I'm really not the carpenter emperor

To this day, the two of them are just two pawns.

In fact, let alone the two of them, even the remaining eleven Shanxi merchants are just stumbling blocks for the imperial court to take over Shanxi.

Yes, it's just a stumbling block, far from being a roadblock.

"What does Hu Ge think?" Xu Weijing noticed that he hadn't spoken, so he reminded:

"At this time, there is no need for you and me to hide it. No matter what, this is His Majesty's will. As a courtier, you have to follow it."

Hu Shiguang nodded and said:

"No, I'm just thinking, the Royal Chamber of Commerce, the mine supervisor, what exactly does His Majesty want to do?"

"That's right, what is His Majesty's plan?" Xu Weijing lowered his head and pondered.

At this time, the people at the table started talking.

"How's business those days?"

"Oh, don't mention it!" The businessman waved his hand and spat:

"In Shanxi, some business gangs can grab business from them. It's better not to expect extravagantly for a wandering businessman like us who has no backing!"

Hearing this, Xu Weijing was taken aback, and subconsciously said:

"Could it be... commercial tax?!"

"Business tax!?" Hu Shiguang exclaimed, drawing dissatisfied glances from the two people at the other table, he quickly apologized, then turned his head and said:

"Are you sure, this matter is of great importance!"

"No, but why are you asking this? It doesn't matter what we do now?" Xu Weijing sneered and said:

"However, I thought, if His Majesty plays this game and lets us down, the only possibility is to slowly collect business taxes."

"After all, you and I are both ministers of Jin nationality, so it's easy to do things in Shanxi."

"If we are not obedient, His Majesty can change people at any time and let the factory guards intervene..." Hu Shiguang said, feeling cold sweat all over his body.

First, let obedient and well-known local merchants lead the local imperial chambers of commerce. By implementing the new salt law and other things, they will get rid of a large number of disobedient local tycoons and officials. When the time is right, it will be convenient to collect business taxes. It's a matter of course!

This emperor has such a scheming mind, and I am afraid that he has already calculated all aspects!

Thinking of this, the two of them no longer had any intention of tasting tea, and looked at each other, seeing a little shock in each other's eyes.

If all this is true, then they really have to hurry up.

time does not wait!

……

"Everyone tell me, what should I do?"

Qi County, Qu Mansion.

At this moment, eight of the eleven rich merchants in Jinzhong are gathering here to discuss the next countermeasures.

The one who spoke was Qu Jingxin, the oldest member of the eleven families, and the leader of the Qi County Merchant Gang.

Shanxi merchants are different from those in other places. There is no chamber of commerce, and they are all called merchant gangs.

The Jinzhong Merchant Gang is also different from the Chamber of Commerce. Most of the people in the Chamber of Commerce are yin and yang, fighting secretly, while the Shanxi Merchants in the Merchant Gang are colluding and helping each other.

Among them, the Qi Gang in Qi County is the most powerful.

In case of trouble, the Qi Gang can even block the goods within a few days, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling the business and making the Qi Gang merchants profitable.

As for the losses of others outside the business gang, they never think about it.

The Qu family is a big family in the Qi gang, and has always been the leader of Shanxi merchants. Among the rich and powerful merchants in the world today, they can also be called the top five.

The Qu family's tea house "Changyuchuan" is well-known not only in Jinzhong, but also in the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

The fortune of the Qu family began at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

At first, it started from a small business of trafficking, selling Luma and pears to Qixian County, and then transporting coarse cloth and jujube from Qixian County to Shangdang.

As time went on, he gradually accumulated funds. During the Jiajing and Wanli years, the Qu family's trade was rumored to have even set foot in the distant Tsarist Russia, and its tea was very popular in Tsarist Russia.

During the Jiajing period, the Qu family entered a golden age of prosperous business from the No.17 generation, and became one of the eight wealthy households in Jinzhong at that time.

Qu Yuanzhen successively established the branch offices of "Baichuantong", "Cunyigong" and "Changshengchuan" jointly with others, and opened the "Sanjinyuan" business name with sole proprietorship.

While opening a business name, Qu Yuanzhen also set up a tea shop, a salt shop, a money shop, a pawn shop, a silk shop, and a medicine shop, etc., and achieved great success.

