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

Chapter 600 Huang Taiji's Methods
Hengtong's response was too fast, and the means and manpower used were too terrifying. Even if Fan Yongdou had connections in various places in the Ming government, he could not withstand such a fierce investigation.

Jinyiwei, the guards, and even the border troops, among whom there were shadows of the royal family, how could Fan Yongdou, a Shanxi merchant, resist this? Once he knew that he was the mastermind behind the scenes, Fan Yongdou might lose his life.

After that, Fan Yongdou completely gave up the idea of ​​continuing to target Hengtong, especially when Wei Zhongxian suggested to Emperor Tianqi to open border trade in Shanxi, and Hengtong should cooperate with Jinyiwei to lead it. Fan Yongdou was even more frightened. This is Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch! Who in the world doesn't know the power of Wei Zhongxian? Who doesn't understand who is standing behind the eunuch Wei? He, Fan Yongdou, a mere Shanxi merchant, dared to make a move with a top-notch character? Isn't this like an old man hanging himself because he thinks his life is too long?
So in the following years, Fan Yongdou didn't dare to touch anything related to Hengtong. Moreover, Hengtong never found out the truth and didn't discover that Fan Yongdou was the culprit. As time went by, the matter gradually faded away.

Later, Emperor Tianqi died, Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, Wei Zhongxian fell, and the court launched a movement to purge the eunuch party.

Fan Yongdou was secretly moved at the time, and asked people to do some small actions to test Hengtong, but he failed to affect Hengtong at all. The memorial to the emperor "exposing" the connection between Hengtong and Wei Zhongxian fell into the sea. On the contrary, Hengtong was not affected by Wei Zhongxian's downfall at all. Not only did its business not shrink, but it also developed rapidly again with the help of its money house business. Now it has become the number one commercial bank in Shanxi.

"So, there is a lot of trouble behind Hengtong?" It was the first time that Fan Wencheng heard about Hengtong. After listening to Fan Yongdou's story, he couldn't help asking.

Although Fan Yongdou didn't want to admit it, it was the truth. He nodded and said, "That's true. That's why I've always been cautious about Hengtong. Hengtong has a deep background. The official situation is still unclear. Moreover, the royal family is involved. How can a mere businessman like me figure it out?"

"That's true..." Fan Wencheng expressed his understanding. He thought for a moment and said, "In your opinion, Hengtong is behind the Tengger tribe. If Hengtong supports the Tengger tribe, or the source of Tengger tribe's supplies and equipment is obtained from Hengtong, how likely is this?"

"I can't say 100%, but 80% or 90% is definitely there." Fan Yongdou said solemnly, "The relationship between the two is so close that ordinary people can't even imagine it. Lord Fan may not know that there is actually something more important, but it's just a rumor and I can't confirm it."

"It's okay, just tell me directly." Fan Wencheng gestured for him to speak directly.

Fan Yongdou whispered: "It is said that the leader of the Tengger tribe, Tengger, and his brother are not real Mongolians..."

"What! What did you say?" As soon as he finished speaking, Fan Wencheng's eyes widened.

The predecessor of the Tenger tribe was the Ashe Temur tribe, and now it is the leader of the Tumed. The tribal leader Tenger was the Shunyi King canonized by the Ming Dynasty. He also has the title of Jurhan on the grassland. He sits in Guihua City and commands the entire Tumed grassland. How could such a person not be a Mongolian? How is this possible!

"Don't worry, Master Fan. I'm not talking about real Mongolians, not not Mongolians." Seeing Fan Wencheng's big reaction, Fan Yongdou quickly explained, "Tengger is the son of Tana, the daughter of the former leader of the Ashitemur tribe. When I was looking for someone to take action against Hengtong, I contacted Ashitemur's sons Xurigan and Galiba, and then used the two brothers to kill each other and instigated civil strife in the tribe."

