As soon as Cao Guang and others succeeded in the matter on the grassland, someone sent the news back to Lingqiu.
The person who delivered the news was naturally not a soldier under Cao Guang in Daliang Mountain, but a clerk in the Xinpingbao shop of Tiger Flag, who was also an intelligence officer of the Foreign Intelligence Service.
In addition to normal business dealings in the shops opened by Tiger Character Flags in various places, they are also responsible for inquiring about and passing on information.
Foreign intelligence agents like this in the shops of Tiger Character Flag are different from the secret agents of the Foreign Intelligence Agency. Few people know their identities. However, in the stores opened by Tiger Character Flag, everyone knows that the shopkeepers and clerks are Tiger Characters. flag man.
However, no one has ever doubted that these shops opened by Huzi Banner are used to pass news and collect intelligence. After all, for a large business like Huzi Banner, it is normal to open several shops. The Fan family in the past was even more There are Fan family shops in several prefectures.
Yang Yuan stood in front of Liu Heng and said: "Xu Ji's goods have been delivered to Xinpingbao and will be sent to the grassland with our first convoy under Tiger Character."
Liu Heng nodded slightly and said: "The smuggling business with the Beibei is very important to us. If we lose the trade route on the grassland, we will lose not only the money, but also the relationship network with officials from various places. As long as the people on the grassland are lost, There are constant trade routes, and it is impossible for Xu Tong to deal with our Tiger Flag."
"I understand," Yang Yuan said, "I have arranged for people to keep an eye on the governor's office. As soon as there is any movement, news will be sent back immediately."
Liu Heng said with a smile: "You did a good job in this matter. If the secret agents placed by the Foreign Intelligence Bureau in the governor's Yamen had not received the information in advance, Xu Ji might have actually made a deal with Beilu."
"I thought that the Fan family's fight for trade routes through Tumute had died down. Unexpectedly, they came up with the idea of trade routes between us and the Beilu again. This time they also colluded with Xu Tong, the governor of Datong. If we really let them do it, It’s done, it’s hard to say that it can really threaten our Tiger Flag’s trade routes on the grassland.” Yang Yuan had a frightened look on his face.
As an important figure in the Tiger Flag, he was very aware of the importance of the Beilu caravan to their Tiger Flag.
Nowadays, there are many people in Lingqiu of Tiger Character Banner who have fled from Liaodong. Although the demand for manpower of Tiger Character Banner has been greatly alleviated, the consumption of financial resources has doubled.
Liu Heng smiled and said: "I'm not surprised that the Fan family approached Xu Tong. Now that the horse market has been shut down in the Ming Dynasty, it is the best time for smuggling. The Fan family will not easily let go of such an opportunity."
"It's a pity that our cavalry team has too few people. If there are enough people in the cavalry team, we can rob Xu Ji's team before it reaches the grassland." Yang Yuan sighed.
"Cultivating cavalry can't be done overnight." Liu Heng said with a smile, and then added, "Tell me about the situation in the capital."
"Yes." Yang Yuan agreed and said, "As expected by the boss, the battle between Wei Zhongxian and Wang An ended with Wei Zhongxian winning."
"Tell me more about it."
Yang Yuan continued: "When Wang An was about to become the eunuch of the palm seal, the Hakka persuaded Emperor Tianqi to prevent him from becoming the eunuch of the palm seal. Later, Huo Weihua criticized Wang An during the incident, and finally Wang An was sent to Nanhaizi acted as a purge force and was killed by Liu Chao, the admiral of Nanhaizi. Now the inner court can be said to be dominated by Wei Zhongxian's family."
Liu Heng sighed: "This Wang An wants to be Feng Bao's second, stands on the side of the Donglin Party, and fights endlessly with Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka family. His end can be imagined. Emperor Tianqi is not a child, how can he tolerate it anymore?" The appearance of Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng."
"Since Daguangzong succeeded to the throne, Wang An has held great power in the inner court and has been maintained by the Donglin Party outside, but he has ended up like this." Yang Yuan sighed with emotion.
Liu Heng also sighed in his heart.
