Chapter 131 Royal Merchant Guild

"Is there anyone who doesn't like our God of Wealth, Lao Jiu?"

Watching the assassin being dragged away, Yunyou was used to it. Not only was he not panicked, but he even had the leisure to tease Yuntang.

When Yun Tang saw the seventh and twelfth brothers walk in, he sat comfortably on a recliner, showing no intention of getting up.

“Cutting off someone’s source of income is like killing their parents. I, the God of Wealth, am a god who cuts off their wealth.”

"Which family are you planning to raid this time?" Yun Tao didn't stand on ceremony with Lao Jiu, plopped down on the other side of the table, and snatched the fruit plate from Yun Tang's table.

Upon hearing this, Yun Tang immediately beamed with joy, "Twelve understands me best."

"Those who oppose it will have half their property confiscated, those who attempt assassination will have their entire family confiscated, and those who attempt assassination right in front of you will have their entire clan confiscated. You've never tried to hide this, have you?" Yun Tao couldn't help but complain. He didn't know where the Ninth Prince got his fondness for confiscating property from. Not a single wealthy merchant he had recorded in his little notebook had been spared.

Everyone says that the Eighth and Thirteenth Princes, who cleaned up the officialdom in Jiangnan, inherited the Emperor's reputation as "Xiezhi" (a mythical beast). But following the clues, the Ninth Prince, who was hiding behind the scenes and confiscating the property of wealthy merchants who had committed crimes, searched high and low, leaving not a single tael of silver behind.

Even assassination has become a profitable business, a pretext for confiscating property. Instead of calling it the God of Wealth, it should be called "Pixiu".

"The family that our Prince Yu would send to assassinate must be a powerful one. So which family has it been this time?" Yunyou lay on the other side of Yuntang's recliner, swaying back and forth, too comfortable to move.

"The salt merchants of Lianghuai became wealthy."

"Just from the name and title, you can tell they're rich," Yun Tao commented incisively.

"Absolutely, they're rolling in money." Yun Tang nodded in agreement, stroking his chin with a longing look on his face.

"So, this is your reason for sending Eighth Brother and Thirteenth Brother back ahead of time?" Yunyou glanced at the money-obsessed Ninth Brother with annoyance.

"Eighth Brother and Thirteenth Brother have both made a name for themselves in Jiangnan. With the two of them around, who would dare to lay a hand on a weak prince like me?" If they didn't lay a hand on me, how would he find the simplest reason to confiscate my property? Yun Tang thought to himself with amusement.

Upon hearing Yun Tang say that he was "too weak to even kill a chicken," the Seventh and Twelfth Princes exchanged knowing glances, realizing that only those fools blinded by greed would believe him. The consequence of this belief was that all their family assets went into the national treasury, contributing to the growth of the Ninth Prince, the god of wealth, and aiding the widespread expansion of the "Royal Trading Company."

"So, that's why you sent three letters a day urging us to come early?" Even though it had been three days, the thought of rushing over only to have his house ransacked with Lao Jiu still made Yunyou feel resentful. He really didn't understand his lame brother at all.

He and Twelve traveled all over the country to salt fields. It wasn't easy; they were exhausted. Seeing Ninth Brother happily confiscating property and easily making a fortune, they were all envious.

"Hey, you've already cleaned up the battlefield. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway, so it's fine if it happens a little earlier. Besides, shouldn't you all participate in my raid on the salt merchants and learn some experience beforehand?"

Yun Tang wore an expression that seemed to be concerned for everyone, but in reality, he was only interested in making money and didn't want to participate in the salt administration. Even the younger Yun Tao saw through it, but he simply didn't argue with him.

Considering he's indeed good at making money, and after all, the brothers also have a share in the "Royal Trading Company," their future livelihood will depend on how much the Ninth Brother earns.

Both the seventh and twelfth sons were willing to give the God of Wealth a certain amount of respect.

"Tsk, when are we leaving?" Yun Tao figured he couldn't escape the responsibility of confiscating property anyway, so he might as well join in happily. To be honest, when he saw boxes of gold and silver being deposited into the account, he could still empathize with Ninth Brother's joy in confiscating property.

