My eunuch godfather

Chapter 72 Welcome Banquet

Unlike the Jin Yun, the Nanjing Jin Yun was commanded by Xu Bengao and was located far away in Nanjing.

After Zhang Kun finished his work diligently, he returned to the capital, which was more than two thousand miles away from Nanjing. No matter how far his reach was, he couldn't reach it.

Given this, Zhang Kun naturally wanted to make a fortune; otherwise, why would he work for Xu Bengao for nothing?

After meeting Wu Yangchun at Wangjiang Pavilion, Zhang Kun went to Huai'an Prefecture City, carrying Li Changgeng's letter, to pay his respects to Chen Jian, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner.

Seeing that Zhang Kun was unwilling to get too involved with the Donglin Party, Li Changgeng wrote a letter to Chen Jian in his own name to persuade him on Chen Jian's behalf.

Chen Jian was a relatively common type of scholar-official in his time:

He was an honest and upright official who only took the usual allowances in addition to his salary, and never took too much.

He is not corrupt, does not accept bribes, and will use common practice to bribe his superiors, but will not use heavy bribes to seek promotion.

Of course, Chen Jian's official post was not in vain.

After becoming Minister of Revenue, Chen recommended exempting his hometown, Qiyang County, from the annual tax burden of 1000 shi of grain and 11 post horses.

The reasoning is sound: the former was that other counties had poor harvests that year, so Qiyang County was temporarily taxed, and the tax has remained so ever since.

The latter refers to the newly established post station in Qiyang County that year, where it was agreed that Hengyang County and Qiyang County would each contribute 8 post horses, and later 6 more were added.

As a result, Hengyang County refused to share the burden, and Daozhou, Lingling and other prefectures and counties also refused to help, leaving Qiyang County to bear the burden of 22 horses alone.

While it appears reasonable and well-founded, it is essentially a way to shift the tax burden of one's hometown to other prefectures and counties, a higher level of embezzlement disguised as public office.

The fiscal and tax system of the Ming Dynasty was extremely complex and riddled with problems, with similar messes of accounts in every prefecture and county.

The imperial court and local governments would generally adjust the tax burden based on the actual situation to prevent excessive taxation in a particular area from triggering popular uprisings.

In short, this "achievement" is enough to protect the Chen family of Qiyang for at least two or three generations.

To deal with such an honest official, one should not focus too much on practical benefits, but rather on cultivating a reputation for integrity.

Zhang Kun did not focus on how much tax revenue the Nanjing Jinyunhao could generate, but instead emphasized "using relief funds to open shops".

It was emphasized that the success of the Tamsui business on the Nanjing Jinyun ship could provide relief to a great many disaster victims.

Chen Jian was indeed very receptive to this approach, and coupled with Li Changgeng's letter indicating that the Grand Canal Administration would support the Nanjing Jinyun Shipping Company.

All locks along the canal will increase their efforts to investigate and punish smuggled tampas mushrooms.

Although the level of support was not as strong as that for Li Changgeng, some support was better than none.

After meeting Chen Jian, Zhang Kun immediately abandoned Wu Yangchun and continued south along the canal.

Passing through Baoying County and Gaoyou Prefecture, we arrived at Yangzhou City, a place famous for its "fireworks in March".

Yangzhou, also known as Jiangdu, is located at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, and is known as the first city north of the Yangtze River.

This is the location of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office, the headquarters of the Lianghuai salt merchants.

......

Wu Yangchun, his face grim, stepped off the ship, using the backs of his servants as footholds, and stared at the fleet of ships anchored not far away.

That was Xu Bengao and Zhang Kun's fleet.

The sudden departure of the man surnamed Zhang southwards was most likely because several other companies had sent people to Huai'an to offer higher prices.

Is it the Wang family, the Jiang family, or the weaker Cheng family, the Min family, the Xu family, or the Zheng family?

Regardless of which company it is, this puts Wu Yangchun in a very passive position.

Because when the family business was divided, the salt industry in Yangzhou was inherited by Wu Yangchun's younger brother, Wu Yangjing, so this was not his home turf.

Although the relationship between Wu Yangjing and Wu Yangchun was not as bad as that between Wu Yangze and Wu Yangchun, it could not be described as a brotherly relationship.

"Has Xu Bengao gone to the city? Where is he staying?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Admiral Xu has already entered the city and is staying at Zheng Yuanze's Shadow Garden."

The Zheng family!?

Wu Yangchun was seething with hatred and continued to ask the steward he had sent to Yangzhou, "Any further news?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Zheng Zhiyan has spread the word, inviting various families to the Guangling Pavilion in Xiaoqinhuai."

