Flowers on the other side [Comprehensive Red House]

When Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou returned to the capital, they heard that more than a dozen merchants in Shanxi had been copied before they could see the emperor's return. He was taken to the capital by Jin Yiwei without fail.

This is a huge event.

There is no need to deliberately inquire. When they were waiting to meet the emperor, they knew that these people were imprisoned by their families for violating the border ban.

This border ban has been promulgated for many years, but the soldiers guarding the border have no military pay, no food and grass. In order to survive, these businessmen who violated the border ban will be given money. , Gunpowder, etc. are transported out of customs.They turned a blind eye to the ginseng, deer antler, animal skins, pearls, etc. they exchanged with Jianzhou Jurchen as if they didn't see it.Even military officers will buy shares in these businessmen to make huge profits.

The initial reason that caused these businessmen to go to Datong, Zhangjiakou and other places was the imperial court's "opening the Chinese law".Simply put, the border town is not suitable for farming due to the war, and grain needs to be transported from the inland.

The opening method is roughly divided into three steps: reporting the middle, keeping the support, and changing the market.Salt merchants must first register with the government of Daming, and transport the grain to the granary in the designated border defense area in accordance with government requirements.Get the receipt from the warehouse of the frontier army, and use the receipt to go to the registered government office to exchange for salt Yin; Shouzhi is to wait for salt at the designated salt farm with Salt Yin.The market is to transport the obtained salt to the designated area for sale.

However, due to the huge loss in the process of grain transportation, salt merchants hired labor to cultivate wasteland near Jiubian. After the autumn harvest, they put the grain in the warehouse in exchange for salt, so as to obtain greater profits.

Such an approach did not do any harm to the Ming court. On the contrary, it played a positive role in the prosperity of the border towns and the food reserves of the border guards in the early Ming Dynasty.

But the profits obtained by the salt merchants aroused the greed of the rich and powerful. They begged for salt from the emperor, and then resold it to the salt merchants for profit.This phenomenon is called "nest occupation".Later, when King Fu became a vassal, he obtained an additional grace of three thousand Yanyin from Shenzong every year.

This phenomenon intensified, destroyed the open middle system, and seriously affected the government's fiscal revenue, forcing the imperial court to change the salt law to make up for the country's loss in salt tax.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, the salt law was changed to "Zhe Se System". "Zhese system" means that the right to operate the salt industry is given to another group of merchants, who can use money to buy salt in the mainland, and then transport it to various places for sale.The merchants used silver instead of rice to pay to the imperial court, and the imperial court distributed the silver to the towns on the nine sides.The salt tax was handed over to the court.Taicang suddenly had an income of more than one million taels of silver, but the merchants no longer farmed the fields, and the food reserves of the frontier army were greatly reduced.

This led to the rise of salt merchants in Yangzhou, which hindered the development of Shanxi merchants in Daming, and the momentum of Shanxi salt merchants turned down.

When Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty succeeded Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Yiqing, as a veteran of the three dynasties, saw that the grain reserves in the nine borders were insufficient, so he actively wanted to restore the original "opening the Chinese law".With Yang Yiqing at the head, coupled with the followers of insightful people, after this proposal was repeated for decades (Yang Yiqing had passed away for 38 years), Mu Zong agreed to resume the "opening of Chinese law" in the second year of Longqing (1568).

Mu Zong ordered Pang Shangpeng to be the censor of Youqian Capital, to manage the salt administration, farmland, and supervise the nine borders.Pang Shangpeng and Wang Chonggu, governor of the three borders of Shaanxi, planned in detail how to carry out garrison development in the border areas.

Mu Zong's wish is good, and Pang Shangpeng is also working hard.However, they ignored the background of Wang Chonggu, the man who planned the matter, which led to the entanglement of interests in the matter and finally to nothing.

This involves the fact that "officials and businessmen" have become one.

Wang Chonggu is from Shanxi.His elder brother Wang Chongyi was a salt merchant; his elder sister married Shen Jiang, the son of a salt merchant in Puzhou; Sister's parent and child.

Under such circumstances, no matter how good the plan to restore the reclamation of border towns is, it will be doomed to fail because it will harm the interests of Shanxi salt merchants.

Then it evolved back to the original merchants who transported grain to the border in exchange for salt.However, after the merchants contracted the grain in the south, they refused to risk huge losses to transport it to the border.They simply collected grain in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Liaodong, and at most in Henan, Hebei, and Shandong.The few provinces whose food production is already barely, because of the "cheating" of these businessmen, have led to insufficient stocking in Changping warehouse.In the event of a famine, it cannot play the role of easy food prices and disaster relief.

However, Zhang Siwei and Wang Chonggu, the chief assistants of the Ming Dynasty, after unremitting efforts, persuaded the court to agree to open markets in several areas on the Nine Sides, and also allowed the people to go to Mongolia, Jurchen and other tribes and areas to do business.Shanxi merchants transformed into foreign trade.

The transformed Shanxi merchants have achieved great success in this new battlefield.However, when the imperial court discovered that the outflow of ironware and gunpowder led to the growing power of Mongolia and Jurchen, and even threatened Ming Dynasty, it issued a "border ban order".

Especially after the Saarhu War, transactions with Jurchen tribes were completely prohibited.

However, Shanxi merchants who have established a reputation for trading with Jurchen and have gained huge benefits from trading with Jurchen are unwilling to give up the profits they have obtained.When the Jinyiwei sent by Zhu Youxiao arrived in Zhangjiakou, they first sealed off the entire Zhangjiakou, and seized all the warehouses that had accumulated a large amount of war preparations in Zhangjiakou and were waiting to be shipped out of Daming.Under surprise interrogation, the border general involved in the case was also arrested.

