Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 212 The tragedy caused by a ration bag

(PS: Monthly ticket, Pure Wolf loves you.)
The organization ability of the eight major locust merchants to do business is indeed not built. It took only 20 days. Among the materials needed to build slaves, more than 15 shi of grain and [-] jin of pig iron have been collected through various open and dark channels. , hidden in various open or hidden warehouses in the pass, the remaining grain and pig iron are also sure to be sent to Zhangjiakou before the end of the month, and there are also prohibited materials such as cloth, salt, cotton and weapons that are urgently needed by the slaves. The various warehouses of the merchants are already piled up like mountains. In addition, there are people escorting supplies, vehicles and horses carrying supplies, and they have also secretly assembled inside and outside the Zhangjiakou Pass. They only wait for the order of the eight locust merchants, and it only takes one day at most. All of them can be loaded out of the customs and sent to Liaodong to be handed over to Jiannu.

Everything is available, what is lacking is Dongfeng. To be on the safe side, the eight locust merchants are not in a hurry to send private goods out of the Zhangjiakou checkpoint and put them on the Yuanbao market. They are just a small amount of experimental shipments to meet the needs of small customers and Test the reaction of the Heiyunlong Department of the Zhangjiakou defenders.What surprised the eight locust merchants was that when their trucks were marked with the signs of Wuji Silk and Satin Shop and Maji Tea House and left the customs, the gang of wolf-like Mongolian soldiers under Hei Yunlong did not search for any entrainment, let alone Check whether the tax is paid, let alone count the quantity of the goods, and issue them with a wave of hands, and this is the case every time, without exception.As a result, the eight major locust merchants were naturally happy in their hearts, but the two treasures, the second shopkeeper Wu and Ma Jun, scolded their mothers.

"Shopkeeper Fan Da, aren't you playing with us brothers?" On the night of the 25th of the first lunar month, shopkeeper Wu Er and Ma Jun came to ask the crime together. At Fan Yongdou's home, shopkeeper Wu Er pointed directly at Fan Yongdou's nose and asked Said: "In six days, the eight of you have sold less than 2 taels of silver in total. Do you think that our brothers really don't know your details? The business of your eight is so big?"

"That's right!" Ma Jun also threatened viciously: "Shopkeeper Fan Da, we brothers can tell the ugly things up front. If you dare to play tricks, you will get a little money to send us away. You are still playing tricks behind your back. Our brothers But I’m not a vegetarian either! It made me anxious, I’ll find someone when I get back, and tomorrow I’ll check all the storehouses in Zhangjiakou!”

"Damn! The villain is successful!" Fan Yongdou cursed secretly in his heart, and smiled apologetically on his face: "The two young shopkeepers have misunderstood. It’s such a tricky thing to break your promise and get fat? Besides, when the eight of us shipped goods, there were two young shopkeepers on the scene to watch them every time. Even if we wanted to carry a catty of private salt and a catty of tea, we couldn’t do it. It was indeed a while ago The blockade was too strict, and the goods couldn’t get out of the customs, so the guest officials went to the Datong Border Market and Gubeikou Border Market to buy goods, and we have to wait for them to receive the news before returning to Zhangjiakou, so that our business can grow again.”

"Don't do this!" Wu Er, the shopkeeper, waved his hand and asked viciously: "Since you don't want to play tricks, why did you give money to my guy, Xiao Lai, who escorted the cart and ordered goods? And gave him a woman? It's okay, Xiao Lai is an old man I brought from home, and he is going to be replaced by a new and unreliable partner, so why don’t you only charge me seven thousand shi for your shipment of [-] shi of grain?”

"And my buddy Yang Long, you also said that you want to redeem the girl he met in the kiln and give it to him, right?" Ma Jun was also very dissatisfied with Fan Yongdou's attempt to bribe his buddy, and said with a smirk: "Shopkeeper Fan Da, we are all people on the scene, I still don't understand your thoughts? You are reluctant to let our brother smoke the [-]%, and it is not easy to turn against us directly, so you will use some small money to coax us first, and then Find a way to bribe our fellow shopkeepers, let them falsely report the quantity of goods, or let them provide false information, and you take the opportunity to ship from other gates! Right?!"

