Yangzhou Wharf is very lively with people coming and going. Men of letters and businessmen come and go here, and what they speak is not only the local dialect, but also the dialect from all directions.
Because Yangzhou is an important node city on the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, many outsiders have to settle here when they come to Beijing. As long as you have enough money in your pocket, you always have to experience the charm of Yangzhou.
Lianghuai Salt is the leader in the salt industry in the world, and the three major local salt merchants are quite wealthy. Over the years, in addition to operating the salt industry, the restaurants, gambling houses, and even brothels in Yangzhou City are more or less their industries. At least there is equity.
After Zou Cheng, the salt envoy, was announced to the capital, they had been sending people to inquire about the news.
The court's policy on salt laws has changed repeatedly over the years, so they are very concerned about the possibility of any changes.
But the situation has not been good recently. The atmosphere in the capital is delicate. The families passing the news on the dock are moving faster and their faces are getting more nervous.
It's an imperial edict.
After all, it must be spread throughout the world.
The salt merchants were shocked when they heard the news, and the salt merchants' guild had never been so lively as it was now.
The so-called three major salt merchants have no business status at this time. The bigger they become, the more likely they are to be investigated and punished. After all, how can they become a major salt merchant if they don't touch private salt?
All the businessmen, big and small, in the room clapped their hands repeatedly and had heated discussions, making it as noisy as a vegetable market.
"...Calm down, everyone!"
A middle-aged man with white hair slapped the table and roared.
This person's name was Yu Mingquan. On that day, Zou Cheng brought three major salt merchants to visit Gu Zuo, the salt inspector, and he was among them.
"The imperial court is now investigating smuggled salt. Is it possible that you can get over such a disaster just by making a few noises here?!"
"Boss Yu! There was no sound from the court before, but now this decree suddenly came out. What happened in this?" The bosses sitting on both sides were almost crazy with anxiety.
"Yes! As long as we understand the crux of the problem, we can prescribe the right medicine. I have heard that the new monarch is quite wise. Whenever he discusses politics, he mostly discusses it with his ministers and chooses the right one. Only on a few occasions does he do it. Acting arbitrarily. Did someone say something about this sudden salt seizure?"
Yu Mingquan is a well-known local salt merchant with a wealth of over one million, but it is difficult for him to explain clearly what happened in Fengtian Palace.
"The imperial edict is of great importance. The imperial court will not draft it arbitrarily. The fact that the Chief of Ceremonies, the Sixth Ministry and others all wrote the document together shows that the imperial court has made up its mind. They are aloof and do not know the actual situation below, but for ordinary people like us, this It’s time to find a way to survive.”
He said with extremely serious eyes: "I think that the method that can become an old method still has some use. No matter how the court orders it, things must be done by the people below. The master who sits high in the government office will not look carefully. Every case. How to investigate and report the case, the key lies in the official who can speak effectively here."
"The King of Hell is easy to deal with, but the devil is difficult to deal with. We don't have the ability to talk to the people in the imperial city, so we have to deal with the devils below. So whether it is money or women, as long as we can do it, at this time Don’t be reluctant to part with it. Spend some money and turn a felony into a misdemeanor, or a misdemeanor into innocence.”
"Furthermore, all those who collect and store private salt in various places must withdraw. Whoever has a stiff neck will go against the trend."
"Finally, let's see if we can find someone from above. We have also arrested a few salt merchants in Yangzhou. If the silver taels taken out are not enough, we can make up for it. The emperor and the princes of the court may be satisfied after seeing the silver. When the time comes, I'll ask someone to talk about the disadvantages of being too intense. It would be great if the emperor can just get off the ground and end this salt seizure."
There are policies and measures to counter.
This has been the case since time immemorial.
If the emperor issued an imperial edict and everyone acted honestly, it would be too easy to govern the country.
The reality is that everyone at every step has countless possibilities.
Many times bad government cannot be changed because the people sent to change the bad government are also 'captured'.
In this way, it is natural for the upper and lower parties to unite and find ways to get through.
The bosses in the club still agree with Yu Mingquan's method.
First get rid of the people who come to investigate.
Later, they also arrested several salt merchants.
Copy out a little silver,
This makes it easy for others to do business and they can pass the test.
When the time comes, I will present the 'results': Your Majesty, look, we have captured these people and we also have this money.
Anyway, everyone worked together to coax the emperor, how could he still know about it in the Forbidden City?
So there are still smart people.
Or we can say that the administration of officials is the most difficult problem in the world.
June 19, the first year of Zhengde.
Two thousand households from Jinyiwei North Town Fusi's Criminal Office and Nanzhen Fusi's Internal Security Office arrived in Yangzhou respectively. The former is in the light and the latter is in the dark. They act separately and do not interfere with each other.
