Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 270 Like Brother, Like Brother

(PS: Two new votes have been added to the starting point, just under the title of the book page, begging for these two new votes with the cheek.)
Young Master Zhang's crow's mouth has always been very effective. When he found someone hastily sneaked into the hall and whispered in Li Jiaguo's ear, and Li Jiaguo's expression changed drastically and he hurried out of the hall. The news of the search of Li's house in the second day may have been leaked!In fact, just as Young Master Zhang guessed, the Li family tree, who has monopolized the Tongzhou Wharf for decades, has deep roots, and it has a very powerful force that cannot be ignored whether it is in the civil society, the court or the court!Wei Zhongxian ordered Dongchang and Zhenfusi to secretly investigate the crimes of the Li family, and to collect evidence of the Li family's smuggling and tax evasion and suspected slavery. The Dongchang and Zhenfusi were directly controlled by Wei Zhongxian, who had a high degree of loyalty to the court and Wei Zhongxian, and they themselves were the world. The No. [-] and No. [-] secret service agencies have done a very good job of keeping secrets and anti-osmosis work, so there was almost no news during the investigation and evidence collection process.But when Wei Zhongxian asked Ming Xizong for an order to attack the Li family brothers, it was absolutely impossible not to reveal the slightest bit of news. There may be problems in any link, and it is impossible to completely block all channels of information leakage. For example, Yuan Chongyu in history was able to escape with money in advance only after hearing the news in advance.So unfortunately, on the eve before the Li family was about to be raided, the news that Wei Zhongxian was going to attack the Li family finally reached the ears of the Li family brothers...

"Has the news been confirmed? Old eunuch Wei really wants someone to search our Li family?" After meeting the messenger in the secret room, the Li Jiaguo brothers ignored the snow-covered messenger whose face was blue and pale from the cold. He trembled and couldn't wait to ask: "When did you do it? What charges are you using? Could it be a rumor?"

"The news is absolutely reliable." The messenger wiped the snowflakes from his face and said tremblingly, "my father is the secretary of the cabinet. He happened to be on duty, and risked his beheading to eavesdrop on the content of the bill! The Metropolitan Procuratorate, Dongchang, and Zhenfusi joined forces to collect a large amount of evidence against the two young masters, the most important of which was the The big shopkeepers of the eight major firms in Zhangjiakou, who were imprisoned in Zhenfu Sizhao Prison, reported to the court that you knew that the eight major firms in Zhangjiakou were smuggling prohibited materials to Jiannu. Instead of stopping them, you had many contacts with Jiannu envoys through them. They smuggled a large amount of smuggled salt, grain, iron and cloth to Jiannu to make huge profits—this one alone is enough to kill their heads and ransack their homes!"

"Boom!" Brothers Li Jiaguo and Li Jiabin heard a loud noise, and both of them sat on the chairs with pale faces, and there was only one thought in their minds - the Dongchuang incident should have killed the eight shopkeepers of Zhangjiakou in the first place. !The reporter whispered again: "You two young masters, you don't have much time left. My father estimates that the article will definitely be passed. The team that ransacked the house will arrive in Tongzhou at noon tomorrow. The officials leading the team are on the way. Zhang Xiantai, the governor of Xuanda, who reported his duties in the capital, even the slave slaughter army will come to Tongzhou just in case! If you want to resist, it is absolutely hopeless, so my father suggests that you should bring some family property that you can take away. Leave Tongzhou overnight and find a remote place to hide your name and spend the rest of your life."

"The person who led the team to search our house was that little dog Zhang Haogu?" Li Jiaguo and Li Jiabin exclaimed in unison, "No wonder this little dog came to congratulate us out of nowhere, it turns out that this little dog is Let's see the joke first, and prepare to attack us!"

"What? Zhang Xiantai has come?" The reporter was startled, and quickly stood up and said, "Those two young masters, I have to leave quickly, otherwise I will be stuck here and unable to get out, and my father will also be finished." Ye Ge, who put my father in the cabinet as an errand back then, is afraid that he will be implicated too, two young masters, let me leave, my villain." After finishing speaking, the reporter turned his head and left, and Brother Li Jiaguo was in a state of confusion and did not force him to stay. , asked the housekeeper to reward the messenger with 500 taels of silver, and then nervously discussed countermeasures.

