Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 79
(PS: Today's state is extremely bad, and the speed is extremely slow. Maybe I only got this chapter—fortunately, it's a big chapter. Please forgive me.)
"Song Xiance, since you are already the master of this young master, you should immediately find a solution for this young master!" Finally, with a think tank like Song Xiance under his command, Young Master Zhang suddenly became a lot lazy, and he kicked the problem to the ground. Song Xiance put his head on his head and shouted: "Let those salt mice in Yangzhou come out of their nests, and let them come to meet the young master, but they can't be forced by force, and they can't turn against them. Let them have an excuse to strike the city and make trouble. They are willing to take the initiative to come out! Think quickly, think quickly!"

"Boss, you want the horse to run, and you want the horse not to eat grass." Song Xiance said with a wry smile: "These salt mice in Yangzhou are getting better than each other. If they know that they will meet you, they will definitely have to bloodlet and donate money. Why? Maybe they will come out willingly? What's more, they have already agreed to hide from you together, so they won't risk offending everyone in Yangzhou to come out to meet you."

"I don't care about it." Young Master Zhang shook his head arrogantly, and said decisively: "In a word, I know that with your ability, you can definitely come up with a way to get the best of both worlds—if you can't, then don't be called Song Xiance , just change the name to Song Wuce."

"Then let me think about it." Song Xiance didn't want to mess up his first errand after becoming a master, so he sat aside and racked his brains to meditate.Lu Wanling, the old aide of Young Master Zhang over there, was a little dissatisfied with Song Xiance, a swindler, and rushed to stand up and said, "Brother Zhang Nian, according to my younger brother, it is not difficult. Although they were bribed by the Yangzhou salt merchants, they are still officials of the imperial court. If you, Brother Zhang Nian, wield the Shang Fang Sword and order them to summon the Yangzhou salt merchants to meet, I believe they would not dare not listen."

"I've thought about this trick a long time ago, but it's useless." Young Master Zhang shook his head and analyzed: "If I use Shang Fang's sword to threaten Long Yuqi and Liu Duo, then they must agree very nicely in front of me, but their After the order is sent out, those salt rats in Yangzhou will still use all kinds of excuses to refuse to come to meet with the official. Don't forget, they are merchants. According to the Ming Code, they are ordered to raise funds for disaster relief and supervise Jiangnan officials. I have the right to mobilize local officials, but I don’t have the right to mobilize them directly. If I want them to go there for something, they must be conveyed through local officials before they can be executed. Yangzhou Salt Rats took advantage of this loophole and bought local officials to empty me and let them go there. My order cannot be enforced."

"Unfortunately, it would be great if Nine Thousand Years gave Brother Zhang Nian the right to control Jiangnan officials, military and civilians, big and small." Lu Wanling said regretfully.Young Master Zhang rolled his eyes and snorted, "Then I won't be the King of Jiangnan anymore? No matter how much you spoil me at nine thousand years old, it's impossible to give me such a great privilege, right?"

"Master, how about we go directly to visit?" Zhang Shitou, the wicked housekeeper of Young Master Zhang, also came out to offer advice, and suggested: "Since the salt merchants in Yangzhou are unwilling to come to see us, then we can take the initiative to find them? A big salt merchant went from door to door to look for them, and they would meet all of them within a few days."

"It's useless. They made excuses to hide and only let relatives and sons see us. What can we do with them?" Young Master Zhang continued to shake his head.On the other side, Zhang Qing, who was listening impatiently, said, "This won't work, and that won't work either, so why don't you go directly to Huaiyang Governor Xu Qixiao and ask him to borrow a team of soldiers from you to catch those salt mice directly?" You! Or, you can simply find an excuse to cut first and then play later, directly kill the heads of the two dog officials, Long Yuqi and Liu Duo, and replace them with other people who obey your orders."

"If it's in other places, I dare to do it!" Master Zhang's eyes flashed fiercely, but he shook his head and said, "But Yangzhou can't do it. The Lianghuai salt tax accounts for more than half of the national treasury's revenue. There must be no accidents. Once things get serious, not only I can't afford the consequences, even Jiu Qiansui and the emperor can't afford it either."

"Then what are you going to do? You can't just leave with the 600 taels of silver donated by the Yangzhou salt merchant?" Zhang Qing said angrily.Young Master Zhang shrugged his shoulders and said, "Of course it's impossible. If the salt rats in Yangzhou sent me away with only 600 taels of silver, wouldn't it make people laugh when it spread? It's rare to come to Yangzhou once." , if I don't peel off a few layers of their skin, how can I be worthy of the people of the Ming Dynasty who eat high-priced salt every day?"

"I have a solution." At this time, Song Xiance, who had been lowering his head and thinking, suddenly raised his ugly face, his mung bean eyes shone brightly and shouted: "I have a solution, but I can only lure those salt mice out. How to get them to donate blood, I haven't come up with a good idea yet."

