Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 233 Disaster Is Coming
Huizhou Trading House.

Li Wuwei was receiving Zheng Youming, the owner of the Zheng family business, who was only thirty years old and was a wealthy businessman who was currently at the peak of his career among the Huizhou merchants.

Behind Zheng Youming, some representatives of the Zheng family who came to Beijing, except Zheng Youming's younger brother Zheng Youfang, were all managers and accountants.

"President Li, please stop doing the Qin family's business from now on."

This time, Zheng Youming came specifically to threaten Li Wuwei and asked him to cut off business dealings with the Qin family.

Since completely defeating the Tian family, Zheng Youming has set his next target of conquest on the Qin family, because the current Qin family has a fatal weakness, that is, women are in charge. In this age where "eating the entire family" is considered common, this is almost a naked announcement to the outside world: come and attack me!
If the Qin family had not woven a huge network of relationships in the court and had not had the support of powerful figures in the Censorate, the Six Ministries and the localities, Qin Zhao would probably have been in trouble by now.

This is also the reason why Qin Zhao decisively helped the Tian family.

The lips and teeth are interdependent. Once the Zheng family completely swallows up the Tian family and grows into a behemoth, it will be much easier to deal with other Huizhou merchant families in the future. By then, the Qin family's living space will be squeezed step by step, and when their connections are exhausted, they will probably follow in the footsteps of the Tian family.

Li Wuyi agreed and said, "It's over. It will be hard for us to continue doing business with the Qin family. Humph, they now have a new backer and look down on people like us who are of the lowest class."

"What backer?"

Zheng Youming was a little surprised when he heard this, and after thinking about it, he asked.

The powerful families in Beijing have complicated relationships and many bigwigs. Zheng Youming is also worried that he might offend powerful people and bring big trouble to his family.

Li Wuwei hesitated and seemed unwilling to speak.

Zheng Youming said angrily, "You don't want to do the official salt business this year? The batch of tea you transported north from the Grand Canal seems to have not arrived in the capital yet?"

Li Wuwei then said hesitantly, "It's... the Crown Princess's family, the Zhang family, the future father-in-law of the emperor."

"Oh?"

Zheng Youming frowned, thinking about it for a while but still had no idea, so he asked, "What father-in-law? Is there such a person in the court now? How come I have never heard of him?"

Zheng Youfang said, "I do know some information... He is said to be a student of the Imperial Academy, and is now a minister of the Honglu Temple. His follower is Zhang Qi, the former governor of Liaodong... He is his cousin, and the Zhang family is quite famous among the officials of Hejian Prefecture."

Zheng Youming was relieved after hearing this, and said disdainfully: "Hasn't Zhang Qi been dead for more than ten years? Even if he had some connections, they must have been used up long ago... Even if a poor family climbed up to the prince's high branch, they might not achieve anything in decades. Now the Qin family is eager to curry favor with him and think of getting to know him, but it's too early."

Obviously, these merchants in the Ming Dynasty had no idea that a major change would take place this year, namely, Chenghua's death and Hongzhi's enthronement, and the Ming Dynasty would have a new owner.

In their opinion, how powerful can the relative of a prince who has not yet risen to power be?
Even if he becomes the real father-in-law of the emperor in the future, he may not be very capable. After all, the Empress and her family of the Chenghua Dynasty have set an example for the people of the world.

Just when Zheng Youming wanted to continue to put pressure on Li Wuwei, he saw a member of the Zheng family running in hurriedly, and whispered a few words in his ear before approaching.

Zheng Youming heard the content clearly, stood up and shouted: "Who is it? Someone from Shuntian Prefecture?"

The visitor shook his head.

"Is that from the Bingmasi?"

Zheng Youming asked again.

The visitor continued to deny: "No."

Li Wuwei was a little frightened when he saw this, and asked timidly, "What happened?"

"Master Li, we can talk about it later. I have an emergency here that needs to be dealt with... I'm leaving..."

After saying that, Zheng Youming went out with a large group of people, and asked his servants to drive his carriage over. A line of more than ten carriages went out of the city in a mighty manner.

……

……

"Boss, the people who came here are neither from Shuntian Prefecture nor the Military Affairs Department... I had suspected that they were from the Imperial Guards before, but after careful identification, it seems that they are not. It is hard to tell where they came from, but it is a group of soldiers who sealed off all our warehouses and even occupied the pancreas workshop that we just took back. It seems that they came prepared."

