For many years, the Ming family has been multiplying in the south of the Yangtze River. After decades of careful management and bold development by several generations of masters, it has finally become one of the leading clans in the world. And later, after climbing into the relationship with the eldest princess and turning himself into an imperial merchant in the inner treasury, with the help of the continuous infusion of silver from the goods in the inner treasury, the Ming family's hands and feet stretched farther and deeper, not only in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Countless industries directly control a large number of ships, car dealers and shops, and family members indirectly control many businesses that are inconspicuous but deeply related to the people in the south of the Yangtze River.
For example, grain and oil, meals, brothels, and someone even said that as soon as people from Jiangnan opened their doors, they would definitely deal with the Ming family's industries.
In such a huge family, the factions within the family are extremely complicated, but the highest power holders are still the two houses and six sons of the Ming family, and the rest of the houses in the more remote areas are only responsible for the business of the middle and lower classes.
Because he deeply understands the harmfulness of internal divisions in the family, the first arrangement that the old matriarch Ming made after he monopolized the power of the Ming family was that, except for the long house Ming Qingda, all the other five The children of the Ming family only have the right to share dividends, but they have no right to arrange or advise on the huge property of the Ming family. They are strictly prohibited from participating in the family business.
This arrangement is undoubtedly wise. At least this powerful method has ensured the superficial unity and good cooperation of the Ming family, and has not caused the same problems as other families. The family is still unanimous to the outside world.
However, even though they can't participate in the family business, the other five grandparents receive a large amount of bonuses from the family every year, and it is impossible to put so much money under the quilt to give birth to small silver chickens, and they always have to invest in the outside world. , Naturally, he also did a lot of business in Jiangnan.
The Ming family uses this method to stretch out their hands longer and thinner step by step, because the business of these few houses will still be attached to the big branches of the Ming family in the end. If the Ming family collapses, the lives of the five men There will also be big problems in business, so they will inevitably use their own strength to escort the long house.
Therefore, in Fan Xian's eyes, these businesses that nominally did not belong to the Ming family's business...the name was still Ming, so naturally, the Overwatch Council began to harass these businesses without discrimination.
Now, the five men couldn't stand it anymore, thinking that they didn't get much benefit from the family, and they had to be implicated, making business more and more difficult. This is how to do
…
…
"Open your dog eyes and see, the fourth master is in front of you!"
The fourth master of the Ming family was born to his aunt, and his status in the family is not high, so he only likes to walk the birds for fun, so as not to offend the old lady and the eldest brother, and do some business with the annual money he gets every year , Opened a vegetable and fruit business, doing the business of finger pinching in the middle of the house, and life is naturally very smooth.
But recently, he has not been happy no matter what. The business is checking every day, and the business is a bit sluggish. Although there is no serious result, the bad trend is clear. Officials who used to nod and bow in front of him are rarely willing to drink tea with him.
He understood that those officials were intimidated by the Overwatch Council.
But it was never the turn of the person in front of him to tease him. Fourth Master Ming's slightly pale face flashed a hint of anger, and he slapped him with a slap. There was a red palm print, and a trace of blood flowed from his lips.
Fourth Master Ming is the largest vegetable and fruit dealer in Suzhou City. He looks inconspicuous, but he monopolizes 30% of the melon and fruit business in the south of the Yangtze River. what's the problem. Moreover, relying on the momentum of the Ming family, he set up his own guild and took care of the entire melon and fruit market in the south of the Yangtze River. Over the years, there has never been any powerful person who dared to pick some melons and fruits in his field. eat.
But in the past few days, a businessman suddenly came from Lingnan, skipped the agreement between the Ming family and the Xiong family, and directly sold melons and fruits to Suzhou without the hands of Fourth Master Ming.
Lingnan is hot and fruity. As long as the problem of long-distance transportation is solved, there will be a lot of potential. If that businessman knows the rules, he will pay homage to Fourth Lord Ming first when he comes to Suzhou. Maybe Fourth Master Ming will nod his head and give him some share to do it. Who knows if this businessman doesn't know the rules, or something What can be relied on is that relying on the abundance and low price of the goods in his hands, he forcibly lowered the price of melons in Suzhou and even Jiangnan by 20% within ten days, and the businessman's business also expanded rapidly.
