Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 278 What we want is for all parties to be barely satisfied!

Lu Cang is back.

The day before the second meeting, Lu Cang, who had been hanging around in the city, finally returned to Xia Zhibai.

Main hall.

Lu Cang had changed into clean clothes, and his face was no longer dirty. He looked much more energetic, with a beaming face and his head held high, like a victorious rooster, proclaiming his greatness.

Xia Zhibai looked at Lu Cang who was showing off at the side and smiled helplessly.

After staying in the beggars' den for a while, Lu Cang actually felt a sense of honor. He was a little amused and helpless.

Hua Lun looked at Lu Cang and asked, "Lu Cang, have you found out any news?"

Lu Cang took a few gulps from the kettle, and the warm water flowed down the corners of his mouth and all over the floor. He stopped with a long sigh and even burped. Lu Cang smiled awkwardly and continued to speak shamelessly: "I've found out everything."

"There are salt factories in each of the eleven prefectures in Zhejiang. Among them, there is a very large salt factory in Zhejiang, called Ningbo Salt Factory."

"In the past six months, the salt produced by Ningbo Salt Factory has supplied almost half of Zhejiang."

“Even the beggars on the street have heard of it.”

"It's just that in the past half month, Ningbo Salt has been silent."

"Except for the Ningbo Salt Factory, the largest salt factory in Fujian is the Quanning Salt Factory, the one in Jiangxi seems to be the Jianglin Salt Factory, and the one in Huguang is the one in Huguang."

Lu Cang described the situation of factories in various southern provinces in detail.

As he spoke, he took out a piece of grey cloth from his body. The grey cloth was very dirty, and a lot of black spots could be seen through the cloth. The cloth was wrapped around Lu Cang. Lu Cang turned around a few times on the spot and took off the grey cloth. He saw that it was covered with words of various sizes.

This is Lu Cang’s real gain.

Hua Lun's eyes lit up, and he quickly reached out to take the gray cloth covered with information. Looking at the names of the salt factories that appeared on it, his face lit up with joy. Without caring that Xia Zhibai was still there, he ran a few steps to get the roster on the table, and then checked them one by one.

Lian Zining and the others looked at each other, then quickly walked forward and examined it carefully.

Xia Zhibai did not look at the content on the gray cloth, but walked to Lu Cang, patted Lu Cang on the head, and said with a smile: "You haven't been a beggar for so long, you haven't been bullied by the beggars in Yuhang."

Lu Cang raised his eyebrows, as if he was humiliated. He immediately pulled up his long sleeves, raised his two skinny arms, leaned sideways to show off his biceps, and said, "I'm being bullied. Brother Xia, you look down on me."

"I'm lucky I don't bully them."

"Those skinny guys who can fall down with a gust of wind, are you bullying me? I can beat up three or five of them by myself. You didn't see how powerful I am wherever I go. I say what I mean and I don't go back on my word. If anyone doesn't listen, I'll just go up and beat them up. They'll all be obedient after being beaten."

Lu Cang also started to promote himself.

Xia Zhibai smiled but did not expose his true intention. It was not easy for a beggar from outside to gain a foothold. It was good enough if he was not excluded. Moreover, he came from the north, which was even more so. However, he also heard from Lu Cang's words that he was afraid that when Lu Cang first arrived, he had fought with beggars like Yuhang.

After boasting for a while, Lu Cang stopped and said with a bitter face: "In fact, being a beggar here is no different from being a beggar in Yingtian Prefecture. Everyone still hates you. The big ones bully the small ones, and the strong ones bully the weak. It is common to go hungry for nine meals in three days. However, the environment here is better than Yingtian Prefecture. If you really can't make it, you can just eat tree bark and grass roots to barely survive."

“It’s just all equally bitter!”

Xia Zhibai nodded and said, "Human nature is like this, regardless of the boundaries."

"You did well this time."

Lu Cang glanced at Hua Lun and the others who regarded the grey cloth as a treasure, and asked doubtfully: "Is there something wrong with these salt factories?"

Xia Zhibai said: "Yes."

"Many of them are not included in the list submitted by the Salt Transport Bureau."

"The Ningbo Salt Factory and Quanning Salt Factory you mentioned just now are not on the list. I'm afraid these salt factories did not suddenly go out of business, but are deliberately hiding to confuse the past. They use these false accounts to conceal these salt warehouses and then make a lot of money from them."

