Chapter 369: Business development in important towns

The side door of Danfeng Gate slowly opened, and hundreds of cavalry guarding Zhang Huan's carriage drove out of the Daming Palace and headed towards Zhuque Street. In the carriage, Han Huan sat in the front row and twisted his body to tell the origin of the Chu family, "The Chu family has always had a strong family tradition. Since the Kaiyuan period of the Mingyuan period, the Chu family has recruited strong people in Wuyue to establish farmyards. It is said that at most there were three thousand people, but these servants were scattered in various farmlands and failed to attract the attention of the court. They arrived at the second generation of Chu Tan of the Chu family...."

Speaking of this, Han Huan hesitated for a moment. Chu Tan was Zhang Huan's grandfather. Will calling the name directly cause his displeasure? He secretly glanced at Zhang Huan, and saw Zhang Huan closing his eyes and listening to his own statement. He had no expression when mentioning Chu Tan's name. Han Huan slowly settled down and continued: "The prosperity of the Chu family is in the hands of the second generation Chu Tan. By the 12th year of Tianbao, the Chu family's village had increased greatly, and it is said that it had exceeded 20,000 people. Later, An Lushan rebelled, and Chu Tan planned to kill Helan Jinming again, and the troops expanded to 80,000 people. Chu Xingshui was Chu Tan's eldest son at that time. He was ordered to lead the army north to rescue Chenliu. It was this battle that laid the foundation for the Chu family to join the seven major families."

Han Huan briefly introduced the history of the Chu family's fortune. He knew that what Zhang Huan wanted to know more was the current situation of the Chu family. He sighed slightly and said, "Born from suffering and died from happiness. This sentence is most appropriate to use in the Chu family. However, after the rise of the Chu family was so bloody, but after the world was peaceful, the Chu family occupied the most prosperous Huainan generation in the Tang Dynasty. The population was rapidly reproducing, and the family was rich against the country, so the Chu family quickly softened. If it were talents, the Chu family did emerge in many talents.

The fourth generation of the Chu family are all very talented, and even my daughter-in-law Chu Mingzhu has written a good hand, not to mention Chu Wei, Chu Huai, and Chu Zhang, the children of the Chu family are known as the genius of Guangling. Unfortunately, although they are very talented, they are addicted to poetry, books, songs and essays, and have no achievements in politics, let alone military operations. If it weren't for the Chu family's Puyang Army that had tens of thousands of Li Shidao in this rebellion in the Central Plains, they would probably not be as good as the combat effectiveness of their Huainan Army, even my regiment training."

"I heard that the governor of Guangling County is named Zhao Yan. What about this person?" Zhang Huan suddenly asked.

Han Huan didn't know the relationship between Zhang Huan and Zhao Yan. He smiled and said, "This Zhao Yan's father is just a minor official, but he can be the governor in just seven or eight years. It's really not easy. Not to mention how he is capable of governing, I admire him very much. When Zhao Yan was the magistrate of Jinling County, Chu Xingyun, the younger brother of Chu Xingyun, wanted to marry his legitimate daughter to him and ordered him to divorce his first wife. His first wife was surnamed Lin. I heard that she was just a doctor's daughter. Generally, people can't ask for such things, but he was better. He said that being a concubine would be a concubine and never settled his first wife. This backbone really makes me admire."

Zhang Huan nodded. Zhao Yan has always been chivalrous and willing to pay for his life. Now it seems that his character is still the same as before and has not been defiled by the officialdom. The governor of Guangling County, Zhang Huan smiled slightly. Perhaps the solution to the crisis of the Chu family is Zhao Yan.

"Responsible for the country, I have always had an idea about solving the land problem." Han Huan finally seized the opportunity to be alone with Zhang Huan, and he said carefully.

"You said!" Zhang Huan sat up all of a sudden. The land problem has always been a big problem in his heart. Although he still has surplus fields in his hands and can not touch the interests of major families and nobles for the time being, but now the Tang Dynasty is sparsely populated. Once the population grows, conflicts with major families will be inevitable. Moreover, abolition of slavery is related to the vital interests of major families and the powerful, and it is not so easy to implement. Although it can be forced to be promoted by force, it is not a long-term solution. Therefore, Zhang Huan has been working hard for this matter during this period. Now, Han Huan, who has been an official in Jiangnan for a long time, actually has ideas. How can he not surprise him? For a moment, the problems of the Chu family were temporarily blocked by him.

Han Huan pondered for a while before slowly saying: "Actually, my idea is only four words: to promote business in important towns."

