Let's say that Xiao Zhang secretly went to Hangzhou Mansion to deliver a letter to Peng Shao on Li Si's order. Xiao Zhang spent the whole morning wandering around Peng Shao's residence and finally found an opportunity to deliver the letter.
"If I had known that the situation in Lianghuai was so simple, I should have changed with Brother Kecheng and asked him to come to Zhejiang for inspection." Peng Shao said with a smile after reading the letter.
"The master also asked the villain to send word that Li Pi, the magistrate of Yangzhou, Xu Pengju, the magistrate of the Taizhou branch, and Fu Jinqing, the magistrate of Tongzhou, will be in Hangzhou soon to assist you in checking the salt field." Xiao Zhang said.
Peng Shao narrowed his eyes and smiled and said: "I have heard about the names of these three people for a long time. I heard that they have been exposed to the salt method for many years and have quite a lot of experience in it. After all, since you are a close confidant of Brother Kecheng, I will not beat around the bush. I'm short of manpower these days, so just stay here and help me with things. I'll find someone to call Brother Kecheng."
After hearing this, Xiao Zhang bowed and said, "I obey, little man."
…
Night fell, blackness enveloped all the houses, the moonlight was hazy, the shadows of the trees were dancing, and the voices of several people came from an ancient temple on the outskirts of Hangzhou Prefecture.
"Do you all understand? I recently raised the price of salt three times from the original price to see if anyone buys it. If there are many people buying it, I will continue to raise it!"
"Dele, Mr. Chen. I heard that the imperial court sent people to inspect the salt law, but we are still raising prices so unscrupulously. Will we be caught?" A fat businessman asked worriedly.
Another businessman looked disdainful and snorted coldly: "Fat Wang, why are you so cowardly? What do we have to fear when Mr. Chen is there to protect us? Mr. Chen has said it all. This is the last sale. This deal Once we’re done, let’s fly away and never come back again.”
At this time, the taciturn businessman said: "Ruan Zhou is right. I just made a calculation secretly in my mind. If this last transaction can be completed, each of us can earn five hundred taels of silver! With these five hundred taels, We will have enough money to eat and drink in this life, and if we marry a few more wives, we will be able to enjoy happiness in the rest of our lives!"
The businessman named Fatty Wang was still a little worried and continued to ask: "Mr. Chen, you also know my character. I am naturally timid. If we raise the price so high, will anyone buy it?"
The Mr. Chen mentioned by these businessmen was Chen Fu who secretly paid all the salt to He Maoxun a few days ago. I saw him with a cold face and whispered: "Let me say it one last time. If you raise the price three times on the original basis, no one will buy it. But if in a few days, someone suddenly comes out and sells twice as much as him, then the people will be determined." Everyone will ask him to buy it, and we can already make a lot of money just by doubling it!"
Fatty Wang still wanted to speak and raise questions, but he suddenly saw the knife on Chen Fu's waist half drawn out, and it was bright. He nodded with trembling heart and said: "Master Chen, I will obey you, I will obey you."
…
A few days later, outside the gate of the Zhejiang Governor's Office.
There is a large square outside the gate of the Governor's Office in Hangzhou. According to ancient regulations, it is four acres square. In name, the imperial court controls the four directions. There is also a three-foot-long flagpole erected outside the large square, facing two huge stone lions on both sides of the gate and stone steps. It is said that these two pairs of stone lions are more than a hundred years old, and their majesty is reflected in their spaciousness.
It was pouring rain today, but even the stone paved road leading to the governor's gate was dark and filled with people kneeling there. Even though it was raining heavily, the kneeling people had no intention of going back. The guard who was on duty at the governor's gate showed no sympathy for these people and said with a sarcastic smile: "Don't worry about them. Let them kneel if they can. If not a few of them die, these unscrupulous people don't know how high the sky is!"
At the same time, the gate of Jinguan Tower was heavily guarded. He Maoxun, the governor of Zhejiang Province, Lu Kun, the chief envoy, Zhang Wenzhao, the inspector-general, and the big businessman Dong Jianzhong were dining here at the moment.
Last time, the merchant Lin Hongzhi sneaked into the Jinguan Tower and eavesdropped on He Maoxun and others. In order to prevent this from happening again, the person guarding the door of the Jinguan Tower today was the seventh-grade military attaché Liu Fu, captain of He Maoxun's personal soldiers.
It was raining heavily and there was almost no one on the street, but there was a sudden sound of horse hooves. Liu Fu, who was on guard, cheered up when he heard the sound of horse hooves coming this way. Several soldiers drew their sabers and stared straight ahead.
At this time, a team of people appeared, headed by Li Yuan, who was in charge of the defense of the Governor's Yamen of Hangzhou Prefecture. Liu Fu, the captain of the personal soldiers, frowned and thought to himself: "Did something happen to the Governor's Yamen?"
Liu Fu was very annoyed that something went wrong at this critical moment today, but he was personally on duty today. He had been serving as a seventh-grade military attache for many years. I thought that after today, with my outstanding performance, I might be able to get promoted and make a fortune, and then I would rise to the top. Unexpectedly, at the end of the banquet, a group of "uninvited guests" came.
"What are you doing? The governor is busy with government affairs today, so don't disturb him." Liu Fu shouted to Li Yuan, who was speeding over.
Unexpectedly, Li Yuan ignored him at all and drove his horse until it reached the gate of Jinguan Tower before reining in and stopping.
