Since the Han Dynasty, the imperial court has established official laws and regulations on some important materials, such as salt and iron, which are related to the lifeline and security of the country. This practice was even expanded in the Song Dynasty. Even wine, tea, etc. were included in the materials that were prohibited from being sold privately by the court. They could only be allowed through government bidding. This was the so-called Guan Pu. .
In fact, a large part of the revenue from these materials did not go into the national treasury, but was sent to the palace by the relevant yamen and entered the emperor's private treasury. The official monopoly in charge of salt, iron and other matters was the Salt and Tea Department. Although it was officially under the Ministry of Revenue, it was semi-free and only responsible to the emperor. Naturally, its power was not small.
In fact, since official salt was first mentioned, private salt has been prevalent in the world, and the government has turned a blind eye to this in many cases. But if someone really does a thorough investigation, it would be a serious crime to buy and sell illegal salt, or even use illegal salt when opening a hotel. It was precisely because he understood how serious the problem was that Wu Li thought of using money to send the other party away.
But to his surprise, the official was not affected by it at all. With a wave of his hand, he knocked the money bag down on the counter: "What do you mean? You want to bribe me and protect you." ?" His tone was full of awe.
This made Wu Li even more shocked, and he quickly explained with a smile: "How dare a villain do this? I just felt that it was hard for officials to bring people here to do errands, so..."
"That's not necessary. It's my duty. Come here, search for me all the salt in the store. I want to see if they use any private salt." The official immediately ordered without any hesitation. room for change.
The men immediately agreed, and then went to the kitchen in a familiar manner. Several people came to the stove next to where the chicken was still being fried. After rummaging around, they brought a few jars over. , what is put inside is naturally white salt.
At this time, as the officials rushed in, the guests inside were disturbed and got up to run away, and some even left the hotel directly. These people are not fools. They can tell at a glance that the government is targeting Liufangju. They don't dare to stay in such a place of right and wrong.
Seeing how tyrannical they were, Wu Li became even more anxious. If something happened, he really couldn't afford it. Even if it was difficult to deal with, he could only go up to it and said: "Sir, I, Liufangju, have always run my business according to my duty, but I have never dared to violate disciplines and laws... Moreover, this is the property of Tong Taiwei's family, how could I commit such a crime?" Waiting for big mistake.”
"What? Are you trying to use Captain Tong to oppress me?" The other party ignored Wu Li's hint at all, and didn't even take Tong Guan to heart. He just looked at the cans of salt that were found. Only a yamen like Yancha Si, which is deeply trusted by the palace, would dare to do this.
"You..." Wu Li was even more panicked. He was sweating profusely and his forehead was a little wet, but he couldn't say anything more useful. But the other party sneered: "Actually, if this is Taiwei Tong's property, there may be a problem. In the past two years, Taiwei Tong was still in the northwest. I heard that the refined salt produced by the Dangxiang people's Qingbai Salt Pond is far better than the table salt in our Central Plains. , maybe these are from Xixia."
While they were talking, several gentlemen came out carrying a few more jars, which were also filled with salt. After opening it for inspection, the smile on the official's face became even colder: "There is obviously a big difference in these salts. This jar is very rough, but these are much finer. What else can you say? What else can you say?" Do you dare to say that these salts are not private salts?”
This time, the evidence was really conclusive. Shopkeeper Wu turned pale with fright, his legs became weak, and he almost fell down. At this moment, he was really regretful and afraid. He should not have listened to Sun Tu and used the salt he provided.
It turned out that when the hotel reopened, Sun Tu not only provided the recipe for fried chicken, but also took out the salt pressed in the warehouse. The table salt of this era was not only rough but also had a bitter taste. Naturally, it was far inferior to the refined salt of later generations. This is also one of the keys to taking the taste of Liufangju’s dishes to the next level.
However, Sun Tu did not tell the origin of the salt, but Wu Li thought it was just a trivial matter and did not delve into it. As a result, a big problem occurred today. What should we do
Seeing him sweating in such a cold winter month, the official became more and more sure that he had a guilty conscience, and sneered: "I think you can't defend yourself, so you are guilty. Someone, please clear this place." Take all the relevant people away, and then seal this restaurant for me!"
Naturally, he had the confidence to dare to attack the Tong family's property in such a decisive way. In addition to his own yamen being a close official of the emperor, he also knew that someone in the court would take the opportunity to take action against Tong Guan. As an eunuch and military general who was completely opposed to the civil servants of the DPRK and China, Tong Guan had many political opponents. As long as they were given a chance, these court officials would bite a piece of his flesh off.
But at this moment, a clear voice suddenly sounded from the side: "Wait a minute!" With this voice, a person stepped out and stopped in front of them.
"Who are you? How dare you obstruct the government's errands!" Seeing someone blocking the road, all the officials immediately showed vigilance, and several of them even pulled out the sabers on their waists.
"Xia Sun Tu, I can be regarded as a steward of this Liufangju. This official, you are so hasty that you want to take away the people in my shop and even close the shop, but it is really unbelievable." Sun Tu Without any fear, he said calmly.
After what happened just now, he had been watching with cold eyes while thinking about countermeasures. He dared to intervene at this time, naturally because he had a way to deal with the current situation.
I don’t know whether it was because he was fooled by Sun Tu’s calm demeanor or because he was afraid that he might be an important person of the Tong family. The officials did not forcefully let people take him down. Instead, they sneered and said: "Now you Liufangju are using your private life." The evidence of profiteering from salt has been found, how dare you still make sophistry?"
"What the official said is wrong. This salt must be private salt? Does the official know the origin of these salts and hold the same private salt?" Sun Tu asked further.
"What are you talking about, kid? This is official salt. What you use is very different from it. How dare you deny it?" the official said, lighting a few jars.
Sun Tu smiled: "That's not what you said. Who said that official salt must be so rough? Can't our hotel make it more refined?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's very simple. These salts are also official salts. I, Liu Fangju, tempered them in order to make the guests eat better. This is what the officials call private salt." Sun Tu shouted immediately He said, "Dear guests, this is a little thought that I, Liu Fangju, have for you. Unexpectedly, it was misunderstood by the government, and even used by traitors as evidence to slander us for using private salt!"
At this time, many guests in the restaurant had gone out, but they had not dispersed yet. After all, everyone was also concerned about what would happen to Liufangju and whether they would be able to eat the food and wine here in the future. Upon hearing this, many people responded: "Master Sun, are your words true? How did you do it?"
The official's face suddenly darkened: "That's sheer nonsense. How could it be possible for Guan Yan to become like this! Don't mess around here and make excuses!"
"If the officials don't believe it, I can set an example now." Sun Tu replied without retreating.
This can be regarded as defeating the opponent's army and causing him to fall into a tangle for a short time. If he was allowed to demonstrate that he could really get refined salt, his run today would be in vain, and his previous plan would also go awry. But if he is not allowed to demonstrate and everyone is unable to talk, I am afraid that the Tong family will use this as a breakthrough to fight back, and their situation will only become more dangerous.
After weighing the situation, he could only choose the path that was less threatening to him: "Okay, I will give you this opportunity. As long as you can use this coarse salt to make refined salt, you are not guilty. Otherwise , the government will definitely punish you severely."
"Thank you, officer, for your impartial decision." Sun Tu thanked him with clasped fists, and patted Wu Li, who was still in shock: "Shopkeeper Wu, please ask a few people to help me and let everyone know that I, Liu Fangju, am innocent!"