Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 282: Using a Big Banner to Cover Up a Tiger
Don't think that everyone in the world is stupid. Jinyiwei, a special organization that existed since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, is not just for show. Moreover, the first impression of Jinyiwei is that it is a spy organization, but in fact, its real function is an intelligence agency. Zhu Yuanzhang established Jinyiwei with three initial functions: first, guard duty; second, investigation and arrest; third, prison management.

Later, considering that the Jinyiwei's direct power of reconnaissance and arrest was too powerful, Zhu Yuanzhang separated the latter power from the Jinyiwei. This is also the reason why the Jinyiwei needed a warrant to arrest people later.

In the following two hundred years, the reconnaissance function of the Jinyiwei became its main responsibility. Reconnaissance was divided into investigation and supervision. From the royal family to the common people, internally within the Ming Dynasty and externally with neighboring countries, all were within the scope of the Jinyiwei's reconnaissance authority.

The tentacles of the Jinyiwei are spread everywhere, and its organization is extremely tight and huge. In addition to the official members of the Jinyiwei's northern and southern pacification offices and the various thousand-household offices, there are also a large number of members with hidden identities, just like Zhou Anmin, who was previously the Pingshun Postmaster but also held the title of Jinyiwei. Perhaps an inconspicuous commoner or a peddler carrying a load on his shoulder is actually a Jinyiwei.

No one can tell how many Jinyiwei there are in the entire Ming Dynasty, not even Zhou Anmin. But it is estimated that there are more than 100,000 of them, some say 150,000, and some say 160,000. The real number is probably known only by the commander.

Zhou Anmin is now the commander of the Jinyiwei Qianhu Division, and his Qianhu Division is located in Shanxi. He is responsible for intelligence in Shanxi and Mongolia. Fortunately, Zhu Shenzhui helped Zhou Anmin get this position in advance, and Wang Rong became the commander of the Wei Division. With the cooperation of the two, Zhu Shenzhui's deeds have been kept secret until today, without any news. Otherwise, Zhu Shenzhui would have been arrested long ago for what he did, and if he was not killed by the emperor, his whole family would have been sent to Zhongdu for imprisonment.

To be honest, Zhou Anmin is now more and more worried about his brother-in-law, because what Zhu Shenzhui did is too frightening when you think about it. At first, Zhou Anmin just thought that Zhu Shenzhui wanted to get more money to make life easier. But as Zhu Shenzhui's plan gradually deepened in the past two years, Zhou Anmin has seen some signs and is very worried.

However, Zhou Anmin did not think of "killing relatives for the greater good" to report Zhu Shenzhui. He was not stupid. What good would he get from doing this? Don't forget that Zhou Anmin's wife was Zhu Shenzhui's sister. From this point of view, he was also a member of the royal family's relatives. Moreover, the two had such a close relationship. If Zhu Shenzhui got into trouble, would he benefit?
Besides, he and Wang Rong were also very familiar with each other, and they were all relatives. Wang Rong, as his uncle, was not worried and fully supported Zhu Shenzhui. Why should Zhou Anmin be the bad guy? Moreover, Zhou Anmin also had some thoughts in his mind. In recent years, the court was turbulent, the court party struggles were fierce, the eunuch Wei Zhongxian rose, and the war in Liaodong was barely maintained after several disastrous defeats... The Ming Dynasty has been established for more than 200 years. Who knows what the future of the Ming Dynasty will be like?
Zhu Shenzhui was absolutely perfect in terms of talent and strategy. Thinking of the story of Zhu Di, Zhou Anmin sometimes even felt that if possible, it would not be impossible for his brother-in-law to make the leap to the dragon gate one day. Even if he could not achieve anything, the Tengger tribe was far away in the grassland, so he had a way out.

Faced with Zhou Anmin's blame, Zhu Shenzhui evaded the question with a giggle and then talked about business.

This important matter was also the real purpose of Zhu Shenzhui calling Zhou Anmin. In fact, Zhu Shenzhui didn't need to write a letter. As long as Zhou Anmin heard about it, he would come in person as long as he returned to Ming Dynasty.

Didn't the Ming Dynasty confer the title of Dragon and Tiger General on Tengger and give the order to Lady Tana Zhongshun? According to the arrangement of Emperor Tianqi and Wei Zhongxian, the Tengger tribe would have border trade with the Ming Dynasty. In order to bypass the local and civil service groups and keep the border trade with the Mongols in his hands, Wei Zhongxian had sent people from the East Factory to the grassland first. After returning, the officials of the Ministry of Rites returned to Beijing, but some people from the East Factory stayed in Shanxi.

When the angel went to the grassland, the Jinyiwei from Shanxi Qianhu also sent people to cooperate. Speaking of it, Zhou Anmin's position as a Qianhu was still the same as Wei Zhongxian's, and the person who announced the decree was Tian Ergeng.

Now Tian Ergeng has taken over the post of commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Although Luo Sigong's post as commander-in-chief has not been removed, everyone in the court can see that Luo Sigong's resignation is a foregone conclusion. Except for the fact that Tian Ergeng no longer has the official post of commander-in-chief, he is actually no different from a commander-in-chief. The power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has fallen into the hands of Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian had always been eyeing the Jinyiwei, intending to bring the Jinyiwei into his fold. However, Emperor Tianqi did not take Luo Sigong down for political stability, but allowed him to continue to serve as the commander of the Jinyiwei.

