Because there were many more individuals transporting various gifts from people to Xu's house, when Tang Feng returned, he quickly alarmed the members of the Xu family, and even Xu Cang rushed out after hearing the news. Perhaps because his identity was not enough, or perhaps because of his relationship with Tang Feng, he, a person with some reputation in Suzhou, did not take Xu Cang seriously on the banquet list, because he knew that he would leave here soon and return to the capital.

Seeing Tang Feng walking into the yard, Xu Cang smiled and greeted him: "Yizhi, it seems that you have gained a lot today."

Tang Feng looked at the boxes that were already piled up and smiled and said, "Yes, I didn't expect that the officials and the wealthy chamber of Commerce in Suzhou were so polite. Not only did they hold a banquet, but they also prepared some gifts. I didn't want to accept them."

After the servants of the Xu family served tea and were sent outside, Xu Cang said solemnly: "How is it? Have you gained anything when you go to see them today?"

"It's okay to say yes, or say no. Now it seems that I'm really too careful this time." Tang Feng smiled, took a box wrapped in colored paper outside, and took it a few times. As soon as he opened the inconspicuous box, Tang Feng was stunned. Xu Cang came over to see this, and was stunned when he saw it.

Tang Feng thought that although these people would give him some money, they would not be too flattering until things were clear. However, they did not expect that the first thing was beyond his expectations. This was a horse carved from a whole piece of white jade, with four hooves flying, both form and spirit. Not to mention its exquisite carving, just such a piece of white jade made of color is worthless.

"This..." After a while, Tang Feng said with difficulty: "It seems that I was wrong this time." As he said that, he hurriedly picked up the other boxes at his hand and opened them quickly. Immediately, the whole hall was filled with treasure light, including twenty pearls as thick as thumbs and uniformly sized, as well as utensils made of jade, gold and silver. Each piece was enough to make people shocked. In addition, there were several long boxes containing some calligraphy and paintings of famous masters. Although Tang Feng didn't know much about these, since it was given to him by these people, it would definitely not be a bad place, and it was even more impossible to be a fake. Now he and Xu Cang were stunned. After looking at each other for a long time, they sighed.

"They actually took out so many good things to bribe me. It seems that what they want is many times more valuable than the combined value. Can the thing I think of really bring them such great benefits?" Tang Feng was surprised and quickly calmed down. Xu Cang's face gradually calmed down. If it were someone else, if he saw that the other party had taken over so much property, he would definitely consider him a corrupt person, but he had confidence in Tang Feng.

After experiencing the misunderstandings in the capital and the self-blame after the truth was revealed, Xu Cang had already believed in Tang Feng's character. He would not be the kind of person who was jealous of money, otherwise he would not have taken the risk of fighting openly and secretly when the eunuch party was in power. So after taking a breath and no longer looking at the jewelry, Xu Cang said, "It seems that you have really encountered a big thing this time. If you need any help, just give me instructions."

Tang Feng looked at him gratefully, then smiled and said, "Okay, I won't be polite."

After putting all these things back and sending someone to watch them, Tang Feng returned to the courtyard where he lived. As soon as he got there, Zhang Tai, who had been waiting next to him, ran over: "Sir!"

Seeing his anxious look, Tang Feng knew that he had gained something, so he patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go and talk to the house."

After entering a house and sitting down a little crampedly, Zhang Tai said in a low voice: "Sir, shortly after you left, my subordinates also brought a few clever brothers to leave here and found our brothers in the Jinyiwei according to the path you mentioned."

"Well, you are in trouble on the way, but are there anyone following you?" Tang Feng asked with a sip of tea.

"No, we are all good at tracing others, how could we be followed by others?" Zhang Tai said: "And we have also divided into several groups, always paying attention to our side, and never found any suspicious people."

"Yes, keep talking."

"Yes. After we met the brothers in Suzhou City, they were very happy that the adults could send us to see them. They also wanted to invite us to the famous yard of the yard here to have flower wine."

"Okay, don't mention these things that are not the key points. Let's keep them back to Beijing and talk to other brothers." Tang Feng interrupted Zhang Tai with a wry smile. He knew that the other party was proud after the incident, so he just kindly reminded him.

After chuckling, Zhang Tai said, "That's right. After hearing our purpose, they didn't want to say it at first, but after we took out your waist card, they had to speak the truth."

