Chapter 98: Borrowing Chongzhen's Hand to Eliminate Gao Jie

Zhangjiakou was originally a garrison fort built by the court to guard against border troubles, constructed under the supervision of Zhang Wen, Guard Commander of Wanquan Right Guard.

Starting in the fifth year of Longqing, the court spent one hundred thousand taels of gold to open a horse market here, and with additional factors such as Anda's tribute and investiture, merchants from all over grew ever more numerous, gradually forming the Zhangku Road, known as the "Grassland Silk Road."

From then on, Zhangjiakou gradually began its transformation from a military garrison stronghold into a commercial town.

By the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, thanks to years of development along the Zhangku Road, Zhangjiakou had expanded continuously until it actually merged with Laiyuan Fort on the Great Wall frontier, becoming quite vast in scale.

According to the final census kept by the inner court in the fifteenth year of Wanli, from that time onward Zhangjiakou had over forty trading firms run by foreign merchants from Portugal, the Netherlands, and other countries, plus another forty-odd money shops and exchange houses opened by domestic merchants — contemporaries all called it the "Dry Dock" or the "Martial City."

The head offices of Fan Yongdou and the other Eight Locust Merchants were all set up in Zhangjiakou, and the money shops, exchange houses, and all manner of businesses within Zhangjiakou were so numerous that even the Emperor Chongzhen himself could not keep count — though one thing was certain: they were too many to number.

That said, for all Zhangjiakou's prosperity, in reality it was just like Jiangnan — the court could not collect a single copper of tax silver from the place, making it virtually a state within a state.

The merchants all had their so-called spokesmen at court, and locally they were wealthy local tyrants whom officials simply dared not provoke; their "friendly exchanges" with the Dashing Qing and the Mongols had always been met with a blind eye.

After all, with this bunch doing business in Zhangjiakou, whether the Mongols or the Dashing Qing came raiding, they rarely struck in this direction, and the officials and generals were happy to let things be.

The great victory at military pay and provisions elated the people; before the realm could even catch its breath, the Chongzhen Emperor followed up by issuing an imperial decree dripping with murderous intent.

The decree stated plainly that Gao Jie, Regional Commander of Xuanfu, was to cooperate with Li Ruolian, Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, in going to Zhangjiakou to make arrests — and even mobilizing the Xuanfu troops and the capital's Embroidered Uniform Guard was not enough; the Three Depots and One Guard were also tasked with oversight.

When Fan Yongdou and the other "Seven" Locust Merchants heard this thunderbolt of news, they grew frantic as ants on a hot pan, endlessly sending letters and silver to their "spokesmen" at court in hopes of self-preservation.

Had it been last year's Chongzhen Emperor issuing such a decree, Fan Yongdou and the others would not have been this tense.

By the usual logic, as long as they sent some silver to court, officials would immediately jump out to oppose it, using the excuse of "competing with the people for profit" to resist — and the face-conscious Chongzhen Emperor would most likely drop the matter.

Moreover, at that time the Regional Commander of Xuanfu was still Wang Chengyin, a fellow who had long since pocketed plenty of Fan Yongdou's silver and would never take an imperial decree seriously.

But the situation now was rather different — Li Zicheng had sworn his army to battle at Xi'an and was leading a million troops to attack the Ming; everyone in the realm thought the Ming dynasty was finished.

Fan Yongdou and the other Seven Locust Merchants were even more anxious to send silver and curry favor with the so-called Great Shun court, saying things like: "As long as you march over, I guarantee I can make the local officers and soldiers lay down their arms and surrender without a fight."

The Great Shun's million-strong army, just as everyone expected, swept all before it wherever it went, banners changing hands at every stop, and the once-mighty Great Ming dynasty seemed to be collapsing with a thunderous crash.

Yet nearly half a year had passed — Li Zicheng was first checked at Daizhou, and now he had been unable to take Ningwu Pass for a long time, losing men and generals; the Datong and Xuanfu Regional Commanders the locust merchants knew so well had both been replaced by the Emperor.

This Gao Jie received the decree like a dog catching the scent of prey, and immediately came trotting over with several thousand troops, looking as though he had no intention of holding back at all.

After the great victory at military pay and provisions, the Chongzhen Emperor proclaimed victory outside the Chengtian Gate, writing the stirring words: "Let righteousness and valor be roused — those who leap in rebellion, however strong, shall be slain."

