The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 42 A Big Scam
In the early morning, around the hour of Mao, the sky was bright with the light of dawn, its light was snow-white, and the clouds above it were shaped like fish scales.

This is the famous fish belly white, the brightest dawn.

If the sky is pale, it means that it will be a good day.

At this time, Wanli had already appeared on the Wangjing Tower on time.

Behind him stood a long row of Duke Chengguo, Duke Yingguo, Li Xuancheng, as well as generals from the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Imperial Guards.

Normally, the defense should be changed at this time every day.

However, today these generals did not call the army to assemble and go to the first line of defense in front.

Because Tumen Khan's army had already begun to dismantle its tents.

The huge yurts kept falling down and curling up into a ball, and the horses that were kept in the grasslands in the river valley gradually dispersed, carrying all kinds of supplies.

In the dawn, the mountains and valleys in the north gradually became green.

Tumen Khan prepared to retreat.

The battle is finally over.

Sure enough, a series of black spots gradually appeared in the valley to the north, extending northward and northward, as if extending to the horizon.

Seeing this, Wanli couldn't help but said with relief: "We won."

Qi Jiguang couldn't help but sigh: "Yes, this is really a rare victory."

This is truly a rare and great victory.

Although they lost thousands of men killed and tens of thousands seriously injured, and Tuman lost tens of thousands of men killed, almost all those who took part in the siege were injured.

Upon hearing this, Duke Chengguo Zhu Yingzhen said cautiously, "Now we can have a good drink, right?"

You kid, you are not very brave, but you are addicted to alcohol.

Seeing this, Wanli asked, "Yuan Jing, after this great victory, we should have a celebration, right?"

The war is over, so it's fine if you want to drink.

Qi Jiguang nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty, there is also a tradition of celebrating victory in the army. After a great victory, we must celebrate it properly.

However, we still need to send out scouts to follow and see. Although it is unlikely that the Tuman will return, we cannot let our guard down."

Upon hearing this, Wanli immediately made arrangements: "Yingzhen, quickly send someone to the front and have Yiyuan send his scouts to investigate. They have been guarding this place for many years and must be very familiar with the terrain to the north.

Father-in-law, you should quickly order people to return to the Summer Palace as fast as possible and bring more wine. Also, send people to purchase more chickens, ducks, fish and meat.

"My dear uncle, tell the imperial chef to start cooking now, and do it quickly. All the people in the Imperial Guard who can cook should help. Cook as much as they can, so that the soldiers can have a taste of their cooking skills."

It takes a lot of time to prepare the celebration banquet, and it also takes a lot of time for Tumen Khan's army of more than 100,000 to retreat.

Around noon, the Tuman army finally retreated thirty or forty miles, and it was impossible to turn back.

At this time, the celebration banquet was also ready.

At Wanli's command, all the city walls and checkpoints were decorated with wine and food. The soldiers had fought for more than ten days and finally had a table full of delicious wine and food. The whole Gubeikou was filled with the aroma of wine and meat, and laughter was constant.

There were several tables set up on the upper floor of Wangjing Tower, and all the military generals with the word "general" in their names were invited.

When the food and wine were served, Wanli stood up and raised his glass, saying, "Comrades, thank you for your hard work. This battle is a great victory, and you have all made great contributions. I offer you a toast. After this, please feel free to do as you please. Don't be polite."

All the generals quickly stood up to express their gratitude and drank the wine in their cups.

Wanli invited everyone to sit down and eat a few bites of food, then asked: "Yuan Jing, how many officers from sergeant and above are still vacant in the Beijing camp?"

This is too much.

Qi Jiguang explained in detail: "Your Majesty, if we follow the standard configuration of twelve regiments, each regiment would have 30,000 men, so the twelve regiments would have 360,000 men.

Among them, eight deputy generals of the Shenji Four Battalions and the Shenshu Four Battalions, sixteen lieutenant generals, twenty-four guerrilla generals, and forty-eight auxiliary generals have all been assigned.

The remaining captains, captains, centurions, squad leaders, and sergeants only have about 20,000 troops, and the rest have not yet been assigned. I really don't have that many personal soldiers under my command."

Just right.

Wanli nodded slightly and then said decisively: "Yuan Jing, General Shan, General Dong, all the soldiers who have made contributions this time, please report their military achievements and promote them accordingly. If there are not enough vacancies in the Jizhou Border Guard, they will be transferred to the Beijing Camp.

General Dong, you faced danger without fear this time, leading 3,000 men and horses to face an army of over 100,000 and holding your ground. Your loyalty and bravery are commendable. I will shortly issue an order to promote you to General of Jizhou."

He was promoted to general after fighting a battle?
And he is the general of the nine border towns!