"Business is developed in important towns!" Zhang Huan's heart flashed with a hint of enlightenment. He continued to ask without saying a word: "Please give an explanation to the envoy Han."

"This is my experience of being an official in Jiangnan for decades, and I have witnessed the development of Jiangnan with my own eyes. All of them have risen because of the city and gathered for profit. Not to mention Guangling, the largest commercial city in the Tang Dynasty, the prosperity of the business shops has lasted for a hundred years. There are Japan in the east, the Japanese in the Silla Wojia arrived, and the big food in the west. Persian Hu merchants came, and the treasures of the world gathered here. There are countless powerful and noble people in the capital who opened shops in Jiangdu. Therefore, there are seven parts of the business tax taken from Yang.

In the saying of the state, in addition to Guangling, there are also several states such as Run, Su, Hang, Chang, etc. in the south of the Yangtze River. The first is Jianghuai, the most popular rivers and rivers are strong, the plains are wide, the people are crowded, and the fangs are half Chang'an. This refers to the Wu County of Suzhou. The famous county in the southeast is light and beautiful, and everything is rich and magnificent. The throat is Wuyue, the power is strong, the rivers and seas are controlled by the land, and the mountain is Yi, the parallel monument is twenty miles, the 30,000 rooms are opened, and the heavenly palace is on the ground. This refers to Yuhang, Hangzhou. ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ．

Han Huan was generous in depicting the wealth of Jiangnan. Zhang Huan also closed his eyes and imagined the beautiful and wealthy southeast beauty. He had the idea of ​​traveling to Jiangnan for a while.

"After the Anshi Rebellion, the north was full of devastation. Only the south of the Yangtze River was prosperous and the fish and rice were rich, which brought opportunities for the recovery of the Tang Dynasty. However, since Emperor Suzong, local governments have repeatedly restricted merchants, including strict taxes and severe penalties, and at worst, they were confiscated homes and wealth. Although this was a means of intake of military expenditure, the practice of changing orders for merchants has not changed yet. The former governor was enlightened and may encourage industry and commerce, but when the next governor was restricted, they restricted business and promoted agriculture and cracked down on merchants. In this way, merchants opened shops to make money and went to the countryside to buy land, making the people unable to live without land, and the urban population was difficult to increase."

Speaking of this, Han Huan sighed slightly and said, "When I was the governor of Wujun, there was a huge merchant named Zhao Qiannian. He had 800 silk machines and employed more than 2,000 workers. He was woven day and night, and his family had a huge fortune. Those employees were paid according to their work, and most of them were 300 yuan a day, and the few were 100 yuan. They all had ate and stayed in the Zhao family, and they supported a large family. In this way, they could solve the livelihood of nearly 10,000 people without a grain of rice in the court. Unfortunately, Emperor Suzong believed the slander and sent the envoys to Jiangnan to ban merchants. He drove all the workers hired by Zhao Qiannian back to his hometown to work in farming. The eight hundred silk machines were burned. Zhao Qiannian was angry and returned to his hometown to buy a hundred hectares of land, and he would never talk about business for his whole life."

When Han Huan said this, Zhang Huan fully understood the profound meaning of the important towns that he referred to as businessmen, developed the scale of cities, encouraged industry and commerce, and transferred the population to towns. In this way, even if the population grew, the people would have a good meal. This implied the idea of ​​abolition of slavery, especially the size of wealthy families, which could be said to be a killer. However, he also knew that things were not that simple, and there were many aspects to cooperate, such as the scale of minting, copper mine search, etc., but more importantly, a transformation of mainstream concepts. Although the status of merchants has been greatly improved since the Kaiyuan period, and when Cui Yuan was in power, he further relaxed the restrictions on merchants, such as merchants who could ride horses, participate in the imperial examinations, and wear Confucian robes, but Han Huan suggested that both rural and commercial enterprises be promoted, which was the first time since the Qin and Han Han, and would definitely be opposed by many scholars. It is of great importance and must be discussed in a long-term way.

Seeing that Zhang Huan was already moved, Han Huan advised: "Of course this is a gradual process, and you should not be too hasty. I suggest that you start from two aspects. First, reform the system of levy. Now, bulk commodities such as salt, iron, tea and wine are sold exclusively by the government, competing for profit with merchants. It seems that the government has income for a while, but it is actually not good for the long term. Besides, except for the salt tax, iron, tea and wine do not have much tax and profit. Everyone sells it privately, and it cannot be blocked. Of course, the salt profit is too great, not only can it be released,

Moreover, we must strengthen control. Iron is a strategic material and cannot be liberalized. It is better to let go of other tea and wine, but it is beneficial to development. This is one; the second is the issue of official and business. As far as I know, many high-ranking officials and nobles open shops to do business, compete with the people for profit, and do not pay a penny of taxes. Especially using power to monopolize the market, crack down on big merchants, and exclude small and medium-sized merchants. This is a huge cancer. The supervisor may as well take advantage of this opportunity to crack down on the Chu family to clean up officials and businessmen in Guangling County and promote business development."

