Difficult for a son-in-law

The journey of the convoy was not slow. After 20 days, Ming Zhan and Feng Jingnan finally arrived at Zhennan Palace.

Mingyi led his subordinate officials to greet them in the suburbs, so it was inevitable to greet them with greetings and salutes.Then Feng Jingnan summoned the resident officials to inquire about political affairs in detail, rewarded them with kindness, and everyone was happy.

Zhu Zizheng has become a very busy person. Without him, relatives from his hometown come to give gifts, and ask letters about salt classes.

"Uncle, the concubine is approaching, and the fathers and elders in the family have prepared some small gifts to congratulate the concubine on her birthday. It's just that our merchants are low-level, so we have no luck to greet the concubine." Zhu Liming held warm tea, bowed to offer it, and said with a smile, "Can you Uncle Lao can't present these filial piety to the princess."

Zhu Zizheng was dressed in a lake-blue tulle homely robe, sat upright, took the tea with a smile, rolled his eyes, and looked at Zhu Liming, "You." He sighed, took a sip of tea, smacked his mouth, and let Zhu Liming dry. In the middle of the morning, he pointed to the mahogany chair at the lower end, and when Zhu Liming sat down, Fang said, "It's not true to be filial to the princess, but it's true to want to follow the way of the prince."

Yang Yiqi, Ju Yi body, Zhu Liming is the son of the head of the Zhu family, and the nephew of Zhu Zizheng. In the past two months, my father hasn't had a good night's sleep, and he can't even eat."

"We only heard that the eldest son is a decent person, and the new official has three fires. We don't feel at ease, so we just wait for uncle to come back and give us an idea." Zhu Liming's mouth was bitter, Cha Mali No matter how rich they are, they are not familiar with this line of work, who would want to go far away if they are rash.

Zhu Zizheng played with a piece of mutton fat jade tied around his waist, and said for a while, "You also said that the son has never been in a job before, and this is the first time he has experienced such a major event. It must not be messed up, so , the salt class must change the rules."

"Uncle," Zhu Liming hesitated for a long time, leaned in front of Zhu Zizheng, stared at Zhu Zizheng's eyes, and said softly, "The eldest son and his three brothers are all here. I heard that the prince's favorite is the eldest son's biological mother, Concubine Wei. Niang Niang, in the past, we did not lose our filial piety."

"Shut up!" Zhu Zizheng shouted, "You don't want to die!"

Zhu Liming's face was embarrassed.

Zhu Zizheng said in a low voice, "Put your heart at ease. The eldest son was canonized by the court, and he is the heir to the throne. He is the most favored by the emperor. The eldest son is of noble birth. The prince only has such a son. ?”

"No matter how favored the concubine Wei is, she is also a side concubine. There is nothing wrong with the son, so how can there be any reason to let the son of the aunt not stand up for the son of the bastard?" Zhu Zizheng glared at his nephew, "In the future, it is not that we are snobbish , also in order not to bring trouble to the eldest son."

"Your Majesty has already said about the salt class. Of the eleven salt wells and mines, only two were selected for reform in the first year." Zhu Zizheng said, "As for the reform of the salt class, you salt merchants have a few representatives. I will meet you in person and hear your opinions."

"Really?" Zhu Liming was overjoyed, he couldn't believe it, the prince's status was so noble, how could he sit down and talk to merchants like them?

"Of course it's true." Zhu Zizheng sighed, "I didn't expect that either. However, you have to be mentally prepared. The prince is not an idiot who doesn't work hard and doesn't distinguish between grains and grains. Your tricks are not enough for him. Don't play too much. Careful."

"Yes." Zhu Liming replied loudly, "My nephew will write a letter right away, and send it back to my hometown as soon as possible. I'd better invite my father to sit down." Rubbing his hands, he said joyfully, "It's okay to see your son, even if We are also willing to suffer some losses."

As long as there is this opportunity to meet, there is a possibility of hooking up with Ming Zhan.Furthermore, Ming Zhan's attitude towards merchants will affect the development of Yunnan commerce to a large extent.These wealthy businessmen would rather give up profits than gain the favor of the palace.

