After Wen Rensheng made these preparations, he began further actions.
That is to do business and accumulate funds.
Only with money can you have food, only with money can you have armor, only with armor can you have Ding, and only with Ding can you fight.
Military merit can only be accumulated after the war.
Only with military merit can one become a general or a vassal.
The rulers of the Ming Dynasty generally did not allow officials to serve in their native places in order to prevent local forces from becoming stronger.
However, Frontier is an exception.
Because the Northern Barbarians, that is, the Mongols, often invaded, many generals had to be appointed by locals.
Later, when the Donglu rose up, it was the same.
Because outsiders are not familiar with the local geographical environment, they will be given meat when they arrive.
Moreover, outsiders cannot stay in the local area for a long time. Morale will drop, soldiers will be homesick, and generals will also be homesick.
In ancient times, the march was slow, and if the guest troops were stationed for a long time, they could not be rotated in time. If they could not be rotated, the guest troops would become locals over time.
Local people are familiar with local conditions and have stronger combat effectiveness.
In order to prevent foreign invaders, the imperial court had to make an exception and allow locals to serve as generals locally for a long time.
This is actually a replica of the rise of bandits in the Han Dynasty, which led to the rise of state herdsmen.
There were foreign invaders in the Ming Dynasty and they could not be eradicated. So there was no other choice but to raise generals and let them guard the border walls for generations.
The imperial court had no choice but to keep the home of the general at the frontier fortress by default.
Whichever is the lesser of two evils.
Of course, generals are also subject to various restrictions. Civil servants control military affairs, and civilian governors and governors suppress generals.
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Let them be submissive and silent in front of civil servants.
Why do they bow their heads like this: Because their logistical supplies are in the hands of the imperial court.
The land of the border wall was bitterly cold and food production was scarce, so we had to rely on the imperial court to provide military rations.
It can't feed too many elite soldiers.
Without food, even if you want to rebel, you can't become powerful.
The reason why the Donglu became powerful is because they mastered the method of farming and reclamation, and were able to produce their own grain, and then they became stronger and stronger as they fought, turning Dingkou into their own strength.
The current governor where Wen Rensheng lives is specifically the governor of Yanghe.
The whole process was conducted by the governor of Yanghe and in charge of military affairs.
Of course, his position as governor will not be permanent, and he may be transferred to the south one day.
Because he is a civilian official, he does not have a fixed foundation like the local military commanders.
In fact, military commanders will also move their towns, but this is relatively rare.
The main task that Governor Wang faces now, the main military affairs, is the invasion of the Mongols.
The current Mongols were basically no longer a threat at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
One or two thousand servants can go deep into the grassland and defeat them.
The reason is also very simple. After a long period of horse trading and the spread of lamas, they have lost their fighting spirit and forgotten their fighting skills.
They were accustomed to guerrilla warfare by riding horses and shooting arrows, but they did not dare to fight in formation.
Don't dare to launch a strong charge, don't dare to face the opponent's charge.
If you find the enemy coming, you can only go around and fight.
When the Mongols conquered the world, apart from the cavalry and archery in people's minds, the most important force was actually the heavy cavalry, which could break formations in field battles, rather than the cavalry bows which could only shoot light arrows and soft arrows.
That thing can't deal with heavy armored infantry, and it will only be at a disadvantage against infantry's infantry fire.
The two sides are shooting at each other, and the cavalry cannot take advantage and can only retreat. If the opponent has elite cavalry, they can be trapped and wiped out.
Today's Mongols will only use a large number of herdsmen and cavalry, and rely on numbers to carry out assaults.
When the opponent is not wearing armor or forming a formation, use the cavalry bow to kill him.
Then rely on a small number of armored cavalry to win the battle.
That is to say, ordinary soldiers who deal with beggars and servants often choose to retreat and disperse in a hurry.
Most servants have horses.
Because one of their important tasks is to protect the master's family from escaping when the battle is unfavorable.
How to cover without a horse?
In this case, the Mongols were fine with some unarmored soldiers, but against an elite formation, they would be defeated.
Especially when facing the fierce charge of elite cavalry with double armor, they had no choice but to break up.
If they break up, they will be covered up and killed from behind.
Not to mention facing the powerful Jurchens, they couldn't even defeat the servants of the Ming Dynasty generals.
Now Wen Rensheng is looking for merchants in the city.
He is a scholar after all, but of course he cannot do business himself.
An agent must be found to help him make money.
Following the typical current model, the front is a businessman and the shopkeeper, and the back owner is a powerful person.
He asked Li Da, Li Er and Li San, the three newly adopted sons, to go to the city to collect business information.
