There are actually mosquitoes in Guangzhou! This is my biggest discovery. Gradually settling down, I found that in the two days I was gone, the monthly vote rankings were completely red. It was truly terrifying. Everyone has a monthly vote. Are you willing to vote? Are you willing to vote? Or are you willing to vote?
There were not many people in the world who had the right to worship the Chen Garden where the Director of the Overwatch Council, Chen Pingping, lived. In their eyes, the Li Palace in Xinyang, the Sword Hut in Donggu City, and the Ming Garden of the Jiangnan Ming family were the three most beautiful and wealthiest privately owned buildings in the world. Of course, this ranking did not take into account the black and green Royal Palace in Shangjing, which was as beautiful as a celestial palace.
There were nobles living in the Li Palace, and there was a Great Grandmaster in the Sword Hut. They were all existences far away from the common people. Only the Ming Garden not far from Suzhou in Jiangnan gave the common people a chance to admire it up close.
The Ming family never used their power to bully others, and they did not purposely maintain the mystery of a noble family. Thus, many Jiangnan scholars and tourists from afar would all follow the wide road through the woods after they finished strolling through Suzhou. They would circle around to the outside of the city and look at the beautiful garden from a distance.
Although they could not play up close, looking at it from a distance was enough to entertain the eyes.
The Ming family was low-key and not mysterious. Thus, this Ming Garden, which had been built for nearly 40 years, still maintained the deep imprint of their family. Every brick and tile, every grass and tree, every step and pavilion, was not extravagant or eye-catching. On the contrary, it exuded a faint sense of intimacy. Furthermore, the courtyard walls built along the foot of the mountain were not very tall. When tourists stood on the road, they could see the eaves inside. If they stood closer, they could even hear the sound of flowing water inside.
Intimacy did not mean homely. Simplicity, of course, was not simple. In the eyes of those who truly knew the ropes, they would certainly be able to see that every detail in this pampered garden was impeccable. Each material and design was ingenious. In the eyes of soldiers, they could see that although this garden did not seem to have any defensive capabilities, with some simple modifications, it could become a castle that could be defended for half a year in a very short amount of time.
The weather was not very good. In the chilly early spring, there was a light drizzle. Young master Ming's carriage traveled alone on the road home. He did not see the usual two or three tourists and women on an outing.
The carriage came to a strange stop outside the side door. Young master Ming pulled back a corner of the curtain and revealed a gloomy face as he looked at the front door of his own home.
It seemed to be sending off a guest. A middle-aged man wearing official robes walked into his carriage with a face full of anger.
Ming Lanshi put down the curtain and turned his head to look at Zou Lei. He said angrily, "Speak of Guo Zheng, Guo Zheng will arrive. How can a superior like you be so tactless?"
Zou Lei was silent. Guo Zheng was his direct superior. Last year, he was still the Imperial Censor of the Left of the Imperial Censorate in Jingdou. After the spring examination case, Guo Zheng had led the three departments of the Ministry of Justice to jointly interrogate Fan Xian. At the time, he had relied on the Eldest Princess to support him and had beaten Fan Xian a few times. He wanted to force a confession out of him. How could he have thought that Fan Xian's background would be so powerful? Not only did he not bring down the Fan family, but he had also offended Prime Minister Lin, the Fan family, and the Overwatch Council. These three giants had taken action but did not make much of a fuss. They had easily caused the Minister of Justice, Han Zhiwei to lose his position. At the same time, they had sent Guo Zheng to Jiangnan.
The biggest loss Imperial Censor Guo Zheng had suffered in this life was because of Fan Xian, so he had always held a grudge. Now that Fan Xian had come to Jiangnan, it looked like Guo Zheng wanted to incite the Ming family to oppose the imperial envoy.
That was why Ming Lanshi's expression was so ugly. He thought to himself that old man Guo had moved because of a personal grudge. Today, he had come to his home. He was probably here to exert pressure again.
— — —
"Father, I have already given the order." Ming Lanshi respectfully stood at the bottom of the stone steps in a corner of the little courtyard in Ming Garden and reported into the room.
