Lu Daoyuan walked out of the inner hall after listening to the voice. When he saw that it was his son, he was a little excited. His parents were traveling not far away, so they must travel well.
There are many benefits to becoming a merchant, but with a low social status and traveling outside all year round, you naturally spend less time with your family.
Lu Daoyuan hugged his son tightly and told each other how much he missed him. Lu Daoyuan's first wife also came out. When she saw her son, she couldn't help but ask questions.
"Hongguang, what were you talking about just now?"
Lu Hongguang said everything he had just said to his wife, and Lu Daoyuan fell silent.
"I also discovered that as some merchants grew up and accumulated a lot of wealth, they became complacent and acted unscrupulously. Although the system established by your Majesty is very good, it has been broken by these people."
Lu Hongguang's eyes lit up, "Then let's put some money in. Can we get involved in the canal's wharf business? I heard that people there are making a lot of money, and making money is just like picking it up?"
"Snapped!"
Xiang'er gave Lu Hongguang a hard fight in front of the two elders.
"You finally came back, why? Can't you wait to pay for our whole family?"
Lu Hongguang looked aggrieved and looked at his parents, hoping to get their support.
But the two of them looked at their noses with their eyes and their minds with their noses. Women in this era had a high status in the family, especially when their natal family was also good, their status was even more powerful.
In a typical house with a mansion, the male owner does his own thing. He can hardly interfere with everything in the inner house. The female owner has the final say on matters such as maids and concubines.
If you dare to pamper your wife and destroy your concubine, you can throw the concubine to someone else and sell it in a minute. After all, those who can be concubines are all slaves and have a contract to sell themselves. If the mistress is more ruthless and is not afraid of her men losing face, If you just sell your concubine to a brothel, no one will say anything.
Of course, there are generally relatively few such strong women. Everyone knows that everything goes well with family, and family scandals should not be publicized in order to survive.
If she really is a little fairy who is bullish on poisonous chicken soup, she might cause some trouble.
Women who can enter merchants or become matrons of large families are naturally smart people. Foolish people who don't even have such a chance may be tricked into becoming a concubine and be pressed to death in a well.
"Why can't I do it when others can do it? I heard some merchants say that the newly promoted merchants are very powerful and have a backing. He is sure to take over the business on the other side of the canal, and it won't be easy for him to do it even if he comes up."
"Pfft!"
"Hahahaha, I'm laughing so hard!"
Xiang'er threw the child directly to her father, holding her stomach and laughing non-stop.
Lu Hongguang looked puzzled, "In your opinion, what should we do?"
After laughing for a while, Xiang'er immediately became serious.
"Wu Anjun has been coming to Yuntong so far. When have you ever seen him suffer a loss?"
"When have you ever seen him afraid of anyone?"
"Back then, the border gates were defeated by the Huns. The people in Tuncheng and Shoucheng were frightened when they heard about the Huns. When Lord Wu An came, he directly destroyed their clan, along with the Jie and Yue clans. They were all destroyed.”
"I heard that some prairie women with plump bodies and high noses are still in brothels. Anyone who comes and gives money can have a good time."
"Goguryeo killed several of our Xia kingdom's caravans. How long has it been since Lord Wu An came back? Have you heard anything about Goguryeo? To die means to have won the battle. To what extent is the victory achieved now? Does anyone know?"
"And there was Mr. Wei Yang back then. Think about it, that man was usually so arrogant that the county guards didn't dare to mess with him. But when Mr. Wu An came, he disappeared immediately. This was what happened when Mr. Wu An didn't become the king."
Xiang'er's mouth was like a machine gun, talking non-stop. Lu Hongguang's mouth twitched sharply. When his wife finished speaking, his head had drooped.
have to say.
Mr. Wu An is too aggressive.
Lu Daoyuan nodded, he fully agreed with the bride's words.
"Yes, Hongguang, Xiang'er is right. Mr. Wu An will do anything to achieve his goals. He has no laws, no rules, and no etiquette in his heart. He speaks with swords and guns."
"I have a feeling that these people who are dancing the most happily will not end well."
Lu Hongguang opened his mouth but said nothing more. After all, everyone in his family objected.
He also heard from others that the dock is very profitable. The cost of water transportation is only one-twentieth of land transportation. This is basically a pure profit, and the waterway is safe.
It's just that there are not many rivers open now, and there aren't many counties and cities he can go to. It's a pity that the counties and cities he mainly sells don't have waterways.
"Master, it's not good, it's not good!"
At this time, the housekeeper rushed in from the door, looking panicked.
Lu Daoyuan frowned.
"Why are you panicking? What happened?"
The housekeeper gasped and said, "The county governor's office has posted a notice saying that from now on merchants' food, clothing, housing and transportation must still be the same as before. That is to say, the children of merchants are still not allowed to serve in official positions, nor can they wear silks and satins on the streets."
"And, and..."
"What else?" Lu Daoyuan was so anxious that he almost shouted.
