Chapter 936 Jia Heng: He can obviously rob directly, but he still has to pay
Kangzhai
After all the guests dispersed, the hall fell into a deathly silence for a short time.
Kang Yisheng looked solemnly, looked at Kang Zexing aside, and said solemnly: "Xing'er, you pack up tonight and leave Taiyuan early tomorrow morning for Xuanfu."
"Father." Kang Zexing's face changed suddenly and he said anxiously: "How did the matter become so urgent?"
Kang Yisheng said in a cold voice: "The Marquis of Yongning has murderous intentions. I'm afraid people have already started to investigate the business going to Liaodong, and they may be leaked out at some point."
No evidence, just a hunch.
Kang Zexing frowned and said, "Didn't my father just say that Marquis Yongning was just asking for food? Besides, we are not without the ability to backhand him."
Kang Yisheng shook his head and said: "Those counterattacks are just like a small worm shaking a tree. We merchants cannot go against the general trend and can only follow the trend. The Yongning Marquis has set his sights on us, so we need to act cautiously now."
In fact, Wang Chengyin's death shocked Kang Yisheng very much, and a general with a heavy army killed him at will.
Coupled with Jia Heng's "black history" of persecuting merchants in Yangzhou, he already felt a murderous intention.
Originally, I was still thinking about making a fortune from the imperial court, but now I have given up the idea and plan to avoid its edge and plan later.
This is the merchant's sense of powerlessness and vigilance when facing the handle of a knife. People under the eaves have to bow their heads.
Otherwise, you really have the mace and I have the Tianling Gai?
Kang Yisheng's eyes flickered and he whispered: "As long as Yongning Hou is defeated, we will be safe and sound. After you go to Xuanfu, contact your elder brother to observe the war situation between Han and Qing Dynasties. Also tell Jiang Yu that if my Kang family is killed
, the next one is the Jiang family, let them see what happens to Wang Chengyin."
Kang Yisheng's eldest son lives in Shengjing, Liaodong, and was originally engaged in the business of smuggling grain, silk, salt, and pig iron to the Jurchens.
Kang Zexing's face was solemn and he raised his hands.
Kang Yisheng took a deep breath. Wang Chengyin died too quickly. Now his little arms couldn't twist his thighs, so he could only take advantage of the situation.
In the face of absolute strength, conspiracies and tricks cannot turn the tide, and his Kang family's century-old foundation cannot be destroyed in one fell swoop.
In fact, not only Kang Yisheng, except Kong Wenjun because he had the support of Qufu Yanshenggong, the other families were terrified of him and began to lurk their minions.
In the first round, because Jia Heng came with a heavy army and killed two generals, Shanxi merchants chose to avoid his attack.
The next day, the morning light enveloped the entire city of Taiyuan again. Jia Heng sent people to deliver the written memorial to rectify the Taiyuan soldiers and horses back to the capital, and began to send troops to rectify and eliminate the soldiers in the town.
As Jia Heng vigorously reorganized the Taiyuan military town, the entire city was enveloped in a chilling and awe-inspiring atmosphere.
The cavalry troops in the Beijing camp kept coming and going, arresting the generals of Wang Chengyin's party, and the soldiers in the Zhenbing camp were a little frightened.
It was not until the afternoon that news came from the General Military Office that the sergeants' salary would be repaid for three months. For a while, the originally panicked military morale calmed down.
This money was recovered from the military pay that Wang Chengyin and the generals withheld, and all of it was used by Jia Heng to win over people's hearts.
On the second day, Jia Heng went to the camp of Taiyuan Prefecture soldiers, summoned a group of middle and low-ranking generals, and said: "Wang Chengyin was greedy for military pay, oppressed the sergeants, and was killed by me. Taiyuan Prefecture soldiers eliminated the old and weak, and from now on the actual army
Get real wages and no longer suffer from exploitation and deprivation."
The middle and lower ranks of the town army cheered loudly. The negative impact of killing Wang Chengyin was suppressed to a minimum by Jia Heng.
Subsequently, Song Yuan and Fan Yi led the Beijing camp army to reorganize the Taiyuan town army, eliminate the old and weak, and set a quota of 60,000, and temporarily organized it into six guards. They transferred generals from the Beijing camp and led the six guards as commanders.
At noon, Jia Heng, accompanied by the guards of Jinyi Palace, returned from the military camp of Zhenjun. As soon as he arrived at the General Army Yamen, the guards of Jinyi Palace came to report. The chief envoy Luo Jingwen, the prefect Jiang Yan led Kang Yisheng, Fan Hongqing and other merchants.
