I

Finally someone used the "Benevolent Merchant" badge and met the emperor very smoothly.

"Meet Your Majesty!" Wang Mingran bowed respectfully.

Zhao Han smiled and said, "Give me a seat."

Wang Mingran cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Han picked up the Renshang badge on the table and threw it over to Wang Mingran. He didn't ask the reason for his visit, but said: "I heard that you have a garden that is not a department. Chen Jiru wrote the name of the garden himself. Now it is an academic exchange center in Hangzhou."

Wang Mingran replied with a smile: "Your Majesty's witty words, the academic exchange center, although the grassroots have never heard of it before, they can understand what it means once they hear it. It's just that the grassroots don't have that much face, and they just entertain friends occasionally."

"Whenever I go to the West Lake, I must go to Buxie Garden to play." Zhao Han said.

"The grassroots are waiting for your driver." Wang Mingran said happily.

The atmosphere of the chat between the two was very casual, and Wang Mingran was considered a salt merchant who had made great achievements. Wang Mingran contributed at least half of Xu Ying's rapid development of the intelligence system in Jiangsu. Of course, she also gained a large share of the salt franchise.

Not like an imperial merchant, but better than an imperial merchant!

Hearing Zhao Han's self-proclaimed name, he knew that he regarded Wang Mingran as one of his own, otherwise he would definitely call himself "Zhen".

As for the non-discipline garden, it is a West Lake painting boat, monks and celebrities, qinxiao tea wine, beauties and confidantes, and it is sought after by many literati. At the same time, there are quite a lot of rules, no servants, no big plays, no noise, no running around to borrow money, no posturing, no red tape... In the past two years, it has become more and more famous, and it is already the number one in the south of the Yangtze River. Talk about making friends.

Junmin chatted for a while, Zhao Han asked Lianghuai Salt Industry, Wang Mingran answered carefully and in detail.

Finally, Zhao Han asked: "Tell me, what is the purpose of your visit this time?"

Wang Mingran got up and cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the universities in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces have not finalized their school sites for a long time..."

"I know what you're going to say," Zhao Han interrupted immediately, "Do you want to build a university in Huizhou or Yangzhou?"

Wang Mingran said: "Your Majesty has learned from you."

Zhao Han directly gave a clear answer: "It is impossible for universities in Anhui to be built in Huizhou. It is too far away there. How do you let students in northern Anhui go to study?"

Wang Mingran said: "It can be built in Anqing. Huizhou merchants are willing to jointly fund the construction of the university with the gentry in Anqing, Tongcheng and other places, and then donate it to the imperial court for free. They will never interfere in the school's affairs."

"Okay, you guys can initiate a fundraiser." Zhao Han agreed without hesitation.

Um?

so easy?

Wang Mingran, who had prepared a full stomach for speeches, suddenly didn't know what to say, and immediately knelt down and said, "Caomin, kneel and thank you for your kindness!"

Although Anqing is not located in the center of Anhui, its location is moderate and the traffic is very convenient. It was only because of the strife that Zhao Han was not sure. Since the gentry and merchants were willing to donate, they would sell face to Wang Mingran.

Zhao Han suddenly said again: "But there is one condition."

"Your Majesty, please order." Wang Mingran responded quickly.

"Your Wang family, as well as the eight surnames in Huizhou, and the Tongcheng family, shouldn't it be time for you to separate and move?" Zhao Han seemed to be reminding, but it was more like a threat.

"This..." Wang Mingran could not give an answer on behalf of so many families.

Zhao Han asked Wang Mingran to sit down again: "I don't want to force others to do things, so I just call on the big families to relocate by themselves. But after a while, only a few big families in the southern provinces separated their children to move to the north. The epidemic in Henan and Shandong last year After the winter, things have calmed down a lot, and it’s not as scary as you think. Although the imperial court is organizing immigrants, they are all ordinary people. How can it be done without merchants? You merchants can also start a family business if you migrate there.”

Wang Mingran bit the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, the Wang family of Huizhou, is willing to separate and relocate. But the Caomin cannot replace other big clans to make decisions. Please give the Caomin a month, and the Caomin will definitely convey His Majesty's will."

