The merchants from both Jiangsu and Zhejiang were in an uproar in an instant. These days, the status of merchants was low and their interactions with the government were extremely limited. Now that the Chief Scholar of the Hall of Literary Glory, the world's number one scholar, Minister of Revenue Xu Wei had come personally, it had greatly boosted the reputation of these merchants.
President Yu hurriedly climbed up from the ground. Tao Dongcheng, with Tao Wanying's support, also hurried to the door to welcome him.
This Xu Wenzhang really came at the right time. Lin Wanrong looked at the Grand Mistress and smiled.
When Xiao Yuruo heard that Lord Xu Wei had arrived, she was first pleasantly surprised but then worried. So what if Lord Xu Wei came? Even if he admired Lin San's talent, he was still an official of the imperial court. With so many people accusing Lin San, could he be biased?
Xu Wei was dressed in a bright red official robe. There was a slight smile on his face, and there was a hint of majesty hidden in his thin face. He strolled in slowly. Behind him were the prefectural magistrate of Hangzhou and dozens of officials from Zhejiang.
"Greetings to Minister, greetings to all the lords." President Yu hurriedly bowed respectfully.
"Student Tao Dongcheng greets Lord Xu, greets all the lords." Tao Dongcheng also bowed.
Everyone knew that Xu Wei was the Emperor's number one strategist in the past. Now, he was the pillar of China's imperial court. He was in charge of money and provisions and was the most trusted person of China's Emperor. As long as they could gain his favor, a meteoric rise would be just around the corner.
"Presidents, fellow colleagues, please rise." Xu Wei nodded with a smile as he helped everyone to their feet.
Everyone stood up. When Xu Wei saw the swollen pig faces of the two, he was shocked and asked, "Guild Leaders, what happened?"
President Yu knelt on the ground and cried, "Lord Xu, you have to uphold justice for me, uphold justice for the Chambers of Commerce in both Jiangsu and Zhejiang."
Tao Dongcheng gritted his teeth and knelt down with President Yu. "Lord, please uphold justice for me."
Xu Wei said curiously, "What is going on? Please get up and speak. The two of you are in charge of the Chamber of Commerce in both Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and are the leaders of the merchants. What happened? "
Fatty Yu said with snot and tears, "Daren, it's all because of that Xiao Family's servant, Lin San — —" He pointed his fat and thick finger at Lin Wanrong and said, "Not only did he humiliate our two merchant guilds, he even beat me, Prince Tao, and many of our people in front of everyone. He really humiliated all the merchants in the world. Please, Daren, give us justice."
Lin Wanrong cursed in his heart, this Fatty Yu is really shameless. I clearly only beat up two of you, but after hearing what you said, you made it sound like I beat up a bunch of people. Shameless to the extreme, even more shameless than me.
Xu Wei made an 'oh' sound and glanced at Lin Wanrong. Then, he said to the two people in shock, "President Yu means that this little brother beat you, Prince Tao, and many other people in your Chamber of Commerce?"
President Yu gritted his teeth and said, "That's right, please help us."
Xu Wei said, "Don't be anxious, this old man will ask clearly about the matter and will definitely be impartial. President Yu means that this Ding Lin San beat President Yu, Prince Tao, and many others, so he alone beat up all of you, is that right? "
"Yes, yes, yes — —" President Yu hurriedly said, "All the brothers in the Chamber of Commerce here can testify."
"One person beat up many people?" Xu Wei asked suspiciously. He walked two steps to stand in front of Lin Wanrong and smiled, "Little brother Lin, are these people speaking the truth?"
Before Lin Wanrong could speak, Grand Mistress already said, "Daren Xu, today's matter was caused by my Xiao Family, it has nothing to do with Lin San. All the blame will be borne by my Xiao Family alone."
Xu Wei looked at Xiao Yuruo and said, "You, are you Lady Xiao?"
Grand Mistress bowed and said, "Yes, yes, very much so."
Xu Wei looked at her and sighed, "Alike, alike, really alike."
Grand Mistress looked at Xu Wei in confusion, not knowing what Xu Wei meant.
Xu Wei sighed, "Lady Xiao, has your mother, Miss Guo, been well all these years?"
Xiao Yuruo was stunned for a moment. This Xu Wei called her mother Miss Guo, and seemed to know her mother. Where did this come from?
Lin Wanrong knew a little, seeing that Grand Mistress was in a daze, he lightly touched her sleeve. Grand Mistress was startled and quickly bowed respectfully, "Mother is well, thank you for your concern."