Asking to see Jia Heng.
Previously, Jia Heng's words had been conveyed to the ears of businessmen through Jiang Yan, Fan Hongqing and others, which to some extent had a certain confusing effect.
In the Zongbing Yamen, in the festival hall——
Jia Heng sat down, picked up the tea cup on the side, and looked at the merchants. His eyes fell on the face of the old man next to Jiang Yan, and he knew that he was the head of the Kang family.
"Master Marquis, we heard that the army is short of food, and we are willing to raise three million dan to alleviate the problem of military supplies." Kang Yisheng said with a smile on his face.
Jiang Yan on the side explained: "Master Hou, according to the price of grain in Shenjing last year, we will sell it to the court for one stone and one tael of silver."
Jia Heng nodded and said: "In the land south of the Yangtze River, eight coins of silver are worth one stone. The rice grain purchased by the imperial court this time is very large. You are all righteous merchants. Now the country is sending troops to the north. It is the time for you to contribute and donate to the country."
."
After he killed Wang Chengyin yesterday, these merchants were not stubborn people. They had already felt the cold and began to hibernate, but it was of no use.
He was determined to take over the Shanxi merchants, and he couldn't stop Huang Taiji even if he came.
When Kang Yisheng heard this, his heart skipped a beat, but the expression on his face remained unchanged and he said: "Yongninghou is right, I will sell it to the court for eight coins and one stone."
When the merchants around him heard this, their faces were gloomy, but they dared not speak out in anger.
Eight coins of silver doesn't make much profit anymore. They are working so hard. Are they doing things for the imperial court?
Why don't they donate money and pay back? What did the imperial court give them? The Yangzhou salt merchants also had the title of participating in politics and being a counselor. Since they Shanxi merchants withdrew from Jianghuai, what did the imperial court give them?
Jia Heng's face softened a bit and he said: "In that case, we will first purchase one million stones and escort them to Datong, and I will go to the border town at a later date."
It is not yet time to wipe out all Shanxi merchants. It is not only the perception of the people in the world, but also other reasons.
Kang Yisheng bowed his hands and said yes, secretly breathing a sigh of relief in his heart, and said: "The Marquis has come all the way from Shenjing, and we have prepared a small banquet to welcome the Marquis."
If you want food now, they can give it to you, but when things go wrong, they will fight back.
Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "No need, I still need to reorganize the army. Soldiers need to be quick. I will speed up the preparation of army rations to avoid delaying the military aircraft."
When Kang Yisheng heard this, his face was respectful, he raised his hands and said yes.
All the merchants present felt the tyranny and strength, but they could only submit, but their hearts were filled with hatred.
After all the merchants left, Gu Binghe seemed to remind them: "General, there are many court officials behind these merchants who are looking after them. I think that if we don't create extraneous plots, we shouldn't force them too much."
Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "Then I would like to see which of the adults in the court has the courage to support those merchants."
The Jinyi Mansion has already launched an investigation into the smuggling activities carried out by these merchants. In Datong, there is also Sun Shaozu, the Qiao family, and the Fan family. The fight is fierce, and the time to close the network is not far away.
Gu Binghe did not dare to say anything more, his face was expressionless, thinking about the young man's intentions.
Is this intentional to force Shanxi merchants?
A group of merchants came out of the General Military Office with ugly faces and blood dripping from their hearts.
Eight coins and one stone, they still have to pay.
"Too much bullying!" Fan Hongqing got on the carriage, slapped the armrest, and shouted angrily in a low voice.
On the other side, Kang Yisheng's face was also livid.
Eight cents of silver per stone is really a bargain, but it doesn’t make them any money at all? Forced buying and selling!
But at this moment, the situation is stronger than the person, but it cannot happen.
A group of merchants headed toward Kang's house in a mighty manner.
Kang family residence
Kang Yisheng was sitting in the hall, with a gloomy look on his face, and said, "As you all have seen, this Yongning Marquis is extremely powerful, and it is not easy to stand up to him."
Fan Hongqing said in a deep voice: "He has acted so recklessly. Can the imperial censor in Beijing impeach him for being arrogant and domineering, killing generals and bullying gentry?"
The Shanxi merchants also subsidized some scholars, with money to clear the way, and they also had some mouthpieces in the court who could speak on their behalf.
Hou Qinyi asked expectantly: "What do Master Jiang and Master Luo say?"
