Datong Gaoshanwei, Ma Yihuai opened a door, picked up the hot tea on the stove and poured it into his stomach.
In the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, he was brought to Datong by the then general Yang Shangyi. Then in the thirteenth and fourteenth years of the Tartar invasion, they were all promoted for their bravery in battle. He is now The position is already Yang Shangyi's original position.
The Alpine Guard was at the forefront of defending the Tatars, so Yang Shangyi put him here.
And his two more brave sons.
Now they are all nervous because the Tatars invaded with their troops in June and camped thirty miles away from the border between Datong and Xuanfu.
At that time, Emperor Hongzhi wanted to conquer it himself, but Liu Daxia persuaded him not to do so.
"...Dad, I heard that there is also a Tatar invasion in the northwest. It has been several years. When will it end?"
His eldest son Ma Rong was still a little young a few years ago, but he has grown up gradually in the past few years. He has turned twenty, and the youthful energy in his body has begun to be unstoppable.
The youngest son, Ma Sheng, arrived in Datong only in the 16th year of Hongzhi. He also graduated from the military academy. He is only 17 years old now and is still a bit immature.
"We have nothing to do with the affairs of the high officials in the court. You two brats, just keep your eyes open and don't risk your lives here."
Because the prince advocated that military officers should also read books, mainly reading military books and history books, so someone like Ma Yihuai who was a little ambitious would usually study in this area.
It is said that the people who came out of the military academy can all read a few big characters. Reading is also powerful. After understanding history, it is like enlightenment. It is ruthless to attack people in the north.
His youngest son has a bit of this kind of patience. He managed to study well in the military academy, so he sat by the stove and said, "Brother, there's no need to worry. The prince won't tolerate the Tatars for much longer." .”
"how do you know?"
"Because in the military academy, the prince taught us that what happened in the 13th and 14th years of Hongzhi was a shame for the Ming Dynasty. If the Northern captives are not clear, the shame cannot be washed away. It is because of this that I came to Datong to become a A young general like the Champion!"
Ma Yihuai glanced sideways at his second son, turned over and continued to lie down, "Reading too many books can really change your brain? How did you say this?"
"Father, don't laugh at me." Ma Sheng said bitterly: "The Tatars are burning, killing and looting all over the border. What is this not a shame? What is hateful is that some officials, every time General Yang asks for a battle, they say The overall situation is the most important thing. My son just doesn’t understand, isn’t the life of the people at the border not the overall situation?”
The eldest son didn't understand anything else, but he understood the part about the Ministry of War, and responded, "Yes, we should be allowed to fight out!"
"Okay, okay!" Ma Yihuai's head hurt when he heard this, "I don't know what I have learned day by day. Is the battlefield what you thought it was?"
The eldest son Ma Rong went through some battles.
But Ma Sheng, although he is the most radical, he still doesn’t know what the Tatar cavalry looks like.
However, in Datong Mansion, there are indeed many people like Ma Sheng under Yang Shangyi's account.
And it has become more and more obvious in the past few years that they are very martial and radical, and they are always the same as the glorious history of Taizu Taizong driving the Yuan Dynasty north.
I don’t know how to teach it.
The situation in the north became more and more tense day by day, and troops and horses were constantly on the road from Datong to the capital.
And Jiangnan is not calm either.
As soon as Wang Hua arrived in Zhejiang, many people wanted to see him, but the first person he met was the person the prince wanted to protect, Mei Kejia. At least you need to understand clearly what the situation is.
In the secret room.
Mei Kejia said: "Starting from Xu Ruoqin, the magistrate of Huzhou, Zhejiang, all the officials in Zhejiang reported to the court. The one who participated was the corrupt eunuch Wei Bin. Let me guess, His Highness must have given up on Wei Bin, right?"
Wang Hua thought about what Wang Ao said before coming, and he felt that he was right.
"What happened to Wei Bin, even if the imperial court did not pay attention to his memorial, he would still be in trouble with His Highness. Let me talk about you. In a few days, another group of people sent by Your Highness will arrive. Wei Bin After being taken away, how were you mainly affected?"
"Source of goods." Facing Wang Hua, Mei Kejia was more respectful than in front of Wei Bin. After all, he was a popular person in front of the prince. It will also be his support in Zhejiang in the future.
"Source of goods?"
"Although doing business is complicated, the steps are actually just receiving and selling goods. The process of selling goods is done overseas and they cannot interfere, but the goods are received in Daming. I don't know how to make tea or weave. Silk and silk machines are usually protected by people. As long as you are careful, there will be no problems. But the source of the goods is hard to say. For example, raw silk is purchased from the homes of ordinary people who grow mulberry fields in Huzhou. Each businessman has a government background. If Wei My father-in-law just left like this, I believe I won’t be able to receive any raw silk soon.”
Once the businessman's protection is gone, it will be very easy for the government to deal with him.
Wang Hua had never done business, but Mei Kejia's explanation was quite simple. He nodded slightly and asked, "How much profit can you make from a trip to sea like this?"
Mei Kejia replied: "It depends on the cost. Judging from the experience of the next few trips, you will never lose money on silk. As long as it is shipped to Luzon Island, if the price increases ten times, there will be people who want it."
"Ten times...no wonder so many people are flocking to it."
"You also have to be lucky. If you encounter wind and waves at sea, it won't be fun. I once lost a ship of cargo."
