The next day, the father-in-law of the Wuchang Ma Army Admiral sent a few confidants to Hanyang, led by a tentman, who was also a capable person who had been with the gentry for many years. After arriving at the Ming army camp, they thought they would have a preliminary discussion with the baggage officers under Deng Ming's tent, but they did not expect that the reception specifications for them were exactly the same as those for Zhou Peigong. Deng Ming attended the meeting, and the three majors who accompanied the army and the Sichuan salt industry representative Ye Tianming sat on both sides.

Since he had never expected to sit opposite Deng Ming, the accountant and several accompanying people were so shocked that they could not speak. Seeing that the negotiator kept nodding and saying yes, he had no courage to raise any objections, Deng Ming sighed. He knew that this kind of negotiation was meaningless at all. So the second round of negotiations between the two sides ended here, and Deng Ming signaled that they could return and asked the other party to send more authoritative people.

"These are all small characters who have no decision-making power," after the other party's messenger left, Deng Ming never tires about his decision-making reasons to Ye Tianming. Now Chengdu is in a mess, and Deng Ming has to experience and do many things, hoping to get rid of the passive situation as soon as possible: "In addition, if the incident happens, their backend boss will easily be completely pushed."

"The bad thing is to waste time!" After Deng Ming's continuous training along the way, Ye Tianming also began to have some experience.

"Yes, I'm passing the messages back and forth, and there are not more than a dozen, and twenty rounds of negotiations can't come up with a charter. If it has been delayed for a long time, the things that were agreed at the beginning may change their minds again. We only took one day to fight Hanyang, but we don't want to delay this negotiation for one or two months." Deng Ming shook his head and sighed.

The current situation is that the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the Ming army needs to race against time to strengthen its strength. For a moment, Deng Ming really wanted to show off his strength and urge Wuchang to seize the time, but he was afraid that it would be counterproductive.

Until the third time when Wuchang came, Deng Ming still didn't think of a good way to further attack Wuchang.

"I am Lu Chenyin." The leader was a middle-aged man in his fifties. He saluted Deng Ming as soon as he entered the tent. He heard that the other party did not use his humble self-proclaimer, nor did he pay tribute to the last messenger. Deng Ming probably probably had fame and fortune.

Deng Ming did not ask immediately, but signaled the other party to sit down. This time, the envoy from Wuchang was quite satisfactory. After sitting down, he was calm, without any trouble or sweating.

Lu Chenyin was indeed a juren, and he was also a master of the examination in the Ming Dynasty. He claimed to be the father-in-law of the Wuchang Ma Army Admiral. After listening to the report of his confidants, Lu Chenyin struggled for a while after learning that Deng Ming was presenting himself in the negotiations, he finally bit his teeth and plucked his courage to rush to the Ming army camp in person. Today, in addition to the chief shopkeeper of the business under his name, he also brought several capable shopkeepers of the gentry who also wanted to participate in this matter.

When Lu Chenyin introduced himself, Deng Ming kept paying attention to a servant standing behind him. This person seemed a little familiar - art students always had special memory ability for those they had met. After a few seconds of recollection, Deng Ming suddenly realized that this guy had sent him a letter to Zhongxiang, telling him all about Li Shixun's troops and route.

"How can such a hero be a servant?" After recognizing this person, Deng Ming said to Lu Chenyin with a smile.

"What the admiral is blamed." Lu Chenyin brought this person here today to make friends. If the other party couldn't recognize it, it only means that the information provided by Lu Chenyin last time was not of great use, and he would not insist on clinging to him. Now Deng Ming actually recognized this person at a glance. Lu Chenyin felt that this meant that he had made great contributions last time. He said with a smile on his face: "Tomorrow, I will let him go out to do a manager."

Deng Ming nodded, and at this point both sides had already made tacit understanding.

