A few days ago, under the careful care of Judge Qin, the prefect of Qizhou finally regained consciousness. The first thing he did was to send someone to invite the two business managers who were on good terms with him. He briefly explained the matter of the salt permits, and the two business managers went back to make arrangements without hesitation.
After a long and tiring journey, I finally made it to today's meeting.
The two shopkeepers were quite embarrassed. After greeting Shen Yu'an, they sat down in the lower seat.
Only then did Shen Yu'an speak: "Gentlemen, the main reason I've gathered you all here today is to discuss the purchase of salt permits."
Here it comes!
These shopkeepers had been waiting for this moment. They immediately sat up straight and looked at Shen Yu'an with eyes as if they were starving people seeing a plate of steaming, fragrant braised pork!
Shen Yu'an was startled by the description he had come up with, and his whole body trembled. He shook his head and said, "Currently, the merchant guild consists of two families from Changzhou, two families from Qizhou, and three families from Dingzhou."
The shopkeepers looked at each other, then gave each other friendly but awkward smiles.
"There are less than half a month left before the Ministry of Revenue issues the salt permits, so my idea is that we should negotiate all the details, sign the contracts, and raise funds in the next two days. The day after tomorrow, we will set off directly from Changzhou to the capital."
Before the shopkeepers could ask any questions, Shen Yu'an continued, "I heard that a salt field has recently been discovered in Huizhou. My idea is to have the Wen Family Escort Agency escort us to Huizhou and get salt from the Huizhou salt field."
The news of the discovery of a new salt field in Huizhou was also brought back by Qi Chenglang, which was excellent news for Gu Yuzhi.
The exposure of the salt permit issue made Gu Yuchen realize that although the salt fields in the south were said to be under the control of the royal family, many of them were actually under the control of the Prince of Chu.
There were no salt fields in Huizhou before, so why were salt fields discovered in Huizhou after Qi Chengjun took office as the prefect of Huizhou?
It's very simple, because the former prefect of Huizhou concealed the fact that this saltworks was involved.
The imperial court had a very tight grip on salt, and the profits of private salt fields skyrocketed. Therefore, the salt fields in Huizhou were definitely not the only ones that were kept secret.
Gu Yuchen finally understood why the King of Chu had the confidence to secretly maintain a 100,000-strong navy in Jiangnan.
After finding out about this place, Gu Yuchen immediately sent someone to deliver the message to Qi Chenglang, meaning that Gu Yuzhi should go to the Huizhou salt field.
Only there would Gu Yuzhi's men not be harassed by the people at the saltworks.
So when Shen Yu'an mentioned Huizhou, all the shopkeepers present looked bewildered, and one of them blurted out, "Doesn't Huizhou not have salt fields?"
Gu Yuchen was wary of the fact that the Prince of Chu did not publicize the existence of salt fields in Huizhou, and because these managers had never been qualified to purchase salt permits before, they were completely unaware of this matter.
As soon as the words were spoken, the shopkeepers realized how foolish their question had been.
They're in the same boat now, and the Wen family isn't out of their minds to make fun of something like this.
After understanding this, the shopkeepers looked at Shen Yu'an with even greater respect.
Young Master Wen even had the means to know such unknown things, which means that his background is even deeper than they thought!
The three old foxes from Dingzhou, in particular, exchanged glances and quickly realized that the Wen family's business guild had a very high chance of succeeding in leading the merchant group to seize the salt permit from the Li family's business guild.
Shen Yu'an did not answer the question, but continued, "Managers, I have received reliable information that the head manager of Li's Trading Company set off yesterday. My idea is simple: if everyone is amicable and discusses things, two days will be enough for you to get everything settled."
He knew that purchasing salt permits was extremely important, so the merchants from Qizhou and Dingzhou must have made thorough preparations before coming to Changzhou, just in case.
After all, the Ministry of Revenue issues salt permits only once a year. If they don't participate this year, the Wen family business will definitely not include them next year!
As soon as Shen Yu'an finished speaking, Manager Zhang of Dingzhou Cloth Shop spoke first: "Young Master Wen, the demands of our Dingzhou merchants are very simple, and your shop's steward is also aware of this matter."
The other two shopkeepers from Dingzhou nodded in agreement: "Before we came, our prefect reiterated to us that Dingzhou is willing to contribute two-thirds of the money to purchase the salt permits. The three of us have come with the utmost sincerity. As long as Young Master Wen agrees to our request, we are willing to cooperate with anything."
In a barren place like Dingzhou, these merchants, who were looked down upon, stood on the same side as the Dingzhou prefect.
Their goals were certainly not as noble as those of the prefect of Dingzhou. What they wanted most was to develop Dingzhou, because only in this way could their businesses make more money.
But even if these three businesses in Dingzhou pooled all their resources, they probably wouldn't be as wealthy as the other businesses.
Shen Yu'an remained silent, which was unusual, while several shopkeepers from Qizhou and Changzhou declined.
What a joke! There are only three prefectures in total, and the salt quota for each prefecture should be the same. Why should Dingzhou get more?
If Dingzhou takes more, doesn't that mean they should take less?
The profits involved are enormous, and the true nature of businessmen is fully revealed at this moment.
The three shopkeepers in Dingzhou knew that their request was a bit excessive, so they could only smile awkwardly and try to explain what was going on.
However, one side was eager to explain, while the other side said they didn't want to listen at all. The once quiet and polite meeting room suddenly turned into a large-scale argument.
Shen Yu'an sighed softly, secretly relieved that the conference hall had been specially reinforced and soundproofed; otherwise, given the intensity of the argument, Li Yanping would have known about what Wen's Trading Company had done by tomorrow, even on his way to the meeting.
The two sides argued until their throats were dry, while Manager Zhou waited in the private room, refilling the teapots for the managers several times.
When both sides were somewhat tired, Shen Yu'an clapped his hands and said, "Gentlemen, please hear me out. After discussing the matter of Dingzhou with the managers of our Wen family, we can agree to your request."
As soon as he finished speaking, the other two shopkeepers from Qizhou and Changzhou reacted violently.
Shen Yu'an coughed lightly: "When we discussed this before, it was already made clear that the salt permits would be purchased and divided equally among the three prefectures. As for how the salt would be distributed among the prefectures after the equal distribution, I will not be involved. But I also emphasized that the salt price in each prefecture of the northern desert should be kept consistent."
These were things that Shen Yu'an had mentioned when he first met them, so when he brought them up again, these people didn't show the slightest suspicion.
They even stated that they would absolutely comply with Shen Yu'an's demands.
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