Before setting off, Hu Zongxian had already planned the best marching route.
Their trip started from Hangzhou and headed west along the official road.
Now that they have arrived at Huizhou Mansion, their next goal is to penetrate into Raozhou Mansion and clear out all the forces that dare to resist before entering Nanchang Mansion.
"Your Majesty the Governor, there is finally something that I don't understand."
At this moment, Qi Jiguang stepped forward, his face full of confusion, and then asked Hu Zongxian.
"Oh, but it doesn't matter."
After hearing this, Hu Zongxian immediately turned his attention to Qi Jiguang.
"My Lord Governor, I still can't understand why Jiangxi Governor Cao Shunhe, as the governor of a province, was united and ousted by many officials under his command?"
"He is a border official appointed by His Majesty himself! Logically speaking, he should..."
Qi Jiguang hesitated and did not dare to say any more.
"I am not very clear about the specific situation, but the fact that the local salt merchants in Jiangxi are so rampant is enough to get a glimpse of the situation."
"Who do you think gave these salt merchants the confidence?"
"Not only did you openly bribe officials, but you also dared to make a dignified governor of a province into an empty position!"
"Some things cannot be accomplished with just the money in hand. They are just doing things for the people behind them!"
Hu Zongxian glanced at Qi Jiguang and then gave his own opinion.
"Mr. Governor, you mean, the reason behind this matter is..."
After listening to Hu Zongxian's opinions, Qi Jiguang's pupils suddenly shrank, and then he pointed at the sky.
Seeing that Qi Jiguang understood what he meant, Hu Zongxian nodded and added.
"So His Majesty is going to bypass the officials in the capital and let the Jin Yiwei send the secret order."
"This time, no local officials in Jiangxi who are involved will be able to escape!"
"I want these people to know that they cannot afford the consequences of deceiving His Majesty!"
…
Early the next morning, when the people in the city happily went to the salt shop to buy salt, they suddenly discovered that although the price of salt had dropped back to the previous level, the salt sold in the salt shop was less than half!
The people who bought the salt for seven cents left with satisfaction.
But the long queue of people behind them could only watch helplessly, hoping that it would be their turn soon.
Just as the people at the scene were waiting in line peacefully, there was a quarrel from the front.
"Why is there no salt when I'm waiting in line?"
I saw a middle-aged man wearing coarse linen clothes angrily throwing the bag in his hand to the ground and questioning.
"Sorry, the salt has been sold out. You can go somewhere else to check it out!"
Seeing this, the clerk yawned and said perfunctorily.
"Hmph, you obviously have salt, you just don't want to sell it!"
"Don't forget, your boss signed an agreement at the government office yesterday."
After listening to the waiter's explanation, the middle-aged man became furious, pointed at the visitor and scolded him.
"Huh, if I say no, I won't. Just be sensible and leave quickly."
"Otherwise, don't blame us for being rude!"
As soon as the man finished speaking, several strong and fierce-looking thugs walked out of the salt shop.
"Humph, I can't buy any salt today, so I won't leave here!"
The middle-aged man was not at all afraid of this and responded like this.
"If you don't eat the toast, you'll be fined with wine. Come on, give me a beating!"
Soon, the thugs swarmed up, kicked the middle-aged man to the ground, and then surrounded him, punching and kicking him.
Since he had not eaten salt for a long time, this middle-aged man was so weak that he was unable to effectively resist!
Therefore, he could only be like a wooden stake, allowing the fists and kicks of the storm to fall on him.
"What are you doing? Don't hit anyone!"
"Yes, don't hit anyone!"
The behavior of the salt shop naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of many people at the scene, and they immediately shouted angrily.
"They have salt, but they won't sell it to us!"
"Everyone, rush forward and fight for them!"
Someone in the crowd shouted.
His words undoubtedly ignited the anger of everyone present. The crowd quickly swarmed around, dispersed the group of thugs who had previously beaten the middle-aged man, and rescued the man.
At this moment, the middle-aged man was taking in too much air and letting out too little.
I saw him turning his head with great effort and speaking feebly.
"Salt, they have salt!"
After saying that, the middle-aged man tilted his head and lost his breath.
"A life was lost! A murder was committed!"
"Everyone fought with them to get the salt back from their hands!"
"Yes, get the salt back!"
The death of the middle-aged man made everyone present furious, and soon, the crowd poured into the salt shop.
"What are you doing? Don't come over. I tell you, the government officials will be here soon!"
"You are committing a crime by doing this... ah!"
Before the guy could finish his words, he was drowned by the angry crowd.
Soon the rest of the men in the salt shop, including the previous group of thugs, were all killed!
"Salt, there's salt in this! So much salt!"
Immediately, a surprising voice attracted the attention of everyone present.
Everyone followed the sound and saw mountains of salt piled high in the warehouse behind the salt shop.
"Don't fight, everyone, line up and come one by one, everyone will have a share!"
Soon, someone among the crowd stood up and was responsible for maintaining order at the scene and distributing free salt to the people.
"Come on, next one, next one!"
Just as many people at the scene were queuing up to receive salt in an orderly manner, there was a messy sound of footsteps coming from a distance.
"Ah, the official is here!"
"The official is here, everyone, run away!"
"Why are you running? If you run away, we won't have any salt!"
The people at the scene, except for a few who escaped, gathered here to confront the officials who arrived.
"You bunch of unscrupulous people, how dare you openly steal salt!"
"If you put down the salt you grabbed now, I will not hold you accountable!"
Among this group of officials, the leader stood up and said so.
"Bah, evil official, you are dreaming, you are with those salt merchants!"
"If you want salt, step over our corpses!"
"Yes, step over our corpses!"
Seeing the resolute attitude of the people, these officials did not dare to make a decision rashly.
"Why are you still standing there? They dare to gather together and openly grab salt. They are no longer ordinary people!"
"They are thugs and bandits! Is there any need to show mercy when dealing with thugs and bandits?"
"Give them all to me!"
Under the command of the chief, this group of officers had no choice but to bite the bullet and joined the ranks of the people who suppressed the scene. The people were not to be outdone, and the two sides fought together.
And how can those unarmed common people be the opponents of these officials? They soon suffered heavy casualties and had to give up the salt shop they occupied.
When the group of officials came to their senses, countless civilians had fallen in front of them. Some of the officials looked at the blood stained on their hands with blank expressions.
"Sir, we..."
"It's just a few untouchables, where does all this nonsense come from?"
"Go back and report the news. Just say that the people here have been completely suppressed!"
Among this group of officials, the leading officer turned his back to everyone and interrupted his subordinates impatiently, with a look of disdain on his face.
"Sir, we are surrounded..."
"What?"
As soon as the subordinate finished speaking, the leading officer was about to turn around to check the situation when he was hit hard on the head with a shovel and died!
Facing a population that was several times their own, this group of officials lost the determination to resist, so they soon followed in the footsteps of their superiors.
"Everyone, rush forward and kill all these salt merchants who are hoarding money!"
Gradually, the entire city began to commotion, and countless people joined in.
(End of chapter)
