Wu Yuanzai had long expected that the two of them would have this attitude. He smiled and nodded, and revealed his true plan for the banquet. He pretended to be deep in thought and said: "What you two adults said is right, but as the saying goes, the army is not ready yet." Food and grass must be used first. It will definitely cost a lot of money to suppress the rebellion by the troops in Shu. How should we solve the problem of money and food supply? Do you two have any good ideas?"
Lu Bin and Fan Zhigu looked at each other and suddenly realized that Magistrate Wu's real purpose of recruiting them was to raise money and food.
He knew clearly that the two of them would not agree to report the Nishikawa rebellion to the imperial court, and by asking this question, he obviously made the two of them speak out and make a fool of themselves.
Because if you want to prepare enough money to support the army, you can only increase taxes on merchants and people. The taxes in Shu are already heavier than those in other places. If you raise taxes again, you may be infamy.
But the two of them had to be evil people, otherwise they would have to report to the court and wait to be dismissed from office.
Fan Zhigu said: "If you want to raise money and food, you can only raise taxes." Lu Bin also echoed.
Wu Yuanzai smiled knowingly when he heard this, and was secretly happy because he could take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune again.
The three of them chatted about other things, and then each went to find a beautiful girl to spend the night with. Of course, Lu Bin must have chosen Miss Luo Lan, the beauty he had been coveting for a long time.
Miss Luo Lan was also happy to be able to hook up with such a high-ranking official, so she followed Lu Bin to the room on the second floor.
At the same time, outside the east gate of Chengdu Prefecture, Yang Yunfan and Chen Zishan finally arrived at Chengdu Prefecture after many days of travel.
Chengdu has a long history. More than 2,000 years ago, King Tai of the Zhou Dynasty named it Chengdu because "it takes one year to form a gathering, two years to form a town, and three years to form a city"; the Shu Han, Cheng Han, Former Shu, and Later Shu regimes were successively established here. All.
Chengdu was very prosperous during the Tang Dynasty and was known as the "Land of Abundance". Chengdu's Shu brocade is famous all over the world. During the Han Dynasty, the Shu brocade weaving industry in Chengdu was already very developed. The imperial court had officials in charge of brocade in Chengdu, so Chengdu was called the "Jin Guan City".
When Yang Yunfan and his wife saw Chengdu Mansion from a distance, they were shocked by the tall city wall. Although it was not as majestic as Bianjing City, it could be considered a high city and a strong city in this southwest place.
The two sighed and walked towards the city gate. The interrogation at the city gate was very strict. After their luggage was searched, the two were interrogated for a long time. It was learned that the two were coming to Chengdu Mansion to look for someone. The guard at the gate did not let them go, but asked them to inform them of the person they were looking for. People come to receive people.
The two looked at each other. They didn't know why the Chengdu Prefecture was so strict in entering the city for interrogation. Yang Yunfan had to step forward and said to the soldiers: "You guys have worked hard. We are the masters of the Wang Pavilion who came to visit Fanyin Pavilion. My name is Yang Yunfan. If you are a few If the military master is suspicious, please go to Fanyin Pavilion and ask."
After a while, the soldier who went to Fanyin Pavilion to inquire and verify came back. Behind him came a carriage. A young man about twenty years old got out of the carriage. This man was well-proportioned, handsome in appearance, and dressed in heaven. Wear a long blue gown and wear a long sword, which shows your extraordinary demeanor.
The man walked over to an officer and soldier guarding the city gate, smiled and spoke, and then pointed at Yang Yunfan from a distance, as if he was explaining something. The officer and soldier waved their hands, indicating that Yang Yunfan and the two could leave, and then the young man walked towards them.
"This is Junior Brother Yang, right? Ye Li, your respected master is Wang Su, the master of Fanyin Pavilion. I have been ordered by my master to come to greet you two." The young man looked at the two of them, and then said to Yang Yunfan.
"Hello, senior brother Ye, I am Yang Yunfan. This is my senior brother Chen Zishan." Yang Yunfan said with a smile and clasped his fists. Chen Zishan on the side also smiled and clasped his fists.
"I wonder how Uncle Wang is feeling these days?" Yang Yunfan asked again.
Ye Li smiled heartily, and then said: "My master is still in good health, but he fought on the battlefield in his early years. Now that he is older, some old injuries often recur, but it is nothing serious."
"Let's go, two junior brothers, let's talk while walking," Ye Li said. After saying that, the three of them took the carriage and left.
After getting on the carriage, Yang Yunfan and Chen Zishan nodded. Yang Yunfan asked, "I wonder if Senior Brother Ye knows why the Chengdu Prefecture's interrogation is so strict? Did something happen?"
"Junior Brother Yang didn't know that there was a hunger riot in Qingcheng County, and the rebels captured Qingcheng County and Pengshan County one after another. Among them, Pengshan County was captured by the rebels Li Ying Wai Wai. So now it is not just Chengdu Prefecture, it is estimated that All the prefectures and counties near Xichuan are very strict in checking the gates entering and exiting the city. This is a lesson learned from the past." Ye Li sighed and said.
Yang Yunfan and Chen Zishan were both shocked when they heard this. Yang Yunfan frowned and said, "Is the situation so serious now? When we passed Zizhou, we heard that there was a severe drought in Xichuan and victims were everywhere. We expected that someone would take the opportunity to cause trouble, but we didn't expect it to be so Seriously, two county towns were actually captured."
"Yes, there are often small rebellions in Xichuan, but I didn't expect it to be so serious this time." Ye Li said.
Chen Zishan on the side frowned and said, "Didn't the imperial court send a large army to conquer? Did they just let the rebellion get worse?"
"Hey, the rebellion has been going on for almost more than a month. Yesterday, the Chengdu Prefecture issued a notice to calm the people, saying that it was mobilizing troops from all over the country to come to Chengdu Prefecture to put down the rebellion. The notice also announced that the "bandit suppression tax" would be collected tomorrow. Farmers and businessmen are complaining again." Ye Li said worriedly.
The two of them were silent when they heard the words. Ye Li also sighed and said no more. In this way, the three of them arrived at Fanyin Pavilion in a short while.
Fanyin Pavilion is located on the west side of Chengdu Mansion. It is a large three-story wooden mortise and tenon structure tall building. More than a dozen high-rise buildings are connected together, connected by corridors.
The carriage stopped in front of the most imposing building in the middle. The three of them got out of the carriage. Yang Yunfan and Chen Zishan looked towards the door in front of the building. They saw a tall and heavy red lacquer door with three gilded characters "Fan Yin Pavilion" written on the door plaque. This must be where the Fanyin Pavilion is.
Yang Yunfan and Chen Zishan followed Ye Li and walked towards the door. When the two strong men at the gate saw Ye Li, they bowed and saluted, but Ye Li just nodded slightly.
The two of them followed Ye Li to the living room, and as soon as they sat down, an attendant served them tea. Ye Li smiled and said to the two of them, "Junior brothers, please wait here for a moment. The master will be here soon."
The two of them also smiled and said yes. The two of them drank tea while admiring the grandeur of the Fanyin Pavilion building.
The place where the Fanyin Pavilion is located is the former site of the Kowloon Association. The Kowloon Association was very prosperous at that time, and the building where the gang lived was very particular in terms of materials and craftsmanship.
After the collapse of the Kowloon Club, Fanyin Pavilion took over the Chengdu Mansion and took over everything in the former Kowloon Club, including this high-rise building and the wine shops, gambling houses, brothels, tea shops, etc. that were once operated by the Kowloon Club.