The negotiations were about to begin, and Lu Chenyin asked all the irrelevant people to go out, leaving only him and the few shopkeepers he brought. Last time the Ming army asked for redemption of the city, Lu Chenyin took the opportunity to use his connections to trade some gold and silver, earning tens of thousands of taels of silver. This time, the Ming army was at the city, and the business of buying and selling salt fell into Lu Jinshen, hoping to make another profit.

However, Lu Chenyin was not clear about the details of the salt transaction. He came today just to have a friendship and keep the scenes in mind. The specific contents were left to the shopkeepers to finalize.

"How much salt does Admiral have?"

“What is the quality?”

"Can you let the villain see the sample?"

“How much does the Admiral cost?”

Deng Ming responded to the shopkeepers' inquiries, and when he glanced at Lu Chenyin, who was sitting opposite him calmly, he was envious. He was surrounded by a joint representative of the five major Sichuan salt trading companies, but he couldn't help at all. Even the details of salt prices were required by Deng Ming, the military commander.

This time, the Ming army brought three million jin of salt and loaded more than 20 ships. These were all produced by the five major salt shops before the Ming army sent troops. For the purpose of supporting industry and commerce, Deng Ming announced that he would not ask them for ship transportation and transportation fees this time, and then talk about it later. Therefore, for the salt merchants, the FOB price of this batch of salt is no different from the cost price of the Wuchang batch of salt. If it is not included in the large-scale production tools ordered by the five major salt shops, the cost of salt is about one yuan per ten jin, and the cost of three million jin of salt is about 300,000 yuan. After the production scale is further expanded, the cost will continue to decline.

"Two yuan per catty," Deng Ming quoted the price that he had discussed with Ye Tianming in advance. He had considered the exchange price of salt and grain in Huguang, and the silver price: "Three million jin of salt is equivalent to six million yuan."

Since the IOU compensation agreement has just been reached, Zhou Peigong and Huguang Hawks Group have not had a single one. Deng Ming agreed to pay for one-third of the salt first and use it as a reserve for people with IOUs in the future. The remaining 2 million kilograms of salt will need to be paid in silver by Wuchang.

Although the shopkeeper brought by Lu Chenyin did not know the details of the IOU compensation system, he knew that there would be a channel to provide such IOU to offset part of the salt payment. Because he didn't know what the IOU was, the shopkeepers didn't care about the exchange ratio of the IOU and the salt price. Besides, this part of the exchange has nothing to do with the business, and what they care about is the exchange price of salt to silver.

"How much silver does one pound of salt cost?" asked Lu Chenyin's shopkeeper. After checking the quality of this batch of Sichuan salt, the purchase price he gave in his mind was two cents of silver, which is two taels of silver per hundred pounds.

After hearing this question, Deng Ming casually wanted to answer two cents of silver. When Huai salt arrived in Wuchang, it was basically the price. Although the quality of Sichuan salt in Deng Ming was better than Huai salt, it came from the wrong way, and the other party must consider the risks. Deng Ming felt that the same price as Huai salt should be a acceptable result for both parties.

After entering the retail market, the price of salt of two cents of silver will rise further, and will reach about one cent in cities with convenient transportation. However, Deng Ming never considered these profits. This part belongs to local snakes such as officials, gentry, business companies, bullies, etc. As a producer of salt, Sichuan Salt Store can get about one-fifth of the whole piece of cake, which is more than ten times the profit for them, which is enough to be satisfied.

However, Deng Ming did not answer immediately. Ye Tianming didn't say a word during the entire negotiation. Thinking of this, Deng Ming turned around and pointed at Ye Tianming and said, "I can't make the decision on this matter. It depends on the price of this boss Ye."

While speaking, Deng Ming raised one foot. If Ye Tianming was too modest, he would kick him hard and remind him. However, Ye Tianming's performance was much better than Deng Ming imagined. Although he flashed a hint of nervousness and surprise, he did not rush to say anything like "It's all up to the admiral to be the master."

