"The lady is asleep." Chunliu immediately realized that this person must have important news to tell her when she came to visit secretly late at night, and immediately said, "I will wake her up right now."
"No need!" Wu Zhixiang said unexpectedly, "Please tell Miss Pei quickly that Lu Yizhong, a rotten villain, has sent a message to Nanhai County, asking them to issue a ticket to arrest the lady. Please hurry up.
Quickly avoid it."
Chunliu originally thought that Wu Xiucai was just a greedy and lustful dandy, but he didn't expect that he would have such a chivalrous heart at a critical moment. He couldn't help but feel warm in his heart, and he received a blessing:
"Thank you Mr. Wu Gaoyi."
"You don't have to thank me. It's better to ask your lady to find a place to take shelter. Once she's in prison, even a deity will have to shed her skin! And her matter is so big that no one dares to protect her!" Wu Zhixiang said.
Putting on the gauze, he quickly turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
The news that Nanhai County wanted to arrest Pei Lixiu quickly reached Guo Yi. Although he didn't know why he arrested her first instead of himself, Guo Yi believed that the time had come to retreat. If he couldn't catch Pei Lixiu, he would turn to arrest himself.
He thought for a moment and asked someone to call Sun Chang:
"Send people to Ziming Tower immediately and evacuate people according to the plan. Don't let go of the bulky belongings. The out-of-town clerks should go to Shopkeeper Sun to hide. Ask a few of his unfamiliar subordinates to come to Ziming Tower early tomorrow morning.
Block the local shopkeepers nearby. Don’t go to the store.”
If Nanhai County can't catch the real owner, it's likely that they will arrest a group of gangsters who are still in the building - there is no need for them to be involved.
Guo Yi gave Sun Chang a certificate and seal, "This is an account opened in Delong in the name of Sun Kecheng. You give it to him to pay for everyone's settlement expenses."
"I understand, I'll do it right away!" Sun Chang left in a hurry.
Guo Yi was packing up things, processing documents, and moving objects. Unexpectedly, it was already getting light and he was very hungry. He was busy asking someone to bring breakfast. Originally, he had a dedicated cook, but he had been dismissed a few days ago.
.Now he eats breakfast in the common room with the rest of the group.
While we were eating, Sun Chang came back in a hurry to tell us: everything was done.
"You should hurry up and eat. Go to Zizhenzhai later and tell Shopkeeper Shen that the business will be stopped today. It's also best for him to go to the countryside to avoid the disaster."
"Yes!" Sun Chang saw that the entire Zicheng Ji had become empty, and he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in his heart - he had suffered this disaster for no apparent reason! "Proprietor, can we come back?"
"Of course." Guo Yi said calmly, "We will be back in a few months."
"Yes!" Sun Changchang was full of confidence, but he didn't know where the confidence came from? In his opinion, Australians just know how to join trade unions to make money, and if they really want to fight against the Ming Dynasty, they can't fight. Do they want to go to Beijing to find the big boss?
How to find out? While I was thinking wildly, the servant quietly came to report that someone wanted to see me.
"No," Guo Yi said. Now there is no need to make false promises with anyone.
"Someone said there is something urgent!"
"Who is he and where is the post?"
"The person who came here refused to tell me. He only said that the matter was urgent and I could only have an interview with Dongzhu Guo."
"Okay, just please meet me."
The visitor was a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar. After seeing the ceremony, he looked at Sun Chang hesitantly.
"I have confidential matters to report."
Sun Chang quickly retreated.
"I'm telling you the truth." The middle-aged man lowered his voice, "I came here under orders to tell you that the Guangzhou Prefecture has received a critical order, and tomorrow morning the proprietor and the three Zizi shops will be dispatched.
Take prisoner."
Guo Yi raised his eyebrows in surprise: He had expected that someone would be arrested and locked up, but he didn't expect that someone would come to tell him specifically.
He usually has certain friendship arrangements in various yamen, but currently only vague information has leaked out. This is the first time I have heard such clear information.
"Thank you sir for coming to tell me!" Guo Yidao, "I wonder who you are? I will thank you very much someday!"
"I can't tell you who Bedong is, but I just want to tell the proprietor: walk cleanly and don't leave any documents or documents behind. Don't panic, the Guangzhou government will come tomorrow." After saying these words, the guest stood up and left.
