"Get out of the way," the officer in the yamen pushed aside the housekeeper who was blocking the way and continued to walk in.

The butler had no choice but to take out two more round treasures and said, "Since you two have come here with great difficulty, I will treat you two to tea."

Looking at the six shining Ming Dynasty round treasures in the butler's hand, the two officers' eyes suddenly lit up.

The price of grain in Jiangnan was low, and the grain bought with three Ming Yuanbao coins was enough to feed a family for two or three months.

"Ahem," one of the officers took the silver and said, "We are only ordered to investigate the situation of common people exceeding the regulations. If you don't believe it, you can go to the county government office to verify it with the county magistrate."

"Believe me, the two gentlemen will definitely not lie to me."

"That's good," another officer nodded. "We won't look inside the mansion, but your house is too big, which doesn't conform to the rules. Even if we want to help, we can only help temporarily, not forever."

"Yes, yes, we'll change it right away." The housekeeper nodded and bowed, "After the two gentlemen leave, we'll immediately arrange for someone to tear down the house and rebuild it."

"That's good! We'll give you a few months to correct your behavior. We'll come back after a few months." The two officers left with a smile.

After the officers left, the butler immediately told the news to the merchant master in the mansion.

At first, the businessman thought it was just extortion by the government officials and did not take it seriously.

As the same news came back from other places one after another, the salt merchants in Lianghuai suddenly panicked.

Everyone has behaviors that exceed the limit.

They first asked the officials of the Transport Department to find out how the court planned to deal with the matter.

Transport officials don't know either.

Because the official document only requires statistical verification and does not specify the handling method.

The salt merchants became even more panicked.

They are most afraid of following the rules.

If they followed the rules, they would first have to accept varying amounts of caning and then correct the situation that had exceeded the rules.

In the Ming Dynasty, caning punishment could result in minor injuries or even death.

They are all wealthy people, and they are most afraid of people dying without spending their money...

So the salt merchants gathered in groups of three or five to discuss countermeasures.

More than a dozen famous local salt merchants gathered in a teahouse in Yangzhou City.

"I ask," a businessman named Li stood up and said to everyone, "Why is the court suddenly investigating common people for violating the rules?"

"This is not an order from the court, but an order from the prince." Another well-informed businessman corrected.

"Then what is the purpose of the prince's action?" the salt merchant surnamed Li continued to ask.

"What else could it be? Of course it's for money!" A salt merchant named Wang replied unhappily, "The court has a deficit of several million taels of silver. In order to make up for the deficit, they first sent people to the south to inspect the salt industry, and then asked us to donate money for official positions. They were afraid that we would not buy into it, so they used this method."

"This method is too harsh. If we follow the court's standards, at least 90% of the people in the Ming Dynasty have violated the rules."

"That's right. It's too unreasonable! This is the rule set by Emperor Taizu when he founded the country more than two hundred years ago. If we continue to follow this rule, what's the difference between us and the farmer who waits for rabbits to come to us?" The salt merchant named Li shook his head and sighed.

"A farmer who sits back and waits for something to happen to him?" The merchants around him all looked puzzled.

Although most of them have received education, their number is limited.

Few people have heard this fable.

This fable comes from Han Feizi's Five Vermin. On the surface, it tells the story of a farmer in the State of Song who was stubborn, ignorant, inflexible, and got something for nothing.

In fact, it is a roundabout way of cursing Confucius and the ways of the ancient kings that he advocated.

(You Zi said: In the use of ritual, harmony is the most valuable. The way of the ancient kings is this, which is beautiful.)

Because Confucius' ancestors were from the Shang Dynasty and their fief was the State of Song.

In 710 BC, the Kong family lost power due to internal strife and was forced to flee to the State of Lu.

Han Feizi did not openly scold Confucius, but instead made up a story to compare him to a stupid farmer.

It can be seen that Han Feizi was also an old hermaphrodite.

Seeing that no one else understood, the salt merchant named Li immediately put on an air of superiority and told the story of "Waiting for the Rabbit by the Tree" word for word.

After finishing his speech, he repeated the last sentence of "Waiting for the Rabbit by the Tree": "To use the policies of the ancient kings to govern the people of today is just like waiting for the rabbit by the tree. Han Feizi said this more than a thousand years ago, but the current court knowingly commits the same mistake. It is really..."

"Brother Li, please keep quiet," the merchant next to him immediately interrupted the salt merchant Li's speech, "If you make irresponsible comments on state affairs, you may be killed. Brother Li, please say less."

"What are you afraid of?" The salt merchant surnamed Li sneered disdainfully: "Your Majesty once said in the official report of the 17th year of Chongzhen that the Ming Dynasty allows for wide channels for speech, and as long as what you say makes sense, you will not be punished for your words."

"Your Majesty will not punish you, but the local authorities and officials will. They are worried that there is no one to live in the prison. Aren't you walking into a trap by doing this?" a salt merchant reminded in a deep voice.

The salt merchant named Li immediately shut up.

He has seen the methods of local officials...

"Then what should we do?" another salt merchant stood up and asked.

"Just wait!" a salt merchant suggested, "Don't we buy officials from the imperial court? Why don't we just not buy them!"

"If I don't buy the official position, what will I do if people from the government come to blackmail me every few days?" someone raised the question.

"Just take care of the county magistrate, the police are nothing."

"It's easy to meet the King of Hell, but it's hard to deal with the little ghosts!"

"Then...then we can't give in to the court. If we open this loophole, I'm afraid there will be no peace in the future. Even if the little devil is troublesome, he can be dealt with with a little money. Everyone here is not short of money, so there is no need to lose the big picture for the small one."

"Yes! How about if we all unite and refuse to buy, and force the court to make concessions?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!