Chapter 47: The End of the Salt Merchant
Wang Fuguang chuckled and said sarcastically, "Wei Zhongxian is an old minister of the previous dynasty. He is suspected by the old emperor. Not only did he mess up his job this time, he also provoked a civil uprising in Suzhou!"

"I'm afraid we can't save this beautiful head!"

Everyone agreed and flattered Ma Guoyong again.

"Thinking back then, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and other Donglin Party members tried their best to help Wei Zhongxian but failed. But our shopkeeper Ma used a little trick to send him back home!"

"If such means were used in politics, he would definitely be a figure like Zhang Juzheng!"

"The ancient Zhuge Liang is now the shopkeeper Ma!"

When everyone was having a great time, a younger person suddenly sighed and said, "It's a pity for the cooks. I don't know how many of them will die."

Ma Guoyong's face suddenly became gloomy, and the smile on his lips froze on his face.

Wang Fuguang laughed and said, "My dear nephew, please don't be soft-hearted. Throughout history, no one has ever been immortal in order to achieve success!"

"If you sympathize with them, I will give them an extra dollar per pound of salt when I collect it in the future."

Everyone praised it.

However, the young man's face suddenly changed, and he shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly, saying: "That won't do, that won't do!"

"This is 200 jin, and if we add one more coin per jin, it will cost 200 more coins per jin! If we charge 10,000 jin, won't it cost an extra 2,000 taels of silver?"

The pretty woman leaning against the young salt merchant's arms said coquettishly, "The money saved is just enough to set up a banquet in our Meilou."

Everyone was stunned, and then burst into laughter.

Ma Guo smiled again, holding the pretty courtesan in his arms, drinking and touching her all over.

Just as they were drinking and enjoying themselves, there was suddenly a burst of scolding and screaming from downstairs, followed by heavy and messy footsteps on the stairs.

Everyone turned their heads and looked towards the stairs.

Some people with bad tempers started to curse: "Where did you come from? Do you know who are the people sitting here?"

A corner of an official hat appeared on the stairs, followed by the second, third, fourth, fifth...

Twenty or thirty Dongchang guards and Jinyiwei filled the elegant second floor. Their swords and knives collided with each other, making a rustling sound.

Li Yongzhen pushed his way through the crowd and looked at the seven or eight Huizhou salt merchants with a sinister smile, "Of course I know who you are, otherwise how would I dare to come and bother you?"

Ma Guoyong, Wang Fuguang and others recognized the bullfighting suit on Li Yongzhen, stood up with a bang, looked at Li Yongzhen nervously and said, "You are a eunuch from the East Factory, could it be Wei Zhongxian!"

Li Yongzhen laughed, stroked his non-existent beard, and said with a strange laugh: "What kind of person is the factory master? Are you rats in the gutter worthy of being caught by the factory master himself?"

"I am the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, Li Yongzhen, who serves under Eunuch Wei!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yongzhen suddenly shouted, "Men, take down these traitors who are inciting rebellion!"

"promise!"

With a loud shout, the factory guards rushed forward and pushed these Huizhou salt merchants, who usually had the final say and were so arrogant, down on the wine table in an undignified manner.

Suddenly, the cups and plates fell over, and the wine and vegetable juices covered the faces of the salt merchants. Ma Guoyong didn't realize what had happened until then, and shouted in panic: "Eunuch Li, please don't slander me. We have been drinking and having fun in this Meilou for the past few days. How could you incite Dong to rebellion!"

Li Yongzhen smiled coldly and said, "I almost forgot that a cunning person like you must have planned everything and left Suzhou immediately to make an alibi."

"Well, we will be kind and let you guys be wise!"

"How ridiculous that you, the Ma country, thought you were doing it without anyone noticing. Little did you know that you were surrounded by my East Factory's spies, and your every move was reported by the spies!"

"Eunuch Wei knows everything about you two secretly meeting with Kou Shen, defaming the court, and inciting the cooks to attack the government office. He is just waiting for the opportunity to catch you all in one fell swoop. From now on, don't accuse me of not using evidence when doing things!"

"Hahahaha!"

After Li Yongzhen finished speaking, he put his hands on his waist and laughed out loud, as if he was amused by something he had said.

Ma Guoyong and other Huizhou salt merchants looked pale. Although only Ma Guoyong and Wang Fuguang showed up this time, the other salt merchants also contributed money and effort to incite public opinion.

The East Factory had evidence against Ma Guoyong and Wang Fuguang, which meant that the entire Huishang Group was doomed.

…………

Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.

Chongzhen held a memorial in his hand, his whole body shaking with excitement.

"Eight million taels," Chongzhen excitedly grabbed Wang Chengen's wrist, "Wei Zhongxian embezzled a total of eight million taels from me!"

Wang Chengen was equally excited. The eight million taels were equivalent to the court's fiscal revenue for two years, and were exactly the cash that the court lacked the most.

With this money in the treasury, many problems facing the court will be solved.

And not only that, Wang Chengen said excitedly: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Wei said that these eight million taels were seized from Yangzhou, and most of the assets of those Huizhou salt merchants are in their hometown of Huizhou. It is estimated that the total assets are no less than 30 million taels!"

"Please order all the Jinyiwei in the north and south and the officers in the east and west factories to go to Huizhou to arrest the remaining members and confiscate the property of these salt merchants! Your Majesty, do you approve?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Also send an order to Wei Zhongxian. I grant him the Imperial Sword and allow him to do as he pleases!" Chongzhen slammed the table. When he heard the 30 million taels, his eyes turned red with excitement:
"These rioters are so wealthy, it's hard to say that the local officials in Huizhou have not been bribed to protect and obstruct them. Tell Wei Zhongxian to kill anyone who dares to obstruct them. No need to report it!"

"I obey your order!" Wang Chengen was about to leave.

Chongzhen suddenly called him over again, and with red eyes hesitantly asked: "Daban, do you think the staff of the North and South Jinyiwei plus the East and West Factories are enough?"

"Wei Zhongxian needs soldiers to escort him when he brings back the money. Should we mobilize the Beijing Battalion to escort him?"

As soon as Chongzhen finished speaking, he immediately denied it, saying, "No, no! The troops in the Beijing camp may not be able to be used. How about transferring troops from Jizhen, Xuanda, or Liaodong?"

Seeing that the emperor was so excited that he wanted to mobilize the troops from all nine frontiers, Wang Chengen hurriedly advised: "The North and South Jinyiwei and the East and West Factories alone have thousands of troops. It's just a matter of confiscating a few Huizhou salt merchants. I think it's more than enough!"

Chongzhen also realized that he was a little too excited. After calming down after taking a deep breath, he suddenly laughed while holding on to the table.

"Hahaha, these salt merchants are really as rich as you said. You are truly a god!"

"By the way, besides the Huizhou salt merchants, there seem to be two other gangs of salt merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi?"

(End of this chapter)