In Xiapi City, the Cao family.
Cao Bao was relatively low-key in the early years, and his family made a lot of money. However, compared with the real Xuzhou rich family like Chen Deng, Cao Bao's family was still far behind and lacked sufficient foundation.
But in the past two years when the army was engaged in business, Cao Bao used the army as a banner to make a lot of money, even overpowering the Chen family.
Especially the Chen family is very low-key.
After Chen Deng left Xiuyiwei and became the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Chen family worked hard to do good deeds in the local area. When the roadbed was damaged or the bridge was damaged, they had to spend money to repair bridges and pave roads. When encountering some disasters, the Chen family also took the initiative to provide relief.
When the Cao family made public announcements, the Chen family took the initiative to avoid it. At the same time, the Chen family asked Chen Deng for instructions and did not conflict with the Cao family.
As a result, the Cao family became more and more arrogant.
Now in the Cao family, it is Cao Bao's younger brother Cao Xiong who is in charge of the situation. He is three or four years younger than Cao Bao. Although he has a mighty and majestic name, Cao Xiong is actually very thin and has a slight stoop when he walks, giving people an extremely sinister look.
In the hall at the moment.
Cao Xiong was sitting directly above him, his eyes sharp and fierce, giving the impression that he was choosing people to devour.
He looked at the shopkeepers below and said in a deep voice: "You are the shopkeepers of my Cao family, and the Cao family treats you well. However, comparing last month's account book with this month, there is no change. How can I say this?" "
Down the hall.
The leader, Shopkeeper He, said: "Second Master, it's not that we don't work hard, it's that the business in Xuzhou is so big. If we want to keep making money, it's impossible to do it unless we raise the price of grain, cloth, etc."
Other people agreed one after another.
Cao Xiong's face turned sallow and he said coldly: "I don't care what means you use, but your monthly income must increase. If you can't make money, what do you want to do? What's more, the food and cloth business in Xiapi and even many places, We all have a monopoly. Since we have a monopoly, why don’t we raise the price?”
The shopkeepers below all looked at each other, feeling a little helpless.
People who do business pay attention to long-term and make a signature. Now that the price has increased sharply, what do people think of the Cao family?
Making money in a short period of time is actually a loss.
Shopkeeper He said again: "Second Master, raising prices is just a matter of one sentence. It's very easy. But it involves people's livelihood and the people's rations. Once the price increases further, the government will also get involved."
"In the past, our prices were relatively reasonable, and the government turned a blind eye. Furthermore, it was reasonable for us to annex other grain stores. Once prices soared, it was easy to conflict with the government."
Shopkeeper He said: "Second Master, please think again."
Cao Xiong looked fearless and said, "What can the government control? A bunch of trash can't control us. Our Cao family is a military family. The eldest brother is under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office, and the court cannot control the Governor. The government can’t control us. So, there’s nothing to be afraid of. In a word, just do it.”
After hearing this, shopkeeper He said: "I will obey the second master's instructions."
One by one, the shopkeepers nodded.
Cao Xiong had already given orders, so they didn't have much to say.
"Report!"
At this moment, the sound of rapid footsteps suddenly came.
An attendant flew in and reported: "Second Master, something bad has happened. The army has arrived and surrounded our home."
"How dare you!"
Cao Xiong stood up abruptly, with an angry look on his face.
His eyes were sharp, his waxy cheeks showed anger, and he said coldly: "The eldest brother is in the army and is the general in charge of the army. I want to take a look. Who dares to surround my Cao family now?"
"Could it be Lu Dai, the governor of Xuzhou? Is he here?"
"Lü Dai and the eldest brother have been refusing to deal with it. They have been thinking of suppressing our Cao family and curbing the Cao family's business. It is very likely that this person brought someone here. He is really impatient with life."
"Come on, let's go take a look."
Cao Xiong strode out.
All the shopkeepers followed him towards the gate.
No one has any fear. Although Lu Dai is the governor of Xuzhou, he is only responsible for governing the place. Cao Bao is the commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou garrison and is responsible for the army in Xuzhou. When it comes to official positions, the two sides are considered equal.
Cao Xiong was thin, and although he was slightly stooped, he walked with a step that he didn't recognize his relatives. Moreover, when Cao Xiong went out, he also summoned the private soldiers of the Cao family, and all of them came to the gate.
Outside the gate, Huang Zhong and Yang Xiu arrived with people.
In fact, the Zhao family, Pang family, Zhou family, etc., as well as the officials involved in the case, arranged for people to arrest him.
Cao Bao is the most special here.
Therefore, Huang Zhong and Yang Xiu came in person.
Cao Xiong had never seen Huang Zhong in person, but when he saw Huang Zhong's old appearance, he glanced sideways and said loudly: "Old guy, are you someone arranged by Lu Dai to deal with my Cao family? "
Huang Zhong originally had a murderous intention, but when he heard Cao Xiong's words, he knew that the Cao family should be killed.
A mere man called Lu Dai by his first name.
Huang Zhong had dealt with Lu Dai and knew that Lu Dai was capable and that he was a good person in governing the place. Nowadays, the mere Cao family members are so daring that Huang Zhong is quite dissatisfied with the development of the army in the past two years.
Huang Zhong didn't even think about interrogating, and asked murderously: "Who are you?"
Cao Xiong said: "I am Cao Xiong, the second master of the Cao family."
Yang Xiu looked at Huang Zhong and explained: "General Huang, this person is the most vicious person in the Cao family. Cao Xiong arranged many of the things that the Cao family did to bully the people, occupy them, and beat them to death. This person , you can rectify the law on the spot.”
"Damn it!"
Huang Zhong unsheathed his sword and rushed forward.
