Mystery Makes Me Strong

After Wen Rensheng finished these preparations, he started further actions.

That is to do business and accumulate capital.

If you have money, you will have food, if you have money, you will have armor, if you have armor, you will have soldiers, and if you have soldiers, you will fight.

Only after the war can you accumulate military merits.

Only those who have military merits can achieve generals and feudal towns.

The rulers of the Ming Dynasty generally did not allow officials to hold posts in their original places, the purpose was to prevent local power from growing stronger.

However, the frontier is an exception.

Because the northern captives, that is, the Mongols often invaded, many generals had to be appointed by locals.

Later, the rise of Donglu was the same.

Because outsiders are not familiar with the local geographical environment, they are the meat delivery material after they come.

Moreover, outsiders cannot stay here for a long time, morale will drop, soldiers will be homesick, and generals will also be homesick.

In ancient times, the marching was slow, and if the guest army was stationed for a long time, they could not be rotated in time. If they could not be rotated, the guest army would become locals over time.

The locals are familiar with the local conditions and have stronger combat effectiveness.

In order to prevent foreign invaders, the imperial court had to make an exception to allow locals to serve as generals in the local area for a long time.

This is actually a replica of the rise of thieves and bandits in the Han Dynasty, which led to the rise of state herdsmen.

There were foreign invaders in the Ming Dynasty, and they could not be eradicated, so there was no way but to let generals rise up and let them guard the side wall from generation to generation.

The imperial court had no choice but to accept the existence of the frontier general's house by default.

The lesser of two evils.

Of course, the generals were also subject to various restrictions, and the governors and governors who served as civil servants suppressed the generals.

Let them be submissive in front of civil officials without speaking.

Why do they bow their heads like this: because their logistics supplies are in the hands of the court.

In the borderlands, it is bitterly cold, and the food production is scarce, so they have to rely on the imperial court to provide military rations.

Can't feed too many elite soldiers.

If there is no food, even if you want to rebel, you can't get big.

And the reason why Donglu became big is because they mastered the method of farming and reclamation, they were able to produce food by themselves, and then they were able to fight stronger and stronger, turning Dingkou into their own strength.

The Governor Wang where Wen Rensheng lives now is specifically Governor Yanghe.

The whole process is the governor Yang and the local military affairs.

Of course, his role as governor will not be fixed, and he may be transferred to the south someday.

Because he is a civil servant, unlike local generals who have a fixed foundation.

In fact, military generals will also move towns, but this is relatively rare.

Now the main task that Governor Wang is facing, the main military affairs, is the invasion of the Mongols.

And now the Mongols are basically not a threat at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

One or two thousand servants can go deep into the grassland and defeat them.

The reason is also very simple. They have lost their fighting spirit and forgotten their fighting skills after the long-term horse market trade and the spread of lamas.

They are accustomed to guerrilla warfare on horseback and archery, but they dare not fight in formation.

Dare not launch a tough charge, dare not face the opponent's charge.

When they found the enemy coming, they dared to fight around.

The Mongols conquered the world. Apart from the cavalry and archery in people's minds, the most important force is the heavy cavalry, which can break the formation in the field, not the soft arrows that can only shoot light arrows.

That thing can't deal with heavy armored infantry, and it will only be at a disadvantage when facing infantry infantry.

When the two sides shoot at each other, the cavalry can't take advantage of it and can only retreat. If the opponent has elite cavalry, they can be surrounded and wiped out.

The current Mongols will only use a large number of herdsmen to ride Ding, relying on the number to play assault.

When the opponent is not wearing armor or forming an formation, use the bow to kill.

Then rely on a small number of armored cavalry to win a battle.

That is to say, ordinary battalion soldiers who deal with beggars often choose to retreat and disperse when facing servants.

Generally, the servants have horses.

Because one of their important tasks is to protect the main family from fleeing when they are disadvantaged in battle.

How can you cover without a horse?

In this case, the Mongols are okay to fight some unarmored soldiers, but they are fragile defeats against elite formations.

Especially in the face of the hard charge of elite cavalry with double armor, they can only choose to break up.

If they collapse, they will be killed behind the scenes.

Not to mention the powerful Jurchens, they couldn't even beat the servants of the generals of the Ming Dynasty.

Now Wen Rensheng is looking for merchants in the city.

He is a scholar at any rate, so of course he can't do business in person.

An agent must be found to help him make money.

Following the typical current model, the front is the businessman shopkeeper, and the back owner is the model of the rich and powerful.

He asked Li Da Li Er Li San, the three newly adopted sons, to go to the city to collect business information.

