Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 26 Seizure of the Salt Ship
After this incident
The governor Elong no longer sent invitations to Zheng Guohui every now and then to his house for banquets, which gave him a lot of peace and quiet.

Zheng Guohui didn't care. He was already tired of those empty social engagements. The less of them the better. It didn't matter anyway.

The Jinling City Guard has a strong army under his command, and no one dares to delay paying their salaries. Everyone knows that General Zheng Guohui is a thorn in the flesh and will turn against anyone at any time.

On weekdays, the government relies heavily on the garrison to suppress bandits and rebellions.

If you make Lord Zheng unhappy, the local authorities will be in big trouble in no time.

this day

Cao Yucheng, the prefect of Jinling, received a report from his yamen runners that the soldiers of the Du Biao Battalion had detained the cargo fleet of Yangzhou salt merchants Wang Xuemao and Zheng Yulan, including both the people and the goods, at the checkpoint on the Qinhuai River, falsely accusing them of smuggling salt and punishing them severely.

Cao Yucheng was overwhelmed after hearing this. He knew what was going on, but it was not easy to handle.

Salt merchants Wang Xuemao and Zheng Yulan were from prominent families in Weiyang Prefecture. They had strong connections with the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office in Lianghuai, otherwise they would not have been able to become big salt merchants.

The Wang and Zheng families have always been wealthy and powerful. Many officials from Jiangnan Province in the capital have benefited from their favors, and their relationship with them is complicated.

On the other hand, is Zheng Guohui easy to get along with?

This man commanded a large number of troops and joined the tutelage of the Minister of Rites, Fuzhu Shoushan and his son, making him a powerful supporter of the Manchu clan forces.

I heard that the attempts to win over the Governor, Lord Elong, were all in vain and he hit a wall, and he hasn't said a word until now.

how to say?
Just feel bored.

"Oh... this matter needs to be discussed in detail. We need to find out the specific circumstances before making any decisions." Prefect Cao Yucheng said a few words in a pretentious manner, then stroked his head with his hand and frowned.

"During this harsh winter, I have caught a cold due to my carelessness. I must consult a doctor and recuperate carefully for three to five days. Please handle the affairs of the palace as appropriate."

After saying that, he stood up and walked to the back in a bad mood, leaving his staff speechless.

The staff and advisor thought for a moment and understood the prefect's hidden meaning.

Isn’t this just a “delay” tactic?
Anyway, you guys can do whatever you want. I, the fourth-rank prefect of Jinling, will not get involved. Sincerely decline!

The Jinling prefect was ill and unable to perform his duties, the co-magistrate pretended to be stupid, and the magistrate could not even be found. It was said that he had gone back to his hometown to visit his relatives and would not be back for more than a month.

This made Zheng Yufang, who had hurried to the dock, furious. This refined scholar from a prominent family could not help but curse loudly at this moment;

"The court has fallen into darkness and has allowed warriors to rule the country, making false claims and calling a horse a zebra. Is there any justice left?"

The Du Biaoying Camp not only seized 18 large, thousand-stone ships used by the Wang and Zheng families to transport goods, as well as more than boatmen and servants, but also more than a dozen managers from the two families.

Even Wang Xuemao, the second young master of the Wang family, and Zheng Yulan, the eldest young master of the Zheng family, who were escorting the ship, were also detained. I heard that they are being held in the prison of the Du Biao Camp. Now their lives or deaths are unknown. How can one not be anxious?
After many twists and turns, the salt supply to the entire Jiangnan region was restored. The Wang and Zheng families transported a total of 15000 stones of salt, worth 60 taels of silver.

This amount of salt is only enough to be used in the Jiangnan region for more than a month.

Of the 60 taels of silver worth of goods, the imperial court collected more than 40 taels of silver as salt tax. The remaining amount, after deducting the handling fees, was the profit of the two major salt merchants, Wang and Zheng.

Actually

These big salt merchants who manipulate the market are good at creating crises and raising prices at will. Salt worth 60 taels of silver can be sold for 80 or even more. This is the secret of the Weiyang salt merchants' rapid wealth.

Zheng Yufang stood on the dock, shaking with anger. The followers behind him looked at each other in confusion. It was a staff advisor named Chen Pingan who stepped forward and said, "Third Young Master, be quiet!"

Chen Ping'an pointed at the ferocious Green Camp soldiers at the Qinhuai River wharf checkpoint. When he saw the soldiers looking at him, he quickly turned around to block the indignant Zheng Yufang.

whispered;

"Young Master, don't get yourself hurt by being angry; it won't help.

urgent matter

We must contact the government at all costs so that we can check on the eldest young master and the second young master of the Wang family.

Those soldiers in the military camp are not easy to deal with. The prison environment is terrible. I am afraid that the two young masters can't bear it.
If anything goes wrong, no amount of money can restore it."

Zheng Yufang said bitterly, "This group of incompetent officials in Jinling Prefecture have all become cowards. What can I do?"

"Young Master, that's not the case." Chen Pingan saw the third young master Zheng Yufang looking at a loss, and sighed in his heart that this young master still lacked experience.

So, the staff advisor Chen Pingan continued;

"The soldiers of the Du Biao Battalion were originally reorganized from the Tongzhou militia. I heard they were under the command of Lord Zheng Guohui, who has a very strict control over the army.

Without the order from Lord Zheng Guohui, not only the seized ship and cargo, but even the two young masters could not be rescued.

The Jinling City Guard, Zheng Guohui, was a third-rank official. The goods seized by his men were beyond the Jinling prefect's control, and he would not intervene in this matter.

