Zhao Yan came to Datong with 20,000 police troops and a large group of soldiers and horses, and Lu Xiangsheng learned that Zhao Yan was coming, but he went out of Datong early to greet him.

"How is the governor doing?" Zhao Yan saw Lu Xiangsheng and asked with a hearty smile.

"Fortunately, Zhijian, you have made things too big recently, and now the situation is very unfavorable for you! The world's scholars and landlords did not have a good impression of Shandong. Lu Xiangsheng said with a wry smile, referring to Zhao Yan's confiscation of the Confucian Mansion and the collection of agricultural taxes in Shandong.

"They can do whatever they like!" Zhao Yan said nonchalantly, Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but shake his head helplessly, "Let's go to the city first." ”

"Okay." Zhao Yan nodded, and then took his own soldiers and Lu Xiang into Datong.

Datong is the military town of the Ming Dynasty, the whole city is covered with bricks, the city wall is more than four zhang high, Lu Xiangsheng also set up the artillery of Shandong at the head of the city, it can be said that it is solid.

After entering the city, Zhao Yan began to plan with Lu Xiangsheng for specific matters of cooperation in the war against Mongolia.

"In this expedition to Mongolia, the Shandong soldiers and horses will be commanded by Liu Heng of course, and he will be fully responsible for dispatching all armies." Zhao Yan introduced to Lu Xiangsheng, "Zhang Zhi is the deputy commander-in-chief. ”

At present, the staff is headed by Liu Heng, Liu Heng is good at operational command, while Mao Yuanyi is good at giving advice, and Zhang Zhi is a rising star.

Zhao Yan used to send Liu Heng out as the commander-in-chief, and Liu Heng also showed super command ability, last year Liu Heng launched a 'winter offensive' in Liaodong, and recovered the entire territory of Liaodong in only 18 days.

Zhang Zhi didn't have much experience in commanding, so he was transferred to Liu Heng as a deputy this time, so that he could learn his command ability well.

"Isn't it going to take the army out in person?" Lu Xiangsheng asked puzzled.

"There are a lot of things in Shandong, if I am personally recruited, it is very inconvenient, this time I came to Shanxi, but the cabinet did not have the money to repair the southeast water conservancy, so I had to come and raid the house." Zhao Yan smiled bluntly, Lu Xiangsheng already knew about this.

Lu Xiangsheng didn't say much about the seizure of the house, what the Jin merchants did was also something he couldn't tolerate, but the Jin merchants were quite powerful in the court, and he didn't dare to touch them before, but now Zhao Yan is here, but the king of heaven is not afraid, and he just copied those Jin merchants.

"Then I'll go to Mongolia with Liu Heng!" Lu Xiangsheng thought for a moment and decided, and Zhao Yan did not object.

As a radical left-winger, Lu Xiangsheng naturally would not miss the opportunity to participate in the conquest of Mongolia, and this conquest of Mongolia was also responsible for the grain and grass of the Xuanda soldiers and horses.

The next day, Lu Xiangsheng immediately took Zhao Yan to the school outside the city to inspect the Xuanda soldiers and horses.

Xuanda had a total of 50,000 soldiers and horses, of which 20,000 were cavalry, and the officers in the army were all transferred from Shandong, and the equipment was also provided by Shandong.

50,000 Xuanda soldiers and horses lined up in a neat formation, walking in front of Zhao Yan's eyes, after two years of training, Xuanda soldiers and horses already have the prototype of a strong army.

This is an army that has a deep friendship with the Shandong Army, and has fought side by side with the Shandong Army several times, and both sides are no strangers.

Xuanda soldiers and horses not only had the Shandong Army as officers, but also often received assistance from the Shandong Army, and the two sides were basically one existence.

Zhao Yan supported Xuanda's soldiers and horses, mainly to establish a barrier against thieves in Shanxi, so that the Beijing division would not be copied by thieves.

At the same time, Lu Xiangsheng is also a historical figure admired by Zhao Yan, and his courage and radicalism are unique in the late Ming Dynasty.

Under the joint management of Lu Xiangsheng and Zhao Yan, Shanxi was already extinct as a thief and bandit at this time.

After Zhao Yan ordered the Xuanda soldiers and horses, on the third day, he took 20,000 armed policemen to kill Zhangjiakou from the official road.