Zhu Liming calculated the presents he had prepared, and asked with a smile, "Uncle, I heard that Mr. Fan's young master is the most important when he is with the prince. Look, are we with Mr. Fan..."

"It's not surprising that there are many people, you can figure it out."

"Uncle, there is one more thing, the Zhou family..." Blinking at Zhu Zizheng's face, Zhu Liming said cautiously, "The Zhou family probably doesn't want to be restructured."

Zhu Zizheng sneered, "His family monopolizes two salt wells and one salt mine. It's just that he helped the prince to suppress the rebellion in Burma. He is willing to follow them. Our Zhu family is not a vassal of his Zhou family. You don't need to look at his Zhou family's face."

The power of merchants is pervasive. In just half a month, the private houses of Fan Wei and others have grown fatter.

Several people received the gifts softly.

Ming Zhan has already said something, you are welcome, someone will give it to you, so you can keep it.

Fan Wei had already filed a record with Ming Zhan, who gave them all, and what kind of gifts, Ming Zhan judged the financial level of each family based on this.

Ming Zhan did not summon these salt merchants right away. Lin Zhongliang, the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau, had already approached Ming Zhan to complain, "The Internal Affairs Bureau has been in charge of the tea and horse trade for many years. In the past, this area was used by the tea merchants Liu's and Fang's for the palace. They have been in this business for many years and have rich experience. I heard that the prince intends to give up the tea horse profit to the salt merchants. These few people are very worried. Work for dogs and horses."

"I don't mean to take their jobs," Ming Zhan flipped through a page of official documents and said in a gentle voice, "Once the tea horse trading market opens, the two of them can't afford such a large market. Naturally, other families will be involved, and they will work for the palace. For many years, I will not let them do it for nothing."

When Lin Zhongliang heard this, he put his heart back into his stomach, and said humbly, "Yes, this subordinate, just tell them. If they know that the son is so caring and compassionate, they will be grateful to him."

"Well, I have time tomorrow night. I will hold a banquet in Fanghua Courtyard. I invite their two patriarchs to come over for a drink. You can talk about it." Ming Zhan ordered casually, "Xiao Fan, please arrange a specific time. Then let He Yu is preparing a banquet."

Fan Wei should be.

Lin Zhongliang was overjoyed, Xie En resigned.

The news that Ming Zhan summoned merchants after returning home quickly spread throughout Yunnan.

Moreover, unlike people's speculation, the first thing Ming Zhan summoned was not a Yunnan salt merchant, but a tea merchant.

This kind of information made the salt merchants who stayed in Kunming more confident that the palace did intend to give up the tea horse to benefit the merchants, and the heart that had been hanging in the air suddenly started to move.

The Liu family, the tea merchant, and the Fang family wished they could cut off the tea-horse trade from the source, and they were not willing to share the soup with the rich and powerful salt merchants. , Changed into new clothes and hats according to the time, and went to Zhennan Palace for a banquet in a carriage.

Ming Zhan's banquet was not as rich and delicious as imagined. Each person had four dishes of dried fruit and four dishes of fresh fruit, and a cup of tea.

But Ming Zhan himself was younger than expected. He wore a homely sky blue silk robe, his hair was tied in a bunch behind his head, and he didn't wear a crown. His youthfulness made people stunned.

Ming Zhan put one elbow on the table and sat leisurely, "I know, you are not here to eat, why don't we talk things over first, and you are in the mood to eat."

Several people laughed together.

After getting along several times, Lin Zhongliang felt that Ming Zhan was approachable, and he boldly smiled, "Since my subordinates told them that the prince wants to see them, they were so excited that they stayed up all night."

Ming Zhan swept his eyes over the faces of the two old men, and said with a smile, "That seems to be the same idea. You know the current situation. In the past, we used tea to exchange horses for Tibetans. This item has always been managed by the palace. He came forward and made transactions with Tibetans in the name of the palace. Now the king means to open up a free trading market in Tibet. The content of the transaction, from tea horses to daily-use porcelain, silk, furniture, jade, etc., is completely open to businessmen. For specific projects, the Palace will produce specific official documents."

