Wucheng is Zhangjiakou in later generations. This is a very special place. It is one of the gates of the Ming Dynasty over the Mongolian grasslands. Most of them belong to the jurisdiction of the capital, but to the west, it is the jurisdiction of Datong Prefecture, Shanxi, and this

It is just an administrative division. If it is divided from a military perspective, Zhangjiakou is still within the jurisdiction of Wanquandusi, that is, Xuanfu.

Originally, borders like Wucheng were generally desolate, especially when the Ming Dynasty implemented a blockade on the grassland. According to the law, merchants were not allowed to approach here, let alone trade with the Mongolian court through this place.

However, although the laws of the Ming Dynasty were strict, as long as there were sufficient benefits, there would be no lack of those brave people in this world. Like the maritime ban policy of the Ming Dynasty, the border blockade was extremely strict at the beginning, but so many years have passed

The Ming Dynasty's sea ban has long been in name only, and the border blockade is naturally the same. Especially in the Wucheng area, it is the only way for the Ming Dynasty to trade with Mongolia, which has led to the Wucheng turning from a military fortress to

A prosperous town.

The current garrison of Wucheng is Zhang Zhen. Although this man does not have much ability and is not even very good at fighting, he left his name in history like Jiang Bin, which is mainly beneficial to

A few years later, Zhang Zhen opened a small city gate on the north wall of Wucheng to facilitate the smuggling caravans at border gates. Because this small city gate is as small as the mouth and was built by Zhang Zhen, so

It is called Zhangjiakou, and later this name became the synonym for Wucheng, and in later generations it completely replaced the original name of Wucheng.

Wucheng is guarded on the main transportation route between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia. Every day, you can see a large number of caravans passing by here and a large number of people and Mongolians. Among them, the Ming Dynasty's tea, salt, cloth and other commodities need to pass by here.

In addition, cattle, sheepskin, horses, etc. on the Mongolian grasslands will also be transported from here to the Ming Dynasty. Especially the alkaline surfaces produced in the northwest, most of them need to be transported from Wucheng to the Ming Dynasty. Later, after the name Zhangjiakou was found, the alkaline surfaces in the Central Plains were also

It is called oral alkali.

With the leak of wool textile technology and canning production technology some time ago, after seeing the business opportunities, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty flocked to the border of the Ming Dynasty to invest in workshops. Wucheng was originally one of the most prosperous border cities in the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, there are many businessmen who invest in workshops, and they all have deep backgrounds, otherwise they would not have obtained two new technologies so quickly. The arrival of these people has also brought more popularity to Wucheng, especially

After the workshops began to recruit workers everywhere, some poor people around rushed into Wucheng City to find work.

However, most of the wool textile and canned workshops in Wucheng are concentrated in the south of the city. Few people will build workshops in the north of the city, because the local tyrants in Wucheng are entrenched in the north of the city. That is, local merchants who made their fortunes through smuggling, and those workshops

Although there are people behind the scenes, as the saying goes, strong dragons do not suppress local snakes, so the people behind the workshops do not want to provoke the original smuggling merchants too much.

Although most of the Wucheng here are under the jurisdiction of the capital, most of the smuggling merchants entrenched here are Shanxi Shanxi merchants. These Shanxi merchants have accumulated a large amount of wealth by relying on controlling smuggling business for many years. Moreover, most of these wealth is used by them.

Buy land or cellars to hide, such as Wucheng, the entire northern city was bought by these Shanxi merchants to build houses, so this place is full of luxury houses, each occupying a considerable area, which is considered a wealthy area in Wucheng.

In addition, it is said that the houses built by these Shanxi merchants in their hometowns are even more luxurious than here. Although they live here most of the time, their hometowns are their faces. So naturally they can't be careless. It is precisely because of Shanxi merchants who live in it.

The north of the city, so the land price in the north of the city is extremely high, which is one of the reasons why the newly opened workshops are unwilling to go to the north of the city.

In the most central area of ​​Beicheng District, the largest and most exquisite mansion in the city is built here. The area is almost comparable to that of the Zhao Palace in Beijing, which is mostly concentrated in the past. In terms of luxury, it must be above the Zhao Palace.

You should know that Zhou Chong's Zhao Mansion was Liu Jin's private residence before, known as the Nine Thousand Years Mansion, and the luxury of construction was not much higher than that of the Forbidden City, but in Wucheng, there was actually a mansion that was even more luxurious than that of the King of Zhao Mansion.

This shows the strength of the owner of this mansion.

There is a plaque hanging high on the main entrance of this huge and luxurious mansion, with two huge words written on it - Fan Mansion. Anyone who knows a little about Wucheng knows that the owner of this Fan Mansion is named Fan Yongdou, and his ancestral home is Jiexiu, Shanxi.

After several generations of efforts, the Jiexiu Fan family controlled the trade of salt, tea and other countries on the grassland with seven other major Jin merchant families. It can be said that they are rich enough to compete with the country. Moreover, they are not only rich, but also have people.

Shang originally had a huge ethnic group, and the recruited Han and Mongolian warriors as thugs in the hospital can be said to be the local emperor in the northwest.

