Thunder rumbled and the wind blew up.
Zhao Mengqi looked up and saw dark clouds rolling in from the sky, rimmed with strange gold under the light of the setting sun.
"The weather has changed, let's go back."
Zhao Mengqi picked up Wanwan's shoes and socks and tried to put them on for her, but Wanwan slapped them away and rejected his small courtesy, "How can any man do this..."
"What's the matter? In the Han Dynasty, Jingzhao Yin Zhangchang even painted eyebrows for his wife."
Zhao Mengqi's behavior may be a little bit of a little habit from later generations, but it is mainly because this guy has evil intentions for his naked feet, but he just found a decent reason.
Wanwan didn't accept his trick and glanced at him, "That was because Zhang Chang was naughty when he was a child. He threw a stone and hit someone's eyebrow, which made her look disfigured. She was so scared that she ran away. When she grew up, that woman When he couldn't get married, he came to propose marriage... Love is love, but it was also because he didn't stick to trivial matters and made the joy of boudoir known to the public. He was criticized, so he was not reused later. You must not imitate him."
In terms of knowledge, Wanwan is much better than Zhao Mengqi. If we really want to discuss the past and present, Zhao Mengqi may not be able to win.
"Can't a tough man have tenderness?" Zhao Mengqi said harshly.
Wanwan lowered her head and put on her shoes and socks, "It's not that you can't, it's just that you should be cautious as a ruler and don't show others your shortcomings, let alone let others know your likes and dislikes easily..."
At this moment, Zhao Mengqi suddenly realized that the reason why Wanwan suddenly became a "female censor" might be because she was afraid.
She decided to be with Zhao Mengqi, and she was under great pressure in her heart. Although she did not feel inferior because of her life experience, she was afraid that it would affect Zhao Mengqi.
In addition, she was also well aware of her appearance, and was very afraid that if Zhao Mengqi became a "foolish king", then she would be recorded in the history books, and she would be listed alongside Bao Si Daji, and all the blame would be placed on her, saying that she was The roots of troubles.
Zhao Mengqi supported the bridge, jumped up slightly, took Wanwan's hand, lifted her up, and then held her in his arms.
The sudden embrace made Wanwan dizzy, and her pretty face was covered with red clouds. However, Zhao Mengqi's solid heartbeat came through the chests that were close together, making her gradually calm down, and she was deeply intoxicated. Then, Zhao Mengqi's deep voice came to his ears again, "Ruochu, don't think too much, I will handle everything!"
The wind on the lake became stronger and stronger.
Zhao Mengqi held his soft jade-like hand and walked very comfortably. Wanwan lowered her blushing face and was half a step behind, but her pace was very brisk.
"Ah, fourth brother, I'm looking for you... Sister Wanwan is here too, your veil..." Zhao Han, who was awakened by the thunder, was still a little sleepy.
"You..." Qian Duo on the side stared with big almond-shaped eyes, full of shock and loss.
The smart little Zhao Wei smiled like a fox who stole a chicken, "Fourth brother, sister-in-law!"
This "sister-in-law" sounds boring and harsh.
Wanwan wanted to bury her head in her chest and struggled to take her hands out, but Zhao Mengqi held her tighter, "What's the point of being embarrassed? You have to get used to it."
Zhao Han's sleepiness was driven away by the surprise, and he ran over happily. When he came to his brother, he raised his thin fingers and scratched his little face twice, "Don't be shy, don't be shy..."
Zhao Mengqi was as shameless as a city wall and was not moved at all. Zhao Wen stuck out the tip of his tongue, made a face, and then threw himself into Wanwan's arms, "Sister Wanwan, are you going to be my sister-in-law..." "
Wanwan hesitated and didn't know how to answer. At this moment, Qian Duo rushed over, broke Zhao Wan apart, and dragged Wanwan to the yard, "Sister Wanwan, did that bastard bully you? Tell me, I will help you take revenge..."
…
After dinner, three young ladies "arrested" Wanwan for questioning. The "lonely" Zhao Mengqi stood in the corridor in front of the building, looking at the falling rain.
Fatty Qian leaned against the wall, sat on the ground with his legs spread out, and burped, "Hey... Sister Wanwan's craftsmanship is so good, I'm full of food."
Wu Qiong, who was leaning against the pillar, looked disdainfully at him, "It's obviously you who is greedy..."
"Haha, are you eating less?"
"No matter how much I eat, I will never turn into a fat pig..."
The two began their daily bickering, but Upright did not participate. He stood behind Zhao Mengqi with his hands lowered, with doubts in his eyes, "Alang, I have been thinking about it all afternoon and still haven't figured it out (this chapter is not finished yet!)
177. Jiang Manhai confesses
, The people named Xu and Liu are not good people, why do you let them go so easily? "
Zhao Mengqi encouraged his subordinates to think and was willing to answer their questions, "Then Xu Tianyi is simply a dandy, and his whole life is just to eat and wait for death. The reason why he is let go is mainly for the sake of Prime Minister Li. Since then, After Kublai Khan destroyed Dali, the pressure on the southwest border increased. The Uliang Hetai repeatedly invaded the border in an attempt to find loopholes in our defense line. Therefore, Prime Minister Li has a heavy responsibility, so try to avoid giving him Bring bad influence."
Geng Zhi seemed to understand, "Oh, what about the boy named Liu? He was rude to A Lang, full of filth, and insulted Mrs. Jiang. Shouldn't he be taught a lesson? What if he comes to harass Mrs. Jiang again? You always Can’t you stay in Wujiang forever?”
"I can't stay in Wujiang for long, but I can bring them all back to Lin'an."
Zhao Mengqi smiled and said, "But the reason why Liu Weizhen was let go was just to avoid disturbing the situation."
