Zhang Qi was still shocked.
Fang Zhiyi seemed lazy and even asked him to get the documents from the clerk on his behalf. Zhang Qi just accidentally glanced at the content of the document and was almost scared to death.
Your Excellency actually dared to have someone forge the Ministry of Revenue approval document!
This, this!
Zhang Qi was dumbfounded. He now understood clearly that Fang Zhiyi was not on guard against him, which meant that he had passed the test, but it also meant that he could not get away!
Sure enough, some unknown storms began to brew in Qingzhou.
The first is the upstart Wang family that rose in recent years and made its fortune from the silk trade. They fell into misfortune. The Wang family had met Fang Hongyuan several times and had originally thought that they would have some convenience in the future, but they didn't expect that Fang Hongyuan's words were no longer effective.
When Shopkeeper Wang applied for a customs pass, he was rejected three times in a row by Fang Zhiyi's clerk, who said the format was wrong all three times. No matter how stupid Shopkeeper Wang was, he understood what was going on and immediately sent someone to deliver some silver with a smile. The clerk's meaningful smile after receiving the money made Shopkeeper Wang feel something was wrong.
Sure enough, before the goods were loaded onto the truck, someone reported that there was something wrong with the Wang family's goods. Then Captain Zhao, who happened to be passing by, ordered his soldiers to seize several trucks of goods, claiming that they would be returned immediately after verification.
Shopkeeper Wang was dumbfounded and didn't understand why. Until he met someone from the Gu family, who gave him some pointers, he finally understood. He immediately ordered someone to prepare five taels of silver and gave it to Fang Zhiyi in the name of helping to repair the government office. Fang Zhiyi was deeply moved and immediately said that he must clear Shopkeeper Wang's name.
So three days later, Fang Zhiyi said embarrassedly that the batch of silk had been soaked in water and was of course ruined, but he patted his chest and said that he would get to the bottom of the matter. So that afternoon, Captain Zhao brought 1,000 taels of silver as compensation. Shopkeeper Wang was dumbfounded, because those carts of silk were worth several thousand taels!
Now he knew that he had been fooled, but he was helpless against Fang Zhiyi and could only swallow his anger.
Those "soaked in water" silks appeared in the Ma family's shop in a blink of an eye.
Although Fang Hongyuan was unhappy, he was very excited when he saw the silver that Fang Zhiyi had sent people to bring back.
"This is what it's like to have a son! He can make money while standing!" Fang Hongyuan praised excitedly, even though Fang Zhiyi was not there.
Fang Zhiyi seemed to be addicted. After the formation of this alliance, he became more and more unscrupulous in his actions. The thousand households and aristocratic families who joined his alliance were also intoxicated by Fang Zhiyi, and they would attack wherever Fang Zhiyi pointed.
"How long will it take to get rich by robbing the wealthy?" Fang Zhiyi said, "Robbing the wealthy is the best way for us to get rich."
They all nodded in praise.
Delaying business licenses, blocking transportation documents, and forcing merchants to donate money are all routine operations. Those marginal families know a lot of secrets of other families, and they jump out to report every few days. Every time, Fang Zhiyi will mediate between the two parties with a quarrelsome look on his face, and in the end he will scrape off a layer of their skin on the grounds of "fines and confiscations."
At the same time, holding the forged Ministry of Revenue documents, Fang Zhiyi began to check the hidden fields and recover the overdue taxes. In this way, almost all the families were plundered by him. In this way, Fang Zhiyi quickly became a nouveau riche, and those marginal families also returned to their heyday. However, other families and merchants were complaining bitterly.
They all went to see Old Master Fang without any prior arrangement, but strangely, Fang Hongyuan claimed to be ill and refused to see any guests.
Fang Hongyuan sneered, "Only those who are beneficial to us are called allies. Ignore them." He smacked his lips and looked at the silver he had hidden at home. "This kid, although his methods are a bit immature, his thinking is surprisingly clear. I was wrong about him before."
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