However, compared with the previous glory, the Fan family and the other seven major Shanxi merchants are now facing huge difficulties. The reason why they were able to control the trade between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia was mainly because of the Ming Dynasty's trade blockade on the grasslands.

However, Fan and others used their money to bribe the generals of the border, so that their caravans could enter and exit the grassland smoothly. Other caravans were blocked outside by the imperial seal order. So under this monopoly, Fan and others

People naturally earn huge wealth, and it is indeed true that they call them rich and can match a country.

However, with the spread of wool textile and canning technology, Zhou Chong persuaded the cabinet to abolish the trade ban on Mongolia. As a result, all caravans could freely enter the grassland, although most of these caravans were aiming for.

Wool and meat are used to trade, but the things they use are the salt and tea that are urgently needed on the grassland. As a result, the salt and tea in the hands of Shanxi merchants cannot be sold. After all, the digestion ability of goods on the grassland is limited.

If others sell an extra pound of salt, it is equivalent to a more pound of salt being accumulated in Shanxi merchants' hands.

In the hall of Fan's mansion, eight people sat opposite each other around a table. Fan's family, Fan Yongdou, sat in the main seat, and on both sides were seven other merchants who were ranked alongside him as the eight major Shanxi merchants. Today they

The reason why we gathered together was to discuss how to deal with the current situation?

"Everyone, the court has relaxed the trade ban. Now anyone can bring goods into and out of the grassland. The salt and tea in our hands are no longer a single business on the grassland, and those herders are more willing to use worthless wool.

Exchange mutton for salt and tea. This month, the transaction volume of our Fan family has dropped by half, and it is estimated that it will drop more next month. If you don’t find a way, I’m afraid that in a few months, our eight Shanxi merchants will be

I can only go back to my hometown to farm!" Fan Yongdou swept the seven people in front of me and spoke with a deep face.

Fan Yongdou is just 40 years old this year. He has big ears and eyebrows and small eyes. He looks like he is laughing at any time, but when he is angry, this natural smiling face will turn into a kind of sinister smile, making people

I felt chilled at first sight.

"Mr. Fan, your business has only shrunk by half, which is quite good. For example, Wang's business is dealing with tribes that are closer to the Ming Dynasty. As a result, the new arrivals are now pouring into the grassland.

The tribes that I traded with, but this month our Wang family's business plummeted. All the salt and tea are piled up in the warehouse. If they can't be sold, they will probably lose money!" At this time, they sat on Fan Yongdou's right hand.

The middle-aged fat man also complained that the fat man's surname is Wang, named Wang Dengku, is the second-ranked figure among the eight major merchants of Shanxi. However, because his caravan did not go very far, he was hit the most this time.

.

"Wang Er, don't complain. Our families have suffered a lot this time. Today, Mr. Fan called everyone here just to discuss a countermeasure. Is it useless to just cry and be poor?" At this time, he was sitting opposite Wang Dengku.

A young man with oily head and pink face suddenly spoke with disdain, and his eyes were full of contempt when he looked at Wang Dengku.

Wang Dengku is at home, and his nickname is Wang Er, and there is also a big brother on it. However, it is said that he killed his big brother with a weak method, so he was able to take the position of the head of the Wang family. Moreover, Wang Dengku himself is not clear about this part.

His history is very taboo, and he even deceived himself and told others that he had no elder brother. He has always been the eldest in the family. It is precisely because of this that he hates others calling him Wang Er the most.

"Bao! Wang Xiaoniang, it's all your fault for my crying. Don't think that if you marry the Liang family's daughter, you can ignore me. Let me tell you that even if you are tied to the Liang family, I will still take you.

Fucked it!" Wang Dengku was poked into the pain by this young man, and immediately slapped the table and pointed at the other party and cursed, looking like he was red with his eyes and wanted to fight desperately.

The young man opposite also has a surname Wang, named Wang Dayu, and is also one of the eight major Shanxi merchants. Because he is so polished like a woman, he is called Wang Xiaoniang. The two families often have conflicts in business, so they usually only meet.

When you get to the other party, you will inevitably have a few quarrels.

"Oh! Brother Wang is so angry. My son-in-law just told a few truths. Why did you scold our Liang family?" As soon as Wang Dengku finished speaking, a middle-aged man sitting next to Wang Dayu was sitting next to Wang Dayu.

Immediately, I spoke up and said, "This is called Liang Jiabin, Wang Dayu's father-in-law. The Liang family and Wang Dengku also had business struggles, and the two families also had deep hatreds, so their Liang family and Wang Dayu family were married."

Later, his strength was already slightly stronger than Wang Dengku, so he was not afraid of the other party.

PS: The Eight Jin merchants are real figures in history, and their names are also real. They are just figures decades later, and they are also traitors who led the Qing army into the pass. It can be said that the demise of the Ming Dynasty is inseparable from them.

The relationship, especially Fan Yongdou, provided a large amount of food, weapons and armor for the Qing Dynasty. Later, the Qing Dynasty was established, and the eight families were named imperial merchants and shared the fate of the Qing Dynasty. Until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, these eight families
Chapter completed!