Hearing Wang Youqian's words, Li Hao was a little embarrassed, but now he had no other choice, so he had to say: "This is also my fault. Some time ago, someone came to falsely accuse Huainan of colluding with officials and businessmen to sell large quantities of private goods. Salt.
It was he who told us that a huge batch of private salt would pass through Surabaya that day.
So I sent people secretly back to Suqian to set up defenses, so this misunderstanding occurred. "
After hearing Li Hao's words, Wang Youqian also pretended not to know the situation and said, "So that's it. Looking at this situation, Mr. Li also suspects that I am involved."
Li Hao hurriedly explained: "This is because I was deceived by lard, and I mistakenly believed the words of An Lingxu's instigation, that is, the person who falsely accused me. I am really ashamed of Mr. Wang.
It’s hard for me to defend myself here, but you should also understand my difficulty.
This time I was asked to patrol the salt. The officials and senior ministers had high hopes for me. I couldn't do the job without any results, so I rushed to the hospital because of my illness.
I also knew that this move would hurt the hearts of Mr. Wang and Huainan officials, but I was forced to do nothing.
If you don't want to forgive me, I can understand it, so I'll leave now. "
After speaking, he sighed and stood up to leave.
However, Wang Youqian stood up directly to persuade him to stay: "Master Li, what are you talking about? Even if you have some misunderstandings about me, it's just that you were deceived by a gangster.
What is really hateful is the person who sows dissension. How could I blame you?
Since you are now asking for help in person, if I refuse to help, is that worthy of our friendship? "
Hearing this, Li Hao complained in his heart, what kind of friendship do we have? I want to catch you, but you want to cheat my friendship.
Of course, I still had to pretend to be very moved on my face, and said with emotion: "Master Wang is willing to help regardless of previous suspicions. This friendship is really touching to me.
When I catch the guy who is inciting dissension, I will definitely bring him to you and deal with him personally.
Speaking of which, that man was from the same hometown as me, so I never thought that he would come to sow discord. It was really hateful. "
Wang Youqian on the side heard this and his heart skipped a beat. It seemed that he wanted An Lingxu to hide deeper first so as not to be found by Li Hao.
Of course, if Li Hao really finds it, then Wang Youqian can only hope that he will be lucky.
Although An Lingxu helped Wang Yougan, Wang Youqian didn't want to really break up with Li Hao because of him.
So if he was really caught, he would probably have no choice but to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors.
Pretending to be pretentious, Wang Youqian also cursed a few words along with Li Hao, and then said: "Since it is confirmed that this matter is a misunderstanding, why don't we go to Suqian together and settle this matter."
Hearing this, Li Hao expressed his gratitude, and then the two of them took the people to Suqian.
Since Wang Youqian has come forward in person, there will be no problem in handling the matter.
However, just to show off, Li Hao still scolded Ye Sheng in front of everyone.
Yang Wenyuan's words were so fierce that he didn't even try to persuade him. He gave relief to the officials who were transporting grain, and then he was finally persuaded by Wang Youqian.
After that, the grain transport ship continued to set off, and Li Hao gathered all the people from the Dianqian Division in front of Wang Youqian and took them back to Chuzhou.
….
Even as a show of goodwill, after arriving in Chuzhou, Li Hao directly borrowed the barracks of the Chuzhou Forbidden Army and let Yang Wenyuan lead his people to live in it directly.
This move also made Wang Youqian and the others more satisfied, and they all felt that they understood Li Hao's intention to compromise.
So after two more days of rest, Wang Youqian invited Li Hao out to have a drink alone, and during the dinner the matter of the Lianghuai Salt Tax was brought up intentionally or unintentionally.
Li Hao didn't understand what Wang Youqian wanted to express for a while, but he still complained out of habit: "Master Wang also knows how much the officials and the princes attach great importance to the Lianghuai Salt Tax.
I came here with an errand this time. If I can’t handle it well, I don’t know what will happen after I return to Beijing. "
After saying that, he sighed repeatedly, looking sad.
An unbearable look.
Wang Youqian comforted him and said, "What Mr. Li said, you have saved the current emperor after all and are a confidant of the official family. This is just an errand that was not done well, it doesn't matter.
Moreover, no matter how many people have come to check the Huaihe salt tax, they have not found anything. It is not a sin if you can't find it. "
Li Hao said: "Although I say this, in the eyes of the officials, it is still unfavorable to do things."
After hearing this, Wang Youqian did not make any detours, but directly introduced the topic and said: "In that case, if I can help Mr. Li complete this matter, how can you thank me."
As soon as these words came out, Li Hao knew that the real drama was coming, and he was really curious. How much blood would Wang You and the others be willing to pay to let him handle the matter?
So he asked, "What does Mr. Wang mean by this? I'm sorry I don't understand."
Wang Youqian replied: "Actually, since I took office, I have always been concerned about the Lianghuai Salt Tax. After I have conducted thorough rectifications and investigations over the years.
