I saw a ship with sails hanging on their side, hitting them head-on.
This happened suddenly. Originally, Yang Tinglin glanced at the river and recognized that the boat was heading downstream like them. I just don’t know why, but the steering wheel suddenly turned and it came across.
It was too late when I discovered it. Mainly, no one expected that such a thing would happen. There was only a loud "bang" sound, and the ship just hit the side of the official ship.
"Plop, plop"
On the bow of the ship, many people were caught off guard and fell into the river one after another when the official ship was violently shaken by the impact.
But Yang Tinglin himself, after all, came out of the battlefield, and his skills were not comparable to those of ordinary civil servants. He immediately ducked down and firmly grasped the side of the ship. He did not fall off, but only got a big bump on his head.
The hull of the boat was also damaged and was swaying on the river.
"What's going on?" The people in the cabin were shocked and rushed out one after another. They were relieved to see that Yang Tinglin was okay.
Panic could also be heard on the ship that collided with it. Some people were still shouting, "It's hit Mr. Guan's ship. It's terrible, it's hit Mr. Guan's ship!"
Yang Tinglin didn't care about anything else at this time. He looked at his men rushing over from the boat and immediately ordered them: "Someone has fallen into the water. Rescue him quickly."
At this moment, the boat that caused the accident, instead of rescuing people, turned around and fled downstream quickly. A clear voice came over: "Run quickly, if you are caught by the official, you will definitely pay with your life!"
Yang Tinglin heard the sound and turned around to look, only to see that the ship had sailed away, filled up the sails, and was sailing away.
Seeing this situation, Yang Tinglin couldn't help but become furious. After a collision with a boat, several people fell into the river. Instead of rescuing them, they immediately ran away?
What made him even more angry was that the people on the boat never got on the deck, that is, they didn't show their faces. The boat was not special and difficult to identify.
Yang Tinglin's men were naturally equally angry and shouted loudly to the other side: "You hit the boat and you still want to run away?"
"Hurry up and save people, someone fell into the water!"
"..."
However, their shouting was of no use. The boat didn't stop at all and got further and further away.
If we want to save people here, it is impossible to chase the boat. We can only watch the boat escape.
"Sir, the people on the boat just now spoke with a southern Fujian accent. They must be from Fujian!"
"Yes, I also heard it. He was from Fujian, but he ran away after the boat hit him!"
"..."
At this time, it was not the time to pursue the ship, so Yang Tinglin could only organize people to rescue people. On the river, other passing boats saw the situation here, and instead came over to lend a helping hand.
However, among the several people who fell into the river, only one who knew how to swim was rescued. The other people were all washed away by the river and no one knows where they went.
Yang Tinglin's official ship was also seriously damaged, so he was transferred to the rescue ship.
Everyone was very angry about the ship that escaped just now.
Of course Yang Tinglin was no exception, and immediately ordered: "After docking, track the ship along the way. The bow of the ship is also damaged, so it is easy to identify."
After landing, Yang Tinglin and his party could no longer continue to Changshu County. The men who fell into the water are still looking for them. Yang Tinglin is also injured, so he will stay in Changzhou Mansion for the time being.
On the Changshu County side, Zhang Pu certainly did not wait. He showed up in person and explained at the gate of the county government office that the emperor's decree originally had a lower limit of one hundred acres of grain fields. In addition, he also asked Pan Xiuwen and other local officials to come forward to explain to the people and scholars of Changshu.
Naturally, Pan Xiuwen and others could not disbelieve this like ordinary people, because they had received the imperial newspaper and it was written in black and white.
With the Dongchang fanmen watching from the side, Pan Xiuwen and others did not dare to play any tricks, so they had to go out and explain to the common people and scholars that there was indeed a lower limit of one hundred acres of grain fields. This time, the inspectors are inspecting families with more than 100 acres of grain fields. These are the same people who need to pay dues in arrears.
To the relief of Zhang Pu and others who were paying attention to the development of the situation, the explanations provided by the county magistrate, county magistrate, chief registrar and others were finally helpful, and the situation immediately eased.
However, what they didn't expect was that soon, another fake newspaper began to circulate outside, which did not mention the lower limit of one hundred acres of grain fields. Moreover, there are rumors among the people that even if there is a minimum limit of one hundred acres of grain fields, it is only temporary. After harvesting more than one hundred acres of grain fields, everyone will be harvested first. If you don’t resist now, it will be too late to resist later.
