"The green mountains are faint and the water is far away. Autumn is over and the grass and trees in the south of the Yangtze River are withered. Twenty-four bridges are full of moonlight. Where can the beautiful lady teach me how to play the flute."
"I was supposed to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Yangzhou, but the imperial court's order is coming. It seems that I will not have a chance to see Yangzhou this year, haha..."
On the canal dock, Han Jiang recited a poem while waiting for Cao Bin's official ship, and laughed and talked to the officials around him with great interest.
When the official heard this, he immediately joked and said:
"There are only a few days until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Why don't Master Han spend the festival in Yangzhou before setting off?"
When Han Jiang heard this, her expression suddenly changed and she said:
"Nonsense, how can we delay the imperial edict? Besides, I have already packed my bags."
He had long been bored with the salt affairs in Lianghuai and couldn't wait to get rid of the blame. His sigh just now was just pretentious, but he didn't really want to stay.
Although the recent appointment of a big figure has reduced some of the resistance to rectifying the salt administration, he does not think this matter will become easy.
The official's ignorance just now made his good mood sour.
The Marquis of Yangzhou heard their conversation not far away, and couldn't help but curled his lips slightly, with a hint of pride in his eyes. So what if the imperial envoy was there? Shouldn't he leave in disgrace?
At this moment, a police officer suddenly shouted:
"Here it comes, the official ship of Lord Zhongjing has arrived!"
Everyone quickly looked up and saw three large ships going down the canal, with dozens of identity flags flying on the ships.
As the official ship approached, the faint sound of silk and bamboo could be heard.
Looking at the five-step post and the ten-step post on the deck, they were all elite soldiers with bright armor. The Yangzhou Marquis showed an expression of envy and jealousy on his face.
He is also a marquis, but his power is far inferior to that of Cao Bin.
And unlike the Cao family's identity as the founding hero, his family was originally a military envoy of the previous dynasty. He was able to become a marquis because he surrendered early, so he had a gold medal for immunity from death. The local power is also extremely large, but there is no need to think about leading troops to fight. .
Fortunately, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty still believed in some things and did not want to break his promise to the world. Therefore, although the gold medal system for immunity from death was abolished, it still affected the few families such as the Chai family of Hou Zhou, the Qian family of Wuyue, and the Fu family of Hebei who already had iron certificates of alchemy. All acknowledged.
This brand can save his descendants from death three times, and ordinary officials will not dare to provoke him regardless of common crimes. In addition, his family has been operating in Huaidong for several generations, so the Marquis of Yangzhou is particularly confident.
Not long after, three large ships were approaching. However, what puzzled Han Jiang and others was that the first two large ships did not stop, and only the last one put down the pedal.
Seeing two men, one ugly and one handsome, coming off the boat with their soldiers, Han Jiang quickly stepped forward and asked:
"Who are you two? Has Lord Cao arrived?"
After saluting, the handsome man said with a gentle face:
"I'm Yanqing, Marquis of Yu under Cao Houye's account. This is General Yang Zhi of the Forbidden Army. Following the order of Marquis Jun, we are here to assist Mr. Han in pacifying the Yangzhou salt merchants."
"As for the Marquis, because he feels that the imperial court has a heavy responsibility, he plans to personally preside over the reconstruction of salt fields in various places along the coast, so he will not stop in Yangzhou."
Hearing this, Han Jiang became a little anxious and asked hurriedly:
"What does the general mean by this? Didn't the imperial court summon me to return to the capital?"
The mole on Yang Zhi's face glowed with a faint light, and he said coldly:
"Master Han, you have previously asked the court for more than two million guan of silver to appease the salt merchants. What results have you achieved?"
"The Marquis said, if Mr. Han fails to do even this little thing, Marquis Yanyu and I will not assist you, but will take you to jail!"
When Han Jiang heard this, he felt as if he was struck by lightning. He thought that as long as Cao Bin arrived, he would be able to escape the quagmire. Unexpectedly, Cao Bin dragged him back and threw back the most difficult problem.