And Lu Xiangsheng followed the Shandong army with Xuanda soldiers and horses to the north together.

…… The march of the armed police force was even faster, because there was no baggage, and it took only one day to reach Zhangjiakou at a speed of 200 miles a day.

Zhangjiakou is prosperous in commerce and trade. In 1551, the "horse market" was opened outside the gate of Dajing, and the official used cloth kettles and other Yi Mongolian Tatar horses and skins. In 1570, the Tatar leader Altan surrendered and was entitled, and Zhangjiakou was opened up as a "place of mutual market" between Mongolia and Han. In 1613, the side of Zhangjiakou Fort was built to build Laiyuan Fort, based on Zhangjiakou Fort and Laiyuan Fort, Zhangjiakou gradually developed into the center of trade and exchanges between the Mongolian and Han nationalities. When the paving is lined up, the merchants gather, come to the "dome thousand tents" outside the far fort, and the commercial trade is very prosperous.

Most of the furs of the Ming Dynasty were traded in Zhangjiakou.

As soon as Zhao Yan arrived in Zhangjiakou, he immediately asked people to surround the 'Zhangjiakou Fort' and 'Laiyuan Fort', and 20,000 armed policemen directly surrounded the two forts under Zhao Yan's order.

The Mongols and Jin merchants in the thousands of Mongolian tents outside Laiyuan Fort panicked when they saw the sudden appearance of a large group of soldiers and horses.

The Mongols drew their swords, stepped onto their horses, and glared at the armed police force that surrounded them.

Those Jin merchants suddenly felt an ominous premonition, these soldiers and horses they knew, they were the inspection brigade of Shandong, they came to Zhangjiakou, it must be no good.

The officers and soldiers in the fort were obviously also frightened, and hurriedly sent people out of the fort to inquire.

"The general has an order, everyone lay down their arms, otherwise there will be no mercy."

"Hey, why did the general come to our poor country, my lord, please reveal it, what are you doing here!" Qianhu in Zhangjiakou asked in a low voice.

I am afraid that there are 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers and horses who came to Zhangjiakou this time, but there is no room for resistance with these hundreds of people in Zhangjiakou.

Of course, those firms that have been engaged in smuggling activities for a long time have their own private armies, but they are organized by only three or four thousand people.

"The Jin merchants betrayed the country and collaborated with the enemy, and the general personally came here to search for the Jin merchants, and there is no need to be afraid of irrelevant people."

"Quick, open the door, open the door, everyone lay down their weapons." When the thousand households heard that Zhao Yan had come in person, they hurriedly ordered the military households under him.

Soon the gates of the fort were opened, but the Mongols outside the fort were still on guard.

"Everyone lay down their arms, or kill them on the spot." Several armed policemen stepped forward and warned the Mongols.

The armed policemen in the back had dismounted, armed with rows of muskets, aimed at the Mongols who were stationed with knives.

"Fire me." Zhao Yan looked impatient in the back, and ordered directly.

"Fire."

The armed police immediately aimed at the Mongols and pulled the trigger, and after a thud, the Mongols fell directly from their horses, and the horses fell in pools of blood.

As soon as the armed police opened fire, there was a rush of chickens and dogs, and the Mongols rushed out in groups, about a hundred people.

"Second platoon, open fire."

The musket exploded again, and when the smoke rose, the bullets flew out of the chamber, and the rushing Mongols were directly knocked down, and more than a hundred Mongols died and only a dozen were left running in a daze.

"Free fire."

The remaining dozen or so Mongols were quickly shot to the ground by the musketeers behind one after another, and each Mongol had at least two or three eye-catching.

The blood outside Yuanbao immediately made all the people in Zhangjiakou and Yuanerbao settle down, and they laid down their weapons under the violent drinking of the armed police.

The armed police then stepped forward and took control of all the people outside the fort.

"Enter the fort." Zhao Yan loved that with a wave of his hand, the armed police and a large number of accountants entered Zhangjiakou and Laiyuan Fort, and the armed police rushed into the fort like wolves and tigers, and arrested people when they saw them.

"Hold your head, squat down and don't move." Armed police pointed muskets at the people inside the fort and pinned the bewildered people around the corner.