Zhang Huan thought for a long time and finally nodded and said, "Okay! Let me think about this matter carefully. Let's focus on solving the Chu family's problems first."

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Night soon came. Han Huan stayed in Zhang Huan's mansion for not long. He only drank a few glasses of water and wine before saying goodbye.

Zhang Huan kept sending him outside the mansion. Han Huan bowed to Zhang Huanshen and said, "I am grateful for being entertained by the State Superintendent. I will do my best to be loyal to His Highness the State Superintendent!"

Zhang Huan also smiled and bowed. Seeing that Han Huan had only a dozen followers, he immediately ordered Li Dingfang to say, "Send two teams of personal soldiers to special guard Shangshu Han, and follow him from now on, don't be careless at all."

"As for order!" Li Dingfang immediately ran to order the troops, but Han Huan was overjoyed. Zhang Huan attached such importance to him, which means that what he said just now had already worked. He repeatedly bowed to Zhang Huan to show his gratitude. Then he got on the carriage and went with a mighty way under the escort of two hundred mighty Xiliang cavalrymen.

Zhang Huan kept watching him leave before turning back home. Suddenly, he saw three extremely gorgeous carriages parked not far away, so he asked the doorman: "Whose carriages are those?"

The concierge glanced at it and hurriedly said, "It was a carriage of a big merchant. He asked to see the master and said that he was the master's old friend. The housekeeper did not dare to drive him away, so he asked him to wait here. It was almost two hours."

"Old friend?" Zhang Huan thought about it, but could not remember which of his old friend was a big businessman. He ordered: "Go and bring him here."

The doorman responded and ran towards the carriage. After a moment, the carriage door opened and an extremely fat man came down from inside. From a distance, he looked like a big meat ball and was running towards him with difficulty.

Zhang Huan thought about it, and he suddenly knew who this person was. Song Lianyu once said that Zheng Qingming specialized in cross-sea trade in Guangling, and now he is rich enough to rival a country. Zhang Huan's eyes slowly narrowed. How could it be such a coincidence? He was considering Guangling for the past two days, so he came.

Seeing that the other party was having difficulty walking, he smiled at Li Dingfang and said, "Take two brothers to help him."

After a moment, several personal soldiers helped the fat man and walked slowly. When they approached Zhang Huan, they saw the swollen and lustful eyes. It was indeed Zheng Qingming. Zheng Qingming was Zhang Huan's friend when he was studying in Taiyuan. He was a rich and rich family. His biggest problem was lust. When he went to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination together, he failed the exam because he forgot to go to the brothel and returned to his hometown to inherit his family property. A few years ago, when Zhu Li was in trouble with Shu, he escaped from Guangling. With the help of Zhao Yan, he started trade with Japan, smuggling, and slave trade. In just a few years, he became a big merchant who was as rich as a country, with a fleet of twenty ships.

Although Zheng Qingming is rich enough to rival the country, he dared not be arrogant in front of Zhang Huan. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed three respectfully, "The grass-roots Zheng Qingming bowed to His Highness Yong!"

Among Zhang Huan's former friends, except for Lin Zhiyu who died in Wuwei County in battle, Zhao Yan became the governor of Guangling County, Song Lianyu became the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, and Xin Lang was also promoted to the governor of Gaochang and the military envoy of Beiting Capital. Only Zheng Qingming, the only one who had money, had a low status. Zhang Huan listened to his familiar voice and suddenly remembered the speed of running to the cafeteria that year. He couldn't help but feel warm in his heart. He hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, patted his shoulder and smiled: "I heard that you actually married a hundred wives, which is really enviable!"

Zheng Qingming seemed to see Zhang Qubing from Zhang Huan's eyes again. His fear gradually faded away. He heard Zhang Huan teasing him again, and he couldn't help scratching the back of his head and laughed: "I specially prepared some meeting gift for Qubing."

"Mr. Zheng Da Businessman actually prepared a meeting gift for me, what is it?" Zhang Huan asked with interest.

Zheng Qingming immediately turned his head and shouted into the carriage: "You all come down."

