Most powerful trees naturally decline as they age. No one has ever uprooted their branches and leaves when they are still in full bloom. This is unprecedented and unprecedented.
Xu Fulai couldn't believe it, and he didn't expect Lu Tao to be so courageous.
After Zhu Donglai listened to Xu Fulai's explanation of the situation, he responded calmly: "Master Xu, just do what you have to do?"
Zhu Donglai's reaction surprised Xu Fulai: "Master Zhu, Lu Tao is going to uproot the Zhu clan."
Zhu Donglai smiled and said: "Is it so easy for the Zhu Clan to be uprooted? They have a good reputation. If we block it, wouldn't we give others a reason and be implicated in it?"
Xu Fulai said softly: "Zhu Clan Master means that a strong man has his arm broken?"
Zhu Donglai said calmly: "That's right, it just hurts a little bit of vitality, it won't cause death."
The Zhu clan is now weak and needs to stay dormant. It cannot compete with the three Lu Tao families. The strength of one family cannot defeat the three families, and it will only hurt them more seriously.
The real winner is not decided here, but at the moment when the ancestor comes out of seclusion. As long as Gu Xuan is killed, Lu Tao and Zhang Zhenghe will be shocked.
If Xie Fu is killed again, Lu Tao's entire plan will be ruined.
Lu Tao, you will turn Jiangnan East Road into a pot of porridge, will you clean it up?
I'm afraid that the forces you are targeting will also backfire, and it's still unclear who will win by then.
…
At the same time, Lu Tao took the time to meet with Xie Fu.
If he wants to deal with these grain merchants and officials, it will inevitably lead to a series of negative effects. Before the dust settles, the entire Jiangnan East Road will inevitably be in chaos and everyone will be in danger.
What worries Lu Tao the most is food. If the people have no food to eat, or the price of food rises sharply, it will trigger riots among the people.
Lu Tao doesn't want to see people living in dire straits.
Therefore, Lu Tao hopes that Xie Fu, the newly appointed Jiangnan Dongdao Grain Merchant behind the scenes, can come forward to maintain stability and even make sacrifices.
After Fu Xie heard about Lu Tao's intention, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir, I have already started on this matter."
It turns out that the day after Xianting successfully bid to be the general grain dealer of Jiangnan East Road, the problem to be solved was to return grain to the people.
It is a process for grains to be received from farmers and then flow from grain stores to the market.
In the past ten days, after both sides scrambled to purchase grain, the entire market was in a state of extreme food shortage. Counties such as several Jiangnan grain merchants colluded with the government to do evil, and even reached the point of starving for grains of rice.
Ye Meixun felt very guilty about this, and immediately asked Gu Xianting to open a warehouse to release grain so that the grain could return to the market. While the people had food to eat, grain prices could be stabilized and grain prices returned to normal.
On the other hand, Ye Meixun contacted Li Baiyong, promising benefits and asking Li Baiyong to sell 200,000 shi of grain from Jinling Granary to Gu Xianting at a low price.
This process of reorganizing the market was originally a skill that Ye Meixun specially reserved for new candidates.
Ye Meixun sent a large number of people headed by Liu Wanli to assist Gu Xianting, and Ye Yuiyi and Song Huike also devoted themselves to this matter.
After listening to Xie Fu's explanation, Lu Tao laughed loudly: "Okay, then I'll just go ahead and do it."
Xie Fu also received a lot of rumors these days, and asked softly: "Sir, are you really going to make this big?"
Lu Tao said calmly: "The Zhu Clan must take this opportunity to uproot it. I don't know how many years and months it will take for the benevolence of women to be settled."
Then he patted Fu Xie's shoulder gently: "Don't worry about this matter, just leave it to me. But later on, I will rely on you, the Jiedushi Master. I learned from Wu Ming."
Xie Fu nodded: "I will never let you down."
Lu Tao laughed loudly: "Thank you, Sir, we will be colleagues from now on."
At this time, Gu Xianting walked into the hall quickly, looking like he was in a hurry. When he saw Lu Tao was there, he looked surprised and said hello: "Mr. Lu."
"Xiao Xianting is here."
Gu Xianting was not familiar with Mrs. Lu, but Lu Tao was very familiar with Gu Xianting because he often met her.
The name Xiao Xianting made Gu Xianting feel a little embarrassed and her face turned slightly red. However, as Lu Tao was the elder and the leader of a clan, there was no problem with such a title.
"Thank you, Master, I have something to discuss with you."
Xie Fu knew that what Gu Xianting wanted to say must be about grain merchants. There was nothing to hide from Lu Tao in front of Lu Tao, so he could have a general understanding of the current situation, so he smiled and said: "Miss Gu, the look on your face should be that you are in trouble." If you encounter any problem, Mr. Lu is here to help you with some ideas."
Gu Xianting was so smart that he immediately understood the meaning of Xie Fu's words, so he said, "It's like this. Grain merchants from all over the country came to me early in the morning to ask for help. I want to come to you to discuss it."
As he spoke, he looked at Lu Tao gently, but Lu Tao's expression sank and he said nothing. He naturally knew why these grain merchants came to Xianting for help, because these people will be punished according to law. According to the crime, those who deserve to be jailed will be jailed. , the property that should be confiscated is confiscated.
One thing must be mentioned, that is, after the death of Zhu Shide and his son, the Zhu family in Hangzhou lost power, the trees fell and the hozens scattered. All the grain merchants in the south of the Yangtze River were huddled at home, trembling and fearful all day long.
The observation made Zhang and Xia act the fastest. They immediately mobilized several detachments of troops within their jurisdiction to rush into the government, and arrested all the grain merchants and officials involved in the case in the area under their jurisdiction in a violent manner with thunder and lightning and violent wind and rain.