"It doesn't matter. I have already thought about how to let the Yangzhou salt mice bleed. Now I just need to lure them out." Young Master Zhang asked in surprise: "Quickly, what is the best way?"

"Boss, it's actually very simple..." Song Xiance leaned into Young Master Zhang's ear and muttered in a low voice.And Eldest Young Master Zhang turned his triangular eyes wildly while listening, and finally waited until Song Xiance finished speaking, Young Master Zhang couldn't close his mouth with a smile, he slapped his hands and said, "Okay, it's really good, it's settled like this."

"What way?" Zhang Qing asked curiously.Without waiting for Young Master Zhang to answer, Xiao Chuan, who was guarding the door to prevent others from eavesdropping on the secret conversation, suddenly shouted: "Who is it? Don't come out to shoot arrows anymore!" Then the voice of Lianghuai Salt Fa Dao Long Yuqi came, "Don't shoot arrows! Master Xiao, please don’t shoot arrows, I’m an official, Long Yuqi, please see the imperial envoy Master Zhang.”

"Brother Xiao, let him in." Young Master Zhang ordered.Xiao Chuan obeyed the order, first let the twenty Dongchang masters who were protecting Young Master Zhang put down their bows and arrows, then opened the door, and let Long Yuqi enter Young Master Zhang's room.After entering the door, Long Yuqi first bowed to Young Master Zhang according to the rules, and then said with an apologetic smile, "Master Imperial Envoy, are you still awake at this late hour? The officer saw that the light in your room was still on, so he came over to give the imperial envoy My lord, please greet me. By the way, I also heard that Master Zhang went to Slender West Lake today, so why didn't you play there all night?"

"I can't help it. Something happened to Yingtian Mansion, so I had to rush back to discuss it." Young Master Zhang replied with a sigh.Long Yuqi was taken aback, and hurriedly asked: "What happened to Yingtian Mansion? What happened? Why didn't the officer receive any news?"

"It has nothing to do with you, so Eunuch Li didn't inform you." Young Master Zhang shook his head and explained: "The thing is, didn't I raise nearly 10 taels of silver at the Wuxi Donglin Conference? Put the silver in a box and make a book, put a seal on it and send it to Yingtianfu's treasury for temporary storage. I never thought that after the silver was delivered to Yingtianfu, I opened the silver box and counted the amount, but found that the bank account did not match, and a large amount of silver disappeared. Eunuch Li, who sits in Yingtian, and Eunuch Song Jinsong, the eunuch who supervised relief at the East Factory, felt that the matter was of great importance, so they immediately sent someone to inform me, and I hurried back from Slender West Lake to discuss countermeasures."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Long Yuqi suddenly realized, and said very worriedly: "Master Imperial Envoy, the disappearance of the disaster relief fund is not a trivial matter. In all likelihood, someone guarded himself and embezzled the fund. What is the imperial envoy planning to do?"

"No way, let's go back to Yingtian Mansion first." Young Master Zhang spread his hands and said with a sigh: "Embracing disaster relief money is an unforgivable crime that affects the entire family. I have to go to Yingtian Mansion to find out the whole story. While organizing common people and merchants to raise funds for disaster relief, Lord Long and Lord Liu will have to work hard."

"Master Imperial Envoy, please don't worry, I will do my best." Long Yuqi replied with a sigh, but he was extremely happy in his heart, and asked again: "So, Imperial Envoy, when do you plan to leave?"

"The matter is very important, and we have to leave at dawn tomorrow." Young Master Zhang looked solemn, and pointed to Zhang Qing and said, "By the way, Master Long, we discussed it just now. The young master and the nine-thousand-year-old son will not go to Yingtian Mansion for the time being. They will stay in Yangzhou to wait for the news and supervise the disaster relief fundraising by the way. During the time when I go to Yingtian Mansion, they will entrust you to Master Long. , and ask Master Long to take good care of them."

"Master Imperial Envoy, I will definitely take good care of Mr. Zhang and Mr. Nine Thousand Years Old." Being able to flatter Wei Zhongxian and Zhang Weixian at the same time, Long Yuqi naturally happily agreed, and patted his chest to promise: "Mr. Imperial Envoy You see, if the three sons lose a hair in Yangzhou, please ask the imperial envoy to take off the official's head."

"Very good, then I will thank Lord Long on behalf of Zhang Guogong and Jiu Qiansui." Eldest Young Master Zhang nodded, while Zhang Qing's eyes widened, but Zhang Qing was still quite smart, and he didn't look at Long Yuqi in front of him. face attack.It wasn't until Long Yuqi said goodbye happily that Zhang Qing rushed up and grabbed Young Master Zhang by the collar, and asked viciously, "Master Zhang Gou, what do you mean? When did something happen to Ying Tianfu? Such a weak and helpless young master is left alone in Yangzhou? You take the opportunity to go to the Qinhuai River to have a good time, right?"

