Ye Zheng sat in the side room and smoked less than two cigarettes when Wang Po came.
After the wretched brother Wang Ba entered the room, he closed the door tightly. At this time, Ye Zheng motioned for him to sit opposite him, and then poured him a cup of tea himself.
After Wang Po thanked him, he picked up the tea cup and took a sip, saying: "Your Majesty, if nothing else happens, our migration team should be able to enter Anzhou City smoothly before tomorrow evening. By then we can It’s time to start cleaning up the mess.”
Ye Zheng nodded after hearing this and said: "Sir, tell me what you have to say. Don't beat around the bush with me. I want to know now how many stumbling blocks there will be for me after I go to Anzhou. I will tell you one by one when the time comes. Move it away for them. If they can't move it, hum... smash it all."
After hearing this, Wang Po smiled softly, pondered for a moment, and said: "Your Majesty, as early as when the imperial court ordered you to go to Beiyuan County to take up the post, I secretly sent some spies to Beiyuan County. Find out the news. After all, we are far away in Cangliang Mountain and are not familiar with this place at all. If we don't find out the situation and situation here, it may not be so smooth for you to take office by then, and it will be much more complicated to clean up. .”
As soon as these words came out, Ye Zheng's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but nod his head in appreciation: "Yes, sir, you are really thoughtful. I didn't even think about it. I just don't know what you have found out."
Wang Po lowered his head and took a sip of tea, frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the current situation in Beiyuan County is more complicated and difficult than we imagined."
Ye Zheng raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Qingjiang County has been turned upside down by us. How can a mere Beiyuan County be as difficult as attacking Qingzhou?"
Wang Po smiled, shook his head and said: "That's the same, but we'd better deal with it carefully." At this point, he paused, and then said: "According to the news I came back from my investigation, it is said that this person in Beiyuan County There is a person named Gu Changlie. Once you take office as the governor of Beiyuan County, he will be the biggest stumbling block for your trip."
"Gu Changlie."
Hearing this name, Ye Zheng pondered for a moment and said: "Who is he, I have never heard of it."
Wang Po nodded and said, "I only learned recently that there is such a troublesome person in Beiyuan County."
Ye Zheng suddenly asked again: "This person has a great background and is very powerful in Beiyuan County."
Wang Po nodded and said: "As far as I know, this Gu Changlie is the real controller of Beiyuan County. The previous governors of Beiyuan County, they could only rely on him and be his puppets."
Hearing this, Ye Zheng's face turned cold and he said in a deep voice: "What is his background?"
Wang Po thought for a moment and said: "Gu Changlie is the patriarch of the Gu family in Guzhou City, and the Gu family is the most powerful family in Beiyuan County. It is said that the ancestors of the Gu family were once great leaders. Gu Changlie is a branch of the Lie Royal Family and can be considered a royal family member. Gu Changlie was personally granted the title of Marquis of Gu Cheng by the current emperor, and his biological sister is the current princess of the Xiongnu King of the Prairie, and she is also extremely favored. " At this point, he suddenly paused, glanced at Ye Zheng, and asked: "Does your Majesty know which state city is the largest, most populous, and most prosperous in economy and trade in Beiyuan County?"
After hearing this, Ye Zheng replied without thinking: "Do you still need to ask? It must be Anzhou City, the capital of Beiyuan County. I still know this common sense. You need to know which county's city in the Great Lie Empire, no matter which county it is. Whether it is population, economy or prosperity, both are the first of a county."
After hearing this, Wang Po smiled and shook his head, saying: "This time, Your Majesty, you guessed wrong. In other counties, the county capital is definitely the head city of a county, but in Beiyuan County, it is not. , now in Beiyuan County, the largest, most populous and most prosperous city is Guzhou City, and this Guzhou City is the fiefdom and territory of the Gu family. In Guzhou City, all residents in the city have their own customs. , Grain tax and various taxes are collected by the Gu family, and after the Gu family collects the taxes, they do not have to pay it to the court, because Guzhou is their bottom territory, and within this territory, all Everything belongs to them, and they have the right to decide the life and death of all residents in Guzhou City, so the Gu family is not only the largest family in Beiyuan County, but they are also the richest tycoon in Beiyuan County."
Ye Zheng frowned and said with a sinking heart: "I really didn't expect that this Gu Changlie would be so huge regardless of his identity or background. As such, he is indeed a difficult opponent."
Wang Po nodded and said: "According to what I learned from the information I got back, this Gu Changlie is ruthless, cold-blooded, and has brutal methods. He colludes with many bandits in Beiyuan County, and specializes in dealing with the newly appointed local officials, Beihu The newly appointed officials in Wucheng, no matter how big or small, must obey him obediently and act according to his face. If they disobey or dare to do more with him, they will basically be killed by some cruel horse bandits. Robbers broke into the house and the whole family, old and young, were slaughtered. Although people were sent to investigate afterwards and it was the brutal bandits who had done it, anyone who understood knew that this was the result of offending Marquis Gu Cheng.
It is said that there was once a powerful man in the imperial capital. Because he offended the emperor, the emperor was angry and temporarily demoted him to Beiyuan County as the governor. The man was also a domineering person. Not only did he The power in the DPRK was so great that even the deputy commander of Shangguan was his brother-in-law. So as soon as he came to Beiyuan County, he competed with Marquis Gu Cheng and had many frictions. But he forgot that this Beiyuan County is not the imperial capital. Although he is a powerful dragon, he can't overpower the local snake like Guchenghou. Therefore, he took office less than a year ago. When he went to inspect the north of the county, he was killed by a group of Xiongnu who came from the grassland. The gangster was cut into more than a dozen pieces, and even his only son who was accompanying him was cut into pieces by five horses. This incident caused a sensation in the government and the public at that time, and the deputy commander of the Lianshan Pass led tens of thousands of elite soldiers. , went to the gates of Guzhou City, trying to get an explanation for his brother-in-law, but in the end he died without any evidence."
Having said this, Wang Po's face gradually became serious and said: "Your Majesty, this Gu Chenghou is in Beiyuan County and has great power. Whether it is grain, oil or livestock, he has monopolized all walks of life, and his family It is even more deeply rooted here. At present, almost 80% of the officials in the entire Beiyuan County are his tribesmen or lackeys. Especially in the five major cities in Beihu, almost all officials are his trusted followers. , and he also has secret contacts with some foreign tribes on the border. It can be said that he is the native emperor of Beiyuan County. Since the previous governor retired due to illness, he naturally became an auxiliary county and temporarily replaced the imperial court. He is in charge of everything in Beiyuan County, so now in Beiyuan County, Gu Chenghou covers the sky with one hand."
When Ye Zheng heard this, he suddenly raised his head and laughed wildly. Suddenly, his laughter stopped, two cold lights flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly: "Covering the sky with one hand, in my territory, who dares and who is worthy... "