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Just as Huo Zhengyuan guessed.
As the situation in Nanjing continues to change, all the important figures are extremely busy and overwhelmed, especially Xu Shengying and Xi Cheng, who are even more overwhelmed and have heavy tasks.
Because the people of Nanjing are complaining and public opinion is overwhelming, Xu Shengying and Xi Cheng need to pay attention to the movements of the people at all times and do their best to maintain the stability of the situation;
Because the Jin Yiwei arrested Song Chengren, the head of the Song family, the respectable gentry in Nanjing rushed to Nanjing to guard the eunuch's house and asked Xi Cheng for an explanation, which annoyed Xi Cheng very much;
Because of the escape of Jiang Xiao and the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers, Xu Shengying also needed to mobilize his troops, contact garrisons from various places, and continuously search and hunt within a hundred miles outside Nanjing;
At the same time, because those arrested "Chaofeng" dead soldiers have been handed over to the joint custody of Jin Yiwei and the Nanjing garrison, Xu Shengying and Xi Cheng were both worried that the other party would take the opportunity to do something secretly, and Xu Shengying was worried that Xi Cheng would collude in private to confess and silence him. To destroy evidence, Xi Cheng was worried that Xu Shengying would torture them in advance and use threats and inducements, so they monitored each other and guarded them tightly, not daring to relax at all.
Relatively speaking, Huo Zhengyuan was much more relaxed.
After leaving Zhanyuan, Huo Zhengyuan only needed to rush to the "United Shipping Company", discuss a few words with Qian Lai, the Nanjing boss of the "United Shipping Company", and urge Qian Lai to resume the business of the "United Shipping Company" as soon as possible. Then there would be nothing extra to worry about. You can rest as much as possible.
But Xu Shengying and Xi Cheng were completely different. Not only did they have no chance to rest at all last night, they also had no chance to rest at all this night.
To a large extent, this difference will also be one of Huo Zhengyuan's advantages during the tripartite joint trial.
*
The next day, at a quarter past nine o'clock in the morning, inside Huo Zhengyuan's temporary residence.
After sleeping for nearly six hours, Huo Zhengyuan finally woke up leisurely, completely making up for the fatigue from not being able to rest the night before.
After waking up, washing and changing clothes, Huo Zhengyuan immediately summoned several staff members. While having breakfast with them, he also took the opportunity to ask about the changes in the situation in Nanjing during his break.
Huo Zhengyuan's staff were all Zhao Junchen's staff before, namely Jiang Zheng, Guo Min, Qian Bodao, and Ouyang Bo.
Among them, Ouyang Bo has the strongest ability. Even in Zhao Junchen's house, his status is ranked high and he is the most valued by Huo Zhengyuan. However, he does not stay in Nanjing at present, but rushes to Suzhou to serve as the link between Huo Zhengyuan and Huang Yourong. Qian Bodao specializes in accounting and calculation, and is not good at political changes, party strife, and people's calculations; Jiang Zheng has not recovered from a serious illness, and has been staying in Dongyuan to recuperate recently. The specific details of the changing situation are unclear.
Therefore, when Huo Zhengyuan asked about the changes in the situation in Nanjing, Guo Min was mainly responsible for answering.
"Master Huo, while you were resting, the situation in Nanjing continued to change many times. However, because these changes in the situation were what was mentioned in the question and were not unexpected, I did not disturb your rest after I received the news. .
First of all, after the shops of the "United Shipping Company" resumed business, the public grievances of the Nanjing people were quickly controlled. The vast majority of the people no longer just complained about their grievances and besieged the government, but rushed to the "United Shipping Company". Stores are rushing to buy all kinds of daily necessities. Only the people who suffered losses due to the fire and Jinyiwei's suppression are still entangled. However, these people are in the minority after all, so the situation in Nanjing has gradually stabilized, but..."
Hearing the hesitation in Guo Min's voice, Huo Zhengyuan put down his chopsticks, raised his head and asked, "But what?"
Guo Min hesitated and said: "But... after the 'United Shipping Company' resumed business, it saw people rushing to buy, and there was no local gentry to compete for business, so they took the opportunity to drive up prices, so that the prices of food and medicine in Nanjing city were all over the place. It has increased by more than 30%, so people’s resentment is showing signs of rising again.”
Huo Zhengyuan frowned: "Businessmen and their like are indeed people who forget their loyalty for profit. When I met Qian Lai yesterday, I clearly gave him many instructions to him to focus on maintaining the stability of the people after resuming business. Don't raise prices too high or hoard. Unexpectedly, he still ignored my advice... Immediately send someone to see Qian Lai again with my name card and urge him to control prices and never do it again. Arouse public dissatisfaction!"
Guo Min agreed, but he didn't agree in his heart.