The Yangzhou steward respectfully said to Wu Yangchun, "Wang Wei will host a banquet to welcome and cleanse Admiral Xu."

"Useless! Why didn't you say anything about something so important?!"

Upon hearing the words of the Yangzhou steward, Wu Yangchun flew into a rage, kicked the Yangzhou steward to the ground, and vented his anger.

He turned and climbed into the sedan chair carried by eight men, instructing the steward, "Go to the Jiang family."

......

The Xiaoqinhuai River is the dividing river between the old and new cities of Yangzhou, connecting the Grand Canal and the Slender West Lake.

Guangling Inn, located in the new city, was the first-class inn in Yangzhou.

Recently, Wang Wei, a famous courtesan who had traveled extensively, returned to Yangzhou from Hangzhou and stayed at the Guangling Pavilion.

Zheng Zhiyan used Wang Wei's name to "host" the banquet as a gesture of humility, thus alleviating the dissatisfaction of various families with the Zheng family hosting the welcome banquet.

Wang Wei, courtesy name Xiuwei, self-styled Caoyi Daoren, became a prostitute after losing her father at the age of seven.

Under the guidance and support of the academy, Wang Wei traveled extensively, enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.

He befriended literary figures such as Pan Zhiheng, Dong Qichang, Mao Yuanyi, Chen Jiru, and Qian Qianyi, and exchanged poems with them.

Now she is famous and is known as the "Beauty Scholar" by her contemporaries. She is the most famous courtesan in Jiangnan.

Besides Wang Wei, there was also Xu Fo, a famous courtesan from Zhenze, Suzhou, and Yang Wan, a famous courtesan from the Qinhuai River in Nanjing.

The welcoming banquet for Xu Bengao was jointly hosted by three socialites.

The major salt merchants from Yangzhou, including Jiang Guozhu of the Jiang family, Wang Daofei of the Wang family, and Wu Yangchun of the Wu family, were all present.

The welcoming banquet was a lively affair, with toasts flowing, delicacies laid out, light singing and dancing, and the recitation of poems...

Zhang Jingzhen and Zhang Zhiyuan, siblings from the Duke of England's mansion, did not attend the banquet.

Zhang Kun kept a low profile at the banquet, sitting in a corner and letting Xu Bengao and Zheng Zhiyan and his son Zheng Yuance steal the spotlight.

Having eaten almost all of his meal, he used the excuse of needing to use the restroom to leave and wandered around the Guangling Pavilion.

Arriving at a secluded courtyard, one can see the famous "Twenty-Four Bridges" of Yangzhou and stop to gaze at it.

"Please leave, sir."

Hearing the voice, Zhang Kun turned around and found that it was Wang Wei's maid speaking, with Wang Wei behind her.

Why?

Zhang Kun has been treated like an honored guest lately, but this is the first time anyone has treated him like this, he said with a smile.

"My young lady is receiving distinguished guests here. Please enjoy the scenery elsewhere."

Because Zhang Kun was too low-key at the banquet, Wang Wei and her maids had little impression of him.

"It seems that Mr. Xiuwei does not recognize me. I am a commander under Governor Xu, and I was also at the banquet just now."

Zhang Kun ignored the maid and introduced himself directly to Wang Wei.

Who would recognize a mere fifth-rank commander?

Wang Wei didn't think much of Zhang Kun. At the banquet just now, even Xu Bengao, a first-rank military commander, had to address her as "Mr."

She refused to respond to Zhang Kun's words, turning to glance at the maid, who spoke to Zhang Kun in an unfriendly tone:

"Please leave immediately to avoid any undignified situation."

"Ha, tell me, how is it unseemly?"

Zhang Kun was amused by the maid's dismissal and asked with a smile.

"Don't waste your breath on him."

Wang Wei, who had become famous in Jianghuai at a young age and thus arrogant, was somewhat impatient and instructed his maid:

"Let him stay here; it's his own fault for not wanting to save face."

Clearly, Wang Wei and her maid assumed the distinguished guest was Xu Bengao and were waiting for him to arrive so that Zhang Kun could slink away in disgrace.

"How are Mr. Xiuwei's preparations going?"

Zheng Yuance strode into the courtyard and saw Wang Wei and her maidservants. He smiled and asked.

Then he saw Zhang Kun, paused for a moment, and said with a big smile:

"Commander Zhang, so you're here! What a coincidence, my father was just sending people to look for you."

When Wang Wei heard Zheng Yuanze say this, his eyes were filled with disbelief:

Could it be that the distinguished guest whom the major salt merchants Zheng Zhiyan, Jiang Guozhu, Wang Daofei, and Wu Yangchun wanted to entertain separately was him?