Chapter 321 You Have to Pay for What You Did?

The front hall was brightly lit, and there was a constant sound of glasses being pushed and lamps being placed.

Although Huang Yu, the obese president of the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce, faced the toasts of people around him, he was also a shrewd businessman with an eye for all directions and an ear for all directions, so he successfully captured Liu Cunye's reaction.

It's just that he didn't understand the big deal Zhang Sui said, let alone why Liu Cunye was suddenly afraid. He always felt that there was an unknown secret here.

In fact, he still had a doubt in his heart. It was okay that he didn't pay attention to Zhang Sui just now, but now that he discovered that Zhang Sui was extraordinary, he suddenly realized that Zhang Sui, a foreign official, should not appear in the capital.

Tables full of fine wine and delicacies were served one after another, making the people here enjoy themselves.

Although this incident made Liu Cunye, a Hanlin editor, unhappy, and everyone could see that Liu Cunye was hostile to Zhang Sui, it did not affect the overall atmosphere.

After finishing the meal, Huang Yu picked up his wine glass and made a request: "I am not talented, my surname is Huang, my single name is Yu. Thanks to the blessing of my ancestors, I have accumulated a little wealth in Beijing and Guangzhou over the years, but I just don't want to sit back and have nothing, so I want to We’ll start looking for trade routes in the spring, so I’d like you to give me some advice!”

"What's happening here?"

"This Chairman Huang can be said to be the richest man in our Guangdong business community, but his years have been unfavorable!"

"I remember that he ran a pawnshop and lent money to us in Guangdong Juzi. Could it be that the pawnshop was closed?"

…

Zhang Sui turned around and asked Zhang Hong about the situation. After hearing a little bit of information, he immediately made a bold guess based on his own memory.

The matter was similar to what Zhang Sui had guessed. Huang Yu could be said to be a victim of the imperial court's financial consolidation.

The Jinyu Pawnshop founded by Huang Yu not only lent money to Guangdong officials, but also undertook the Beijing debt of Guangdong officials. Many officials who were released to Guangdong borrowed money from Jinyu Pawnshop.

Due to sufficient funds and the support of people in the imperial court, he also took both black and white in Guangdong, resulting in him having an almost monopoly on the Beijing debt lent to Guangdong officials.

It is precisely because of the income from Guangdong's Beijing debt, and the fact that many Guangdong officials borrowed money from him, that he has been living happily in these years.

However, something unexpected happened. The Ming Dynasty ushered in the most courageous tyrant in history. In the spring of last year, it rectified its finances and severely cracked down on loan sharking.

Although Jinyu Pawnshop was not found to have done anything harmful, its business plummeted after being rectified by the imperial court. Huang Yu's pawnshop is now closed due to his failure to obtain a financial license from the court.

"The pawnshop has indeed been closed, but it doesn't stop there! President Huang has a really strong sense of business. Real estate in Beijing was very popular last year. He made a lot of money by investing in real estate in Beijing, but now the luxury tax is not Has it been announced?" Xu Hong added gloatingly.

With the smallpox epidemic in the capital being quickly brought under control, the imperial court has officially promulgated the latest luxury tax to the two capitals and thirteen provinces after discussions at the Supreme Council.

The luxury tax will hit the wealthy the hardest, starting with their basic necessities, food, clothing, housing and transportation, but the biggest impact is actually on real estate.

The group of people who were complacent last year because they joined forces to speculate on real estate in the capital for profit, now that the imperial court has officially introduced the luxury tax, it can be said that these people are reaping the consequences.

Now, property prices in Beijing are not only falling in response, but these speculators are facing high luxury taxes.

The wealthy Huang Yu is one of the many victims. He owns three houses that are subject to luxury tax. Fortunately, his involvement was not too deep, and the starving camel was bigger than the horse, so it would not fall directly.

Now through this hometown gathering, Huang Yu really wants to seek help from the people present, especially the wise Guangdong officials, so as to find a new way to make money.

The Xinke Gongshi and the failed candidates who were present knew how much they weighed, and they immediately looked at the officials present silently, especially the number one scholar who was like a star holding the moon.

Although Liu Cunye is a typical mama's boy, he has already entered the court as an official, and he is also a highly sought-after Hanlin editor. He is also full of maturity at the age of thirty.

"Executive Officer Huang, I think you should stick to your old business!"

"Dr. Sun is right. If you can't do it in the capital, why not go back to Guangzhou!"

"No matter what you do for a living, you should operate with integrity. This is the Confucian business way!"

…

Officials such as the doctor from the Ministry of Justice and Liu Cunye seemed very enthusiastic. However, most officials suggested that Huang Yu return to his old business, but they wanted Huang Yu to return to Guangzhou and continue his money lending business.

