Chapter 18 Sky-high price reward
Because there were other things to do, Yan Song did not let Yan Shaoting accompany the cabinet today.

After Yan Shaoting sent Old Yan away.

The lackey Yan Hu quietly came out from some corner.

When he arrived in front of the eldest young master, Yan Hu's face was full of flattery.

"I congratulate you, young master. I wish you a prosperous career and great success."

Yan Shaoting glanced at the lackey: "What's wrong?"

"Master asked me to look for foreign businessmen last time, and I have found a suitable one."

Yan Hu had a flattering look on his face, as if he was seeking praise.

Yan Shaoting rolled his eyes: "Where is that person now?"

"In the front yard."

When Yan Shaoting saw that someone had arrived, he immediately quickened his pace and rushed to the front yard of Yan's mansion.

If I remember correctly, something will happen to the old Taoist priest's Wanshou Palace soon, and then Shandong, Northern Zhili, Shanxi and other places will suffer from famine. Altan and other tribes outside the Great Wall are also restless and often violate the border.

This broken ship of the Ming Dynasty is now in urgent need of silver and food.

On the way to the front yard, the lackey Yan Hu kept whispering some gossip about the capital into Yan Shaoting's ear.

"..."

"Yesterday, on the Lantern Festival, Zhu Shitai from the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion and Zhang Yuangong from the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion had a fight at Fangchun Tower in the south of the city."

"I don't know how, but Xu Wenbi from Duke Dingguo's Mansion, who was trying to stop the fight, got hurt and lay down on the spot."

"Now, Duke Dingguo is seeking justice for his son at the Duke Chengguo Mansion and the Duke Yingguo Mansion."

Yan Shaoting's steps became heavier, and his brows were slightly furrowed. "All three families were meritorious officials during the reign of Emperor Chengzu. Why did they start a fight?"

Yan Hu curled his lips and said, "They just drink and listen to music all day, or walk their birds with cages. Fighting is a common occurrence."

Yan Shaoting closed his mouth and said nothing more.

Since the Battle of Tumu, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty completely lost their military power as Yu Qian rebuilt the three major camps of the Beijing army that were destroyed by the emperor called the gate.

The great achievements of Huaiyou during the founding of the Ming Dynasty and the great achievements of Emperor Chengzu during the Jingnan Campaign were no longer considered as their proper duties. Every household enjoyed wealth and prosperity, and could no longer muster the ambition of their ancestors to fight on the battlefield.

In fact, all of this was just a last resort.

Later, there was a silly kid who tried to make some changes.

then.

He fell into the water.

And then.

Just died.

From then on, no one in the Ming Dynasty mentioned anything like restoring the glory of the three major camps of the Beijing Army.

Yan Shaoting couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

The man in the West Garden today can be said to be a master of power and scheming. He has lived in the palace for forty years, but he has been able to firmly control the court in his hands.

Does he really only care about the power struggles in the court?

Or.

He fears?
Suppressing this speculation deeply and hiding it deep in his heart, Yan Shaoting continued walking towards the front yard.

Never been to the front yard.

Yan Shaoting heard a series of ping-pong noises coming from a courtyard not far away.

"roll!"

"Everyone, get out of here!"

"It's the other way around!"

"..."

Yan Shaoting had a strange look on his face.

The person living in that villa was none other than Yan Shifan.

Yan Hu shrank his head in the back and whispered, "After the news from the palace reached the mansion today, the young cabinet minister started to get angry for some reason..."

Yan Shaoting moved his mouth.

What else could it be? It's because he was promoted and became the tutor of Prince Yu.

I didn't expect that the one-eyed man is such a jealous person.

After knowing the reason, Yan Shaoting was no longer prepared to pay attention to the one-eyed man's impotent rage.

I still have important things to do.

Not long after.

Yan Shaoting arrived at the front yard.

As Yan Hu coughed lightly towards the room, he heard someone move his butt from his seat and stand up.

When Yan Shaoting stepped into the house, he saw a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign merchant standing in the guest seat.

Seeing him come in, the Yi Shang bowed slightly. "Bai Pi Si Zhu, greetings to the honorable Master Yan."

?

Yan Shaoting couldn't help but take another look at this man, then he sat down in the upper seat with a smile: "Mr. Bai, please take a seat."

Bai Fugui shook his head and said, "Master Yan, I have a Ming Dynasty name, Bai Fugui."

After saying this, the blond and blue-eyed Bai Fugui sat down again.

