Do you know that it starts with Meng Tong?

Wei Chen calmed down and became more calm than Sheng Wei: "People are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of getting strong. When they are fattened, they will naturally be slaughtered. It has been like this in all dynasties. It is not unusual at all. I just didn't expect..., ha."

When Wei Chen said this, the look of ridicule and disdain on his face flashed away.

I didn’t expect that Sheng Hong would be so unreliable!

The reason why he chose Shengwei to cooperate in operating amber wine was because he valued Shengwei's business ability and the official background behind Shengwei.

Sheng Wei was Sheng Hong's cousin, and the Sheng Family Trading Company was headed by Sheng Hong, the general magistrate of Yangzhou. This was well known in Jiangnan Province.

Therefore, no matter the yamen or other business houses, they would give Sheng Wei three points of favor when doing things.

Unexpectedly, now that the real thing is coming, Sheng Wei is still running around looking for a solution to the situation, but his backer Sheng Hong is the first to shrink back.

"The mountains that support you will fall, and everyone who relies on you will grow old. In the end, you can only rely on yourself!"

Wei Chen sighed, completely disappointed with Sheng Hong. He closed his eyes and concentrated, thinking about how to deal with it.

After a long time, Wei Chen opened his eyes and asked, "Uncle, you said someone from the governor's office wanted to buy it with me. Do you have any official documents?"

Sheng Wei shook his head and said: "There is no official document, just after showing the seal

, informed verbally by that person.But the Master Huang who came to deliver the message was indeed close to Mr. Futai, and he was generally trusted by Mr. Futai.He told me to go back and make preparations first, so that when the day of fortune comes, I would have an official document issued. "

"Not even an official document?"

Wei Chen narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and said firmly: "Uncle, I think there is probably a ghost here!"

"You mean, that person falsely conveyed Master Futai's orders?"

Sheng Wei was taken aback, then hesitantly said: "Then Master Huang is so bold? Isn't he afraid of being exposed? Besides, he bears the seal of Master Futai, which cannot be faked!"

Wei Chen's eyes were cold as he said: "It is still unknown whether Futai's order is fake or not, but the content of the official document is not difficult to know. The list of tributes was all set by the capital, and the governor's yamen only handled it. What exactly is it? Ask someone to go to Beijing and find out."

"Oh, that's all there is to it."

Sheng Wei hesitated for a moment, but agreed to Wei Chen's method. At least if he did as Wei Chen said, there would still be hope, right?

……

That evening, Shen Du, the prefect of Jiangning, cordially received Wei Chen in his private residence.

In front of this senior brother, Wei Chen had nothing to hide, so he went straight to the point and told Shen Du the whole story.

After hearing this, Shen Du twisted his beard and said, "I have indeed seen the name of amber wine in this year's tribute list."

"How much tribute are we asked to pay in the list?" Wei Chen asked hurriedly.

"That's not what it said."

Shen Du considered the words and said slowly: "There are some secrets here. Public announcements generally do not mention the specific number and price. Only officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs and local authorities know."

"only……"

Shen Du paused and then said: "The list of court tributes changes from time to time, but for the first time such a tribute is included, the amount will not be too large at first, and then it will be added year by year depending on the situation. It will be like this all at once Too much, it’s really unreasonable.”

Shen Du has been an official for many years and knows many hidden rules in tributes. However, he is worried that Wei Chen is too young and has no experience in the world, so he does not explain everything in detail, but only reveals a little bit about it.

After listening to Shen Du's words, Wei Chen became more and more convinced that there was something fishy about this so-called Hemai, so he shamelessly pestered Shen Du and said: "Brother, you must have many familiar fellow villagers, classmates, and colleagues in Beijing. Can you Can you help me find out?"

"You boy!"

Shen Du didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but finally nodded and said: "For the sake of the teacher, I will put some effort into asking someone from the same year in Beijing to ask. Speaking of which, I happen to have a good friend in the household department."

"Great!"

Wei Chen was excited when he heard Shen Du agreed.

Shen Du always acted vigorously and resolutely, so he immediately ordered someone to submit pen and ink, preparing to revise the book and send it to the capital as soon as possible.

Shen Du dipped his pen in the ink and was about to put it down. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something and slowly put the pen down again.

"It takes at least half a month to send a message to Beijing and back. Maybe it doesn't have to be so troublesome."

Wei Chen was slightly startled: "Senior brother, do you have any good ideas?"

Shen Du pondered: "I have worked with the Governor for more than two years, and I think I know him somewhat. Although our Governor Liu has some shortcomings in private, he has always cherished his reputation the most. Logically speaking, he would not be like this for no reason. Those who exploit the people.”

Wei Chen said in surprise: "Senior brother, you mean that the problem is not with Governor Liu?"

Shen Du nodded slowly: "You said earlier, what is the name of the person who passed on Governor Liu's password?"

"The surname is Huang, he is the master of the governor's Yamen."

"There are many masters in the governor's office. Hmm, your surname is Huang? There seems to be some impression... I understand, it turns out to be him!"

Shen Du gently raised his hand, turned to look at Wei Chen and smiled lightly: "There is no need to send people to Beijing, I will take care of this for you tomorrow."

Chapter 67 Dress up as a pig and eat a tiger?

In the south of Jiangning City, on the bustling Jiyang Street, there is a Yiyuan Garden.

Yiyuan is built along a stream. It is a winding place with lush trees and countless pavilions.

This place was once a property purchased by Chen Jin, a member of the Jiangnan Provincial Rural Examination Committee in the 17th year of Tiande's reign. Today, the owner is a well-known wealthy businessman in Jiangnan Province, ***.

The reason why *** is so rich is not only because he has extensive land and estates, but also because he is a big businessman.

