I'm really not doing business

Chapter 830: Morality is not enough to govern a country; without morality, a country will not be a country

It is very interesting to find the inscriptions on tortoise shells and animal bones that Shen Li studied.

For example, the word "Wu" does not mean "to stop the war". In the tortoise shell and animal bone inscriptions, "Wu" is composed of a "zou" and a "ge", which means to walk over and kill the enemy, which is "Wu". It also means to bring the captives back to Yindu and sacrifice them to the ancestors after preparing them in various ways, which is "si".

The most important affairs of state are war and sacrifice.

Did the Shang people really respect ghosts and gods? They seemed to respect them very much, starting wars, capturing Qiang people everywhere, and even holding grand ceremonies to worship them. But Shen Li always felt that the Shang king did not seem to respect ghosts and gods very much.

Because there were several tortoise shells and animal bones on which the king would ask the gods a question, and if he didn't get a satisfactory answer, he would ask again and again until he got the result he wanted.

Today, if the ministers ask the emperor questions and don't get a satisfactory answer, who dares to ask again? If the emperor doesn't answer and keeps the answer, the ministers will be terrified. Zhang Juzheng's communication is not smooth, and he impeached his disciples at a small meeting in Wenhua Hall. This is already a very bold act based on his own reform achievements.

The King of Shang kept asking, usually increasing the number of Qiang people he wanted to use, one, three, five, ten, fifty, one hundred, three hundred, until the cracks on the tortoise shell were what he wanted.

Moreover, the king did not really follow these divinations. Shen Li found one that said: On the day of Guihai, the diviner asked, "There will be no disasters in the next ten days." The king did some divination and the diviner said that there will be signs of bad luck, which means there will be disaster.

The divination showed that there would be a disaster. On the fifth day, Dingmao, the king insisted on going out hunting, but the shaft of his cart broke.

Moreover, there were not just a few tortoise shells and animal bones of this kind. Just the records of car accidents that Shen Li had seen included three. And each time it was a divination indicating bad luck. However, Wang refused to believe in it and insisted on going out to show off.

Sometimes, the king would even interpret the cracks himself, which made Mr. Zhenren (the fortune teller) very helpless.

Thousands of years ago, in that still ignorant age, the authority of ghosts and gods and the royal power seemed to be two suns in the sky, but the royal power was still greater than the authority of ghosts and gods.

In Shen Li's view, Zhang Juzheng and Shen Shixing's concerns were similar to those about two suns flying in the sky.

Zhang Juzheng began to doubt the Wanli Reform, which was the fundamental reason why he wanted to impeach Shen Shixing. He wanted to reverse the course of events.

Because when the commodity economy completes its transformation, the tremendous power of profit will replace the imperial power. Even if the tremendous power of profit cannot replace the imperial power, the power of profit and the imperial power are almost on par with each other. This kind of double suns flying in the sky is something Zhang Juzheng cannot tolerate.

The sight of two suns in the sky was extremely dangerous for the Ming Dynasty, or for the Central Plains dynasty. There was no one with two hands in power. Even in the current Ming Dynasty, before Zhang Juzheng returned to power, he was the regent. After he returned to power, it was Your Majesty who made the decision.

But the emperor was very determined and did not want to give up because of fear.

However, Shen Li believed that even if there were two suns in the sky, there was only one person in the Ming Dynasty who could call the wind and rain, and that was His Majesty!

Just like more than 3,000 years ago, the authority of ghosts and gods still had to bow to the royal power. If they didn't get a satisfactory answer, they would keep asking questions. If they didn't get a satisfactory answer, they would interpret it themselves. Even if they were guilty, they would still go out and tremble in fear.

In Shen Li's view and the Ministry of Rites' view, there was nothing new about the views raised by Shen Shixing. These views would occur at every major turning point in history.