A feeling of absurdity arose in Yan Shaoting's heart.

He couldn't help but glance at Yan Hu, the lackey who always seemed to be fawning.

It seems that the matter of changing the lackey should be put on the agenda.

Bai Fugui then said, "Your Excellency Master Yan, I heard that you wanted to summon me, so I washed up early and rushed over. Master Yan, is there anything I can do for you?"

Yan Shaoting smiled and waved his hand: "It's just an ordinary business, I just wonder if Mr. Bai is interested?"

The first instruction he gave to his lackey Yan Hu was to find the richest foreign merchant in the capital.

I don’t know whether Bai Fugui in front of me is rich, but his name does sound like he is quite wealthy.

When he heard about the deal, Bai Fugui's eyes immediately lit up.

Bai Fugui patted his chest and said, "Mr. Yan may not know that among all the Western and European merchants in Ming Dynasty, I dare not say that I am the most powerful, but I am definitely the best at doing business.

Even the Hebrews who can sell their parents are not as good as me in business, and I am more trustworthy. As long as Master Yan needs it, I can help Master Yan deliver all the goods to all the countries in Europe. "

Doing business in the Ming Dynasty and staying in Beijing, Bai Fugui naturally knew the bigwigs in the Ming Dynasty court.

The Yan family is the prime minister's family of the Eastern Empire. If they do business with this family, it would probably be a big deal worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

Bai Fugui also made full preparations this time, striving hard to win the deal.

Yan Shaoting, who was trying not to laugh, took a second look at Bai Fugui, who was boasting about himself.

It seems that this person has penetrated the markets of various European countries and has his own fixed path in the West.

He immediately said, "A business worth tens of millions of taels of silver every year is only done by Mr. Bai. Can you take it?"

Bai Fugui, who originally wanted to reveal his family background, suddenly widened his eyes.

A business worth tens of millions of taels of silver every year!

Bai Fugui just felt dazzled.

After a long time, he finally recovered: "Yan... this..."

Yan Shaoting immediately added: "You can use your artillery, Western spices, timber, etc. to offset it, but the amount of silver cannot be less than 30%."

Although the silk business could make a profit of tens of millions of taels of silver every year, he knew that it was impossible to have so much cash for trading.

Even if there was, the Ming Dynasty could not absorb so much cash inflow.

This would directly destroy the Ming Dynasty's already fragile or even non-existent financial system.

Yan Hu was a little confused.

The young master said this probably because of the imperial court's recent decision to increase silk production in the southeast.

But this matter has already been assigned to Zhang Juzheng, so why would his own young master want to find someone else to negotiate this deal?

Yan Shaoting was not in a hurry to get an answer.

He was very clear that even if Zhang Juzheng went south in person, the silk deal would not be so easy to make.

At least, everyone in Yuxi Palace seemed to have overlooked one thing.

That is whether the increase in silk production this year can be achieved.

However, the imperial court was starving and in urgent need of money and food.

at last.

Bai Fugui seemed to have thought it through. He stood up and clasped his hands together: "If you can use other items that Daming needs to offset it, I can guarantee that this deal will be done!"

"it is good!"

After getting the answer, Yan Shaoting also stood up and looked at Bai Fugui: "There is one more thing. I am willing to offer a reward of ten thousand taels of silver. I hope Mr. Bai can send a message to your friends in Quanzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen and other places in my Ming Dynasty to find an item for me."

A reward of ten thousand taels of silver could already be called a sky-high reward.

However, for Bai Fugui, who had just preliminarily finalized a deal worth tens of millions of taels of silver, it was just a bonus, or even just a way to help out.

Bai Fugui took a few steps forward and asked, "What is Master Yan looking for?"

Yan Shaoting took out the sweet potato picture he had drawn long ago and handed it to Bai Fugui: "If you can find it, I will give you ten thousand taels of silver and another generous gift."

It was impossible for me to wait for Chen Zhenlong to bring back the sweet potatoes, so I could only take the initiative to look for them.

When Bai Fugui got the drawings, he naturally made a solemn promise.

Even if for no other reason, he had to find the sweet potato for the sake of the tens of millions of taels of business.

Afterwards, Yan Shaoting discussed in detail with Bai Fugui how to establish a monopoly on the silk business in the Ming Dynasty.

It was not until someone came to report that the young cabinet minister left the house angrily to work in the Ministry of Works that Yan Shaoting ended his discussion with Bai Fugui and sent him out of the Yan house.

(End of this chapter)