Yangzhou after August 15 is destined to be an unquiet time. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Wang family, one of the three major salt merchants in Yangzhou, held a Mid-Autumn Festival poetry meeting in the West Garden, and Jia Huan, a scholar from Beizhili, won the championship with a song "Water Tune Song Tou - When is the Bright Moon". It is known as: a stunning work, a swan song for the ages. This song quickly spread in the Jiangnan area and became popular. Yangzhou Shilin, with honor. The scholars who witnessed the birth of this famous poem that day were even more fond of it.

On that day, the background wall was Jinling Wei Zihe, one of the four great talents in the south of the Yangtze River. It is said that when he returned home, he studied behind closed doors.

The success of the West Garden Poetry Society also sent Yangzhou salt merchant Wang Heting to the position of the head of Yangzhou salt merchants. Fame and fortune.

Then, on 17 August, the Huaiyang Branch of the Provincial Guarding Bureau, located in Yangzhou City, sent the Huai'an Mansion and Yangzhou Prefecture to prohibit the scholars of the two prefectures from participating in the county and government examinations for the 12th year of Yongzhi next year.

This official document is really a stone that stirs up a thousand waves.

The Shilin in Huai'an Mansion and Yangzhou Mansion almost exploded, and all kinds of voices came out. This is clearly aimed at salt merchants. Scholars, gentlemen, and officials were in favor of it and opposed to it. The local scholars of the two prefectures almost overwhelmingly praised Sha Shoudao as the master of the blue sky. And the children of salt merchants naturally scolded Sha Shoudao.

However, then news came out that it was because the big salt merchants Zheng Yuanjian, Zheng Wenzhi and his son offended Sha Dashen, which caused Sha Dashen to be angry and issued a ban on the salt merchants.

For a time, the Zheng family became the focus of public opinion.

In the faint twilight, in the branch of the Provincial Guarding Office in Yangzhou New Town, Sha Sheng and Master He were drinking tea and chatting in the backyard.

Sha Sheng looked at the houses and streets outside the office, and said with emotion: "To this day, I have the feeling of being separated. ”

Master He drank tea with a smile.

In terms of the ability of the staff, Jia Huan is really a strong player. It's a pity that he only stayed in Yangzhou for a few days. Otherwise, in this Yangzhou city, the weight of the words of the Provincial Administration will increase greatly.

Master He reminded: "Dong Weng, the matter of the salt law must be played in time to the imperial court." ”

In view of the drawbacks of the salt law, Jia Huan proposed the establishment of a general merchant system for the salt industry. The current salt law is the salt law implemented in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Only salt merchants on the register are eligible to participate in the salt industry. A typical system of commercial sales of official property.

There are more than 300 large and small salt merchants in Yangzhou, each of whom has 1,000 to tens of thousands of salt introductions. For small salt merchants, there are various risks, which lead to the failure of the imperial court to collect the salt tax.

The so-called general merchant system is that the imperial court appoints a certain number of general merchants, ranging from ten to twenty. Specialized in dealing with the Salt Transportation Division. The rest of the small salt merchants are listed under the name of the general merchant, and the general merchant completes the affairs of claiming the salt introduction, paying the introduction of the class, apportionment, and collecting the relevant salt tax.

In this way, the imperial court only had to deal with a small number of general merchants and collect all the salt classes. The risk of small salt merchants is borne by the head office. Avoid the situation that the two prefectures of Huaiyang have accumulated nearly one million salt taxes and cannot collect them.

The general merchant system appeared in the Qing Dynasty in Jia Huan's time and space. There is also a ticket salt system in the back, which will completely destroy the group of salt merchants in Yangzhou.

Jia Huan was born in science and engineering, where does he know about salt affairs? However, on the evening of 14 August, he had a long conversation with Master He on the painting boat of the Xiaoqinhuai River, and he had a good understanding of the system of official production and commercial sales of salt. It's still easy to summarize with his modern business knowledge. Therefore, we can propose a general merchant system.

To put it simply, the general merchant system is to set up a general agent. The following secondary agents are dead or alive, and the manufacturers don't care, just find the general agent to collect money. The risk is all pushed to the general generation.

In Jia Huan's view, it is easy to solve the problem of high salt prices and ordinary people who cannot afford salt. As long as the monopoly operation threshold of salt merchants is broken, the market is liberalized, and full competition is achieved. Naturally, the price of salt will come down. The specific implementation measures may be discussed again. This is Jia Huan's version of the ticket salt method.

But Jia Huan did not advise Mr. Sha to do this. The solution is very easy, but when it is implemented, it will smash the jobs of other salt merchants, and I know what the consequences will be. Therefore, only the method of setting up a general merchant was given. Let's talk about the achievements first!

To save the people from fire and water, and to reform the salt law, at least a figure at the level of the governor and the support of the emperor are needed to resist the counterattack of all parties.

Sha Sheng nodded.

…

With the departure of Jia Huan and his two eldest maids, Qingwen and Ruyi, for Jinling on August 18, the Lin Mansion, which had been lively for two or three days, became depressed and depressed again.

