Few people in the world are qualified to pay respects to the Chen Garden where Lord Chen Pingping, the superintendent of the imperial court, lived. Therefore, in their eyes, the Xinyang Palace, the Sword House in Dongyi City, and the Ming Garden of the Ming Family in Jiangnan are the most beautiful and beautiful gardens in the world. Wealthy three privately owned buildings. Of course, this ranking naturally does not take into account the black and blue palace in Shangjing, which is as beautiful as a fairy palace in Northern Qi Dynasty.
There are nobles living in the palace, and there is a great master in the sword house, both of whom are far away from ordinary people. Only the Ming Garden not far from Suzhou City in the south of the Yangtze River gives the people all over the world more possibilities to appreciate it up close. .
The Ming family has never bullied others, nor deliberately kept the mystery of the noble family, so many scholars from the south of the Yangtze River and tourists from afar would walk along the broad forest avenue to Outside the city, take a look at the beautiful manor from a distance.
Although you can't play it up close, it's enough to entertain your eyes if you look at it from a distance.
The Ming family is low-key and not mysterious, so this Ming Garden, which has been built for nearly forty years, also maintains the deep imprint of their family. Every brick, every tile, every grass and every tree, every step and every pavilion, are not so gorgeous and dazzling. On the contrary, there is a faint sense of intimacy, and the courtyard wall built along the foot of the mountain is not tall. Visitors standing on the official road can see the cornices inside. Standing closer, it is more Can hear the sound of gurgling water inside.
Intimacy does not mean homely, simplicity, of course, is not simple. In the eyes of a truly knowledgeable person, you can definitely see that every detail in this pet manor is impeccable, and every material and design is ingenious. From the eyes, it can be seen that this manor seems to be defenseless, but as long as it is simply modified, it can become a castle that can be guarded for half a year in a very short period of time...
Today's weather is not so good, the early spring is chilly, the drizzle is light, the carriage that Young Master Ming is riding on is walking on the road home alone, there are no tourists and women outing that can be seen in usual times.
The carriage stopped strangely outside the side door. Young Master Ming opened the corner of the car curtain, revealing a gloomy face, looking at the main entrance of his house.
There seemed to be seeing off guests, a middle-aged man in an official uniform was walking into his carriage with an angry face.
Ming Lanshi put down the car curtain, looked back at Zou Lei and said angrily, "Say Guo Zheng, and Guo Zheng will be there soon. Why is your boss so ignorant?"
Zou Lei is silent, Guo Zheng is his immediate superior, and last year he was still serving as the Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate in Kyoto last year. After the Chunwei case, Guo Zheng took the lead in interrogating Fan Xian in the Third Division of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. At that time, relying on the support of the eldest princess, he beat Fan Xian a few times. Not only did the Fan family not be brought down, but afterwards, because they offended Lin Xiangye, Fan's family and the Overwatch Council, the three giants made a move without making much noise, so they simply lost the official of the Minister of Criminal Affairs Han Zhiwei, and at the same time Guo Zheng was dispatched to Jiangnan.
The Royal Censor Guo Zheng, the biggest loss in this life is because of Fan Xian, so he has always held grudges in his heart. Now that Fan Xian has gone to the south of the Yangtze River again, Guo Zheng seems to want to provoke the Ming family to fight against the imperial envoy. up.
That's why Ming Lanshi had such an ugly face, thinking that old Mr. Guo, acting out of personal grievances, came to his home today, and he was afraid that he was going to exert those pressures again.
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"Father, the confession has already been made." Ming Lanshi stood respectfully at the foot of the stone steps in a small courtyard in a corner of Mingyuan, and said to the inside of the room.
Ming Qing Dalue, the current master of the Ming family, heard a somewhat tired and comforting voice from inside the house: "Okay, we have to get through this year anyway, not only the people in the clan have to be warned, don't be caught by the government, it's just... Lan Shi, you have always been calm, and now you have to be more careful."
