I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 222 A big case is about to happen
Ningbo Prefecture, Zhenhai County.

A restaurant at the port pier.

"The old rule is, three bowls of rice per person, and a pound of pig in the water." Three coolie-looking men came to sit at a table outside the restaurant.

Although it is said to be a restaurant, it is actually just a stall, but its business is very good.

Not long after the three people sat down, a large army of coolies swarmed in and quickly filled the stall.

Many coolies had no place to sit and could only squat like this.

After a while, the boss brought out a large bowl of steaming pig sesame water. There were large disgusting red oily flowers floating on the surface, but it smelled very delicious.

The most important thing is that it is hot enough and spicy enough.Although it is only September, winter has arrived, and the weather is getting colder and colder. Without some spicy and hot food, I have no energy to work.

I don’t know whether Zhu Yijiong is lucky or not. The time period he is in now happens to be the last branch of the Little Ice Age. Although the temperature is rising year by year, there will occasionally be a small rebound.

As a terrible natural disaster that ran through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, it indirectly took away two dynasties (Yuan and Ming).

If it were 40 years ago, let alone September, it would have snowed extensively here in Jiangnan in June. Even the prosperity during the Qianlong period was, to some extent, the result of a complete warming of the temperature.

In other words, the endless famines that will occur next year and in the next few years may also have something to do with this.

Oh, Jiaqing's Little Ice Age bottomed out and rebounded for the last time before the end of the Little Ice Age, which made Jiaqing miserable.

The oldest of the three coolies stretched out his chopsticks to fish out a large bowl of pig waste, and picked out a piece of something unknown, which looked like meat.

After one bite, the taste is a bit salty and spicy, which seems to be to cater for the taste of the coolies at the dock.

As someone who runs a stall near the pier, theoretically you shouldn't be able to afford something so heavy in salt.It is purely because of the trial implementation of the new salt law. Zhenhai County is the opening port of Ningbo City and is close to the water. Only then can the price of salt be kept down.

There are also peppers. Peppers were a luxury product from the early to mid-Ming Dynasty, but in fact, by the late Ming Dynasty, the price had shrunk significantly, and large areas were also planted in coastal provinces.

The so-called use of pepper as salary to pay officials was only a matter of the early stage, but it was no longer done in the middle and later stages.

Mr. Zhang did this purely for the sake of party struggle and to push Gao Gong out of power. It was not because pepper was really that valuable.

The three coolies first went into the water with the pound, and then finished two bowls of rice. They said it was rice, but in fact it was old grain.

The older coolie picked up the last bowl and divided the remaining salty and spicy sesame soup among his two companions. Then he asked: "How is it? Liuzi, have you checked it out?"

A coolie raised his head and said: "Boss, I've almost figured it out. Mr. Huang from the Ningbo Shipping Department does have contacts with a business gang...hiss...spicy, so refreshing!"

When he heard that he actually had contact with the merchant gang, the elderly coolie was obviously shocked: "Sure enough...how dare these people?"

Liuzi said while eating: "Who knows?"

Another coolie took a mouthful of food and asked: "Boss, what should we do next? Should we continue to stare at the dock?"

"No need, now that the target has been determined, let's close the Internet cafe!" The coolie said without hesitation for a moment, and even smiled.

Liu Zi finished eating the food at some point, and then he took a deep breath and said, "Huh, I've been working here for so long and it's finally over."

"But boss, what name do we use to arrest people?"

"Xiao Wu, you are stupid! When do we need names when we arrest people?"

……

this day.

Manager Huang from the Ningbo Shipping Department had just finished a busy day of socializing and returned to his mansion in a sedan chair smelling of alcohol.

His choice was indeed the right one. Although he would be downgraded by half a level when he was transferred to the Shipping Department, as a new yamen in charge of shipping customs duties, he would have more money than before in the Ministry of Rites.Moreover, it is safer not to be under the emperor's feet.

No, tonight's entertainment was a treat from the agent of the business gang who contacted him, and he was invited to have a meal at the most famous restaurant in Zhenhai County.

If it weren't for the fact that Ningbo Bosi had just opened the port a few months ago, Zhenhai County had not been fully mobilized, and the quality of the brothels here was too low, and Mr. Huang wanted to have fun again with the strength of alcohol.

As for whether he will be impeached by the magistrate of Zhenhai County, he is the Shipping Secretary of Ningbo City, directly under the central government. A small local county magistrate cannot interfere with his business.

Moreover, the "Da Ming Law" does not prohibit officials from visiting brothels!

Mr. Huang was drowsy while sitting on the sedan chair. Suddenly he noticed that his sedan chair was shaking violently, and he subconsciously wanted to poke his head out to take a look.

"Oh!"

When a sap came down, Principal Huang fainted physically on the spot, and a group of men in black majestically carried him away in a sedan chair.

The whole process went smoothly and no one noticed.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the next day that a servant of Huang Zhai went to the county government to report the case, claiming that his master had disappeared last night and had not returned, and the shipping department did not go to the city to report.

Qiu Pu, the magistrate of Zhenhai County, had a hunch that something was wrong, but he couldn't explain it, so he could only order his subordinates to conduct a thorough investigation.

Not to mention, some clues were quickly found, and the clues came from the bearers who carried the sedan chair for Principal Huang.

It is said that they were all knocked unconscious by a sneak attack. When they woke up, not to mention the people, even the sedan was missing.

After all, he was an official in the imperial court, so he didn't dare to report to the official immediately because of fear.

In this regard, Qiu Pu, as the new county magistrate, could not arrest people openly. After questioning him for a long time, he determined that there was no useful information and could only let him go.

Even if an order was given to continue the investigation, the investigation would naturally yield no results. Principal Huang was no longer in Zhenhai County at this moment.

After having no clues for several days, Qiu Pu had no choice but to report to the court truthfully.

After all, Chief Huang was not only an official of the imperial court, but also the person who established the Ningbo Shipping Department of the new government. He once served in the Ministry of Rites, and his official position was high and low.

The memorial was almost rushed to Nanjing, and then sent to the imperial study at the same time as another memorial.

Coincidentally, this other memorial is also about Ningbo Prefecture Zhenhai County and Ningbo Shipping Department.

It was this person who presented the memorial, which was somewhat unexpected but also reasonable.

"Wu Qing, have you achieved results?"

Zhu Yijiong rarely raised his head and put down the memorial from Zhenhai County Magistrate Qiu Pu in his hand.

Foreign Minister Wu held the memorial in his hand and bowed in salute: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have something important to report. Please read it in person!"

He took the memorial and opened it.

Zhu Yijiong could still remain calm at first, but his face gradually became more and more gloomy.

Under Wu Wai's doubtful gaze, Zhu Yijiong suddenly laughed: "Okay! Okay! These people did a good job!"

"Snapped!"

A slap hit the table so hard that several memorials on the table were knocked off.

Wu Wai instantly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"

(continued tomorrow)
　According to the information we consulted, pepper seems to have been a luxury product only in the early and mid-Ming Dynasty. In the later period, with the increase in imports and the promotion of planting, pepper began to enter the homes of farmers.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)