Bands of police officers rushed into the shop, and the shopkeeper shouted in horror, "What are you doing?" What are you going to do? ”

"Ahh

After a while, a woman's screams were heard, and a policeman dragged a woman out of the shop, and the woman screamed all the way, but then the next thing did not happen, and he was escorted by the police outside to the crowd on the corner, and then thrown in.

Just when the armed police force was arresting people everywhere, the thousands of households in Zhangjiakou were brought to Zhao Yan with a panicked face, and when they saw one of the young men being protected in the middle, they guessed that this person must be Zhao Yan, and immediately knelt on the ground with a thud, kept kowtowing, and shouted: "The lower official doesn't know that the general is here, there are many slack, the lower official is guilty of death, and the lower official is guilty of death." ”

"General Ben doesn't blame you, so nervous." Zhao Yan looked at the thousand households with a smile and said to him, "Get up and talk!" ”

"General Xie, General Xie." After listening to Zhao Yan's words, the thousand households finally put their minds at ease and stood up with a panicked face, "I don't know if the general has any orders?" ”

"This general is here to come to Zhangjiakou to arrest the Jin merchants who are in the market with Jianjiao, and he is lacking a guide." Zhao Yan said.

"The lower officials are willing to serve the dogs and horses." When the thousand households heard this, they immediately knelt down and showed their loyalty to Zhao Yan.

"Take him down and recognize people." Zhao Yan said to the people below.

"Yes."

Soon the thousand households were taken down and began to recognize people in the crowd gathered together.

All Jin merchants will be arrested, and Jin merchants' industries will be seized.

The military and civilians of Zhangjiakou, as well as foreign merchants, were screened out first. As for those Mongols, just pull them out and cut them down, so as to save trouble.

Zhao Yan didn't talk about any reason this time, as long as the shops of the Jin merchants were to be confiscated, especially in the fur industry, he wanted to play monopoly.

Zhangjiakou's fur accounts for more than half of the Ming Dynasty. At present, Zhao Yan has controlled Liaodong and North Korea, and he can get a lot of furs every year, and then sweep away Mongolia and control the fur trade in Zhangjiakou, which is basically equivalent to a monopoly.

Of course, this time Zhao Yan wants to clean up all the Mongols on the Mongolian Plateau, and the supply of goods in the north will inevitably be affected in the future.

But when there are fewer things, the price will naturally be higher. It's really out of stock, it's a big deal not to wear fur, just wear a padded jacket instead!

This kind of luxury goods should be monopolized, and monopoly is very profitable.

…… The personnel in the two forts of Zhangjiakou and Laiyuan were quickly grouped, and all the soldiers and civilians in the fort were released, and those foreign merchants were also released.

The Mongols were pulled dozens of meters away and cut down one by one as soon as possible.

As for those Jin merchants, they were controlled and awaiting interrogation.

At the same time, the raid also began very quickly, which Jin merchant operated what business, this is very good information for investigation, and it has long been listed.

Every business was sealed, and then one by one it was raided.

The silver in the firm is first concentrated, and then the goods are grouped to classify the goods in a unified manner...... When those Jin merchants saw the soldiers coming in and out, they all had dead faces.

Zhao Yan searched his house and met with the shopkeepers of those shops, and the shopkeepers of hundreds of Jin merchants were hesitant, they were really frightened, and Zhao Yan comforted them with warm words.

These shopkeepers are also more valuable talents, they have been operating shops in Zhangjiakou for a long time, and they are very familiar with the business here in Zhangjiakou.

Zhao Yan is very thirsty for talents, if these shopkeepers can be recruited, the Ministry of Commerce will definitely be able to enrich a lot.

…… The raid lasted three days, and three days later, Zhangjiakou and Laiyuan Erbao were all raided.

"The seized cash was 3.6 million taels of silver, more than 200,000 pieces of fur, the value was about 5 million taels, and the rest of the goods were about 1 million taels." The accountant reported the count.

"It's almost tens of millions, hehe! Not bad. Zhao Yan said with a smile, "Leave those furs in Zhangjiakou and continue to sell, and move all the other things." ”

On the fourth day, Zhao Yan left Zhangjiakou.

And he left a thousand people in Zhangjiakou, controlled Zhangjiakou, and at the same time left a few people from the Ministry of Commerce, who were responsible for taking over the shops and fur workshops here.

