The Chen clan compound in Fengyang County, Baizhou, one of the eight states of Nancang.
The mansion, which was once bustling with activity, is now deserted with only a few people left.
Chen Dongsheng, the patriarch of the Chen clan, stood in the back garden, looking at the fallen flowers on the ground, and chanted in a low voice:
“When autumn comes on September 8th, my flowers will bloom and all other flowers will die.
The fragrance of incense permeates Chang'an, and the whole city is covered with golden armor! "
This was naturally not a poem he wrote, but a letter written by the current Emperor Dezong, who asked Zhou Tongtong to send to him after his grandson Chen Linyuan married Zhou's daughter Zhou Yudan.
"Your Majesty, you are so courageous!"
Standing next to him was Chen Suyuan, who had returned from Guanyun City in April.
"Master, is he threatening us?"
Chen Dongsheng smiled broadly and shook his head. "We're not worthy of being threatened by His Majesty. By the way, have you reached an agreement on the last few salt wells?"
"Returning to the master, we've already reached an agreement yesterday. Each salt well will be sold to a man named Li for three million taels... Who is this Li Guan? Six salt wells for eighteen million taels of silver, and he just handed it over like that. Could he be one of the young emperor's men?"
"This is no longer important. Lin Yuan and his companions have already arrived in Jinling with Xianyun Shanren. The family's 120,000 disciples will also gradually arrive in the five main salt-producing regions of the Yu Dynasty. The core members of the Zhou family will also soon arrive in the Yu Dynasty, and the Lu family will be even faster. Their main base will be in Linjiang, where there is an excellent dock and shipyard."
"Go and inform all the remaining clansmen later that we will meet in Jiangcheng on October 8th and board the Lu family's passenger ship to the Yu Dynasty."
"You should also go back to Guanyun City and bring your family with you."
Chen Suyuan suddenly felt a sense of sadness in his heart. He had originally followed Nangong Yiyu's plan to come back and persuade the clan leader to give up the interests of the salt mine and follow the example of the Zhuo and Nangong families to hand over these interests to the little emperor to ensure the safety of the family.
But what he didn't expect was that the head of the family actually decided to sell all the assets and move the entire family south!
He was worried that this action would cause the young emperor to send troops to clear out the family. After all, the thousand-year-old Chen family held huge assets.
But now, the eldest young master Chen Linyuan has arrived in Jinling safely with at least half of the family property, without any problems, as if the little emperor was completely unaware of it.
Why is he doing this?
He also asked the patriarch about this doubt, but the patriarch did not explain.
"It's a long journey to Jiangcheng, please go ahead, clan leader."
Chen Dongsheng waved his hand. "I'm old, and I'm not going anywhere. The main house still needs to be guarded, and the ancestral hall still needs someone to sweep. You can go now."
"I have now handed over the position of Chen clan leader to my eldest son, Chen Shi. He knows how to run the Yu Dynasty. You... were once a fourth-rank official. When you arrive in Jinling, you will stay by Chen Shi's side and help him manage his new business."
"...What kind of business are we doing?"
"Of course, I still run the saltworks!"
“…”
Chen Suyuan sat in the carriage returning to Guanyun City, but there were so many things he didn't understand.
He didn't understand why the patriarch had to leave even though he didn't have to.
He didn't understand when the Chen family bought salt wells in the Yu Dynasty. The clan leader said that 120,000 Chen family disciples would arrive in the five main salt-producing areas of the Yu Dynasty one after another, which meant that at least five salt wells were purchased.
He knew that the white salt from the Chi Le Chuan Autonomous Region had taken up 30% of the market share of the Yu Dynasty's green salt, and it was very likely that the market would be completely taken over by white salt in the future. So, what was the point of the family buying the salt field without obtaining the method of refining white salt?
There is also the mysterious Xianyunshanren, whom I have met once. He is handsome and seems to be very shrewd.
The marriage with the Zhou family was the result of this hermit's plan, and the immigration to the Yu Dynasty was also the result of this hermit's plan.
He even persuaded the Zhou and Lu families. He planned the large-scale migration of the three major clan leaders of the seven thousand-year-old clans of the Wu Dynasty to the Yu Dynasty. What did he want to do?
Of course, given the current situation, it is not impossible to move to the Yu Dynasty. The clan leader said that the emperor of the Yu Dynasty welcomes them very much - of course they are welcome. The Chen family alone probably brought nearly 100 million yuan of silver to the Yu Dynasty!
In order for the three major clans to take root in the Yu Dynasty, they had to spend a lot of money to rebuild their business empires. For example, the Chen clan had to buy salt fields, the Zhou clan had to buy mines, and the Lu clan had to buy wood to build ships.
Logically speaking, none of their actions could be hidden from the young emperor's eyes. Chen Suyuan was well aware of the terrifying power of ant colonies. Three hundred million yuan was taken out of the country just like that... Was the young emperor really that kind?
…
…
"Why did he allow the three major clans to come to Yu Dynasty?"
Yan Shidao raised the same doubts and questions to Yu Wendao.
"The Chen family invested heavily in purchasing ten salt mines in Wudao, and the Zhou family also invested heavily in purchasing eight mines in Sandao. The Lu family wants to expand the Yao County dock tenfold! They want to build ten more docks like that, and they need to buy a lot of timber..."
"Your Majesty, this is indeed a good thing for our Yu Dynasty, but what I don't understand is that Fu Xiaoguan must have known about this, but he just let them leave. Is there something wrong with this?"
Yu Wendao smiled slightly, "He wrote me a letter back, mentioning it as a gift for my coronation as emperor."
Yan Shidao was stunned. This gift... is too heavy!
Zhuo Liuyun, who was standing nearby, pondered for a moment before speaking, "These three clans have discussed this with us privately several times. They're truly desperate within the Wu Dynasty. According to information from Xiyu Tower, Fu Xiaoguan has been aggressively acquiring salt fields in the Yi Kingdom and integrating those controlled by the government back home. Large quantities of white salt have entered the Wu Dynasty market, and no one is allowed to raise the price, meaning it can only be sold at 500 wen per catty."
"In this case, how will Chen's green salt survive? Similarly, as for Zhou's iron ore, Fu Xiaoguan has purchased a large amount of iron ore from our dynasty and has also signed a trade agreement with the Fan Kingdom. The Fan Kingdom will also export a large amount of iron ore to the Wu Dynasty, and the Zhou family will no longer be able to operate."
"As for the Lu family's grain transport business, because Fu Xiaoguan lifted restrictions on grain transport, private shipbuilding flourished, and his shipyard in Jiangcheng also built ships on a large scale. Private shipping prices were 20% lower than the Lu family's. At first, there were officials who interfered, but after the Censorate executed more than a dozen of them, no one dared to interfere anymore. Naturally, private shipping flourished, and the Lu family's grain transport business struggled."
"To sum up, these three clans must either give up their livelihoods or find other ways."
"How can they maintain their family's survival if they give up those livelihoods? Their only choice is to find another way. This is why they came to the Yu Dynasty."
"As for why Fu Xiaoguan didn't intervene... I've thought about it, and I'm afraid he wouldn't dare bear the reputation of having massacred hundreds of thousands of people."
That sounds reasonable.
But Yan Shidao felt extremely uneasy for some reason.
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