"Go," Zhao Han said, waving his hand, "Before you convey the news, you can go to Yangzhou."

"Follow the order!"

Wang Mingran bowed and stepped back.

Wang Mingran didn't know why he was going to Yangzhou, but he understood when he came to the place.

After only staying in Yangzhou for a few days, Wang Mingran heard commotion on the street, he called his servants and asked, "What's going on outside?"

The servant was panicked and excited at the same time, and said, "Master, there are many officials in military uniforms outside, and they have surrounded the houses of those Western merchants (Shanxi, Shaanxi)!"

Military uniforms are the canvas uniforms of the Datong Army.

At first, only the medical soldiers and dragoons were equipped, and then the navy soldiers were also changed, and finally all the Datong troops were changed. Of course, arms that wear armor do not wear such canvas uniforms in battle.

Although it is deviant and does not conform to the traditional clothing standards, there are always those who pursue fashion to imitate.

Nowadays, in some big cities, there are many young people walking around in canvas uniforms. And they also modified it by themselves, adjusting the color and partial style, which looks more high-grade than the real military uniform.

Wang Mingran had guessed at this moment that this was what the emperor asked him to come to Yangzhou to see.

He trotted to the street and found that some officers in military uniform were directing more ordinary officers to do things.

Moreover, although the clothes of these officials in front of them are similar to the military uniforms, they are all black—the clothes of the clean government system have changed from black to white. The work uniforms of the secret agents are all black, and they are only worn when doing things above board.

"What kind of official post is this?" Wang Mingran didn't understand.

Although he once assisted Xu Ying in building the Jiangnan intelligence system, he was only assisting, and it was impossible to grasp the core information. Moreover, after Jiangnan was pacified, Wang Mingran was not allowed to ask any more questions.

Even when the spies changed their overalls, Wang Mingran didn't know about it.

In other words, even most of the officials don't know, because Xu Ying's spies haven't made any big moves publicly, and even the official name of the secret agency hasn't been decided-people's cognition of spies is still at the back of their swords. The era of scholars.

Several Yangzhou local officials rushed over, and one of them asked, "Where are you servants? Why did you bypass the local government to arrest merchants?"

The spy leader glanced at these officials and said: "I am acting on the orders of the emperor. If you don't come to intercede, you should step aside. Otherwise, all of them will be arrested and handed over to the Metropolitan Procuratorate for trial!"

The Metropolitan Procuratorate of the Datong New Dynasty is not the Metropolitan Procuratorate of the Ming Dynasty. Its previous name was the Secretary of Integrity!

The Yangzhou local officials in front of them couldn't help showing fear when they heard the name of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. They checked the imperial decree brought by the spies, and when they saw the emperor's exclusive seal, they immediately hid aside and didn't ask any more questions.

This kind of imperial decree belongs to the central decree, it is irregular, and it bypasses the cabinet organization, and even the cabinet ministers and ministers don't know about it.

The local officials hid aside and looked at each other, and finally one official mouthed silently: "Jinyiwei!"

"It's wrong!"

Shouts came from the Wang family's mansion, and the shouts got closer and closer, and they were dragged to the door after a while. There were men, women and children, even infants who were still breastfeeding were taken away, leaving many spies and officials still searching.

This whole alley belongs to the wealthy area of ​​Yangzhou, and the people living in this alley are either rich or expensive.

In addition to the Wang family, the Zhang family, Li family, Fan family, and Lu family were also investigated, and all of them were taken away collectively.

The other rich men in the alley were trembling with fright.

They didn't even dare to go out, and only sent their servants to the street to inquire. After the emancipation order was issued, although all of them became hired, the rich and powerful still had many servants.

Wang Mingran was also frightened. Although he didn't know why he arrested people, it was enough to kill a chicken for a monkey to see.

He quickly notified other Huizhou merchants to convey the emperor's dissatisfaction, and these Huizhou merchants contacted the gentry. Finally, I took the initiative to register with the government, and each family was split up, and a few collateral families were separated to immigrate to Henan and Shandong.

It is also necessary to give property to the collateral clans of the immigrants. You can't go there naked, and you can't just send the down-and-out clansmen there!