"The conscience of heaven and earth!" Fan Yongdou was a little guilty—he and several other locust merchants had indeed made this idea, and he pretended to call for grievances and said, "You two young shopkeepers, please don't get me wrong. The buddies in the shop give money to women, just want to connect with each other, and we will have a more pleasant cooperation in the future, but we don’t mean to bribe them! Since the two young shopkeepers don’t like us doing this, then we won’t do it in the future, and the old man can use his personality I promise, I will never do that again.”

"I hope you don't do this again." Shopkeeper Wu Er and Ma Jun obviously didn't want to completely turn against the eight locust merchants, so they snorted a few words and stopped pursuing the matter, but shopkeeper Wu Er immediately asked again: Shopkeeper Fan Da, what is going on with your business? Zhangjiakou has been blocked for a long time. Businesses and tribes outside the customs are calling out of stock everywhere. The eight of you started to release the goods. Why did you only release 1 in six days? The goods with more than two silvers go out? Is your business not as good as ours? "

"You brats, I'm afraid I'll scare you when I ship out in large quantities!" Fan Yongdou sneered with disdain in his heart, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, two young shopkeepers, our Zhangjiakou has the most and the most complete goods. In a few days, I guarantee that those merchants will come back, and the two young shopkeepers who will be in charge of it will not even be able to close their mouths with smiles, and the money they have earned will make their hands cramp! Wait patiently for a few days, and wait patiently for a few more days."

"I hope this is the best." Ma Jun snorted arrogantly, and then said: "Shopkeeper Fan Da, we are here today, and there is one more thing to inform you that on the second day of February, the new Governor of Xuanda, Zhang Xiantai, will be in Yangzhou. It’s a good day to marry Miss Mei, the niece of the British father-in-law, and our two brothers are good brothers of Zhang Xiantai, so we must go to the scene to congratulate, so..."

"Don't worry, the two young shopkeepers." Fan Yongdou hurriedly said, "We, Zhangjiakou Eight Great Families, will also go to a few representatives to congratulate Mr. Xiantai. If we ship the goods at that time, we will definitely invite the two young shopkeepers Some people will be there to help pass the customs and count the quantity of the goods. Don’t worry, the two young shopkeepers, no matter how much goods you ship, you will get a [-]% commission, and you will not miss a tael of silver.”

Fan Yongdou took the initiative to agree so readily, but shopkeeper Wu Er and Ma Jun became suspicious. After discussing a few words in a low voice, Ma Jun said: "Treasurer Fan Da, we were worried at first. After the two of us left Zhangjiakou, you The goods cannot be shipped out, so I plan to ask you to prepare enough goods first. Since you, the shopkeeper of Fan Da, plan to continue to ship goods in those few days, then let me go to Yanghe alone to congratulate Zhang Xiantai. Brother Wu, he If you stay here, you can come forward to settle the situation for you.”

"That would be even better. Thank you, shopkeeper Ma Shao, for your careful arrangements." Fan Yongdou also knew that shopkeeper Wu Er and Ma Jun were still worried that they would play tricks and escape, so he quickly agreed—to be honest, in fact, Fan Yongdou waited a few minutes. This locust merchant did not intend to sneak away from the commission of these two live treasures. On the contrary, he also hoped that their firm would also participate in the smuggling of slaves. With a thief ship, the possibility of playing tricks is even smaller.

"Then it's settled. When will the shopkeepers Fan Da leave? How about going the same way then?" Ma Jun nodded, and then warned with a threatening tone: "By the way, tell the shopkeeper Fan Da, by the way, In order to prevent foreign businessmen from intervening in our Zhangjiakou market, shopkeeper Wu Er and I greeted Heijunmen. Starting tomorrow, Heijunmen will temporarily close the nearby Qingbiankou, Changyukou and Dabaiyang Passes, so as not to Some unscrupulous businessmen sell private goods through these gates."