The two of them had received some bribes from Shanxi merchants. In fact, even the governor Gu Binghe had also accepted banquets from Shanxi merchants.
But when the real storm comes, the role they can play is limited. These old bureaucrats are more slippery than anyone else.
Kang Yisheng shook his head and said, "Master Jiang only has one sentence: Marquis Yongning is the emperor's favorite and cannot be manipulated by anyone."
Everyone looked horrified, aware of the dangers involved.
In fact, Jia Heng did not even realize that this was no longer the time when he went to Yangzhou to rectify the salt affairs. At that time, he was just a count and only quelled the chaos in the Central Plains. Now he is leading tens of thousands of elite troops with the power of capturing the Jurchen prince alive.
It can be said that other than waiting for Jia Heng's defeat, even the chief ministers and ministers of the cabinet did not dare to face the challenge directly.
But precisely because of this, Shanxi merchants were filled with fear.
Kong Wenjun reminded: "The reason why Mr. Yang Ge resigned and returned to seclusion is actually related to the Marquis Yongning. The war against the Jurchen was peaceful, and the fight in the court was also very fierce. Now the Marquis Yongning, who is the main battler, has the upper hand."
"It seems that we can only wait until they are defeated, and then we can settle the general ledger." Hou Qinyi said in a low voice.
Everyone looked at each other with a tacit understanding.
The eight Shanxi merchants originally maintained close relations with the Jurchen high-ranking officials. Unlike salt merchants in prosperous places like Yangzhou who smuggled through sea trade, and some were afraid of the imperial court, all the eight Shanxi merchants had contacts with the Jurchen high-ranking officials.
This is due to the harsh business environment for Shanxi merchants to do business. Without smuggling to the Jurchens, this big business would not be possible.
Kang Yisheng said in a cold voice: "Let's raise the rice and grain first and keep to the point. The rest is to focus on the outcome of the war. I'll see how he dies!"
Everyone was equally angry and nodded in agreement, obviously disgusted by Jia Heng's behavior of holding his head and drinking water.
Some things have not been said yet, but everyone tacitly communicates the information from the officers and soldiers to the Jurchen high-level officials.
General Military Office
Jia Heng returned to the hall of the back house and was about to have dinner. He looked at Chen Xiao and asked, "How is the situation? Have you found out?"
Chen Xiaodao: "We found out some clues. According to the Jinyi Baihu in Taiyuan Prefecture, the Kang family has a good relationship with Jiang Quan, the commander-in-chief of the Xuan Prefecture. He may have taken the smuggling route of the Xuan Prefecture and entered Liaodong. The person in charge seems to be Kang.
Two brothers from home.”
Jia Heng's expression paused and he said, "This is a piece of key information. Can you follow the clues?"
Chen Xiaodao: "They handled it very cleanly, and the general had no evidence. He heard while drinking with Kang Zexing, the second young master of the Kang family, that the second young master of the Kang family was testing the general to smuggle to Liaodong."
Jia Heng thought for a moment and said, "Send someone to arrest the second young master of the Kang family for questioning."
Chen Xiao said: "We have sent people to arrest him, but Kang Zexing has left Taiyuan Mansion overnight, and the Tiqi of Jinyi Mansion are hunting him down. At the moment, unless the head of the Kang family, Kang Yisheng, is captured and tortured."
Jia Heng shook his head, his eyes darkened, and said: "The time is not yet ripe now. After they have raised food and grass, the evidence must be more complete, otherwise it will not only be someone gossiping."
It's not that he can't arrest people first and then find charges for his "factory boss" behavior. It's just that it damages the prestige of the court, and deep down in his heart, he still has a vague plan to use Shanxi merchants to set up a trap.
Since Shanxi merchants maintain contact with the Jurchens, can they use them to mislead the Jurchens in their decisions?
Lure Huang Taiji to a certain city... set up the Hongyi cannon and blast him.
Otherwise, the one-ton Hongyi cannon on the grassland would be unable to pull.
"The money you use to buy rice grains, do you want to give it to Shanxi merchants?" Chen Xiaoqing's eyes flashed and he asked.
"Give some of the money and keep the rest on credit. You can't deny it at all, otherwise they will be suspicious and will be lazy in collecting rice." Jia Heng said with sharp eyes.
He could obviously rob it directly, but he still had to pay for it.
Later it was found out that the Shanxi businessman was a traitor. Who can say that he deliberately fabricated accusations to make himself look ugly?
Chen Xiao thought for a moment, his eyes flickered, and he muttered: "That's the salary recovered from the inspection."