This is a small matter. The most difficult part of rebuilding the salt field is to reach a settlement with the salt merchants and implement the exchange of salt banknotes. Organizing the salt people to start construction is the next best thing.
As long as those behind the scenes don't cause trouble, although the reconstruction of the saltworks will be slower, it can still be dealt with.
Now Cao Bin has given himself the task of appeasing the salt merchants. If there is a problem in rebuilding the salt field, Cao Bin can completely shift the responsibility to himself... This bastard is really "smart".
Moreover, the salt debt owed by the imperial court amounts to more than 30 million yuan. You just gave me 2 million yuan and you want me to settle it. Do you want to die?
At this moment, if he hadn't seen Yang Zhi with his hand on the sharp blade and staring at him with eager eyes, he would have wanted to curse.
Yan Qing couldn't help but feel happy when she saw Han Jiang's face turning green and white. This guy wanted to run away just because he was throwing the blame on the Marquis. Isn't it too beautiful? He and Yang Zhi came here to supervise him in killing the Marquis of Yangzhou.
When the time comes, he gets into trouble and the Marquis does good deeds. Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?
Thinking of this, he smiled brighter and continued:
"The Marquis said that no matter what method Mr. Han uses, as long as you appease the salt merchant for half a year, you will live up to the expectations of the court."
Hearing this, Han Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, nodded with a grimace and said:
"That being the case, I accept the order."
At this point, if he didn't want Cao Bin to be thrown into jail immediately, he could only bite the bullet and agree.
The worst case scenario is to write a letter to Xianggong Wang, urging the court to issue an "explicit order" as soon as possible to transfer him back to the capital. Who would allow himself to be lower than Cao Bin, an official in a minor position?
At this time, Marquis Yangzhou stepped forward calmly and said:
"Master Han, since Marquis Cao is busy with official duties and will not stop in Yangzhou, I will leave as well."
Cao Bin left them on the spot, so big that they didn't even show their faces. Yangzhou Marquis felt a little unhappy, but he felt relieved when he learned that Cao Bin had handed over the comfort task to Han Jiang.
This at least shows that Cao Bin is also afraid of himself.
It's not like Han Jiang has never experienced the power before, he still doesn't have the courage to attack himself.
In the blink of an eye, Cao Bin's official ship had left for four or five days. Seeing that Yang and Yan made no other moves, Han Jiang was relieved.
In the early morning of this day, as soon as he got up and washed up, Yang Zhi came to see him with a stack of papers:
"Master Han, I have finally received a report that the Marquis of Yangzhou hoarded salt for personal gain. His crime is punishable by death. Please arrest him immediately and bring him to justice, Master Han!"
Han Jiang was stunned for a moment, turned over the so-called evidence and said:
"General Yang, there are only reports here. There is insufficient evidence. Don't act rashly!"
Yang Zhi immediately said:
"The evidence is in the warehouse of the Yangzhou Marquis Mansion. As long as your Excellency orders a search of the Yangzhou Marquis Mansion, you will see it!"
Han Jiang hurriedly waved his hands and said:
"No way, Zongzheng Temple must be informed of the search of the Marquis' Mansion, not to mention that he has an iron certificate of alchemy, which can avoid death."
Yang Zhi sneered:
"Imperial envoys have the right to gain advantage when they go out to the capital. The iron certificate of the elixir can only be used to absolve him of guilt. How can Mr. Han know whether he has used it to absolve him of guilt if he doesn't check?"
As he spoke, he took out the treasured blade from his waist and said coldly:
"Does Mr. Han intend to collude with Yangzhou Hou Hang and protect this person?"
Seeing Yang Zhi's eyes flashing with murderous intent, Han Jiang was speechless. Damn it, she knew that Cao Bin had bad intentions... He really wanted to take the blame.
Not to mention the ironclad evidence of the alchemy book, if this matter spreads out, the courtiers who have affairs with the Marquis of Yangzhou will definitely besiege him crazily!