Lin Ruhai, who was in a coma from time to time, was already arranging the aftermath: writing a suicide note, writing a letter, dismissing slaves, and starting to let Jia Lian sell the garden. Lin Ruhai has another business in Yangzhou. Behind the procuratorate, crying could be heard from time to time.

After dinner, the autumn breeze was cold. Lin Daiyu went to see her father in the back room. My father was unconscious on the bed. Aunt Yurong is taking care of her.

Yu Rong nodded slightly, "Yu'er is here." "On the sixteenth, the old man entrusted the orphan to the young man in front of everyone. Hearing that Daiyu was going to live in Jinling for two years, she was determined to stay with Daiyu no matter what.

"Hmm."

After saying a few words and asking about her father's situation, Daiyu went back to her house wearing a dark red cloak embroidered with gold edges.

Zijuan followed Daiyu's side, helped Daiyu block the wind, looked at the bright moon in the sky, and said with emotion: "I don't know if the third master has arrived in Jinling?" ”

When Lin Ruhai and Jia Huan talked about the matter of Tuogu, only Lin Daiyu listened. When Lin Ruhai announced the details later, he did not tell everyone.

But Daiyu trusted Zijuan very much, and basically told Zijuan about the situation that day. Zijuan's heart was very stable at this time. The third master really kept his promise, and said in front of Master Lin that he mentioned the girl's matter.

And since the third master promised to take care of the girl in the future, the girl has nothing to worry about or worry about. She believes in the promise and ability of the third master.

Daiyu paused and said softly, "It's definitely not here." ”

She's feeling a little complicated right now. The pain of losing her father was almost emotionally devastating. Every night there is a heart-rending pain, and it is difficult to sleep. And in her heart, there is a touch of tranquility and stability, which makes her pain a little less.

Because, her father entrusted her to Jia Huan. Not in the form of marrying him, but by Jia Huan like an elder and a brother to take care of her later life. Her future is not a gloomy color. Instead, someone will hold up a sky for her with a strong backbone that can shelter from the wind and rain.

She had read Jia Huan's sixteen-character order that circulated in the capital: Mountain, piercing the blue sky and not being damaged. The sky is about to fall, and it depends on it.

Roughly, Jia Huan gave her the feeling that this was the case. Sharp like a mountain, hard and strong like a mountain. Not only Zijuan can trust Jia Huan's promise and ability, but she also believes it.

However, when Jia Huan mentioned her marriage in front of her father and the marriage letter to Baoyu, she was a little shy and confused. She longed to see Jia Huan again and have a detailed conversation with him. However, at the same time, she didn't want to see Jia Huan again, because when Jia Huan came again, it was after the news of her father's death reached Jinling, and she came to mourn.

…

When the bright moon is in the sky, on the Yangtze River, the building boat is moving smoothly.

Jia Huan drew a charcoal drawing for Ruyi in the cabin, and Ruyi sat on the bed, a delicate and soft little girl. Qingwen was chattering, smiling, and talking beside Jia Huan. She has a very lively temperament.

Jia Huan doesn't know Lin Daiyu's thoughts now, and he knows that he will definitely correct his positioning: in layman's terms, after Lin Ruhai's death, he will become Lin Daiyu's guardian. Not some elders, fathers and brothers.

Jia Huan did not have the intention of staying in Yangzhou to send Lin Ruhai to the end, it was Jia Lian's errand. I just don't know if Jia Lian finally brought back 800,000 taels of silver, will Jiafu be satisfied? He estimated that he would have to deal with Jia Yu.

No one is stupid. Since Lin Ruhai entrusted Gu to him in public, how could he not be paid? How could it not be reserved for Daiyu?

Of course, Jia Zheng would definitely not ask him about such a thing. Jia Yu is greedy and lustful, and is bound to interrogate him. However, it will be two years from now, so let's talk about it then.

"Third master, why did the Ji Ju person in the back follow you to Jinling?"

Jia Huan depicted Ruyi's silhouette, looked at the drawing board, and said with a smile: "Reading." Qingwen, don't you know what reputation I have in Jiangnan now? Here, good, make a look of adoration. ”

Yesterday morning, Ji Ming came to see him off, preparing to go to Jinling Mountain to study under the Changmen. With the generous temperament of the mountain chief, Ji Ming came to study, and the mountain chief would definitely teach.

However, Jia Huan took Qingwen and Ruyi in the boat, and Ji Ming rented a boat alone to follow behind. If you lift people, you will not be short of money.

"Third Master..., giggles..."Qingwen sneered and got up to pour tea for Jia Huan. She's thirteen years old. Even if I worship it in my heart, I'm embarrassed to show it on my face.

Jia Huan smiled slightly and dropped the last stroke.

He went to Yangzhou, originally just to visit Lin Ruhai on the way, but he didn't expect to take a "guardian" errand. The trip to Jinling, with more Daiyu, seems to be still planned.

When the belly of the fish on the edge of the sky was white, Jia Huan was sleeping with Ruyi in his arms. The passenger ship from Tongzhou down the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal arrived in Jinling. (To be continued.) )