Jia Heng looked indifferent and said in a low voice: "There are almost a million in wealth, which can be given to Shanxi merchants first. It is meant to appease them. I will give these merchants my free money..."
As he spoke, he shook his head.
Chen Xiao looked at the young man with a strange look under his beautiful eyebrows, always feeling that Jia Heng had something to say.
"There is also Jiang Gan who needs to be on guard." Jia Heng looked a little more solemn and said with a faint look in his eyes. He muttered: "Let the Jinyi Mansion send a letter to Wang Ziteng in the Xuan Mansion and keep an eye on Jiang Gan."
Wang Ziteng is now in Xuanfu as a general dispatched by the Peking Army, and he shares the military power of Xuanfu. This is actually Li Zan's check and balance strategy.
Chen Xiao looked at the young man with concern and asked, "Are you leaving tomorrow?"
Jia Heng said: "The military situation is like a fire, and the soldiers are very fast. I will leave Qi Jianhui here to wait for Runan Hou Weiqi to lead the cavalry to Datong."
This time, the people who led the infantry of the Beijing camp were Weiqi the Runan lord and Cai Quan, who was escorting the Hongyi cannon. A veteran martial artist came over and originally wanted to supervise the army. He took the initiative to mobilize them.
Of course, other founding figures such as military pilots Shi Guangzhu and Chen Ruiwen, as well as Mu Sheng and Jia Heng, sons of Prince Dongping who volunteered, did not agree to come to the northern expedition.
Chen Xiao looked at the young man with clear eyes, pursed her unrouged lips lightly, and said softly: "Then you must be careful. I will rush over after I finish cooking here."
Jia Heng looked at the map and whispered: "I have just thought carefully about it. Shanxi merchants should not be smuggling in Taiyuan on a large scale. I think you will follow me to Datong first. Sun Shaozu of Datong should be collecting intelligence on their smuggling. They are in
Taiyuan’s hands and feet were handled very cleanly.”
Chen Xiao: "..."
You can't live without her like this? Take her with you wherever you go?
Well, probably not.
Jia Heng explained: "Because this place is too far from the border, the generals involved in smuggling in the border towns should be in Xuanfu, Ping'an Prefecture and Datong. This is just a place for Shanxi merchants to inquire about provincial government information and make friends with officials. Nothing should be found."
clue."
In fact, this is indeed the case. Taiyuan is the gathering place of the vassal and government offices in Jin Province. It has many eyes and ears and does not have the conditions for forming a party and smuggling.
You can't bribe a group of civil and military officials who can't urinate in the pot. This is simply unrealistic. Otherwise, officials would have been reported to the police long ago.
Moreover, Wang Chengyin really didn't like the profit from smuggling, and he mostly accepted bribes from Shanxi merchants and provided official convenience.
The hardest-hit areas for smuggling should be Datong, Xuanfu, Ping'an Prefecture and other trade routes, such as the Ping'an Prefecture trade route that Jia She used for smuggling.
Chen Xiao relaxed her frowning eyebrows, looked at the young man with clear eyes, and said, "What should I do here?"
Jia Heng looked solemn and said: "Let the Tiqi and detectives from Jinyi Mansion monitor the Shanxi merchants. After I meet Uncle Lin, let's go to Datong."
Shanxi merchants are different from salt merchants. Salt merchants only seek wealth, while Shanxi merchants are traitors to their country.
Chen Xiao nodded, looked at the map, and asked, "What about the grassland?"
"I hope Ezhe can withstand the invasion of the grassland from Datong. If he can't withstand it, not only Datong, but also Ping'an Prefecture will be in danger. The Jurchens can bypass Datong and attack Ping'an Prefecture. This is the outpost of Taiyuan Town. Then it will be necessary
Divide the troops." Jia Heng's eyes were fierce, as if he had penetrated the fog of war and saw the changes in the future war.
This is the famous general's sense of war, or this is the empty place of the Han Dynasty. If he and Huang Taiji were in a different place, he would also make a fuss from these places.
Ping'an Prefecture has a dangerous terrain, with the Great Wall connected to the outside, Yanjing to the back and Yanjing to the back; Yanmen to the right and Ningwu to the south, and located among the three passes. It is surrounded by mountains and water, with four fortresses and ancient piers.
Garrison in the wild, circle and protect, and consolidate a large chokepoint in the northwest.
As Gu Zuyu said in "Minutes of Reading History Fangyu": "It is separated from the Hong River to the west and the vast desert to the north. The vassal guards of Zhuangyanmen are the lips and teeth of the clouds, standing tall in the north and the great defense of the whole Jin Dynasty."
