I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 524: Chaos in Jiangnan means danger to the Song Dynasty! Traitors, Liao spies

August 29th.

afternoon.

In a study room in the house rented by Su Liang and two other people.

"What? Yu Jing, the governor of Hangzhou, is healthy, and he sneaked into Zhisou's house?"

"Today I met with Judge Gu, and he said that the condition of the prefect Yu Jing has worsened again and he is bedridden!" said Wang Anshi.

In accordance with the laws of the Song Dynasty.

Officials who feign illness will be treated as “lazy government”.

If it is found that a local official like Yu Jing has been faking illness for more than a month, he will be demoted by at least one level and fined for half a year.

Su Liang looked puzzled and murmured, "Why would he pretend to be sick? He can retire next year. If he wants to retire earlier, he can report to the court and the court will agree."

Just then, Liu Sandao walked over quickly.

"Boss, we have discovered new information!"

Liu Sandao handed a yellowed book to Su Liang.

Su Liang looked down and saw that the title of the book was "Miscellaneous Notes by the Lake" and the author was Mr. Ku Wen.

He turned the folded page inside, looked at the line of outlined words, and couldn't help but read it out loud.

"During the Tianxi period, there were two scholars, one named Yu Jing and the other named Lin Luonan, who denounced the unfairness of the imperial examination by the bank of West Lake. One of them said: With my talent, I can become a prime minister in Liao. Since then, the two left their hometown in anger and have never been seen since."

Liu Sandao added: "This book was accidentally discovered in a bookstore while investigating 'The Thirty Years of Zhisou'. The author of the book said that Mr. Kuwen was a pseudonym, and the current owner of the book did not know him. We asked several elders, but none of them knew him. It is difficult to tell the truth from the book."

Wang Anshi frowned.

"Could it be that Lin Luonan was in Liao for those thirty-one years?"

"He left Song for Liao during the Tianxi period and returned at the age of sixty, which does match the missing thirty years. If he was a spy planted by Liao in Jiangnan, and opposed Jiangnan merchants buying national debt for the Liao, and wanted to unite Jiangnan merchants through Jiangnan Trading Company to rebel against Song, then all these things that happened can be explained!"

Hear this.

Cao Yi picked up the information about Yu Jing, the prefect of Hangzhou, from the table, and after reading it, he said, "Although Yu Jing, the prefect, has never left the Song Dynasty, he has been serving in Jiangnan since he passed the imperial examination and entered the government. The court wanted to transfer him away from Jiangnan twice, but he avoided the issue both times by saying, 'My mother is old, and I am in mourning for her.'"

"The wise old man Lin Luonan currently has such a huge business power in Jiangnan. It is impossible for him not to rely on the government. The two must be colluding with the government. I guess Yu Jing should know that Lin Luonan defected to Liao, and he pretended to be sick this time after the court issued the "National Debt Contract", obviously not wanting to get involved in this matter."

"Yu Jing was worried that if the Liao Kingdom won the Song-Liao War, they would hold him responsible for leading the Jiangnan merchants to buy national debt, so he chose to pretend to be sick."

"Today, news of the death of Liao Emperor Yelu Zongzhen reached Hangzhou City. Yu Jing went to look for the wise old man Lin Luonan. It should be their master who died. The two of them were a little panicked..."

Cao Yi added: "In addition, scholars defecting to Liao and Xia during the Tianxi period was not an isolated case."

During the early days of Emperor Zhenzong and the current emperor’s reign.

Because the number of "quotas" set by the imperial court in various local prefectures was different and biased, and because there was a system of demotion in the palace examination, many scholars in the Song Dynasty fled, either to Western Xia or to the Liao Kingdom.

In addition, Liao and Xia at that time valued the scholars of the Song Dynasty very much and granted them many high-ranking positions and generous salaries, which led to a "scholar escape fever".

Wang Anshi and Cao Yi's analysis was very logical.

Everything makes sense except there is no hard evidence.

If this analysis is true, it would be more terrifying than someone gathering together to rebel in Jiangnan.