After all, Guo Min was also a merchant, and he understood the profit-seeking nature of merchants best, so he did not think that the merchants of "United Shipping Company" would voluntarily give up the opportunity to make huge profits because of Huo Zhengyuan's several persuasion.
What's more, there are countless franchise merchants within "United Shipping Lines", which can be said to be a mixed bag of people with different people's hearts. Although Qian Lai is the Nanjing boss of "United Shipping Lines", he does not have the ability to completely control the decisions of those internal franchise merchants.
Just when Guo Min was hesitating whether he should clarify this situation to Huo Zhengyuan, Huo Zhengyuan asked: "Regarding the three-party joint trial, are there any new changes? Especially the seventh prince, Zhou Shoufu, Xu Shengying, Xi Are there any new trends worth paying attention to among these people?"
Guo Min replied again: "After Zhou Shoufu returned to Dongyuan, he has been focusing on resting and thanking guests behind closed doors. There is no new trend worthy of attention. As for eunuch Xi Chengxi, because Jinyiwei has put the head of the Song family under house arrest, Nanjing Jinshen They were so angry that they asked him for explanations one after another, leaving him exhausted and without any new developments worth paying attention to;
The Seventh Prince sent a message saying that he had agreed to move all the arrested gangsters to Zhanyuan for detention, and that he, Nanjing garrison and Jinyi Guards would jointly send people to guard them; Xu Shoubei naturally raised objections , but because you, the seventh prince, and the eunuch Xi Cheng all advocated this way, and Zhou Shouxu did not express any position, he was unable to do anything alone, and finally had to reluctantly agree to the matter.
As a result, the arrested gangsters were all moved to Zhanyuan for detention at around 1:00 p.m. last night, while Xu Shoubei sent a group of Nanjing garrison troops to forcibly station themselves in Zhanyuan, guarding the area tightly. He followed the gangsters closely, obviously worried that something might happen to the prisoners during their visit to the garden!
By the way, because the relevant prisoners are all detained in Zhanyuan, you, Xu Shoubei, and Eunuch Xi can only go to Zhanyuan to interrogate the prisoners. Several rooms have been vacated by the Seventh Prince as a tripartite. The place where the joint trial will be handled; as for the specific time of the three-party joint trial, it is still scheduled for chenshi this morning. "
Huo Zhengyuan nodded gently, drinking the porridge slowly while thinking deeply.
At the same time, after Guo Min reported all the relevant information, he still had no intention of eating breakfast. He just secretly observed Huo Zhengyuan with a worried look on his face, with a trace of resentment deep in his eyes.
Huo Zhengyuan soon discovered Guo Min's strange behavior, and immediately guessed Guo Min's thoughts, and asked: "What? Are you still worried about Hu Xiao?"
Guo Min smiled wryly and nodded, saying: "Handing Hu Xiao over to the Seventh Prince is too much of a threat to us... Hu Xiao has mastered many secrets. Once they are made public, you, Grand Scholar Huo, may still be able to disentangle yourself. But I and the entire Guo family will definitely die without a burial place!"
As he spoke, Guo Min's resentment became more and more obvious.
In Guo Min's view, Huo Zhengyuan handed Hu Xiao to Zhu Hejian yesterday just to reach a secret deal with Zhu Hejian so that the "Zhao Party" forces could intervene in the subsequent interrogation. However, this approach undoubtedly betrayed himself, because Huo Zhengyuan It is clear that once the secret collusion between the "Zhao Party" and foreign forces is exposed, Guo Min and the entire Guo family will definitely become scapegoats!
Huo Zhengyuan shook his head and explained: "There were too many things yesterday. Both of you and I were constantly running around, and there were few opportunities to meet and communicate. There were some things that I didn't have time to explain to you... In fact, the reason why I handed Hu Xiao to the Seventh Prince yesterday was Not just to make a deal with the Seventh Prince and take the opportunity to intervene in the interrogation!
You know, once Hu Xiao's true identity is exposed, I will be in trouble myself. Even if I betray you because of the interests of the 'Zhao Party', how can I ask for trouble and make myself controversial? In fact, I allowed the Seventh Prince to take Hu Xiao away just to conceal Hu Xiao’s identity as much as possible and to protect you and me as much as possible! "
After hearing this, Guo Min couldn't help but be stunned, unable to follow Huo Zhengyuan's thoughts at all.
Allowing the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian to take Hu Xiao away, was this done to cover up the truth and protect himself?
How can it be!
Huo Zhengyuan sighed softly and continued to explain: "Think carefully, when the seventh prince asked me for Hu Xiao in the Juying Pavilion yesterday, what was the specific situation? Hey! Zhou Shoufu, Xi Cheng, Xu Shengying, these people are all Be there and watch!
