Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 826

Tomorrow, there will be two capitals and thirteen provinces. Counting the military towns and foreign feudal vassals, it is really an incomparably vast territory with a territory of thousands of miles.

In this era, the problem brought about by such a large territory is the inconvenience of transmitting news. The capital is located on the northern border of Daming, and the emperor guards the gate of the country. The time is too long, after all, the speed of a fast horse is also limited.

This is why it is necessary to set up Nanjing Six Departments in Nanjing, and set up a trinity system of Nanjing Ministry of War Shangshu, Nanjing guarding eunuchs and Nanjing garrison.

News from the capital went to Nanjing, to various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River, and the horses left Beijing quickly. People only dismounted when changing horses.

The Ming Dynasty’s official business is eleven days, that is to say, it is normal for the news from the two capitals to arrive on the eleventh day.

However, how many officials of the capital are from Jiangnan, how many policies of the capital are inextricably related to Jiangnan, and a large number of materials transported by water are transported from Jiangnan.

In the officialdom and shopping malls, there are many political and financial matters that require constant communication. Not to mention anything else, the Lianghuai salt merchants are the most wealthy in the world, and the news about the salt industry from the Ministry of Finance is extremely important to them, and there are slight fluctuations They are all in and out of one hundred thousand or even one million taels, how can we not be careful.

With better horses, you will not be blocked by any official errands along the road, and you can truly achieve a [-]-mile rotation, so that the horses can always keep moving at a high speed. The fastest time for the capital to go to Nanjing can be eight days. It is said that it can be done Six and a half days.

This route does not belong to the government, but is jointly established by the wealthy merchants in the south of the Yangtze River. The salt merchants in the two Huaihe Rivers and the wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River all benefit from this route.

Wang Tong had been operating in Tianjin Wei for three years before he set up a postal route between Beijing and Tianjin, while the rich and powerful families in the south of the Yangtze River had been there for 200 years.

Baoding Mansion and Zhending Mansion, which are close to Shuntian Mansion, may not know any news from the imperial court, but Jiangnan has already known it. The family is very representative, and I don't know how many people are staring at it.

Wang Tong received the order during the wedding in mid-June, and he will only leave Beijing in mid-July, so there is no reason why the Jiangnan side didn't know, anyway, Emperor Wanli's attitude is very clear, and Wang Tong is not in a hurry.

There are tolerances on the left and right, so follow the official business, board the boat at the Tongzhou Wharf, go all the way south along the canal, and then cross the river to the Jiangnan side. The journey will take about 20 days, leisurely.

There were not many people who came from the capital to see them off, but Li Wenyuan, Lu Wancai and other acquainted officials saw them off, and after a few instructions there, everyone went back.

This time, of course, all the soldiers around Wang Tong were brought along, but Ma Sanbiao asked him to stay. Now Ma Sanbiao also holds the title of Deputy Thousand Household in Jinyiwei. Ma Sanbiao, a skilled warrior, can help a lot.

It will take three days and two nights to sail from Tongzhou to Tianjin if everything goes well. Wang Tong brought a total of thirteen ships with more than a hundred soldiers plus equipment, which is more than enough.

According to Wang Tong's habit, there are no people around him, and the guards are all busy, but this time it is different from the past, but there are five servants in green clothes and small hats busy on the boat.

Except for Tan Dahu and Tan Erhu, most of the guards were on rotation, and some of them stayed for a short time. After seeing Wang Tong's servants, they were surprised and discussed privately:

"Our adults have also started to show off!"

But Tan Dahu and Tan Erhu recognized one of the servants, among other things, when Wang Tong returned to the capital, the Shi Qi who unknowingly stole the silver was among them.

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"Returning to the adults, the subordinates are not familiar with Jiangnan."

That day when Wang Tong asked about Shi Qi's situation in the south of the Yangtze River, Shi Qi answered in this way. He finally had the opportunity to use it, so he should show more performance, but Shi Qi told the truth.

"My lord, there are many rich people in the south of the Yangtze River, but it's not easy to start. Except for the characters who have official connections with those wealthy families, the rest dare not do things there."

According to Shi Qi, all the big salt merchants in the Lianghuai area who can attack are big salt merchants. These wealthy families have salt lords and thugs under their hands. If you really want to do something to offend someone, if black and white go after and kill them together, you really can't escape.

As for the area from Nanjing to Hangzhou, the small people and the small households have nothing to do with them. If they reach out to the big households, they will accidentally offend some powerful figures, not to mention the servants of the big households. It is possible to be alarmed, that is really no way to go to heaven, and no way to go to earth.