"Fan Yongdou, you villains who don't believe in your words!" When the disaster was approaching, Li Jiaguo didn't care about pretending to be a gentleman, and he opened his mouth to curse as soon as he jumped three feet high, "It was clearly agreed last time, I Take care of your family secretly, leave a way for future generations to survive, and if necessary, send your children and grandchildren to Dajin. You also promised not to involve us. It’s only been a few months, how can you recruit us? Out?"

"It's no wonder that during the Autumn Judgment this year, the old dog Wei didn't kill the eight great masters of Zhangjiakou!" Li Jiabin analyzed: "It seems that Fan Yongdou's gang of profiteers must be greedy for life and afraid of death. They don't want to die in order to live a few more days. It was too miserable, so they sold us."

"It must be so, Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, you bastards and traitors!" Li Jiaguo kicked over the burning charcoal stove and roared wildly, "If you fall into my hands, I will definitely kill you!" It's a thousand times worse than Ling Chi's death! And your wife and daughter, I will also sell them into the music workshop, and let thousands of people ride them! Ten thousand people crush them!"

"Brother, let's talk about those things later." Li Jiabin reminded with a dark face: "Right now we should find a way, how to avoid this disaster?" After that, Li Jiabin also suggested: "Our Li family is If the hardcore Donglin Party fell into the hands of the old eunuch Wei, he would surely die a miserable death. Or, as the messenger said, he would pack up the gold, silver and jewels overnight and leave Tongzhou, and find a remote place to spend the rest of his life incognito? "

"With a net worth of four or five million taels, how much can we take away in a hurry?" Li Jiaguo asked distressedly.Li Jiabin was both angry and funny, stomping his feet and shouting: "Brother, what time is it? You're about to lose your head. Why do you care about your wealth? Listen to me, hurry up and go to your family to pack your things and pick up the most valuable things for you." , I will prepare ships and carriages, arrange escape routes, and leave immediately when I am ready."

"But..." Li Jiaguo was still a little hesitant, he would not make up his mind to run for his life - but this is also human nature, not everyone is so wealthy that he can throw it away.While hesitating, Li Jiaguo suddenly had an idea, and hurriedly said: "Second brother, do you still remember that the old dog Wei sent the Dongchang eagle dog to Suzhou to arrest Zhou Shunchang? The various chambers of commerce went on strike, as well as water transport, and all of them were stopped. Then we organized five or six thousand of our fellows to protect us, and forced Wei Laogou to take back his order and stop arresting us. After this limelight, we will Spend more money to manage things up and down, and invite those old friends of my father to come out to us for activities, and make this matter a big deal, and a trivial matter."

"This..." Li Jiabin, who was also reluctant to give up Wanguan's family wealth, also hesitated. After thinking for a long time, Li Jiabin suddenly said: "If you spend money to settle this matter, there may be some hope, but I'm afraid it won't work if you buy someone else. Now, if you want to spend money, you can only spend it on Wei Lao and Zhang Xiao, and only if they nod, can we hope to escape this catastrophe."

"Is it okay to give money to the old dog Wei and the little dog Zhang?" Li Jiaguo couldn't help making a bitter face when he thought of bowing his head to Young Master Zhang.Li Jiabin stomped his feet and said, "Why not? Whether it's Wei Laogou or Zhang Xiaogou, even if our property is confiscated, most of the money will go to the state. It's great for them to get one or two achievements! We take [-]% If you give them the family property, are you afraid that they won’t be able to feed them? In my opinion, that’s the way to go. Taking advantage of the time and opportunity, we will spend money to redeem Yang Wan’s body, and then give it to Zhang Haogu. Feed the dog with money, and then ask him to introduce Wei old dog to us, feed the old dog Wei with money, and we will have the hope of surviving and keeping our property!"

"If you buy Yang Wan and give it to the little dog, will the little dog accept it?" Li Jiaguo asked hesitantly.Li Jiabin sneered and said, "Why doesn't he accept it? If he doesn't accept it, Yang Wan is a member of our Li family. When our Li family is ransacked, according to the law of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Wan will not be able to escape! Look at that little dog. With Yang Wan's adulterous adulterous appearance, is the little dog willing to push her into the fire pit?"