Now it can be considered as a result, roughly 1.5 million taels of tax silver have been paid, and in addition to this, an additional 600,000 taels of tax silver can be collected every year.
Originally, I was going to look into this matter and sort it out before reporting it.
But since Mr. Li needs it now, I will give this achievement to Mr. Li. "
Hearing this, Li Hao was really surprised. This amount was completely beyond Li Hao's expectation. They were doing a lot of bloodletting.
It was at this point that Li Hao had some doubts about the figures he had calculated in Bianjing.
Being able to be so generous, I always feel that these salt merchants earn more, which is really hateful.
But on the surface, after Li Hao was surprised, he immediately became overjoyed and said, "This is your achievement. How can I be greedy for credit? This is really inappropriate."
Wang Youqian said: "There is no need to be so polite between you and me. To be honest, I fell in love with you at first sight when we first met.
I am crazy about how much older you are, so as a senior I should help you. "
Hearing this, Li Hao quickly picked up the wine glass and said: "Master Wang has been so kind to me, I really don't know how to repay you, so I will toast you first, everything is in the wine."
After saying that, they drank it all in one gulp, and then the two of them exchanged glasses and had a good time, until Li Hao became extremely drunk and was sent back to his residence.
After arriving at his residence, Li Hao sobered up and asked someone to cook some sobering soup.
But as soon as the hangover soup was served, Yang Wenyuan and Ye Sheng came over and said, "Everything is going against us now, and you don't want to think of a solution.
….
Instead, you got drunk with their people. What on earth do you want to do? Is this salt tax issue still under investigation? "
After hearing this, Li Hao took a few sips of the hangover soup to calm down.
Said: "The matter has been settled today! This year they will pay 1.5 million taels in back taxes, and they promised to pay an additional 600,000 taels in taxes every year."
Hearing this, the two looked at each other in shock. In the end, Yang Wenyuan was the first to react and said: "Then what should we do next? Just compromise with them."
Li Hao asked: "Now we have nothing, how do you want to check.
And don't think that the previous matter will be solved in this way. As long as the batch of military rations is not transported to the army and eaten, this matter will eventually be the handle. "
As a result, Yang Wenyuan fell silent after hearing this, not knowing how to answer.
Li Hao didn't let them have any idea, and said: "Forget it, this time I came to patrol the salt, after all, I gained something. In addition to what I found earlier, I can recover nearly 4 million taels of salt tax."
With this, I can deal with the imperial court without returning empty-handed.
Next, I will implement this matter with them, and you should also make some general preparations. Then we will return to Yangzhou together and tell others the news by the way. "
In the following days, Li Hao and Wang Youqian wrote a memorial together, agreed on the specific matters, and sent them to Bianjing.
In the next few days, the relationship between Li Hao and the officials improved immediately. After several days of drinking and drinking, Li Hao could hardly bear it anymore.
During this period, the supervisor in charge of cargo affairs saw that Li Hao had been roped in, so he said to Wang Youqian: "Sir Wang, now our private salt to Hebei can be shipped, and now the private salt to other places can be shipped as well." , we have too many hoards.
Moreover, the agreed time is coming very soon, so it’s hard to delay. "
Wang Youqian thought for a while and said: "Wait for two more days, and wait until Li Hao returns to Yangzhou with his troops before arranging the departure."
Upon hearing this, the supervisor in charge of cargo affairs first thought that Li Hao had a problem and asked, "Is it possible that there is another problem with Li Hao?"
Wang Youqian explained: "That's not true, but we don't know much about him after all. It's good to be careful. If you are in a hurry, you don't care about the past two or three days."
When I thought that this was indeed the case, I decided to start my fortune after Li Hao left, but this time it would not be 150,000 shi.
Together with the private salt to be transported to other places, an additional 70,000 shi were added, for a total of 220,000 shi to be shipped out.
Then he returned to Li Hao and stayed in Chuzhou for the last three days. Then he was sent off by Wang Youqian and a group of officials and set foot on the road back to Yangzhou.
After returning to Yangzhou, because Jin Chaozhong had already led his people to set up a barracks outside Yangzhou City, Yang Wenyuan and Ye Sheng took their people directly to meet them.
At the same time, they were still angry in their hearts and did not want to go to Yangzhou City to show off, so only Li Hao could speak about this matter.
After hearing the news, basically everyone was happy, happy that the matter was finally resolved, and happy that part of the salt tax issue was recovered.
They don't care about the specific process. The final result of the reaction is good. Based on this, they will definitely be rewarded by the court after returning to Beijing.
….
Cai Xiang, who had a lot of opinions about this, could not express his opinions due to previous events.
So the matter was settled like this, and then Li Hao deliberately thought of ways to reward him in order to appease the soldiers' morale.
Taking advantage of the situation, Wang Yougan and the others were given the opportunity to see with their own eyes the true situation of the Dianqian Division, which reassured them.
