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Since Lin Yunpu met Zhao Junchen, his attitude has been very respectful and humble. At this time, when he opened his mouth to ask, his expression was still humble and submissive, and people couldn't find any fault.

However, from his words, Zhao Junchen clearly felt a sense of questioning.

Obviously, Lin Yunpu's true character is not as low-key as he showed before, and when Zhao Junchen rejected his kindness, Lin Yunpu finally showed his edge a little.

It's just that Lin Yunpu is different from Bai Mingyu, he understands when his edge should be shown and when he should be hidden.

At this time, Lin Yunpu's faint questioning, in addition to showing his attitude, is also to once again determine Zhao Junchen's true intentions, if Zhao Junchen is indeed hostile to the Huizhejiang Business Gang, then Lin Yunpu may have to take some necessary actions!

After all, Zhao Junchen is not only the head of the imperial court, in charge of the world's money and grain taxes, but also has a certain influence on the formulation of imperial court policies.

Zhao Junchen also understood Lin Yunpu's thoughts, and Zhao Junchen did not intend to persecute the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang again and again, after all, the influence of the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang should not be underestimated.

Therefore, under the gaze of Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu, Zhao Junchen smiled lightly, eased the atmosphere slightly, and then said: "Boss Lin misunderstood, I have no ill will towards the Huizhejiang Merchant Gang. In fact, I also admire the shrewdness and pragmatism of the Huizhejiang Merchant Gang, if you change the direction. I am very willing to cooperate with you, but the matter of Sichuan salt is absolutely not. ”

After a pause, Zhao Junchen did not continue to play tricks, and further explained: "First, regardless of official business, the word reputation is crucial. As for the matter of Sichuan salt, I have already discussed it with the Jin merchants, and I have also made many promises and guarantees. Although you are very sincere, I can't arbitrarily overturn my previous promises, otherwise I will offend the Jinshang Group, and my reputation in the future will inevitably be lost; Second. Sichuan salt rectification, introduction of Jin merchants into Sichuan. Although this policy was first proposed by me, it was not promoted by me alone, there were many people of insight in the imperial court who were dissatisfied with the current situation of the salt tax in our dynasty, and they were very supportive of this policy, in addition, the Jin merchant collective also bought many important ministers of the imperial court to support them, and now this policy is a foregone conclusion, and then want to reverse the change. But I can't do it alone. ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Junchen glanced at Lin Yunpu and the others. Seeing that they did not argue fiercely, but showed a deep contemplative expression, he continued: "Third, and most importantly, as a courtier, I must consider Your Majesty's attitude, as far as I know, Your Majesty also supports this policy, so why should I deliberately oppose Your Majesty for the sake of some money? ”

is very frank, Zhao Junchen said his reasons, and did not hide them at all, these reasons are very sufficient, so that Lin Yunpu and others cannot refute it.

Especially after hearing Zhao Junchen's third reason, Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu's faces changed slightly, and among them, a trace of panic flashed in Dai Fengfu's eyes.

Obviously, Zhao Junchen was hinting at Emperor Deqing's suppression and distrust of the Hui and Zhejiang merchant gangs.

In fact, it is not surprising that Emperor Deqing had such an attitude.

*

The historical trend of this world is very different from the world where Zhao Junchen was originally located.

In another historical time and space, the Ming Dynasty should have perished during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, and one of the reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty was the existence and strength of the "Donglin Party"! Although the Donglin Party of the Ming Dynasty regarded themselves as clear streams and made good use of moral weapons, to a large extent, they only represented the interests of the landlords and merchants in Jiangnan, and subjectively lost the will to contribute to the imperial court, and put class interests above national interests.

In the end, under the resistance of the Donglin Party, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty fell into a vicious circle of the same party and the difference, all the tax reforms and economic policies were all in vain, and the landlords and merchants in the south of the Yangtze River also refused to pay commercial taxes and mining taxes with the support of the Donglin Party, resulting in the Ming Dynasty has been in a state of extreme financial embarrassment, coupled with the drought in the north for many years, the people have no harvest, but the imperial court has no money and grain relief, so that Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others have rioted, and finally the Ming Dynasty naturally perished as a matter of course.

What is especially ironic is that when Li Zicheng broke through the capital, Emperor Chongzhen ordered someone to ring the bell, intending to convene the ministers and conduct the last court meeting, but the "loyal" Donglin party members were either in a hurry to flee for their lives, or were busy surrendering to Chengcheng, but no one appeared, and only one "eunuch remnant" Wang Chengen was left with Emperor Chongzhen.

