A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 603 Heated

Old Bainiu: There will be a power outage tomorrow. Let’s see if I can write another chapter and update it tomorrow.

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The rescue team, arrest team, anti-rape team, assassination team, etc. of the East Road Intelligence Division may seem like fog to outsiders, but there are differences.The capture team is slightly in the open, and the rest are slightly in the dark. The special assassination team is even more mysterious. It is impossible for ordinary intelligence department personnel to know their identities.

Because of Wang Dou's strong support, the spies of the shogunate's intelligence department have already covered the three towns of Xuanda and various places in Shanxi. In mid-October, when rumors began to spread in the capital and Shanxi, fake food stamps appeared , Outer towns and outer roads are resisting, and even when there is a tendency to run on food stamps everywhere, the intelligence department pays attention to some behind-the-scenes hands.

The left-behind members of the shogunate on the East Road also responded urgently. After Wang Dou went out to fight, the most prestigious people on the East Road were Wang Dou's mother, Taibo's wife Zhong, Wang Dou's wife, uncle's wife Xie Xiuniang, and all members gathered in the General's Mansion. Urgent consultation.

After asking the last two wives for instructions, Liu Benshen, the head of internal affairs of the intelligence department, went to the capital in person to report to the general Wang Dou, who was returning to the imperial court. Instructions, they responded positively.

Although the situation on the East Road is basically self-sufficient, it is like a small closed kingdom, but most of the goods such as tea, cloth, salt, tobacco, pigments, medicinal materials, silk and satin must be imported from outside. In order to strengthen the relationship with the outside world, Many items of coal and iron are also purchased from outsiders.

Not to mention food and grass, you can buy as much as you can.

When the major merchants united to boycott the export of goods from the East Road and at the same time cut off the import of goods from the East Road, various members of the shogunate dispatched a large number of people to carry out activities to split them up, and at the same time let out rumors that these people would oppose the General and the East Road. ,Think twice!
In the words, there is a strong meaning of settling accounts after autumn.

Facts have proved that interest groups are all fearful of authority but not of morality. Wang Dou is famous. Thinking of the consequences of confronting him, some businessmen hesitated, especially many businessmen on Yu Road in Xuanfu Town. Zhongyong Bo soon He will be stationed in the town, and he will be under his direct jurisdiction. Is it wise to fight against him with his cruel heart?
So after the shogunate released the news, the surrounding circle was slightly broken.

However, the Eight Great Families are deeply entrenched in Shanxi and Xuanda, and there are countless officials, businessmen, and generals who have been sheltered by them. The circle of siege is getting tighter and tighter. The spoonful of water was transported to the boundary of the East Road.

Not to mention letting a meat pot and a fur coat on the East Road enter all places except the East Road, and let these blood-sucking insects lose their blood.

They also mobilized their forces to intercept and kill the caravan transported into the East Road. It was Ji Shiwei, the governor of Xuanda, who was close to a merchant and escorted salt and tea. They set off from Yanghe and just entered the Tianchengwei area. They have not yet approached Xuanfu. town, the caravan was massacred.

The businessman was even put into a sack and trampled to death with a horseshoe. The death was horrible. Afterwards, all parties claimed that this was done by the northern captives outside the Great Wall, and that it was the result of revenge brought by Uncle Zhongyong's unauthorized departure from the Great Wall.

Because of the entrance of the rangers, the massacre of soldiers and civilians, the general of the Tiancheng Guards who had a good relationship with Ji Shiwei, Baiyangkou was on guard, and was criticized. It is very likely that his official position will not be guaranteed. The Governor Ji Shiwei is also very passive, and he has already patrolled. The impeachment is even more moved by the rumors of the speech officials in Beijing.

Among the goods that are prohibited from importing, table salt is the most important, followed by tea, especially table salt. No salt is produced in Xuanfu Town. The Yanchi salt fields in Daming are mainly concentrated in the south of Shanxi, Sichuan, Northwest, and Shandong. Etc. coastal sea salt.

Salt is a daily necessities. Donglu has a population of nearly 60. The monthly salt consumption is at least [-] catties. If there is a long-term lack of salt, the hair will turn white, the body will be swollen, and you will suffer from various problems. miscellaneous diseases, and even loss of life.

Even sergeants, if they don't get salt supplements, their physical fitness will definitely decline significantly, which will seriously weaken the combat effectiveness of the army.

Tea is also a necessity in life. It has become a habit for the people of the Central Plains to drink tea every day.

If there is a lack of sauce and vinegar, it will also cause a lot of trouble.

In Daming, after the opening of China and France, merchants from all over the country were already transporting grain and grass to border towns in exchange for salt. , basically controlled by merchants, especially Shanxi merchants.

Over the years, their hands have been stretched in all directions, and many supplies in the border towns depend on their supply.

If they were not supplied in time, the frontier troops in each town would be worried about freezing and starving, and it would be a trivial matter to cause a mutiny. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, the power of merchants should not be underestimated, and they already had the posture of trusts in later generations.

Although the consequences are serious, they still dare not stop supplying food and grass to the three towns of Xuanda, but they have already stopped supplying food to the East Road, especially salt and tea. This trick can be described as sinister...

Also, because of spreading rumors, the gentry and merchants are powerful at this time, and the information is backward. Except for the soldiers and civilians on the East Road, many people have already developed a bad feeling for Wang Dou. Originally, the East Road merchants were popular when they went out. At times, he looked like a mouse crossing the street.

At the end of October, outside the East Road, there are several roads in Xuanfu Town, and there are suddenly a flood of fake food stamps. Some people secretly fanned the flames, and the local military households crowded some food exchange points in other places. , Donglu Guandian urgently transported food and went to support.

