Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 81: Confiscating eight major Shanxi merchants
In this way, tomorrow is only one day. Strictly speaking, it will take half a day for the guards to arrive in Xuanfu City tomorrow, and things will become very stressful.

After all, Xuanfu is one of the important towns in Jiubian. According to statistics in the third year of Longqing: the town's original horse infantry officers and soldiers were 15. In addition to escaping during the holidays, the actual number of officers and soldiers was 450. Four names.The original number of horses was fifty-five thousand two hundred and seventy-four. Except for special losses during the holidays, the actual number of horses was thirty-two thousand and four.For this reason, the town's annual main troops receive 270 taels of silver, and the guest troops receive 12 taels of silver.

Now that so many years have passed, although the number of troops is no longer so large, it is definitely not an easy task to verify the status of each guard.

Suddenly, the newly promoted people in the hall suddenly became solemn.

Just listen to Emperor Chongzhen saying to them: "I don't care what you do, I only want one result, and I must see it tomorrow and night."

After finishing speaking, he left Dong Yongwen, the new commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, to continue talking.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and asked, "Is your imprisonment related to local discord?"

In Xuanfu, it would be very difficult to be an official without the support of local snakes.On the contrary, if we have a good relationship with the local government, then the financial resources of these local snakes in Xuanfu territory can help solve any problem with money.

When Dong Yongwen heard this, his heart moved, and he immediately responded: "Your Majesty is wise. After I took office as the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, I found that many Shanxi merchants were hoarding food and selling ironware out of customs. However, before further investigation, they were... "

Speaking of this, he glanced at Zhu Zhifeng.He was imprisoned by the eunuch Du Xun and the governor Zhu Zhifeng.

After Zhu Zhifeng heard this, he quickly turned around to face Emperor Chongzhen and immediately explained: "Your Majesty, the Supervisor Du Gonggong said that Dong Zongbing committed a murder and caused harm to the place, and there were witnesses, so the ministers impeached him... …”

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen stretched out his hand and said: "I, Emperor Taizu, would like to remind you that there are eight major Shanxi merchants who have been selling prohibited items out of the customs to Liaodong since the Tianqi period. The Jianlu captives also took the property plundered from the pass. Purchase these supplies generously..."

For him, the most important things at hand are soldiers and wealth, and other things must come after these two.

The soldiers were to rectify the Xuanfu, and the wealth was not transported to the capital, but from the eight major Shanxi merchants. This was decided before he left the capital.

At this time, I heard him say sternly: "If it weren't for these Shanxi merchants, Liaodong would be a bitter cold land, there would be a severe drought in the pass, and there would be no harvest in Liaodong. How could Jianlu have been able to sustain a long-term war? If Liaodong had been settled earlier, how could the state affairs have been affected? So? Tens of millions of soldiers and civilians died in wars, famines, plagues, etc., and among them were the contributions of these Shanxi merchants! For their own selfish interests and harming the people of a country, I swear to kill these traitorous businessmen!"

As he spoke, he motioned Fang Zhenghua to drop a booklet, and then said sternly: "This is Du Xun's confession. Huang Yongfa, one of the eight major Shanxi merchants, bribed him to frame Dong Qing and tricked them into surrendering. Such things are not done by the Nine Clan. Pass!"

For Jiubian, doing business with people outside the customs is actually a common thing.Especially on the Xuanfu side, because of the establishment of the trading point Zhangjiakou, transactions with outside customs were particularly frequent.

The Ming Dynasty also had a need for war horses outside the customs, such as war horses, which needed to be purchased from outside the customs.But at the same time, some things are prohibited from being sold outside the customs.

However, most Shanxi merchants ignored this ban.It can even be said that because of the ban, when they sell these prohibited items, their profits are more generous than ordinary goods.

Among them, the transactions with Jianlu in Liaodong were more generous because Jianlu spent more money on the property they robbed from the customs, so Shanxi merchants liked doing business with Jianlu even more.

Of course, Shanxi merchants were not the only ones doing business with Jianlu in Liaodong. There were also merchants from the south of the Yangtze River who went to Liaodong via sea ships to do business. However, it was far less convenient than Shanxi merchants, and the scale was naturally incomparable.

