Seeing all the Shanxi merchants saying this, Chen Xinjia also nodded and said: "Today's factory guards are becoming more and more powerful, and they are no longer what they were in previous years. For the sake of safety, I also believe that your business should be handed over as soon as possible. . As long as the factory guards find no solid evidence, I am the Governor of Xuanda, the border official of the Ming Dynasty, and there is support from the court and the middle, even if those factory guards leave the capital, they will not be able to change the world."
At this point, he frowned and sighed again: "I don't know what those people in the court did. The war has been over for half a month, why haven't the appointments of Lu Xiangsheng and others been announced yet? It seems that this matter The intensity is not enough, so that the emperor has the energy to worry about other things!"
"Yes, the Governor is right!" Wang Dengku heard this and immediately agreed, "We cannot let the Emperor dwell on this matter, we must divert his energy..."
Speaking of this, he suddenly felt something was wrong, as if he had said something similar when he was in the capital a few days ago, and then he discovered that the food problem was even more serious and difficult to deal with than the banknote problem. As I said just now, there can't be anything more serious than the food problem, right?
As he thought this, he suddenly couldn't say anything else.
However, Chen Xinjia nodded and said: "I will write a letter soon and contact the Yangge Department to ask about the situation. If necessary, let's see if there is a chance to go to the capital in person and feel the emperor's bottom."
"If an adult takes action, I believe that the major issue will be reduced to a trivial matter." After hearing this, Fan Yongdou quickly replied, but he thought of his younger brother. Nowadays, he can't take care of him because of all the troubles.
Chen Xinjia discussed with these Shanxi merchants for a while, and then decided to rush to Liaodong to contact the transaction, and at the same time gather supplies from various places to Zhangjiakou as soon as possible. In this way, you can leave the customs at any time.
Various Shanxi merchants estimated among themselves that it would take at least half a month to transport all the materials from various places to Zhangjiakou. After all, there are some places where shipping cannot be done blatantly. To be on the safe side, Chen Xinjia also had to find a way to prevent the emperor from sending factory guards to Shanxi, at least not to Zhangjiakou.
Of course they didn't know that Chen Xinjia's Class A eavesdropping seeds had transmitted all the contents of their discussions to Emperor Chongzhen who was far away in the capital.
After reading this information, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but smile, haha, this is the effect we want to scare the snake away! It’s good to focus on Zhangjiakou, it will save a lot of trouble!
Also, don’t you, Chen Xinjia, want to come to the capital? Okay, you don’t have to think of any excuse to come to the capital, I can give you one right away.
With this thought in mind, an imperial edict came out very quickly. The general content was that the factory guards found out that the grain merchants who were hoarding grain were all Shanxi merchants. It is said that all the food that had been hoarded was shipped to Jin. He asked Chen Xinjia to return to the capital for an audience to discuss cooperation with factory guards and continue to investigate the matter thoroughly.
After sending this decree, Emperor Chongzhen thought for a while and then went to the Yuma Supervisor Barracks.
All the refugees recruited by the three major camps have been brought to the military camp. Not to mention, these refugees are full of deep-seated hatred for Jianlu. Once they heard that they had a chance to take revenge, and the people they entered were under the jurisdiction of the Royal Horse Prison and belonged to the emperor's personal army, no matter whether they would be military households for the rest of their lives. , all rushed to ask to join, which also gave the three battalions a carefully selected comparison. The quality of these soldiers still satisfied all the generals.
When Emperor Chongzhen arrived, he first went through the motions and looked at the new recruits to give them a good impression of him. Then he summoned He Renlong, the commander-in-chief of the Hussars Battalion, alone at the Yuma Supervisory Office.
"Does He Qing have any of his men who are familiar with the grassland terrain and know how to ambush and capture people?" Emperor Chongzhen asked after he saw the gift. "And they must be loyal, act steadily, and have the ability to adapt to situations."
Hearing this, He Renlong couldn't help scratching his forehead. The requirements were a bit high. It seemed that there were not many people who met the conditions, especially when it came to responding to the situation. In other words, the emperor was going to the grassland to catch his tongue, which was very dangerous. Very high!
Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and was not in a hurry, just waiting for him to think about what to say.
"Your Majesty, I have thought about it for a while, and there may be someone who is more suitable." After He Renlong thought for a while, he loudly said, "His name is Han Leyu. He was originally from a hundred households. During the Battle of Tianjin, it was he who had the brilliant idea." Suddenly, he came up with the idea of setting fire to his own clothes first and then burning the prison passage. Now he is a member of Qianhu in my hussar camp!"
The Ming Dynasty soldiers can have two choices for their merits, that is, they can be exchanged for silver rewards, or they can be promoted for their merits. Man Gui in the past, and Huang Degong in the Yongwei Camp now, both started out as small soldiers. If they hadn't both taken some credit in exchange for money, they would have become general soldiers long ago.