"Then... let's do it this way." Li Jiaguo finally made up his mind and ordered: "Then you go to the pier to find Yang Wan's flower boat, no matter how much money you spend, first redeem Yang Wan's body, take the deed of sale Come back. I will go back to the lobby to entertain the guests, and I will invite Zhang Haogu to the secret room to negotiate with him." Li Jiabin agreed, and the two brothers split up. Hurry back to the lobby to deal with guests from all over the country.

When Li Jiaguo returned to the lobby, Young Master Zhang and Li Fengjie had already sat at the same table. Li Fengjie, the governor of the two major governments, naturally lost his previous arrogance. For his crime of rudeness, Li Fengjie's entourage had already knelt in the wind and snow outside the hall, and was smacking his mouth continuously, until his cheeks were bloody and bloody, and he didn't dare to stop—no way, although his master On the same level as Young Master Zhang, but the degree of favor in the court is as high as heaven and earth.Young Master Zhang was smiling, casually chatting with Li Fengjie.Li Jiaguo didn't dare to be negligent, so he hurried up to Young Master Zhang, and asked with a smile on his face: "Zhang Xiantai, is the food and drink okay? The food is cold, do you want Caomin to ask someone to replace it for you?"

"No need, I'm full." Young Master Zhang nodded with a smile, stood up and said, "It's getting late, I should go back to the inn to rest, and I'll come to pay my respects to President Li's birthday tomorrow."

"Don't, don't." Li Jiaguo was in a hurry, and quickly stopped Young Master Zhang, nodded and bowed and said: "Zhang Xiantai is far away, this is the blessing of the grassroots, how can Xiantai condescend to stay in the chicken feather shop for a while? Caomin has already ordered I have prepared the best guest room, if Zhang Xiantai is tired, please go to the guest room of Caomin’s house to rest, and Caomin must order his servants to treat him well.”

"Don't bother, the room at the inn has already been booked, so don't bother President Li." Young Master Zhang continued to refuse with a smile.Li Jiaguo was even more anxious. He was sweating profusely, staying overnight and leaving food. He even asked someone to bring a 60-year-old Moutai. He wanted to have a few more drinks with Young Master Zhang. Li Qifeng, Li Jiaguo simply didn't even bother to look at him.As a result, Li Qifeng's face became even more ugly, needless to say, he couldn't help but glared at Yuan Chongyu on the other side viciously, and said to himself, boy, I remember you!Saying that it is good can save my life and drag me here, but in the end I lost all my old face!Yuan Chongyu was submissive and did not dare to face up to Li Fengjie's angry eyes that could kill people. He pondered in his heart: "Isn't that right? Aren't the Li Sancai's family the deadly enemies of Wei Laogou? The dog's butt? If you don't allow it, you still stick it? What happened?"

After entanglement for a long time, Young Master Zhang still couldn't get rid of Li Jiaguo, who was like brown sugar, and sat down to exchange cups with Li Jiaguo. At this time, Zhang Shitou and Chen Jianhuang, who were sent out by Young Master Zhang before, had also returned to the hall. Handed a piece of folded paper to Young Master Zhang, Young Master Zhang took it with a smile and stuffed it into his arms.While Li Jiaguo was wondering, his brother Li Jiabin rushed in covered in snowflakes, looking at Young Master Zhang with a pale face, almost crying out of frustration.Young Master Zhang smiled, stood up and said: "Everyone, I would like to take this opportunity to announce a piece of good news to you."

After attracting everyone's attention, Young Master Zhang took out a stone from his arms and brought the paper, held it high in his hand and said with a smile: "Just now, I sent the captain of the guards to Tongzhou Wharf and found Yang Wan. The girl's flower boat redeemed Miss Yang Wan's deed of prostitution back then! That is to say, from now on, Miss Yang Wan is the official's concubine!" Speaking of this, Young Master Zhang twisted the deed of prostitution, Surprised, he opened it and smiled again: "Also, Miss Yang Aier, Miss Yang Wan's maid, was also redeemed by this official."

