There are three salt transfer branches in Lianghuai, Taizhou, Huai'an and Tongzhou.
Under each transshipment branch, there are about ten salt farms.
Hai Rui attracted attention in Huai'an Prefecture, while Chen Dong secretly visited Chen Cang to investigate the salt warehouse and salt field in Taizhou Prefecture.
Taizhou is only more than three hundred miles away from Huai'an. Chen Dong and his party got off the boat at Guanglingdu, Yangzhou Prefecture, and went straight to the Taizhou Salt Transfer Department.
South Zhili is mostly plain, and the official road from Guangling in Yangzhou to Taizhou is even smoother.
After the group requisitioned all the horses at the ferry, a hundred elites led the way.
The rest walked lightly and passed by the official post on the way. When they saw the horses, they commandeered them and followed them closely.
Chen Dong was a civil servant and could not ride horses, so he had to ride with Jiao Ze.
In order not to waste time, he asked Jiao Ze to tie him to the horse.
Jiao Ze hesitated for a long time, but at Chen Dong's insistence, he agreed.
It is now the twelfth lunar month, and the weather is freezing. Although it is not as cold as in the north in southern Zhili, the cold and biting wind is not ambiguous at all.
Chen Dong was tied to the horse, feeling the bumps along the way and the bone-shattering chill, and almost fainted.
He had no idea how much time had passed while he was on horseback.
Finally, the horses gradually stopped, and they entered the territory of Taizhou. The group took a short rest.
Chen Dongqiang kept his spirits up and said to Jiao Ze: "Deputy Commander Jiao, take someone with me to Taizhou to transport the salt envoy!"
"There are still ten salt fields, and we need to send people to take care of them, especially the Fu'an Salt Field, Dongtai Salt Field, and Anfeng Salt Field. I won't be able to let go of even a grain of salt!"
Although the Deputy Commander-in-Chief was a second-rank soldier, he was still a martial artist. Chen Dong's politeness and etiquette were limited, so he gave orders directly.
Jiao Ze was not surprised that he had reached such an official position, so he immediately ordered him to leave, leaving a few close followers behind to inform the camp guards behind him.
After making arrangements, he looked at the fourth-rank Dali Temple Shaoqing: "Chen Shaoqing, are you in the way?"
Chen Dong gritted his teeth: "Let's go! There are only twenty miles left, hurry up!"
It must be quick and unexpected.
Otherwise, if we give some people time to prepare, the salt warehouse may burn down.
Jiao Ze also admired the civil servant in front of him.
In order to seize the opportunity and be willing to be tied up, this kind of civil servant is much better than those cheap scholars hiding in the carriage and pointing.
He tied Chen Dong up again, clamped it between his hips, and rode quickly.
It's freezing cold.
The deputy general soldier held the young minister of Dali Temple between his arms and rode into the wind and snow.
…
Half an hour later, Fu'an Saltworks.
Click.
The door of the Salt Division Office in Fu'an Chang was violently broken open.
The wind and snow poured in.
When the chief official saw this, he immediately stepped forward and shouted: "Why are the bandits so bold! How dare they rob the official office!"
The leader Qian Huguan held the person down and looked around.
Seeing that the situation was under control, he shouted loudly: "Under the command of the governor of Lianghuai Salt Class and the censor of Qiandu, Hai Rui! Inspect the salt fields in Taizhou!"
"Before Chen Dong, the young minister of Dali Temple, arrived here, he had to wait for orders from all the officials!"
As he said that, he saw the famous little official with a deer head and rat eyes, quietly moving his steps back.
Qian Huguan picked up the steel knife from his waist, held the handle and smashed it hard.
The clerk immediately fell to the ground, wailing endlessly.
The official looked at him angrily.
The Qianhu officials seemed unaware and scolded: "If you do it again... there is an order from the top, and all of you unworthy officials can be killed!"
All the officials trembled.
Not daring to look at this ruffian anymore, he lowered his head and exchanged expressions secretly.