"Damn, these two guys are not stupid enough to prevent my goods from going through other gates." Fan Yongdou knew Ma Jun's hints and warnings well, and said with a smile: "It's still the two young shopkeepers who are careful." , This is the best way, closing these three gates, even if foreign businessmen want to get their hands on the Zhangjiakou border market, they have no chance. As for our departure time, it has not yet been determined, so let’s do whatever the shopkeeper Ma Shao leaves. It's time to go, let's go on the road together with companions."

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

Although Wu Er shopkeeper and Ma Jun came to Fan Yongdou's family to ask Xingshi for his crimes, and there was still some villainous taste of being rampant when he succeeded, but for the eight major locust merchants, their last bit of wariness about these two live treasures was also unknowingly After the smoke disappeared, Yifa believed that these two live treasures were only for money, and there was no other discrepancy, and he was more at ease in raising the urgently needed supplies for Jiannu and making preparations for shipment.On the 28th day of the first lunar month, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, and Wang Dengku, three locust merchants, also brought gifts from the eight major locust merchants, and followed Ma Jun on the road to Yanghe. The move left Fan Yongdou, Huang Yunlong and others in Zhangjiakou to ship goods, and kept in touch with each other at all times.On the second day after Ma Jun and others left Zhangjiakou, Xuanfu Chief Soldier Hei Yunlong and Xuanfu Governor Qin Shiwen also left Zhangjiakou, and only the prefect Liu Yongzuo was left in Xuanfu, and Xuanfu deputy generals Sun Shangzhi and Hei Yunlong Cheng Guan, his deputy, greatly weakened the monitoring force of the border city of Zhangjiakou.

Leaving aside the fact that Fan Yongdou, Huang Yunlong and others are preparing to ship goods in Zhangjiakou, let’s just say that Ma Jun, Jin Liangyu and other three locust merchants set off from Zhangjiakou in the early morning of the 28th of the first lunar month. Yanghe.Seeing that it was getting late, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu and other locust merchants originally wanted to stay at the inn, rest after dinner, and then go to see Young Master Zhang the next day, but they never thought that Ma Jun would immediately yell: "What are you eating on the street?" Go to the governor's office to eat, Zhang Xiantai is my good buddy, I have traveled hundreds of miles to drink his wedding wine, why don't I go eat him a few more times?"

"Damn it, you've only known Zhang Haogu, little Mad Dog for a few days, and you dare to say he's his buddy?" Wang Dayu, Jin Liangyu, and Wang Dengku groaned coldly in their hearts, but they couldn't hold back Ma Jun's persistence. Wanting to see the current situation of Young Master Zhang with his own eyes, he didn't insist. After booking a room at the inn, he followed Ma Jun to the governor's yamen overnight to meet him.

Ma Jun really wasn't bragging. After he handed the famous gold spurs into the governor's office, not long after, Young Master Zhang actually led his right-hand assistants Man Gui, Ma Shiying, Zhao Shuilun and his brother-in-law Zhang Zhiji out to greet him. He greeted Ma Jun, led Ma Jun and the three locust merchants into the back hall, and set up a banquet to entertain them warmly.Among them, Zhang Zhiji, the uncle of Young Master Zhang, just met Ma Jun in Jiayuguan a few days ago, and received Ma Jun's filial piety. After meeting again, they are also very affectionate with each other, and they simply called each other brothers at the banquet. .And Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, and Wang Dengku, the three locust merchants, regretted that they didn't give Young Master Zhang a dark stock at the beginning, allowing Ma Jun, a living treasure, to pick up a big bargain, and they breathed a sigh of relief——Master Zhang, who is full of spring, is sitting in the sun at the moment. In any case, in the yamen of the governor Xuanda, the eight major locust merchants will not be able to destroy the shipment plan of the day after tomorrow.