However, due to the long distance and many hostile areas, the food team was often intercepted and ambushed. In the end, all these food exchange points had to be withdrawn to the east road, only a few roads in Xuanfu Town, and some strongholds remained.

Also because of this change, the food stamps that were in circulation, originally strong, and with rising purchasing power, have seen their denominations drop layer by layer. In some places, there are even waste papers. Vote confidence, I am afraid it will not be an easy task.

As for the merchants outside the town and the roads who work closely with the East Road, they are suppressed, even watched and abused, just waiting for it.

At this time, according to the information obtained by the intelligence department, Donglu began to launch a counterattack, rescued all friendly businessmen, and destroyed every den of counterfeit tickets.

Even more tit-for-tat, large-scale beheading, assassination, and assassination of those who sheltered and participated in the printing of counterfeit tickets in the towns of Shanxi and Xuanda, and those who intercepted and killed caravans and food teams, regardless of civil servants or generals!

Because of sufficient financial support, from late October to mid-November, the intelligence department destroyed nearly a hundred counterfeit ticket dens in Xuanda, Shanxi, and even other provinces, as well as in the capital, beheading those who sheltered counterfeit ticket printing, Beheaded to participate in the interception or intercept the caravan in and out of the road behind the scenes, as many as dozens of people.

Among the dead, the highest rank was a lieutenant general from Shanxi Town, who passed by somewhere and was directly smashed into pieces by artillery shells!

Donglu's reaction shocked everyone. Several people and their interest groups, although their saliva became more intense, and they showed angrier emotions, and tried their best to spread public opinion in the areas they influenced, turning black and white, but they were still worried.

They dared not intercept and kill caravans entering and leaving the East Road, nor did they dare to print fake tickets again.

Even the merchants in the alliance were panicked. Many merchants began to hesitate and wait and see. Their siege of the East Road was even more likely to collapse.

After all, merchants are cowardly at heart, and merchant groups are far from being able to compare with cohesive farming groups.

Regarding this point, the Fan family once again contacted everyone to discuss matters, and tried their best to cheer everyone up. At this time, the news came from the capital, and Wang Dou joined forces with the towns and border troops to make a noise, threatening the court and not entering the capital to offer rewards.

"God help me too!"

This is all on everyone's minds.

Although everyone was secretly shocked by Wang Dou's power, Wang Dou's move proved the truth of the previous rumors, as Fan Sanba said: "Wang Dou is so domineering, what does the sage think, what do the princes in the court think?" Think? If you don't have a dark heart, how can you do such an act without a king and a father?"

They united again, waiting for the court's response, while starting a business war with Donglu.

Facts have proved that methods such as counterfeiting tickets and killing caravans will only make the East Road Group react more violently. It is really killing [-] enemies and self-defeating [-]. Conventional commercial warfare methods are more in line with their appetite. It can also prove to the world that they are strong and have the attitude of convincing others with virtue.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Donglu shogunate lobbied foreign merchants in an effort to resume trade and supply, and received orders from Wang Dou, who was in the capital to pay close attention to the progress of the matter.

Although profiteers harmed the country and shamelessly printed counterfeit bills to harm the people, after all the dust settled, Donglu promised that all the counterfeit bills in the hands of soldiers and civilians would not only be exchanged for the full amount of grain and rice as real bills, but would even compensate the victims. The face value has risen by about [-]%.

For example, a bucket of counterfeit food stamps can be exchanged for a bucket of three liters of high-quality rice noodles.

This news was spread by the intelligence department, and after the leaflets weighing more than a thousand catties were distributed everywhere in Shanxi, although everyone tried their best to slander them, wherever the leaflets went, it still caused a sensation.

I don't know how many victims of counterfeit bills hurriedly retrieved the fake bills that they had thrown into the garbage dump in their anger, and kept them silently, with hope in their hearts. The loyal, brave and fearless Uncle Wangdou, who is loyal and fearless, is telling the truth, the paper note in his hand is a treasure that can survive a family in a catastrophe.

Although many people were skeptical, almost everyone who received the news kept their fake tickets, and some unscrupulous businessmen even began to buy fake food tickets at high prices. The value of fake food stamps has been rising steadily.

In response to everyone's blockade of grain and salt bars on Donglu, Donglu also responded. They used force as a cover, dispatched caravans, and vigorously went to Gyeonggi, Baoding, Zhending, and even as far as Shandong to buy salt and tea.

Hearing about the East Road, Xu Yue'e, Hu Dawei and other people close to Wang Dou also collected salt and tea from the territory, transported them vigorously to Laishui, and then transferred to the East Road, and many others also extended a helping hand, Wang Dou usually made great efforts to make friends and was generous and heroic, but he got a lot of rewards at this time.

At the same time, in the road, the shogunate began to implement a rationing system to ensure that salt and tea stocks in various places can be eaten for at least three months to half a year. Wang Dou's wife and mother set an example and implemented the minimum salt ration standard.

After close investigation, as well as earlier detectives, at this time, in the hands of the intelligence department, the evidence of collusion with the enemy has piled up like a mountain, and there are more than 200 civilians and military generals from all over the country who have colluded with them. The records in the books also exceed [-] people.

According to Wang Dou's order, don't move at this time, and when the business war is over and the army returns, they will be killed.

Entering November, the business war between Donglu and everyone is in full swing and has entered a white-hot stage.

In order to stabilize the hearts of the people on the road, Mrs. Uncle and Xie Xiuniang, Wang Douzheng's wife, began to inspect the cities and forts on the East Road in early November.

(End of this chapter)