"Congratulations, Mr. Xiantai." As soon as Young Master Zhang finished speaking, the audience was filled with cheers and congratulations. Yang Wan and Yang Ai'er blushed together, and both lowered their heads to peek at Young Master Zhang, feeling extremely excited.Li Jiaguo, on the other hand, seemed to be struck by lightning, and it took him a while to wake up—Master Zhang must have expected that they would make plans on Yang Wan. Yang Wan redeemed her body, so Yang Wan would not be involved in the Li family's case, and Young Master Zhang would not have to risk being impeached by the official censor and be accused of taking a concubine privately.

Amidst the cheers, after the banquet, Young Master Zhang and Yang Wan left hand in hand. After leaving the door, Young Master Zhang called Zhang Shitou to him, and whispered a few words in his ear. Zhang Shitou took orders and left quickly. He called two more soldiers and asked them to follow orders.And the other guests in the lobby began to leave one after another, planning to come back the next day to pay homage to Li Jiaguo's birthday, even Li Fengjie walked away with a livid face.The Li family brothers, who were as anxious as ants on a hot pot, didn't care about entertaining the guests at this meeting. They just found an excuse and threw the rest of the guests to the housekeeper to entertain them. They went back to the secret room to discuss the countermeasures again.

"I went one step too late." Li Jiabin said dejectedly: "When I got on the flower boat, the guards of the little dog had already obtained Yang Wan's contract of sale from the old bustard. The steward's reputation is so great that the bustard dared not let him owe it. Later, when I thought of paying double the price to buy the contract back from the little steward's guards, the captain of the guards said nothing. Refuse to agree."

"No wonder everyone says Zhang Xiaogou is extremely cunning and impeccable in everything he does. He is really good." After being disappointed, Li Jiaguo also calmed down, and said through gritted teeth: "In this way, Zhang Haogu's little dog is really strong." I want to avenge the past, and I will ruin our family if I say anything. There is no way, just prepare as I said, gather all the guys overnight, and prepare to fight to the death with Zhang Haogu, the little mad dog .”

"But can we beat a little dog?" Li Jiabin said timidly: "How powerful is that little mad dog, don't you know, brother? 12 Tatars were killed by his [-] troops , we thousands of guys, can stop him?"

Li Jiaguo was speechless, and the two brothers were at their wit's end when suddenly there was a knock on the door from his confidant, and he said in a low voice: "Master Yuan, Master Master Yuan, your friend Master Yuan is here, and I want to see you for everything." Li Jiaguo, who was in a state of confusion, yelled angrily: "Tell him, we are busy and don't have time to see him." Li Jiabin shouted: "Wait a minute, that shopkeeper Yuan?"

"Master Yuan Chongyu from Dongguan, Guangdong, often asks you to ship food and iron to the shopkeeper Yuan." Ding answered honestly.Li Jiabin's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said: "Brother, this Yuan Chongyu is the younger brother of Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Liaodong. The relationship with the steward must not be very good, calling him in may be of some help to us."

"Okay then, let him come in." At this point, Li Jiaguo can only be a dead horse as a living horse doctor.After a while, Yuan Chongyu, who was as short as a baboon, was led into the secret room of the Li family brothers. Yuan Chongyu looked around and saw the traces of the brazier kicked over by Li Jiaguo. Shopkeeper, what happened? If I remember correctly, the two of you have never been attached to the rich and powerful, and you have a bit of animosity with Zhang Haogu. Why do you...? Also, Zhang Haogu’s little eunuch Dogs always keep their eyes above the top, why did they suddenly come to Tongzhou to congratulate you today?"

Brothers Li Jiaguo and Li Jiabin exchanged glances, hesitating whether they should tell Yuan Chongyu the matter.Yuan Chongyu looked at his words and said with a smile: "The two big shopkeepers, do you still need to keep secrets from me? Don't forget, we are old friends for many years. Since my brother became the governor of Liaodong, we have taken good care of the food, grass and military equipment outside the pass. Your business. Today I invited Li Xiantai, who is about to be promoted to the governor of the canal, to introduce to you, so that you can make money on the canal more conveniently. .”

"Treasurer Yuan, it's not that we don't want to tell you, it's because the matter is too big to scare you." After hesitating for a long time, Li Jiabin finally explained the ins and outs of the matter to Yuan Chongyu in detail, and finally said: "Treasurer Yuan Yes, it’s not been a day or two since Wei Laogou wanted to get rid of our brothers. This time our brothers were framed by traitors, and we must be doomed. At most, at noon tomorrow, Zhang Haogu’s army will come Go to Tongzhou, arrest people and ransack the house! Shopkeeper Yuan has traveled far and wide and has seen a lot. If there is any way to help us out of the predicament, please give us your advice. If we can really survive this calamity, our brothers will definitely repay you well."

