Chapter 286: Bullying the weak with the strong and bargaining

"The Great Master Shoots!"

On the school grounds outside Jiaozhou City, several big-bellied businessmen were applauding and applauding. It was the 21st day of the first lunar month of the 13th year of Chongzhen.

The Jiaozhou camp troops stationed in Huaibei have begun to enter Nanzhili. During this period, the salt field on the front line of Haizhou had seen a large number of fleets passing by several times. However, perhaps they knew that the troops from Shandong were about to enter here, so they did not dare to go ashore, they just passed by.

Lianghuai Salt Field can finally ensure relatively normal production. Lianghuai Salt Merchants have also calculated that after such a fuss at the end of the twelve years of Chongzhen, their income that year was almost 20%.

Nearly 40% of salt dealers and salt merchants in Shanxi and Henan are buying salt from Shandong. In the future, it will take a lot of effort to regain this market. However, compared with Jiaozhou Camp, the salt dealers in Lianghuai have many old official relationships in these places, while the salt dealers in Shandong do not have deep foundations outside, so the lost market can still be obtained.

Seeing that Li Meng's army was about to enter Huaibei, the salt merchants in the two Huai River and the general of Shandong Li Meng had fought with him. He knew that this person was cruel and ruthless. This time, he invited Shandong soldiers to enter Huai. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was cutting flesh and replenishing sores, and drinking poison to quench thirst was not an exaggeration. It was not a long-term solution. What we need to do now is to flatter this evil star.

In theory, this New Year is actually a carnival for the salt merchants in Lianghuai, which is extremely luxurious and happy. But in this situation, I ignored the happy days of the first month of the New Year and sent several salt merchants with great identities to Jiaozhou City directly.

After hundreds of years of inheritance of the salt merchants in Lianghuai, they naturally know how to deal with the people on the official side. According to their salt merchants' jargon, it is called training.

No matter whether an official likes gold and silver, beauty, or has any hobbies, the salt merchants rely on their abundant financial resources to bribe people and let them serve themselves wholeheartedly. This is the case for prefectures and counties in Huai'an and Yangzhou, commanders of the garrisons, and military generals in the barracks, like the slaves of the salt merchants.

Arriving in Jiaozhou City made these pampered salt merchants quite uncomfortable. In theory, Jiaozhou City is now the center of Luyan, with rich salt profits and should always be a bit rich. Just like Jiningzhou, the hub of Shandong, the canal transportation, who would have thought that when they came to Jiaozhou, they would see an orderly and boring city. There were no leisure and entertainment facilities on the streets. Everyone was busy and busy, as if everyone had something to do.

This made the salt merchants curse a few boring words, but the beautiful young boy she brought was given to the Shandong general. She couldn't use it herself, so she could only grit her teeth and endure it.

However, they did not notice this aspect at all. They could not see begging vagabonds in the city, nor could they see the hungry and cold refugees on the side of the road.

The salt merchant representatives who came here also knew the whole story of the grudges between the two sides in the past, and thought that Li Meng might not give them a good look. When the other party was still a general in the government, he had no fear of fighting with the salt merchants. Now he is the general of Shandong, and his arrogance will definitely be even more arrogant.

Who would have thought that Li Meng would be polite. He settled them first and agreed to meet them at the school ground outside the city on the 21st day of the first lunar month.

Now both sides are coming to discuss things with each other, and the salt merchants are not worried that this is the Hongmen Banquet, so they simply send various gifts to the Li Manor first. Except for twenty male and female slaves, the rest of the items, gold and silver, were collected. This statement made the salt merchants more at ease.

About a year ago, the large-scale training of Jiaozhou Camp was not carried out near the city, but was trained slightly far from the city. First, the scale of the army expanded a lot, and the school grounds in the past were not suitable for use. Second, many military exercises also need to be kept confidential, and the farther away from the places where civilians live, the better.

The school ground outside Jiaozhou City was at most 400 people practicing, and it was abandoned by the army. However, when Li Meng lived in Jiaozhou City, he often brought his personal soldiers here to practice exercises. As we have already said before, Li Meng's personal soldiers were actually an officer reserve team.

On this small school ground, Li Meng told the soldiers and asked the soldiers to perform on-site deductions. In his spare time, Li Meng often exercised his body in this school ground.

When Shandong General Li Meng was exercising on the school ground, he also met some guests. This place was less formal and serious than the mansion. Everyone was casual and seemed friendly.

There was a target on the 50 steps away from Li Meng. Li Meng stood here and took a bow and arrow, but after all, he had not been inspected by the bow and arrow. He shot one arrow and did not touch the target at all. Instead, he stabbed the target aside. Among the generals of Jiaozhou Camp, except for Ma Gang and others, the rest of the people were not very good at bows and arrows. This bow and arrow training took a lot of time. There was such time there for those who became monks halfway through Jiaozhou Camp.

