Fenghou

Chapter 784 Inside Story
After sending the two rich families away, Chen Qing asked Pei Xiangjun again with a smile, "What has Prefect Pei been up to these two days?"

Pei Xiangjun is currently serving as the magistrate of Taiyuan temporarily. Although the king of the county is a bit joking, he still feels hot in his heart. He really likes the title of magistrate Pei.

"The humble staff these two days are mainly checking supplies, relieving the hungry, and cooperating with military control to restore order."

"Have all the servants come?"

"Reporting to the county king, basically all the clerks and archers of the county yamen have come, but none of the clerks of the government office has come. The government office is actually still a sham, and the humble post is now serving as the county magistrate."

"Why didn't any of the government officials come?" Chen Qing asked unconsciously.

"In fact, the king of the county has also seen it. The key lies in those two just now. Of course, not only them, but also other gentry. Resist the king in disguise."

"Then why didn't the county government boycott it?"

Pei Xiangjun sighed and said, "All the county yamen are here, and none of the government yamen come. Isn't this implying the county king? They are willing to cooperate, but they can also completely resist."

Chen Qing's face darkened, he snorted coldly, he dared to threaten himself, these people are getting impatient.

Chen Qing immediately said to Pei Xiangjun: "Close the gate of the government office and put a seal on it. You will act as the magistrate for the time being. The thirteen kinds of people's livelihood materials are all sold at the Jingzhao price, especially the price of rice and salt. They must be set at a unified price. Violators will be investigated by the army, and this matter will be implemented today."

"Humble post obeys orders!"

Wang Lianqing and Zhang Yang left the Marshal's Mansion in a carriage. In the carriage, Wang Lianqing said worriedly: "Isn't it a bit too much for us not to allow officials to return to the government office?"

Zhang Yang snorted, "He said it himself, everyone is out for profit, but he only considers his own interests, why doesn't he consider our interests?"

"But...he's a warlord after all, and we've pissed him off, I'm afraid."

"My dear brother, if you don't fight for this thing, it won't come to your bowl by itself. If he fully implements the pricing system in Hedong and Taiyuan, within a few days, our business will all be over. Wang's rice , salt from the Zhang family, and camellia cloth from several other companies, how is the business going?"

"But, how can we beat him? Brother Zhang, the risk is too great."

Zhang Yang squinted his eyes and said, "He himself said that his opponent is the imperial court. If he must harm our interests, it will not guarantee our cooperation with the imperial court."

"I am afraid that the court will not tolerate our relationship with Jin Bing."

Zhang Yang said coldly: "Then you are wrong. If you can control the East Road, the imperial court will never care about our trivial matters, and will only praise us for taking care of the overall situation."

After a pause, Zhang Yang said proudly again: "Don't worry, I have someone in the court, and the official is in a high position. I have written to contact you."

Wang Lianqing didn't expect that Zhang Yang had secretly contacted the imperial court, so he fell silent for a moment.
Chen Qing returned to the barracks, and immediately sent someone to find the person in charge of the Intelligence Agency in Taiyuan Mansion.

Half an hour later, Zou Hong, the shopkeeper of Sanyuan Restaurant, was taken into the tent of the Chinese army by soldiers.

"Humble post Zou Hong, the head of the Taiyuan Mansion sent by the Intelligence Agency, see the county king!"

Seeing that this short, fat middle-aged man looked familiar, Chen Qing asked with a smile, "Have I met Mr. Zou?"

"The humble job was in charge of the intelligence of Jingzhao Mansion, and reported the situation of Jingzhao to the county king."

Chen Qing was a bit impressed, he nodded and smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, most people can't see your achievements, but I know very well that without your contributions, the casualties of the Western Army would have increased by at least [-] people. "

"It's a humble job."

Chen Qing liked the intelligence officer's modesty very much, and he said again: "Do you understand Wang Lianqing and Zhang Yang?"

"Humble job knows a thing or two."

"Tell me about their situation!"

Zou Hong thought for a while and said: "Wang Lianqing and Zhang Yang are the leaders of dozens of wealthy gentry in Taiyuan Mansion. The officials of Taiyuan Mansion are more or less related to them. The Kingdom of Jin also relies heavily on them. Wan Yanchang hosted a banquet. Both of them are sitting at the main table, so it can be said that Jin Guo was able to secure the Taiyuan Mansion, and they contributed a lot."

