Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 86 Hematemesis
When Battle heard this, he laughed.But in the blink of an eye, his expression turned serious again.

Disasters also hit the grassland, and it became more and more difficult every year. It was almost impossible to survive. Otherwise, we wouldn't have made such a major decision.

Naturally, he didn't know that according to historical development, in a few years, the grassland would be difficult to endure. Some tribes finally ignored the surrender to the Manchus and plundered the Bahrain tribe with swords and soldiers, so that Dorgon had to lead an army to conquer the grassland.However, it was ultimately unsuccessful due to intelligence errors.Afterwards, Dorgon finally used political means to solve the grassland issue and turned his attention to suppressing the anti-Qing forces.

Battle finally agreed with Morigen to hold a clan meeting immediately after returning. No matter what, both parties would act together.After all, Master Fan's caravan has been gone for three days.If we go to Liaodong, we won't be able to do anything.If you want to submit your name, you must do it as soon as possible!

........................

On the grassland, you can already see some green in February, but not much.There was a huge caravan traveling from west to east, trampling on the innocent grass.

The flag of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties was planted on the motorcade, which looked very conspicuous from a distance.

There is a large carriage in the middle of the motorcade, pulled by four horses. It looks relatively simple from the outside, but it is luxuriously decorated inside.

At this time, two middle-aged men were half-lying in the car drinking tea and chatting, being served by a beautiful maid.

I only heard the slightly younger one say: "We came out with the caravan this time, just in time to avoid Li Zicheng's attack on Jin, but I don't know if he will pursue the stolen money and support. If he does, then our foundation will be gone. Fan Brother, aren’t you worried?”

Brother Fan, actually Fan Yongdou, is the leader of the eight major Shanxi merchants and the most knowledgeable. Hearing Jin Liangyu's words, he was not worried and said with a smile: "We are not officials. Li Zicheng is determined to be in the world now and will not mess up." Kill innocent people. And you have to believe Huang Xiandi. With him here, the Xuanfu surrendered without a fight. Will Li Zicheng continue to pursue the stolen goods and support him? In this case, who else would dare to surrender to him? "

Hearing this, Jin Liangyu nodded, feeling it made sense, and said, "That's why they don't want to leave the seclusion to escape!"

Fan Yongdou listened, took a sip of tea, enjoyed the beautiful maid beating his legs, and then said: "But I'm not afraid of ten thousand, just in case. If they don't want to come out, we won't force them. We can also take advantage of this opportunity to go Meet the new regent of the Qing Dynasty and consolidate our friendship."

Last year, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty passed away, and the subsequent tense situation, with the possibility of a battle for the throne, scared them away from traveling to Liaodong.But now we have received news that Fulin ascended the throne as Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and Dorgon became the regent, taking charge of the real power of the Qing Dynasty.

This was something Fan Yongdou and others did not expect, so they thought of taking advantage of the possibility of war to deal with the Regent of the Qing Dynasty.

After hearing this, Jin Liangyu smiled and said to Fan Yongdou with the tea cup in his hand: "Brother Fan is far-sighted and I admire him. Let's have a cup of tea instead of wine!"

After Fan Yongdou heard this, he took the tea cup from the beautiful maid. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the sound of horse hooves coming towards him. At the same time, he also heard a panicked shout: "Master, no. Okay, sir..."

When Fan Yongdou heard this, his brows suddenly furrowed. He knew that this was a steward in his mansion. He did not follow him out this time, but stayed in Zhangjiakou. Why did he catch up with him and still be so panicked?
The carriage stopped, and both Fan Yongdou and Jin Liangyu got out of the carriage. Their faces were obviously a little unhappy, and they turned to look at the direction of the sound, which was at the rear of the motorcade.

Those who do business are most taboo with this kind of panic.If you don't act calmly, good things will turn into bad things!
Of course, the convoy also stopped, and the guys following the car also looked at the man coming on horseback, shouting at the same time.

I saw the steward of Fan Mansion and a few people galloping towards me with a look of embarrassment. He was already a little close and could see Fan Yongdou and the two of them, so he galloped towards them and shouted at the same time: "Master, come out of Zhangjiakou." It's a big deal, the imperial court sent cavalry troops to ransack the house..."

