1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 135 New Inspection ([-])

Luo Shengdong has close contacts with the Haihan people, and even has a private collusion with the Haihan people. Not only the people in Yazhou Shuizhai know about this, but also many interested people in Yazhou city.

Recently, the price of salt on the market in Yazhou City has dropped from 280 Wen per catty to [-] Wen per catty, and there is still a downward trend. A large amount of low-priced refined salt has begun to flood into the market, and no one is willing to pay high prices anymore. I went to buy the sea salt with coarse grains and slightly bitter taste.During this period, several inspection departments around Yazhou did not have any records of seizures of illegal salt trafficking.

Gritting their teeth, the inspectors, based on the gossip from various vendors, were almost certain that the salt dealer behind the scenes was Shuizhai general manager Luo Shengdong, who was continuously pouring this cheap refined salt into the city by sea. in the market.

As we all know, the local salt production areas in Yazhou are only produced in a few salt fields such as Danzhou and Qiongzhou Fucheng on the back. Due to limited production capacity, hundreds of thousands of catties of salt need to be shipped from the mainland every year to supplement the needs of Hainan Island. Therefore, the price of local salt has been constantly increasing. stay high.However, the cheap table salt that Luo Shengdong put into the market quickly broke this price balance, and the quantity was very large. According to the estimates of a few people with better brains in the inspection department, the table salt put into the market each time was at least more than a thousand catties, otherwise Not enough to affect the changes in the salt price of the entire Yazhou.Then the question arises, where did Luo Shengdong get so much cheap refined salt?
The answer to this question is readily apparent without further investigation.First of all, it is impossible for the Yazhou water village to hide a salt field with an astonishingly high output. In fact, in the past, all the salt received by the officers and soldiers of the water village had to be purchased from the local market, although the purchase price of the army would be higher than the average market price. However, even if the amount of hundreds of catties per month is returned to the market, it is not enough to affect the price of salt, so these cheap refined salt can never come from the Yazhou water village.Secondly, since Mr. Luo from Shuizhai was upgraded because of his military achievements in exterminating pirates, he has to run at least two or three times a month to Shengli Port, where the Haihan people are located. If there is no benefit, why would he run so diligently?

Obviously, the Haihan people living in Shengli Harbor provided Luo Shengdong with sufficient supply, allowing him to easily suppress the local salt price.Although I don't know how much Luo Shengdong can earn from this business, but Luo Shengdong recently purchased a high-end house in Yazhou, and in a big way entrusted He Wenhui, the general of the water village, to come forward to Zhang Tong of the state government. The judge's courtship seems to be a windfall.

The house that Luo Shengdong bought was just a few households away from Wei Ping's brother-in-law's house. Wei Ping estimated that the price should not be lower than 300 taels of silver. The judge's daughter.It is said that Luo Shengdong also made a promise that as long as Zhang Tong agrees to the marriage, he will buy another house and a hundred acres of land for the old man in his hometown in Guangzhou, so that the old man can return to his hometown to be a squire and landowner after he retires. Enjoy the happiness.This naked nouveau riche behavior has undoubtedly told everyone that the former Luo Shengdong who barely survived by drinking the blood of soldiers has disappeared, replaced by a rising upstart from Yazhou.Even though Luo Shengdong is only a military officer, he is not very well-off in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, but no one will ignore the financial resources he has shown in a short period of time, including the state government who usually looks very strong. It is said that the two parties have already negotiated the marriage, and they are currently in the stage of discussing the wedding date.

Seeing Luo Shengdong get rich, it is impossible to say that no one is jealous.Luo Shengdong can do the business of private salt, and the people in the inspection department think they can do the same. Everyone belongs to the privileged class in this society, but the division of functions is different.The only difference is that Luo Shengdong has convenient sea transportation conditions, and because of his status as a frontier soldier, no one dares to check his boat. with.

For the inspectorate, another obstacle to the private salt business is the relationship with the Haihan people.Luo Shengdong and the Haihan people used to "fight side by side". Naturally, this kind of relationship cannot be easily established by the people in the inspection department, but it is hard for people. Wei Ping and several other colleagues in the inspection department went directly. Office in the cliff.

The Hai Han man surnamed He in the Cliff Office was very polite, but the conversation was watertight. He just evaded the inspection department's request to "share" a little private salt business, claiming that there is currently only one agent in Hainan Island, Luo Shengdong, If the inspection department intends to do this business, they can directly talk to Luo Shengdong.The inspection department would never accept this kind of statement. As long as Luo Shengdong's mind is not broken, how can he take out the big money business in his hands and distribute it to others?Even if he is really willing to share it, he will directly distribute it to his boss or a big shot in the state government in exchange for greater benefits. How can he distribute it to a group of ninth-rank patrol inspectors who can't give him any benefits?

