Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 271 A Harvest in One Place, First Hearing of Lean Horses
Datong Mansion.

Since the rise of the Prince Su's Mansion, the Xuanjia Secret Guard of the Prince Su's Mansion has entered the world's eyes with an extremely arrogant attitude, first in the whole of Shaanxi, then in the surrounding Shaanxi, Taiyuan, the capital, and even Jiangnan.

It is said that there is no intelligence that the Secret Guard cannot obtain.

They can even know news that is unknown to others in the martial arts world.

Known for its omnipresence and ever-present presence, it was even more terrifying than the combined Jinyiwei and Dongchang during the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong. The secret guards were involved in the destruction of various sects, families, factions, gangs, and bandit strongholds in the Western Regions, as well as the Zhenwu Earl's and Daqing Marquis's mansions.

In particular, when Prince Su arrived to quell the rebellion, the Tian Ce, Cang Yun, and Shaanxi guards would often find that heavily guarded cities were suddenly opened up and their armies allowed to enter before the troops even realized what was happening.

Those families who were in danger and intended to resist the Jingnan Army were thoroughly investigated. It is said that the intelligence reports on their corruption, bribery, forming cliques, and oppressing the people could pile up into a small mountain in front of Prince Su.

Many trivial matters that even the person themselves had forgotten could be found within the Secret Guard.

As the reputation of the Secret Guards reached the point where people were terrified of even mentioning them.

The intelligence capabilities of the Secret Guards have also been demonized, with some claiming that they are omnipotent.

Zhu Jinzhen had heard about this, but he just laughed it off. The Secret Guard was a tool he had prepared, intended to replace the Embroidered Uniform Guard in monitoring the world and its officials. The more demonized it was, the stronger the deterrent effect on the world would be, and the more advantageous it would be for him. There was no way he would stand up to clarify it.

Although countless eyes were fixed on the Secret Guard along the way, trying to find their hideouts and follow the clues, or even using clever tricks to bribe them, the final result was that all those who tried were either detained by the Secret Guard or had their evidence sent to Yan Yimei.

"Your Highness, the results from Yan'an Prefecture are in."

"The five prominent families of Qian, Chen, Qin, Liu, and Wu have all been verified. This is the list; please take a look, Your Highness."

Yan Yimei handed a piece of intelligence to Zhu Jinzhen.

Although Zhu Jinzhen said he would not disturb the people, he did not tolerate the local powerful families, especially those who were unable to see reality and were still living in a dream of a thousand years of prosperity, believing that there were only aristocratic families that lasted for a thousand years, not dynasties that lasted for a thousand years.

Zhu Jinzhen's attitude can be summed up in just two words.

Investigate, kill!

However, if there are any violations, they will be thoroughly investigated and punished without exception.

Zhu Jinzhen glanced at it briefly, then frowned and sneered repeatedly: "Salt, iron, arms, tea, land annexation, just the private assets of a few families, have yielded more than ten million taels of silver, averaging more than two million taels per family."

"If we were to liquidate the land deeds, house deeds, various properties, and even jewelry and jade artifacts, each family would have at least an additional four million taels on top of that. They would be rolling in money!"

Zhu Jinzhen knew that with the commercial taxes of the Ming Dynasty, these wealthy merchants who had remained prosperous since the founding of the Ming Dynasty must have accumulated a lot of money, but he was still slightly moved by the amount confiscated.

Although the world of martial arts is rich in resources, and the gold and silver mines of the Ming Dynasty are more than ten times larger than those of a typical single martial arts or historical world, the fact that such a large amount of wealth could be amassed in just over a hundred years, or even a few decades, still shocked everyone else present.

"The Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue continued to decline, from about 20 million taels of silver per year during the Yongle period to only 10 million taels per year in the fourteenth year of Zhengde. If all the silver confiscated from these aristocratic families were converted into cash, it would be enough to offset several years of the imperial court's fiscal revenue."