The wise old man Lin Luonan has controlled the public opinion in Jiangnan, and the Jiangnan trading company under his jurisdiction controls the economic arteries of Jiangnan.

If he created unrest in Jiangnan during the Song-Liao War, there would be chaos in the rear of the Song Dynasty.

Su Liang thought for a moment and said, "If we go to look for evidence now, I'm afraid we'll have to contact the spies in Liao territory, which will take too long, and the deadline for the national debt is only half a month away. In addition, we can't be sure how many people from Jiangnan Trading Company have defected to Liao. If we try to capture Lin Luonan, some people might escape to the sea."

"I decided to meet Yu Jing tonight and ask him to tell the truth. Then, the day after tomorrow, on the first day of September, at the monthly meeting of Jiangnan Commercial Society, I will wipe out this group of people and then find out who betrayed Song."

Wang Anshi and Cao Yi both nodded.

As the Chief Censor, Su Liang was responsible for supervising all officials.

The current issue is no longer just about national debt, but involves the stability of the entire Jiangnan region.

Searching for evidence according to conventional methods would be too slow and premature. They could only rely on Su Liang's ability to determine the murderer's guilt and then make a quick decision.

……

late at night.

In the south of Hangzhou city, in a two-story house.

Yu Jing, the transport commissioner of Liangzhe Road and the prefect of Hangzhou, lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.

He likes quietness.

His wives, concubines and children all lived in the front yard, while the two attendants who took care of him lived in the side room.

Wow!

The window suddenly opened.

"Who?"

Yu Jing sat up and heard the sound of a cat's meow.

"It turned out to be a wild cat!" Yu Jing took a long breath and shouted, "Wang Fu, Zhao Shi, close the window!"

Unfortunately, no one outside responded.

At this moment, there was a buzzing sound of mosquitoes.

At present, there are still many mosquitoes.

If you don't close the windows quickly, many mosquitoes will quickly fly into the house.

"These two bastards must be fast asleep again!" Yu Jing had no choice but to get out of bed and close the window himself.

Yu Jing walked quickly to the window.

As he closed the window, the door suddenly opened again.

Then, several dark shadows walked in.

"You are……"

As Yu Jing opened his mouth, a dark shadow appeared in front of him and put a knife at his neck.

"Do you know who I am? How dare you break into my house and rob me? Don't you want to live?" Yu Jing said with his eyes wide open, full of energy.

At this time.

Liu Sandao lit the candle on the table in front of him.

Su Liang walked slowly to the table, sat down, and then said with a smile: "Yu Zhizhou, you have such great authority! Didn't you say that your condition has worsened and you are bedridden? I noticed that you closed the window quite quickly, it doesn't look like you are sick!"

"Zhongcheng?" Yu Jing looked at Su Liang with a puzzled look on his face.

Liu Sandao immediately handed Su Liang's official credentials to Yu Jing and said, "This is the Chief Censor Su Liang."

Yu Jing looked at the certificate of dismissal and confirmed that it was correct. He was shocked and hurriedly bowed and said, "Your subordinate Yu Jing, I pay my respects to Su Zhongcheng. I didn't know that Su Zhongcheng came so late at night. Your subordinate was unprepared and I am terrified!"

"Snapped!"

Su Liang slapped the table.

"Zhizhou Yu, as the chief official of a state, you actually pretended to be sick for more than a month. Do you admit your guilt?"

Yu Jing was so frightened that he was shaking. He quickly explained, "Central Minister Su, I am old and I am indeed ill. I have only gotten better in the past two days. I am preparing to go to the provincial government the day after tomorrow!"

"Let's not talk about whether you are pretending to be sick. Next, I will ask you a few questions and you must answer them truthfully." Su Liang said.

"I will tell you everything I know."

"First question, when did you first meet Lin Luonan, nicknamed the Wise Old Man, the president of Jiangnan Trading Company?"

Yu Jing's expression changed instantly, but he recovered immediately.

"It should have been ten years ago. At that time, I was the magistrate of Qiantang County, and he was still a small businessman."