A soldier who might be Li Yuan's subordinate ran down the steps to greet Li Yuan when he saw his commander.
I saw Li Yuan whipping the soldier in the face with a whip and scolding: "Get out of here, you delayed my urgent matter, I will chop you down!"
Li Yuan turned over and dismounted, threw his riding whip at the people behind him, pointed at Liu Fu, the captain of the personal soldiers, and asked: "Let me ask you, is the governor in there?"
Li Yuan's official position was from the sixth rank. In Liu Fu's opinion, he was only half a rank higher than himself. What's so big about it?
"Inside, but the Governor has an order that no one can go inside today. If anyone dares to disturb his mood today, he will be severely punished!" Liu Fu said coldly.
Li Yuan wiped the rainwater from his face and spat on the ground: "Liu Fu, your grandma's hair is floating, right? If you dare to talk to me like this, get out of here. If you delay something urgent, I will chop you down!"
Liu Fu was already in a bad mood, and because Li Yuan was arrogant and domineering, he didn't like him. When he saw his harsh words, he became even more angry. He pulled out his knife and pointed it at the neck of Li Yuan who was going up the steps. He said: "Even if you have a big emergency today, you can't go in without the governor's order!"
When Li Yuan saw that Liu Fu, who had a lower official position than him, dared to use his sword on him, he became furious. He pulled out his sword and cursed: "You little brat, you are so brave. You dare to use your sword on me."
Just as the two sides were at war with each other, someone upstairs opened the door and window and suddenly said: "What are you doing, are you rebelling in the nest?"
The two heard that the person speaking was the inspector Zhang Wenzhao, and Liu Fu and Li Yuancai both sheathed their swords. Liu Fu rushed to complain before Li Yuan: "Master Zhang, this boy is very rude! The governor once left a message to me, saying that no matter who or what the business is, no one can break into Jinguan Tower today, but he has to force his way in." Get in!"
Li Yuan glared at Liu Fu and cursed: "Fuck your grandma, I will settle the score with you later!"
Li Yuan was afraid that Liu Fu would blame him, so he quickly explained: "Master Zhang, I do have something urgent! Someone has rebelled!"
As soon as these words came out, the air suddenly became quiet. Liu Fu stared at Li Yuan dumbfounded, while Zhang Wenzhao upstairs also changed his expression and asked hurriedly: "Rebellion? Who is rebelling? Where are they rebelling? How many people are there?"
Li Yuan said anxiously: "It's a group of unruly people. There are probably several thousand people. Now they have made trouble at the Governor's Yamen. If we don't send troops to encircle and suppress them, I'm afraid they will break into the Governor's Yamen!"
Zhang Wenzhao quickly shouted: "Come up and report quickly!"
A soldier walked out of the Jinguan Tower and led Li Yuan in. When he reached Liu Fu, Li Yuan snorted coldly and looked at the back of Li Yuan who walked in. Liu Fu had not come back to his senses for a long time. Come.
As the lights in the hall gradually brightened, Li Yuan saw the people sitting in front of him. Except for the Governor He Maoxun, the Chief Envoy Lu Kun and the Inspector Zhang Wenzhao whom he knew, he had never seen the other gorgeously dressed people, let alone the Western businessmen on both sides.
He Maoxun glanced at Li Yuan and asked calmly: "Why did so many people suddenly rebel?"
Li Yuan replied: "I don't know, I don't know. It's probably because of the Yanyin incident. They are clamoring to see you. If you don't come out, they will go to the governor's office."
I don’t know whether he has been looking down on this happening, or has been an official for many years and is experienced, or he has predicted that this kind of thing will happen in advance. Anyway, when He Maoxun heard about the rebellion, he did not show a panicked expression. Instead, he smiled tiredly and said, "It's okay. Send troops to pick out a few thorns and arrest them, and they will disperse naturally."
Li Yuan shook his head, wondering: "This method has been used before. Today, these unscrupulous people seemed to have colluded together in advance. Not only did they not leave after grabbing a few thorns, but they also made the trouble even more fierce. Some people could not even kneel down. , it’s raining heavily outside now!”
He Maoxun frowned when he heard that the matter was a bit complicated and difficult to handle. As for the people who couldn't afford to kneel down, he didn't care at all. What he was worried about was that it was raining heavily. Will these people lose a few more lives? If there are too many people killed, Peng Shao, the governor of the Salt Patrol, will naturally report the matter. If the emperor finds out, this matter will be troublesome. Even if Liu Jibao, the chief assistant, survives by then, it may be impossible to further his official career.
Lu Kun said from the side: "Budang, why don't we go back first? It would be bad if someone died."
Although the foreign merchants on both sides could not understand what they were saying, but seeing their panicked expressions and the urgent tone of their words, they judged that something big must have happened. When He Maoxun kept saying that the Ming Dynasty had good public security, several foreign businessmen couldn't help but laugh secretly.
He Maoxun stood up and looked at the foreign businessman who laughed out loud and said, "What, trouble is happening, are you happy?"
Although several foreign businessmen could not understand what He Maoxun said, they could roughly guess what he meant by looking at his face and they all restrained themselves.
Lu Kun ordered his subordinate officials: "Send a few businessmen back to rest first. Tell them that we will discuss this business in a few days. We will carefully consider the conditions they mentioned."
Zhang Wenzhao admonished: "Supervisor, this kind of thing can only appease the people and cannot use force."
He Maoxun said nothing, stood up and walked away with a cold face.
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