At that time, Shi Qi was traveling in Shandong and Henan, and a group of them went to the south of the Yangtze River. They did several cases in Changzhou Mansion and defrauded a certain family of tens of thousands of taels of silver. After a few months, they finally had a carnival on the Qinhuai River. They thought that a place like Nanjing would be safe, but they didn't expect that they were surrounded by people on the flower boat, and they went out of the city without sending officials.

Lynching with thousands of knives, then throwing them in the pigsty and being gnawed clean. The family is broken.

This kind of thing is not one by one, after hearing too much, Shi Qi becomes terrified, and dare not touch this rotten head, it is actually quite funny to say, this kind of person would rather make a fuss about the government's grain and government bank, He didn't dare to touch the rich and powerful families in the south of the Yangtze River.

According to what Shi Qi said, coupled with Wang Tong's understanding, the biggest thing in this Jiangnan land is not the government, but these wealthy families.

In addition to what Shi Qi said, Wang Tong, as the commander of Jinyiwei, can learn more things. This kind of high-ranking family formed because of the imperial examination fame is not only arrogant and domineering in the local area, but also gradually formed their status in the court. faction.

Since Yan Song lost power, more and more officials from the DPRK and China came from several places in the south of the Yangtze River, and especially from various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River in Nanzhili. They communicated with each other and helped each other, and gradually became a party.

There is such a faction in the officialdom, those who are related, join this faction one after another to strengthen their own momentum, and those who are not related are extremely afraid and dare not offend.

Perhaps in the year of Longqing, these officials and scholars from various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River just helped each other from their hometowns, but with the development of time, those who are interested will be able to see the political interests contained in them. It is possible to become a real one party.

According to what Wang Tong knows, such people have already appeared. Gu Xiancheng, who has already entered the Department of Literature and Selection of the Ministry of Officials, and Li Sancai, who holds a high position in the Ministry of Household Affairs, although they cannot be regarded as high-ranking officials, they have great energy in the capital. , low-ranking officials, they can all exert influence.

Because everyone clamored for Shangshu in unison, they spent more time together, advanced and retreated together, and acted in an orderly manner. They naturally gained cohesion and knew the benefits of forming a party.

This year, officials from Huzhou have already gone to Shuzhou to criticize officials from Su, Song, and Chang for forming cliques, which has affected the selection of scholars by the imperial examination and the appointment of officials by the Ministry of Officials. There are too many people who are biased, and if things go on like this, Daming is probably the Daming of these three places.

In the past, Wang Tong would have cared more about this, but now his attitude doesn't matter. The officials of this faction are currently criticizing Wang Tong most severely for the Ping An brand and Tianjin Wei's various measures.

The reason is very simple. Their own interests have been damaged. Every year, they rely on their fame and status to sell goods to the capital for profit. This is a big business, and the shops in the capital have many contacts with officials. It is to cut the flesh directly from them.

Opening the sea is even more troublesome. Most of the goods from the south of the Yangtze River to the north are obtained by the sea merchants in the south of the Yangtze River from the maritime trade, and then take the canal all the way to the capital exempt from tax. Now Tianjin Wei Kaihai is equivalent to going to the south of the Yangtze River. The goods that go north can be sold directly in Tianjin Wei, which makes Jiangnan lose a large source of income.

Since the opening of the sea, Tianjin Wei and Wang Tong have been criticized by officials from Jiangnan and local officials and scholars in Jiangnan. The progress of the party has accelerated, and the degree has also deepened.

But it's useless for them to yell. Even Wang Tong is not trusted by the emperor. He can provide a large amount of money to the palace every year, allowing the royal family and foreign relatives to do business and transfer a large amount of wealth. How can such a place be cancelled, you guys To make money, others have to make money.

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Compared with the desolation when he left the capital, when Wang Tong came to Tianjinwei Wharf, it was really lively. Wang Tong's boat had just entered the watershed of Tianjinwei, and there was a boat to greet it immediately.

July is the busiest time on the canal, and the boats move slowly, but today the boats on the canal avoid, or temporarily stop at the upstream and downstream, to let Wang Tong's fleet pass first.

Cai Nan, Li Hutou, Sun Dahai, and Ren Yuan were all on board the welcoming boat, and when they arrived at the pier, the leaders of the Wang Tong system, leading figures in the Tianjin Wei business circle, local officials, and representatives of the people were all at the pier Waiting there, the gongs and drums were blaring, not to mention the scene of Zhang Hong dying.

Wang Tong walked out of the cabin wearing the robe of Marquis Dingbei, and when he was about to disembark, firecrackers were fired below, officials and gentry bowed to salute, and some white bodies knelt down.

"It's still hometown!"

Wang Tong sighed with emotion in a low voice.
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(End of this chapter)