It happened in the pre-Qin era, when the princes who had worked hard to open up the mountains and forests carved up the world into pieces;
This happened during the Qin Dynasty, when the well-field system was abolished and the land was opened up, and the landowners who won titles for military merit divided the country into pieces.

It happened in the Han Dynasty, when aristocratic families annexed all the land in the world and prospered for a thousand years, dividing the world into pieces.

This happened during the Sui and Tang dynasties. The aristocratic families were replaced and the local wise men and gentry stepped onto the stage of history. The bureaucrats who came from the local wise men and gentry divided the world into pieces.

Today, it is simply the emerging bourgeoisie that has stepped onto the historical stage and divided society into countless pieces.

When the problem is transformed into pieces of contradictions, things become clear and understandable.

Because of interests, society will still be divided into irreconcilable and inescapable opposites. In order to prevent these opposites, these conflicting but inseparable interest economies, from destroying themselves, each other and the entire society in meaningless contradictions, conflicts and struggles, it requires a force that is above all classes to regulate contradictions, ease conflicts and maintain conflicts within a certain range of order.

This kind of power is the Guochao.

Wan Shihe, the Grand Master of Imperial Clan, once said in his "Memorial on the Establishment of the Ding of the National Dynasty": The power of the Nine Cauldrons to stabilize the mountains and rivers is not a private tool of one family; the merit of the Six Talismans to determine the heaven and earth is actually a public tool for all people. The so-called national dynasty is the mandate of heaven, the scale of heaven and earth, and the standard of human relations.

(Excerpt from "Guochao Dingjian Shu" - Wan Shihe.)
Two suns may appear in the sky, but they will always be corrected to the track of no two suns in the sky, no two kings on earth, no two masters in the home, and no two honors.

Power is only responsible to the source of power. The court must fulfill and assume its responsibilities and regulate the contradictions among various social classes to maintain its existence.

Shen Li convinced Zhang Juzheng, and Wang Chonggu immediately stood up and expressed his own opinion that it is easier to herd a flock of sheep than a single sheep.

No matter the number, it's going to be a lot of work anyway, so it's better to do it together.

Shen Shixing's memorial caused an uproar. Zhang Juzheng tentatively reached out to stop the changes brought about by the Wanli Reform, but he failed. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was the leader of the reform, and Zhang Juzheng had no better solution unless His Majesty called a halt.

This court meeting in early March of the 16th year of the Wanli reign may seem insignificant, but it decided many things and could be considered a small turning point in history.

Wang Guoguang retired, Yang Yinqiu was exiled to Java, Gao Qiyu was given full authority to supervise all peace talks with Japan, the excavation of tortoise shells and animal bones was launched, and there was controversy over Shen Shixing's memorial. This court meeting finally established the policy tone of "stability as the main focus, local adjustments", laying the foundation for subsequent domestic and foreign policies.

After leaving the court, Shen Li did not go to Wenyuan Pavilion to work, but went to the Ministry of Rites. Ever since Wan Shi and Wan Zongbo left, all matters in the Ministry of Rites were handled by Shen Li alone. After more than a year of observation, Li Changchun, the former Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was able to shoulder this burden well.

Chen Xuehui served as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. In late June of the 15th year of the Wanli reign, he retired due to old age.

Li Changchun became a senior official in the Ministry of Rites.

A memorial was placed on the desks of Li Changchun and Shen Li. It was a memorial from Li Yashi, the interpreter of the Honglu Temple. Li Yashi mentioned one thing in the memorial, which was trade imbalance.

"Porcelain is made of clay, tea is from leaves, and silk is from insect cocoons. These have become global commodities since long ago. Today, Ming Dynasty's iron pots, cotton cloth, and spices have also become global commodities. But what does Ming Dynasty need? It only needs silver, and now it needs gold. Ming Dynasty is even unwilling to buy slaves." Shen Li read a passage from Li Yashi's memorial.

