Chapter 104: The throat that strangles fate

There are not many people in the world who are qualified to worship Chen Yuan, where the imperial inspector Chen Pingping, lives. Therefore, in their eyes, Xinyang Li Palace, Donggucheng Jianlu, and Jiangnan Mingyuan are the three most beautiful and richest private buildings in the world. Of course, this ranking naturally does not include the black and blue Yishan Palace, which is as beautiful as the Immortal Palace in Northern Qi.

There are noble people living in the palace and a great master in Jianlu, all of whom are far away from ordinary people. Only Mingyuan, not far from Suzhou City in Jiangnan, gives scholars and people all over the world more possibilities for close appreciation.

The Ming family has never bullied people very much, nor has they deliberately kept the mystery of the high-ranking clans. Therefore, many scholars from Jiangnan and tourists from afar will go around the vast road in Suzhou, and go around the city to see the beautiful manor from a distance after strolling in Suzhou City.

Although you can't play close to you, it's enough to enjoy the sight when you look at it from a distance.

The Ming family is low-key but not mysterious, so this Mingyuan, which has been built for nearly 40 years, also maintains the profound imprint of their family. Each brick, tile, grass, tree, and pavilion are not gorgeous and dazzling, but rather have a faint sense of closeness. Moreover, the courtyard walls built along the foot of the mountain are not tall. When tourists stand on the official road, they can see the eaves inside, stand closer, and hear the gurgling sounds of the water inside.

Closeness does not mean family, simple. Of course it is not simple. In the eyes of those who truly understand the industry, you can definitely see that every detail in this pet manor is indecisive, and every material and design is ingenious. In the eyes of soldiers, you can also see that this manor seems to have no defensive ability, but as long as it is simply transformed, it can become a castle that can be held for half a year in a very short period of time...

The weather is not very good today. When it is chilly in early spring, the drizzle is slightly drizzling. The carriage that Mr. Ming is riding in is walking alone on the road home. There is no usual way to see tourists and women who are outing.

The carriage stopped strangely when it arrived outside the side door. Young Master Ming opened a corner of the curtain, revealing a gloomy face, looking at the front door of his house.

It seemed that it was seeing off guests there. A middle-aged man in an official uniform was walking onto his carriage with an angry face.

Ming Lanshi put down the curtain of the car, looked back at Zou Lei and said angrily: "Speak of Guo Zheng, Guo Zheng will arrive, why are you so uninterested?"

Zou Lei was silent, Guo Zheng was his direct boss. Last year, he was still the left censor of the Censorate of the Censorate in Kyoto. After the spring examination case, Guo Zheng led the trial of Fan Xian in the Third Department of Justice. At that time, he relied on the support of the eldest princess and beat Fan Xian a few times. He wanted to make a fuss, but he didn't expect that Fan Xian's background was so strong that he did not destroy the Fan family. Afterwards, because he offended Lin Xiangye's Fan family and the Supervision Office, these three giants took action and did not make any noise. He simply lost the Minister of Justice Han Zhiwei and sent Guo Zheng to Jiangnan.

The biggest loss in this life was because of Fan Xian, so he always held a grudge. Now that Fan Xian has gone to Jiangnan again, Guo Zheng seems to want to inspire the Ming family to get the right thing.

That's why Ming Lanshi looked so ugly, thinking that Mr. Guo was acting like a personal grudge and came to his home today. I'm afraid he's going to put in the pressure again.

"Father. I have already explained it." Ming Lanshi stood respectfully under the stone steps in a corner of Mingyuan and said to the house.

The contemporary owner of the Ming family came from inside the house, Ming Qingda, a little tired and comforting voice: "Okay, I have to survive this year, not only the people in the tribe should remind you not to be caught by the government, but even... Lan Shi, you have always been calm, and you must be more careful now."

Ming Lanshi nodded quickly and said that.

Ming Qingda walked out of the room slowly with a hint of fatigue on her face: "Did you see Guo Zheng before?"

Ming Lanshi frowned and replied, "Yes, father, he came to the door openly like this, probably in the eyes of the imperial envoy."

Ming Qingda smiled bitterly: "Forget it, the imprint on us is already deep enough. At this time, it is impossible to abolish the relationship with that aspect, and secondly, no one will believe it, so don't think about these problems anymore."

"Did he... come by himself, or represent those people in Beijing?" Ming Lanshi asked in a sarcastic manner.

Listening to this sentence, Ming Qingda's wrinkles became deeper and deeper. After a while, she sighed and said, "When will these officials have their own identities?"

Ming Lanshi's heart tightened. He knew what his father meant, which meant that Guo Zheng was here to convey the opinions of the eldest princess and His Highness, and looked at his father nervously.

