Dominate the Country

Although Chen Ming loved Pengdao Yaotai, he did not stay there for a few more days, because it was surrounded by water and it was inconvenient to communicate information. After staying there for one more day, Chen Ming returned to Jiuzhou Qingyan.

The Fu Han Army captured Beijing, but the change of Beijing's hands did not mean the end of the war. Tens of thousands of troops fought out of the Great Wall and were fighting in Chengde. Hundreds of thousands of people will gradually return to their hometowns. Some mansions and stores in Beijing and Tianjin will be checked. The latter can be sold if they can be sold!

Although Chen Han did not plan to move the capital to Beijing, it would inevitably affect Beijing's economic development to a certain extent, but Beijing's superior geographical location, the convenience of the Bohai Bay, and the border with the northern grasslands will surely make this land stand up again in the future.

Moreover, as a secondary capital, how low can Beijing's political status be?

Besides, in addition to the battle in Chengde, Chen Ming also sent the Second Division of Shandong Army, plus the First Division of Beijing Garrison, which was quickly integrated by Feng Lian's men, to launch an offensive against Xuanhua Prefecture and Chahar. The Fu Han Army in the latter is still difficult to control, but at least the Mongols there should know how powerful the Fu Han Army is, and never come to seek death on their own!

Moreover, if Xuanhua is taken, Zhangjiakou will be controlled, which is a heavy blow and restriction to Shanxi's Jin merchants and the Six Leagues of Inner Mongolia. This is not to say that Zhangjiakou is the only channel of communication between Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, but that Zhangjiakou's business scale and "trade value" are the highest on the prairie.

At the same time, the capture of Xuanhua also poses a direct threat to Datong in northern Shanxi.

At the time of the decisive battle between Beijing and Tianjin, the main force of the Fu Han Army in Henan had already captured Luoyang City, and the Qing army retreated to Tongguan. The Fu Han Army then crossed the Yellow River from Shanzhou and Yuanqu, and had swept most of southern Shanxi, reaching Linfen and Lu'an.

When the situation in Beijing is settled, southern and northern Shanxi will attack together, and it will be easy to sweep Shanxi.

Chen Ming hates Shanxi merchants more than Yangzhou salt merchants. The latter were raised as fat pigs by the Qing Dynasty and harvested from time to time. During the uprising of the Fu Han Army, they contributed money and materials to the Qing Dynasty, and I don’t know how much they helped the Qing Dynasty. But what else can you expect from a pig? Besides, compared with the Shanxi merchants who speculated on foreign races at the beginning, the sins of Yangzhou salt merchants are not worth mentioning.

Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, Huang Yunfa.

The eight Shanxi merchants in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties were all wealthy merchants with millions of dollars, but their actions were veritable traitors according to the universal point of view. They often traveled back and forth between the inside and outside of the pass long before the Qing Dynasty entered the pass.

At the time when the Ming Dynasty was increasingly turbulent, they secretly transported food, cloth, cotton and other military supplies to the Qing Dynasty in addition to normal trade, provided various military and political intelligence in the interior, and engaged in political transactions. After the Qing army entered the Central Plains, they did not forget the eight great families who had established illustrious achievements for themselves. Shunzhi held a banquet in the side hall of the Forbidden City, summoned them personally, and gave them clothing and titled them "imperial merchants" (affiliated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs).

The leader Fan Yongdou was ordered to preside over trade affairs and "granted Zhangjiakou as a family business." The other seven families also received rewards.

The most regrettable thing for Chen Ming now is that the eight traitors who sold out their country are no longer glorious. Except for the Fan family, which still has considerable political power and wealth in the early period of the Qianlong Dynasty, the other seven families have long been buried in the dust of history. At least the main family has long disappeared, leaving only a small number of branches. If you mention Shanxi merchants in the market now, they are the rising stars such as Chang's family in Yuci, Cao's family in Taigu, Hou's family in Jiexiu, Qu's family in Qixian, and Kang's family in Pingyang.

These five families are the real giants in the industry, integrating grain, cloth, salt, silk, medicinal materials, tea, pawnshops, money houses and other categories. Moreover, although the traces of their fortunes are inevitably related to the government, they are absolutely different from Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku and others before. They succeeded more by their hard work and far-sighted pioneering and enterprising spirit, which is completely different from political speculation.