"Accidents are inevitable. So how much profit can you make every year now?"
"When Eunuch Wei was here, it was about one million taels per year in the past few years. If it were Zhong Cheng, I think it would be more."
Wang Hua was shocked after hearing this.
In this way, His Highness has saved at least four to five million taels of silver.
This is a huge sum of money.
Once it turns out to be what Liu Daxia and those people think, the prince is prepared to use this as military resources to use troops against the north. This scale is not small.
In fact, it also explains from another perspective,
Why do people in Zhejiang hate Wei Bin and Mei Kejia so much? Such a huge benefit should originally belong to them.
At this moment, Wang Hua also made up his mind.
"Nothing can be done to cut off this road of wealth, otherwise I will not be able to save my head."
None of them could bear the prince's anger.
"And the head below." Mei Kejia agreed.
Wang Hua asked again: "Then what's next, do you want me to cooperate with you to protect the supply of goods?"
Mei Kejia showed a slight smile.
"Zhongcheng, you are fighting against me in the shopping mall. Although you are fighting for a few taels of silver, you are still a winner and a loser. You will use whatever means you need. To put it simply, there has never been anyone else. You hit me, but I didn’t fight back. So if Zhong Cheng doesn’t mind, maybe he can cooperate with me and hook out those merchants who want to deal with Mei Ji.”
Wang Hua didn't say he disagreed. He first asked: "What do you want to do?"
"When Zhongcheng first came, everyone in Zhejiang knew that you belonged to the prince. However, Zhongcheng is a civil servant. Unlike Eunuch Wei, as long as you don't show any obvious support for me, they will soon suspect you and then go. Test your attitude.”
"You want to invite me to the urn."
"good."
Wang Hua thought for a moment and slowly shook his head, "No one will be fooled by this. I came to the capital as You Yude of Zhan Shifu. When I come to Zhejiang at this time, no one will regard me as the prince." People. Moreover, there are still some risks. What if they really take action and cut off your supply of goods and affect this year's sea trade? What if this goes wrong? Neither you nor I can bear the responsibility for delaying His Highness's affairs. live."
Mei Kejia advised: "If Zhongcheng doesn't push me out, then they will target you."
The same routine happens again,
How did you drive Wei Bin away?
How to get rid of Wang Hua.
"I know that Zhongcheng wanted everything in Zhejiang to be the same as before, but when Wei Bin was defeated, the other party's arrogance could not be stopped, so it was stable for a while, but not forever."
Mei Kejia still wanted to show his fangs.
Be fierce and suppress those people.
Wang Hua stood up and put his hands behind his back. He thought about it carefully.
"...If possible, how about taking a look at their movements first?"
Mei Kejia frowned. Although civil servants were better in appearance than eunuchs, they were also more disciplined in doing things. If it was Wei Bin, why wouldn't he dare to do it as long as it was beneficial?
But he couldn't let Wang Hua be so conservative.
After thinking for a while, Mei Kejia said: "Zhongcheng, do you really think that a Huzhou prefect can overthrow the Zhejiang eunuchs? Although His Majesty has restricted factory guards several times since he ascended the throne, a fourth-grade prefect in the palace can In the eyes of the father-in-law here, it’s nothing, right?”
Wang Hua frowned, "What do you want to say?"
"I wonder if Zhongcheng has thought about it. When you were not here, my backer was Eunuch Wei. Eunuch Wei is the eunuch guarding Zhejiang. What about the other party? Who is their backer? A few businessmen can't get into Eunuch Wei's house. Eye."
If these words continue, they will shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.
But when Wang Huaren was in the capital, the prince had told him to clearly know who the businessmen from Zhejiang and Fujian were colluding with.
So he didn't stop Mekojia.
"The profits of maritime merchants are in the millions, or even tens of millions, every year. Not only are the merchants taking advantage of it, but their colleagues below also have to show filial piety. At the provincial level, whether the chief envoy's yamen or the inspector's envoy's yamen don't take the money? They take it. If you dare to put all the money in your own pocket, why don't you send some to the north?"
Wang Hua's fist tightened.
This state of affairs really made him heartbroken.
"Then you also sent these two yamen?"
"The gift was given, but it was not delivered." Mei Kejia told the truth, "Cashier is a skill. They don't know the route of this person who suddenly came from other places. So this money is sent as a gift. If you give away too little, you will offend others; if you give away too much, they will not dare to accept it. Once they figure out how to deal with it, they will be even less afraid to accept it."
"Then do you think Liu Daxia will accept money from Zhejiang?"
"I dare not say this."
In the Ming Dynasty, the official salary was extremely low. If the ancestors of the family were not rich and they were still living well, they must have received it. As for whether it was Zhejiang money, who knows.
Wang Hua smiled bitterly and said, "All the princes in the court... It's a big joke to call you Mei Kejia for the last time."
Mei Kejia did not dare to accept these words, "Zhongcheng's words are serious. This is not a joke, but the reality of competing with the people for profit is what the minister from Zhejiang said. If Your Highness does not fight, this money will not reach the 'people'" In the hands of the people. They told His Highness not to compete with the people for profit, but in fact, they gave the profit to themselves."
Wang Hua suddenly remembered that he had spoken to Wang Hao in the capital about whether His Highness was competing for the interests of the people. At that time, he never thought that there was another understanding.
After taking a few deep breaths, he gritted his teeth and asked in a trembling voice, "Who are they?"
