Northwest of the capital.
It was the snowy solar term, and the official road leading to Xuanfu Town was filled with white.
The refugees who had died of cold and exhaustion in the wilderness not long ago had only a few ounces of skin and flesh left on their jagged bones. After most of them were torn away by wild dogs, it was finally the turn of the crows wandering nearby to enjoy them.
But after they had only taken a few bites, they were disturbed by the team of carriages and horses coming from the south, kicking up bursts of snow particles. They flapped their wings and soared into the air, becoming scattered black spots like lead bullets after being fired from artillery, and fell one after another. On the cold branches of dead trees in the wilderness.
In the bumpy carriage, Zheng Haizhu, who was holding a small heater, glanced at the crows outside and said to Wei Zhongxian who was sitting opposite: "Eunuch Wei, when I was in Hetuala, I saw a Han man wearing clothes, a Jurchen. The man named Nikan was burned alive by his master. Why do you think it was? It turned out that all his family’s food was given to Niu Lu. Seeing that the whole family was about to starve to death, he shot down a crow with a slingshot and stewed it. , I don’t want to be reported by another prisoner. Jurchens respect crows. It is said that when Nurhachi was avoiding the pursuit of the Ming army, a group of crows landed on him and covered him up. From then on, crows became the god of Houjin. Birds, whoever shoots a crow will be burned to death.”
Wei Zhongxian lowered his head and listened.
After Zheng Haizhu finished speaking, he saw him purse his lips and said in a determined tone: "Madam, at first glance, this story makes people think that the Tatars are really stupid, and they have all these mythical sayings, but our family Come to think of it, the slave chief is actually very smart."
"What a clever way?" Zheng Haizhu asked harmoniously.
"After the food is delivered, the birds are not allowed to eat. The Ming people who have become coated can only follow the Tatars to rob the west and fight for their lives. Besides, those Ming people Nikkan who inform on them are good dogs, and the Tatars can choose them. , use it."
Zheng Haizhu said "Hmm" and said calmly: "I think so too."
She remembered that she had mentioned this experience at the celebration banquet in Fushun that year.
At that time, Zou Chuxian, Qi Jin and Ma Xianglin's first reaction was to scold the Tatars for their cruelty.
As a civil servant, Zhang Quan showed his disdain for the barbarians who love to use strange powers and chaos.
Only Mao Wenlong, when talking to Zheng Haizhu about Nurhachi's deceitfulness afterwards, expressed the same views as Wei Zhongxian today.
At this moment, Zheng Haizhu sighed softly and said to Wei Zhongxian: "Eunuch Wei, Nurhaci, and his sons, especially a Sibeile named Huang Taiji, are not only skilled in bow and horse, but also deal with them all day long. Except for Lao Yu from Liaodong, The wise generals in the military, as well as the Mongolians and the elite people in the Beiguan merchant brigade, father and son, their fathers and sons, have been working hard for many years. How can they not be able to use their brains? So, we Ming people really can't take it lightly, can we? "
Wei Zhongxian hurriedly continued: "That's it. Long live my wise Lord, General Ma and Zhang Shen will go to Xuanfu Town."
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked past the soldiers driving the cars to the front.
Ma Xianglin, who was sent to Xuanfu Town to guard the border, walked at the forefront with a dozen Shili servants.
Behind him was Zhang Mingshi, who had selected some young soldiers from Shenji Camp and escorted several carts of firearms.
The convoy traveled for another half an hour when several riders came running forward. After meeting Ma Xianglin and the others, they came to the side of Zheng Haizhu and Wei Zhongxian's carriage.
The leader spoke in Shanxi dialect: "Mrs. Zheng, Eunuch Wei, we have another five miles to go to Jimingyi in Xuanfu Town.
…
"Mr. Chang, the atmosphere in Xuanfu Town is extraordinary. At a glance, the buildings and houses are quite comparable to Su Yang's."