No raw materials are provided, no technology is provided, prices are not lowered, and even freight and maritime trade risks are calculated precisely based on the voyage. The current eating habits of the Ming Dynasty can be summed up in one sentence: Ming Dynasty makes money and spends it, and once it's gone, they want to take it home.

The Ming Dynasty refused to spend even a single cent of its silver. This greedy attitude was really ugly.

Li Yashi found Wang Jiaping who had returned to Beijing, and asked about Foshan Tieguo carefully, which broke his defense.

The total cost of a Ming Dynasty Foshan iron pot is three cents of silver per pot, including raw materials, labor, transportation, etc., while the Ming Dynasty's export price from Dianbai Port is 1 silver per pot. By making money right at home, you can earn more than three times the price difference.

When the ship arrived at the port and reached the New World, the price of each pot was three silvers, which was another three times the profit. If it was shipped to the West, the price would be 4.5 silvers per pot, which would still be a profit.

The cost price of each Western iron pot is three silver coins, which means that after the Ming Dynasty iron pots arrive in the West, they are sold at a cheaper price than the local Western pots!
The key point is that the Ming Dynasty iron pot is thin, only 7.5 cm, while the Western pot is three times thicker, which leads to the hot sales of Ming Dynasty iron pots.

The pot is thin and durable, which means good heat transfer and can save nearly 30% of fuel. No matter what method is used to cook, the Daming iron pot can save 30% of fuel, thanks to the white cast iron and annealing process.

In some markets in the New World, Ming Dynasty iron pots would be forged and cut into four parts for frying food. This was a helpless move caused by the insufficient supply of Ming Dynasty iron pots.

Foshan Iron Smelting Institute customized several standardized products ranging from one foot to three feet, and exported up to 200,000 iron pots each year. Spain originally could produce 300,000 pots, but in recent years, the number has been declining. By the 15th year of Wanli, it could only produce 200,000 pots.

After fully understanding the situation of Foshan iron pot, Li Yashi fell into despair.

The despair is that the Ming Dynasty does not have enough fleets for global trade. Once there are more, Ming Dynasty dumping will completely destroy the smelting industry in the West.
What is desperate is that Daming believes that its products are already sold at a very high price and have huge profits. For this reason, Wang Jiaping even prevents the vicious price cuts of iron pots to give Taixi blacksmiths a way to survive. However, from Taixi's perspective, a large amount of Daming goods are still being dumped.

Even if the Ming Dynasty generously transferred the technology, the West would not be able to produce such high-quality and low-cost iron pots.

Li Changchun said solemnly, "To put it bluntly, the Westerners cannot defeat the Ming Dynasty. If they could, they would not cry and shout about the trade imbalance. Barbarians have always been like this, with wolf faces and beast hearts. They will not be reasonable if they can. If they are willing to be reasonable, they must have been hurt by the beating."

"In the early years of the Wanli reign, when the large sailing ships arrived at the port, there was actually already such a sign."

When the Spanish galleons arrived at the port, it brought a great shock to the Ming Dynasty. That is, the West was too far away from the Ming Dynasty, and the Westerners, who lacked the ability to deploy in the ocean, could not attack the Ming Dynasty. If they were closer, these Westerners would definitely be more brutal than the Japanese pirates.

If it were not for Your Majesty's insistence on opening the sea, allowing large sailing ships to enter the port, taking a share of the maritime trade from the large sailing ships, allowing Yin Zhengmao to lead troops to attack Luzon, etc., this crisis would still be like a sharp blade hanging over the Ming Dynasty, threatening the security of the Ming Dynasty's maritime borders at any time.

"That's true. Your Majesty was the one who advocated all matters related to opening the sea. Now it seems that Your Majesty was right." Shen Li quite agreed. At that time, he was still the Minister of Rites.

At that time, he thought it was just the ten-year-old Majesty who was fooling around and liked the rare treasures from overseas;

Everyone thought that Zhang Juzheng was deliberately indulging himself in order to gain the power of regent and satisfy the emperor's selfish desires.