After this thousand-household official had restrained all the officials, nearly a hundred elite soldiers from outside were also stationed in four places to keep an eye on the salt workers.
Dongtai Saltworks, Anfeng Saltworks and other saltworks were almost identical and were controlled one after another.
at the same time.
Taizhou Salt Transport Department.
Chen Dong lay on the wall and vomited for a while.
Under Jiao Ze's concerned eyes, he put on his clothes again and wiped the stains around his mouth with the big sleeves of his scarlet robe.
His eyes were slightly fierce: "Go! Go in!"
The soldiers had already rushed in first and controlled the situation. Chen Dong held his head high and stepped into the Taizhou Salt Transfer Office.
"I am the Shaoqing of Dali Temple. I am responsible for the corruption case of Wang Ruyan, the transfer envoy between the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River. Who is the chief official here!"
Chen Dong was already morbidly thin, and after the cold wind pierced his face all the way, his face looked even more ferocious.
One sentence is like breathing out the cold air along the way.
Upon hearing this, many officials looked at a short and fat official.
This man, with a big belly, was sitting at the head of the official office. He showed no fear when he saw this: "I am Chang Ke, the deputy judge of the Taizhou Transportation Branch."
Chen Dong nodded and said to a Qianhu: "Take this person and the director, and follow me to the salt warehouse!"
After that, he turned around and walked out the door.
Chang Ke glared at the soldiers who wanted to take him into custody: "How shameless, I am not a person who deserves to be punished. I can't tolerate you guys humiliating me. Get out of here and I will leave on my own!"
After that, he lifted up the hem of his official robe and walked down from the court with steady steps.
The fat body followed Chen Dong very calmly.
The two of them went one behind the other, followed by soldiers on the left and right, holding the book.
Chen Dong didn't look back and said in a cold voice: "According to the testimony of Xu Fuyuan and Wang Ruyan, the Lianghuai salt warehouse has been emptied. Deputy Judge Chang, is this possible?"
Chang Ke shook his head: "Wang Ruyan and Xu Fuyuan have a long history of grievances. Maybe it's just an ordinary officialdom fighting and throwing dirty water."
Chen Dong was noncommittal: "According to regulations, the salt warehouses in Lianghuai and Huaihe Rivers should store 210,000 yuan of salt. How much should the salt warehouses in Taizhou be?"
Chang Ke blurted out: "Lianghuai has 210,000 yin, Huai'an Prefecture has 70,000, Tongzhou Prefecture has 50,000, and Taizhou Prefecture has 90,000 yin."
Chen Dong's energy recovered slightly, and his pace became faster and faster.
The soldiers along the way lit torches.
Snowflakes began to float in the sky and fell on everyone's official robes.
Chen Dong took the deputy magistrate and the bookkeeper to the salt warehouse of the Taizhou Transportation Department. There are eleven large warehouses in total, named after the heavenly stems and earthly branches.
The door was closed and fastened with an iron chain, with a seal affixed to it and the inscription "Taizhou Transportation Department Stores Salt."
Chen Dong brushed the seal with his hand and said: "Deputy Judge Chang, do these eleven warehouses have 90,000 citations?"
Ninety thousand jin is 18 million kilograms, but according to what Xu Fuyuan said, it is probably only 20,000 jin. If there is such a big difference, it can be seen with the naked eye.
Chang Ke chuckled and said: "Chen Shaoqing is here to investigate the case. I am a suspect, so I don't care. With Chen Shaoqing's ability, you might as well see for yourself."
His tone was extremely frivolous, and he patted his belly twice.
Chen Dong frowned and turned to look at Chang Ke.
The latter was happy and unafraid.
Chen Dong took a deep breath slowly, and with everyone's astonished eyes on him, he snatched the sword of the Qianhu official next to him and put it on Chang Ke's neck.
His eyes were like dancing flames, staring at Chang Ke.