"I won't come again next time!"

"Brother Zhang, why are you doing this?"

"A bunch of clowns are extremely ignorant!"

…

Zhang Sui took the proposal of the people over there into his eyes and felt extremely disappointed. However, he could not change his venomous nature and directly despised the enthusiastic officials.

Xu Hong had been in the capital for a long time, but he knew that these officials were short-sighted, but he was used to it, and he shook his head bitterly.

It’s no wonder that Li Si, the Minister of Household Affairs at that time, did not form the Guangdong Township Party. If he tried to rely on this group of people to intervene in court battles, he would only die miserably.

"Zhang Xunshi, what do you mean by this? Why were you shaking your head just now?" Liu Cunye had been paying attention to Zhang Sui and immediately asked what was going on.

The officials of the Ministry of Justice, such as the doctor and other officials, were naturally on Liu Cunye's side. They immediately cast unkind glances at him, but they looked down upon this little censor of Liaodong.

Zhang Sui took a sip of wine and said frankly: "As the saying goes, you share the emperor's worries while eating his salary. As officials of the Ming Dynasty, are you really doing justice to His Majesty by encouraging Mr. Huang to return to his old business?"

"Don't talk nonsense here. What does this have to do with His Majesty?" A middle-aged official immediately questioned.

Zhang Sui put the wine glass in his hand back and said to the hostile eyes of the crowd: "Your Majesty's financial rectification last year was to give the lower-class people who were burdened with usury a way out. If Mr. Huang can't get a formal license to operate legally in the capital, what do you want to do by encouraging Mr. Huang to return to Guangzhou? Does Guangdong really need a loan shark?"

He was not targeting some people specifically, but was very disappointed with this group of short-sighted officials.

The logic here is actually very simple. Huang Yu was engaged in usury before, and he was destined to engage in usury activities if he reopened a pawnshop.

If Huang Yu is unwilling to run a pawnshop in accordance with the law in the capital, encouraging him to return to Guangzhou now will only add a powerful loan shark operator to Guangzhou.

That's right. At the very least, Guangzhou will have another loan shark veteran. At the worst, these officials are violating the will of the current emperor and even destroying the results of the court's financial rectification.

This...

The middle-aged official who just questioned it quickly sorted out the logic and was speechless.

"I thank you all for your advice and thank you for your reminder, Censor Zhang. I will carefully consider your opinions. I will punish myself with a glass of wine first!" Huang Yu saw the conflict again and hurriedly picked up the wine glass and stood up to apologize.

Zhang Sui looked at Huang Yu who had finished drinking the wine, but he warned directly: "Mr. Huang, if you can run the pawnshop honestly now, it's fine, but if you still want to run the pawnshop to make a lot of money, you'd better give up this idea as soon as possible! The court doesn't allow it, His Majesty doesn't allow it, and I also oppose this phenomenon!"

In fact, he was not speaking here tonight to specifically target Huang Yu. Because of his low-income background, he had witnessed the cruel methods of usurers and witnessed his neighbors' families being broken up.

That's why he supported His Majesty's financial rectification. The dynasty where financial institutions seized the fruits of people's hard work through high interest rates would definitely not last long.

Xu Hong felt that Zhang Sui was too aggressive tonight, and couldn't help turning his head to look at the victim Huang Yu.

"Thank you for your advice, Censor Zhang, but I am short-sighted. I don't know if you have any good suggestions?" Huang Yu didn't dislike Zhang Sui's arrogance, and asked humbly.

"He only hurts people with his mouth, how can he have any good suggestions!" Liu Cunye rolled his eyes and said sarcastically.

Zhang Sui met Huang Yu's humble eyes and said softly: "Although the current emperor has rectified the salt industry and the financial industry, he has also promoted the textile industry, so many textile workshops in the capital have benefited from it in recent years. The emperor is wise today. If Mr. Huang wants to be rich, he just needs to follow the will of His Majesty. In the future, don't always think about the money bags of the people. The right way is to benefit the country and the people. Although the golden age of the textile industry has passed, the court has always advocated exchanging cotton cloth for overseas resources. This year is the best time to trade in Southeast Asia."

Huh?

Xu Hong always thought that Zhang Sui was like a piece of wood, but after listening to Zhang Sui's words, he suddenly found that he still underestimated Zhang Sui's business wisdom.

This business analysis alone not only thoroughly understood the court's policies, but also pointed to the next opportunity for business to get rich.

Of course, going to Southeast Asia is an opportunity, but it is also accompanied by great business risks. After all, it is a field full of many unknowns.

"Going to Southeast Asia?"

Huang Yu's expression was solemn, and he looked like he was thinking seriously.

He had actually realized the problems in his business. Whether it was early finance or last year's real estate in Beijing, it was essentially a kind of commercial speculation.