What kind of business do they do, who is behind them, how many goods they sell every day, and how much they make every day, try to find out as much as possible.
For this reason, Wen Rensheng also found a poor old shopkeeper who had retired and taught them how to read and calculate accounts every night.
This is not some technology that is ahead of its time.
So that they can remember it.
You should at least know what a quantity like ten hundred thousand is.
It didn't take long for Wen Rensheng's agent to come to the door.
One evening, the concierge, Li Da's father, sent a greeting card and a gift list.
Wen Rensheng took a look and found that the owner of the post was a merchant in the city.
But the gift list was very generous, totaling 5,000 taels of silver.
This is just the initial results, there will be more to come.
Why are so many sent?
This amount is enough to impress Mr. Ge and do something alone.
Of course, the premise is that you have to have a channel to give it to Mr. Ge, and Mr. Ge will not accept everyone’s money.
Accepting your money means that you have almost the same status as Mr. Ge.
And if no one else would give this money, why would they give it to him?
Wen Rensheng quickly figured out the whole story.
Needless to say, this merchant was chosen as the person in charge of imperial court buying.
What is Hemai?
This was a cruel plunder of the merchant class by the imperial court.
When the imperial court needed to buy some goods, it would tell the merchants, and they would come up with money and ask the merchants to prepare the goods and then buy them.
Sounds good, right?
Make money while lying down, underwriting goods.
It would be too naive to think so.
It is said that the merchants should prepare it. If you think about it, how could the court give you the money for free?
If I can give you one thousand taels of goods for ten thousand taels, that is absolutely conscientious.
More often than not, not a cent is given.
You are also required to prepare all the goods within a limited time.
Not only that, you have to pay an additional bribe.
Otherwise, the officials can torment you repeatedly in the name of substandard goods.
In short, as long as you know which merchant sells it and buys it, prepare your whole family to escape. If you can't escape, just commit suicide.
Or just find a strong backer quickly.
But how can we do it if we just improvise?
No one dares to accept money even if it is given away, because choosing you means that there is an official force that will take over you.
How is it possible that if you don't make a relationship at ordinary times, then think about it again when things happen?
There is no way out.
Wen Rensheng knew very well that even in later generations, there were many bankrupts who were owed project payments due to construction projects.
Originally, they were all free families with wealth of 20 million or 10 million, but because they couldn't control it and thought they could do it, they ended up being unlucky.
But the benefit of the hereafter is that those who are willing take the bait.
If you feel you can't bear the risk, if you don't do it, no one can force you to take it.
It's not like this these days. If you are chosen, if you don't accept it, you are disobedient and just waiting for the house to be ransacked.
There are countless small businesses going bankrupt.
Just because business taxes are low does not mean that the business environment is good.
It's just extremely bad.
Because the court cannot accept it, but the officials will have 9 ways to accept you.
So when Wen Rensheng saw the gift from this merchant, he understood what was going on.
If others don't answer, he will.
If others dare not do it, he will do it.
So Wen Rensheng asked Li Da's father to call this man in.
He received the man in the side room.
After all, it is a merchant, so it cannot be in the main room or study room.
The person who came was a middle-aged man in his 40s with a sad face.
His eyes looked a little clever, but at this moment they were full of heaviness.
As soon as he came in, he immediately knelt down to Wen Rensheng and kowtowed heavily.
"The villain Xie Changgeng has met Mr. Li."
"Okay, get up now. I understand your thoughts for giving such an expensive gift," Wen Rensheng said directly.
"Thank you for your understanding. If you can pass this test, I am willing to give all my property to you." Xie Changgeng stood up cautiously, lowering his head, not daring to look at Wen Rensheng.
"I know what you want. You want to avoid having to buy it."
"My lord is wise, I beg you to lend me a helping hand."
"Oh, then do you know who ordered your home?"
"Your Majesty, this is Mr. Hu, a sixth-grade veteran of the Qing Military Department in the city." Xie Changgeng answered cautiously.
"Oh, then why did he decide to marry you? Is it just a matter of chance?" Wen Rensheng asked.
"I don't dare to lie about this. My previous backer was Lord Zheng, the county magistrate in the city. However, Lord Zheng was impeached and removed from office by Wu Xun. I haven't found a new backer yet." Xie Changgeng answered carefully.
"Very good, then what kind of business are you doing?"
"The small one is in the grain store business. There is one store in the east market and one store in the west market in the city."
“How do you usually collect and sell grain?”
"Reporting to your lord, the villain collects grains while the two taxes have to be paid in summer and autumn. Households need money to pay taxes, so they collect coarse grains and refined grains at low prices, and then sell grains at high prices during the lean period in spring and summer. In short, this is
Buy low and sell high, this business must be backed by officials and adults."