"Jiangnan Commercial Society monopolizes Jiangnan's public opinion. All the tabloids are driven by it. Its appeal is greater than that of the state government. What do you think?"

"This... this is a byproduct of the reforms throughout the Song Dynasty that benefited merchants. The merchants became rich, which led to the prosperity of the people. The people were grateful, and the status of the merchants soared."

"Although the Jiangnan Merchants Society is suspected of controlling speech in Jiangnan, the taxes it brings to the state government are actually increasing, and the benefits it brings to the people are also obvious. I think that as long as the Jiangnan Merchants Society does not violate the laws of the Song Dynasty, the state government does not need to intervene. Their appeal is huge, and it is also the result of the people's will."

……

Yu Jing answered Su Liang's questions almost flawlessly.

Su Liang smiled slightly and waved his right hand, motioning Yu Jing to sit down.

When Yu Jing sat opposite Su Liang.

Su Liang saw that his face was covered with beads of sweat and his clothes on his chest were soaked.

"Zhizhou Yu, you can retire next year. After retirement, your official rank will be promoted to a higher level, and you can receive half of your salary. This is enough for you to have a very stable and comfortable old age!"

"But why did you commit treason?" Su Liang suddenly raised his voice.

Yu Jing was stunned. Just as he was about to speak, Su Liang held out his hand to reject him. He then said, "Just listen to what I have to say."

"Lin Luonan betrayed his country because he lived in Liao for 31 years. It is even possible that his entire family is in Liao. Everything you have today was given to you by the Song Dynasty. As a scholar-official of the Song Dynasty, aren't you living a happy life right now?"

"Nowadays, everyone knows that if Song and Liao go to war, Song has a greater chance of winning. But you surrendered to Liao, which is really foolish." "You are foolish, but this is a crime of treason, and you will be executed along with your entire clan. You have two sons, one daughter, and three grandchildren, and the youngest grandchild is only two years old. You don't want him to become a traitor from the moment he can remember!"

"Don't think you are so cautious that I can't find out. I have spies all over the Liao Kingdom. I have found out that Lin Luonan is a spy for the Liao Kingdom. As soon as the news of Yelu Zongzhen's death came, you went to find him. This is enough to prove that you are in the same group with him. And you two have known each other forty years ago, right? Do you think I can't find out?"

"Now, you have ten seconds to think about it. If you don't tell the truth, your crime will never be treated leniently!"

Su Liang's words were naturally intended to expose Yu Jing's true feelings.

Yu Jing lowered his head, lost in thought. He had guessed that Su Liang did not have any solid evidence at the moment.

But when Su Liang talked about Lin Luonan's 31 years in Liao, about how he and Lin Luonan had known each other for a long time, and about the fate of his two-year-old grandson, Yu Jing's emotions broke down.

Just as ten breaths were about to pass and Su Liang was about to stand up.

Yu Jing burst into tears and said quickly: "I will tell you, I will tell you everything."

"Lin Luonan and I did know each other forty years ago. At that time, we both failed the imperial examinations. We felt that we had talents that could help the country but were buried. We had the same experience, so we became close friends as we chatted."

"We studied hard together for three years, but still failed to pass the imperial examination. We both felt that the imperial examination system was unfair, so we complained to the court after failing the exam, because many scholars went to Liaoxia and got official positions. We also had this idea. Lin Luonan and I had discussed going to Liaoxia together, but I regretted it in the end. I wanted to take the exam again, so he went to Liaoxia alone. Then I passed the exam and became a Jinshi three years later. We didn't contact each other until the fourth year of Qingli, when he contacted me and said that he did not enter the official career in Liaoxia, but became a businessman. He felt that it was easier to do business in Jiangnan, so he wanted to come back."

"Half a year later, he returned to Jiangnan with more than 100,000 strings of silver and gold. Then the two of us started a business alliance. He helped me improve my political achievements, and I helped him find ways to make money. After that, the Reform Movement of the Song Dynasty began, and merchants had more opportunities to make money. He became a tycoon in Jiangnan. It was because of him that, after Han Qi left Hangzhou, I became the transport commissioner and the governor of Hangzhou."