The slightly tired and comforting voice of the current master of the Ming family, Ming Qingda, came out of the room. "Good, no matter what, you have to endure this year. Not only did the people of the clan warn us not to let the government catch us, but … Lanshi, you have always been calm. Now, you have to be even more careful."
Ming Lanshi hurriedly nodded his head in acknowledgment.
Ming Qingda slowly walked out of the room with a trace of tiredness on his face. "Did you see Guo Zheng earlier?"
Ming Lanshi furrowed his brows and replied, "Yes, father. If he came so openly, I'm afraid he will fall into the eyes of the imperial envoy."
Ming Qingda laughed bitterly. "Never mind. The mark on our bodies is already deep enough. If we want to tear off our relationship with that side now, it is impossible. No one will believe us. Don't think about these problems anymore."
"He … did he come himself, or did he represent those people in the capital?" Ming Lanshi asked hesitantly.
Hearing these words, the wrinkles at the corners of Ming Qingda's eyes deepened. A moment later, he sighed and said, "When will these officials have their own identities?"
Ming Lanshi's heart tightened. He knew the meaning of his father's words. It meant that Guo Zheng had come to pass on the Eldest Princess and His Highness' opinions. He looked at his father nervously.
"Don't worry and don't pay attention to the intentions of the capital. His Highness wants us to trip up the imperial envoy …" Ming Qingda, the wealthiest man of this generation, smiled coldly and said, "This is to use us as knives. How could I be so stupid? Of course, on the surface, we still have to go along with them because no one knows what will happen in the future or who will sit on that dragon chair. "
Ming Lanshi furrowed his brows slightly and said, "The order has already been issued. As long as the imperial envoy is in Jiangnan, we will have peace. However … constantly showing weakness like this is not a solution."
"It is a good solution." A faint smile rose to Ming Qingda's face. "Commissioner Fan is not a demon who eats people without spitting out the bones. Since he can't openly hold anything against us, he also has to be wary of the backlash from the Jiangnan officials and gentry, so he can't just bring a bowl of water and swallow us whole in one gulp … if we are more well-behaved and give him enough face, presumably he will also give us some face."
"This Sir Fan junior … doesn't even give the Second Prince face," Ming Lanshi said with a pained smile.
Ming Qingda smiled self-mockingly and said, "The identity of a merchant has always been on the level of history, but now it is the exact opposite. Sir Fan is the son of Lady Ye. Looking at his actions, he has always harmed officials but not the people. He also has no prejudice against merchants. He doesn't give the Second Prince face, but that doesn't mean he won't give us face. When all is said and done, no matter how the Second Prince retaliates, he is just setting a trap for him in the officialdom. We … have the ability to move the power of the people. "
"Of course, as long as the situation has not developed to the point where blades meet, we must not provoke him," Ming Qingda said.
Ming Lanshi was a bit annoyed. These few days, he didn't know how many times his father had said that his father's behavior on this matter was overly cautious. It made him feel uncomfortable. Although he understood the reason, he still found it difficult to accept. Seeing the faint worry on his father's face, he couldn't resist comforting him. "Father, if it really can't be done, let's stop."
…
…
The top and bottom of the stone steps were silent for a while. Ming Qingda, the wealthiest person in Jiangnan, slowly shook his head.
A moment later, a severe light flashed through the eyes of this nearly 50-year-old elder. "There are some things that I cannot stop just because I want to." He immediately smiled coldly and said, "If I stop, what will the tens of thousands of people in the clan eat? Don't forget that the nobles in the capital have so many shares. Even if we don't do it, will they not stretch out their hands to ask for silver from me? The Eldest Princess, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and a few large families in the capital have gotten used to eating us. If we really stop this time, who knows what they will do? Never underestimate the greed of the royal family and officials …
Ming Lanshi gazed at his father and a glimmer of sympathy flashed through his heart. Who knew that the richest man in Jiangnan also had all these things he had no choice but to do?
Ming Qingda said with a face full of hatred, "The Ming family appears to be doing well, but in reality, we are just an old hen that can lay eggs in their eyes. If the old hen doesn't lay eggs, those who originally supported us will probably want to kill us even more than the imperial envoy and finally eat a delicious meal of chicken."