Even if it is not crooked, the salt merchants still smiled and applauded there sincerely. Of course, it would be unknown whether they were sneering in their hearts.

Thirty percent of the personal soldiers standing by the side guarding Li Meng were newly drawn from various battalions. They had very little time to get close to Li Meng. Seeing that his adults were shooting so many archers, several people couldn't help but want to laugh, but the veterans all looked as usual, and they obviously saw too much.

Li Meng looked at the arrows stuck in the land and couldn't help but smile and shook his head. He heard the loud applause of the salt merchants behind him, and his smile couldn't help but a little aggravated. He occasionally thought that he had come to ancient times, and that it was a must for one general to be proficient in bows and horses. Of course, he had to learn it. However, there was no time, and the other was the bows and arrows, which had high requirements for training and were plagued by affairs. Li Meng could not do it at all.

"Get the musket!"

The personal soldiers on the side took the bow and arrow, and the soldiers on the side handed over the musket. The musket used by Li Meng was also a standard musket from Jiaozhou Camp, which type of wooden fork holder was used. The personal soldiers had already loaded the ammunition, and the fuse was clamped on the fuse clamp. Li Meng set out and aimed at the target.

With a "boom", the cylindrical target made of straw was interrupted by the musket. The personal soldiers handed over two more muskets, each hitting the target. The applause of the salt merchants was a little higher. Li Meng was still confident in his understanding of this kind of firearm.

Li Meng threw the musket to the guards beside him and turned to the salt merchants. Li Meng, who had always been serious, had a rare smile on his face, which surprised the soldiers around him. It was rare to see the adults look so kind at this time.

There are also several small houses around the school grounds. This was remodeled by the former barracks of the Salt Dings and can also be used as a guest room for entertaining guests.

When both sides sat down, the personal soldiers brought tea and snacks, leaving a guard, the others retreated. Li Meng wiped his face with a few handkerchiefs, and took this opportunity to look at the three salt merchants opposite. It was rare to see a fat man in this era. The three people opposite were full of wealth. It can be seen that they have been living a pampering life for many years, and these three people are all forty years old.

After sitting down, he reported his name, but one was named Sun, one was Jiang, and the other was Chen. His dress looked plain and simple, but every place was a delicate and expensive thing. This was the style of the rich people of generations. Li Meng also had business and had a certain understanding of these things.

The value of the clothes and accessories on any three people is worthy of the full armor of the official above the Jiaozhou Camp. Li Meng's attitude made the three salt merchants on the other side not know what to do. The salt merchant surnamed Chen smiled and said:

"Master, I don't know the gifts bought by the little people yesterday, but they still caught my eye? This time I came to Shandong, it was really a little hasty. The little people and brothers hurriedly bought some crude things in Yangzhou City. I hope the big man should not be surprised!"

When Li Meng was in the position of a general in a province, the word "master" was indeed worthy of being a general. When he heard the salt merchant named Chen mention yesterday's gifts and said that they were crude, Li Meng felt a little moved for a moment. Yesterday's gifts were not counted as maids and servants, and they cost about 30,000 taels of silver. If this was crude, then what was exquisite?

Li Meng was quite self-aware. He knew almost nothing about ancient poems and articles after the Chongzhen period. He asked him to show off his literary style and use the things of future generations to deceive the ancients. After coming to this era, he always worried about military affairs and simply considered himself a rough man.

Yesterday's gifts were all extremely exquisite things, either jewelry, or fine porcelain and jade. Li Meng looked a little awkward and thought it would be great if you gave me 30,000 taels of silver directly.

Speaking of which, Yan Ruoran's belly is already a little bit. At the moment, the Li Mansion is completely centered around her and is surrounding her. Yan Ruoran likes a good set of celadons in this gift. The texture of this celadon is several pieces higher than the Qingyu Guanyin purchased by Li Menghua for a large sum of money that day. When it was shining with candlelight, it seemed as if clear water condensed into a shape. It was very beautiful and Yan Ruoran couldn't put it down.

His wife was happy, and Li Meng was naturally happy too. When he heard the other party mention it, Li Meng immediately smiled and replied:

"That set of green jade is good, and the inner person likes it very much!"

When Li Meng said this, the three salt merchants were quite happy. They thought that the other party had made a hole in their words. There was always something happy about it. However, Li Meng did not expect that this set of celadon is the best-quality green jade, and there is no collection in the palace. The wife of the Shandong general likes celadon. Many people know this in their hearts that in order to make this trip to Jiaozhou smooth, the salt merchant surnamed Jiang took out all the treasures at home.