What's even more ridiculous is that when Li Zicheng broke through the capital, although most of the Donglin Party members simply took refuge in Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng's attitude towards them was not as friendly as that of the Ming Dynasty emperor. Then, by chance, Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and led the Qing soldiers into the customs, and the remnants of the Donglin Party were very simply surrendered to the Manchu Dynasty, but unfortunately the Qing Dynasty's attitude towards them was much worse than that of Li Zicheng, and the tragedies of Jiading Three Massacres, Yangzhou Ten Days, and the Literary Prison continued to appear, and the people suffered a lot, and the Donglin Party completely lost its foundation because of this. When the Donglin Party finally discovered the benefits of the Ming Dynasty and shouted the slogan of "opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty", they could no longer make any waves.

However, in the historical time and space where Zhao Junchen is now, the situation is different, the Chongzhen Emperor of this time and space is not a blind boy and blind believer, not only was not confused by the moral articles of the Donglin Party, but took a number of measures to suppress the Donglin Party, because the factory guard was not abolished, the imperial power was still strong, and through differentiation, checks and balances, bribery and other means, the power of the Donglin Party was gradually weakened, and finally the power of the Donglin Party was completely driven out of the center of the court. The landlords and merchants in Jiangnan also lost their influence on the imperial court's policies, and although tax evasion was still common, the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty was eventually eased a lot. In this way, the victims in the north received relief, and the uprisings of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others were extinguished as soon as they emerged, and in the end, the Ming Dynasty not only did not fall, but continued to this day; Wu Sangui not only did not descend to the Qing Dynasty, but the Wu family became a family of famous generals guarding the border passes; The Manchu Qing Dynasty, which was originally invincible, could not enter the customs, and could only be trapped between the white mountains and black waters......

Although there is inertia in the development of history, the influence of personal factors should still not be ignored -- every time he reads about this different historical development, Zhao Junchen will always feel this way -- it is only because Emperor Chongzhen's talent has improved a little that the history of the Chinese nation has gone in a completely different direction......

It's a pity that although the Chongzhen Emperor of this time and space is barely the master of the Ming Dynasty, but limited to the vision of the times, the disadvantages of the Ming Dynasty have not been effectively corrected, and after the Deqing Emperor succeeded to the throne, he only learned the centralized means of the Chongzhen Emperor and the emperor's mental skills, so that the ills of the Ming Dynasty are accumulating deeper and deeper.

*

For that completely different historical process, Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu naturally don't know, but they know very well how Emperor Chongzhen in this historical time and space dealt with the Hui and Zhejiang merchant gangs, although decades have passed, but they still remember that period of history fresh and fearful.

Therefore, after hearing Zhao Junchen's hint, Lin Yunpu, Bai Mingyu, and Dai Fengfu did not have too many doubts, and quickly believed it, thinking that Emperor Deqing had in view of the phenomenon of the Donglin Party interfering in politics back then, and now he saw that the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang had gradually recovered their vitality.

The introduction of Jin merchants into Sichuan and the development of Sichuan salt indirectly weakened the economic strength of the Hui and Zhejiang merchants, which was one of the specific means of the Deqing Emperor.

In fact, this is also the biggest reason why Zhao Junchen is reluctant to become the spokesperson of the Hui and Zhejiang Merchants Gang in the DPRK.

Thinking of this, Lin Yunpu and the others were naturally frightened and a little overwhelmed, and at the same time lost the idea of continuing to buy Zhao Junchen.

First, they just wanted to go back quickly to discuss countermeasures at this time, and second, they also understood that Zhao Junchen, as Emperor Deqing's favored minister, would never forcibly oppose Emperor Deqing's established policy unless he had to.

So, after a moment of silence, Lin Yunpu spoke again: "I see, but I waited for the abruptness, and I am really sorry for making you feel embarrassed." The matter has come to this, we no longer dare to force it, this is to leave, however, thank you for telling the reason, let me and others benefit a lot, I only hope that through today's events, you and our Hui and Zhejiang businessmen can be more closely connected, and I hope that you understand, we and other Hui and Zhejiang businessmen will never treat you badly. ”

After finishing speaking, Lin Yunpu led Bai Mingyu and Dai Fengfu to bow to Zhao Junchen, and then planned to turn around and leave.

"Wait." Just as Lin Yunpu and the others were about to leave, Zhao Junchen suddenly said: "I just said before that I have no possibility of cooperation with you about the matter of Sichuan Yan, but if it is something else, I think the cooperation between us may still be very large." ”

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…… (To be continued......)