As a result, the situation slowly began to become tense again.
It's like someone is competing, you make a move, I make a move, it just depends on who is better.
Regarding this, Zhang Pu knew very well that Qian Qianyi was definitely behind it. The current situation is such that it is difficult for a strong dragon to defeat a local snake!
This was not going to work. Zhang Pu finally decided to force Pan Xiuwen to come forward and pressure him to clarify the situation. At the same time, he ordered him to arrest those who spread rumors outside within a time limit.
Pan Xiuwen was worried about this matter at first, but he had no choice but to agree under the pressure of the Dongchang servants.
However, when he did it, he acted vigorously and immediately sent out government officials to patrol the streets. If he saw anyone talking about the matter, he immediately took him to the county government prison.
One, two, three...
In just one day, Pan Xiuwen arrested nearly a hundred people and sent them to the county jail.
As a result, there was no longer talk about this matter outside, but a very bad atmosphere began to spread,
Jiang Dong keenly discovered that the matter of arresting people, as Zhang Pu said before, not only did not alleviate the situation, but actually made the situation more serious. When he walked to the street, everyone who looked at them looked at them with hatred. .
what to do? Release him?
Pan Xiuwen disagreed and told Zhang Pu that these people were indeed spreading rumors. If they were released, it would increase their arrogance and they would definitely continue to spread rumors after they left.
As a last resort, Zhang Pu had to write a letter to the prefect of Suzhou and ask him to mobilize troops.
Changshu County is under the jurisdiction of Suzhou Prefecture. There are few soldiers in Changshu County, but as a superior prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture definitely has troops stationed there. But in the past, the Suzhou riots occurred in Suzhou Fucheng. Therefore, it is unclear whether this letter for help is of any use.
To Zhang Pu's surprise, Suzhou Mansion responded quickly, but someone arrived on the morning of the third day. He said to the officer at the door: "Is Zhang Xunjian inside? We are here on the orders of the Suzhou Prefecture Magistrate. Please inform us."
There was a Dongchang officer standing behind the door. When he heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. He quickly went out and took a look, and found that there was just a man dressed as a head catcher and about a dozen catchers, and no army was seen.
So, when the yamen officer reported inside, the Dongchang officer asked curiously: "Why are you the only ones? Where are the troops sent?"
"Army?" The catcher looked a little confused when he heard that. When he saw that the person in front of him was the Dongchang officer who was asking the question, he clasped his fists and reported, "I don't know, but here is a letter from the prefect. I will meet Zhang later." Lord Inspector, you should believe that it is said in it.”
While he was talking, he saw Zhang Pu striding towards the door, surrounded by Jiang Dong and others, with a hint of excitement and a little bit of relaxation on his face.
Before the person reached the door, he had already asked loudly: "Which leader came to help?"
As soon as he finished saying this, Zhang Pu saw the situation at the door and couldn't help but be startled. There was no army as he imagined, only some policemen.
When the catcher saw Zhang Pu, he knew that the real owner had arrived, so he took out a letter from his arms, presented it with both hands, and said it was a reply from the prefect.
The Dongchang superintendent next to him immediately stepped forward and handed it over to Zhang Pu. When he saw Zhang Pu, he opened it at the door and took a quick look at it.
At this time, everyone was looking at Zhang Pu, but they saw him scanning his eyes. Soon, his face darkened. It was obvious that the news in the letter was not good.
Zhang Pu casually handed the letter to Jiang Dong beside him, then turned around and walked inside with a gloomy face.
Jiang Dong took it and took a look, but the prefect of Suzhou Prefecture said that Changshu County was just complaining in the streets and it was no big deal. If troops were sent rashly and a civil uprising was triggered, no one could afford such consequences.
However, Zhang Xunyi repeatedly emphasized that there were people who spread rumors and tampered with the decree, so we should only arrest these people with ulterior motives. To this end, he sent an experienced head catcher to assist Zhang Xunjian.
On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this letter. At least from the perspective of the prefect of Suzhou Prefecture, what he said is reasonable. However, in fact, the situation in Changshu County is already very serious. Just sending a dozen or so police officers, what's the use? No wonder Zhang Pu turned around and left with a gloomy look on his face.
