Chapter 1554: Confrontation

"Grand Coordinator, ahead is the horse market with the Taining Guard."

A large troop of men and horses faced the wind and snow, whistling across the spacious imperial road.

Qi Jiguang rode his horse beside Wang Yan, extending a finger to point ahead.

Right there, in the distance, the appearance of a town could already be seen. One could also see people walking amidst the wind and snow, all dressed thickly and wrapped up tightly.

Wang Yan shouted, "Everyone, hold on a little longer! We'll be there soon; victory is in sight. Once we arrive, we'll slaughter sheep, boil meat, and drink wine—we'll enjoy ourselves properly. Damn it, this journey has been a real ordeal. I'll make sure the brothers are well-nourished, and after that, you can go visit the brothels and have some fun—my treat."

The crowd of riders around him all burst into laughter. For a moment, they even had more strength to whip their horses forward, and the little whips made the horses neigh and gallop.

No one doubted that Wang Yan was speaking falsely. As the personal guards arranged for Wang Yan, the Governor-General, the personnel composition was quite complex. A portion were connections from the border armies, all of noble birth, and another portion were the elite of the border armies—men who could truly fight. There were also those added by the Jiajing Emperor due to Wang Yan's own special status: personnel from the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Counting the service staff, primarily the culinary team led by Wang Gaofu, there were over three hundred people in total.

During past inspections and patrols, these people all had to move with Wang Yan. Wang Yan truly kept his word and really arranged for them to be comfortable. They ate well, drank well, and slept well.

Not to mention the ordinary soldiers, even the well-connected ones never dared to imagine that one day a high-and-mighty civil official would treat them to brothels. He even treated them personally when they fell ill...

In the capital, people were cursing Wang Yan to the heavens, saying he disregarded etiquette, ignored rules, and was lawless.

Yes, even though Wang Yan had already left the capital, there were still many memorials impeaching him every day. That they didn't get along was one aspect; the other was that his problems were too numerous, as if they were all using him to boost their own performance records.

Of course, he wasn't being wronged; he had done too many absurd things and had a mountain of faults. But from another perspective, if he didn't have so many faults, he wouldn't have reached this position...

Just like that, hundreds of people marched into the horse market, causing a scene of chaos.

Wang Yan dismounted, shook the snow off his cloak, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and walked creakily across the snowy ground, observing the environment of the horse market.

Overall, his arrangements had been implemented quite well. The houses here were of brick-and-wood structure, built using cement for bonding. If it weren't for the people here wearing antique styles, or the barbarians wearing thick, crudely processed furs and old-fashioned attire, it would really seem like modern times.

This was the Liaozhong region. The horse market had been moved here from Guangning, and the original horse market in the Kaiyuan area had been cancelled, with mutual trade conducted only here.

Correspondingly, the power of the foreign tribes originally living here had to retreat to the region north of Liaozhong. Those living south of Liaozhong were now uniformly managed by Liaodong.

The Taining Guard was, of course, dissatisfied, as was the Fuyu Guard, because the Taining Guard's sphere of power was pushed back, naturally infringing upon their own.

The Jurchens were also dissatisfied, because as the Taining and Fuyu Guards were pushed back, they naturally expanded northward, which affected their interests.

But even if dissatisfied, they had to hold it in. Even if they fought until their brains spilled out, they wouldn't dare say a word against the Great Ming.

After suppressing the Japanese pirates, stabilizing the southeast, and cutting the flesh of the great southeastern families with a dull knife, the Great Ming's external energy was unified. That was to guard against the four barbarians daily, implement the policy of replacing native officials with imperial ones, and focus primarily on the north.

Previously, when the southeast was unstable, if the Three Guards of Doyan and the Jurchens caused trouble, the Jiliao region might have had to consider things carefully. Without the contradictions of the southeast, if the Three Guards of Doyan and other tribes dared to cause trouble, it would be purely seeking death, because they really dared to fight them.

Even if the original Great Ming wouldn't have dared, the Great Ming under Wang Yan's administration of Shuntian Prefecture dared. After all, the previous war in the southeast was instigated by Wang Yan, and Wang Yan was also in charge of logistics and raising military supplies. At this time, fighting in Liaodong was something the Great Ming could fully afford.

Therefore, this horse market was established very smoothly in the Liaozhong region and, according to Wang Yan's wishes, was built into a town. After three years of development, under north-south trade, it had developed into what it was today.

