Zhao Yingong sent people to inquire about news for several days in several prefectures and counties where the rice riots broke out. The information returned made Zhao Yingong uneasy.
Although the intelligence personnel at the Hangzhou station were limited and could only obtain enough detailed information, from the information he obtained through research, it was clear that the rice riot was premeditated and organized. Moreover, the other party is experienced and skilled in movements, and is obviously a veteran. And judging from the many posts they collected, the target of this rice commotion is obviously directed at themselves.
In a year of famine, children all know the consequences of being labeled as "hoarding and making huge profits".
Not to mention how terrible and destructive the power of the poor and hungry people would be once it broke out. Even the tyrannical gentry could make a big fuss about this and want to look good for themselves.
Not only that, but the forces behind being able to organize such a large-scale commotion are by no means ordinary people.
Zhao Yingong shut himself in the inner study, drank pot after pot of strong tea, and smoked cigars one after another. He originally thought that the most dangerous people were the local gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, but he didn't expect that someone would come to seek revenge without making a fuss.
The most terrifying thing is that he doesn't even know the other person's background. Who are they? What is the purpose of dealing with yourself so generously?
No particularly useful information could be collected from various information channels at Hangzhou Station, and the enemy was still hiding in the fog.
He thought over and over again, and while sending a message to the Foreign Intelligence Bureau to report the current situation, he also ordered to strengthen security at Phoenix Villa and Wanbi Bookshop.
"The most important thing is to find out the mastermind behind the scenes." Zhao Yingong thought to himself. If it cannot be dug out, it will be in the dark and I will be in the light, which is equivalent to one-way transparency. Very passive.
Zhao Yingong discovered at this time that although the intelligence network deployed by himself and the Foreign Intelligence Service was quite extensive, the intelligence that could be collected was basically public intelligence. Indeed, there is probably no one in the whole of Jiangnan who is better informed than him. Not only can he get news from all major cities in Jiangnan within three days, but he can also get the same day news from Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Denglai and other places. However, the collection of secret intelligence is still limited.
The awareness of confidentiality in ancient society was very weak. Not to mention the ordinary wealthy gentry families, even the information in the government offices only needed to be paid. It's also easy to find out. For some so-called major military events, gossip in the capital has already spread all over the place before they are officially announced.
However, the intelligence collection network he painstakingly built did not know anything about the man behind the rice riot. This made him realize that his opponent was by no means an ordinary enemy, but must be an organization with considerable experience in secret activities. He recalled what he had heard during his training at the Foreign Intelligence Service. Secret religions flourished in the Ming Dynasty. Not only does it have a large number of members, but it is also well-organized.
"Could it be a cult member?" Zhao Yingong muttered to himself. However, the collected posters do not have any doctrinal color from folk religions.
If this happened in Lingao or a similar place, the violent mechanism of the Senate would still operate very efficiently. But now he is in the Ming Dynasty's ruling area, and the violent institutions are not in his hands.
The first thing to do now is to find out who the opponent is. Only when you know who your opponent is can you consider the next step.
There is no doubt that the opponent is pointing the finger at himself by constantly inciting people's emotions. Prepare to further provoke greater popular unrest.
Once a large-scale civil uprising breaks out, not only the foundation he has laid in Jiangnan will be severely damaged. He will also be ruined and his reputation will be ruined, and it will be almost impossible to continue to carry out activities in Jiangnan.
Countermeasures must be taken as soon as possible. Thinking of this, he ordered someone to call Zhao Tong to discuss countermeasures.
Although Zhao Tong was a naturalized citizen through the Qiwei Escort Bureau, he was actually a true member of the martial arts world - he was an escort master who was a secret escort, and he was equivalent to a "self-employed" in the escort agency, specializing in escorting priceless people. baby. Anyone who uses secret escorts is a loner and their whereabouts are unpredictable. Not only are they superb in martial arts, but they are also bold and careful people who are familiar with the world.
"I think there are people with Taoist knowledge involved in this matter." Zhao Tong said after reading the materials.
"How can you see that?" Zhao Yiggong was secretly surprised. Although Zhao Tong handled most of the collection of these materials, many of them came from other channels, and there were other people who compiled and compiled them. He only read it briefly and came to a conclusion similar to his own.
"Secret sects like theirs are best at this technique." Zhao Tong said concisely, "Also, please don't forget, this is Hangzhou."
"What happened to Hangzhou?"
"Have you forgotten the temples beside Gongchen Bridge?"
"Oh!" Zhao Yingong suddenly realized. How could I have forgotten this! "Luo Jiao."
The Gongchen Bridge outside Xinguan in Fubei, Hangzhou is the starting point of the Grand Canal and has always been a berth for water and grain ships. It is said that during the Ming Dynasty, three people from Miyun named Qian, Weng and Pan from Songjiang lived in Hangzhou and jointly promoted the Luo religion. They each built a nunnery there to worship Buddha statues, eat vegetarian food and chant sutras, so there were Qian'an, Weng'an and Pan. The name of the nunnery.