I saw the doors of the two carriages open, and a group of charming girls came out from inside. They all had fair skin and beautiful appearance, and only saw a group of guards were stunned.

Zheng Qingming smiled proudly and said, "There are fifteen Japanese women and seven Silla women here, all of whom are seventeen and eighteen years old, and they are all virgins. I bought them from Japan and Silla for a lot of money, and taught them to sing and dance, and dedicated them to getting rid of the disease... No! Your Highness Yong."

Zhang Huan didn't expect Zheng Qingming to give him a woman. How could he accept such a gift? Just as he was about to refuse, he seemed to think of something, and glanced at the guards beside him. Many of them were at the age of getting married. It was time for him to think about it for them. Then he nodded and smiled at Zheng Qingming, "I have accepted your gift."

He then pointed to the group of women and said to Mr. Sun, "Take them into the mansion and hand them over to your wife."

"Yes!" Butler Sun hurriedly stepped forward and brought a group of women into the mansion, and placed them first in the other courtyard.

When Zhang Huan saw the group of women leaving, he asked Zheng Qingming again: "You come to me, it's not as simple as reminiscing about the past!"

Give him a hundred courageous courage to come to Zhang Huan to reminisce about the past. Of course, he came for something. Seeing that there was no outsider, Zheng Qingming whispered: "I was entrusted by Zhao Yan and told me about my illness if there is a big deal."

Zhang Huan smiled slightly, and as expected, Zhao Yan did not stand idly by about the Chu family. It seemed that he had always been paying attention to the situation of the court.

"Follow me!" Zhang Huan brought Zheng Qingming to his study.

After entering the study, Zhang Huan asked Zheng Qingming to sit down and ordered the maid to serve tea. Then he asked, "What big thing does Zhao Yan have to tell me?"

"He didn't say what the specific thing was, just asked me to hand over a letter to you." Zheng Qingming carefully took out a letter from his arms, handed it over, and his personal soldiers came forward to take it and submitted it to Zhang Huan.

Zhang Huan took apart the letter, and Zhao Yan's strong font jumped out in front of him, and the content was roughly the same as what he thought. The Chu family had reached an agreement and would never hand over the Huainan army to the court. Chu Xingshui personally trained the army every day and obstructed the canal transport ships from the north. At the end of the letter, Zhao Yan expressed his firm loyalty to the court.

Although he knew it would be the ending, Zhang Huan was still full of regrets. Chu Xingshui disappointed him. Chu Xingshui was still not as far-sighted as the Cui family and the Pei family. Don’t he know that he would never allow the aristocratic family to have an army anymore?

Zhang Huan sighed secretly in his heart. He had no choice but to do anything to do when things had come to this point.

"Did you come to Chang'an to deliver me a letter?" Zhang Huan accepted the letter and smiled at Zheng Qingming.

"I am a businessman. Of course, the businessman is trying to pursue profits. I bought a batch of Wang Baoji's flying tickets in Guangling for 80% of the price. This time I came to the Wang Baoji Cabinet in Beijing to cash out."

It seemed like it was the first time that Zhang Huan saw Zheng Qingming's shrewdness. He looked him up and down, then nodded in praise and smiled, "I can't tell that you are very business-oriented. You can make 20% of your profits by changing hands."

Zheng Qingming's face turned slightly red and said, "Actually, I don't want to do this business. If these friends hadn't had a good relationship in their daily lives, I would never have bought their tickets. The risk is really great. If the tickets are fake, who will I go to?"

Zhang Huan was a little surprised, "Is there no branch of Wang Baoji Cabinet in Guangling County? Why did you come to Chang'an to cash in?"

"Isn't this given by the Chu family?" Zheng Qingming sighed, and he shook his head helplessly and said, "The Chu family wanted to open a counter shop, so they forced Wang Baoji Guangling Store to destroy it, so everyone could not cash out. Many friends urgently needed money to turn over, so they sold the tickets to me at a lower price. I don't know if I did a stupid thing."

"So that's it!" Zhang Huan nodded and said, "Do you need me to help you with this?"

"This matter does not require any help, but...." Zheng Qingming said two "just" in a row, and then he put out what he wanted to say, "We all think that copper coins are really inconvenient, heavy and difficult to get more, and the flying tickets must be exchanged at the designated location. The shopping malls change rapidly, and it is fixed too dead, which is actually very inconvenient. So I discussed with some friends and suggested that the court could issue an official ticket with a fixed amount printed on it, and use this official ticket to buy things directly without the pain of remuneration. To get rid of the disease, hold the power of the court with the power. Can you consider this matter?"
Chapter completed!