After reading it, Zhu Youxiao began to close his eyes and meditate.
He didn't expect that things were more complicated and serious than he imagined.
He originally thought that the power of these Shanxi businessmen should be far less than that during the Chongzhen period, and it should not be difficult to investigate and deal with them, but he was totally wrong.
Xu Xianchun said in the memorial:
"The border towns stretch for nearly a thousand miles, and many generals from the border towns join forces with them. The local guards also profit from it. The smuggling caravans run rampant in the mountains and Shaanxi areas and leave the border at will!"
"In addition to the servants of large merchant families, the caravan guards sometimes also have local generals or guardsmen to coordinate the escort until they leave the area under the jurisdiction of the headquarters."
Judging from Xu Xianchun's report, the local influence of these businessmen in Shanxi has become more than simple.
If you want to move them, you must first find a way to deal with those border town generals and guard generals.
Those generals who have interests and collude with the merchants will never sit still and wait for death. They will not naively think that the court will let them go.
If they are pushed into a hurry, it is not impossible to unite and lead the Mongols to invade.
If you want to solve the problem of Shanxi businessmen collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country at once, this idea is basically fanciful.
Currently, Zhu Youxiao is far from having the confidence and strength to provoke the reorganization of border towns. The only troops he can directly mobilize are his own Yulin Army.
What worries Zhu Youxiao the most is not how powerful they are or how many troops they have at their disposal, but the local civilians.
The reason why Zhu Youxiao was able to punish corrupt officials in the capital, causing rivers of blood, was not the Yulin Army that he relied on most, but the people who hated corrupt officials.
They are the support point for Zhu Youxiao to carry out various operations. As long as the common people stand with him and continue to support him, the Ming Dynasty will never be overturned.
But these businessmen are very smart. They only need to spend a little money from the looted people's wealth and huge profits from smuggling to help the people and do some good deeds, and then they can be supported by all the people.
This can be said to be the traditional skill of businessmen. On the surface, they smile with you, but secretly they are afraid that they will not be able to exploit you.
To deal with hypocritical hooligans like them, we need to change our methods. We can't just send a few royal guards to raid homes and take away people like we did with those court officials.
Zhu Youxiao dares to conclude that as long as he dares to send them over, these businessmen and generals will dare to kill, and they will kill you until you are speechless. They can just make up a name and stop your mouth. Don't do too much at all.
explanation of.
This kind of thing was just a common occurrence in the Ming Dynasty. The eunuchs sent by Emperor Wanli to collect taxes in Jiangnan were already dead as soon as they landed.
After Zhu Youxiao thought deeply, he closed the memorial, looked at Yang Huan standing below and said lightly:
"Xu Xianchun lived up to my expectations. Although it took a long time, he checked very carefully. If I hadn't already known about it, I really wouldn't believe everything mentioned in the memorial!"
"Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. The commander has not received the holy order and has not acted rashly. However, according to the intelligence of the following secret agents, we know that they will ship a batch of goods in the near future. The specific route and destination are unknown, but we can What is certain is that it must be the grassland outside the Pass!"
Zhu Youxiao had already guessed that this batch of goods would most likely be sent to Tumote.
"Big companion, take my dragon pendant to the military camp, pass my military order to the British Duke, secretly assemble 10,000 cavalry and 20,000 tiger sergeants, led by Li Wensheng and Li Wei, equipped with general artillery, and wait for my military order!"
Wang Chaofu immediately took the order and said:
"My slave obeys the order!"
"Yang Huan, continue to send more Jinyiwei manpower and place them in Zhangjiakou, Xuanfu Town, and Datong Town. Let them hide well and act in a low-key manner so as not to be exposed."
"I accept your order!"
Zhu Youxiao waved his hand to signal them all to retreat, and then ordered Wang Chaofu:
"My dear friend, please tell me that several ministers from the Sixth Department of the Cabinet are waiting for me at Qianqing Palace!"
…
…
"My dear friends, let's discuss this matter and come up with a solid charter to eradicate these scourges as soon as possible!"
The ministers are feeling miserable. The matter with the generals in Liaodong has just settled down, and His Majesty is going to attack the merchants in Shanxi again. He really doesn't even give them time to breathe.
"Your Majesty, I believe that it is not appropriate to move Shanxi and border towns at this time, and your Majesty's focus should continue to be on Liaodong!"
"Even if what the Jin Yiwei found out is true, in my opinion, the biggest worry of our Ming Dynasty is still the old slaves, and the Mongolian tribes no longer have anything to fear!"
"Your Majesty, you should carefully manage Liaodong at this time, digest the results of the past few months, and solidify the foundation. It is really not appropriate to cause trouble again!"
Zhu Youxiao did not expect that the person who opposed today was actually Wang Zaijin. This was really beyond his expectation.
"I second the proposal!"
"I also second the proposal!"
Zhu Youxiao took a look and found that most of the ministers supported what Wang Zaijin said, and among these people were Xu Guangqi, Wang Xiangqian and others.
"Your Majesty's willingness to change is really a blessing to your ancestors, your ministers, and your people. But precisely because of this, your Majesty should not rush for quick success, but should proceed steadily!"
"Didn't His Majesty say a few days ago that the chieftains in the southwest were about to be in chaos? The focus at this time should not be to quell the chieftain rebellion?"
Song Yingxing, who had always been reticent, also began to speak out against it, especially when he mentioned the Southwest Chieftain, which made Zhu Youxiao sober up a lot.
Yes, since he ascended the throne, it seemed that every step was difficult, but in the end he achieved the set goal, which inevitably made him inflated.
After his personal victory in the Mongolian expedition, his mentality began to change, and his desire for competition and fame became more and more important.
After waking up, Zhu Youxiao understood those emperors in history who were eager for great success and quick success. This feeling of achievement is really intoxicating, and can even make you forget your original intention and lose your direction.
Seeing that the remonstrance was effective, the ministers quickly analyzed the pros and cons of the matter and brought back Zhu Youxiao who was lost in the jungle of fame and fame.
The time is indeed not ripe now. As Song Yingxing said, governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. At this time, if the interest group in Bianzhen is moved, it is likely to cause a large-scale mutiny, or at least there will be no peace.
At that time, the emperor and the court had only two choices, one was to send troops to suppress the rebellion, and the other was to calm the rebellion, which was actually compromising with them.
Nowadays, troops are being deployed in eastern Liaoning and southwest, disasters have broken out in many prefectures and counties in the north, and the national treasury is already facing collapse. If a battlefield is opened, it is likely to follow the path of the Sui Dynasty.
Under the persuasion of the ministers, Zhu Youxiao had to temporarily give up the idea of investigating the Shanxi merchants. This time he took it too much for granted. The merchants were more difficult to deal with than the generals.
But after he conquers the southwest, no one will be able to stop him!