After this arrest, Xu Ying's spies became famous.

The folks also gave it a nickname: Black Clothes Secret Guard!

Black-clothed secret guards and white-clothed censors, the former is a secret agent, and the latter is a clean government official. Since then, he has become equally famous, and officials inside and outside are terrified, for fear of being approached by black and white clothes, and privately call him "black and white impermanence".

Of course, compared to Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei, the black-clothed spies don't have that much power.

They only have the right to arrest by order. Once officials are involved, they must be handed over to the Metropolitan Procuratorate (Secretary of Integrity), or jointly tried with the Metropolitan Procuratorate. If there is no imperial decree, after arresting civilians, they must also contact local agencies.

Li Banghua approached Tian Younian in private: "Your Majesty reestablished the Jinyiwei, should we persuade you?"

"It's useless to persuade," Tian Younian shook his head, "What's more, His Majesty's spies are different from Jin Yiwei. You can't arrest officials at will. If you arrest officials, you have to hand them over to the Metropolitan Procuratorate. You can't meddle in ordinary cases either. It can arrest secret agents and arrest those who are collaborating with the enemy and traitor to the country."

Li Banghua sighed: "I'm afraid it will become Jinyiwei in the future! The Jinyiwei of Ming Dynasty did not have much power at the beginning, but in the end they had to set up the East Factory to check and balance. I finally know that there are so many silver taels allocated by the Ministry of Finance that go missing every year." , what exactly is it used for!”

The secret guards in black don't have their own cells.

For this large-scale arrest, they had to borrow the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

Salt merchant Zhang Wanxue was tied to a torture rack, but no torture has been used yet.

Xu Ying came to the trial in person, with a gentle appearance and a pleasant face, she smiled and said: "Mr. Zhang, confess honestly, and the matter will be over sooner."

Zhang Wanxue cried, "My lord, the grass people are wronged!"

Xu Ying was still smiling all over her face: "Do you know Yang Yiqin? A guy from a Nanjing firm."

Zhang Wanxue's face turned pale with fright, he knew he was finished.

Xu Ying added: "Confess honestly, and you won't embarrass your family. Of course, the premise is that they don't know."

"Really?" Zhang Wanxue felt hopeful again.

Xu Ying said: "I don't need to coax you. Your Majesty has set the rules. Those who have internal and external enemies, as long as they are not guilty of serious crimes, although they confiscate their property, they are not as guilty as their family members. Children and grandchildren within five generations are not allowed to engage in franchised businesses, nor to be officials. .”

It's over!

The descendants of the five generations cannot be officials, cannot engage in franchised businesses, and have to confiscate all their property. Even if they don't die or go to jail, they will be reduced to the bottom of society.

After five generations of descendants, the class has solidified, how can it be possible to stand up?

Xu Ying said with a smile: "There is another option. As long as you cooperate well, you can immigrate your family to Taiwan after confiscating your property. Although you still can't be an official or run a franchise business, at least you can divide the fields and cultivate them. Starve to death without a living."

Zhang Wanxue said in a tearful voice, "How can they farm the land?"

"Urban civilians, immigrating to the north can learn how to farm. Your family immigrated to Taiwan, so you can't learn how to farm? Are they born more refined and noble?" Xu Ying said disdainfully, "Quickly confess. If you confess, die quickly, no It's hard to confess, don't force me to use torture, I really can't see that kind of scene. Also, don't hide it, this time you are not the only one arrested. If your confession is not correct, weigh the consequences yourself!"

"injustice……"

Zhang Wanxue still wanted to complain, but he saw a black-clothed officer slowly approaching with a bamboo stick.

Another officer in black was holding a small bottle in his hand. He didn't know what was in the bottle, but it was definitely not something good.

"I recruit!" Zhang Wanxue quickly changed his words.

But Xu Ying said: "You shouted too slowly, you need to take an injection first to refresh yourself."

"ah!"

The bamboo stick pierced hard between the nails, causing Zhang Wanxue to twitch in pain. This guy was so frightened that he lost control, his crotch was full of urine, and he cried, "I'll do it, I'll do it... woo woo woo woo!"