He said coldly: "I will kill you now. The most I can do is go back and fill in the paperwork and stamp it. Do you believe it or not?"
The incident happened suddenly. Chang Ke looked at the skinny face and the surly eyes, feeling the coldness on his neck, and inadvertently, his crotch became slightly moist.
Chen Dong stretched out his hand to fan the stench, threw the knife back to the Qianhu official, and ordered: "If this man keeps showing off again, I'll give him a knife in the chest."
After saying that, he looked at Jiao Ze and nodded.
"Open a position."
Jiao Ze accepted the order.
There was a crash, a sound of chains being pulled apart.
Several officials from hundreds of households opened the door of the salt warehouse at the same time.
squeak.
squeak.
The door seemed to have not been opened for a long time, and there was a sound of gasping and whining.
Although it was late at night, once the door of the salt warehouse was opened, it was like the sky had broken through, and the moonlight poured freely inside and outside the salt warehouse.
Yuehua is selfless.
The vast expanse of pure white reflected in the wind and snow in the sky reflected Chen Dong's astonished expression and Chang Ke's elated expression.
It also reflects the eleven full salt warehouses!
What is a shortfall? It is clearly a full position!
Chen Dong walked back and forth in a salt warehouse in disbelief.
Without saying a word, Jiao Ze drew out his steel knife and stabbed the salt bags together with the soldiers.
The white knife goes in and brings out grains of salt.
The two looked at each other and shook their heads with ugly expressions.
Chang Ke's untimely voice sounded again: "Two Shangguan, Yan Yin 90,000, please verify."
Chen Dong responded silently.
The regulation for salt warehouses is 10,000 yin. If the 11 salt warehouses are full, it means there are 110,000 yin!
There are more!
The gap of 90,000 yuan was filled in less than a month...
No, not even a month.
From Hai Rui to the south, I am afraid I only have twenty days to prepare when I receive the news from South Zhili!
Even if you buy it back from the salt merchant, it won't be possible so quickly - the salt merchant can stock up on 18 million kilograms!?
Chen Dong suddenly raised his head, stared at Chang Ke and the bookkeeper behind him, and asked: "Where is the account book! Bring up the account book!"
Chang Ke pursed his lips and said, "Chen Shaoqing, it's been a dry winter. There was a fire a few days ago and the account books were accidentally burned."
Before Chen Dong could speak, Jiao Ze beside him became furious: "You son of a bitch, are you not afraid of death?"
Chang Ke frowned and looked at Jiao Ze, scolding: "This military attache must be careful. Losing the account book is dereliction of duty. He is only punished by being demoted one level. How can he shout for beatings and killings?"
"Besides, it's not your turn as a mere military general to take care of this matter."
After scolding Jiao Ze, he looked at Chen Dong and said, "Chen Shaoqing, do you want to be demoted and show you around?"
Chen Dong slowly raised his head and stared at Chang Ke until Chang Ke felt uncomfortable.
At this time, suddenly a man from Qianhu entered the house on horseback.
Everyone looked at it.
Qianhu looked anxious. He turned over and dismounted before his horse stopped, rolled and crawled, and suffered skin injuries from the fall.
The voice said anxiously: "Shaoqing! General Jiao! There are fires in the Xiaohai Salt Field, Caoyan Salt Field, and Dingxi Salt Field!"
Jiao Ze's complexion changed drastically.
Chen Dong was horrified and finally realized where the salt in the salt warehouse came from!
I’m afraid it’s the salt produced this year!
An empty shelf was burned! Put the salt that was supposed to be sold into the warehouse to fill the salt warehouse!
Sure enough, there was still a fire. He and Hai Rui were making all kinds of attacks, traveling day and night, but they were still a step too late!
Chang Ke didn't seem to know either, and his face changed color slightly.
Then he said in a sincere voice: "Chen Shaoqing, hurry up, let's go put out the fire!"
After saying that, his big belly twitched twice, obviously trying to suppress his laughter.