The hatred on Ming Lanshi's face was immediately hidden. He cursed in a low voice, "If it wasn't for the fact that those people in the capital eat too much silver each year, we would be able to properly sell the palace treasury's products. It wouldn't be much worse than it is now. Even if the palace treasury is cut off by the imperial envoy, our family's businesses throughout Jiangnan will still be able to keep the clan going. "
Ming Qingda waved his hand, indicating that he should stop talking about this topic. He smiled coldly and said, "These years, the Ming family has been doing shady business to fill those people's appetites … perhaps Sir Fan junior's trip to Jiangnan this time is a chance given to me by the heavens to let me escape from those matters. Starting from this year, we will gradually reduce our share of entering the capital. The Eldest Princess and the others will not be able to say anything. As long as the winning bids this time are no less than 60% of last year's, it will be fine … don't be like the Cui family and suddenly collapse. Speaking of doing proper business, do you think the Ming family cannot do it? "
Ming Lanshi bowed slightly and said, "Father is right." He had given up on the smuggling route to Dongyi and cut off his family's overseas pirate branch. This year, they would probably earn less silver outside of their accounts. They still had to pay dividends for those shares in the capital. This way, at least for this year, the clan would definitely lose money and would have to use their capital to fill in. If the imperial envoy stayed in Jiangnan, would they have to keep filling in silver? Even if they had great wealth and power, they would not be able to stop ants moving a mountain …
Knowing what his son was worried about, Ming Qingda did not want to explain or comfort him too much because reality was like this. If the Ming family wanted to separate themselves from the past and protect themselves, then they had to pay the price of these two years.
Speaking of the matter of the palace treasury opening bidding, Ming Lanshi thought for a bit and then quietly said, "I have met with everyone these two days."
The "everyone" in these words referred to any of the famous merchants in the Jiangnan area who had the power to participate in the palace treasury bidding.
He continued to report, "I have asked a few familiar families. The Xiong family of Lingnan and the Sun family of Quanzhou all know about the current situation. Although it looks like they are eyeing the palace treasury's marketing rights, their target is still the portion left behind by the Cui family. They have also promised me that they will not raise the price against us."
Ming Qingda nodded and said, "Every family wants a piece of this golden rice bowl. However, since we have arranged things first, it is not good for them to openly oppose us, unless they don't want to do business in Jiangnan anymore."
Speaking of this, only now did the master of the Ming family faintly reveal a glimmer of the confidence and pride that the richest man in Jiangnan should have.
"The key is those salt smugglers," Ming Qingda furrowed his brows slightly and said. Ming Qingda furrowed his brows slightly and said, "Those salt merchants are all ruthless characters who fish for money between life and death. They also have plenty of spare money on hand. If they participate in the bidding, it will be troublesome. Although we are not afraid, we will have to fork out a bit more silver. The court rules are very strict, 40% of the deposit …" He shook his head and said, "It takes up too much. I'm afraid we won't be able to make up for it in the first half of the year."
The wealthiest in Jiangnan were the so-called royal merchants and salt merchants. The two sides had originally minded their own business, but now that the Cui family had fallen, who knew whether or not those salt merchants would be eyeing the palace treasury business? Those salt merchants had a lot of money in their hands, and they also had backers in court. The Ming family was faintly worried about this.
"I have visited all of these salt merchants in Suzhou." Ming Lanshi thought of what he had seen and heard these two days and replied with some surprise, "They were very straightforward. They said they would definitely not enter the doors of the palace treasury this year … I don't know what is going on."
Ming Qingda was slightly startled. He thought for a moment and then understood what was going on. He laughed self-mockingly and said, "It looks like … everyone knows that Sir Fan junior is adjusting the channels to leave the palace treasury this year, so no one dares to fight for this bowl of rice at the first opportunity … they are waiting to see how we and the imperial envoy end things. It looks like those salt merchants are preparing to enter again next year."
Ming Lanshi raised his head and furrowed his brows. "Those salt merchants … they don't seem like people who are so overcautious."