Xu Wei sighed, "Lady Xiao, don't be surprised, this old man and Miss Guo used to have some dealings in the past, and I admire Miss Guo's intelligence and wisdom very much. It's been more than twenty years since I parted ways with Miss Guo in the capital. Now that I've met an old friend, it's like we don't know each other, it really makes one very emotional. "
When Grand Mistress heard that this Xu Wei was friends with her mother, her heart was somewhat comforted. She did not ask for Xu Wei to be biased, but she asked for him to be impartial.
Xu Wei smiled, "Lady Xiao, although you are the descendant of an old friend, but in today's matter, since someone sued your Xiao Family, this old man cannot be biased, I can only act impartially, I hope Miss does not blame me."
Xiao Yuruo quickly said, "This little girl has no other request, I only hope that Daren is impartial, my wish is fulfilled."
When President Yu and Tao Dongcheng first heard that the Xiao Family was Xu Wei's old friend, they were also greatly shocked, but when they saw that Xu Wei did not seem to have any intention of siding with them, they were relieved.
Xu Wei nodded and said to Lin Wanrong, "Brother Lin, is what these two said true or false? Did you gang up on all of them? "
"Gang up? No. "Lin Wanrong said in confusion," Xu Wei, how could I gang up on a group of people? Even if I had three heads and six arms, I still wouldn't be able to do it. "
Xu Wei nodded and turned to look at Fatty Yu, "President Yu, this Lin San gang up on all of you, even if he used all four limbs, it would still be difficult for him to do it. Did you remember incorrectly?"
Beads of sweat rolled down Fatty Yu's forehead. He was too greedy, what gang up? He quickly changed his words, "Daren, it was this Lin San who first beat me, then he beat up Prince Tao, everyone here can testify."
Tao Dongcheng also continued, "President Yu's words are all true, this student can guarantee it with his life."
Xu Wei grunted, "Then it wasn't a gang up, it was a mutual fight, isn't it?"
This time, Fatty Yu learned his lesson and hurriedly said, "Daren, it was that Lin San who attacked first, we didn't even have a chance to retaliate before he beat us up."
"That's it. Lin San, did you beat up President Yu and the others?" Xu Wei turned to Lin Wanrong.
"It wasn't a beating, it was just a simple exchange of pointers. Those who are familiar with me know that I've always liked to 'win people over with virtue', "Lin Wanrong said shamelessly.
Shopkeeper Li immediately jumped out, "Nonsense, you beat up President Yu and Prince Tao, we saw it with our own eyes, you still want to quibble?"
Xu Wei nodded, but raised his voice, "Lin San, do you know your crime? Why did you beat up President Yu and the others? "
Before Lin Wanrong could speak, President Yu rushed to say, "Daren Xu, we were just discussing business issues with the Xiao Family, without a word of disagreement, that Lin San wanted to beat us, please investigate this clearly, Daren."
"Oh," Xu Wei had an expression of understanding, "President Yu, this is Zhejiang territory, Lin San is just a small house servant, he has no power or influence, how dare he beat you? He is too arrogant, he cannot be forgiven. "
On the other side, Liu Yuee couldn't bear to listen anymore, she jumped up and said, "Daren Xu, don't listen to their nonsense, it was President Yu and the others who bullied others, they went too far, that's why Lin San fought back out of anger."
Liu Yuee fired off a string of cannons, she talked about how the Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce threatened the Xiao Family, how Tao Dongcheng helped the tyrant, how the Jinling Chamber of Commerce gave in, everything. She might seem like a crude person, but she was actually quite shrewd. She wrote down every detail about how the Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce had been tyrannical and intimidating. When she talked about Lin Wanrong beating up Lin San, she said that Lin San had acted out of righteous indignation. Otherwise, how could a lowly servant like him, no matter how tyrannical he was, have the right to beat up two prominent figures in court?
Xu Wei's eyes narrowed, he couldn't tell what his attitude was. Lin Wanrong was a smart person. This old man Xu's questions were full of knowledge, there were many mysteries.
After listening to Liu Yuee's description, Xu Wei frowned, looked at Fatty Yu and said, "President Yu, is there such a thing?"
President Yu hurriedly said, "Sir, please don't misunderstand. Our Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce has absolutely no intention of dominating the market. We just want to discuss business matters with the Grand Mistress."
"Discuss?" Lin Wanrong laughed and said, "How did President Yu discuss it? You want the Xiao Family to hand over the management of this province to Manager Li, otherwise, you won't allow the Xiao Family to do business in Hangzhou. Is this what President Yu meant by discuss? "
President Yu's lips quivered a few times, but he didn't dare to deny it.
