The messenger strode into the room, glanced around and said, "They're all here."

At this time, everyone stood up to salute, and the messenger waved his hands and said, "You're welcome, sit down, everyone, sit down."

The envoy naturally sat down on the host position that Fan Yongdou had just done. Although he was a guest, his identity was the messenger of the Qing prince, and these Zhangjiakou merchants were already half of the Manchu slaves, so they were here.

They are the hosts, so there is no reason for the host to sit as a guest.

And Fan Yongdou naturally took the second position, and everyone else was not surprised. Manchus are used to being domineering, so how can they offend him.

Everyone sat down again. Wang Dengku glanced at Fan Yongdou and his meaning was obvious. "Can you ask Prince He Shuorui for us what order he gave?"

However, Fan Yongdou looked at his nose, his nose at his mouth, and his mouth at his heart, calmly, without saying a word, very quiet, as if he didn't see the way Wang Dengku looked at him. Wang Dengku frowned and turned around to see other merchants turning to look at him.

.

There is no way why he is ranked second among the eight Shanxi merchants?

Wang Dengku calmed down, looked at the envoy and said, "Your envoy has come to Zhangjiakou. What orders does the prince give us?"

After hearing this, the messenger took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Fan Yongdou. Fan Yongdou handed it to Wang Dengku without even looking at it. Wang Dengku took the letter and looked at the messenger with an embarrassed expression: "Mr. Messenger, this...

…”

"See for yourself."

Wang Dengku glanced at Fan Yongdou again, then opened the envelope and took a look at the contents. His face suddenly turned ugly. Seeing Wang Dengku's change of color, the others couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong?"

Wang Dengku passed the letter to the next person without saying a word. At this time, the person also looked at it. When he saw the information in the letter clearly, his face became livid, and he passed it to the next person without saying a word.

One person saw this and looked over curiously: "What's wrong? Everyone's expressions are so ugly."

Then after this person read it, his expression turned the color of pig liver. As the letter was passed around, everyone's expressions changed.

Finally, the letter was passed to Huang Yunfa. Huang Yunfa saw the ugly expressions of the first few people and knew that it was probably not a good thing, so he opened the letter with a heavy heart. He saw that the letter read: Everyone is well, I love you.

Jueluo Dorgon, I would like to ask you all today. Guihua City on the fortress has been captured by the Xiaolantian thieves. I have raised troops to attack, but the thieves can't hold on. My army is besieging the city, but there is insufficient food and grass. I hope that you can help me and raise 50,000 yuan.

The food and fodder required by the army for a year must be transported to the fortress, so there must be no delay."

"Fifty thousand troops, one year of food and grass!"

Seeing these two keywords, Huang Yunfa couldn't help but exclaimed. The cost was so huge. Even if he, Huang Yunfa, was one of the eight Shanxi merchants, he was shocked by the massive amount of supplies. I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough to drain his own wealth.

People eat it.

"Oh, there's a problem?"

The messenger was not in a hurry. At this time, he raised his eyes and glanced at everyone. His voice was cold and refreshing. When everyone heard the words, their expressions suddenly froze and they fell silent without saying a word.

At this time, the messenger picked up the tea bowl on the table, took a sip and said, "By the way, the prince asked me to bring you a message before I left."

When everyone heard the words, they looked at the messenger. The messenger smiled and said: "Raising troops for a thousand days and using them for a while. I have supported you in the Qing Dynasty for many years. It's time for you to repay the Qing Dynasty. As for the rest, I won't say much. Let's discuss it.

, you can send me a letter after we have discussed it, and I will go have breakfast first."

The messenger stood up and ignored everyone sitting there. He looked at the butler and said, "Have you prepared something to eat for me?"

Upon hearing this, the butler immediately said: "Ready, ready."

After saying this, the butler immediately walked to the dining room with the messenger, and there were only eight major merchants left in the room.

At this time, the eight people were silent and silent. They originally thought it was an opportunity to make a fortune, but unexpectedly it turned into an opportunity for them to bleed and pay. They had no problem making them rich, but you let them

If there is bleeding, then there will be a big problem. No one is willing to bleed, and no one is willing to give his money to others, even if these people are his masters.

When they make money, they are all happy, and when they give out money, they all act like moms, but don’t they want to travel with the money?

Huang Yunfa was the first to lose his composure. He was the last to make a fortune among the eight major Shanxi merchants. In the past, his family was engaged in business without capital, that is, robbing small traders on the grasslands. Later, it became bigger and moved to Zhangjiakou.

After buying land and land, he also built connections and did business with people from Liaodong, and that's how he got his current worth.

Now you are suddenly going to be involved in the bottomless pit of providing rations to the 50,000 Tatar army. His heart was bleeding. At this time, Huang Yunfa said: "Why?"

The phrase "Why?" really speaks to everyone's heart. Yes, "Why?" When we do business with you Tatars, we are just being honest. Although the price is a bit more expensive, we still take the risk.

Our lives are in danger. We should get this money. Now you ask us to pay such a large sum of money with just one sentence. Why?

When everyone was thinking, someone echoed: "Yes, why? We have done a lot of work for them over the years, but in the end they asked us so much money. If we really pay, even if it is divided equally between our eight families, each of us will

The equal share is enough for our income for two or three years. In these two or three years, we have worked for them. This, this is too cruel."

"That's right, that's right, is it easy for us to make some money? Those who are frightened will have to suffer the blood-sucking and peeling skin of those vampires in Ming and Liaodong. Now he has reduced our two or three years of happiness to nothing with just one word. I don't accept it."

