Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 517

Tianjin.

There are three pontoon bridges and two passes at the lower tip of the Jiuhe River.

As the place where the emperor crossed Tianjin, it became more and more prosperous after Yongle moved the capital in Ming Dynasty. Tianjin was also called Tianjin Sanwei because of the establishment of three guards. flourish.

canal dock.

July is the busiest time for the Canal, but this year's Tianjin Wharf is particularly deserted.The Cao Ding on the pier also sat weakly under the shade of the trees, waiting for the merchant ship who didn't know if it would come or not.

Shunfeng Bodyguard Bureau is a time-honored bodyguard company that has been rooted in Tianjin Wharf for a century.But there are also people who are familiar with Tianjin Wei and know that the Shunfeng Escort has changed owners more than half a year ago. The original old club had gone out of the mouth a few years ago and met a horse thief who was in trouble. After returning, all the reputation accumulated by the escort company was gone, and the entire escort agency was sold in order to compensate the owner for the loss.

However, this old club gave birth to a dandy, who had everything to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble, but the business of delivering darts was completely incomprehensible. They are all output.

The old club was so angry that he died, and the young club also disappeared in Tianjin Wharf, never to be seen again.Not long after, someone bought the yard of the bodyguard agency, even wiped the plaque again, recruited some original bodyguard masters and guards, and re-established the bodyguard agency.

The new owner said that he was the nephew of the old owner. Hearing about the changes in the family business, he came here to revive the ancestral property.

It should be said that this new owner in his 40s is also very capable. After coming here, he visited the docks in various places in Tianjin Wei, made friends with both black and white friends, and also has good skills. A gold-threaded big ring knife quickly gained some fame in Tianjin Wei.

And successfully picked up a few darts, successfully completed the task, and won back some reputation.

Even this owner not only runs the bodyguard agency, but also intervenes in several major low-level industries at the foot of the car and boat shop, and he has actually made a name for himself.

Originally, the innocence of the car and boat shop should be killed. It is said that these industries are full of evil deeds such as cheating, kidnapping and even extortion, but this owner Wang's work is upright.

Not only is the price fair, open and transparent, but also has excellent credit, and it does what it says.Taking advantage of the turmoil in the current situation, he took over some shops. The restaurants and teahouses were clean and hygienic. They never slaughtered customers, and the hotels were also run in a serious manner.

In today's turbulent situation, the Wang family can still transport salt and grain from Changlu and Huaiyang, grain from outside the pass, livestock from outside the mouth, and even ginseng from Liaodong and medicinal materials from North Korea. .

Deliver the goods to the Wang family, or take their boats and chariots to travel. Whether it is the bandits who occupy the mountains and the kings on the road, or the pirates who roam the oceans, they all have connections. Even if they encounter some hungry people and bandits, they You can also go up and negotiate to buy the road.

Even if there is an accident, whether it is lost goods or lost people, they will take the initiative to bear the loss, and even give reasonable compensation, which is satisfactory.

In this turbulent time, with such a signboard, it is natural for trading to go against the current.

Even recently, Mr. Wang's family opened a new gold and silver shop, which not only started trading in gold and silver jewelry, but also operated concurrently in gold and silver exchange, as well as deposit, lending, and exchange businesses.

The banker's notes issued by their family can be exchanged for small-amount bills, and large-amount registered bills can also be reserved at any time with a code, agreed to cash withdrawals, and even help with foreign exchange. In this era of panic and chaos, this This kind of business is very much needed for many people.

Several merchants in long gowns came from the pier and went straight to the Shunfeng Inn.

"Guest officer, do you stay at the top or stay in the hotel?"

The tipping point is eating, and the inn also operates catering, and even belongs to mid-to-high-end consumption. Compared with the accommodation business, this top-notch consumption sometimes brings higher profits.

"It's almost time for dinner, so let's have a meal first. What's the dish?"

As soon as the waiter saw these silk long gowns of guest officials, and they were very particular about their speech, he knew that they were not ordinary guests as soon as he said it. This was a guest, and he immediately became more enthusiastic and introduced him quickly.

