Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 580 Kill a Chicken

The suppression of merchants in every dynasty was not just because of the status division between scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.

When a person becomes rich, he often seeks power.

Isn’t that what the salt merchants did back then?

These wealthy businessmen are like weeds. Once you cut one, another will grow soon. You can never cut them all off, and your desire for power cannot be suppressed.

Jia Cong would not deliberately and unlimitedly suppress the development of business, but he would never allow businessmen to seize power in the country.

Because once the merchants seized power in the imperial court, Daxia would be firmly controlled by capital, and then all industries would be monopolized by capital.

By that time, the land on which the people depend for survival will be taken away piece by piece, and food, medicine, education... everything will be controlled by capital.

After several generations, Daxia was no longer the Daxia of the common people, but became their chessboard and their blood bag, allowing them to fight on it and suck the blood of the common people.

Our ancestors may not know what capital politics is, but they are very aware of the horror that comes when businessmen come to power.

"The imperial court can encourage the development of commerce, but they must not be allowed to seize power in the imperial court. Otherwise, they can even sell the Forbidden City for silver!"

Not to mention the Forbidden City, if the enemy country can afford the price, they would even dare to sell the emperor!

Maritime trade was indeed an opportunity for the great economic development of the dynasty, but it also created a group of new business tycoons.

As the official ship sailed slowly south, Jia Cong began a survey of industry and commerce in the prefectures along the canal.

He didn't know until he checked, and he was really shocked when he did.

The situation north of the Huai River is relatively good. Perhaps due to the geographical location and climate, the industrial and commercial prosperity of the prefectures north of the Huai River mainly depends on small workshops and small shops.

When the official ship arrived at Huai'an Prefecture, Jia Cong discovered that the prosperous prefecture, which had once relied on the salt administration, had now formed a group of wealthy families whose wealth was enough to rival the prefecture and county treasuries.

In the past, it was nothing for salt merchants to spend huge sums of money on courtesans. The newly-emerged business aristocrats were already competing to see who had the biggest ships and who had snatched more gold, silver and women overseas...

Bang!
Jia Cong swept away all the dishes on the table and was extremely angry.

The official ship stayed in Huai'an Prefecture for three days, and the personal soldiers also collected all kinds of information in the city for three whole days.

The Liao family, the largest silk merchant in Huai'an Prefecture and a salt merchant in the early years, had an ambiguous relationship with the English. The head of the family exchanged the cannons equipped on the ship for the title bestowed by the English royal family.

"Come here, take my order and go to the Governor's Office to mobilize troops. I will kill a lot today to teach these people a lesson!"

I don't care if you burn, kill and loot overseas, and I won't be jealous if you make money.

But you must never collaborate with the enemy and sell artillery to the enemy!

Although the artillery on the merchant ships was not as good as the equipment of the official navy, it was enough to overwhelm the Western barbarians.

The Liao family actually used the excuse of accidental damage and loss to bribe the people of the Maritime Customs and deceived the court...

Jia Cong asked Daiyu to continue south on the official ship, while he secretly went ashore and quietly entered Huai'an City.

……

The profits from maritime trade are enormous, far exceeding those from the original salt administration.

Huai'an Prefecture is an important transportation hub, the junction of water, land and sea routes, so it goes without saying that its business is prosperous.

The Liao family was originally a small family that relied on the salt administration to make their fortune, but when the imperial court opened up the sea, they took a step ahead and put all their family businesses into exporting silk, and followed the imperial court's first fleet to the West.

The head of the family, Liao Wanyi, is a very shrewd man and is quite courageous.

After earning several times the money on his first voyage, he was not satisfied with being content with his small fortune, but instead once again broke his family's wealth and invested the entire family's fortune in building a fleet.

When others were waiting to see the Liao family make a fool of themselves, he had already purchased three large sea ships from the Jiangnan Shipyard, equipped them with castrated versions of artillery from the Ministry of Industry, and started his journey of "trading" on the sea.

I have to say that this guy is cruel and has a sharp eye.

He was not simply a businessman, the native peoples became his treasure trove.

Burning, killing and looting were the norm, and in the name of maritime trade, he robbed many indigenous tribes overseas.

The vast ocean covered up his crimes, and in just a few years, the Liao family became one of the most powerful families in Southern Zhili.

The most terrifying thing is that Liao Wanyi's ambitions are growing. He is no longer satisfied with being a Yuwen official, but wants to be a Yuwenlang, and want to be an official of the imperial court.

"Damn it, who does this Li Xu think he is? How dare a mere deputy governor of Huai'an Prefecture ask me to give up the land by the Huai River!"

