Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 252 The Controller of Shanxi
March 12, 1615, the east gate of Taiyuan City, Shanxi.
Early in the morning of this day, the soldier who was guarding the gate last night was pushed awake in his sleep. Before the soldier could get angry because his sweet dream was disturbed, the scene that appeared in his eyes instantly woke him up.
It was nothing. The people standing in front of him and asking him to get up and organize people to open the city gate were the personal soldiers of the Prince of Jin's Mansion! When he stood on the tower and asked his men to open the gate, he stole a glance into the city. Oh, just looking at the ceremonial guards, they were all well-known figures in Taiyuan and even the whole of Shanxi.
The current Prince of Jin Zhu Qiugui , Prince of Dai Zhu Dingjun, and the heads of the four major families, the Yang family, the Wang family, the Zhang family, and the Ma family, have all come in person!
As for the Shanxi governor, Taiyuan prefect and so on, their banners were barely put in a huddle in front of these people.
The two princes and the four major families are the most powerful group of people in Shanxi.
Jin and Dai were both princes. One was in Taiyuan, and the other in Datong. According to the ancestral system, in Shanxi, the King of Jin was the most senior in terms of clan law. But the embarrassing thing was that the current King of Dai was three generations older than the King of Jin. Therefore, the two princes only nodded and greeted each other when they met on the road out of the city, and then quickly distanced themselves.
Standing together all the time are the descendants of the four great families of Yang, Wang, Zhang and Ma.
The so-called Yang, the representative figure is Yang Bo, who was praised by Yan Shifan as one of the three smartest people in the world during the Jiajing period. Wang, the ancestor of the family is Wang Chonggu, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu and Xuanda during the Longqing period. Zhang, the representative figure is of course Zhang Siwei, the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty who took the lead in clearing out the other party after Zhang Juzheng's death. Ma, the ancestor of the family is Ma Ziqiang, who entered the cabinet during the Wanli period and was the first Shaanxi person to enter the cabinet in the Ming Dynasty. Although this family's ancestral home is in Shaanxi, the Ma family has repeatedly intermarried with the previous three families for decades, and gradually moved the family's foundation to Shanxi. At this time, no one regards them as outsiders.
Yes, these four families were the controllers behind the so-called Jin Party and Jin merchants in the Ming Dynasty. The eight imperial merchants that came after them were all small scum compared to these four families.
"Brother Yang, how come President Cao has such good luck? He is the chief treasury official , the designer of currency reform, and the most successful businessman... Oh, the Chang'an Daily is almost praising him to bits. Humph, others may not know, but don't I? He used to be a tofu seller. If he hadn't met the crown prince and been promoted by him all the way, who the hell would have given him a slap in the face?"
"Hey, Brother Ma Shi , is it useful to say this? Anyway, President Cao is extremely powerful now."
"Hey, what are you two talking about? If you ask me, Cao Sanxi is just a merchant, what's he? If you three hadn't pulled me here, I wouldn't bother to get up so early. What do you think Cao is doing in Shanxi? Is he an official out there and wants to show off back home?"
Looking at the incoherent Wang Zhizhen, Ma Jin, Yang Yanming and Zhang Zhengming who had been silent all the time were speechless.
As the aristocratic families go on, the overall quality of their descendants will inevitably decline. Of course, the speed of decline is still different. At least now, the descendants of the Ma, Yang, and Zhang families are still reliable.
However, after all, the four families have repeatedly intermarried for decades, and their industries have long been intertwined. It is really a case of prosperity for all and loss for all. Therefore, Ma Jin, the eldest of this generation, sighed: "Brother Wang, be careful with your words. The current President Cao is no longer a small businessman. To be able to manage the world's treasury through business is extraordinary even among us Shanxi people."
