Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

The shopkeeper Chang was not hypocritical, he immediately stood up and sat on a chair beside him, and said with a smile: "Excuse me, Commander! The little one knows everything."

"Mr. Chang's name?"

"A humble name is humiliating, a single word is an autumn."

"Having spring and autumn is a good word!" Wu Shigong joked immediately after hearing the name of shopkeeper Chang.

Shopkeeper Chang was taken aback by the joke, and immediately understood what Wu Shigong meant. Wu Shigong was talking about Chang Qiu's family, and Chang Yuchun, the famous founder of the Ming Dynasty.

So Chang Qiu quickly said: "I dare not compare myself with King Kaiping, it's just that I have the same surname, I am ashamed to be from the same clan."

"Oh? Are you really of the same clan as King Kaiping?"

"It's a disgrace to our ancestors, and I'm ashamed to hold such a lowly career. But the commander-in-chief defeated the Tartars in Hejian, and the younger one has heard of the commander-in-chief's reputation. In the future, he will definitely share the same name and title with the king of Kaiping." Na Changqiu met After Wu Shigong, there has been a lot of good words.

"Hahaha——! Let me borrow your good words!" Wu Shigong laughed again, and said, "But I am new here, and I don't know many things about Liaodong. I am looking for a local. I hope that the shopkeeper will not hide anything. Are you willing to teach me?"

"Where! Where! The commander-in-chief is too polite. The little one must know everything."

"That's good! Sir, do you know the number of Tartars who besieged Jinzhou?"

"..."

"Does sir know how many officers and soldiers are there? How many officers and soldiers are there in Shanhaiguan and other places in Liaodong? How many officers and soldiers are there inside and outside the pass city?"

"..."

"Sir, do you know how many imperial forts and villages there are outside the Guancheng? How many cannons and guns are there?"

"..."

After Wu Shigong's questioning, he also knew something about the enemy and us.Although Chang Qiu didn't know much as a folk shopkeeper, what he knew did help Wu Shigong a lot.Some things even involve military secrets, and these in Runing will never be known to the outside world, so Chang Qiu's answers surprised Wu Shigong a little.

After asking the questions of concern, Wu Shigong pretended to be very casual and asked: "Thank you for your help, sir! What you said has helped me a lot. But I have some doubts. The accent of your husband should not be from Liaodong! How do you know so many customs of Liaodong?"

But Chang Qiu didn't care about Wu Shigong's temptation at all, and he replied straightforwardly: "The young one is indeed not from Liaodong, and his hometown is Pingyao, Shanxi. The young one failed in school when he was young, and he can only do business in the clan when he grows up. The young one I have been in Liaodong for more than [-] years, I have been lucky enough to host here for seven or eight years, and I have traveled dozens of times with caravans, so I am familiar with the inside and outside of the pass."

This made Wu Shigong even more strange.From the Wanli year to the present, the Ming and Qing Dynasties have fought for more than 20 years. Could it be that in Liaodong, the forefront of the battle, the two sides have not interrupted their business?

So Wu Shigong asked: "Could it be that Mr. Chang has been doing business with Tartars all these years. Isn't he afraid of the court's investigation?"

Chang Qiu smiled disapprovingly, and then laughed softly: "Where do the fur goods, pearls, and ginseng in the pass come from? What kind of business do the commercial firms in the pass city do? Of course, these small merchants will never cooperate with Jian I have a relationship with slaves, and they are all dealing with some tribes in Mongolia, and I will never dare to violate the rules of the court." After finishing speaking.Chang Qiu showed Wu Shigong a mysterious smile that said "You understand!"

Wu Shigong smiled back tacitly, and understood what Chang Qiu meant.The caravan leaving the customs had no idea where they were going.Who knows whether they are going to Manchu or Mongolia?Besides.The Mongolian tribes in Liaodong are also vassals of the Manchus, so doing business with Mongolia is doing business with the Manchus, there is no difference between the two.

But after understanding, Wu Shigong was even more surprised. It was the first time he and Chang Qiu met, so it should be a shallow conversation.But Chang Qiu didn't hide anything like an old friend, as if he wasn't afraid at all that Wu Shigong was an "upright" and "principled" court official.Not to mention that Wu Shigong would turn his face on the spot.

While Wu Shigong was not paying attention, Chang Qiu secretly looked down at Wu Shigong's face.Finding Wu Shigong's expression was composed, he was secretly relieved.

As a shopkeeper of a commercial firm who is in charge of the market in Liaodong.As a local businessman who can extend his relationship to high-level officials in Liaodong, and will lend his house to the general soldier, every word Chang Qiu said must have a purpose, and he would definitely not be in the first conversation with Wu Shigong. in nonsense.

The reason for this is that Chang Qiu wanted to test Wu Shigong's attitude towards this kind of prohibited business inside and outside the customs, and wanted to further win the relationship with Wu Shigong.

Although he knew that Chang Qiu's enthusiasm was a little too much, but Wu Shigong would not spend any effort to guess, what kind of scheming did Chang Qiu have?After all, the difference in status between the two of them is too great, it is impossible for Wu Shigong to be swayed by Chang Qiu.

So Wu Shigong continued to ask: "I am here to thank Mr. Chang first. Many of Mr. Chang's words are about military affairs, and outsiders don't know about them. And Mr. Chang's candid confession shows that Mr. Chang is a person." Liaodongtong!

In fact, Wu Shigong was asking tactfully: How did Chang Qiu know so many military secrets.

Unexpectedly, Chang Qiu still waved his hand indifferently and said: "The commander-in-chief is too famous. Outside the customs is a wild land, and the caravans of merchants will always camp in the military castle. It is not surprising to know this. And the younger one told the commander-in-chief. The inside of the Guancheng is not a secret either, as long as the commander-in-chief sends someone to inquire inside the city, he will know everything, and the small ones are nothing more than telling a thing or two in advance."

Today's Wu Shigong was surprised too many times, so after hearing this, he was a little numb.If according to Chang Qiu's statement, these military secrets have been widely circulated among the people, then what secrets does the Ming army have?As long as the Manchus sent a few spies, they didn't need to venture into the army to investigate, and they could learn everything about the Ming army from the people, so the Ming army really became a sieve.

If this is the case, it will be difficult to fight if one side is transparent and the other side keeps secret.But seeing Chang Qiu's normal attitude, Wu Shigong knew that the Ming army was already accustomed to this kind of situation, and the secrecy of the battlefield seemed difficult to change. After all, Wu Shigong was just a commander in chief, not a commander. The commander-in-chief of the Ming army in Liaodong, his hands can't reach so long, it is impossible to grasp the secrets in the army.

But Chang Qiu saw that Wu Shigong was in a trance, he thought it was time to strike while the iron was hot, so he continued to laugh and said: "Commander! The servants in the house may not suit the commander's wishes. The young one happened to have a daughter by his side, she was virtuous and intelligent since she was a child , Gentle and considerate, should we send her into the mansion now and let her serve the commander?" (To be continued...)