"Their influence on Taiyuan is limited to officialdom?"

"Of course not. In Taiyuan Mansion and Ping'an Mansion, almost all the profitable industries are controlled by these gentry. Almost everyone in Taiyuan Mansion knows that the rice tea of ​​the Wang family, the oil and salt of the Zhang family, and the cloth and silk of the Xue family, Most of the grain shops that the county king saw on the street were run by the Wang family, and the oil and salt shops were controlled by the Zhang family. Currently, the price of rice in Taiyuan City is [-] yuan per bucket, and the price of salt is [-] yuan per family. The county king's promotion of cheap rice salt in Taiyuan will definitely violate their interests."

Chen Qing walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and asked, "Did the two of them do evil things in Taiyuan?"

Zou Hong thought for a while and said: "The Wang family is a century-old family, and they pay more attention to reputation. I have never heard of evil deeds, but the reputation of the Zhang family is not very good. To be precise, it is ugly. Our Sanyuan restaurant was taken away by the Zhang family. It was forcibly occupied by the original owner, and then resold to us at a high price."

"Isn't the Zhang family a century-old noble family?"

Zou Hong shook his head, "The Zhang family is powerful. During Renzong's reign, he made a fortune by reselling the salt of the Western Army. Later, the Zhang family had a close relationship with Tong Guan. It was Tong Guan's recommendation for Zhang Yang to serve as the general judge of Taiyuan Prefecture. The magistrate of Taiyuan took the opportunity to install a large number of his confidantes to serve as officials in various counties in Taiyuan. In the years of Jianyan, Zhang Yang called the wind and rain in Taiyuan, and he was arrogant. The eldest son, Zhang Ming, served as the general judge, and Zhang Yang has been hiding behind the scenes."

Chen Qing nodded, "It seems that Zhang Yang is the official leader of Taiyuan Mansion. Today he and Wang Lianqing came to visit me. I thought Wang Lianqing was the leader of the gentry."

"The Wang family has a profound heritage. It has been a famous family since the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Although it is not good now, it is still very prestigious in Taiyuan. The Zhang family has established a relationship with the Wang family through marriage. Wang Lianqing's mother is Zhang Yang's aunt, and the two are cousins. , but after Zhang Yang became the magistrate of Jin Kingdom Taiyuan, Wang Lianqing seemed to keep a distance from him."

Chen Qing raised his eyebrows, "How can you see that?"

Zou Hong said with a smile: "Zhang Yang's eldest son, Zhang Ming, originally married Wang Lianqing's eldest daughter, but later died of dystocia. Zhang Yang wanted his son to marry Wang Lianqing's youngest daughter again, but Wang Lianqing flatly refused. This happened on the third day of Jianyan. In [-], when Zhang Yang was in the limelight, there was a lot of rumors in Taiyuan City, and there were various theories. There was a saying that Zhang Yang and the Kingdom of Jin colluded too deeply, and Wang Lianqing wanted to keep a distance from the Zhang family. "

"What excuse did Zhang Yang use to refuse?"

"Bazi does not match!"

Chen Qing chuckled, it's really interesting, a disagreement is a euphemism for refusing a marriage proposal, it seems that the Wang family really doesn't want to marry the Zhang family.

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "Just now you said that your Sanyuan restaurant is the Zhang family's occupation of other people's property. What exactly is going on? Did anyone die?"

"The humble job only knows that Zhang Tie, the youngest son of Zhang Yang, did it. It happened the year before last. Someone was killed and the son of the original owner died. But what happened specifically, the humble job needs to contact the original owner."

"The original proprietor is still there?"

Zou Hong nodded, "The original proprietor heard that he had returned to his hometown of Wenshui County, and he contacted me at the beginning of the year. He opened another restaurant in Wenshui County, and wanted me to give him the Sanyuan Restaurant brand."

"Go and find out, I want the conclusive evidence of the Zhang family's murder. After the matter is completed, I will recommend you to be the magistrate of Yangqu County."

Zou Hong was overjoyed, bowed and said: "The humble official will definitely do his best to investigate this case!"

(End of this chapter)