The same goes for Han Leyu, who only advanced one level, from a hundred households to a thousand households, and exchanged the rest for money. However, he did not use it for gambling like other soldiers, but said he wanted to buy a house in the capital. Someone who knows the inside story said that this guy wanted to get a wife.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen asked He Renlong to go back and asked Han Leyu to come over instead.
I have to say that Han Leyu was quite excited to see the emperor alone.
After he saw the gift, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said to him: "I heard from General He that you made great contributions to the Battle of Tianjin!"
Hearing the emperor praising his proud achievements in person, Han Leyu couldn't help but grin and became humble.
This Han Leyu's family background is actually quite good, at least he should be considered a rich farmer in northern Shaanxi. However, he was exiled by thieves and lost his home, so he joined the army to kill the thieves. Emperor Chongzhen knew these things from He Renlong.
But at this time, he was also gossiping about another thing: "I heard that you exchanged military honors for money and are planning to buy a house in the capital and marry a wife?"
Hearing this, Han Leyu couldn't help but grin, and explained to the emperor: "It was a girl I met on the battlefield. She was the girl I met when I burned the bridge..."
It was fate that this matter was mentioned. At this time, the emperor asked him again, so he explained it in detail. Anyone else would probably feel bad about telling the emperor about this. After all, the emperor has a lot to do, so who cares about the trivial matters of a soldier like you?
However, Han Leyu felt different from others. He always felt that the emperor had a close relationship with them, so he didn't have other people's scruples. Since the emperor asked, let's talk!
Emperor Chongzhen originally just wanted to take a look at Han Leyu's situation from the side. After all, it was a matter of Shanxi merchants, so he had to be careful. Unexpectedly, I actually heard a piece of gossip. It turns out that the girl Han Leyu fell in love with was connected with Wu Zhong.
Knowing this situation, Emperor Chongzhen was basically certain that there would be no problem with Han Leyu. Besides, don’t you still have eavesdropping seeds? Even if he really has a problem, he can deal with it in time.
Thinking of this, he turned serious and said to Han Leyu: "I have received news that a traitor from Zhangjiakou sent people out of the customs and went to Liaodong to contact Jianlu. Are you sure you can catch this messenger for me?"
"Your Majesty, I wonder when this person will set off?" Upon hearing this, Han Leyu was stunned for a moment and then immediately asked, "How many followers will he bring?"
"It is estimated that we will set off this afternoon, or tomorrow at the latest." Emperor Chongzhen replied, and then said uncertainly, "I am not sure how many people will be brought."
When Han Leyu heard this, he began to ask other questions. He did not keep these in his heart just because the man in front of him was the emperor he respected.
Emperor Chongzhen was also patient about this and explained everything about the situation, including the Shanxi merchants sent, but he did not specify which Shanxi merchants. In this regard, Han Leyu was not unusual at all. After understanding the whole situation, he assured Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I will lead my brothers out of the customs to intercept him, and we will definitely capture this person."
Emperor Chongzhen felt happy when he heard that he was confident, and immediately gave him a secret order. Even He Renlong didn't know what he was going to do, so he led his thousands of Qingqi to get some of the things that had been captured before, and took them with him. With the Class A eavesdropping seeds on his body, he immediately left the capital.
Besides, when Chen Xinjia received the order, he was immediately overjoyed. Unexpectedly, he encountered a pillow when he was dozing off. There was no need for him to think of ways or excuses, he would have the opportunity to go to the capital.
Therefore, in order to buy time for the Shanxi merchants, he said nothing. Before leaving, he told his confidants in various places, especially Zhangjiakou, that they must provide cover for the Shanxi merchants. Then, he hurriedly came to the capital.
For this, Emperor Chongzhen was extremely grateful. This move frightens the snakes, and it really scares them all out. If we go back and arrest people as instructed by Chen Xinjia, at least these people will not be unjustly accused.
On the capital side, several days had passed and the emperor still had not seen any evidence, so someone wanted to cause trouble again. For example, the imperial censor Liu Meicai began to write a letter to impeach the factory guards, which inspired other people to also impeach. Even Yang Sichang wrote a memorial, saying that prolonging a major rebellion case would be detrimental to the stability of the people, and that the factory guards should provide evidence as soon as possible to settle the case.
In fact, after a large amount of food was copied and the capital began to implement head-limited supply, it has basically stabilized, and there is no instability in people's hearts at all. What Yang Sichang refers to is the unstable public sentiment, or it can only be said to be the unstable official sentiment.
Emperor Chongzhen paid no attention to this. He was waiting for Chen Xinjia to surrender himself, and for Shanxi merchants to gather all the food and supplies they had hoarded in various places to Zhangjiakou.
Two days later, Chen Xinjia finally rushed to the capital at full speed. He did not go to the palace immediately to pay the order, but asked people to inquire about the current situation in the capital? As for himself, he changed his clothes again and quietly slipped away to Yang Sichang's house.
"Ah, it's Mr. Chen!" Yang's housekeeper couldn't help being surprised when he saw the visitor, "My master is still in the cabinet, not in the house."
