Of course, whether Jinan succeeds or not is related to the vital interests of Shanxi merchants. Therefore, the other seven major Shanxi merchants also heard the news and rushed over to understand the situation immediately.
There were only nine people in the lobby. Chen Xinjia was sitting at the top, and the eight major Shanxi businessmen were sitting on both sides, all listening to Fan Yongdou's story.
After a while, when Fan Yongdou finished speaking, he looked around at the people here with a smile and said, "Don't worry, everyone. I saw with my own eyes that the Qing army plundered the entire city of Jinan before returning north. In addition, there are Good news……"
Wang Dengku was already beaming when he heard this, but when he heard this, he quickly asked: "Brother Fan, what's the good news?"
Looking at the eager eyes, Fan Yongdou didn't hesitate and said with a smile: "Prince He Shuorui told me personally that the wealth of Prince De's Palace is unexpectedly large. Everyone, you are rich!"
Upon hearing this, the other seven Shanxi merchants all beamed with joy. The wealth accumulated by the feudal princes for generations would be transferred to their pockets through the Qing Dynasty.
Chen Xinjia was also very happy, stroking his beard, thinking that this time, he would definitely make a lot of money. For him, having money means a successful official career. In today's officialdom, there is no such thing as money making a difference!
The atmosphere in the lobby was very harmonious. After a while, Fan Yongdou thought of something and said again: "Everyone, Prince He Shuorui greeted me in advance. This time, if the Qing Dynasty just plunders the population of Liaodong, it is estimated that there will be Over three hundred thousand. The harvest in Liaodong is not good, so when they go back this time, they will need a lot of food. Everyone, please prepare more food, so that you can sell it at a good price!"
"So many people?" Wang Dengku said a little surprised. "In the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, there were only about 100,000 people, but now the number has doubled!"
The plunder he mentioned was that in the ninth year of Chongzhen, Azig led his troops into the pass and plundered mainly in the Gyeonggi area. In the end, a total of 180,000 livestock and a large amount of materials were plundered and they calmly left Qingshui Mingyue Pass. In the end, he chopped wood and wrote the four characters "Every official is free of charge", which is really a kind of irony.
Wang Dayu ignored Wang Dengku's surprise and said quickly: "So, the grain we hoarded before will definitely not be able to meet the requirements of the Qing Dynasty. But if we buy it again, the cost will be much higher, right? "
"Yes, the capital, Hebei, Shandong and other places were all plundered by the Qing army. This food must be very valuable!" Liang Binbin said with a slight frown, "Let me see, if we Even if we don’t go to Liaodong with the food we hoard, we can still make a lot of money, right?”
Hearing his words, many other Shanxi merchants were a little moved. After all, transporting food to Liaodong consumes a lot of money on the way.
When Fan Yongdou heard this, he quickly reached out and shook his hand and said: "Everyone, everyone, listen to me!"
When he saw that the others were silent and turned to look at him, he continued: "Don't worry, we can harvest as much food as we have, regardless of the cost. Prince He Shuorui has already served for the Qing Dynasty. Promise that we will purchase it at three times the cost, and all the expenses incurred on the road will be included in the settlement! How about it? It’s not a loss, right?”
Upon hearing this, Huang Yunfa immediately clapped his hands, making a "pop" sound, and said with a laugh: "Did you see that Qing Dynasty is very kind in doing business? They are all regular customers, so we have to respect our credibility!"
"Nothing to say!" Tian Shenglan also said excitedly, "We must increase our efforts to purchase grain, and we can't let the Qing Dynasty down! So many people are waiting to eat!"
When they said this, they had no idea how many people of the same origin and race in Guan were about to starve to death!
But it’s normal that they can’t remember it, because all they see is money!
While they were rejoicing, Chen Xinjia, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said: "Everyone, there is one thing I may have forgotten to mention. Hong Chengchou, the Governor of the Three Borders, and Sun Chuanting, the Governor of Shaanxi, have already led their troops to the Jin Dynasty and are probably going to the capital."
Upon hearing this, the lobby suddenly became a little cold.
These Shanxi merchants here are just businessmen after all, and they pay more attention to business matters. Naturally, Chen Xinjia would not have a comprehensive grasp of the military news.
But these people here, after all, had heard about the power of Qin Bing, so they all became worried.
Fan Yongdou immediately looked at Chen Xinjia and asked quickly: "Sir, didn't you say before that they would delay their journey to the capital? Among the Ming army, the Qin soldiers were considered powerful. If they went to the capital like this, wouldn't it be a disservice to the Qing Dynasty? Something is getting in the way!”
