The development of the situation made Wu Xinghe, who had planned to watch the excitement from the sidelines, and by the way, Niu Jinxing, who was fanning the flames, dumbfounded.

On the third day of the concubine ceremony, Wu Xing hurriedly brought a letter prepared overnight on the collection of Fu Jin donations in various parts of Shanxi (in fact, it was a fine for those large Jin merchants, in order to punish them for their support for the former Ming official army, the Mongol Tatars, and the Liaodong rebels for many years.) He traveled north overnight to meet Emperor Li Zicheng in Datong, and after obtaining his consent, he began to implement the decree throughout Shanxi. It is also good to solve the urgent need of the army's lack of food and grass to support mules and horses.

Wu Xing rushed out of Taiyuan with his own soldiers on the front foot, and Zhou Zheng and He Fengshan on the back foot came to resign to Mr. Wu and prepared to take up his post in Pingyang Mansion.

Since Mr. Wu Xing was not there, it was his wife Jing Shenhong who came out to receive the two of them.

"I've seen my wife."

"I've seen my wife."

Although Jing Shenhong is only a concubine of Wu Xing, her status is a little peculiar. With Wu Xing's status and status, he now has no wife, so this Jing Shenhong is the actual head of the inner house. Moreover, she, a concubine, is a character who has been registered with Emperor Li Zicheng and Empress Gao Guiying, and she has a special status. Maybe one day an edict will come down and become the Lady of the Decree. Therefore, Zhou Zheng and He Fengshan are very respectful disciples.

Don't think that this etiquette is very transgressive. When Chang Principal Kai Shengong was in Shanghai, he met Chen Jieru, who was thirteen years old at the time, and continued to express his intention to Chen's mother to marry Chen Jieru, and finally got Chen's mother's approval. Jiang claimed to Chen Jieru that he had disowned his original wife and concubine, and promised that "you will be my unique legal wife". When the two married in Shanghai on December 5, 1921, Zhang Jingjiang was a witness, and Kai Shengong was 34 years old at the time. Chen Jieru is 15 years old. (Huh?) Another lolicon? It is because of this status that the early students of Whampoa, including the director of the political department and other school leaders, called Chen Jieru Mrs. Chen. The director of the Political Department has never changed this title throughout his life.

"Mr. went north to meet the emperor and asked for instructions on raising money and grain in Shanxi. Basically, it was the plan proposed by the concubine that day to slaughter fat pigs in Shanxi. It's just that the gentleman has to be more steady. Ordered the maid and servant to offer tea to Zhou Zheng and the others, Jing Shenhong heard He Fengshan ask where Mr. was. Hence this reply.

"Actually, Mr. is also careful! At present, the military situation everywhere is like fire, everywhere is to use money and food, and there are also difficulties in the mules, horses, firewood and grass of each battalion, as long as there is a proper way to raise food, the emperor is naturally happy, why go north so hard overnight! He Fengshan was a little unimpressed.

"Lord He is right. The concubine also thinks so. As for how to operate in the process of requisitioning grain, the emperor is now paying attention to the front line of Juyongguan and Xuanfu. Where can I take care of it? ”

"That's what my wife said! Brother Zhou, after the two of us take office, we must also put the matter of grain and salary in the forefront. ”

"Brother Mingqi," Zhou Zheng frowned, calling He Fengshan's words, "It's natural to raise food." However, how to deal with it, it still has to wait for the gentleman to return from the emperor. It's good to come up with a solution. ”

"I'm afraid that by then, the cucumber vegetables will be cold!" Jing Shenhong sneered. "Since ancient times. Whether it's urging science or raising food, how can there be anything that can be discussed with Yan Yuese? If you don't put your knife on their necks, how can these rich people in Shanxi hand over their grain, silver, and livestock? ”

"Master's words hit the nail on the head! Brother Zhou, let's go to Pingyang. Just burn and kill! The one who refused to hand over the money, grain, mules and horses, Lao Tzu killed his head and burned his king's nest! ”

When Wu Xing returned from Datong in a hurry, he took the salary approved by Li Zicheng and prepared to gather local officials and generals from all over the country to start collecting Fujin donations. Zhou Zheng and He Fengshan have already raided the homes of the Kang family and other wealthy families in Pingyang Mansion.

As they raided Kang's house in Pingyang, and copied more than 100,000 stone stocks of grain and rice, and sent them to the Datong front line and various places along the way for military use, officials everywhere rose up to follow suit. Those who can copy other people's homes can not only make meritorious contributions in front of the emperor, but also have a lot of oil and water to fish. This kind of thing is not done by fools.

