Chapter 45: Wu Si Dao's Methods

  He lightly sighed, this is actually a kind of monopoly, local monopoly! Industry monopoly! So-called background, no more than relatives of the imperial family, officials and nobles, too. The son's party played a beautiful trick, not only did they fail to build their own ship, but also made countless enemies for themselves. This is not just draining the water from the bottom of the pot, it's killing with a borrowed knife. As long as they dare to touch the maritime trade fleet, countless officials will jump out immediately, and just the saliva stars can drown themselves.

  It's a one-way street, the ocean-going fleet must be built, and the trading fleet must also be built. The golden opportunity for expanding maritime hegemony cannot be missed like this, wasting another decade or so, that would truly make everything go cold.

  What can be done then? It's not possible to send a large fleet of ships to negotiate, let alone whether the negotiations will be successful or not. Just sending people one by one to find and talk will drag on until the end of time. How can we turn being passive into being proactive?

  Zhang Mengjiao quietly gazed at Yin Zhen, who was deep in thought. This man's smile could light up the sun, but his contemplation was heavy and steady. His every move was a mystery, making it hard to fathom him. As she thought about this, she suddenly wondered, who had such great power that all the maritime trade fleets were against him? Why didn't he tell her the reason? Was it because he didn't trust her or was he afraid she would worry and be scared? This wasn't just a struggle between ship fleets, but a high-level game of chess, where every move determined the fate of countless people. As she thought about joining in, she felt a thrill of excitement.

  Yin Zhen was now standing up, a sunny smile on his face. Zhang Mengjiao met his gaze, "Thought of a way?"

  "Of course, don't you know who I am?" Yongzheng said with a pleased expression: "These merchants and ship owners are motivated by profit. To control them, we must entice them with profit. This time, I will give them an opportunity to turn things around." After finishing speaking, he continued laughing and said, "Your Zhang family has been in the maritime trade for generations. You should be familiar with the situation at this customs station. Tell me about it in detail."

  What's the meaning of "Jiang Hai Guan"? How is it related to the maritime customs? Is he trying to use the customs to coerce those ships? Zhang Mengjiao was puzzled, but this matter involved too many things and she didn't dare ask more questions. She carefully said: "The Jiang Hai Guan is like other customs houses, mainly with two official taxes, ship tolls and cargo tax. The ship tolls are based on the size of the ship, and the cargo tax is only 20% off one, this tax rate is not high. However, the various taxes and fees set up by those corrupt officials in Jiang Hai Guan are astonishingly numerous, such as port entry fees, departure fees, berthing fees, grain road donations, head fees, fire expenses, cabin inspections, etc., even I can't tell them apart. Moreover, bribery and corruption are prevalent, and smuggling and tax evasion are very serious. That's all I know."

  "That's enough." Yizheng smiled and said, "With you saying that, I can also be at ease."

  On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Laba Festival is celebrated. It's also the day when Sakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment. In the capital city, officials and common people are all busy cooking, sending, and tasting Laba porridge, as well as holding ceremonies to worship gods and Buddhas. At the same time, it marks the beginning of the Spring Festival season, with activities such as slaughtering pigs for the new year, making tofu, and buying new year's goods. The atmosphere of the new year gradually becomes thicker.

  Yong Wang Fu, Yin Zhen had to comfort his capable subordinates on this day. After running through the eastern Buddhist hall and western courtyard in the back garden, he arrived at Wu Si Dao's southern courtyard. As soon as he entered the house, he saw Wu Si Dao reading a book and couldn't help but smile: "Mr. Wu, it's almost New Year's, you should relax."

  "Have seen Fourth Master." Wu Si said with a bow and a smile, "The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop, I'm afraid there is still some trouble ahead."

  "Oh, something's happened with the 14th?" Yongzheng's face suddenly turned solemn.

  "No." Wu Si Dao shook his head, "However, it should be within these two days."

  Yuan Zong asked in doubt, "How can you be sure?"

  "The ocean-going ships start to set sail in February or March every year, and the preparations have already begun during the Chinese New Year. The 14th Master should have received the news several days ago, and without a grain of rice to cook, how could he not be anxious? The imperial court and local officials began sealing their stamps on the 20th of the last month of the lunar year and will only unseal them on the 20th of the first month (heh heh, who would have thought that the Qing dynasty has a one-month-long Chinese New Year holiday, what a golden month!). The 14th Master cannot wait any longer, nor can he drag it out, so he must react before the sealing of the stamps, which is within these few days."

  Yin Zhen nodded and asked cautiously, "We just spread the rumor in the capital that we are going to integrate the maritime trade fleet, why is Mr. Wu so sure that those merchants won't transport wood to Shanghai?"

  Wu Si Dao smiled and said, "Nothing else, human nature is like this, pursuing benefits and avoiding harm is the natural instinct of man. The 14th Master's methods of operating 'Four Great Constants' are known to all merchants and officials in the world, who doesn't know? Who isn't afraid? Those sea trade ship owners, as long as they hear the wind, even if they just suspect it, would rather believe it exists than not exist. There is a lot of business to be done, why must you do wood business?"

  "Could be, there are also fleets that specialize in just timber trade."

  Wu Si said with a nonchalant tone, "This matter, those merchants will discuss it among themselves. They'll temporarily allocate a portion of the shares to those fleets, and that's how they can avoid worrying about it later. They'll take care of this account themselves. Although they seem like loose sand usually, at critical moments, someone will step up to organize them. Those high-ranking officials won't possibly lack even this bit of foresight and ability. Fourth Master, you can rest assured."

  "Master, you are indeed all-knowing and all-seeing. We just made a few remarks, but it has already caused fourteen to become flustered and embarrassed. Haha, I admire you." Xian Yan said with a light smile, "Now that the fourteenth is deeply favored by the emperor, it's time to take him down a notch."

  Wu Si Dao shook his head slightly, "Don't think it's that simple. Fourteenth Master's actions often exceed people's expectations. We can't be careless. Let's see how he makes his move. It should happen within these two days."

  In the evening, in the Nurturing Heart Palace, Kangxi, after a busy day, began to review and respond to the secret memorials presented by various places. He first flipped through to see if there were any from Liangjiang (the two rivers), as the dispute between the governors of Liangjiang and the naval fleet of Yin-zeng were among his most pressing concerns lately. Upon flipping through, he indeed found a secret memorial from Yin-zeng.

  He unfolded the letter, looked at it carefully, and furrowed his brow. Then he slowly relaxed, and finally a smile appeared on his face. This Old Fourteen was indeed one of a kind, with a clever move to turn guests into hosts, and another to shock the tiger by beating the mountain. What's most impressive is that he did it all openly and honestly, with great style and elegance. Ah, with such talent, Shanghai can rest assured. Following this train of thought, I'm afraid even 50 million shares of this foreign trade fleet would be hard to come by. I have a 40% stake, which is 200 million. The affairs of the people are finally something to breathe a sigh of relief about. All thanks to this Old Fourteen! 400 million! When have I ever been so wealthy?

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