Only the sound of rushing footsteps was heard. Hundreds of local county soldiers, led by a majestic and murderous embroidered messenger wearing brocade embroidered clothes, surrounded a gorgeous and wealthy mansion.
live.
The guards in the mansion heard the commotion and walked out quickly. Looking at the local county soldiers outside, they frowned and shouted loudly:
"This is the residence of Mr. Jia, who is your subordinate? You are so ignorant of etiquette? Let me tell you, you have never received a letter from my official..."
Before the guard could finish his words, the embroidered messenger who led the team suddenly slashed him with a knife. There was only a "puff" sound, and the guard in the mansion who was the leader in the clamor was killed by a knife.
The embroidered messenger snorted coldly and shouted:
"Jia Tao, a wealthy businessman in Hailing County, has a rebellious heart and colludes to finance the thief Zhang Shicheng. The evidence of the crime is conclusive! The Embroidered Clothes Envoy is ordered to arrest and interrogate the crime, but anyone who stops him will be killed without mercy!"
The sharp scolding immediately caused all the guards who came out to stop him to tremble, and they quickly carefully looked at the clothes of the people in front of them.
Wearing a winged black gauze hat, holding a sword, and wearing an embroidered dress to make a gold medal, especially the brocade embroidered dress, it is all gorgeous and conspicuous. He is clearly the most famous and feared embroidered messenger in the Xia Kingdom!
This group of guards, who had been hired with high salaries, saw clearly the identity of the leader of the team, and their courage suddenly disappeared. They were not worthy of the money given by their master in the past, and no one even thought about resisting.
The embroidered messenger, who looked like a wolf and a tiger, kicked open the door of the mansion in front of him and rushed in with a group of county soldiers.
Suddenly, there were sounds of panic and screams in this gorgeous mansion. The whole family in the mansion had not yet reacted, and they were immediately grabbed and taken out.
Outside the mansion, Zhong Zizuo, who was wearing a second-grade embroidered envoy's robe, looked tired, opened his mouth and yawned, and then asked the people around him:
"How many more are there?"
Yang Xun, the chief embroiderer of Hailing County and the third-grade embroiderer, quickly reported back:
"Back to your lord, the Jia Mansion in Zilang County is the last one. Now all the salt merchants in the counties of Jianling Mansion have been captured by your lord."
Under the Hailing County of the Xia Kingdom, there were two prefectures, namely Jianling Prefecture and Haiyang Prefecture.
When Zhong Zizuo heard this, he sighed slightly and said:
"This is really not a good job!"
At this time, Zhang Shicheng rebelled in Hailing County. With the secret support of salt merchants who were dissatisfied with the salt tax policy of the Xia Kingdom, he coerced the people and occupied half of the county.
Zhong Zizuo came here on the order of Emperor Xia. On the one hand, he thoroughly investigated the salt merchants who secretly colluded with the rebels. On the other hand, he also took the opportunity to eradicate all those who opposed the new policy of the imperial court.
Hailing County is close to the sea, and there are many salt merchants. Therefore, after Zhong Zizuo was ordered to come to Hailing County, he traveled non-stop for several months, which was very hard. Therefore, he could not help but complain a few times.
Yang Xun, the head of Hailing County on the side, turned his eyes at this moment, and a flattering look suddenly appeared on his face, saying:
"Your Majesty has been running around for days, and your hard work has always been seen by your Majesty. Your Majesty will naturally know your loyalty. So as long as your Majesty returns to the capital, His Majesty's reward will definitely not be less!"
When Zhong Zizuo heard this, he nodded casually and said:
"Your Majesty has clear rewards and punishments. As long as you do your job well, I will report the truth!"
When Yang Xun heard this, he quickly said happily:
"Then, I will take my place on behalf of my brothers. Thank you so much, sir!"
At this time, an embroiderer quickly walked out of Jia's mansion, came to Zhong Zizuo, handed over an account book, bowed and said:
"Your Excellency, the gold and silver belongings in the Jia Mansion are already being counted. This is the original account book of the Mansion. Please take a look at it first."
When Zhong Zizuo heard this, he immediately became energetic. He reached out to take the account book, looked at it carefully for a few times, then he couldn't help but clicked his tongue twice and sighed:
"These salt merchants are really rich! The gold and silver stored in Jia's house alone is more than 300,000 taels!"
"Including the Jia family, after confiscating the property of thirteen salt merchants in Jianling Prefecture, they actually gathered nearly two million taels of gold and silver. The remaining acres of real estate, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, after being sold off, turned out to be a huge sum of money!
Tsk tsk..."
It was just Jianling Prefecture, one of the two prefectures. Zhong Zizuo did not use the topic to make any use of it. He just confiscated the properties of the thirteen salt merchants who had conclusive evidence that they had colluded with the rebels. But even so, there was still a huge sum of two to three million taels.
