Li Qiufeng listened to Zhang Shi vomiting bitterness, but it was quite unexpected. But I heard Zhang Shi continue: "To put it mildly, since my father started the tea business, it is like getting on a thief ship. From the small county yamen to the six departments in the capital, each yamen has to burn incense and kowtow. Every year, Bing respects charcoal, and nothing is worthless. The silver was only in our hands, and eventually it was in the hands of officials, large and small. It's just that if you make a deal, you can't help yourself. My father once wanted to stop, but the officials refused to agree, forcing my father to continue to do the tea business for them, otherwise he would be framed and sent to prison for questioning. My father was only in his fifties when he died, and most of the reason for his early death was that he was scared out of illness by these bastard officials. ”

Zhang Shi said this, sighed, and said: "Before my father died, he once told me that I must withdraw as soon as possible, otherwise the bigger the business, the greatest sin." Once those officials lose their power in the officialdom, it will inevitably bring disaster to our Zhang family, and when the time comes, there will be no eggs? Who would have thought that after the death of his father, the tea business in Jiangnan will become more and more difficult. Not only did the officials of the six ministries meddle in the tea trade, but the 24 yamen in the palace also sent people to Jiangnan to start a tea business. Not to mention the local governors and yamen, who monopolized the tea trade in the areas under their jurisdiction. However, no matter how bad my business is, the amount of money I give to those officials is not only a penny, but it is increasing every year. By the end of the day, I was struggling to make ends meet, and I was about to die.

"At this time, someone came to me and told me that I was doing business with the Fuso people and that it was very profitable. At first, I was shocked, because the Daming Sea is very prohibited, and it is a big crime to associate with Fusang people and be caught by the government. Although I was a little moved, I finally refused. However, the man told me that these transactions were actually done by officials of all sizes, but they were not easy to come forward, so they found businessmen to handle them, and they hid behind to make suggestions and provide convenience. Whatever the sea prohibits or does not prohibit is to deal with those ordinary businessmen who have no foundation in officialdom. Behind the big businessmen are all standing big and small officials, how can anyone search for them?

When I heard it, I was amazed. The man took me through two transactions, and sure enough, as he said, the government not only didn't care, but helped me a lot. Only then did I believe that the original imperial court's decrees only suppressed the common people. These officials used the power of the imperial court to kick the people away, but they themselves made a windfall. There is a saying: Only the governor is allowed to set fires, and the people are not allowed to light lamps!

"Later, my business with the Fuso people became bigger and bigger, and the silver continued to flow into the pockets of those officials, and I also reaped a lot of benefits from it. But I know that this is just to quench my thirst, and one day I will die of poison. is thinking that the children and grandchildren are planning, and there is no day when they don't think about how to withdraw as soon as possible. This time, Lao Hu and others came to me to do this transaction, and I knew that there must be a lot of unsavory things behind it. It's just that I can't take care of it anymore! Today, the emperor has succeeded to the great unification as a vassal king, and the foundation was unstable at the beginning, and the court officials have formed gangs and gangs, and the party has been constantly fighting. The emperor used the power of a group of officials from Jiangnan to confront the old ministers left by the first emperor. It is because of the fact that these businessmen in Ningbo rely on the protection of officials from Zhejiang and Fujian in the imperial court, and they live a good life. But the emperor's country has already sat firmly, and he no longer has to rely on officials from Jiangnan. After he cleaned up a few bigwigs in the cabinet, he turned around and had to deal with the Zhejiang Party and the Fujian Party. Several Beijing officials who we originally regarded as backers have fallen into bad luck, and the heads of those who are killed are killed, and the exiles are exiled, and there is not much time left for me to escape for my life. It is necessary to make a lot of money, and then withdraw early, be a free rich man, and protect the children and grandchildren. ”

When Zhang Shi said this, he laughed a few times, and then said: "With this deal, I am a ruin, and I have to do it." ”

Li Qiufeng said: "Zhang Yuanwai pushes his heart, and he will do his best to help the staff outside." ”

Zhang Shi said with a smile: "Brother Zhu and I hit it off at first sight, and it was only then that we brought this matter out. If it were someone else, how would I dare to say these things casually? As long as this transaction is completed, I will definitely not treat Brother Zhu badly. ”

Li Qiufeng said: "I can't imagine that the gentry in Jiangnan have such a difficult time. To tell the truth, he followed his father to do Shu brocade business in Shuzhong, and he was also exploited by the government. Not only did the Chengdu prefect yamen try their best to make oil and water on us, but the six departments and the twenty-fourth yamen of the capital also sent people to Shuzhong to buy and sell our Shu brocade at a low price and at a high price, and the business became more and more difficult to do. Although this time we went out of Sichuan to the south and sold Shu brocade, it was due to the catastrophe in the north and the backlog of Shu brocade. In fact, the government is so oppressed that we can't breathe, and we want to try our luck in Jiangnan, but it is also one of the reasons. ”