"Don't worry, think about it, if I don't leave Yangzhou, will those salt mice come out of their nests?" Young Master Zhang giggled, and whispered in Zhang Qing's ear: "Besides, I won't leave you behind." Yangzhou, who will help me call those salt mice together again? Remember, after I leave Yangzhou, you will..."

"Bah, no wonder you insisted on letting Song Xiance be your teacher. You really are the same as you, doing crooked ways!" Zhang Qing spat, and blushed and asked Young Master Zhang: "I've helped you so much!" , after the matter is done, how will you repay me?"

"I'll send you a clean lady, please fuck." Young Master Zhang raised his index finger.Zhang Qing was furious, Zhang Zhuo scratched at Young Master Zhang's handsome face, Young Master Zhang laughed and dodged, and shouted: "What? Don't you like women? Then how about I send you a few prostitutes? Ah! Zhang Don't be kidding, son, the Shangfang sword is a Longquan sword from Longquan County, Fujian Province. It cuts iron like mud. It will be troublesome if it is cut on me, so put it down!"

"Don't be wordy! Today, my son is going to act for the heavens and kill you, a bastard! Don't run away, watch the sword!"

…………

In the early morning of June [-]th in the fifth year of Tianqi, Young Master Zhang hurriedly ended his short trip to Yangzhou, and led Lu Wanling, Song Xiance, Zhang Shitou and a group of Dongchang Tiqi to leave Yangzhou and head south to Yingtianfu.The news spread, and the big salt merchants in Yangzhou, who had been hiding at home for a few days, cheered and sent people to Long Yuqi and Liu Duo in Yangzhou to inquire about the news. The brother also came out of the brothel and personally went to Liu Duo's Yangzhou prefect yamen to inquire about the details.

When the Li family brothers arrived at the yamen of the prefect of Yangzhou, Long Yuqi and Liu Duo happened to be in the yamen. As soon as they met, Li Jiabin couldn't wait to ask: "Old dragon, old Liu, I heard that Zhang Haogu's little dog Fuck off, is it true?" Liu Duo replied with a smile: "Of course it is absolutely true, otherwise the lower officials would not dare to send someone to deliver letters to the two Mr. Li—this morning at the right time, Mr. Long and I Send Zhang Haogu to the pier personally, and watch him get on the boat."

"Okay." Li Jiabin applauded, and asked again: "But why did that little dog Zhang Haogu leave in such a hurry? What happened to Yingtian Mansion?"

"Second Master Li is right, something happened to Yingtian Mansion." Long Yuqi explained with a smile: "It's also because of the bad luck of that little dog, the 10 taels of silver he collected from Wuxi was sent to Yingtian Mansion At that time, I don’t know why it was missing a lot. Li Shi and Song Jin’s two old dogs sent a letter to Zhang Haogu. Zhang Haogu became anxious. That's why I left in such a hurry."

"Okay, okay, okay, God is really eye-opening." The brothers of the Li family were overjoyed when they heard this, and they wished heartily together: "May God bless, it's best that Zhang Haogu's little dog can't find out who did it. Ghost, then the little dog will be convicted of embezzling disaster relief funds, and let the court go to him to settle the score."

"Yeah, as long as he can't find out, then he will have a lot of fun." Long Yuqi and Liu Duo nodded and laughed together, very proud.Li Jiaguo smiled again: "Old Dragon, Old Liu, don't be dumbfounded, let's go, go and book the Yiqing Courtyard, and have a good drink tonight."

"Wait a minute, my lord, there is one more thing to tell you." Long Yuqi said, "After Zhang Haogu's little dog left this morning, Zhang Qing, the little son of the British lord Zhang Weixian, called me in front of him. Complained to me that the salt merchants in Yangzhou were too ignorant, and that they only knew how to honor their nine-thousand-year-old nephews and nephews if they had money. Chitose is the same—according to him, he seems to be planning to kill the Yangzhou salt merchants."

"The young son of the British Duke Zhang Weixian?" Li Jiaguo hesitated, and said in a deep voice: "The British Duke's title is the highest in the Ming Dynasty, and his official position is no less than that of Wei Zhongxian, but he has no real power in his hands. We can't afford to please his son, right? ?” But Li Jiaguo thought about it again, and said: “But it doesn’t matter, the nephew of the old eunuch Wei is a total of 1 taels, and we only need to give 5000 taels to the son of the British Duke, which is probably the same. For a big salt merchant, each person only pays 5000 taels, which is just a drop in the bucket for them, and there is no need to feel sorry for those salt rats."

