This visit to the British Duke's residence went smoothly. At least in front of the guests outside, the British Duke and Duchess did not say anything, but were all smiles.
Especially when receiving the betrothal gift, being specifically pointed out as a reward from the official family not only made the guests present envious, but also brought a lot of face to the Zhang family.
But in private, after completing the previous process, the British official also called Li Hao and said: "You want to go south to investigate the salt tax. The officials have already told me.
You want to serve the country, I shouldn't say anything more.
But if you want to use this as an excuse to treat my daughter lightly based on the trust of the government, that won't work. "
Li Hao quickly explained: "You have wronged me. I swear to God, I have never thought like this.
This trip to the south for salt inspection was simply because it was more suitable for me to go, and I chose this time just to assist the great ministers in their reform efforts. "
"If you really think so, that's fine, otherwise no one in my family can bully you." After the lesson, the British father-in-law said again: "My family will discuss your wedding date with your mother, and it will be set when you return to Beijing. Will do it later.
Now that you have accepted the conscription, we can be regarded as sons-in-law. I know that when you go south this time, you will dispatch the people in front of the palace to accompany you.
There is no problem in terms of safety, but there are some things they do that may not be appropriate. "
After saying that, he called a man in from the backyard. He looked to be about forty-five or sixty-six years old.
Li Haozheng was curious about who this was, so he heard the British Duke introduce him: "This is the personal guard who has been following me, Zhang Fu.
This time I asked him to go south with you. There are some people I know well in the command camp in the south. If you need someone to help, you can ask Zhang Fu to find them. "
Hearing this, Li Hao was quite flattered. He didn't expect that he would be able to enjoy the blessings of his father-in-law before he officially got married.
Of course, Li Hao could also understand that this person was probably the one the British government wanted to keep by his side and inquire about his information.
But Li Hao didn't intend to refuse. Anyway, he had nothing to hide, and this would indeed help him complete his errands better.
So I was ready to thank him, but I had a problem with how to address him. In this situation, it seemed a bit bad to call him the British Duke. After all, he had just said that he would be the father-in-law from now on.
But calling my father-in-law directly seems a bit too early.
Now there was no time for Li Hao to think too much, so he simply said shamelessly: "Then I would like to thank my father-in-law for your help and finish the errand as soon as possible."
As a result, the British Duke's face froze when he heard this. Perhaps he didn't expect Li Hao to change his tune so suddenly, and he looked at Li Hao hard.
Then he left without saying anything, leaving only Li Hao and Zhang Fu.
At this time, Zhang Fu stepped forward and said, "I'd like to pay my respects to my uncle. The Duke of Guo has already told me about the matter and asked me to follow your instructions all the way."
Regarding the old man in the Duke's mansion, Li Hao couldn't pretend to be arrogant and said quickly: "You are always polite. You are a person who has been with the Duke all the way through life and death. I can't say whether to give orders or not."
It's just that I'm not very familiar with the local situation, so I need your help. "
After hearing this, Zhang Fu also said a few polite words, and then asked: "Then how about the specific arrangements for me, how about you decide first."…
Li Hao said: "Okay, then I'm not polite, that's what I think.
This time when I go south, there will definitely be people around me, and it may be inconvenient to find out the news.
So I want you to take the first step, go directly to Yangzhou, and help me find out the real situation there in the dark. We will meet directly in Yangzhou. What do you think? "
Zhang Fu agreed immediately: "Then do as my uncle said, and I will go to Yangzhou in advance tomorrow.
After my uncle arrives in Yangzhou, I will try to find a way to contact you. "
After Li Hao thanked him, he left and returned to the front hall.
After Li Hao left, the British father-in-law appeared in the room again and asked Zhang Fu, "After talking to him, what do you think of him?"
Zhang Fu
Said: "From the conversation just now, we can see that our new uncle is quite clever and not an ordinary person.
Moreover, she is kind to others in her words, and does not have a arrogant temperament, which is a good match for our girl. "
The British Duke was silent for a moment and said: "It takes time to see people's hearts. This time when we go south, you will help me watch over him.
If there is really any problem, it will always be revealed after such a long time. When the time comes, please note it down and tell me when you come back. "
After the explanation, the British Duke asked him to go down and prepare so that he could leave on time.
By the time Li Hao returned to the front hall, the reception of guests was almost complete. When Mr. Wei came out of the backyard, Li Hao's family returned to their mansion.
However, on the carriage, Li Hao saw that Wei's face was not good-looking all the way. He thought something happened at the British government palace, so he motioned to ask Li Jian.
But Li Jian also spread his hands, saying that he didn't know what happened.
Until finally Li Hao and the others entered the mansion and sat down in the inner courtyard, Mrs. Wei said to Li Hao: "Look what you have done. Today the British father-in-law pulled me into the back room to talk.