Liao Wanyi was just summoned to the government office by Huai'an Prefecture's Tongzhi Li Xu today, saying that the government office was going to renovate the Huaihe River waterway and was planning to buy back the Liao family's 200 acres of land by the river at a fair price.

The key point is that the Liao family’s land on the banks of the Huai River is more than the apparent 200 acres. His family has reclaimed more than 300 acres of new land in the area where silt was deposited by the river’s erosion.

That is the most fertile land. Whether it is for growing crops or mulberry and hemp, it is a first-class field.

However, the government issued an order to reclaim the coastal land, saying that they wanted to plant trees to fix the sand and build some kind of cement dam.

Doesn't this cost him his life?
Thinking that Liao Wanyi was now a wealthy man with millions of taels of silver, he was scolded by a mere fifth-rank Tongzhi in front of so many people and forced to sign the contract. Liao Wanyi was furious.

I still have no power!
If the merchants of Daxia can have the status of the wealthy merchants in the West, what is Li Xu? Maybe he can also buy a title of Marquis, and it is not impossible for him to become the Prime Minister of the Cabinet...

He took out a small silver badge with a lion on it from a secret compartment in the bookshelf.

That was the Viscount of the Kingdom of England that he exchanged for two cannons.

"What a pity! Why can't it belong to the Celestial Empire? No, I can't just swallow this anger..."

Liao Wanyi was a very cunning man. Although he was angry, he was still rational and did not go directly to cause trouble for Li Xu.

The Viscount of England is not as good as a lowly official in the imperial court.

"Someone, prepare the car, take the box of jewels, and follow me to Jinling City!"

……

When Jia Cong appeared in the Huai'an government office again, Li Xu, the co-magistrate who was temporarily in charge of the government affairs, was startled.

Four days ago, the official ship docked at Huai'an Wharf. As the temporary chief officer, Li Xu personally led officials from the government office to the wharf to welcome Jia Cong and Daiyu, the two nobles, into the city to rest.

At that time, Jia Cong was very satisfied with Li Xu's work since the beginning of spring, especially the fact that Li Xu was able to abandon certain conventions in officialdom and carefully plan strategies for the management of the Huai River, which Jia Cong admired very much.

For example, Li Xu proposed to expropriate land on both sides of the Huai River, plant trees to consolidate the sand, use cement to build dams to prevent the river from eroding the soil, and rectify various phenomena of occupying the river channel...

In fact, none of these three things is simple.

Not to mention that he was a fifth-rank Tongzhi, even the governor of Nanzhili had to worry about the wealthy and powerful families on both sides of the river.

Those who were able to reclaim hundreds or thousands of acres of new land along the river, which one of them did not come from an aristocratic family?

Do you really think that ordinary people can build those privately built water wheels in the river?

Li Xu had the courage to fire at these aristocratic families. No matter what the outcome, Jia Cong felt that this man was worth saving because of this thought.

That’s right, he came to Li Xu specifically to save people.

"My Lord, are you saying that someone wants to attack me?"

Li Xu was able to become a third-class Jinshi and was promoted six levels in a few years, so he is certainly not a fool.

Jia Cong only mentioned what happened to Mr. Lin in Yangzhou, and he guessed what Jia Cong meant.

At that time, Mr. Lin was already a Zhongshun doctor of the fourth rank, and was the imperial commissioner in charge of salt taxes in Jiangnan and the censor of salt in Yangzhou.

The most important thing is that his wife's family is the Ning and Rong Jia family, a prestigious family with two nobles, but they were still schemed against by that group of salt merchants and their family was almost destroyed.

Now, he is just a small fifth-rank official, but he wants to snatch food from the tiger's mouth and go against those wealthy families...

Li Xu was the first to feel that death was so close to him. If Yongfeng Hou had not come back to warn him, he would have been overwhelmed by the strong intimidation from the Guochao in the past few days.

The power of the imperial court was indeed growing stronger, but driven by interests, this group of ambitious and vindictive people would never let go of anyone who cut off their source of wealth.

No matter who this person is!
Li Xu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and bowed deeply to Jia Cong.

"Thanks to the Marquis's reminder, I was not alert enough and underestimated their desire for profit and their ruthlessness."

"You are right about this. In the eyes of these people, they can do anything for the sake of profit."

These people are unaware of the dangers of occupying the river, but do they care?

As long as it can bring them benefits, they will do it even if it means blocking the Huai River.

Jia Cong took the main seat without hesitation, waved his hand and said, "Okay, just keep these things in mind. I came here today because I have something for you to do..."

"Please speak, my Lord. I will not refuse even if I die!"

"It's not a matter of life or death..."

Jia Cong's fingers tapped on the table, and Li Xu waited silently.

