I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 232 Malice
Shen Yi showed a hint of satisfaction on his face, but he said, "I'm old and lack strength, how can I make any progress?"

"The master's handwriting is vigorous and powerful. It doesn't look like he is lacking in strength at all," the butler continued to flatter him.

"That's enough!" Shen Yi took the wet towel and wiped his hands while moving his wrists. "Stop flattering me. Tell me what's the matter?"

The housekeeper cleverly took the towel used by Master Shen, and then handed him a cup of tea, and then said: "Master, didn't you send out invitations to all the masters in the city to have a drink at Feihong Tower a few days ago? Today is the day."

"Is today the day? Look at my memory. I forget important things when I get busy." Master Shen slapped his forehead and said, "Go prepare the sedan chair. Wait for me to change my clothes, and then we'll set off!"

"Okay, the sedan is ready," said the butler.

Feihong Building.

"Come, come, come! Please drink this cup to its full potential!" Mr. Shen raised the glass high and drank it all in one gulp, then showed the bottom of the glass to everyone present.

Four or five well-dressed people present also raised their glasses and drank.

"My dear brothers, today I, Shen, have prepared a little wine and invite you to come and chat with me. Please don't be restrained." Master Shen continued to liven up the atmosphere at the drinking party.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, people at the table started talking about the main topic.

"We have enjoyed the food and drinks to our heart's content. I wonder why Brother Shen invited us here today?" A wealthy middle-aged man was already slightly tipsy.

"Brother Li is right. I invited everyone here today because I do have something to discuss with you." Mr. Shen said seriously.

"A very good thing!" Mr. Shen emphasized.

The people present exchanged glances with each other, showing expressions of interest.

"Brother Shen, please speak frankly," said everyone present.

"Everyone here has salt business. How about we raise the price of salt in Shunde Prefecture together this year?" Master Shen said calmly.

"Raising the price of salt?" Everyone present started whispering to each other.

"This is indeed a good thing! I wonder how much Brother Shen wants to increase the price?"

"How about raising the price by ten cents per catty? Raise the price of salt in Shunde Prefecture to eighty cents per catty." Mr. Shen said with a sharp look in his eyes, holding up a finger.

"This way we can increase our profit from salt sales by half," Mr. Shen added, looking around at everyone.

The people gathered today are all local bosses in Shunde Prefecture, and they are the subordinates of the salt merchants. They are in a cooperative relationship. The salt merchants need their local forces to create a shortage of salt and maintain a high salt price. The local forces buy salt from the salt merchants at a high price of 50 coins per catty. For this reason, the salt merchants need to ensure that no more salt will flow into Shunde Prefecture.

The people present discussed again, and then one person said hesitantly: "This is a good thing, but isn't the increase a bit too much? It took us ten years to raise the price of salt by 5 cents, and that was due to the Liu Liu and Liu Qi Rebellion. I'm afraid the common people will be resentful of the sudden increase of 10 cents. We are all from a prestigious family, and we are afraid that our reputation will be ruined because of this."

"Yes, Brother Zhou is right. The lives of the common people have been difficult in recent years. If the price is increased by 10 cents, those common people may not be able to afford it," another person echoed. "What do you mean they can't afford it!" The wealthy Mr. Li slammed the table, "I tell you, those peasants are rich. How can they not afford it if the price is increased by cents? If all else fails, they can sell an acre of land. The money from the sale of the land can buy salt for many years."

"These peasants need to be pushed hard. I support Brother Shen's proposal to raise the price. I feel that the increase of ten cents is not enough. In my opinion, it should be increased by 20 cents!" Mr. Li continued.

Master Zhou looked at Master Li and said to Master Shen hesitantly, "Since Brother Shen has made this suggestion, I believe you must have a perfect plan. Please tell me clearly, Brother Shen!"

Mr. Shen ate his food slowly, and then spoke leisurely under everyone's expectant gaze: "Isn't the reason for the price increase already known?"

"All our salt comes from the Changlu Salt Field. Now that the Changlu Salt Field has been taken over by Huangdian, we can say that because Huangdian took over the Changlu Salt Field, the production of the Changlu Salt Field was disrupted, causing a sharp drop in output. With less salt produced, the price of salt becomes more expensive, isn't it reasonable?" A hint of satisfaction appeared on Mr. Shen's face.

"Brother Shen, this is a great idea!" Master Li slapped his thigh and exclaimed in praise.

"But." Mr. Zhou frowned, "There are no royal stores now. They are all royal groups now. Moreover, the production of Changlu Salt Field has not been reduced. Salt merchants can make money even if they go there to collect salt. Is this really a good idea?"

"Who cares what group it is! It's just a new cover! Those peasants don't know so much. They just follow our advice. Brother Shen is really smart!" Master Li said excitedly.

Mr. Zhou thought about it and had to admit that this was a brilliant move by Mr. Shen. The reputation of the Royal Store was very bad among the people. If he told the people this, they would probably believe it, because this was what the Royal Store could do, and the people couldn't tell the difference between the Royal Store and the Royal Group.

"But." Master Zhou thought of something else, "There are many Royal Group stores in Shunde City and the counties below. If they knew that we spread this..."

"How do they know that it was us who spread the news? Let's keep it secret and let them think that the news was spread by the salt merchants. Let the Royal Group fight the salt merchants. No matter how powerful the Royal Group is, can it overthrow so many salt merchants? We just focus on making our fortune." Master Shen said with a sneer.

Mr. Li immediately gave a thumbs up, "Great! Really great! Brother Shen's move of driving away the tiger and swallowing the wolf is really ingenious."

"Thank you for your compliment, Brother Li." Mr. Shen said modestly with a bow.

Master Zhou thought about it and really couldn't find any loopholes in Master Shen's plan, so he said, "Brother Shen is smart, I am not as good as him! Let's use Brother Shen's plan."

After reaching an agreement, everyone relaxed and the waiters served them tea. They drank the tea and started chatting.

Mr. Zhou seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly asked, "My dear brothers, has the Royal Group bought land from you? They said they want to build a railway?"

This topic aroused everyone's interest.

"They came to my house to buy land, saying they wanted to build some railway. I didn't know it was a railway and I didn't want to sell the land. But they were using the royal family's name and the price they offered was not low. I had to give face to the royal family, so I sold it," said Mr. Li.

"There is such a thing?" Mr. Shen said in surprise, then he frowned, "The Royal Group did not come to my family to buy land, but I feel that the people of the Royal Group are quite ignorant of etiquette. When it was still the Royal Store, they came to visit me when they opened a store in Shunde Mansion. Later, the Royal Store in Shunde Mansion was closed, and when it reopened, it became the Royal Group. They did not even come to my house to say hello when they reopened. This is too ignorant of etiquette."

Mr. Shen did not hide his ill will towards the Royal Group at all.

Everyone present suddenly understood why this happened today, and they also knew why Mr. Shen had such great malice towards the Royal Group.
(End of this chapter)