What business do they do, who is behind them, how many goods can be sold every day, and how much profit is made every day, find out as much as possible.

For this reason, Wen Rensheng also found a poor old shopkeeper who had retired, and taught them how to read and calculate accounts every night.

It's not technology that's ahead of its time.

so they can remember.

At least one should know how many tens, hundreds, and thousands are.

Not long after, Wen Rensheng's agent came to the door on his own initiative.

One evening, the concierge, Li Da's father, sent a greeting card and gift list.

Wen Rensheng saw that the owner of the post was a merchant in the city.

But the gift list is very rich, a full 5000 taels of silver.

This is still the early results, and there will be more later.

Why are so many sent?

This amount is enough to impress Ge Lao to do some things alone.

Of course, the premise is that you have a channel to give it to Ge Lao, and Ge Lao will not accept everyone's money.

Accepting your money means that you have almost the same status as Ge Lao.

And this money is not given to others, why would it be given to him?

Wen Rensheng quickly figured out what happened.

Needless to say, this merchant was chosen as the person in charge of the imperial court and buying.

What is called and bought?

This is a cruel plunder of the merchant class by the imperial court.

That is, the imperial court needed to make some goods, so they told the merchants, and they took out the money and asked the merchants to prepare the goods and then buy them.

Sounds great, right?

Lie down to make money, and sell goods underwriting.

It would be naive to think so.

It is said that it is for the merchant to prepare, and you will know when you think about it, how could the court give you the money for nothing?

If you can give you 1,000 taels of goods, it is absolutely conscientious.

It's more like not giving a cent.

You also need to prepare the goods within a limited time.

Not only that, but you have to pay an extra bribe.

Otherwise, the officials can repeatedly toss you in the name of unqualified goods.

In short, as long as you know which merchants to sell and buy, you are ready to flee with the whole family, and commit suicide if you can't escape.

Or just quickly find a strong backer.

But how can it be done temporarily?

No one dares to accept the money given away, because choosing you means that there is an official power to eat you.

Usually you don't have any relationship, and you think about it when things come to an end, how is it possible?

There is no way out.

Wen Rensheng is very clear that even in later generations, there are many bankrupts who are owed for the project because of the project.

Originally, it was 20 million or 10 million wealth Freedom House, but because I couldn't control it, I thought I could do it, but it turned out to be unlucky.

But the benefit of future generations is that those who wish to take the bait.

You feel that you can't bear the risk, and if you don't do it, no one can force you to take it.

It's not like these days, if you are selected, if you don't accept it, you will be disobedient, just wait for the house to be ransacked.

There are countless small and medium-sized merchants that have gone bankrupt.

It is said that the business tax is low, but it does not mean that the business environment is good.

Exactly the worst.

Because the court can't accept you, but the officials will have 9 ways to accept you.

So when he saw the gift from this merchant, Wen Rensheng understood what was going on.

If others don't answer, he will.

Others dare not do it, he does it.

So Wen Rensheng asked Li Da's father to call him in.

He received the man in the side room.

After all, it is a merchant, so it is impossible to be in the main room or study room.

The visitor was a middle-aged man in his 40s with a sad face.

The look in the eyes is still a little clever, but at this time it is full of heaviness.

As soon as he entered, he immediately knelt down to Wen Rensheng and kowtowed heavily.

"The villain Xie Changgeng has met Master Li."

"Okay, get up now, I understand what you mean by giving such a precious gift." Wen Rensheng said directly.

"Thank you for your understanding, my lord. If I pass this test, I am willing to give all my family property to my lord." Xie Changgeng got up cautiously, lowered his head, not daring to look at Wen Sheng.

"I know what you want, you want to avoid the matter of buying and selling."

"My lord is wise, and my villain implores my lord to lend a helping hand."

"Oh, then do you know who ordered your home?"

"Reporting to my lord, it is Mr. Hu, a sixth-rank experience in the Qing military hall in the city." Xie Changgeng replied cautiously.

"Oh, then why did he fixate on you? By chance?" Wen Rensheng asked.

"This, the villain dare not lie. The villain's previous backer was Mr. Zheng, the magistrate of the city. However, Mr. Zheng was impeached by Wu Xun and resigned. The villain has not found a new backer yet." Xie Changgeng replied carefully.

"Very well, what business are you doing?"

"The small one is in the business of grain stores. There is one store in the east market and one store in the west market in the city."

"How do you usually collect and sell food?"

"Returning to my lord, the villain collects grain because the two taxes have to be paid in summer and autumn, and the households need money to pay taxes, so they collect miscellaneous grains and fine grains at a low price, and then sell grain at a high price when there is no harvest between spring and summer. Buy low and sell high, this business must have the backing of officials and adults."

