Prime Minister

Chapter 269, Section 268: [Fate]

The park will be closed on May 23.

Only seven days have passed since the major salt merchants of Yangzhou last gathered here, but the situation has already undergone a worrying change.

The fact that Qiao Wangshan and Shen Bingwen had failed to achieve their goal at the Grand Canal Exchange Office could not be concealed and spread within just one or two days. Although this was expected by most of the salt merchants, the confirmation of the Grand Canal Administration's determination this time still made them uneasy.

What frightens them even more is that the Grand Canal Administration has continued its targeting of the Qiao and Shen families in the past few days, and has added several medium-sized businesses as targets, including Xu Deshun and Zhou Yan, who expressed their support for Xue Huai that day.

In short, some of them had secretly sided with the Grand Canal Administration, otherwise how could they have accurately identified Xu and Zhou?
The Salt Merchants Association has been established for nearly nine months. Although they have all benefited from it, they have not formed a close-knit group. Therefore, when faced with the aggressive Grand Canal Administration, some people are bound to have second thoughts. However, out of fear of Xue Huai standing behind Qiao and Shen, no one has dared to openly express their intention to withdraw from the Salt Association.

When they received Shen Bingwen's notification, they couldn't help but feel a strong sense of anticipation. As long as Xue Huai could resolve the hostility of the Grand Canal Administration, they would naturally be willing to stay in the Salt Merchants Association.

Half an hour before the appointed time, the fifteen wealthy merchants had already arrived.

Inside the main hall of the park, the atmosphere was solemn and oppressive.

At the beginning of the hour of Si (9-11 AM), Xue Huai finally appeared. Led by Qiao Wangshan and Shen Bingwen, the salt merchants hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Xue Huai nodded slightly and said, "Please, everyone, no need for formalities."

He walked to the head seat and sat down, with Qiao Wangshan and Shen Bingwen sitting at the head of the table on his left and right respectively, and the rest taking their seats in turn.

The Xue and Shen families have already arranged a marriage. In private, Xue Huai must treat Shen Bingwen with the respect due to a junior, but in public, he must maintain the principle of distinguishing between officials and commoners. Otherwise, someone with ulterior motives could use this as an excuse to impeach Xue Huai. Although this would hardly shake Xue Huai's position in the emperor's heart, it might cause trouble in his marriage to Shen Qingluan. Therefore, the two of them tacitly agreed not to leave any grounds for discussion in public.

"I'm very busy, so let's keep it short."

Xue Huai looked around at everyone and said calmly, "I have already heard about the difficulties you have been facing recently from Elder Qiao and Lord Shen. To be honest, the Grand Canal Administration has absolute power and responsibility, and local officials cannot overstep their authority to interfere. This is a clear law of the imperial court. Although I am the Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou, I should be protecting merchants like you who are law-abiding and honest, but in this matter, I am truly unable to help you."

This opening remark instantly chilled the atmosphere in the hall.

The group of wealthy merchants looked at each other in dismay. They had placed all their hopes on Xue Huai, but now they had received such a heartless reply. How could they remain calm?
Are we supposed to send them to fight against the Grand Canal transport authorities?
The saying goes that the common people cannot fight against officials. Even though they are not ordinary people, each family has some connections with officials. However, the Grand Canal Administration governs the canal affairs of eight provinces. The Grand Canal Governor, in terms of actual power, is even above the ministers of the Six Ministries. The Grand Canal Governor does not even need to show his face in person. He can make them live in constant fear by just giving a few hints to Zhao Cong, the prefect of Yangzhou.

"Your Excellency."

Among these prominent merchants, Huang Dezhong was second only to Qiao Wangshan and Shen Bingwen in terms of seniority and strength. Seeing the deathly silence in the hall, he could only muster his courage and speak: "Your Excellency has been very kind to us, and we shouldn't bother you so much. However... there are rumors circulating that the Salt Merchants Association dared to compete with the Grand Canal for profits, and that they deserved to be investigated. Our businesses are still quite solid, and we can hold out for a while, but those small businesses don't have that kind of confidence. I'm afraid that by then, the Salt Merchants Association will only have a dozen or so of us left, and then we won't be able to accomplish anything."

His words were clearly well thought out. After all, the Salt Association was the result of Xue Huai's personal leadership in its creation. If he were to abandon it right away, it would certainly be seen as a threat to Xue Huai.

Huang Dezhong only wanted to find a way to avoid offending either the Salt Association or the Grain Transport Commissioner, and had neither the courage nor the will to defy Xue Huai.

Xue Huai nodded slightly and said calmly, "Master Huang, I understand your concerns and difficulties. What do you hope I will do?"

Huang Dezhong looked troubled, as did the others.

Xue Huai just stated clearly that the canal transport authorities have the right to conduct thorough inspections of any cargo ship on the canal at any time. This is within their jurisdiction, and no matter if Xue Huai were only the Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou or even the Governor of Jiangsu, he could not stop them.

As for the officials of the canal administration being nitpicky and detaining ships and goods for the slightest problem, there are indeed points to be discussed, but Xue Huai still cannot represent them.

Ultimately, Xue Huai's other official position was Salt Commissioner, and he had no authority to question or supervise the Grand Canal Administration.

