At first glance, Zhou Chen, who heard about these smuggling matters in the secret of Youyu County, couldn't help but cast a puzzled look at Tie Shaotang.

How? With Youyu Linwei in charge of guarding the Shenhekou Pass, can he still make the smuggling of people in Youyu County so rampant?

Is there someone in Youyu Linwei who is in the same stream as these smuggling merchants, or is it something else?

Feeling Zhou Chen's gaze, Tie Shaotang's heart immediately tightened, and he secretly said no.

Tie Shaotang, who was afraid that Zhou Chen would misunderstand his dereliction of duty, hurriedly stood up and replied: "Lord Mingjian, although the last general does not dare to guarantee how honest the sergeants under his command are, for example, smuggling and other headless businesses, the last general dares to guarantee with his life, and this will definitely not appear in the right Yulin guard of the last general." ”

Speaking of this, Tie Shaotang's face couldn't help but have a strong look of helplessness, and he sighed bitterly and said, "The last general has also heard about the smuggling in Youyu County.

In fact, for example, steel and ordnance and other contraband, basically few merchants have the energy and qualifications to touch.

Most of the smuggled by these people were salt, silk, sugar and tea and other daily necessities, and these daily necessities did not pass through the Sanhekou Pass.

Most of those smugglers spent money to hire people who were proficient in the practice of lightening the body to cross the mountains and mountains, and smuggled these materials to the grasslands with manpower.

If those smugglers had transported these materials from Shenhekou, the last general would have ordered the Right Yulin Guard to take them down. ”

After listening to Tie Shaotang's story, Zhou Chen nodded slowly, and he said in a deep voice: "This official has a general understanding of the smuggling in Youyu County.

What was the situation before, this official will not delve into anything too much.

From now on, however, all trade and commerce on the steppe must be carried out through the mutual markets to be established at the entrance of the Shohekou. ”

As he spoke, Zhou Chen's eyes fell on Chen Yun and Xu Yan, the two brocade guards, and he asked aloud: "Thoroughly investigate all the merchants who smuggle through the boundary of Youyu County, and this official must know all their information." ”

Chen Yun and Xu Yan glanced at each other, and finally Chen Yun stood up and reported to Zhou Chenyu: "My lord, in fact, there is information about smuggling in various places in Jinyiwei.

Just like the situation in our Youyu County, the humble position and Xu Yan have already been reported.

It's just that for some reason, this information has not been presented to the Imperial Palace, so you don't know about it now. ”

As for what the reason is, Zhou Chen knows it even if he doesn't have to think about it.

It's nothing more than that some people in the Jinyi Guard are corrupt and bribe-taking, helping those smugglers to cover up the information.

Regarding what Chen Yun said, Zhou Chen had already expected it in his heart.

He just didn't want to pick out the filth of these high-level Jinyi guards in the open, so he pretended not to know and asked Chen Yun and Xu Yan to find out.

However, what Zhou Chen didn't expect was that Chen Yun and Xu Yan actually directly told him about the situation.

Since this is the case, then Zhou Chen naturally no longer hides something, he immediately asked Chen Yun and Xu Yan directly: "Tell me all the information!" ”

"Humble duty understands!"

Chen Yun bowed his fists and saluted, and then told the information he knew: "According to the information found by the humble position, the merchants who often smuggle through our Youyu County are basically those big businessmen in this province.

Not only in our Youyu County, but also in the entire northern border front, there are these big businessmen in this province smuggling.

Among them, the smuggling scale of the eight major merchants, such as Fan Jin and Liangtian, was the largest, and it could even affect several thousands of households at the headquarters of Jinyiwei in the capital to speak and intercept all the information about their smuggling. ”

Listening to Chen Yun's words quietly, Zhou Chen couldn't help but have a little aura in his mind, and he suddenly realized it.

Yes, in addition to the local Jin merchants in Shanxi, there are also those merchants who have the strength to smuggle in the border passes of the northern Xinjiang of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, long before the Ming Dynasty, the Jin merchants were just a cluster of sparks.

The reason why it was able to form a prairie fire during the Ming Dynasty was because as early as when Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, fought the world, the businessmen of Shanxi had supported Zhu Yuanzhang many times.

After Zhu Yuanzhang completely settled the Central Plains, he also reciprocated the favor and gave the Jin merchants a "salt citation" document.

Since then, the Jin merchants have been able to sell salt reasonably and legally, and thus have developed step by step.

As the saying goes, the world is bustling for profit, and the Jin merchants naturally hope that their business will grow more and more.

There is a good saying, rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, rely on the water to eat the water!

Shanxi was originally close to the border pass of the Ming Dynasty, and the horses, cattle and sheep in the grassland outside the pass have always been the sought-after goods in the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the eyes of the Jin merchants were naturally focused on the trade in the grasslands outside the Guan.

Whether it is the Mongolian tribe on the grassland or the Jurchen tribe in the northeast, there are traces of Jin merchants.

At present, it is only the Jurchen tribe that is still subjugated under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, but in today's affairs, Mongolia and the Ming Dynasty have cut off trade exchanges.

There is no doubt that the behavior of these Jin merchants must be out-and-out smuggling.

If Zhou Chen wanted to really handle the matter of opening up the mutual market, then these Jin merchants engaged in smuggling trade with Mongolia would be an obstacle that Zhou Chen had to face.

Fingers tapped lightly on the table, and Zhou Chen quietly pondered for a few breaths.

He asked Chen Yun and Xu Yan again, "Let's not mention other places for the time being, let's talk about how many Jin merchants are smuggling through the boundary of Youyu County?!" ”

This time, Xu Yan stood up, and he bowed and said: "Lord Qiqi, according to the previous investigations of the inferior ranks, the smuggling of Jin merchants through the boundary of our Youyu County is mainly based on the Fan and Tian families among the eight major Jin merchants.

The rest are some small Jin merchants, most of whom transport the goods to Youyu County, and then the Fan and Tian families will act on their behalf.

While the Fan and Tian families were engaged in smuggling themselves, they also took a cut from the Jin merchants of these small households. ”

Jin Shang Fan's family? Isn't it the Fan family who will have a Fan Yongdou in the future, smuggling grain, grass, iron, and arms to the Jurchens in Liaodong, and selling looted property on behalf of the Jurchen tribe?