Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 157 This is not a discussion, it is a notification! (First update)
The whole place was dead silent.

Ma Wenhua and other salt merchants looked as pale as death.

The eyes they looked at Xia Zhibai were full of fear. They thought Xia Zhibai was here to scare them, but Xia Zhibai didn't try to do that at all. He came right up and demanded their lives. And not only their lives, but also the military officers of the Prince of Yan's Mansion were involved.

Is this what they are qualified to struggle for?
Xia Zhibai looked indifferent and tasted the tea with great interest.

The taste leaves a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth, with a sweet aftertaste and a long aftertaste.

It is indeed a good tea.

For many people in the world, the county magistrate is not the current manager, and many people do not take people from the imperial court seriously. This situation has been around for a long time, but many people ignore that the county magistrate is sometimes not as good as the current manager, but the county magistrate can take the lives of the current officials.

As the saying goes, there is one emperor and one courtier.

The current person in charge has changed. How can the businessmen who rely on the current person in charge have a good ending?

It's just that the status of the "scholars" in the past was too high. Even if something went wrong, they would basically not be killed, but would stop at the right time. This also caused local officials and merchants to collude with each other. Even if something went wrong, there would not be too serious impact. At most, they would give up some profits to protect themselves.

But this situation has changed with the rise of Zhu Yuanzhang.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, the fangs of scholars and officials were not important.

The literati are no longer important.

What about the merchants and landlords under the wings of the scholar-officials?

They are even less important, as they can be replaced and replenished at any time.

However, many people in the world have not reacted to this kind of drastic change, and are still following the old ways. It’s just that Xia Zhibai has now exposed it.

Everything under the Qin system had to first be about politics.

Then comes the relationship.

Ma Wenhua's face was pale. He looked at the people around him anxiously, his heart a mess.

He felt like he had fallen into an abyss. He had no strength left and couldn't even speak. His mind was blank.

a long time.

Ma Wenhua then said tremblingly: "Master Xia, please don't play tricks on us. We are just ordinary businessmen. How can we be so capable? Master Xia, please show some mercy and let us go. Please forgive us when you can."

He lowered his head, a hint of suspicion and uncertainty flashed in his eyes.

Xia Zhibai remained unmoved.

He put down the tea bowl in his hand and said calmly: "Shopkeeper Ma, it's not that I don't want to let you go, it's that you guys won't let yourself go. Collusion between officials and businessmen is a serious crime, not to mention that you guys indulged your slaves to occupy the land of other military households. I have already given you a way out."

Ma Wenhua smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Sir, you really think too highly of us."

"How can we do this?"

"That's the military household designated by the imperial court."

"If the military officer hadn't spoken up, would we dare to take action against these people?"

"You haven't seen the evil deeds of those soldiers and bandits. They are capable of anything. Why would we want to be in cahoots with them? We have no other choice. My Ma family has dozens of people, and we rely on small businesses to support our families. If we don't listen to these military officers, my family will all starve to death."

"They have power and influence in their hands. Do we dare not listen to them?"

"And Lord Xia, since you know that some of these things are related to military officers, you should know what these military officers are like. They are all violent and violent, and they beat people up at the slightest disagreement. How could they be willing to give up the money and food they have taken?"

"You asked us to persuade them, but this is like asking them to die."

Yang Wensong also said: "Sir, you have not been in Peking for a long time and you don't know the situation in Peking."

"Which of us salt merchants doesn't have the support of the government? Many of them hold important positions in the Prince of Yan's Palace. If you cut off their financial resources all at once, they will fight you to the death."

"My Lord, I suggest you turn a blind eye."

Peng Jiasheng and other salt merchants also spoke up, but they all advised Xia Zhibai to stop.

Xia Zhibai sneered in his heart.

How could he not know what these salt merchants were thinking?

He just didn't want to give up the fat meat he had obtained, and he also wanted to drag down the military officers of Prince Yan's Mansion to put pressure on himself and make him make concessions.

Deep down, they didn't believe that they dared to go against the people in Prince Yan's Mansion.

Feel like I'm bluffing.

Xia Zhibai said: "My fellow shopkeepers, you don't need to play these little tricks in front of me. Perhaps in your opinion, the officials behind you are all backed by the King of Yan, or even people that the King of Yan values. And this is in Beiping, in the King of Yan's fiefdom. What can he, an outsider, do?"

"If this is what you are thinking, I advise you to give up as soon as possible."

"I have already said so."

"There is still a sky above King Yan's head."

"I came here on the orders of the court, and it was I who took the initiative to lead the King of Yan's crackdown on corruption in the army. After a few days of investigation, I have obtained some evidence. Perhaps you think that even if I put this evidence in front of the King of Yan, he may not really punish his own generals."

"That's very possible."

"But just because the Prince of Yan won't do it doesn't mean the Crown Prince won't do it, and it doesn't mean Your Majesty won't do it."