The words were quite aggrieved, saying that the marriage had been decided, the two families were communicating comfortably, and the date had already been set.
As a result, you were about to leave suddenly and put the marriage on hold. She asked if our family felt that their family was doing something wrong.
He also said that their family would definitely add a lot of dowry to the girl this time, and hoped that we would not treat their daughter lightly. He did not say anything bad about our family in the whole article, but it made me really embarrassed.
In the end, it was their girl who helped you say a few words, and I was able to live with it. "
Li Hao replied: "The British father-in-law and his wife naturally love their daughter so much, so don't worry too much about her mother.
But listening to what her mother said, this Zhang Guifen was quite reasonable. I thought that when she came into the house, her mother would be able to talk to her.
In fact, the British father-in-law also came to me today and asked about this matter. But when I explained the situation, he did not mean to embarrass me. Instead, he sent his confidants to go south with me to help. "
After hearing this, Li Jian looked to appease Mrs. Wei: "Yes, you see, this shows that the British father-in-law still agrees with this matter, but now it is just that the British father-in-law is passionate about his daughter and has some complaints.
This is normal. In the future, if you go to the British government office more often and talk things over, everything will be fine. "
Hearing this, Wei didn't say anything. ….
So next, Li Hao returned to the yard and started preparing for the trip. After all, this trip was not short and he had to bring a lot of things.
Fortunately, this time it was not a march, so Li Hao took Fu Deng with him and asked him to clean up for him.
In addition, Li Hao will also bring the Caogang people. After all, they all rely on water transportation, and they have also done the work of private salt transportation.
It's just that the people involved in the private salt business are not the group of people from Shitou's brother and sister-in-law, otherwise the settlement of the private salt would probably be smoother this time.
The purpose of bringing the people from the Cao Gang this time is to use their methods to get information, and to see if they can take this opportunity to get rid of the bad apples in the Cao Gang so that they can be controlled in the future.
Of course, Li Hao did not let them all act together. Instead, after selecting the candidates, he left one person behind for easy contact while the others went south first.
Just waiting for his call in Yangzhou, these people were left as backup just like Zhang Fu.
On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, according to the itinerary planned in advance, Li Hao led a group of people on a salt patrol trip south.
The first stop of this salt patrol was Li Hao's hometown of Yangzhou. Of course, the reason for choosing this destination was not that Li Hao wanted to show off in his hometown.
But today's salt is mainly divided into decomposed salt, well salt and sea salt.
Among them, Jieyan is produced on Hedong Road and is mainly supplied to the areas west of Henan, Hebei, Cao and Pu and east of Qinfeng;
Well salt is produced near Fulu Road in Chengdu and supplied to Yizhou, Zizhou, Lizhou and Qianzhou Roads.
The rest is the sea salt produced in the Lianghuai River and is supplied to other parts of the country.
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Therefore, it is obvious that the sea salt from Lianghuai and Xiezhou accounted for the largest proportion in the country. Together, they accounted for 70% of the salt production in the Song Dynasty.
Of the 70%, Jianghuai accounted for more than 40%, which is equivalent to clearing the salt in the two Huaihe Rivers, which is equivalent to clearing nearly half of the country's salt tax.
Although it is actually called the Lianghuai Salt Fields, in fact the salt fields are all located on Huainan East Road. After all, Huainan West Road is the central part of Anhui, northeastern Hubei and southeastern Henan in later generations. Those places are all inland areas and are not salt production areas.
Not to mention the salt merchants, none of the famous Huizhou merchants in this era officially emerged.
These two Huai salt fields are located on Huainan West Road in Tongzhou (Nantong), Chuzhou (Huai'an), Taizhou, Haizhou (Lianyungang), and Lianshui Army (Lianshui). They have 23 salt fields under their jurisdiction, with a yearly output of up to More than 33 million kilograms.
Therefore, the big salt merchants selling Huai salt are basically concentrated in Yangzhou, the capital of Huainan West Road. This is the reason why Li Hao came to Yangzhou first.
Of course, in addition to this, returning home in glory is also a purpose. After all, Yangzhou is also Li Hao's basic base.
Li Hao's family bought their house in Yangzhou from a salt merchant.
In addition, and more importantly, Li Hao's partner Cheng Shi has made a lot of money through soap and soap business in recent years, and is well-known in the Yangzhou business community.
Especially in the past two years, with the momentum of Li Hao getting promoted to a higher position, and relying on this relationship, he has also gained something in other aspects.
Of course, what Cheng Shi did was measured, so Li Haocai didn't say anything.
However, since he borrowed Li Hao's help, now it's time to use Cheng Shi's help. ….
It was precisely because of these layers of arrangements that Li Hao was confident that he could successfully complete his salt inspection mission.