"Who is their backer?" Ming Qingda smiled coldly. "Our Jiangnan Road official Xue Qing, Sir Xue … Xue Qingda knows what Sir Fan means. At least in this first year, he will suppress the salt merchants and not let them enter the palace treasury to cause trouble for Sir Fan. This is the face Sir Xue is giving to Sir Fan junior, the old Minister Fan in the capital, and the Director."
Ming Lanshi was silent and speechless.
"That's fine." Ming Qingda thought for a moment and then said, "Being suppressed by the imperial envoy's heavenly might, no one will enter the chaos. It will be easy for us to plan. As long as we get the bidding document and get through this year safely, it will be fine."
"The imperial envoy … will let us?" Ming Lanshi asked his father probingly.
Ming Qingda said, "As long as everything is done openly, why should we be afraid of the imperial envoy? When it comes to business, he will never be as good as us … regarding the palace treasury opening bidding, the highest bidder wins. If someone from the Palace comes, Jiangnan Road will be watching from the side. It is not something that the palace treasury transport company can handle. As long as the Ming family is willing to pay the silver, Sir Fan junior can't force it out of me. "
"What I mean is, will the imperial envoy secretly incite other families to purposely raise the price? This is the simplest move. They won't lose anything, but they can make us suffer a great loss. "
Ming Qingda shook his head confidently. "There may not be anyone on the Jiangnan Road who dares to offend Sir Fan junior, but other than him, there may not be anyone who dares to offend the Ming family. You also went to ask around earlier. Some of the more powerful families should be watching from the side this year."
"If he wants to find a puppet to raise the price," Ming Qingda furrowed his brows. "Bidding requires clear silver. The imperial envoy doesn't have that much silver, so he won't be able to raise it much."
A faint mockery rose to his face. "Don't be blinded by that chest of 130,000 liang of silver. If he wants to use silver to smash people, the officials won't be able to do it."
When it came to using silver to smash people, it was the Ming family who did it the most shockingly. Thousands of images, thousands of images, swallowing the wind and clouds. In one go, they threw out 400,000 liang of silver with the intention of knocking Fan Xian unconscious. Although they didn't succeed, this kind of boldness was not something that the bribers in the capital could touch.
"The imperial envoy's father … Sir Fan senior is the Minister of Revenue of the Qing court. He manages the national treasury," Ming Lanshi reminded with a pained smile. Ming Lanshi forced a smile and reminded him, "Speaking of silver, his silver is much more than the Ming family."
"Minister Fan?" Ming Qingda said with slight mockery. "If the Ministry of Revenue doesn't move, then so be it. If the imperial envoy uses his father's power in order to suppress the Ming family … then this matter will be interesting. Trust me, the Eldest Princess has been so quiet. She must be waiting for that moment."
…
…
Ming Garden immediately fell silent. Ming Lanshi felt a slight chill in his heart. He knew that although his father appeared to be retreating step by step, he had long discussed with the nobles in the capital how to deal with the imperial envoy. No one knew how much blood and danger were hidden in the background of the palace treasury bidding.
The matter involved the national treasury and the Minister. Ming Lanshi did not dare continue this topic that could not be said out loud. He calmly changed the topic and reported, "Based on past practice, the Taiping money house's silver has already been prepared. Father has repeatedly warned us, so we have prepared an extra 30 percent of the silver this time in case we are caught unprepared when the bidding comes."
The palace treasury bidding used clearly marked silver. Putting aside the 40 percent down payment after the deal was closed, the bidding silver itself had to be prepared in advance. Whether it was real silver or banknotes from a money house approved by the court, it had to be delivered to the special meeting place on the day the bidding opened.
This was a terrifyingly large sum. For a wealthy family like the Ming family in Jiangnan, it would be difficult for them to immediately take out so much silver. After all, they could not sell land or homes. Furthermore, 60 percent of the bidding silver could be immediately returned after winning the bid. Royal merchants did not want to take up cash flow, so they would borrow it from outside. For large families like the Cui and Ming families, they needed a lot of silver each year during the bidding. They all used Taiping money house to raise silver. Using produced goods as collateral had already become a custom.
