After thinking for a while, Wang Yuanwai asked another key question: "Although Governor Yang is powerful, how much can he support you?"
Zheng Zhiyan is now really afraid that someone will stab him in the back, and recently he feels that Wang Yuanwai is not very honest.
After all, only true colleagues can know what illegal and criminal things each other has done.
So Zheng Yuanwai decided to show his trump card, "If I invite the cabinet minister to say hello to Governor Yang, do you think Governor Yang will take it seriously?"
Wang Yuanwai was both surprised and not surprised at the same time. You little Zheng has hidden it quite well!
Today, the first assistant is Shen Shixing, a native of Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, and the second assistant is Xu Guo, a native of She County, Huizhou Prefecture.
Zheng Yuan's ancestral home is also in She County, so he and Xu Guonai are from the same hometown, and it is normal for him to gain a relationship with Xu Guo through this.
Besides, given the current trend of worshiping money, the leader of Yangzhou salt merchants is worthy enough to associate with Cifu.
"Huizhou people must help Huizhou people." Wang Yuanwai immediately expressed his position and said, "I can lend you my manpower."
Only then did Zheng Yuanwai feel relieved. Previously, he always felt that Wang Yuanwai was an unstable factor.
Now that Wang Yuanwai has lent all his men to him, it is equivalent to temporarily handing over "military power", so he can feel at ease for the time being.
When he returned home, Wang Yuanwai came to Lu Xiucai and asked, "Did Lin Tailai ask you to find me? Or did he express his intention to contact me again?"
Lu Junbi replied: "No, Lin Jieyuan has never mentioned you at all, and it seems that he has no intention of contacting you again."
Wang Yuanwai was a little confused. Why did Lin Tailai suddenly ignore him? Was the previous enthusiasm for cooperation all fake?
Could it be that Lin Tailai is just using himself as a cover? Is he just a tool to attract Zheng Zhiyan's attention?
Southern Zhili is one of the most special "provincial regions" in the Ming Dynasty, both politically and economically.
For example, there are two governors in southern Zhili, one each in Jiangnan and Jiangbei. Of course, "Governor of Jiangnan" and "Governor of Jiangbei" are folk terms, and there is no such official title.
In the official abbreviation, the one in the south of the Yangtze River is Governor Yingtian and Premier Qian Liang, and the one in the north of the Yangtze River is called Governor Hecao of Fengyang.
Another significant difference between governors and local officials in the Ming Dynasty is that generally local officials have "responsibility for guarding the territory" and the government offices are fixed in one place.
Although the governor also has a relatively fixed residence, he can actually move his office within the province. The procuratorate built for the governor in other places is also called "Xingtai".
These related names are both "Xun" and "Xing", so you can imagine the working conditions of the governor.
Lin Daguan didn’t know much about the early governor system, but he guessed that when the governor system was first established, it might be to make up for the shortcomings of local officials being restricted by the system and unable to flexibly adapt across regions.
Regardless of the governor Yingtian or the governor Fengyang, among the more than 20 governors in the Ming Dynasty, they were considered one of the most important.
A few days after Yang Junmin, the current governor of Fengyang, took office, he had just completed the handover with the former governor Li Shida in Huai'an, and Li Shida was promoted to the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing.
Yang Junmin came from a very powerful background. He was a native of Puzhou, Shanxi. In recent years, there has been an explosion of talent here, and there have been official officials such as Wang Chonggu, Yang Bo, and Zhang Siwei.
Wang, Yang, and Zhang have also become the top famous families in Puzhou and even Shanxi. They are all extremely wealthy because of their business, and the three families have been married for generations.
Yang Junmin is the son of the big boss Yang Bo, and is married to Zhang Siwei, the former chief assistant. This background is definitely one of the best in the officialdom.
Although Zhang Siwei suddenly died of a sudden illness in October last year, his legacy is still there. Yang Junmin, who has strong qualifications, is now the leader of this faction and is almost destined to be promoted to minister, and most likely to be minister of household affairs.
After all, in the tradition of Ming Dynasty officialdom, it was a common promotion path for He Cao, the governor and governor of Fengyang, to be promoted to minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
After Governor Yang and his predecessor Li Shida completed the handover in Huai'an, they went to Yangzhou. There were several main reasons.
First, Yangzhou is an important town in the north of the Yangtze River. As the governor, he should come and inspect it.
Second, in order to befriend the former governor Li Shida, Governor Yang personally sent Li Shida to Nanjing to take up his new post, and sent him all the way to Yangzhou.
After all, Li Shida was also a well-established official and had a very close relationship with the Qingliu forces.
This time Li Shida was promoted to the Minister of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, and he might one day go north to the capital to become a minister with real power.
Third, because the salt industry implemented the Kaizhong method in the early years, many Shanxi and Shaanxi businessmen gathered in Yangzhou.
Therefore, Governor Yang went to Yangzhou City with the intention of developing financial resources for his family.
