The temperature in Jiangnan was much warmer than in Jingdou. Although the area around Suzhou and Hangzhou had also experienced heavy snow before, the snow clouds in the sky pulled directly from the seashore to the heart of the Qing Kingdom, enveloping all of the fields and rivers in white snow, as the year passed and winter came to an end, the snow in Jiangnan stopped. Once the sun came out, the snow melted into ice. Immediately, there was no longer a harsh chill.
Even the branches of the trees on the side of the road outside Suzhou had already extended out tender little furry leaves.
The current master of the Ming family, known as the wealthiest merchant in the world, Ming Qingda, was sitting in a pavilion on a small hill in Ming Garden. His gaze went over the tall courtyard walls and landed on the tender greenery between the trees. Although Ming Garden's courtyard walls were very high and once the doors were closed, it would become a heavily guarded fortress. However, these high walls could not block his gaze and could not hide the still weak but gradually burgeoning sense of spring.
Although it was winter, he still hoped for spring.
Ming Qingda sighed. A glimmer of light appeared on his tired and old face. He happily thought that winter was about to pass. The flowers and grass were about to come back to life. His Ming family, this enormous Ming family, should also come back to life.
During this year, the Ming family had experienced too many changes. The enormous profits they had obtained from the palace treasury in the past had been halved. The various sales routes were endlessly harassed by the Overwatch Council. The flow of money, goods, and silver was very difficult. Gradually, it felt like the sun was setting in the west.
Furthermore, the old matriarch who secretly controlled the Ming family had been "forced to death" by the imperial envoy. The Third Ming master had almost been exiled, and suddenly, there was the Seventh Ming master who had stolen the family property.
Countless knives and swords chopped down on the Ming family's head, making it difficult for Ming Qingda to breathe. It was difficult for him to survive. He knew that behind the scenes of these things was the supreme being sitting on the dragon chair, and the executor was the gentle-looking but sinister imperial envoy Fan Xian. Fortunately, during this half a year, Fan Xian had basically stayed in Hangzhou and played in Wuzhou and Danzhou. He rarely returned to the Suzhou palace treasury yamen to oversee matters, particularly in the two months before and after the new year, when Fan Xian left Jiangnan and returned to Jingdou.
Fan Xian left Jiangnan. The dark cloud hanging over the Ming family's head also moved away. Although the Jiangnan branch of the Overwatch Council was still working hard to carry out Fan Xian's orders and suppress the Ming family's business, the Ming family had deep connections in Jiangnan. They had countless officials helping them in secret, so the Ming family's business immediately came alive and welcomed a rare liveliness.
That was why Ming Qingda had let out a happy sigh when he saw the tender branches outside the wall.
…
…
However, his face immediately darkened, because he suddenly discovered that he had been blinded by joy. Spring had come, the trees had sprouted, but … the imperial envoy was also about to return.
His mood immediately darkened. He rose angrily and, with a wave of his sleeve, walked toward his own courtyard. Ming Garden took up a large area. Most of the men of the two branches lived in the garden. Originally, according to theory, after the old Ming matriarch died, Ming Qingda, as the master of the family, should have moved into the old matriarch's little courtyard on the highest ground. However, Ming Qingda firmly did not agree to the proposal of the clan. Using the excuse that he missed his mother, he changed the courtyard into the Hall of Remembrance.
He knew why he didn't dare move into that little courtyard. He was afraid that once he woke up in that little courtyard, he would see the white towel tied to the beam and that pair of little feet bouncing endlessly.
…
…
That morning, Ming Qingda took care of some of the business and country matters under the clan in Ming Garden. He picked up a scalding hot towel and wiped his face vigorously. He felt a sense of exhaustion seeping out from his bones. This family was too big. There were too many things to worry about. In the past, as the master of the family, he could easily take care of the specific matters because the general direction and the collusion with the nobles in court were all handled by the old Ming matriarch alone. He didn't need to worry about it.
