Ming Dynasty, starting from the empty seal case

Chapter 143: Play the long game and catch big fish! (Third update)

Su Xian looked at the people in front of him who were slowly waking up.

There were three men whom I had met before, two middle-aged men and a bald old man.

At this moment, the tall and fat beggar woke up, touched his head and looked around.

A group of little beggars were huddled in the corner.

The three of them were lying together.

"woke up?"

Suddenly, a cold voice sounded, giving people the feeling as if they were being targeted by some wild beast, and the three of them felt chills all over their bodies.

"You, what are you doing?"

"In broad daylight, they not only robbed us of our money, but also... they also took human lives!"

Do they understand such soft words?

This is their name. Well, it's a name they put on something casually after they caught it, without any meaning or value.

This is a relatively secluded small courtyard in Gewuyuan, and it is the best place to use it for interrogation.

Naturally, Su Xian didn't know what they were thinking.

"Although you are young, you should have heard the name of the pro-military captain's house. We are familiar with each other, but when they really want to take you away, I can't stop you."

"Young Master, I'd better ask."

When Su Xian saw this, his expression turned cold.

……

When it comes to interrogating this kind of thing, I really have no deterrent effect right now.

At this moment, he looked at the children in front of him.

"what!"

At this moment, the Gewuyuan has been taken over by people from the pro-military Duwei Mansion. In the front yard, Lu Shan, Huang Ke and others were still trembling.

"That's all, come to the other courtyard with me."

"Pick up the knife, I asked you to pick up the knife..."

"Tang...gourd?"

The pro-military Duwei Mansion was reorganized and Mao Xiang was beheaded!

The next moment was Jiang Yu's gentle but cold voice.

So let's take those children out.

At this time, the shadowy man next to him couldn't help but rub his palms when he saw Su Xian interrogating him.

He pointed to a group of children huddled next to him.

The expressions of the three people froze.

And Su Xian just came out with the group of children.

Su Xian nodded.

Gewuyuan publishes the new newspaper of Gewu and needs newsboys. It would be good for them to make a living under Gewuyuan. Seeing children as old as themselves reduced to beggars and seemingly being watched over by others, if you want to say that you are not touched in your heart, then Naturally it is impossible.

I can't imagine that if something happens near Gewuyuan this time, then here...

In the courtyard.

Su Xian took them to another courtyard.

The few of them didn't speak, but looked at Su Xian with even more fear.

They felt a sense of fear when they thought that what they had just seen were those ferocious guys who were rumored to be vicious and treated officials equally, no matter how big or small.

As for the person in front of him, he already knew his identity!

"You haven't done anything yet, why did you do it?"

"Tell me, you guys act out this scene yourself and call me over. Who are you going to show it to? What are you going to do?"

In fact, from the beginning, when Su Xian saw them, he already had some thoughts in his heart.

Then I heard an extremely shrill scream!

The three people shouted quickly.

Su Xian just stared at their performance and said leisurely: "Do you think I don't know you?"

Following closely behind was the commander of the Jinyi Guards Command—Jiang Ying!
This is another notorious figure, the ancestor of the interrogation world. Su Xian was not prepared to compete with professionals.

There was a bang, and only one sound was heard.

After the Hu Weiyong case.

"You'd better ask them..."

"Tell me about it, little meat bun..." Su Xian pointed at each of them one by one, and finally settled on the girl who had the deepest contact with him. This time, he also acted as a "bait" and reminded his child.

"When the time comes, at such a young age, the people who will be tortured by them will be either humans or ghosts, and their lives will be worse than death. That is beyond my power..."

Su Xian was saying something to scare them.

And the next moment.

"Plop!"
The boy who first asked him to go and rescue the girl was also the oldest one, about nine or ten years old.

He immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Su Xian, with a crying look on his face.

"I'm sorry, if we didn't call you, Zhixia would have been beaten to death by them. I know you are good to us, but we can't help it... Wuwu..."

Su Xian asked in confusion: "Zhixia?"

"It's Xiaotang!" The former quickly raised his head, his eyes red.

And the rear.

The girl with red eyes started sobbing and pointed at several people.

"Brother, my name is not Xiaotang, my surname is Bai, Zhixia. We don't call him Tanghulu or Xiaoroubao. He is our third brother, his name is Bai Jue, he is the fifth brother, his name is Bai Lang. "

"And she is my seventh sister, her name is Bai Zhiwei."

"Lin Andong, Lin Ancheng, Lin Anding..."

The latter introduced each one one by one, but Su Xian heard it strangely.

"and many more……"

"Bai Jue? Bai Lang? Bai Zhiwei, Bai Zhixia? And someone named Lin? That's a good name."

In this era, people among the people use their names casually.

Words like this, which have the same radicals, also carry different connotations. Regardless of whether men and women are named in this way, not everyone has this intention.

Regarding this point, Su Xian had actually noticed it very early on.

The reason is simple: they know words.