"I, Xia Zhibai, have always been bold and reckless."

"To some extent, the Guo Huan case was caused by me, which also led to the capture of the Beiping Provincial Government, causing many of you to lose their backers. Since I dared to expose such a big thing, I am naturally not afraid of making it even bigger."

"As your majesty's heir, the Prince of Yan will not be punished too severely. At most, he will be punished for failing to manage his subordinates."

"But military officers like Qiu Fu and Li Bin may not survive."

"They're dead."

"I'm afraid you guys won't survive either?!"

"I am a businessman, so I naturally have some characteristics of a businessman, which is that I will never give up until I achieve my goal." "If anyone stops me from doing what I want to do, I don't mind tearing everything in front of me apart."

"Then clean it up slowly."

"I didn't come here to discuss this with you."

"It's a notification!"

"You don't have to threaten me with the 'Open China Law'. There are things you can do, and I can do the same. If all else fails, we can collect grain from places like Beijing and use the post stations to deliver the grain. This will definitely be lower than your expenses, right?"

"I will also continue your livelihood."

"You are still responsible for transporting grain, but you have to work under me and take the post station route. As for the salt market, if you want to run it, you can become one of my subordinates. Otherwise, you can only find another place to go. Although I, Xia Zhibai, am ruthless and decisive, I will not leave people no chance to survive."

"I have monopolized the salt market in Yingtian Prefecture."

"Many of the salt merchants originally around Yingtian Prefecture are now working for me."

"Although the income is much lower than usual, it is stable. I can't say I will become rich, but at least I can have enough food and clothing."

"Think about it carefully."

Xia Zhibai stood up and walked out of the house.

When he was about to leave the house, he stopped and said, "Tell those military officers for me that if they honestly return the occupied land, they may still have a chance to survive. If they continue to cling to that little bit of profit, then don't blame the axemen for acting too quickly."

"The world is no longer the Yuan Dynasty."

"It's the Ming Dynasty!"

"The world has changed."

"It's no longer feasible to rely on the old methods to fool people."

"The Ming Dynasty has its own system. Military officers are strictly prohibited from interacting with merchants."

"The population of the Ming Dynasty is not large, but there are still about 60 to 70 million. With so many people, it is easy to train some military commanders. As for you businessmen, the Ming Dynasty can find a lot of them. I might as well remind you that you can pay more attention to the recent developments of the court."

"We should be able to determine something."

"The merchants are in trouble!"

Xia Zhibai sneered and left resolutely.

This time he just came to inform these salt merchants of some things and had no intention of discussing with them at all.

They don't have the qualifications and ability.

Watching Xia Zhibai leave, Ma Wenhua and other salt merchants' expressions changed again and again, and finally they sat down in their seats dejectedly.

They knew they were dealing with a tough opponent this time.

Xia Zhibai is a lawless and arrogant person.

He is in Peking, yet he dares to ignore the people in Prince Yan's Mansion.

He even wanted to challenge King Yan.

If this had happened before, they wouldn't even dare to think about it, and never thought that anyone would dare to do this or say these words, but Xia Zhibai's words just now also made them wake up suddenly.

Yes.

There is a cloud above the head of King Yan.

That is the current emperor, the crown prince, and Xia Zhibai is from Yingtian Prefecture.

It is very likely that he came here with a purpose.

Would the King of Yan really turn against Xia Zhibai just for a few generals?
will not.

But Xia Zhibai really dared to turn Peking upside down.

However, this is a battle between gods. How can low-level businessmen like them be qualified to participate in it? They don't even dare to peek. If they are not careful, their entire clan may be in trouble.

Peng Jiasheng looked uneasy, no longer relaxed as before, and asked anxiously, "What should we do now?"

"On one side is the King of Yan, and on the other side is the pressure from the imperial court. We cannot afford to offend either side. Either side can kill us."

"Looking at Xia Zhibai's attitude, I'm afraid he is really willing to sacrifice his life and drag all the officials of the Prince of Yan's Mansion into this. Then we won't be able to escape either."

"What should we do now?!"

The others also looked anxious.

It was the first time they encountered such a rude person.

It's just bullying.

But they had no way to deal with Xia Zhibai, and there was only endless fear and panic in their hearts.

Ma Wenhua took a deep breath, suppressed his anxiety, and said, "At this point, we can only take one step at a time. These things are no longer up to us. Now it's a matter of whether Xia Zhibai's backing is stronger or the fist of King Yan is stronger. For now, we can only tell them the truth."

“Let them make the decision.”

"But prepare for the worst."

"Whether they win or not, we will not be in any good situation."

"Xia Zhibai is coming with such force that he might have made up his mind to take over the salt market."

“We have no power to resist.”

"What on earth is the imperial court thinking? Are they really not going to give us businessmen a way to survive? Are they going to force us businessmen into a dead end?" Ma Wenhua felt extremely upset.

(End of this chapter)