Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Second brother, it seems to make sense now that you're saying this."

Xie Gen thought for a moment,

"The main leaders of Shuangyu are either from Fujian or Huizhou, and their subordinates are mainly from these two places, with at most a few from Guangdong."

Besides Shuangyu Port, the only other places within the Ming Dynasty where Western goods could be purchased were Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian Province and Guangzhou.

Since this group of people who call themselves maritime merchants are not the "masters" of Shuangyu, they should be from Fujian or Guangdong.

But among this group, there wasn't a single person who spoke Cantonese or Hokkien.

The leader spoke with a Hubei-Hunan accent, while his men all spoke with northern accents.

"There must be something fishy about this!"

Xie Pi stood up.

"The people who can get their hands on these crystal glass cups are obviously very powerful."

However, I have never heard of any large-scale merchants among the people of Hubei and Hunan or the northern regions.

"Second brother, do you think it could be a maritime merchant from Shandong?"

Xie Gen pondered for a moment,

"The Shandong Peninsula extends into the sea, and there are actually many places that could become private ports."

Perhaps someone has already built a private port somewhere, conducting secret transactions with Westerners.

"If that's really the case, then so be it."

Xie Pi paced back and forth in the study, fiddling with a crystal glass.

"Although Shandong did have the conditions to communicate with Westerners, such a thing had never happened before."

Since my father passed away, there have been quite a few people in the imperial court keeping an eye on our Xie family of Yuyao.

This time, he returned to Yuyao to observe mourning for his brother. After the mourning period ends, he may not be able to return to the Ministry of Personnel. There is a high possibility that he will be transferred to a sinecure.

I've even been considering retiring from public life and spending my remaining years in my hometown of Yuyao.

"My uncle was seventy-nine years old when he was appointed prime minister."

Hearing Xie Pi's words, Xie Gen was somewhat surprised.

"My second brother is only fifty-six years old this year, and in excellent health, how could this have happened?"

"Hengzhong, you have never entered officialdom and do not know the dangers of the officialdom."

The officialdom in the capital is not an easy place to navigate.

Xie Pi gave a wry smile.

"Everyone says that my father was a veteran of four dynasties, with students and old friends all over the world, but over the years, he has actually offended quite a few people."

Now that my father is gone, I am the only member of the Xie family serving as an official in the capital. I am walking on thin ice, afraid of making a mistake and giving others something to hold against me.

Why would I, a third-rank civil official returning to my hometown to observe mourning for my parents, be wary of a group of maritime merchants who come to visit me?

After the Ningbo Maritime Trade Office was closed, although the gentry near Ningbo Prefecture, and even the Dinghaiwei and Guanhaiwei garrisons, were involved in maritime trade in private, it was not something that could be done openly.

If no one takes it seriously, then it's nothing.

But if someone targets my Xie family, that's a different story!

If they want to pull off a major case, they could easily label my Xie family as "colluding with the Japanese."

Hengzhong, think about it again. Besides their accents, is there anything else strange about these people?

Are their words and actions different from those of the "Ao Zhu" (local officials) of Shuangyu?

"Second brother, now that you mention it, I really do feel like something's not quite right."

Xie Gen tried hard to recall,

"When I met those 'masters' of Shuangyu and their subordinates, they all displayed an arrogance of江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world), but I could still vaguely sense that they had a certain respect for our Xie family."

But this group was different. Whether it was the young man with the Hubei-Guangdong accent who was barely twenty, or his subordinates, although they acted like江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world), I could sense that they had a faint sense of arrogance in their hearts.

Looking back now, it seems that deep down, these guys didn't really take our Xie family, a prominent gentry family with generations of officials, seriously.

"Hengzhong, if that's really the case, these people are probably not maritime merchants at all!"

Upon hearing Xie Gen's words, Xie Pi couldn't help but tremble, almost dropping the crystal glass in his hand.

"No matter how unruly those maritime merchants are, they always have some respect for a gentry family like our Xie family."

This group's visit this time is probably not so simple!

"Second Brother, in that case, why don't I go and refuse their request?"

Xie Gen reached out and helped Xie Pi up.

"We won't accept their goods, and we'll return this Western crystal glass to them as well, so we won't leave them any excuses."

"They've already come knocking on our door, do you think you can just hide?"

Xie Pi pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"If you drive them away, who knows what they might do in secret!"

It's better to understand the situation than to be caught off guard and unable to prevent it in the future.

Tomorrow, bring them to this Fei Dun Garden and discuss the details of the transaction with them in the side hall. I will listen in from behind the screen.

Having served as an official for over thirty years, there is no one in the officialdom I cannot recognize!

I want to see just who these guys are!

. . .

The next day.

Fei Dun Garden, side hall.

"Please take your seats and enjoy some tea."

A servant led Lu Chen and Qin Fang into a side hall and served them fragrant tea.

"My master will be here soon."

After the servant left, Lu Chen did not wait in his seat, but picked up his teacup and walked to the wall to admire the paintings on it.

The signature appears to be "Layman Liuru".

As expected of a powerful and wealthy family that has produced a prime minister, they are indeed very rich and powerful.

In any side room, you can find genuine works by Tang Bohu hanging on the wall!

As the largest agent of Shuangyu Haishang Group in Ningbo Prefecture, the Xie family of Yuyao can be said to have made money effortlessly.

I really don't know what got into the Xie family eight years later, that they did something so stupid as to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

They dare to default on payments to the clients who bring them huge profits every year!

It would have been one thing to delay a little, but later they became even more blatant in defaulting on their debts. When the client came to collect the debt, they even threatened to report them to the authorities!

This is such an unsightly way of eating.

Of course, "stupid" would be a more appropriate word to describe it.

As a result, not only was his own manor looted by maritime merchants and more than ten members of the Xie family killed, but Shuangyu, the Far East International Free Trade Port, was also directly exposed to the imperial court.

It could be said that these fools killed the goose that had laid golden eggs for the Xie family every year.

The Xie Geng I met yesterday seemed quite shrewd; he didn't seem like such a fool.

Could it be that the Xie family has a new leader eight years later?

Huh?

There seems to be some movement behind that screen!

When Lu Chen entered the side hall, he noticed a huge screen on the side. He used his mental power to probe it briefly, but there was nothing behind it, so he didn't pay any attention to it.

Could there be some hidden door or something behind that screen, and someone has gone behind it now?

He activated his telekinesis again, and sure enough, a long-bearded man was already sitting in the chair behind the screen.

Judging from the tactile sensation transmitted through telekinesis, this person has quite a few wrinkles on their skin and is probably in their fifties or sixties.

Hehe, this is the real person in charge of the Xie family!