Wen Rensheng nodded: "Your business is pretty good, so how much grain can you harvest every year?"

"You can collect 10,000 taels of grain every year, earning about 2,000 taels of silver, that is to say, you can earn two taels of silver for one shi. Among them, 1,000 taels will be given to Zhengzhi County, and 500 taels will be managed. The villain has worked hard for a year, but he only saves three or four hundred taels hard-earned money." Xie Changgeng looked distressed, "If the adult can help the villain pass the test, the villain is willing to give all the silver to the adult."

"Okay, if you don't make money, how can you care about it? From now on, don't say such things with me." Wen Rensheng shook his head.

Xie Changgeng quickly knelt down and kowtowed.

He suddenly realized that although the boy in front of him was young, he was full of resourcefulness and a very accurate judge of people.

Sure enough, it was the same as the recent rumors.

No wonder the governor relied heavily on him, maybe he could really pass this time.

"Then how much money do you have now?" Wen Rensheng stared at him and asked.

"Don't dare to lie to the adults. The younger one has been engaged in this business for 40 years. His family wealth, fields and houses total 20,000 taels."

"Twenty thousand, and without a backer, no wonder someone wants to eat you." Wen Rensheng nodded.

Xie Changgeng just kowtowed on the ground, this time Wen Rensheng didn't let him get up either.

"I also understand. I also accepted your gift. I will take care of your shop in the future. I will give you a letter, and you can show it to Mr. Hu, saying that I set up a banquet in Taibailou. If he doesn't come to my dinner, you can come to me again." Wen Rensheng said lightly.

Then he wrote a post.

"Thank you, sir." Xie Changgeng kowtowed again and again.

Wen Rensheng quickly wrote a letter and asked Xie Changgeng to take it back.

The content is very simple, just invite the other party to eat.

after one day.

Xie Changgeng came back with a dejected expression on his face.

"Reporting to my lord, then lord Hu said that he occasionally felt cold and couldn't come to your banquet." Xie Changgeng still said cautiously.

"Hmph, it's exactly as I expected."

Wen Rensheng had already figured out the factions of officials in the city in the past few days.

In other words, I have figured out the interest groups.

This is the characteristic of the late Ming Dynasty.

gang.

Behind this Hu experience is Wu Xunyan.

He and this Wu Xunyong were Jinshi in the same year.

That's a tough relationship.

If there is anyone in the local area who can not give face to the governor, it is the inspector.

Compared with the governor, the rank of the governor is only the seventh rank, or even lower, but he is more trusted by the court.

Because the governor has gradually become a local official.

The inspectors are still officials sent by the imperial court, and they only serve for one year.

He is the real representative of the court.

And it is responsible for monitoring local officials, including the governor himself.

This is the principle of size matching.

The grade is small, but the supervisory weight, can't do things, but can deceive people.

This makes many officers unlucky.

It can also ensure that if there are rebels among the officials, they can be discovered in time.

However, they can't deal with those who are sitting in the land, that is, the chieftains of the Jiangmen, who have strong local forces.

They can only deal with itinerant officials.

Officials without roots.

That's why this Hu experience has such confidence that he doesn't give himself face.

Of course, Wen Rensheng also understood that he had just entered the scene and hadn't done any major things yet.

Outsiders don't know their ability to know people.

It is this reason that they do not care about themselves.

Well, let the other party take a good look at your own energy.

Since he could only use the skills of this era, Wen Rensheng naturally used the methods of this era.

Then Wen Rensheng called his three adoptive sons, Li Da, Li Er, and Li San.

"Today I will teach you something."

"Go and talk to the family members of Wu Xunguan, talk more, hook up more, and I will give you money. Your purpose is to find out about his rampant crimes."

After Wen Rensheng finished speaking, he took out another 50 taels of silver, which was a huge sum of money.

"My lord, this money should be paid by the villain." Xie Changgeng said hastily.

"Okay, you have already sent me a huge sum of 5,000 taels, how can I let you pay again? I am here to do things with money, and I will never owe you anything." Wen Rensheng wanted to stop his character.

Otherwise, in the future, even if some people want to repay, they will not dare.

Give you money, if you don't do anything, who will pay you back in the future?

Unless you grab it by force.

But grab once or twice, the number of times is too many, one is low efficiency, and the other is that you will eventually meet Yang Zhi and Li Kui.

That is to say, the eunuchs are not afraid of this, but some eunuchs were beaten to death when extorting money outside, not just one or two.