"Oh?" Tang Feng frowned slightly when he heard this. It seemed that even the Jinyiwei people with the secret identity were contacted by local officials in Suzhou, and they had a lot of benefits. This was indeed something he had never expected in advance. Fortunately, he now has a very high prestige in the Jinyiwei, so he is not afraid that they will do anything.

"They said that the officials in Suzhou did not do anything to commit crimes, and were kind to the people. Although they were a little greedy, they could be recognized. However... there is one thing that the court did not allow, that is, whether they communicate with overseas merchants. Because the court had explicitly prohibited places from going to sea without permission, but they..."

When Tang Feng heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief. He already knew what Xue Muren and the others were hiding. It turned out that it was because of this matter. Since the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the Central Plains powers gradually closed their contact with the outside world. The order for the ban on the sea was stricter, making the fishermen who originally made a living by relying on the sea could not make a living. In this way, pirates and Japanese pirates who were engaged in smuggling were born. In the middle of Jiajing, with the emergence of several anti-Japanese generals and the attention of the court, these pirates and Japanese pirates were gradually wiped out. However, in this way, the Ming Dynasty became even more wary of overseas people, and that ordinary trade exchanges were very few, and even the original Maritime Bureau was abandoned. By the time of Jiajing and Longqing handover, the Maritime Bureau was reopened, but there were not many, and Suzhou was not one of them.

However, it is obviously impossible to rely on the sea to make the people of Suzhou guard the treasure pot of the sea without using it. Therefore, there are many smuggling people among the people, and the court turned a blind eye to this. After all, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are places with heavy taxes, so it would be better to not make any moves without big moves. However, what the court didn't know was that smuggling has gradually changed from a private to an official organization, which was beyond their expectations.

Zhang Tai was still saying: "The brothers of the Jinyiwei only thought that some merchants took risks against the court's intentions in order to pursue profits, but after careful investigation, they found that all of this actually had the shadow of government offices everywhere. From the magistrate, these adults all took part in these smuggling operations, and they all made great profits.

"This is the time when the eunuch party was in charge of the government affairs. Although they had thought about reporting, they did not dare to do so because of the close relationship between the officials and the officials in the court, and the local eunuchs suppressed them. Later, they were pulled in by these people because they knew the secret. Now that they had tasted the sweetness, they were willing to keep the secret on their behalf. Now, all the wealthy businessmen in Suzhou City have gained benefits from maritime trade, so if the adults can do all of them in one go, it would be another great achievement!" At the end, Zhang Tai stood up excitedly and looked at Tang Feng longingly.

Tang Feng was still sitting upright in his seat, unable to see any fluctuations in his emotions, but in fact, there were already huge waves in his heart. For a long time, facing the situation of not only attacking the eunuch party and guarding against the Jin people in the north, he completely forgot the changes in the world of this era. This was the time for the great voyage of European countries. Those small countries, which were just small lands, plundered wealth everywhere through their invincible sea ships, and accumulated primitive capital for the rapid development of their capitalism, and all this came from the sea.

And what about the Ming Dynasty? The Ming Dynasty, a country that is far superior to theirs in terms of its properties and population, has gone in seclusion and throws aside the possibility of further development that can be easily obtained. "No, since I already know all this, I cannot let the tragedy of history appear on our heads again!" Tang Feng said to himself in his heart.

The actions of the Suzhou Prefecture are a microcosm of the entire coastal city of the Ming Dynasty. I believe that other places are doing the same thing with the acquiesce of the government or with the help of the government, but they are just making small fuss and dare not do too much. Their income is only enriching a small number of people. If the court can lift the ban on the sea and allow our Ming Dynasty to freely communicate with overseas countries, our Ming Dynasty will definitely not follow the old path...

Just as Tang Feng was thinking about all this in his heart, Zhang Tai saw him looking forward with his eyes straight, and ignored him and shouted strangely: "Sir, do you think what your subordinates say is wrong?"

"No, you cannot report this matter to the court!" Tang Feng thought of what Zhang Tai said to be reported, blurted out and stopped him, "You can't tell others about this matter, do you know?"

Zhang Tai glanced at Tang Feng even more strangely, but his respect for Tang Feng still made him choose to take the order: "Yes, I remember it!"
Chapter completed!