…
The news that police officers were coming from Suzhou Prefecture also reached Qian Qianyi immediately.
When Hou Fangyu heard this, he immediately showed admiration, looked at Qian Qianyi and praised: "As expected by Mr. Yushan, Zhang Pu can't bring the army, haha!"
Qian Qianyi felt slightly proud after hearing this, stroking his gray beard and saying nothing.
The prefect of Suzhou Prefecture's ability to secure his position here is of course related to Qian Qianyi. After he heard that Zhang Pu sent people to Suzhou, he had already sent a letter to him, and the result was obvious.
After Hou Fangyu laughed for a while, he asked Qian Qianyi: "To prevent long nights and long dreams, when should we take action?"
"What should we do?" Qian Qianyi shook his head after hearing this and said, "What should we do? The public's anger has not yet reached its peak. When it reaches its peak, it will naturally explode. What are you anxious about?"
Hou Fangyu was stunned at first, but after hearing it, he suddenly understood and nodded in agreement.
"The coming of Suzhou Mansion is an opportunity. I believe it's almost over!" After Qian Qianyi finished speaking calmly, he stood up and said, "I'm taking a nap for a while. It's nothing serious, so don't disturb me!"
Hou Fangyu immediately bowed and sent him out, but he was thinking in his heart that he was indeed old. He was going to bed before he was tired in the summer!
Although Qian Qianyi was old, the next situation was exactly as he expected.
The police officers from Suzhou patrolled the streets. In just one day, they arrested so many more people that the county jail was full of people.
The arrival of these agents not only failed to alleviate the situation, but instead aggravated it.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Jiang Dong immediately advised Zhang Pu: "The situation is already very dangerous. As your Excellency said, a civil uprising is likely to occur. Why don't you take a step back first, evacuate, and then talk about it later?"
Hearing this, Zhang Pu's mind flashed with the proud smile of that old man Qian Qianyi. He immediately shook his head and said: "I am on a patrol under orders, how can I be scared away by a group of unruly people!"
He is a person who is familiar with the details of the civil uprising, and he is confident in saying this. He knew that the key point lay with the local government.
Just as he finished speaking, a Dongchang fan came in quickly and reported, "Sir, there are a lot of people gathered outside at the stall, and the situation seems to be bad."
As soon as they heard this, everyone knew that at this time, they might not be able to leave even if they wanted to.
Therefore, Zhang Pu made a decisive decision and immediately went to the county magistrate Pan Xiuwen. He said straight to the point: "If there is a civil uprising in Changshu, and something happens to me and the Dongchang fanmen, you, a small county magistrate, will never be able to become the emperor's thunder." angry!"
In fact, Qian Qianyi had already thought of this threat and had already encouraged Pan Xiuwen to reassure him.
Once a civil uprising occurs, at least his colleagues in the southern official circles will tell him that it was Zhang Xun who committed evil deeds in the local area, took advantage of others, and took human life lightly...that would arouse the anger of the people and trigger the civil uprising.
In short, in a word, it is Zhang Pu's fault.
If it were in the past, with the Suzhou riot as a precedent, nothing would happen.
However, Zhang Pu had already expected this, and immediately threatened Pan Xiuwen: "The current emperor is wise, powerful, and a merchant of Shanxi. He is covered by the ministers of the cabinet, the censors and officials speak for him, and he is the governor of the local area. The commander of the guard station is also in the same group. Even so, what will be the outcome? Do I need to remind you of this? "
The case of Shanxi merchants and captives can be said to be the biggest event in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, and even the biggest event in the hundreds of years of the Ming Dynasty. Although Changshu is indeed far away from the capital, Pan Xiuwen definitely knows the details of such a matter.
As soon as he heard this, he immediately lost his composure.
However, before he had time to speak, Zhang Pu continued to add information: "People don't speak secretly. I know that the person behind the trouble this time is Qian Qianyi, and I came to Changshu on orders to investigate." The biggest landowner. Do you think you can do better than the Shanxi merchants in this matter? Can you deceive the emperor and let me take the blame? Do you dare to bet that today's emperor will be like Emperor Wanli back then, and will eventually take the blame? Let you go lightly? Or, do you dare to bet that your fate will be better than that of Shanxi merchants? "