"The cook of our Shunfeng Inn is a well-known chef in Tianjin Wei. The kitchen is well-equipped with all kinds of ingredients, there are many special specialties, and there are many small spectators. How about recommending some of our restaurant? special food bar,

Shrimp with pepper and vinegar, sheep's head and hoof, goose meat, salty mustard and lamb tripe plate, garlic and vinegar white blood soup, spicy vinegar kidney paste, steamed fresh fish, steamed noodles with five flavors, mutton crystal horn, three delicacies soup, minced pepper How about mutton, mung bean chess piece noodles, garlic cheese, bean soup, bubble tea, and fragrant rice? "

When the guest heard the menu, he smiled and said, "You really want to kill our pigs."

"Don't dare. These are all the delicacies of our restaurant. In the past, the imperial cuisine was served in the palace. To tell you the truth, the chef of our restaurant, Zushang, was indeed an imperial cook in the palace."

"Hahaha, then I want a private room on the second floor. The table you mentioned has all the dishes, and then a jug of good wine. I want Shaoxing Zhuangyuan red, preferably 20 years old, and the 18-year-old daughter red."

The guy's eyes widened a little when he heard this.

But the guest said, "Go, remember to tell your shopkeeper, don't fool us, we are old wine worms, this Shaoxing wine is of the right age, but you can tell it once you taste it."

The guy nodded excitedly and quickly backed away.

In no time, I ran to Wang Dong's house, "My master, my master, someone from my hometown came to order a jar of 20-year-old Zhuangyuan red and 18-year-old daughter red."

Wang Dong's family was reading the letter, and when they heard it, they just said, "And then?"

"It is indeed someone from my hometown, and I said a code word later, waiting for you to go, it has been arranged in the Tianzi box of the Cziyuan."

Cingzi Courtyard is a relatively quiet courtyard of Shunfeng Inn. The Tianzi room is the upper room, and it is also a large suite. It has a bedroom, a living room and a side room. The furniture in it is both tasteful and unobtrusive , always just right, low-key and connotative.

Compared with ordinary big car shops, the furnishings here are good, and even the bedding is top-grade, and it is replaced and cleaned every day.

Of course, the consumption here is also very high.

Wang Dong's family came with the shopkeeper and Xiaoer.

"Hello, guests, Mr. Wang is the owner of the trumpet."

A group of people who were sitting drinking tea in the hall also got up when they heard the sound, and a middle-aged man at the head cupped his hands, "Heavenly King Gaidihu!"

Wang Dongjia smiled and continued, "The pagoda suppresses the river demon!"

"Earthquake Gaogang, a school of streams and mountains through the ages!"

"The door faces the sea, and the three rivers flow together for thousands of years!" The guest answered, "Lu Wenxiu, a businessman from Huang County!"

Wang Dong's family took a look at the people in the room, and Lu Wenxiu said, "They all come with me from my hometown, my brothers."

"It's the first time we meet, I still look at Haihan if I am rude, how is the family? How is the old patriarch?"

"All good, all good. I'm here to sell some shredded tobacco, and bring some copper coins along the way." Lu Wenxiu is actually from Dengzhou. He is a senior spy affiliated to Chen Qianfu, the General Staff of the Imperial Army, and is active in Beijing. Tianjin area.

Under the guise of a businessman, on the surface he is a tobacco merchant smuggling shredded tobacco, and secretly also sells some fake copper coins.

This identity is actually very useful. Nowadays, shredded tobacco is smoked by many people in Beijing and Tianjin, and the consumption is high, but the imperial court severely prohibits it. However, this stuff is highly profitable and many people deliberately smuggle it. Those who do this kind of smuggling business must Dealing with black and white, this is also a good channel for information transmission.

As for casting private money, starting from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, because the imperial court cast less money and the demand from the people was greater, private casting was rampant, and the profits were still high.

Zhu Yihai integrated and established the mint of the Shaotian Dynasty in the south, which minted both silver coins and copper coins, and of course some Kongfang copper coins.

While casting the currency in circulation in the dynasty, several workshops dedicated to casting counterfeit money were also secretly set up.There are not only fake Chongzhen Tongbao, but also fake Shunzhi Tongbao, and even fake Jiajing Wanli gold back money.

These privately minted fake copper coins come in various styles, but the materials are cut corners. The purpose of their casting is to circulate in the clearing and control area, disrupt their economy, and make a lot of profits at the same time.

Fake money is extremely profitable, even doubled.

At this time, the Shunzhi Tongbao issued by the Qing Dynasty basically imitated the style of the Ming Dynasty, and even the back was a bare board without any characters, only one side had the four characters Shunzhi Tongbao.

However, the amount of money minted after the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs was limited, and the demand for copper coins for small transactions in the north was actually huge. The market was flooded with private minting, and bad coins drove out good coins. It's full of bad money.

