Nanming Engineer

Chapter 480 Shanxi Merchants
The air stiffened.

All the smiles froze on their faces, as if their faces were suddenly glued together, as fixed as a wood carving.

The faces of the two rich merchants turned pale, and they maintained their gestures of bowing and bowing, their eyes were dazed and full of fear.

No one speaks, you can hear a needle falling indoors, and the sound outside the window suddenly becomes harsh, pedestrians talking, the wheels of vehicles rolling, the wind blowing and flags rolling, and even a bird standing on the roof and stepping on tiles The sound of the film can be heard.

Li Dingguo and Li Tingyu were still sitting straight and expressionless, with their hands on their knees, but their gazes were like lightning, stabbing at the four people facing them.

Wang Huan smiled and picked up the teacup.

Jiang Tuan frowned slightly, looked at the two fat businessmen who were standing there calmly, and wondered: Didn't Wang Huan always prefer Southwest?How could it be clear that in Beijing, Emperor Shunzhi held a banquet for Shanxi Shanxi Merchants?You know, at that time, this matter was not a guest in the restaurant in Yangliu Hutong, but in the Forbidden City, except for the eight Shanxi merchants, there were no other Han people. How did Wang Huan know?
He muttered in his heart, but he immediately reacted, said haha, and said in a loud voice: "Duke Liang really knows all these things clearly. In fact, this is not surprising, and it is no wonder that the two Patriarchs The son is powerful, and those who obey will prosper and those who oppose will perish. Even the hair of the whole world can be cut off after an edict, let alone a few businessmen? The emperor of the Tartars made a trick and asked a few Shanxi merchants to eat, taking the opportunity Winning over, this is a means to divide us Han people, my lord is so wise and brave, I can definitely see that this is a treacherous scheme of the Tartars."

The two businessmen woke up like a dream, and hurriedly left their seats and knelt down, and said anxiously: "Jiang Zongbing is absolutely right! At the beginning, I couldn't help myself. If I didn't go, my wealth and life would be a trivial matter, and my whole family would be slaughtered." , the Tartars are unreasonable, and if they don't like it, they will steal their family and exterminate their clan. Although we care about the court, we have to deal with it perfunctorily, please forgive me!"

There are red faces and white faces in this speech, and the voice is full of emotion, convincing people with reason, and those who don't understand will be deceived as a matter of course.

Wang Huan smiled faintly, and stretched out his hands to help. The two businessmen took advantage of the donkeys to stand up and sat down majestically.

With Jiang Guan helping to reason, I think Wang Huan would not be entangled. He had to bow his head under the eaves. At that time, there were not many officials in the entire Ming court who would not surrender. Two businessmen were invited to dinner by the Tartar emperor. Who would Dare not to go?If it were you, Wang Huan, you would definitely want to go too.

Sure enough, Wang Huan nodded and sighed: "You guys are right. I naturally understand the difficulties of the two Patriarchs. How can you be bloody and loyal in the wolf's den? A man can bend and stretch, as long as he has a good heart, Of course, they are all righteous men. Come on, everyone, let us drink this cup to the full for the recovery of Shanxi, and from now on, we will return to Shanxi with the sun and the moon, and the heaven and earth will be bright and bright!"

Jiang Guan patted the table and toasted, and praised: "Good! The Duke of the country is very right. We are waiting for the restoration of Shanxi and the eternal prosperity of the Ming Dynasty!"

The air became warm again, everyone raised their glasses, touched each other, and drank a full glass of wine.

Since ancient times, China has paid attention to a wine culture, and it is said that there is no banquet without wine.If you talk without drinking, you always feel that something is wrong. After drinking, the words will be easier to talk about.

Say some unnutritious flattering words to get rid of the embarrassment just now. After drinking for three rounds, hot dishes are served one by one. Now, it is extremely rare for Jiang Guan to get such good things.

Wang Huan tasted the dishes, and said sincerely: "Jiang Zongbing has a heart. Needless to say, these dishes are nothing in Jiangnan. In a rich land, they are nothing, but in Datong in the north, they are very rare."

Jiang Yan grinned at the corner of his mouth, and said with a hold of his beard, "Master Jiang is absurdly praised, but Jiang doesn't dare to do it! But the Duke appreciates the face, and the people below naturally have to be more careful. To tell you the truth, Mr. Jiang has been clean and honest, so how can he afford this expense?" Delicious dishes with a lot of money? Today’s table dishes are all prepared by the two heads of the family.”

Wang Huan said "Oh?" and looked at the two of them uninterestedly.

The two Shanxi merchants suddenly felt that their faces were bright, and they cupped their hands again and again: "Where can I invite the Duke of the country, and the little people are full of glory. Although Datong is remote, it is the hub of the north and the south. Goods from the north are transported to the south, and goods from the south go north. It’s more or less accessible, it’s not that small people boast, what’s in Jiangnan, there’s Datong, but what’s in Datong may not be in Jiangnan!”