Ever since the first Gewu Daily appeared, he had asked them to serve as newspaper delivery boys. Almost everyone could pronounce the general meaning. Although limited by their age, they did not know some words, but even so, they were not ordinary people in this era. .

"Descendants of guilty ministers? Or are they affected?"

"We are not criminals!" Bai Lang, who was younger, shook his head quickly.

Bai Zhixia said weakly: "We are from the same clan. We were relatively wealthy in Suzhou before. But a few years ago, my grandfather took us, the Bai family, to move from Suzhou to the capital."

She is young and cannot explain some things clearly.

It was Bai Jue who continued: "At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Emperor Hongwu divided the household registration into wealthy households in addition to merchants, farmers, and craftsmen... We are one of them."

"After moving here, wealthy households need to provide annual salary, taxes and food, as well as government expenses, and pick-up and drop-off at the inn for the soldiers of the capital guard station, even the imperial army, and city guards..."

"But when we first arrived, the silk business couldn't continue at all. Within two years, it couldn't be opened. The entire Bai family couldn't afford it... After that, they joined forces to split it up, and Zhuangzi was also annexed."

"Grandpa was furious to death. My father, several uncles, and other clansmen also died and were exiled. My aunt and others were also sold, and we were also sold into the dental industry..."

Speaking of which.

The other children were obviously thinking of something, and they all pursed their lips and couldn't suppress their cries.

Bai Zhixia cried even more: "The older sisters in the family will be sold to the Flower House. The eldest brother and the others are also beaten to death! The second sister jumped into the Qinhuai River... She even advised me before leaving. Sleep well, and someone will come to save us tomorrow..."

"She said the same thing as my mother and the others."

"But... wuwu... we didn't wait!"

"Wow..."

As they talked, the children could no longer control themselves and burst into tears.

Bai Jue, the eldest, had a flash of deep pain in his eyes, but he pursed his lips and raised his head to prevent himself from crying.

Su Xian listened, feeling touched and did not ask any more questions.

The Lin brothers and sisters continued to wipe away tears, "They said we were too young and no one wanted us even if we went to do odd jobs, and then they scattered us around the capital to beg."

"If anyone fails to beg for money, he will be beaten when he goes back. My brother's hands and feet were also cut off by them... They say begging is more effective this way."

"Ugh, if we hadn't been in Gewuyuan, knew how to read, and distributed those daily newspapers, we would have been taken away long ago..."

Su Xian couldn't bear to hear it anymore.

Thinking of other things instead.

Suzhou Mansion!
When Zhu Yuanzhang attacked Zhang Shicheng, he encountered the city with the most determined resistance.

Zhu Yuanzhang lost troops and generals here, but he still could not capture it. The reason was that Suzhou was not only rich but also rich in grain, and the people were also stubborn and had always firmly supported Zhang Shicheng.

After finally capturing Suzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and saw that he had already suffered eight thousand losses, and he was furious.

After that, before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the people here immediately began to immigrate in batches to Fengyang Prefecture, Huai'an Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, and of course more around the capital. At the same time, he ordered that corvee taxes were light in other places, but Suzhou was heavy in corvee taxes.

Due to historical reasons, immigrants from this land are naturally not valued by the government and are bullied by other places.

The rich households in various places were responsible for the local government expenditures, transportation to and from the inns, and the annual salary of the guards... This was also decided by Zhu Yuanzhang, who thought he could save a lot of expenses and let his subordinates support themselves.

The one that is most in line with the Ming Dynasty——

The people accept the people’s liberation!

This is part of the state's tax revenue, and it belongs to the "tax land" that has never been reclaimed by the Ming Dynasty!
But Su Xian knew,

The people accept the people’s liberation!

But it was one of the factors that accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

The Bai family and Lin family in front of them are obviously a part of this huge background.

"Tell me about me. What did they ask you to call me for? Is it possible for me to join you?"

Su Xian was extremely stunned. The wealthy family had nothing to do with him.

“They want printing plates!”

At this moment, Bai Jue seemed to have thought of something and said quickly.

"Printing plate?"

Su Xian was stunned, "New coin printing plate?"

The issuance of new coins by the imperial court is a recent event, and it is no secret that there is news in the capital.

"Yes."

"Aren't they selling children?" Su Xian's eyes became more and more suspicious, "They are so involved?"

Bai Jue shook his head and said: "They are not alone. As long as they make money, they will do anything."

"I don't know why our business failed. I just know that grandpa asked us to leave quickly that day, but we were caught before we could get far."

"The government said that we were rich people who refused to pay taxes and evaded taxes. Then they exiled my father and others in accordance with the court rules... We were also mortgaged to Yahang. Within a few days, we became what we are now."

"How many days?" Su Xian already had a guess in his mind when he heard the time.

"What about me? They want the printing plate, so they arrest me and ask my father to bring out the printing plate, right?"

Bai Jue nodded, "Probably so. We don't know a lot of things."

