Those bureaucrats and scholars put on the emperor's head all day long, and Zhu Youxiao was not unheard of in the palace. After years of development, Jinyiwei and Dongchang have sorted out the intelligence networks of all provinces in the country and increased the construction of intelligence sites.

What is the most important thing in engaging in intelligence?

That's the money!

If you have money, you can develop a lot of spies, you can arrange a lot of eyeliner, and you can buy all kinds of people.

"Your Majesty, there have been rumors all over Jiangnan recently, all saying that the emperor will starve the people to death if you don't give the people a way to live." Tian Ergeng said to Zhu Youxiao: "There are also rumors that after the emperor levied taxes on a large scale, he spent most of the money on enjoyment, and all the wine ponds and meat forests came out. ”

"Did the rumor-mongers find out?" Zhu Youxiao asked very calmly, while drinking tea leisurely. Tian Ergeng reported: "Some have been found, and they are all those businessmen who are spreading rumors. ”

"What about the nobles?" Zhu Youxiao continued to ask.

"They hid behind the merchants and gave advice, and the literati gathered every day, and every time they gathered, they were full of sorrow and weeping." Tian Ergeng replied.

"Huh! It's really embarrassing for these people, they should be panicking now! Zhu Youxiao smiled, and Tian Ergeng said: "Your Majesty, these people are indeed very panicked now. In the face of the industrial and commercial development of Beizhili, those businessmen became more and more difficult to do. And those nobles and merchants are basically one, and they are also afraid that the new system will be extended to the whole country. ”

With the development of the industry in Beizhili, many businesses are indeed not easy to do. For example, in the country's steel smelting, private steel mills have basically closed down 90%. The remaining 10% is also lingering.

Also in the textile industry. Beizhili has also developed very rapidly. This has caused a greater impact on the textile industry in Songjiang and other places, there is fierce competition in raw materials alone, every year the cotton is not yet mature, and the cotton merchants in the north and south begin to order cotton in advance.

Last year, the situation was slightly better, and the cotton planting area at the junction of the three provinces in the Yellow River basin showed a large increase, while the cotton planting area in the northern provinces also increased.

And this year, Beizhili began to increase the cotton planting area. In order to provide sufficient supply of raw materials for the textile industry.

The main reason for increasing the cotton planting area in Beizhili is that Liaodong will be able to produce grain by this year, and the grain supply will still be balanced at that time.

The planting of cotton can not be ignored, as the so-called food and clothing, when you are full, you have to dress warmly. Now that the Xiaoice period is coming, the climate is generally cooling, not only the demand for cotton clothes and quilts in the north, but also the Yangtze River Basin.

In fact, there is a greater demand for cotton all over the country, and of course, cotton production in this era is still in a state of self-sufficiency in many places.

The Ming of this era. The population is between 200 million and nearly 300 million, and the land will not be enough. It is because the land has to produce not only food, but also cotton.

The area where cotton is grown commercially in the country, that is, the triangle at the junction of Jiangsu, Shandong and Henan is the largest, followed by the Jiangnan region.

Now that the Northeast region has entered the development, the land pressure has decreased, and Beizhili has also begun to increase the scale of commercial cotton planting, basically within a year or two, the shortage of cotton is no longer a problem. However, the premise is that foreign trade exports do not grow rapidly.

In addition, many industries in Beizhili have developed, and they have also successively impacted some manufacturing industries in the Jiangnan region, and the factory owners in southern Jiangsu are not so happy.

Those merchants were afraid that the royal capital would go south, and the Royal Bank, which had already gone south at that time, was resisted by many businessmen.

Many of the scholars in Jiangnan are themselves businessmen, and the two are inextricably linked. The bureaucrats were also afraid of the emperor's attack on the bureaucrats of the southern provinces at this time.

Therefore, it is also a very normal move to start smearing Zhu Youxiao.

The people in the cities and towns south of the Yangtze River have also been agitated because of the decline in the employment rate, and these are all factors of instability.

"It's obviously not okay for these people to jump up and down and leave it alone. Tell to go down and let the brocade guard act. Officials, literati, and businessmen who were found to be discussing the court and spreading rumors were arrested and tortured. "Zhu Youxiao decided to sacrifice the brocade guards to let those guys who jumped up and down taste the taste of 'white terror'.

At the same time, he instructed Tian Ergeng: "You go and inform Dongchang and let them act together, and the intelligence and personnel of the two sides will be shared." As long as you catch those people who spread rumors, let them go in and take off a layer of skin. ”

"Obey." Tian Ergeng knew that the emperor was really ruthless.

"Go ahead!" Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, and Tian Ergeng immediately retreated.

Jinyiwei and Dongchang, after receiving the order, immediately took action. Eyeliner began to be widely distributed in the provinces south of the Yangtze River, and all teahouses, wine shops, inns and other public places, as well as various residential areas where people gathered, scattered eyeliner everywhere.

At the same time, he also bought some scholars to attend various literati gatherings.

Those merchants and officials also secretly bought them.

As the saying goes, money can make ghosts grind, especially in the Jiangnan region at the end of the Ming Dynasty, which was full of money worship, and it was too easy to develop eyeliner.

Jinyiwei and Dongchang soon set off the first wave of mass arrests. Thousands of people were arrested at one time, including officials, businessmen, literati, and ordinary people.

However, when it comes to dealing with it, it is very different.

For those officials and scholars who ate the food of the court and smashed the rice bowl of the court, they were all beaten first, and then the crime was dug deeply. stripped of official positions, removed from fame, and then exiled from his home.

For those businessmen, a high fine was imposed, and if they couldn't get the money, they were killed in the prison of the Zhenfu Division.

Ordinary people don't have much oil and water, and after they are caught, they basically carry out some ideological education, scare and scare twice, and then let them go. In some cases, if the circumstances are serious, they will be arrested and sent to re-education through labor.

Tian Ergeng and Wei Zhongxian, it didn't take long for them to count the money until they were soft, and after a raid and a fine, Jinyiwei and Dongchang both earned a lot of money.

Of course, most of this money has to be handed over to the state treasury, but they also have a commission, and some of it will be used for the expenses of Dongchang and Jinyiwei.

The actions of the factory guards once again aroused the common hatred of the bureaucrats and scholars, and the reprimand was not interrupted within a few days, drifting like snowflakes to the Beijing Division.

However, Zhu Youxiao was still indifferent and ordered the factory guards to continue to arrest.

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao ordered to speed up the distribution of troops in various provinces, and the Supreme Command continued to transfer troops to various provinces soon after the beginning of spring.

The current troop deployment was carried out on a large scale.

In addition to the establishment of a garrison brigade in each province, Zhu Youxiao dispatched two infantry divisions to the Jianghuai region, while an infantry division was dispatched to the Huguang region and an infantry division was also deployed in Fujian.

With a good military arrangement, Zhu Youxiao will be able to unleash his hands and feet and launch a continuous 'white terror' against those bureaucrats and businessmen who smear him. (To be continued.) )