In later generations, Xuanfu Town was also called Xuanhua, a district in Zhangjiakou.
But now Zhangjiakou is just a frontier fortress under the jurisdiction of Xuanfu Town. The earliest name was Zhangjiabao, which was just a fortress. In the eighth year of Jiaqing, Zhang Zhen opened a small gate in the north city. The gate is as small as the mouth and was built by Zhang Zhen. It was called Zhangjiakou by the local people and passed down over time. Later, Zhangjiakou opened its market and became the most important trading port in the north of the Ming Dynasty.
Later, after the Manchu Qing Dynasty took over the Central Plains, a large city gate was opened here for trade, which was also called the Dajing Gate.
Many people have misunderstandings about Dajing Gate, because there is no exact record of the time when the gate was built. If it is said that the gate was built in the 17th year of Chongzhen, many people think it was opened in the Ming Dynasty.
Don’t forget, on the 18th day of the third lunar month in the 17th year of Chongzhen, the rebel army broke into Beijing and the Ming Dynasty was destroyed.
In other words, the Ming Dynasty perished just a few months after the New Year. The Ming court was so anxious at that time that it wanted to block all the gates. How could it open a city gate at the border? In fact, it was after the Manchu Qing Dynasty took over the Central Plains. Although it was in the 17th year of Chongzhen that the door opened for trade with the Mongols could not wait, it was not the work of the Ming court.
As the largest trading port of the Ming Dynasty in the north, Zhangjiakou was full of caravans on weekdays. It also promoted other food, drink and entertainment industries. There were inns and restaurants everywhere in and outside the city, and there was a lot of feasting and feasting.
Even in this windy and snowy night, you can hear all kinds of happy sounds. Some people are drinking wine, some are enjoying themselves at the gambling table, and some are galloping through the gentle countryside...
The inn where Chang Yu stayed was one of the best outside the city. He asked for a few upper rooms to accommodate Princess Kunxing. Most of the personal guards went to Datongpu. The remaining ten people were on duty pretending to be caravan guards to guard the trucks. Chang Yu and The prince and several of his attendants went to the inn lobby to order some food and drinks. There were several tables of guests nearby who were drinking and chatting loudly.
Zhangjiakou closed the market when the few Shanxi merchants were confiscated from Dongchang, but there were endless caravans along the way, and it was almost unaffected. What does this mean?
smuggling!
And it has reached a shocking level!
There is the Great Wall, there are gates, and there are guards. How did they smuggle out?
This is corruption!
"I'm really good at carrying things. If I hadn't been delayed by the snowstorm, I might have walked out..." A rough man at the next table raised his glass and shook his head with a bitter smile. Someone next to him patted him: "That's right. You can't get out without a snowstorm. Haven't you heard that the eunuch of Dongchang patrolled the border and the general soldiers of Xuanfu were arrested? Now the wind is very tight in the fort (commonly known as Zhangjiakou), and everyone's goods are We can’t get out, we’re all being held captive here.”
"Hey, you said this stupid eunuch stopped patrolling early and stopped patrolling late. Just now, I'm still waiting for this batch of goods to survive." The man couldn't help but cursed, and the people next to him agreed, but Chang The people at Yu's table got angry, but Chang Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly with an indifferent expression.
"I made an appointment with a group of tourists outside the customs for these days, but at this time, the customs is closed and I don't know how long it will be closed. It is too delayed..." Another person shook his head and sighed: "Brothers are hanging around in the fort so much For a long time, it can’t be just one way. Is there any other way to go?”
"Hey, you don't know how powerful it is. Didn't you hear that not only the general soldier of Xuan Mansion was arrested, but also dozens of people were arrested and even killed. The eunuch had the Shang Fang Sword given by the emperor, and he could kill anyone he asked. Whoever you kill, whoever dares to seek death at this juncture, there is no way to go, just wait patiently."
It's so scary that people who hear it are shocked: "That eunuch is not only good at killing enemies in battle, but he can also kill his own people so easily."
"Other than saying that he was a massacre, besides, it's just a joke that Shang Fang Baojian, in his capacity as the eunuch of Dongchang, would kill everyone for fun... I heard that nowadays the castle is full of Dongchang fanzi and The Jinyi Guards are conducting secret inspections, and the defenders are in danger..."
These people kept talking openly while enjoying the wine. The faces of Chang Yu's people at the table were getting darker and darker, but he himself remained calm and composed.
"What kind of goods are you selling? If the price is right, I'll take it!" Zhu Cixiang listened to those people talking about Chang Yu non-stop. As an idiot fan, his heart became more and more angry, so he wanted to cause trouble for them.
As soon as they heard that someone was receiving the goods, the people at the tables became interested: "Which company does this brother belong to? We have all the goods on hand, including tea, cloth, and..." He looked around and looked mysteriously. Said: "There is also salt and iron!"
Good guy, Zhu Cixiang was furious. Iron and salt are prohibited items. These people are really hateful. He slammed the table in anger. Chang Yu raised his hand and pressed on his shoulder: "Young Master, these goods are all out to deceive the Tatars." "What are you collecting it for?"
"Hey, what this guy said is not pleasant to hear. We are all top-notch goods..." Someone shouted, and Wang Zhengnan rolled his eyes: "Come on, good tea and good cloth. Even the two capitals can't afford it. Can you?" Sell it to the Tatars, it’s nonsense, it’s not a layman trying to fool anyone, it’s your iron and salt... If the price is right, we can take some.”