"Yes, sir, how could this happen?" Wang Denku was a little anxious and quickly agreed.
Seeing that more people wanted to speak, Chen Xinjia waved his hands and said, "Everyone, don't filter out. Of course I have something to do, but the emperor's repeated urgent summons made them all scared and hurried on as hard as they could. Small means are useless, and obvious means cannot be used, so we can only let them go!"
At this point, when he saw someone wanted to talk, he waved his hand again and said again calmly: "Actually, even if they go to the capital, in my opinion, they won't be a big hindrance to the Qing Dynasty. !”
"Sir, how do you say this?" Fan Yongdou heard this and quickly asked for advice.
Seeing that these businessmen were all listening attentively, Chen Xinjia explained to them: "Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, rose rapidly by suppressing the bandits. He relied on his reputation for knowing soldiers and the troops he had at his disposal. If he goes to fight with During the war with the Qing Dynasty, the reputation he had accumulated as a military commander was destroyed by the Qing Dynasty army. This would definitely be more than worth the loss for him. Therefore, I concluded that he would not really fight against the Qing Dynasty army!"
"And Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, is even more so. He offended so many people through his policy of clearing villages to pay for his troops in Shaanxi. The reason why we are still fine now is all because of the elite troops in his hands." When Chen Xinjia said this, he looked at these Shanxi merchants and said, "Think about it, if he uses up all the elite soldiers in his hands or loses the battle, what situation will he face? Tell me, if you were him, what would he do? Are you going to fight to the death with the Qing army?"
These Shanxi merchants didn't know much about military affairs, but they were real masters at understanding people's hearts. Just thinking about it, only a ghost would fight to the death!
Thinking this way, they felt relieved.
In the original history, Chen Xinjia's guess was similar. The Qin soldiers did not arrive at the capital until February of the twelfth year of Chongzhen. By this time, the war was almost over, and there was no fight to the death with the Qing army. Dorgon plundered more than 460,000 livestock and left the country in a big way.
A big reason why this happened in the late Ming Dynasty was, as analyzed by Chen Xinjia, others did not dare to bear the consequences of a deadly battle.
However, what Chen Xinjia didn't know was that Emperor Chongzhen, who had traveled through time, gave Qin Bing a reassurance.
Speaking of which, the end of every dynasty is actually the same. The king's failure to take responsibility will inevitably lead to a bad outcome for some of the officials who are responsible, but most of the officials are wise to protect themselves. It would actually be unfair to blame all the reasons for the failure of this generation of ministers.
In this plane, Emperor Chongzhen traveled through time and naturally understood this truth. Not only did he protect Lu Xiangsheng who dared to take the responsibility, but he also encouraged the Qin soldiers to relieve them from worries, and even promised a very big pie. In this way, naturally it would not be what Chen Xinjia said.
However, after Chen Xinjia finished speaking, Fan Yongdou thought for a while, hesitated a little, and said: "I am in the Qing army. From His Highness's tone, he is a little worried about the gathering situation of the various Qin Wang troops. Although the Governor said that It makes sense, but in order to show our sincerity, I think we should report this matter to His Highness?"
When Chen Xinjia heard this, he felt a little unhappy, but these Shanxi merchants were the benefactors of his rise in the officialdom. He couldn't say anything, so he waved his hand and said: "You can do it, it's not convenient for me to worry about such things." .”
"That's natural!" When Fan Yongdou heard this, he immediately nodded and said, "I will send someone to inform you."
However, they did not know that it was precisely because of Chen Xinjia's lack of attention that the news was delayed for several days. It was a bit late to send the news at this time.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen learned the content of their conversation from the eavesdropping seeds and did not pay much attention to it. By the time their news is delivered, the war here is estimated to have come to an end. But for the sake of caution, he still sent a messenger to the Qin army to inform him of the traitor.
At this time, a county town not far from Jinzhou was overcrowded. However, those wearing helmets and armor and holding weapons patrolling the city were not local Ming soldiers, but Manchu Tatars. Outside the city, groups of Tatar cavalry patrolled back and forth, tightly surrounding the city.
Most of the people in the county are young and strong people of the Ming Dynasty who were plundered by the Qing Dynasty after they entered the customs. There are more than 200,000 people in total, as well as some livestock.
