Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 180 Welcome Banquet
Throughout the entire Da Xuan territory, the selection of imperial merchants, which had been brewing for nearly two years, finally began.

It was the time for all the major businesses to register, and the merchants of the Guangli Chamber of Commerce in Hexi were paying close attention and being very cautious. They happened to be there to welcome Tan Huai Ke, the manager, and so they naturally began to inquire about her.

The banquet was held at Boss Zhou's Manzui Restaurant. The eight people, including Tan Huaike, were all members of the Guangli Chamber of Commerce from various industries in the four counties. They were not necessarily all wealthy merchants, but each had their own strengths.

Seeing that everyone present had become familiar with each other, Mr. Zhou, the host of the banquet, was the first to express his concerns: "I heard that this registration requires us to truthfully report all our properties and assets? It's not that I'm unwilling to report, but I'm afraid it will be a pretext to harm us, just like when the 'Calculation of Wealth' and 'Accusation of Wealth' were issued back then."

Others chimed in, "That's right. When the late emperor was in power, he ordered the collection of 'suan fen' (a unit of currency). One 'suan' was 120 coins, and one 'fen' was 1,000 coins. Small workshops that made and sold their own products were better off, with one 'suan' collected for every four 'fen'. But merchants like us, and those moneylending shops, were charged one 'suan' for every two 'fen'. It was really too harsh."

"That's right. We have to travel all over the country to transport goods. The carriages of those high-ranking officials are charged a fee for each one, but when it comes to us merchants, it's doubled. Ships over five feet long are also charged a fee... Sigh, when the year is bad, we're busy going around in circles, hiring people and renting carriages and boats, but the money we actually earn isn't even enough to pay the fees."

"In the end, it's all because the late emperor waged war for years, leaving the national treasury depleted."

"The collection of wealth was bad enough, but what was even more terrifying was the reporting of wealth. Everyone had the right to report merchants for concealing their assets and evading the collection of wealth. The informant would receive half of the confiscated property as a reward, while the other half would go to the imperial court. That was truly a nightmare for our ancestors. Reporting became rampant, and false accusations were common. For every ounce of silver that went into the national treasury, countless merchants were ruined and their families were destroyed. Those who were lucky enough to survive were even punished by being sent to the border for a year."

"So this registration is so detailed, surely it won't lead us merchants astray again?"

Tan Huai Ke said, “Please do not worry too much. To this day, the tax collection order and the tax accusation order have not been abolished. If the court really wanted to exploit everyone like this, it would only be to stir up another wave of tax accusations. But the court has no such intention. We all know that His Majesty has no intention of waging war again. He only wants to quickly promote trade. The tax collection has been reduced a lot. In some counties, the tax is four strings of cash per tax, and in some counties, it is even six strings of cash per tax. This is why the chambers of commerce in various places have grown stronger.”

"As for the 'reporting wealth' policy, I didn't experience that period firsthand. I only heard that most middle-class and above merchants were sued, which led to a rapid decline in trade in the Great Xuan Dynasty. People were content with good food and clothing and didn't hoard wealth, so for a long time after that round of 'reporting wealth' orders were implemented, it was impossible to squeeze any more money out of merchants. The court also knew that this method couldn't last, so in recent years, most 'reporting wealth' policies were dealt with perfunctorily, and only merchants who were too blatant were severely punished."

"So this registration is just to get a rough understanding of the assets of each business. Everyone should register truthfully according to the situation of their own business. However, I still advise everyone not to make false or conceal information. Otherwise, if it is found to be untrue, it will ruin your own reputation, which is not worth it."

An elderly herbal medicine merchant said, "Manager Tan, you are young and probably don't understand the dirty tricks of the imperial court. What reliable basis do you have for making such a statement?"
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Boss Zhou hurriedly said, "Old Master Chu, do you not trust Manager Tan? Well, you don't know this, but our Manager Tan is someone who can get along well with the Prince of Qin. So there must be a basis for what he said, right?" These words sounded like he was trying to smooth things over, but in reality, he wanted to force Tan Huai Ke to release more information so that his people could feel more at ease.

Indeed, no merchant is without cunning; even their smoothness is tinged with shrewdness.

Tan Huaike, however, was prepared and did not reveal all the follow-up developments he knew. He simply stated the matter at hand: "Mr. Zhou is too kind. How could a mere merchant like me know what the Prince of Qin is thinking? But everyone is aware of the rumors about selecting imperial merchants. Once selected, the amount of money collected will be reduced significantly due to the layers of exploitation by local authorities. Ordinary reports of money will become almost ineffective, since reporting an imperial merchant is tantamount to reporting the court. Who would dare to do that?"

She raised her wine cup to the herbalist, saying, "If Elder Chu still has concerns, he can wait and see before registering."

Old Master Chu grunted twice, said nothing more, and drank the wine.

Then a young merchant, looking anxious, said, "Manager Tan, I have another question. Is there really no hope on Huaqi Street? My grandfather was foolish; he listened to some official's nonsense and recklessly bought two shops there. Now, given the requirements for selecting imperial merchants, I'm afraid my business will be eliminated in the first batch." Boss Zhou shook his head and sighed, "I knew the court would dig a huge pit for us. Many people thought Huaqi Street had great potential and spent a lot of money to buy shops there. Who would have thought the requirements for selecting imperial merchants would be so strict? Although my family doesn't have those peripheral businesses, I still feel indignant. Is it really true that we can't even be involved in them?"

Others advised him, "You should make your move before registering to run for office. Isn't keeping it to yourself just waiting for someone to use it against you?"

The decree for the complete renovation of Huaqi Street has not yet been officially issued and is presumably still in the hands of the Prince of Qin. The merchants in the county naturally did not expect any change. Tan Huai Ke could not reveal this in advance, so he just smiled and said, "Coincidentally, I also have a shop on Huaqi Street."

Everyone at the table was taken aback.

The young merchant asked, "Oh? You have them too? How many?"

Tan Huaike replied, "I own five properties, and another business partner asked me to manage five more, making a total of ten, which is about half a street." Tao Ying discussed this matter with her before she returned to Hexi. Rivals are rivals, but not making money when you can is really making things difficult for yourself.

"Ten shops on Flower Rest Street? Have you registered to run for office?"

"I registered yesterday."

"This is too risky!" The young merchant thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something was wrong. "Manager Tan...did you know something beforehand?"

“I had no choice but to take over those five shops. Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to take a gamble,” Tan Huaike said ambiguously. “But I’ve always had good luck with gambling. Whether I win or lose this round should be clear soon. You can all wait a few more days. As for those who are already involved, you might as well leave it to fate.”

Hearing her say that, everyone present became more interested.

With such a huge gamble, is there really going to be something big happening on Huaqi Street? Wouldn't all those merchants who went back and forth before be reduced to dust in an instant?
After the banquet, everyone had their own plans and began to take action, both openly and secretly.

Tan Huaike also went to his own Yanzhisi. Having been away from Zhangye for a long time, it was time to check the accounts.

However, when she entered, she almost thought she had come to the wrong place. She went back out and took another look at the signboard. It was indeed "Yan Zhi Si".

The shop was still the same shop, exactly as it had been before she left.

The only incongruity was that his own cheap old man was acting like the host, entertaining guests.
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Next chapter: You traitorous bastard!