Now, it was different. He had to personally handle secret communications with Jingdou. What gave Ming Qingda the biggest headache was that the imperial envoy had never stopped suppressing the Ming family. With the threat of external aggression looming, there were problems within the Ming family. Fan Xian had forced Xia Qifei, that bastard, into the family through lawsuits. Furthermore, he had heard that the Third Ming master had been very close to Xia Qifei recently.
In front of the pressure of the court, Ming Qingda didn't have any good ideas. He could only watch as Xia Qifei approached the core of the Ming family step by step. On the first day of the new year a month ago, he had even watched as Xia Qifei returned to the clan to worship his ancestors.
With internal troubles and external aggression, Ming Qingda couldn't hold on much longer, but he had to persevere. For this family, he had to endure until the Eldest Princess succeeded.
He glanced at the two people beside him and sighed in his heart. The man and woman beside him were the people he trusted the most. One was his son, Ming Lanshi. The other … was the matriarch's personal servant girl in the past, and now his second concubine.
If it weren't for this serving girl, it would have been impossible for Ming Qingda to completely take over the old Ming matriarch's secrets and become the true master of the Ming family. Thus, he had made sufficient compensation and love for this woman.
As for Ming Lanshi … Ming Qingda glanced at his son and furrowed his brows. He knew that Ming Lanshi was capable and had good foresight. However, father and son had recently had a great conflict over the future of the Ming family.
In Ming Lanshi's view, since the court was suppressing so viciously and the palace treasury was firmly controlled by Fan Xian, it was already impossible for the Ming family to obtain large profits from the palace treasury like in the past. They should take advantage of the current period of peace and gradually withdraw from this business. Using the Ming family's large amount of land in Jiangnan and network in various places, they should no longer be a palace treasury royal merchant and turn to the import trade between Qing Kingdom and Dongyi. This way, the court and imperial envoy would be grateful. Secondly, they could protect the foundation of the Ming family.
However, Ming Qingda firmly opposed this suggestion. Even though the Ming family was struggling to hold on, he still did not allow the family to have any intention of leaving the palace treasury and developing in another direction.
The second concubine left the front hall. Ming Qingda looked at his son and furrowed his brows. "Your suggestion last night … won't do."
"Why?" Ming Lanshi said unhappily. "Who can go against the court? If we don't retreat now … when Fan Xian returns to Jiangnan, I'm afraid we won't be able to retreat even if we want to. "
"What can Fan Xian do?" Ming Qingda glanced at him and said. "Can he move troops and kill us all?"
"Hmph, who knows? That imperial envoy is the Emperor's illegitimate child. If he really messes around … who would he be afraid of? "Ming Lanshi knew that Fan Xian would not use such a method, but he still couldn't resist saying it.
"We also have people in the Palace," Ming Qingda furrowed his brows. "The empress dowager, empress, Eldest Princess … are these nobles no match for the Emperor's illegitimate child?"
"Then what about the business? If Fan Xian continues to do what he did last year … how much silver will the Ming family have to put in to make up for the deficit? " Ming Lanshi angrily said. "Before, in the palace treasury business, we could earn as much as we wanted. Now, we are losing money on every deal. When the bids were set, the price was set too high. It is impossible to make a profit, and the Overwatch Council people make trouble every day … father, if this goes on, we won't be able to last much longer. In another three months, I think the clan will have to start selling land."
"What's the rush?" Ming Qingda disagreed. "The palace treasury business must continue. This is what the Eldest Princess wants. If we leave now, perhaps Fan Xian will let us go, but how will we explain it to the Eldest Princess? Without the palace treasury bids, the Ming family is just a fat piece of meat that could be eaten at any moment. "
He didn't realize that he had said these words to his son a year ago.
"Then … at least send less goods to Dongyi, so we can lose less," Ming Lanshi said probingly.
Ming Qingda shook his head and said resolutely and decisively, "No! We can't offend Sigu Jian … we still need Taiping money house's silver. "
Speaking of silver, the father and son fell silent at the same time. Under the full suppression of the court and Fan Xian, the reason the Ming family had been able to hold out until now and keep the family's fertile land was all because of their good relationship with Dongyi and the endless supply of silver from Taiping money house and Zhaoshang money house.