"I'm not convinced either. We can't pay for it."

"Yes, you can't pay for it."

…

Several people were talking to each other, and their voices gradually became louder, but only two people remained silent, one was Fan Yongdou and the other Wang Dengku.

The two looked at each other, and Wang Dengku said: "What does Mr. Fan think?"

Fan Yongdou heard this and said, "What do you think, the prince?"

Wang Dengku said: "It should be paid, it must be paid. What does Mr. Fan think?"

Fan Yongdou said: "I am a knifeman for you and a fish for you. Do we have any choice?"

After hearing this, Wang Dengku said: "Then Mr. Fan, let's talk to you, so that they don't make noises and ruin things."

Fan Yongdou said: "The prince is here."

Wang Dengku said: "There are eight major Shanxi merchant families, headed by the Fan family. How can I overstep my authority and take over?"

Fan Yongdou smiled when he heard this and said: "Brothers, you and I, why should we be so clear about the difference? But since Brother Wang asked me to say it, I will say it."

"Ahem~"

Fan Yongdou coughed slightly, and everyone's attention was focused. Fan Yongdou looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, listen to me."

Everyone turned to look at Fan Yongdou, who said: "You may have misunderstood. Let me ask you how the Qing soldiers and horses are doing?"

After hearing this, everyone frowned, and Huang Yunfa said: "Of course he is powerful. The Ming army was defeated one after another and was completely defeated."

Fan Yongdou said: "I heard that you all have private soldiers, but I wonder how your private soldiers compare with the cavalry of the Qing Dynasty?"

Everyone shook their heads and said: "Mr. Fan, don't be ridiculous. We private soldiers can beat horse thieves, and the bandits are just fine. How can we compare with the Qing cavalry?"

Hearing this, Fan Yongdou looked at the crowd and sneered: "Then you still dare not to pay, don't you think that after two years of doing business with the Qing Dynasty and having a relationship, you have the capital to bargain."

Fan Yongdou's words were so sinister that the hairs on the backs of everyone stood up. Yes, he was a bit ungrateful. After two years of doing business with the Qing Dynasty, he felt that he could bargain with the Qing Dynasty. In fact, he

It's just a piece of meat in people's mouths. They can eat it whenever they want and keep it as long as they want.

What can be done about it? If they can have the determination of a strong man to cut off his wrists and move his family away from Zhangjiakou to the south, or to places like Sichuan where the Tatars are in no hurry, it would be okay, but they are reluctant to part with the business of this family.

Everyone was silent, and Fan Yongdou said: "You don't have to worry so much. Money is an external possession, and the money is not wasted. Spending it will bring benefits."

After hearing this, everyone looked at Fan Yongdou with a stiff expression, as if to say, are you lying to a fool? Is there any benefit to this?

Fan Yongdou smiled and said: "There are two advantages."

"First, the Qing Dynasty is currently fighting against the bandits of Lantian. Lantian has developed rapidly in recent years and now controls half of Shaanxi. However, these bastards are very unfriendly to us. We were short of food and wanted to buy food from them.

The price of grain we bought was increased by 10%, which was called Shanxi merchants' wealth, and we lost a lot of money."

"Now that they have offended the Qing Dynasty, when they fall, when the Qing Dynasty conquers Guihua City and turns south, they will surely wipe out Lantian with the force of plowing the courtyard and clearing holes. By then, we will definitely be able to get a share of the pie.

To make up for the losses, and the Qing Dynasty takes Guihua City, the trade routes in Mobei will be unobstructed, and we will also benefit a lot."

"Secondly, since Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong, maritime merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang have reopened sea trade, and goods have been dumped in large quantities in Liaodong. The Qing Dynasty has become less and less dependent on us. In recent years, everyone from the Qing Dynasty has

Are there fewer and fewer orders?”

After hearing this, everyone nodded in unison, and Huang Yun said: "I am missing about 20%."

Another person, Wang Dayu, a Shanxi merchant, said: "I am missing a full 30%."

"Me too, more than 30%."

"Isn't it? I also suffered a loss of 20% to 30%."

Wang Dengku cleared his throat and said, "I have about 35% loss."

Fan Yongdou said: "Then I am the most powerful. I have almost reached 40%. This is the loss brought to us by the maritime merchants, and this is a good opportunity. I don't need to say more about the power of Prince Shuorui in the Qing Dynasty. Everyone should

We all know that after we helped him this time, we can ask him to protect our Shanxi merchants in the future and ensure that our share is not wiped out by maritime merchants. On this point, do you think it is appropriate for us to spend this money?"

After hearing this, everyone fell silent. It was acceptable to exchange for a year's supply of food and fodder for the 50,000-strong army for their future share in the Manchu trade. Thinking that the crowd fell silent, they sat in their seats and secretly thought about it.

The man even took out a small abacus from his sleeve to calculate how much food and fodder a fifty thousand army would cost for a year.

Seeing this, Fan Yongdou winked at the housekeeper: "Go and call the envoy."

"Yes, sir."

…

In this way, the eight Shanxi merchants decided on a plan to support Dorgon's army with food and salary for one year. The only thing they cared about in the whole plan was whether their own interests could be guaranteed, and they never thought that the food and grass they supported would be used.

Who are you going to beat?

They never knew that they were Ming people. They had no concept of family and country in their hearts. They only considered their own gains and losses, because they had already hooked up with the Manchus. When the Ming Dynasty was over, they would be able to make a fortune. If the Ming Dynasty survived, they would still make a fortune.
To be continued...