"However, we have a gentleman's agreement. I have never asked for bribes from him, and he has never violated the laws of the Song Dynasty within my jurisdiction. After that, he founded the Jiangnan Trading Company, and his business grew bigger and bigger. Because of him, the people's livelihood in Jiangnan has improved significantly."

"Although he had repeatedly said bad things about the reforms in the Song Dynasty and the money that many officials were collecting from the people, he treated the people sincerely and made many of them wealthy, so I didn't pay attention to his words. Afterwards, he gave me two houses and some gold and silver, and I... I felt that my official career was coming to an end and I needed to save more money, so I accepted it!"

"Before the National Debt Contract was issued, I... I didn't know he was a spy for the Liao Kingdom. It wasn't until he said he would never let Jiangnan Trading Company buy national debt that we had a big fight. Then he told me that he had passed some information to the Liao Emperor Yelu Zongzhen, and Yelu Zongzhen promised him that if he could cause chaos in Jiangnan during a full-scale war between Song and Liao, he would be appointed as the Prime Minister of the South after the Song was destroyed."

"In Lin Luonan's mind, becoming the prime minister has always been his first goal. I tried to persuade him, but it didn't work at all. In the end, he convinced me. He said that there would be a war between Song and Liao, and no matter whether Liao or Song won, we would be invincible, but the premise was that I would no longer be involved in the Jiangnan national debt."

"He also said that the house and gold and silver he gave me were all gifts from the Liao emperor, Yelu Zongzhen. He and I were now on the same ship and there was no way to retreat. So I claimed to be sick and stayed at home, and no longer cared about the national debt."

"In addition, some members have been assimilated by him into becoming traitors, but I don't know who they are or how many there are."

"As for the judge Gu Yue, he has a bad reputation in Hangzhou City and he only took office last year. He can't do anything to Jiangnan Trading Company."

……

After Lin Luonan finished speaking, he knelt on the ground with tears streaming down his face.

"Central Prime Minister Su, I am confused. I am confused! I don't deserve to die, but... I beg you to leave a way for my family to live. They... they don't know anything."

Su Liang took a long breath.

"Yu Zhizhou, you should be thankful that you told me this tonight, otherwise you would have committed a heinous crime punishable by the execution of your entire clan, and no one would be able to protect your family."

"I intend to capture Lin Luonan and his fellow merchants who have fled to Liao in Kong Fang Tower in the future. Are you willing to bear witness?"

"I...I am willing to testify. I am willing to testify."

……

On the last day of August, the city of Hangzhou seemed particularly lively.

Because more than 200 members of Jiangnan Trading Company have gathered in the city, all of them will attend the monthly meeting of Jiangnan Trading Company tomorrow.

However, the news that An Youwei had purchased another 50,000 strings of government bonds and that three more businessmen had purchased commercial bonds was suppressed by the Jiangnan Trading Company, and not a single tabloid published the matter.

No one in the restaurants or teahouses on the street talked about it.

……

September 1st, early morning.

A line of carriages passed through the Qufu Bridge and arrived in front of the Kongfang Building, the headquarters of the Jiangnan Trading Company.

The businessmen all dressed up for the event.

During Jiangnan Trading Company’s monthly chamber of commerce, several big deals are concluded, which is a great thing for the many people who rely on Jiangnan Trading Company for their survival.

If there is a big deal, their earnings will increase this month.

Soon, the sun rose and all the merchants entered Kong Fanglou, including the wise man Lin Luonan.

Outside the Kong Fang Building, there stood a row of guards to prevent any outsiders from approaching.

Many people watched from afar.

I want to see what rich people look like, what kind of clothes they like to wear, and what kind of accessories they wear.

at this time.

Hangzhou Tongpan Gu Yue led a group of people armed with swords and surrounded Kong Fanglou.

Followed by.

Another group of gray-clothed men, holding knives in one hand and crossbows in the other, rushed inside.