There are more than 600 shops confiscated this time, and there are more than 40 fur processing workshops confiscated, and the tanning technology of these workshops is very high, which belongs to the top level of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhao Yan decided to set up a leather processing technology research group after going back, and now that the navy has been played, there will be more and more furs shipped back overseas in the future, but the processing methods are not very advanced.

Zhao Yan returned to Shanxi with 19,000 armed policemen, escorting hundreds of Jin merchants and many goods.

If you want to copy this kind of big family, you can really make people rich.

If you casually check the Jin merchants in Zhangjiakou, it will be tens of millions of taels of silver.

And the Jin merchants have always been accustomed to guarding a large pile of silver, dressed in tatters, and don't enjoy it much, and are rich people who live out.

And such a style is available all over the country.

Many landlords have thousands of acres of fertile land at home, but they can wear the worst and eat the worst, and all their minds are used to expand, and their sense of money is very strong, which is also one of the reasons why they are richer than others!

It's just that there are more rich people in Shanxi, but not all of those rich merchants are like this, but they are more frugal than merchants in other regions, and they are not as poor and luxurious as salt merchants.

…… At this time, Shanxi was silent in a terrifying atmosphere of raiding homes, which was undoubtedly extremely terrifying for those businessmen in Shanxi.

Under the command of Mao Yuanyi, the armed police raided the 28 Jin merchants on the list. The armed police directly entered the prefectures and counties where the 28 Jin merchants were located, and then directly locked on the targets, and one brigade after another rushed into the homes of the Jin merchants and arrested those Jin merchants and their families.

On the one hand, Mao Yuanyi asked people to confiscate the properties of Jin merchants, and on the other hand, he asked people to take the confiscated contracts to confiscate the properties of Jin merchants distributed in various parts of the north.

At the same time, those captured Jin merchants were gathered together for interrogation, and the main target of interrogation was the rest of the Jin merchants who collaborated with the enemy.

Not to mention, Mao Yuanyi really made a lot of Jin merchants, and in less than five days, there were twelve more on the list, although many of them were small-level, but the number was considerable, and new targets were constantly being pulled out.

Under the command of Mao Yuanyi, the armed police began to rush to various places.

Shanxi businessmen fell into a collective panic because Shandong's armed police had begun to blockade Shanxi, and there were checkpoints they had set up everywhere.

At the same time, local officials also began to refuse to give road guides to local businessmen, who could not move an inch in Shanxi, and once they were on the road, they were easily intercepted by armed police.

And the raids continued, and people were constantly involved.

After inquiring around, those Shanxi businessmen learned that the Shandong army was raiding the traitorous businessmen who had fornicated with Jianjiao, which made many Jin merchants even more panicked.

In Shanxi, most of the larger merchants were involved in the Manchu trade.

After all, the profits of trade with the Manchus were too amazing, and smuggling was relatively easy, as long as there was a certain amount of capital.

And those small and medium-sized businessmen are also a lot of mixed in.

It's just that many times the volume of their trade was not so much, and the Manchus did not keep an exact record.

When Zhao Yan arrived in Taiyuan, a large number of people and goods had already been escorted to Taiyuan. All the movable property seized was first escorted to Taiyuan, and the immovable property was first seized, and all the land was exempted from tenant rent, all small amounts of usury were exempted, and all large amounts of usury were exempted from interest, but they had to be recovered.

The busiest is undoubtedly the Ministry of Commerce, and a large number of industries owned by Jin Merchants have to be sorted out and received, and the workload is very large. Zhao Quan sent hundreds of capable managers in Shandong in a row, but the manpower was still not enough.

Almost every team that participated in the participation was able to confiscate a large amount of cash among those Jin merchants.

Some are hundreds of thousands of taels, some are millions of taels, and there are a few ranging from three or four hundred, five or six million taels.

"This time, it is estimated that 70 or 80 million taels of cash and easy-to-cash jewelry alone will be able to enter the account." Mao Yuanyi said to Zhao Yan, "Now the amount of silver confiscated has reached 40 million taels, and those jewelry treasures are tens of millions of taels, if we continue to strictly investigate, there will be even more." ”

"With those real estates, I'm afraid it can be hundreds of millions this time." Mao Yuanyi said.

