After the Battle of Gaoyou Lake, the lives of the captured Imperial Guards, including Suo'etu, were not very good, because the prisoners were all Manchu aristocratic children, and almost all the princes and ministers had relatives and friends, so Tai The Empress Dowager also pardoned them in order to unite the Eight Banners. However, the loss of a glorious future is undoubtedly a heavy blow to Suo'etu and other ambitious people. After being eliminated from the ranks of the imperial guards, he, Obai's nephew, Ye Bilong's son-in-law and others borrowed wine every day. Sadly, the high-spiritedness before was completely gone.
Today, when several fellow sufferers were drinking happily, someone suddenly shouted from behind them, and then they saw a boy coming over and greeting the children of the assistant ministers with a smile. Suo'etu glanced at the person coming and vaguely remembered seeing this person before, but it didn't seem like he was from Two Yellow Flags. The visitor introduced himself, and it turned out that his surname was Niu Gulu, and his father Niyahana was still a Barutu.
"Oh, remember." Although he was a little drunk, Suo'etu immediately remembered the person who came. He was a person from Zhenghongqi and held the official position of Zhengbaiqi.
The other party must invite several former imperial guards from the Zhenghuang Banner to drink, and Suo'etu and the others can't refuse. This man named Niu Colu, who is from the Zhenghong Banner, is tall and straight, has a handsome appearance and is very eloquent, which changes the atmosphere at the banquet. Very enthusiastic. According to this person from Niu Colu, since the original Imperial Guards were expelled after the Battle of Gaoyou Lake, the Eight Banners have now become unbearable. This is not entirely flattering. Indeed, the officers originally selected were all The best among the Eight Banners in Beijing. In the Battle of Gaoyou Lake, before Shunzhi was killed, the morale of the Imperial Guards remained intact. For a young army that was almost always on the battlefield for the first time, this was already very good. Although the name of the Forbidden Brigade Eight Banners who followed Prince Kang to Shandong remained unchanged, it was already an army with its backbone broken. It was originally filled with losers who were not qualified to join the Imperial Guard, and it also lost the sure-winners. confidence.
After getting to know each other, Niu Gulu began to make insinuations and inquire about water transportation. These people all had the opportunity to meet the auxiliary ministers, so Niu Gulu asked them if they had heard about transporting grain by sea, and What are the auxiliary ministers, especially Sony and Obai, what are their plans for this.
In recent days, Suo'etu has indeed heard his father talk about the canal transfer to the sea several times. Not long ago, he also talked about this matter with the fellow sufferers. Everyone is familiar with the inside story, so even if they chat a few words in private, it doesn't matter. However, this Niu Gulu had no chance to know such top-level secrets. Although Suo'etu drank a lot, he was stunned when he heard this and planned to shake his head and say he didn't know.
But before Suo'etu could speak, Obai's nephew said first: "Hey, brother, have you heard the news? This water transport is going to recruit An-Fujian thieves to transport it. What a thief! In order to pay for the errands, he will even pay for the food." Help us transport it.¡±
Suo'etu always believed that the matter was not that simple. Last time, Deng Ming's casual phrase "Kangxi" caused harm to all the auxiliary ministers. So after hearing about it from his father this time, Suo'etu firmly believed that it was a conspiracy. . Sony told his family in private that he also believed that Deng Ming probably knew and tacitly allowed Mutan to facilitate this matter. However, as long as water transportation was not completely cut off, the court would take action. If Deng Ming's purpose was to use water transportation to whet the Qing court's appetite and make them reluctant to break up, then Deng Ming had succeeded. Now no one in the court dared to advocate a big fight. If he failed again, the consequences would be dire. It will be very serious - since money and food can still be transported to Tianjin, it seems that the court can wait for a better time, and the southeast seems to be still basically in the hands of the Qing court.
"That is to say, has the imperial court agreed to transport the Fujian thieves?" Niu Colu offered another glass of wine.
"I don't know that." Guarjia (Obai's surname) raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp. After putting the empty glass down heavily, he let out a long sigh of contentment.
Niu Gulu hurriedly filled the empty cup, and Guarjia didn't refuse. He picked it up and poured it into his mouth with a tilt of his neck. After patting the empty cup on the table, Niu Gulu will fill it up again, and so on.
"It seems that my uncle is going to mention this matter to the Empress Dowager today." Guarjia was so drunk that he laughed again before falling to the table: "A Fujian thief who sees money."
The others were almost done drinking. Niu Gulu offered another glass of wine to Suo'etu. The latter had not touched the wine glass for a long time. He glanced down and stared at the wine glass for a while, only to see that he was holding the wine glass. Its hands were steady and strong, and there was no ripple on the surface of the clear wine.
Raising his eyes, Suo'etu looked at the person opposite, and saw that the other person's face was still calm as usual, not at all nervous because of the sneer on his face.
"Let's go have a cup of tea." Suo'etu spoke clearly and there was no hint of drunkenness in his tone.
"Okay." Niu Gulu called Baoyi who was waiting outside to come in and asked them to take their masters home.
