Jia Rong didn't know what the old farmer was thinking.
Because of what happened yesterday, the so-called peasant envoy under the White Lord of the Holy Sect in front of him had a great change in Jia Rong's view, or in other words, he looked at him with admiration. The old farmer thought in his heart, no wonder the Holy Religion has never been successful. How could the people of their Holy Religion do things like this?
I even began to wonder if Dayan's official honors were all like this.
That's really incredible.
The old farmer left and came to a private house in Taoyuan County. There is also a place used by the Holy Cult to contact the believers. The old farmer saw Bai Zun, who had withdrawn from Yangzhou, sitting down as a business envoy.
The old farmer frowned and said, "This Lord Ming Wang has different ideas from the three great sages."
"What did King Ming say?"
The business envoy is a fat middle-aged man with two mustaches. When he speaks, the two mustaches on the corners of his mouth curl up and up, like two moving eyebrows.
The old farmer sighed. He said helplessly: "Now we still don't know whether the identity of the Buddha Mother has been exposed, nor can we figure out the intention of the reincarnated King Ming. It's just that his behavior is very different from what the three venerables expected. If the sages want to use the name of King Ming to unite the saints, I’m afraid it will be difficult to teach.”
The merchant chuckled lightly. "It seems that Mr. Bai Zun's wishful thinking is about to come to nothing. Regardless of whether this Jia Rong is the real King Ming or not, the wife cannot control it with one hand. Poor this woman, she still dreams of overthrowing Dayan and avenging the men in her family. sweet dream.”
"There is no need to slander Lord Bai Zun. You and I are both his messengers. Don't let me hear you say such words again." The old farmer stared at the fat man with four eyebrows with wide eyes and said sternly: " Don’t forget, these shops you are in charge of are all the dowry brought by Bai Zun from Jilong Mountain. As long as the Lord says a word, you will no longer be a merchant envoy."
The fat businessman chuckled and said, "Don't be angry. We are all generals of King Ningjing. How could I not respect his wife? Just because of Jia Rong's style and style, just because his Ningguo Mansion was extorted of money by the Water Transport Ministry, Dozens of merchant ships plus cargo cost at least more than a thousand taels of silver, but he was able to throw away the goods at will with great style.
I think King Ming will go to King Zhongshun to cry miserably.
As a result, all the officials of the Water Transport Ministry will suffer. In fact, it can be said that even if they lose 800 to themselves, they will kill 1,000 of the enemy. I don't dare to mess with such a person. "
"We don't want to mess with him, why not invite him to come and be the King of Ming? Lead the members of the Holy Cult to rebel against Great Yan, and maybe he will be able to reach the top one day." The old farmer said solemnly.
"Oh, you are the only one who believes this. Ask the other brothers in the sect if anyone still believes it? Rebellion is unrealistic. We want to have money now, and in a few years we will change our status. Although we will not be rich, we can still live a stable life. Live this life." The fat businessman patted his big belly gently and asked with a smile: "You have also been in contact with Jia Rong many times. Does it mean that he has any intention of becoming the Ming King?"
"This" the old farmer was silent. Although Jia Rong was not hostile to the Holy Cult, he was secretly wary of it.
The fat businessman said disdainfully: "He is a descendant of the Duke of the country, a fourth-grade knight and captain of Dayan. Now there are still concubines in the Jia family. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be able to inherit the title of another generation in the Ningguo Mansion. A good official and title will not Do you want to rebel with us? Do you think it's possible? I have doubts that the identity of Jia Rong, the Ming King, is all fake news released by other sages."
"Don't talk nonsense." The old farmer said to the river in a deep voice.
The business envoy said: "I'm not talking nonsense. My wife was deceived. Also deceived was Qing Zun from Chang'an Prefecture. Because of such unreliable news, everyone in Qing Zun's lineage in Kyoto was deceived by Jin Yiwei. I picked him. This time, Qing Zun's vitality has been seriously damaged, and he can no longer compare with the two Venerables Chi and Bai. Look at Chi Zun, he is so smart that he didn't care about the rebellion when he went south to Huguang. Now only our wife believes it is true, alas "
The old farmer frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Jia Rong is the reincarnated King Ming. His identity was confirmed by Lord Jin Zun."
"Jin Zun? This Jin Zun, we have taken refuge in the Holy Religion for more than 20 years, and we have never seen this person before. Whether he exists or not, and what kind of person he is, I am afraid that even my wife may not know. Such a person can be trusted. ?”
"It must be credible. Otherwise, how could we have escaped from Jilong Mountain twenty years ago? It was Lord Jinzun's idea that we took refuge in the Holy Cult at the beginning." The old farmer said, "Think of Jinzun all these years. If something unexpected happens or your identity is sensitive, you should not contact the church frequently."