Although Guo Yi didn't know who this person was, the credibility of his words was 99%. His words of concern were the key point. What does it mean not to leave objects and documents behind? Obviously, people who sent messengers were afraid of Zi.
Leaving something important in the font size would harm his interests.
Although I couldn't guess who he was for a while, he must be a member of the officialdom, and his position was not low. The last sentence: "Don't panic, the Guangzhou government will come tomorrow" was not to tell him clearly that today
Is it possible to run away for a whole day, or even to lead people away in a swagger?
Thinking of this, Guo Yi suddenly understood and immediately ordered people to gather all the people who were staying on Huifu Street.
There are thirty or forty people supporting the facade of the house on Weifu Street, Zizhenzhai, and Zichengji. Most of them are outsiders who cannot go home for the time being. Guo Yi has made an agreement with Sun Kecheng to hand over these people to him
placement.
"Everyone comes from their hometown to work here for our Purple Brand. This is our fate." Guo Yi said, "Purple Brand has never treated you badly. Your monthly schedule and year-end dividends are the first in this city of Guangzhou.
One share. Our Purple Brand has always done business in a regular manner in Guangzhou city: we never do anything illegal. Not to mention the royal grain and national taxes, even the rewards from the officials are never less. This time everyone is just afraid
I also know: the government will not allow us to do business safely and will close down this shop..."
Many of the clerks shed tears. They have been working here for as little as one year and as many as almost three years. There are many big fonts in Guangzhou, but there are few who can be as considerate to the clerks as Zizihao. Not only is the monthly rate better than
Elsewhere, dividends are distributed at the end of the year according to ability, and the store takes care of people when they are sick and takes medicine. When some employees die, the store not only develops coffins and buys graveyards for funerals, but also picks up family members and places them on the outer cabinets: the elderly, children, and women can’t work even if they can’t.
As a matter of fact, I'll arrange some light work and earn a few months' money to survive.
Such a benevolent and righteous owner is now being forced to close down. Everyone feels dissatisfied because of what happened to the owner, and also thinks that their future is bleak, and they feel bleak.
"It doesn't matter if the store is closed. As long as our people are still there, the Purple Brand will always be there." Guo Yi said loudly, "It can take as little as three months, as long as half a year. I, Guo Yi, will come back and stand on my side."
Here, stand here -" He originally just wanted to calm people's hearts, so that everyone would not disperse and wait for their return with peace of mind. However, at this moment, he thought of the days and nights he and his colleagues spent in Guangzhou, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
I didn’t know how to continue talking for a while, so I paused and then said, “Let’s set off firecrackers with everyone to reopen the store!”
After that, he promised to give everyone six months' salary, and those who were willing to return home temporarily would be given travel expenses. Those who were unwilling to go back would first work at Sun Kecheng's place.
The guys received the money and left in batches one by one reluctantly. Guo Yi didn't have time to feel sad, so he quickly led people to search everywhere to see if anything important was missing. He was so busy until the sky turned on the lamp that he quietly
Put on your clothes and blend in with the crowd and leave.
During this period, other warning signals were sent - someone dropped a broken black earthen jar at the door of the house on Huifu Street. This was the spy he had placed in the yamen of Nanhai, Panyu, and Guangzhou counties.
A signal sent at a critical moment that the authorities are about to go against it.
The entire residences and properties on Weifu Street and Ziming Building were completely empty at this time, leaving only two clerks and ten intimidating escorts guarding each place.
"Everyone has left?" In a warm pavilion, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe and jade belt, describing himself as a stalwart man, asked casually while flipping through a book.
"To tell you what, sir, there are only a few escorts looking at houses everywhere now."
"Have the people from Nanhai County been dispatched?"
"No."
The middle-aged man reading the book is none other than Li Fengjie, the governor of Guangdong. Early this morning, the magistrate of Nanhai County came to him personally to ask for instructions: Lu Yizhong gave him a note and asked him to arrest Pei Lixiu immediately. Should this matter be handled?
On ordinary days, the county magistrate would not come to ask for instructions from him. There is absolutely no reason to criticize the arrest of someone who was praised by the governor's subordinates. But it is another matter to arrest Guo Dongzhu's concubine.