"The capital of Jin Shang is really terrifying." Zhao Yan couldn't help but sigh, "I'm afraid that only the two Huai salt merchants can compare with them." ”

"However, the windfall profits of the private salt merchants relied on by the two Huai salt merchants are even worse than those of the Jin merchants in terms of business methods." Mao Yuanyi said.

The Jin merchants were the overlords of the north, a typical example of collusion between officials and businessmen, smuggling and collaborating with the enemy.

"But with so much money, the lord is really willing to give the emperor a quarter?" Mao Yuanyi asked.

"I coaxed him at the time." Zhao Yan smiled, "I didn't take it seriously. ”

"Uh......" Mao Yuanyi couldn't help but be stunned, "Then how much should we give?" ”

"Just give him two million taels to mean." Zhao Yan said, two million taels, that's a lot! If you don't know Jinshang Capital, you really think that two million taels is a quarter of it.

But the Jin merchant industry is all over the north, in addition to being driven out of Shandong, other northern provinces can find their shadow, they have a large number of pawnshops, ticket numbers, grain stores, inns, restaurants and other industries, most of these industries in the whole north are opened by Jin merchants.

The Jin merchants relied on the collusion of officials and businessmen to be very comfortable in the north.

At the same time, they also provided military supplies to the troops, and also provided supplies to the Mongols and the Manchus.

Under such a comprehensive operation, the financial resources of the Jin merchants are far greater than on the surface, and if those industries and real estate are counted, there are really a lot of net worth of tens of millions.

The fact that the Ming Dynasty does not have much silver in circulation does not mean that there are fewer assets confiscated. Real estate, jewelry, and all kinds of property can be counted as silver.

It's really hard to calculate how much silver you can get by confiscating these Jin merchants.

Giving the emperor two million taels is already interesting enough!

Who can say he's not interesting enough!

At the same time, the cabinet can also get six million taels of silver, which is enough for the cabinet to use for a while.

"If the investigation continues, how much more do you say will be brought out?" Zhao Yan asked.

"If the investigation continues, it is estimated that there will be no less than fifty Jin merchants involved." Mao Yuanyi said.

"Traitors cannot be tolerated." Zhao Yan said coldly, "Continue to investigate." ”

"Yes."

…… A large number of Jin merchants were arrested, and all the arrested Jin merchants were also escorted to Taiyuan Prefecture, and the personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence began to interrogate these Jin merchants.

He mainly interrogated the rest of the Jin merchants who were involved in trade with the Manchus.

When the Jin merchants traded with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they often dispatched several or even a dozen together, and even if they did not go out together, those who participated in the Jin merchants also knew some other Jin merchants.

Sure enough, the Ministry of Intelligence immediately found out that many fish had slipped through the net in such a first trial.

The number of Jin merchants on the list immediately increased to fifty-three, all of whom had been involved in trade with the Manchus, some dating back to thirty or forty years ago.

Even thirty or forty years ago, Zhao Yan didn't plan to let it go.

As for the question of authenticity and falsehood, I just casually confirm it, after all, Jin merchants, who made their fortune by colluding with officials and businessmen, and smuggling, do not have much value in Zhao Yan's system.

At the same time as raiding the house, Zhao Yan's public opinion tool "Daming Daily" is also actively cooperating.

As soon as the evidence of the Jin merchants' crimes was exposed, the world was in an uproar, and the world's scholars attacked the Jin merchants one after another.

betrayed the country and collaborated with the enemy, this real basin was enough to detain the Jin merchants to death.

But some scholars also questioned, Zhao Yan, as a martial artist, what qualifications did he have to confiscate the property of the Jin merchants? The Jin merchants betrayed the country and collaborated with the enemy, and it should be confiscated by the imperial court.

However, the excuse given by Zhao Yan then left everyone speechless.

Zhao Yan brought out the "Shandong Military Privilege Law", which stipulates that the Shandong military group can file lawsuits against criminal and civil criminals.

The arrested Jin merchants will be handed over to the Daming Supreme Court for trial.

As for the Jin merchants' properties, they were all confiscated under the supervision of the cabinet.

"The assets of the Jin merchants seized this time will probably be about 10 million taels, and this 10 million taels, the cabinet will be divided into 6 million taels, the royal family will be divided into 2 million taels, and the Shandong military group will also be divided into 2 million taels."