Because the place was close to where the grain ships were moored, sailors from the ships often stayed there. Over time, they converted to Christianity, and the nunnery became the sailors' own property. As more sailors moved in, the number of Luo Jiao temples gradually increased. According to a memorial to Yongzheng by Li Wei, the governor of Zhejiang in the Qing Dynasty, most of the sailors who transported water to Zhejiang believed in Luo Jiao. Although it had begun to decline at that time, there were still more than thirty temples. When it was most prosperous before, it was said to have as many as seventy-two. The sailors save money every year to provide support, and they rest here when the winter moon returns, not counting the rent. There will be legal expenses involved along the way. There were dedicated personnel in Huai'an, Tianjin, Tongzhou, and the capital to take care of them, so a gang of water transport sailors was quickly formed.
He, Shen Tingyang and Fushe were arguing about "abolition of the canal and converting it to the sea". This time, China Merchants Bureau also carried Guanning's grain and salary shipment to the north. Thinking about it, it's no wonder that the people in the Cao Gang regarded themselves as a thorn in their side. Zhao Tong's speculation is very reasonable.
It's easier to deal with potential suspicious elements. At least you know what methods to use to deal with them.
"That's good." He couldn't help but say.
Zhao Tong looked at Mr. Zhao in surprise. If Luo Jiao really targeted him and said, "That's fine," would this leader be insane? Although Zhao Tong knew the capabilities of the Senate, this was Hangzhou under the Ming Dynasty. Australian gunboats were not patrolling the Pearl River and could reach Guangzhou at Baietan at any time.
Ever since Duan Jinan, the second emperor of Luo Jiao, led his disciples to Mount Tiantai in the fourth year of Wanli reign of Shenzong, preached the doctrine, gathered a crowd of three thousand, and was finally suppressed by local officials, various branches of Luo Jiao have maintained a low profile, unlike the White Lotus Sect, which has launched many resistances. The trend of the imperial court, but it is also a folk sect that cannot be ignored in the world. Especially among the water transport sailors, although it has the weakest religious overtones, it is very powerful on both sides of the canal.
"Can you find out the details?"
"I'll do it right away." Zhao Tong promised. He is very familiar with people in the world, and he can get a lot of information by turning around and around.
After Zhao Tong withdrew, Zhao Yingong thought about it and decided to inform Shen Tingyang and Fushe about the matter: someone was secretly doing something detrimental to the China Merchants Bureau.
If the Cao Gang was really behind this matter, he didn't intend to fight alone - he had to drag these two families into the water no matter what. No matter how powerful the Caogang is, it is still a "vibrant social organization" and will never openly "fight for power." The safety of Hangzhou Station can also be temporarily preserved. Then slowly mobilize your strength to deal with them.
To say the least, if things really got out of control and the Cao Clan rose up, it would be a pity that the Hangzhou Station would be completely abolished. This would be a great opportunity for the Senate to directly intervene in the south of the Yangtze River and control the north-south route.
However, the news brought by Zhao Tong a few days later surprised him again: there was no news within the Caogang that Zhao Yingong was going to be dealt with!
The Cao Gang is just a sailor gang. Although the organization is large, it is not very tight internally. There is no role like a general leader, and there are no incense halls everywhere like folk sects. Even the religious color itself is not strong. The Caobangs are roughly distributed along the canal, and there is one group in each place. Although the seniority in the gang is respected by the disciples, it is just a status. There is no dominance relationship between the gangs, they are just cooperation.
Caobang is too far away from Hangzhou. Even if it is known that China Merchants' transportation of grain and wages is a great threat to Caobang's future, it is difficult to directly intervene. Therefore, it must be the gangs from Nanzhi and Zhejiang who take the lead.
If the Caobang really wanted to deal with Zhao Yingong, with such a loose organizational structure, at least the middle-level personnel of the Hangzhou Caobang should have gotten the news by now.
However, Zhao Tong ran for several days but found nothing. Everyone in the Caogang gang was busy repairing the ships - in a few months, autumn grain would be available. The prefecture and county yamen opened warehouses to collect grain, grain households paid, and the canal ships drove to the docks for acceptance and shipment, which was called "acceptance". This is the most important thing of the year for the Caobang. Not only can they not miss "official business", but also "looking at the beige color" and "clearing customs" when accepting cash are great opportunities to seize the opportunity to extort prefectures and counties. Not only does the gang in charge of this matter If the backbone can grow hair, it will be a huge income for the entire gang.
In this state, it is hard to imagine that the Caobang, who is busy generating income, would think of dealing with Zhao Yingong. Even the fact that food and wages were transported northward did not have a great response among the Caobang: firstly, this is not a common occurrence, and secondly, it is only 50,000 shi of brown rice. Compared to the more than 2 million shi of grain received each year, it was just a drop in the bucket.
Zhao Tong was also confused - he was very confident in his inference, but he didn't expect that it was not the case. (To be continued...)