When the news spread, the fearful grain merchants who were huddled at home were frightened out of their courage. They felt that they could no longer sit still and wait for death, so they rushed to Suzhou to beg Gu Xianting for help.
Generally speaking, Gu Xianting, the newly appointed general grain merchant of Jiangnan East Road, can be regarded as their new master and new backer.
After hearing this, Fu Xie smiled, which is human nature, and said to Lu Tao: "Sir, can you listen to Fu Xie?"
Lu Tao immediately straightened his face: "Thank you, Master, if you want to plead for them, then don't say anything." He even caught one of his own people for this matter. Even if he behaves upright and stands upright, and has a good reputation as a teacher, he will never give it to him. Anyone left a clue,
Xie Fu said with a smile: "I know that your Excellency is selfless, so let's look at the overall situation. This is the time to employ people. It is not too much to give them a chance to atone for their sins."
"If I want to intercede on their behalf, firstly, I will ask them to confess their crimes and fully cooperate with your investigation. Secondly, if they fully participate in maintaining the stability of people's livelihood, they will not be able to think of getting away with it. Please help me when the time comes. How about dealing with it as appropriate and mitigating the crime, your Majesty?"
Lu Tao smiled after hearing this: "I promise you, as long as they can take the initiative to expose officials' corruption and bend the law, and put all their efforts into releasing food and returning it to the market, so that the people can return to normal as soon as possible, I will handle it as appropriate based on each person's merit."
Xie Fu was surprised. He didn't expect Lu Tao to respond so readily.
Seeing Xie Fu's surprised expression, Lu Tao smiled and said, "Why don't I agree to something that is legal and reasonable?"
Xie Fu's suggestion did him no harm at all. Firstly, he mainly wanted to eliminate the influence of the Zhu clan. Secondly, the grain merchants could take the initiative to expose the truth frankly, which also reduced the resistance to the work.
Lu Tao stood up: "I still have official business to be busy with."
Xie Fu said with a smile: "We will discuss it with the adults after there is a result here."
After bidding farewell to Lu Tao, Xie Fu and Gu Xianting immediately went to Wanghe Tower.
The Gu Mansion, which the grain merchants did not dare to go to, found out that Gu Xianting was the owner of Wanghe Tower, so they blocked Gu Xianting in Wanghe Tower.
Along the way, Gu Xianting told Xie Futing the general situation.
Soon we arrived at Wanghe Tower, and there were many carriages and sedans parked at the door.
In the hall, a group of grain merchants who were used to being masters were restless. If this happened a little slower, their homes would be ransacked. This was no joke. There were already many grain merchants who had become examples.
Seeing Gu Xianting appear, a group of grain merchants immediately rushed forward, treating Gu Xianting as a life-saving straw, and shouted: "Miss Gu, help!"
Why let Gu Xianting save their lives? Firstly, Gu Xianting is their new master, Xinshantou. Secondly, Gu Xianting has a close relationship with the Gu clan and is very capable.
In front of him, Gu Xianting was about to be swarmed by this group of anxious grain merchants. Xie Fu protected Gu Xianting and said loudly: "Everyone, please be patient. Miss Gu can't speak like this."
Hearing Xie Fu's voice, someone simply shouted: "Thank you, Mr. Xie, for helping me."
That day at the Granary in Suzhou, Mr. Xie had a close relationship with Lu Tao, and some people noticed that, regardless of whether he was Li Shaodian or not, he was a man who could speak well in front of Mr. Lu.
Furthermore, they have always suspected that Mr. Xie is the real person in charge of the family, and this Miss Gu is just a superficial spokesperson.
If this is the case, then Mr. Xie's background is even more unpredictable.
Finding someone to take charge of an industry has always been a method used by big shots.
Others who didn't know the details also changed their words and shouted: "Thank you, Mr. Master, for saving my life!"
Xie Fu responded loudly: "Okay, okay, I will help everyone."
Judging from the world of Jiangnan East Road, most grain merchants are not treacherous and evil people. This time they colluded with the government to purchase people's rations at low prices. They were just following orders and were not the culprits.
In this life, there are too many things that we have no choice but to take.
When these grain merchants heard Xie Fu's promise, they felt a little relieved and calmed down.
Xie Fu said: "Please sit down first."
All the grain merchants sat down, but at this moment, a grain merchant in his early fifties stood up, rubbed his eyes and stared at Mr. Xie, and said weakly: "Is it Mr. Xie?"
Xie Fu recognized this person and looked surprised.
The grain merchant blurted out: "I am Uncle Qiupeng from Yongjia County."
The four characters "Uncle Qiupeng" convey an extremely close and flattering flavor.
Xie Fu smiled and called: "Uncle Qiupeng."
Although the Xie family in Kuaiji has fallen into decline, it is still a large and flourishing family. Although there are no big names at the moment, there are still many wealthy families based on the foundation accumulated by their ancestors.
Xie Qiupeng from Yongjia County was considered one of the wealthier branches. Every spring festival, Fu Xie would meet him once, but of course he didn't have much contact with him.
As the second son of the Xie family in Yangzhou, Xie Fu usually didn't receive much attention from his clan members, and he mostly just went through the motions to say hello.
So Xie Fu knew Uncle Qiupeng, but was not familiar with him.
Xie Qiupeng heard Xie Fu's cry and grabbed Xie Fu's hand excitedly: "Fu, you have to save Uncle Qiupeng."
When Xie Fu heard this, he was secretly worried. It would be unreasonable for the elders of the same clan not to help. If he wanted to help, he told Lu Taoming that he asked these grain merchants to confess their sins first. He only hoped that Uncle Qiu Peng did not go too far this time. The matter gave him some room to maneuver.
Xie Fu said comfortingly: "Uncle Qiupeng, don't worry, we will talk in the hall later."
(End of chapter)