Lin Wanrong cupped his fists at Xu Wei and said, "Sir Xu, you are the Minister of Revenue, you naturally understand the principles of business. Business matters are important to the people of the world. Those who have the ability and skills to do business also need to have sufficient competition in order to promote the rapid development of business and prosperity of China's trade. As for President Yu, he was short-sighted and used all kinds of means to obstruct the normal operation of others for his own benefit. In the long run, not only would the people of Hangzhou and Zhejiang not be able to enjoy the latest products, but even the free business atmosphere would be completely suppressed. This business is like rowing a boat against the current, if you don't move forward, you will fall back. Under such suppression, how can the business of Zhejiang Province improve? That Prince Tao of the Jin Ling Chamber of Commerce is the president of the Chamber of Commerce, but he doesn't think for the sake of the merchants in the Chamber of Commerce and colludes with President Yu to exclude the Xiao Family. Who gave him the guts to let him bully others? Open up trade and encourage competition is the right way to go, but bullying and monopolizing the market is destroying the foundation of China's business, it must not be tolerated. "
These words were eloquent, but it raised the level of bullying and monopolizing the market to the height of China's business. Everyone was confused, they seemed to understand, but they didn't.
Xu Wei's face was solemn, he looked at Fatty Yu and said, "President Yu, did this Lin San lie?"
President Yu didn't dare to speak, Xu Wei looked at Tao Dongcheng and said, "What does Prince Tao think?"
Tao Dongcheng didn't say anything, but Tao Wanying spoke up for her brother, "Official Xu, this Lin San is talking nonsense, he is framing my brother, please help me — —"
Xu Wei snorted heavily and said, "Since you guys aren't saying anything, is it true that Lin San beat people up, but is it also true that you are bullying and monopolizing the market?"
No one dared to speak, Xu Wei sighed and said, "Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the foundation of China's economy, the granary of the world's prosperity. Today is the annual business meeting of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the emperor places great importance on it, and specially appointed this old man to meet with everyone, to understand if there are any difficulties in business. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen, it really makes this old man very disappointed. "
Xu Wei's reputation was well known, his aura was not to be underestimated, everyone in the hall was as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to speak.
Xu Wei snorted and said to the Hangzhou prefectural magistrate, "Official Gu, according to our China's laws, what is the punishment for beating people up?"
Although Fatty Yu and Tao Dongcheng were the presidents of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang chambers of commerce, they were civil organizations. Lin Wanrong beating up the two of them couldn't even be counted as beating up an official of the imperial court, at most it could be counted as beating up an aristocrat.
"According to our China's laws, beating up people in public is a light punishment of flogging, a heavy punishment is imprisonment. Based on Lin San beating up the two presidents, he should at least be flogged 200 times, "said Official Gu.
"Bullying and monopolizing the market, disrupting business, what is the punishment for that?" Xu Wei asked again.
"According to China's laws, bullying and monopolizing the market, a light punishment is confiscation of official property, a heavy punishment is exile," said the Hangzhou prefectural magistrate.
Fatty Yu's face paled, Tao Dongcheng also gritted his teeth and didn't speak, the punishment for disrupting business was not a small one. The two of them were used to doing whatever they wanted in Jinling and Hangzhou, when had anyone ever made things difficult for them? But now, Xu Wei didn't show them any mercy, he attacked with a heavy fist, catching the two of them off guard.
The Grand Mistress didn't speak for a long time, but after hearing Xu Wei's words, her heart was filled with joy. She couldn't help but look at Lin San, only to see him smiling, as if he already had a card up his sleeve.
Xu Wei sighed and said, "Lin San is still fine, but President Yu and Prince Tao are the pillars of our China, the rumor of bullying and monopolizing the market has yet to become a reality. Official Gu, in your opinion, what should we do about this?"
The Hangzhou prefectural magistrate said, "Official, in my opinion, the two presidents were wrong first, and Lin San hit people later, they are all at fault. Why don't we let the three of them know right from wrong, reflect on themselves, and learn from their mistakes."
The Hangzhou prefectural magistrate clearly understood Xu Wei's intentions, this was the best way to keep the peace. Actually, if they really wanted to talk about it, Lin San's flogging was unavoidable, but the two presidents' crimes were not small either.
Xu Wei smiled and said, "If that's the case, what do the two presidents think?"
Fatty Yu didn't dare to speak, but Tao Dongcheng fiercely clenched his teeth and said, "Official is so kind, I don't dare to say anything more. It's just that today, Lin San hit a student and President Yu. The two of us don't care, but where does he place the two Chambers of Commerce in Zhejiang and Jiangsu? Today, Official doesn't care about our mistakes, I am very grateful, but this Xiao Family has committed a crime of looking down on the two Chambers of Commerce. As the president of the Jinling Chamber of Commerce, I can't just sit and do nothing. Today, while Official is here, I want to have a fair competition with the Xiao Family. "
"Oh?" Xu Wei said with great interest, "What do you want to compete in?"
"Fight with words and attack with force!" Tao Dongcheng clenched his teeth and said.
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