Sixteen years have passed, and the prejudice of that time has hit him in the face like a boomerang. Opening the sea was useful, and with the Maritime Customs as the fulcrum, a seesaw was formed, which brought great convenience to the Ming Dynasty's administration.

Looking back today, without your Majesty's "decisive will" and "dictatorial action" back then, the Wanli Reform would not have achieved such results.

The cost of reform will be borne by the Ming people themselves, and widespread opposition will bring the vigorous reform to an abrupt end.

"We must note that this trade imbalance is also disadvantageous to the Ming Dynasty. The unilateral surplus makes it seem that the Ming Dynasty is making a lot of money, but if it does not share its profits with others, the solitary yin cannot produce and the solitary yang cannot grow." Shen Li chose to look at the problem objectively.

"Please remember this." Shen Li thought about it seriously and said, "I noticed that the technology used in Foshan iron smelting was already mature during the Song Dynasty. Time flies. Four or five hundred years have passed. Has it made any progress? Not at all. It is still the technology of the Song Dynasty."

"If a country has no external threats or rivals, it will just rest on its laurels and lose the motivation to upgrade its industries."

"This is the first point."

"Secondly, there are problems caused by unbalanced regional development. The rapid development of the coastal areas is completely ahead of the inland areas. This trade imbalance is not only for the West, but also for the Ming hinterland."

"This seriously hindered the implementation of the One Whip Law, because once the One Whip Law was implemented, the coastal areas would be blocked for silver and the hinterland would be short of money. The One Whip Law's fiscal and tax system actually meant reducing taxes for developed areas and increasing taxes for the hinterland."

"In the long run, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."

That is, Zhang Juzheng himself stopped the Single Whip Law at the beginning of the 15th year of the Wanli reign. Otherwise, Shen Li would not be able to say this publicly, otherwise he would be labeled as an opponent of the Wanli Reform. This crime was unbearable even for his status as a cabinet minister. It represented the error of the line, opposing His Majesty and the Prime Minister.

In the 5th year of the Wanli reign, all the iron factories in Guangdong and Guangxi regions produced iron pots and no longer produced iron plows. As a result, the price of iron plows in Huguang region increased fivefold in just three months. Sichuan, Huguang, Guizhou and other places fell into plow shortages to varying degrees.

The imperial court responded quickly and immediately concentrated the production of a batch of iron plows in the Huguang region to alleviate the plow shortage.

Even so, the grain output in Huguang region decreased by 10% in the th year of Wanli due to the impact of famine, which aroused the vigilance of court ministers about the unbalanced development.

Trade imbalance is not only reflected in foreign trade.

Shen Li continued, "Third, if there is no interference, maritime trade will eventually be like water without a source and a tree without roots, and it will not last long. In the past few years, the Ming Dynasty began to store gold, which prevented the inflow of silver and gold from declining significantly. However, if we don't look at gold, the inflow of silver has declined significantly."

"To be more specific, the world right now cannot satisfy Ming's demand for currency."

This involves the monetary policy of the Ming Dynasty. The whole world simply cannot withstand the Ming Dynasty's aggressive pumping, which has almost drained the liquidity of silver. After draining the liquidity of silver, the whole world has entered a money shortage along with the Ming Dynasty. If such a surplus continues, it will be like draining the pond to catch fish. All parts of the world will wither. Who will the Ming Dynasty do business with?

Your Majesty likes sustainable fishing.

Shen Li said solemnly: "Real and orderly trade does not care about the amount of silver surplus. Of course, this is still very important, but it is more important to transform the surplus into sustainable evolution capabilities."

"We will use this silver to establish Ming's own cycle, that is, a cycle of technological leadership, currency dominance, and continuous industrial upgrading."

"In terms of specific matters, we also need some goods. In addition to silver and gold, we also need copper, iron, saltpeter, cocoa, etc."