"What if … I'm saying what if, Taiping Zhaoshang feels that our family can't hold out and wants to collect silver?"
"Collect silver? What we're mortgaging is the land and business, "Ming Qingda smiled coldly." What use is there for the money house to take so much? Can they sell it? They can only continue to support us … otherwise, what they take back is just some dead things that can't make money. "
"What should we do?"
"Endure!" Ming Qingda stood up and tightened his fist slightly. He coughed and said firmly, "As long as there are no problems with Taiping money house and Zhaoshang money house, we can endure. Even Fan Xian can't do anything to me."
"How long do we have to endure?" Ming Lanshi looked at the ups and downs of the family this year. His spirit could not hold out much longer.
"Endure until Fan Xian falls, endure until the Emperor knows he was wrong." Ming Qingda's eyes were sunken. There was a glimmer of ruthlessness in his exhaustion. "Even if it's two or three years, we have to endure. We have to wait for movement from Jingdou."
"Right now, there are too many places in the family that need silver. I'm afraid we'll have to continue moving silver from the money house," Ming Lanshi said worriedly.
"The clan's share … was forced to give a share to Xia Qifei." Ming Qingda closed his eyes and calculated. "Even if the Third and Fourth aunts have ulterior motives, they don't have much on hand. Most of it is in our hands. As long as the money house doesn't cross the line, it will be fine."
Although the scheming and farsighted merchant did not think that Taiping Zhaoshang money house would suddenly pull out firewood from under the pot, he, who had always been cautious, knew that he had to keep the risk to the lowest.
…
…
The street in Suzhou full of money houses and pawn shops was not very long. The stone lined street appeared particularly quiet. Those who could come here were either poor to a certain extent or rich to a certain extent.
As the successor of the Ming family, Ming Lanshi was the latter. When he quietly came to the money house with the Zhaoshang banners, he was immediately respectfully welcomed in by the head shopkeeper of the Zhaoshang money house.
Ever since Fan Xian had come to Jiangnan, the Ming family's efforts to transfer silver outside had increased, particularly with the palace treasury bidding. Even with the powerful power of Taiping money house spread throughout the world, they were unable to raise so much silver in a short time. Thus, the Ming family took a risk and asked Zhaoshang money house for help.
Unexpectedly, Zhaoshang money house agreed with great difficulty. This cooperation left a very good impression on the Ming family. After carrying out a detailed background investigation, the Ming family confirmed that the source of Zhaoshang money house's funds came from the inheritance of Shen Zhong's family, the commander of the Northern Qi Brocade Guards, as well as a family in Dongyi. Thus, they relaxed.
The cooperation between the two sides increased day by day and was seamless. Zhaoshang money house had already become the Ming family's largest partner other than Taiping money house. In a year, the Ming family had already moved out more than 3 million liang of silver from this money house.
Ming Lanshi had come again to transfer silver. The two sides very familiarly signed the contract and notarial deed and completed each other's procedures.
The head shopkeeper of Zhaoshang money house suddenly revealed a difficult expression and said, "Young master Ming, there is something I don't know if I should say."
Ming Lanshi furrowed his brows slightly, but his heart thumped. He wondered if Zhaoshang money house had suddenly developed some kind of suspicion toward the Ming family.
As expected, the plain-looking head shopkeeper probingly said, "These two months have been good, but I heard … the imperial envoy is about to return to Jiangnan."
Ming Lanshi huffed coldly. The entire world knew that his family was not on good terms with the imperial envoy, but Zhaoshang money house had not been afraid before. Why were you afraid now?
The head shopkeeper smiled warmly and said, "The Ming family has been dominant in the Jiangnan business world for a hundred years. Naturally, our little money house would not suspect anything. However … let me remind you, there are many money-making businesses in this world. Why must you fight against the court?"