The so-called negoshang refers to merchants who are engaged in the transaction of specialty goods, such as salt, iron, wine and other state-monopolized goods.

Although these commodities are nominally sold exclusively by the government, various problems arise in the government operation. Therefore, it is now common practice for certain individuals or firms to accept the government's entrustment and exercise the monopoly rights on their behalf.

These entrusted merchants are the businessmen.

If you want to become a consultant, you must have a profound background, and ***'s background is Liu Xun, the governor of Jiangnan.

***'s sister was Liu Xun's favorite concubine. *** also relied on hugging her brother-in-law's lap to become one of the only government-run wine merchants in Jiangning Mansion.

Last night, *** gathered a group of friends to drink and have fun at home. They slept with prostitutes until midnight. If he hadn't been woken up by something, he would have slept with her all day long.

*** yawned, climbed out of bed sadly, and washed and dressed under the service of the maid.

When *** came to the front hall, he saw that one of his best friends, Mr. Huang from Futai Yamen, was already dressed and making breakfast.

"Brother Huang is really energetic and wakes up really early..."

*** smiled and sat down next to Mr. Huang, taking a bowl of bird's nest porridge from the maid.

This Master Huang was also an old man who followed Governor Liu. However, he was not very capable and was fond of petty gains. He was never reused and could only do menial jobs such as running errands and doing odd jobs. He was quite neglected in the government office.

*** also met Mr. Huang by chance. The two had a similar affinity and soon became sworn friends. They colluded internally and externally and committed many evil deeds of extortion and robbery in the name of Governor Liu.

"I had something on my mind and couldn't sleep well, so I just got up early."

Master Huang said with a pair of dark circles under his eyes: "I didn't expect that Sheng Hong would be soft when pinched, but his cousin Sheng Wei is like a piece of meat!"

*** exhaled a breath and said: "I thought that a little scare would make Sheng Wei surrender, but who would have thought that this guy has persisted until now. I even showed him my brother-in-law's seal, but he still made excuses to delay."

If they want to eat the fat meat of amber wine, Master Huang and *** naturally cannot avoid the official backer of Shengjia Trading Company, Yangzhou Tongpan Sheng Hong.

Originally, *** thought that it would take some effort to subdue Sheng Hong. Unexpectedly, Sheng Hong did not resist at all and surrendered directly.

But Sheng Wei has been struggling to support it, which is beyond expectations.

As for the seal mentioned by ***, it is naturally not the large seal of the governor's office, but the private seal of Governor Liu, which has been kept by his concubine, ***'s sister.

It is common practice for *** and Mr. Huang to secretly take the seals out and pretend to be a tiger. They just need to put them back after use. With ***'s sister helping to cover it up, Governor Liu didn't find any clues.

Master Huang went to threaten Sheng Wei this time

, I also brought this seal beforehand, but the result was not satisfactory. Two days have passed, and Sheng Wei still has not let go.

*** snorted coldly: "There are a few stubborn people like this everywhere. We must give them a taste of their power!"

"Well, with our power, manipulating a small wine merchant wouldn't be a big deal."

Mr. Huang's face was filled with uncertainty as he said: "But the decree only requires ten tanks of amber wine to be paid as tribute, not to mention the original wine... and the purchase price has also been reduced by [-]%..."

"What's wrong with this? I finally managed to get the advantage of buying tributes for you in front of my brother-in-law. Isn't it just to take the opportunity to make some money?"

*** said confidently: "Besides, I don't want to occupy the wine shop named Sheng. I just see that his amber wine is selling well, and I want to spend money to invest in it. Let's make money together. What's wrong with that?"

"I understand all of this..."

Master Huang said with a bitter face: "But who knows if the Sheng family has any backers. After all, the governor doesn't know about the things we did. If we are exposed, the consequences will be disastrous!"

"What are you afraid of! I have already inquired about it. The Sheng family's official support is only Sheng Hong."

*** said nonchalantly: "You know Sheng Hong's virtues, how dare he provoke my brother-in-law?"

"I hope so."

Master Huang was just about to stop talking and eat breakfast when he heard footsteps coming from outside. When he looked up, it was his own boy who had arrived at the door.

"what's up?"

The boy of the Huang family reported truthfully: "This morning, Lord Shen Dushen, the governor of Jiangning, sent someone to our house. He said that he heard that our amber wine from Jiangning was honored as a tribute, and the whole house was honored. Someone from Shen's mansion was here. Celebrating banners have been hung on the major colorful buildings in Jiangning City, and I specially invite you to come and watch the ceremony."

"Bitterness, something bad is going to happen!"

Master Huang and *** felt their hearts sink at the same time.

If Shen Du makes such a fuss, won't he make the amber wine tribute matter known to the whole city?

In this case, how could they attack the Sheng family's winery?

The two of them could no longer sit still, so they came to the front yard wall, climbed up the ladder, and looked outside.

On the street, I saw bright and eye-catching red banners hanging on the tall colorful buildings built with colorful silk.

"The fine amber wine is famous all over the world. Waiting for the imperial edict and tribute, the whole family will be happy!"

"My mother!"

Seeing this joyful scene, Mr. Huang felt dizzy and almost fell off the ladder. Fortunately, the boy beside him held him up.

"If you want to hide it now, you can't hide it..." *** didn't expect that Shen Du would do this.

"Is this Shen Du a reinforcement invited by the Sheng family? I haven't heard of any relationship between the Sheng family and Shen Du?"

*** was a little confused for a moment. Was this Shendu an accident, or was it intentional?

Not long after, the disciple of the Song family came to report again: "Master, someone from the government office just came. They said that a flowing banquet was set up at the Shen Mansion Terrace to celebrate the tribute of amber wine, and they specially invited you to come over."

"Go to hell!"

When *** heard this, he jumped down from the ladder angrily and fell to the ground.