After these conversations, the atmosphere in the room became more harmonious. Li Meng said directly:

"If you have anything to say, I am not good at speaking. If you say it, let's discuss it!"

The three salt merchants looked at each other, but they didn't expect Li Meng to be straight to the point like this. The salt merchant surnamed Jiang hesitated for a while and spoke carefully:

"Master, in the past, the villain's chamber of commerce did not know that the sky was high and the earth was strong, and offended the Master's power. This time, I will still have to compensate Dashan. I hope you, Dashan, have a lot of it, don't take it to heart."

After saying that, there was a pause. Looking at Li Meng's reaction, Li Meng smiled and waved his hand, and said casually:

"Don't mention the past things, everyone should look forward. I didn't take this matter to heart. You are talking about you!"

After saying this, even though the three salt merchants were calm and prepared to be low-profile, they were still almost choked by Li Meng's words. Fortunately, they swallowed it in one breath and did not cough. During the conflicts between the days, Shandong salt merchants led by Li Meng made a big profit. Now they are so tolerant and generous, saying "look forward" and can really make people angry.

However, looking at Li Meng's expression, there was no sarcastic meaning. The salt merchants quickly reacted. Everything was spoken by strength. In the current situation, Li Meng said that he was looking forward, that was looking forward, and then he had to look back on the past grudges and hatreds, and the salt merchants were about to be destroyed.

After calming down, the salt merchant named Jiang continued to speak in a slow voice:

"The Grand Marshal is magnanimous, so the villain will tell you what is happening now. The Grand Marshal's troops are now stationed in Haizhou. If there is no Grand Marshal's support, I am afraid that the salt industry in Huaihang will be destroyed by the pirates who killed thousands of swords."

Since the more than 200 vanguard troops from Jiaozhou Camp arrived in the Haizhou area and were still surveying the terrain and preparing for the army to enter, Haizhou salt merchants released the news. In fact, their idea was to take this opportunity to bring out Li Meng's name to scare the pirates.

Who would have thought it would be really effective? Although it was less than 300 troops, it was gone after taking over the pirate ships that were swaggering by the sea a few days ago.

Seeing that such an effect was achieved, even the salt workers working in the coastal areas of Huaibei gradually felt at ease. The salt fields were restored and production began to move to regular conditions.

After the Lianghuai salt merchants have been in contact with the government for so many years, they naturally know the key points. Since others have sent thousands of troops here, they have grabbed the neck of Lianghuai salt industry and must be careful to please, or at least they must be careful to please the past during this period, and after the complete stability, they can use some means to get Li Meng away in the officialdom.

The salt merchants also have such confidence. The filial piety and funded student officials who have been to the government for so many years, and the relationships established in the north and south Zhili and the officials in various provinces are the source of their confidence. Anyway, the army's garrison and allocation movements are all under the control of civil servants. If they grasp the key of civil servants and eunuchs in the custody, they will not be afraid of the generals' upheaval.

Of course, they did not realize that in this end of the world, not everything came according to the law.

But you must be careful to serve. The salt merchants knew that if they were hiding and when the other party asked for it, they would be almost the same as turning against each other. It would be better to bring up this matter first and everyone would understand. The salt merchant named Jiang laid the groundwork first, and then said:

"Now the court is also nervous. The tax on grain tax was increased several times. All grain and salary were welcomed, and Shaanxi thieves and Eastern Affairs were given priority. The adults must be embarrassed. Since the villains invited the adults' Hu Ben to guard the town, they naturally did not make the adults go for free. They were willing to help the military funds."

Li Meng, sitting on the chair, leaned forward slightly, obviously interested in the topic of the salt merchant. After saying this, the salt merchant surnamed Jiang exchanged glances with two companions, and then said:

"The little people don't know the cost of the soldiers stationed in Huaibei. I hope the general will give you a number and go back to Yangzhou to prepare with the members of the Chamber of Commerce!"

Looking at the other party's trembling appearance, Li Meng suddenly felt a sense of pleasure in his heart. He remembered the assassination in Jiaozhou that day and the battle to attack Liu Zeqing's troops. It was worth it now. At this time, the salt merchants in Lianghuai were begging to give Jiaozhou money, so don't do it.

Li Meng put his right hand on his knee, and the knuckles of his middle finger hit the leg surface. He didn't use much effort and said slowly:

"One and two million taels a year."

As soon as the number was expressed, the three salt merchants stood up at the same time, looked at Li Meng in a daze, and the salt merchant surnamed Sun, who had not spoken, stammered:

"Grand... sir, one hundred... one million and two million taels of silver, this... is too much!"