Moreover, in the history of parallel time and space, Huang Taiji attracted the Xuan Ming army by besieging Shuozhou and adopted the tactic of "siege the city and fight for reinforcements".
As for the Eastern Front battlefield, there is a Minister of War in charge, so there is no need to worry too much.
Seeing Chen Xiao looking at the map and thinking, Jia Heng came closer, took Chen Xiao's delicate hand, sat down, picked up the fast food and handed it over, saying: "It's time to eat, don't think about it."
In the evening, the guards of the Jinyi Mansion under the eaves reported that Lin Ruhai had entered Taiyuan City and was now heading towards the General Military Yamen.
Jia Heng put down the book in his hand, looked at a thousand households in brocade clothes, and said: "Continue to pursue the collection, inquire about the generals' family records, and copy and seize all the property."
With that said, he looked at Chen Xiao aside and said, "Let's go and meet."
official office, in the hall
Lin Ruhai had been sitting and waiting for a while. After listening to Fan Yi describe Jia Heng's visit to Taiyuan Mansion, he nodded and said: "I went to Linfen to inquire about the local government's grain prices and warehouse storage. The Kang family has many warehouses in Linfen, so we can sell them."
Grain is the industry, and it is said that every year in summer and autumn, rice grains are collected from Bashu and Shanxi, and one stone only costs seven coins."
At this time, Jia Heng came from outside and said, "Uncle, you are here."
Lin Ruhai raised her eyes to look at the person coming, with a look of surprise on her face, and said, "Ziyu."
Jia Heng said: "My uncle came just in time. I was talking about how the rice grains are being transported when my uncle came. I just bought three million shi of grains from Shanxi merchants."
Lin Ruhai nodded and said in surprise: "Three million stones, so much? By the way, Prince Qi has already escorted a batch of grain and grass to the rear with the Beijing army. It should arrive in another seven or eight days."
The Beijing camp's infantry moved relatively quickly, but they were still inevitably hampered by the speed of the baggage convoy.
"I bought it for eight coins and one stone, and my uncle will take it first." Jia Heng said with a smile.
Lin Ruhai nodded and asked: "Eight coins, which is almost one or two coins on the market, how can this merchant from Jin be willing to do it?"
Merchants were unable to afford it early because they were unprofitable. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to drive up prices, they were coerced into giving up profits.
Jia Heng said coldly: "What can I do if I don't give in? I am a swordsman, and he is a fish."
Lin Ruhai: "..."
"Ziyu, these merchants will hold grudges and instigate officials to spread rumors and cause trouble in the court, and the courtiers will criticize them." Lin Ruhai reminded.
If you act so unscrupulously in the local area, there must be officials who want to impeach and oppress the gentry, and plunder people's wealth.
Jia Heng shook his head and said: "Shanxi merchants are not salt merchants, and Shanxi is not Jiangnan. The foundation of Shanxi merchants lies in border generals. Since King Zhao did something bad during the Longzhi period, Shanxi merchants have long been rootless duckweeds, and there is nothing to worry about."
Because of this, Shanxi merchants actively betrayed their country because they were political orphans in the court.
When Lin Ruhai heard Jia Heng's words, her expression paused, and she suddenly realized something in her heart.
Jia Heng said: "Uncle, tomorrow I will lead 50,000 cavalry troops to Datong. I will leave 5,000 cavalry troops here to reorganize the Taiyuan town army and wait for the infantry to come. My uncle will receive the rice grains from Shanxi merchants and transport the money and grain to the front line. Uncle
What do you think?"
Lin Ruhai nodded and said: "What the Ministry of Accounts means this time is to give credit first, and then pay back the money when the money comes later."
"In the past two days, the Taiyuan army generals were found to be embezzling soldiers' pay, and a part of the silver, about one million taels, was confiscated. My uncle first used it to deal with the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce to encourage them to actively transport grain." Jia Heng reminded.
If it were all a matter of IOU credit, Shanxi merchants were not fools and would certainly not actively provide food and fodder, deliberately delaying the supply, which would in turn cause instability among the frontline generals and soldiers.
You still have to pay part of it.
When Lin Ruhai heard this, his eyes showed admiration and said: "Ziyu is thoughtful and thoughtful, that's why."
The son-in-law in front of me is really perfect in all aspects, and he seems to have everything in mind.
In fact, this was also the reason why Emperor Chongping trusted him so much.