"Yes, although the British Duke has no real power, he has a very good reputation inside and outside the court, and his prestige is also very high. If you sell him a favor, we may still need him when we do business in the future." Li Jiabin also agreed. The elder brother said to Long Yuqi: "Old Long, let's do it like this. Tonight, you invite the young master of the British Lord to the Yiqing Court, and we will also call the 25 big salt merchants in Yangzhou. Each of them paid 200 taels of silver, and made up 5000 taels to get rid of the kid surnamed Zhang." Long Yuqi was happy to be a favor and flatter Zhang Weixian, so he naturally agreed.

So, on the night that Young Master Zhang left Yangzhou, 25 big salt merchants from Yangzhou who were supposed to go to the coastal salt field to fight against wind and disaster suddenly showed up and gathered in the back flower hall of Yiqing Hospital, a famous hospital in Yangzhou, to celebrate the stage of fighting against relief and donation. Sexual victory.And Mr. Zhang Qing and Mr. Zhang, the father and son of the tiger who took the initiative to ask for bribes, were also respectfully invited by Lianghuai Salt Fadao Long Yuqi to the Yiqing Courtyard to meet with the Li family brothers and the 25 major salt merchants in Yangzhou.To add to the fun, Long Yuqi once again invited Yang Wan to the Yiqing Courtyard, and Yang Wan readily obeyed. As for the two masters Wei Liangqing and Fu Yingxing, they led a large group of guards to the Slender West Lake flower boat and never got off. , It is estimated that the height, size, fat, thin, beautiful and ugly of the Yangzhou skinny horse are still being studied.

When entering the table, Zhang Qing pointed to the twenty or so salt merchants present with feigned surprise and asked, "Lord Long, what's going on? Didn't you say you were going to invite me to drink flower wine? Why did you invite so many people to accompany you?" Wine? Who are they?"

Long Yuqi explained with a smile: "Mr. Zhang, don't be surprised. In fact, they are all big salt merchants in Yangzhou. I heard that Mr. Zhang is the younger son of the British Mr. Zhang Weixian, and they all rushed to greet you, so I am an official Just make up your own mind and invite them all to accompany you for a drink."

"The big salt merchants in Yangzhou?" Zhang Qing asked even more confusedly: "Didn't it mean that there was a storm at sea, and they all went to the coastal salt field to direct the kitchen households to rush to repair the salt embankment? Why are they back?"

"Mr. Zhang, this is the case." A big fat man stood up among the salt merchants, holding a wooden box and said with a smile: "We did all go to the salt field, but we just heard that the young master of the British Duke of Ming Dynasty came to Yangzhou, so today They rushed back from the salt field together, just to pay respects to Mr. Zhang and show our friendship as a landlord.” Then, the big fat man held the wooden box in front of Zhang Qing, and said with a smile: “Mr. Zhang, this is our Yangzhou The 25 big salt merchants respect your kindness, and I hope Mr. Zhang will not dislike you."

"Oh, is that so?" Zhang Qing took the wooden box calmly, opened it, and found that it was all 200 taels of silver bills, which should be exactly 5000 taels.Zhang Qing smiled and asked the fat man, "What's your name?"

"Grassman Wang Fuguang." The fat man bowed and replied.Zhang Qing said with a smile: "Wang Fuguang? I've heard of your name. When the imperial envoy Zhang Haogu was in Yangzhou, he often said your name, saying that you are the number one salt merchant in Yangzhou, and you have a lot of salt in your hands." There are [-] nests, and there are thousands of salt ships, and he is the richest man in Yangzhou."

"Thanks to the imperial envoy, but the imperial envoy is too exaggerated. Although Wang Fuguang has a small family, he is far from being the richest man in Yangzhou." Wang Fuguang agreed with a smile, and sighed: "But it is a pity that Mr. Zhang is in Yangzhou. At that time, Caomin and other salt merchants happened to go to the salt field, but when Caomin came back, the imperial envoy took another step, and never got to see the imperial envoy. It’s a pity that fate made such a trick on people.”

"It's not a pity at all!" There was a loud shout at the entrance of the back flower hall, and the young master Zhang, who was dressed in a Confucian shirt and long robe, waved a folding fan, walked into the back flower hall with a smile on his face, and said with a smile: "Master Wang, don't you want to see me?" Is it an imperial envoy? What a coincidence, I left Yangzhou today and walked halfway, and Song, Jin and Song father-in-law sent someone to send a message, saying that Wuxi's fundraising bank account has been matched - it turned out that a book office accidentally made a mistake The numbers have been verified. So, the officer is back."

"Bosses of the Yangzhou Great Salt Company, hello." Looking at the stunned Yangzhou salt merchants, Young Master Zhang grinned, and said grimly, "I finally see you all."

If you want to know how Master Zhang blackmails innocent businessmen, please read the next chapter, "Blood Book"!
(End of this chapter)