After all the shopkeepers' eyes focused on Ye Tianming, Deng Ming briefly introduced Ye Tianming's identity. After hearing that he was the general representative of Sichuan salt and salt merchants, the shopkeepers' eyes were filled with envy when they looked at Ye Tianming. Even Lu Chenyin couldn't help but look at Ye Tianming more. Although he was fame, Lu Chenyin also knew that the level of wealth of the salt merchant was beyond his reach.

"If Admiral Deng hadn't said that, I wouldn't have seen that he was actually a salt merchant." Lu Chenyin thought to himself: "I thought he was a poor soldier just now."

Ye Tianming's performance next made Deng Ming even more happy. He actually told the shopkeepers that he needed to think about it because he was a newcomer and didn't know much about the salt industry here in Wuchang.

"Although it's still a little bit immature, it's a bit of a bargaining voice," Deng Ming looked at Ye Tianming from the side, very happy that his previous efforts were not in vain: "As long as I shouldn't interfere in everything, I should have given him the opportunity to play for himself."

Since the salt price cannot be settled immediately, the negotiations came to an end. Deng Ming was very satisfied with today's progress. The big framework has basically been settled, and only the final price is settled. As for this final price, he and Ye Tianming have already discussed it.

"I wonder if Boss Ye is free?" After the negotiations, Lu Chenyin's shopkeeper suddenly asked Ye Tianming for invitation: "If Boss Ye wants to know about Wuchang and Hanyang's salt prices, I can accompany Boss Ye around the city."

This sudden invitation made Ye Tianming feel a little at a loss and subconsciously turned to see Deng Ming.

Just now, the shopkeepers in Wuchang thought that Ye Tianming was Deng Ming's soundtrack, and it was also a buffer. It was inappropriate for Deng Ming to propose a price himself, and it would be of no benefit to both parties. If the price was unreasonable, it would be difficult for Wuchang to refuse; if it was really rejected, Deng Ming would become difficult to get out of the Taiwan Strait, and the negotiations would easily fall into a deadlock. After seeing Ye Tianming's reaction, the people in Wuchang were more convinced of their judgment, believing that most of these salts were Deng Ming's, and Ye Tianming was mostly just a puppet.

During the negotiation, people like Ye Tianming need to be identified. Deng Ming cut off his relationship with this person so that Wuchang can bargain with confidence and boldness. Since the other party is a businessman, there is nothing wrong with inviting the other party to the city to negotiate. Ye Tianming is not even Deng Ming's officer, he is just a businessman with a low status. Even if Wuchang arrests this person, he will not make any contribution.

"Boss Ye, please make your own decision." Deng Ming thought for a while, feeling that Wuchang did not dare to lure his people at this time and do something that angered the Ming army.

After thinking nervously for a while, Ye Tianming resolutely made a decision. He did not seek Deng Ming's advice anymore, but turned around and looked at the shopkeeper who proposed the invitation, nodded and agreed: "I have this intention."

Ye Tianming knew that Deng Ming was very concerned about the market in Wuchang, so he made up his mind to take a look in Wuchang and Hanyang cities and bring back more useful commercial information.

In this way, Ye Tianming followed Lu Chenyin and his party back to Wuchang.

...

As a famous gentry, Lu Chenyin would certainly not condescend to accompany a businessman. This job naturally fell on the shopkeepers. Ye Tianming accompanied them for the afternoon of visiting Wuchang. He asked about the price of a lot of goods and asked his companions to help him write it on paper. Soon Ye Tianming's arms were filled with various information.

As for the salt price in Wuchang, it is higher than Deng Ming and Ye Tianming expected. The cost of Huai salt is similar to Sichuan salt. Now it is mainly stove owners (boiling salt with fire), and the cost of 100 kilograms of salt is about one qian. When salt merchants purchased from the Qing court, they had to pay one liang to one liang to one liang and two qian for 100 jin of salt. If salt merchants had their own sales channels in the local area, they would make more money. Major salt merchants were also actively establishing their own sales network, and the same was true in Huguang. Now the sales channels of large salt merchants in Huguang have not been fully established, and they sold the unsold salt to local snakes in Huguang. The same is true for those salt merchants who did not have their own sales channels. The price of local snakes in Wuchang was about two cents of salt, but due to the war on the Yangtze River last year, it has now risen to four cents of silver.

