If Kangxi hears Li Xi's heart, he will definitely say ouch, what a bosom friend.

But if the Guangdong salt merchants listened to the voices of Kangxi and Li Shi, they would say that you are rich and moaning, compared to your home, what is this trouble? But for us, Li Tianwang, you bastard has forced us to the edge of the cliff, and the sea is below, we can't swim!

"From the chaos in February to the raising of the flag in October, which thing did we not protect him Li Shi!? Now that his position is not secure, the court just didn't have his hands free for a while, he just thought about crossing the river and demolishing the bridge!? In my opinion, last year's group of Jiangxi people should ......"

In the south of Guangzhou, the former Yamen of the Imperial History of Salt Inspection was changed to Guangzhou County School, but the salt merchants have always been accustomed to gathering here, so they jointly bought the gatehouse on the street of the Yamen as the salt industry hall of Guangdong Province.

In the hall of the hall, a certain salt merchant was shouting with bruises on his forehead, but the second half of his words were forced back into his stomach by a middle-aged man with eyes like a torch.

"Mr. Shen, although the fat man is on our side, he is the son-in-law of Li Shi after all, so you have to come out of the way. Look at Li Xi hasn't let go of his mouth for a month, but we're so worried. ”

The salt merchant changed his tone and complained to the middle-aged man surnamed Shen, and the twenty or thirty sad-faced salt merchants in the lobby all nodded in agreement.

"Now we and Li Tianwang are grasshoppers tied to a rope! Don't have any random thoughts that don't touch the ground! Judging from the business alone, Li Tianwang still believes in his word. At least for the last year, we had his protection, and our family was a lot stronger. Now it's just a new handicap, and everyone's price code can't be negotiated! If you can't hold your breath, say the wrong thing and take the wrong step, this handle is sent up, does Li Tianwang still need to talk to us again? ”

The surname Shen should be a general merchant, and he has a high prestige among the salt merchants, and everyone was silent when he said this.

"Don't think that Li Tianwang is kind, the black-clothed guard led by Yu Hanyi next to him is a monster who kills people without blinking, and oil and salt do not enter the heart, whether it is sincere or not, now Li Tianwang still treats us as his own people. Whoever wants to jump away as an outsider by himself, I won't speak at that time. ”

The exhortation of the general merchant surnamed Shen still reached the bottom of everyone's hearts, but thinking that not only could they not expect new income, but they could not even keep the privilege of the previous program, everyone was full of worries, and they began to discuss it again.

"Li Tianwang is worried about the lack of silver, it's a big deal that we will lose money this year, and we will repay Li Tianwang more than one or two, and we will no longer mention the matter of determining the detailed rules of the salt class. Isn't the total amount set by Li Tianwang for the Cantonese Chamber of Commerce four million taels? Our salt merchant stall is a million! ”

In the end, the salt merchants reached a consensus and had more blood, with the goal of maintaining the previous salt political situation. This million seems to be a lot, and it is distributed to the province's field merchants, with large households of several thousand taels per family and small households of several hundred taels each, and everyone can still bear it.

The general merchant surnamed Shen frowned: "Li Tianwang does have difficulties, but his intentions are further, and he is not only looking at this year." I'm afraid of this million taels...... That's it, in short, our sincerity is also out, I, Shen Shisheng, will pass on this sincerity on behalf of you, it depends on how he decides. ”

Shen Shisheng returned to his house in Guangzhou, and stared at the "letter of service" signed with the name of the general merchant of the province in the study, the Shen family is a family of salt merchants, and he is already the third generation, during which he has experienced the change of seasons in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and has experienced the pain of moving to the sea.

The Shen family has been engaged in salt for generations, controlling both ends of the merchant and the merchant, which was designated as the general merchant by the previous Qing court. The family and industrial roots are in Guangdong, and they have to bow to the upstart Li Shi who occupies Guangdong.

When Li Yan decided to change the salt government, he was also furious, which was shaking the foundation of his Shen family. But he knew one thing very well, Li Xi was a tiger in the mountains, and these businessmen were just foxes and wolves, so they couldn't compete with Li Shi.