Of course, it is a pity that Gu Tingye was not brought here this time. Otherwise, the Yangzhou Bai family was a big salt merchant, and it would have been much easier to do the investigation if they took the lead.
Just at night, when Li Hao was planning this alone, he heard Fu Deng reporting that Sheng Hong had come to discuss how to investigate the salt tax.
Li Hao was a little curious. Sheng Hong had some insight, so he let him in.
Li Hao asked: "My uncle said that he wanted to discuss the salt tax. Did he have anything in mind?"
Just listen to Sheng Hong reply: "My nephew should be very aware of the huge amount of salt tax lost by the court every year.
This much salt would never be possible without official support.
Although most of the Lianghuai salt merchants were in Yangzhou, it was actually far more than Yangzhou officials who were implicated.
This matter involved the Salt and Iron Department, Shipping Department, and Cargo Affairs Department in Bianjing. Locally, it also involved the Transshipment Department and local officials from various places. This matter is not easy to investigate. "
Li Hao knew that Sheng Hong would definitely not let him go, and there must be a reason for saying this.
Then he asked: "We don't need to worry about Bianjing's affairs. As long as we get the evidence, the two Grand Prime Ministers and the Grand Scholar Ouyang will directly arrest people in Bianjing and will never tolerate it.
As for Yangzhou, my uncle has rebelled here for several years. I wonder if he has anything to teach me. "
Sheng Hong said: "When I was working as a general judge in Yangzhou, I actually heard some rumors about this.
There are three main aspects of illegal salt production in Lianghuai.
One is the salt field, one is transportation, and the other is salt diversion. The transportation problem comes from the Transshipment Department. This is why I reminded you in Bianjingzhong. "
Hearing this, Li Hao happened to ask: "Uncle, please tell me clearly what is wrong with this transportation department."
Sheng Hong explained: "I once heard that before the salt shipped from the salt field begins to be transshipped, a portion of it will be withheld and given directly to merchants for sale."
Li Hao wondered: "Isn't this right? The salt must have been weighed before being transported. Isn't it wrong to deduct part of the weight?"
After hearing this, Sheng Hong continued to explain: "Right, what's wrong with the weight? Then just add something to it.
So some people were responsible for mixing impurities such as sediment into table salt to ensure that
The weight is correct.
In the meantime, the salt was transported from the salt fields in Tongzhou, Taizhou, and Chuzhou to Zhenzhou, and then from Zhenzhou to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jing, Hu, and other places. If the officials, boatmen, and soldiers along the way wanted to intervene, the opportunity would be too great. too much. "
Hearing this, Li Hao wondered: "Isn't it possible that no one will take care of this blatant behavior?"
Sheng Hong said: "Those who want to control have no right to control, and those who have the right to control do not want to control. Who do you want to control?"
And if you really want to take control, you have to have evidence. These things all happened on the water, and this evidence is not easy to find.
Even if the troops under your command are stronger than the local salt-carrying troops, they will still be able to function on the water.
You know, if they were really pushed into a hurry, they would sink the ship directly and report it as a loss on the rocks. This evidence would be gone. "
After hearing this, Li Hao already believed that what Sheng Hong said was probably the truth. But if Yan Fu's father was really found out, how would he deal with Yan Fu? ….
Li Hao couldn't think of an answer for a while, so he didn't think about it for the time being.
Then he asked: "Except for the transportation department, are you clear about the issues of salt reactors and salt fields?"
Sheng Hong replied: "I have good contact with these two, but I don't know the specific situation.
But I have visited the salt field, and the situation there is really not good. You will know after you go there for yourself.
In that case, it is absolutely possible for salt households to unite to store salt privately and sell it to private salt dealers. "
Hearing this, Li Hao also understood that Sheng Hong came here today to explain Yan Fu's affairs to him in detail, so as not to have any grudges.
Then the two discussed the problem again and then went to rest.
Every day after that, Li Hao would organize everyone to discuss when he had time to find out which way would be more effective.
In the end, we discussed a few plans, but in the end we got a place and decided to use them as we saw them.
There was no need to discuss things anymore, so the rest of the journey passed very leisurely. After half a month of wandering, the group finally arrived outside Yangzhou City.
Before they even entered the city, they discovered that there was already a row of officials standing outside the city, and they hadn't even seen their faces clearly yet.
Just by looking at the clothes, you can tell that there are not only local officials from Yangzhou, but also officials from the Transportation Department who have come from Chuzhou.
So Li Hao couldn't help but sigh, these people were probably staring at him early in the morning and had been paying attention to the itinerary of his group.
Sure enough, as soon as Li Hao and the others approached, they saw a group of officials coming to greet them.
The leader should be Wang Youqian, the current transfer envoy of Huainan West Road, and he is also Li Hao's biggest opponent this time. .
Learn from knowledge to power