After doing this, Li Hao was completely idle and had nothing to do. He could only hope that Zhang Fu would bring him good news, otherwise he would really have no choice but to return to Bianjing in despair. .
Soon, Li Hao got the news from Caobang and determined that a large amount of illegal salt would be shipped out in three days.
But Li Hao is now more prepared, so what happened last time may happen again.
Li Hao could only ask them to verify whether it was really an affair this time while ensuring safety.
However, in this matter, Li Hao would be closely watched by Wang Yougan's people, so Li Hao simply asked them to inform Zhang Fu instead of notifying him directly after they got the news.
All I need to do is notify you as soon as the results come out.
After the others left, Li Hao began to feel a little nervous, fearing that something would happen again this time.
However, on the surface, Li Hao could only pretend to be nonchalant in order to confuse Wang You into killing them.
In the midst of this suffering, when the time came for the first day after the private salt was launched, Li Hao was restless waiting for news in the mansion.
Fortunately, in order to mobilize manpower in time that day, Yang Wenyuan, Jin Chaozhong and Ye Sheng were also called over.
As a result, the three of them were really surprised when they looked at Li Hao's appearance, until Yang Wenyuan couldn't help but said: "You have hemorrhoids, why can't you sit still?"
Li Hao replied: "You just have hemorrhoids. I am in good health."
Yang Wenyuan didn't dwell on this, but continued to ask: "You called the three of us here today, and you didn't tell us what we were going to do. You just asked us to sit here."
Li Hao said: "I'll find out later if I need you to do anything. Now I'll wait here."
The three of them were even more confused when they said this, but since Li Hao didn't say anything and wouldn't let anyone leave, they had no choice but to wait in the house.
As a result, after waiting like this, until three quarters of noon, there was still no news. Li Hao felt that this was the case.
Has it failed?
At this time, a loud sound of horse hooves sounded outside the house, and Li Hao quickly asked Fu Deng to go out and take a look.
Afterwards, Fu Deng brought two people in, one of whom was from Caogang, and the other Li Hao did not recognize.
I just heard this man say: "Reporting to your lord, I am the commander of the Forbidden Army in the Lingzhou Province, and it was Lord Cao who asked me to deliver the message.
We have seized all private salt boats and temporarily blocked the entire river to ensure that no one can escape.
And asked me to come and see the adults to see what the next step should be. "
After saying that, he handed over Zhang Fu's handwriting and briefly introduced some situations.
Of course, except for Li Hao, the other three people were all shocked.
But Li Hao had no time to pay attention to them for the time being. He asked while watching, "Have you found out whether the ship is full of illegal salt and how much there is."
The visitor reported back: "We sent people to randomly check all the ships. We can be sure that they are all illegal salt, but these salts are all imported.
….
Based on what we learned during the interrogation and our rough calculations, the amount of illegal salt this time should be no less than 200,000 shi. "
Upon hearing this, Li Hao was really relieved and said: "More than 200,000 shi of private salt have been cited. Originally, I was still looking for an excuse, but now it's ready."
Next, Li Hao asked why he arrived so late.
The visitor replied: "In order to hide the time for a longer period of time, my general set the place of arrest behind Xiapi, so he came a little late."
Seeing that there should be no questions, Li Hao said to Yang Wenyuan: "I know you three have a lot of questions to ask, but there is no time now."
After saying that, he assigned tasks: "Jin Chaozhong, you directly lead a battalion to take over the defense of Yangzhou, and all officials related to the salt road are detained pending trial.
Ye Sheng, you also led two battalions to Tongzhou and Taizhou, and also wanted to detain all officials related to the salt road pending trial.
Wenyuan, go directly to the governor of Lingzhou and ask him to give you some people to detain salt road officials from Haizhou and Lianshui armies pending trial.
As for myself, I took the remaining two battalions directly to Chuzhou. This time it was their turn to cry. "
Afterwards, Li Hao thought of Sheng Hong and the others, and said, "By the way, I'll call Judge Cai and the others. You and Ye Sheng will bring a few each to the court, and ask them to help handle local affairs to avoid trouble." What a mess.
I will bring the rest of them to Chuzhou. After Wenyuan has completed the investigation of the Haizhou and Lianshui armies, I will transfer people from Chuzhou. "
After giving the instructions, Li Hao ordered people to invite Sheng Hong and others.
It was during this process that someone from Lingzhou said: "My general estimates that you may need manpower, so I have prepared several battalions of troops at the border of Lingzhou and Haizhou, and you can call on them at any time."
Hearing this, Li Hao couldn't help but said: "You are very thoughtful when you come to General, so you know this position."
The visitor replied: "I know the location. My general told me."
Li Hao then changed his plan and said, "In that case, Wen Yuan, you go over with this person and use the troops and horses."
Then Jin Chaozhong left first to arrest the criminals in Yangzhou and control the situation.
When Sheng Hong and others arrived, Li Hao briefly explained the situation. Everyone was dumbfounded and didn't understand how the plot changed so quickly.
Learn from knowledge to power