Jiao Ze clenched his fists, fearing that he could not help but move his hands.
Don't turn your head and look at the disgusted look of the deputy judge of the Transportation Department.
He was about to answer Chen Dong and ask what to do next.
Suddenly, Chen Dong reached out his hand and grasped the steel knife at his waist.
Jiao Ze subconsciously wanted to hold it down, but then he felt blessed and couldn't help but let go.
Chen Dong's skinny face showed no expression as he pulled out Jiao Ze's steel knife.
With Chang Ke's stunned look on his face, he slowly and forcefully inserted it into his waist.
A snowflake fell on Chen Dong's eyes. He blinked hard and looked at Chang Ke.
Chang Ke's throat made a roaring sound, and blood flowed from the corners of his mouth.
Chen Dong turned the steel knife in his hand vigorously and inserted another half inch.
He spat out a sentence between his teeth: "I said that if you, a small seventh-grade official, want to kill you, the most you can do is to fill in a document. Why don't you believe me?"
In full view of everyone, the young minister of Dali Temple actually killed a seventh-grade deputy judge!
Everyone looked horrified.
Chen Dong didn't notice it at all. After he finished speaking, he let go of his hand, pulled the clothes of the director beside him, and wiped the blood on his hand.
He did not forget about business and said to Jiao Ze: "I am going to the official court now. I would like to ask Deputy General Jiao to bring the ambassadors from each salt field."
Then he looked at the trembling clerk and said gently: "Master, please call all the salt merchants who carry Taizhou salt."
The manager's teeth were trembling: "Ah...ah?"
Chen Dong ignored him and walked straight back to the official office, followed closely by Jiao Ze.
The heavy snow has dyed Chen Dong's official scarlet robe white, and the red and white are mixed, leaving only a back figure.
Half a while passed.
The manager shuddered and finally dared to lower his head and take a look.
All I saw was a mess on the ground.
The deputy judge was keeping his eyes open, his hands covering the deeply penetrating blade, and his whole body was twitching.
The manager finally woke up from a dream.
He came to his senses and grabbed the deputy's sleeve.
He shouted with a ferocious face: "Go! Call the salt merchant! Call the salt merchant!"
He glanced at the blood on the ground again, and a sentence came to his mind... It was a night of murderous murder in the wind and snow.
…
At noon the next day, we went to Yingtianfu, Nanzhili.
If one were to discuss which mansion in southern Zhili was the most beautiful, people at the time could only say that each one had its own merits.
But if we talk about elegance and splendor, then the Duke of Wei must be the top one.
This is the first garden of Jinling in later generations, and now it is the first palace of Nanzhili.
Although it occupies a small area, it is blessed by Taizu's old palace and Zhongshan Prince's residence, which is extremely valuable.
The Duke's Mansion of Wei faces south, with more than 30 acres of green plants, water courtyards, and rockeries.
A couplet in front of the door "full of Jinling wine, the sound of autumn wind and Huaihe water" shows that Wei Guogong only cares about the wind and moon and has no intention to interfere in political affairs.
Because of this, no matter who wanted to come here to pay homage to the officials at the dock, they were stopped under this threshold.
At this time, the heavy snowfall all night had finally stopped, and the sky was only a little dark, and all the snow on the ground had been shoveled clean by the servants.
An old man was playing with a rockery in the back garden - this rockery is called "Immortal Peak". It is a single piece of Taihu stone, carved by craftsmen into the shape of an immortal.
The maid was behind him, kneeling and making tea for the old man.
Just at this moment, the housekeeper walked slowly forward and bowed to wait.
The old man waved casually, and the maids retreated.
Only then did the housekeeper speak: "Master, the prince went to Huai'an Mansion and was detained by Hai Rui."
The old man continued to play with the gravel on the rockery quietly without saying a word.
The steward continued: "Hai Rui said that the prince is spying on the imperial envoy's secrets and must move according to the law."
