Six six, must die without pardon

  The Shanxi merchants walked down the stairs, and Yu Guozhen smiled and said: "I have no other hatred in my life. What I hate most is that as a Chinese, I would work for the Tartars and barbarians to seek fame and fortune, traitors who sell out their country will surely die without forgiveness!"

  "Traitors who sell out their country for personal gain will surely die without pardon!"

  When he said this, Yu Guozhen's tone was cold and decisive. Although there was a smile on his face, everyone present felt his anger. As if to confirm his anger, his voice had just fallen when a sharp cry came from outside, and the sound was that of the merchant who had been dragged out earlier!

  Immediately afterwards, the footsteps outside grew louder and turned into a retreat. Those Jin merchants who had gone out returned one by one with pale faces, retreating back into the wine building!

  "It seems that everyone has changed their minds and come back, huh?" Yu Guozhen smiled and said: "Welcome, welcome... but this surname Wang, is not welcome. I have always said that what I hate the most are those who betray their country for personal gain. Since you are one of Wang Dengku's gang, then you are an accomplice to treason, get out!"

  "You...... you......"

  That Wang surname businessman was trembling with fear, Jin merchants actually didn't lack courage, otherwise they wouldn't dare to take the Western route and venture into the vast desert, nor would they dare to trade with Houjin at the risk of being looted and having their families destroyed. But that was with a lucky heart, when they truly faced death, they would still feel fearful.

  Huishang also saw the reason why these Shanxi merchants retreated in disarray. Two young men were approaching with a merchant from the Fan family, who had two bullet holes in his chest and was already dead.

  "I report to Your Honor, the water bandits suddenly attacked just now. We drove them off, but unfortunately, we were unable to save this person in time. I have come specifically to apologize to you for this."

  "Alas, the water bandits are indeed rampant these days, daring to enter the town in broad daylight. In the past, didn't they just intercept people on the water's surface, slash them with a knife, and then bind them to a stone and throw them into the river? " Yu Guozhen sighed: "Give him a funeral cloth, bury him in the chaotic burial mound."

  Those two young men, Wei and Xiao, smiled and nodded in agreement. The guns in their hands were still dripping with blood, but right in front of these dozens of Shanxi and Huizhou merchants, they brazenly spoke in plain language, saying that the "water bandits" had killed that Fan fellow!

  Yu Guozhen let out a sigh and waved his hand to signal the removal of the corpse. The man surnamed Wang's legs trembled, but two young house guards came over and dragged him away again. He immediately cried out in despair: "Gentlemen, save me! Gentlemen, save me!"

  Someone among the Shanxi merchants couldn't bear it anymore and cleared his throat: "Yu Xiaoguan, this doesn't seem quite right."

  Yu Guozhen burst out laughing: "I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I said it beforehand, our Yu family doesn't welcome Han traitors and national thieves. As for being killed by water bandits outside, that is indeed the responsibility of our Xiang'an Patrol Office, we will definitely catch the water bandits to avenge him!"

  Yu Guozhen was not a reckless killer, the Fan and Wang families were both trusted merchants of Nurhaci, the Khan of Later Jin, who controlled almost all the internal and external trade in Zhangjiakou Fortress. It is no doubt that those who could be sent to the south by these two big families and also mobilize funds in time to bid for Zhongzhuan were the confidants of Fan and Cheng.

  Unfortunately, Yu Guozhen remembered that the two families were later sealed as imperial merchants by the Qing dynasty. He originally thought he wouldn't meet Dong Yu so soon, but unexpectedly, the traitor's hands had already reached out.

  "Save me! Save me!" The merchant sent by the Wang family was also dragged out, and among the remaining Jin merchants, several people's faces turned very unsightly.

  "Ah!"

  The cry for help turned into a scream, and soon the body of the Wang merchant was also dragged up. Gao Erzhu's face was filled with shame: "Young master, I'm useless, let the water bandits kill us once, and now they've killed this man too."

  This time, it's not just the Shanxi merchants, even the Anhui merchants are starting to scold him. This little guy surnamed Yu is too reckless and unscrupulous in his actions, he can't even come up with a new excuse for murder!

  They were thinking about how to spread the news of this kid's arrogance to those who could control him after they went back, but for now, no one would take the risk of being the first to suffer.

  "Let these unpleasant things pass, gentlemen. Now it's time to get down to business. Since you are all willing to bid, please come one by one and write down how much silver money you are willing to pay for the technique of cultivating pearls..."

  Yu Guozhen's bidding method made these merchants' hearts skip a beat again. He had everyone go up individually to write their name, business name and bid price on paper, so that no one knew how much silver each person bid, even if they had agreed in private to bid at an extremely low price, who could guarantee that the person bidding would not change it on the spot and raise the price slightly?

  So all the Huizhou and Shanxi merchants present were each doing their own calculations, and for a good while no one came forward.

  Yu Guozhen didn't urge them, but instead smiled and waited for their decision. He had thought that these people would discuss it a bit, then bid in order of status, starting with Bao Xingzhi, but unexpectedly, just at this moment, someone stood up and walked up to the front with big strides.

  It was Xu Lin, Xu Zhongyuan, a young Hui merchant in his early twenties.

  After he came up, Yu Guozhen slightly nodded his head, then took over the pen and ink, writing quickly on the paper. After finishing blowing dry, he didn't hand the paper to Yu Guozhen, but instead held it upright, letting all the merchants see it.

