From a certain perspective, an important reason why the plans carefully formulated by the big shots were repeatedly disrupted and sabotaged by the little guys was that they were in Nanjing.
Compared with the capital city center, they project too little power into Nanjing, and they can only rely on local local snakes for many things, which gives the little guys more room to play.
For Huo Zhengyuan, this flaw is particularly obvious.
Huo Zhengyuan didn't know about Tang Sheng's little moves in private, but under normal circumstances, out of caution, he would definitely send someone to keep an eye on Tang Sheng secretly.
But it is a pity that Huo Zhengyuan has too few reliable helpers in Nanjing, and there is no spare power to check and balance surveillance.
In the city of Nanjing, Huo Zhengyuan's biggest support on the surface is the "United Shipping Company". This behemoth seems to be following Zhao Junchen, and it should be affiliated with the "Zhao Party" forces. On the surface, it has also been actively cooperating with Huo Zhengyuan's various projects.
plan, but in fact all parties are involved in it, so although Huo Zhengyuan can mobilize various materials from "United Shipping Company" at will, he cannot hand over those confidential matters to "United Shipping Company", otherwise all forces will soon
will receive news, which will increase the risk of exposure.
However, Huo Zhengyuan was generally more at ease with Tang Sheng, because he believed that Tang Sheng had no choice and was not qualified to betray him and join other forces.
With this idea in mind, Huo Zhengyuan hurried to Yingtianfu Yamen in a sedan chair, hoping to discuss the follow-up interrogation with Xu Shengying and Xi Cheng as soon as possible.
But on the way, Huo Zhengyuan's sedan was stopped without warning before he had gone very far.
Huo Zhengyuan opened the sedan curtain and took a look, only to find a group of Nanjing people kneeling in the middle of the road, crying loudly and complaining to Huo Zhengyuan.
"Sir! This great Master Qingtian! Please uphold justice for our people!"
"The villain's house was burned down by traitors last night... The villain was eager to put out the fire, but the government refused to allow it! Instead, they kept beating and driving the villain away, saying that the martial law order of the government has not been revoked and all the people are prohibited.
Acting outside at will...Three generations of ancestral property and a lifetime of savings can only watch it be destroyed in one day!"
"Xiao Min's second daughter... was burned to death last night! Burned to death!"
"Master Qingtian! The city of Nanjing has been under martial law for several days. The families of the common people have completely run out of rice and can no longer open the pot. Although the martial law has been relaxed a bit today, the food stores are still closed. The families of the common people are still closed.
I can only go hungry..."
"This high official, please have mercy on the people... My mother at home is ill and bedridden, but because of the martial law, I still can't buy medicine... I am so anxious! Do you want me to watch her die of illness?
"
Obviously, these people have been greatly wronged, and they are full of anger.
Moreover, these common people probably didn't know Huo Zhengyuan's specific identity, but they were all desperate, so after seeing Huo Zhengyuan riding in a large green cloth sedan with four carriages, they decided that Huo Zhengyuan was a big shot, so they rushed to the doctor in a hurry.
They stopped the sedan chair and hoped that Huo Zhengyuan would seek justice for them.
Seeing the people blocking the road and crying, and listening to the people's various demands, Huo Zhengyuan shook his head helplessly, and at the same time he was somewhat disapproving.
In the past few days, the city of Nanjing has been closed under martial law, which has naturally greatly disrupted the normal life order of the people. Some people are short of rice and food, some have been cut off from medicine, and some have lost their source of livelihood. All of them are complaining endlessly.
Under normal circumstances, the people could barely endure it for another day or two, but because of the various changes last night, the people finally could no longer endure it.
First, Hu Xiao, under the pursuit of Jiang Xiao, constantly set fire to block his escape, burning a large number of houses and shops, causing the people to suffer a lot of losses, and a large number of people were burned to death;
Then there was the forcible suppression by the Jin Yiwei. Any people who ignored the martial law were attacked and driven away by the Jin Yiwei, which made it impossible for the people to put out the fire. Not only did the scope of the fire become larger and larger, but the people's losses also became more and more serious.
Many people were injured and humiliated because of the indiscriminate attacks by the Jin Yiwei.
Finally, there was the encirclement and suppression of the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers by various forces. People from all sides were mobilized frequently. The sound of fighting could be heard from the south, east and west of the city, which kept the people awake all night, all worried about being attacked.
Scared and extremely nervous.
After a series of changes, the people finally couldn't bear it anymore.
In addition, because the Jin Yiwei arrested Song Chengren, the Jin gentry forces in Nanjing were greatly stimulated, so they searched for important figures to ask for explanations, and at the same time used various channels to incite people's emotions, which put the Nanjing government under great pressure.
Under great pressure, the people could no longer be controlled. Under the public outrage, the people also chose to ignore the government's martial law order and left their homes in large numbers.
When the situation has developed to this point, the official martial law order is no longer in effect. Not only the powerful have never cared about it, but now even ordinary people don't care anymore.