"Yes, my dear brother. In the past one or two years, we in Shanxi have not been able to effectively promote the use of the new version of gold, silver and copper coins. In the entire Northwest, Shanxi is the only one that has not done well in actively depositing silver in Xi'an and accepting silver coins in exchange. This year, the court announced through the court bulletin and Chang'an Daily that all provincial governments in the country must open banks. So, this President Cao should come to Shanxi to personally supervise this matter, right?"
"Humph! I only know that the actual silver content of the silver dollar is only 90% of that of the pure silver ingot, but the court insists that one silver dollar is equal to one tael of silver. Isn't this forcibly cutting our flesh? They also say that in a few years, taxes and transactions can only be levied in silver dollars and silver ingots will not be allowed to circulate. This is really outrageous!"
After venting his anger, Wang Zhizhen said, "Hey, brothers, if Cao Sanxi really wants to open a bank in Shanxi, it should be no problem for the four of us to collect 20 million taels of silver. As long as he dares to open a bank, we can use this money to exchange for silver dollars. I see that if he takes out so many silver dollars at once, other merchants and people will go to exchange for silver dollars. How will his Taiyuan branch operate... Hey, what are the expressions on your faces, three brothers?"
Look at the idiot's expression!
After yelling in his heart, Yang Yanming, who had just married Wang Zhizhen's sister, said patiently: "Uncle, you are joking. This road is not feasible."
"Ah? Why is that?"
"Because the imperial court did not open banks all over the country at the same time, nor did it require the whole country to use silver coins at the same time. Therefore, if we in Shanxi want to use a run on the Taiyuan branch that is about to be opened, Cao Sanxi will mobilize the silver dollars of the whole country to compete with us. The savings of our four families are indeed not small, but it is still not ."
"Brother Yang is right, dear brother, have you heard about this? My old friend in Shaanxi wrote to me and said that the mint in Xi'an only runs its machines for four or five days , and can produce a large number of silver coins. If we use all the silver ingots to run a bank run, not only will President Cao use the power of the whole country to fight back against us, but the silver ingots we hand over will also quickly turn into silver dollars and enter the market... This is really not worth the loss."
"Ah? What should we do? Do we really want this Cao guy to open a bank in our Shanxi? This Shanxi is our Shanxi!"
"Shut up! How can you say that?"
"Why can't I say it? Without our caravan, all those stinking soldiers in Datong Town would starve to death! Without our caravan, how could those Tartars in Mongolia enjoy the tea and silk of our Ming Dynasty? Even the Red River Industry in the past and the Fangshan Grocery today, if they want to sell their products to Mongolia, they still have to be skinned by our caravan! Otherwise, I will make them suffer in Shanxi!"
The other three looked at each other helplessly and shook their heads helplessly.
However, although they shook their heads, the three of them actually agreed with what Wang Zhizhen, a typical playboy, said: For decades, the Jin Party has hardly participated in the competition for interests outside Shanxi Province. But when outsiders want to extend their influence into Shanxi, they will also be united and fight back! The four major families have been operating in Shanxi for many years, and the livelihoods of the people of Shanxi have long been closely related to them. As long as they are not satisfied, they can make Shanxi chaotic!
Speaking of which, we are not without the ability to fight against Cao Sanxi and the crown prince behind this merchant.
Just as everyone was thinking about how to set a trap for Cao Sanxi, they all suddenly felt a vibration under their feet. After a while, a dense sound of horse hooves like thunder sounded. For a moment, the entire Taiyuan city gate was in a commotion. The guards of the two princes began to line up in a nervous and panicked manner.
Fortunately, the commotion did not last long. After a while, a large, fiery red flag appeared in everyone's sight, and the knight holding the flag shouted, "Datong General Li Rubai is here!"
Later, a larger but gold flag appeared in front of everyone: "The president of the Ming Royal Bank, Cao Sanxi, has arrived~!"
Yang Yanming and the others looked at each other again, and saw despair in each other's eyes: The knife handle has unknowingly fallen into the hands of the grandson! From now on, Shanxi is no longer a place where they have the final say!
