RPAGF Chapter 049 Fu Yingxing's Self-Destructive Act
Chapter 049 Fu Yingxing's Self-Destructive Act
Chapter 049
Fu Yingxing was stunned for a moment. As Wei Zhongxian's nephew, since he came to the capital, whether it was Tian Ergeng, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or Xu Xianchun, the devil who could stop a child from crying, every official who saw him was polite and respectful.
"How dare you talk to me like that? Are you crazy?"
"I think you're the one who's crazy!"
"I am the Imperial Envoy to Pacify Liaodong, acting expediently, holding the seal of the General Who Conquers the Barbarians, the Commander-in-Chief of Dongjiang Garrison, and the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army Commandery. Who do you think you are?"
It wasn't that Mao Wenlong wanted to antagonize Wei Zhongxian. Although he could be considered a member of Wei Zhongxian's eunuch faction, he was the least favored minor figure. In fact, it could be said that he had not received any favors from Wei Zhongxian. The order to attack Zhenjiang Fort was given by Wang Zaijin, and he was promoted by both Wang Huazhen and Wang Zaijin.
What did Wei Zhongxian do for him? He didn't even give him a single grain of military ration. More importantly, the iron ore in Maoshan was of such high quality that there was no need to mine it at all. The mountains and plains were covered with exposed iron ore, so there was no need to dig mine shafts or blast mountains.
Mao Wenlong did not trust Jin Fushun, so he sent his trusted general Chen Zhong to Maoshan. When Chen Zhong saw the Maoshan iron mine, he was so excited that he almost fainted.
There are too many iron mines here. Since the establishment of Dongjiang Town, Mao Wenlong's backer Wang Huazhen was dismissed from office due to the disastrous defeat in Guangning. Without Wang Huazhen's support, although Wang Zaijin also supported him, the problem was that the Dongjiang Army only allocated 700,000 taels of silver for military pay, and he actually received less than half of that.
Mao Wenlong was also full of resentment. He believed that the Donglin Party was just all talk and then sided with Wei Zhongxian. Wei Zhongxian did treat Mao Wenlong better. His military salary, which he had previously received, was increased to 500,000 taels of silver, but that was all.
Mao Wendong didn't want silver; he wanted supplies such as food, equipment, and gunpowder. Wei Zhongxian didn't provide him with these supplies because the former governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, Yuan Keli, was the leader of the Luoyang faction, and the subsequent governor, Wu Zhiwang, had close ties with the Donglin Party. This meant that Wei Zhongxian's influence couldn't reach Dengzhou and Laizhou, much less Liaodong.
Mao Wenlong had finally managed to acquire a large quantity of iron ore. If Maoshan only produced tens of thousands of catties of iron ore per month, he really wouldn't have offended Wei Zhongxian for a mere ten thousand taels of silver.
The problem is that the iron ore available at Maoshan Iron Mine is virtually inexhaustible. He already has a large number of craftsmen under his command, and smelting is not a very complicated matter. Although he does not have Chen Ying's refining technology, he can produce a large amount of steel and forge weapons.
In just over a month, he ordered the production of more than 600 sets of Ming-style lamellar armor. Although the quantity was not large, it was equivalent to 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver when sold to Korea. And this was in just over a month. If more craftsmen were added, the production capacity would double. The output value of the Maoshan iron mine alone could reach more than one million taels of silver, or even more.
More importantly, Mao Wenlong's actual costs were very low, almost a free profit. Jin Fushun was responsible for recruiting Korean civilians for mining and transportation, while Mao was responsible for smelting and forging weapons.
More than three years after the establishment of the Dongjiang Army, Mao Wenlong was actually dissatisfied. If he had the equipment of the Liaodong Army, the Guan Ning Army would not have this designation yet. In fact, the Guan Ning Army refers to Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan, which is the Liaoxi Army. Not to mention destroying Nurhaci, it would have been no problem to recover the four prefectures in southern Liaoning and establish a foothold in southern Liaoning.
These Dongjiang Army soldiers, who could also be considered remnants of the Liaodong Army, almost all of them had a blood feud with the Jurchens. Mao Wenlong's entire family of more than 130 people was killed, and even his sons were all killed. How could he not hate them?
