After Jiajing read the contents of the memorial, he was not as angry as Hu Zongxian had expected, but his expression was calm and his eyes were cold.
Jiajing threw the memorial aside casually and called softly: "Lu Fang!"
"My slave is here."
"Look at this memorial. This is the memorial presented to me directly by Hu Zongxian." Jiajing sighed, and then pointed his index finger to the memorial on the table.
After hearing Jiajing's instructions, Lu Fang did not dare to delay and quickly stepped forward to open the memorial. The content above shocked him.
"Your Majesty!" Lu Fang knelt down immediately after reading it, looking sad.
"Ask Jin Yiwei to investigate this matter. No matter who is involved, we should handle it together." Jiajing's tone was full of exhaustion.
"Yes, I take my orders." After Lu Fang said that, she bowed and left. Her steps were no longer as steady as before, and she almost tripped and fell to the ground.
That night, several eunuchs died suddenly and mysteriously.
…
Zhejiang, Zhejiang Governor's Mansion.
Hu Zongxian looked at Gao Hanwen who was kneeling in front of him, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Your Majesty the Governor, I am Gao Hanwen! I have been recommended by Mr. Xiao Ge to serve in the Governor's Mansion of Zhejiang Province."
Because he had not officially taken office yet, Gao Hanwen did not wear official uniform and was still dressed as a scholar.
"Oh? Are you a student of Yan Shifan?" Hu Zongxian picked up the teacup and took a sip.
"Go back to the Governor, Mr. Yan Shifan is the student's teacher." Gao Hanwen replied respectfully.
"Did they send you here to measure the land and prepare for converting rice into mulberry next year?"
"Your Majesty the Governor, it is indeed the case."
After asking for the reason, Hu Zongxian put a warm smile on his face. He stood up from the chair and helped Gao Hanwen up. After looking up and down, he encouraged him: "Hanwen, I hope you can work hard in the future and serve the people of Zhejiang." For your own sake!”
"I will obey the instructions of the Governor!"
"You're tired from the journey. You can go down and rest first. I'll introduce you to my colleagues later."
"Thank you, Lord Governor!"
At the home of Shen Yishi, the richest man in Zhejiang, the inspector He Maocai, the chief envoy Zheng Michang, and the eunuch Yang Jinshui of the Weaving Bureau gathered together to enjoy tea.
"Everyone, please!"
Shen Yishi was wearing rags, holding a broken porcelain bowl in his hand, and saluted everyone.
He Maocai put the tea bowl in the bowl and drank, then took a sip, his eyes shining: "It's sweet in the mouth, with a long aftertaste, and a hint of bitterness. It's really good tea!"
"This is the first batch of Shifeng Longjing this year, but the output is not large."
"If you sir want it, I will send someone to your house." Shen Yishi picked up the rotten porcelain bowl and drank all the water in the bowl.
"We're not in a hurry, it's just..." Zheng Michang said, slowly elongating his tone.
"Since the output of Longjing is not high this year, I gave two catties to Mr. Lu in the palace, two catties each to Yan Ge Lao and Xiao Ge Lao, and one catty each to all the adults present. I kept the rest to drink by myself. "Shen Yishi placed the broken porcelain bowl on the table and said with a smile.
"I'm talking about you. He is the richest man in Zhejiang, but he still lives like this, wearing rags and using rotten porcelain bowls!" After listening to Shen Yishi's words, He Maocai smiled and joked.
"I'm used to it. I wore shabby clothes when I was a child. I can't change them anymore." Shen Yishi didn't take He Maocai's words to heart and just explained with a smile.
Yang Jinshui, who had been silently enjoying the tea, spoke up: "This year the Weaving Bureau received an order for 500,000 pieces of silk. I wonder if Boss Shen can swallow it."
Shen Yishi thought about it for a moment and gave the answer: "I, Shen, currently only have more than 10,000 looms. The most important thing for making silk is silk. If the supply of silk is sufficient, I will cooperate with other loom manufacturers to loom It can reach more than 18,000 pieces. If we work day and night, we can produce about 360,000 pieces of silk."
