Nanming Yiming

Chapter 176 Threatening the Fan Family
When the business war in Suzhou was in full swing, Qian Mo also quietly came to Suzhou.

Liu Yichen's request to send food again made him feel uneasy.The 100 million shi of grain transferred by the governor's office to Suzhou has already used almost all of the grain in Hangzhou, and the military grain will be used any more.

If the food war in Suzhou spread to other state capitals this time, it would cause the food prices in the entire Jiangsu-Zhejiang governor's area to be completely out of control, which he could not bear.

If Franco hadn't sent a batch of Champa rice in time and the 20 shi of grain from Joseon King Lee Ho, I'm afraid he would have planted it this time.Fortunately, the food price in Suzhou has returned to normal, and it is finally safe and sound!
The next step is to deal with the aftermath. The intelligence department began to collect the net, and soon caught Shi Kun who came forward to collect the food this time.

Shi Kun quickly recruited Mr. Fan, the mastermind behind the scenes, but when the intelligence department arrived, Mr. Fan had disappeared.Fortunately, the entourage of this Mr. Fan was caught, and he learned that this Mr. Fan was going to board the ship in Jiangyin.

Mr. Fan knew that this kind of fried rice would definitely attract the attention of the government, so he arranged his way out very early. When the news of Shi Kun's disappearance came, he started to run away.

At this time, the boatman said: "Mr. Fan, there are warships from the Ming army catching up behind us. If we continue to move forward, I'm afraid we will be caught up by them if we don't reach Zhenjiang."

Mr. Fan was also taken aback when he saw the tall Ming warships in the distance. He didn't expect the Ming army to come so fast.So he said: "It must be too late to reach Zhenjiang, go north directly to Jingjiang."

At this time, Jingjiang was not in Jiangbei, but a large island in the center of the Yangtze River, not far from Jiangyin.

However, Mr. Fan, who managed to escape from death, found that he did not escape the pursuit of the Ming army, because the navy of the Ming army directly surrounded Jingjiang.

Not long after, what he was most worried about happened. The Ming army began to bombard Jingjiang City.

Since the fall of Chongming, the navy of the Ming army has completely controlled the waterway of the Yangtze River. As long as the Ming army is willing, let alone Zhenjiang and Nanjing, the giant ships of the Ming army can even sail directly to Jiujiang and Wuchang.

Therefore, Jingjiang does not have many soldiers and horses, because no matter how many people are sent, they cannot defend it.

After the sound of the guns, a large number of Ming troops landed in Jingjiang, and after only a stick of incense, the Qing troops in Jingjiang surrendered.

Mr. Fan wanted to cry, but the Ming army was so ruthless that they directly captured Jingjiang City in order to arrest him.

Soon he was taken back to the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou.

After Xu Shaoquan bought the Humble Administrator's Garden, his descendants had lived here for nearly a hundred years, but their family was in decline, so Xu's descendants had to sell the garden to Liu Ziheng at a low price of 2 taels of silver.When Liu Ziheng got the Humble Administrator's Garden, it was already very dilapidated. After spending a lot of money to renovate it, he gave it to Qian Mo as an engagement gift.

Qian Mo liked the environment here very much, so he took it as his foothold in Suzhou.

Mr. Fan came to a courtyard, and saw a young man in a python robe drinking tea.

He opened his mouth and said: "Cao Min joins the Duke of Yue State of Ming Dynasty!"

Qian Mo said: "Mr. Fan, it's such a big deal. You actually want to buy out the food in Suzhou City. I really want to know how much money your Jiexiu Fan family has, but you don't even pay attention to me."

Mr. Fan said: "Mr. Yue was joking. You won 500 million taels in a game of 'Tianxia Chess'. How dare my Fan family not take you seriously."

"It's just that the decree of the Governor's Office of Jiangsu and Zhejiang did not expressly stipulate that merchants cannot buy and sell grains in large quantities. Fan was only doing business legally and did not violate the government's ban on transporting grain out of Suzhou. I don't know why the Duke of Yue arrested me?"

Qian Mo smiled and said, "Mr. Fan may have misunderstood you. I just want to see you, so I sent my subordinates to invite you. Who knew you left in such a hurry, they just took down Jingjiang City."

"Should I call you Fan Sanbo?"

Mr. Fan was taken aback. He didn't expect Qian Mo to guess his identity. It seemed that his every move could not escape his control.At this time, he was also afraid for a while. Fortunately, he did not secretly transport the grain to Yangzhou, otherwise he must have been caught by the Ming army and stolen.In fact, the Ming army suddenly strengthened the blockade, and it was impossible for him to transport so much grain out; it was possible to smuggle 100 shi secretly, but it was absolutely impossible for [-] million shi not to alarm the Ming army.

Mr. Fan said: "Villain Fan Sanba, I don't know why the Duke of Yue invites the villain to come here."

