In the Forbidden City, it was already dark.&1t;/p>

However, the Yangxin Palace was brightly lit. At this time, the Dongchang Admiral Wei Zhongxian and the Jinyiwei Commander Tian Ergeng came to the Yangxin Palace.&1t;/p>

Zhu Youxiao's expression was a little excited.&1t;/p>

"Your Majesty, our Jinyiwei and the East Factory have already figured out the Shanxi merchants involved in the smuggling after nearly two years of secret investigation." Wei Zhongxian reported to Zhu Youxiao, and then handed over a list.&1t;/p>

Zhu Youxiao took the list and looked at it. Wei Zhongxian continued: "There are 32 Shanxi merchants participating in smuggling, of which 24 are engaged in smuggling trade with the Mongolians, and eight are engaged in smuggling trade with Jiannu."&1t;/p>

"Huh?" Zhu Youxiao looked carefully at the list. The merchants who traded with Jiannu were Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang, and Huang Yun.&1t;/p>

Aren't these eight merchants the eight imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty?&1t;/p>

"The eight merchants who started smuggling trade with Jiannu were all from Shanyou and were doing business in Zhangjiakou. The other twenty-four smuggling trades with Mongolian tribes were all gathered in the Zhangjiakou area."&1t;/p>

Zhangjiakou has formed an industry dominated by the grassland economy, such as cattle, sheep, camels, horses, and various furs, all gathered in Zhangjiakou for processing.&1t;/p>

"These eight merchants are the most hateful!" Zhu Youxiao sighed, which was equivalent to sentenced the eight imperial merchants in the early Qing Dynasty to death.&1t;/p>

"Your Majesty, this list is the list of smuggling trade between the Qin merchants and the Yarkand Khanate outside Yumen Pass. There are thirteen merchants in total."&1t;/p>

Qin Shang, that is, Shaanxi merchants.&1t;/p>

In the late Ming Dynasty, Qin Shang was also a business group with relatively strong capital. According to Song Yingxing's records, the three major business groups with strong capital in the Ming Dynasty were probably the three major business groups, Qin, Jin and Hui, which meant that the capital of these three major business groups was the most concentrated. However, these business groups were just a more conspicuous group compared to the wealthy businessmen and powerful people in the Ming Dynasty, because they gathered together to establish guild halls, so they looked conspicuous.&1t;/p>

The grain merchants, cloth merchants, mine owners, factory owners, workshop owners, landlords, and coastal maritime merchants in the Ming Dynasty were also very rich.&1t;/p>

The smuggling trade between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia and the Western Regions has lasted for at least a hundred years. There was no big problem before, but it just dug up the national corner.&1t;/p>

Therefore, those smuggling merchants who traded with Mongolia and Yarkand Khanate have not yet reached the point where the crimes are unforgivable. Only the eight smuggling merchants in Shanxi are the worst, and the country is in trouble to make money.&1t;/p>

"Did you have the household registration, address, and information about these people?" Zhu You proofreaded Wei Zhongxian and Tian Ergeng and asked.&1t;/p>

"It's already mastered." The two replied.&1t;/p>

"Okay, since you have mastered it, then let's catch them all in one place!" Zhu Youxiao finally made a decision to catch all these smuggling merchants.&1t;/p>

However, how to get it all in one go, you need to consider it carefully.&1t;/p>

The next day, Zhu Youxiao established a team responsible for arresting smuggling merchants in the Supreme Command, and transferred a division of the Central Army to fully cooperate with the Jinyiwei and the East Factory to arrest Shanxi and Qin merchants involved in smuggling.&1t;/p>

At the same time, another division was sent to Shaanxi and Shanxi to prevent possible unrest.&1t;/p>

The news of the arrest was strictly blocked. When the Central Army drove to Zhangjiakou, the Shanxi merchants involved in the smuggling had not yet reacted.&1t;/p>

The entire Zhangjiakou was surrounded.&1t;/p>

None of the thirty-two companies involved in the smuggling business escaped that day. Suddenly, a large number of officers and soldiers rushed into the shop, arrested all the shop owners and friends, and sealed all the businesses.&1t;/p>

The owners of these businesses were also arrested one by one.&1t;/p>

After a storm, when the people of Zhangjiakou came to their senses, most of the businesses in Zhangjiakou had been seized, and only two or three were left.&1t;/p>

The streets were originally very lively, with many businesses. But in an instant, most of them were closed. All the remaining businesses were frightened.&1t;/p>

"What's going on?" One of the business owners wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and walked out tremblingly. It turned out that there were all officials wearing red military uniforms outside.&1t;/p>

"Owner, they won't block our business name, right?" The guy who was also scared on the side asked in a trembling voice.&1t;/p>

"Yes, probably not! Look at the official army, each of them is a shop with names, and it seems that there is no us." The shopkeeper was talking, and the boss suddenly clapped his hands and shouted, "Oh! I understand. Look at the sealed business names, aren't they all engaged in smuggling business in Mongolian tribes and Jiannu!"&1t;/p>

"It's true." When the shopkeeper and the clerk saw it, they immediately realized that it was true. The shopkeeper said with lingering fear: "Fortunately we are doing serious business, otherwise we would have to get caught in this time!"&1t;/p>

This northern border trade concentration in Zhangjiakou was suddenly taken down by the imperial court. More than 2,000 people were arrested that day.&1t;/p>

All owners, shopkeepers and friends who were seized were arrested, and all shops, warehouses and workshops of all the shops, warehouses and workshops of the shops were sealed.&1t;/p>

The entire Zhangjiakou border trade came to a halt that day. Under the blockade of the government troops, trade with the Mongolians and Jiannu stopped.&1t;/p>

The arrest operation is still continuing and has been expanded to all parts of Shanxi.&1t;/p>

The houses of those business owners were also sealed off by Jinyiwei and Dongchang and the Central Army. These houses were all very luxurious.&1t;/p>

Various pavilions and towers, there are many jewelry and jade artifacts inside. At the same time, these very wealthy smuggling merchants also like to buy beautiful girls. Large sums of grain and silver were hidden in the cellars by them. Shanxi is located in the Loess Plateau area, and the soil is dry and hard, which is very suitable for storing things.&1t;/p>

These smuggling merchants have a large amount of arable land and various workshops. In addition to producing various commodities, they even have workshops for privately making weapons.&1t;/p>

After a seal, I cried again.&1t;/p>

Zhu Youxiao's actions to arrest these smuggling merchants were too concealed and too swift. When arresting these merchants, he made strict arrangements. So much so that he could catch all the smuggling merchants, so that they did not react at all.&1t;/p>

"The wealth of these Shanxi merchants is amazing." Tian Ergeng, who personally arrived in Shanxi to direct the inspection operation, looked at the list of statistics below and the things that were still counting.&1t;/p>

The wealth of these Shanxi merchants is mainly divided into several parts: one is luxury houses, the second is the jewelry, jade and slaves in the house. The third is a large amount of cultivated land. The fourth is workshops and shops. The fifth is cross-provincial assets such as tea mountains in the south.&1t;/p>

At this time, the Shanxi merchants formed a one-stop model of production and sales with the Mongolians. For example, in terms of tea, the Shanxi merchants adopted the model of buying in the south, opening up tea mountains, then processing the tea into tea bricks, and then transporting it to the north to trade with the Mongolians. This is also the case with other various goods. (To be continued...)&1t;/p>

ps: I drank a lot of wine yesterday, and I couldn’t write this morning and afternoon, so I could only sleep. I was a little bit in the evening and started construction. I guess there are only two chapters today. I also wish you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!&1t;/p>&1t;/p>
Chapter completed!