There are many nonsense on the "Daming Daily", but people have no way to question the real surname of the "Daming Daily".

It is said that the cabinet supervises the whole process, who can refute it?

It said that the confiscated property was only 10 million taels, who can find out?

And in terms of distribution, the cabinet accounts for the most, and it will be used to repair the water conservancy in the provinces, which is a great thing!

Those scholars were dumb as soon as the incident became angry.

But looking at Zhao Yan is still not pleasing to the eye, Zhao Yan has now begun to collect agricultural taxes, and the world's scholars can't help but see Zhao Yan as a mortal enemy.

However, there are also some scholars who have always maintained a supportive attitude towards Zhao Yan.

Most of those scholars were more radical young people, commonly known as 'angry youths', who felt deeply dissatisfied with the long-term military weakness of the Ming Dynasty, and were equally disgusted by some dark phenomena in society.

The rise of Zhao Yan changed the military weakness of the Ming Dynasty, and in just one and a half years, he eliminated the Jianyu who had suppressed the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and vigorously exterminated the thieves.

And this year, Zhao Yan decided to conquer Mongolia to completely solve these nomadic peoples who have always been a big problem for the Han people.

Under the continuous propaganda of the "Daming Bao", national consciousness began to sprout in the minds of many scholars, and a large number of radicals appeared.

At the same time, there are also a group of scholars who were born in industry and commerce, and after carefully reading Zhao Yan's "Theory of Industrial and Commercial Regulations", they also have a supportive attitude towards Zhao Yan.

Although Zhao Yan advocated the imposition of commercial tax, but the commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty was too low is indeed an undeniable problem, Zhao Yan in the theory of industrial and commercial regulations showed the idea, not blindly levy commercial tax, but also advocate that the political axe should protect the personal property of businessmen by innocent means, but also should open up the market for businessmen and so on.

Therefore, Zhao Yan's practice of levying commercial tax was also supported by many scholars from industry and commerce. The imposition of agricultural taxes was also supported by this group of scholars, but some of these scholars had families that were both big businessmen and large landowners, and some of them defected from the camp.

This time, Zhao Yan raided the Jin merchants, which can be said to be conclusive evidence and appropriate reasons. The scholars who supported Zhao Yan gradually gained the upper hand in the scolding war of verbal and written criticism.

And Chongzhen had a gloomy expression after seeing it.

He still underestimated Zhao Yan's influence, and the world did not lose the support of all elites just because Zhao Yan collected agricultural taxes in Shandong.

There are still many people who support Zhao Yan.

This made Chongzhen feel that he urgently needed to have his own public opinion control tools, and under Chongzhen's urging, the "Royal Newspaper" was quickly published.

It's just that the "Royal Newspaper" can only be sold in the capital for the time being, because the distribution points in the provinces have not yet been established.

In this case, it can only be issued around the Kyoshi first.

Moreover, Yang Sichang, who hosted the "Royal Newspaper", found that if the price of one copper plate per newspaper was used, it would cause huge losses.

After pondering carefully for a while, Yang Sichang found that "Daming Yuebao" used movable type printing, but movable type printing could not be done for a while.

After all, there are very few applications of movable type printing, and the equipment is too difficult to do.

In the past, if this was an order, the officials below could be brought in immediately, but now the administrative power is not in the hands of the emperor, and the cabinet probably does not have the spare time to help them get any movable type printing equipment.

Yang Sichang sent someone to Shandong to ask for printing equipment, but was refused.

This made Yang Sichang so angry that he was about to vomit blood, as long as he asked people to make their own movable type printing templates.

It doesn't take long for this template, but the printing technology, compared with Shandong, is a day and a place, Shandong's technical blockade is very strict, those important scientific researchers have to go through strict approval to go out of the province, and they will regularly send people to investigate the trend, if it is found that there is a leak of Shandong's superior technology, it will be arrested.

Putting aside this newspaper, Chongzhen didn't believe that there were only 10 million taels of it, because Zhao Yan raided the Jin merchants without any supervision.

If there are no ghosts, where can you avoid him and the cabinet?

There are definitely ghosts!

When Chongzhen gritted his teeth, Zhao Yan was laughing and counting the confiscated assets.

(To be continued)