Ming Lanshi hastily nodded.
Ming Qingda walked out of the room slowly, with a look of tiredness on his face: "Did you see Guo Zheng earlier?"
Ming Lanshi frowned and replied: "Yes, father, if he comes to the door in such a grand manner, I'm afraid it will fall into the eyes of the imperial envoy."
Ming Qingda smiled wryly: "Forget it, the brand on us is already deep enough. At this time, if we want to tear off the relationship with that side, firstly, it is impossible, and secondly, no one will believe it. Don't think about these issues again."
"He... did he come by himself, or on behalf of those people in Beijing?" Ming Lanshi still doubted.
Hearing these words, the wrinkles at the corners of Ming Qingda's eyes deepened, and he sighed after a while and said, "When will these officials have their own identities?"
Ming Lanshi's heart tightened, knowing the meaning of his father's words, which meant that Guo Zheng was here to convey the opinions of the eldest princess and His Highness, and he looked at his father nervously.
"Don't worry, and don't pay attention to Jingli's intentions. His Highness asked us to trip up the imperial envoy..." Ming Qingda, the richest man in the world, said with a sneer: "This is to use us as a saber, how can I be so stupid? Of course, On the surface, we still have to rely on them, because no one knows what will happen in the future, and who will sit on that dragon chair."
Ming Lanshi frowned slightly and said: "The order has been issued. As long as the imperial envoy is in Jiangnan for a day, we will be quiet for a day. It's just... always showing weakness like this is not an answer."
"It's a good idea." Ming Qingda had a faint smile on his face, "Fan Tisi is not a devil who eats people and doesn't spit out his bones. He can't catch us on the surface, and he has to be afraid of the officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River." If we rebound, he won't be able to swallow us with a bowl of water... Let's be honest and give him face, and he will give us some face."
"This little Master Fan...but he doesn't even give His Highness the face." Ming Lanshi said with a wry smile.
Ming Qingda laughed at himself, and said: "The identity of a businessman has never been on the stage at the level of history, but now it is just the opposite. Mr. Fan is the son of Miss Ye back then. Watching him act, he has always been a wounded official rather than an official." Harming the people, he doesn't have any prejudice against businessmen. He doesn't give the Second Highness face, but it doesn't mean he won't give us face. In the end, no matter how the Second Highness fights back, it's just a trick for him in the officialdom. We... But it has the ability to leverage the power of the people."
"Of course, as long as the situation doesn't reach the point of confrontation, you must not tease him." Ming Qingda said.
Ming Lanshi was a little bored. I don't know how many times my father said it these days. My father was too cautious in this matter, which made people feel a little uncomfortable. Although he understood the reason, it was still very difficult. accept. Looking at the slight sadness on his father's face at this time, he couldn't help comforting him: "Father, it's really impossible, let's stop."
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The stone steps were quiet for a while, Ming Qingda, the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River, slowly shook his head.
A moment later, a stern look flashed in the eyes of the nearly fifty-year-old elder, and he said, "There are some things that can't be stopped just because the father wants to." What do people eat? Don't forget that the nobles in Beijing have so many dry shares. Even if we don't do it, won't they ask me for money? The eldest princess, the prince, the second prince, the few people in Beijing, these Nian is used to eating us, if we really close our hands this time, and the momentum is together, who knows what they will do? Never underestimate the greed of the royal family and officials... "
Ming Lanshi looked at his father, a flash of sympathy flashed in his heart, who would have known that the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River also had various last resorts.
Ming Qingda said with hatred on his face: "The Ming family looks beautiful, but in fact it is not an old hen that can lay eggs in their eyes. If the old hen stops laying eggs, those who originally supported us will miss it more than the imperial envoy. Kill us and have a delicious chicken meal at the end."