  "Below this price, don't bid anymore." Xu Lin said with a smile.

  What was written on the paper was a full 5,000 taels of pure silver.

  If it's just buying a unique bead, the five thousand taels of silver is too shabby. But now there are twelve shares in total, if everyone puts out five thousand taels, that's sixty thousand taels!

  The cost is much higher!

  The Shanxi merchants did not make a sound, because they thought this person was suspicious and might be someone Yu Guozhen had brought along as a stooge. However, many of the Anhui merchants recognized him, and someone sneered: "Xu Shengyuan, can your Xu family come up with 5,000 taels of silver now?"

  "The Xu family still has 200 mu of tea fields, a mansion, and a family business that has been passed down for three generations." Xu Lin said calmly: "Five thousand taels of silver, the Xu family can still afford it!"

  Their conversation also made Shanxi merchants understand that this person is a member of Huishang, but for some reason, he does not seem to be welcomed by Huishang.

  Everyone in their hearts secretly scolded him, his actions naturally pleased Yu Guozhen, but made it difficult for everyone. With this opening move of his, the 5,000 taels of silver became the baseline, and anything lower than that would be unacceptable to offer.

  Yu Guozhen waited for a while, and finally, the leader of Huishang, Bao Xingzhi, walked over, wrote something on paper with a smile, and handed it to Yu Guozhen. Yu Guozhen took it and put it together with Xu Lin's, but didn't say out loud the number written by Bao Xingzhi.

  These merchants were all wealthy, with silver worth over 100,000 taels hidden in their homes, and it was not uncommon for families to have assets of one million. With someone taking the lead, things became much smoother afterwards, and soon the Huizhou merchants finished writing one by one.

  Up until now, Shanxi merchants have still not made a move.

  The power of Shanxi merchants was not small, and in terms of financial resources, the financial resources of Shanxi merchants were even stronger than those of Huizhou merchants at this time. However, Yu Guozhen's actions of killing two people in a row made them feel uneasy, and they couldn't understand whether Yu Guozhen's move was really because he hated Han traitors or because he wanted to kill people and seize their wealth.

  "If you all don't want to bid, then so be it. But I can't wait indefinitely." Yu Guozhen said after another cup of tea.

  After hearing his words, the Huishang merchants suddenly became restless. They looked at each other in dismay, then their leader stepped forward and wrote a few characters on the ground, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and retreated to one side.

  One by one, the papers with written words were handed over to Yu Guozhen. When the last person finished writing, Yu Guozhen revealed a satisfied smile.

  He counted them briefly and quickly took out twelve papers, then said: "Thank you all for your support. The results are now out. The twelve people I have read will win the transmission of the pearl method."

  "The first one is Mr. Bao from Shangshu Fang..."

  Yu Guozhen reported the names of twelve people, among whom eight were Huishang merchants and four were Shanxi merchants. Those who were named were naturally delighted, while the rest were not too disappointed, especially the Shanxi merchants, who even secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  After finishing the names, Yu Guozhen slightly raised his voice: "You all know that things are precious because of their rarity, and pearls are no exception. Therefore, your twelve families, plus our Yu family, and two other families, must form an alliance. From now on, the price of pearls will be jointly decided by our fifteen families, so as to avoid internal strife and damage to the rules!"

  This was the establishment of a trade association. At that time, this kind of association was quite common and people didn't think much of it. The twelve households that were selected also nodded in agreement, deeply convinced.

  "Since that's the case, let these twelve families follow me to the upstairs hall for a detailed discussion. As for the rest of you, our Yu family has prepared some wine and refreshments, please feel free to come or go as you wish."

  In the meeting, it was not Yu Guozhen who spoke to everyone, but rather Yu Yiqin. They were just discussing a charter, with over a dozen families advancing and retreating together. Yu Yiqin specially emphasized that their Yu family would completely withdraw in three years' time, at which point their qualifications would be completely cancelled.

  By then, there were fourteen families in control of the national freshwater pearl market.

  "Why does Yu's family want to withdraw?" someone asked in surprise.

  Yu Yiqin smiled and said, "Gentlemen, we don't speak in riddles. You all dare to come and do business with the River Pearl, but behind you are people who support you. Our Yu family is not without backing either. Those two sets of pearl cultivation techniques that need to be sent out were prepared for the people behind our Yu family. However, our Yu family has self-awareness. This windfall profit can satisfy us for another three years. If we make more, I'm afraid it will attract envy."

  His words made everyone laugh awkwardly, in fact, many of the twelve families had already been thinking about how to expel the Yu family from the alliance, but now they could only change their minds, who knew that the Yu family would prepare those two kinds of jade cultivation methods for whom!

  Everyone is an old hand in the business world, and they are not unfamiliar with the set of rules for the industry. They are also not afraid that the Yu family will go back on their word and pass on the technique of cultivating pearls to someone else. If that were to happen, then they would have every reason to take revenge.

  After the charter was drafted, all parties signed and stamped their hands, and they also discussed how to learn the art of cultivating pearls. The twelve families took their leave one after another. After they left, some wealthy merchants who did not get the bid also came to inquire about the situation, but these had nothing to do with Yu Guozhen and his group.

  Yu's family of three, Yu Guozhen, Yu Yiqin and Yu Yixuan, are now laughing at the numbers calculated on paper.

  Divider line

  Thanks to Wang Chuanwu for the reward ~ Continue to ask for Sanjiang tickets.