Zhangjiakou was closed, and the imperial army sent by the Beijing camp took over the garrison of Zhangjiakou.

Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou had been in Liaodong for a month, and this was not the only thing that happened in the capital.Before they could get to know the officials who were waiting for an audience, a young eunuch came out to announce that they were going to have an audience with the emperor.

The waiting officials all understood that Liaodong was the emperor's first concern.As imperial envoys who had just returned from Liaodong, the two of them were naturally summoned by the emperor immediately.

After Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou saluted, Zhu Youxiao gave them seats.

"Yang Qing and Zuo Qing have worked hard."

The two quickly stood up and replied, "It is the duty of a minister to drive His Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao said gently: "Sit." But his voice began to change, and it became hoarse, which made Yang and Zuo stunned.

Liu Shimin directed the little eunuch to serve tea to the two, and explained to the puzzled two with a smile, "Your Majesty has grown up."

Yang and Zuo suddenly realized, and congratulated the emperor again and again.

Liu Shimin said for Zhu Youxiao: "Master Yang, Lord Zuo, Your Majesty is very concerned about Liaodong, Lord Xiong, Lord Zhou, etc., and would like to know the details of the latest situation."

Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou reported for an hour, and they were very praised by the emperor. They also got a three-day holiday and some rewards, which were sent out by Liu Shimin.

Liu Shimin said to Yang Lian: "Our family hasn't congratulated Mr. Yang on his promotion yet."

Yang Lian's performance after Guangzong's serious illness not only made him a minister of Gu Ming, but also established his position among courtiers.Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne, and he made great efforts.His promotion is beyond doubt.

Zuo Guangdou congratulated Yang Lian with a smile, and then asked Liu Shimin.

"Liu Neixiang, where did Wenru move to?"

Liu Shimin said with a smile: "You have appointed Master Yang to be a doctor in the household department as soon as you left the capital."

It was a normal promotion from Shizhong to Langzhong. Yang Lian thanked Liu Shimin for his report, left the Forbidden City with Zuo Guangdou, and returned home to rest.

In the evening of the next day, Zhou Chaorui and Yuan Huazhong dragged Zuo Guangdou to Yang Lian's residence to celebrate Yang Lian's promotion to the fourth-rank household doctor.

When Zhou Chaorui was in Guangzong, he was promoted to the official department to Shizhong, but after Zhu Youxiao took the throne, he put all the six departments under the Metropolitan Procuratorate.Although there are some "old people" in the Six Divisions who want to take the opportunity to get more power to speak from the courtiers, it is also inseparable from the emperor's desire to reduce the power of the Six Divisions.

He was sent to check the farms around the capital, leaving early and returning late.Hearing that Yang and Zuo came back, they were allowed to rest for a day, and immediately visited Yuan Huazhong, who had just been promoted to censor.

So Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou knew about the changes in the capital this month.

"Literature, Confucianism, and Gongzhi, you can't imagine how the emperor criticized the Dibao. To put it bluntly, the emperor said that the defeat of Sarhu was because of Yang Gao's battle plan, which was published in the Dibao a few months earlier. Such a wide and Let me tell you, is it possible that Nu/Erhachi will not make any preparations? Is it strange that the soldiers of Ming Dynasty were ambushed?"

Yang Lian was horrified, and complacently wrote to Gu Dazhang of the same year about Yang Gao's battle plan, saying that Yang Gao's army would crush Jiannu.

"The mansion newspaper was sent to all the officials of Ming Dynasty." Zhou Chaorui said bitterly.

"The Son of Heaven reprimanded the Mansion for leaking the military aircraft during the Great Court Meeting, and Jin Yiwei took a lot of people."

Yuan Huazhong sighed: "Now that I think about it, how can I blame Jun Jun for being ambushed and Yang Gao for losing his master and humiliating the country? The battle plan was handed over to Di Bao by the Ministry of War, and no one in the Manchu Dynasty thought that Jian Nu might know about it."

Yang Lian lost his energy, and murmured to himself, "I'm in the Ministry of Military Affairs, and I didn't think about it."

"There is another person who was reprimanded by the emperor. It is Xue Sancai, governor of Jiliao border affairs. He is in charge of the military affairs of Liaodong Town, Shanhai Town, Ji Town, Changping Town, Zhenbao Town, Tianjin and Cangzhou. A year before Nu/Erhachi established 'Houjin' as the title of the country, he even wrote a letter saying that Jianzhou Jurchen was loyal to the imperial court."

Zuo Guangdou said: "Xue Zhongru passed away last year."

"The emperor said that he is an official and upright, and that he is not afraid of the powerful. He has a noble character; he has done his best to rectify military discipline and control the imperial system. But like Yang Gao, he didn't find out that the Jurchen was cheating like Xiong Tingbi and Zhou Yongchun. It is also true. The dereliction of duty. The imperial court will posthumously posthumously Gongmin after his death because of the appearance of an official, and bestow the crown prince with the Taibao."

Yuan Huazhong couldn't continue, Zhou Chaorui continued.

"According to the Son of Heaven, Xue Zhongru is not worthy of the posthumous title of 'Gongmin'."

"Will you take back your posthumous title?" Zuo Guangdou was quite worried.He highly respected Xue Sancai as a man and an official.

Yuan Huazhong shook his head, "Uncle Xue Lu pleaded guilty to the emperor for his brother in court, and the emperor said that the past should not be blamed. He just reminded us, the courtiers, to do things more seriously and meticulously for the sake of the name behind us."