Cai Xianqing was not in a hurry. He took a big mouthful of dog meat first and then asked: "Let Tinglong tell me, what details do they have?"
Ye Yongjia calmly replied: "The merchants were probably instigated by Wu Sijing and planned to use treacherous tactics to harm the court. When they discussed with me, they actually came up with a plan to cast shotguns; according to the theory, shotguns are all forged, and once they are cast, there are Trachoma has the disadvantages, is heavy and inconvenient, how can it be used? It is clearly trying to deceive me and others who do not know how to use firearms. I thought of using the trick, so I agreed to his suggestion, so that I could wait and see what happens. But the superficial work still needs to be done. I'm satisfied, the memorial they want me to submit must be written. I just don't know how to explain it to the court, and I want to consult with Mr. Cai."
After hearing the last sentence, Li Wenshou sneered disdainfully and continued eating the fish.
Cai Xianqing had no choice but to turn around and sum up with him: "I think it is necessary not to write this memorial. Ye Shangshu probably thinks that not writing it will arouse the suspicion of the merchants and damage the cooperative relationship. But this is not the case. Now they are fooling me in every possible way and have no sincerity at all. If they continue to tolerate this, how can we talk about business in the future? Moreover, if we really want to go to court, should we tell the truth or not tell or be vague? This will become a dilemma again. The problem."
"Mr. Cai, it's not that they are unwilling to cooperate with the government, their grievances are actually all on that person..." Ye Yongjia winked at him urgently, "So I feel that the court and that person are of the same mind. As long as we can prove the innocence of the court and us , all problems will be solved. So you must not force them, this is not the time to be tough."
"Master Ye, do you want me to apologize to those barbarians one by one?" Li Wenshou had been listening carefully and suddenly interrupted.
Ye Yongjia smiled and said: "Ye never said anything, and never had such thoughts. But they have already distrusted the government. Even if you apologize in a big way, people will think you are cheating."
"If that's the case, you can indeed submit the memorial," Cai Xianqing frowned and pinched his chin, "but you have to consider what I said before. Businessmen are driven by profit. Although it is not their original intention to harm the government, But we are like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and we are indifferent to being cut with a knife. Who can resist greed? Even if the misunderstanding is resolved, they will still take advantage of us."
"It's too difficult to grasp the degree of softness and toughness..." Ye Yongjia sighed, "Let's get back to the topic first and talk about memorials."
"Wait a minute, everyone," Li Wenshou wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, dusted off his clothes, stood up and shouted, "I was sent by the imperial court. Among us, I am the one who knows the boss's thoughts best. Why don't you let me do it for you? Do you have any ideas?"
'This person has a heart of resentment. If he wants to put me in a disadvantageous situation, it will be easy...' Ye Yongjia guessed in his heart and looked at him with a strange look.
Li Wenshou noticed his suspicion, shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "Master Ye, we are all grasshoppers on the same rope now. We can't get away. Isn't harming you the same as harming myself? I'm not that stupid."
Cai Xianqing also advised: "At this critical time, how can we achieve great things if we are not in the same boat? Even our people know how to unite. Is it possible that Ye Shangshu, a man who has read many poems and books, does not even understand this truth?" "
After hearing this, Ye Yongjia let out a long sigh and looked directly at Li Wenshou with a pair of firm eyes. He didn't move for a while and then stretched out his hand: "We are in the same boat."
"We're all in the same boat!" Li Wenshou put his hand up and held it tightly.
After his dictation, Ye Yongjia had already written the memorial before dawn. Because it was still late and it was inconvenient to go out of the city, they put the letters on the table temporarily, and the three of them went back to the house and took a nap for a while.
At about midnight, Ye Yongjia felt a slight whiteness in front of his eyes, and he suddenly woke up. The sky was indeed starting to get dark. He quickly got out of bed, reviewed the documents again, and read silently in his mind:
'Recently, I came to visit the government and urged my ministers to consult with the people many times. After five attempts, they failed to achieve their wishes. The construction of shotguns depends on whether they are cast or forged. Each has its own merits. It is indeed a difficult matter. It is not because they disrespect the heaven and deliberately shirk it. The Shang Dynasty believed that the casting method was beneficial to the development of blunderbuss, while the officials believed that the blacksmithing method was beneficial to the court. Which one? Due to the forging method, the blunderbuss is easy to use and not heavy, so it is suitable for fighting with wandering captives. However, the people were dissatisfied and asked their ministers to go to Zhongshu for clarification. The minister secretly thought that the imperial court's intention could be postponed, and the ministers and others would investigate carefully, learn all about the principles of firearms, and then report everything to Zhongshu, so that the prime minister could have evidence to make a decision. Never issue an edict early to show partiality. '
Ye Yongjia laughed. He was obviously satisfied with this half-truth and half-false memorial. He folded it, put it in an envelope, and gave it to the courier to carry the memorial to the capital.
He was stunned in the room for a while, and saw a few rays of golden light shooting out of the clouds in the distance. When he took a look at it, it was already midnight.
Just as he was about to change into his official uniform and go to see the magistrate, he suddenly saw a secretary come into the guest room with a bowl of noodles in his hand and shouted to him: "Shang Shu, the magistrate just heard that you are back, so I specially prepared this for you." breakfast."
Ye Yongjia's stomach was still empty, so he was overjoyed when he saw the bowl of clear soup noodles. He quickly took it and said with a smile: "Thank you, the magistrate, for thinking of Ye. You can go back!"
The clerk bent over and retreated, but after looking around for a few times, he closed the door.
Seeing that the person had left, Ye Yongjia hurriedly grabbed his bamboo chopsticks and ate hungrily. Several strands of noodles were sent to his mouth one after another. In less than an hour, he had eaten them all without even a drop of soup leaking.
After burping, he picked up the bowl and thought: 'I just happened to be on my way to the second hall, passing by the fire room, and personally returned the empty bowl. ’ Then he grabbed the bowl with one hand, pushed open the door with the other, and stepped into the inner courtyard.
He walked casually to the door of the fire house. Because he kept his head down along the way, no one noticed his identity. The cook in front of him pushed him and carried a load of sheep into the fire house.
'Mr. Cai and the others ate fish yesterday, and they want to eat sheep today? Why is it so extravagant...' He secretly wondered, then turned around and went under the paper window to listen to the people inside.
I heard a cook say: "I'm exhausted. The county magistrate had to eat turtle soup this morning. We took out the internal organs and intestines. We worked for a long time before we finished and sent them to the county master. I thought it was fine. Let's take a rest. Rest in the restaurant. Asking us to get sheep again, damn it..."
Another voice asked: "What? What else does the restaurant give to the county magistrate? Isn't that place only managed by the officials..."
"You don't know, that Wu Sixing is still in charge of that restaurant!"