He hated those useless soldiers in the Liaodong Army who, despite having an absolute advantage, squandered their winning hand. He also hated Wei Zhongxian for constantly sabotaging Sun Chengzong in the struggle. If it weren't for Wei Zhongxian's interference, Sun Chengzong could have defeated Nurhaci so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.
He resented the unfairness of the imperial court even more. After Sun Chengzong reorganized the Liaodong army, which had less than 150,000 troops, it received five to six million taels of silver in military pay every year. Meanwhile, the Dongjiang army, with more than 100,000 troops, only received one-tenth of what the Liaodong army received.
This is too biased. Mao Wenlong is loyal to the court, but Wu Zhiwang, the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, sent people to investigate his troop quota. In the past twenty years, when has Mao Wenlong ever drunk the blood of soldiers or eaten the blood of empty troop quotas?
Amidst a buildup of complex emotions, Fu Yingxing became the final straw that broke Mao Wenlong's back. He exploded, realizing that he could profit over a million taels of silver annually from this iron mine, so why should he have to put up with Wei Zhongxian's whims?
No matter how powerful Wei Zhongxian was, could he really come to Pi Island to attack him? More importantly, even if the court listened to Wei Zhongxian's slander and wanted to deal with him, it would have to consider whether the tens of thousands of soldiers of the Dongjiang Army would agree.
Fu Yingxing was also a hothead. Seeing Mao Wenlong turn hostile, he didn't consider the consequences at all, and instead shouted, "Mao Wenlong, you just wait..."
Mao Wenlong waved his hand dismissively: "Take it down for me!"
Suddenly, dozens of soldiers from the Dongjiang Army's Central Army Guard rushed into the hall. Each of them held a crossbow with a black arrowhead, pointing it at Fu Yingxing and the Dongzi Factory guards around him.
Fu Yingxing finally realized that Mao Wenlong intended to kill him, but he felt somewhat guilty and asked, "Commander Mao, what do you mean by this?"
Mao Wenlong stroked his beard and calmly replied, "Capture the traitor who colluded with the Jurchens!"
"Commander Mao, this is a misunderstanding!"
However, it was too late for Fu Yingxing to back down. Mao Wenlong waved his hand before he could finish speaking and said, "This traitor is incorrigible and stubbornly resists; he must be killed without mercy!"
Before he could finish speaking, the sound of crossbows leaving their bows rang out one after another, and screams echoed through the hall. Fu Yingxing, the local ruffian, also unleashed his ferocity, leaping up from the ground and lunging at Mao Wenlong.
Before he could get within ten steps of Mao Wenlong, a man rushed out from beside him and kicked Fu Yingxing away. He was Mao Wenlong's adopted grandson and the adopted son of Mao Chengjun, and was named Kong Youde by Mao Wenlong, also known as Kong Er.
Fu Yingxing struggled to his feet, looked around, and saw that more than half of the twenty or thirty guards from the Eastern Depot he had led were lying dead in the hall. He roared, "Mao Wenlong, you traitor..."
"Slap him!"
Kong Youde stepped forward and slapped him across the face.
"Smack!"
Fu Yingxing was slapped unconscious by Kong Youde.
Mao Wenlong said calmly, "The Emperor himself bestowed the imperial axe upon us. All troops, advance and slay the rebels. Except for this traitor, kill them all..."
The fighting quickly ceased. Chen Jisheng, the deputy general of the Dongjiang Army, son-in-law and strategist of Mao Wenlong, sighed as he watched the scene, saying, "General, this is a huge problem!"
Mao Wenlong said dismissively, "I have always been loyal to the people, so it doesn't matter to me. If Wei Zhongxian is a sensible person and willing to help me, that would be best. If he harbors any wicked intentions, it's nothing more than a war of words with the court. Over the years, the impeachments against us have filled more than a room, haven't they? What can they do?"
Chen Ying was naturally unaware of what had happened on Pi Island. He did indeed want to take advantage of the iron mine in Maoshan, and he also thought that Mao Wenlong was now the de facto emperor of North Korea, and that with just a word, North Korea would obediently send over the iron ore.