These Ming people, like livestock, were placed in every house and crowded. On the streets, most of the two Tatars were patrolling and monitoring everything. Only the top of the city and the resting areas in the military camp are the real Tatars and belong to Dudu's jurisdiction.
With such a large population in their hands, these Tatars will naturally take advantage of them. No, whether it's Du Du or other Tatar leaders, or everywhere in the military camp, there are a group of beautiful Ming women who have been selected to serve them and be humiliated by them. Eating good wine and good meat, the sound of laughter could be heard from time to time.
Wu Zhong, a member of Jinyiwei Baihu, is also here. Because of his shameless flattery and hugging, he has already won the favor of the Tatars who control him, and he has been assigned a small leader among the two Tatars to be responsible for patrolling the city.
Needless to say, in front of the Tatars, he showed the style of working in the Jinyi Guards, worked seriously, and was ruthless to the people of the Ming Dynasty who plundered, and he did not treat him as a compatriot at all. After spending some time with him, no one would have thought that he was in the Cao camp and his heart was in the Han Dynasty.
At this time, Wu Zhong was actually thinking about something in his heart and was wondering what to do? Looking for opportunities to do this.
"Master General Banner, why don't we go in and take a look? The people who are being held here are officials and they look like they have read books." A famous Tatar flattered Wu Zhong and pointed to a nearby house with exposed Meixiao said, "I heard that a woman gave birth to a brood of children, but there was no one to lead the family. I almost made this official angry to death."
When Wu Zhong heard this, he immediately laughed and said, "Oh, that's it. Let's go in and have a look!"
When his subordinates, the two Tatars, heard this, they immediately became happy and quickly kicked open the door and walked in.
Jianlu didn't have so many locks to lock every courtyard door, but they were unambiguous when killing people. Anyone who dares to step out of the hospital privately, no matter what the excuse, will be killed on the spot as a warning to others.
Then he kicked open the door inside, and saw that the room was full of human heads, like frightened deer, they all tried their best to hide inside.
It was getting bright now, and Wu Zhong could see clearly that all the people in the house had their hands tied, with tears on their faces. They were squeezing in as hard as they could, looking at those who had just entered in fear. .
"Master General Banner, look at them, they all have the temperament of a noble family, right?" A Ertazi said flatteringly, "They just look average, and the good ones have been picked out by the masters."
"Yes, Lord General Banner, do you want to have a good time?" Another Ertazi also said flatteringly, "On the way back to Liaodong, we don't know how many people will die. When we get to Liaodong, it will be difficult to deal with these people. The masters have the final say, it’s hard to get even one!”
Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong suddenly felt something in his heart, and a lewd laugh suddenly appeared on his face. He nodded and said with a big smile: "What you said makes sense. If you don't feel good now, when will you feel good again?"
For the two Tatars, this is also their welfare. If they do something at this time, the Tatars won't care.
After Wu Zhong finished speaking, his eyes glanced over. He found that every woman he saw was so frightened that he quickly lowered his head, and the eyes he met were filled with panic.
Soon, Wu Zhong saw a target, walked over and pointed with his hand: "It's you, I'm interested in you, please serve me well!"
When the two Tatars next to him saw it, they couldn't help but said in surprise: "Master General Banner, isn't this a bit old? There are so many young ones here, why don't we just choose?"
When Wu Zhong heard this, he glared and shouted sternly: "I just like this one, what's wrong?"
"Ah, not so much, not so much!" Upon hearing this, the two Tatars nodded quickly and said with a smile, "The General Banner has good taste, and I admire it, and I admire it!"
So Wu Zhong stepped forward without any ink, picked up the woman, and left.
Suddenly, the house became lively, and the remaining women cried and shouted "Sister".
The eldest sister struggled hard and tried to break away from Wu Zhong.
With a "pop" sound, Wu Zhong spanked her buttocks and shouted sternly: "If you don't obey me, I will play with your girls!"
Upon hearing this, the body of the woman he was carrying suddenly stiffened, and then she stopped struggling.
When Wu Zhong saw it, he burst into laughter and looked like a complete devil. Without delay, he carried the woman to a small room next door. Judging from the furnishings, it was obvious that something similar to what he wanted to do had happened here.
Naturally, the other two Tatars would not come to watch, they were having fun themselves.
Wu Zhong closed the door and looked at the woman in front of him again. He made a mental evaluation for a while and felt that she was right. He spoke loudly and ordered the woman to be obedient and serve him well. At the same time, he suddenly lowered his voice and said to the woman Said: "Do you want to save your family? At least I have the ability to help your family more!"