After the banquet, Young Master Zhang enthusiastically persuaded Ma Jun, who was similar in age, to live in the governor's office to help him arrange the marriage. Of course, Ma Jun refused to miss this great opportunity to flatter him, so he agreed without hesitation.The three locust merchants, including Wang Dayu and Jin Liangyu, returned to the signboard of the inn, and at the same time sent a fast-horse messenger to rush back to Zhangjiakou overnight to report the situation in Yanghe to Fan Yongdou, Ning Wan and the others, and emphasized that they had been in Yanghe. Meet with Young Master Zhang, tell Fan Yongdou and others to rest assured to ship, and don't miss the best opportunity to make a fortune by shipping - as long as you pass this level, the eight locust merchants will rest assured to wait until Young Master Zhang moves the governor's office to a more distant place. Go to Shanxi Town, and then let go of making money and making money.

The next morning, which was also the morning of the first day of February in the eighth year of Tianqi, Ma Jun took the time to go back to the inn and told Wang Dayu and Jin Liangyu, the three locust merchants, that he would stay in the governor's office for the next two days to help out. Tell the three locust merchants not to worry about him, and wait until tomorrow evening when Young Master Zhang and Mei Qingyun are married, and then meet in the governor's yamen.Envious of the three locust merchants, they also agreed without any doubts, stayed in the inn and waited at ease, and also had a courteous exchange with familiar officials to further draw closer relationships, and only waited for the next day to go to the governor's office for a wedding banquet .

More than a day passed quickly, and just after noon on the second day of February, the three locust merchants came together to the governor's office decorated with lanterns and festoons, and handed over gifts and money to see them.However, after being led by young master Zhang's personal soldiers into the back garden of the governor's office where the stage was set up to sing, Wang Dayu, Jin Liangyu and Wang Dengku did not see Ma Jun's living treasure, and young master Zhang, who should have been wearing red and colorful clothes, was also missing. Xuan Daxun and Zhang Suyang, who are closely related to the eight locust merchants, came over and said hello: "The three big shopkeepers, why are you here now? Hey, shopkeepers Fan Da and Huang Da, why didn't they come?"

"Shopkeeper Fan and Shopkeeper Huang have something to do, they can't leave, they asked us to be representatives, but the gift has already been delivered." Wang Dayu agreed with a smile, and asked curiously: "Master Zhang, why didn't you see Zhang Xiantai? Overjoyed On that day, he should be coming out to greet guests? Let’s forget about it, Mr. Zhang, you are a majestic Xuanda inspector, why didn’t Zhang Xiantai come to greet you?"

It's good that Wang Dayu didn't mention this matter, but when it was mentioned, Zhang Suyang's expression became a little gloomy, and he looked at the people around him, and hummed in a low voice: "What can I do? He's so arrogant, my nine-thousand-year-old relative My son, the niece and son-in-law of the Duke of England, still think of me as an inspector? I have already arrived, and I didn’t see him after lunch. Before and after, it was the prefect of Ma who was making trouble.”

"What's going on? Why hasn't Zhang Xiantai showed up yet?" Wang Dayu, Jin Liangyu and others became a little nervous.At this time, a fat old man came over and greeted Zhang Suyang: "This lord, is it Mr. Patrolman? Mr. Zhang came all the way from Shanxi Town. You have worked hard. I would like to thank Mr. Patrolman here."

"Are you...?" Zhang Suyang looked at the fat old man arrogantly, and found that although the old man was well dressed, he always had the aura of a rich man.The fat old man laughed, and replied: "Master Zhang, my husband's surname is Zhang, and my name is Laocai. Everyone calls me Zhang Laocai. The groom who got married today is a puppy."

"It turned out to be Zhang Xiantai's grand lord!" Zhang Suyang was taken aback, and hurriedly saluted Zhang Laocai.Zhang Laocai returned the gift with a smile, and said affectionately: "Master Zhang, I heard that you just arrived in Yanghe this morning. The journey must be very hard, right? Please sit here, watch a play and listen to music, what do you need?" , just ask the employer."

