Chapter 164 Zhu Bapi! The Prince of Han Is Delighted to Have a New Title!
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The imperial capital of West Market, among the water and clouds.
Shuiyunjian is a well-known restaurant in the imperial capital, located in the West Market, where land is extremely valuable.
The name of Shuiyunjian comes from "Wild birds and fish send letters back and forth, and I send them to Shuiyunjian". It is quite poetic and makes people feel peaceful. Therefore, it has become a place for many noble people to drink and talk happily. .
But what they don't know is that the owner behind Shuiyunjian is the humble businessman they have always despised.
Wang Fuguang was pacing back and forth in the room at the moment, looking restless.
A long time has passed since the end of the third tasting, and every day is like a year to him.
According to Zhou Chen, if the bid is won, an official from the Ministry of Household Affairs will come to notify him.
But after waiting until now, there was no news, and Wang Fuguang suddenly became anxious.
That day, he spent a huge sum of thirteen million taels of silver just to win the bid and become the salt merchant agent of Yangzhou Prefecture!
This thirteen million taels is not only the entire net worth of Wang Fuguang, but also the entire net worth of more than ten Lianghuai salt merchants!
In order to capture Yangzhou Prefecture and protect their own business, the Lianghuai salt merchants including Wang Fuguang blocked everything this time!
Because the Lianghuai Salt Fields is one of the four major salt fields in the Ming Dynasty, including 19 large and small salt fields, located on the north and south sides of the estuary of the Huaihe River, producing nearly three million tons of raw salt every year!
It has been said since ancient times that "the benefits of boiling salt since ancient times have been greater than those in the southeast, and the Lianghuai River is the most beneficial", and "the salt tax of the Lianghuai River is the highest in the world".
At that time, Liu Bi, the king of Wu in the Western Han Dynasty, granted Guangling (now Yangzhou) and boiled the sea into salt, making countless profits. The wealthy king of Wu tried to usurp the throne, and eventually launched the famous Seven Kingdoms Rebellion.
Wang Fuguang naturally does not have such big ambitions. He just sticks to the foundation he has worked so hard to build and continues to make and sell salt in the Lianghuai Salt Fields. Yangzhou Prefecture is the best choice for these Lianghuai salt merchants.
The imperial court had previously raised grain and silver to consolidate border defense and implemented the salt monopoly through the "Kai Zhong Law" and the Zese System.
In the Lianghuai region, following the previous generation, the Lianghuai Salt Transportation Department is still located in Yangzhou, and the officially designated administrative market jurisdiction of the Lianghuai Salt District has reached an unprecedented size of seven provinces!
From Henan in the north to the border of Guizhou in the southwest, they are the market jurisdiction of the Lianghuai Salt District!
The Lianghuai Salt Zone, which stretches along the coasts of Huainan and Huaibei, has a total of 19 salt fields. The salt production has accounted for the majority of China's salt production since ancient times.
Especially since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the salt production quota of Lianghuai Province has been nearly twice that of the second production area of Liangzhe Salt District!
What a terrifying number this is?
What kind of terrifying profits does this represent?
It is uncertain whether the profits of salt merchants will be damaged due to the new salt law implemented by the imperial court.
But Wang Fuguang once witnessed with his own eyes that the wealth of different provinces, because of Yangzhou's unique geographical advantages, continuously flowed to Yangzhou and accumulated there!
As long as he establishes a firm foothold in this city and becomes the agent of a Yangzhou salt merchant, Wang Fuguang will be enough to leave his mark in history, not to mention being a lord of influence!
However, there is no news yet!
When he thought of this, Wang Fuguang's face was filled with sadness.
However, at this moment, the voice of shopkeeper Shui Yunjian suddenly came from outside the door.
"My boss, there is an adult from the household department here, and he wants to see you by name!"
Wang Fuguang: "!!!"
coming!
finally come!
Wang Fuguang took a deep breath and hurriedly opened the door, but the next moment he was stunned.
The person who came was none other than Zhou Chen, Zhou Xunru, the head of the Household Department, a confidant of the King of Han!
"Huh? Wang Fuguang, don't you recognize me?"