This situation is essentially a huge loss of official currency. The more they mint, the less they will go into circulation, and they will only be locked up in the collection of the people, and even these copper coins with high copper content will be destroyed by private minters. Cast privately minted money with lower copper content for profit.

The imperial court was cut leeks by private miners, and the more they were cast, the harder they were cut.

Now Zhu Yihai is also cutting tartar leeks, a large amount of smuggled counterfeit money is transported to the clean-up control area for circulation, and even secretly recovers the tartar official money.

Selling cigarettes and minting private money are transactions that involve the entire chain of interests. Behind Lu Wenxiu is Daming, who is naturally very strong, so it is easy to attract many related people from black and white to join the cooperation and let them board the ship together. After making money, I started to get the required information from them, and even asked them to help pass the information, and even became a member of the intelligence line.

In contrast, Shunfeng's Wang Dongjia is actually a high-level spy, but he belongs to Jinyiwei. Using the two lines of Jinyiwei and Dongchang, he quickly developed a large industry here in Tianjin. For secret intelligence strongholds, etc.

Lu Wenxiu and him are not on the same line, but they will cooperate if necessary.

The high-level spies from the two intelligence lines of the factory guard and the imperial battalion met directly, it must be an urgent matter, otherwise they would not have met so easily.

"We have obtained some information that Dorgon died, and the death was very strange. Now there is news that Duoduo and Azig were also killed. We are still unable to confirm these news, but these news are of great importance. So now I hope you can help, find out the authenticity of these news as soon as possible, and then pass it back to Shandong." Lu Wenxiu said directly.

Wang Guofan also said bluntly, "The news I have now is that Azig and his son were arrested by Daishan and Jierharang. It seems that Duoduo suddenly contracted smallpox and is now isolated in Tongzhou. It is serious and may not last for a few days."

"Also, Hauge has already entered Beijing, but there is another news that Hauge killed the imprisoned Azig, so now he is also imprisoned by the two regents."

"We really don't know about Hauge, we have to post it immediately."

Wang Guofan said, "I have another piece of news, but it is not very reliable. It is said, it is said that the Tartar Queen Mother Bumbu Taimi summoned Duoduo to a private meeting in the palace, and the two turned upside down in the imperial garden. Being caught by Daishan, Jierhalang and others on the spot, and then they executed Duoduo in public and imprisoned the Queen Mother, this news is too outrageous, the credibility is very low, it is probably a fake news.”

Lu Xiufu was also shocked, "This is too bizarre, it must be a romantic scandal made up by the public."

Tianjin is close to Beijing, so the news here is very well-informed, but after all, it involves the cause of Dorgon's death, such important figures as Duduo, Azig, Hauge and even the Empress Dowager. It is difficult to distinguish whether the news is true or false.

"Let's check one by one. Where there is no wind, there is always a reason." Lu Wenxiu and Wang Guofan carefully exchanged the latest information in their hands, and then decided to pass the information back to Denglai first, and at the same time continue to investigate separately.

"No matter how you say this time, it seems that Dorgon must be dead and can't die anymore, and the Duoduo and Azige brothers will definitely have an internal fight with Daishan and Jierhalang, and even Haoge this time Will also join, the good show is yet to come!"

Wang Guofan also nodded, he has been investigating the real cause of Dorgon's death now, the death was too sudden, and he already had some other news that Dorgon was killed.

"Spread all the information we have in Beijing, Tianjin and other places. The wider the spread, the better. Since the water is already so muddy, let's make it even muddier, so that it will be easier to fish in troubled waters!"

Lu Wenxiu also thought it was a good idea.

To fish in troubled waters, the muddier the natural water, the better.

Even releasing such news deliberately can help to observe the Tatars' reactions, so as to infer the information they really want.

"Now the Tartars are looking for their own death. At this time, they dare to fight like this."

"Do you think we should send troops directly to attack Beijing and Tianjin?"

Wang Guofan smiled and stroked his beard, "We're just collecting information, passing on news, and by the way instigating against local officials and gentry, and recruiting some powerful men. As for the rest, it's not up to us to decide."

"That's right." Lu Wenxiu asked, "Recently, Tu Guobao has been making a lot of noise in Hebei. Even Hong Chengchou was caught by him and successfully sent to Denglai. Has he moved closer here recently?"