Since Li Shi has always regarded himself as a businessman and always deliberately upheld the rules, Shen Shisheng and the salt merchants were bold at first glance, and they were still trying to rub their tongues with Li Shi. But grinding and grinding, some salt merchants forgot their position, and really thought that they had the capital to argue with Li Xian?

Shen Shisheng will not forget that last year, Li Shi cleaned up the gang of Jiangxi businessmen, which looked like a gentle drizzle, and people from the outside world didn't feel anything, but they knew that there were more than 20 heads, including those who fled back to Jiangxi, and there was no less. More than 20 families, all of whom were taken to Qiongzhou, were plunged into the deep mountains and old forests with those banner men and the prisoners of the green camp, and they didn't know how much they could live.

It can be seen from this that Li Shi does things according to the rules, but the premise is that the other party must abide by the rules like him, and if he crosses the line, he will never be afraid to be ruthless. Shen Shisheng always reminded himself that he had to fight with Li Shi in the trap of the Cantonese Chamber of Commerce, and he had to always fight without breaking.

Now that they have been fighting for more than a month, the Guangdong salt merchants have also been forced to a dead end, so they have to grit their teeth and show their bottom line, and admit the one-quarter membership fee that Li Shi has apportioned to the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce.

But Shen Shisheng was very worried, judging from the rumors released by Li Shi, the salt policy of the Yinghua New Dynasty must be different. He studied it carefully and saw through Li Shi's intentions, that is, to make the salt industry a profitable industry, so that the salt merchants could extract the silver from the salt industry and invest it in the "new industry" that was emerging in Guangdong, including steel, machinery, glass, cement, silk and linen, and so on.

In all fairness, Shen Shisheng didn't think about testing these new industries, but the salt industry is the root of his life and his life, so he can't lose it. If the new industry flashes his waist and the salt industry can't hold up, his Shen family will fall from his hands.

The problem is that before Li Tianwang has played any cards, the salt merchant has been forced to show his hole cards, which is really not good.

"Father, are you worried about the salt administration?"

When he was pondering, someone whispered to him, it was his son Shen Fuyang, who had been taking care of the business in the west of the Chaoyang River, collecting salt from hundreds of households in Chaozhou Mansion, and had just finished a batch of salt before and went to the Qingpu Sanjiang ticket store to reconcile with the carrier.

"What do you think of Li Tianwang's salt administration?"

His son is very smart and experienced, Shen Shisheng wants to hear his opinion.

"When my son returned to Guangzhou, he also came to persuade his father, so he quickly went to ask the king of heaven to try out the new policy!"

Shen Fuyang's words made Shen Shisheng's eyes widen, not only to recognize this new policy, but also to rush to try it!?

Li Shi's new plan is very simple, salt is treated as the same as other industries, and there is no outline to set up, within a county, the people produce their own products, the merchants sell their own goods, and the price follows the market. However, if it is necessary to cross counties, because other counties have a certain right to raise their own finances, they may be subject to the audit and taxation of other counties. Therefore, only the salt companies registered with the Department of Industry and Commerce and joined the General Association of Guangdong Entrepreneurs can be exempted from this tax and pass through the whole territory, which is for the merchants. And if the merchant who collects salt from the stove does not form a company, not only will he not be protected by the Cantonese Merchant Association, but the merchant can also grab business from his bowl at will.

Not to mention that the abolition of the program is to abolish the hereditary privileges of the salt merchants, and to say that this "company" requires ten people to jointly finance, which is equivalent to giving up the family business, and the salt merchants are naturally unacceptable. Other provisions, such as the need for salt companies to pay a certain amount of deposit as advance compensation for the salt price subsidy, are only considered by the salt merchants to be reimbursed under a separate name. In addition, the salt tax of the New Deal was divided into field tax, transportation tax and city tax, which on the surface was much heavier than the tax of the Qing court. Of course, when settling this account, they deliberately ignored salt introduction and filial piety.

"Father, for those who are slacking off, this new deal is like a tiger, but for those who are diligent, this new deal is a great opportunity to sit big!"

Shen Fuyang's eyes lit up, he was young and vigorous, and he naturally looked on the good side.

His point of view is very clear, the old saying is all about relationships, not on ability, and their Shen family, starting from a stove household, step by step to the present, all rely on ability. Li Shi's new policy not only cut off the exploitation of the government in the shadows, but also opened up the market in the whole territory, and it is no longer as before, there are restrictions on who runs a certain district, and there are those who are capable, and he said that even if he cannot take charge of the salt industry in Guangdong alone, it is very promising to get a fraction of the plate.