After a few breaths, the atmosphere in the study became more solemn. Jia Cong mentioned a person, someone whom Li Xu had just scolded in front of many people today.

"The Liao family, the one that does maritime trade, go and bring people to rob all of their shops and farms in Huai'an Prefecture!"

Li Xu asked in surprise, "Liao family? Did Liao Wanyi offend the Marquis?"

Jia Cong shook his head, his tone becoming increasingly cold.

"He didn't provoke me, but he betrayed his country. He didn't want to be a good citizen of the Celestial Empire, but insisted on being a dog for the Western Barbarians. Then there is no need for him to exist. This Marquis hates those who collaborate with the enemy and sell out their country the most!"

……

There must be someone behind Liao Wanyi's success in making his family big.

When Jia Cong entered the city and went to the government office, the Liao family's convoy had just left Huai'an Prefecture.

Li Xu served as Jia Cong's knife, and led the government officials to attack all over Huai'an Prefecture, sealing up all of Liao's properties, including all the large and small ships docked at the canal pier.

Jia Cong, on the other hand, sat back and waited in the government office for Liao Wanyi and the people behind him to come to him.

Sure enough, about seven or eight days later, Liao Wanyi angrily led his troops back to Huai'an City from Jinling Prefecture. Accompanying him were Ma Daoyuan, the right councilor of the Nanzhili Provincial Administration, and Hui E, the eunuch in charge of the Songjiang Maritime Customs.

Ma Daoyuan was a third-rank official, and although Hui E was only a seventh-rank eunuch, they were the eyes of the palace sent to the local areas. Normally, few people dared to look down on him.

As soon as Hui E entered the room, he shouted at Li Xu with his shrill voice, "Mr. Li, you have such great authority. The Liao family is a good family that was awarded the plaque of Benevolence and Righteousness by the Ministry of Rites. What are you trying to do by sealing up the Liao family without any evidence?"

Jia Cong's old face turned red behind the screen. He was hit by the boomerang. The Ministry of Rites awarded the plaque "Unparalleled Benevolence and Righteousness" to the merchants who donated money to support education and the elderly and the lonely. This was his idea.

After all, it was impossible to grant him an official position after taking so much silver from others, and other rewards would not be able to demonstrate the court's attention to such a righteous act, so the idea of ​​giving him a plaque to enhance his reputation was proposed.

What a pity, now this eunuch is using it to put pressure on me...

Li Xu showed no fear at all, and even showed a hint of sarcasm.

"I am an official, but it is not your turn as a eunuch to bark in front of me."

"Then let me ask you, Li Xu. The imperial court has repeatedly warned us not to suppress business development. Now you have sealed up the Liao family for no reason. What is your intention?"

Unlike Hui E, Ma Daoyuan is a serious court official. A higher-ranking official can crush people with great power. What's more, Ma Daoyuan is a third-rank official and is Li Xu's immediate superior.

After being pressed down by Chi Dayi, Li Xu really felt that the pressure had doubled.

Fortunately, he has a back-up plan...

bang~
Li Xu slammed a thick stack of brand new books on the table, flipped through them, and suddenly began to read: "According to the Imperial Constitution of Daxia, Article 129 of the Criminal Law, anyone who illegally occupies a river and causes it to be blocked... will be imprisoned for three years... and anyone who causes flooding in rivers will be executed immediately, and all property will be confiscated!"

"I'm sorry, Councillor Ma, the Imperial Constitution of Daxia has just been implemented, and I'm not very familiar with it..."

Li Xu's face was full of respect and apology towards his superior, but his hand clapped on the new decree again and again, as if warning Ma Daoyuan that he also had someone he could rely on.

Moreover, with this reliance, even if the prime minister of the dynasty came, he would dare to fight back.

"The Liao family occupied more than 400 mu of the Huaihe River. Not only did they reclaim farmland, they also privately installed five water wheels, causing more than a dozen of the original river embankments to be destroyed..."

The smile on Li Xu's face suddenly disappeared, replaced by a look of indifference. He slammed the table with a bang and shouted at Liao Wanyi: "Liao Wanyi, you did a good thing! If I hadn't discovered the danger in advance, the Huaihe River embankment would have collapsed during the spring flood in March."

"I have given your family a chance because you have donated money to support education many times. Unfortunately... Tsk tsk, Ma Canzheng, what benefits did the Liao family give you that made you disregard the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the Huai River and come to Huai'an City to speak for the Liao family?"

"presumptuous……"

Ma Daoyuan was about to scold, but he heard an angry shout from behind the screen: "In my opinion, it is you, Ma Daoyuan, who is being presumptuous!"

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Thanks to Yixiaojuanmao and Panggezhengzhuo for their tips.

　　I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)