Chapter 336: A Lot of Money (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival)
"I've thought about it." Chang Suining took the tea from Xi'er and said, "It's the price of salt."
For the common people, salt is an indispensable item. For the imperial court of Dasheng, salt administration and salt tax are a huge source of fiscal revenue. Therefore, salt is of great importance to the country from both the upper and lower levels.
Dasheng imitated the official salt system of the previous dynasty, and made improvements and additions to it many times on the basis of the previous dynasty, but the general direction remained unchanged. It also established salt fields and supervised salt production by salt households. After the court purchased salt from salt households, it sold it to major salt merchants, who were responsible for selling it everywhere.
Private salt dealers are those who secretly obtain salt from salt farmers without going through the government, or even make salt privately.
They often sold salt at low prices, which not only disrupted the order of the salt market and infringed on the tax interests of the court. Due to the lack of supervision, the quality of salt sometimes varied - this was a drawback when the situation was stable. The role played by private salt dealers in troubled times was mostly associated with chaos.
But as Luo Guanlin just said, the reason why private salt has become prevalent in recent years is not just because of the rampant private salt dealers.
In the two words "buy" and "sell", the word "buy" comes first, which means buying comes before selling.
"Since last year, the price of salt has been rising again and again, and it has remained high. Especially during the period when Xu Zhengye was entrenched in Jiangdu and causing chaos, the salt administration was in chaos." Chang Suining drank two sips of warm tea to quench his thirst, and said, "The day before yesterday morning when I went out, I bought a basket of buns at an inconspicuous stall in the morning market. The taste was very bland."
There are always people who cannot afford the official salt, but dare not buy private salt frequently, so many people are forced to choose bland food.
After hearing Chang Suining talk about the chaos that Xu Zhengye left behind in Yangzhou, and then hearing her talk about going to the street in disguise to buy buns, Luo Guanlin was silent for a moment, feeling an indescribable complexity of emotions.
When he spoke again, he said seriously: "Since Governor Chang intends to rectify the salt business in Jiangdu, he will have to deal with the salt merchants. The most urgent task is to find a way to get them to lower the salt price as soon as possible so that the salt market can return to stability... Has Governor Chang ever met those big salt merchants?"
Chang Suining shook his head: "I don't plan to meet them. If I take the initiative to ask them, wouldn't it make me, the new governor, seem too conventional and easy to talk to?"
She put down the teacup: "I want them to come see me."
When he met those smiling eyes, Luo Guanlin finally understood that the reason why she killed those smugglers of salt with such fanfare and hung their heads as a demonstration was not only to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, but also to bring the "monkey's" neighbors into the picture.
"Things are different now. I have been slow to see them, so they are the ones who should be anxious." Chang Suining said.
In times of peace, the big salt merchants who controlled the salt market were all very arrogant, but things are different now. In today's world, just having money is not enough.
No matter how wealthy they were, if they took a wrong step when war was imminent, the salt and gold in their hands would vanish in an instant. The aristocrats who disappeared overnight were bloody examples. The collapse of the aristocrats and other old forces also forced many people to rethink the way to survive and die.
After being exploited by Xu Zhengye, the Jiangdu salt merchants who were still able to survive were all shrewd people. They were naturally good at judging people's actions and changing their attitude according to the situation. They could not and had no reason to do such a stupid thing as not crying until they saw the coffin.
They have also been watching privately these days, and at first they were thinking - what they know is that this new governor, who is famous for his military exploits and dares to openly ask the emperor for an official position, is by no means a weak and vulnerable person. Moreover, the other party now also serves as the marshal of the anti-Japanese war and holds military power in his hands. He is by no means just an empty figure.
But she is young and inexperienced... I wonder if she is easy to fool? I am not afraid that she does not understand the affairs of the salt administration, but I am afraid that she knows too much.
However, after patiently waiting for several days, the other party did not express their intention to meet with them. The other party asked each industry to elect a person in charge to express their opinions, but they only "missed" their salt merchants... Among all the industries in Jiangdu, even if they were added together, how could they be as important as their salt merchants? Aren't their opinions important? !
Does she understand or not?
After the news of the beheading of a hundred salt smugglers yesterday spread, some salt merchants began to get restless - they were afraid that she knew too much, or that she didn't know anything at all and would just kill people indiscriminately! What if they were scholars who met soldiers? Royal law? In Jiangdu, where the rulers kept changing, where was the sound royal law!
After all, the new governor was desperately short of money, and it was said that he was ready to write a large stack of IOUs to Princess Xuan'an for the purpose of rebuilding the trade route... The reason why they knew these inside information was, firstly, because of his flexible connections, and secondly, because Chang Suining himself was not tight-lipped.
She just wanted to shout it out, to let everyone know that she was in great need of money and was going crazy thinking about it - that was why she sighed in public when she was discussing matters with a group of officials early the morning the day before yesterday, "Everyone, I had a dream last night. I dreamed that a lot of money fell from the sky, both yellow and white. How great it would be if it were true."
There was a brief silence in the hall at that time, as most of them were overwhelmed by the new governor's frankness.
This overly straightforward statement naturally did not escape the ears of the salt merchants who were always paying attention to the attitude of the new governor.
