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

Chapter 896 Confirmed
Lingyin Temple, a thousand-year-old temple in Hangzhou.

When arriving in Hangzhou, one naturally had to go to Lingyin Temple. Zhang Xijun had long had a strong interest in Lingyin Temple, so he was very happy when he learned of He Canglan's arrangement. The group went straight there, and when they arrived, the abbot led the monks to open the mountain gate in advance to welcome them. Zhang Xijun got off the sedan chair, stepped forward to perform a Buddhist salute, exchanged a few words with the abbot, and then the abbot led the way into the temple.

It is true that Zhang Xijun was a scholar, but he had an in-depth study of Buddhism. Don't forget what his ancestors did. There were many Buddhist scriptures in his home since he was a child. Zhang Xijun read them all when he was a teenager. Moreover, there have always been many people who practiced Confucianism and Buddhism. Many great Confucian scholars understood some Buddhism, such as Su Dongpo. The rumors about him and Foyin are still circulating today.

After touring the temple and burning incense in each hall in turn and worshiping Buddha, the abbot invited Zhang Xijun to the small Buddhist hall at the back to discuss Buddhism, and Zhang Xijun gladly agreed.

Zhang Xijun spent the whole day in Lingyin Temple. He had a vegetarian meal at noon accompanied by the abbot. In the evening, the abbot asked Zhang Xijun to stay in the temple for one night. Zhang Xijun agreed and stayed in the temple temporarily. In the evening, when the monks finished their lessons and went back to their rooms, the bustling Lingyin Temple during the day suddenly became quiet. Zhang Xijun, who lived in the Zen room in the backyard, sat cross-legged on the couch in meditation, holding a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, with his eyes half open and half closed.

I don’t know how long it took, it was quiet outside, with only the faint sound of the wind. Zhang Xijun opened his eyes slightly and looked towards the empty corner of the Zen room.

There was no one in front of him, but now there was a person who suddenly appeared. It was unknown where this person came from or when he appeared. But Zhang Xijun was not surprised at all, and just glanced at the person hiding in the dark.

"Wang Ji set off for Nanjing today. News came from there that Qiao Changfu had been in Nanjing two days ago. He met with Yang Dehua first, and then went into Xu Shiqi's mansion together..." The man spoke in a low voice. Zhang Xijun listened silently. When the man finished speaking, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Zhang Xijun nodded slightly without saying anything. The man's figure quietly slipped into the darkness. After a slight sound, the man left the Zen room by some unknown method. At this time, Zhang Xijun's eyes flashed brightly in the night, and his fingers holding the Buddhist beads were still turning rhythmically, as if he was holding a pearl of wisdom.

Everything was under control. Zhang Xijun had already made plans in his mind. Although he appeared to be at ease since coming to Nanzhili, including now in Hangzhou, as if he was just visiting Jiangnan, in fact, before Zhang Xijun arrived in Nanjing and Hangzhou, he had secretly sent all his people out.

Zhang Xijun himself was in the open, while his people were in the dark, investigating every move in Jiangnan. In order to ensure that the news would not leak out, Zhang Xijun did not use the Jinyiwei in Nanzhili and Zhejiang, and even the local government was unaware of it. Most of the people he used were elite soldiers of the Jinyiwei in the capital, and some were temporarily dispatched from Lu Xiangsheng in Henan. These people were absolutely reliable and had no connection with the officials and gentry in Jiangnan.

Just like now, Wang Ji, He Canglan and others thought they had Zhang Xijun under strict surveillance, but they didn't expect that while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole is behind. Zhang Xijun had already entered the game and found out their details clearly.

Not only that, their whereabouts are also under Zhang Xijun's surveillance, and they cannot escape Zhang Xijun's control at all. Although Zhang Xijun is now in Lingyin Temple, the initiative is always in his hands.

"How courageous!" Zhang Xijun thought to himself. Ever since he was ordered by the emperor to come to Jiangnan, the more he investigated Jiangnan, the more frightened he became. Although he had expected that the emperor had given him an extremely important task this time, and he also knew about the mine matter in advance, he originally thought that the local officials in Jiangnan were just greedy for money and pretended to obey the emperor in private. However, he did not expect that the situation he found out later was far more serious than he had imagined. Especially when he learned some time ago that some people in Nanjing were secretly colluding to try to make a big move, Zhang Xijun became more vigilant.

Now the matter has been investigated thoroughly, and Zhang Xijun has roughly understood the situation. In addition, many other things hidden in the dark have also been uncovered one after another. When Zhang Xijun carefully understood these situations, he was not only extremely shocked, but also stunned by the audacity of these people.

Zhang Xijun thought he was quite courageous, but compared to these people, he was nothing. These people were really too courageous, almost to the point of being too bold, and the things they did were simply unimaginable. Moreover, the private mining that had been discovered was just the tip of the iceberg, and there were more frightening situations to come. The more he investigated, the more serious the situation became, and the more people were implicated. Zhang Xijun was excited but also began to worry. Once this case was completely uncovered, the impact and consequences would be extremely huge, and it was beyond his control.