"What?" Fan Yongdou never dreamed that such a thing would happen. He immediately became anxious and shouted loudly, "What's going on? How could the imperial court come to raid the house for no reason? Why was there no warning in advance? What happened to other houses? As for people, isn't Huang Yongfa in Fucheng..."

He asked a lot of questions in one breath. It was really unimaginable. How could the court suddenly raid his home?In his opinion, this is simply impossible!

Although he came out with the goods, it was only the goods for one transaction.The money, materials, etc. accumulated through doing business over the years are all within the customs.After his house was confiscated by the court, even if he hid his property separately, it would be difficult for it to belong to him anymore!
Jin Liangyu's expression was slightly better, but he was also worried, and he quickly asked: "How is my house? Is there anything going on?"

At this time, the steward of the Fan Mansion had arrived, rolled down his saddle, and said to Fan Yongdou with a mournful face: "Master, it's gone, it's gone, it's all gone, woo woo woo..."

Fan Yongdou's heart sank to the bottom when he heard this, but he was eager to know more details. Maybe there was something wrong and there was a way to recover.To be honest, it would be hard for him to accept that all his years of hard work were in vain.

So, I heard him shout and ask: "Tell me, what's going on? Be careful!"

In the eyes of outsiders, Fan Yongdou did not panic when he heard the news, which made them feel relieved. The guys following the car stared at the few people arriving, wanting to hear more news.After all, their children are also in the pass, so they are also very worried.

Just listen to the steward of Fan Mansion crying: "I don't know what happened, but suddenly a court cavalry arrived in Zhangjiakou. They sealed the city as soon as they arrived, and then arrested people directly. Fortunately, the villain and the others were in the city. I was out doing business, and when I saw something was wrong, I hurriedly rode over to report the news!”

Fan Yongdou frowned and immediately asked: "Where is Liao Hu? What did Liao Hu say?"

Jin Liangyu beside him wanted to interrupt and ask about the situation at his house, but he had no chance. He could only hold on to his anxiety and find another opportunity to interrupt.

"Liao Shoubei rushed to the Xuan Mansion with his officers early in the morning. He said that the governor had sent an order to settle the unpaid wages."

When Fan Yongdou heard this, he immediately understood that this was definitely related.Otherwise, it is absolutely impossible for Liao Hu to let outsiders take action directly in Zhangjiakou, at least he can give them some time.

Before he could ask a question, one of the guys who had escaped with him gasped and interjected: "I heard this, the villain. Those cavalry soldiers arresting people seem to be talking about the eight major Shanxi merchants collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country..."

"What?" When Jin Liangyu heard this, his heart suddenly tightened, and he immediately jumped up and shouted, "Did you really hear clearly, it's the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants and not the Fan family?"

When Fan Yongdou heard this, he was very dissatisfied. If only his family was unlucky, would everything be fine?

However, he was not in the mood to care about these words at this time. He just stared at the guy, wanting to know more information.

"The villain just came out of the city to look for the steward, and heard the cavalry shouting this. Anyway, seeing them running over to control the city gate, the villain was so frightened that he ran away quickly!"

"It's over, it's over, it's all over!" When Jin Liangyu heard this, he cried immediately, "The eight major Shanxi merchants must be the eight largest merchants in our business. I can't run away. The court wants me, and I can't go back from the pass. , a lifetime of hard work is gone..."

As he was talking, he suddenly saw Fan Yongdou in front of him spurting out a mouthful of blood, which happened to hit his face, and he fell back at the same time.

Fortunately, a maid followed them and quickly supported Fan Yongdou, so that he did not fall on the grassland.

"My lord, my lord..."

Fan Yongdou suddenly vomited blood and collapsed, causing everyone to panic, cry and shout, and became a mess.

Jin Liangyu wiped Fan Yongdou's blood on his face, not caring whether it was wiped clean or not. When he saw Fan Yongdou opening his eyes in the maid's arms, he asked angrily: "What's going on?"

