With a creak, the gate opened.
A young man stuck his head out and looked outside, then let Zhang Tongchang into the yard.
After verifying his identity, the young man saluted Zhang Tongchang and said, "Song Zongzai, a flag officer of the Guangzhou Jinyiwei, greets Captain Zhang."
Zhang Tongchang nodded slightly, "Have you prepared the information about the Fuzhou merchants?"
"It's ready, please take a look, sir." Song Zongzai took out a piece of information from his arms and handed it to Zhang Tongchang.
Zhang Tongchang took the document and quickly scanned it.
It records the names, addresses, number of shops, business categories, etc. of the local wealthy businessmen in Fuzhou.
“Who’s in the soap business?”
"These two." Song Zongzai pointed on the paper.
Zhang Tongchang was a little angry after reading it. "Didn't I tell you to find one of the richest businessmen in the area? Look at the number of businesses they own. They're not even in the middle of the pack!"
Song Zongzai saluted hurriedly, "Please forgive me, sir. The wealthy merchants in Fuzhou are unwilling to deal with the Jinyiwei, fearing that we will covet their property. So we can only settle for the second best and find merchants with average strength to cooperate with."
"Asshole!" Zhang Tongchang's face was filled with anger. "Have you forgotten your identities as Jinyiwei?"
"Please forgive me, sir!" Song Zongzai lowered his head. "The situation in Fujian is quite complicated. The Jinyiwei's power is nominal. The real power is in the hands of the local clans."
"Unless they have committed an unforgivable crime, the Imperial Guards would not dare to act rashly."
Song Zongzai's words were not fictitious.
There were many clans in the south in the late Ming Dynasty.
They built clan temples, established family genealogies to manage their members, and developed their clan's power.
Members of the clan support and help each other.
Many prominent families not only have connections in the local area, but also in the court.
There's more.
They can be found among teachers in academies, generals and soldiers in garrisons, runners in government offices, and businessmen doing business.
As clan power gradually grew, they controlled local politics, economy and culture.
It can be called a noble family during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
This situation has both advantages and disadvantages for the Ming court.
The advantage is that it is easy to manage. You only need to issue orders to the clan leader without spending any other energy.
The downside is that clans protect each other politically; they plunder and annex land economically; and they monopolize educational resources culturally, making it impossible for ordinary people to succeed through the imperial examinations.
The local wealthy businessmen in Fuzhou not only have officials as their umbrella of protection, but also the support of their clans.
There were only a few hundred Jinyiwei in Fuzhou. No matter how powerful they were, they could not compete head-on with the local clans.
Zhang Tongchang's eyebrows were twisted into a knot.
This matter is much more complicated than expected.
However, he had made full preparations in advance, otherwise he would not have dared to come.
After Zhang Tongchang collected the list, he asked, "How many famous families are there in Fuzhou?"
"They can't be called famous families," Song Zongzai counted with his fingers, "There are seven families that can be called big families. In order of strength, they are Lin, Liu, Shen, Wu, Chen, and He."
"Hmm?" Zhang Tongchang raised his eyebrows, "There's still one missing."
Song Zongzai chuckled and said, "There is also the Song family."
Zhang Tongchang suddenly realized what was going on. He patted Song Zongzai on the shoulder and sneered, "So you are smuggling goods. No wonder the soap business didn't fall into the hands of the wealthy merchants like Lin and Liu, but instead fell into the hands of the weakest Song family."
"Please forgive me, sir," Song Zongzai knelt on the ground, "I am a member of the Song clan. If I give the soap business to the Lin and Liu clans, the Song clan will expel me from the clan. After being expelled, although I can rely on my status as a Jinyiwei to live a worry-free life, my family will lose their protection after my death, and the clan will make my family live a life worse than death."
"I have no choice but to do this. Please spare my life, sir."
Zhang Tongchang stood there in silence for a while.
He understood Song Zongzai's difficulties. In fact, most people would first consider self-protection before doing anything, rather than strictly following orders.
Zhang Tongchang thought for a moment and said, "Stand up. This matter is indeed excusable, but I still have to report the truth to His Majesty."
Looking at Song Zongzai's pale face, Zhang Tongchang added: "I will plead for mercy."
"Thank you very much, sir."
It was almost lunch time, so Song Zongzai welcomed Zhang Tongchang and his group.
While drinking tea after dinner, Zhang Tongchang began to think about ways to break the deadlock.
Chongzhen gave him two tasks. One was to suppress local businessmen in Fujian and disrupt Fujian's business.
The second is to find out the scale of Zheng Zhilong’s smuggling.
At first he thought the latter was difficult, but now he thinks the former is more difficult.
Suppressing businessmen means suppressing the clans behind them, and the difficulty can be imagined.
"Come on, let's first talk about the relationship between the seven major local clans." Zhang Tongchang said to Song Zongzai.
Song Zongzai did not dare to hide anything and told the truth.
“The local clans are not fighting each other, but are uniting with each other to achieve their respective goals.”
"Among them, the four clans of Lin, Liu, Shen, and Wu have been engaged in intermarriage, supporting each other to exclude dissidents and suppress other clans."
"The Chen, He and Song families also united through marriage to protect themselves."
"But it's just self-protection."
Zhang Tongchang took a sip of tea and asked, "So, the Lin, Liu, Shen, and Wu peoples are living quite well?"
"No!" Song Zongzai shook his head. "The clan is also divided into different levels. The higher the generation, the higher the status. The legitimate son has a higher status than the illegitimate son, and the eldest son has a higher status than the second son. In addition, those who have achievements, a lot of land, and money have a high status. Those who have no achievements, no land, and no money have a low status."
"It is common for the higher-ranking members of the clan to bully the lower-ranking members."
"People at the bottom of a large clan are fine, as they can get protection from the clan. People at the bottom of a small clan are not only bullied by the large clan, but also face oppression within the clan. It can be said that life is worse than death."
"For example, if Zhang San from a large clan offends a government official, the clan will help Zhang San to quell the incident. If Li Si from a small clan also offends a government official, the clan will not only not help him, but will tie Li Si up and make him kowtow in front of the official to admit his fault."
"So that's how it is..." Zhang Tongchang gained some understanding of the local clans.
He thought for a while and then asked in a low voice, "Since the clan is unstable internally, then there must be rifts between the clans, right?"
"Yes, the clans are cooperating but also competing with each other, and the competition is very fierce."
"That's easy!" Zhang Tongchang showed a mysterious expression, "Give your clan leader a message, tell him that you want to invite him to have tea at noon tomorrow, and ask him to come."
"I obey your command." Song Zongzai stood up and left happily.
He saw the desire to fight in Zhang Tongchang's eyes!
If all goes well, their Song clan will replace the Lin clan and become the most prestigious family in the local area!
After Song Zongzai left, Zhang Tongchang picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea.
He drank the tea in one gulp, then walked to the desk and began to write a letter to Chongzhen.
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