The hatred on Minglan Stone's face disappeared as soon as it appeared, and he cursed in a low voice: "If those people in Beijing hadn't been eating too much money every year, we would have sold the products produced in the inner warehouse in a serious manner, which is not much worse than now. Even if the inner treasury is intercepted by the imperial envoy, our family's properties all over the south of the Yangtze River can maintain the clan."
Ming Qingda waved his hand, signaling him not to continue talking about this topic, and said with a sneer: "For these years, my Ming family has been doing those shady businesses, just to satisfy the appetites of those people... Jiangnan, maybe it’s also an opportunity God gave me to get rid of those things. From this year onwards, I will gradually reduce the share of entering Beijing. The eldest princess and the others will not be able to say anything. As long as the door is opened this time, the winning bid will not be lower than Last year's six achievements were good... Don't be like the Cui family, whose building suddenly collapsed. When it comes to serious business, can't my Ming family not do it?"
Ming Lanshi bowed slightly, and said: "Father is right." But he felt a little uncomfortable, and he gave up the smuggling route to Dongyi City, and cut off the pirate branch from his family's overseas. To earn too much less, those dry stocks in Beijing still have to pay dividends. In this way, at least within this year, the clan will definitely lose money and have to use the principal to fill it. If you have to keep filling money in it, even if your family is rich and powerful, you can't help the ants moving mountains...
Knowing what his son was worried about, Ming Qingda didn't want to explain and comfort him, because the facts were like this, if the Ming family wanted to break away from the past and protect themselves, then the necessary price for these two years must be paid.
When it came to the opening of the inner library for bidding, Ming Lanshi thought for a while and then said softly: "I have met with you these two days."
The so-called everyone in these words refers to all the well-known and powerful merchants in the Jiangnan area who have the strength to participate in the bidding for the internal treasury.
He continued to report: "I have asked several acquaintances. The Xiong family in Lingnan and the Sun family in Quanzhou all know the current situation. Although they look like they are very greedy for the marketing rights of Neiku, their goal is still Cui. Among the shares left by the family, he also promised the boy that he would not raise the price with us."
Ming Qingda nodded and said, "Everyone wants to win this golden rice bowl, but since we are in the forefront, they are always reluctant to fight against us, unless they don't want to do business in Jiangnan."
Speaking of this time, the master of the Ming family faintly revealed a few traces of the confidence and pride that the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River should have.
"The key is those private salt dealers." Ming Qingda frowned slightly and said, "Those salt dealers are ruthless people who earn money between life and death, and they have enough spare money on hand. If they get involved in the bidding, There will be some troubles, although I am not afraid, but I need to pay more money, the court stipulates that 40% of the fixed money..." He shook his head and said: "It is too much. I am afraid that some of the turnover will not be able to make it in the first half of the year."
The richest people in the south of the Yangtze River are the so-called imperial merchants and salt merchants. The two sides were originally well watered, but now that the Cui family has collapsed, who knows if those salt merchants will be greedy for the business of the inner treasury. Those salt merchants have extremely rich funds. Moreover, there are backers in the court, and the Ming family is a little worried about this.
"I have visited all these salt merchants in Suzhou City." Ming Lanshi thought of what he had seen and heard in the past two days, and replied with some surprise: "They said very simply that they will definitely not enter this year. The door of the inner vault... I don't know what's going on."
Ming Qingda was slightly taken aback, and after a little thought, he understood what was going on, and laughed at himself: "It seems... everyone knows that Mr. Fan is going to rectify the sales channels of the inner warehouse this year, and they dare not to do it right away. Grab this bowl of rice to eat... This is to see how we and the imperial envoy end up, those salt dealers seem to be planning to enter the market again next year."
Ming Lanshi raised his head, frowned and asked, "Those salt merchants... don't seem to be so cautious."
"Who is their backer?" Ming Qingda said with a sneer: "Our Jiangnan Road's parent officer, Mr. Xue Qing Xue... Xue Qingming knows what Mr. Fan means. At least for the first year, he will suppress the salt merchants and prevent them from entering. Neiku is making trouble for Mr. Fan, this is Mr. Xue’s giving to Mr. Fan, the old Fan Shangshu in Beijing, and the face of the dean."