"In addition, I also intended to bribe the horse thieves and Galiba on the grassland to attack Hengtong one after another, but unfortunately I failed. Instead, Hengtong's caravan helped Tana resolve the internal strife in the tribe, and that's how I got control of the tribe."

"After Galiba died, Tana, as a woman, could not inherit the tribe, so she became regent for Alia, and the one who became the leader of the tribe was a child. This child was Tana's son Tenger, and from then on, Tenger became the leader of the tribe..."

"Wait!" When Fan Yongdou said this, Fan Wencheng suddenly interrupted and asked, "You just said that Ashitemur's tribe was in turmoil. After Ashitemur's death, his two sons fought among themselves. Xurigan was killed by Galiba first? Later, with the help of the Hengtong Caravan, Tana killed Galiba and took control of the tribe? And then supported her son to become the leader?"

"Isn't this right? The Ashitemur tribe is not a small tribe. After Galiba killed his brother, he has taken control of the tribe and holds military power. Under such circumstances, can a mere caravan help Tana kill Galiba? How is this possible? In addition, although Tana is a woman and cannot succeed to the throne, what about her husband? Shouldn't her husband take over the position of leader? Why does he have to let a child be the leader?"

Fan Yongdou smiled bitterly and said, "Although it's a little unbelievable, it's true. I underestimated Hengtong's caravan, which is why I failed. Otherwise, how could there be Hengtong today? If I guess correctly, Hengtong Caravan is a caravan in name, but in fact it is a large-scale army, and it is even extremely well-equipped. Otherwise, they wouldn't have defeated the horse bandits I found, and then helped Tana kill Galiba and take over the tribe."

"As for Tana's husband, that's even more important. According to the information I found, Tana didn't marry a Mongolian, but a Ming man. This Ming man is said to be of noble status and a secretive background. When Ashi Timur was alive, he personally agreed to the marriage. Later, when he conquered the tribe, he couldn't take over the position of tribal leader because of this man's status, so he gave the position of leader to his child with Tana, who is now Tenger."

Fan Wencheng then connected what Fan Yongdou had said just now, that Tengger was not a real Mongolian, and was immediately shocked. Adding to what Fan Yongdou had said before, Fan Wencheng could not help but think deeply.

If everything Fan Yongdou said was true, then the background of Hengtong, or who the real owner behind Hengtong was, was too unexpected. This person not only had the identity of a royal family, but also had connections with the Jinyiwei, the guards, and the border troops, and even had a deep background in the court.

Moreover, this man is wealthy and has a high status in the Ming Dynasty. Even the Tenger tribe that now controls the entire Tumed grassland actually belongs to him, because the leader of the tribe is his son, and Alia of the tribe is his wife. In addition, the caravan of Hengtong Trading Company under his control is powerful and can not only defeat the horse bandits who come and go like the wind on the grassland, but also seize tribal power for Tana from Galiba who has controlled the tribe after the death of Ashitemur. It is really shocking that such a person is completely unaware of this!

This happened many years ago. If we count by time, no one knows how strong the opponent is now after so many years. Not to mention other things, the current strength of the Tenger tribe is already the leader of the entire Tumed. In addition, they defeated the Dorgon brothers and won a great victory, making them an undoubted hero in the eyes of the Mongols.

Thinking of this, Fan Wencheng broke out in a cold sweat. He suddenly realized that this matter was too big, so big that he could not make the decision at all. He immediately continued to question Fan Yongdou, and the questions he asked revolved around Hengtong and Tengger. Unfortunately, Fan Yongdou did not know much, and many of them were hearsay, and the authenticity could not be guaranteed, but even this information was enough to surprise people.

Fan Wencheng, who couldn't sit still, found an excuse to temporarily end the conversation and asked someone to arrange for Fan Yongdou to rest first.

After Fan Yongdou left, Fan Wencheng quickly changed his clothes, got dressed neatly and went to see Huang Taiji in a hurry.