After the Jinyiwei was reorganized, it was expanded due to the Five Cities Military and Horse Division. At the same time, in order to investigate and deal with important matters, the South and North Fu Divisions each established three thousand-household offices.
The North Town Fusi added the Criminal Office, the Public Security Office and the Special Office, and the South Town Fusi added the Internal Security Office, the Archives Department and the Secret Intelligence Section.
The special agency is an elite one. In fact, it was established to allow him to handle some ultra-sensitive cases.
For example, clan members who have a special relationship with the emperor, etc.
The Criminal Office investigates and handles cases on a regular basis.
Zhu Houzhao implemented a one-level management model in Jinyiwei. The deputy commander directly managed thousands of households, and the deputy commander himself selected the thousand households. He only had to go through a reporting and requesting approval process.
Generally, Zhu Houzhao would not deny his recommendation unless there were special circumstances.
As the saying goes, don't use people who are suspicious, and don't use people who are suspicious. Since a person is placed in the position of managing Beizhen Fusi, he must be given such authority so that he can control this force.
If you no longer trust this person, don't let him work in Jinyiwei.
This trip to Yangzhou was led by these two thousand households, and the Criminal Office was naturally responsible for handling the case.
The internal security office, that is, internal security, actually has some stability maintenance properties. Its duty is to use personnel deployed everywhere to detect and eliminate unstable factors in advance.
Although a few businessmen cannot make any waves,
But this time the situation is not small, and the internal defense force has reached the predetermined position in advance, which is what should be done.
In addition, these two thousand-household offices belong to two town offices, and there is actually some competition between the two town offices, that is, between Mao Yuwen and Han Ziren.
The emperor deliberately mentioned Han Ziren for this purpose. He had done a good job and became the commander of the Jinyiwei. There was no special "commander's successor".
】
This makes people in the Criminal Office and Internal Security Office also worry that if you don't do something well, it is very likely that you will be sued by the other party.
Ye Guan, who is in charge of the criminal department, is in his twenties and not very old. He is a person who has been appointed and promoted by Mao Yuwen.
Qianhu of the Internal Guard was a scholar and was a former friend of Han Ziren, named Luo Chenglin.
It is very clear how the imperial edict communicates to them.
Luo Chenglin quietly entered Yangzhou without looking for anyone.
The Internal Guard is to be the eye in the dark.
So he was dressed in casual clothes, looking like a commoner, and he stayed in a simple inn.
But the owner of the inn was a little special. After confirming that no one was around, he turned into Luo Chenglin's room, knelt down and said, "Xiaguan Hegu has met Luo Qianhu."
Luo Chenglin was a very handsome man, even with a feminine aura. He only studied to be a scholar, but he really failed to pass the exam. Later, he followed his friend who was promoted to beg for food in the Jinyiwei.
"If my prediction is correct, the imperial edict has arrived in Yangzhou ahead of schedule. Congratulations to Mr. Qi, are there any changes in Yangzhou recently?"
He Gu, who looked like a shopkeeper, nodded and said: "Yes. There is a salt merchant guild in Yangzhou that has been established for decades. In recent days, they have often gathered to discuss secretly. Unfortunately, his subordinates were incompetent and could not place anyone in the guild. , they will not be able to grasp the content of the conversation."
Luo Chenglin grabbed the cup and rubbed it gently, "It hasn't been long since Nanzhen Fusi was reorganized, and Yangzhou only started its layout in the first month of this year. It's good that you can settle down here. Everyone in the Salt Merchants Guild must be very rich. It’s understandable if you can’t place people in the company.”
He Gu was overjoyed. He had never expected that there would be such a considerate Shangguan.
It's just that Luo Chenglin hasn't spoken yet, and he seems to be a little happy too.
"But the imperial edict has been issued, and I have also come to Yangzhou. This means that the emperor may announce that Deputy Han is coming to the palace at any time to report the situation here. When the time comes, Deputy Han will not be able to say anything, and His Majesty will not If you spare him lightly, naturally, he will not spare my subordinate lightly. I have no choice but to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, so that you also know that the imperial edict cannot be violated."
"As for Luo Qianhu, my subordinates will never violate the imperial edict!"
"This sentence must be proven by actions. Especially the Jinyiwei has always been in the limelight in Beizhen Fusi. This is a worry for Deputy Ambassador Han, so this time Yangzhou Eucalyptus must be done beautifully. This is a major matter related to the head. Of course. , I said we need to be quick, but I don’t mean to do it blindly. The affairs of the Internal Security Office are a bit special and people cannot detect our presence, so we still need to be careful to act secretly."