Ming Lanshi was silent.
"That's good." Ming Qingda said after thinking for a while, "Being under the control of the imperial envoy Tianwei, no one enters the scene to cause chaos, so it's easy for us to plan, as long as we get the bidding documents, we can spend this year safely."
"Master Imperial Envoy...will you let us?" Ming Lanshi asked his father tentatively.
Ming Qingda said: "As long as everything comes from the bright side, why should we be afraid of the imperial envoy? He is always inferior to us in things like business... Regarding the opening of the internal treasury for bidding, the highest bidder wins, and the palace wants people. Watching from the sidelines is not something that the Neiku Transshipment Department can handle alone, as long as my Ming family is willing to pay the money, Master Xiao Fan can't force me not to give it to me."
"What the boy means is that the imperial envoy will secretly instigate other families to deliberately raise the price? This is the easiest way. They don't have to lose anything, but we can suffer a big loss."
Ming Qingda shook his head confidently and said: "On Jiangnan Road, there may not be anyone who dares to offend Mr. Fan, but apart from him, there may not be anyone who dares to offend our Ming family. You have also asked the wind before, and you have the strength. Some families should be on the sidelines this year."
"If you want to find a puppet to raise the price." Ming Qingda frowned and said, "You need Ming silver to bid, and the imperial envoy doesn't have so much silver, so you can't raise much at all."
There was a hint of sarcasm on his face, and he said: "Don't be dazzled by that box of 130,000 taels of silver. If you want to hit people with silver, officials still can't do it."
When it comes to beating people with silver, the Ming family is of course the most thrilling in the world. They are full of vigor and anger, throwing out 400,000 taels of silver at one time, intending to knock Fan Xian unconscious. The realm that those who give and accept bribes in Beijing can reach.
"The imperial envoy's father... Mr. Fan, but we are the Secretary of the Household Department of the Daqing Dynasty, and his subordinates are in charge of the treasury." Ming Lanshi reminded with a wry smile: "When it comes to money, he has more money than our Ming family. Quite a few."
"Fan Shangshu?" Ming Qingda sarcastically said, "It's fine if the household department doesn't move. If the imperial envoy uses his father's power to suppress our Ming family... this thing will be a bit fun. Believe me, Your Highness the Eldest Princess has always It’s so quiet, I must have been waiting for that time.”
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The Ming Garden suddenly became quiet, and Ming Lanshi felt a slight chill in his heart. He knew that although his father seemed to be retreating every step of the way, he had already discussed with the nobles in Beijing how to deal with the imperial envoy. In the background, I don't know how much blood and danger is hidden.
The matter involved the treasury, Shangshu, Ming Lanshi did not dare to continue this topic that could not be announced, so he changed the subject calmly, and said: "According to the usual practice in previous years, the silver at the Taiping Bank has been prepared, and my father ordered it urgently." , so this time I have prepared an extra 30% of the silver, so as not to be caught off guard when bidding."
The bidding in the inner treasury uses clearly marked silver, not to mention the 40% deposit after the transaction, even the marked silver itself requires that it be prepared in advance, whether it is real gold or silver, or bank notes approved by the court. Delivered to the dedicated venue within the day the doors open.
This is an extremely terrifying sum. It is difficult for the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River like the Ming family to come up with so much cash immediately. After all, it is impossible to sell land and houses, and there are still 60% of the bidding money in the winning bid. After that, you can fight back immediately. The imperial merchants don't want to take up the turnover, so they will be seconded from outside. As for big households like the Cui Ming family, they need a lot of cash when bidding every year. They all raise the silver through the Taiping Bank and use the goods produced as collateral, which has formed a practice.