"Snatch the enemy from the grass? Ah Lang, you mean the Liu family?"
"That's right, I learned from the water bandits last night that the Liu family is very unclean in private and has committed countless crimes, but the five brothers can serve as officials in the court. The water here is very deep. Since I'm here We've encountered them, so naturally we can't just turn a blind eye, we have to take advantage of this time to get to the bottom of them..."
As he spoke, Zhao Mengqi saw lights approaching from the direction of Tongli Lake through the dark rain curtain. Soon a awning boat docked, and four or five people got off and ran towards the tea shop in the rain.
When they got closer, they realized that it was Hou Tao and others. After they saw Zhao Mengqi, they hurriedly saluted, "Your Highness, Jiang Manhai is here..."
"Oh? Are you here in such a hurry? Is there any big news?"
"It's not just us. Commander Chang and his people are also coming just in case. Their boats are bigger and they have to go slower." Hou Tao took off his raincoat and put it aside. "I learned from Jiang Manhai that the Liu family What we committed is more serious than we expected. The head of the Liu family, Liu Zhengyi, is actually a pirate..."
In fact, Jiang Manhai didn't know much about Liu Zhengyi's early years. He only knew that more than forty years ago, Liu Zhengyi brought a large sum of money to settle in Zhenze Town. There were rumors that he killed his accomplices at sea and took away all the property. Bring it back and wash your hands in the golden basin.
After that, with this huge sum of money, Liu Zhengyi frantically bought land in the countryside. When there was no land to buy on the market, he started doing business. Whether it was legal or illegal, he would have a hand in making money. .
Up to now, more than half of the shops in Zhenze Town are owned by the Liu family. There are restaurants, tea shops, grain stores, brothels, gambling stalls, pawn shops, gold and silver shops, etc. They are all available, even in the county town. Half the street has the surname Liu.
During this period, Liu Zhengyi was relatively well-behaved. On the surface, he was building bridges and paving roads, giving food to people in need, and benefiting the countryside. He gained a reputation as a good Liu, but he also conspired to seize a lot of land through "legitimate" lending. , but the food appearance is quite normal. Anyway, many landowners are doing this at this time.
As for those who lost all their money in gambling at his house, they can only blame themselves and cannot even win the sympathy of others.
Jiang Manhai's family was originally relatively wealthy, but his father was lured to the Liu family's gambling stall. From then on, he got out of control and eventually lost several large houses and more than a thousand acres of land, and even pawned his wife and concubines. When I got out, I still didn't turn over the book, so I found a crooked neck tree, took off my belt, and finished it.
Jiang Manhai, who was still sixteen years old at the time, believed that everything was a trap by the Liu family, so he managed to sneak into the house of the gambling stall owner, trying to force him for evidence, but he accidentally killed him. All five members of the family were killed, and they fled to Taihu Lake to become bandits.
Later, Jiang Manhai also kept thinking about revenge. Unfortunately, the Liu family raised hundreds of villagers to guard the hospital, so this revenge was not successful. Instead, he made the profession of water bandits very impressive.
As for the Liu family, it may be that Liu Zhengyi realized that money alone was not enough, so he began to devote all his efforts to training his five sons to study.
It's a pity that Liu Xiuli, the third eldest son, was not a good student. When the eldest son was admitted as a Jinshi, Jiang Huai, who studied martial arts under the same master as him, planned to join the army, so he simply took some villagers with him to Jiankang Mansion. At that time Chen Tong was stationed in Jiankang Prefecture. Seeing that they were fellow Wujiang people, he took them under his command.
With the emergence of Jinshi in the Liu family, things began to converge. (This chapter is not finished yet!)
177. Jiang Manhai confesses
On the surface, he didn't do any bad things, and for a while, the villagers praised him.
Until five years ago, when Liu Xiuli took over the capital in neighboring Anji Prefecture, the Liu family expanded again and things became a little outrageous.
Although it is said to be a neighboring state, in fact, the city of Anji Prefecture is only sixty or seventy miles away from Zhenze Town. Later, the eldest brother of the Liu family also became the prefect of Pingjiang Prefecture. This was equivalent to a civil and military escort, and the Liu family became even more unscrupulous.
After dismantling Jiang Manhai's gang from within, Liu Xiuli did not eliminate these water bandits. Instead, he made Fang Tang the leader and continued his promising career.
Fangtang claimed to be a descendant of Fang La. Fang La rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor, and changed his reign to "Yongle". Therefore, Fangtang named himself "Yongle Gong". Although some people were crowned as monkeys, they basically "unified" Taihu Lake and could be regarded as one party. "Heroic".
At this time, the Liu family took over both black and white, and could be regarded as a local emperor. That is to say, they were not far from Lin'an, so they did not dare to be too public, but there was no delay in making a fortune.
In just four or five years, the land of the Liu family has increased more than ten times. The annexation method was extremely cruel. Especially last year, many unreasonable cofferdams in Taihu Lake caused poor drainage channels, resulting in flooding and destruction. Countless farmlands along the coast were destroyed, and many small farmers became refugees and scattered. After the disaster, most of this unowned land fell into the hands of the Liu family.
At first, many cofferdams escaped disaster because the dykes were built relatively high. However, water pirates came to dig out the dykes...
Although no one has evidence that the Liu family did it, the land actually fell into the hands of the Liu family, and it went through serious "legal" procedures.
In addition to raising thieves and occupying land, the Liu family also engaged in large-scale maritime smuggling, not only with the Japanese country Goryeo, but also probably with Mongolia in the north.
There are many things in this that Jiang Manhai has guessed, but they are probably close to the same. There are even many things about the Liu family that Jiang Manhai doesn't know. After all, he is just a water bandit.
177. Jiang Manhai confesses