In panic, the respectful title was completely thrown aside. The salt merchant surnamed Chen also reacted from the shock and said in a hurry:

"The Grand Marshal, Lianghuai Salt Industry, paid only 1.5 million taels of taxes to the court in a year. That 1.5 million taels of 1.5 million taels would have to raise a million soldiers. The adults had less than 50,000 soldiers and horses, so how could they get so much money!"

"Haha" sounded, and Li Meng sneered directly there. Since the other party didn't pay attention to any etiquette, he didn't have to be polite here, and directly retorted:

"It's okay if you want to tell others about this. I'm talking about this to me. Do you still remember how I started with? You have the courage to use the money I gave to the government, so I won't be afraid of making me laugh."

The guard standing behind Li Meng looked at the noisy and messy room in the room. He still looked at the mouth and nose, as if these things had nothing to do with him. Li Meng's few merciless words of exposing the salt merchants made the salt merchants blush and returned to their original positions in a depressed manner.

After a while of quiet, Li Meng said in a deep voice:

"Since you think this number is unacceptable, I will talk about another number."

Hearing these words, the three salt merchants finally felt a little better. They were there and were waiting for Li Meng to say a new number. They thought that the number they said just now was indeed too high. Maybe the General Manager just wanted to say this to scare everyone.

Li Meng thought for a while, stretched out his two fingers, then opened his palm and gestured for a while. The three salt merchants were a little confused by the gesture, and then they heard Li Meng say:

"Two,500,000 taels!"

The salt merchant surnamed Chen was the fattest of the three. When he heard this number, he felt his body soft and his body slid down from the chair. He sat heavily on the ground, but he didn't feel any pain. He just stared at Li Meng who was sitting there for a while, and didn't dare to say a word. The other two salt merchants, the salt merchant surnamed Jiang and the salt merchant surnamed Sun were trembling, their lips opened and closed up and down but couldn't speak.

Li Meng picked up the tea bowl next to him, leaned on the back of the chair, looked at the three people who were disobedient in front of him casually, and said with a smile:

"Trust one million to the court, and the common practices that are handed over to various places are also flaunting five million. You are allocated five million to your own family. It seems that there are not many of them in this seat!"

After saying this, it seemed like a gust of cold wind blew in the room. The three salt merchants all shivered, and the look of losing their composure suddenly disappeared. On the contrary, they were a little confused. The salt merchant surnamed Chen got up tremblingly and fell on the chair. The other two looked similar.

The numbers Li Meng mentioned are naturally not completely accurate. It is naturally unlikely to make up a million integer, but the number will not exceed 500,000. This number is not a secret. But most of the people who know this number are inside salt merchants and some officials close to salt merchants.

It is said that this Shandong general was completely impossible to get in touch with this information. If he said it out, he really couldn't get hard on his side. The tax paid by the salt merchants to the court was hidden under the circumstances of the official and repeated use of salt, which was also one of the reasons why the salt merchants became rich.

The annual income of the salt merchants in Lianghuai was less than one-tenth of the annual income paid to the court. The so-called salt and iron monopoly here is just a joke. The remaining silver was consumed in the meaningless expenses of showing off wealth among the salt merchants. This meaningless expense, such as a big deal, was donated to various aspects of temples and Taoisms. Even if the remaining gold and silver were distributed to each salt merchant, it was an amazing wealth.

"I want 2.5 million yuan. Your salt industry will give less respect to Gods and Buddhas. I want more of it. This is also for your own good. This money is thrown into the bottomless pit every year, and everyone in the world feels distressed!"

After Li Meng said this with a smile, the businessman named Chen on the other side felt a shiver and stood up quickly, which was inconsistent with his fat body, and hurriedly took a few steps forward. His movement was really sudden. The guard behind Li Meng held the backhand on the hilt of the knife and was about to draw the knife.

As long as the salt merchant surnamed Chen takes another step forward, blood will splatter on the spot. Li Meng raised his hand and shook it to stop his subordinates from doing this. The merchant surnamed Chen knelt on the ground a few steps forward, knocking on the blue brick floor, begging with a crying voice:

"Master, Da Zheng, there are famines in the world. Lianghuai Salt Industry is not having a good time. Such a huge amount of silver can't be raised even if it is broken!"

After saying this, the two merchants also knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, begging, "Please beg the general and give him some grace!"

In theory, the bargaining was full of smiles. When we talked, we decided to make a decision. Everyone was polite. Who would have thought that Li Meng was so straightforward and the salt merchants' transportation officials would communicate their feelings and chat about family matters for the first time. If the official had a cold face and was approaching in the future, if the official smiled, then he would like to his preferences.
To be continued...