Qian Mo said: "I won't give in. Your Fan family's status as an imperial merchant depends on planning in advance. To put it bluntly, it depends on making money from war."

"On my territory of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Governor's Mansion, you are welcome to do business honestly, but if you want to make money through malicious hype, there is no way."

"I know you are not convinced. I feel that this time I forcibly imposed a blockade to prevent your outside money from entering and the inside of your grain from getting out, so that your success will fall short. But have you ever thought about it, even if you transport the grain? Nanking or Yangzhou, can I stop my giant ships from bombarding the docks and reducing them to a heap of waste?"

Fan Sanba was surprised by Qian Mo's words, but thinking about what he had just experienced in Jingjiang, he knew that Qian Mo was not exaggerating.Perhaps his choice to fight Qian Mo in Suzhou was a mistake in itself, and he had absolutely no chance of winning.

In fact, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Governor's Mansion is more than just a powerful navy, and the Qing army did not take advantage of the land battle.As the head of the eight imperial merchants, the Fan family naturally understood the situation clearly, otherwise they would not have made their bets in advance.

He knew that the current situation of the Qing court was not good, otherwise he would not have directly plundered them, and borrowed 200 million stones of grain and 500 million taels of silver from the Shanxi merchants headed by the eight imperial merchants.

The Ministry of Household Affairs put it nicely as "borrowing", but they couldn't expect the Manchus to return the loaned money and food. Of course, they wanted to make up for the loss outside the embankment, and in the name of raising food, they wantonly tore up leeks in the south of the Yangtze River.

The Qing court was short-staffed, so they turned a blind eye to these things, and they could easily attack Huizhou merchants in Yangzhou.

It just so happened that the heavy rain in northern Zhejiang caused a shortage of summer grain, so the Fan family took action against Suzhou, hoping to take the opportunity to make more money.

In fact, Fan Sanba originally disapproved of the move, because the Jiangsu-Zhejiang governor's government's control is too strict, and the government's mortgage loan policy makes it difficult to force the people to buy grain at sky-high prices.

But last year, his uncle Fan Yongfang was cheated of 100 million taels of silver by Qian Mo's "Tianxia Bureau", and finally committed suicide by throwing himself into the Qinhuai River. One million taels is nothing to his Fan family, but this incident made the Fan family lose face.

In addition, this time their "eight great imperial merchants" were plundered by the Qing court, all because of Qian Mo's defeat of the Qing army in the south of the Yangtze River, which can be described as a national hatred and family hatred.So this time, Fan Yongdou, the head of the Fan family, decided to teach Qian Mo a lesson.

As the eldest son of the Fan family, Fan Sanba is also the most valued successor of his father, so he is naturally duty-bound; he originally thought that with the financial resources of the Fan family, even if he could not force the people of Suzhou to buy food at exorbitant prices, he could buy food from Suzhou at a relatively low price. It is also good to buy grain and release grain at a high price in Yangzhou City, but unexpectedly this is a net of heaven and earth, and it is impossible to get out after entering.

After thinking about it for a while, Fan Sanba said: "This time, our Fan family admits it. I made the decision on behalf of the Fan family and donated it to the governor's office of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. But please don't meddle in Yangzhou. food prices."

Qian Mo looked at Fan Sanba in front of him, and felt a little appreciation. This guy did not hesitate to stop, and he really had a bit of courage.

Qian Mo said: "Mr. Fan really has a good plan, you are a profiteer from an enemy country, deliberately disrupting the Suzhou market; not to mention the food, even your own life is in the hands of the governor, you still want to use these to fight me Talk about terms?"

Fan Sanba said: "Then what does Duke Yue mean?"

Qian Mo said: "5 taels of silver and one stone of grain in Yangzhou, I will naturally sell the grain; if your Fan family is not convinced, you can fight me again in Yangzhou."

"But I'm going to say something ugly, if I get interested and want to visit the Slender West Lake, neither your Fan family nor the Qing army can stop me."

Qian Mo was too domineering, with so much food in his hands, Fan Sanba knew very well that they had no chance of winning whether it was a business fight or a martial fight.

Fan Sanba said: "Okay, my Fan family has withdrawn from Yangzhou, is this the head office?"

Qian Mo said: "My Jiangsu and Zhejiang Governor's Office welcomes legal businessmen, even if your Fan family wants to buy non-regulated goods from Hangzhou and Suzhou, I also welcome it."

"But since I have opened up the market to your Fan family, shouldn't your Fan family reciprocate?"

Fan Sanba is a smart person, he quickly guessed Qian Mo's purpose.

The foundation of their Fan family is in Zhangjiakou. It can be said that their eight imperial merchants have completely monopolized the trade with various ministries of Mongolia.He didn't expect that Qian Mo's hand would be so long that he would directly intervene in Mongolia's trade.