It was already evening when he arrived at Huang Taiji's place. Huang Taiji, who had been busy all day, was preparing to have dinner. When he heard Fan Wencheng asking for a meeting, Huang Taiji had him brought in.

"Mr. Fan, why do you want to see me at this time? Could it be that Mr. Fan is thinking about the food in my palace? Hahaha, you came just in time. I will have dinner with my Khan later."

Huang Taiji joked with a smile, but just after he finished speaking, he saw Fan Wencheng's face was solemn, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. He immediately restrained his smile, looked around and waved to let people leave. When there were no outsiders, Huang Taiji directly asked him why he came.

Fan Wencheng did not beat around the bush and immediately told Huang Taiji the news he had heard from Fan Yongdou, especially the information about Hengtong Trading Company, the Tengger tribe, the father of the mysterious tribal leader behind the Tengger tribe, and the owner of Hengtong Trading Company.

At first, Huang Taiji just listened quietly with a look of disapproval, but as Fan Wencheng continued to talk in detail, Huang Taiji's expression became solemn. When he heard the end, he even couldn't sit still. He stood up and walked to Fan Wencheng's side.

"Great Khan, this is the situation. After hearing this, I dare not delay and therefore urgently request to see the Khan."

"Well, well done. I know your loyalty." Huang Taiji nodded, but his brows were still furrowed and he walked slowly, as if he was thinking about something.

After a moment, Huang Taiji stopped and turned to look at Fan Wencheng: "Mr. Fan!"

"Chen is here!"

"In your opinion, the person behind Hengtong is the same person as the person behind the Tengger tribe. Moreover, this person is of noble status and has a deep background. Not only does he have considerable financial resources in the Ming Dynasty, he also has military power unknown to outsiders. It is very likely that this person was responsible for Dorgon's defeat in the grasslands before, and that mysterious Zhejiang Army was his army?"

"Great Khan Holy Ming!"

Huang Taiji thought for a moment and said, "As for how noble this person is, he might be a member of the Ming royal family? But he is not the Prince of Jin? In your opinion, who could this person be?"

"Replying to the Khan, I cannot judge. The royal family of the Ming Dynasty has lost its power since the Yongle Dynasty. The emperors of all dynasties have kept a very strict watch on the royal family. Logically speaking, it is impossible for such a situation to happen. The princes, dukes and royal family members in various parts of the Ming Dynasty are actually kept in captivity. Apart from having no shortage of money in their fiefdoms, it is impossible for them to leave the city without the emperor's permission, let alone do such a big thing?"

"But now the question points in this direction. Why is that?" Huang Taiji asked.

"This... I really cannot judge. This matter is of great importance. I have to investigate it thoroughly before I can report back to Your Majesty..." Fan Wencheng answered with sweat oozing from his forehead.

Huang Taiji laughed and waved his hand, saying, "There's no need to go through so much trouble."

"Great Khan..." Fan Wencheng looked up at Huang Taiji, somewhat puzzled.

Huang Taiji pointed to the southwest and said with a smile, "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is very cautious about the royal family. If you investigate this matter, you will lose success, and it is also inconvenient to investigate. The best way to solve this problem is to have someone report it to Chongzhen and let him investigate it himself. With Chongzhen's character, it would be fine if he didn't know. But once he knew that there were royal family members secretly raising troops and colluding with Mongolian tribes, and even that his son was the Shunyi King of the Ming Dynasty and the leader of the Tumed, how do you think Chongzhen would react?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Fan Wencheng was full of admiration. Huang Taiji had a far-sighted vision. With just one sentence, he completely solved the problem that Fan Wencheng was worried about. If they followed Huang Taiji's method, this matter would be too easy, and they would not need to put in any effort at all, as Emperor Chongzhen would be able to help them do it.

No matter what the final result is, it will not harm them, but benefit them. All they need to do now is sit back and watch the show. Wonderful! It is really wonderful!
(End of this chapter)