"Sir, what's wrong with you?"
"who is he?"
"Do you know this Li Ruolian?"
Facing the hall master's three consecutive questions, the panicked Wu Changshi took a deep breath and whispered to the guard with a serious face: "Tell the brothers on duty tonight to forget about this person tonight.
Who dares to spill the beans? I will sink the whole family into the canal to feed the bastards. Those who dare to escape will be hunted down by the entire Cao Gang brothers! "
"What are you doing here? Why don't you go?"
"Yes Yes……"
The guard ran outside in panic. At this scene, all the senior officials in the lobby were full of curiosity.
It has been six or seven years since the military advisor came to Caobang Suzhou Hall. He has always had a calm and wise demeanor. He has never been so panicked.
After arranging the guards, Wu Changshi looked at everyone: "Brothers, do you know the name of the commander of the Jinyi Guards?"
hiss……
cough……
Everyone was stunned at first, and then looked horrified.
Isn't the name of the commander of the Jinyiwei Li Ruolian?
At this juncture, if the emperor's absolute personal guard commander came to their cao gang, if it was known by other gangs, wealthy merchants and gentry, and then combined with the turmoil in Suzhou's officialdom, life would be difficult in the future. No wonder Wu Changshi would be so rude.
Cao Zhen was very confused and asked: "Why is he coming to our Caogang at this time?"
"I don't know. It's better to invite him in now, so as not to lose etiquette!"
"Brothers, follow the leader of the hall to greet him. After the greeting, you should not enter the lobby. Please patrol outside to see if the Jin Yiwei has dispatched anyone, just in case!"
After a while, Cao Zhen led everyone to welcome Li Ruolian into the lobby.
"Good tea, Mingqian Shifeng Longjing, Caobang is worthy of being the boss of the canal!"
"Commander Li, thank you very much. I eat by the canal. When I passed by Hangzhou, I bought some from a farmer's house. If Commander Li likes it, I will pack some for you later!"
"No, Your Majesty is most annoyed by the lack of food and drink. If you find out, you will have to call me Lao Li from now on!"
This may seem like a joke, but Cao Zhen's heart tightened when he heard it.
"Commander Li personally visited our Caobang Suzhou Hall and gave orders, but he obeyed them all!"
Li Ruolian gently scraped the tea with the tea lid and said calmly: "Two things. One is because of your nephew Cao San's affairs. I don't know if your nephew is lucky or bad.
Your Majesty went out to accompany a merchant for the first time and brought two shipments of goods to Suzhou. As a result, your nephew asked for high tolls and wine money.
In the end, not satisfied, he and Suzhou officials ate the two shipments of goods.
Moreover, Cao San had already confessed everything he knew, and His Majesty Long Yan was furious;
Your Majesty asked this commander to come and ask if your Cao Gang wants to be destroyed? "
Bang... bang...
Cao Zhen, who was sitting upright, trembled all over, his face flushed, and all the teacups on the table were knocked over and fell to the ground.
Even though he had been in charge of Caobang Suzhou Hall for several years and experienced countless storms, at this moment, his mind was like thunder exploding from the sky, and he was feeling dizzy.
He never thought that his nephew would do such an earth-shattering thing, so big that he could wipe out the entire Cao Gang and even the entire Canal Gang.
No wonder the Yi Cao Gang's informants in Suzhou couldn't find Cao San. It turned out that he was captured by Jin Yiwei.
"Huh? No, Li Ruolian just said that His Majesty went on a business trip for the first time? Doesn't this mean that the Emperor is also in Suzhou City?
No wonder Zhou Tingru would be so lawless. It turned out that the emperor was behind it. Wasn't the emperor going to Qufu? Why did you come back to Jiangnan? Is it true that the emperor is going to rectify Jiangnan as Mr. Guessed? "
When Cao Zhen woke up, his thoughts changed rapidly.
This sudden turn of events made him tremble with shock. Fortunately, the military advisor had just asked him not to get involved in Suzhou's official affairs. If there had been no military advisor, he would have gone to meet those gentry and wealthy businessmen by now.
Coupled with Cao San's incident, the Cao Gang is completely over.
Cao Zhen came to his senses, stood up in a flash, and stood three feet in front of Li Ruolian with his head lowered: "Commander Li, please tell your Majesty that the measures committed by my Cao Gang disciples will be punished. Please accept the punishment." Cao helps our cousins in Suzhou find a way to survive!"
"Whether we are given a way to survive or not is not decided by this commander, but by Your Majesty!"
Li Ruolian took a sip of tea, put the cup on the table, stood up and looked at Cao Zhen: "Let's go, follow my command to see His Majesty!"
"Commander Li, please!"
Cao Zhen didn't hesitate at all. Since Li Ruolian was here, it was not up to him whether he should go or not.
When they reached the pier, the senior officials in the hall had already gathered together. Cao Zhen glanced at everyone: "As I said before, we have been doing things honestly and in a disciplined manner during this period. There must be no problems with the water transportation.
If anyone causes trouble, this hall master will definitely sink him... and personally execute the three swords and six holes!
Before this hall master comes back, please discuss everything in the hall with Mr. Wu and think twice before taking any action!
Remember, if the order from the main hall is different from what the hall master said, do as the hall master says and Mr. Wu will explain it! "
After saying these words, Cao Zhen stepped onto the clipper on the small dock and blended into the night with the hard work of two sailors.
An hour later, Li Ruolian took Cao Zhen, who was full of anxiety, into a mansion.
"Cao Zhen, don't be so nervous, it might be a good thing!"
"Oh, by the way, your nephew Cao San seems to have some connection with Wenxiang Sect!"
After listening to Li Ruolian's words, Cao Zhen staggered and secretly rolled his eyes at Li Ruolian.
I secretly complained in my heart: Damn it, if you don’t know how to chat, don’t talk. It will scare people to death. Can it be a good thing if they are all connected with Wenxiang Sect?
"Commander Li, don't make fun of me. As long as I can let the Caobang brothers go, I will commit suicide!"
"go in!"
Cao Zhen took a deep breath and tried to calm his excited heart. He lifted his stiff legs and mechanically walked into the lobby. Looking at the young man sitting upright in the first seat of the lobby, he knelt down with a bang.
This scene made Chongzhen's eyes twitch. Kneeling like this, he would not be able to walk for at least two or three days. What a tiger!
"The sinner Cao Zhen has come to see His Majesty!"
"Sinful people?"
Chongzhen put down the tea cup and chuckled: "You have a very clear positioning of yourself. Since you are a criminal, let's talk about the crimes you have committed!"
"Bribing officials, lax supervision, and even ganging up on the people to oppress the people, taking advantage of passing merchant ships, suppressing foreign merchants,..."
Cao Zhen was stunned when he opened his mouth. He counted the past in detail. Although the entire Cao Gang had done many wrong things and evil deeds, he himself seemed to have never done anything that violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
It doesn't even count as bribing an official. It can only be said that the official asked for a bribe and he only paid the bribe as a last resort.
But lax supervision can kill him, because many people have died because of this.
