Salt and iron have been the monopoly since ancient times.
Selling salt privately was equivalent to taking money directly from the national treasury, which was naturally a capital crime.
So it is not easy to find private salt dealers.
The earliest connection to private salt sales in Taoyuan County was found through information obtained from salted fish vendors.
Then I followed the connections and found the big salt dealer.
These salt dealers were also very vigilant. After trying for a while without success, Fang Zhengyi finally stepped in personally and "invited" them to the county government to negotiate.
When the salt merchants saw that Fang Zheng, a county magistrate, was so skilled in his job, they decided to cooperate with him.
So you can see how tricky the matter is.
When Xie Xian returned to Fenghua Tower, naturally countless merchants came to meet him.
Everyone knows that Shopkeeper Xie is now hanging out with Fang Zheng, so he is particularly enthusiastic.
Xie Xian also responded one by one and went from house to house with gifts.
One reason is to build good relationships so that they will be useful in the future.
Secondly, they used some lies, both overtly and covertly, saying that these merchants had a lot of land and supported many farmers, so the consumption of salt was also high.
Although for them, there is no pressure to buy official salt.
But in fact, the influence of price is everywhere, even rich people are deeply affected by it, especially businessmen who are very penny-wise and always weighing costs.
It’s just like how many rich people get into arguments with others over a few dollars of parking fees.
If these merchants have cheaper options, they will definitely not be willing to buy expensive ones.
Moreover, most of the risks are borne by the salt dealers. The risk to the salt buyers is not high, and if something goes wrong, they can just pay some money to settle it.
Except for Xie Xian, the rest of the people were walking around the city, searching for the salt dealers openly and secretly.
Thus, seven days had passed, and still nothing was gained.
Everyone gathered in the reception room again, feeling somewhat tired mentally.
But Xie Xian looked energetic.
"Everyone, did you gain anything today?"
Everyone shook their heads, and Zhou Tie said dejectedly:
"I didn't expect that the salt smugglers were so hard to find. We almost searched the whole city upside down, but we couldn't find a single trace of him."
"Old Xie, why don't we just go to the salt-producing area? It's not a good idea to keep staying here."
The others nodded in agreement.
But Qian Desheng remained silent.
He has been running a lot in the past few days. Although his arms and legs are old, he is the last one to arrive in Taoyuan County after all.
For the princess and for yourself, you should try your best. Useless people are not liked anywhere.
He had been in Taoyuan County for some time and knew Fang Zhengyi a little.
This gentleman is a humane person. As long as I can make a contribution this time, I will have hope for a better life in the future.
Seeing that he was silent, Xie Xian asked, "Butler Qian, what do you think?"
Qian Desheng nodded first, then he sorted out his thoughts and said, "I think something is wrong."
"Although private salt dealers have always been the focus of the imperial court's crackdown, they have always been rampant as there are huge profits to be made."
"It's the same wherever you are, just with some big or small differences."
"Jianjiang was originally prosperous. Although it suffered a disaster, many new people flocked to it."
"With so many poor people, it's a good time for salt dealers to operate, but...how is it possible that we can't find even one person?"
"Then there are only two possibilities. Either all the illegal salt dealers in Jianjiang are under the management of one person, or the source has been cut off."
\"So, I also agree to leave here and go directly to the salt-producing area."
“But we don’t have an identity…it’s very difficult to get things done.”
Xie Xian nodded and said, "Yes, that makes sense."
"In fact, we have status. Before I left, the master gave me his official seal and his private seal, but it's best not to use them easily."
"I found five suspicious people in Fenghua Tower. I wrote down their information. Let's take a look."
After saying that, Xie Xian picked up the paper on the table, handed it to someone nearby and started passing it around.
"The five people on this list are regular visitors to Fenghua Tower."
"He is not a local, and I don't know what he does for a living. He never discusses business with anyone in the building."
"In addition to eating, drinking and having fun, the most important thing for us at Fenghualou is to exchange business opportunities. There are almost no exceptions except for these five people."
"We'll keep watching for a few days. If we don't gain anything, we'll leave immediately."
Qian Desheng carefully examined the list and asked, "It's recorded clearly here."
"Two of them came from Haiyuan City. According to the map, this is an important salt-producing area. How did the maid and the waiter in the building know about this?"
Xie Xian smiled slightly: "When Fenghua Tower was first established, all the people in Fenghua Tower were carefully selected and trained!"
"Not only is he efficient, but he can also read and write."
"The prostitutes in this building can be considered top-notch prostitutes in any brothel in the city, and they have seen countless people, so it is not difficult for them to get this information."
Qian Desheng's expression suddenly looked a little gloomy.
This is a brothel. When I was in charge of the East Factory, I didn't play so extravagantly. It's really annoying to compare yourself with others...
"Let's give them five days. Find our brothers and follow them. If there is no news after five days, we will leave."
"The meeting is adjourned!"
.........
Three days later, at a tea stall in the city.
The tea stall is very simple and does not fit in with the surrounding environment. The banner at the door reads [Stomach Cleansing and Detoxification Tea]
Xie Xian and Zhou Tie sat in the tea stall looking at each other in silence.
He had just visited a wealthy family in the morning and had not gone far when he saw Zhou Tie wandering alone on the street.
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