This is also the reason why Shunzhi will publicly reward the eight major Shanxi merchants after Jianlu entered the pass.This reflects from one aspect how much Shanxi merchants helped Jianlu!

Emperor Chongzhen explained in detail the consequences of a seemingly ordinary business. Dong Yongwen didn't know much about these things at first, but after listening to it, he found that everything was causally related to these Shanxi merchants. He was shocked. They are even more angry, especially if they are not locals.

For a moment, without even thinking about the words, he demanded strongly: "Your Majesty has decreed that the general will kill them!"

Emperor Chongzhen wanted this statement from him. He immediately turned his head and looked at a military general who had been silent beside him and said, "Wei Shizhen?"

"The general is here!" When Wei Shizhen heard it, he immediately stepped out of the queue and clasped his fists to echo.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and issued an order: "Tomorrow at noon, after more than a hundred officers from each guard gather at the governor's office, they will lead their own cavalry and, together with Dong Yongwen, take over Zhangjiakou and search for Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Fan Yongdou, Wang Dayu, The eight major Shanxi merchants, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, and Huang Yongfa, especially their warehouse goods and properties, are the top priority."

Regarding the matter of confiscating homes, Wei Shizhen had already done so in the capital, and it was still the Duke's residence. Therefore, he responded without hesitation: "The general will obey the order!"

The officers at the Xuanfu local guard station must have colluded with the eight major Shanxi merchants, especially those from Zhangjiakou.Without the connivance of the military, large-scale smuggling would not have been possible.

Therefore, they first summoned all the officers to the governor's office under the pretext of verifying the arrears of wages. Of course, this was not an excuse. They really wanted to verify the arrears of wages.Without these officers, the troops who raided the houses would be able to reduce a lot of unnecessary resistance if they drove through in large numbers.

The reason why Dong Yongwen was asked to go was because after all, he had served as the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu and had just been released from prison. He could make up for Wei Shizhen's lack of familiarity with Zhangjiakou.

Emperor Chongzhen then turned to look at another person and said, "He Zhen?"

"The general is here!" He Zhen also came out and responded with clasped fists.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and issued an order: "Please verify with Dong Yongwen that at noon tomorrow, the properties of the eight major Shanxi merchants in Xuanfu City will be inspected. In addition, in terms of city defense, entry and exit are still prohibited unless there is my order!"

"General, I will obey your orders!" He Zhen heard this and immediately received the order loudly.

There is also a commander-in-chief, He Zan, who is on duty at city defense and not at the governor's office.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen finished his instructions, pondered for a moment, and then explained: "Please pay attention, if the clerks hired by the eight Shanxi merchants are willing to testify against the crimes of the eight Shanxi merchants, they will be exempted from guilt. Otherwise, together with the eight Shanxi merchants, The family was killed at the pass before withdrawing from Zhangjiakou as a warning to others. The eight leaders were taken to Xuanfu City for trial."

Time is tight and I can't stay in Xuanfu longer.Moreover, this is the territory of the eight major Shanxi merchants. We don’t know what will happen if we drag it on. It would be better to cut the mess quickly.As for the collusion with the local government, I didn't have time to take care of it carefully, so I could only brush it off, just like when Cao Cao burned the letters colluding with Yuan Shao after the Battle of Guandu.

He Zhen and Wei Shizhen listened and accepted the order again without hesitation.

For them, when they were in the capital, there were still three Dukes, so they could be killed without hesitation. A few profiteers were no problem at all.

It can be foreseen that tomorrow will be a very busy day in Xuanfu!
At the same time, in the Huang Mansion near the governor's office in the city, the owner was a little restless. Although it was past meal time, he was still hungry without knowing it. He was just pacing back and forth in the lobby, a little... Like ants in a hot pot.

After a while, I saw a person walking quickly from the front of the hall. The person quickly asked: "How are you doing? Have you found out any information?"

"Master, the street is under martial law. You can't get out!"

When the man heard this, he frowned and said: "We spend so much money on weekdays, whose subordinates are patrolling? It's okay to ask them to be accommodating or directly ask them about their situation. Do you need me to teach you?" "

This person is none other than Huang Yongfa, one of the eight major Shanxi merchants.

