Wangting!
The first town in Suzhou where the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal entered, Bai Juyi once wrote the poem "Lights pass through the villages and cities, music plays on the post towers", describing the prosperity of Wangting.
In addition to being the first town to enter Suzhou, a large part of the reason is that this is the entrance to the Suzhou section of Caobang and Chuanbang.
A continuous manor near the river is the entrance of Caobang.
In the lobby, more than a dozen senior officials from Caobang Suzhou Hall gathered together, all of them with serious expressions on their faces, obviously knowing what was happening in Suzhou City.
"Hall Master, according to the news that just came, Suzhou Guard has been taken over by the Warrior Battalion, and Suzhou City has been taken over by the Forbidden Army Yanshan Guard!"
"Hall Master, the official road from Suzhou to Nanjing was blocked this morning. According to our investigation, the news that Qin Jiwang sent people to intercept and kill Zhong Zigui is probably true."
"Master, the governor sent someone to notify you this morning and asked you to meet somewhere in the evening!"
…
After summarizing the news one by one, Cao Zhen, the leader of the Suzhou Hall of the Caobang in the first seat, rubbed his swollen temples and glanced at the young man who had been silent and shaking his hands.
This man's name is Wu Changshi. He looks young, but in fact he is nearly forty years old, but he looks younger.
Dressed in Tsing Yi, combined with his fair and upright appearance, he can be considered elegant and suave, which is completely different from the rough guy in the hall.
Seeing the hall master's eyes fixed on Wu Chang, the men who were discussing just now became quiet instantly, just because this Wu Changshi was the military advisor of the hall.
"What do you think, Mr. Wu?"
"I think that the city of Suzhou is in chaos at the moment, or that the new prefect is deliberately messing up Suzhou.
Although our Cao Gang has contacts with the wealthy merchants, gentry and officials in the city, we win from each other.
Even if the authorities check, we just need to obey and stay dormant for a while. When the storm passes, we will still be free and at ease, and we will still be the boss of this canal.
But if we get involved, the higher ups might wipe us out. The emperor now controls the absolute army. As long as he issues an edict to the canal, states, and counties, we will have nowhere to hide.
Those trackers, boatmen, etc. are water, and we are the boat. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it! "
Everyone had disdain on their lips and did not take Wu Changshi's words seriously.
"Sir, your words are a bit alarmist. The Cao Gang has existed since the founding of the ancestors. In the past two hundred years, the imperial court has not done anything to us. Jiajing and Wanli dynasties did not take action!"
"The two emperors did not take action because they had no way to do it. The two emperors only wanted stability. Don't cause trouble for the two emperors. It is enough if the water transport can arrive on time.
But it's different now. The emperor is obviously not satisfied. He wants to clean up all the problems that existed in the Ming Dynasty, rectify the military equipment, cut down the vassals, etc. This has been seen.
I can guarantee that the emperor is definitely holding the idea that he would rather be in pieces than in ruins. If the court has a hard time, no one else will have a good time. Otherwise, how could Zhou Tingru be allowed to stir up Jiangnan?
Moreover, the emperor now controls five to six hundred thousand troops, and they are all capable of fighting. It will be easy to kill us. "
Hearing this, everyone's eyes flashed with worry.
Only then did they remember that although the emperor was young, he was an iron-blooded emperor.
If you make him angry, you can really mobilize the army to kill the Caogang.
"Sir, according to your statement, if the emperor knows what we did with the wealthy merchants and gentry in Jiangnan, will he kill us directly?"
"It's unlikely. Without us, the entire grain supply would not be able to go north. This is extremely detrimental to the stability of the north.
Moreover, there are Mongolian tribes, slaves, etc. in the north, and the emperor will definitely have to fight, so there must be sufficient supplies of food, grass, etc.
In addition, the silk, porcelain, tea, etc. from the south are urgently needed in the north. The wood, coal, etc. from the north must be sent here. Only by going back and forth can we promote development.
With the reserves of the national treasury, it is certainly possible to build thousands of ships, but it will take time. The gap period in between is where our value lies. "
When Wu Changshi said this, he looked at the expressions of everyone in the lobby and continued: "It's just a short-term reliance. As long as the emperor builds enough cannons, we will lose our role.
But I thought it was unlikely that the emperor would do this and push us to a dead end.
Even if we cannot injure the enemy by one thousand and injure ourselves by eight hundred, we are absolutely capable of causing frequent problems in water transportation, which the court does not want to see. "
"So, what sir means is that whatever we do in normal times and what we still do now, there must be no problems with water transportation.
Whether it's Suzhou Prefecture or Jiangnan, we don't get involved in officialdom matters and it has nothing to do with us. When everything is settled, we will express our goodwill to the Suzhou Prefect and continue our cool life! "
"Best greetings, Hall Master!"
"No, Hall Master, why is it to express goodwill to the prefect of Suzhou? Shouldn't it be from Nanjing?"
"Stupid, there is a saying that goes well, you can tell what the young lady is going to do just by looking at the maid's movements.
Zhou Tingru stirred up troubles in Suzhou, can Nanjing be immune?
Maybe the whole army there would be annihilated, and the emperor took the opportunity to consolidate his power and completely bring Southern Zhili under Beijing's management.
We are on the border of Suzhou, so we naturally have to find peace talks with the Suzhou magistrate's office. If the court doesn't take action, it will be fine. Once it does, there is no possibility of failure! "
Cao Zhen angrily scolded the person who made the noise, and then looked at the others: "Give me the order, I have been more honest and behaved recently.
If anyone finds something to do for this Hall Master at this juncture, I will personally destroy him, so go ahead and get busy! "
"Don...forget it!"
One person shouted in a low voice, and then fell silent again. Cao Zhen frowned and said angrily: "At this juncture, if you have something to say, don't hide it!"
"Hall Master, according to rumors, San'er and several officials from Suzhou City hacked the goods of two merchant ships coming from the north a few days ago, worth about two to thirty thousand taels.
I originally wanted to find San'er to ask about the situation, but I searched for three days in a row and couldn't find anyone. He and his subordinates seemed to have disappeared from the world! "
"Treason!"
Cao Zhen slammed the table, his face livid.
"How is it possible that there is news in Suzhou City that we can't find out?"
"It can't be that those officials are trying to take advantage of others."
…
"Master, there is someone outside who wants to see you!"
"No, from today onwards, no one will be seen, just say that the master of the hall is sick and it is not convenient to see guests!"
"Hall Master, the person who came here said that as long as you mention his name, you will definitely meet him. He said his name is Li Ruolian!"
"Li Ruolian?"
Cao Zhen frowned. He seemed to have heard this name before, but couldn't remember it for a while.
Wu Changshi's face on the side changed slightly, and he whispered: "How old is the person coming? How many people are here?"
"About forty years old, alone!"
boom……
Wu Changshi suddenly trembled and fell down on his chair, with a look of panic on his face: "Why is he here?"
