Emperor Renzong of the Great Song Dynasty

Although the city of Yangzhou is big, the whole world is small.

Among the twelve important businessmen in Yangzhou City, each of them has an indirect relationship with each other.

You are my nephew and I am your nephew, regardless of the relationship, there are four pairs of serious father-in-law and son-in-law.

Jiang Ping was quite troubled by this when arranging the seats, and finally chose to arrange them in the order of hundreds of family names.

Anyway, you are all relatives, whoever sits with whom must be very happy.

Bao Zheng sits at the head of the throne, Zhan Zhao sits on his left, Yunniang sits on his right, and Jiang Ping sits on Yunniang's right.

After the guests and hosts were seated, Bao Zheng raised his wine glass: "Thanks for coming, everyone, Bao Mou respects you."

The wealthy businessman surnamed Qian was the closest to him, and raised his wine glass with a smile: "Master Bao is hosting a banquet, how dare we not come, Mr. Bao is being polite."

You are that one's guest of honor, who dare not come, don't die.

Boss Qian is in the inland river water transport business, and he is also aware of things at sea.

Although it is said that Yangzhou is not that person's territory, but his big ship is parked on the Grand Canal, and hundreds of thousands of gangsters are ordered to disembark and enter the city immediately.

Isn't it just a meal, I still have to give this little face.

Otherwise, you might wake up in the morning and be floating on the sea.

But they Yangzhou people are not easy to mess with, don't think that a pirate can play them in the palm of your hand.

Bao Zheng came to change the tea policy, he knew that.If you want to practice the sticking method, there will be no such thing as interlacing in the future.

This will not work!

They work hard every year to transport grain and grass to the border, not for the sake of tea.Sticker method and his party, the whole family went to drink northwest wind?

No matter how fierce those pirates are, they are just reckless men who only know how to fight and kill.Does Bao Zheng dare to let those pirates kill them?

He dare not.

Kill them, and no one will transport food to the border.

Boss Qian's family has a big business, and he is well-versed in court and China.He understands the current situation very well, and knows that as long as he bites his tongue, these officials will have nothing to do with him, and the sticking method will not be able to change.

Who made them have to ask themselves to do things.

Even if the pirate leader was sitting across from him, Boss Qian tried his best to keep calm.

Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, you can't die, the scar on your mother's face is really scary...

Bao Zheng drank the wine in his glass and poured another glass: "This glass is respectful to all of you. The imperial court has seen and remembered the hard work of transporting grain to the border over the years. Bao Zheng is here on behalf of the imperial court and the emperor. Thank you all."

The big businessmen hurriedly said, dare not dare.

Bao Zheng said again: "The imperial court takes pity on everyone's hard work, and also knows your difficulties."

Boss Qian said: "Those who don't work hard are doing things for the court. Doing things for the court is not afraid of hard work."

Bao Zheng laughed and said, "Boss Qian is loyal to the emperor and patriotic."

Boss Qian smiled proudly: "After all, we are all Song citizens."

Bao Zheng nodded: "Everyone has this kind of heart, the imperial court is very moved, but it always has to work for you, and the imperial court is also very sorry. Before Bao left Beijing, the Queen Mother and Lai Guogong both entrusted him with earnest instructions, saying that Bao's trip was easy for Jiangnan tea officials. Buying for the sticking method is a good thing for big-profit businessmen, so I must not be negligent, and I must carry out the sticking method."

Zhan Zhao curled his lips secretly, thinking that Kou Xianggong and the queen mother have entrusted you with all kinds of entrustments, you haven't even seen the queen mother.

Boss Qian hurriedly said: "You are a lowly person, dare to worry about the Empress Dowager and Duke Lai!"

A few drops of hot tears overflowed his eyes, Boss Qian stood up and kowtowed three times in the direction of Bianliang, Bao Zheng hurriedly helped him up.

The rest of the businessmen followed suit, some wailed loudly, some prostrated three times and kowtowed nine times. After a long while of noise, the table settled down.

Bao Zheng continued: "In the past years, when you transported grain to the border, the capital and the border side did not give cash, but paid with tea leaves. The Queen Mother and Lai Guogong thought about it, and you took the money. I have to go to the mountain farm or the goods store to get the tea, and then I have to transport the tea away for sale, back and forth, it’s too much trouble. Just taking advantage of this round of sticking method, I will ban it all together. Now, it is no longer allowed to exchange the money and grain in China. You can transport grain to the border in the future, and you can go to the capital to get the cash directly, without a lot of trouble. Wouldn’t it be good? The good intentions of the Queen Mother and the Duke of Lai Here it is."

Boss Qian wiped away his tears and said with emotion: "The empress dowager is sagely, and Lai Guogong is sagely, it's just that this move is beneficial to us, but not to the country!"

Bah, what an Italian businessman, what kindness!It's clear that they feel sorry for the profit from tea politics being taken away by them!

Bao Zheng wondered: "How can this not benefit the country?"

Boss Qian said: "Who doesn't know that Lai Guozheng is training recruits now, and the court is spending money. How can we businessmen ask the court to give us so much cash for our own convenience! If it is because of us , Lai Guogong's new army has no military pay, then we really have no place to be ashamed!"

After hearing what he said, Bao Zheng sighed deeply, and actually shed tears.