As the sky was getting late, Lu Chenyin's shopkeeper suggested going to a restaurant for a simple meal, then listening to the music, and getting up early tomorrow morning to inspect the market. Through his observation of Ye Tianming, these people believed that Deng Ming's interest was not limited to salt. Since Ye Tianming had such a great interest in the Wuchang market, he obviously would not say the wholesale price of salt before he saw it.

"Let's have some simple meals and neglect Boss Ye." After booking a private room in the best restaurant in Wuchang, the shopkeeper smiled at Ye Tianming.

After saying that, the shopkeeper turned around and looked at the guy: "Is there a Huadiao?"

"Yes, yes." The guy replied hurriedly, and at the same time he did not forget to show off: "Last year, the Haibian attacked the Yangtze River, and Deng Ni was isolated from traffic..."

Last year's war cut off traffic on the Yangtze River for several months, and both civil and military ships were wiped out by Deng Ming and Zhang Huangyan. Jiang Guozhu, who acted as the governor of Liangjiang, conducted a large-scale plunder for this year's canal transportation, causing a serious shrinkage of freight in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. When the capacity for transportation of grain was seriously insufficient, the luxury of rice wine naturally became extremely rare, but the restaurant where the shopkeeper came to still had enough inventory.

The guy's show-off was interrupted by a cough from the shopkeeper. He glanced at Ye Tianming's expression and blamed the guy: "We are here to drink and listen to music, are we here to listen to what you are talking about in war?"

"The villain knew he was wrong." The guy hurriedly bowed to apologize.

"What good food are there today?"

After hearing the question, the guy reported a skeleton of dishes like a rumor. Ye Tianming was confused and didn't understand anything, but the shopkeeper politely asked Ye Tianming which dish he thought was good.

"The shopkeeper has the final say." Ye Tianming was embarrassed to say that he didn't understand anything, so he said politely.

"How can that be? It's just a simple meal, so of course it's up to Boss Ye to order it." The shopkeeper did not allow Ye Tianming to refuse.

For this restaurant, the shopkeepers of several shops were regular customers, so as soon as they walked to the door, the friend took them diligently into the door and took them to the second floor with no instructions.

"Why does the outsider brought by Boss Li look so sarcastic?" After walking into the kitchen, a guy couldn't help but murmur to his companion.

"Like like a military man!" Another guy also felt the same. Ye Tianming gave him the impression of being big and thick, and rude: "But looking at Boss Li, Boss Wang and others, I am very polite to him. I guess he has a big background."

A jar of flower sculptures was carefully lifted out of the wine cellar by the man carefully, gently wiped away the dust from the red paint seal, and took out the matching small warm wine stove, small porcelain cup, plum blossoms and other items. The men sent these things to the Yashi.

"Where is the live fish?"

Although the menu has not been reported yet, after the shopkeeper and the others entered the door, the kitchen became busy. A few fresh fish that had just been brought up were put in a basket and delivered to the edge of the chopping board. The chef examined them with a picky look: "Boss Li is delicious. If it is a little worse, there will be a lot of blame."

"Since it's Boss Wang's distinguished guest, I will definitely recommend our crispy duck." After checking the live fish, the chef shouted at another guy and said, "If you don't go find it, you have to come?"

The waiter who reported the menu did not come back for a long time, and the tea-serving guy secretly reported that none of the bosses, including Boss Li, was willing to order the dishes, and they all wanted that guy who was like a military man to decide on the dishes tonight.

After hearing about this, the chef who had always been calm was also a little nervous. He subconsciously touched the hilt of his beloved kitchen knife and muttered to himself: "It's not okay if you don't show your skills today."