After hearing this, Yang Jinshui looked depressed: "Currently, the Weaving Bureau still has about 40,000 pieces of silk in stock, which means there is still a shortage of 100,000 pieces."
"When the policy of changing rice to mulberry is implemented next year and half of the farmland in Zhejiang is converted into mulberry fields, the supply of silk should be able to increase, and the order will definitely be completed by then." Zheng Michang also gave his own opinion.
"Besides, Mr. Xiaoge has personally sent someone down to check the fields in Zhejiang. What is that person's name?"
"It seems to be called Gao Hanwen, right? It is said that he is still a student of Mr. Xiaoge!"
"Yes, yes, my name is Gao Hanwen!"
…
"Your Majesty, Qi Jiguang came to report that Jinyiwei sent someone to take away the Japanese pirate leader Xu Hai last night."
"Well, I understand, go down."
At this moment, there was deathly silence in the Jinyi Guard Prison.
Xu Hai was fixed to the chair unable to move. He had not slept all night. Whenever he felt sleepy, a basin of cold water would wake him up.
It was the twelfth lunar month of winter, and the temperature was extremely low at night. Xu Hai was only wearing a single coat, and the water-soaked clothes stuck to his body wetly. Not only could they not keep him warm, but they would also make people feel colder.
Xu Hai's lips were purple and he looked dazed. The Jin Yiwei people did not torture him, but sent someone to watch him. When he wanted to sleep, they poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"Do you have anything to say?" Just as Xu Hai was in a trance, a voice came from outside the room.
Xu Hai's lips, which were blue and purple from the cold, moved but did not make any sound.
"Keep pouring, the commander will come over later!"
"Yes." The person responsible for guarding Xu Hai took the order, and then another bucket of cold water was poured on his head. Xu Hai became even colder and lost consciousness instantly.
"Wake him up, as long as he doesn't die!" Seeing the prisoner fainting, a cold voice came.
"Ahhhhh!" An indescribable severe pain woke Xu Hai from his coma. The severe pain also made his originally dazed consciousness clear. Then he opened his eyes and saw a picture full of A playful face: "Are you awake?"
This is the Jin Yiwei who is responsible for guarding him.
Xu Hai tilted his head to one side and said nothing.
"Hey hey hey, now that we're awake let's have some fun. I like tough guys like you the best!"
"It's you, the Japanese pirate, who kept me awake all night! I'll beat you to death, you bastard."
After that, the whip dipped in chili water was whipped hard on Xu Hai's body. Each whip would leave a deep blood mark on his body. The burning pain from the wound made Xu Hai almost lose his teeth. Bit into pieces.
"Oh? You can still persist. Let's wait until I pull out all your teeth and see what you bite with." After that, he started to look around for tools in the cell.
After a while, a plier-like tool was taken into his hand. The tool was covered with blood and rust, and it seemed that it had not been cleaned for a long time. He forcefully opened Xu Hai's mouth, fixed the pliers, and then pushed out with force. With a pull, a yellowed tooth flew out, dripping with blood.
"Ahhh!" With his dazed look on his face, the sudden severe pain became clearer. Xu Hai could no longer hold on and screamed out.
"This is the first one, don't worry, let me count, there are twenty-eight left!"
The visitor smiled ferociously, opened Xu Hai's mouth again, fixed the pliers, and pulled out with force. Another tooth flew out, and Xu Hai almost fainted from the pain.
"I heard that you have several families hiding there. Don't worry. Our Jinyiwei has sent people to pick them up overnight. You will be reunited as a family soon. The men will be raised as pigs and the women will be sold. Brothel, what do you think?"
"It's none of their business! They don't know anything!" Xu Hai was furious. When he thought about the safety of his family, he suddenly became confused.
"No, no, no, of course it does matter. Since they are your family members, they must have enjoyed various overt or covert benefits. Don't they cost money for the clothes they wear and the food they eat in their bowls?"
"Don't touch them, I'll recruit them! I'll recruit them all!"