Restaurants, teahouses, bathhouses, pharmacies, grain shops, brothels, etc. —every kind of shop existed, and the goods sold were diverse and complete. The people in the town were a mix of Han and barbarians, influencing each other, so that in just three short years, different customs and habits had already emerged here, proving that prosperous exchange is a key factor in accelerating cultural integration...

Wang Yan's entourage was quite large. Besides his guards, Qi Jiguang, the Regional Commander, had dozens of personal guards, plus the accompanying officials responsible for relevant affairs, and attendants like Wang Gaofu who handled food and daily life. Altogether, there were over four hundred people.

So upon arriving at the horse market, the officials responsible for managing the market, who had rushed over, arranged for these attendants to disperse for meals and rest...

"Grand Coordinator, this restaurant is the best in the horse market. The chef is from Shandong, and the craftsmanship is quite good."

The manager of the horse market was a man in his forties with a goat beard, a chubby build, and a round, chubby face. He was wrapped in a bear-skin coat in accordance with local customs, making him look even more robust. His nodding and bowing appearance looked quite comical.

"Then let's go to this one."

Wang Yan turned to instruct those beside him, "Go and do some purchasing. There shouldn't be a shortage of cattle, sheep, horses, and the like here, and there are many mountain delicacies. Make sure to prepare some well."

"Uh... Grand Coordinator, the ingredients..."

"How the Grand Coordinator acts is for you to question? Step down!" An official behind him shouted loudly, scolding the fat man to the side, scaring him into a cold sweat in the windy and snowy weather.

"Hey, how can you treat a subordinate official like that?" Wang Yan waved his hand. "How could he have thought of so much? Come, come, let me tell you, so you don't feel wronged."

Wang Yan affectionately put his arm around his shoulder. "Since I entered officialdom seven years ago, I have encountered assassination attempts twenty-seven times. There have been direct killings, assassinations, and poisonings. Fortunately, thanks to His Majesty's protection, I have survived until today."

"My coming here is no secret. Recently, the reforms in Jiliao have involved a lot, and I have offended the great families of Hebei. Even the great families of Shandong and Shanxi don't look kindly upon me. You tell me, haven't they long since prepared to take risks to kill me?"

"This subordinate is foolish and didn't think of all that. I just wanted to treat the Grand Coordinator to the best Liaozhong has to offer." The fat man spoke humbly, his grievance revealing a bit of tea-like pretense; it was truly difficult for him.

"Let's just watch slowly."

Wang Yan laughed and patted the fat man's back, then walked into the best restaurant in the horse market.

The restaurant was worthy of being the best; it was full of life and heat hit one's face. The guests were both Han and barbarian, mostly merchants—some from the south, some barbarian merchants, and others were stewards doing business here.

Stopping his guards from driving the guests away, Wang Yan even chatted with a few people before sitting at a table, waiting for Wang Gaofu to bring over beef, mutton, and vegetables to cook.

"Grand Coordinator, it's better to clear everyone out. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall." Qi Jiguang still couldn't help but advise.

"If I were afraid of them, I wouldn't need to do anything. Hiding in a deep mansion all day, living in fear—how could I talk about governing Jiliao? How could I talk about protecting the country and expanding territory?"

Just as Qi Jiguang looked on in panic, Wang Yan calmly tilted his head and reached out to grab a crossbow bolt, preventing it from shooting Qi Jiguang beside him.

"Assassins! Assassins!"

"Protect the Grand Coordinator!"

"They're on the second floor! Go!"

"Guard the exits! No one is allowed to leave!"

"Squat down! Everyone squat down! Damn it! I told you to squat down!"

"There are assassins among those eating too! Be careful!"

"Catch that fat man! Don't let him run!"

Amidst the chaos, Wang Yan sat calmly, laughing as he toyed with the crossbow bolt he had just caught, looking at the luster of the arrowhead through the light coming through the glass window.

"It's even poisoned. They really are afraid I won't die." Wang Yan said to Qi Jiguang, "The most taboo thing in doing anything is impatience. Look, how impatient they are to kill me. We just sat down, and before a sentence was finished, they made a move. They should have waited until we were eating and drinking, and started to relax, before making a move. It's really too improper."

Qi Jiguang was speechless. You're even critiquing them?

"The Grand Coordinator is as steady as a mountain. Jiguang admires you, truly admires you." He cupped his hands in respect. "If it weren't for the Grand Coordinator's high martial arts, I would have died just now. Thank you for saving my life."