"Thank you, Mrs. Zhang." Zhang Suyang politely agreed, and then asked tentatively, "Mr. Mrs. Zhang, why hasn't Master Zhang shown up yet? Today is his day of great joy."

"Oh, don't mention it, I will get angry when I mention this." Zhang Laocai said angrily: "This dog, I really don't know the seriousness. Miss Mei is the niece of the British Duke of Ming Dynasty. It looks like a fairy, the smoke from the grave of our Zhang family ancestor, let him marry such a good girl, on the day of marriage, he even said that he was busy with official duties, and was in a hurry to dispatch troops to fight some rebellious thieves, and even sent the mansion The soldiers have also gone to the barracks, and they will not come out until the time of worship. Let me, the father, greet the guests here. If today is not a day of great joy, I really want to slap him a few times to let him know what is more important ...."

Zhang Laocai babbled and scolded his son here, but Zhang Suyang, Jin Liangyu and others breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Suyang said with a smile: "Old Madam, Xiantai is also diligent in the affairs of the king. If he doesn't treat the affairs of the court like this Shang Xin, you can become the governor of Xuanda at a young age? The 24-year-old governor is the first since the Ming dynasty! Well, please don’t be angry with Zhang Xiantai again for the sake of the old lady. "

After Zhang Laocai inadvertently dispelled the suspicion of several locust merchants, several locust merchants also felt relieved, sat in front of the stage with Zhang Suyang, tasted tea and listened to the opera, and did not rush out to call the police, and issued a warning to Zhangjiakou—in fact , it was already too late anyway.It's just that the three locust merchants and Zhang Suyang waited and waited, but they never waited for Young Master Zhang to show up, let alone Ma Jun. Zhang Laocai and Ma Shiying were busy entertaining guests inside and outside, and even Young Master Zhang Several important subordinates and leading military generals did not show up. Although the locust merchants felt strange, they had to wait patiently...

………………

While the three locust merchants were listening to music and watching a play in the back garden of Governor Xuanda’s yamen in Yanghe, at the branch of Fanji Bank in Yingtianfu, Nanzhili, south of the Yangtze River, several customers suddenly showed a large number of Shanxi Hengtong bank accounts. Although the banknotes presented by the four customers were as high as [-] taels, the Nanjing branch of Fanji Bank, which had received the order from Zhangjiakou, The banker still dared not be negligent, and after verifying that the banknotes were not counterfeit, he obediently exchanged these absolutely genuine banknotes, and only waited to exchange them back at the nearby Hengtong Bank in Luzhou Branch another day.

Traffic restrictions, what the shopkeeper and staff of Fanji Bank’s Nanjing branch did not know was that almost at the same time, Jiangnan Fanji Bank’s Yangzhou branch, Songjiang branch, Hangzhou branch, Suzhou branch, Huizhou branch, Huzhou branch, etc. In the semicolon and Liujiagang branch, some customers also appeared, waving the bank notes issued by Hengtong Bank, asking for cash exchange. Although the amount of cash exchanged by each semicolon is not very large, Fanji Bank A few branches of the company can also get money, but the total is enough to buy all the branches of Hengtong Bank in the country-and you can buy it twice......

………………

The scene turns back to Yanghe’s Xuanda governor’s yamen. The weather in early February in the north is relatively cold and the days are relatively short. Just after Shen’s time, the sky is already slightly dark, and the warmth brought by the sun during the day is gradually disappearing. , Several locust merchants and other guests sitting in the back garden also gradually felt some chills.But to everyone's surprise, today's groom official, Young Master Zhang, has not yet shown up, and there is no movement to open seats in the front yard and hall where the tables and chairs have been set up. An old lady lost her temper and ran to Ma Shiying and Zhang Weixian, who were the only ones in charge today, to ask why.

"Master Ma, all the guests are here, why hasn't my dog ​​come back?" Zhang Laocai wiped his sweat and said, "Where is the dog? You should send some people to remind you! Later, This auspicious time is missed."