When Suo Etu's coat came over, the son of the Chief MinisterIn Deng Ming's previous life, the ministers who had wielded power over the government for twenty years waved their hands and asked them to follow him from a distance, and walked toward a familiar teahouse. Niu Gulu was one position behind Suo'etu. The two of them were still talking and laughing on the road, just like a pair of friends who hadn't seen each other for many years. In Deng Ming's previous life, this Niu Gulu had a man named Chang Bao. His great-grandson later changed his name to Heshen.
"Why do you want to inquire about this matter?" The other party's good appearance left a good impression on Suo'etu, and it didn't look like the other party was a craftsman serving the Ming army. He seemed to just want to know about water transportation. Whether this matter could be accomplished or not, he did not show any intention of lobbying, which also alleviated Soetu's suspicion of him a lot.
"Lord Sony's young master is really aware of everything." Niu Colu paid tribute to Suo'etu with tea instead of wine, and then said exactly what he said: "It is true that someone asked me to inquire about the news. To know whether this matter can be accomplished, as long as If you can know the official decree of the imperial court three days in advance, I will get five hundred taels of silver. If it is two days in advance, it will be two hundred taels. If it is only one day, it will be only fifty taels. I have been following this matter I heard from friends in the Ministry of Finance today that the three assistant ministers went to visit Lafayette with this matter. I think they will have accurate information soon. I just want to come here today to get familiar with each other, and I will continue to inquire tomorrow. of."
After hearing that he would be paid 500 taels for three days in advance, Suo'etu was horrified. Even the 500 taels for one day's advance was many times more than Suo'etu's monthly salary when he was an imperial guard. Suo'etu, who had no longer suspected that the other party was seeking information for the Ming army, became suspicious again after hearing this number.
"Don't speak secretly before your eyes." After Niu Gulu finished speaking, he stretched out a finger towards Suo'etu: "As long as I can give my brother an accurate letter, then the reward will be two to five. Why? Sample?"
"Whose money is this? Is it from the Sichuan thieves? If it were the Sichuan thieves' money, I wouldn't dare to ask for it." When he said the last few words, Suo'etu's eyes suddenly became sharp.
The murderous aura that suddenly spewed out from Suo'etu shocked Niu Colu, who had always been very calm, and his face changed slightly. Then he suddenly laughed and said, "What are you talking about, brother? My brother is not careless. The Lung beasts are incompatible with Deng's thieves."
The sudden sharpness of Suo'etu made Niu Colu feel a little uncomfortable. He coughed and further explained: "This is what a few Huguang businessmen asked my younger brother to inquire aboutHave you ever heard of the word 'fund'?" "
"No."
"What about 'stocks'?"
"nor."
"Then let me tell you from the beginning."
According to Niu Colu, the reform of water transport, which Beijing regards as a top secret, has spread in Huguang. A stock exchange has also been established in Wuchang to raise water supply through listing.
"Raising Cao Yin?" Suo'etu asked in confusion.
"Yes, Huguang's Caoyin quota this year is 3.8 million taels. I must also know that this silver must first be sent by Sichuan merchants well, first by the slaves of the Mutan family under the banner of Sichuan merchants. Arrive at Tianjin, and then Wuchang will pay an additional 30% no, 50% additional silver to the Sichuan merchants, those slaves of Mutan. The silver from Huguang will be divided into ten batches, each with 380,000 taels. After the imperial court approved a batch and released the first batch, the silver ships waiting outside the entrance of Dagu would bring in another batch, one after another. If the court broke the contract or refused to give the receipt, then the Sichuan merchants would A loss of one round of money is about 400,000 taels. Huguang, Liangjiang, and Zhejiang all handle it this way." Speaking of the Sichuan merchants' transportation plan, Niu Colu was very familiar with it, and he seemed to know it better than the assistant minister of Suo'etu.
"Sichuan merchants set up a fund in Wuchang more than half a month ago, and named it 'Chu Cao Lending'. It raised 3.8 million taels of silver from wealthy households in Huguang, and the silver shipped to Tianjin was this 'Chu Cao Lending Fund'. If the court breaks the contract, then the fund will lose thirty-eight taels, and each person who buys ten taels of silver will lose one tael. If the court approves and the matter is done, the news will be sent back to Wuchang, and the Huguang Governor's Yamen will Give money to Sichuan merchants, and then Sichuan merchants will pay back the money immediately - plus a 15% bonus to the wealthy households who borrowed the money. With an interest of 10% a month, cash silver, many people are eyeing it, and many people are interested in buying it. , this is a gamble, if you win, you will get a profit of 15%, if you lose, you will lose 10%." Niu Gulu told Suo'etu that the fund did not sell well because many people felt that the Qing court would not agree. The Sichuan Army and the Zhoushan Army escorted the canal transport, so they were still waiting and watching: "But as soon as the news of the imperial court's approval spreads, the fund will definitely skyrocket. Those who know it first can double their wealth in an instant, or at least increase it by 50% or 60%." .¡±
"Huguang alone has a dividend of almost 600,000 taels of silver a month." Suo'etu gasped after understanding it, and also understood why someone would pay a few hundred taels to inquire about the information, but Niu cobaltHe didn't take Lu's words very seriously: "Isn't it just a profit of 15%? Although it is very high, it cannot be doubled."
"Have you ever heard of 'margin'?"
"have no idea."
"Let me start from the beginning, brother. This 'Chu Cao Dismantling' fund has a five percent margin rule. By the way, have you ever heard of 'percentage'?"