"Several local prominent families were able to amass such immense wealth in just over a decade."

"It's really hard to imagine."

Xu Yu, Ma You, Shen Bing, and others exclaimed in surprise, their words dripping with sarcasm and barbs. Many officials from Datong and Yan'an Prefecture, however, changed their expressions.

They weren't from the Shaanxi faction, so naturally they didn't know, whereas Xu Yu and Ma You had already experienced much larger-scale events. They were also well aware of the dirty dealings of these local powerful families who colluded with officials and merchants, or those who were merely front men supported by certain princely mansions or powerful martial arts sects and gangs.

However, under Zhu Jinzhen's strong pressure, Tian Ce and Cang Yun patrolled daily. The shady dealings within Shaanxi were not enough for the soldiers to share the credit. Basically, any signs of trouble were nipped in the bud and uprooted along with them.

"What is the meaning of 'Yangzhou slender horses'?"

"Annual income..."

"Nearly two million taels?"

Zhu Jinzhen flipped to the end, somewhat astonished. What kind of business could be so profitable? Even the salt and iron business and the smuggling of arms, which risked execution and confiscation of property, might not be this profitable.

"Your Highness, I have heard about this matter."

"Oh?" Zhu Jinzhen looked at Xu Yu and nodded without changing his expression: "Tell me about it."

Xu Yu organized his thoughts and bowed, replying, "Your Highness, these 'thin horses' are not horses, but people, mostly beautiful little girls or young women."

"It first arose in Yangzhou, then gradually spread throughout Jiangnan, and later slowly developed to the whole Ming Dynasty, and even to all the countries under heaven."

“They would go out into the countryside to find pretty, young girls. They would buy the girls from families who couldn’t make ends meet at a low price and send them somewhere, or to a brothel, to receive training.”

"Due to differences in training and upbringing, as well as appearance and physique, they are further subdivided into several grades: low-grade skinny horses, high-grade skinny horses, and peerless beauties."

"After the 'skinny horses' are trained, the matchmakers start going out on the streets to find wealthy men who are fond of beautiful women, as well as noblemen. When customers come to their door, the 'skinny horses' will use all sorts of tricks to try to win the favor of these rich men."

"As far as I know, there have been several exceptionally beautiful young women in the Jiangnan region who were sold for 30,000 taels of silver, 80,000 taels of silver, and 200,000 taels of silver respectively."

"Because of these enormous profits that can be seen with the naked eye, Yangzhou's 'slim horses' began to become popular throughout the Ming Dynasty starting from the Hongzhi era."

Since its founding, the Ming Dynasty has gradually increased its national strength. Although it has not been prosperous all the time and has experienced major setbacks such as the Tumu Crisis, the country's economic development has been good and stable. The Ming Dynasty also has no shortage of wealthy and powerful officials.

It was precisely because of the demands of high-ranking officials and nobles that the Yangzhou "slender horse" custom flourished.

Zhu Jinzhen frowned and snorted coldly: "What matchmaker? Isn't she just a human trafficker?"

"The slender horses of Yangzhou, beauties beyond compare?"

Two hundred thousand taels of silver?

"Ha, this is really a good deal."

"Your Highness has keen insight, indeed." Xu Yu nodded calmly. What he hadn't mentioned was that only those with excellent appearance, talent, and other qualities were easily selected. The best ones could marry into wealthy families as concubines, while those with less desirable qualities would be resold to brothels to become prostitutes, thus falling into the world of pleasure.

"Your Highness, I have heard about this matter."

An official from Datong Prefecture, thinking that Zhu Jinzhen was interested in the Yangzhou "thin horse" (a euphemism for a prostitute) who cost as much as 200,000 taels of silver, stepped forward and said, "Before she left her home, that thin horse was the most beautiful courtesan in Yangzhou's Lichun Garden, known as 'Fairy.' It is said that she was a beauty of unparalleled grace and charm, and countless people would spend a fortune just to see her once, just to win a smile from her."

(End of this chapter)