!
You must know that Yu Zhaoling wiped out the treasury before, but only collected 800,000 taels, and allocated it to the front line to use as military supplies. But now, some salt merchant families who only confiscated the entire land have obtained several times the gold and silver.
.From this alone, we can see how wealthy these salt merchants are!
As soon as these words came out, Yang Xun on the side turned his eyes furtively, and then he came close to Zhong Zizhuo's ear and whispered:
"Sir, this Jia family is no better than other families! Two hundred years ago, the ancestors of the Jia family were involved in the salt industry. The foundation is deep and the family continues to this day with undefeated momentum. Although these three hundred thousand taels are a lot, they are definitely not the Jia family's.
All the funds should be just the gold and silver in the Jia Mansion's warehouse for the funds of his trading houses and caravans..."
Hearing this, Zhong Zizuo's eyes widened and he exclaimed:
"Good guy, is it just a part?"
When Yang Xun saw this, he quickly said:
"If your Excellency trusts your subordinates and they are willing to lead people, we will search the whole Jia family again and we will definitely find the place where the Jia family hides gold and silver..."
Having said this, Yang Xun paused for a moment, lowered his voice, and said in a voice that only two people could hear:
"As long as your Excellency is willing, I guarantee that no one else will know about these gold and silver! Just treat it as, this is my letter of submission to Your Excellency..."
This so-called declaration of surrender was Yang Xun's expression of his intention to serve under Zhong Zizuo.
Speaking of which, Zhong Zizuo is now a second-grade embroidery envoy, and he is an old minister of the current Xia Emperor. He is deeply trusted, and is even ordered to patrol and check the embroidery envoys in various places. This is real.
Xiuyi makes the second most powerful figure.
It is natural for Yang Xun to want to get close to such a high-ranking and powerful person.
When Zhong Zizhuo heard this, he narrowed his eyes and took a look at Yang Xun, the master of embroidery in Hailing County. However, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth and he nodded:
"That's fine!"
Hearing Zhong Zizuo's nod, Yang Xun was immediately overjoyed. He quickly clasped his fists and saluted, and then excitedly led his people to search in person.
Watching Yang Xun leave excitedly, Zhong Zizhuo's smile became more and more obvious.
"I was still having a headache at first. How could I find an excuse to get rid of the chief embroiderer of Hailing County and make him one of my own? But it turned out that Yang Xun brought up the matter himself!"
Although Yang Xun intends to serve, Hailing County is not like other local counties. It is the place where His Majesty in Zhongqing City has laid out his plans. In order to complete the tasks assigned there, it is necessary to have the trustworthy Niangan guards
in charge.
How can Zhong Zizuo safely use this person who came to him casually?
As Zhong Zizuo spoke, he turned to look at the embroiderer beside him and said:
"If Emperor Xia knows about today's matter, shouldn't he trust me more?"
The guard at the sticky pole dressed by the embroiderer quickly lowered his head and said in a deep voice:
"Your Excellency is wise! Now Emperor Xia is short of gold and silver. Your Excellency, taking advantage of the situation to offer such a huge amount of gold and silver, will definitely elevate your status in Emperor Xia's heart to a higher level!"
When Zhong Zizuo heard this, he immediately smiled proudly.
At this time, another guard from the sticky pole dressed as an embroiderer walked quickly to Zhong Zizuo and whispered:
"Sir, news just came from Beijing. The 'Chaotic Sea' plan has begun!"
As soon as he said this, Zhong Zizuo, who was still a little lazy at first, suddenly straightened up and his eyes were solemn.
The "Beijing" in this mouth is naturally not referring to Jinling City, but to Zhongqing City, the capital of Yun Kingdom! This order was obviously given by Xiao Cheng.
"My lord, my lord!"
Yang Xun was full of excitement at this time. He shouted loudly and ran out of Jia's house. He came to Zhong Zizuo and tried to force himself. His face was full of excitement and he whispered:
"Sir, we found it! Sunk in the lake in the backyard of Jia Mansion, there are more than ten pumpkin-sized gold and silver balls, estimated to be one million taels..."
At this time, Zhong Zizuo heard this and smacked his lips again, saying:
"One hundred thousand taels, so much..."
"Yang Xun, you will work with me from now on to wipe out all the salt merchant families in Hailing County!"
Zhong Zizuo's reaction made Yang Xun, who was originally excited, suddenly stunned and couldn't help but say:
"But sir, haven't all the salt merchants who colluded with the thieves been confiscated? Who else will be confiscated next?"
Zhong Zizuo looked directly at Yang Xun and said:
"But after plundering thirteen stores, there is so much gold and silver. If all the salt merchants in Hailing County are plundered, the treasury's embarrassment will be alleviated. How can your majesty not reward you for such a great achievement?"
