From the Red Mansion, you can travel through the world of martial arts

Chapter 299 Wangjiang Tower

In a luxurious box, tonight's host, Wang Peili of the Wang family, had been waiting for quite a while.

There were four other people sitting nearby, namely Huang Juntai, Zheng Yuanxun, Wang Yinggeng and Bao Zhidao.

In Lianghuai, wealthy merchants were also divided into different levels. The first level was of course the salt merchants and imperial merchants. The other wealthy merchants running various industries were not worthy of sitting in the same room with them.

"Has Marquis Yong'an not arrived yet? Send someone to wait at the intersection, and when you see him, come in and pass on the message." Wang Peili instructed the servants.

The other four people looked at each other, each with their own thoughts.

They all knew the outcome of tonight's banquet for Jia Wei.

Everyone had to accept this donation.

In this world today, the young emperor's throne has gradually become more stable, and he holds Jia Wei as a sharp knife. This is simply God's will and cannot be violated.

If you dare to go against them, the fate of the Jiang, Ma and Cheng families will serve as a warning to you.

But they also have to unite and fight, and the reasons are tacitly understood.

Even if it is the same donation, the meaning may be different depending on who you donate to.

Lin Ruhai is now making drastic changes to the salt administration, and he has a long-standing grudge against the salt merchants, so there is no possibility of easing relations with him.

Of course, this favor of "donation" must be sold to Jia Wei.

More importantly, in the face of this unreasonable donation, they must resist, even if it is a failure.

If they kept silent and endured it, the young emperor would not remember the favor of the salt merchants and would only treat them as weaklings.

Otherwise, if a disaster happens somewhere in the future, donating money for disaster relief will probably become a routine.

What if a war breaks out in the nine frontiers and there is a shortage of food and wages, do salt merchants also have to donate?

If the young emperor wants to build a palace or engage in large-scale construction in the future, does he also need to donate?
Therefore, it is inevitable to admit defeat in the face of Jia Wei this time, and resistance is also necessary.

Zheng Yuanxun, who was in the next position, took a sip of tea and said with a fake smile, "Old Wang, you and the Huang family are relying on the Yong'an Marquis. You must do your best to donate this time to show your loyalty."

Wang Yinggeng, the head of the Wang family, also said, "Yes, yes. In my opinion, why don't you two families just accept the two million taels? Why go to so much trouble?"

The young emperor psychologically expected to collect two million taels of donations in Jiangnan, but he only mentioned it in the secret decree to Lin Ruhai.

But the salt merchants were able to obtain it, which shows how powerful they were and the extent of their infiltration into the Salt Administration.

Huang Juntai smiled kindly and said, "When the Marquis of Yong'an arrives, you can discuss this. As long as the Marquis agrees, how about our two families each acknowledging a share of 2 million?"

"Yes, it's for disaster relief anyway." Wang Peili said with a serious face: "Our profits as salt merchants are originally taken from the people. Now that the people in Shaanxi are suffering, even if the Wang and Huang families lose everything, we have no choice but to do it."

After hearing this, the other three families were so disgusted that they shut up.

If the two families close to Jia Wei each contributed one million taels of silver, then each of the three families would have to contribute at least eight hundred thousand taels.

This is not just cutting flesh, it's literally taking half of their lives.

Not long after, a servant started running and the wooden stairs made a clattering sound. He was so impatient that the five people knew that Jia Wei had come without being notified. They all changed their expressions, stood up, and went out to greet him.

Five people lined up in a row under the Wangjiang Tower, with more than 20 wealthy businessmen behind them. They looked at the dim road and saw two riders coming towards them in a dashing manner.

Jia Wei, wearing a white python sleeve, jumped off his horse, followed by a female guard dressed as a man with a sword. Everyone bowed to him.

"We respectfully welcome Marquis Yong'an."

Jia Wei approached with a faint smile and went straight into the Wangjiang Tower. The others entered according to their seats.

After entering the hall, everyone exchanged greetings and took their seats one after another.

While the maids began to serve the dishes, a beautiful woman wanted to come forward to serve, but was stopped and turned away by Ding Baiying.

She filled a cup, Jia Wei raised it, and the other twenty or so wealthy businessmen immediately raised their cups to follow suit. "I am also from Jinling, Southern Province. It is fate that I meet you fellow countrymen at Wangjiang Tower tonight. Let's drink together."

Everyone drank it all in one gulp.

After that, the banquet officially began.

The host Wang Peili greeted Jia Wei, and the curtain of a nearby pavilion was slowly opened. The sound of stringed instruments and orchestras rang out, and one by one, women in bright clothes and cloud-like hairpins and skirts walked gracefully to the open space in the middle.

Under Jia Wei's gaze, these women danced gracefully, with colorful gauze flying, round and white breasts, glittering pearls and beautiful jades, and a mixture of sound and light, which was also a feast for the eyes and ears.

While enjoying the feast, Jia Wei occasionally chatted with Wang Peili and Huang Juntai on his left and right. Although the three people nearby raised their glasses frequently, they all kept an eye on this side.

As for the other marginal figures, they had no time to appreciate the singing and dancing. They all looked at the handsome young man at the top, paying attention to his expression all the time and trying to guess what was in his mind.

Suddenly, Jia Wei stretched out his hand, and Ding Baiying beside him quickly took advantage of him and helped him up.

Jia Wei held the wine glass and walked slowly to the side.

Everyone's eyes followed his back, and they looked at each other with uncertain expressions.

I saw Jia Wei walk to the window and push it open.

On a spring night, the chilly river breeze blew Jia Wei's hair.

He smiled faintly.

The lanterns hanging on the corner gate of the villa where we stayed were also blown by the night wind...

A carriage with a green canopy, pearl tassels and eight treasures slowly drove out, rumbling past the white walls and black tiles.

The sound of wheels rolling over stone slabs echoed in the deserted streets, adding a sense of coldness and desolation under the night sky.

Twelve Jinyiwei cavalrymen guarded the luxurious carriage from the front, back, left and right. The carriage drove past one intersection after another and headed straight for the Salt Administration Office.

Under the cover of night, there was almost no one on the bluestone paved road except for the occasional pedestrian hurrying by.

Suddenly, when passing another street intersection, two dull sounds of horse hooves trampling suddenly came from the dark and deep alleys on both sides.

These twelve Jinyiwei Tiqi were all good fighters in the army, but because they did not explore the way in advance, they fell into the encirclement for a while.

"Enemy attack! Line up!"

Following a Ti cavalryman's loud command, the cavalrymen who rushed out from both sides increased their speed as they ran through the streets within an arrow's reach.

"kill!"

Several men in black, holding bows and arrows, also appeared on the roofs of the streets on both sides.

They were well-trained and hid themselves without making any noise. Once they leaned out, they drew their bows and arrows, aiming at the luxurious carriage that was forced to stop at the intersection and shot.

"Shhhhhh!"

After a few rounds of continuous shooting, the carriage was shot into a hedgehog...

The twelve Jinyi Guards still have a big gap when facing these martial arts masters.

After just one encounter, the Jinyiwei were injured and defeated.

A man in black took out two barrels of kerosene, poured it evenly on the carriage, and threw down a tinderbox.

"boom!"

In an instant, a raging fire engulfed the emerald-covered, pearl-tasseled eight-treasure carriage, which was very eye-catching in the dark night.

There were still some pedestrians on the road, and after seeing this scene, they all ran away with horror on their faces...

(End of this chapter)