Seeing him frozen in place, Zhou Chen immediately smiled and joked.
Wang Fuguang just woke up from a dream, symbolically gave himself a slap in the face, and respectfully said: "I was a little surprised just now, Lord Zhou, please come in quickly!"
He never thought that the person coming from the Ministry of Husbandry would be Zhou Chen and Zhou Xunru!
Everyone in the government and the public does not know that this son is the absolute confidant of Han King Zhu Gaoxu, and is highly regarded by Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs, who regards him as his successor!
"Master Zhou has come to visit me. I'm sorry that I missed you so much. Please forgive me, Master Zhou!"
"Well, it's okay. I have some free time today, so I came here to tell you some good news."
good news!
Wang Fuguang was excited when he heard these three words.
Done!
Yangzhou Prefecture New Salt Agent!
"You must have guessed that your bidding price is the highest, and His Highness the King of Han Dynasty has a good impression of you, so as long as you pay the agency fee, you will be the agent of Yangzhou New Salt in the future!"
Zhou Chen looked at Wang Fuguang with a smile and directly broke the good news.
After Wang Fuguang received the confirmation answer, he immediately trembled. On the surface, he pretended to be calm, but his hand holding the teacup was trembling.
No other, exciting!
Yangzhou new salt agent!
This position is enough to make his old Wang family prosperous and wealthy for a lifetime, not to worry about food and drink, and even more glorious existence!
However, what Zhou Chen said next made Wang Fuguang feel like he had fallen into an ice cave!
"Wang Fuguang, you started out as a salt merchant. This time the court implemented the new salt law, there are still many omissions. For example, how much is the appropriate deposit to pay?"
Wang Fuguang: "???"
Your mother!
Security deposit?
What the hell deposit?
The agency fees are going to kill me, where can I still have the money to pay the deposit?
"No, Mr. Zhou, what does this deposit mean? I have spent all my money on bidding for the agency land..."
Wang Fuguang became anxious and cursed in his heart that the King of Han was not a human son!
Even if you're just trying to make money, you don't have to look so ugly, right?
Corrupt officials throughout the ages will shed tears when they see such despicable and shameless tactics!
Zhou Chen's expression did not change, he still smiled and explained: "The second tasting meeting, UU Kanshu www.uukanshu.net Qiu Guangde once revealed the news about the new salt law. At that time, he had already mentioned agency fees, deposits, liquidated damages, etc. cost……"
Hearing this, Wang Fuguang really couldn't refute it, because it was the truth.
It's just that they were shocked by the shocking news of the new salt law that day. They were all ecstatic, so they didn't care about these "small details"...
Zhou Chen didn't talk nonsense to him and directly explained his purpose.
"Before I came to see you, I had already met with Wang Wenxian. The method he gave was that the salt merchants in each region would have a six-year term and a deposit would be paid in the third year. Based on the population and economy of each state, they would be divided into A and B. The four major categories of Bing and Ding.”
"For a class A prosperous place like Yangzhou Prefecture, the deposit is five million taels; for a class B place like Jinan Prefecture in Shandong, the deposit is four million taels; for a class C place like Chengdu Prefecture, Sichuan, the deposit is three million taels. ; For example, in Datong, Shanxi, which is an important city on nine sides, the deposit is one million taels..."
Wang Fuguang: "!!!"
Numb!
Completely numb!
I'm crazy about someone!
What the fuck does this mean?
A salt merchant has a six-year term, earning agency fees in the first three years and deposits in the next three years?
It can easily amount to several million taels, so what profit can there be from being a salt dealer agent?
The King of Han, Zhu Gaoxu, is not an expert at amassing money, he is a blood-sucking skin-picker!
Bah, Zhu Papi!
Zhou Chen coughed twice, "The deposit is just a shackles on you. As long as you salt merchants abide by the rules and act according to the regulations, they will naturally be refunded to you when your term is up. If you don't follow the rules, not only will the deposit be lost, , you will also be thrown into jail, your home will be confiscated as liquidated damages!"
Wang Fuguang: "!!!"
Oh my god!
King of Han, King of Han, you are really Zhu Bapi!
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