The two patriarchs of the Fang family of the Liu family couldn't help trembling, the hands holding the tea bowl couldn't help trembling slightly, suppressing the excitement in their hearts, the two of Liu Fang looked at each other, and there was some hesitation in their hearts, this is not a trivial matter, son Can it be done, my lord?

Still the head of the Liu family, Liu Dayong slowly got up from his seat, and asked respectfully, "My son is a thousand years old, this, this is really...really..." Wiping his eyes, Liu Dayong said tremblingly, "Caomin I can't believe it..."

"You can believe it." Ming Zhan said quietly, "Since I dare to say this, it must be true."

"Yes, yes, Cao Min is, yes, happy...incoherent..." The old fox pretended to be confused, but felt a little more at ease. At this moment, he also understood that the two of them would definitely not be able to swallow this market. He hurriedly said, "This matter, this is a big matter. The grass people have been making tea for many years, so they know something about it. The prince asked, how dare the grass people refuse to do their best?"

Fang Wei, the head of the Fang family, also hurriedly expressed his loyalty.

Ming Zhan nodded, "You have been immersed in it for many years. In the past, there was a shortage of tea in Tibet. We traded tea with Tibet for horses. Usually, thirty catties of inferior tea can be exchanged for a horse. This is a huge profit. If the market is opened, the tea will definitely There is a certain degree of depreciation. Compare the market price of tea and horses in the palace, and you must be mentally prepared."

The two made some calculations in their hearts, and nodded, "Yes, Caomin understands. In the future, the Caomin family will not only buy horses from Tibetans, but the price of this tea horse should be controlled within a certain level. I still need you Once the price is set, the grassroots have a backbone, and they have the confidence to start a business."

"This is an issue we want to discuss with the Tibetans. You are experts in this matter. You should provide me with reliable price data, and then the palace will negotiate with the Tibetans to strive for the best interests for you." Ming Zhan said calmly, " You have to be mentally prepared. In addition, you will be the ones who will do business in the future. I have heard a saying called, small profits but quick turnover. You can discuss a feasible price. This price must be negotiated with the imperial capital. Tibetans set the price."

"This is ultimately the reference price for your transaction, and use this as the yardstick to conduct business transactions."

The two old men had already imagined some good prospects from Ming Zhan's words. At this time, even if Ming Zhan said that the sun is square and the briquettes are white, neither of them would refute it. They kept saying, "Yes, what the prince said is very true."

Although Liu Fang and the two old men only drank two cups of tea, they felt that these two cups of tea are comparable to the Jade Emperor's fine nectar and jade liquid, which has the effect of prolonging life.

These two people went back and spread the gist of Ming Zhan's words, and the whole Yunnan and Guizhou provinces were all boiling.

The news of the opening of border trade made merchants in Yunnan and Guizhou wish they could set up longevity tablets for Ming Zhan and offer three pillars of fragrance a day.

Even the merchants in the imperial capital began to deliberately inquire about inside information. I don't know if the imperial capital also has this intention.However, the imperial capital has a vast territory and rich resources, and there are many opportunities to make a fortune, and it is not very enthusiastic about the Tibet-border trade.On the contrary, they are concerned about whether the reform of the salt education in Yunnan will affect the salt education in the imperial capital.

Not much to say about the imperial capital.

Ming Zhan encountered a new round of trouble.

There are many native soldiers in Yunnan and Guizhou. When the first generation of Zhennan King was named king here, he naturally defeated the native soldiers from all over the place.And with the appeasement and division from generation to generation, the native soldiers of Yunnan and Guizhou are no longer the same as they were back then, but they still have a certain sphere of influence.

For example, Zhu Zizheng and the Zhu family were led by local soldiers to serve as errands in the palace. Now that many years have passed, the Zhu family no longer has the military power of the past. Zhennan Wangfu also gave them the biggest job, the salt merchant.

Another example is Mingya's mother family, the Yang family, who also controlled a local army back then.

There is also the Zhou family, a big salt merchant, whose power is even higher than that of the Zhu family and the Yang family, and the Zhou family has already said that they have been selling salt for generations, if someone robs him of his job and makes him starve to death, he will definitely die.

Of course, more businessmen are extremely interested in Tibetan-border transactions.

But another royal decree from Feng Jingnan almost made Concubine Wei cry.