"Hey." Wang Yan waved his hands repeatedly. "If I hadn't dodged, I would have been the one to die. Since I dodged, this crossbow bolt would have at most scratched your skin. Although the arrow was poisoned, if it doesn't hit a vital point, the chance of survival is very high."

"Grand Coordinator, don't be humble. I'm truly ashamed that I didn't react." Qi Jiguang let out a long breath, his face full of shame. Thinking of his twenty years on the battlefield, he wasn't as quick to react as Wang Yan, a civil official.

"Alright, you're also a general who has killed his way through life and death. What's there to be hung up about with such a small matter? As long as you're alive, don't talk about dying."

Wang Yan didn't say anything more, got up and went to someone else's table to get some heated wine, and started drinking with Qi Jiguang...

Wang Yan was truly accustomed to encountering assassination attempts.

Because his various actions targeting the Jiliao region—clearing fields, checking households, overturning old cases, imposing fines, and the like—had, of course, once again touched the reverse scales of the great families here.

They began to understand and tentatively accept the series of policies Wang Yan implemented in Shuntian Prefecture, but that didn't mean they would truly execute them. They didn't want to expose the hidden fields and households to pay more taxes. They didn't want the illegal things in their homes to be used by Wang Yan as leverage to fine them to death.

This wasn't one place, but an entire large region. From west of the Taihang Mountains, north of Baoding and Tianjin, all the way to Liaodong, except for Shuntian Prefecture, all other areas were within the scope of this action.

To ensure border stability and local peace, Wang Yan even requested the deployment of forty thousand Capital Battalion troops to garrison Baoding, Tianjin, and other places, assisting in solving problems and suppressing the locality.

Correspondingly, there were a mountain of unjust, false, and wrong cases, and the methods were extremely intense.

After all, in such a large area, it was impossible for Wang Yan to keep an eye on every place; things were always handled by local people. Some even took the opportunity to collude with each other, frame others, strike at competitors, and engage in even more unscrupulous annexation—it was simply lawless.

However, Wang Yan was worthy of them; their entire families were exiled to Liaodong to engage in construction, the women were directly forced to marry military households, and the children were sent to welfare institutions. He ensured their whole families had a place to go.

In short, Wang Yan pushed forcefully, and those below racked their brains to resist in various ways.

At the same time, Wang Yan didn't waste time, directly announcing that taxes would be collected on horse market transactions, taxes would be collected on transport back inside the pass, and a third "cleaning fee" would be collected for sales within the scope of Jiliao and Shuntian Prefecture. With these three taxes, the money they earned was greatly reduced, though in reality, they were still earning a great deal.

After all, it was categorized by item and purpose. High-end enjoyment was heavily taxed, while supplementing the Great Ming's deficits was naturally lightly taxed.

But these people just didn't want to pay taxes; taking out even one more copper coin was like taking their lives...

Coupled with the various smuggling channels, which were gradually tightening with Wang Yan's arrival, becoming increasingly difficult, everyone could only do legitimate business, earning relatively much less money.

Wang Yan, who had cut off their path to wealth, naturally began to be assassinated again.

Truth be told, although he had to encounter assassinations more or less in every ancient copy, this Great Ming was particularly frequent.

The reason lay in the difference in routes. It lay in the fact that he had no power of his own.

Like in the Great Song, when he truly began to offend people, he was already a young Confucian scholar with a great reputation and many supporters. He wasn't fighting alone; the energy he could mobilize was beyond imagination.

Also, like in other ancient copies, he joined the army and directly controlled the machine of violence, directly engaging in a military government dictatorship, killing simply and directly.

This time the situation was different. The power of the feudal monarchy was concentrating, and the power of officials was also concentrating. Although it was no longer as directly fierce as the original powerful clans, great families, and clans, the landlord group had the same conduct.

Wang Yan had no power base and could only rely on his hard life, plus the Jiajing Emperor's protection, to fight people within the framework of the rules.

Only he could do it; if it were someone else, their grave wouldn't even be found...

Wang Yan was fearless, braving the risk of being assassinated, patrolling everywhere, forcefully pushing new policies, and striking hard against local great families and corrupt bureaucrats. At the same time, in this process, he gathered those who turned to him and built his own power base.

This was the benefit of being a high official. As his power expanded, he gradually moved away from being a lone minister. After all, he was a superior; if others didn't rely on him, didn't flatter him, and didn't follow his footsteps, how could they advance?

So he had also become a mountain, a political force, with his own political demands...

?? Daily thanks to the good brothers who tip, vote for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support! ===== CHAPTER 1555 =====