Chapter 495: Is it a good sign that the T-shaped volume comes from South Zhili? (Fourth update!)
The quarrel continued until midnight, but like the last two times, there was still no decent result.
This is no wonder that there are thirteen families in southern Fujian. It is said to be thirteen families, but there are too many things involved behind it.
There are those who are in cahoots with the leading families, some who act as spokespersons for the more dispersed maritime merchants below, and some who are directly combined with the Japanese pirates. Everyone knows the basics, but they all hide their secrets.
No one dares to let these partners who are both allies and opponents know all their trump cards, which means that you may be outed at any time by someone's trick.
Watching each of them jump onto their own boats under a large group of guards and leave under the cover of night, the man in sackcloth who had been silent finally shook his head, threw a pair of iron walnuts in his hand into the sea, and jumped onto his boat. .
For ordinary people who make a living on the sea, night sailing should be regarded as a ghost route, but for these people, it is not a problem at all.
The boat circled around Turtle Island and came back again. When the strong man in linen jumped ashore, he saw another guy who had been the loudest curser on the scene and who finally took the lead in slamming the table and walking away was already waiting there.
Of course there is the **** who has been sitting in the dark.
Seeing the man in sackcloth also returning, the yellow cloth man grinned widely, his white teeth looking particularly dazzling in the darkness, "I'm just telling you, how could Boss Zhu leave so impulsively? Third uncle, look." Look, you don’t need to tell me, Boss Zhu and I are just following your lead, what do you say we should do, Boss Zhu, don’t you think so?”
The lame man ignored the yellow cloth head and only glanced at the strong man in sackcloth. Then he took two steps with his lame legs and snorted softly: "Come out, I guess it's about the same."
A burst of dry laughter came from the other end. A short fat man rubbed his hands and emerged from the darkness. The yellow cloth-headed and linen-clothed strong men were stunned: "Fuck, Xu Mazi, didn't you swear that you would never compromise? You must?" Do you want to do something to feel at ease? What are you doing here? "
This guy was also the one who made the most noise in the field just now. Unlike Huang Butou, who was more of a verbal complainer, this guy actually said several solutions with certainty.
For example, the group of officials who ambushed the imperial court even proposed using Japanese pirates who had been hiding on the Penghu Islands to assassinate them, or asking people from the Putuo Society on Nan Putuo to dispatch. In the end, they simply threatened to contact Tokugawa Hidetada. , allowing Tokugawa Hidetada to put pressure on Dazhou.
Although many of them are absurd assumptions, they are enough to illustrate this person's madness. I didn't expect that this guy would actually be sitting here first.
"Hehe, it's just words. In that kind of situation, whoever believes you is a fool. Aren't you the same? Huang Butou, didn't you also say that you want to advance and retreat with the Tian family? Is it because the conditions are too high to bear, or because they don't care at all? Are you playing?" Xu Mazi said nonchalantly: "And Boss Zhu, haven't you hooked up with a lot of people? Why, do you still feel unsafe?"
The man in linen clothes twitched his mouth and snorted softly: "The old man is laughing so hard. I don't think so. We are all the eldest brothers, not to mention the second brothers. What are we going to do? Third uncle, we all listen to you."
The lame old man had never said much. Even in the previous meeting, he briefly said a few words about the situation he was facing now, and then became silent again.
Shaking his head, the lame man already looked lifeless, "I can't help it. In terms of scale, we can't compare with the five major companies. They have already had their way. It is said that three of them have already obtained the first batch of sea trade concessions. The Chief Assistant must have helped, and the other family is probably fine too. It is said that they have found Huang Ruliang, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the other one is still in Jinling. His relationship is in the Sixth Department of Nanjing, but it is a pity that he is no longer popular now..."
"Then what should we do? Didn't we say that we only have fifteen sea trade franchises in Fujian? Ten of them are reserved for those who join later, and only five are for us who originally had ships. Now four of them are taken up. Home, this doesn’t include Quanzhou and Fuzhou, where is enough? What should we do?”
After hearing this, several people became anxious and couldn't help shouting.
"Fifteen families? Fifteen families are really not enough!" The lame man scolded angrily: "Fifty families are about the same. In Fujian, there are more than a thousand families who live by the sea. Even excluding those who work piecemeal for three days and fish for two days. There are at least two to three hundred companies posting on the Internet, doesn’t the court want to collect more money?”
"Third uncle, what do you mean is that the imperial court has not decided how many households we should have in Fujian?" Mr. Zhu's eyes lit up, "Then where did this news come from? If there are five more companies, I feel like there is no chance..."
"Who passed it on? Aren't they those who are confident and determined to win? I heard that the imperial court has regulations that the charter fee will not exceed one hundred thousand taels. In other words, the smaller the number of families, the greater the benefits for these families. They can even let Those small ones affiliated with them can pay a few thousand or ten thousand taels a family, which is just like those nest merchants selling salt..."