Therefore, I directly handed over Hu Xiao to the seventh prince, just because it was possible for the seventh prince to notice our secret. But if I did not give in and spent a lot of energy fighting with the seventh prince for control of Hu Xiao, Zhou Shoufu , Xi Cheng, Xu Shengying and others will all pay attention to the importance of Hu Xiao, and they will all try their best to investigate the origin of Hu Xiao's identity!
At that time, it means that in addition to the seventh prince, even the 'Zhou Party' forces represented by Zhou Shoufu and the 'Emperor Party' forces represented by Xu Shengying may also discover Hu Xiao's true identity! In this case, I can only choose the lesser of two evils! "
Thinking of the possibility described by Huo Zhengyuan, Guo Min felt horrified. Finally, she no longer resented Huo Zhengyuan's choice, but she was still worried about Zhongzhong and said, "But the Seventh Prince..."
Huo Zhengyuan sneered and said: "The Seventh Prince has already lost his ability to protect himself from the Ni Bodhisattva crossing the river! Even if he temporarily masters some confidential information, he will not have the time and leisure to use this confidential information against us!"
What's more, I proposed that all the arrested prisoners be moved to Zhanyuan for interrogation, just to lure the Seventh Prince to take the opportunity to silence their mouths and destroy their evidence. Once something happens to the prisoners, we will immediately lead people into Zhanyuan. On the grounds that Zhanyuan was not safe enough and the Seventh Prince had no spare time to take care of Hu Xiao, Hu Xiao was forcibly taken away!
At that time, the Seventh Prince failed to guard the prisoners, and the suspicion and criticism were getting bigger and bigger. Naturally, he had no ability or reason to stop us! And after we take the opportunity to recapture Hu Xiao, this crisis will naturally be solved! "
Following Huo Zhengyuan's detailed explanation, Guo Min felt relieved.
On the other side, Jiang Zheng couldn't understand the exchange between Huo Zhengyuan and Guo Min at all. He had never met Hu Xiao, and he didn't know the importance of Hu Xiao. He had no idea about Guo Min's secret mission.
But Jiang Zheng also knew that he had not yet gained the complete trust of "Zhao Dang" and Zhao Junchen. Therefore, although Jiang Zheng did not understand the content of the exchange between Huo Zhengyuan and Guo Min, he knew enough not to ask further questions.
However, after hesitating for a moment, Jiang Zheng raised another doubt in his mind: "Scholar Huo, you managed to capture those dead soldiers alive. This was originally a great opportunity to follow the clues and expose the crimes of the Seventh Prince, but now you have moved them to Being imprisoned in Zhanyuan and deliberately tempting the Seventh Prince to silence his mouth and destroy his evidence, wouldn’t it mean that all our previous efforts were in vain?”
Huo Zhengyuan hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to tell the truth frankly about all the confidential information he had. For example, Emperor Deqing arranged many informants among the guards of the seventh prince, and Tang Sheng secretly hid a The "Chaofeng" dead soldier who was seriously injured and unconscious.
Finally, Huo Zhengyuan smiled and said: "It was Zhou Shoufu's suggestion to move those arrested dead soldiers to Zhanyuan for interrogation...
To be honest, I don't know if Zhou Shoufu has other intentions, but this matter is definitely beneficial to us! Not only can we take advantage of the opportunity to recapture Hu Xiao, but we can also use His Majesty's spies placed around the Seventh Prince to make His Majesty aware of all the suspicious things about the Seventh Prince!
The most important thing is... even though all the dead soldiers who were arrested were silenced by the Seventh Prince and their evidence was destroyed, we still secretly keep one alive in our hands, and we can still follow the clues to find the conclusive evidence of the Seventh Prince's crime. It can be said that there is. Win without losing, victory is within your grasp! "
As he spoke, Huo Zhengyuan was confident and well-informed.
At this moment, a senior officer came quickly to report that it was already 2:00 p.m., and it was about to be the time for the three-party joint trial. He reminded Huo Zhengyuan that he should leave for Zhanyuan as soon as possible.
After hearing the report, Huo Zhengyuan put down his bowls and chopsticks, turned to look at Jiang Zheng, and said with a smile: "The next step is to see Mr. Jiang's performance!"
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PS: I have been confused these past few days, and some things have not been explained clearly, which has aroused everyone's confusion, such as why Huo Zhengyuan allowed Zhu Hejian to take Hu Xiao away, and why Huo Zhengyuan agreed to Zhou Shangjing's proposal to take the arrested "Shaofeng" The dead man was left under the guard of Zhu Hejian, and he was not worried about Zhu Hejian guarding him and committing theft, so Chongzi used this chapter to supplement Huo Zhengyuan's specific thoughts.
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