Today, the Qu family has become the head of the eleven Shanxi merchants, and according to Cao Sanxi's gossip, they have already moved their minds about iron mines.

"Someone from the capital came back with the news that half a month ago, the Shuntian government office posted a notice in each door to strictly punish me and other Shanxi merchants." Qian Zongyong was the first to say:

"If the news is true, there must be some other reason for Xu Weijing and Hu Shiguang's return to Jinzhong. I'm afraid that's not why they came here."

Immediately, someone made a rebuttal.

"Fart! These two court elders have always been my backers in the court, and they have accepted a lot of bribes in recent years. Wouldn't this be shooting yourself in the foot?"

Those who refuted it were called Kang Shen.

Speaking of which, the Kang family in Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi can be regarded as a veteran Shanxi merchant.

He made his fortune in the last years of Hongwu. During the orthodox years of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, the government's salt industry management was loose. Kang's illegal salt industry accumulated tens of millions of taels of wealth. Therefore, he had been the richest man in Shanxi before Jiajing.

In the Jiajing year, the imperial court tightened the salt law, causing the Kang family's assets to be surpassed by the Qu family, but it improved again in the Wanli year.

After Tianqi implemented the new salt law for four years, Kang's industry was once again affected. It was overtaken by Qian's in Fenzhou, which mainly traded cattle, sheep and cloth, and ranked third.

After Qu, Qian, and Kang, there are more than ten Shanxi merchants including Zhao, Qiao, Fan, Wang, and Chang with assets of 800 million taels.

Of course, the Fan family in Zhangjiakou and the Chang family in Yuci have all been investigated and dealt with by the imperial supervisory department successively, and the whole family has disappeared.

Having said that, the Cao family, which currently has assets of 300 million taels, will reach about [-] people.

Chapter 588

This is actually true.

Although Xu Weijing and Hu Shiguang are cabinet ministers with considerable power, they have accepted bribes from them all the year round, and there are many unclear deeds at the local level.

If they came down to investigate these Shanxi merchants this time, then I can use their privacy to call back.

Kang Shen's words received the support of four or five Shanxi merchants.

Qu Jingxin thought the same way in his heart. Just in February of this year, his Qu family spent more than [-] million taels to manage the court and local officials in the name of the Spring Festival.

Almost all those who received these were ministers from Shanxi.

They were originally from the same village, but they were short-mouthed and soft-hearted, and they basically turned a blind eye when doing things, which was enough for Shanxi merchants to make huge profits.

This is why although Shanxi merchants respect courtiers, they are not afraid of them beating them up.

After all, even if the imperial court wanted to investigate the person who gave the gift and the person who received the gift, they would do it together. Speaking of which, the crime of the latter was even greater.

So, will the officials from the imperial court to the local government not know about the deeds of Shanxi merchants?

Of course they knew, but for the vain money, everyone chose to turn a blind eye and close one eye, nodding, one hundred thousand taels of silver, who wouldn't be tempted.

Any idiot who dares to investigate and deal with Shanxi merchants will block everyone's way of making money, and will definitely be collectively suppressed and isolated by officials at all levels.

In a word, Xu Weijing and Hu Shiguang didn't come for themselves, that's the best.

If they want to be the second idiot, then we also have the means to play with them, black and white, whose family is so clean?

……

After discussing with the eleven families, they decided to wait and see what happened.

But after Hu Shiguang and Xu Weijing figured out Zhu Youxiao's real intention this time, they couldn't afford to wait.

At the lunch table, Yu Hongbin, the procurator of Shanxi Province, frowned, his mind was full of thoughts, and he was rather reluctant to eat chopsticks when facing the table full of dishes carefully prepared by his wife.

At this time, his wife came, as usual, with a smile on her face, calmly and caringly serving him vegetables.

Aside, the maid also poured a glass of wine.

"Master, have you forgotten the way to keep in good health taught by Master Li?"

A few days ago, Li Zhenren, a Taoist celebrity came to Shanxi from Jiangxi. Yu Hongbin extended his invitation to the Taoists day after day, and finally got to meet him, and asked for the way of health preservation, in order to prolong his life and prolong his life.

Yu Hongbin knew that his wife brought up Zhenren Li just to relax himself, and not to think about the matter of bringing up the procurator.