"Don't worry, don't pay attention to the meaning of Beijing. Your Highness asked us to stumble for the imperial envoy..." Ming Qingda, the contemporary richest man, sneered: "This is to make us use sword envoys. Can I be so stupid? Of course, on the surface, we have to rely on them, because no one knows what will happen in the future, and who is on the dragon throne."

Ming Lanshi frowned slightly and said, "The order has been issued. As long as the imperial envoy is in Jiangnan for one day, we will be quiet for a day. But... it is not a solution to always show weakness like this."

"It's a good idea." Ming Qingda smiled faintly, "Fantis is not a devil who eats people and does not spit bones. He cannot catch our hands on the surface, and he is afraid of the officials and gentry in Jiangnan to rebound. He will not be able to take a bowl of water to swallow us in one bite... Let's be honest and give him enough face, and he will probably give us some face."

"This little Lord Fan... I don't even give you the second prince's face." Ming Lanshi said with a wry smile.

Ming Qingda laughed at himself and said, "The identity of a businessman is always unpredictable on the historical level, but now it is just the opposite. Lord Fan is the son of Miss Ye back then. Judging from his actions, he has always been a wounded official without harming the people. He has no prejudice against the businessman. He does not necessarily give us face if he doesn't give us any pretentiousness. After all, no matter how the second prince fights back, he is just a trap for him in the officialdom. We... have the ability to leverage the power of the people."

"Of course, as long as the situation has not developed to the point where we meet, we must not tease him." Ming Qingda said.

Ming Lanshi was a little bored. I don’t know how many times my father said this in the past few days. His father was too cautious in this matter, which made people feel a little uncomfortable. Although he understood the reason, it was still difficult to accept it. Looking at his father’s faint sad face, he couldn’t help comforting him: “Father, it really doesn’t work, let’s stop.”

The stone steps were quiet for a while, Ming Qingda. The richest man in Jiangnan in contemporary times shook his head slowly.

A moment later, a sharp look flashed in the eyes of the nearly fifty-year-old man, and he said, "Some things are not something that can be stopped if he wants to stop." He immediately sneered and said, "Stop, what are the tens of thousands of people in the clan eating? Don't forget that the nobles in the capital occupy so many shares. Even if we don't do it, wouldn't they ask me for money? The eldest princess, the prince, the second prince. The masters in the capital have been used to eating us over the years. If we really stop this time, the momentum will be together, who knows what they do? Never underestimate the greed level of the royal family and the officials...

Ming Lanshi looked at his father and a hint of sympathy flashed in his heart. Who would know that the richest man in Jiangnan had to do anything.

Ming Qingda said with a look of hatred, "The Ming family seems to be glorious. In fact, it is not an old hen who can lay eggs in their eyes. If the old hen doesn't lay eggs, those who originally supported us would probably want to kill us more than the imperial envoy and finally have a delicious meal of chicken."

Minglan's face was filled with hatred and cursed in a low voice: "If it weren't for the people in Beijing who were too good at consuming silver every year, we would have been selling the inner warehouse production seriously, for example, it would be less than a little short of the gap. Even if the inner warehouse was intercepted by the imperial envoy, our family's industries in Jiangnan could still maintain the tribe."

Ming Qingda waved his hand and signaled him not to continue talking about this topic. He smiled coldly and said, "In recent years, my Ming family has been doing shameful businesses just to fill the appetites of those people... This time, Lord Xiao Fan went to Jiangnan, maybe it was also a chance given to me by God, so that I could take the opportunity to get rid of those things and gradually lose my share of going to Beijing from this year. The eldest princess and the others could not say anything. As long as the door is opened this time, the winning bid will not be lower than 60% last year... Don't be like the Cui family, the building suddenly collapses. Speaking of serious business, can't my Ming family do it?"

Ming Lanshi bowed slightly and said, "What my father said is reasonable." But he felt a little uncomfortable. He gave up the way to smuggle Dongyi City and cut off the pirate from his overseas land. This year, if the money outside the account is less, the money in Beijing still has to be paid dividends. In this way, at least within this year, the clan will definitely lose money and have to fill in it with principal. If the imperial envoy stays in Jiangnan, would he have to keep filling in the money? Even if his wealth is strong, he can't help but move ants...

Knowing what his son was worried about, Ming Qingda didn't want to explain or comfort him, because that's the case. If the Ming family wants to separate from the past and protect themselves, then the necessary price in the past two years is to pay.

Speaking of the opening of the inner warehouse to bid, Ming Lanshi thought about it and said softly: "I have met you all these two days."

The so-called great people in this sentence refer to the famous merchants in the Jiangnan area who are more famous and capable of participating in the internal treasury bidding.