This year it is expected that there will be some troubles in opening the inner treasury. Fan Xian will definitely find a way to make the Ming family bleed more, so the Ming family has prepared 20% more silver notes for Taipingpu Zhuang to issue this year. Don't underestimate these two things. Cheng, the base is too big, 20% is already a very terrifying amount, and the Ming family has pledged a lot of things.
"Taiping Bank is trustworthy." Ming Qingda said in a deep voice: "It's an old relationship, and after all, it is the property of Dongyi City. Those barbarians always rely on us for supplies."
"Yes." Ming Lanshi replied softly: "And we're not making money for nothing. Nowadays, there are always some supercilious people in the south of the Yangtze River who want to see the jokes of our Ming family. If we can win the bid this time, it can be regarded as a gift for them." The slap in the face is also to let the imperial envoy understand that our family is the only family that can represent Neiku with such a large business."
Ming Qingda glanced at him appreciatively, and said: "That's what it means. So we have to follow this mark. The imperial court's system requires such a large amount of money to be placed on the transshipment department. The original intention is to eliminate those merchants who are not strong enough. Similarly, It also swept away many opponents for my Ming family. The people who can transfer so much money in the world have already lost their family, so who else? Unless the imperial envoy wants to see that no one can take over the goods in the inner warehouse next year... otherwise Just give it to me. What we need to ensure is that one is the issue of price, not too high, and the other is the issue of bundling. Beijing will put pressure on the transshipment company. One by one, we... still... only need the eight."
For half of the share, the master of the Ming family also said "as long as it is", and the confidence in the words is undoubtedly revealed.
Ming Lanshi was convinced, and the seemingly tense situation became extremely easy under his father's analysis of the imperial system. If he wanted to win the big bid, under the absurd system of the imperial court, it seemed that only his own family had this ability.
"The matter at sea has been settled." The master of the Ming family finally said slowly: "You tell the one in the family to shut up too."
Ming Lanshi heard that the matter in the sea was settled, and he couldn't help but feel relaxed all over his body. That was the biggest handle of the Ming family. As long as it was cleaned up and the Ming family's local affairs on Jiangnan Road remained stable, Fan Xian should not be able to catch it. No reason to deal with him, but after hearing his father's last words, the young master of the Ming family still couldn't stop feeling a chill in his heart.
He didn't know how his father managed the affairs at sea, and how the pirates entrenched on the island were wiped out. Regarding the help of the Ming family, part of it must have come from the military, but his father was very strict, so even He, the young master of the Ming family, doesn't even know what kind of army Jingli is using this time.
The matters at sea were resolved by his father, but the matters at home had to be resolved by himself. A ruthless look flashed across Ming Lanshi's face.
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into the night.
The young master of the Ming family is in a remote golden house in Suzhou City. He is lying on the bed, looking up at the sky, not knowing what he is thinking. In his arms is an undressed woman lying obediently like a kitten, slender His fingers traced circles on his bare chest.
This woman is Ming Lanshi's third concubine, and because of her special status, she has been kept outside the Ming Garden.
"Lan Shi." The little concubine exhaled slightly hot, panting and said, "I want more."
The man hated hearing this sentence afterward, Ming Lanshi sneered and said, "What else do you want? Don't you know how to be content?"
The concubine's face suddenly changed, and she gritted her teeth and said, "What do you mean? Is it because the imperial envoy is very strict and dare not go out on the boat at sea. Do you think we, brother and sister, are useless?"
Ming Lanshi turned around with a smile, and said softly: "Little boy, you have earned so much money for my Ming family these past few years, how can it be useless?"
As soon as the words fell, his hand patted the concubine's snowy buttocks heavily, causing white waves to rise and fall, and she was coquettish and angry again and again.
The concubine winked like silk, full of expectations.
Ming Lanshi smiled all over his face, and slashed at the back of her neck with his palm, watching the little concubine faint with a groan, and then used his hands to stably and ruthlessly strangle the snow-white spot that he had kissed countless times. neck.