The fat businessman sneered: "A lot of things have happened in the past twenty years. The former members of the deposed princeling party have lost all their power, and the Yichuan prince party has been wiped out. Maybe the golden prince was also affected."
"Stop talking nonsense."
"It's up to you. Anyway, I'm just a businessman now. I'm only responsible for making money. I can't care about other things. If there are any matters related to Jia Rong in the future, don't bother me. We don't want to come into contact with such a small-minded guy. It will be troublesome if he bites you back."
"you"
Things in Taoyuan County are absolutely unknown to the Ministry of Water Transport. After this happened, the shipping officer of Taoyuan County immediately sent a letter to the Huai'an Prefecture Yamen, but it was already the morning of the next day when the Governor of Water Transport received it.
"Fire?"
"Returning to the Governor, it is indeed a fire. When the patrol officials were investigating illegal salt, they accidentally set fire to the awnings and ropes of the merchant ships in Ningguo Mansion. Dozens of merchant ships were completely burned."
"Which company is it from?" The deputy governor of Water Transport suddenly raised his eyebrows, thinking that he heard wrongly. He quickly asked: "Which company's goods and merchant ships were burned?"
The people below respectfully presented the statement letter and replied: "It is the goods and merchant ships of the Jia family in Ningguo Mansion. There are more than 80 ships. Together with the 50,000 kilograms of goods, all were destroyed in the fire."
The Governor of Water Transport suddenly stood up and snatched it away without waiting for the Deputy Governor to read the letter. After reading it, I frowned. Han Sheng asked: "Have you seen all the goods burned with your own eyes?"
The person below replied: "When I heard the news last night, there were still heavenly things scattered on the dock. Many people in the county also saw it. It must be that they were all destroyed."
The Governor of Water Transport frowned and asked, "What are the requirements for the person in charge of transportation in the Jia family?"
"this"
"Why are you hesitating? Come back quickly." When the deputy governor heard this, he already knew that something was wrong. Why did it happen that the Jia family's merchant ship was burned? That thing was none other than materials that were urgently needed for the Jiangnan river project. This will be reported to King Zhongshun, and many people in the Water Transport Department will be charged with dereliction of duty.
The people below said helplessly: "I heard the news last night and came here, but I still don't know the Jia family's attitude. But there is still another trouble. At that time, the shipkeeper was killed in order to save the cargo."
"What's going on? Tell me quickly."
"The man was rolled up by the fire snake. He struggled and jumped into the canal. He was nowhere to be found. Come to think of it," the person who replied said urgently, "the situation was chaotic at that time. It was not because the brothers in the ministry were unwilling to save him. In fact, the incident happened suddenly. , all the ships are connected again, and once the rope is broken, I can only watch the fire ship drifting down the river."
"What a helpless one." The Governor of Water Transport now calmed down and said with a dark face: "Back then, it burned Red Cliff, but now it has set our Water Transport Ministry on fire."
"Sir, what should we do now?" the deputy inspector asked.
"I can only talk to the people of the Jia family. It would be best if the big issue can be reduced to a small one. They bring heavenly goods here just for money. He has more than 80 merchant ships with more cargo and two thousand people. Two silver dollars is enough. The deputy governor will go to Taoyuan County himself and handle the matter properly."
"So what if the Jia family doesn't want to accept it?"
"If you don't want to accept it, just don't accept it. No matter where the trouble is, it's only two thousand taels of silver at most. Now that the grain transportation to the north is about to happen, you, a deputy governor, have given enough face to the Jia family. If they don't know what to do, Just ask Jia Rong to find the governor."
It's just that the water transport company didn't know. At this time, Jia Rong, Qin Zhong and others made a fuss at the dock for a while, and then sent Qin Zhong out of Taoyuan County. Jia Rong, on the other hand, took the package given by the old farmer and ordered someone to carry a smashed wooden barrel, and went north to the Lema Lake Palace.
When they arrived, they saw that after the Taoyuan County wharf had been cleaned, there was still a lot of cement dust left in the gaps between the stone slabs. Some cement ash encountered water, so it was still in a wet and solidified state, and it actually filled the gaps between the stones.
"The Jia family is gone."
"gone?"
"The uncle of the Jia family said that Hedao Yamen is in urgent need of natural resources to build the Hongze Lake Dam. This month, the natural resources have been delayed all the way south. It is already too late. If we can't quickly build several water storage and release before the rainy season next year If there is a big disaster when the gate comes, their Ningguo Mansion has done something wrong."
When the deputy governor heard this, his heart began to beat. He asked in confusion: "The uncle of the Jia family? Who is he? Is Jia She coming to Jiangnan?"
"That uncle once revealed his identity at the dock. He is Prince Zhongshun's second-class bodyguard Jia Rong."