Aren’t you the most calm on weekdays?He told people not to panic when something happened, and asked the other seven families to finally listen to him. Why was he so panicked that he vomited blood now?
Fan Yongdou looked a little weak, but also had a very indignant expression. He said feebly: "I...I know. The imperial court is desperate and wants to use the money we have worked hard to earn all our lives to pay the border troops! They are killing pigs. Already..."

Hearing this, Jin Liangyu immediately remembered that Zhangjiakou garrison Liao Hu and his officers rushed to the governor's mansion to calculate the arrears, which must be paid.However, it is well known that the imperial court has no money at all. So where does the money come from?

The eight major Shanxi merchants had their homes confiscated, so the imperial court was rich!
After understanding this, he immediately felt the same depression as Fan Yongdou: After a lifetime of hard work, really a lifetime of hard work, going through wind and rain, being honest with the barbarians, risking life and death, it was not easy to achieve such an achievement. A large share of the family fortune, but in the end, he benefited the court in vain... Thinking of this, Jin Liangyu felt a tightness in his chest. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and a mouthful of blood spurted out, all over Fan Yongdou's face in front of him.

This is a return gift!

Regardless of whether it was Fan Yongdou or Jin Liangyu, they never thought that the black money they earned was based on the destruction of many people in the Ming Dynasty.

They even changed the course of the entire civilization for their own selfish purposes.Now they have suffered retribution and know the pain, but they have no regrets at all. They just feel that they have been taken advantage of by the court!
Seeing the two gentlemen vomiting blood, the guys escorting the car also panicked. They asked about the situation at home, but there was not much useful information. They were all like headless chickens.There was even a guy who got off his horse and left the convoy.

However, Fan Yongdou was worthy of being the leader of the eight major Shanxi merchants. He quickly came to his senses and said in his first sentence: "You follow me to do business with the Qing Dynasty. I am a collaborator and traitor to the country. You cannot escape. Now maybe the imperial court will send The cavalry is coming to chase us. If you want to survive, just listen to me. As long as people are here, it doesn’t matter if the family fortune is gone, just make more money!"

He usually had prestige, and what he said seemed to make sense, so the guys started to listen to him.

So Fan Yongdou then directed: "The convoy will go north first, hide deep in the grassland, and go around to Liaodong. First, avoid the court's pursuing troops!"

Jin Liangyu was convinced that at this time, it was important to save his life first.

In this way, this convoy did not head directly to Liaodong, but instead went north and hid deep in the grassland, and then circled to Liaodong.

Emperor Chongzhen naturally did not know the situation on Fan Yongdou's side. According to the plan, he led more than [-] cavalry troops to Yanghe at dawn the next morning.

It is about three hundred miles from Xuanfu to Yanghe. According to the scheduled plan, we must arrive at Yanghe at sunset.I have to say, this is difficult.

When we rushed from the capital to Xuanfu, the weak horses were actually unable to bear the burden.Fortunately, Xuanfu was one of the important towns on the nine sides of the Ming Dynasty, and he was the emperor, so he could get the local government to replace the war horses.

However, it can be expected that a large number of the horses of this cavalry army will be destroyed when they rush from Xuanfu to Datong.However, there is nothing we can do about it.Time is tight and there is no way to conserve horsepower.

On the Yanghe side, quite a few people had already heard that something big had happened in the Xuan Mansion, and they rushed to the Xuanda Governor's Mansion to ask about the situation.

"Sir Governor, I heard that the Xuan Mansion has distributed military pay. You can't be more favorable to one. Why is there no movement here in Yanghe?"

"It's not just about paying military pay. It's said that even back pay must be paid back. When did the imperial court allocate such a large amount of money? Mr. Governor, according to law, this matter must be made public, right?"

"My Lord Governor, I heard that there are troops in Xuan Mansion disturbing the people and killing innocent people indiscriminately. Is this true?"

"..."

Wang Jimo, the governor of Xuanda, was patient at first, saying that he didn't know the situation and had already sent someone to ask.But there were so many people who came to ask questions. As soon as one was sent away, another one came. Finally, they got tired of it, so they directly summoned civil and military officials for a meeting.

Because he knew that these people under his command were most concerned about matters involving money and would definitely ask endless questions.

As he expected, when they heard that the Governor had summoned them, everyone rushed to the Governor's Mansion as soon as possible, and no one asked for leave.