Xu Mazi gritted his teeth and rubbed his hands, "Who told us that there is no one in the court?"
"Hmph, you hang out with those Japanese people all day long, how can you expect anyone to dare to take over your job?" Huang Butou curled his lips contemptuously, "Didn't you say you have Japanese people in your hands? Come on, wait. What?"
“That’s enough, don’t do this and get out of here!” The lame man’s deep voice was so intimidating. Both Huang Bu Tou and Xu Mazi were unwilling to do so, but they wisely suppressed their anger.
It was Boss Zhu who came to smooth things over: "Mazi, Bu Tou, listen to Uncle San, since we are here, it means that we don't want to be automatically eliminated like this. What we said at the meeting before were just angry words, even if they can kill So what if we killed those few court officials? It doesn't make much sense to us to delay it for a year and a half. On the contrary, those big guys and the people below are enjoying the gains, but we have to risk the confiscation of our homes and the annihilation of our clan. Why? ?”
“But we just do nothing and end up starving to death?” Xu Mazi and Huang Butou said in unison, and then snorted at each other.
The three of them all turned their attention to the lame man.
There was news earlier that the Three Cripples had no intention of attending this meeting. Later, many people still tried to persuade him to come forward to convene the meeting, but the result remained the same.
But none of them believed it. With the three cripples' plans for the city, it was impossible for them to withdraw in vain. Every family in the five families had someone serving as an official in the court, and every family also had a scholar background. In addition, they were about to The gentry and wealthy businessmen from all over the country were about to join in. It was the most uncomfortable thing for them to be squeezed and hanging in the air.
The big ones have a way out, and the small ones can get close to the big ones and rely on them, but what about themselves?
To rely on others, those who have no boats are of course eager to recruit them, but the majority will be swallowed up by them, and once the resources behind others catch up and the situation becomes familiar, do they still need themselves? Even if it is to recruit those small households, it is better than accepting that the middle-class ones like myself are not slipping away.
"Uncle San, please say something." Boss Zhu glanced at Xu Mazi and Huang Butou, "We all listen to you, and we also believe that you have the skills."
The lame man was silent but sighed softly, "What if they want us to move the place? How about changing the soup? Are you willing?"
“Move the place, change the soup? Sanbo, what do you mean? Who?” Xu Mazi perked up.
The pressure he faces is the greatest.
Among the thirteen, he is the largest. Even compared to the five major families, his fleet size and manpower are not much inferior.
But his shortcomings are also obvious. He was born as a boat owner and has always been looked down upon by the world, let alone scholars and officials. Moreover, he has the closest connection with the Japanese, which is also the most taboo of the government, so he is suppressed the most. .
It can be said that as soon as the strategy of opening up the sea came out, he knew that his road would probably come to an end. He would either go to sea to become a pirate, or starve to death slowly. It was basically impossible to be an obedient citizen in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Even if anyone else could get a charter, it would be impossible for him alone, no matter how much money he spent.
People like Huang Butou, Boss Zhu and even Laizi have more or less such troubles and problems. Compared with other companies, they are not weak in all aspects, but their connections and the impression in the minds of the government and gentry are inferior. many.
Just like Huang Butou, his father was actually a Yao from the mountains, but after coming out of the mountains, he gradually integrated and became the same as the Han people. However, the government was still worried about him, and his temper was fiery and violent, so he was not liked by the government. So he tried to join the Tian family, one of the five major families, and the Tian family also offered extremely harsh conditions, which were far better than the conditions for other small families to join the Tian family.
Another example is Mr. Zhu. He was once in prison and was naturally suppressed by the government. The lame man turned out to be a private salt dealer and was even more disgusted by the government and regarded as a thorn in his side.
Facing the three pairs of blazing eyes, the lame man still had the same gloomy expression, "My old friend from the past sent a message. It is said to be the news from South Zhili. People like us are basically not very good." It may be among the first batch of franchises, and maybe there will be an opportunity in two or three years..."
"Two or three years? In these two or three years, have so many of us been drinking the sea breeze to survive?" Mr. Zhu said sadly.
"So there is only one other way, and I don't even know whether this way exists. I'm not sure who is behind it, or whether someone is deliberately planning to kill us." The lame man looked up to the sky and sighed.
"What exactly is it? Third uncle, don't be so hesitant. You talk so confusingly that everyone is confused. What is going on?" Xu Mazi was confused.
"Should I stop talking? I don't even know it myself. It's just that someone sent a message from South Zhili. It is said that it was a big shot from South Zhili. Well, my brother from the Salt Gang sent a message saying that someone wanted to Want to meet us."
The lame man looked into the dark night. A bright moon seemed to have finally broken away from the dark clouds and revealed its corner. Maybe this was a good sign?
Fourth update, please vote!
(End of this chapter)