"It seems that I can only ask Your Majesty for your judgment." Zhang Xijun said to himself. Although he held a high position and was an imperial envoy, these matters involved too many people, and if he continued to investigate, more concealments would be revealed. Zhang Xijun was not afraid, but worried that it would ruin Zhu Shenzhu's plan. Moreover, once it was launched, it would be a major case that would shock the world, which was beyond his authority.

Zhang Xijun continued to close his eyes, the beads in his hand turned slightly, and he chanted the Buddha's name softly. In the darkness, he was as calm as an ancient Buddha, but who could know what he was thinking at this moment? After resting for a night at Lingyin Temple, Zhang Xijun continued to burn incense to the Buddha in the morning of the second day, accompanied by the abbot, and then said goodbye and left.

After leaving Lingyin Temple, Zhang Xijun and his party went to the nearby Longjing tea house to taste tea, and did not return to their residence in the city until the afternoon. In the following days, Zhang Xijun continued to wander around Hangzhou, enjoying the mountains and rivers.

Yuan Chongyu has been in Ningbo and has not left. Since meeting Yang Dehua, he has stayed in Ningbo temporarily, patiently waiting for news from Yang Dehua.

As expected, Yang Dehua was moved by his words and took the initiative to report the matter to Xu Shiqi. After Xu Shiqi learned about this, he was immediately interested. He consulted with Gao Hongtu, Zheng Sanjun and others. Soon, he decided to cooperate with Yuan Chongyu and privately develop trade with North Korea, mainly in Ningbo and Hangzhou.

Yuan Chongyu had no idea about the details of the conversation between these people, but after receiving the news from Yang Dehua, he visited him again.

This time was completely different from the last time. Yang Dehua's attitude towards Yuan Chongyu was very enthusiastic. After a few pleasantries, the two began to talk about business. When Yuan Chongyu saw the trump card Yang Dehua brought out, even the knowledgeable Yuan Chongyu was shocked.

He never expected that Yang Dehua would take this matter to this extent. Although Yuan Chongyu boasted that he had a strong background in North Korea and could consume any amount of goods they could get and make huge profits, Yuan Chongyu's plan was just an estimate based on previous experience. He didn't expect that Yang Dehua would actually take out an amount and scale far beyond his estimate, which really surprised him.

However, Yuan Chongyu was also cheered up after being astonished. For him, this matter was just an introduction. As for the amount of goods, the more the better, especially things like food, he would take as much as he could.

Since the Battle of the Great Wall, the Ming Dynasty once again implemented a comprehensive blockade policy against the Qing Dynasty, which, like before, was not only a military blockade but also an economic blockade.

Zhu Shenzhui was not Emperor Chongzhen. He knew too well the pros and cons between the Ming and Qing dynasties. As long as the Ming dynasty had no internal troubles, it would only be a matter of time before he could steadily defeat Huang Taiji's Qing dynasty. Moreover, Liaodong was located in the north, and the Jurchens were a nomadic people. Even though they had officially established their country long ago and gradually transformed from a slavery system to a feudal system under Huang Taiji, and changed their policy towards the Han people, solving the internal food problem through their farming, the results were not as good as expected due to their inherent deficiencies.

Even if there is a slight relief now, it is limited. Huang Taiji does not have many chips in his hands. If he cannot plunder through foreign wars to maintain a strong military strength and develop towards the south, the so-called Qing Dynasty will not be able to support itself on its own.

There are signs of this now. With the military and economic double blockade of the Ming Dynasty, it is no longer possible for the Qing Dynasty to obtain a large amount of supplies from the Ming Dynasty as easily as before. This is also the reason why Huang Taiji was anxious to launch the Battle of Jinzhou. Originally, he planned to take over the Liaoxi Corridor through the Battle of Jinzhou, thereby opening a gap, but he did not expect that the Ming Dynasty's move this time surprised him greatly. Instead of sending troops to reinforce Jinzhou as he imagined, it used the convenience of the navy to cross the sea to the north to attack his rear, which caused Huang Taiji's backyard to catch fire. Then the rebellion of the Zhenglan Banner made him anxious again, and he had no choice but to withdraw his troops.

The successive failures and internal rebellions can be said to have seriously damaged Huang Taiji's vitality. What's more, because the huge amount of materials plundered from the Ming Dynasty during the Ji Yi Rebellion was consumed a lot during this period, Huang Taiji's bargaining chips were constantly weakened, the stored grain decreased sharply, and Liaodong lacked the corresponding food source. If this continued, the Qing Dynasty might be trapped to death by the Ming Dynasty.

Under such circumstances, the deadlock must be broken, which is the main reason why Huang Taiji finally agreed to Fan Wencheng's suggestion and sent Yuan Chongyu and others to the Ming Dynasty. As a businessman, Yuan Chongyu knew what Huang Taiji wanted very well. If Huang Taiji wanted to disrupt the Ming Dynasty, Yuan Chongyu thought he did not have the ability to do so. However, if he wanted to use this as an opportunity to do his old business, that is, trade, Yuan Chongyu was quite confident.

In this way, Yuan Chongyu set his sights on Jiangnan, especially Ningbo, and then started through the Ningbo Yang family. Don't forget that he was not only a businessman, but also the younger brother of Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Ji and Liao. He had a good understanding of the Ming officialdom, especially the officialdom in Jiangnan, including the local gentry groups, which led to a series of actions later.

(End of this chapter)