The housekeeper said aggrievedly, "Several businessmen who cooperated with us have been arrested."
Lu Daoyuan hurriedly came to the housekeeper, grabbed his collar and roared, "Tell me, what's going on."
The butler seemed frightened and answered with a sad face.
"I don't know what happened. I was just shopping in the market when an army suddenly appeared and started arresting people from house to house."
"It is said that some businessmen bribed officials, and even some officials were arrested. I heard that officials on the other side of the canal were also arrested and are being escorted over. Now all these people are being escorted outside the city to await sentencing."
Lu Daoyuan felt his eyes darken, his head was dizzy and he was about to fall down, but luckily he was supported by his son.
"Prepare the car, let's go take a look!"
The housekeeper said with a sad face, "Master, I, we can't make a carriage, it has to be an ox cart or a sheep cart."
Lu Daoyuan slumped on the ground weakly. Suddenly he beat the ground hard, with a sad and angry expression on his face.
"I told them to keep a low profile and not to touch things that don't belong to us. Is that okay now? The whole family will pay for it. Oh, it's my goods."
At this time, Xiang'er's face was also full of shock. She could clearly see the form, but she didn't expect that Lord Wu An would either stay still or move in a shocking way.
Such a huge move, this is the rhythm of wanting to catch them all. With Wu Anjun's strategy, he must have some evidence.
We found a bullock cart, and the whole family got on the cart and headed outside.
A few miles outside the city, furniture and equipment such as the execution platform had already been placed here.
A large number of county soldiers are working hard to maintain order.
The people around included Guizhou leaders, tenant farmers, common people, as well as scholar-bureaucrats, merchants, etc. Although it was said that these people were being judged.
But most people didn't feel it, because these people who were arrested were all unruly.
Even businessmen do not like people who do not follow the rules. If someone does not follow the rules, it means that people who follow the rules will receive unequal treatment.
We are all merchants, why should I be weaker than you? Are you big-faced?
Therefore, almost all businessmen who abide by the rules are full of expectations.
Not long after, dozens of people in white clothes were escorted by soldiers to the execution ground.
At this time, Gao Yushi wore a solemn black official uniform and came to the main seat with a solemn expression and sat down.
"kneel!"
He uttered a word heavily, and before anyone present could react, the soldiers kicked the criminals directly behind their knees, causing almost everyone to kneel on the ground.
Gao Yushi stood up slowly, took out an official document, and read aloud.
"After investigation, we found that three merchants, Xi, Huang, and Li, were arrested. They violated the laws of Yuntong County, bribed officials, bullied the market, and used disguised means to privately purchase other people's land and occupy other people's land."
"According to the decision of the Yuntong County Sheriff's Office, the chief evildoers of the three families of Xi, Huang, and Li will be divided into five oxen, the next most evil will be the head of the owl, and the rest..."
He glanced around and said loudly.
"The rest of the people are used as slave priests. The women are used as prostitutes and the men are slaves. They cannot be forgiven."
When the announcement was finished, everyone present took a breath.
"Damn it, I thought I was cruel enough, but I didn't expect Mr. Wu An to be the cruel one."
"What a ruthless person, let him be killed by a wolf."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, these three families are finished. They will bring shame to our ancestors if we go down."
"Actually, when they first started doing business, their reputation was pretty good. I don't know when it went astray."
"Humph, are you going astray? You cheated me out of two gold coins before, but this time it's a waste!"
"Hey, my food is still stored in Huang's house. It seems that I can't get it back this time!"
When the clan leaders of the other two clans heard this verdict, they almost fainted, and their whole bodies collapsed on the ground like a puddle of mud.
As for the patriarch of the Huang family, his face suddenly turned pale. Thinking that his wife and daughter would become a slave priest, he felt like his whole body was going to explode.
A pair of jade arms and a pillow for thousands of people.
This is a shame~~~!
The head of the Huang family was so angry that he stood up despite the severe pain. When the soldiers wanted to kick him down, they saw Gao Yushi wave his hand, and the soldiers immediately stopped their actions.
"I refuse to accept the verdict. The verdict is unfair."
"Why do you insult us? Why do you want our wives and daughters to bear a sin that is not theirs!"
The Huang family member is nearly forty years old and has a strong body, but now his hair is disheveled, and with the madness on his face, he looks like he wants to eat people.
He looked up to the sky and shouted towards the surroundings.
"Ah~~~Yang Qian, you have to die a good death. Don't think that I don't know about your dirty things. Are your crimes less than mine?"
"Whether I am killing people or setting fires, you have killed more people than me! You, you deserve to die, you are a national thief!!!"
"Yes, I bribed officials, but why don't the officials die, but we have to die? It's unfair, unfair, unfair!!!"
The shouts of the head of the Huang family caused some of the frightened people from the three clans to shout that they were wronged. They knew what would happen next.
But if they can cry out, even if there is only one ten thousandth chance of survival, they don't want to give up, even if they are beaten into slaves, it is better to die than to live.