Shen Li hesitated for a while, and finally said: "If it really doesn't work, they can sell some Yi people."

For Shen Li, saying this was already a huge challenge for him. Before becoming the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, Shen Li was upright, incorruptible, and had no private connections.

Without Hai Rui, Shen Li would be the most upright and honest minister in the world.

Morality cannot govern a country, but without morality, the country will no longer be a country.

Shen Li did one thing. In the 12th year of Wanli, he submitted a memorial requesting the compilation of "The Veritable Records of Emperor Jingtai", which was about the Emperor Jingtai who turned the tide and saved the country from collapse in the 14th year of Zhengtong.

The records of Emperor Jing were therefore included in the Records of Emperor Yingzong. Shen Li reported to the emperor: Emperor Jing was furious and mobilized troops. Although it was a miscalculation, it was not a hunting trip. Emperor Jing was the regent and took the throne. Although it was temporary, it was for the country. The names of the two dynasties were different, but the events were recorded in the same book. What else can we say?

Then Shen Li listed five reasons, arguing that the Veritable Records of Emperor Jing should not be attached to the Veritable Records of Emperor Yingzong. Each of these five reasons is very sufficient and reasonable.

For example, it is not possible to say that during the reigns of Emperors Jin, Yuan, and Song, did they really have a continuation of the pacification? They only managed to win over the people's hearts during the period of panic, which was a small achievement. Therefore, even though I am just a historian, I have to give it to them. Emperor Jing finally managed to save the country from collapse, fought against foreign enemies and improved his internal situation, and returned from the northern expedition. China remained the same. The seven years of fierceness were not like the example of the Jin and Song dynasties. What will the later generations think of it?

This means that the two emperors of the Western Jin Dynasty were captured and the Eastern Jin Dynasty was established; the two emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty were captured and the Southern Song Dynasty was established.

Emperor Yuan of Jin and Emperor Gaozong of Song did not have any great achievements. They just won the hearts of the people at a time when the people were in panic and the country was in ruins, and they made some contributions, so they were written about in great books.

Emperor Jing saved the declining world, resisted foreign enemies and improved politics at home; Emperor Yingzong returned to the court after his northern expedition, and China was restored to its original state. These seven years of glorious and heroic deeds have not received fair evaluation. What will future generations think of this?

But this is a thankless task.

Emperor Jing Zhu Qiyu had no descendants. From Emperor Xianzong to the current Emperor Wanli, they were all descendants of Emperor Yingzong. Shen Li supported Emperor Jing so much. Isn't this an insult to the emperor's ancestors?
But Shen Li did so, and he also copied out the records of Emperor Jing, proofread them one by one, and presented them to the emperor. When Shen Li submitted the memorial, he was already prepared to be beheaded. His memorial of five things not to do was no different from Hai Rui's memorial on public security back then, both of which were aimed at the emperor.

The result of His Majesty's comments was beyond Shen Li's expectations. His Majesty commented in red: The title of Emperor Jing has been restored, and it is inappropriate to attach the Veritable Records again. The three words "King of Yingli" should be changed to "Emperor Jing". Wait for the revision and approval before publication.

The title of Emperor Jing was restored by Zhu Jianshen, the son of Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. Since the title already existed, it would be wrong to attach it in the Veritable Records, and it would be even more wrong to include the title King of Yingli. After further revisions, it was published.

Shen Li's action not only did not anger His Majesty, but His Majesty reminded him that the three words "King of Qingli" were wrong.

Afterwards, Shen Li successfully became the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan. Apparently, His Majesty did not particularly care about this matter, which also meant that His Majesty did not care about keeping secrets for the sake of the respected emperor.

To be more specific, the emperor, ministers, powerful officials, wealthy businessmen, local gentry, and poor laborers are all human beings. There is no difference between them. If they do not do well, they can be criticized.

