Water Margin people

Chapter 1426 Cheng Wanli

"You bold lunatic, how dare you disrupt the business of this city and bully the market? Give me a severe beating."

Cheng Wanli slammed the gavel and shouted at the bailiffs.

The yamen runners holding the water and fire sticks beat even harder. The water and fire sticks seemed to be killing people. After a short while, the salt merchants' assistants who were causing trouble fainted.

"Wake me up with water!"

Cheng Wanli had no intention of letting these people go. They actually dared to gather together to cause trouble and disrupt Hangzhou's business. You have to know that the reduction in salt prices was an imperial decree from the court!

"Sir, they have realized their mistakes, please spare their lives!"

The salt merchants were so frightened that their legs were trembling. They just wanted to make some noise to put pressure on the government, but they didn't expect the prefect to react so strongly. If the fight continued, someone would be killed.

"You still have the nerve to beg for mercy from me? You failed to manage your subordinates properly, which led to the guys taking to the streets to cause trouble. You are also jointly responsible."

Cheng Wanli slammed the gavel again and scolded the salt merchants.

"I'm guilty!"

The salt merchants quickly knelt down and confessed their crimes. Although they insisted that they knew nothing, if the fighting continued like this, one of their men would eventually give out, and they would be finished in one blow.

"Since Guan Zhong, salt and iron have been state monopolies. Now the price of salt is relaxed. Your Majesty is showing sympathy for the people and is giving them benefits. How dare you cause trouble? Are you planning a rebellion?"

Cheng Wanli pointed at the salt merchants and began interrogating them.

At this time, the hall outside was already full of people who came to watch the fun. When the people heard these words, they became disgusted with the salt merchants. The salt merchants had been raising the prices arbitrarily over the years, and they had suffered from the high salt prices for a long time. Now that the salt prices had just dropped, these salt merchants wanted to make trouble.

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

The people roared angrily, wanting to vent their anger on the salt merchants.

The salt merchants kneeling in the hall were even more frightened at this time. If they had only offended the government, they would be reprimanded and punished. But if it was linked to rebellion and public outrage, then their lives might be in danger.

"Snapped!"

"quiet!"

Cheng Wanli slammed the gavel again and shouted at the noisy crowd, and the crowd that was shouting just now suddenly quieted down.

"You have failed to manage your subordinates properly. The shop is ordered to make corrections and each person is fined 500 taels of silver!"

Cheng Wanli made a judgment on the salt merchants.

The salt merchants dared not raise any objections and expressed their gratitude one after another.

After the verdict was made, everyone dispersed and Cheng Wanli also prepared to go back to the back hall to rest.

"Sir, there is a letter on the table in the back hall!"

The manager in the backyard looked at Cheng Wanli while holding a letter and said.

"A letter?"

Cheng Wanli frowned. It was very strange that a letter suddenly appeared in the backyard of his county government office.

However, when Cheng Wanli saw the words on the envelope, his expression changed several times.

"This is my private message. I was in a hurry to review the case and put it on the table. You don't have to worry about it. Go down now!"

Cheng Wanli spoke to the steward and everyone else.

He waited until there was no one around before he tore open the letter. There were only a few words on the envelope: "Personally addressed to Prefect Cheng". The handwriting was not very beautiful, but he recognized it as Sun Lei's handwriting at a glance.

"When you come to Hangzhou, are you at the inn at the end of the street?"

Cheng Wanli's face changed drastically. He didn't expect that Sun Lei would go on a secret tour to the south and had already arrived in Hangzhou.

Cheng Wanli did not hesitate. He quickly went to the back hall to change into casual clothes, and then left the government office alone through the back door on the pretext of going out for a drink and visiting the people privately.

Cheng Wanli was very careful. He only told a few of his trusted followers about his going out. He wore a set of clothes that he had never worn before, and even wore a Fanyang hat with the brim pulled down very low. He knew that he had to keep his meeting with Sun Lei secret. Cheng Wanli first walked around two streets casually, and after making sure that there was no one around, he went to the designated inn.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

As soon as Cheng Wanli entered the inn, he found Sun Lei sitting in the hall and immediately paid him a respectful visit.

"Father-in-law, why such a big gift!"

Sun Lei said with a smile.

"This is how the relationship between the ruler and his subjects should be!"

Cheng Wanli insisted.

"I am traveling incognito this time, and I am not wearing a dragon robe, so there is no need to do this. Wan'er said she wanted to see her father, so I will bring her here right away!"

Sun Lei said with a smile.

Cheng Wan'er ran out with red eyes. The meeting between father and daughter was so touching.

"It's only been eight months since we last met! Father-in-law, why don't you transfer back? Kaifeng Prefecture, Yingtian Prefecture, Daming Prefecture are all good!"

Seeing his wife and father-in-law so sad, Sun Lei felt like a sinner who separated the father and daughter.

"No, Hangzhou is a good choice! I have just sorted out the food affairs and personnel here. If we leave now, all the preparations of the past few months will be wasted! Besides, Jiangnan is in need of officials!"

Cheng Wanli said quickly that he was not greedy for the position of prefect of Hangzhou. The three prefectures mentioned by Sun Lei were not as good as those of Hangzhou. However, he had just started to get started with government affairs, and if he left now, he would have to start all over again.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report to Your Majesty."

Cheng Wanli then wiped away his tears in embarrassment. It was really embarrassing for him, a grown man and the prefect of Hangzhou, to behave like a girl.

"I just want to hear about the situation here. My father-in-law hasn't eaten yet, right? Let's talk over the table!"

Sun Lei invited with a smile.

After they sat down, the banquet began. Chen Wan'er sat next to Sun Lei and his father, taking care of them while they ate, with a happy smile on her face.

"Father-in-law, have you encountered any difficulties in Hangzhou?"

Sun Lei asked first.

"It's not difficult at all, but I found that the water in the south of the Yangtze River is much deeper than that in the Central Plains!"

Cheng Wanli shook his head.

"Haha, that's natural. Jiangnan is far away from the Central Plains. Under the policy of strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches, Jiangnan has become a lawless place. Plus, it's rich, so there must be a lot of problems!"

Sun Lei said with a smile that this was also the reason why he came to Jiangnan. There were many problems here and the local forces were intertwined. It was difficult to solve the problems by relying solely on outside officials such as Cheng Wanli.

"Your Majesty is right. The biggest problem in Jiangnan is the collusion between officials and businessmen. The wealthy merchants here have formed a chamber of commerce, including salt merchants, cloth merchants, tea merchants, and porcelain merchants..."

"But we have too few officials. So far, we have only been able to replace the county magistrates, and the officials under them are still the same as before."

"The officials are strong but the government officials are weak. This problem left by the Song Dynasty is becoming more and more serious. Many officials are complaining that the government's orders are not being implemented."

Cheng Wanli sighed and said that because he was the father-in-law of the emperor and had served as a local official in the Song Dynasty, he could still control the Hangzhou Prefecture, but it was not so easy for him to control the officials below him.

"Collusion between officials and businessmen? Never mind..."

Sun Lei smiled as he looked at Cheng Wanli and talked about his plans, especially the promotion of salt and new currency.

"Your Majesty, do you have so many coins?"

Cheng Wanli was a little worried.

"The copper mines in Goryeo and the silver mines in Japan are being mined at a rapid pace! They will be shipped back soon. As for now, the money we got from Liao, Song, Xixia, and Jin will be enough for a while."

Sun Lei smiled and said that he had conquered four countries in a row, so the money in the treasury was naturally transported back. The accumulation of the four families over a hundred years was enough for them.