However, although the people have walked out of their homes, the shops in Nanjing are still closed, and the major government offices still do not care about the people, so the people still have no channels to buy rice and medicine. Those who were suppressed by the fire and Jinyiwei
The affected people also have no way to redress their grievances.
Under such circumstances, the grievances of the people are getting bigger and bigger.
As a result, it happened that the common people stopped Huo Zhengyuan's sedan chair halfway and cried and complained about their grievances.
On the way to Yingtianfu Yamen in a sedan chair, Huo Zhengyuan had already seen a lot of chaos. Several streets were affected by the fire, and many houses were burned into ruins. People could be heard crying and cursing everywhere, and even watched.
I saw some people carrying the bodies of their relatives.
People are panicked! People are angry! Public opinion has changed!
Huo Zhengyuan estimated that not only did he encounter the common people blocking the road to redress their grievances today, but also the big shots in Nanjing City must have encountered the same situation when they were out in action.
But Huo Zhengyuan was born in a well-to-do scholarly family. After entering the official career, he has been rising through the ranks. He has always talked and laughed with scholars and never interacted with others. He has always only paid attention to the important affairs of the court. Although he has seen the miserable conditions of the people with his own eyes,
But it is still difficult to empathize with ordinary people.
When faced with the people blocking the way to complain, Huo Zhengyuan felt impatient. He was now in a hurry to deal with the tripartite joint trial, so how could he have the time to deal with the people's complaints?
You common people are just hungry and without food, sick and without medicine, your family property is burned down, and your relatives are killed or injured, but I am busy dealing with important affairs of the court!
Compared with major court events such as the replacement of the crown prince and changes in the government situation, what does it matter if you people have suffered a little grievance? Why do you still add chaos to yourself at such a critical time without knowing the general situation?
But Huo Zhengyuan also knows that under the current situation, the prestige of the government is on the verge of collapse, and the people are also agitated and on the verge of an explosion, so he cannot neglect the people's grievances and complaints at this time, otherwise once the people are angered, a civil unrest is inevitable.
incident, the situation in Nanjing will be completely corrupted and out of control.
So, Huo Zhengyuan immediately stepped out of the sedan chair, shouted to the people, pretended to ask various questions, and also pretended to express indignation and pity.
Finally, Huo Zhengyuan promised the people that he would definitely urge the Nanjing government to lift the martial law as soon as possible and assist various shops in Nanjing to open as soon as possible. As for the losses and casualties suffered by the people last night due to the fire and Jinyiwei's suppression, they would also definitely
We will severely punish the relevant persons and strongly recommend the court to provide compensation and relief.
All in all, in order to calm the grievances of the people as soon as possible and stop them from blocking the road, Huo Zhengyuan responded to every request and said a lot of nice words.
After all the good words were said, Huo Zhengyuan finally appeased the Nanjing people who were blocking the road to express their grievances, and they could go on their way in sedans again.
However, after the sedan passed the people blocking the road, Huo Zhengyuan temporarily changed his destination and no longer went to Yingtianfu Yamen. Instead, he asked the sedan bearers to turn around and go to Dongyuan.
Huo Zhengyuan originally wanted to rush to Yingtianfu Yamen as soon as possible, because those arrested "Chaofeng" dead soldiers are now imprisoned in Yingtianfu Prison.
But after meeting the people who blocked the way to redress their grievances, Huo Zhengyuan knew that he could no longer go to Yingtianfu Yamen.
If I just sit in a sedan with a high profile when I am on my way, I will encounter people who forcefully block the road and complain about grievances. The current situation in Yingtianfu Yamen must be even more tense. There must be a large number of people gathering now, and the entire Yingtianfu Yamen must be surrounded layer by layer.
containment.
Although in Huo Zhengyuan's eyes, Yingtianfu Yamen is an insignificant small government office that has no qualifications to affect the situation in Nanjing, but in the eyes of ordinary people, Yingtianfu Yamen is the administrative yamen of Nanjing City, and Yingtianfu Yin Jiang Qing is their parent official.
Therefore, when public dissatisfaction boils over, the Yingtianfu Yamen will definitely be the first to seek an explanation.
Under such circumstances, it is naturally not a good choice for Huo Zhengyuan to continue to Yingtianfu Yamen. He is very likely to encounter angry people again blocking his way to complain. Maybe before he enters Yingtianfu Yamen, he will be surrounded by layers of people, making it difficult to move.
.
*
Sitting in the sedan chair, Huo Zhengyuan couldn't help but feel pity when he thought of the distressed officials of Yingtian Prefecture. He murmured to himself: "Yingtian Prefecture Yin Jiang Qing is also a capable official. The deterioration of the situation in Nanjing is actually
It has nothing to do with him... But unfortunately, since he is sitting in this position, he must clean up the mess, and he can only take the blame... In officialdom, there will always be such unreasonable disasters, so I am too
The death of a rabbit makes a fox sad, and an object harms its own kind..."
Afterwards, Huo Zhengyuan shook his head gently, no longer thinking about Jiang Qing's tragic situation, but began to think about some more important things.