He continued to report: "They have asked about the Xiong family in Lingnan and Sun family in Quanzhou. They all know the current situation. Although they look at the appearance, they are very envious of the marketing rights of the Neiku, but their targets are still placed in the shares of the Cui family's stay, and they also promised their children that they would not raise prices with us."

Ming Qingda nodded and said, "Everyone wants to support this golden rice bowl, but since we are in the forefront, they always have to be right from us openly unless they don't want to do business in Jiangnan."

Speaking of this, the master of the Ming family faintly revealed the confidence and pride that the richest man in Jiangnan should have.

"The key is those private salt dealers." Ming Qingda frowned and said, "Those salt dealers are ruthless people who make money between life and death, and they have enough spare money. If they participate in the bidding, it will be a little troublesome, although they are not afraid. They just have to pay more money. The court will die in a mess, and 40% of the silver is settled..." He shook his head and said, "I've taken up too much, I'm afraid I can't turn around in the first half of the year."

The richest places in Jiangnan are the so-called imperial merchants and salt merchants. The two sides were originally unstoppable, but now the Cui family has collapsed. Who knows whether the salt dealers will be jealous of the business in the inner and treasury areas? The salt dealers have extremely strong funds. And they also have backers in the court, so the Ming family is a little worried about this.

"I have visited all these salt merchants in Suzhou City." Ming Lanshi thought of what he saw and heard in the past two days, and replied unexpectedly: "They said it was very straightforward, saying that they would definitely not enter the inner treasury gate this year... I don't know what's going on."

Ming Qingda was slightly stunned. After thinking for a while, she understood what was going on. She laughed at herself: "It seems... everyone knows that Mr. Xiao Fan is rectifying the channels for warehouse delivery and sales this year, and he doesn't dare to grab this bowl of rice as soon as possible... This is to see how we and the imperial envoy end. It seems that those salt dealers are preparing to enter the market next year."

Ming Lanshi raised his head and frowned and asked, "Those salt merchants... are not as cautious as those people."

"Who is their backer?" Ming Qingda sneered: "Our parents official on Jiangnan Road, Lord Xue Qingxue... Xue Qingming knew what Lord Fan meant. At least in this first year, he would suppress the salt merchants and prevent them from entering the inner warehouse to make trouble for Lord Fan. This is Lord Xue to Lord Fan, and the old Minister of the capital, and the face of the dean."

Ming Lanshi was speechless.

"Okay." Ming Qingda thought for a while and said, "I was conquered by the imperial envoy Tianwei. No one entered the chaos. We can also plan, just get the bid. Just spend the year safely."

"The imperial envoy...will let us?" Ming Lanshi asked his father tentatively.

Ming Qingda said: "As long as everything comes from Ming, why should we be afraid of the imperial envoy? He is always inferior to us in business... Regarding the opening of the inner warehouse, the price is higher, and the palace needs people, and Jiangnan Road will monitor it. It is not something that the inner warehouse transport department can operate, as long as my Ming family is willing to pay money, Mr. Xiao Fan can't force me to refuse."

"What the child means is, will the imperial envoy secretly instigate other families to deliberately raise prices? This is the simplest trick. They don't have to lose anything, but they can make us suffer a big loss."

Ming Qingda shook her head confidently and said, "It may not be that he dared to offend Xiao Fan on Jiangnan Road, but apart from him, there may not be that he dared to offend our Ming family. You have also asked about the news before. Families with more strength should be watching this year."

"If you want to find a puppet to raise the price," Ming Qingda frowned and said, "Mingyin needs to bid. The imperial envoy does not have so much money. He can't raise much at all."

He had a faint sarcasm on his face and said, "Don't be blinded by that box of 130,000 taels of silver. If you want to smash people with silver, the officials will not do it."

When it comes to using silver to smash people, the Ming family is of course the most thrilling soul that has been smashed by the Ming family. It is so terrible that it is so powerful that it is swallowed up. It throws out 400,000 taels of silver at a time, intending to knock Fan Xian unconscious. Although it has not been successful, this kind of spirit is not something that those bribers and accept bribes in the capital can reach the realm of the earth.

"The father of the imperial envoy... Lord Fan, but the Minister of Revenue in the Daqing Dynasty, is in charge of the treasury." Ming Lanshi reminded with a wry smile: "When it comes to money, his money is much more than our Ming family."

"Shangshu Fan?" Ming Qingda said slightly sarcastically: "If the Ministry of Revenue does not move, it will be fine. If the imperial envoy uses his father's power to suppress my Ming family... this matter will be a bit fun. Believe me, Your Highness the eldest princess has been so quiet, and he will definitely be waiting for that time."

Mingyuan suddenly became quiet, and Minglan Shi felt a little cold in his heart. He knew that although his father seemed to be giving in step by step, he had already discussed the way to deal with the imperial envoy with the nobles in Beijing. The background of the internal treasury bidding incident was unknown.

