Daming: I asked you to hang yourself, but I didn’t ask you to rebuild the Ming Dynasty

As the head of the Wang family, Wang Ji knows a lot of things.

Ever since they trained officials and eliminated Kaizhongfa, the rise of Huizhou merchants has become unstoppable.

Over the years, under the leadership of their five major families, Huizhou merchants have attacked everywhere and dominated almost all walks of life.

Counting pawn shops alone, they have nearly [-] pawn shops in Henan Province.

Painting depicting a Hui merchant pawn shop

(Original text of a memorial by Shen Jiwen, governor of Henan during the Wanli Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty: ... Huizhou merchants are now all over the north of the Yangtze River, ... there are 230 merchants in Henan, including Wang Chong.

The rise of Huizhou merchants began when Ye Qi abolished the Kaizhong Law in the fifth year of Hongzhi, about a hundred years after this memorial. This memorial was still 50 years away from the end of the Ming Dynasty.

The more war-torn times are, the more popular pawn shops become. The number of [-] pawn shops is estimated by the author based on the profit-seeking nature of capital. )

As for Henan Province, it only has 8 prefectures, 12 states and 96 counties!

Wang Ji knew that he must not be caught and tortured by Li Zicheng. Otherwise, given Li Zicheng's predicament, he might have to deal with their Huizhou merchants!

Besides, when the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo surrendered a few years ago, the Hui merchants did no good and forced others to rebel again. How can these bandits forget it?

In this way, there are both former and future grievances!

It would be strange if the peasant army didn't peel off their skin!

Wang Ji twitched his cheek:

Although real estate is difficult to cash out for a while, as long as you take away the contract and leave a servant to take care of it, you should be fine.

Besides, these are all belongings of the clan, and they are not owned by him alone!

As long as you take away the cash, the rest will be lost...

Wang Ji wanted to escape back, but he also needed a strategy.

He can't just drag hundreds of carts of belongings out of the city with such arrogance!

So, the officials gave him, the proprietor, an idea - to take away the property on the pretext of helping Li Zicheng conquer Jiangnan!

……

Wang Ji walked back and forth anxiously, not knowing whether the two gold ingots given to Song's military advisor would be able to accomplish anything...

Wang Ji was thinking wildly when he saw the corner door on the left side of the palace gate opened and a general in armor came out.

Since Li Yan has always been a clean person and doesn't like to be in the limelight, not many people have seen him, a man with absolute power in the Dashun Dynasty.

Wang Ji didn't recognize him either.

At this moment, the guards spoke:

"You guys salute General Zhi."

The sergeants guarding the palace gate all bent down and saluted Li Yan.

Wang Ji's eyes lit up, "Conquer the general?"

This is the top general in the Dashun Army, second only to General Quan.

He hurriedly smiled, quietly took out two 50-tael gold ingots from his sleeves, and stepped forward:

"Little Wang Ji pays his respects to the general!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity to bow and bow, Wang Ji thrust 100 taels of gold into Li Yan's hand.

He wanted the general to say a few good words to him so that he could escape from this cage as soon as possible.

100 taels of gold is enough to buy a sentence!

Li Yan's hands sank, and he felt that there were five or six kilograms more in his hands. He touched his fingertips and found that they were still smooth.

He looked down and the corners of his mouth suddenly turned up - it turned out to be 100 taels of gold!

As expected of a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River, this move is worth a thousand taels of silver!

"Are you Wang Ji?"

Li Yan smiled and looked at Wang Ji playfully.

Wang Ji was confused when he saw it.

But the servant Wang Ji brought nervously put his hand into his clothes.

Li Yan glanced out of the corner of his eye and knew that if he was tough, these servants would attack him without fear of death, so that Wang Ji could escape.

Immediately, Li Yan shouted loudly:

"Well, Wang Ji, I am a general of the Central Military Commission and a second-grade high-ranking official. How dare you, a mere businessman, not kneel down when you see me?"

Wang Ji was a little scared at first, and even wanted to escape under the cover of his servants. Suddenly he heard that Li Yan only cared about him not kneeling down, and he suddenly felt relieved.

He bent down and bowed again: "So that General Li will know that the younger one is a prison student. According to the national law, he does not kneel before an official."

"Ah!"

Li Yan sneered, and when his brother Li Nian came with people, he pointed at the palace and said:

"I am an official of Dashun, but your background was given by Qianming. Do you want to use the sword of the previous dynasty to kill me, an official of the current dynasty?"

Li Nian, who was about to come over to check, was stunned. He suddenly figured out something was wrong from his younger brother's words. He immediately called in his own soldiers and gave some detailed instructions.

Li Yan pointed his finger at the servant who was following Wang Ji:

"And you, you are just a domestic slave, how dare you not kneel down when you see me?"

"But do you think my sword is harmful?"

It turns out that he is obsessed with saving face.

Wang Ji was convinced that the rumors in the market were indeed unreliable.

It is said that Li Yan is indifferent to fame and wealth, and has always been very indifferent.

When I saw him today, he turned out to be someone who cared so much about fame!

Wang Ji smiled and waved his hand slightly behind, signaling the servants to put down their guard.

He bent his legs and slowly knelt down: "The former supervisor, Wang Ji, pays his respects to the general."

The servants behind him also knelt on the ground, saying words of greeting.

Li Nian, on the other hand, had already vaguely surrounded Wang Ji and others with his soldiers.

When the soldiers guarding the palace gate saw that Li Nian was showing signs of taking action, they all held weapons in hand, ready to provide support at any time.

Seeing that the overall situation had been decided, Li Yan no longer wanted to compromise, and immediately shouted:

"Come here, capture all these thieves. If anyone resists, we will kill them without mercy!"

Just as the two servants with extraordinary skills behind Wang Ji were about to rise up, they were kicked to the ground by Li Yan.

A dozen servants roared angrily, took out daggers from their arms and rushed towards Li Yan.

The leader shouted anxiously:

"Master, leave quickly, let's hold them back!"

However, they saw Li Yan and Li Nian, without even taking out the swords from their waists, rushing into the crowd as if they were taking a leisurely stroll in a courtyard, chopping with palms, punching, pointing, or kicking. …

In just two or three breaths, the brave thugs brought by Wang Ji fell to the ground clutching their wounds.

The soldiers around him were so fast that they didn't react.

Even before Wang Ji had time to get up and run away, Li Yan's sword was already on his neck.

"Are you still running?"

Li Yan's smile was as bright as a flower.

What the hell!

This scholar is a murderer!

Wang Ji felt a chill rush down his spine and into his mind...

……

Song Xiance has short legs.

When Song Xiance, known as Song Dwarf, walked out of the palace, he saw Wang Ji and others, who had been tied up.

"Brother Li is a true god!"

Song Xiance praised him sincerely.

"I don't dare, I don't dare. My little boxing skills don't deserve Brother Song's praise."

Li Yan said modestly:

"Brother Song, I will leave this man to you. I will also seize his property so that I can reply to His Majesty."

Song Xiance hurriedly handed over his hands: "Brother Li, please forgive me. Brother Li, please forgive me."

……