"Ah." Lu Cang exclaimed in surprise. He didn't expect the situation to be so serious. He couldn't believe it and said, "The salt factories are so big, how dare they do this? If they are found out, won't they be beheaded?!"

Xia Zhibai sneered, "Behead? Who will do it?"

"If the imperial court is almost ignorant of the situation, who can kill them?"

"Supervision, manufacturing, and trafficking are all under their noses. As long as they deal with the people sent by the court, who knows that several provincial governors in the south are actually hiding several large salt factories in private?"

"And is it really that big?"

"The salt factories may look large, but they are usually located in remote areas, rarely in densely populated areas. As long as we are careful and don't attract attention from the outside world, how many people will really make a big deal out of it? Besides, these are only the famous ones. I'm afraid there are more of them who are not famous."

"How can there be few privately made ones?"

"And the kitchen owner."

"The South has long had a surplus of salt, and there is a lot left."

“It’s just that the salt ends up in places it shouldn’t go.”

“Salt is just the tip of the iceberg.”

"The more serious ones are probably spices and ivory."

“These are the big ones.”

"It's also really lucrative. Exchanging salt for spices is a very profitable business."

"With such huge profits, if I had the means, I would be tempted. Money can move people's hearts, and this has never changed since ancient times."

Lu Cang smacked his lips, also dumbfounded.

He had never heard of spices and ivory before, but he knew they were priceless.

Xia Zhibai glanced at Hua Lun and the others who were still sorting out the situation, and then asked, "Have you found out who was behind the commotion in Yuhang this time?"

Lu Cang nodded vigorously and said, "I've checked it out."

"The first ones to stir up trouble were Duan and Wang Ziming, but..." Lu Cang lowered his voice and said, "They were caught by the government. There have been rumors that they are dead. Anyway, the leader is Deng Muzi. He seems to be missing now, but he is definitely still alive."

"Are you so sure?" Xia Zhibai frowned.

Lu Cang nodded vigorously and said, "That's for sure."

"I asked the beggars, and they said some of them had seen Deng Muzi in the past few days, but he was very cautious and basically disappeared after showing up. But because of this, he was never caught. His wife and children were all in hiding, and no one knew where they were hiding."

"I privately asked a beggar I know to pass on the message."

“Just haven’t responded yet.”

Xia Zhibai nodded and asked, "What about the other prefectures?"

Lu Cang said: "In fact, the other prefectures are similar. Basically, those who started the trouble were severely punished by the government. The rest were smart and would not give the government a chance to take action. It's just that it's difficult to pass on the message, and they don't trust the government."

"It is said that the government in Ningbo Prefecture deceives people in this way."

Xia Zhibai frowned. Not being able to contact anyone was a problem, but it was most likely intentional on the part of the government. They just didn't want him to find Deng Muzi and the others. Through all kinds of mischief, they wanted Deng Muzi and the others to become suspicious and wary of the government so that they wouldn't be present, leaving him with no choice but to discuss with the people arranged by the government.

"Brother Xia, how about I ask someone else to urge him?" Lu Cang asked with concern. Xia Zhibai shook his head.

He said in a deep voice: "There is no need for that."

"If they really want to come, they will come when the time comes. If they don't want to, it will be useless even if you invite them many times. In the final analysis, it is because the local government has done too badly and has ruined the government's credibility in the hearts of the local people. People dare not trust it anymore."

"It's not urgent."

"Let's talk about it after we sort out the salt factory issue."

"And I don't think they really want to keep making trouble."

"After all, the Ming Dynasty is still ruled by the government. What can they achieve by making such a fuss? How can they make such a fuss? They can't just hide from the government forever. They can bear it themselves, but what about their wives and children? The problem must be solved after all."

"Making trouble means there is dissatisfaction and demands in one's heart."

"As long as they are not determined to rebel, it means that the government is not sincere enough, which makes them feel insecure."

"Let's do the current things first. Once they see the attitude of the imperial court, they will naturally understand that we are here to solve their problems. We will not choose to go along with the local government."

Lu Cang nodded.

He naturally believed Xia Zhibai.

Moreover, he absolutely would not believe that Xia Zhibai was in cahoots with the local government.

Everyone knows that Brother Xia is aloof. How can a local government make Brother Xia bow down to you? Even His Majesty cannot do that.