He Gu had been helped up. He bowed his hands and said, "Please give me Luo Qianhu's orders!"
"What the internal guards want to ensure is that no one can provoke a vicious incident. Especially when you start arresting people, you must pay attention. The people led by me will enter the city separately in the near future, and all salt merchants will have to keep an eye on it. You will be responsible for Yangzhou In terms of news transmission within the city, any disturbance must be reported to this officer as soon as possible.”
"yes!"
"...It also includes the actions of people from the criminal office."
He Gu heard it clearly, but he didn't ask any more questions.
If Nanzhen Fusi wants to stand out, he has two ways, one is to do well, and the other is to say that the other party is not doing well.
This setup sometimes makes it easy for them to hold each other back.
But it is also a means of mutual supervision.
Everything has its ups and downs, and there is never a one-size-fits-all solution.
Didn't Zhu Houzhao know that the people he sent out would be knocked down by "sugar-coated bullets"? This is basic common sense in officialdom, and there is no need to think about it.
The other side.
Qianhu Yekan of the Criminal Office is riding a horse into Yangzhou City.
As soon as he came to Yangzhou, the business in Yangzhou declined a bit, because it was already rumored that the imperial court was going to kill him this time.
Ye Kan first went to the Lianghuai Capital Salt Transport Department. In addition to Zou Cheng, there were dozens of other officials in this transportation department.
Zou Cheng insisted on pretending to be crazy and acted like a fool, but the emperor didn't bother to pay attention to him and directly sentenced him to death. Therefore, his charges were not clear, which made it unclear whether these officials in the Transportation Department were involved in illegal salt sales.
These subordinates also thought of going together with the salt merchant. At this time, there was no other choice but to use money to clear the way.
So Ye Guan, the superior officer, was sitting in the main seat and could see dozens of people below him trembling with fear, and the money in their hands was shaking and rattling.
Holding the knife on his waist, he asked: "I don't quite understand why many of you carry money. Do you want to pay bribes to buy your life? Or do you want to die rich?"
"Up!"
People in the courtyard haven't knelt yet.
Someone rushed in from outside. He was wearing a blue official robe, and he could be guessed to be an official from Yangzhou Prefecture.
They are mostly prefects.
"Tao Du, the magistrate of Yangzhou, met the superior officer. I asked the superior officer to forgive me for not meeting him from afar. In fact, the lower official was originally going to meet the superior officer, but he went astray..."
"You came just in time." Ye Kan waved his finger, and the people behind him stepped forward to control this person, "This time, Jin Yiwei came with a list. Marquis Yongkang and Uncle Nanning in the capital have already I'm sorry, you are on the list given by Marquis Yongkang, Tao Du, the prefect of Yangzhou."
This stupid person really came to my door.
Tao Du was already frightened, but now that he heard the news, his whole body collapsed and he fell to the ground with a thud.
"There are two more people on my list. They are the minions of the powerful and specialize in buying and selling private salt. But everyone knows that there are more than just these two smuggled salt merchants in Yangzhou. The officials start with you, Magistrate Tao, so Magistrate Tao, there are also Please listen to the trial and explain."
There were many people in Yunsi watching, and the Yangzhou magistrate was captured immediately as soon as he entered. Naturally, the news would spread throughout the country soon.
The Salt Merchant Guild was shocked when they heard the news!
Officials, what kind of people have they not seen before?
The most fearful thing among them is the kind of people who start doing things according to the rules regardless of the situation.
"Boss Yu, Boss Shen, Boss Chen! It's time to make an idea!"
If the Yangzhou prefect is handling the case, then when he investigates this or that, he must provide evidence so that he can explain it to his superiors.
But Jin Yiwei only needs a list to arrest someone!
Especially in this kind of big case, there is basically no time to review the specific circumstances of many people involved. Anyway, if someone is even guilty of you, then just use the list to arrest them.
"Who is Ye Guan? Does any of you know anyone who can connect him? Let's take the money and go visit him together!"
Now there are Jin Yiwei inside and outside Yunsi. If they want to get in, they have to find someone from Jin Yiwei to go in and report.
At the critical moment, we have to look at the key personnel. Yu Mingquan took the initiative and said, "I will arrange this. The key is how much money you bring to buy his face."
In fact, Ye Guan was attracting the attention of all forces at this time.
There is nothing terrible about investigating and arresting people. They are just a few businessmen, but these businessmen are inextricably linked to the capital and even the palace, which is different.
So in fact, many figures are approaching Yangzhou.
Approach Jin Yiwei.
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Today we had two meetings and a meal, and it was past nine o'clock when we got home. I can only write more than four thousand, sorry.