Having said this, Zhong Zizuo narrowed his eyes, couldn't help but lean down slightly, and lowered his voice:
"The remaining soup and water are enough for us to eat. It is a good thing for the country and ourselves, so why not do it?"
At this time, Zhong Zizuo looked as if he was obsessed with gold and silver and wanted to continue making money.
When Yang Xun heard this, his face showed excitement, but he still had a trace of hesitation and said:
"Sir, if this happens, will the noise become louder?"
"What are you afraid of? With the newly promulgated national policy, these salt merchants have made it clear that they are nothing but a thing of the past... Besides, even if we don't take action, these people will be eaten up by local officials sooner or later. In this case, why not let them serve the imperial court
Do you want to contribute? If something goes wrong, I will take care of it, so what are you afraid of?" Zhong Zizuo said with a chuckle.
Yang Xunlue hesitated, but in the end he could not withstand Zhong Zizuo's encouragement. He was filled with thoughts of promotion and wealth, so he immediately bowed his hands and said loudly:
"Then I'd like to thank you sir for your support, sir!"
When Zhong Zizuo heard this, the smile on his face became even bigger.
He suddenly had the idea to attack all the salt merchants in Hailing County. He told Yang Xun about serving the country, filling the empty treasury, and getting promoted and making a fortune.
Zhong Zizuo deliberately made this matter bigger in order to force these wealthy and powerful salt merchant families to completely oppose the Xia Kingdom's court. Cooperating with Zhang Shicheng, Xia Kingdom completely lost Hailing County.
control, and even lead the unrest to the four counties of Qidi...
--------------------------
At this time, hundreds of nautical miles eastward along the Hailing County maritime trade route, a large island hung in the sea.
This island was previously named Danluo Kingdom. Now, although it is still known as Danluo Kingdom to the outside world, in fact, it has been included under the rule of Dayun Henghai General Wang Zhi.
In a huge house made of wood and stone on the island, Wang Zhi, the general across the sea, was carefully studying the sea map in front of him.
At this time, several people of different statures, each dressed as Goryeo, Bohai, Fusang and other countries, walked into the room, knelt down, and shouted in unison in Mandarin, which they were not yet familiar with:
"I've met the king!"
At this time, General Wang Zhi of Henghai frowned when he heard the names of his subordinates, and said unhappily:
"Didn't you tell me that you should call me General? I will never mention the title of Lord of the Kingdom again!"
After occupying the Danluo Kingdom, Wang Zhi's pirates recruited from various countries began to call him the lord of the country, and from time to time they secretly advised him to reward all his men.
But Wang Zhi scoffed at this.
He is General Henghai who was conferred by Emperor Dayun. He is a fourth-grade general. In the future, if he has military merits, he can go one step further. He may be awarded some kind of title.
He would give up a great career as an official for the sake of the Danluo Island Kingdom, which has only a hundred thousand people and is not yet enlightened enough to have a palace, but has barren land? He is not willing to do so!
Today's Henghai navy has tens of thousands of people, entrenched on the Danluo Island Kingdom, crisscrossing the maritime trade routes, and all countries have avoided it. This kind of power was all developed by Wang Zhi, and it is because of its dominance in the army
The prestige is very high.
Seeing the displeasure on his face, his subordinates naturally did not dare to disobey him, so they could only change their words and say:
"Meet the general!"
Wang Zhi nodded and then said:
"When the military order was passed before, were you prepared?"
As soon as he mentioned this, everyone under his command suddenly became excited and said one after another:
"Please... please rest assured, General, our ships and crews are all ready!"
"As soon as the general gives the order, we will immediately send troops to the southeastern coast of Xia Kingdom!"
Hearing what his men said, Wang Zhi nodded slightly, then with a sharp voice, he warned sternly:
"What you will fly in the future is the flag of our navy, not ordinary pirates. You must abide by the military regulations! Otherwise, don't blame me for not remembering the old friendship!"
Heng Haijun is also the banner of the Yun Kingdom's army, how can it easily ruin its reputation?
When everyone heard this, they immediately became solemn and said quickly:
"General, please rest assured. We have many brothers under our command who are from the coastal people of Xia Kingdom. Naturally, it is impossible for us to cause harm to the place!"
When Wang Zhi heard this, his expression softened slightly and he nodded silently.
-----------------------
At the same time, Zhang Shicheng in Haiyang Mansion in Hailing County and Chen Youliang in Taishan County in Qidi, who had just become the Commander-in-Chief of the Taishan Army, both received secret orders from Zhongqing City.
Before the Xia Kingdom's court could notice it, all areas along the southeast coast were already shrouded in dark clouds...