Wang Jimo came out of the back hall and sat on the main seat. He looked at the people below who were all in high spirits to greet the ceremony, which made him very emotional.

When Zhou Yuji sent people to ask for help before, he also held a meeting, but half of the civilian and military generals found excuses not to come; every one of the civilian and military generals who came looked reluctant, and he couldn't move at all. them.

Looking at them, Wang Jimo said: "Everyone, I know that you are concerned about what is happening in Xuanfu, but I can guarantee that I am just like you and have no idea about the situation in Xuanfu. But you Don’t worry, I have already sent someone to inform Governor Zhu of the Propaganda Mansion. Calculating the time, we should arrive today. Then, he will explain it to you!"

Generally speaking, the governor-general and the governor were both feudal officials, and they could submit memorials directly to the court. There was no special direct relationship between them.However, those with clear jurisdictional responsibilities like Governor Xuanda can interfere with the governor's affairs.

And under normal circumstances, like Xuanda, when the imperial court has an order, it will definitely greet the governor first.

Therefore, when these local officials in Yanghe heard Wang Jimo's words, they did not believe it.Someone immediately came out of the queue and started asking again.One of them had a particularly loud voice and was very rude, speaking over the others, saying: "Mr. Governor, I heard that the Governor of Xuanfu sent troops to arrest Mr. Fan and others, and the whole Zhangjiakou was taken away. What is the reason for this? "

Yanghe is a bit far away from the Xuanfu. When the Xuanfu sends troops to raid homes and arrest people, there must be a reaction process, and then the news will gradually spread.Under normal circumstances, no one would run hundreds of miles regardless of the horse's endurance.Therefore, only a few people on Yanghe's side have just received some vague news.

At this time, when Wang Jimo heard this, he was a little doubtful and said: "Is this impossible? Zhangjiakou is where the imperial court opened a horse market. How could they send troops to arrest them all? How will the horse market be opened in the future?"

Others thought it was impossible when they heard it.

But at this moment, I heard a noise outside.At first, the people in the lobby didn't care, but later, the sound was loud enough to affect the lobby.

This made Wang Jimo very unhappy. He really had no prestige in Yanghe and could not instruct the officials here.Facing the current general trend of the world, he actually accepted it and did not care about the governorship.However, now that he is in a meeting, the noise outside is affecting the lobby. This is simply ignoring his prestige as the governor and a naked slap in the face, which makes him unable to step down.

No, Wang Jimo looked gloomy and shouted: "What's going on? What's the quarrel about outside?"

After hearing this, the soldiers standing at the door went out for a while, and then brought in four or five people, all of whom looked panicked.

Before they entered the lobby, they looked at different people and shouted immediately.

"Master, it's bad, something big happened in the Xuan Mansion. Master Fan and the others were all arrested by the army! Our shop with dry stock was also raided!"

"Sir, the Xuanfu government is using the money from the Shanxi merchants to issue military pay!"

"..."

Most of these people had properties in the Xuanfu, or were related to the eight major Shanxi merchants. Therefore, after the incident, their men rushed back to report the news, and it was not until this time that they rushed back to Yanghe.

When the few people standing in the hall heard this, they immediately exploded. Not only them, but others also exploded.These local officials were all related to Shanxi merchants to some extent. Even Wang Jimo had received filial piety from Shanxi merchants.At this time, I was naturally very surprised to hear these things about Xuanfu.

However, because Xuanfu City was still not allowed in or out, the news these people brought back was mostly unclear. At most, they knew that a cavalry force from outside had arrived, and then the governor of Xuanfu took action.

Under the bombardment of these news, the Governor's Yamen was very lively for a while.Generally speaking, they were all criticizing Li Zicheng verbally and writtenly for the fact that such an appalling thing happened in the Xuanfu. Everyone shouted for memorials and impeachment, and some even threatened to surrender to Li Zicheng.

Therefore, Wang Jimo slammed the table on the spot and said with an ugly face: "The Xuanfu is so independent in doing things, how could it ever take me seriously? When Zhu Zhifeng arrives, if he does not give a satisfactory explanation, I will definitely file an impeachment report he!"

(End of this chapter)