"After all, this is the capital city of the Tatars, and the defenses are strict. The Tu Guobao dare not come here, but they sent people to pick them up a few times, and got some information back."

Tu Guobao, the governor of Tianjin, actually didn't dare to approach Tianjin at all. He seemed to have fled to the Baiyangdian area recently.

After chatting for a while, Lu Wenxiu and the others planned to leave, Wang Guofan said with a smile, "You have ordered a table of good dishes, all of which are our restaurant's calming signature dishes, how can you not try them and say go, you must taste them well."

"I just came in for a while, ordered food and then left without eating, it's easy to catch the eye."

Lu Wenxiu nodded, "Indeed, if you don't eat for free, you won't eat for free, but you can pay us a little bit cheaper when you pay the bill later!"

"This meal please."

"Then what's the matter, how can we pay you for a meal? In this way, you will pay the bill to Huai Fengtou Gang in a while."

"Alright." Wang Guofan didn't argue much, it was just a meal.He knew the Huai Fengtou Gang, and this was the Liang Gang on the canal.

There are 120 and eight gangs in the grain transportation gang, all of whom run canals to transport grain all the year round. Because they run water transportation all the year round, it is inevitable that there will be battles. Therefore, over the years, the grain transportation gangs in various places have formed gangs called grain gangs. Gang, also called Cao Gang.

They often have some strongholds at the docks of the canal. After a long time, these grain gangs are not only simple water transport organizations, but also secretly operate some other smuggling and entrainment, and even other things .

In the end, Cao Ding's disciples even recruited some social idlers, etc., and formed some organizations that were neither gray nor white.

Anyway, the activities are at the docks along the canal, basically organized by fellow villagers.

The Huaifengtou Gang is a grain gang belonging to the original Nanzhili. The whole Nanzhili is divided into more than 50 grain gangs to transport grain, with a total of more than 5000 grain boats. It has great influence in the grain gang.Among them, there are sixteen gangs in the Lufeng Huaisi area alone.

In addition to the Huaifengtou Gang, there is also the Huaifeng Second Gang.

The Huai Fengtou gang is mainly composed of Suzhou people. Their gang leader has a good relationship with Lu Xiufu. Now they are engaged in private money and shredded tobacco business together. That, is an excellent cover.

"Let's serve!"

The ancestor of Shunfeng Chef was indeed an imperial chef in the palace. This skill is outstanding. Lu Xiufu was very satisfied with the dishes served one by one. In the end, he was a little embarrassed, so he sent someone to go to the hall of Huaifengtou Gang , and invited their leader Zhao Huairen over.

"This steamed goose is really good."

"This roast duck is also amazing!"

"I think this Nanjing salted water duck is also very authentic!"

Several people let go of eating, very happy.

Zhao Huairen, the leader of the Huaifengtou Gang, came over and paid for the wine very politely, and finally took the initiative to pay the bill. This guy was very polite and even a little gentle when he was eating, but everyone knows that the canal is not easy to run, and it is even more difficult to transport grain. Transportation is all about property and life, and there is no room for error.

Therefore, the government has also made great efforts to win over these Cao Ding who specialize in water transportation, and even gradually formed such a peculiar Cao Gang.

Huaifengtou opened a church at Tianjin Wei Wharf. In addition to being responsible for the annual grain transportation in Fengyang, they also run many other private businesses to support these brothers and their families.

What kind of business, guarding the hospital, or even occasionally smuggling is already considered the second main business, and I don't even mind the occasional cameo kidnapping, robbery or something.

The world is in chaos, and life is even more difficult.

Lu Xiuwen took the initiative to seek cooperation with them, privately minted copper coins, sold shredded tobacco, private salt, and even arms. The two parties cooperated very happily, and finally introduced him to the imperial camp of Daming in the south to handle errands.Zhao Huaiyi did not refuse. In troubled times, there must be a backer. Now that Daming's brand has become stronger again, he, a fellow of Ming Taizu, is naturally happy to join him.

In the future, if you have meritorious service from the dragon, it will be better than smuggling and kidnapping tickets all the time.

After leaving the Shunfeng Inn, Lu Xiuwen handed the packed leftovers to Zhao Huaiyi, "Arrange a boat to Beijing immediately."

"I'll take the boat with you personally." Zhao Huaiyi didn't hesitate at all.

"Okay, bring more trustworthy brothers."

"Don't worry, the brothers in my gang are all good brothers who can risk their lives."

(End of this chapter)