Boss Qian hurriedly said, "Why are you crying, sir?"

Bao Zheng said: "I am grateful for the emperor's virtue, so I shed tears."

"Boss Qian also knows that now that the imperial court is using money everywhere, everyone's money and food must be given. Lai Guogong's new army must also be trained. Where is the civil uprising over there that is not a place to ask for money? There is also the palace from the queen mother to the official family, plus the food and clothing expenses of the concubines and palace people, and the salaries of the officials all over the world. Let me tell you the bottom line, the treasury can survive this year, but if next year is not the year of the Great Minority, it will be difficult to survive the year after. "

Boss Qian was shocked: "I didn't know the imperial court was in such a difficult situation!"

Bao Zheng choked up and said: "Boss Qian doesn't know, but His Majesty knows! His Majesty knows that all parties are facing difficulties, so he practiced simplicity, cut the palace's expenses by more than half, and His Majesty even wore clothes that had been starched several times. The Empress Dowager also Knowing that the court is in trouble, so—"

Bao Zheng lowered his voice, raised the curiosity of Boss Qian and others to the highest level, and said: "The palace has already begun to destroy Buddhas and make money."

Boss Qian was so startled that he lost his voice, and it took him a while before he stumbled and said, "But, but... this... this... how can the Buddha be ruined! This is going to..."

Thinking that it was the palace who destroyed the Buddha, either the emperor or the empress dowager, he took back the sentence that he would go to the [-]th hell, but kept repeating: "How to make it! How to make it!"

The rest of the merchants were also shocked.

People who do business, especially big businessmen, are especially convinced of Buddhism.Some of the businessmen present wore small statues of Jade Avalokitesvara, and some had agate beads wrapped around their wrists. Their homes also enshrined consecrated Buddha statues invited from Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou.

The more money you have in your family, the more you will understand that money is illusory. It is easy to get and easy to lose.Because it is so easy to lose, there is fear.

Praying to God and worshiping Buddha will alleviate this fear.

Thousands of gold and silver are spent every year to build Buddha statues, expand monks' houses, and donate shoes and socks to temples, which will temporarily give them the illusion of relief from fear.

Over time, the Buddha actually became their fear itself.

When they heard that the Buddha was actually being destroyed in the palace, the big merchants were all terrified.

Destroying Buddha statues is a great crime, and it will be tormented in hell forever!

Bao Zheng sighed: "Your Majesty has paid too much for this world!"

The hearts of the big merchants were beating, and they hadn't yet escaped the shock of the palace destroying the Buddha and making money.

Bao Zheng continued: "Everyone also knows that when the late emperor was in power, he built countless dojos in the palace and enshrined countless golden Buddhas. Boss Qian knows how much money can be cast when all these Buddha statues are destroyed?"

Boss Qian was still in a daze, but replied instinctively: "No less than ten million."

Bao Zheng nodded: "That's right, not less than ten million. These are just Buddha statues in the palace. But there are not only Buddha statues in the palace in Bianliang City? If the Buddha statues in the Daxiangguo Temple are also used to cast money, how much money can be cast?" ?If all the Buddha statues in other temples in the capital were used to make money, how much money could be made? If all the Buddha statues in all the temples in the world were used to make money, how much money could be made? Not to mention wealthy merchants and dignitaries Buddha statues in people's homes."

"But……"

Boss Qian hesitated and said, "The Buddha statue is destroyed, where should we go to worship Buddha?"

Bao Zheng laughed and said: "A Buddha statue is just a dead object cast by ordinary people with the gold, silver, copper and iron of the world. What is there to be sympathetic about a dead object? What is really precious is the Buddha's heart. The Buddha's heart is everywhere, but it is not there. In the Buddha statue."

Boss Qian wiped the sweat from his forehead: "This... this..."

"Old Qian, what are you doing?"

A businessman surnamed Li interrupted him: "Master Bao is right, Buddha, where to worship is not worship, and it's not like there are no Buddha statues in his home. In my opinion, if the temple is destroyed, it will be destroyed. Just take them all away." Mint money."

Bao Zheng nodded and smiled, "Boss Li is very knowledgeable."

Boss Li stared at Bao Zheng with sharp eyes: "Master Bao just said that the matter of going to Beijing to collect the cash for the grain in the future has been settled?"

Bao Zheng nodded: "This is a public discussion in Beijing today. The emperor, queen mother, and Lai Guogong all nodded their heads."

Boss Li sighed: "It's not that we don't support the imperial court's change of the shooting method. Master Bao, don't you know us? We are the most peaceful. It's just that the food is transported from Yangzhou to the border. The road is difficult and dangerous, which is really insufficient." To be humane! To be honest, Mr. Bao, not only have we not earned a penny in the years since we entered the middle school, but we still have to pay for it every year!"

Bao Zheng smiled: "Boss Li has worked hard."

"I don't know how much money we can get for the food we transport after paying cash in the future?"

Bao Zheng said: "In the future, if you don't transport a stone of grain to the border, you can get [-] Wen when you return to the capital."

Fifteen hundred wen was the bottom line given by Kou Zhun before leaving Beijing.

Boss Li squinted his eyes and said: "Hey, you work for the imperial court, who expects to make money? It's all about reducing losses. Come, Mr. Bao, I'll toast you."