"There's no time to lose. I was just assassinated and I'm still terrified. We must catch the culprit and confiscate their property to calm my nerves." Yun Tang jumped up from his recliner, his eyes lighting up at the mention of confiscating property—a risk-free business.

With an exhausted Yoonwoo and an eager Yoondo, he continued his raiding spree with great fanfare.

Of course, Yun Tang did not come to Jiangnan to confiscate the property; confiscation was merely a means of punishment. Initially, he only wanted to accumulate capital to open a business through this method.

But he didn't expect that the collusion between officials and merchants in Jiangnan was so serious, and that these lawless wealthy merchants were so rich. The confiscated goods were not only enough for him to open "Royal Merchants" all over Jiangnan in a short period of time, but also more than enough to fill the national treasury.

This completely ignited Lao Jiu's desire to confiscate the property. It wasn't that he was weak-willed; it was simply hard not to be tempted by so much money. After all, it was all the people's hard-earned money and ill-gotten gains; wouldn't it be better to use the confiscated funds to benefit the people?

However, Yun Tang's actions of confiscating the wealth of wealthy merchants were concealed beneath the actions of the Eighth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince in confiscating the wealth of officials. Furthermore, no matter how rich the merchants were, their social status was not high. Therefore, even though his methods were brutal and ruthless, few people paid attention. After all, most of the officials with vested interests had already been imprisoned, and the ordinary people of Jiangnan, who had been oppressed for many years, naturally applauded his actions and did not find them cruel.

The wealthy merchants whose property was seized grumbled and cursed, but it was all impotent rage. Therefore, Yun Tang didn't spend much effort confiscating their property, yet the gains were enormous.

Meanwhile, the Royal Merchant Guild, where he focused his main efforts, was developing well, even though the entire Jiangnan officialdom was under his control.

Royal Trading Company is divided into two divisions: boutique and everyday items.

The boutique was a veritable money pit, with exquisite pocket watches, clear glass mirrors, fragrant perfumes, and countless rare and exotic items. Combined with the various systems of "membership," "auction," and "customization" that highlighted one's status, it was a place that people flocked to.

It has become a trend in various places; without a private custom-made item from the Royal Merchant Guild, one cannot prove their status and position.

The merchant's regular shops catered to ordinary people. They not only sold their wares but also bought small handmade items from the common folk at affordable prices, almost like doing charity. But what attracted the most attention were the clean, snow-white salt sold for five coins per pound.

Salt tax constituted a large portion of tax revenue. Salt merchants, seeking higher profits, inflated salt prices, mixed government-issued salt with mud and sand, and rampant smuggling of salt was rampant. As a result, not only did the imperial court's annual salt tax revenue gradually decrease, but ordinary people could no longer afford salt.

There are countless wealthy merchants who made their fortunes from salt. Yun Tang's trading company sold cheap and high-quality salt, which can be said to have touched the fundamental interests of salt merchants. Naturally, some people would dare to risk public condemnation to assassinate him.

Unfortunately, they failed to realize that Yun Tang dared to sell salt because he had the support of Yin Zhen. Salt tax corruption and rampant smuggling of salt had been problems surrounding "salt" for a long time. Yin Zhen wanted to take advantage of the great purge in the Jiangnan region to fundamentally reform the salt administration.

Of course, this kind of meticulous work was not Yun Tang's responsibility. Yun Tang was only responsible for opening royal trading companies all over the country, developing commerce, and placing the royal family's eyes and mouthpieces in various places.

As for the salt administration reform, Yunyou and Yuntao, who had quietly left Beijing to investigate the salt fields, served as scouts and assistants. However, the one who was truly assigned by Yinzhen to be in charge of this matter was Prince Li, Yunreng, who had received many years of teachings from Kangxi and possessed exceptionally high political acumen.

So while the court officials were still reeling from the major reshuffle and feeling lingering fear, Yun Tang's royal trading company had already quietly taken over the entire Jiangnan market and was constantly expanding outwards, bringing the standard salt prices and quality to the lives of ordinary people.

By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late to change anything. Prince Li, Yunreng, had already arrived in Jiangnan and initiated pilot reforms of the salt administration in the region.