Liu Cunye and others suggested that he return to Guangzhou City to resume his old business. He also carefully considered the direction of finance, but he was not tempted from beginning to end.

As for the textile industry, he naturally still has the strength to build a factory now, but he has indeed missed the best time to build a factory. On the contrary, Zhang Sui pointed directly to the South Sea, which made him suddenly feel enlightened and vaguely see a bright road.

Zhang Sui saw Huang Yu's reaction, but he had already said so much, and whether Huang Yu would take the risk or not depended on himself.

In fact, he agreed with the current emperor's approach and was quietly leading these capitals to the sea. As for whether they could get rich overnight, it depended on their luck.

After all, if merchants want to make huge profits, they should go to the sea. If they want to squeeze profits from the pockets of the general public, there is only one way to go.

The hometown gathering in Guangdong did not last long. Some officials and scholars were already drunk. Some were settled in the guild hall, some were sent home, and the rest dispersed.

Since the time of this year's joint examination was postponed, the palace examination needed to be postponed accordingly.

Perhaps because the Enke was just held last year, the attention to this year's palace examination was obviously lower. After all, the champion here may be the loser of last year.

This is the case in many fields. It is often not how good a person is, but the favor of the goddess of luck.

It was just that in the Hongzhi Dynasty, it seemed that the factor of luck was being squeezed out. The officials who were reused were often capable ministers, not those champions favored by the goddess.

A few days later, the truth about Zhang Sui's return to the capital was revealed.

Just when many people were still confused about why Zhang Sui returned to Beijing, when they saw that another six-department chief who was sent abroad was recalled, many people remembered last year's small biography.

Xiyuan, this is the real center of the Ming Dynasty now.

History seems to repeat itself again. Twelve new officials come to the gate of Xiyuan together again, but their identities are no longer the best new scholars who come to participate in the Xiaochuanlu.

Liu Cunye, the No. 1 scholar, Qian Fu, the No. 2 scholar, and Jin Gui, the No. 3 scholar, stand in front of them. It has nothing to do with their ranks, but the Hanlin officials have always been "superior".

Xu Hong and other nine officials almost all served in the six ministries. Everyone has been trained and grown. They are standing silently in the back, looking at the Xiyuan gate in front of them with respect.

It's just strange that each of them is holding a wooden basin.

Liu Jin, wearing a bullfighting suit, walked out from inside. After confirming the identities of the twelve people, he said lightly: "You all hold grass carp and go in with Zajia to meet the emperor!"

The one-year appointment finally came, and the Xiaochuanlu exam questions ushered in the final chapter.

The three Hanlin officials who had just stood up straight suddenly became like deflated balls. Hanlin editor Jin Guigang wanted to be deflated, but soon he straightened up again.

Last year, the three of them chose to raise fish themselves, but they successfully impressed the current emperor, so they were awarded the title of first-class Jinshi.

But in this short period of one year, some unpleasant things happened.

Even if they used an extra-large bathtub to raise fish, they needed to change water and feed frequently, and changing water could easily make grass carp sick, so grass carp could not last for a year at all.

Faced with the continuous emergence of situations, Liu Cunye wrote a letter back to his hometown to ask his mother, but when the letter just left the capital, the grass carp had become a stinky fish.

Qian Fu was very free and easy. He stewed the grass carp before it was completely cold, and specially wrote a poem for the grass carp, "Bury the fish in my belly when it dies."

As for Jin Gui, when the grass carp was about to die, he gave it to his servant to take care of it, and the grass carp was miraculously raised.

The nine people behind him had different expressions, some happy, some sad. It is definitely not an easy thing to raise a grass carp for a year.

Twelve people followed Liu Jin to the front of Tingchao Pavilion, and then Liu Jin walked into Tingchao Pavilion.

"Zhang Sui, your grass carp is so big, it can't be fake?"

"This fish is a whole circle bigger than my grass carp, it's obviously unreasonable!"

"Why is it unreasonable? I often see grass carps much bigger than this one at the street corner!"

...

Where there are people, there are right and wrong. Since everyone is holding a wooden basin, it is obvious who is bigger and who is smaller, so Zhang Sui has become the focus of everyone's attention.

Xu Hong kept the grass carp in the pond at his wife's backyard, but found that it was much smaller than Zhang Sui's grass carp. He couldn't help but ask in confusion: "Zhang Sui, where do you keep your grass carp? Why is it so fat?"

"Grass carp should be raised in a fish pond!" Zhang Sui responded as if it was a matter of course.

Qian Fu has always been a proud and arrogant person, but he turned around and asked in confusion: "Fish pond? Where can there be a fish pond in the capital? Even if there is one, you can't afford it, right?"