Ma Shiying didn't answer Zhang Laocai's words, but turned to Zhang Weixian and asked, "Master, it's almost time, can we do it?" Zhang Weixian nodded, and Ma Shiying, relieved, quickly turned around and greeted a soldier of Young Master Zhang next to him. Waving his hand, the soldier immediately took out a paper tube from his arms, pointed it at the sky and lit the fuse, and there was a soft chirping sound, a fire point was ejected from the paper tube and flew into the air and exploded, releasing a huge firework.Almost at the same time, countless soldiers of the Ming army poured into the front and rear doors of the governor's office, and surrounded all the guests present with knives and guns.

"Zhang Guogong, Mr. Ma, what are you doing?" Zhang Laocai screamed like killing a pig.Zhang Weixian shrugged his shoulders and replied: "Don't ask me, everything was arranged by your precious son - that kid used my niece's marriage as a bait to arrest people, and when he comes back, you will replace me and others." My niece, slap him a few more times and teach him a lesson!"

"Everyone, don't panic! Listen to me!" Ma Shiying stood up and shouted to the panicked guests: "My lords, and all the gentlemen of Datong and Yanghe, don't panic, these troops are not rushing It has nothing to do with you coming here. One more thing, after discussing with Zhang Guogong, Zhang Xiantai and Zhang Guogong felt that today’s day is not suitable for worshiping and getting married, so they decided to postpone the wedding date. Everyone’s congratulatory gifts have already been sent, so there is no need to send them next time.”

"Postponing the wedding date?" A local gentry in Yanghe exclaimed in surprise, "It's already the day of the marriage ceremony, so you decide to postpone the wedding date? I've never heard of such a thing before?"

"You don't need to hear about it, just see it with your own eyes today." Zhang Weixian stood up and said with a smile: "Everyone, yes, the old man discussed with Zhang Xiantai and decided to postpone the wedding date for a few days, because today's day is not suitable for worshiping—just Suitable for taking people! Come here, take people for this old man!"

"Decree!" Amid the neatly agreed voices, Ming army soldiers rushed into the crowd like wolves and tigers one after another, and one after another picked out the targets they had been eyeing for a long time.The first to bear the brunt, of course, are the three locust merchants in Zhangjiakou, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, and Wang Dengku, followed by Zhang Suyang, governor of Xuanda, Zhang Yiming, governor of Datong, Qin Shiwen, governor of Xuanfu, and the former governor of Xuanda who has resigned but has not had time to return to the capital. Zhang Pu, Yang Yingrui, the former general of Xuanfu, and several local officials from Xuanda, knelt down in front of Zhang Weixian and Ma Shiying.

"Why are we arrested? Why are we arrested? What crime have we committed?" All the unlucky people screamed, and Wang Dengku screamed even louder, "Why did you arrest me? I am a good businessman from Zhangjiakou. Laiyanghe gave Zhang Xiantai Gift giver, why did you arrest me? What crime did I commit?"

"What crime have you committed?" Ma Shiying snorted coldly, and suddenly shouted loudly: "Some of you, as officials of the court, accept bribes from unscrupulous businessmen, cover up their smuggling activities, provide cover for their smugglers, and violate the law. , Unforgivable crime! There are a few more, smuggling, selling a large amount of prohibited materials and weapons to Tatar tribes, even selling to Liaodong Jiannu, providing Ming military information to Jiannu, helping the tyrants, colluding with Jiannu to kill our Ming compatriots, crimes If there is no pardon, the crime deserves ten thousand deaths! Xuan Da Zhang Xiantai has an order to arrest and question you all!"

"What evidence do you have?" Jin Liangyu struggled and roared, "You said that we smuggled and trafficked, colluded with slavery, what evidence do you have? If you can't produce evidence, you are slandering and framing. Daming is a place where the law is reasonable. You violent officials will not be allowed to act recklessly!"

"Evidence? Of course there is." Ma Shiying smiled slightly, "Zhang Xiantai set off yesterday, and went to Zhangjiakou in person to get the real evidence of your collusion with Jianlao smugglers and smugglers."

(End of this chapter)