The Kang family in Pingyang is now under the control of the Fu Han Army, and none of the heads of the family have escaped. As the richest man in Shanxi, the Kang family had assets of "about 10 million" when they made their fortune in the early Qing Dynasty, which was not inferior to the eight imperial merchants in their heyday, but the latter had official hats on their heads. From the early Qing Dynasty to the middle of Qianlong, the Kang family was prosperous for more than a hundred years, and the family fortune never fell. Moreover, the Kang family knew how to do things. In years of famine, they would always donate some money and grain to provide disaster relief to refugees and decorate their facades. So over the past hundred years, although the Kang family was not only a big salt merchant, a big grain merchant, a big pawnbroker, and a big money bank owner, but also became the largest landlord in the entire Taiping Prefecture, they actually had a very good reputation in the minds of the local people and were recognized as a family of great kindness.

You should know that although many of the Kang family's lands were purchased from local landlords, more of them came from self-cultivating farmers in Taiping Prefecture. Whenever there was a disaster year or a bad harvest, before the time to collect rent and loans, the Kang family would kill the poor without mercy. But the Kang family knew how to decorate their facades, and their reputation in the local area was quite good.

And the Kang family, which had been rich for a hundred years, had a deep friendship with the Qing government. When the Fan family helped Kang Mazi to transport military grain to the northwest, the Kang family made great efforts. He had served as the governor, governor, and censor of Shanxi, and never failed to show filial piety during festivals. In the past few years, the Kang family has donated and borrowed money and grain to the Qing Dynasty for one or two million taels of silver. Such a family dared not to run away, and the Kang family was very courageous.

From Taiping Prefecture to the north is Jiexiu. In addition to the Hou family, there is also a Fan family. Now that the Fu Han Army has just entered Linfen [Taiping Prefecture City], the old and young Fan family have already fled to Shaanxi, and the Hou family has not fled either. Not only the Hou family, but also the Chang family, Cao family, and Qu family are watching the Fu Han Army's treatment of the Kang family.

These people have donated money and grain to the Qing Dynasty in the past few years. If the Fu Han Army really does not tolerate it at all, although they are unwilling to give up their vast family business, their lives are at stake, so they can only pack up their money and valuables and run to Shaanxi early.

The Kang family went from about 10 million before the reign of Emperor Kangxi to 10 million private property during the reigns of Emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong. It is the only giant in the entire Shanxi Jin merchants whose assets have exceeded 10 million. Behind the Kang family are the Hou, Cao, Qu, Chang and other families with assets ranging from 7 to 8 million silver taels to 3 to 4 million silver taels. There are also the He family in Qi County, the Li family in Wenxi, the Wang family in Lingshi, the Bai family in Taigu, the Meng family, etc., whose property is also worth millions.

The Qiao family and the Li family in Pingyao in Chen Ming's previous life have just become prosperous. The Guangshenggong, a passenger and cargo store jointly opened by the Qiao family and others, is now just an inconspicuous little brother in Shanxi. The Qiao family's property is not even worth 100,000 taels, let alone 1 million taels.

As for Chang Kaishen's eldest brother-in-law, the Kong family in Shanxi, it is not even an embryo.

The entire Shanxi Jin merchants are watching the Fu Han Army's treatment of the Kang family. From Taiping to Jiexiu, and then to the north are Pingyao, Qi County, Taigu, and Yuci. This road from Linfen to Taiyuan is dotted with Jin merchants one after another. No matter how arrogant they were in the past, now that the Fu Han Army is coming, these wealthy merchants who have repeatedly "donated money" to donate silver and borrow money for the Qing Dynasty in the past few years will tremble.

In the evening, five riders galloped to Houjiabao Village in Dahuaishu Town, Jiexiu.

Compared with the village of Houjiabao five years ago, which was not visited by carriages and horses, the village is now much quieter. What's more important is that this small village has built a wall more than ten feet high, and riders can see the Houjia Castle inside through the wall. The Houjia ancestral house faces north and south, with a high earthen mound in the north, and consists of two courtyards in front and back. It covers an area of ​​more than four acres. From a distance, the high walls are surrounded, like a castle. This is also the origin of its name. In the era of cold weapons, such buildings have strong resistance to ordinary bandits. The gate is a pavilion-style building with a thunder god column on top. The column head is carved into a pomegranate shape, and the head is carved into a dragon head. The carving is meticulous and meticulous.

"I am Kang Yi, and I want to see Master Hou for something." The first rider ran to the city and shouted loudly.

The Hou family of Jiexiu cannot be compared with the Kang family. The Kang family has risen for more than a hundred years, while the Hou family of Jiexiu has truly risen since the current Hou Xingyu. He set up Xietaiwei, Houchanglai, Xintaiyong, Xintaiyi, and Weishengchang in Pingyao; Yishunheng and Zhongyiyong in Zhanglan Town, Jiexiu; Liulaixin in Yuncheng, southern Shanxi, etc. Most of these businesses are grocery, silk, cloth, tea and money shops.