Fourth Master Ming stared at the Lingnan businessman who was knocked to the ground with a slap in the face, and said with a grin, "Everyone is bullying my Ming family now? A mere southern barbarian, where do you have the guts?"
In fact, he knew in his heart that when his business began to be suppressed by the Overwatch Council, no matter how much the Overwatch Council could really play a role, once such rumors spread, the trend would become 100%, and countless businessmen who had been suppressed by him in the past would start to move around. Taking advantage of the Ming family's desperation, let's take advantage of the opportunity to gain some benefits.
But... Fourth Master Ming had nothing to do with Fan Qinchai, and he was afraid that it would be too late, but how could he let a southern barbarian mess around on his own territory!
"Educate me with a stick." Fourth Master Ming looked at the Lingnan melon merchant who was crying and begging for mercy, with a hint of contempt flashing across his lips.
As soon as the words fell, there was another scream in the courtyard, and Fourth Master Ming's subordinates took a wooden stick and slammed the Lingnan melon merchant hard. How many roots were broken, the screams gradually became quieter, the whole body was covered in blood, and he was beaten unconscious.
The confidant accountant next to him watched the bloody scene, his heart trembled, and he leaned over and said, "Fourth Master, this person... should be from the Xiong family."
"I know." Ming Fourth Master said sharply: "Xiong Bailing, this old bastard, wants to use this melon merchant to test him out. If I don't call back, he really thinks that my Ming family can be bullied."
The accountant said with a wry smile: "Fourth Lord, at this time of year, you can't cause trouble for the family."
Fourth Master Ming thought of something, his expression darkened, and he said, "The old matriarch has already started to doubt me, so if I don't act impulsively at this time, what should I do?"
The accountant also had countless complicated emotions in his heart, and he didn't know how to speak at all.
Fourth Master Ming stood up from his chair, looked at the Lingnan businessman covered in blood on the ground, and said in a dark voice, "It's not that you are not allowed to do business, but doing business is not about bullying others, you can't bully me."
The Lingnan businessman had already woken up. Hearing this, he was quite frightened and nodded his head desperately.
"Pay 10,000 taels of silver and adjust the price back at the same time. Let's compete fairly." Fourth Master Ming chuckled, and the laughter was extremely stern, "If you don't bully me, naturally I won't bully you either."
After the man was dealt with, Fourth Master Ming called for someone to fork the businessman out, looked at the blood stains on the floor, spat, and scolded through gritted teeth: "Fan Xian bullied me, I can't do anything, your Xiong family is a fucking mother!" Which shallot?"
Back in the house, Fourth Master Ming washed his hands, rolled up his sleeves, took down the birdcage from the porch, and started teasing, but his mouth was whistling, but his eyes were a little wandering.
The accountant timidly followed behind him, and said in a low voice: "Fourth Master, you mean... the old lady knew about the meeting with Xia Qifei?"
Fourth Master Ming froze, and suddenly cursed angrily: "It's not your bad idea! You say you are on two boats, Ming Lao Qi survived a catastrophe, there must be future blessings, and with the backing of imperial envoys, the property of Gongzhong He will always take it back...I want Lao Tzu to meet him and talk to him first! Damn it, the old matriarch called him to give him a scolding the next day, and he almost didn't come out alive!"
He was extremely annoyed, managed to calm down his emotions, and said coldly: "The Overwatch Council is targeting our family recently, if I'm not cruel today, what will the old matriarch and elder brother think of me?"
The accountant was so angry that he was scolded by his boss, he didn't dare to show his anger, and said with a mournful face: "But Xia Dang's family wants to meet you that day, and you can't see it, fourth master... You really don't want to hear what Xia Dang's family said?"