Where does Li Qiufeng know what Shu brocade business, but when he was in Chengdu, he heard Zhu Shishi talk about it, and at this time, he is now learning and selling, Zhang Shi believes that he is a Shu brocade businessman, and there is no doubt in his heart. I only heard Zhang Shi say: "Brother Zhu, we are actually all people all the way. It is all the more important to work together and earn more money. Those bastards are vampires, and with them, we have absolutely no good fruit to eat!"

While the two were talking, the big ship went down the east of the river and finally arrived at the mouth of the sea. I saw an ocean in front of me, and there was no shadow of mountains and plains. Shopkeeper Hu and the others also walked out of the cabin and stood by the boat in twos and threes chatting. Seeing everyone coming out, Zhang Shi hurriedly changed his words and only said some strange things. Li Qiufeng echoed casually, and naturally no one suspected that the two had other plans.

After the big ship went out of the sea, Qin Lao Wu asked the boatman to turn the sails, and the big ship slowly sailed north. Previously, Zhang Shi said to Li Qiufeng that although there were officials from the Yamen of the Municipal Department and the Yamen of the Ningbo Prefect to help, they had to do enough to avoid telling others the truth. After going to sea with a big ship, go north first, and if you meet a sailor at sea to investigate, you can only go to Shandong according to the customs defense issued by the Yamen of the Municipal Shipping Division. It was not surprising that everyone saw the big ship turn its bow.

The big ship is moving on the sea, surrounded by the ocean, and if you don't look at the compass, you don't know where it's going. At the beginning of the autumn wind, standing at the bow of the boat, looking at the endless sea, he still felt quite novel. It's just that after watching it for more than half an hour, I feel bored. Later, his eyes hurt faintly, and his heart was restless, so he had to go back to the cabin to rest. It was almost noon, Qin Lao Wu instructed the boatman to bring steamed buns, pickles and water to everyone for lunch. Li Qiufeng's chest was disgusted, how could he have the appetite to eat? He only drank a few sips of water, but the steamed buns and pickles were untouched. It's just that the chest and abdomen are getting more and more uncomfortable, and later, it's like turning over the river and the sea. Li Qiufeng knew that the ship was bumpy, which made him so uncomfortable. I had to sit cross-legged in the cabin, exhaling and practicing qi, fighting against the annoyance in my chest and abdomen. The true qi slowly wandered through the seven meridians and eight veins, and for a while, he completely forgot where he was, and the annoyance in his chest and abdomen gradually disappeared.

I don't know how long it took, Li Qiufeng suddenly felt a shock under him, and then the big ship shook violently. Li Qiufeng hurriedly opened his eyes, only to see that it was already dark in the cabin. He rested his right hand on the plank, and his body bounced with the force. It's just that his feet just stepped on the ground, but he felt that his feet were floating and he almost fell to the ground. He knew that he had been sitting in the rickety cabin for too long, and he suddenly stood up, which made his feet unstable. It was because he took a deep breath and made a move "Thousand Pound Fall", and his feet were firmly nailed to the ground, so that he stood firm.

When Li Qiufeng walked out of the cabin, he saw that it was already twilight outside. Although you can still see the shadows of the endless sea, it is dim and difficult to see clearly. The boatman hung the air dead wind lanterns on all three masts, and several large lanterns were lit around the cabin to illuminate the ship. Zhang Shi and Shopkeeper Hu were already standing at the bow of the boat, talking to Qin Lao Wu in a whisper. The rest of the shopkeepers also hurried out, all with nervous expressions on their faces. Shopkeeper Yin and Shopkeeper Song were even more earthy, and they staggered when they walked, and almost bumped into Li Qiufeng.

Li Qiufeng knew that something must have happened, so he hurriedly walked to the bow of the boat, but saw a big black boat appear dozens of feet ahead. The boat was brightly lit, and there were many people standing in the shadows. Although this big ship was traveling in the same direction as the big boat that Li Qiufeng and the others were riding, it was just not fast, and the distance between the two big ships was getting closer and closer.

Li Qiufeng said to Zhang Shi: "Is there anything strange about this boat?"

Zhang Shi stared at the ship with his eyes and said in a deep voice: "That's the naval division's warship." He rushed ahead of us and asked us to stop the ship and wait. ”