This level of killing lasted for nearly a day, and it gradually stopped after all the resistance forces in the city were eliminated.
After that, Hu Zongxian sent people to post notices everywhere in the city, informing the people that he had come to quell the rebellion under His Majesty's order.
At the same time, it was stated in the announcement that if people have any grievances, they can go to the government office to report it, and by then, someone will seek justice for them!
The government office located in the city has been completely cleaned, and nothing was left!
Only the smell of blood lingering in the air still tells the story of the tragic situation at that time.
"Thank you, Lord Governor, for leading the army to help!"
Cao Shunhe bowed deeply to the ground, his face full of gratitude.
"No, I'm just following His Majesty's orders."
"Besides, if it weren't for the letter you desperately sent, the court wouldn't have been able to learn the specific situation so quickly."
Hu Zongxian's face was full of smiles, and he immediately helped Cao Shunhe up.
"Alas, I am so ashamed of Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty entrusted Jiangxi to me, but now it is like this."
After Cao Shunhe stood up, his face was full of guilt.
"Can you tell me the specific situation?"
When Hu Zongxian heard this, he immediately cheered up and asked immediately.
"The thing is like this, when I first took office..."
With Cao Shunhe's description, Hu Zongxian finally learned the ins and outs of the matter.
It turned out that when Cao Shunhe rushed to Jiangxi to take office, he planned to deal with these salt merchants! I even submitted relevant memorials to the court for a time, but every time they fell silent without any response.
As time went by, Cao Shunhe gradually gave up, and the two sides were in harmony with each other.
In the process, Cao Shunhe's prestige as the governor of Jiangxi continued to decline, and some of his officials colluded with salt merchants.
Until the government's ship transporting official salt capsized for no apparent reason, and the thousands of kilograms of salt carried on the ship and the people responsible for escorting the salt mysteriously disappeared.
Only then did Cao Shunhe realize that when he wanted to take measures, it was too late!
His officials no longer obeyed his orders.
"You mean, you wrote a corresponding memorial to the imperial court, but you didn't get a reply?"
After listening to Cao Shunhe's explanation, Hu Zongxian was deeply aware of the seriousness of the situation, frowned and asked.
"Yes, I have written three memorials to the imperial court, but each time nothing happened!"
When Cao Shunhe saw Hu Zongxian asking him about this, he responded with a serious look on his face.
"In this case, things have become tricky. Not everyone has the courage to intercept the memorial of the border official!"
"As far as I know, there are very few people in the capital who have the ability to do this."
Although Hu Zongxian said this, he already had a rough guess in his heart.
Maybe, the whole thing was planned by Yan Song and Xu Jie, a few cabinet ministers, because only they have this energy.
"No, I must inform His Majesty about this!"
Hu Zongxian quickly made up his mind and thought so.
At this moment, the guard's report came from outside: "Report to the Governor, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou are outside asking for an audience!"
Hu Zongxian then waved his hand and ordered.
"Let them in!"
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
After the guard responded, he quickly left.
After a while, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou entered the government office.
As soon as the two entered it, they knelt on the ground respectfully and reported to Hu Zongxian.
"Reporting to the Governor, we have captured all three major salt merchants in the city and brought them to justice!"
"In addition, a total of 46,370,000 taels of silver were taken from their homes, and the rest, such as antique calligraphy and paintings, land deeds, etc., are countless. If this part is included in it, it will be more than 5,000 taels. Ten thousand taels of silver!"
"There are so many!"
Hu Zongxian and Cao Shunhe on the side couldn't help but exclaimed after hearing this number.
"Have you caught the remaining officials?"
Hu Zongxian quickly calmed down, then turned his eyes to the two of them and asked.
"Reporting to the Governor, we have only captured the commander-in-chief Huang Tao and some other officials."
"As for important officials such as the Chief Envoy and the Inspector-General, they have been arrested by the Jin Yiwei!"
After listening to the reports of the two men, Hu Zongxian nodded and gave instructions.
"Next, try to cooperate with them in doing things. After all, they are experts in how to make people talk!"
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
Cao Shunhe on the side couldn't help but feel emotional after learning that Jin Yiwei was involved.
"His Majesty actually sent the royal guards here!"
"Alas, it seems that I have really disappointed His Majesty this time."
Hu Zongxian on the side seemed to see what Cao Shunhe was thinking, and immediately comforted him.
"No problem, I will personally write a memorial to explain the situation behind this to His Majesty."
"Thank you, Lord Governor!"
After receiving these words from Hu Zongxian, Cao Shunhe immediately felt relieved.
"Bring those salt merchants to me. I will interrogate them personally!"
Hu Zongxian then turned his eyes to Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou who were standing aside, and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
The two quickly took the order and left. After a while, Liang Hong, Li Yide, and He Jin were brought up.
At this moment, their faces had long lost their previous look, and their faces were full of dejection.
"When you meet your lord, why don't you kneel down quickly!"
When the soldier responsible for escorting the three men saw this, he immediately shouted sharply.
The three of them were frightened by the sound, their whole bodies trembling, and they immediately knelt down on the ground.
"How many of you do you still recognize me?"
After seeing the miserable situation of several people, Cao Shunhe couldn't help but feel a sense of revenge in his heart. He stood up from his chair and asked.
The three of them followed the sound, with bitter expressions on their faces.
"I...I've met the governor."
Seeing this, Hu Zongxian raised his eyebrows and asked.
"I am Hu Zongxian, the Governor-General of Zhejiang Province and the Governor of Zhejiang Province. I am here in compliance with His Majesty's order!"
"Tell me, does the capsizing of the government's salt-carrying ship have something to do with you?"
"Also, where have the official salt carried on the ship and the personnel responsible for escorting the official salt gone?"
As soon as Hu Zongxian finished speaking, the three of them looked at each other, mustered up their courage, and asked Hu Zongxian tremblingly.
"Sir, if we speak out, can the punishment be reduced?"
When Hu Zongxian heard this, he slammed the table and looked at the three of them murderously.
"Who gave you the courage to bargain with me?"
"If you don't tell me, you will die now!"
"Sir, please spare your life, we say it, we all say it!"
Seeing Hu Zongxian's anger, the three of them quickly spoke first.
They were afraid that Hu Zongxian would lose his mind and sent his men to pull him down and behead him.
"My lord, this is what happened."
"Long before the government shipped this batch of salt, we had received the news in advance and made corresponding preparations!"
"The people responsible for transporting this batch of official salt have also been bribed by us in advance. When the fleet sailed to that river, they dug a big hole in the ship as agreed in advance, and faked that they were involved in the undercurrent. The illusion of hitting the rocks and sinking!”
"After that, they conducted a handover with the people we sent, and we moved all the official salt on the ship to our own warehouse where we store salt."
"And the group of people responsible for escorting the official salt also disappeared after taking advantage of us!"
"In that case, what should be said about the several corpses found nearby?"
Cao Shunhe on the side listened and asked immediately.
"Those corpses are those who are rare in resolute character and noble character among those responsible for escorting official salt!
He even threatened to go to the court to report the incident.
Out of the need for confidentiality, they were dealt with. "
After listening to the accounts of several people, Hu Zongxian sneered and gave a summary.
"In other words, you are selling the official salt on the ship as private salt."
"Hmph, you guys are really good at calculating. This is completely a business with no capital and huge profits!"
(End of chapter)