However, the situation was different at that time. As the Tianqi Emperor had been on the throne for three years, Wei Zhongxian, who controlled the Imperial Household Department and the East Factory, became more powerful, and Luo Sigong's importance to the Tianqi Emperor began to decrease. Moreover, Luo Sigong had done something wrong in the past, and he had colluded with the Donglin Party in private with the eunuch Wang An, and made many small moves in the succession of the throne.

For this reason alone, it was impossible for Emperor Tianqi to trust Luo Sigong anymore. Wang An, the traitorous servant, had long been kicked out by Wei Zhongxian, and the inner court was also completely under his control. So it was Luo Sigong's turn next.

The Emperor Tianqi was very good to let Luo Sigong continue to work as the commander of the Jinyiwei for so many days. Even if he was going to remove his position as the commander of the Jinyiwei, the Emperor Tianqi had no intention of putting him in jail. After all, Luo Sigong was different from Wang An. Luo Sigong had not only worked as the commander of the Jinyiwei for many years, but was also a member of the noble class. In addition, he was a veteran official of three dynasties, so he had to be given face. As long as Luo Sigong handed over his power obediently and ensured a smooth transition of the Jinyiwei, neither the Emperor Tianqi nor Wei Zhongxian would do anything to him.

After Tian Ergeng took over the power of the commander, he sent someone to contact Zhou Anmin. His intention was obvious. On the one hand, Tian Ergeng needed the support of the thousand-household offices. Although the commander of the Jinyiwei was the largest, the Jinyiwei's 17 thousand-household offices were extremely important. Except for the Northern Pacification Division and the five core offices directly under it, the thousand-household offices in other places were equivalent to the tentacles of the Jinyiwei spread across the country.

If we describe it in terms of the structure of the imperial court, the commander-in-chief is the cabinet minister, the core office is the ministry, and the local thousand-household office is the provincial government's yamen. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a "frontier official."

Without the support of the local thousand-household offices, relying only on the directly affiliated yamen and the core offices, Tian Ergeng's position as the commander is just an empty shell. Only when he has complete control over the local thousand-household offices can the commander's power be worthy of the name.

Tian Ergeng had come to Shanxi to announce the imperial edict in person, so he and Zhou Anmin were old friends. Moreover, the two sides also had the relationship of Wei Liangqing and Wei Zhongxian, so they were also one of our own.

Since he is one of us, it is easy to talk to him. After Tian Ergeng took over the Jinyiwei, he sent a private letter to Zhou Anmin. The content of the letter was nothing more than trying to build friendship and win over Zhou Anmin, hoping that Zhou Anmin would stand on his side and support him. Zhou Anmin had been prepared for this. He learned about Tian Ergeng's promotion from the news from the capital. After receiving the letter, he immediately wrote a letter back. Tian Ergeng was overjoyed after reading the letter. Zhou Anmin was not only loyal but also very tactful. In the letter, he not only congratulated Tian Ergeng on taking over the Jinyiwei commander, but also expressed his attitude that as a subordinate, he must respect the commander's orders.

In addition, Zhou Anmin also sent a generous gift to Tian Ergeng, which made Tian Ergeng even happier. With Zhou Anmin's support, Tian Ergeng felt more confident in taking charge of the Jinyiwei.

Tian Ergeng did not treat Zhou Anmin unfairly. Wasn't it just right that Wei Zhongxian was planning to make money through trade with the Tengger tribe this time? In addition to the people from the East Factory, the Jinyiwei also had to go in and out, and most of the long-term trade in the future would be handled by the Jinyiwei. After all, compared with the Jinyiwei's talents, although the East Factory had a higher status than the Jinyiwei, it could not compare in terms of people. In addition, Zhou Anmin's Qianhu Suo was in Shanxi, and it was impossible to trade with the grassland without Qianhu Suo. Tian Ergeng handed this task to Zhou Anmin.

This was a pleasant surprise. Even Zhu Shenzhu himself had not expected such a benefit. Once Zhou Anmin was in charge of trade, it would be great for him. Even though most of the profits from the Ming Dynasty would be taken away by the East Factory and the Imperial Guard, he had to know that the amount of trade with Mongolia in the future by the East Factory and the Imperial Guard was far from what he could compare with.

The largest scale of smuggling through Hengtong Trading Company is just a caravan. It takes a long time to go back and forth, and there are limitations in the collection of goods and the flow of funds. Although the profit is not low, the overall profit is not large. However, once the East Factory and Jinyiwei come forward, it is completely different.

Zhu Shenzui had considered it carefully before Zhou Anmin came. He decided that he could use the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to unite the major trading companies in Shanxi, and even include trading companies in the Central Plains and Jiangnan, to form a huge trading entity.

This trading entity was essentially similar to the supply and marketing cooperatives or department stores of later generations. It had rights that ordinary merchants did not have, including the source, transportation, storage, procurement, and sales of goods. Moreover, there were other great benefits to the government's involvement. The first was that it did not require any capital at all. The East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were its trademarks. They integrated the resources of various merchant houses and directly sold them at a low price for money. Even if the asking price was lower, as long as there was a certain profit, the merchants would not refuse.

As for objection? That's absolutely impossible. The East Factory and the Imperial Guards are not vegetarians. They are looking for you to do business together. Why do you object? If you don't secretly feel happy and want to refuse, you are just dreaming. As the saying goes, the prefect who wipes out the family, the county magistrate who ruins the family, not to mention the violent organizations like the East Factory and the Imperial Guards, it's easy for them to control you businessmen? Who dares to object?

(End of this chapter)