The matter involved the treasury, the Secretary of State, Ming Lanshi did not dare to continue this topic that could not be said, and calmly changed the topic and reported: "According to previous years, the money in Taiping Money House has been prepared. My father gave me a tight advice, so this time I prepared an additional 30% of the money to avoid being caught off guard when bidding."

The internal treasury bids use the explicit silver. Not to mention the deposit of up to 40% after the transaction, the silver itself requires preparation in advance, or real money or silver notes in the land bank approved by the imperial court, they must be delivered to the special venue within the day of opening.

This is a huge amount of money accumulated to an extremely terrifying amount. It is difficult for the richest man in Jiangnan like the Ming family to take out so much cash bank immediately. After all, it is impossible to sell land and houses. And 60% of the bids can be returned immediately after winning the bid. The royal merchants do not want to occupy the flow of money, so they will second it from outside. However, big players like Cui Ming need a lot of cash bank every year when bidding, and they raise silver through Taiping Money House. The custom has become a convention.

This year, it is expected that it will be a bit troublesome to open the door of the inner warehouse. Fan Xian will definitely find a way to make the Ming family suffer more blood, so the Ming family asked Taipingpu Village to prepare for issuing land silver notes this year, and prepared 20% more. Don’t underestimate these 20%. The base is too large, and 20% is already a very terrifying number, which has allowed the Ming family to pledge a lot of things.

"Taiping Money House is a place of faith." Ming Qingda said in a deep voice: "I'm old. And after all, it's an industry in Dongyi City, and those barbarians always rely on us to supply the goods."

"Yes." Ming Lanshi replied softly: "And we are not just making money. Now there are always some people in Jiangnan. I want to see the jokes of our Ming family. If we win the bid this time, it will be a slap to them. At the same time, it will also make the imperial envoy understand that the only family that can represent such a large business in the inner treasury is still ours."

Ming Qingda glanced at him with appreciation and said, "That's what it means, so we must next. The court system needs such a large amount of silver to be pressed on the Transportation Department. The original intention is to eliminate those merchants who are not strong enough. Similarly, it has also swept away many opponents for my Ming family. Those who can transfer so many silver to the world have already lost their family. Who else? Unless the imperial envoy wants to see that no one can take over the goods in the treasury next year... Otherwise, we have to ensure that. First, the price issue, not too high, and second, the binding issue, the Beijing will come to pressure, and the Transportation Department will be divided into four parts according to previous rules, sixteen items, sixteen items, one by one, we... still... just that eight."

Half of the share, the owner of the Ming family said it was "just as long as", and the confidence in his words was undoubtedly revealed.

Minglan Shi was convinced and seemed very nervous. The situation became extremely easy under his father's analysis of the court system. If he wanted to win the big bid, under the absurd system regulations of the court, it seemed that only his family had the ability.

"The matter at sea is ready." The owner of the Ming family said slowly at last: "You can shut up the person in the family."

Ming Lanshi heard that the matter at sea was settled and couldn't help feeling relaxed all over. That was the biggest handle for the Ming family. As long as it was cleared, Fan Xian should not be able to catch any reason to deal with him. But listening to his father's last words, the young master of the Ming family still couldn't help but feel cold in his heart.

He didn't know how his father did the maritime affairs, and how the pirates entrenched on the island were destroyed. Regarding the Ming family's assistance, some of them must be from the military, but his father was very strict, so even the young master of the Ming family did not know which army was used in Beijing this time.

The matters at sea were solved by my father, but the matters at home were solved by himself. A hint of ruthlessness flashed across Ming Lanshi's face.

At night.

The young master of the Ming family was in a remote golden house in Suzhou City. He was lying on the bed, looking at the sky with his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking. A woman in his arms, lying obediently like a kitten, with slender fingers drawing circles on his naked chest.

This woman is Ming Lanshi's third concubine. Because of her special status, she has been kept outside Mingyuan.

"Lan Shi." The concubine exhaled slightly hot and gasped, "I want it even."

After the man hated hearing this sentence the most afterwards, Ming Lanshi sneered: "What else do you want? Don't you know how to be content?"

The concubine suddenly changed her face and gritted her teeth and said, "What do you mean? Did the imperial envoy investigate the ground tightly and dare not take off the boat at sea? Do you think we brother and sister are useless?"

Ming Lanshi smiled and turned around and said softly: "Little Guaiguai, you have earned so much money for my Ming family over the past few years, how could it be useless?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his hand slapped the concubine's snow buttocks, shaking the white waves and undulating, and coquettishly.

The concubine's eyes were as charming as silk and full of expectations.
Chapter completed!