The man chuckled: "This brother is quite straightforward, but having said that, the Tatars are short of this stuff. They know what is good and what is bad. They take what they have and are not picky." As he said this, he walked to the table and stretched out his hand. Putting his hand on Zhu Cixi's shoulder: "This young master came out to study business, right? By the way, which company do you belong to?"
Good guy, this move of his is really life-threatening. How can anyone rest on the shoulders of the majestic Prince Ming? Apart from his parents, brothers and sisters, only Chang Yu dares to do so in the whole country, but now this man actually... …
Zhu Cixiang was already angry. Seeing him act like this, he couldn't sit still anymore. Unexpectedly, he was about to fall out but was held down by Chang Yu again. Wang Zhengnan over there intentionally or unintentionally slapped the man's hand away: "What you are selling will never see the light of day." , why bother with which company we have, maybe we are going to report it?"
The man didn't know that he had walked around the gate of hell, and said with a smile: "How could it be possible? Anyone doing business here in the fort, except for life and death enemies, who would do such a thing..."
"That's not necessarily true." Chang Yu caught up and said, "In the past, reporting may have been useless and the officials turned a blind eye, but I heard that this time the Dongchang patrol issued a death order to strictly control salt, iron, etc. If you find any prohibited items, you will destroy them, and there will be heavy rewards for reporting them."
"Ah, really, we haven't heard about it yet." The man's face suddenly turned green and white. He was scared. It would be terrible if someone reported him at this moment.
"I also heard it in Xuanfu. I heard that Dongchang and the Minister of War have come to Zhangjiakou. It doesn't seem to be false." Chang Yu said lightly. The faces of those people were even more ugly. Just now a troop of troops entered the city and there were many people. Everybody saw it.
"Brother, if we have no grievances in the past, you shouldn't report me, right? Didn't your young master just say that you want to take it away? How about you give me a suitable price?" The man was holding a wine glass. He sat down next to Chang Yu and started to get close.
"Then you won't report us," Chang Yu said. The man quickly waved his hand: "How is it possible? The goods were bought from me. Reporting you doesn't mean reporting myself." He leaned over and whispered: " I have 800 kilograms of pig iron and 200 kilograms of coarse salt, please give me a suitable price."
Chang Yu didn't know the price, so he said, "Please make a price first." After hearing this, the man grabbed Chang Yu's hand, then put it into his sleeve, pinching it here and there: "What's the price?"
Damn it, Chang Yu was speechless. He didn't understand such jargon and gestures at all, so he looked at Wang Zhengnan and the others, and they also looked confused.
"How is it?" The man continued to ask without knowing what was going on.
"Well, it's a bit high." Chang Yu shook his head slightly, and the man frowned: "The price is much lower than before." He gritted his teeth and said, "This is the lowest, what do you think?"
"It's still a bit high." Chang Yu shook his head, and the man's face darkened, and he walked away angrily: "It's too deceiving, too unreasonable, and it's just taking advantage of others."
Chang Yu smiled and said nothing. The man gritted his teeth and sat back down. He grabbed Chang Yu's hand and squeezed it: "This price is the lowest. If it still doesn't work, brother, please report me. I'm like this." Dozens of lives are in your hands!”
Chang Yu sighed: "How about I discuss this with the young master's family?" He winked at Zhu Cihong, and the two of them went upstairs, and then asked several personal guards if they knew anything about this, but none of them knew anything.
"You really plan to buy it! Why are you buying it? Just arrest it!" Zhu Cixiang snorted: "Tomorrow, we will immediately mobilize troops to inspect the goods. If any contraband is found, we will immediately confiscate it and arrest anyone!"
Chang Yu sighed: "Sometimes I want to be cruel, but when I think about whether these goods will really affect the survival of dozens of families once they are checked, I also want to give them one last chance."
Zhu Cixiang looked at the confusion on his face: "Sometimes I think you are too cruel and unkind, and sometimes I think you are too kind." Then he sighed: "Then what are you going to do? I can guess it even if I am so ignorant. The goods stranded in Zhangjiakou at this time contain countless contraband, so let them go like this?"
Chang Yu thought for a while: "Either a notice is issued tomorrow and anyone with prohibited goods will return immediately. Otherwise, if found, they will be confiscated and arrested, or Octopus will come forward to purchase it secretly..."
"What are you collecting the Octopus for?" Zhu Cixi didn't understand for a moment, but Chang Yu smiled: "They sell it as smuggling, but we sell it as normal trade, and we can take advantage of this moment to lower the price..."
"You...you are such a profiteer!" Zhu Cixiang shook his head directly.
"What are you two muttering about here?" With a creak, the door next door opened, and Su Jing walked out with a frown: "You don't sleep in the middle of the night and you still bother others..."
"Hey, you little nun..." Zhu Cixiang couldn't stand Su Jing's lack of discipline and was about to scold him. Chang Yu quickly grabbed him and casually said to Su Jing: "Do you understand this..." The buying and selling gestures said.
Su Jing looked disgusted and said, "Whoever travels around can't do this?" Then she taught him.
Chang Yu learns things quickly and understands them in a short time. However, he does not know the current prices of iron and salt, so he went downstairs without confirming the prices. Instead, he informed those people that when he enters the city tomorrow, he will have people from the business come. When contacted, the group was very worried about whether Chang Yu and his party would report them, and they were very worried. Chang Yu patted his chest and assured: "Integrity is important in doing business. If you report them, they will not be able to hang out in Zhangjiakou in the future. That will be self-destruction." It’s a signature.”
Everyone was relieved and invited Chang Yu to have a drink with them. Chang Yu took this opportunity to mingle with them and asked many questions until late at night before going back to the room to rest.