"The Li Family Chamber of Commerce, which controls the water transportation, is finally coming to an end. This is a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters." Yuan Chongyu was secretly happy, gloating, and murmured: "So, the two big shopkeepers just now Do you want to curry favor with Zhang Haogu's little dog, get on the line with Wei old dog through him, and then find a way to get rid of this disaster?"

"That's right." Li Jiabin nodded, and smiled wryly: "To be honest, we actually wanted to buy that bitch Yang Wan and give it to Zhang Haogu's little dog, but that little dog is too cunning. Send someone to redeem Yang Wan, so we don't even have a chance to drag that stinky bitch Yang Wan into trouble."

"Treasurer Yuan, we two brothers have discussed and discussed, and feel that there are only two options at the moment." Li Jiaguo also said: "One is to take away the gold, silver and jewelry that can be taken away overnight, and the other is to learn from Zhou Shunchang and encourage the The people in Tongzhou city made troubles with the boatmen of our firm, and fought against the small dog’s house raiding army, first to save their lives, and then to encourage Tongzhou merchants to strike and put pressure on the court, and finally to find a way to make big things small and small things small. Master Yuan, do you think it is better for us to use that method?"

"I don't think either of these two methods will work." Yuan Chongyu pondered for a while, and immediately shattered the dreams of the Li family brothers, and then analyzed: "Let's talk about the first method first. You escaped overnight, where can you escape?" Go? Let’s not say that you two shopkeepers are big celebrities. There are too many people who know you, and there is nowhere to escape if you want to. Even if you escaped from Tongzhou by chance, is there a place for you in this big world? The second method is even more absurd. Thousands of your fellows who have never been on the battlefield can beat Zhang Haogu’s master of all battles under the little steed dog, and it’s not enough to plug his teeth! Besides, Tongzhou is the closest city to the capital, at the foot of the emperor, can it be compared with Suzhou, which is far away from the emperor? You are here to fight against the imperial army, and you are encouraging merchants to strike. Don’t you want your crime of beheading to be an extermination of the nine clans?”

"Then...then what should we do?" The brothers of the Li family were about to cry, "Could it be that we are just going to be arrested like this, waiting for the imperial court to confiscate our home and kill our heads?"

"If you really want to escape, I can show you a clear way." Yuan Chongyu said slowly: "As long as you escape to that place, you will not only have to worry about being caught by the court, but you can also become a seated official. Guests of honor, guests in the mansion, continue to enjoy the glory and wealth, wine and beauty, and in the future there will be a chance to make a comeback, re-monopolize the water transport, and become the uncrowned king on the canal again. There is even a chance to obtain high-ranking officials and rich salary, be crowned king, marquis, and wife. "

"Where?" The Li brothers asked in surprise.Yuan Chongyu said slowly: "Liaodong, the place of Dajin Kingdom."

"That's right!" Li Jiaguo slapped his thigh and exclaimed in surprise: "Why didn't our brothers think of Liaodong? As long as we escaped into the Dajin Kingdom, no matter how many officials there are in the Ming court, and no matter how powerful the factory guards are. There is nothing we can do about it. Besides, we have to go to Tianjin Port to go to Liaodong, and we still have time."

"But the problem is, Master Yuan, even if we escape to Dajin Kingdom, we can only save our lives at most, so how can we continue to enjoy the glory and wealth?" Li Jiabin asked Yuan Chongyu suspiciously.Yuan Chongyu smiled, and said in a low voice: "The shopkeeper Li Er is right. If you just go to Dajin Kingdom like this, you really can't get what I said, and whether Dajin will take you in is also a major issue. But ——If you bring a gift to Da Jin Khan, then I can guarantee with my head that not only will you be taken in by the Da Jin Kingdom, but even if you want to marry a few Da Jin Kingdom Ge Ge, it will be absolutely fine."

"What gift?" Li brothers asked in unison.Yuan Chongyu took a breath, and said darkly, "Head, Zhang Haogu's head!"

(End of this chapter)