King Huan of Zhou was shot in the shoulder by an arrow from the general of Zheng, Zhu Dan, and fled with the wound. After the arrow was shot at the King of Zhou, everyone realized that the King of Zhou had fallen, and the princes of the world no longer took him seriously.

Zhang Siwei brazenly arranged for Wang Jinglong to enter the palace to assassinate him and set fire to the palace. After it was finally verified by His Majesty, the Emperor clearly realized that the emperor is no different from ordinary people. The emperor is also a human being and will die if killed.

Li Changchun remembered what Shen Li said and said solemnly, "Grand Master, why don't you raise the tariff again? The current tariff is only 13% of the value of the product. Increase it to 3% of the value of the product ...

"In this way, some of Taixi's industries can be preserved. If they continue to do this, I'm afraid that in ten years, no one will be able to do business with Ming Dynasty."

"We will set up a world conference in Songjiang Prefecture and Guangzhou Prefecture, and let these small foreign countries bring their specialties to the Ming Dynasty to see if there is anything worth selling. This way, we can ease the imbalance in trade."

If one end of the seesaw with the Maritime Customs as the fulcrum is too heavy, everything will naturally slide to the Ming Dynasty side, and the seesaw game will no longer be playable.

"The tariff has been raised from 6% to 13%, which is already a lot. If it goes up further, His Majesty will not agree." Shen Li shook his head and said, "This matter concerns the inflow of silver, so we should focus on stability. However, the World Association is not bad, so we can try it out. You can arrange it."

After Shen Li and Li Changchun had an in-depth exchange, they determined the date of the International Congress of Imports. In May or June, when the large ships arrived, an International Congress of Imports would be held to see what specialties the various foreign countries had that could be bought. When it comes to trade balance, the Ministry of Rites really has a say, after all, it's diplomacy.

"As for the other issue mentioned by Le Yashi, the Ming court is also powerless. The Ming court adheres to the concept of openness, cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win to manage relations between countries." Shen Li expressed his powerlessness, the court is not omnipotent!
Li Yashi talked about a root-causing issue, saying that the Ming Dynasty even snatched away farmers’ jobs!
Sweet potatoes, potatoes, cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, Dracaena fragrans (Brazilian rosewood), cinchona, coffee, tobacco, etc., the Ming Dynasty was unwilling to delegate these farming tasks!
If the Ming Dynasty really carries out this import policy, it will probably find ways to import what can be grown. As for what cannot be grown, such as minerals, it may breed the Ming army. This is done to ensure that the supply will not be cut off.

Shen Li had no good solution for this matter. He could only say that the invisible big hand had terrible power, and the hands of the court could only manage domestic affairs.

"I can't even farm the land, who can I blame?" Li Changchun felt that Li Yashi was a little pretentious.

If we can’t farm, can we blame the Ming Dynasty?

Li Changchun doesn't farm, so he really doesn't know that there is a lot of knowledge in farming. The intensive farming of the Ming Dynasty was indeed a world-leading agricultural technology. In addition, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a farmer, which led to the fact that the lead in this land knowledge was still expanding.

Even the eldest prince could recite the farming rhymes written by His Majesty himself, such as planting potatoes at the Beginning of Spring, planting cucumbers at Rain Water, and planting peppers at the Waking of Insects; around the Qingming Festival, plant melons and beans; Spring rain is as precious as oil, so there is no need to worry about farming, etc.

The weather in March was still very cold, but an explosive piece of news was reported back to the Ming Dynasty: the first batch of gold sand ships from the Governor-General's Office of Juezhou Jinchi would soon arrive at the port of Songjiang Prefecture. In mid-February, the large ship arrived at the port of Manila for supplies, and the hydrofoil sailboat brought the news back to the capital of the Ming Dynasty as quickly as possible.

This news spread like wildfire throughout the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and everyone was talking about it.