Cao Xiong was a little panicked, but he didn't hide. He held his neck and said loudly: "My eldest brother is Cao Bao. If you dare to kill me, you will definitely die."
"Cao Bao is dead."
Huang Zhong answered directly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Zhong was already in front of Cao Xiong and stabbed out with his sword.
The tip of the sword penetrated Cao Xiong's heart, killing him with one strike.
Huang Zhong sheathed his sword, without looking at Cao Xiong who fell on the ground, and waved his hand: "Stop the Cao family immediately, and take all the personnel into custody. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy."
Soldiers poured in quickly.
Shopkeeper He saw the killing soldiers, saw Cao Xiong being killed, and heard that Cao Bao was dead. He suddenly panicked and said loudly: "General Huang, we are innocent. We shopkeepers are just doing it for Cao Bao." People who work at home, please let us go."
As soon as these words came out, all the shopkeepers reacted.
Can't be left behind.
You have to find a chance to leave.
"General Huang, please be patient and let us leave."
"General Huang, we are just working for the Cao family and are not involved in anything. Please tell me, General Huang."
"Please tell me, General Huang."
One by one, the shopkeepers kept talking.
Huang Zhong did not make a decision immediately, but looked at Yang Xiu and asked: "Captain Yang, what should we do with these people?"
Yang Xiu said without thinking: "None of Cao Bao's family members is innocent. Likewise, none of the shopkeepers of the Cao family are innocent. These people are all collaborators."
"They are now harmless to humans and animals. In fact, when they were working for the Cao family, they bullied the good and bullied the good. They also used their power to bully others. All the shopkeepers of the Cao family, one by one, were arrested and interrogated."
Yang Xiu said: "These people are responsible for the Cao family's shops and industries, and they know all the money."
After hearing this, Huang Zhong nodded, and immediately arranged for soldiers to control all the shopkeepers for interrogation. Then, he dispatched soldiers to control the Cao family's shops in the city to ensure that all shops were under control.
At the same time, a large number of soldiers poured into Cao's house.
Cao's family members were constantly arrested, and those who resisted were directly executed.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the entire Cao family was under control. Because Yang Xiu had brought the list a long time ago, those who needed to be executed in the Cao family were directly captured and executed immediately, and all others who should be arrested were arrested.
After the Cao family was sealed, they began to inventory the Cao family's supplies, shops, and houses.
At the same time, Zhao An's Zhao family, Pang Chen's Pang family, and Zhou Peng's Zhou family were also surrounded by the army and all were seized and captured. In addition, officials, businessmen and big families involved in business cases are also arrested in all directions.
In Xiapi City, there was a surge of troops.
At first, many people were curious about what happened, and even more worried and panicked.
However, when news spread everywhere, the people arrested were all powerful and powerful people, and they were all officials. At the same time, the emperor came to Xiapi in person to deal with corrupt officials. The people were completely at peace.
Immediately afterwards, countless people began to cheer.
In the past year or so in Xiapi, due to the military's intervention in business, although the people's lives were getting along, the overall environment was very poor. Today, the matter was finally dealt with, so the people cheered Lu Xuan to personally take charge of the situation.
When there was a lot of discussion in the city, the governor's office was appointed.
In the study.
When Lu Dai, the governor of Xuzhou, was dealing with government affairs, a steward came to report the news, saying that people were being arrested everywhere and what was being discussed. Lu Dai was shocked when he heard this, thinking about the emperor's return.
Lu Xuan did return to China.
Regarding Cao Bao, Cao Bao also approached him and hoped that he would support doing business, but Lu Dai sternly refused. Moreover, Lu Dai also asked officials not to do business and even punished some people.
It's a pity that Lu Dai's attitude was not firm enough and he didn't break up with each other. He could only control the overall situation and maintain the stability of Xuzhou's general direction, but he could not control Cao Bao. Lu Dai also did not report Cao Bao's matter to the court.
There was no explicit prohibition on the military doing business, so Lu Dai just maintained the situation. If the imperial court issued an order prohibiting this matter, Lu Dai could make arrangements accordingly.
However, Lu Xuan personally came to deal with Cao Bao.
The situation is different again.
This means that this time Xuzhou has become a typical example of military business cases and his poor control. Although there are many armies doing business in the world and appearing in other places, the emperor comes to him. This is his problem.
After Lu Dai thought about it clearly, he put down the information in his hands and sighed.
Something went wrong this time.
"Somebody come!"
Lu Dai gave an order and waited for the attendants to enter. Lu Dai quickly said: "Arrange the carriage immediately. I will go to the military camp to meet with His Majesty."
"Here!"
The attendant turned to make arrangements.
After the attendants retreated, Lu Dai thought for a while. The attendants came to report that they were ready. Lü Dai stopped lingering, stood up, and hurriedly left the governor's mansion and headed for the military camp.
The carriage arrived outside the military camp. Lu Dai got off the carriage and asked the soldiers standing at the gate of the camp to report. The soldiers who followed would come and take Lu Dai to the audience.
Lu Dai came outside the Chinese army's tent, but stopped, carefully arranged his clothes, took a deep breath, calmed down his emotions, and was prepared to be questioned before entering the tent.
He saw Lu Xuan, who was sitting on the main seat, kneeling down like pushing a mountain of gold over a jade pillar, kowtow and said: "Your Majesty, Lu Dai, pay my respects."
Lu Xuan sneered and said: "Lü Dai, when you governed Xuzhou, it was very good. Xuzhou was peaceful under your rule, right?"
One sentence made Lu Dai's heart hang in the air.
Peace?
Normally, this would be a compliment.
However, under the current circumstances, Lu Xuan's words were an accusation and a slap in Lu Dai's face, making Lu Dai even more nervous.