If Jiang Jizhou were willing to give Xue Huai face, he could mediate between them. The problem is that even the merchants here know that Xue Huai is a key figure in the Qingliu faction in the court, while Jiang Jizhou is one of the Ning Party officials. The conflict between the two sides is already very deep. How could Jiang Jizhou care about Xue Huai's face?
This seems to explain why Xue Huai has not approached the officials of the Grand Canal to negotiate all this time. It is clear that the other party will not budge, so why should he humiliate himself?
Unless Xue Huai is willing to switch sides and transform from a key member of the Qingliu faction into a supporter of the Ning Party, which is obviously a pipe dream.

The silence in the hall continued to spread.

"Although I cannot personally intervene to help you, I can at least offer some analysis."

Xue Huai took in everyone's reactions and said frankly, "Actually, this was bound to happen sooner or later. When the Salt Association was first established, I told you that the canal gangs and the canal administration would lose a large sum of money that you had previously contributed, which would inevitably attract their hostility and targeting. Now, the canal administration is not only targeting the Qiao and Shen families or the Salt Association, but its fundamental purpose is to stifle all efforts to change the status quo of the canal and strive for a fair environment!" Qiao Wangshan solemnly said, "What Your Excellency says is absolutely right. Right now, the canal administration is only targeting a few of us, but I believe it won't be long before all the cargo ships will encounter difficulties."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but sigh deeply.

Although they are wealthy, due to their rapid development over the past year, almost everyone has expanded their businesses considerably. If their cargo ships no longer dare to use the canal for freight, it will trigger a series of adverse effects, and they may even face ruin.

While the Huaiyang salt merchants were indeed powerful, they were not the only ones skilled in business within the Great Yan territory. Merchants from Anhui, Zhejiang, and even Shanxi in the north were all eyeing the wealthy land of Huaiyang and Jiangnan. If they faced a crisis due to the targeting of the Grand Canal authorities, those people would not miss such a golden opportunity.

Having said all that, some people couldn't help but have their own ulterior motives.

After the downfall of powerful clans such as Xu Guanlan and Liu Zheng, the newly appointed Salt Commissioner Huang Chong was both capable and virtuous. In addition, Xue Huai personally participated in the salt administration reforms, and the situation of Huaiyang salt merchants has improved considerably.

Under these circumstances, even though they still had to pay their share of the tax revenue to the government, they could still live more comfortably than before.

In other words, even if the Salt Association were not around, bowing down to the Grand Canal Administration would not be unacceptable.

However, in front of Xue Huai, no one dared to be the first to stand up and express their opinion.

"Do you all think that as long as we take a step back or simply disband the Salt Association, the Grand Canal Administration will stop targeting us?"

At this moment, Shen Bingwen broke his silence and looked solemnly at everyone.

Wang Shilin glanced at Xue Huai's expression and said cautiously, "Brother Shen, what makes you say that?"

Shen Bingwen sneered. He knew that some people were thinking the same thing. He immediately said in a deep voice, "Have you all considered whether the money we paid to the Grand Canal Bureau and the Grand Canal Gang in previous years is really worth such a big fuss?"

Wang Shilin said thoughtfully, "Could there be another hidden meaning in this matter?"

"A hidden agenda? This is nothing more than a move by the canal administration to establish its authority."

Shen Bingwen's tone was not fast, but extremely serious: "For nearly a hundred years, the Grand Canal Administration has held absolute power on the Grand Canal. The canal merchants, relying on the Administration's protection, have acted arrogantly and domineeringly. No one has ever dared to disobey their decisions. Now, a group of Lianghuai salt merchants who only want to seek justice have appeared. What the Administration really cares about is not that share of the money, but that they think we are incredibly audacious to act on our own, and are therefore worried that other merchant groups will follow suit!"

These words were truly thought-provoking and resounding, leaving many people deep in thought.

Shen Bingwen continued, "Whether it's re-paying our share of the salt tax or disbanding the salt association, it won't make the canal administration give up its idea of ​​suppressing us. Because if they want to maintain their monopoly on the canal, they have to make an example of us! In short, only by making us Huaiyang merchants suffer and be afraid will no one dare to cause trouble in the future, and instead we will all obediently become fish on the chopping block!"

"In short, if we lose the protection of the Salt Association, we will lose even more than we have now!"

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Xue Huai picked up his teacup, took a small sip of tea, and felt quite appreciative of his future father-in-law's words.

It is extremely difficult to change the ingrained weakness of these big merchants that they have developed over decades, so he let things escalate during this period. Even though he had leverage over Zhao Cong that could make him submit immediately, he did not rush to use it.

He couldn't stay in Yangzhou forever, nor could he protect the Salt Association at all times. If these big merchants only thought of seeking his help whenever they encountered difficulties, then no matter how far they developed, they would be a bunch of incompetent fools.

Only by making them truly realize the value of the Salt Association and the power of unity can they hope to leave this land and set foot in more distant places in the future.

After a long while, Xue Huai put down his teacup, looked at the wealthy merchants with different expressions, most of whom had conflicted looks, and said calmly, "Gentlemen, although I cannot provide you with direct assistance, I have a few suggestions for your consideration."

Everyone immediately looked at him and said in perfect unison, "We respectfully request your guidance, Your Excellency!"

(End of this chapter)