The men looked horrified, obviously frightened.

What business people fear most is getting involved with the government.

Zheng Youming asked doubtfully, "Could it be that I was tricked by the man surnamed Tian? He set a trap for me and waited for me to fall into it? The origins of the pancreas and the glass workshop are unknown?"

The Ming Dynasty also had cleaning products, commonly known as "pancreas" or "bath beans", which were made from pig pancreas and other materials combined with bean powder, spices, and raw materials such as plant ash. They had a very good ability to remove dirt, but unfortunately, they were expensive and had an oily smell. In addition, the manufacturing process was backward, the preservation ability was poor, and they were easy to spoil...

All these factors have led to this business being exclusively for certain people, and real nobles may not necessarily like it.

When the Zheng family occupied the soap workshop without any scruples, no one told Zheng Youming that the soap produced here was the kind of soap that is now listed as a tribute. They just thought that it was the product of the Tian family's improved soap manufacturing process and they were planning to take the opportunity to make a small fortune.

As for the workshops for making colored glaze, there were numerous of them in the capital area, and he would never connect it with the matter of Liang Fang asking for a telescope from a merchant in Huizhou.

Of course, as time goes on, he might find out something, or even realize that this is a conspiracy, so he can only leak the news when Zheng is enjoying his plunder, so that he can suffer a loss in silence.

"Boss, I still don't know what's going on."

"Didn't you tell them that Eunuch Qian, the Nanjing garrison commander, is our backer? Will he come forward to help us settle the matter?"

"It's useless! They even threatened, saying they didn't know any eunuch Qian... Should we bring more silver to bribe them? Also, they are aggressive and we don't know where they are coming from, so why don't you avoid them?"

Zheng Youming said angrily, "The business is almost gone, why are you hiding? The little girl from the Tian family hasn't been caught yet, and now she's causing trouble again! Don't the officials in the capital have any awareness at all? Eunuch Qian has the support of Liang Fang and Wei Xing, two eunuchs who are very popular with His Majesty, and they dare not take him seriously?

"When I get there, I'll have to ask them, do they want money over their lives?"

The men were somewhat surprised.

Has our patriarch become so arrogant now?
Although you inherited the family business at a young age and have managed it well, and have been almost the most prominent merchant in Huizhou in recent years, the problem is that you are not an official. Now you are not even afraid of officials?

Or is it that he has nothing to worry about because he has money to back him up?

……

……

The soap warehouse outside the city is just across the street from the Glass Factory.

Liang Fang jumped off the horse, holding a whip in his hand, his wrist trembling, which made the people around him shudder with fear, because everyone knew that he had a habit, that is, when he was angry, he liked to hit people with whatever he had in his hand. The most cruel thing was to whip people hard with the whip, and if he got really angry, he could whip people to death.

Because Liang Fang was the eunuch of the Imperial Stables and also served as the commander of the eunuchs of the Beijing Camp, he did not mobilize people from Shuntian Prefecture and the Military Affairs Department this time. Instead, he directly sent people from the Beijing Camp to seal off the warehouse.

Of course, this was not against the rules, but for a powerful eunuch like Liang Fang who had previously been favored by the emperor, as long as he did not openly lead his troops to the gate of the imperial palace, no problem would be a problem, and he could dispatch the soldiers of the Beijing camp almost at will.

"Mr. Liang, look, this is the soap." Wei Xing had finally made a contribution, and this time he finally "knew how to do it" and succeeded, so naturally he charged into battle.

Before the soldiers brought the things over, he personally held the soap in front of Liang Fang.

Liang Fang held the soap in one hand and the horsewhip in the other, her face full of anger.

At this moment, the tactless Zheng family steward was escorted over and shouted, "My boss and Nanjing garrison eunuch Qian are old friends. How dare you be rude?"

"Snapped!"

Liang Fang swung the whip and hit the man on the forehead.

"what……"

This method of whipping someone directly in the face was something that not only the manager had seen it before, but even the soldiers around him rarely saw it.

Then a scream was heard. A huge bloody groove immediately appeared on the manager's nose after the whip was applied. Even the clothes in front of him were torn apart. He immediately covered his face and wailed in pain on the ground.

"Those who plot against our family should all die!"

Liang Fang gritted her teeth, this one whip alone seemed not enough to satisfy her hatred.

But he did not continue to beat the steward, perhaps he knew that this man was just a slave who followed orders and was far from deserving of death.

