Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 461
"Damn!"

In the city of Beijing, with the start of the war, Beijing once again became noisy because of this incident.

Many ordinary Eight Banners family members are also in a trance, and most of them want to leave Beijing and return to Liaodong.

At this time, Emperor Hongguang, who was closely guarded, and Zhu Yousong, who was named the Prince Xian, also sat in the courtyard bored, taking advantage of the shade.

With the transformation of the house's offense and defense between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Manchu and Qing's control over Zhu Yousong became increasingly strict.

Last year, he was still able to chat with King Lu and the Queen Mother, and meet each other, but now he can only stay in the courtyard and can't go anywhere.

"When does this day end?"

Zhu Yousong rubbed his soft stomach, full of melancholy.

The originally plump body has become thinner after these days, and the double chin has obviously shrunk a lot.

In the eyes of the people at the time, a chubby body was a symbol of good fortune.

"It's lunchtime—"

Suddenly, the courtyard door creaked and there was a burst of shouting.

Through the crack of the door, a food box was thrown in.

It was more than two feet high, and when I opened it, there were vegetables, meat, and a jug of wine. The food was not warm at all, and it was obvious that I had been waiting for a long time.

Zhu Yousong skillfully opened the lunch box, then tidied up the dishes, took a sip of the wine, and then started to eat.

In the past, if there were no seven or eight people serving him, he would not know how to use chopsticks at all, but now he can only do it by himself.

Gobbling and gulping, suddenly, he felt something wrong in his mouth.

When I took it out, it turned out to be a bunch of paper:

Emperor Shaowu sent troops in three directions, and he was able to take Beijing in a short time.

"I'm saved?"

Zhu Yousong was stunned, and then he was very happy.

This is someone tipping him off!
This has never happened before.

When he was in a good mood, he also had the energy to eat.

In the next few days, there were more and more scrolls and words in the rice balls.

Although he has only been emperor for two years, Zhu Yousong has a natural intuition for power:
"Someone is going to change the court."

And in the inner city, in a mansion.

At the juncture where grain prices in Beijing fluctuated for several days, the merchants headed by the eight imperial merchants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs tried their best to raise money, food and materials.

It's just a pity that the cost of Beijing alone is too much for them.

"Yesterday, another 10,000 taels were added, and the regent asked me to collect gunpowder. How can there be good sulfur and saltpeter in the world?"

Liang Jiabin, one of the eight great imperial merchants, was gritting his teeth and sitting on the grand master's chair, his face full of resentment.

"The price of grain in the capital has reached two to one stone, and the imperial court wants me to continue supplying grain, but where else is there grain in this world except the south?"

Huang Yunfa shook his head, his face full of bitterness.

"Okay, I'm calling you here, not to complain, but to find a solution."

Fan Yongdou, the head of the eight imperial merchants, swept his eyes across the three of them and said angrily.

Among the eight imperial merchants, the Fan family is the most important, occupying the bulk of Zhangjiakou's trade, and even the Changlu Salt Farm is also operating, and valuable medicinal materials such as ginseng and fur outside the customs are also in their pockets.

It can be said that the net worth of the Fan family is worth half of all the people sitting here.

Wang Dengku, whose status was second only to Fan Yongdou, coughed, shook his head and sighed, "This is different from the past. The huge northern provinces have become a mess."

"There were military disasters in Shanxi and Shandong, and our business couldn't be done. That's all. The Ming court instigated Huizhou merchants and Shaanxi merchants to set up various guilds. It is difficult for any materials to go north."

"Doing business, isn't it just communication? We can only be imprisoned in the north, and we are helpless."

These words were approved by everyone present, and they hated the despicable and shameless Ming Ting.

In the north-south trade, it is an indisputable fact that the north is more dependent on the south, and once the closed policy is implemented, the damage to the north will be incalculable.

"Cough-cough-"

Fan Yongdou coughed, attracting everyone's attention.

Immediately, his sharp gaze swept across the crowd, like a knife, capable of stabbing people all over with cuts and bruises.

"Are you sorry? Tell you, it's too late."

Fan Yongdou had a gloomy face, and the corner of his mouth seemed to be mocking.

Qiwei Huangshang's face was pale and extremely ugly.

The moment they were brought into the House of Internal Affairs and became imperial merchants, it indicated that they had already been hanged on a tree.

Once the humblest businessmen, peasants, businessmen, and businessmen participate in political speculation, their families will either be ruined or they will rise to the top. There is no second choice.

It is too late to regret, there is only one way to go to the dark.

"What do you always say, how dare we regret it."

Everyone opened their mouths one after another, expressing that they had absolutely no such meaning.

"That's good!"

Fan Yongdou snorted coldly, and said sternly: "Whether it is food or gunpowder, we must try our best to get it. Even if we are exhausted, we will not delay the court."

"If the imperial court is gone, let's just wait for the family to be ransacked and exterminated! I have already decided to invest all my wealth in it, and I can still make money if it is gone. I am not willing to give it to the King of Hades at this time?"

The imperial merchants could only respond with a bitter face.

In mid-June, the summer heat is just right, and the summer harvest is approaching, but there is mourning all over Shandong, and the common people and gentry are all frowning.

With the opening of the two major battlefields in Henan and Shanxi, the pressure on the Manchu Qing increased sharply, thus accelerating the exploitation of Shandong and North Zhili.

In this way, even though the Ning army and the Dezhou Eight Banners suppressed it, under the instigation of the Ming army, the uprisings in Shandong continued one after another.

The gentry who were dissatisfied with the Manchu Qing before, now support the rebels semi-openly, thus shaking the Manchu Qing rule in Shandong.

Forcing Yanzhou, soldiers came to Jining, and the Ming army's offensive was aggressive.

In the north tower of Jining City, a young military general walked back and forth behind the parapet, holding on to the hilt of his knife, his mind wandering back and forth.

The sultry south made him very irritable. Compared with Liaodong, Shandong is still too hot.

I don't know what happened to my wife and children at home.

He looked at the sparsely lit marketplace in the city, and a wave of thoughts came to his mind, which he couldn't stop.

At this moment, he suddenly heard a very unusual muffled sound, and hurriedly turned his head to look out of the city.

The moonlight is dim, and the earth is dark, only the lights in the distance.

He frowned, stared into the distance, and immediately went down the tower again, leaning against the ground to listen.

Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes sounded, and a cavalry galloped to the bottom of the city, raised his head and shouted: "Ming army invaded north—"

The general was horrified when he heard the words, and hastily turned his head and shouted: "Beat the drum, let the king know—"

In an instant, there was loud drumming from the city tower, and the entire Jining City woke up instantly. A large number of soldiers got up instinctively and obeyed the arrangement.

Wearing armor, Wu Sangui shouted as he walked, "Did the Ming army come here?"

"Indeed!"

"I've known for a long time that they can't bear the loneliness, so this is finally here."

For some reason, Wu Sangui heaved a sigh of relief in vain.

(End of this chapter)