In fact, the border between the Ming Dynasty and Korea was not on the Yalu River. In the early Ming Dynasty, the border largely followed the old system of the Yuan Dynasty, with Tieling (located in what is now northeastern Korea) as the boundary. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty explicitly stated: "The area south of Tieling, which formerly belonged to Goryeo, shall be under the jurisdiction of our country. We acknowledge that the area south of Tieling is under the jurisdiction of Goryeo!"
It was precisely because the three Jurchen tribes frequently harassed Liaodong, especially when the Ming Dynasty began to deal with the Jurchens, that Korea saw an opportunity. Under the pretext of relieving its father's worries, it gradually expanded northward and attacked the Jurchens.
At that time, the three Jurchen tribes were fighting each other, and they were just a bunch of bandits with very low combat power. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, the Northeast Six Garrisons and the Northwest Four Prefectures had already been established in the north. In order to contain the Jurchens, the Ming Dynasty acquiesced to this, and its northern border was eventually stabilized at the Yalu River and Tumen River line.
Chen Ying's plan was half successful. The reaction from North Korea was exactly as he had predicted. Mao Wenlong's words were very effective. However, Mao Wenlong himself was full of resentment and saw the huge profits brought by the iron mine. If Fu Yingxing were a smooth person, he would have pretended not to know and quietly left Pi Island. Mao Wenlong would definitely not have handled it this way.
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in life.
The fates of Dongjiang Army and Mao Wenlong had already quietly changed when Chen Ying proposed this plan.
……
In a private room of an inconspicuous teahouse near Qianmen Street in Beijing, the aroma of tea wafts through the air.
Chen Ying, accompanied by his adopted son Chen Yongren, was talking with four pawnshop managers.
These four are the managers of four large pawnshops in the capital: Xu's, Huang's, Baochang, and Tongyuan.
Although pawnshops are a legal industry in the Ming Dynasty, they are shrouded in the shadows. No matter how rich an ordinary person is, they do not have the ability to run a pawnshop. It is a highly profitable industry with extremely high barriers to entry.
These four shopkeepers did not look down on Chen Ying because of his low official rank. In the capital, a fifth-rank official was actually considered a minor official, and there were plenty of officials who were even fourth-rank officials.
The problem is that Chen Yingjian was not only favored by the emperor, but after arriving in Changping, he frequently met with the Tianqi Emperor. What's more, when they met, even Ye Xianggao's request to see him was refused.
There are actually no secrets in the palace. Of course, ordinary people don't have access to this information. More importantly, Chen Ying's business has no conflict of interest with them.
So, in a harmonious atmosphere, Chen Ying chatted with them for more than half an hour, and the conversation gradually became more in-depth...
Chen Ying sighed, "To be honest, the Shahe branch is expanding rapidly, and we're short of skilled craftsmen in our workshops. The managers of each bureau also urgently need capable people who understand accounting and budgeting. I had hoped to find someone through brokerage firms, but those people..."
Xiao Wanfu, the manager of Xu's shop, asked doubtfully, "Lord Chen... it's true that the brokerage business is a bit more diverse. But our pawnshop business has always dealt only with goods, at most the disposal of forfeited pawned items. We never get involved in matters concerning people. This is the law of the Ming Dynasty..."
However, Qiao Chengxian, the head manager of Huang's Pawnshop, understood Chen Ying's intention. He chuckled and interrupted Xiao Wanshi: "Manager Xiao, Lord Chen probably doesn't mean for us to buy and sell people. He doesn't trust the shallow eyes and ears of ordinary pawnshops. What he wants to rely on is the insight and discernment that our established businesses have accumulated over decades in the capital and even the north!"
Xiao Wanfu was slightly taken aback, but then he understood.
"Lord Chen, in our line of work, we deal with all sorts of people. Who needs money urgently and has pawned their ancestral heirloom? Who needs a large sum of money to manage their business? Who keeps unassuming but highly skilled retainers and entertainers… Some talented individuals, perhaps due to their master's decline or bad luck, are simply looking for a place to use their skills. Is this what you seek, sir?"
"That's exactly what I meant!"
Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "What I need is exactly what you managers have discerning eyes to recognize: those talented people who are currently overlooked but whose abilities are not yet fully realized. As long as you make a good recommendation, I will reward you handsomely and will not let your efforts go to waste."
Xiao Wanfu immediately recalled that a month ago, the pawnshop had accepted a dead pawn, but he had been fooled and was still afraid to explain the situation to the owner. If he couldn't make up for the loss, he was afraid he would be in deep trouble.
The three managers all started to get creative.
This is practically a favor that's been handed to me. I can make friends with this rising star, Commander Chen, and maybe even find a good way out for some old acquaintances who are in trouble. I can also benefit from being a middleman. Why not?
In just a few quarters of an hour, the four shopkeepers recommended more than a dozen craftsmen who had recently fallen on hard times, as well as five or six accountants who had been in business for more than ten years.
Chen Ying didn't reap the rewards, but the problem is that human greed is endless, and Chen Ying was no exception. He was somewhat disappointed.
Qiao Chengxian, observing Chen Ying's subtle expressions, instantly understood that what Chen Ying sought was no ordinary person.
"Since Lord Chen has mentioned strategists, I do recall someone. This person is not down on his luck, but rather has some background; ordinary people cannot persuade him, nor would they dare to employ him."
"Oh? I'd like to hear more about it."
"This man's surname is Cheng, and his given name is Jue. He is from Xiuning County, Huizhou Prefecture."
Qiao Chengxian slowly said, "His grandfather was Mr. Cheng Dawei, who wrote 'The Complete Treatise on Arithmetic' during the Wanli era and was regarded by merchants as the standard of mathematics."
"Cheng Dawei?"
Chen Yingxiang remembered that this famous mathematician and abacus master of the Ming Dynasty invented the abacus and the scroll ruler. He was known as the father of the abacus and the father of the scroll ruler and can be regarded as one of the founders of the abacus theory. He never expected that his grandson would be in the capital.
"Young Master Cheng Jue has inherited the true essence of his family's mathematical knowledge and is a genius in mathematics. He is not only proficient in abacus and palmistry, but also has unique insights into practical mathematics such as land, grain tax, logistics, compound interest, and tally. His speed and accuracy far surpass those of ordinary accountants."
Qiao Chengxian smiled wryly, "It's just that this young master Cheng is quite ambitious. He once intended to take the imperial examinations, but unfortunately, he failed repeatedly. Later, he fell in love with Xie Feiyan, the former top scorer, and became a regular at Cuiyun Tower. He lost interest in the family business and had a rather awkward falling out with his father..."
Chen Ying was intrigued. Wasn't this exactly the top-tier CFO and data analyst he had been dreaming of?
As Shahe's business grows larger and larger, he will need such talent for future logistics, cost accounting, profit distribution, and even financial operations. Cheng Dawei's grandson is perfect for the job!
Chen Ying firmly believes that mathematics is a subject that relies heavily on talent; it cannot be learned through hard work alone. Mathematics is either something you can do or you can't.
"Does Manager Qiao know where he lives? Could you please introduce us?"
"Young Master Cheng currently resides in a quiet little courtyard in Damochang outside Chongwen Gate. He has a somewhat eccentric temperament, disdains power and wealth, and only values genuine talent and those who share his interests. I have met him a few times, and it would be no problem for me to introduce him. However... whether or not you can persuade him to come out of seclusion and help you depends on your sincerity and fate, Lord Chen."
"Thank you for your trouble, Manager Qiao! Whether it succeeds or not, I will be extremely grateful. As for the payment, please rest assured, Manager Qiao, I will not let you work for nothing."
Just then, Lu Jiucheng rushed over, slapping his thigh in distress, and exclaimed, "Lord Chen, I've finally found you! Something terrible has happened!"
"What is it?"
Lu Jiucheng glanced at the four managers in the private room. Chen Ying, understanding the implication, clasped his hands and said, "Gentlemen, let's meet again another day..."
"Please proceed, Lord Chen!"
Lu Jiucheng lowered his voice and said, "Eunuch Wei requests your presence..."
Chen Ying's heart skipped a beat: "Could it be...?"