"The prince was also accompanied by Zhang Huan, the younger brother of Uncle Xuancheng, the wife and brother of Wan Hao, who was offering wine at the Nanjing Imperial College, etc., about seven or eight people."
The old man still ignored it.
The housekeeper continued: "In addition, Chen Dong went to Taizhou Prefecture last night and took control of the Transportation Department and several salt fields. During this period, Chang Ke, the deputy judge of the Transportation Department, was imprisoned for burning the files, but... I heard that the person was actually already there.
Dead."
"In the early morning, Hai Rui and Chen Dong both began to meet with salt merchants. As for what happened, the specific situation will only be known in the evening."
After the old man fiddled with the last stone, he finally made some movement.
He clapped his hands and admired his masterpiece.
He picked up the teapot and drank directly to his mouth. He took a big gulp and chewed peonies. Taking advantage of the break, he casually asked: "Who asked the prince to go?"
The steward bowed and said, "My uncles and several clan elders came to see you before, but you didn't respond, so you went to see the Crown Prince."
The result is self-evident, naturally the young boy is easy to provoke.
The old man cursed: "These old immortals have been eaten and used, and others still have to take their lives!"
"How long has it been since I came back from the capital? As soon as I enjoyed it, I wanted to take the blame for it."
"This title is just for them!"
The housekeeper didn't dare to answer the call.
The old man turned around and ordered to the housekeeper: "Go and tell each room that you want me to take care of this matter. Hand over the account books of each room and spit out all the things I collected! Otherwise, there is no way!"
The butler bowed in response to show that he understood.
The old man cursed a lot and lost his temper.
After venting your anger, it’s natural to plan something serious.
Hai Rui came to patrol the salt this time. Although he didn't come for anyone, tall people like them naturally had to go up.
However, several attempts at negotiation were in vain, like ogling a blind man.
Now that everyone has begun to control the salt fields and contact salt merchants, we can no longer take chances.
Duke Xu Bangrui of Wei stroked his beard for a while and said, "I will write a few letters later, and you can send people to Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, and Uncle Xuancheng."
"I'll give them one more thing. Just say... the person who came here this time is not good. You might as well let 20% out and let this case end with Wan Hao!"
The housekeeper waited for the old man to finish and then asked, "What about the prince?"
Xu Bangrui finally couldn't hold back his anger and cursed: "Wan Hao, the dignified Imperial College minister, is a fourth-grade official! Isn't that enough to establish authority with the cabinet and Hai Rui!?"
"If you still shamelessly hold someone captive, don't blame me for smashing his governor's guard of honor myself!"
"A bunch of idiots."
Xu Bangrui cursed and wanted to drive people away.
Suddenly he remembered something, called him back, and said: "By the way, there is also Cao Bangfu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, tell him..."
"Didn't that eunuch Zhang Jing come to take office with hundreds of people from the Royal Horse Eunuch?"
"Don't give him any money, let him go to Wang Zongmu! There is plenty of food there."
The cold look in Xu Bangrui's eyes flashed away.
Nowadays, the cabinet is really disrespectful. If you want Southern Zhili to let Du Li Ming say it, you have to send an imperial envoy to save face.
Do you think too little of these people?
Even Hai Rui couldn't do Xu Jie at first.
Nowadays, there are more than two or three Xu levels involved in the Lianghuai Salt Administration?
It doesn't matter how selfless and unselfish a mere fourth-grade censor of Qiandu is. Not to mention punishing all of them, they have to bow obediently and politely when they meet.
He also punished him, huh... Let alone Hai Rui, Zhang Juzheng came in person to see if he dared to take action.
The 20% profit this time is already a big concession. If you don't want to, don't blame Lei Lei for his tactics.
Xu Bangrui raised his head and glanced at the dim sky.
Storm is coming - these four words come to mind.
Immediately he shook his head again, in this southern Zhili, only Chaopin can call the shots, and it's not his turn yet, Hai Rui!
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Chapter completed!