The scorching sun in July is as passionate as fire.
The sun was so hot that it burned people extremely hard. For five consecutive days, Ding Ruchang took a few capable soldiers borrowed from Liu Jintang's army and ran around in various counties and villages in Chengdu, inquiring about the situation in Chengdu. He verified The more news there is, the more depressed the mood becomes, because none of the news collected is good news and sounds very unpleasant.
After sorting out the news, Ding Ruchang came to Li Zhen's room.
Ding Ruchang handed over the collected intelligence and said seriously: "President, judging from the current situation, it is mainly several major grain merchants in Chengdu and several prominent families who are causing trouble behind the scenes, making it difficult for the land reform to proceed. If By eradicating these big families, land reform may be able to continue."
"Maybe, what does maybe mean?"
Li Zhenyi rolled his eyes and said: "Today we eradicate Zhang San and Li Si, and tomorrow there will be Wang Er pockmarked. Eradicating them is not the best way, and we don't have enough reasons. After all, the news we got has no conclusive evidence." , There is no basis for what you say.”
After Li Zhen read the collected information, his expression became more and more solemn.
In the news collected by Ding Ruchang, it was mentioned that the four largest grain merchants in Chengdu are the Qian family, the Wei family, the Cao family, and the Zou family. These four major grain merchants can be said to have almost monopolized the entire Chengdu grain market, regardless of harvesting. For grain, or for selling grain, you have to offer the lowest selling price or buying price from them, or buy or sell it from them.
In addition, there are two prominent local families, the Tao family and the Dou family, both of which belong to large landowners.
The six major families are famous in Chengdu.
Judging from the information Ding Ruchang found out, it was people from these six major families who were behind the scenes and threatened the people, so that the people agreed to the government's land reform but did not implement it.
Li Zhen rolled his eyes and asked, "Does the assassination of Vice Premier Shi have anything to do with them?"
The assassination of Shi Dakai has always been a thorn in Li Zhen's heart.
Even the deputy prime minister of the country dares to take action. Such a trend will never help the rise. If they are not found out and severely punished, then I am afraid there will be more people in the future thinking that as long as the plan is well-planned and not found out, it will be fine. That will be catastrophic. Therefore, Li Zhen not only wanted to take up the matter of land reform, but also resolved the matter of Shi Dakai's assassination.
Ding Ruchang shook his head and said: "We can't find any clues about the assassination of Vice Premier Shi at the moment. There is no clue at all, because the landlord who assassinated Vice Premier Shi had already been shot, and the landlord's family didn't know anything about it. I know, but I guess the assassination of Vice Premier Shi may have something to do with several major families. After all, they were the ones who planned the confrontation between the people and the government."
After a pause, Ding Ruchang said in a deep voice: "It's better to arrest the people from these big families directly."
Li Zhen shook his head and said: "Even if I am the president, if I can arrest people at will, I will be attacked. Moreover, arresting people at will is not in compliance with the laws and regulations of the country. This is inappropriate."
Ding Ruchang frowned and looked embarrassed.
He couldn't think of a way either.
Li Zhen murmured: "It seems we have to lure the snake out of its hole. We have to proactively find a way to break through. Otherwise, even if we guess who is related to Vice Premier Shi's case, we won't be able to catch them."
Ding Ruchang asked: "What solution did the president come up with?"
Li Zhen smiled slightly and said: "Let's do it this way, step by step. The first step is to build momentum..." The two people were muttering in the room, discussing how to deal with land reform and uncovering the mastermind behind the assassination of Shi Da.
…
On the fourth day of July, countless announcements were posted in the streets and alleys of Chengdu.
There are two general contents. One is that President Li Zhen heard that Vice Prime Minister Shi Dakai was assassinated and seriously injured in Chengdu. He came directly from Guangzhou in anger and had already arrived in Chengdu to conduct a thorough investigation of Shi Dakai's case; the other was that Shi Dakai President Li Zhen will carry out the land reform he has been presiding over to the end and give the benefits to the people who farm the land.
Two pieces of news spread in the streets.
The entire city of Chengdu knew the news about Li Zhenlai.
For the government officials, Li Zhen's arrival was no secret. They all knew that Li Zhen secretly entered Liu Jintang's military camp. However, for ordinary people in Chengdu, they had been busy all day long without even touching the ground. How could I have the leisure to care about when Li Zhen arrived? I didn't know the specific news at all. After the announcement was posted, it immediately caused a huge sensation among the people.
President Li Zhen personally investigated thoroughly and it is definitely impossible to resolve this matter.
There must be a time when the truth comes out.
On this day, people from the Qian, Wei, Cao, Zou, Tao, and Dou families got the news. When these people learned the news, they were all shocked. They did not expect that Li Zhen would investigate the matter thoroughly, and also To continue to preside over the land reform, these two matters have a certain relationship with them. If it is traced down, they will not be able to escape the relationship.
In the Qian family hall, people from the six major families gathered together.
The head of the Qian family is named Qian Minghong. He is a fat old man in his fifties. Qian Minghong has a faint smile on his face and wears a coarse cloth. He looks like the old man next door. He does not give anyone the appearance of a patriarch of a big family. style.
But such a person is the leader of the six major families.
Qian Minghong rubbed the Buddhist beads on his wrist and said calmly: "Everyone, Li Zhen wants to thoroughly investigate the assassination of Shi Dakai and the land matter. Everyone expresses his or her own opinions on how we should deal with it."
Wade, the head of the Wei family, said solemnly: "In my opinion, you have to ask Ximen Hong and let him make the decision."
"What a stupid idea."
Cao Jinyuan, the head of the Cao family, snorted and said impatiently: "Ximen Hong has already spread the news a few days ago, asking us to keep a low profile. In my opinion, he can't withstand Li Zhen's anger and the pressure from above. , so let’s keep a low profile. Anyway, I think we need to be calm and calm now, adapt to changes by staying the same, and not mess up the situation.”
Tao Zeping, the head of the Tao family, said: "Since Li Zhen intends to investigate, and we have talked to the people about the land, it is inevitable that we will be invited to drink tea. Therefore, we should think about countermeasures and speak carefully to avoid An error occurred."
The head of the Dou family, Dou Huazhang, was wearing a suit, shiny leather shoes, and a slicked back hairdo.
Compared with other members of the family, Dou Huazhang is more fashionable.
Dou Huazhang's eyes rolled around and he immediately said: "In my opinion, what Li Zhenche is investigating is not a big deal. As long as we don't let go, Li Zhen can't do anything to us. Who said we threaten the people? There is concrete evidence, and now the government courts are all about political situation when arresting people. Even if there are complaints from the people, the words are unfounded. We have nothing to worry about and we should do whatever we should."
Dou Huazhang is the youngest among them all, only in his early thirties.
As soon as he spoke, everyone else rolled their eyes.
This was Li Zhen's investigation, how could it be so easy? When the time came, he was taken to the military camp, and he even wet his diapers. For a while, the heads of the various families in the hall were arguing.
Finally, Qian Minghong spoke and decided to wait and see what happens.
The major families couldn't think of a better strategy, so they could only cope with the ever-changing situation by staying the same.