Swish! Swish! Swish!
At this time, Kong Fanglou's guards also rushed over with sticks.

Liu Sandao shouted loudly: "The government will investigate the case, and those who resist will be shot on the spot!"

These words frightened the people around at once. In the city of Hangzhou, even when the government was investigating a case, there had never been a threat of "shooting rebels on the spot."

A guard leader looked disdainful.

"You dare to shoot me, knowing who I belong to? Judge Gu, the wise old man is holding a monthly meeting in Kongfanglou. You are being too disrespectful to the wise old man by doing this!"

He didn't even look at Liu Sandao, but questioned Gu Yue with a very arrogant tone.

Liu Sandao smiled faintly and suddenly raised the crossbow in his hand.

Whoosh!
It hit the guard leader right in the chest.

The latter fell down with blood flowing from his chest.

"The government is investigating the case, and those who resist will be shot on the spot!" Liu Sandao said again.

Immediately, the guards dropped their sticks and retreated to the side.

They had been guards for two or three years and had never seen blood. They didn't expect that the other party would dare to kill people directly.

And the moment Liu Sandao led his men into Kong Fanglou, Zhisou and others also learned the news.

"What? Judge Gu led the yamen runners to surround our Kong Fanglou. Does he not want to be the judge anymore?"

The wise old man was furious and led a group of merchants towards the first floor hall.

In the lobby on the first floor.

The wise old man led the merchants and happened to run into Gu Yue, Liu Sandao and others who broke in.

At this time, one of Zhisou's subordinates told him that a guard had been shot and killed.

The wise old man forced a smile on his face and said, "Gu Tongpan, we are having a monthly meeting. What are you...what are you doing?"

Gu Yue's face was cold.

"To arrest traitors, or rather, Liao spies."

"Traitor? Liao spy? Judge Gu, you must be mistaken. Today, everyone in Kong Fanglou is an honest and law-abiding merchant from Jiangnan."

"Really? You too?"

Gu Yue looked around and said, "According to investigation, Jiangnan Commercial Company's president Lin Luonan, nicknamed Zhisou, has committed treason. I am here to arrest him. You must follow me to the state government office for investigation!"

When they heard about the two "traitorous" sons, all the merchants began to whisper.

Lin Luonan suddenly became a little anxious.

"Everyone, don't listen to his nonsense, he is framing me. You know, the An Youwei who bought 80,000 strings of national debt two days ago and called our Jiangnan Merchants rich and unkind was actually Wang Anshi, the Third Court Procurator, in disguise."

"The purpose is to make us buy government bonds. The court has said that buying government bonds is voluntary, but these people want to force us to buy government bonds for the sake of their careers and political achievements."

"Tongpan Gu Yue has threatened me twice. If we are taken away by him today, we will be tortured into confessing, and all our hard-earned money will be confiscated by him. We must not follow him!"

"I am already over 70 years old. You all know how I treat the people of Jiangnan. How could I commit treason? I am sure he has no evidence. I want to see Yu Zhizhou. He will clear our name!"

Lin Luonan's words immediately received responses from a group of businessmen.

"We won't leave, we want to see Magistrate Yu!"

"We won't leave, we want to see Magistrate Yu!"

……

The businessmen shouted loudly. In their eyes, Yu Jing was obviously much closer to them than Gu Yue.

At this time.

Su Liang, Yu Jing, Cao Yi, Wang Anshi and their group strode to the front.

Lin Luonan looked up and couldn't help showing a surprised expression, muttering: "Su...Su...Liang!"

There was another reason why Lin Luonan could recognize Wang Anshi, besides having seen him debating on the street.

In the second year of Huangyou, the Liao emperor Yelu Zongzhen asked him to assassinate three people.

One is Fan Zhongyan, one is Su Liang, and one is Wang Anshi.

These three people were the main force behind the reform in the Song Dynasty.

After Lin Luonan got the portraits of these three people, he planned for a long time, but failed. Finally, he had to give up. However, the appearance of these three people was engraved in his mind.

(End of this chapter)