As a result, Yuci, Taigu, Pingyao, Jiexiu, Qixian and other places, where the Jin merchants gathered, set fire to the wasteland one after another, and began to raid the property of the Jin merchants.

Originally, Wu Xing's plan was to punish more than ten large Jin merchants led by him, so that they would sacrifice their grain and mules and horses stored at home, and at the same time collect one-tenth of the cash as a punishment. However, officials in various places tossed around, but they indiscriminately collected grain, silver, mules, horses, and even furniture, clothes, and jewelry.

The most energetic people here are not Zhou Zheng and other officials of the Qin Law Department, but Niu Jinxing's disciples. They did this kind of work of raiding their homes, but they were no worse than the Qin law officials who were born as thieves in the past, and they were even more professional and enthusiastic.

In addition to a small reason that everyone knows, several of the leading characters have been ordered by the ear in front of the Ox Venus.

"If you raid your home and raise food and salary, you just have to let it go. You must not be a person in the Qin Law School. If this matter is successful, the credit will naturally be equal. If it doesn't work, or if there is something boiling with public resentment, it will also be caused by him Wu Xing and the people in the Qin Law School. ”

"If they don't make mistakes, how can there be people like us who are on the right path to settle down in the court and proclaim the righteous path of the saints?"

This is a little secret in everyone's hearts, and naturally it can't be declared. On the surface, they all claimed that they were in accordance with the meaning of Wu Xingwu Shilang to liquidate the Jin merchants who collaborated with the enemy, captives, and slaves in Shanxi, so as to punish them for their crimes of harming the country and the people for hundreds of years!

However, if it is only aimed at the Kang family, the Fan family, the Huang family, the Wang family, the Cao family, the Chang family, the Miao family, the Jin family, the Liang family, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Fan Yongdou, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, Huang Yongfa and other eight imperial businessmen, this matter is still understandable. After all, it is a well-known secret that they made a fortune in the country, and that they did business with the thieves and Mongol Tatars in Liaodong.

However, the opposite is true. Over there, Zhou Zheng and He Fengshan copied Kang's house. The officials in Yuci, Jiexiu, Qixian, Taigu, and Pingyao have never touched a single hair of the gentry and giants. On the contrary, it is to make those small and medium-sized businessmen toss chickens and dogs and cry bitterly. They went into the house and tore down the walls and dug the ground, so that they would hand over the food and silver for their sins, and offer mules, horses, firewood and grass for the army.

Countless gangsters, or groups of three or five walking in various towns and mouths on the three sides of Xuanda, and even small businessmen who went to the Mongolian steppe to earn a small profit to make a living and support their families. They were arrested and imprisoned, tortured and interrogated every day, and flailed to the public, so that their families heard and witnessed their tragic conditions, and tried every means to raise money, food, and rice to ransom people.

"Your food, clothing, and housing, living, sitting and lying are all based on the flesh and blood of the Han people everywhere."

"Partnering with the enemy and betraying the country is a heinous crime!"

"Because of you, what are the people who die by the sword of the Tartar? How many cities have been lost, etc., for the sake of small profits. He did not hesitate to trade with the Liao thieves and Tatars, so that they were well fed and clothed, and their armor was strong! After being beaten into hell, you should first go up to the Sword Mountain, then get off the oil pot, then transfer to the Fire Sea Punishment Domain, and finally go to the Ling Chi Punishment Domain, where you will be slashed with 1,336 knives. Finally, plunge into the animal path! ”

In various parts of Jinzhong, countless officials sternly reprimanded the businessmen who knelt in front of the yamen and screamed endlessly. An endless stream of them. Some soldiers brought bags of copper coins, huge lumps of silver ingots, and cartloads of grain into the treasury, and then shipped them out.

Just when Wu Xing was jumping for this chaotic situation and scolding his officials for being ridiculous bastards, Jing Shenhong in his room didn't think so. thinks that it is not enough to kill people and steal the goods, "These people should all be arrested and confiscated!" Let them go to the army to do hard labor, or to dig bricks during the siege of the city! ”

With such words, Wu Xing was so angry that he threw off his robe sleeves and moved to live in the signing room angrily. But. Willing to stop the indiscriminate behavior of officials in various places, looking at the increasing amount of silver money on the ledger every day, and the number of grain, rice, firewood, grass, mules, and horses transported to the front line, Wu Xing was also helpless.

The most important thing is that Li Zicheng, who had arrived at Xuanfu at this time, was even more happy after learning about the follow-up steady stream of grain and grass. personally wrote a special purpose to commend Wu Xing's actions, which made Wu Xing extremely embarrassed. On the side, Niu Jinxing twisted his hair and laughed.

In Taiyuan City, in a house on Chaoyang Street in Yinghui Gate, it is full of crowns and clothes at this time.