Ming Lanshi's heart jumped. This perfectly matched his intention of moving the Ming family onto another path. However, he was, after all, not directly involved in the Ming family. He also had a glimmer of suspicion toward this head shopkeeper's sudden reminder. In front of this outsider, he wouldn't say anything. He smiled slightly and said, "What business can make more money than the palace treasury?"
The head shopkeeper chuckled and didn't say anything more.
…
…
After the Ming family's carriage left the street made of stone, the head shopkeeper of Zhaoshang money house bent his body slightly and returned to the heavily guarded inner storeroom at the back. The storeroom stored silver and bills from various places. It was clear that the head shopkeeper placed great importance on the Ming family's bill of exchange in his hand. He carefully placed it in a separate wooden box and glanced inside.
The bills inside were already very thick. If Zhaoshang money house forced the Ming family to pay back the money, the Ming family would not break their contract with the court and break away from the palace treasury sales. Then, they could only sell off their rich family property to pay back the money.
Of course, Zhaoshang money house would not do such a thing.
The head shopkeeper suddenly thought of something and smiled at the assistant beside him. "How much silver has the Sixth master borrowed?"
"It has already exceeded the limit," the assistant said respectfully. He greatly admired the head shopkeeper's methods because he knew that Zhaoshang money house now actually owned nearly half of the Ming family. Although the value of the Ming family's property was definitely more than this, things like wealth, once reflected on bills, would always shrink a lot at a rather clever moment.
"That customer … has a seal?"
"Yes."
The head shopkeeper nodded. He knew that his master was preparing to take action. However, hadn't he still not returned to Jiangnan?
In the side room behind Zhaoshang money house, the head shopkeeper saw the green banner at a glance and respectfully asked, "Sir, what should we do next?"
Thirteenth Wang had come to Zhaoshang money house the moment he entered Suzhou. He knew of the cooperative relationship between this money house and the Ming family, but he had never thought, no one in the world would have thought, that this money house … was Fan Xian's!
His lips tasted bitter. He once again felt why his teacher valued Fan Xian so much and why he had him represent a portion of his attitude. He also knew that the words Fan Xian had said to him in that broken Temple were not false. Zhaoshang money house already had enough of the Ming family's promissory notes. In this matter, he was only a hired thug to collect the debts. It was impossible for him to change all of this.
Even if he notified Dongyi and the Ming family right now, it was impossible to change what was already set in stone.
The Ming family was finished. More accurately speaking, before Ming Qingda knelt in front of Fan Xian and secretly killed the old Ming matriarch, using a mournful attitude to ask for the sympathy of the world and delay Fan Xian's lightning strike, the Ming family was already finished.
All of the Ming family's efforts were superfluous actions and a powerless struggle.
The reason Fan Xian had never taken action was because he had previously had to deal with the pressure from Jingdou. For him to take action now, it must be because he knew that the nobles in Jingdou no longer had the extra power to help the Ming family.
Thirteenth Wang furrowed his brows and wondered what method Fan Xian would use to delay the Eldest Princess' support for the Ming family in Jingdou.
"I don't understand these things." Thirteenth Wang sighed. "When are you going to collect the debts? I'll go with you."
The head shopkeeper smiled. A long time ago, he was a successful official in the Ministry of Revenue. Now, he was a successful usury operator. When it came to clearing shops, he was very good at it. "There will be more actions from the owner's side. I'll have to trouble you to wait a few more days in Suzhou."
Thirteenth Wang thought that if Fan Xian wanted to clear out the Ming family, relying on promissory notes alone would not be enough. What other actions would he take?
…
…
Fan Xian's actions in Jiangnan began early because he needed this time difference. The Jingdou actions that truly led to the Jiangnan actions also slowly began at this moment.
One day in February, the owner of the Dongyi embroidery shop, who had been dragged around until his head was in a mess, finally received a piece of good news. The banknotes he had sent out had worked. Tomorrow, yes, tomorrow, the embroidery cloth would enter the Palace.
…
…
Tomorrow, yes, tomorrow, the monthly tickets will stop doubling. Everyone who still has tickets in their hands, toss them over. Thank you.
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