Jiang Yu said with a smile: "Duke, Shanxi merchants are hardworking and hardworking. They are suitable for business far and near. They reach the world with integrity. They are not inferior to the salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River and the wealthy customers in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Over the years, they have spread far and wide. To describe them as rich and powerful, they are not inferior to them." Too much."

He approached Wang Huan, and said in a voice that was deliberately lowered but could be heard by everyone at the table: "I heard that the Duke of the State is a good businessman. He has a large plate in the northwest and southwest, and his taxation and financial resources are the best at home and abroad. Even the people in the south Even the annual income of the imperial court is not worth the Duke's business, if the Duke wants to manage here, these two are my Jiang family's confidantes, they are well-connected and well-connected, and they can help the Duke."

The others at the table pretended not to hear and looked up at the sky, but everyone was laughing.

Wang Huan said "Oh!" and looked at the two of them again.

The two Shanxi merchants raised their glasses, stood up, and toasted Wang Huan.

After drinking a glass, Wang Huan laughed, and asked Jiang Tuan in a voice that was deliberately lowered but could be heard by everyone at the table: "Master Jiang recommends it so, maybe he has a part in it?"

Jiang Guan smiled without saying a word, and waved his hands again and again.

Wang Huan tilted his head back, held his cup and said with a smile: "Master Jiang, I heard that there were eight Shanxi merchants who went to Beijing for a banquet with the emperor of the Tartars. Now there are only two people here, and the others are not here. Isn't that obvious?"

Jiang Yu choked, his complexion changed slightly, and then he recovered, Changshen said: "The Duke of the state doesn't know something, as the saying goes, different ways don't conspire with each other, there are many Jin merchants, and there are always impurities mixed in, as the saying goes: People go up One hundred, all kinds of things. Although we Jin people are based on benevolence, righteousness and integrity, we have produced some scum! The Duke said it well, why did we only bring these two here? There are twists and turns in the reason."

He also said: "When I went to Beijing that day, there were Shanxi merchants Fan, Wang Xiao, Jin, Wang Da, Liang, Tian, ​​Zhai, and Huang. They were all top-ranked wealthy merchants in Shanxi. In terms of business, it can be said that these eight companies will shake their feet, and the whole pass will be shaken, which is no exaggeration!"

"The eight families have their own strengths, and they are the leaders in each industry. The people behind them are of course enough to support their family business. Jiang is not talented, and has some connections with Fan and Wang Xiao, so he takes care of him on a daily basis. However, Jiang cleans himself up and never extends his hands to corruption, this point can be imitated by the Duke of the state, and everyone in Datong knows."

Wang Huan nodded, and said: "Master Jiang's reputation of integrity is known to everyone."

This sentence didn't sound right, but Jiang Yu didn't care about it, and continued: "Because of this, Jiang has been urging the Fan family and Wang Xiao's family to never do things like collaborating with foreign enemies and betraying the country for glory, so the two of them Although they are profit-seeking, they have never crossed the red line and have no relationship with the Tartars. The other six are different. They sell ironware, grain, cloth, herbs, etc., and transport them to the north. In fact, they sell them to the Tartars! The pursuit of huge profits , I don’t even want my ancestors anymore, his heart is damnable! Jiang said this today because he can’t understand such traitors, no matter what forces are behind them, Jiang must speak up and announce this to the country!"

"Oh?" Wang Huan was surprised: "There is such a thing?"

"It's absolutely true!" Jiang Yan said aggressively, "If it weren't for that, Tartar wilderness man, where did you get the iron weapons? Where did you get the medicinal materials to heal the wounded? Not to mention that there is not so much rations to sustain the army's southward invasion!"

Wang Huan shot the case and shouted angrily: "If this is the case, these people should be executed!"

Jiang Yu, Jiang Xuan, and two Shanxi merchants stood up together, bowed to Wang Huan and said, "Every word of this matter is true, please check it out!"

Wang Huan slapped the table with a loud bang, but for some reason, Li Dingguo and Li Tingyu, who were sitting next to them like wood, did not respond. There was a smile.

It seems that I can't suppress it anymore, and I want to laugh out loud.

Under the table where no one could see, Li Dingguo reached out and squeezed Li Tingyu's thigh to stop his laugh.

Wang Huanweiyan was sitting, nodded, took out a stack of papers from his arms, sighed, put them in the middle of the table, and said: "However, by coincidence, I also received some reports, some Shanxi officials and gentry jointly signed a letter, reporting Fan The family and Wang Xiao’s family communicated with internal and external enemies, colluded with the Tartars, and sold forbidden items to get out of the customs. The world can learn from it.”

Jiang Yu's eyes bulged out suddenly.

(End of this chapter)