After a day and night of trekking, the army led by Hu Zongxian himself finally arrived at the border of Jiangxi Province.
"Your Majesty the Governor, ahead is Raozhou Mansion!"
Qi Jiguang stepped forward and reported to Hu Zongxian.
"Command the entire army to form military formations and prepare for battle to meet the enemy!"
Hu Zongxian nodded and ordered.
"yes!"
The general on the side took the order and quickly passed it on.
'Woo--' A dull horn sound sounded.
Soon, the army formed a tight formation and gradually approached Raozhou Mansion. Heavy horse hooves trampled on the road, causing a burst of dust to rise.
At this moment, the front army led by Qian Zong Wang Shun had arrived at the city, set up a formation, and was ready to attack the city directly.
"Sir...sir, it's bad, a lot of soldiers suddenly appeared outside the city!"
"What?"
Feng Ming, the chief of Raozhou Prefecture, was quite surprised after hearing the news from his subordinates, and then asked.
"Is it a Japanese pirate? Or a bandit? Or something else?"
"Your Majesty, it looks like they are one of our own! Judging from the flag, it looks like they are Hu Zongxian's army."
"It's strange. What are Hu Zongxian's troops doing here in Jiangxi?"
"Take me over there and have a look!"
"Yes, sir, please come with me!"
Soon, under the leadership of his subordinates, Feng Ming, the governor of Raozhou Prefecture, climbed onto the city wall and inspected the situation with a monocular telescope.
"Looking at their equipment and formation, they are indeed my Ming Dynasty's army!"
"However, looking at their posture, they look like they are preparing to attack the city directly!"
"Wait and see what they do next."
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, things developed beyond his expectation. He saw Hu Zongxian riding a horse, escorted by guards, to a safe distance under the city, and said loudly.
"I am Hu Zongxian, the governor-general of Zhejiang Province and the governor of Zhejiang Province. Under your Majesty's order, I am going to Jiangxi to quell the rebellion!"
"We hope the city gates will be opened quickly, otherwise they will be regarded as rebel forces and destroyed on the spot!"
As soon as Hu Zongxian finished speaking, the soldiers in the distance had already set up cannons to attack the city!
The soldiers under his command were also ready for battle. They only needed Hu Zongxian's order to launch an attack directly.
"What, on His Majesty's order, come to quell the rebellion!"
Feng Ming was extremely surprised when he learned the news from Hu Zongxian.
Soon, he realized that it must be Cao Shunhe, the governor of Jiangxi, who sent a letter to the court telling the whole situation in Jiangxi!
Rumors about the dismissal of Jiangxi Governor Cao Shunhe have been circulating in Jiangxi official circles for a long time.
However, most officials expressed doubts about this and chose to laugh it off, and Feng Ming was one of them.
In his opinion, Cao Shunhe was the governor of Jiangxi, the highest official of the province, and also a frontier official appointed by His Majesty! Who dares to disobey?
At present, Hu Zongxian led an army to come, claiming to have received an order from His Majesty to come to Jiangxi to quell the rebellion.
That means that all the past rumors are true, and Jiangxi Governor Cao Shunhe has really been dismissed!
Thinking of this, Feng Ming suddenly broke into a cold sweat and kept mumbling in his mouth.
"It's over, it's over, something big happened!"
"Sir, what should we do now? Should we open the city gate?"
Seeing the commander's confused look, the subordinates on the side took courage and asked.
"Why are you still standing there? Hurry open the city gate and let in the imperial army to suppress the rebellion!"
"Besides, that's Hu Zongxian! Can we beat him with just a few of us?"
Seeing that his thoughts were interrupted by his subordinates, Feng Ming suddenly became furious and then yelled angrily.
"Yes, sir! I will pass on your order now."
Soon, the city gate in front of them was opened by the soldiers responsible for guarding the city.
Feng Ming came to Hu Zongxian with several guards and said respectfully.
"Your Majesty, Feng Ming, has met the Governor!"
"Um."
Hu Zongxian was still riding on his horse. After glancing at the visitor, he nodded and said slowly.
"Thank you, Lord Governor!"
After Feng Ming listened, he immediately stood aside with great respect, waiting for Hu Zongxian's instructions.
