.

“………”

Shaanxi Qin merchants are still black, so they attach importance to traditional families, decoration and furniture are mainly black, and black gives people majesty and solemnity.

Shaanxi people are called "Shaanxi Lengwa" by people from other provinces, and their temper is raw, cold, rubbing, and stubborn, and it is these characteristics of the Qin people that have created the Qin Shang spirit of "thick and straight, loyal, righteous, benevolent and brave".

“…………”

When He Shen came to the hall, he saw that there were already more than 20 people waiting quietly in the hall.

These 20 or so people are all among the top businessmen in Shaanxi.

Some are the owners of the mountain salt ponds, some are the leaders of the horse gangs, and some are the owners of the ticket numbers, but outside, they all have a unified name, that is, "Qin Shang!!

The hall was very quiet, and the Qin merchants were also very qualified, and there was no noise or discussion.

Most of these Qin businessmen were just silently drinking tea, occasionally exchanging trade secrets, and whispering softly.

Qin Shang's performance made He Shen nod involuntarily, worthy of Qin Shang with the spirit of "thick and straight, loyalty, righteousness, benevolence and bravery".

“…………”

Therefore, the first impression of Heshen is very good, and it is also very polite in terms of appearance.

As soon as he arrived at the door, he had already taken the initiative to say to the group of Qin merchants: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I'm late. ”

“………”

"I've seen Chincha-sama!"

"I've seen Chincha-sama!"

"I've seen Chincha-sama!"

And after seeing He Shen appear, a group of Qin merchants, in front of He Shen, also showed respect and returned the salute.

"Don't be so polite, this is the residence of Governor Liu, and this official invited everyone in a private capacity this time..."

"This kind of etiquette in officialdom, fooling people, you don't have to be like this..."

He Shen's attitude was as polite as ever.

“………………”

Although because of his clever means of collecting money, He Shen is now favored by Emperor Qianlong, and his official position is very high and powerful...

He Shen is not afraid of these Qin merchant forces, and even, these Qin merchants are afraid that He Shen will give them small shoes...

However, He Shen's initiative to meet Qin Shang this time was for cooperation, so to a certain extent, it can be regarded as asking for others, and his attitude is naturally good...

“………”

After everyone sat down, He Shen, who was sitting on the main seat, picked up the tea on the table and said with a smile: "When this official first came here, he heard of Shaanxi's famous tea. ”

Ya'an in Shaanxi is one of the top ten tea sources and the only one in the north.

There is a way to "Yangtze River water, Mengshan top camellia", which is most famous for Shaanxi's "Mengding Yellow Bud".

Pick the buds before Qingming, between the rain in the Qingming Valley, pick a bud and a leaf down is the bud of nectar...

After the rain in the valley, he cut it directly with a sickle, which is the more ordinary Mao Feng in the tea leaves, and the most common is the old tea!

At this moment, He Shen and a group of Qin merchants naturally drank the top Mengding yellow buds, and the nectar was superb...

“………”

On the side of the Qin merchants, when they heard this, they smiled slightly...

One of them, Qin Shang, who was an older man and was in the tea merchant business, said with a smile.

"Adults have eyesight."

"The tea in the hands of adults is the best in Ya'an's famous tea, but it can only produce hundreds of catties every year, its color is like Tianhuang, its fragrance, its taste is mellow, its shape is beautiful, that is, mellow and sweet, and sweet and lasting, worth a thousand gold..."

Hearing this, He Shen nodded with a smile, put it to his mouth and tasted it, and said, "It's really good tea..."

After hearing He Shen's words, all the Qin merchants couldn't help but smile, and the atmosphere in the hall was very good.

He Shen immediately said: "Everyone already knows my identity, but when I first came here, I am not familiar with you. ”

These Qin businessmen came to Fuzhong, all of whom were personally invited by Liu An, the prefect of Taiyuan, and Liu An, as the largest land-sitting household in Taiyuan...

Therefore, Liu An knows more about the identities of these Qin merchants and the real situation than He Shen.

After hearing He Shen's words, Liu An, the prefect of Taiyuan, nodded in response, indicating that he understood.

Liu An's side first pointed to the old man sitting on the left side of the guest seat, and said: "This is Luo Dayou Luo's boss, he is the chief boss of the largest horse gang in the north, and one-third of the tea and horse business is their family's ......."

Although he had already saluted before, when he was introduced, Luo Dayou still stood up, bowed to He Shen, and said, "In Xia Luo Dayou, I have seen Lord Qincha." ”

“…………”

"You may be seated, you may be seated."

Hearing this, He Shen raised his hand and said.

Then, Liu An pointed to the middle-aged man on the right and said: "This is Ye Zixiu, the largest copper mine merchant in the north, and the largest copper mines in Shaanxi are all in charge of Ye Zixiu. ”

"Ye Zixiu, I've seen adults."

Like Luo Dayou before, Ye Zixiu also stood up and bowed respectfully to He Shen.

"This is Boss Bai Xiangnan, the largest tea merchant in Shaanxi..."

"Bai Xiangnan has seen adults."

Bai Xiang Nan saluted...

……

Looking at the respectful and well-behaved appearance of the Qin merchants, He Shen couldn't help but nod secretly, feeling that Qin Shang really lived up to his reputation...

In later generations, people often regarded Jin merchants and Hui merchants as the largest merchants in the world, believing that they were representatives of merchants in the historical period...

But in fact, in He Shen's view, the Qin merchants are no worse than the Jin merchants and the Hui merchants...

Putting aside the aspects of power and influence, compared with the high-profile of the Jin merchants and the Hui merchants, the Qin merchants have always kept a low profile, at least for now, in terms of performance, this is the case.

“………”

After Liu An introduced the Shaanxi Qin merchants present, He Shen coughed lightly and said.

"Everyone has introduced themselves, so now, everyone knows each other."

After a brief politeness, He Shen waved his hand and said, "Everyone, during this time, I must have heard some rumors..."

"But, among the few people here, who guessed what this official was looking for you to come to this time?"

Listening to the words in He Shen's words, the Qin merchants glanced at each other......

Luo Dayou, the owner of the largest horse gang in the north, stood up and replied on behalf of the Qin merchants in the field.

"Your Excellency, you're referring to disaster relief."

"The drought in Shaanxi, the locust plague in Taiyuan, ten rooms and nine emptiness, we also know..."

"Over the years, it has not been easy for the imperial court, although the disaster relief food has been allocated, there is still a shortage, this is the truth..."