In the execution room of the government prison, the boss was tied to a wooden stake, his head bouncing.
With a sound of "crash", a basin of water was poured on his face. The headmaster suddenly woke up and saw a young man in his late twenties sitting in front of him.
The young man asked: "Do you want to say it yourself, or should I ask?"
"I said it myself."
The boss has not slept for five days and five nights. The only thing he wants now is to have a good sleep. No matter what is asked at this time, he is willing to answer, even if he chops off his head with a knife after falling asleep,
He doesn't care anymore.
He had never thought that not sleeping would be so uncomfortable. It would be worse than death.
"My name is Wang Shitou, I am thirty-eight years old..."
"Tell the important point."
Yang Xuan interrupted him impatiently.
"Yes, yes, the second master said his surname is Zhao. I usually call him Mr. Zhao. He has more than 700 people under him. They usually stay in the village. Occasionally, when he goes out, he will bring back all kinds of food and drinks.
For expenses and money, he told me that all he does is business at sea, and he just wanted to use my place to stay. He also said that if there is an opportunity in the future, he will take us to make a fortune together."
"That's all?"
Yang Xuan's tone was very calm, but it made Wang Shitou's heart tremble.
"Also, the villain has secretly investigated and found out that Mr. Zhao is from a big family in Minzhou Prefecture. However, Mr. Zhao said that the person behind him is very powerful, so big that he can reach the sky. The villain is also
I didn’t dare to ask more, but my subordinates heard from them that they had dealings with Heng Yuanmao’s business. I also inquired about this matter. Heng Yuanmao was in Minzhou Prefecture and had been open for less than two years.
There is usually no business, and the door is not even opened very often."
"Then do you know how many boats Mr. Zhao has?"
Wang Shitou's eyes lit up: "I sent people to inquire about this. Sometimes there are more than thirty ships, and sometimes there are more than a dozen. They are all large ships, the kind that transport cargo."
"Then has he ever brought overseas barbarians to the village?"
Wang Shitou tilted his head and said: "Yes, yes, Mr. Zhao has all kinds of people under his command, not only us Dasheng people, but also Japanese and all kinds of people, some with red hair and some with yellow hair."
Yes, there are also those who wear turbans all day long, and those with curly hair, but the villain can’t understand what they say.”
Yang Xuan frowned and pondered, and waved his hand: "Take him down and let him have a good rest. If he remembers anything, report him quickly. If the information reported is valuable, we may consider sparing you a small life."
Wang Shitou had an expression of relief on his face and was taken down.
Back at Prince Qiong's Mansion, Yang Xuan told His Highness Prince Qiong and Mr. Lu about the situation he analyzed.
His Royal Highness King Qiong said: "From this perspective, this is a collusion between pirates and private companies to benefit from smuggling?"
"I'm afraid this matter is not that simple. How dare ordinary private companies take such a big risk." Mr. Lu analyzed: "The person behind this must have a strong background."
"What kind of background dares to ignore the imperial court's sea ban and blatantly collude with pirates for smuggling?"
Yang Xuan said calmly: "What if the person behind this is the person who issued the sea ban?"
"Are you saying that His Highness the Crown Prince's purpose of banning the sea is to monopolize overseas trade?" His Highness King Qiong was shocked.
Mr. Lu also showed an expression of resentment: "This is harming the interests of all people and enriching one's own selfish interests."
Yang Xuan nodded and said: "I think the possibility is very high. Otherwise, who has the ability to not only collude with pirates, but also bribe the port guards. The quantity of goods from overseas is not small, and huge commercial channels are needed to digest it.
This Heng Yuanmao is just a link in the goods circulation channel."
His Royal Highness King Qiong and Mr. Lu were both silent. If what Yang Xuan guessed was true, it would not take long for the Crown Prince's plan to be realized. With money and power, His Majesty the Emperor would be under his control. By then, it would be a simple matter of usurping power and seizing the throne.
It's a matter of course.
His Royal Highness King Qiong said sadly: "Originally, my father intended to pass the throne to the crown prince, why would he do this?"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been dormant for many years. His Majesty the Emperor has been critically ill several times, but has survived. In addition, the power of several other princes is growing day by day. I am afraid that His Highness the Crown Prince cannot wait any longer."
Mr. Lu analyzed: "The problem now is that once this matter spreads, other princes will definitely take action. They are afraid that the government will be shaken and the world will be in chaos."
"But if we allow the prince to develop, we are afraid that after the prince succeeds to the throne, the people of the world will be plunged into misery."
Seeing Mr. Lu's dilemma, Yang Xuan curled his lips and said, "Mr. Lu, there is no need to be so entangled. Let's just develop ourselves. No matter who takes the throne, we will be able to protect ourselves.
"
Mr. Lu shook his head and sighed: "How can Qiongzhou Prefecture, a mere corner of the country, resist the Great Sheng Dynasty? If Qiongzhou Prefecture is fine as usual, but Qiongzhou Prefecture has considerable power, no matter who takes the throne, they will be eliminated.
"
Yang Xuan asked: "In Mr. Lu's opinion, what should we do?"
"this……"
"It's rare to have both in this world. How can everything go as planned?" Yang Xuan said: "If we have no development, we will be at the mercy of others. If we develop vigorously, we may have a chance to protect ourselves.
It even makes the other party fearful, what does Mr. Lu think?"
Mr. Lu was silent for a while, then nodded and said: "What Mr. Yang said is true. Instead of sitting back and waiting for death, it is better to fight back."
His Royal Highness King Qiong on the side asked: "Mr. Yang, does he have any countermeasures?"
Yang Xuan shook his head and said: "There is no good solution at the moment. The only thing we can do is to speed up the progress of the current plan."
…
The three of them discussed it for a whole day, until it was dark, and Yang Xuan came out of Prince Qiong's Mansion.
It happened that the workers were finishing their work and returning to the Workers' New Village.
Yang Xuan immediately asked Zhang Junbao to ring the big iron bell in the new village.
There is a large square in Workers' New Village. Generally, after workers finish work in the evening, they will come here with their rice bowls and small benches to eat and chat, which is also a way to relax.
The big iron bell that was ringing was the signal to summon the workers.
Soon the workers gathered.
There was a lot of discussion on the side.
"Last time we rang the bell to summon us, we invited a theater troupe to sing. Is there a show today?"
"Where is there? Look, Mr. Yang is the only one on the stage. How can there be a troupe?"
"Then why are we summoned?"
"I don't know. Our boss treats us well. We'll come when called."
"That's right, maybe something good will happen."
Soon, these workers were all lined up according to their respective factory positions.
Although it is still noisy down there, there are three to four thousand people after all, so it is very good to be able to have such efficiency.
Yang Xuan nodded with satisfaction, held up a loudspeaker and said: "We are gathering everyone together today because we have some bad news to announce."
The originally noisy crowd suddenly became quiet.
"All factories in Qiongzhou Prefecture will be shut down in the next two days. It's time for everyone to tidy up and prepare to go home."
As soon as Yang Xuan said these words, the crowd that had been silent just now exploded with a bang.