Dong Yiyuan bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Wanli waved his hand, then said solemnly: "Also, as for the rewards for killing the enemy, you all report them. Each Northern Tartar head is worth fifty taels, and I will give it to you."

This time they killed tens of thousands of enemies.

Qi Jiguang couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, that would probably require 500,000 or 600,000 taels. Will the cabinet approve it?"

Wanli said without hesitation: "Five or six hundred thousand taels is five or six hundred thousand taels. If the cabinet does not approve it, I will give it to you. As for the compensation for the wounded and fallen soldiers, you can report it and I will give it to you.

The soldiers have sacrificed their lives to defend our country, and we cannot let them down. We must not deprive them of the rewards and compensation they deserve."

Military awards that haven't been issued for decades are about to be issued. I'm afraid morale will be boosted.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang, Shan Sinan, and Dong Yiyuan all bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

I am indeed wise, but this wisdom requires money to support it. It requires a lot of money.

It is not a big deal to guard Gubeikou with such a small number of troops now. In the future, the Beijing Camp will be expanded to 300,000 or 400,000 people, and there are several tough battles waiting for him to fight.

By then, a few million taels a year would be a drop in the bucket, and it would be impossible to make ends meet. I don’t know if tens of millions of taels a year would be enough. How can I earn at least tens of millions of taels a year?

Wanli was just thinking about how to make money when the sound of horse hooves came from the south.

After a while, a fast rider arrived at the foot of Wangjing Building.

Seeing this, Li Xuancheng hurried down.

Soon, he came up again with a thick envelope.

This is another secret report from Luo Sigong.

Luo Sigong has already sent secret guards to Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, and even Taiyuan Prefecture.

There is indeed something wrong with the current Governor of Xuanda, Zheng Luo. This guy was a member of the Shanxi political community from the fourth to the fifth year of the Longqing reign, and he also participated in the Longqing deliberations at that time.

Afterwards, this guy was promoted rapidly, and was promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief of the Inspectorate, Governor of Shanxi, and then to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. After returning to the court and serving for three years, he was later promoted to Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Inspectorate, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Governor-General of Xuanda and Shanxi!
It is obvious that this guy was promoted by Wang Chonggu, Yang Bo and Zhang Siwei.

Luo Sigong also found the remnants of Maitreya Buddhism and learned many secrets.

It turns out that it was Maitreya Buddhism that did business with Altan Khan in the beginning.

At the beginning of the Jiajing period, Altan Khan occupied the Hetao area. The Maitreya leader Li Fuda happened to change his name to Zhang Yin and bought the post of commander of Taiyuan Guard from Guo Xun, the Marquis of Wuding who was in favor at the time.

The Li Fuda case is the most absurd and unruly case in the history of etiquette.

At that time, Li Fuda's identity was exposed and reported. In order to cover up his own crime of selling official positions and titles, Wuding Hou Guo Xun actually instigated Jiajing to call a black cat a white cat, saying that Zhang Yin was not Li Fuda, the leader of Maitreya Sect. The chief minister Yang Tinghe and a group of officials wanted to frame him, a close confidant of Jiajing, and insisted that Zhang Yin was Li Fuda, the leader of Maitreya Sect.

Jiajing actually called a horse a zebra in order to implicate officials of Yang Tinghe's faction. The poor talented Yang Shen and more than ten officials of Yang Tinghe's faction were inexplicably raided and exiled.

Li Fuda secured his position as the commander of Taiyuan Guard, and from then on he began to do business with Altan Khan unscrupulously. With the prohibited materials such as grain, salt and pig iron provided by Li Fuda, Altan Khan gradually became powerful.

Later, Yang Bo and Wang Chonggu successively became governors of Xuanda and Shanxi, and changes began to occur in this business.

Because most of the goods of Maitreya Sect are purchased from the three major wealthy families in Puzhou, such as salt, iron, tea, which are materials monopolized by the imperial court. Without people in official circles, there is no way to get a large amount of goods.

In other words, they purchased goods from the three major families in Puzhou at prices inside the Great Wall, and then sold them to Altan Khan at double the price.

After Yang Bo and Wang Chonggu took control of Shanxi's military and political affairs, they naturally didn't want to let them make the money. The three major wealthy families in Puzhou wanted to monopolize all the benefits!
So Han Naji came to Wang Chonggu to seek his death, and then the Longqing Conference began.

Wang Chonggu’s first request was that Altan Khan exchange Zhao Quan and other Maitreya leaders for Han Naji!
These guys also said that Maitreya Sect was collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country. Maitreya Sect only did business with Altan Khan, while the three major families in Puzhou did business with all the tribes of Tatars and even Wala!
The Longqing Conference was an elaborate scam, and the three powerful families in Puzhou did everything they could to make dirty money.