"Seventh brother, seventh brother..." Fourth master Ming felt a little strange when he thought of the younger brother who appeared suddenly. He only heard about Xia Qifei's mother and son being murdered by the old matriarch Ming, but he and his mother were doing nothing. He is clean, so he is not afraid of the other party like the long room. When he thought of the words of the imperial envoy that Xia Qifei conveyed that day, the light in his eyes flickered, and he sighed helplessly: "I am afraid of the imperial envoy, but I am even more afraid of the old lady." Jun... and the Ming family is our Ming family's Ming family after all, if we really want to listen to you and join forces with Xia Qifei, with such a terrible imperial envoy watching from behind, the Ming family will...become the Ming family of the imperial court."
Fourth Master Ming smiled miserably and said: "No matter how domineering the head of the house may be, after all we have been brothers for so many years, my surname is Ming after all."
The accountant dared not go in to persuade him.
…
…
Fourth Master Ming formally rejected Fan Xian's offer of kindness through Xia Qifei, so Huayuan's response reached the mansion he bought in the southern city of Suzhou very quickly.
The servants of the Suzhou government office opened the door and entered. Under the watchful eyes of the Ming family thugs, they tremblingly came to the hall, took out the ticket, and asked Ming Fourth Master to go back to the Suzhou government for a hearing.
"Hearing?" Fourth Master Ming didn't expect that he would also be arrested and interrogated, so he sternly yelled at the yamen servant: "I think you are confused? Who is suing me? What are you suing me for?"
That yamen servant had no other choice, otherwise, under normal circumstances, how would he dare to offend the fourth master of the Ming family? Usually, I can't wait to kneel on the ground and lick each other's boots... The yamen servant smiled wryly, and gave fourth master Ming a look, indicating that there was someone behind him, and then pleaded in a low voice: "It's a Lingnan businessman who told the fourth master of the Ming family to bully the market." , wounding people, and committing crimes.”
Fourth Master Ming was taken aback and frowned. He never thought that the Lingnan businessman would dare to sue him, let alone that the Suzhou government would take up the case... It has been many years, and the Ming family is so special in Jiangnan , The relationship between Suzhou Mansion and my family is so close, how could they accept the pleading of the Lingnan businessman? Although the Overwatch Council has been blocking the Ming family recently, the biggest problem with the Overwatch Council is that it cannot interfere with local government affairs, nor can it directly interfere with civil affairs. The Overwatch Council cannot take the lead in such criminal lawsuits, so when he indulged slavery and committed murder, he did not Not much to worry about.
But the Suzhou government actually sent someone here!
He looked over the head of the yamen servant, and saw a court official with a very strange face standing behind several officials. The official uniform was not of high rank, and it didn't look like the clothing of the court system. His eyes narrowed, and he guessed the other party's identity—it turned out that since the Lingnan merchant entered the court, all of these were watched by the officials of the Overwatch Council. No wonder the other party's reaction was so fast!
Fourth Master Ming's eyelids twitched, knowing that he had miscalculated one thing. Although the Overwatch Council could not directly interrogate him, he could still keep an eye on the Suzhou government. Then I will go to arrest the officials of Suzhou government and go back for questioning. With such a strong deterrent here, it's no wonder that the Suzhou government dared to take him today.
He sneered, looked at the yamen servant and said, "So what if I don't go?"
The yamen servant was so anxious that he was about to cry, and begged, "Fourth Lord, at least give Master Zhizhou a face."
The subordinates of the Ming family all clamored and surrounded the yamen servants with wooden sticks in their hands. Their cold eyes were intentionally or unintentionally staring at the official of the Overwatch Council at the end of the crowd.
The official from the four branches of the Overwatch Council smiled and said, "Brother officials, what are you going to do? It seems that someone here... is preparing to rebel."
What is the difference between beating an official and disobeying the order of the court and rebellion
After hearing this, the officials of the Suzhou government knew that this person must be taken back today, otherwise, even the governor of the state would not be able to report to the Overwatch Council. The tragic situation of the Lingnan businessman was already seen in the courtroom, and at this time Huayuan also came to drink tea in the tea shop opposite the courtroom.
The official sent his heart to the side, looked at Fourth Master Ming and said, "Fourth Master, please!"
He kept signaling to the other party with his eyes, to let the other party understand that today is different from the past, and when it is time to be soft, he should be soft first. As for being taken into the Suzhou Mansion, things will naturally have a chance to turn around.
