I

  Chapter 481 478 [If you have milk, you are a mother]

   "Your Majesty, please take a look." Xu Ying presented the results of the interrogation.

  Zhao Han didn't read it because there were too many contents, so he said, "Take the important ones and talk about them."

Xu Ying summarized: "Five salt merchants were arrested, three sent news to the Tatars, one sent news to Li Zicheng, and one sent news to the Tartars and Li Zicheng. Among the participating merchants in Nanjing and Yangzhou, except for one that sold Korean ginseng , and all the rest are selling Liao ginseng, and all of them are secretly sending news to the Tartars."

   "There are a lot of careful work." Zhao Han was not angry, but rather amused.

Xu Ying continued: "Some merchants can't even be called careful operations. They just inquire about all kinds of news, and when they go to other places to sell goods, they pass it along. Sometimes, when the business route is blocked, they only pass it on once a year or two. .”

   This kind of part-time spy is not a professional.

  Zhao Han asked: "Have you grasped the real fine work?"

   "There is no real detailed work." Xu Ying replied.

   "No?" This answer surprised Zhao Han.

Xu Ying explained: "The puppet Qing Dynasty did not have Jinyiwei, nor did they have East Factory or West Factory. Only in North Zhili, not even in Shandong."

   Zhao Han thought about it carefully, and found it very reasonable.

  Manchu Qing, which didn’t even finish Liaodong, would only focus on Beizhili even if they personally ended the espionage war, and let the merchants pass the news to the rest of the provinces.

  The Ming Dynasty perished too quickly, the Manchus entered the customs too quickly, Huang Taiji died of illness suddenly, Dorgon was busy with internal fighting, and then migrated on a large scale. How could he have the time and energy to expand the intelligence system?

  At that time, Shandong and Henan were plagued by plague again, and the road to the south was blocked by the Datong army. Even if there is a fish that slipped through the net, the people in the villages and towns will be prevented and ruled by groups, all foreigners will be registered and quarantined, merchants will not be allowed to go south, and people who seek relatives will be resettled and settled on the spot... If the Tartars want to send spies over, their plans will definitely be completely disrupted.

   It is even possible that some spies feel that they are living a good life after being assigned households and fields, so they feel at ease as farmers.

  The army was in turmoil and the plague was raging. It was impossible for the Tartars to find trouble with spies, and they could only regard them as missing persons.

  The next thing is that the Manchu Qing retreated to Liaodong, and Dorgon tried to restore the intelligence system, but all he could do was contact merchants.

Xu Ying said: "The person in charge of the contact went to Zhangjiakou from Mongolia, and then the Shanxi merchants in Zhangjiakou took action. The merchants arrested this time were bewitched by the Shanxi merchants in Zhangjiakou. Because of the passage from Liaodong to Shandong, our Datong Army Cut off, even merchants from the south have to go to Zhangjiakou to buy Liao ginseng. Yang Yiqin, Cao Fengji’s man, was caught and threatened by his son, and it was the salt merchant Zhang Wanxue who did it.”

  Zhao Han asked: "Why did Zhang Wanxue sacrifice his life for the Tartars?"

  Xu Ying replied: "One is revenge against the Datong court, and the other is that his family is doing fur business with the Tartars."

  Zhao Han asked again: "Didn't the Tartars put people in his business?"

  The spies sent by Xu Ying are mainly placed in various companies. Or, directly recruit the associates of the firm and become non-staff personnel to collect intelligence.

Xu Ying said: "The Tatars must have placed spies in the chamber of commerce, but there is no need to place them in the south. I guess that when the Tartars retreated to Liaodong, they left some spies in Beizhili for future raids or sieges. As for the south, Cao Fengji is already the biggest writer, and the rest of the details are merchants who pass on the news. I tortured those merchants, and they have no connections in the south, so they have to go to the north to do business in order to spread the news."

  Zhao Han understood it.

  The ancient intelligence agencies are like this, and the Jinyiwei of Ming Dynasty is a different kind.

   Moreover, it was limited to the Jinyiwei in the middle and early Ming Dynasty, and they could even go to the grasslands and North Korea as spies. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was no longer possible. The Tartars ravaged Beizhili and plundered all the way to Shandong. The two sides fought for two months, and Chongzhen didn't know how many Qing troops had come.

  Zhao Han knows very well how much it costs to maintain an intelligence system.

  Last year's intelligence expenditure has exceeded the royal family's expenditure, with a total of more than 700,000 taels. In addition to paying salaries to intelligence personnel, they also established a large number of contact points in the north, and even extended their tentacles to Li Zicheng's territory (a lot of spies' pensions were also used last year, mainly because of the plague and war).

   Zhao Han knows exactly what Li Zicheng is doing, and he can instigate some wavering generals at any time.

  Liaoxi Corridor also has people from Xu Ying, otherwise it would not have been so easy to surprise and occupy Weiyuantai last year.

   "Where's Cao Fengji?" Zhao Han asked.

  Xu Ying replied: "Run away. I heard that a merchant in Yangzhou was arrested, so he ran away that day, and only took some silver with him. The business name, goods, and silver stored in the ticket number were not taken away."

  …

   Xuzhou.

  Cao Fengji looked back to the south with lingering fear, and said to himself: "I finally escaped, and I have to speed up the journey. In a few days, there must be a sea arrest document."

  Zuo Xiaocheng said: "Mr. Cao, don't worry, there must be no pursuers, and there are no arrest documents."

   "There must be!" Cao Fengji said, "Zhang Wanxue was arrested, and Yang Yiqin was also arrested. How could we not confess?"