Xia Zhibai said: "You should go and have a rest first."

Lu Cang hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother Xia, can we take those beggars with us when we leave?"

Xia Zhibai frowned, shook his head and said, "I can't make the decision. I have to ask them themselves. Besides, I can't take them to Yingtian Prefecture. I can only let them follow those stove owners to the north and land in the north. As for whether they are willing or not, it depends on them."

"If you don't want to, you can't."

Lu Cang showed a trace of difficulty on his face, but finally muttered softly: "Then I will tell them later. I thought I could take them to Yingtian Prefecture."

Xia Zhibai ignored them and walked over to Hua Lun and the others.

"How did the comparison go?" Xia Zhibai asked.

Hua Lun shook his head and said, "Although it cannot be said that every prefecture has hidden dealers, each provincial government has two or three dealers, and they appear to be of considerable size. These people are probably, as you guessed, trying to fool the court so that they can move these things from the open to the dark and reap the huge profits."

"These people are seeking death!"

Xia Zhibai chuckled and said, "Everyone is their man, how can you talk about seeking death? It would be seeking death if the court found out. If the court can't find out, then it's not seeking death, but being smart and capable."

"Besides, if we are discovered, wouldn't it be easy to just find a few scapegoats?"

Hua Lun did not comment, and said coldly: "Are they so confident that the court can't find out?"

Xia Zhibai was silent.

He sighed and said, "Perhaps the court really can't find out."

"It's not that they can't find out, but they can bribe the relevant officials."

"As for those who have surfaced so far, there are the current emperor's son-in-law involved, as well as many meritorious families and local officials. Looking at the world, this is a very powerful force, even enough to influence the court politics. Can ordinary officials really get to the bottom of it?"

"Even if you hold the imperial sword, how many people can remain unmoved?"

“And there’s a big problem.”

"Even if it's an official, he has to report to the authorities in the end."

"Once you have completed your mission, if you don't clean up the mess, you will be retaliated against in the future, won't you?"

"How can we sort out the pros and cons in a short time?"

"finally."

"Most of the time, they just make a big deal out of a small matter and deal with it hastily, so that both the higher-ups and the lower-ups can explain themselves. This is already a very good way of handling things in the world. If you want to get to the bottom of it, how can an imperial envoy do it?"

"You can't do it either?" Hua Lun was stunned and looked at Xia Zhibai.

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

He touched his nose awkwardly and said helplessly: "You think too highly of me. I don't have such great ability. This time I came here only to solve the problem of salt administration. As for the other issues, they are not something that can be solved right now."

"The meritorious group and the local officials and gentry have united to create a powerful force."

"It's so big that the imperial court would tremble."

"Didn't you see that Duke Xin never stayed in Yuhang properly after he came? He has always been in contact with those meritorious families in Zhejiang. As long as the meritorious families and local officials and gentry are united, the problems in the south cannot be solved."

"The only way to solve it is to separate the two."

"But." Xia Zhibai sneered and said indifferently: "Most of the meritorious groups in the Ming Dynasty have military merits, and their brains are not as fast as those of the officials and gentry. In fact, they are coerced and used by the officials and gentry to a certain extent. As long as they are not on the side of the officials and gentry, the power created by the officials and gentry will be vulnerable in front of the court."

Xia Zhibai didn't take the local officials seriously at all.

The combination of civil and military forces is what the imperial court fears. A group of local officials and gentry are no match for the imperial court at all. No matter how good they are at arousing people's hearts and minds and playing tricks and calculations, they can never resist the absolute force of force.

As long as Zhu Yuanzhang is willing to kill.

These arrogant and complacent officials and gentry in the South will soon face the reality.

But it's not time yet.

The trouble with today's situation is that the meritorious group is linked with the power of officials and gentry. Although it is currently just a pure collusion of interests, it is also very dangerous because it involves local civil and military officials. If it is not handled properly, it can easily lead to a disaster.

In Xia Zhibai's opinion, this time it's enough.

Just make all parties above and below barely satisfied.

As for the rest.

We can only wait for the reckoning to come.

At least the local official and gentry group should be separated from the military merit group.

Moreover, this was something Zhu Yuanzhang had intended to promote, and now it only accelerated Zhu Yuanzhang's determination.

Hua Lun was stunned.

The whole person was in a trance.

He suddenly felt that what he was doing became blurry.

(End of this chapter)