But as a woman, how could she know what she was worried about?

This comfort, not only did not make him relax, but made his brows tightened even more. Looking at the dishes on the table, he had no appetite, pushed away the bowls and chopsticks and sighed:

"Ugh!"

"After all, I am not a Taoist. I may not be able to have the open-mindedness that real people have."

"Why don't I tell you! Recently, the imperial court has severely punished Shanxi merchants and captives. There has been a lot of trouble in the official and business circles, and the government and the public are uneasy!"

"The Procuratorate is one of the three jurisprudence divisions of the imperial court, and it is the most important. These days, many people dare not go to the Yamen, just to avoid right and wrong."

Madam was dumbfounded when she heard this, no wonder the master is frowning these days.

No matter what happened in the past, the master would never talk to her about those official affairs, but what happened today, judging by his appearance, I am afraid that something serious is going to happen.

"The current Dongge University scholar Hu Shiguangge, do you remember?"

Seeing Madam nodding, Yu Hongbin shook his head and said:

"When our son went to Beijing to take the exam, he was one of the same examiners, and finally won a Jinshi. It was a big favor and a big relationship with the old man."

"This time it was Mr. Hu Ge who came to Shanxi to investigate and deal with Shanxi merchants. This is really embarrassing for me. There are no people inside and outside, alas!"

When Madam heard this, she completely understood, and she opened her mouth to persuade:

"Master, you are an envoy, and it is your duty to investigate the methods of the division. What does the court affairs have to do with you? How can you abolish the public for personal reasons?"

"Hey, you are a woman, what do you know about the world?" Yu Hongbin said: "If you owe a favor, you will be caught. If you are careless, you will die!"

"It's just that Shanxi merchants are too shameless! I heard that many officials have accepted bribes from them, even Mr. Hu Ge is no exception..."

"Although business matters are difficult to investigate, for the supervisory department, it is clear to everyone who knows the joints. In order to avoid suspicion, even I dare not go to see Hu Ge's old side this time!"

Madam asked: "Mr. Hu Ge accepts bribes, where did the master get the news?"

Yu Hongbin was taken aback for a moment, and said:

"This year's Spring Festival, the Qu family in Qi County sent people to transport two large carts to Beijing. It must be to clear the joints. Hu Ge is an important official from Jin, how can he not be respected by the Qu family?"

"Is there any evidence?" Madam asked again.

Yu Hongbin muttered to himself: "Evidence?"

Suddenly, he suddenly understood, and said:

"That's the case. Even if he accepts bribes, the evidence is still at home. Mr. Hu Ge would never be so foolish as to admit this matter, but the rumors are just rumors. Even if Shanxi merchants ask for it, it is only one-sided."

"In this way, not only can I repay the favor, but it can also be said that I enforce the law impartially."

"Ma'am, you are really my good wife!"

After figuring it out, Yu Hongbin suddenly felt hungry, picked up the bowls and chopsticks to eat, and his wife looked at him and said: "Master, in my opinion, you still have to take the initiative to see Mr. Ge."

Yu Hongbin also knew this.

Since the imperial court wants to run Shanxi merchants, there is no way for Shanxi merchants to survive. There is no reason for them to stay out of the matter because they are old and old with the court. Sooner or later they have to choose a side to stand on.

He ate like a gulp, and said vaguely:

"Go, go!"

After she finished speaking, the servant girl came in and said, "Master, the Grand Master of the Cabinet said it was a man surnamed Hu who was asking to see him outside the door."

"What? Invite him in quickly—" Yu Hongbin's eyes widened while the food was still in his mouth, and he put down the bowl and chopsticks quickly, looking a little at a loss.

Before I went, people came by themselves.

This is not only bad to say, but there must be something important, otherwise, how can the dignified old man condescend to come to the door in person and visit himself.

The madam was secretly surprised, after all, as the elder of the court, she was already a great personage, she secretly observed her husband's emotions, and asked slowly:

"Master, Mr. Ge must come here to test your tone, what do you want to do?"

While swallowing the food in his mouth, Yu Hongbin said:

"Shanxi merchants collude with captives and betray the country. There is iron proof. The court strictly enforces the law. It should be investigated!"