He didn't expect that he had just reached an agreement with the supervisory army, general soldiers, etc. here in Xuanfu not to go back to fight. Unexpectedly, the cavalry suddenly came in the evening, which made him very worried whether Xuanfu would fight. stand up?As a businessman, what you fear most is fighting on your own territory!
"Sir, the soldiers patrolling the streets all have unfamiliar faces. They seem to have accents from the capital. I can't accommodate them!"

When Huang Yongfa heard this, he couldn't help but become a little irritable.

Doing business is like fighting a war. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you take control.But now he knows nothing about the situation outside, and he feels very bad about this situation.

After thinking for a while, he ordered: "Find an opening, sneak out, take my name card to Marshal Wang or Eunuch Du to ask about the situation!" In his opinion, no matter what happened, these two people must He knows the inside story.

The cavalry camp suddenly arrived at Xuanfu City in the evening and immediately took over the city defense, catching many people by surprise.

Even if some parties involved knew something about it, they were still attracted by the matter of calculating wages owed.As for the purpose of Emperor Chongzhen's attack on Xuanfu, only a few people knew about it.

At the same time, in Datong Town, the commander-in-chief Jiang Quan went to see the king again, saying that the governor of Datong, Wei Jingyuan, was making a show today and made an alliance with blood, which greatly confused some people and bought people's hearts.This Datong defense is a bit difficult for him!
When King Dai heard this, he was very angry, but according to the ancestral legal system, he could not interfere with the place, so he could only ask Jiang Guan, "Tell me, how can I help?"

This is what Jiang Quan wanted, and he said quickly: "Your Highness, no matter how good the blood alliance of Lord Zhongcheng is, it can't be compared to real money. If the general has money, and he can give it some, then the brothers in the army will naturally be more capable. The letter is about to end!"

After hearing this, King Dai felt that it made sense and immediately agreed to Jiang Yu's request.However, he never thought that if Jiang Gan sent out money to win people's hearts, what if Jiang Gan actually wanted to sell Datong?By giving money, wouldn't you be helping Jiang Yu a lot!

………………

In the Forbidden City of the capital, although it was late at night, Prince Zhu Cixiang was still awake.

In front of him, there was a large pile of memorials for review that had been sent personally by Wang Chengen, the eunuch and eunuch responsible for the ceremony.

Of course, these memorials have actually been drafted by the cabinet. If the emperor has no objection, he can just ask the Chief of Ceremonies to use his seal.

For example, Emperor Wanli rarely read memorials and directly left them to the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies.When he came to Emperor Chongzhen, he basically read and asked about every memorial. However, because he was blind, he couldn't tell whether the memorials were true or false. He seemed to be diligent every day, but it was of little use, and even became a They are just the executors of the results of the party struggle.

At this time, Wang Chengen looked at Prince Zhu Cixiang reading the memorial. He rubbed his eyes for a while and seemed sleepy. He then turned to look at the sky, and then said to Zhu Cixiang: "Your Highness, it's getting late, it's time to rest! "

Zhu Cixiang heard what he said, looked up at him and asked, "Father, are you resting at this time?"

After hearing this, Wang Chengen did not hesitate. He shook his head and said, "Long live the Lord, he didn't rest so early."

"Then I can't rest either!" Zhu Cixiang yawned after hearing this, and then continued to read the memorial.

When Wang Chengen saw it, he still advised: "Your Highness is still growing, unlike Long Live Lord, he should rest early."

When Zhu Cixiang heard this, he looked up at him again and asked: "When my father just ascended the throne, did you rest at this time?"

"Uh..." Wang Chengen heard what he meant and immediately understood what he meant. He was a little speechless, but he didn't dare to lie to the prince, so he could only continue to echo, "Not yet!"

So, Zhu Cihong stopped talking and continued to read the memorial in his hand.

Wang Chengen had no choice but to continue to wait on the side.

After a while, Zhu Cixiang frowned, pointed at the memorial and looked up and asked Wang Chengen: "I have seen many memorials, and they are all the same as this one. They say that if the martial law continues in the capital, there will be trouble, and the people will starve to death." .Wouldn’t it be that if you stay at home for a few more days and don’t go out for a walk, you will starve to death? Are they all being alarmist?”