The three purple-branded industries were not only interested in Tian Hongyu and Eunuch Yang, but also several big bosses. The Nanhai County magistrate was afraid that he would help Lu Yizhong arrest someone, so he took the properties into the hands of Tian Guozhang
Li - if this was the case, he would not be able to afford the punishment if Eunuch Yang and the other big bosses were to turn their anger on him. So he hurriedly came to report the news to the governor.
"If Lu Zanhua wants to arrest someone, just arrest him, but you should still take a look at the charity warehouse in your county. You should go and check out the charity warehouse first." Li Fengjie said this in a nonchalant manner.
"Yes, yes, I understand." The county magistrate understood.
After the county magistrate left, Li Fengjie walked around in the detention room several times. He called a patrolman over:
"Go to Guangzhou Prefecture and ask them to prepare fire-signed tickets and prepare to go out to arrest Guo Yi and other Australian criminals!"
Then he called a close disciple and took care of him in this way.
Now he heard that the retainer he had sent came to report that everything was according to his plan, and he felt very proud.
"Humph, let's see how you guys with wishful thinking go on." Thinking of Lu Yizhong's indescribable embarrassment when facing Tian Da, Li Fengjie showed a happy smile on his face.
The next day, the government officials from Nanhai County and Guangzhou Prefecture went out in large numbers and sealed all the residences on Huifu Street, Zizhenzhai, Zichengji and Ziminglou. Of course, neither Guo Yi nor Pei Lixiu took any of them. Even Sun Chang, Shen Fan and other witnesses who were supposed to be "brought into the case" were nowhere to be seen. Only a dozen bodyguards guarding the house were taken to the Yamen. Naturally, these bodyguards knew nothing. Knowing that he was invited by Dongzhu Guo to guard the house, Sun Kecheng had already prepared the "big threshold" post and money, and bailed out the bodyguard before nightfall.
Various city gates immediately drew pictures to arrest Guo Yi and others, but everyone knew that this was just a waste of effort. Anyone who knew the inside story of the seizure knew that the Australians walked very calmly and had obviously planned it long ago.
Wang Zunde was extremely unhappy, and the results of the search were disappointing. Whether it was Weifu Street or the three purple houses, the property was fine and soft, and a lot of Australian goods were harvested, but there were no important things such as documents and letters, and not a single word was left in the land deeds and ledgers. A piece of paper! As for the characters, let alone "primary", there is no place to find even an important guy!
After listening to the report from the Guangzhou government, he knew that someone must have leaked the news about this matter. He couldn't help but feel secretly angry. He thought to himself who this might be? It was Li Fengjie who ordered the arrest of Guo Yi. Since he wanted to arrest him, he would definitely not let the news slip. Come to think of it, Come on, I can't think of anyone who would leak this news.
Wang Zunde was very upset when he thought that there was someone in Guangzhou who did not take the imperial court seriously and even reported information to the Australians. He wanted to investigate, but he didn't know where to start: Governor's Yamen, Governor's Yamen, Guangzhou Prefecture and Nanhai County Everyone knows about the seizure and arrest of people. There are hundreds of officials, big and small, in these four yamen, and everyone may know about it.
Could it be that the city of Guangzhou is full of traitors? Wang Zunde felt extremely worried.
At this time, Lu Yizhong came to see him and asked what to do with the seized Kun thief's property.
"How much property was seized?" Ever since someone secretly reported that Lu Zanhua had secretly given a note to Nanhai County asking Nanhai County to arrest Pei Lixiu, Wang Zunde's trust in this Zanhua has been greatly reduced. He has never been used to it. People like Xunchen Qi Wan: they think they are either resting on the merits of their ancestors or relying on nepotism among women. They have no real talent and knowledge, so they only know how to enrich themselves. Lu Zanhua hangs out with such people to make them rich. He quite despised him - this person still had too much ambition for fame and wealth!
"Guangzhou Prefecture and Nanhai County are still in the process of counting, and a detailed list will be submitted soon. Here is a brief list." Lu Yizhong's face was gloomy: He had confirmed Tian Da, but he did not expect the Nanhai County magistrate to do so that day. But he was not in the government office. Other officials in the county either said they had something to do or that the main hall was not there and it was inconvenient to deal with it. As a result, they went to fetch someone a day later, and the Ziming Tower was already empty. Later, the government officials from Guangzhou Prefecture came to seal it. Not only was the offer completely unsuccessful, Tian Da also failed to capture the Pei Lixiu he wanted.