No matter how many people in the inspection department tried hard and hard, they still couldn't make any progress in the end. It was just that one of them got two glasses of wine as a gift when they went out.Wei Ping was so angry that he almost dropped the cup, but after talking with his brother-in-law Tongzhi, he slowly changed his mind.Offending these Haihan people in the office is trivial, and delaying earning money is a big deal. Even if these Haihan people are arrested on some charges, there will be no salt in the end, and the jealousy will continue.The top priority is to establish a higher level of contact with the Haihan people, and the newly established Yulin Inspection Department is obviously a good opportunity.

For the time being, Wei Ping had no hope of buying and selling private salt, so when he consulted Luo Shengdong on the boat, he naturally didn't consider that there would be other projects to make quick money like this.After being ruthlessly despised by Luo Shengdong, Wei Ping became angry, and couldn't help but retort: ​​"Mr. Luo, naturally you don't pay attention to one or two hundred taels of silver. Now everyone knows You have a way to traffic smuggled salt for the Haihan people, but our inspection department has no such way, so we can only find a way to make a little money."

Luo Shengdong didn't care much about Wei Ping's resentment. During this time, there were many more people who disliked him than in the past. Of course, there were also many more people who changed their attitudes and hugged their thighs because of his sudden wealth. He naturally knew that this was the result of the private salt business in cooperation with the Haihan people.Luo Shengdong originally didn't want to be so high-profile, but the Cliff Office asked him to try his best to play the role of a nouveau riche, so as to attract more locals willing to work for Haihan people-of course, the Cliff Office hopes that he can attract The target is not ordinary people, but Ming officials "inside the system".Although Luo Shengdong couldn't understand why the Haihan people had such a strange request, but for the sake of the Haihan people's consistent correctness and money, he finally chose to do what the Haihan people wanted.

Luo Shengdong smiled and said: "Wei Xunjian, do you think that the money of private salt is so easy to earn? This time I went to sea, there were no. 40 sailors and soldiers on board, and dozens of mouths were all for food. I want to use the official ship for private use, should my boss and colleagues take care of it? Do you want merchants everywhere to sell only the private salt I transported, do you want to set aside more profits for them? Do you think that the money for selling salt is mine Accepted by one person? How can there be such a good thing! This business is up and down, and there are at least dozens of people who have interests inside and outside."

Wei Ping argued strongly: "Since you still managed to get so much money to open up various relationships, it shows that the business is very profitable and the money is easy to come by."

Luo Shengdong said: "If you are willing to be a private salt, how about I share some salt for you to try?"

Wei Ping did not expect Luo Shengdong to be so eloquent, and immediately asked in surprise: "Is this true?"

"Of course it's true." Luo Shengdong nodded and said, "But I also have conditions."

"What's the condition? Mr. Luo might as well let me hear it first." Wei Ping was not dazed by the pie falling from the sky, and his eyes immediately became alert.

"The salt I gave you cannot be sold locally in Yazhou, nor can it be sold in places like Lingshui, Wanzhou, and Wenchang. It can only be sold in places like Danzhou, Lingao, and Qiongzhou Fucheng. Of course, if you have the ability It’s fine to ship it to Leizhou and sell it.” Luo Shengdong offered his terms without hesitation.

As for how to build a private salt sales network, Schneider had already given him preliminary training. Naturally, Luo Shengdong would not let go of the already secure market, but if Wei Ping had the ability to open up the private salt channel in the north, Luo Shengdong didn't mind sharing a part of his profits - anyway, there is no way to sell the private salt to the north of Hainan Island now, and if he can sell it for an extra penny, it's a penny.

After Wei Ping heard this, his enthusiasm immediately seemed to be poured with cold water: "Mr. Luo, if I have a boat, why should I find you here? Wouldn't it be faster to go directly to Shengli Port to find Haihan people?"

Luo Shengdong said with a smile: "Even if you look for Shanghai Han people, their conditions will be the same as what I said. Among the Hai Han people, there is a Mr. Shi, who is very shrewd in business. He said this is called... yes, it is called' Avoid vicious competition', one salt merchant in an area is enough, too many will become a price that kills oneself."

Wei Ping scratched his head and said, "Although I can't understand what you mean by this, I think it's quite powerful. It's just that without the private salt business, wouldn't my inspection department have nothing to make money?"

"Who told you that you didn't get money?" Luo Shengdong shook his head and said, "The Haihan people's money-making business is not just about private salt. As long as you follow their arrangements, these people will never treat you badly!"

"What? My dignified inspection department of the Ming Dynasty, Wei Ping, the nine-rank inspector, needs to obey the arrangements of these Haihan barbarians?" Wei Ping stood up all of a sudden, as if he had been greatly insulted.

(End of this chapter)