Fourth Master Ming lowered his head slightly, pondered for a long time, forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart, and understood what was going on today, so he nodded.
The officer breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a sigh, "Fourth master is poor."
The young Overwatch Council officer watched this scene with a sneer from behind.
The accountant came to Fourth Master Ming's side, and said worriedly, "Fourth Master, what should we do?"
Fourth Master Ming smirked, and smashed the birdcage in his hand to the ground, causing the cage to shatter, the feathers of the birds flying around, and the blood of the birds flying everywhere... He sneered and said, "Go as you please. I drank tea in the back garden of the Suzhou Mansion, but I didn’t have the chance to see the real appearance of the Suzhou Prison, so I’m going to open my eyes today.”
He lowered his voice again, and hurriedly said: "Send a message back to Mingyuan immediately, and let the eldest brother bail me out... Don't worry, the old lady will trust me even more because of this matter."
After explaining the matter, the fourth master of the Ming family was invited back to the prison in Suzhou Mansion by the officials for the first time in his life.
※※※
"It seems that the fourth brother... has no other meaning." After the news was sent back to Mingyuan, Ming Qingda sent someone to get through the channel, and walked into the quiet courtyard where his mother lived, and asked the woman who was sitting in a chair. The old lady complained: "I'll go and bring him back now. Although a Lingnan businessman was injured and the Suzhou government forced him to go back to the government under the pressure of the Overwatch Council, the matter is not serious after all, and there should be no future troubles. Xiao Fan There is no way for adults to kill fourth brother with this matter."
The old lady Ming on the chair fell into silence, with her sunken eyes closed, as if she was thinking about something, and never answered Ming Qingda's words.
Mingqing Dalue felt strange, and after a while, a chill surged up.
The old matriarch Ming slowly opened his somewhat dull eyes, and said: "The Ming family is already in turmoil. The fourth child first met Xia Qifei in secret for infidelity, and then acted recklessly, causing the family to worry about him. For being unfilial, such an unfaithful and unfilial person, why protect him?"
After Ming Qingda was silent, he became sad again. The established policy adopted by the Ming family towards Fan Xian's aggressive offensive was to retreat and play with sadness. That's why he knelt on the inner treasury and fell ill afterwards... Now monitor The courtyard was extremely threatening, and the Ming family was trembling, looking really pitiful, and what the old matriarch Ming meant... seemed to be preparing to draw a deeper gash on his own wound.
He took a deep breath and said calmly: "Now the situation is still under control, Mr. Fan can only go to the periphery, and he can't hold our real handle. At this time, there is no need to sacrifice so much... He is also from the Ming family after all. blood."
The old matriarch Ming gave him a cold and heartless look, and said: "The imperial envoy will force him harder and harder. After all, we need to sacrifice a worthy figure in exchange for the sympathy of the people in the south of the Yangtze River. Four was taken to prison, isn't this the best opportunity? If people know that the imperial envoy forced a master of the Ming family to death in order to ask for money, the imperial court will be shocked, and we will gain a lot of benefits and time... this It's a good deal."
Ming Qingda's face remained unchanged, and after thinking for a while, he said, "It's all according to mother's wishes."
He knew in his heart that the fourth brother was after all the son of his concubine, and in the eyes of his mother, he was a dispensable figure.
The old lady Ming looked at him and said coldly: "Is the running water in the house so bad? Why do you often ask China Merchants to transfer money recently?"
Ming Qingda sneered in his heart, thinking that the seal of Taiping Bank has always been in your hands, if I really want to hold the Ming family in my hands, how can I do it without looking for other ways? I thought so in my heart, but I explained a few words in an extremely gentle manner.
The old matriarch Ming nodded, and finally said slowly: "It's just the fourth child, I'm afraid it's not enough to make people in the world turn to our Ming family...Qingda, you have to be prepared, maybe the position of the head of the Ming family , you have to be forced to come out, so that the people of the world will be aware of the tragic situation of our Ming family."
Ming Qingda was slightly startled, bowed deeply, and left the courtyard.
Outside the courtyard, he and his son Ming Lanshi, who had been waiting for him, smiled and said, "Did you hear that? I told you... the only thing she loves the most is your sixth uncle."