The scenery of Jiangnan was exquisite. Near the imperial palace and the princes' residences, there was a small canal. After returning home, Cao Yin hurried to his study to discuss matters with his advisors. (Reading · 1 ·)
The emperor's palace has been completed, and a lot of money has been invested in it by salt merchants. In recent years, merchants in the south have been doing well, all thanks to the reform of tax policies.
Therefore, when the merchants learned of Emperor Kangxi's southern tour, their first thought was to form a connection and leave a good impression on him.
Qingyan sat leisurely in his study, listening to the reports from the managers of Linglong Pavilion. Over the past month, Cao Yin had been constantly strolling through the bustling streets.
"Little darling, how did the questioning go?" Yin listened from behind the screen. Cao Yin kept putting pressure on the merchants, hoping to present the side of them operating in accordance with the rules to Kangxi.
Even though the merchants in the south were the wealthiest in the entire Qing Dynasty, there was still a suspicion of collusion between officials and merchants.
"Fourth, Linglong Pavilion has also donated a lot of silver, saying it's for building a temporary palace for Father Emperor. I guess Cao Yin is keeping a close eye on it, trying to make more profits for the merchants."
"Who donated the most?" Yin was somewhat surprised by Qingyan's disdain.
She wouldn't look down on a businessman, so why is she acting strangely today?
"Salt merchants!" Qingyan said directly.
Linglong Pavilion has always paid attention to the problems of salt merchants. The officials of the Salt Administration Office are all accepting tributes from the salt merchants.
"Now that Father Emperor is looking at the salt administration documents, why would those people still donate money?" Yin asked curiously.
The censors frequently impeached officials for problems with the salt administration, and officials in the salt administration bureau often resorted to underhanded methods. The officials who issued the official decrees were basically under Emperor Kangxi's watchful eye.
"Hehe, you mean those permits can be approved for ten thousand taels of gold? Of course, each salt merchant family only has this opportunity once a year," Qingyan explained in detail.
After all, salt merchants and officials had their own separate circles, and apart from a few prestigious merchants in the south, no one else could see this secret bribery network.
Ten thousand taels of gold?!
Yin was astonished. How could there be so many?
“These slips are all finite; the officials in the south can issue more than 180 slips for salt merchants.” Yin did a quick calculation: if each slip could be used to ship goods, after the gold and taxes were sold, there would still be a considerable profit.
"The salt administration is bringing in money, Yin. The Crown Prince has already intervened," Qingyan said in a low voice.
The Crown Prince has intervened?
Yin was startled. Following the past, the Crown Prince had not yet heeded Suo'etu's advice and taken action against the officials in the south.
"Song'etu sent someone over?" Yin asked, puzzled.
Qingyan nodded. There were many spies in Linglong Pavilion, who were specifically watching the Salt Administration. Eventually, they discovered that Suo'etu kept sending his servants over. They used the Crown Prince's name to encourage officials to try to side with the Crown Prince.
"Little Darling, have you sent anyone infiltrated among the salt merchants?" Yin asked.
Qingyan nodded. In the business world of the south, salt merchants were considered top-tier merchants, after all, they served the royal family, so merchants would all try to curry favor with them.
"Fourth, the salt merchants have a big problem. Moreover, only the top executives of the salt merchants participate in every meeting; the lower-level officials can't participate at all," Qingyan said helplessly.
The salt merchants were divided into ranks. The person sent by Qingyan worked hard to improve himself. Sometimes, he would also use the connections that Qingyan had secretly arranged. Over the years, he was able to slowly get closer to the higher-ups.
"Only two people have slowly infiltrated, but it will still be a long time before they can attend the actual salt affairs meeting," Qingyan said, sipping his tea.
Upon arrival, Yin and the others remained on edge. Even Fei Yanggu and his two sons took turns patrolling, fearing that something might go wrong.
Yin hesitated for a moment, then had to admit that Qingyan's people had entered early and hadn't been discovered by the Dragon Guards.
"Have those people secretly send messages, but absolutely do not let them surface." Yin decided to cultivate Qingyan's network of connections for the time being.
Merchants, salt merchants, and imperial merchants all had their own circles, and they did not interact with each other. When the princes sent people in, they were usually easily discovered, and these people were often ostracized.
The ones dispatched by Qingyan were different. In addition to Linglong Pavilion and Yuelai Inn, Qingyan also had some small businesses under his control, and four or five of them had even entered the ranks of imperial merchants' suppliers.
After three or four years of development, Yin believed that Qingyan's network of connections was gradually becoming usable.
"Hehe, let's give it a try. I don't understand the people in these salt merchants. Besides, these people are the loyal followers of the Ulanara clan. Father gave them to me specifically." Qingyan must have his own people. Yin sent people to take over Yuelai Inn and Linglong Pavilion.
As for the other businesses, Qingyan would not allow Yin to get involved, and the people he sent would not be discovered by the merchants.
After all, the servants sent by the princes would naturally have a sense of superiority, which would unconsciously show when the merchants were negotiating.
"Actually, the Crown Prince and the princes have all sent people down to Jiangnan to do business in the south, but they haven't made much progress." Yin couldn't figure out what was wrong.
Qingyan covered her mouth and smiled. Yin still couldn't understand why his connections had been ruined by this.
"Stop laughing, let me explain!" Yin bent his index finger and tapped her forehead.
"Hehe, haven't you all noticed? The servants of princes naturally have a sense of superiority, and this will naturally show." Qingyan pointed out directly, "Moreover, those servants take advantage of your status to do things too easily. When they encounter problems, they will use your name to suppress government officials in handling matters."
Whenever those lackeys encountered difficulties, the merchants would observe them. Those who suppressed the government would no longer have any contact or cooperation with them.
"So that's how it is?" Yin finally understood.
In fact, a large part of the reason why Yin was able to establish himself in the business world was his social status.
Merchants flocked to Yin, constantly bringing business to his door. They valued Yin's status, knowing that a single word from him could completely resolve any difficulties they encountered.
"Si Si, if you want to handle business like this, you must pay attention to this. In fact, the managers of Linglong Pavilion and Yuelai Inn also have this sense of superiority. I had to deal with a few people before they gradually quieted down," Qingyan complained directly.
Yin pinched her little face. These troubles had to be resolved, otherwise, those servants wouldn't realize they had done something wrong.
"Little Darling, I'll select the servants, and you'll personally review them." The two of them need to work together to gradually integrate their spies.
Qingyan quickly nodded. They were a husband-and-wife team, while the other princes fought alone. The involvement of their female relatives could not penetrate this deeply at all.
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