Hou Xingyu is not very old, and he was even younger when he was in power. Over the past decade, he has systematically integrated the power accumulated by the Hou family over the years, stepped into the increasingly competitive money business of Shanxi merchants, and firmly established his foothold. Let the family's assets quickly surpass the Fan family in Jiexiu from the beginning.

In other words, the decline of the Fan family witnessed the rise of the Hou family. Although there is no fundamental conflict between the industries of their two families.

Now the Fan family has fled, and they dare not not flee. The Tian family in Jiezhou was a branch of the third son of Tian Shenglan. As a result, a hundred years later, the main family of the Tian family had disappeared, but the Tian family in Jiezhou still lived a happy life. Although they were not rich, they had a batch of salt permits from Hedong, and their lives were much richer than ordinary small landlords.

As a result, all 87 members of the Tian family in Jiezhou were captured by the Fu Han Army. All the men were beheaded, even the babies were not spared. All the women were sent to labor camps, and there was no need to mention their fate.

This move scared the Fan family so much that when Fan Qingji heard the news, he sent a message to all the Fan family members - run away!

Even a branch of the Tian family was treated like this by the Fu Han Army. If the Fan family fell into their hands, I am afraid that even the women would not be able to save their lives. When the Fu Han Army killed the Tian family, it issued a notice, accusing the Fan family and eight other families of being traitors. A local scholar in Jiezhou who was ignorant of current affairs denounced the violent behavior of the Fu Han Army. As a result, he was thrown into prison on the same day and sentenced to three years of labor reform. Fortunately, his family was fine.

This move made the entire Shanxi literati dare not say a word.

Hou Xingyu was having dinner at this time. When he heard the servant's report, he rushed to the front hall without even taking care of his mouth.

"Kang Yi?" Hou Xingyu recognized the person. This middle-aged man with an unremarkable appearance was the second general manager of the Kang family.

"Master Hou, my master gave two million taels of silver to buy such an amount of bearer land bonds in two years. The Fu Han Army showed mercy, and the Kang family passed the test."

Kang Yi drank a sip of water, moistened his throat, and his face was full of a relaxed smile. Good, good. The Hou family did not escape, so the Cao family, Qu family, Chang family, Li family, Wang family, etc. behind them would not escape either.

As long as they are willing to spend money, their family property and lives can be saved. As for money, just consider it as a way to avoid disaster.

God knows how scared these Shanxi merchants are of the Fu Han Army. When the Fu Han Army first became famous, they killed all the wealthy merchants who donated money and paid taxes to the Qing Dynasty. According to the standards of the Fu Han Army at that time, the Kang family would have been cut into pieces long ago, not to mention buying two million taels of silver in land bonds to get rid of their crimes.

"Huh..." Hou Xingyu's face showed a long-lost sense of relief, "Spending money will get rid of disasters, spending money will get rid of disasters." He laughed and patted Kang Yi's shoulder, "Let's go and drink! Let's not stop until we are drunk today."

"Come on, call the eldest and second young masters over." Hou Xingyu has a total of six sons, the youngest is only two years old, the eldest has already married, and the second is also engaged. Now it seems that we can have another wedding banquet of the Hou family in the fall.

"Dad, do you think this two million taels is the amount of silver that the Kang family has donated to the Qing Dynasty in recent years? If that's the case, our family will have to spend five or six hundred thousand taels." After drinking, the eldest son Hou Tailai personally sent Kang Yi to his room to rest. When he came back, he saw his second brother Hou Enlai drinking tea and chatting with his father. He walked to the chair and sat down. Just a few steps away, he knew what he was talking about.

Hou Xingyu was going to sell his property to raise some money.

Even a big family like the Kang family would take two years to come up with two million taels of silver. Their Hou family couldn't compare with the Kang family.

"I'm going to waste one million taels of silver." Hou Xingyu said a number that was beyond Hou Tailai's expectations.

The Kang family was a big family with a big business. In recent years, they have donated five or six hundred thousand taels of silver to the Qing court, and there are so-called loans. In addition to food, mules and horses and other materials, the outside world said that there were more than one and a half million taels of silver. So Hou Tailai felt that the number of two million taels of silver was really not much compared to the Kang family. And by analogy, it would be enough for their Hou family to pay 500,000 or 600,000 taels.

"The Kang family didn't pay that much. Some of the numbers were false. In total, only 1.1 or 200,000 taels were wasted." Hou Xingyu felt warm all over, and he didn't know when he fell asleep. That night, the entire Hou family, regardless of gender, master or servant, slept very deeply. And the servants who were guarding the house outside ate the specially made rewards, and their faces were all smiling.

They ate the Hou family's food, wore the Hou family's clothes, and some of them even had their families in Houjiabao Village, so naturally they had to work for the Hou family. And who would want to die if they could avoid it?