After Wang Chengen heard this, he quickly and respectfully replied: "Your Highness, the poor families in the capital basically don't have any food reserves. They work for a day, make money for a day, and eat for a day. People like this just stay at home. Hungry."

After hearing this, Zhu Cixi asked curiously: "Do they have no money at all? How much do they usually save?"

"Back to Your Highness, there are many people who are unable to work, such as the elderly, children, or some women who are not suitable for public appearances. They have to rely on the money they can earn at home to get some food. They may not have enough to eat on weekdays, and they will be hungry. How can I save money?"

"Ah, is that so?" Zhu Cixiang looked a little moved and surprised after hearing this. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then if martial law is lifted, they won't have to go hungry?"

Just when he said this, before Wang Chengen could reply, he shook his head and said: "No, you can be hungry on weekdays, and you will still be hungry when the martial law is lifted. It is the difference between big hunger and small hunger! But... But I heard it today. The cabinet said that the implementation of the Baojia Law has not yet been completed..."

After Wang Chengen heard this, he wanted to speak, but Zhu Cixiang said first: "Human life is at stake. Now that I know it, I can't remain indifferent. In this way, you can ask people to find out how many poor families there are who can't survive. I will report back later." Mother, please take some of the grain from the raided warehouse and make porridge and distribute it."

After hearing this, Wang Chengen quickly pointed to the pile of memorials and said: "Your Highness, there is another memorial saying that some wealthy households in the city are willing to give porridge to the poor, but due to the continuous martial law in the capital, they are not only unable to do business, but also unable to give porridge and relief. "

After Zhu Cixiang heard this, he frowned and said, "So, after all, do you want the capital to lift martial law?"

"Back to Your Highness, the martial law in the capital has been in place for a long time, and it has indeed had a great impact on people's livelihood. It has been three days now. The cabinet's intention is that the cities and towns that have completed the Baojia Law can lift the martial law first."

After hearing this, Zhu Cihong asked Wang Chengen: "What do you mean? My father said that you can be trusted."

Wang Chengen felt a little proud after hearing this, and quickly said: "I think the cabinet proposal is acceptable!"

After hearing this, Zhu Cihong gave instructions on the relevant memorials, and then took out another memorial and said: "This is a memorial from Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, saying that the salaries of hundreds of officials have been in arrears for many days. If we want all officials to be honest and upright, It is also necessary to distribute salaries as soon as possible. The cabinet draft states that my father will severely punish corrupt officials and will provide salaries to all officials. What do you think?"

"Your Highness, I believe that all officials must have money in their hands, and they will not starve if they default on their salary. But from a rational and emotional point of view, it would be unreasonable for the court not to pay salaries."

"That's it!" After hearing this, Zhu Cixiang said something, thought for a while, and then said, "Okay, tomorrow I will go to my mother and ask about it. The mother is in charge of the money."

Later, Zhu Cihong put the memorial aside and took out another memorial and started talking.

Slowly, the night got very late, and the memorial was finally finished.

Zhu Cixiang looked at the finished memorial and breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up and stretched, and said with emotion: "I feel so tired after just two days. I didn't expect that my father would be like this every day. I have to persevere!"

Wang Chengen was naturally complimented after hearing this.However, he still had doubts about how long Zhu Cixi could persist.

When he finished serving Zhu Cixiang and was about to leave, Zhu Cixiang thought of something and said to him again: "Father said that the factory guards are Gu's ears and eyes. You must keep an eye out for Gu."

Wang Chengen was stunned for a moment, but immediately responded and bowed to accept the order.

No matter what, the sun rose as usual the next day.

To the surprise of the people in the capital, when they woke up, they found that martial law had been lifted in most cities and towns in the capital.

In these few days, most people are on tenterhooks.

There was a rebellion in the capital city, wanting to oust the emperor, and then the streets were full of officers and soldiers, and there were bursts of rapid hooves, making the people in troubled times feel no sense of security at all.

There is a disaster of weapons and weapons at the emperor's feet. Where else in the world can there be peace?
After three days of trepidation, martial law was finally lifted.For most people, they have to go out to work quickly, otherwise they will really starve to death.

(End of this chapter)