At the beginning, Fan Yongdou gained his status today by controlling the trade between Mongolia and Liaodong Jurchens, and selling all kinds of information along the way. This is the foundation of their Fan family.

Fan Sanba said: "Extra-oral trade with various Mongolian ministries is the exclusive business of our eight imperial merchants. I'm afraid it will be difficult to share it with the Duke of Yue. My father will definitely not agree."

Qian Mo said: "I really want to send some supplies to the Mongolian Sunite Department through the Fan family's trade line, but the money that should be earned should be made by your Fan family, and I will not shoot at your Fan family's business."

When Fan Sanba heard about Sunit's department, he instantly understood Qian Mo's plan.

In April of the third year of Shunzhi (1646), Teng Jisi, the leader of the Sunite tribe, and his younger brother Teng Jite led their troops, and suddenly defected to Khalkha Mongolia.In May of the same year, Doergun sent Duoduo to lead an army of more than 5 to join the tribes of Monan Mongolia to crusade against the Sunite tribe.The Qing army first defeated the army of Teng Jisi several times, and then successively defeated the 1 Mongolian army of Tuxietuhan Gonpo and Chechen Khan Shuolei of the Khalkha tribe.

The Tengjisi brothers who lost their support could only beg for surrender, and the Mongolian tribes of Khalkha also paid tribute to the Qing Dynasty to express their submission.

But Fan Sanba knew that the Mongolian Khans in Mobei had not really surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and they had been secretly recruiting troops.Mobei Mongolia is also the main customer of the Fan family. They also transport a large amount of living materials to Mobei, and occasionally some pig iron.However, as a staunch ally of the Qing Dynasty, they dare not transport such things as weapons and armor.

Fan Sanba understood that Qian Mo was trying to instigate Mobei Mongolia to rebel against the Qing Dynasty and shake the foundation of the Qing Dynasty!
He suddenly realized that the Duke of Yue in front of him was really scary. He should have never been to the land beyond the Great Wall in his life. How could he know the situation in Mongolia so well?This is truly strategizing thousands of miles away!

Maybe the Fan family should consider hedging their bets. He was really afraid that one day the Qing would be defeated by the Ming, and the Fan family would die without a place to bury them.

Fan Sanba asked in a low voice: "I don't know what the Duke of Yue wants our Fan family to transport?"

Qian Mo said: "Send a 200 fully armed cavalry!"

Fan Sanba said, "That's all?"

Qian Mo took out a list and handed it to Fan Sanba, and said, "The Fan family, please prepare the items on this list."

Fan Sanba saw that there were: iron shields, armor, iron arrows, gunpowder and other weapons on the list.

Qian Mo said: "These things are worth about 30 taels of silver, so it should be your ransom. As long as the Fan family sends these supplies and 200 elites to Mobei, I will let you go back."

"Afterwards, your Fan family can do business normally in the jurisdiction of our Jiangsu-Zhejiang governor's office, and your Fan family can take orders for the weapons needed by Mobei and Mongolia. If you can't meet the needs, you can purchase from the governor's office, and the profits will still belong to your Fan family. "

Fan Sanba said angrily: "The dignified Duke of Yue, why are you still doing kidnapping? You are trying to drag my Fan family into the water, and push my Fan family into an abyss of eternal doom!"

Qian Mo had a smirk on his face and said, "You find a way to convince Fan Yongdou yourself, otherwise I will tear up my ticket."

"I gave your Fan family a way to survive, and at the same time gave you a brand new business route. Your 200 million taels this time is not a loss!"

Fan Sanbo quickly sent his servant to deliver a letter to Fan Yongdou, and he expounded his point of view: the Ming army under Qian Mo's command is now very strong, and the Qing Dynasty is not sure of victory.He suggested that the Fan family bet on both sides, so that in the future, no matter which of the Ming and Qing Dynasties is the last to secure the world, or a situation of confrontation between the North and the South, their Fan family will remain invincible.

After Fan Yongdou received his son's letter, he was shocked at first. Although he thought that the Fan family might lose in Suzhou Chaoliang, he never expected that he would lose so thoroughly that he didn't even have any underwear left.

He even didn't expect Qian Mo to be so shameless, forcing his younger brother to death last year, and now threatening the Fan family with his son's life.But in the end, he was very happy to accept all of Qian Mo's conditions, because he felt that his son was right. In this troubled time, the Fan family must not hang themselves on a tree!
Although the imperial merchant's status is respected, but now he has begun to be plundered by the Qing Dynasty, "borrowing money and grain" will have the second and third times after the first time, and his life in the Fan family will definitely not be easy in the future.

Why not take this opportunity to transfer part of the family property to Hangzhou, so that no matter how the situation develops in the future, his Fan family can at least keep their wealth.

Qian Mo recruited Batu, the chief soldier of the Mongolian battalion, and asked him to take his 200 Mongolian cavalry back to the grassland to help his people get rid of the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

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(End of this chapter)