If he beat the man to death directly, it would not end well for him. After all, Concubine Wan is dead now, and the emperor may not be as biased towards him as before.

"Where's Liuli?"

Liang Fang's old face turned dark and he continued to ask.

Wei Xing was somewhat frightened, but he still quickly brought over a glass jar and said, "Eunuch, please take a look. Does this thing look very similar to the lens on the telescope that Lord Li brought over?"

Liang Fang took the glass jar, examined it carefully in his hand, and then took out a lens from his bosom. It was taken from the telescope that Li Zisheng gave him.

He had originally planned to give the glass lens to Deng Chang'en and ask him to help study whether he could imitate it... But when he saw the glass jar in front of him and found that the glass was extremely pure and roughly the same as the lens, the anger in his heart rose to his head again.

My hair is almost standing up.

"Where are the people? Haven't they been captured yet?"

Liang Fang was so angry that he was almost mad. If the person who had betrayed him was standing in front of him, he would definitely eat him alive.

Wei Xing said: "We have already sent people into the city... All the Zheng family's public warehouses and stores in Beijing will be sealed up one after another, and none of their properties will be left out. The people will be captured soon."

Liang Fang was furious, her eyes flashing with ferocity: "We have made all kinds of plans, but we never thought that it was Qian Neng who was behind this? Did he deliberately want me to fall out of favor and replace me?"

Liang Fang gnashed her teeth and said in hatred, "No wonder this incident broke out together with the tribute case. He is the only one who knows everything about this matter, so it is very convenient for him to make a move... We can't stand being stabbed in the back, and we will never let him off!"

Wei Xing hurriedly tried to persuade him: "Could it be... a misunderstanding?"

In Wei Xing's opinion, Qian was able to run rampant in Nanjing entirely because of your power. What benefit would he get from cheating you?
"Who else could it be if not him? Who else in the world could find such rare things as telescopes and soap? Huangshan mica... I don't trust him!"

boom!
As she spoke, Liang Fang threw the glass jar in her hand to the ground, and it shattered instantly.

Wei Xing bent over to pick it up, but accidentally got his finger pierced by a piece of glass, and blood immediately gushed out.

Seeing this, Liang Fang picked up a piece of broken glass from the ground, walked up to the manager of Zheng's Company who was still rolling and wailing on the ground, squatted down, put the glass against his throat and said, "Tell me, where is your boss? If you don't tell me, I will cut your neck on the spot!"

"I don't know... I've sent people to look for him... Please spare my life..."

The steward's eyes were full of fear and he begged desperately.

Just as Liang Fang was about to splatter blood in anger, he heard an armored lieutenant at the door come to deliver a message: "Eunuch, the owner of Zheng's business has arrived, and many carriages are coming in a line, it's quite a grand ceremony."

When the captain saw the bloody scene in front of him, he couldn't help but gasp and dared not say anything more.

"Hehe, you still dare to come?"

Liang Fang had a ferocious look on his face, but he smiled, stood up, and shouted, "Go, one by one, we're going to let them know what will happen if they plot against us!"

……

……

Zheng Youming and his companions rushed out of the city and found the warehouse, but before they could get off the carriage, they were surrounded by soldiers from the opposite side.

"I am the adopted son of Eunuch Qian, the garrison commander of Nanjing..."

Zheng Youming jumped off the carriage, quickly took out the token of money that could be given to him, and showed it to everyone present.

Liang Fang rushed out angrily, and just happened to hear Zheng Youming's words. She sneered, "Qian does like to adopt adopted sons, but he likes to use backdoors. Rather than saying he is an adopted son, it's better to say he has a bunch of mistresses! He must have tricked me, no doubt about it!"

"what?"

Wei Xing was very surprised when he heard this, but he immediately understood what was going on.

The person who knows Qian Neng best in the court is probably Qian Neng’s direct superior, Liang Fang.

Zheng Youming and his men were captured by the officers and soldiers without much resistance.

The leader, Zheng Youming, was tied up, but he still refused to give up and threatened loudly: "I am the adopted son of Eunuch Qian... If you are rude, Eunuch Qian will take care of it for me..."

After hearing this, Wei Xing couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. He walked over and pulled the rope hard. It seemed that he was afraid that Liang Fang would be in trouble if she broke free, so he asked someone to add another rope.

Wei Xing stood behind Zheng Youming and advised: "Since you are Qian Neng's adopted son, and my family is your uncle, it is not too much to call you a child.