In front of the Cockcrow Post, Zheng Haizhu stepped out of the carriage and said to the man who greeted him respectfully in front of the carriage.
The man is in his mid-twenties, wearing an azure-colored robe, with a piece of high-quality Hang brocade exposed from the collar to the front. Even the moon-white hem of the robe inside can be seen with a complex dark outline. Pattern.
The man is Chang Zhongxin, the second legitimate son of Shanxi merchant Chang Wanan.
Two months ago, following the rebellion of Jianwen's descendants, Fan Yongdou, the president of Shanxi Chamber of Commerce in the capital, lost his soldiers to protect his carriage and smuggled Fan Wencheng from Fushun into Beijing as a traitor of the Later Jin Dynasty. He said that it was a bastard of the Fan family who was dissatisfied with the distribution of trade routes. .
Thinking that for the benefit of the family, the concubine simply confessed his crime and was beheaded together with Fan Wencheng.
The Fan family has considerable influence at the border and controls the trade routes in Zhangjiakou. Zhu Changluo listened to the words of his cabinet ministers and Wang An, let Fan Yongdou go, confiscated the Chamber of Commerce compound that Fan Yongdou had just snatched from Hui merchants, and ordered the Fan family to no longer be the leader of Shanxi merchants.
Zheng Haizhu was not surprised by this holy judge, but he immediately visited Zhang Quan, who had rushed back to the capital, and asked Ma Xianglin, his father-in-law from Shanxi, to use the resources of the military officials to find out the factions within Shanxi merchants.
Based on the information fed back by Zhang Quan, Zheng Haizhu targeted the Chang family.
Zheng Haizhu didn't know whether this Chang family was the family of Chang Wei, a Shanxi merchant who emerged in the early years of the Qing Dynasty in history.
There were only two reasons why she chose the Chang family. First, this surname was not among the "eight imperial merchants" to whom the Qing emperor personally sent a "letter of thanks". Second, the Chang family did not use salt and tea horses as other Shanxi merchants. The main business is to find a unique way to make a fortune by relying on the children of the clan to act as escorts for fellow merchants.
Zheng Haizhu then requested the emperor through Wang An that since the firearms transported from Songjiang would follow Zhang Mingshi to Xuanfu Town, she also wanted to go to Xuanfu Town to see in person the border trade situation between the Ming people and the Beilu after Longqing opened the border. . It just so happened that Xuanfu Town, because it was close to the capital, had always been a big town in the supply of charcoal. Wei Jinzhong, Eunuch Wei from the Xixin Company, could go with him.
At the same time, Zheng Haizhu also proposed that General Ma and himself formed a strong alliance with the Fan family of Shanxi merchants, and they must go together with the Chang family, who are Shanxi merchants.
After the emperor nodded, the news was released. The Fan family was as quiet as a chicken, but Chang Zhongxin, the second young master of the Chang family who was in charge of store management in the capital, took the initiative to follow the post, went to Zheng Haizhu's door to show his goodwill, and happily agreed to this job that even the emperor was interested in.
At this moment, Young Master Chang, who was standing in front of the fight in person, took up Zheng Haizhu's words and said with a smile: "Madam, after Lord Long Qing stepped aside, Xuanfu Town had fewer wars and more businesses, so it became more prosperous day by day, compared to Datong Prefecture. There is no need to make too much concessions over there. However, this Jiming Post is still a little more simple. Zhong Xin has booked the restaurant next to it and invites his wife, Eunuch Wei, and the two generals to come and have a meal, okay?"
Zheng Haizhu nodded, but Wei Zhongxian leaned slightly closer to the woman and said softly: "The errands in the palace are very important. Our family will take a look at the big households who go to provide charcoal, so we will make do with eating there. Madam wants to say goodbye to the two generals. , our family was sitting together, but we couldn’t talk to each other.”
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, as expected of you, Eunuch Wei, you are seizing all the time to beg for favors, but the words on his forehead become "I am very knowledgeable".