"Niang Xipi's." The deputy governor cursed and asked the people behind him: "Jia Rong is in Taoyuan County, why didn't you report it?"
"Although I saw a man wearing the clothes of a guard, I didn't know his real identity." The water transport official in Taoyuan County replied helplessly, "I didn't expect that the uncle was the lord of the Jia family. But when something happened, the Jia family The uncle just brought people from Ningguo Mansion out to ask for an explanation."
The deputy governor had a bad feeling. If they really want an explanation, the Jia family should keep people in Taoyuan County. Now, we can only look at the ruins on the ground and some of the ship remains that have just been cleaned up on the shore.
He asked: "What explanation does the Jia family want?"
"" The water transportation officials immediately did not dare to answer any more. They looked left and right, hoping that the colleagues next to them would answer this question.
The Deputy Governor of Water Transport was furious at them and cursed: "Are all of them mute?"
He thought that as long as the Jia family made a request, everything could still be discussed. It's just that the ghost Jia Rong actually connected this cargo with the river project. But no one can refute it, because these things are indeed sent to Hongze Lake for the construction of the gate.
Pointing out a person, the deputy governor shouted: "Tell me, what exactly did the Jia family ask for?"
"The Jia family and others"
"Hurry up and show your hesitation to someone." The official next to the deputy governor also urged.
The man who was pointed out secretly gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and said urgently: "The Jia family carried all the Caoding, officials, and people on the pier and counted them in detail. The merchant ships of Ningguo Mansion came from Ping'an Prefecture and suffered the consequences. They made things difficult for the canal transporters. They also said that 20% of these natural objects, which were originally intended to prevent floods in the south of the Yangtze River, were destroyed on the way. When they arrived in Taoyuan County, they were all ruined."
As soon as these words came out, all the officials present turned dark.
There was total silence, no one dared to speak first, and even many petty officials did not even dare to take a breath.
The deputy governor of Water Transport clenched his fists and asked: "What do you mean by making things difficult all the way? Is this possible?"
The leading officer said helplessly: "Your Excellency, you don't know. This is the money according to the regulations of each canal guard. I just didn't expect that the officials of the various guards in Ping'an Prefecture were so evil. The Jia family's merchant ships came all the way and paid out dozens or hundreds of taels of silver. .all"
"So of course the people of the Jia family are not happy. They paid nearly a hundred taels of silver at a time and lost 20% of the goods. You are really good, the stakes are high." The deputy governor of Water Transport laughed angrily and sneered. : "The Jia family's dozens of boatloads of goods are only worth a few hundred taels, and the benefits are nearly a hundred taels, and another 20% is lost. You treat the Jia family as Bodhisattvas who give money. You people are really brave."
The officials listened to the instructions, but did not dare to refute. Although this has been the practice of the Water Transport Ministry for decades, now I understand that this practice does not apply to everyone.
Only the shipping officer of Taoyuan County said aggrievedly: "We are not the only one in Taoyuan County who has always done this with the Jia family's filial money. It can affect the food and clothing of tens of thousands of people in the ministry."
The lieutenant governor glared at the transport officer. He was a member of his own family and did not reprimand him. He also knew that now was not the time to train people, finding a solution was the key. For some reason, the deputy governor's voice trembled when he spoke.
"Jia Rong also returned to Ping'an Prefecture with the Jia family?" He still held on to his last hope. If Jia Rong returns to Ping'an Prefecture to supervise Tianwu, he will still have time to negotiate with the Jia family.
if
"The people from the Jia family's caravan returned first. The Jia family's uncle led the two of them to pick up some natural objects on the ground, and also picked up a rotten wooden barrel. They quickly headed north. I don't know what to do."
"What?" The deputy governor was confused for a moment after hearing this. Suddenly I remembered that King Zhongshun was in Suqian County, north of Taoyuan County. My heart hurt suddenly, as if someone had stabbed me in the heart with a knife.
Didn't Jia Rong go to King Zhongshun to complain?
It's going to happen this time!
He shouted and asked: "Why don't you keep them?"
The lead officer smiled bitterly and said, "We can keep officials wearing guard uniforms here."
Yeah, they can't keep it.
Something bad is going on. Now is a critical moment when something like this suddenly happens. Will it affect the northward transportation of grain? Or it may cause another dispute between river transportation and sea transportation.
The deputy governor is quick-thinking. Although there has always been corruption in water transportation, the nature of what officials know in their hearts is different from what they say with their mouths. The officials knew in their hearts that they were acquiescing to corruption, but saying it with their mouths meant that they were going to rectify the water transport.
"What a mess." Uncle Rong in the carriage cursed in his mind, "Who cares about water transportation? I just want Ningguo Mansion not to be wronged. This time, I have to let the cement be sent to the shipping list."
