"The public has no way to cross the river, but he does so! If he falls into the river and dies, what will happen to him!"
Hedong County, Anyi.
The local tycoon, Fan Xian, the captain of Diannong School, was the host, and sitting under him were the county magistrate Wei Gu, the meritorious officer Zhang Shi, the deputy Zhu Ao and other local tycoons. But to Fan Xian's left hand, sat
A foreigner.
"I heard that the imperial court thought that the salt policy in Hedong had not been effective for a long time, so it sent people to Hedong to do meritorious service. It is said that these people are all 'high-quality people' who came out of the imperial administration department. They are all proficient in governance, salt and iron, and are familiar with the court's politics.
"Fan Xian said with some displeasure on his face: "These meritorious officials appointed by the imperial court are obviously here to divide our power, which is much more difficult to handle than Wang Fujun."
Wang Yi has always played the role of a good old man in Hedong, and he treats local powerful people in a friendly manner. He also knows that he is alone and will never be able to carry out his work without relying on the support of local powerful people, so he treats Hedong powerful people in many matters.
Concessions and compromises.
For example, in the matter of salt and iron, there are thousands of large and small salt ponds in the east of Hedong, and the annual output is astonishing. However, local forces divide the salt ponds, and their interests are intertwined. Even though there is a Ming imperial edict to run the salt and iron industry, represented by Wang Yi
It is still difficult for the official power of the court to intervene.
After considering the local reality and understanding the intention of the emperor and others to eradicate the powerful people in Hedong, Wang Yi decisively chose to show weakness and cooperated with the powerful people to directly promote the salt-producing private individuals in the powerful people's families to salt officials, which was completed formally.
It is an official operation, but in reality the salt administration is still controlled by the powerful.
Wang Yi's forbearance and connivance were undoubtedly a sign of weakness and incompetence in the eyes of Fan Xian and others. They became more and more unscrupulous and simply ignored Wang Yi. They not only extended their hands to the salt administration, but also to the farmland, completely controlling it.
Various major political figures in Hedong County.
But all of this is based on the fact that all the meritorious officers and officials in the county are local powerful people. Now the imperial court seems to be dissatisfied with Wang Yi's efforts to implement the salt policy, and has appointed Du Ji, Yang Pei and other foreign officials.
The scholars came to Hedong to serve as meritorious officials, obviously to build a team for Wang Yi.
The outsider sitting at the bottom spoke, with a Nanyang accent and a sinister tone: "I heard that the Yellow River winds back, and there are many water thieves, and the government can't stop it... Since these meritorious officials sent by the imperial court have let
When people are in trouble, why not send them... huh?"
"As expected of Mr. Xu, he really thought carefully." Fan Xian had no idea how sinful it was to murder a court official. He agreed with a smile and planned to put it into practice: "It's just that the Yellow River water thieves are almost exposed now.
The county guards of Nong and Feng Yi have wiped them out, and the remaining branches are useless. Otherwise, we will send our own troops to pretend to be water thieves, and then use their flags when we act."
"The water thieves were greedy for money and robbed and killed officials. After the incident, it must be the responsibility of the county guard or lieutenant. The court must punish them. This will also facilitate our deployment in Hongnong and other counties." The man named Xu
The Nanyang man smiled proudly and said, "I just don't know where these people are going to cross the river? They must be coming from Puban via Feng Yi."
Wei Gu, who had been silent all the time, suddenly remembered that his old friend Du Ji was also in the team that came to Hedong this time. If he really followed Fan Xian's instructions, wouldn't he be charged with murdering his friend without saving his life?
He felt vaguely guilty, and looked up to see Zhang Shi, the meritorious officer below, looking towards him, with a trace of tangle and intolerance in his eyes. Wei Gu knew that Zhang Shi was also one of Du Ji's friends in Hedong, and was better than him.
More emphasis on friendship.
Wei Gu thought about it in his mind for a long time, and finally bit the bullet and said: "I know Du Bohou very well. He is a simple and unsophisticated man. I can easily fall in love with him, and there is no need to take such a dangerous move. Besides, if I kill them, how can I know what the imperial court is doing?"
Will we send more officials here? So not only is this meaningless, but it may arouse the suspicion of the court and affect major events, which is not advisable."
After hearing this, Fan Xian hesitated.
Zhu Ao, the governor of Hedong County, felt a little anxious when he saw Fan Xian's expression. He was a moderately powerful local man with a modest family background. He relied on his ability to be good at military planning and was able to unite with Fan Xian and others and become a county governor.
Now is the time when he is seeking to take a step further and become a county meritorious officer. How can he sit back and watch Du Ji and others cross the river to seize his valued position? What's more, Fan Xian has privately promised to get him the position of meritorious officer.
How could he just agree to let Du Ji and others cross the river: "If we don't kill these people now, when they cross the river safely, they will usurp our power and positions with the support of Wang Fujun, which will greatly restrict us. This will be even more unhelpful."
Make plans for us."
Merit Zhang Shi glanced sideways at Zhu Ao. How could he not know what the other person was thinking? He was not willing to trade his friend's life for Zhu Ao's power: "Don't worry about that. Du Bohou is generous in politics and is good at judging opportunities.
He is not a strong and difficult person to control. Besides, I am familiar with Mr. Wei. This is the so-called knowing yourself and the enemy. Otherwise, it will be even worse if there are several unfamiliar and difficult ones coming in the future. Besides, even Mr. Wangfu can do nothing to stop me.
Wait, are you still afraid of a few outsiders? I think we should keep them."
Fan Xian had already been persuaded by the two of them, but he still asked the other person's opinion politely: "What do you think, Mr. Xu?"
Xu You brushed his beard and pondered, thinking that this was the time to unite everyone. Considering Wei Gu and Zhang Shi's friendship with Du Ji, it was really inappropriate for Du Ji to cause a rift within them, so he nodded and said: "Wei Gu and Zhang Shi have a good relationship with Du Ji."
You are right. Let them go this time. When they arrive, I will ask Mr. Wei to show his friendship and go to Guan to test. If you can understand the current situation and be of use to us, that will be the best place."
Wei Gu and Zhang Shi stood up and left in relief. Although Zhu Ao was dissatisfied with the result, there was nothing he could do about it.
After everyone left, Xu You said to Fan Xian: "But I don't know how Cheng Yin and the two captains are in contact with each other?"
Xu You, also known as Ziyuan, was a good friend of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao when he was young. Now he is one of Yuan Shao's counselors. He is courageous and resourceful. As early as a few months ago, he was appointed as the envoy of Jizhou to contribute
In this name, I went to Chang'an and conducted private inquiries to find out the truth.
As early as the beginning, Fan Xian and other Hedong tycoons were dissatisfied with the court because of the salt and iron patent, and they often had conflicts with the governor Wang Yi, so they had contact with Yuan Shao very early. This time Xu You was even more responsible
On the way back, he secretly got off the bus and went north from Shaanxi County to Hedong. During these months, he collaborated with all parties and plotted a rebellion.
As the person in charge of this rebellion in Hedong, the chief envoy, and the representative of Yuan Shao, Xu You attached great importance to this matter and regarded it as a career. He was a very restless person who despised the imperial power.
A long time ago, he dared to conspire with Wang Fen, the governor of Jizhou, and others to depose Emperor Xiaoling, and it will be the same this time.
Therefore, as a restless person, he naturally knows how to identify his colleagues, such as Fan Xian, the captain of Diannong School, Cheng Yin, the commander-in-chief, and Hou Xuan, the captain-general.