This year, they predicted that the palace treasury opening would be troublesome. Fan Xian would certainly think of a way to make the Ming family bleed more. Thus, the Ming family had the Taiping money house prepare an extra 20 percent of the banknotes. Do not underestimate this 20 percent. The base number was too large. 20 percent was already a terrifying sum. It made the Ming family pawn off a lot of things.
"Taiping money house can be trusted," Ming Qingda said in a low voice. "It is an old relationship. After all, it is a business of Dongyi. Those Yi people will have to rely on us for supplies."
"Yes," Ming Lanshi replied quietly. Ming Lanshi quietly replied, "Furthermore, we are not moving silver for no reason. Nowadays, there are always some supercilious people in Jiangnan who want to see the Ming family make a fool of themselves. If we can win the bid this time, it will be a slap to their faces. At the same time, it will let the imperial envoy understand that the family that can represent the palace treasury in such a large business is still our family."
Ming Qingda glanced at him with praise and said, "That is exactly what I mean. That is why we must accept this bid. The system of the court requires such a large sum of silver to be placed on the transport company. The original intention is to get rid of merchants who do not have enough power. At the same time, it also helps the Ming family sweep away a lot of opponents. Of those who can move so much silver, one family has already fallen. Who else can? Unless the imperial envoy wants to see no one take over the palace treasury goods next year … otherwise, you can only give it to me. What we have to ensure is, first, the price, not too ridiculously high. Second, the binding. There will be pressure from the capital to force the transport company to follow the rules of previous years. The 16 items will be split into four, six, eight, and one. We … still … only want that eight. "
The master of the Ming family still said "only want" for half of the shares. The confidence in his words was unmistakable.
Ming Lanshi accepted wholeheartedly. The seemingly tense situation became easy under his father's analysis of the system of the court. It seemed that only his family had the ability to win the bid under the absurd rules of the court.
"The matter on the sea has been settled," the master of the Ming family finally said slowly. "You should also have that person in the family shut up."
Hearing that the matter on the sea had been settled, Ming Lanshi couldn't help but feel his entire body relax. That was the Ming family's biggest weakness. As long as it was cleaned out, based on the Ming family's stable actions in Jiangnan Road, Fan Xian should not be able to find any reason to oppose him. However, hearing his father's last words, the young master of the Ming family still could not help but feel a chill in his heart.
He didn't know how his father had settled the matter on the sea or how the pirates entrenched on the island had been silenced. As for the Ming family's support, a portion of it had come from the military. His father was very tight-lipped, so even he, the young master of the Ming family, did not know which side of the military the capital had mobilized this time.
The matter on the sea had been resolved by his father, but he had to resolve the matter at home. A ruthless expression flashed across Ming Lanshi's face.
…
…
Nightfall.
The young master of the Ming family was in a remote golden room in Suzhou. He lay on the bed with his eyes gazing at the sky. No one knew what he was thinking. In his arms was a naked woman lying obediently like a kitten. Her slender fingers drew circles on his bare chest.
This woman was Ming Lanshi's third concubine. Because of her special identity, she had always been raised outside of Ming Garden.
"Lanshi." The concubine's breath was slightly warm. She panted and said, "I want more."
Men hated to hear these words after the matter. Ming Lanshi smiled coldly and said, "Want more? Don't you know how to be content? "
The concubine's expression suddenly changed. She gritted her teeth and said, "What do you mean? Is it that the imperial envoy is checking hard and doesn't dare to go out on the sea? Do you feel that us two siblings are of no use? "
Ming Lanshi smiled slightly and turned around. In a quiet voice, he said, "Little darling, you've earned so much silver for the Ming family these few years. How could it be of no use?"
As his words fell, his hand slapped heavily onto the concubine's snow-white buttocks, sending up and down white waves. She pouted coquettishly.
The concubine's eyes were like silk and filled with anticipation.
Ming Lanshi's face was full of smiles. He chopped down on the back of her neck and watched as the concubine fainted with a moan. He then used his own hands to steadily and mercilessly grip the snow-white neck that he had kissed countless times.
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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