Chen Xinjia naturally knew this. Yang Sichang was not at home, but he was worried about the capital's affairs, so he had to discuss it with Yang Sichang before meeting the emperor. Therefore, he immediately said categorically to the steward of the Yang Mansion: "I have urgent matters to discuss with the cabinet minister. No matter what, please ask the cabinet minister to come back immediately!"
The housekeeper naturally knew that Chen Xinjia could become the Governor of Xuanda, but it was recommended by his master. He knew that his master had a very good relationship with Chen Xinjia, so under Chen Xinjia's repeated urging, he hesitated for a moment and ran there in person. Looking for Yang Sichang.
At this time, Chen Xinjia's men also came to Yang Mansion and reported to him what they had learned. Hearing that no factory guards had been sent out yet, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Not long after, Yang Sichang came back, his face a little ugly. When he saw Chen Xinjia, he asked: "If you have something to do, can't we wait until I leave the office?"
During this period of time, he has been feeling that he has lost his Sacred Heart. He has tried to impeach Lu Xiangsheng and others, but has repeatedly failed, and he has been in a bad mood.
Having said this, he took out a large handful of banknotes from his arms, threw them in front of Chen Xinjia and said, "These are all waste paper, take them back!"
Obviously, he went to get these things before meeting Chen Xinjia.
Chen Xinjia just glanced at it and knew that it was the banknotes from Fanji Bank that he had given to Yang Sichang. He didn't care about these, and immediately said: "It's okay. When it's easier to come back, in order to express my apology, I'll have someone send me double the money."
Hearing this, Yang Sichang was slightly surprised. He didn't expect Chen Xinjia to be so rich. It seems that the official position of Governor Xuanda is a fat one!
The problem of the banknote is solved in this way, and you can get double the silver, which is not a small sum. However, Yang Sichang believed that since Chen Xinjia said so, it would be impossible not to give it. Therefore, he immediately looked much better, asked the butler to serve tea, and then asked with a kind face: "Brother, why are you calling me back so urgently?"
Chen Xinjia was not surprised to see that the money offensive was effective. After all, being an official these days is all about money!
After hearing Yang Sichang's question, he quickly replied: "I came to Beijing on the emperor's order, saying that I wanted to cooperate with the factory guards in investigating Shanxi merchants' hoarding of grain."
Seeing that Yang Sichang was a little puzzled, he contacted and explained in detail: "Those grain merchants who hoarded grain without selling the land were actually run by Shanxi merchants. Therefore, the emperor suspected that Shanxi merchants were plotting rebellion, and wanted to send factory guards there. Shanxi is causing chaos. What are you talking about?"
Of course Yang Sichang knew that the famous businessmen in Shanxi had good relations with Chen Xinjia. It is estimated that Chen Xinjia is so rich that he probably got his money from famous Shanxi merchants. Therefore, he immediately understood what Chen Xinjia was referring to when he said there was something very urgent.
In this regard, it is actually consistent with his own demands. After all, a large part of his money income also comes from Chen Xinjia. Naturally, he does not want the source of the money, that is, Shanxi merchants and others, to be investigated. In addition, he did not want that just a mere grain merchant's hoarding and living in strange places would be regarded as a case of treason by the emperor, and the mess would continue like this, while the appointments of Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting and others had been delayed.
So, he immediately coincided with Chen Xinjia, both trying to divert the emperor's attention and prevent him from continuing to engage in that ridiculous conspiracy. After the two discussed it, the result was soon reached, and Chen Xinjia left the Yang Mansion with peace of mind.
Soon, in the afternoon of the same day, a demonic wind suddenly blew up in the capital, saying that Jianlu had been out of seclusion for a long time, and millions of people had been harmed to varying degrees. No one was responsible for these things, and they strongly demanded that the emperor make the decision for the people. , give the people justice.
Some people even bluntly said that Lu Xiangsheng, the former commander of King Qin's army, was primarily responsible. Even though there was a battle to win against Jianlu later. However, nearly 200,000 people and countless supplies were still looted to Liaodong. Even the life and death of King De's family is unknown, and Lu Xiangsheng must be responsible for this matter.
A local impeachment memorial flew to the imperial court like snowflakes. When it got dark, Emperor Chongzhen's side was sorted by Lan Tianbao and others, and another statistics was conducted. Then, they reported to Emperor Chongzhen that it was similar to the previous statistics. As for the Yushi Yanguan and some other officials, He was impeached once, but he is still impeaching this time.
Emperor Chongzhen immediately smiled coldly after hearing this. Do you think you have nothing to do because you have been holding back and making no progress? I was just waiting for the opportunity. Now that the time was almost up, I just closed the net.
With this in mind, just when Chen Xinjia entered the palace with confidence, after the ceremony, before he had time to speak, Emperor Chongzhen shouted angrily: "You traitor, for your own selfish interests, you ignore the laws of the country, and you are in vain." En, he helped Zhou to commit evil and participated in the conspiracy to rebel against our country, the Ming Dynasty. Come on, send him to prison and serve him under severe torture."
. m.