And the friendship with Zheng Zhiyan, the leader of the Huizhou merchants in Yangzhou, also played into the hands of Governor Yang, and there were great opportunities for cooperation.
What's more, Xu Guo, the second assistant, wrote to him and asked him to take care of Zheng Zhiyan.
Fourth, the renovation of Pingshan Hall, a historical place, has been completed. It is said that Wang Shizhen, the leader of the literary circle, will also go there. If he can appear at the first gathering of Pingshan Hall, he can also improve his reputation.
Gao Changjiang has been running back and forth between the city and outside the city for the past two days, constantly making arrangements according to the verbal instructions given by the sitting hall. He is so busy that his feet never touch the ground. It can be said that his life is very fulfilling, and he does not know how many lifetimes of cultivation he has received.
According to the information, Governor Yang will arrive in Yangzhou City tomorrow and enter the city through Lijin Gate.
Tonight, Gao Changjiang came to Lin Zuotuan to give a general report on all the arrangements.
"Where is the seat?" Gao Changjiang asked Zhang Wen, the Zuo protector who was sitting in the front hall.
Zhang Wen replied lazily: "I am currently in Wu Tian's room."
Official Lin treated Wu Tian very favorably and provided two separate rooms for Wu Tian to live in.
Gao Changjiang walked to Wu Tian's residence again. As soon as he approached the door, he heard voices inside.
So Gao Changjiang stopped for a moment and listened to the sounds inside first, so as not to interfere with the good thing of sitting in the restaurant and see things he shouldn't have seen.
"Official! No!" Wu Tianshi's soft exclamation was first heard.
I heard Lin Tailai's slightly annoyed voice again: "I've done so much for you, and you still dare to reject me!"
Then Wu Tianshi begged and said: "The slave family does not want to take revenge on the Zheng family, so I beg the officials to let the slave family go."
Lin Tailai scolded: "Since you are here and already here with me, you have to do it even if you don't do it!"
"It's really not possible!" Wu Tianshi was still resisting.
Lin Tailai's voice became colder, "Madam! You also hope that your son can grow up safely and study and learn arts and even become a general or prime minister in the future, right?"
Gao Changjiang sighed, pushed the door open, and said to Wu Tianshi in a helpful way:
"Madam! I advise you to obey and don't go against your will.
Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll hand you over to dozens of guys outside, how can you resist dozens of guys by yourself?"
The Grand Canal goes around Yangzhou in both directions east and south, so there are large docks in both directions.
Ships coming from the south like to dock outside the south gate, while ships coming from the north like to dock outside the east gate.
In the blink of an eye, the next day came, and the large dock outside Lijin Gate in the east of Yangzhou City was very lively, with dozens of local officials and celebrities gathering here.
Because Governor Yang arrived in Yangzhou City immediately, disembarked from the ship here, and then entered the city through Lijin Gate. Therefore, as usual, local representatives were naturally organized to greet him at the dock.
After Governor Yang got off the boat, he was greeted by the government magistrate, the county magistrate, and the salt merchant leader Zheng Zhiyan.
If in other places, it would be strange for a business leader to appear here. Ordinary businessmen would not be able to appear on the stage.
But this is Yangzhou, and salt merchants have a special status in Yangzhou, basically equivalent to gentry elsewhere.
After greetings, everyone moved out of the way and respectfully invited Governor Yang to get into the sedan chair, and wait until they entered the city to receive the wind and wash away the dust.
But at this moment, a beautiful young woman suddenly jumped in front of the governor with her baby in her arms, shouting: "The daughter of the people, Wu Tian, is suing the evil thief Zheng Zhiyan for murdering his colleagues and seeking wealth and life!"
Everyone was stunned, no one knew how this young woman appeared or how she got in.
It can only be said that this kind of interception of high-ranking officials to complain has always been strictly prevented, but it has been repeatedly prohibited.
In fact, Mrs. Wu Tian was not willing to complain in public like this. But she had no choice but to come.
Governor Yang looked at Wu Tianshi coldly and said, "If you have any grievances, go to the prefecture and county. Don't go beyond the level to file a complaint!"
If it weren't for the fact that the other party was a woman or a child, I would have given orders to fight him left and right.
Wu Tianshi shouted again: "This matter may be related to the officers and soldiers. It happened outside the city and involved the salt industry. How can the county government handle it? The only way is to ask Mr. Futai Qingtian to make the decision!"
Governor Yang came to Yangzhou City for fame and profit, not for trouble.
He immediately reprimanded: "If there is no proof and no evidence, what's the point of filing a complaint! Get back!"
Someone in the crowd shouted in a rhythm: "Who said that a complaint must have evidence? If it is found to be a false accusation, it will be dismissed. What can't be accepted?"
If Futai doesn’t want to file a lawsuit against the Zheng family, please just say so!”
Governor Yang glanced contemptuously in the direction of the crowd, said nothing, and walked away.