Tian Da was so angry that he had accomplished nothing in Guangzhou this time. How could he explain it when he returned? He cursed him at his house and threatened to strip him of his post of painting praise, which made Lu Yizhong very embarrassed.
Wang Zunde casually looked through the list. In addition to the properties on Huifu Street and Ziming Building, there are also various commercial "money-making guys", chairs and benches, and some small machines with unknown uses...
Wang Zunde was not interested in these. What he focused on was how much property could be seized.
A lot of property was collected from several properties, but there was no silver. After looking again, there was no gold or silver. Apart from the various goods left behind, there were only some toys and ornaments. The most valuable ones were from Pei Li's show room.
A life-size glass mirror and a mahogany clock.
"Are there no gold and silver coins?" Wang Zunde asked. He originally expected that the seized coins would be used to reward soldiers during the expedition.
"Except for all kinds of goods, Xinruan only found hundreds of pieces of brocade women's clothing. There were also hundreds of bolts of silk and cloth. In addition, there were dozens of boxes of women's jewelry."
"What's the use of this!" Wang Zunde shook his head in disappointment. These things cannot be rewarded to the army, let alone sufficient military pay. As for the price of the seized goods, it will take several months - and he knows that the officials below will inevitably handle such matters.
He also wanted to enrich himself. It would be good if he could pay back three or four taels of silver for the goods worth ten taels of silver and become an official. He suddenly began to doubt whether a lot of gold and silver had been embezzled by the people below - but when he thought that they could swallow up half of it at most, it was absolutely impossible.
I dare not place orders at all.
"I heard that Zizihao has a lot of contacts with various big stores in Guangzhou. Don't you have money deposited elsewhere?" Wang Zunde asked.
"Without an account book, I don't know the name or the number, so I can't trace him."
"Hmph, a notice will be issued immediately, asking each shop to report on its own and pay within a time limit. If you fail to report or pay within the time limit, I will not be lenient!"
"Yes." Lu Yizhong thought that the governor wanted to rely on bluff to force the merchants to obediently hand over the Australian payments - not to mention, Gao Ji would not buy it. It was still a proof that he had an account book.
However, it would be too ugly to be unable to pay even a penny. Lu Yizhong suddenly thought about it. At that time, no matter what, he would have to force the various brands that usually deal with Zi Zihao to give some money. This way
I should be able to get 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver. Although it is not enough to use as military pay, it is still enough to use it for rewards.
Lu Yizhong knew that by running for Tian Da this time, he had greatly lost Wang Zunde's heart. He decided to try to save something in this matter.
When the city of Guangzhou was in turmoil surrounding the things left behind at Guangzhou Station, Guo Yi and others had already withdrawn from the city. However, they were not too far away. Zhang Xin was sitting in the Dongguan branch of the Qiwei Escort Agency,
Directing the actions of the Escort Bureau. Now their main eyes and ears are the Escort Bureau. Some of the indigenous staff who were evacuated from Guangzhou also temporarily listened to his command and scattered around to inquire about news, especially news about the actions of the government troops.
As for Delong Bank, Meng Xian was also ready for the transfer - although everyone judged that Delong was not very dangerous - he backed up all the ledgers. All the original documents were transferred to a secret location for storage. The most important thing is
Several secret exchange accounts were handled by Delong for the high-ranking officials in Guangzhou. Some of the materials could become good materials for the censors to get wind of the matter. For the sake of safety, Meng Xian
It was also temporarily moved to a safe house in the city and hid first, allowing the shopkeeper to take care of everything on the cabinet.
Others were scattered to various counties in the Pearl River Delta and were hiding and waiting for opportunities. Yan Maoda simply went to Leizhou to discuss the next step of sugar industry cooperation and trade with Vietnam with Leizhou Station.
As for Guo Yi, he decided to take this opportunity to return to Lingao. On the one hand, he would report on his work and on the other hand, he would also discuss the next work arrangements with the Ministry of Colonial Trade and the Foreign Intelligence Service.