Above the main hall, dozens of well-dressed characters gathered together, sipping tea and eating snacks with a leisurely expression.

On the more than a dozen Huanghuali official hat chairs in the front row, there are chair shawls embroidered with gold and silver threads embroidered with money patterns in the bat's mouth, and there are also cushions with good fur, so that these old people can be as comfortable as possible.

The head is the head of the Fan family, the Huang family, the Wang family, the Cao family, the Chang family, the Miao family, the Jin family, the Liang family and other families. More than a dozen old people who can make the entire Xuanda region and even the entire north tremble by stomping their feet, but today they are like avoiding cats and mice, quietly hiding in this mansion in Taiyuan City to plan a way out.

"Everyone, everyone has heard about the Kang family, right?" Fan Yongdou, who was the leader, put down a few petals of oranges from the south road in his hand, and slowly began to talk to everyone present in his Jiexiu accent.

How can you not know?!

Pingyang Kang's family, they mainly operate salt industry and grain stores, the scale is so large, only in Pingyang Mansion, there are thousands of warehouses, outside the Zhengyang Gate of Jingshi, there are also the largest grain stores in the capital that they opened. Even the wealthy and empty-sighted Beijing businessmen must bow to the wind. In recent years, it has made a special Nancao business in Nanjing, Tianjin and other places, and japonica rice, oil, meat porcelain jars, refined salt, white sugar, etc. are all profitable businesses. The whole ship's South Road cargo was eaten by them without blinking an eye, and then distributed to all directions. They were also well-capitalized pawnbrokers, running pawnshops and exchanging money. It is also known for its loan sharks. Over the years, under various operations, the Kang family has faintly surpassed the Fan family and become the richest man in Shanxi, claiming to have tens of millions of assets, and his house in Pingyang is Lianyun. Kangyuan is as big as ten miles, and the trees and stones are ponds, and they are as deep as passing.

At that time, the Kang family, in order to crush the local rivals, took out 90 golden arhats for three consecutive months and pawned them in the opponent's pawnshop, forcing the person to close the pawnshop. This trick was also used by Shanxi businessmen on Lin Wenbing, who was prevalent in Long, but unfortunately the strength behind Lin Wenbing was too strong, so this trick never succeeded.

However, now the Kang family in Pingyang is already a term similar to the passing clouds. Although there are children who have fled abroad, there is no need to worry about cutting off the bloodline of the ancestry. However, the old nest was brought to the bottom by He Fengshan.

The more than 200,000 stone grain and rice stored at home, thousands of mules and horses, and countless gold and silver are all cheap for these Shaanxi thieves!

The Kang family is a lesson for everyone, and it is also because of this. Everyone quietly gathered from their respective hometowns to this Jinyang City to discuss a countermeasure.

Speaking of which, everyone does the same job. Taking the Fan family as an example, it is mainly engaged in grain and various military supplies, and many industries are located in Zhangjiakou. At the beginning, they smuggled with various Mongolian departments, and later the old slaves rose up in Manchuria, from the founding of the state era to the Qing Dynasty, they took Zhangjiakou as one of the bases, and carried out trade and smuggling in an endless stream.

Trade with Manchu and Mongolia was very profitable. It can be called a huge profit, those Manchurians and Mongols, if they have nothing, there will be no silver, this kind of smuggling, it is very safe, there is no risk than sea trade, after all, there is no wind and waves on the land route. Smuggling involves a huge number of interest groups. Under the cover of all parties, it is difficult to think of accidents. But now it's different, there is a group of thieves and thieves who don't pay attention to rules and friendships, and they mess up everyone's good life. Although the fire has not yet been burned on his own body, the grass and trees have been burned. No matter how lush the trees are, they are also difficult to resist the jagged teeth of the axe.

"Everyone Cao, we are all old and decrepit, but you are like a new blade. I couldn't understand it best. You might as well give us an idea to think of a way to get through the threshold in front of us. Seeing that everyone was there and didn't speak, Fan Yongdou had no choice but to pull down his face and order his generals.

The Cao family he is talking about is Cao Sanxi, the head of the Cao family in Taigu. The Cao family was not originally from Taigu, the ancestor Cao Bangyan was a native of Huata Village, Taiyuan Jin Temple, and made a living by selling casseroles. To the 14th generation of Cao Sanxi's generation, Cao Sanxi went to the Kanto region alone to do business, and made a lot of profits.

