Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 248, Launching the Purge

Fang Yong felt he had been shocked.

This plump and soft texture is clearly not Tan Chun's.

Looking into her bosom, he saw delicate eyebrows, a fair complexion and red lips, a slender figure, and a charming physique.

It was none other than the unforgettable, ethereal Wang Xifeng.

So why was Wang Xifeng in Tan Chun's carriage?
Wang Xifeng was even more flustered at this moment.

Fang Yong looked down at her, and Wang Xifeng happened to look up. As their eyes met, her heart pounded wildly.

She quickly broke free from Fang Yong's embrace and curtsied.

"I am Wang Xifeng, wife of Jia Lian of the Rongguo Mansion. I greet Your Highness."

Fang Yong said, "No need for such formalities."

He asked, "Why were you in Tan Chun's carriage?"

Wang Xifeng was speechless for a moment upon hearing this.

At this moment, Tan Chun got out of the carriage and explained to Fang Yong that she had invited Wang Xifeng over.

Fang Yong didn't ask any further questions after hearing this, and nodded, saying:
"It would be good to take a stroll around the palace and visit your eldest sister while you're there."

Tan Chun agreed.

Fang Yong had his own matters to attend to, so the two parted ways temporarily.

In military affairs, Mao Cheng of Jizhou has already surrendered, and Ma Laohei will soon be able to lead his troops back to the capital.

Once Ma Laohei returns, Fang Yong's troops will be largely freed up, allowing him to begin eliminating some pests.

To put it simply, it means bringing up old grievances.

Such things are not uncommon in any dynasty.

In the early stages of their rule, rulers inevitably make some compromises to maintain stability. However, once their rule is consolidated, they will dredge up past grievances and eliminate those who were previously compromised with and who are now considered thorns in their side.

Fang Yong decided to start his purge by focusing on three key areas in the capital: grain, coal, and salt.

The grain supply in the capital was specifically controlled by the Cheng family, namely the clan of Grand Secretary Cheng Fan.

After the upheaval in Shanxi, the Cheng family's foundation was damaged, and they suffered considerable losses in the grain business. However, relying on their deep foundation, the Cheng family still holds more than 30% of the grain market share in the capital and can easily manipulate grain prices, making them the undisputed leader in the grain industry.

This situation is absolutely unacceptable to Fang Yong and must be eliminated!
However, the Cheng family behaved quite well during this period.

In order to compete for the position of Grand Councilor, Cheng Fan strictly regulated his clansmen. Not only did he not manipulate grain prices after the war, but he also contributed his own money to stabilize grain prices to a certain extent. This was a rare act of service to the country and its people.

Fang Yong saw all of this, so although he decided to discard the Cheng family after they had served their purpose, he was still willing to show mercy and leave them a way out.

As long as the other party obediently hands over his assets, he will allow Cheng Fan to retire to his hometown with his existing wealth, which can be considered as giving him a peaceful end.

Of course, such conditions might be somewhat unacceptable to the Cheng family.

If the other party doesn't accept, then Fang Yong can't be blamed; he'll have no choice but to start eliminating the Cheng family...

Besides grain, the situation of the remaining two industries, coal and salt, is relatively more complicated.

In the coal sector, various families of Dae Hee were involved, but there was no true leader among them.

During the Da Xi period, mineral resources were initially state-owned, but initial mining efforts were not very successful. During the Kangning era, Emperor Kangning entrusted some of the state's mineral resources to his sons for management, and these princes then further transferred the resources to other relatives of the emperor for safekeeping.

For example, the Zhen family in Jiangnan had many mineral resources, as did the Xue family and the Jia family.

In the beginning, these people did indeed focus on mining after obtaining the minerals, which led to a surge in the production of various minerals in Da Xi, creating a period of great prosperity.

However, as time goes by, and after the investment of technology and manpower reaches a certain bottleneck, the output of minerals tends to stabilize, and no matter how hard we try, we can't increase production much more.

The inability to increase production means that income is difficult to increase, but people's greed is constantly growing. When increasing production cannot satisfy their needs, another idea arises.

That is, a price increase.

It's not just one company raising prices; it's everyone joining together to raise prices.

Therefore, during the later years of Emperor Kangning's reign, the prices of resources such as coal soared rapidly.