A batch of officers and soldiers received promotions, and many people escaped their hereditary military household status thanks to the Battle of military pay and provisions; since the Tianqi era, the court's prestige had reached an unprecedented height.

When word reached Shanxi, it was said that a night of weeping came from the Great Shun army camped outside Ningwu Pass, and Li Zicheng was shocked and furious.

The soldiers at Ningwu were wildly inspired, shouting "Long live the Great Ming!" and managed to win a small victory; at a time like this, the Chongzhen Emperor enjoyed the support of the people and soldiers across the realm — whoever he said must die, that person had to die!

This Great Ming dynasty hardly looked like it was about to end — it seemed the time of its fall had not yet come.

At the Fan estate in Zhangjiakou, Fan Yongdou had gathered Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, and Huang Yunfa — the remaining seven locust merchants — for urgent discussions on countermeasures.

If you looked from above, you would find that this Fan estate was built no smaller than an ordinary prince's mansion, divided into front, middle, and rear courtyards, hung inside and out with jaw-dropping lavish decorations — and outside the gate there were even medium-sized stone lions carved by expensive hired masons specially for Fan Yongdou, truly resplendent and magnificent.

In the Fan estate's front courtyard, a host of servants were either sweeping the grounds or carrying the wine and tonics ordered by the master toward the main hall; before long, a troupe of opera performers specially brought in took the stage to sing, while a crowd of local gentry watched and cheered, lively beyond measure.

The rear courtyard of the Fan estate was where Fan Yongdou and his family resided, and ordinary servants could not enter.

If the Chongzhen Emperor strolled through here, he would be astonished to discover that the Fan estate's rear courtyard had everything — rockeries, ponds, pavilions, and towers — this fellow actually lived no worse than the Emperor himself!

The middle courtyard of the Fan estate was where Fan Yongdou and the other seven were now discussing matters; previously Zhai Tang had been captured and killed at Daizhou by Zhou Yuji, and even Fan Yongdou was deeply shocked when he heard of it.

But after all, it had not happened to them — the remaining seven families' own interests were unharmed, and they were even glad to have one less competitor; they would not bother themselves over it.

But now, the Chongzhen Emperor, riding the momentum of his great victory, had written clearly in the decree that he intended to wipe out all seven of them root and branch, stripping them clean from head to toe.

Driven by the pressure of life and death, the seven men who normally schemed against one another actually gathered together for the first time, sincerely discussing how to respond.

The first to speak was Huang Yunfa — this standout among the Shanxi merchants was now covered in cold sweat, staring nervously at Fan Yongdou and the others, saying:

"You all need to come up with a plan! The letters I sent to the capital some days ago vanished like stones dropped into the sea — even the tribute silver was returned untouched. What do we do?"

Wang Dengku followed up, shouting: "Same with my household — the man I sent to deliver things hasn't even come back. Could something have gone wrong in the capital?"

Fan Yongdou looked at the others' panicked expressions but appeared perfectly calm, saying:

"What's there to panic about? What's there to be flustered over? That little brat Chongzhen wants to take our family property — he'd better see if he has the ability!" At this point, Fan Yongdou gave a cold snort and said in a strange, mocking tone:

"Commander Ren, I've supported you for so long — isn't it time you proved your worth?"

Hearing this, Huang Yunfa, Wang Dengku, and the other seven all exchanged bewildered looks, not understanding what Fan Yongdou meant.

Before long, a man wearing the official robe of a Guard Commander stepped out from behind the screen — this was Ren Gang, the current Commander of Xuanfu Right Guard — and he said with a face full of smiles:

"That Gao Jie just took office and acts arrogant and overbearing; the brothers of every guard have long been dissatisfied with him. At a time like this, of course I must seek justice on your behalf!"

Wang Dayu was a rough fellow who dealt in mule and horse trade beyond the pass; he burst out laughing and stepped forward a few paces, pointing at Fan Yongdou and shouting loudly:

"How exactly are you going to seek justice for us? Gao Jie is coming with several thousand troops to confiscate our property!"

"We can borrow Chongzhen's hand to eliminate Gao Jie!" At this, Ren Gang gave a cold smile and said: "Gentlemen, do you know how Yang Sichang died?"