Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2222 Much the same 12.0

"Why are these shops so abnormal?" Jin Miaomiao touched her chin, looked at Qin Zheng, and then looked at the other two old men, all of whom were looking at them with a smile. After thinking for a while, she said, "Are these shops used to sell illegal salt? Although these shops have nothing to do with salt on the surface, they are doing this business behind the scenes, right? Otherwise, not everything can be done between midnight and dawn, right? Normal shops and normal people have to sleep during this time. Even those who make breakfast will not start preparing at midnight." She looked at Qin Zheng, "That's the truth, right?"

"Well, what do you think? Do you have the same idea as Miaomiao?" Seeing the children nodding, Qin Zheng smiled, "Yes, very perceptive. The shops listed by the Eagle King are the lowest-level private salt dealers."

"The lowest level of private salt dealers. In other words, even among private salt dealers, there are different classes among them, completely different, right?" Jin Miaomiao said with a curious look on her face, "The Salt Road Office is the top layer, the first hand where official salt is converted into private salt, and then it goes down layer by layer, and when it reaches the hands of these small shops, it is the last hand, right?"

"They are really smart kids!" Yan Bo clapped his hands gently, glanced at Qin Zheng, snorted, and said, "Don't always try to test the kids. They are smart!"

"How can they not be smart in this position?" Seeing that the tea bowl in front of Yan Bo was empty, Qin Zheng handed the bowl to Merlin and said, "However, their level is also based on strength. The last one looks like the markup is very high, but in fact, they make very little. The previous ones, although the markup seems to be small, they make a lot of money."

"Some people make huge profits by doing nothing, while others take great risks to make small profits." Shen Cha sighed softly and said, "These small shops on Uncle Huang's list belong to the latter, right?"

"You're right!" Qin Zheng took the tea bowl from Meilin, blew on it gently, and waited until it was cool before handing it to Yan Bo. He continued, "Take the case in Jiangning Prefecture as an example. The seven families involved were the first to smuggle salt. In other words, the Salt Road Office turned official salt into private salt, and the first price they added was to sell it to these families. These families all have big businesses, and their families have branches that are doing well, and some have even reached the level of royal merchants." When he said this, he saw Qi Bo and Yan Bo looking at him with strange eyes. He sighed softly and said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "It sounds like you are praising yourself." Yan Bo chuckled and said, "However, your family's situation is different from theirs, right?

"Of course. The Qin family is a military family after all. They would never get involved in such things." Qin Zheng sneered. "However, these branches that are doing well in business have many shops and merchants under them. They don't all get involved in such things. Those who can get involved are the family's confidants, who have been tempered and tested repeatedly, and they are the kind that will never betray."

"You will never betray me even if you kill me?"

"Yeah, the loyal kind."

"I see. If the main family gets the salt, they have to hand it over to the branch business to sell. Will they also add a price to sell it to their own people?" Merlin thought for a while, "I don't think so. The people under his command also have to pay him a share of the money they earn, right?"

"Of course there will be no price, but they will require a certain amount of profit to be handed over to the head family every quarter. This is all written in the contract. If the shop below cannot pay enough money when the time comes, they will compensate the head family according to the agreement in the contract. These shops will sell a small portion of the salt they get from the head family, but more shops will sell it privately to some vendors they know."

"Are they the small shops?" Seeing Qin Zheng nod, Merlin sighed, "These are all sold one by one. When ordinary people buy them, the prices are sky-high. No wonder they can't afford them." "But." Shen Cha thought for a moment and said, "The ones sold in the shops are also sold to people they know, such as restaurants and teahouses that need salt, right?"

"That's right. Some people raise the price less, some raise the price more. It all depends on the ability and relationship of both parties."

"I see." Shen Cha touched her chin. "But, Master, forgive me for being blunt. If it was just this level, it wouldn't have reached the emperor. Although it's abominable to drive up the price of salt, it wouldn't have killed so many people and raided so many mansions." She looked at Qin Zheng, smiled, and said, "Master, the case in Jiangning Mansion can't be that simple, right?"

"Not bad, not bad." Yan Bo patted Qin Zheng gently, "You think your apprentice is smart? You can't fool her."

"Master didn't lie to us. He probably just wanted to see when we can find out the truth of this case." Shen Cha chuckled and said, "In fact, when I first heard about this case, I felt very angry and wanted to torture them to death. But if I think about it carefully, the demand for salt in the entire Jiangnan region is not that great. Although the Salt Road Office is a lucrative job, if it only sells to its own people, there is no way to fill the national treasury and the royal private treasury. What's more, the people who were harmed in the entire Jiangnan region received corresponding compensation after that case. Just now, when I heard that such a large amount of property was seized during the house search, I already felt that there was something wrong."

"My uncle said before that Second Grandpa knew someone from the Xiao family in this case." Shen Haolin continued Shen Cha's words, "Some of the evidence Second Grandpa has might have been provided by someone from the Xiao family. Since they can't get any benefits, they might as well let the people of Daxia fight each other and trigger internal strife among the people of Daxia."

"Brother is right." Shen Cha thought for a moment, "Not long after the Jiangning case, the Liao Kingdom invaded the border again. I don't believe it has nothing to do with it."

"Hmm!" Xue Ruitian touched his chin. "I agree with Haolin and Xiaocha's ideas. In fact, after I got angry, I felt that there was something wrong. Even if Jiangnan was rich, it wouldn't be that rich. And not every family was that rich. Even the aristocratic families wouldn't be like this. Later, I thought about it carefully. At that time, there were rumors that someone was secretly selling salt to the Liao and Jin kingdoms."

"You are all right." Qin Zheng nodded gently, "This is indeed their biggest crime, but it is also a crime that cannot be made public."

"Why?" Merlin was puzzled. "This is no different from treason, isn't it?"

"Because if their crimes were made public, the unrest in Daxia would give those large clans, who are already restless, an excuse to say that the royal family is unworthy and ask them to step down and assist in governing the country."