  Zuo Xiaocheng chuckled: "If I say there won't be, then there won't be."

   "How do you know..." Cao Fengji suddenly showed panic, "You are...you are..."

  Zuo Xiaocheng comforted: "Mr. Cao, don't panic, I really want to arrest you, I will arrest you in Nanjing. The superior said, you are still useful, let me go to Zhangjiakou with my husband."

  Cao Fengji felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. Not only had he been targeted long ago, but he also knew that he came from Zhangjiakou.

  Zuo Xiaocheng said seductively: "Mr. Cao, do you still remember the business agreement with His Majesty?"

  Cao Fengji nodded and said, "I remember."

   "These businesses can be done as usual," Zuo Xiaocheng said, "Mr. Cao can't do it himself, but he can let the family replace it. When His Majesty takes over the country, the wool business will be handed over to Mr. "

  Cao Fengji suddenly ascended from **** to heaven. At the beginning, his father was also captured by the Manchu Qing.

   Now it's his turn again, but the partner has been replaced by an emperor who is more likely to rule the world.

  Money just makes more!

Zuo Xiaocheng took out a thick letter: "These information are all confidential, and if they are presented to the Tatars, they will definitely be trusted by them. Mr. can lie that he obtained important information, which aroused the suspicion of the Nanjing court. , escaped overnight, resulting in the arrest of those merchants in Yangzhou."

   "Good!" Cao Fengji swallowed, took the letter and kept it safely.

  Xu Ying made the intelligence agency very big, thinking that the Manchu Qing was the same. As the investigation deepened, it was found that the Manchu and Qing secret operations were not popular in the south at all.

   Then there is no need to play slowly.

  Because Cao Fengji is so boring, he has been in Nanjing for half a year, but he has not yet contacted Concubine Tian and the former prince. If everything went according to the original plan, it is estimated that when Zuo Xiaocheng fled with him, the Manchu Qing would be almost finished.

   It can only be artificially catalyzed, so that Cao Fengji escapes quickly, and Zuo Xiaocheng follows.

  Fleeing to Zhangjiakou, you can immediately contact the Mongols, and then you may be able to break into the interior of the Qing Dynasty.

   Regardless of who Zuo Xiaocheng is with, he must be unlucky, but this guy is actually very smart. After all, he was born as a scholar, and he can still serve as an aide to the governor of Jiangxi. Can a fool be recognized by the governor?

   Zuo Xiaocheng will definitely be able to do something when he arrives in the grassland and Liaodong!

  Cao Fengji is a child of the Fan family, and the Fan family belongs to the head of the "Eight Great Imperial Merchants" of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. When this person returns to Zhangjiakou, the entire Fan family can help, and the Fan family can see clearly who to serve.

  Of course, they may be happy too soon, and they will still have to clean in the future.

  Because those wealthy businessmen in Zhangjiakou, all the money they earn is stained with blood!

  They provided food to the Manchus, supported the Manchus to enter the customs and loot, and then sold the stolen goods to the Manchus. Behind every tael of silver, there are countless broken families in Beizhili and Shandong, and there are endless souls waiting for justice.

  The two fled all the way to the border of Henan, and the documents of the sea arrest of the Nanjing court were finally sent to the various governments.

  The arrest of Cao Fengji and Zuo Xiaocheng is an official endorsement for them, which makes Dorgon trust these two people even more.

  Zhangjiakou.

  Cao Fengji quietly found Fan Yongdou: "Meet uncle!"

  Cao Fengji, whose real name is Fan Yuji.

  Fan Yongdou is the head of the Eight Great Imperial Merchants, his grandson, who later became the Minister of the Taipusi in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and was specially allowed to wear the official uniform of the second rank because of his official rank of the third rank.

   "Why are you back?" Fan Yongdou asked in surprise.

Cao Fengji told the truth about the situation, and said, "Uncle, the Tartars must be doomed. They have suffered many defeats one after another. The emperor of Datong is not Chongzhen. When the southern army has enough food, he will definitely swear to the north. Li Zicheng and the Tartars will be wiped out sooner or later. This time It is a great opportunity to catch the new dynasty!"

  Fan Yongdou had no doubts about this, and was gearing up for joy: "It really is a big fortune!"

Cao Fengji said again: "Your Majesty the Emperor of Datong, let the Fan family continue to pass on news to the Tartars. The more you spread the better, the more you are trusted by the Tartars, the better. There is also that Zuo Xiaocheng, who has to take the opportunity to introduce him to Dorgon. At the beginning of the Datong Emperor's rebellion, he was a deadly enemy with the Datong Emperor. Such a person will definitely be reused by Dorgon, because he knows many important officials in the Datong court."

   "Not bad, not bad." Fan Yongdou nodded.

Cao Fengji also said: "Nanjing promised that as long as the world is unified, we will be issued a salt franchise license. Many businesses of the Nanjing court, such as tea, salt, and ironware, require franchise licenses to operate. This can be passed on to future generations. family business!"

Fan Yongdou bowed his hands toward the south: "Your Majesty is really generous. Regardless of what our family has done before, the Fan family will be loyal for generations to come. This matter cannot be neglected, and we must actively make contributions. Although the drought on the grassland has eased this year, we can't find it." If we buy food locally, more people will starve to death in winter. Many Mongolian tribes are discouraged by the Tartars, we can take this opportunity to provoke, and even persuade several Mongolian tribes to join the court!"

  Cao Fengji said happily: "With such credit, the Fan family will be reused by the court, and all descendants and grandchildren will benefit from it!"

  (end of this chapter)