For a man who rose to fame through military merit, who is so young and has never experienced hard times, it is normal for him to do something when he is desperate for money, right? There are wars raging inside and Japanese troops coveting outside. If he still wants to survive in Jiangdu and survive under Chang Suining, what else can he do? What is male or female, old or young? Whoever holds the lifeline of Jiangdu's safety in his hands is the boss... Those who try to despise the other party and get away with it, please stop thinking too much, it will cost you your life!
Since they no longer had any hope, they had to express their opinions as soon as possible. They all understood that they had to say nice words as soon as possible, otherwise, when the knife was on their necks, no matter how much they said, it would only be their last words! So, after an urgent discussion, the salt merchants expressed their opinions last night -
"The salt merchants sent me a list last night." Chang Suining said, "Maybe when someone was delivering the heads of the salt merchants to various places yesterday, they accidentally passed by their door and frightened them, so they came to deliver the list in the middle of the night."
Luo Guanlin: “…” What a “accidental passing by”.
Luo Ze felt a chill down his spine when he heard this. This “carelessness” was quite creepy.
"They understand how difficult it is to rebuild Jiangdu, and they are willing to donate generously to help Jiangdu overcome its current difficulties. Some even promised to donate their entire fortune."
Chang Suining said, and asked Xier to fetch the list: "Please take a look, sir. It's a lot of money."
Luo Guanlin took the list, looked at the considerable amounts on it, and when he looked up at the girl sitting in the chair, his eyes changed slightly.
She didn't have to do anything, and she didn't even have to meet the salt merchants in person, but she got them to voluntarily pay so much silver in a short period of time... She really has some tricks up her sleeve.
Since so much blood has been shed, agreeing to regulate the price of salt is just a side effect.
Luo Guanlin deeply felt that for the people of Jiangdu at this time, there was no distinction between right and wrong, high and low in terms of means. As long as she could maintain order and prevent unrest and killing from happening on this land, that would be her ability.
Luo Guanlin was about to speak, but the girl smiled at him and said, "Mr. Luo, if you want to praise me, just go ahead."
Luo Guanlin seemed to have his thoughts seen through at a glance: ...I don’t want to think about it now!
Luo's mother, who had not said anything, was about to praise the Lord on behalf of her son when Ah Che came in from outside and announced, "Girl, Wang Changshi is here."
Chang Suining: "Please come in."
As soon as Wang Changshi entered the hall to pay his respects, he heard Chang Suining say in a tone of sharing a happy event: "Changshi, you came at the right time—"
She told Wang Changshi about the salt merchants' actions and asked him to take a quick look at the amount on the list. She sighed, "It's no wonder I complain about being poor every day. It really works. Money is really falling from the sky."
Wang Changshi took the list from Luo Guanlin with surprise, and couldn't help but look at the man in front of him wearing a half-mask and the four people behind him with some curiosity——
Wang Changshi had a kind and polite smile on his face and asked carefully: "I wonder if you are..."
Luo Guanlin: ...This is a brilliant question. The most brilliant thing about it is that he doesn’t even know who he is.
So, who should he be? In what capacity should he stay by her side?
The moment of determining the status had arrived so unexpectedly, and Mr. Luo looked at Chang Suining.
Chang Suining said: "This gentleman is a knowledgeable person I specially invited. He will live in the mansion permanently in the future."
Wang Changshi understood, this is a new guest.
Yes, Your Excellency the Governor has a very heavy workload, and will be busy with the war soon. He should hire a few more retainers to help him solve his problems.
Wang Changshi's tone became more polite: "May I know your name, sir?"
Luo Guanlin stood with his hands behind his back and said nothing. He didn’t know this either.
Wang Changshi was feeling somewhat puzzled. He asked his lord to answer all the questions. This retainer was wearing a mask and acted very arrogantly.
Chang Suining randomly picked out a word from his mind: "Mr.'s surname is Qian."
This overly improvisational performance made Luo Guanlin stunned.
Money is all she has in mind, right? If he had known, he would have picked one at random!
Sensing her son's dissatisfaction, Luo's mother pinched him lightly and said, "Qian is a good surname. It brings wealth and prosperity to the owner!" Besides, people who have died once should seek good luck, right?
"Mr. Qian..." Wang Changshi thought for a moment and tried to ask, "Are you from the Wuxing Qian family?"
"That's right..." Luo's mother nodded with a smile.
Luo Guanlin: “?”
How come it is “just right”!
How come you really have a Wuzhong accent?
Little did she know that although Luo's mother had not thought deeply, she had foresight - a person like Governor Chang would definitely have many followers in the future. If he did not have a legitimate background, he would be excluded and his position would be unstable! The Qian family in Wuxing was also a large family with many branches. Who could investigate them one by one? Sure enough, Chief Secretary Wang stood up in awe and bowed again.
Luo Guanlin returned the greeting reluctantly, his heart weaker than his kidneys.
I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival~ I love you all (づ￣3￣)づ╭ (The last two days of the month, do you still have monthly tickets? If you don’t vote, they will be cleared. Don’t waste them hehehehe) (End of this chapter)
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