"I know this, but the family business is stable, how can I take such a risk?"

Shen Shisheng has been in business for decades, so he naturally seeks stability.

"Isn't it an adventure to follow this new Yinghua dynasty? Now that you've gambled, what are you still afraid to do? ”

Shen Fuyang encouraged his father, and then lowered his voice.

"My son is very familiar with Deacon Yang of Sanjiang Ticket Company, he has friends in the Industrial and Commercial Office of Tianwang Mansion, when talking about salt politics, through the wind, Li Tianwang hopes that the salt industry will be a big business in the future, and it will be taken up by a few big businessmen in the future.

Shen Shisheng took a slight breath, and as he expected, he was going to throw their salt merchants into the Gu and catch the big ones and let them go...... In his bones, it was still the control policy of the Qing court, but it was based on the struggle of their salt merchants themselves, and in contrast, the market merchants who directly held the stove households naturally had to take a lot of advantage.

"I feel that the expectations of King Li and this industry and commerce are just like the new country he established, if you don't advance, you will retreat!"

Shen Fuyang said in a deep voice, and then broke the news that made Shen Shisheng suddenly shocked.

"Before my son came to Guangzhou, he had met the eldest son of the Liang family, a salt merchant in Quanzhou, and he was saying that the Yinghua army was pressing, the Fujian people were panicking, and the price of salt was rising, if we gained a firm foothold under the new policy, the price of salt would be much cheaper than the salt under the rule of the imperial court in the north, and ...... would be sold to the north at that time."

Shen Shisheng slapped his thigh, how could he forget this stubble!? If according to the old situation before, it would be difficult for their Guangdong salt merchants to get involved in other provinces, under the new policy, there are no geographical restrictions, they can sell in the whole territory of Yinghua, and they can sell it under the rule of the Qing court! Although there is no way to sell it directly, it can be as profitable as cooperating with local salt merchants like the Liang family in Quanzhou.

"But what kind of company is this......"

But in the end, he still couldn't get over this psychological hurdle, the company asked for a ten-person joint venture, not saying that it couldn't be divided according to the family, but it was also a troublesome matter when it came to the family.

At this moment, Li Xi was pondering in the Tianwang Mansion whether his adjusted new policy could attract the hearts of enterprising salt merchants.

There are many inconvenient foundations for the whole New Deal. The first is to grasp the big and let go of the small, and promote the salt merchants to carry out capital combination, forming a de facto market monopoly, rather than the previous monopoly of power of the entire group.

It's 1716 now, not 2016, and the technical means are still very backward, and it is impossible to control it so finely, so Li Xi still needs to monopolize. But it had to be a market monopoly before market means could be used to regulate and control the industry, and eventually only a few large salt producers and wholesalers remained. Market monopoly does not isolate competitors, which also forces producers, operators and distributors to maintain a certain competitive mentality.

The second point is very black, this is also a means to deal with the Qing court, as long as a few salt giants are supported, relying on the much lower price of salt, the two Huai salt merchants ...... Hmph, it can be regarded as a test of the future economic strategy.

But most of the salt merchants are short-sighted after all, and the genes of collusion between power and businessmen are too heavy, Li Xian is worried that not many people can understand it thoroughly, and if they understand it thoroughly, not many people make up their minds. But these two great benefits, it is inconvenient for him to explain them in advance, otherwise the other party will not be convinced, and it will be regarded as Li Xian's plan to kill the three soldiers, so he can only let the people of the Industrial and Commercial Department go around.

But Li Xian couldn't imagine that the real problem was stuck in the "company" that he had promoted. Li Xi must govern capital, so he must let businessmen organize capital in the way of future companies, otherwise it will be difficult to hold accountable and supervise, and at the same time reduce the cost of taxation, but he never thought that he was not an economist, let alone an economic historian, and he did not know that the impact of this matter was deeper than that of Yan Zheng.

"This is the destruction of thousands of years of merchant Taoism......"

Peng Xianzhong came back from his hometown, and he brought the old man of the Peng family to evaluate the "company".

(To be continued)