With their bodies, could they withstand the blow of the Fu Han Army? It was basically sending themselves to death. So tonight they were so excited that they didn't feel sleepy at all all night.

"Have you ever heard of a bank, Master Hou?"

The next day, Kang Yi, who had rested well, talked to Hou Xingyu about the second business they came for. Bank! The sharp-eyed Kang family valued the bank at first sight. Money houses have no advantage over banks. When the four national banks intervened in the north, money houses in various places could pack up and close down.

"Of course I know." The money house business is a big part of the Hou family's industry. "Boss Kang still wants to get the two bank licenses? It's too... funny!"

"Haha, Boss Hou is joking. My master is not so confused. My master means that since the court can issue two private bank business licenses now, then next year, the year after, and the year after, who dares to say that there will be no new two bank licenses? If we miss the opportunity again, Shanxi merchants will fall behind too much!"

At dusk, the wind that had been blowing for a day was a little weaker, and the sky was slightly shimmering with blood-red clouds, wrapping a red sun and setting.

The night curtain was propped up in the sky, and a few stars flashed on the vast sky.

Feng Wenwen sat in a small sedan chair, carried by several maids out of Jiuzhou Qingyan, and all the way to Xinghuachun Pavilion.

Yes, Feng Wenwen entered the Old Summer Palace. Feng Lian was the first hero of the Fu Han Army to completely take over Beijing, and he was busy recently. Chen Ming specially allowed Feng Wenwen to enter the Old Summer Palace to recuperate. This was a great gift.

In fact, when Chen Ming said this, his dirty plan was open. And Feng Lian had no objection at all, as if he had suddenly won the lottery. At that moment, his smile was all wrinkled.

Chen Ming ordered Xinghuachun Pavilion for her to stay. This place was called Xinghua Village during the Yongzheng period. It was built based on the artistic conception of Du Mu's poem "Qingming" in the Tang Dynasty, expressing a simple pastoral interest.

The architectural layout of the entire scenic complex is casual, with low houses and sparse fences, paper windows and wooden couches. In the vegetable garden in front of the pavilion, various fruits and vegetables are planted according to different seasons, with a strong pastoral flavor. In spring, apricot blossoms are in full bloom. Emperor Yongzheng always comes here to taste fine wine and admire the apricot blossoms.

The architecture of this scene still had some farmhouse flavor during the Yongzheng period, but it was completely different during the Qianlong period. This guy's aesthetic view is much worse than that of Yong Lao Si. There is the Chunyu Pavilion with five main halls and front and back porches, the Xinghuachun Pavilion with double-eaved square pavilions, a vegetarian house, a land temple, and even a city gate. The artistic conception of the garden is completely based on the scenery of the mountain villa he imagined.

Ying'er opened the curtain of the sedan chair, and Feng Wenwen entered the room and sat on the couch with a dazed look. Ying'er opened her mouth to say something, but was pulled by Zi Yan on the side, and the two retreated silently.

"Don't talk too much. Is this something we can get involved in? Don't you want to live!"

"But..."

"There's no but. At least His Royal Highness didn't force it."

Zi Yan strode to the outer hall and called a maid who had come into the garden with her, "Go tell the kitchen that the girl doesn't want to eat anything today, so let's make it lighter. The girl will eat later."

"Quickly fetch some water. The girl needs water." Ying'er also came out with a slightly red face, calling out loudly.

At Jiuzhou Qingyan, Chen Ming also asked someone to bring water. There seemed to be a hint of fragrance on her skin. She smiled and walked into the bathtub, which was full of steaming water. Lying in the bathtub, Chen Ming emptied his mind and thought of nothing.

The battles of Zunhua, Chahar and Chengde were all fought smoothly. What was unexpected was that after Wang Ping ran away from the battlefield in Tanggu, he actually went out of the customs from Jielingkou and brought back a group of immigrants from the Eight Banners, adding a lot of labor to the Jizihao labor camp that the Fu Han Army was about to set up.

Wang Ping's troops were appointed by Chen Ming as the Second Regiment of the First Brigade of the Beijing Garrison Cavalry. His adventure earned him the title of Deputy Brigade Commander and the Second Regiment Commander. The brigade commander was Meng Can, the former commander of the Shandong Cavalry Regiment, and the Shandong Cavalry Regiment was led by Yang Lei.

A light footstep sounded in Chen Ming's ears, and a pair of small hands gently pressed on Chen Ming's shoulders. Chen Ming grabbed the hand and gently pulled it into his arms, splashing water, and the beauty fell into Chen Ming's arms. Wu Sanniang pouted, looking a little unhappy.

"Jealous. You look unhappy, let this prince love you well..." Chen Ming's laughter rang out in the bathtub.