"This officer, under His Majesty's order, came to Jiangxi to quell the rebellion! As the chief of Raozhou Prefecture, you should be very familiar with the situation in Jiangxi, right?"
I saw Hu Zongxian turned his eyes to the visitor, and then asked.
"Reporting to the Governor, the situation in Jiangxi is very complicated. I will explain to you slowly..."
Soon, under Feng Ming's narration, Hu Zongxian also roughly understood the current situation in Jiangxi.
"You mean that Jiangxi's chief envoys, inspectors, and general commanders no longer obey the orders of Cao Shun and the Jiangxi governor, right?"
"Reporting to the Governor, it is true that they are willing to follow the Governor's instructions when their own interests are not involved."
"And once their own interests are involved, they regard the governor's orders as nothing."
"In addition, the price of salt in Jiangxi is currently very high. It is said that in some places, it has risen to the point where it costs 20 cents to buy a pound of salt!"
"And the culprits behind this are the three major salt merchants, the Liang family, the He family, and the Li family!"
When Feng Ming saw this, he immediately told Hu Zongxian everything he knew, like pouring beans through a bamboo tube.
After all, this is an opportunity to make meritorious deeds! By then, even if the court investigates him, he will be able to suffer less, right?
Seeing that there was still some confusion on Hu Zongxian's face, Feng Ming guessed that Hu Zongxian was confused about the background of these three major salt merchants, and then lowered his voice and reminded.
"These three big salt merchants have a lot of background. It is said that behind them are high-ranking officials from the capital!"
"Also, when the governor first took office, he wanted to take action to punish them, but later, nothing happened and both parties are still in peace!"
"In addition, it is said that..."
Seeing that Feng Ming wanted to continue reporting the situation, he was interrupted impatiently by Hu Zongxian.
"Okay, where does all this nonsense come from!"
"I would like to see if these salt merchants can defeat the army in my hands?"
"Transmit my order, the entire army marches into the city!"
"yes!"
…
Capital City, Yan Mansion.
At this moment, Yan Song was wearing reading glasses, looking at the map on the table, lost in thought, while Yan Shifan stood aside, not daring to make any sound.
At this moment, Yan Shifan felt a little baffled by his father's behavior.
As soon as he got home, his father Yan Song asked him to show him the map of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty!
But now, almost a quarter of an hour has passed, and his father Yan Song still maintains the same posture in front of him.
For a long time, Yan Song seemed to have figured out something, with an unknown light shining in his eyes, and murmured: "I see, that's it..."
Seeing this, Yan Shifan quickly stepped forward and asked, "Father, what have you thought of?"
Then Yan Song took off his reading glasses, turned his gaze to Yan Shifan, and explained.
"Do you still remember that your Majesty mobilized a large number of royal guards to leave the capital?"
"Remember, didn't you say that these Jin Yiwei rushed to Zhejiang to assist Zhao Zhenji in investigating the case?"
Yan Shifan was a little confused about his father Yan Song's words and said doubtfully.
"No, it's not that simple. Come and take a look!"
After Yan Song finished speaking, he immediately motioned Yan Shifan to come to him and pointed to the map on the table.
"Look, where is this place?"
"This is Jiangxi, wait, can you say..."
After Yan Song's suggestion, Yan Shifan quickly reacted with a look of disbelief on his face.
"Yes, everyone knows that Zhao Zhenji's trip to Zhejiang is just a formality!"
"In this case, wouldn't it be unnecessary for Your Majesty to send the royal guards?"
"There is Tan Lun in Fujian and Hu Zongxian in Zhejiang, so the only possibility is that something big has happened here in Jiangxi!"
"In other words, the plan was leaked."
After Yan Song finished speaking, he picked up the teacup on the side and took a sip.
"Father, according to your opinion, we should immediately disconnect from Jiangxi?"
Yan Shifan also understood what Yan Song meant at this moment, and asked immediately.
"Well, destroy all evidence immediately! At the same time, everyone with knowledge will be dealt with."
"We can't let them follow the clues and find us."
Yan Song put down the tea cup and added immediately.
"Yes, father, let's do it now!"
After Yan Shifan responded, he prepared to leave the room and deal with the matter.
"By the way, send someone to inform Xu Jie and the others and ask them to clean their butts! After all, they also have a share in this."
"Yes, father."
(End of chapter)