Wen Rensheng nodded: "Your business experience is pretty good, but how much grain can you harvest every year?"
"You can collect 10,000 taels of grain every year and earn about 2,000 taels of silver. That is to say, you can earn two taels of silver for one stone. 1,000 taels of it will be given to Zheng Zhixian, and 500 taels will be distributed around it. The villain has worked hard for a year, but he can only save three or four hundred taels.
"My hard-earned money." Xie Changgeng looked sad, "If the adults can help the villain pass the test, the villain is willing to give all the silver to the adults."
"Okay, if you don't make money, how can you be interested? Don't say such things in my place from now on." Wen Rensheng shook his head.
Xie Changgeng quickly knelt down and kowtowed.
He immediately realized that although the boy in front of him was young, he was very resourceful and could judge people very accurately.
It is indeed the same as the recent rumors.
No wonder the governor relied on Zhong, and he might really be able to pass the test this time.
"Then how rich is your family now?" Wen Rensheng stared at him and asked.
"I don't dare to deceive you. The younger one has been engaged in this business for 40 years for three generations, and his family's total wealth of land, land and buildings is 20,000 taels."
"Twenty thousand, and you have no backing, no wonder someone wants to eat you." Wen Rensheng nodded.
Xie Changgeng only kowtowed on the ground, and Wen Rensheng did not let him get up this time.
"I also understand. I have accepted your gift. I will protect your shop from now on. I will give you a letter. You can take it and show it to Mr. Hu and tell him that I have a banquet at Taibai Tower."
If he doesn't come to my dinner, you come to me again." Wen Rensheng said calmly.
As he spoke, he wrote a post.
"Thank you, sir." Xie Changgeng kowtowed again.
Wen Rensheng quickly wrote a letter and asked Xie Changgeng to take it back.
The content is very simple, just invite the other party to a meal.
after one day.
Xie Changgeng came back with a frustrated look.
"Replying to your lord, Sir Hu said that he couldn't come to your banquet because he felt cold." Xie Changgeng still accompanied him and said cautiously.
"Hmph, it's just as I expected."
Wen Rensheng has figured out the factions of officials in the city in the past few days.
In other words, we have figured out the interest groups.
This is a characteristic of the late Ming Dynasty.
gang.
Behind Hu’s experience was Wu Xunjian.
He and Wu Xunjian were Jinshi in the same year.
This is a very hard relationship.
If there is anyone in the local area who can deny face to the governor, it is the governor.
Compared with the governor, the rank of the governor is only seventh grade, or even lower, but he is more trusted by the court.
Because the governor has gradually become a local official.
The inspector was still an official sent by the imperial court, and he only served for one year.
He truly represents the court.
It is also responsible for supervising local officials, including the governor himself.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This is the principle of proportionality between large and small.
The rank is small, but the supervisory power is high. It cannot do anything, but it can deceive people.
This puts many officers in bad luck.
It can also ensure that if there are rebels among officials, they can be discovered in time.
However, they could not deal with the local households, those who had strong local influence, such as the Jiangmen chieftains.
They can only deal with mobile officials.
Officials without foundation.
That’s why Hu’s experience gave him the confidence to not give himself face.
Of course, Wen Rensheng also understood that he had just entered the scene and had not done anything big yet.
Outsiders don’t know how well they can recognize people.
It is for this reason that they don't care about themselves.
Well, let the other person take a good look at your energy.
Since we can only use the skills of this era, Wen Rensheng naturally uses the methods of this era.
Then Wen Rensheng called his three adopted sons, Li Da, Li Er, and Li San.
"I will teach you something today."
"You go and talk more and hook up with the family members of that Inspector Wu, and I will give you money. Your purpose is to find out his illegal activities."
After Wen Rensheng finished speaking, he took out another 50 taels of silver, which was a huge sum of money.
"Sir, this money should be paid by the villain." Xie Changgeng said quickly.
"Okay, you've already given me a huge sum of 5,000 taels, how can I ask you to pay more? I'm just giving money to do things here, and I will never owe anything." Wen Rensheng wanted to stop his character.
Otherwise, even if someone wants to repay the favor in the future, they won’t dare.
If I give you money and you don’t do anything, who will pay you back in the future?
Unless you take it by force.
But if you grab it once or twice, if you do it too often, firstly, it will be inefficient, and secondly, you will eventually end up like Yang Zhi and Li Kui.
That is to say, the eunuchs are not afraid of this, but some eunuchs were beaten to death when they were extorting money outside, and there were more than one or two.