If he hadn't known this period of history, knew that Wang An would be defeated at the hands of Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka family, and knew that Wei Zhongxian would be a powerful Nine Thousand Years Old in the future, he would not have believed that Wei Zhongxian would have survived the attack by Wang An and the Donglin Party. After he came down, he became the most powerful eunuch in the inner court.
"What is the attitude of the Donglin Party towards Wang An?" Liu Heng asked.
Yang Yuan said: "The Donglin Party has repeatedly written letters criticizing Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka family, asking the emperor to kill the eunuchs and drive the Hakka family out of the palace. Emperor Tianqi has always ignored them. On the contrary, Liu Yishui, the chief assistant from the Donglin Party, this time He is not siding with the Donglin Party, but is trying his best to maintain relations inside and outside the court."
Liu Heng looked towards the capital and said, "It seems that the chief assistant is going to be replaced again."
"Ah! Change of chief assistant?" Yang Yuan was stunned and said immediately, "This chief assistant Liu has only been in office for more than half a year. He should not step down so soon!"
Liu Heng picked up the big teapot on the table, took a sip of water, and said: "Liu Yishen is a member of the Donglin Party. He is not on the side of the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party definitely does not want him to continue to be the chief assistant. Others Naturally, several parties are also resistant to Liu Yishen, the chief minister who comes from the Donglin Party. I am afraid that it won’t be long before the memorials to impeach Liu Yishen will be piled up on Emperor Tianqi’s court.”
"It has only been a long time since Chief Fang left office, and now we have to change the Chief Assistant." Yang Yuan said, "The Liaodong Jurchens have not been resolved yet, but our Ming Dynasty has been arguing internally, and all our energy has been spent on internal fighting. How can we still have the energy to deal with women?" Real people, they don’t want to think about how many people in Liaodong are homeless.”
The miserable situation of the people in Liaodong who fled to Lingqiu is heartbreaking to see.
These were the people of Liaodong who fled to Lingqiu alive. At least they saved their lives. There were also countless people in Liaodong who died on the way to escape, and there were even more people in Liaodong who died tragically at the hands of Jurchens.
Thinking of the miserable situation of the people in Liaodong, and then hearing that the high officials in the court only knew about fighting for power and endless internal fighting, but no one cared about the life and death of the people in Liaodong, this made him extremely disappointed with the court.
Liu Heng put down the big teapot in his hand and said, "How are the arrangements for the refugees sent to the grassland?"
"Arrangements have been made to leave the customs from Xinpingbao, but so many people walking together are too conspicuous. In order to prevent Xu Tong from noticing, the people leaving the customs have been divided into several groups. So far, more than a thousand people have been sent away. "Yang Yuan said.
Liu Heng nodded.
The construction of warehouses on the grassland was imminent. The people of Liaodong who escaped from Liaodong this time made the time ripe for building warehouses.
More importantly, the needs of these Liaodong people are lower than those of Datong people. If they are Datong people, they may not be willing to leave the border and go to the Beilu territory, but for the homeless Liaodong people, as long as they can survive, they can go anywhere. It doesn't matter.
"Master, Mr. Zhao is back." Zhao Wu came to the signing room to report.
Liu Heng said with a smile: "I didn't expect Mr. Zhao to come back so soon. I thought it would take a few days. Come on, come with me to welcome him."
Two people walked out of the signing room.
Zhao Yutu hurried back to Lingqiu from Xuanfu. He didn't sleep in the open air along the way, but he also had a bumpy ride in the car, and finally returned to Xujiazhuang.
Several people returned to the signing room and sat down separately.
Zhao Yutu took the warm water sent by Zhao Wu, took a sip, and then said: "The chamber of commerce in Xuanfu has been straightened out, and there is no need for subordinates to be in charge. The shopkeepers of our Tiger Flag stores in Xuanfu are watching over it. But, and with Tian Shenglan’s lesson, others in the Chamber of Commerce don’t dare to secretly sell goods to the Fan family. Nowadays, the Fan family’s life is becoming more and more difficult, and the subordinates are worried that they will jump over the wall in a hurry.”