However, there was no fluctuation in the gold and silver trading house in Yanxinglou. Every once in a while, a piece of false news would be spread, causing large fluctuations in the gold and silver trading. If you cry wolf three times, no one will believe it. The news that a large ship of gold sand had arrived at the port had been spread by the trading house for a full seventeen times.

The price of gold and silver has not changed, and the price of gold and silver remains around 1:16. The brokers and compradors in the trading houses are still trading as usual.

"Announcement, announcement! The ship of Jinchi Governor's Mansion has arrived! Jinchi Governor Deng Zilong sent General Zhang Cong with 220,000 taels of gold, and he has arrived at the new port of Songjiang Prefecture!" A newsboy suddenly rushed into Yanxinglou Trading House holding a report.

All the brokers and compradors stood up suddenly and looked at the newsboy in disbelief. One comprador snatched a copy of the official newspaper and threw five copper coins to the newsboy. After reading the newspaper, his eyes became dull and he looked towards the place where the gold and silver lists were posted.

"It's over. It's completely over." The broker's expression became dull.

The price of gold plummeted like it had jumped off a cliff, and soon fell to 1:10. After maintaining this ratio for just five minutes, it jumped again to an unprecedented price of 1:5 before finally stabilizing.

Eight minutes ago, one tael of gold was equal to sixteen taels of silver; now, one tael of gold is only worth five taels of silver.

Wang Qian, the general manager of Yanxinglou Trading House, stood on the fifth floor of the trading building, playing with two Cangzhou iron balls in his hands. He stopped dribbling the balls when he saw the price stabilize at five silver coins. He said, "Buy gold. At this price, the stampede is about to begin."

Deng Zilong had brought back good news in December last year that he had found his sword. This meant that the Ming Dynasty had obtained a stable source of gold, and the gold price could not remain at the high level of 16 silver coins.

Over the past four months, Wang Qian sold all the gold he had amidst the sideways fluctuations in the market.

Until today, the news of the large ship's arrival at the port was officially confirmed, and he started buying gold again to maintain the basic stability of the market. For a big investor like him, bad news turns out to be good news.

"Wang Qian, you will die a horrible death!" A sharp-eyed broker spotted Wang Qian at the stairs on the fifth floor at a glance. He was so angry that his face turned red. He rushed up from the third floor in two steps, took out a dagger from somewhere, and rushed towards Wang Qian.

He looked so aggressive as if he wanted to kill someone. It was obvious that he had lost a lot of money, or was even bankrupt and was deeply in debt, which was why he did such an extreme action.

Wang Qian had a calm expression, with an amusing look, and even some disdain as he looked at the broker and comprador. This was a Huizhou merchant who used seven times the leverage to play in the highly volatile wolf tickets in the gold and silver market. At this time in the gold and silver market, it was not big tickets, small tickets, or new tickets, but wolf tickets, tickets that were going to eat people.

Now that he has lost money, the broker blamed all the mistakes on Wang Qian.

"Bang." A Ti cavalryman standing at the stairs kicked the broker down.

"You can't afford it. If you can't afford it, don't play it." Wang Qian looked down at him and sneered, "Governor Deng's golden pond punishes the evildoers with thunder and lightning. It's even made into a play. Daqianmen sings about the Seven Treasures Tower sailing down the ocean and the mighty heaven suppressing the southern wilderness all day long. Did you listen? No."

"The news of the Jinsha ship's arrival has been spread seventeen times. We have warned you many times that there will be huge fluctuations. Did you listen? No."

"You didn't understand the couplet posted on the door of the trading house. The price goes up and down unpredictably. Even if you have calculated everything, there will still be loopholes. You are responsible for your own profits and losses. Borrowing grain will be wasted."

"Walking on thin ice."

The horizontal banner "Walking on thin ice" is also a warning Wang Qian gave to himself.

He was also wondering whether he could reach the other side in his life, walking on thin ice.

(End of this chapter)