There are two solutions for now
The first is to contact Jiangnan Admiral Fuzhu Hong'a. I heard that Lord Zheng Guohui has joined his camp, so his words should be effective. At least the two detained young masters should be released first, and then we can make long-term plans.

The second is to use the connections in Lord Zheng's family. It is said that this person is from a wealthy family in Tongzhou Prefecture. He still has an elderly father and a loving mother at home and is a very filial person.

By mobilizing the locals and making some connections, we can eventually find a place under Master Zheng, which should be helpful."

Zheng Yufang seemed to understand after hearing this, but he was still unwilling to accept it. He frowned and thought for a while before saying:
"It is said that the Wang family had a long-standing relationship with the Niuhulu clan in the capital. Niuhulu-Elong is now the governor of Jiangning, and is the immediate superior of this scoundrel surnamed Zheng. Given this connection, I ask the Wang family to work hard to smooth things over. I don't believe this scoundrel surnamed Zheng would dare not release us. He might even return the seized goods and ships to us."

After all

Zheng Yufang, who came from a prominent family, still looked down on Zheng Guohui, who came from a local rich family. She did not want to be inferior to others and could not let go of her noble character.

He's just a local rich man in Tongzhou countryside, how much money does he have?

Compared with the wealthy Weiyang Zheng family, he is nothing. Even a plucked hair is thicker than his thigh.

Weiyang Prefecture was a place of flourishing literary culture. Although the Zheng family was a salt merchant, they were also a family of scholars, and many of their descendants had passed the imperial examinations and served as court officials.

It's just that in recent years, it has become a little lonely.

After hearing the decision of the third young master Zheng Yufang, Chen Pingan sighed in his heart, but it was not easy to persuade him anymore, so he could only retreat silently.

After all

He is just an aide-de-camp and has to stick to his duties and cannot make decisions for his master.

I'm afraid this matter will be more complicated.

At Xiaguan Wharf

Zheng Guohui stood on the stone-built city wall and looked at the densely packed thousand-ton ships parked in the river. Each ship was well-maintained and shiny, without a single patch on the sails, and looked brand new.

He was drooling as he watched. These salt merchants were really rich.

As for the batch of contraband salt seized, ahem, although it had salt permits issued by the Lianghuai Salt Transport Commissioner's Office, I would say it was smuggled salt, that is, "smuggled salt."

The batch of illegal salt seized is now placed in the warehouse, together with the illegal salt transferred from Tongzhou, and the two together amount to 20,000 stones of salt.

But the salt permit is only for 15,000 shi. Isn’t the extra 5,000 shi of salt smuggled in?
Who can prove that this is not illegal salt?
Little guys, I can’t stop playing with you.

How dare you sell salt to Jiangnan? Don’t you know that Jinling, Tongzhou, Zhenjiang and even some counties and towns in Changzhou are all using my private salt?

Zheng Guohui thought with a smug expression that the endless supply of illegal salt brought him huge profits, and his monthly net income rose rapidly, from the initial more than 3 taels of silver per month to more than taels of silver per month now.

This is only the portion of the profits after being distributed to other officials, accounting for more than 70% of the total profit.

After Zheng Guohui led his troops back to Jinling City, he was overjoyed when his advisor Dong Huanzhang showed him the account book. He felt full of fighting spirit.

After three and a half months of suppressing bandits, the net profit from smuggling salt reached 31 taels of silver. This was because the profit was very small in the early stage, but now it is growing bigger and bigger.

Zheng Guohui's originally empty wallet suddenly became full.

With the money, he immediately arranged for his aides Zheng Guotai and Zheng Xin to go to Shanghai to find the consul of the United States to do a big business. They have not returned yet.

Anyone who dares to touch his purse will be punished immediately by Zheng Guohui. Forget about the two great families of Wang and Zheng, even if Prince Chun came, it would be useless. I said so.

Living in this era, you can get used to everything else slowly.

It was this feeling of being suppressed everywhere that made Zheng Guohui feel very aggrieved and he would explode from time to time.

Publicly criticizing Zeng Guoquan and privately threatening Elong were both direct manifestations of this emotion, which was truly unbearable.

With a few useful staff members under his command, the heavy paperwork that originally weighed on Zheng Guohui was suddenly reduced by half.

"General, look...that's the person sent by the Zheng family of Weiyang. I heard he's the third young master. His name is Zheng Yufang, and he's a scholar who was a juren." Dong Huanzhang pointed to the distance and came over and whispered.

"Oh……"

Zheng Guohui narrowed his eyes and looked at a man in a moon-white brocade cloak hurriedly walking away in the distance, followed by twenty or thirty followers.

This man looked to be about 30 years old, with an elegant temperament. He was holding a fan in his hand even in such a cold weather.

You silly bird, I’ll freeze you to death.

"Have these two families come into contact with each other?"

"General, I haven't heard of anyone coming yet. I've also asked the lower-level officials, but to no avail."

"Well, if they're not in a hurry, then we should be even less anxious. Pass on my order. Give those two young masters one steamed bun a day. If they want more food, an extra steamed bun will cost 1000 taels of silver, and a glass of water will cost 500 taels of silver. Just have them sign a receipt."

"This... I'm afraid it might be a little inappropriate."

"Do as I say. Also, pass on this strict order from the general: no one is allowed to see these two young masters without my personal written consent, or you will be subject to military law."

"Yes, my lord."

"Hmph, this general wants to see who can make this general surrender in this small piece of land in Jinling?" Zheng Guohui looked complacent at the moment, and seemed quite reckless.

(End of this chapter)