(Speaking of this person's family background, it is far less famous than the so-called Eight Imperial Merchants and the Qiao Family Compound and Chang Family Manor.) However, I believe everyone has watched a TV series filmed in the courtyard of his family, and it is often broadcast on various TV stations until now. That is the famous "Bright Sword", in which Chu Yunfei's regimental headquarters and Li Yunlong's hospital were all filmed in the Cao family's Sanduotang. In front of the courtyard where Chu Yunfei and Li Yunlong were drinking, there was a plaque of "Three More Guests", which also wished the visiting guests the same many sons and grandchildren. ）

Cao Sanxi was not polite, stood up and made a circle towards the old-timers.

"Everyone, seniors, boy Meng Lang, there are some things to say here to listen to everyone. It's a brick throw. ”

"Everyone Cao is polite, if you have any good way to let everyone survive this catastrophe, it is that the ministers of Shanxi owe you a favor that breaks the sky, and we will always have a heart in the future."

The head of the Qu family, who runs tea ticket villages, pawnshops and other businesses, is the big lama who robbed Fan Yongdou's words, and made a promise to Cao Sanxi on behalf of the ministers of Shanxi.

"Everyone, it's hard work." After receiving this promise, Cao Sanxi was also satisfied, and he bowed to several family heads again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, since the Kang family broke down that day and confiscated the family wealth for Zhou Zheng and He Fengshan, this move has spread everywhere like wildfire on the grassland. There are countless wealth, silks, grains, grasses, mules and horses confiscated everywhere, all of which have become the military salaries and military rations of the Dashun Imperial Court. Hearing this, Cao Sanxi could clearly hear the sound of gnashing teeth.

"However, if you think about it carefully, in addition to the Pingyang Kang family, how many silver coins and catties of grain are there for everyone here?"

Cao Sanxi is younger in the end, and his thinking is much faster. He pointed out to everyone that Yuci, Jiexiu, Qixian, Taigu, and Pingyao should not look at the boiling and crying everywhere, but the unlucky ones are all small traders and small households. It was true that the amount of trade with the Liao thieves and the Mongol Tatars was huge, but it was never touched. Of course, this is also indispensable for each family to show their talents, some send their daughters to officials as wives and concubines, and some send clothes and supplies to officials. What they wear, what they wear around their necks, and what they hold in their arms are all the hearts of everyone, how can they be embarrassed by everyone?

"I'm a few years younger, and I haven't caught up with many things, so I'm naturally short-sighted. However, what about the current situation, compared to the time when Emperor Wanli sent tax supervisors to collect taxes in various places? Even the Wanli Emperor may not be able to support it! Cao Sanxi even gave an example that is not very long.

"The so-called strong winds never end, and the rainstorms never end. The more aggressive it is, the more difficult it is to last. We just need to grit our teeth and get through this section. ”

But it turned out to be so! After listening to Cao Sanxi's lofty remarks, the dull air in the room was suddenly swept away.

So, you proposed to go to the palace of the King of Jin to meet the right prime minister Niu Jinxing, and donate military salaries to the Dashun court. I said that I would persuade Juyong to guard the court and return to the Dashun court. The lifeless atmosphere of Fang Cai was suddenly replaced by a warm atmosphere.

Fan Yongdou saw such a warm scene in front of him, and the wrinkles on his face almost smiled. A few fingers flexibly fiddled with a dazzling silver dollar, but in his mouth, he talked with Huang Yunfa: "Old Huang, have you had any dealings with Jinan recently?" ”

Huang Yunfa couldn't help but blush, although the businessman made profits, he did make a lot of money in this business, but after all, he put his wife and daughter into it, and this thing is not good to say.

"Occasionally, there is some contact."

"You might as well speak on behalf of all the ministers in Shanxi and Li Houye in Jinan, if Li Houye and his son can calm Li Chuang and return the world to Qingping, we are willing to serve all the food and salary of the army in Shanxi!"

"This?!" Huang Yunfa couldn't help but gasp when he heard this, Okay, you Fan Yongdou, here you have to go to the door of Niu Venus, in order to protect the whole family. Over there, he went to conspire with Li Huayu to knock Li Zicheng to the ground. Sure enough, it's a good means! No wonder they can rank first among many businessmen in Shanxi!

But Huang Yunfa thought about it carefully, and nodded resolutely, expressing his willingness to go to Jinan in person. Although there are wars everywhere at the moment, the line from Shanxi to Zhangde Mansion and Huaiqing Mansion is quite calm. As long as you arrive at Zhangde Mansion and show your identity as Liang Guogong's cheap father-in-law, you can go to Jinan unimpeded.

He gave a thumbs up to Fan Yongdou's multi-sided betting technique.

"Actually, it's nothing, I've already asked San to pull out the side wall and go to Shenyang along the Mongolian tribes to meet the Nine Princes. The same conditions! ”

Fan Yongdou's face did not change and startled Huang Yunfa again. (To be continued.) )