The remaining members of the Maitreya Sect were gritting their teeth in hatred.

If Wanli didn't know the subsequent history, he would probably think that the Maitreya Sect was dealt with by the three major families of Puzhou, and he would hold a grudge and talk nonsense.

However, Wanli knew the subsequent history.

After Shunzhi entered the Pass, he held a banquet in the palace to entertain the eight imperial merchants, praising their hard work and great achievements. He also granted them membership in the Imperial Household Department of the Plain Yellow Banner, and gave each of their families important positions such as the first or second rank Guanglu Dafu, Taipusiqing, and Provincial Governor.

The eight imperial merchants who appeared inexplicably were the eight Shanxi merchants. At that time, many people suddenly realized that it was the eight imperial merchants who sold out the Ming Dynasty!

The reason why Shunzhi was so gracious to the Eight Imperial Merchants was that each of them had made great contributions. These people not only sold contraband to them privately, but also tipped them off and instigated officials and generals to rebel.

Wanli could not remember the specific names of these eight imperial merchants, and he even could not remember their specific surnames.

However, it seems that there are people with the surname Wang, and more than one.

He took out Luo Sigong's previous secret report and immediately understood.

Zhang Siwei's wife was Wang, his second brother Zhang Siduan's wife was Li, his third brother Zhang Sijiao's wife was Liang, his fourth brother Zhang Sishi's wife was Fan, his fifth brother Zhang Sixiang's wife was Wang, and his seventh brother Zhang Sishu's wife was Shen, all came from wealthy Shanxi merchant families!

This may not be the full list of the Eight Imperial Merchants, because there are also the Wang Chonggu and Yang Bo families, and they must have married into many wealthy Shanxi merchants.

No wonder the eight imperial merchants are so prominent, but no one knows their origins, as if they just popped out of stones!
The three major families in Puzhou seemed to have disappeared after Zhang Siwei's death.

In fact, they deliberately covered up this history.

The three major powerful families in Puzhou did not disappear. Countless descendants and in-laws of Yang Bo, Wang Chonggu and Zhang Siwei were admitted to the imperial examinations, and their influence in officialdom has always been strong.

Historically, Wang Zhizhen was the protagonist of the later evil book case, Han Yu was in power until the Chongzhen period, and the Donglin Party dispute continued until the Southern Ming Dynasty!
They have always held power, and the benefits they gain will only grow. Their position as the leader of Shanxi merchants will never be replaced.

It is obvious that the eight imperial merchants were cultivated after the three major families of Puzhou took control of power.

These three powerful families had all become gentry, so it was naturally impossible for them to engage in such lowly occupations as business. They tried their best to send their sons into officialdom to secretly seize power. As for their in-laws, if they were good at studying, they would become officials, and if they were not, they would help them manage the business and make money.

That’s how the eight imperial merchants emerged!

What do you mean by "the Ming Dynasty will not cede territory, pay compensation, or seek peace, the emperor will guard the national border, and the king will die for the country"?

The Longqing agreement was to cede tens of millions of acres of fertile land in Hetao in exchange for peace!
The reason why many people say that the Longqing Agreement is good is that they have actually fallen into the most basic sales routine, like Wang Po selling melons and boasting about what she has sold.

Everyone only knows that Wang Po is praising her melons. Does anyone know whether the melons Wang Po sells are really good?

The three great families in Puzhou all came from merchant families, so they were very familiar with the trick of boasting about themselves.

They used all their strength to praise Longqing's deliberations, and those who did not know the truth naturally thought that Longqing's deliberations were good.

Is the Longqing Collaboration really a good thing?
The Ming Dynasty court did not gain any benefits from this, and the northern barbarians continued to invade!

What's the point of paying tribute at the horse market? The imperial court didn't even see a single horse hair, yet they still paid tribute of more than 30,000 war horses a year. The Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Imperial Guards combined only had a few thousand war horses.

There was also commercial tax, which the court did not increase at all. There were also the Hedong Salt Field and the Changlu Salt Field, which had become the private salt fields of the three major families in Puzhou.

No wonder Tumen Khan shot arrows at them as if they were free, no wonder the weapons of the Tuman people were made of ten-fire refined iron like the border troops, and no wonder their clothes were made of the finest cotton.

The three wealthy families in Puzhou really do everything they can to make dirty money. The so-called consensus is just to make it easier for them to do business and make money.

Not only did they do business with the Tumed tribe of Tatar, they also used the Tumed tribe as a cover to do business with the other five major tribes of Tatar, the four major tribes of Oirat, and even the Jianzhou Jurchens and Haixi Jurchens!
(End of this chapter)