"Say less and save your energy to hold on for a few more days. Child, the person in front of you is the benefactor who promoted Qian Neng, the eunuch Liang who is the seal holder of the Imperial Stables."

"what?"

When Zheng Youming heard Wei Xing's words, his pride was instantly shattered and he almost couldn't stand.

"Pull..."

Wei Xing said something to Zheng Youming behind him, and then two soldiers from the Beijing camp twisted Zheng Youming, escorted him in front of Liang Fang, and pressed him to the ground.

"I was blind and failed to recognize Eunuch Liang in time. Please forgive me!" Zheng Youming wanted to kowtow, but his body was tied up like a pig's tail. The space he could twist was extremely limited and he couldn't kneel down at all.

Liang Fang sneered and asked, "Is it money that can make you do it?"

Zheng Youming said with a sad face: "I don't know what you mean... I have been very careful since I came to the capital... I know I am guilty of not paying respects to you, old man. Please be magnanimous and spare me. I will make up for it with a generous gift when I return."

"boom!"

Wei Xing seemed kind, but he kicked him directly in the back.

Zheng Youming felt pain but dared not make a sound. He could only grit his teeth and persevere.

Wei Xing said: "Answer whatever I ask you."

Zheng Youming looked aggrieved and thought, what exactly do you want to ask me?

What can money make me do?

What did you do?

Could it be that the Tian family that I robbed has Liang Fang’s background?

Is this eunuch Liang here to speak up for the Tian family?

Liang Fang sneered and asked, "We sent people to Huizhou Merchants House to ask you to hand over the soap and telescope. Why didn't you say anything? How dare you hand the things directly to the prince? Who gave you the guts?"

"Ah!? That's not the case."

Zheng Youming cried out in injustice, "Father, please understand, I don't know what kind of soap this workshop produces, I only know it's a soap business, and I've never heard of a telescope."

Wei Xing's face twitched, and he smiled coldly: "Hey, with a knife on your neck, you're still denying it. It seems that you can't hold on for a few more days... Child, are you strong? Since you like being someone's adopted son so much, I wonder if you can bear to have a few more adoptive fathers?"

"I...I really don't know..."

Zheng Youming had already realized at this time that there might be big problems with the business he had snatched from Tian's hands, but he had been so overwhelmed by victory that he had not thought about it carefully.

Now I suddenly understand that if the business really involves telescopes and soap, how could the impoverished Tian family own it?
I'm afraid someone has set up a trap for me and is waiting for me to fall into it.

Liang Fang was so angry that she took out the piece of broken glass again and almost wanted to go up and cut Zheng Youming's throat.

Fortunately, Wei Xing was nearby and quickly persuaded him: "Eunuch Liang, please don't be angry. This kid doesn't tell the truth and he should be taught a lesson. But no matter what, since he is Qian Neng's nephew, even if he is our own descendant, we still have to give him a chance to reform."

Liang Fang glared at Wei Xing, as if to say, you haven't been able to find any clues before, could it be that you have colluded with Qian Neng a long time ago and teamed up with him to cheat me?
Wei Xing walked over and whispered in Liang Fang's ear, "Be a little more friendly and make him feel that he has a chance to surrender, or he may be able to open his mouth as soon as possible. Now that we have found the channels for the soap and the telescope, the most worrying thing is that he will never speak, and we will never be able to figure out the clues."

Liang Fang thought about it and it made sense.

Wouldn't it be too easy for him to kill Zheng Youming?
After searching for a long time, he finally found the method to make a telescope and soap. The next step is to let them make the things so that he can report to the emperor.

As for those who shout and kill...

The most they could do was to scare Zheng Youming. Even if they wanted to severely punish him or even get rid of him, they would have to wait until he handed over the technology and finished products.

"We'll leave the matter to you... there shouldn't be any problems this time, right?"

Liang Fang looked at Wei Xing coldly.

Wei Xing said helplessly: "Isn't your business also ours? You are on guard against the crown prince, so should I. We are in the same boat, why are we being so formal?"

"Ah."

Liang Fang nodded and said, "You at least know how to judge the situation. Then we will hand the person over to you for strict interrogation. You must clarify everything within two days. You must also make the telescope and the soap... No, you must make the telescope. As for the soap... that's not the point."

Wei Xing said, "I understand. The telescope that Your Majesty wants is related to military and national affairs. You have issued a military order to Your Majesty, and it must be completed on time. As for the soap, it is just icing on the cake."

(End of this chapter)