As prices soared, all the businesses joined forces, sharing both prosperity and ruin. They all had various connections and backers, with the ultimate backer being the princes of the Kangning Emperor. As a result, the Ministry of Revenue couldn't collect any taxes. After the Longqing Emperor came to power, one of the new policies he issued was a reform specifically targeting this issue.

The Longqing Emperor reclaimed the mining assets near the capital, such as the Fangshan Coal Mine, from their owners and entrusted them to his close brother, Prince Zhongshun, in the hope of stabilizing coal prices in the capital.

At the same time, the Longqing Emperor dispatched a large number of mining supervisors to areas outside Beijing to specifically oversee tax collection.

Although tax revenue increased in the end, the actual results were different from what Emperor Longqing had imagined.

The mine supervisors colluded with various powerful families to embezzle funds. Although taxes were collected somewhat, coal prices reached new highs. Prince Zhongshun even embezzled from his own post, arbitrarily manipulating coal prices in the capital and making a fortune.

Until this year, a sudden cold snap froze too many people to death. Fearing that Fang Yong would kill him to appease public anger, Prince Zhongshun voluntarily handed over the Fangshan Coal Mine.

Fang Yong then opened the coal mine, which stabilized the situation.

Given the current situation, Fang Yong couldn't decide who to target.

Having discussed coal, the last major component is salt.

People can rely on planting their own crops or fishing and hunting to grow food; they can always find a way.

Coal is only burned in winter, and it can be replaced by wood or other materials, so it is not a complete necessity.

But salt is an essential commodity that we cannot live without, no matter when or where we are.

Guanzi said: "A family of ten people needs salt; a family of one hundred people needs salt." This shows the necessity of salt.

The mastermind behind the price manipulation of salt in Beijing was Fang Yong...

Cough!

After all, Fang Yong and Da Xi were enemies before.

Therefore, his manipulation of salt prices to gain profits is a normal competitive tactic.

Compared to that guy in history who sold ripe seeds to an enemy country, causing widespread famine, Fang Yong felt he was quite kind.

In short, the price of salt in the capital was mainly manipulated by Fang Yong behind the scenes, and specifically by Huang Wenzhou, one of Fang Yong's subordinates.

In addition, the Kong family of Shandong also smuggled some salt, and Prince Zhongshun also had a certain share in it. Of course, Fang Yong was the one who made the lion's share.

Now that reforms are being implemented, Fang Yong certainly cannot be blamed for what he did to the country and its people.

So now he has to find someone to shift the blame.

Huang Wenzhou is a suitable scapegoat.

Huang Wenzhou came from the Huang family, one of the eight major salt merchants. In terms of his background, he was not a good person.

At the beginning of Fang Yong's uprising, he provided Fang Yong with a stable iron mine and forged a large number of suits of armor, which greatly improved the combat capabilities of the Huaiyin army. He also played a significant role in helping Fang Yong kill the Duke of Shan, thus making a great contribution.

However, as the saying goes, "When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked." Now that Fang Yong's territory has expanded, he no longer needs iron ore as much, and the Duke of Shan is already dead. Fang Yong can use the name of the Longqing Emperor to exonerate the Duke of Shan and then kill Huang Wenzhou to appease public anger.

It might be a little cold-blooded to do that...

Some of these things don't quite fit Fang Yong's public persona.

Fang Yong himself is a very sentimental person.

If it weren't absolutely necessary to kill him, he would have preferred to let Huang Wenzhou retire gracefully.

If Huang Wenzhou is not killed, then only Prince Zhongshun and the Kong family will remain.

The Kong family and he are currently in a honeymoon period. Although they will eventually fall out, at least not now.

King Chungsun's words...

Prince Zhongshun was a legitimate member of the imperial family, the elder brother of Emperor Longqing.

This person is only interested in profit. He secretly cooperated with Fang Yong a long time ago in order to make money. Even when faced with the situation of national collapse and family ruin, he only considers his own interests and never thinks about the country.

King Chungshun often said a phrase: "In one's position, one should fulfill one's duties."

Since Emperor Kangning did not pass the throne to him, he had no responsibility to consider the country's interests.

(End of this chapter)