"I originally proposed that those arrested dead soldiers be imprisoned in Yingtianfu Prison because the Yingtianfu Yamen's position is impartial and relatively neutral, which both the Jinyi Guards and the Nanjing garrison can reluctantly accept...
But I ignored the change in public sentiment at the time. I didn't expect that the people would react so strongly after a series of changes last night. Yingtianfu Yamen has now most likely been surrounded by people. It can be said that they have no time to take care of themselves, and then kill those dead people.
It is not appropriate for the scholar to be handed over to the Yingtianfu Yamen for custody, otherwise the progress of the subsequent interrogation will be seriously delayed!
However, besides Yingtianfu Yamen, where should the arrested dead men be detained? There are cells in the Nanjing Criminal Department, but it is currently at the time when the central government is taking over the six departments in Nanjing, so it is not suitable for this Yamen to play its role again
; The Nanjing garrison and the Jinyi Guards each had their own cells, but they would not agree to hand over those dead soldiers to the custody of the other party; the Dali Temple in Nanjing had no real power, and although there were cells, they were in disrepair and could not be reused; the Nanjing Inspectorate's
The cell is too small..."
After thinking about it, Huo Zhengyuan was troubled, so he simply stopped thinking about it and turned to think about another thing.
"There is also the public anger among the people of Nanjing, which must be dealt with as soon as possible! At least, the martial law order has become ineffective and must be revoked immediately. The food stores and drug stores in Nanjing should also resume business as soon as possible, otherwise a civil unrest will be inevitable.
avoid……
The seventh prince Zhu Hejian is currently in charge of Nanjing. Once the people of Nanjing riot under his governance, he will no longer want to take over the throne in the next few years! So for Zhu Hejian, the top priority is
Not only did he try his best to cover up his crime of secretly feeding the dead, he also needed to find a way to persuade various grain stores and pharmacies in Nanjing to resume business as soon as possible!
However, most of the grain shops and drug stores in Nanjing are the property of the Jin gentry. After Jinyiwei put Song Chengren under house arrest, the Jin gentry must have been greatly stimulated. How could they actively cooperate with the Seventh Prince? They would only take the opportunity to blackmail and demand the Seventh Prince.
The prince releases Song Chengren as soon as possible!
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Thinking about it this way, His Highness the Seventh Prince must be in a state of distress now, and is no more relaxed than Yin Jiang Qing of the Yingtian Prefecture! He had previously allowed the Jinyi Guards to place Song Chengren under house arrest, which seemed to be a move against Zhou Shoufu.
He tried to pull out the fire, but he also ignored the changes in public sentiment, which made his situation even more passive. It was simply that he was clever but was mistaken for his cleverness!
In this case, the only variable is Zhou Shoufu! He is not only the spokesperson of the Jin gentry in the world, but also Song Chengren's best friend, and a person who has the overall situation in mind! When he sees that the people in Nanjing are worried about riots, he may compromise a little
, persuade the Jin gentry to resume business and stabilize people's hearts... But it is also possible that they will not make concessions, but go all out. Even if they sit back and watch the situation in Nanjing rot, they will completely ruin Zhu Hejian's chance of ascending to power... In short, as long as the Jin gentry still has the support, this
As the first assistant Zhou, you still have the initiative!"
While thinking about this secretly, Huo Zhengyuan suddenly felt a jolt in his sedan chair, and then heard a report that they had arrived outside the East Garden.
When Huo Zhengyuan stood up and left the sedan, he looked up and saw that the outside of the East Garden was also very lively, with carriages and sedans everywhere.
Obviously, after the Jin gentry heard the news that Song Chengren was under house arrest by Jin Yiwei, they rushed to Dongyuan one after another to find Zhou Shangjing to inquire about the news.
At this moment, a large number of gentry gathered outside the main entrance of the East Garden, and Zhou Shangjing's long attendant Zhou Quan was entertaining them.
But Zhou Quan did not allow the Jin gentry to enter the East Garden to visit Zhou Shangjing. Instead, he politely declined the Jin gentry's visit. Therefore, after the Jin gentry talked with Zhou Quan, they all looked disappointed. Most of the Jin gentry still did not give up and were still there.
After being entangled with Zhou Quan endlessly, there were also a few Jin gentry who whispered to Zhou Quan for a few words and then turned around and left in a hurry.
While Huo Zhengyuan was observing the situation, Zhou Quan quickly discovered Huo Zhengyuan's appearance.
Therefore, Zhou Quan quickly got rid of the entangled gentry, walked quickly to Huo Zhengyuan, bowed and said: "Master Huo, I have been waiting for you here for a long time."
Huo Zhengyuan couldn't help but be startled: "Are you waiting for me? Did Zhou Shoufu guess my visit in advance?"
Zhou Quan nodded lightly: "My master didn't rest last night, and his body couldn't hold on any longer, so he took a rest immediately after returning to the East Garden! But before he took a rest, he guessed that Academician Huo would definitely come to the East Garden to fight with him.
He wanted to discuss the matter of the public anger among the people of Nanjing, but he really did not have the strength to entertain the great scholar Huo personally, so he asked the villain to wait for the great scholar Huo and explain two things to you on his behalf."