Judging from common sense, this situation is definitely a trap, and you should not accept it in order to avoid the trap.
As a frontier official, he naturally has enough responsibility.
Not to mention not accepting an unclear petition, but what if the case is really unjust, false, and wrong?
But before I could get on the sedan, I heard someone shouting again: "Here is the evidence that the Zheng family has harmed people!"
Looking back, I saw a dozen people tying up two men and pinning them to the ground.
Zheng Zhiyan frowned, he had already recognized that the two people who were tied up were the leaders of the Zheng family's thugs.
Three days ago, when I was recuperating in the martial arts gym, the martial arts gym was attacked by a surprise attack. More than a dozen people were arrested, and these two people were among them.
At that time, Officer Zheng was short of energy and manpower, and had no time to take care of him. He just wanted to wait for the governor to come before trying to save people. He did not expect that they would appear in such a way today.
Someone continued to shout: "What Futai said just now is unfounded, and I don't accept it!"
Both of these two people participated in the Zheng family's siege against their fellow Wu family, and can be used as witnesses!"
Others who were still watching thought that it seemed that the beautiful young woman who complained was also well prepared, and now they were in for a show.
When Senior Official Lin heard what Wu Tian said about the tragedy in his family, he immediately guessed that if the Wu family was almost wiped out by the Zheng family, then 80% of the Zheng family's thugs were directly involved at the scene, and they would at least be watching the situation.
.
So they quickly mobilized 200 people to besiege the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall, and captured a dozen suspected ringleaders from among the wounded.
After careful interrogation, it was finally revealed that two people had participated in the siege of the Wu family.
When everyone was wondering about Officer Lin's attack on the Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall, no one thought that Officer Lin was trying to capture a witness for another incident.
Governor Yang couldn't help but glared at Zheng Zhiyan who was standing next to him. Is this the leader of the salt industry? He can't do anything clean!
Now it's even more impossible to accept the prince's claim. Once it is accepted, it will be a big trap.
If the complaint enters the judicial process, it will be "supervised" by interested parties, which will be more troublesome, so not accepting it is the only way to avoid the pitfall.
Zheng Zhiyan was still in shock and doubt. He did not expect that such a trivial matter of the Wu family would be brought up for discussion at this time.
Don’t you really think that Governor Yang is the Grand Master Qingtian in the storytelling, casually accepting the petition in public?
Governor Yang shouted to Zheng Zhiyan who was in a daze: "What is going on?"
Zheng Yuanwai replied without hesitation: "Please, Dazhong Cheng, please look into it clearly. These are all false accusations! And there must be someone behind it!"
Then he pointed at the two witnesses and said: "Three days ago, these two people were kidnapped by Lin Tailai from Suzhou! It is estimated that Lin Tailai set up a private court again and beat him up!"
The dozen or so people next to me with Suzhou accents are all Lin Tailai’s accomplices!”
After some thought, Governor Yang decided to help Zheng Zhiyan pass the test. After all, Zheng Zhiyan's interests were too great.
And because of Zhang Siwei's relationship, the first assistant Shen Shixing and himself were obviously not in the same pot, so marrying the second assistant Xu Guo was a must.
Besides, this is just a small case and there is no difficulty in handling it.
As for Lin Tailai having a good relationship with the Shen family, that is not among Governor Yang's priorities.
After all, the chief minister Shen Shixing does not have the authority of Zhang Juzheng. For ministers who are backed by factions and powerful forces, they are not afraid of the chief minister; only those officials who have no backers or no power to back them will be afraid of the chief minister.
After making up his mind, Governor Yang ordered: "Take all the people away and wait for this court to investigate whether the accusation is false and whether there is anyone instigating and instigating it behind the scenes!"
Immediately, dozens of the governor's soldiers came forward and surrounded the dozen or so people and the two witnesses. Without saying a word, they immediately started arresting the people!
Suddenly a sixth-grade military attache squeezed out of the crowd and shouted: "Wait!"
Governor Yang looked at this little sixth-grade military attache in surprise, who are you?
The military attache saluted and said: "I am Zhao Dawu, the officer of the Hundred Household Guards in Suzhou. I have the courage to ask the army to release him."
Governor Yang was too lazy to pay attention to the military attache, got up his sedan chair and left.
Anyone who comes to you for nothing is definitely a trap. It's better to ignore it. If you say another word, you will lose!
But before walking a few steps, not even reaching the city gate, I suddenly heard the roar of a crowd coming from outside the sedan.
Governor Yang raised the curtains of the sedan chair and looked outside, only to see that at least a thousand people had gathered outside the city gate ahead.
Not only did it completely block the way for the official sedan, it also gradually surrounded it from both sides.
This made the well-informed Governor Yang change his face. What exactly was going on? Was it a civil commotion or a riot?
If you say there is no organization, even a dog would not believe it, but who can organize such a large battle?