I don’t know how long I waited, but the waiter who was reporting the food finally came back. The chef who was ready to go jumped up and asked hurriedly: “What did that distinguished guest from another place order?”

The expression on the waiter's face changed for a long time, and hesitated and said, "The distinguished guest ordered a chicken..."

"Crispy chicken? Paper-wrapped chicken? Fried chicken? White-cut chicken?" the chef asked anxiously.

"No, the guest said he wanted to boil chicken in water, a whole one." The guy replied in a low voice, as if he had made some big mistakes.

Several chefs were stunned, but how could the chef sit in this position in the leading restaurant in Wuchang? He pondered for a moment and laughed: "Where are you taking the exam for us?"

"Boiled chicken in white water is the most common among the village women in the countryside. However, it must be that Boss Li and the others said a lot of good things about me. The distinguished guest will give a difficult question to see what tricks we can do in this dish. If it is not done well, the distinguished guest will definitely leave, and Boss Li and the others will also lose face. If it is good, the distinguished guest will continue to order the dishes behind." Seeing that everyone's faces were puzzled, the chef pointed out Ye Tianming's deep meaning. Although he knew that the other party was deliberately making things difficult, Youdao was very skilled and brave. When he didn't know the question just now, the chef was a little uneasy. Now that the question has been released, he is not nervous at all.

The heat was just right, the knife was perfect, the seasoning was even more heavy, and the thinness was too thin. After finally finishing the boiled chicken in white water, the chef was already sweating on his forehead. When he was adding firewood to the stove just now, he personally supervised it to ensure that the chicken was bloody and the meat was smooth and soft.

As the chef expected, this dish, which could be called a work of art, was delivered not long after it was delivered, and subsequent explanations came.

"The distinguished guest said this chicken was well done, and another one."

"Haha, it's really good." The chef laughed loudly, then was stunned: "Why do you need one?"

The chef thought that the distinguished guest would probably try the boiled chicken in white water, and he still had a series of specialty dishes waiting for the distinguished guest to taste.

No matter how confused I felt, the guests' wishes must be satisfied. The chef was very energetic and carefully cooked a chicken.

"The distinguished guest said, let's have another one!"

Not long after the second chicken was sent, a new order came again.

When the third chicken was delivered, the chef couldn't help but run to the private room to see what happened. When the guy opened the door, he took Ye Tianming through the crack of the door. The latter was holding the Huadiao wine jar with both hands and tilting his head to pour the wine into his throat. The rice wine transported from Zhejiang was like bad wine on the roadside, and it spilled all over the floor along the distinguished guest's clothes. Ye Tianming had eaten too fast just now and choked.

The tabletop at Ye Tianming was dripping with juice, and chicken bones were everywhere. Several shopkeepers were stunned and stared at the distinguished guest who was drinking with a huge cock.

"Eat meat casually, it's great to be a salt merchant." After clearing his throat, Ye Tianming grabbed the bones that had not been gnawed, glanced at the third chicken that had just been brought up, and said to himself in his heart: "You can still ask for it again."

...

"Master, something happened."

Lu Chenyin, who had already rested on the bed, was woken up by the servant. When he put on his clothes and walked to the study, the shopkeeper was waiting there with a panic. After seeing Lu Chenyin, the shopkeeper hurriedly shouted: "What happened to Boss Ye!"

"What happened?" Lu Chenyin asked calmly. In his opinion, the biggest thing was that he was caught by the yamen: "Which guy who doesn't have eyes?"

Lu Chenyin was a little angry that the shopkeeper was not cautious enough in his work, but at most it would be a problem. Send a message to the Wuchang prefect Zhou Peigong to solve the problem.

"Boss Ye is not going to work." The shopkeeper was so anxious that tears seemed to fall out.

"No?" Lu Chenyin was shocked. If something happened to Ye Tianming in Wuchang City, then he and Deng Mingke would be unable to explain clearly: "What's wrong with Boss Ye?"
Chapter completed!