"I only know that they lied to my little sister and said they only need to take you into the house and lock you up overnight, and then let you out the next day."

"They know who you are, and they just want to take advantage of the fact that before the curfew, people's attention is on Yanyin, and seize this opportunity without anyone finding out, so they decided to take action."

Su Xian became more and more aware.

At the same time, an outline slowly appeared in my mind.

"It's quite courageous to be able to do such a big thing, and to have the idea of ​​​​new banknotes before the new banknotes are issued."

"What are they called?"

Bai Jue shook his head.

Su Xian asked in confusion: "Don't know?"

"I only know that they do these businesses, and the people responsible for printing new banknotes are called those above..."

"Gold Digger!"

"Gold digger?" Su Xian repeated three words.

An instant thought came to mind: Wasn't it the so-called gold digger that my father caught some time ago?

Counterfeit money? Trafficking? With the help of the People's Liberation Army, they annexed assets and businesses...

hiss!
Not knowing what he thought of, Su Xian suddenly took a breath of cold air.

Government? ! !

Being able to span such a large area in the Ming Dynasty, I dare to make any ideas.

This is no longer as simple as some underground evil force.

He was extremely vigilant, and then looked at them, "You guys just wait."

While talking.

Su Xian hurriedly walked out of the courtyard.

Come to the side.

But he saw that Jiang Wei had already come out, wiping his hands with a towel.

Seeing Su Xian looking at him, his eyes looked faintly, "Young Master Su."

When Su Xian saw him, she instinctively didn't want to get close, but she thought of something and couldn't help but ask:
"Have you asked clearly?"

"A little bit,"

When Su Xian was stunned, he saw him say again: "But it is enough to report to the Holy One."

"Is it just a report?"

Jiang Wei was stunned. He still didn't understand what Su Xian meant.

But he saw that the latter was already looking at him.

"Take me to see His Majesty!"

Ok?
Jiang Wei frowned in confusion, but in a short period of time, all the information flashed through Su Xian's mind.

He said again: "Take me there!"

Jiang Wei still couldn't react.

Sudden.

Su Xian looked at the saber on Jiang Wei's waist: "Borrow the sword!"

talking.

He took advantage of Jiang Wei's daze and drew out his saber, but the other party just watched and did not stop him.

But Su Xian looked directly at the robe at his waist.

When I cut it with a knife, I heard a "stab" sound!
A corner of brocade clothes fluttered down.

Su Xian held it in his hand and said bluntly: "Listen to me and let you make great achievements!"

……

evening.

The Su family's new house.

Su Guiyuan sat on the threshold. The new home was very big. He had been thinking about finding some officials, servants, etc. some time ago.

It's just that I've been falling behind on too many things lately, so I just thought I'd say something to my family when Su Xian comes back.

At this moment, Wu Xiu hurriedly walked out of the courtyard, "Isn't Xian'er back yet?"

"No, maybe he's still in Gewuyuan, or maybe he's going to Changfu."

Su Xian was running around these days and didn't go home a few times. But in the past, even if he was in Gewuyuan or playing with Chang Sen in Chang Mansion, he would still send someone with a letter to inform him.

Today there is no news.

"My heart is pounding. Is something going to happen?" Wu Xiu said softly.

"How can I?"

Although Su Guiyuan said this, his hands couldn't help shaking twice.

All this time, he has never told his wife that as he gets deeper into the country, he needs to be more careful and cautious.

Su Xian was too young. He used to be in the main hall and was on good terms with his eldest grandson.

In addition, as he gradually became more powerful, he also began to learn to make many official friends.

To be honest, in the current dynasty, except for the high-ranking officials of the third rank or above, he really has no one to fear. If pressed, at worst, even the prime minister can refute a few words in Fengtian Palace.

This is the confidence that power brings to him.

But he knew where the Su family's foundation had always been, and he also knew that as his son became more outstanding, he might attract many unknown forces.

The curfew is in full swing right now, and no one came to notify me.

The recent restructuring of Yanyin has caused turmoil in the capital. Su Guiyuan is really afraid that the worst thing will happen.

"If I had known better, I would have hired some servants who are good at martial arts."

He thought to himself, with a smile on his face at the same time, "It's okay. We were scared a few times before. Didn't they follow the princes to see off Song Lian today? They must have gone somewhere to play again, and there was no time to inform them. we."

Su Guiyuan said and then smiled: "I'm already hungry. Go and cook. Maybe I'll be back soon."

Wu Xiu nodded, and Su Guiyuan watched as the other party entered shortly after.

suddenly!

There was a "whoosh" sound.

Hearing a sound breaking through the air, Su Guiyuan's eyes sharpened and he looked up suddenly, only to see what seemed to be a small stone hitting the door of his house.

There is a "bang" sound.

Su Guiyuan looked sharply, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

He immediately bent down to pick it up, first taking out a piece of broken brocade, which was Xian'er's clothes!
And there was exactly one line written inside.

"Take the printing plate and exchange it for your son!"

(End of this chapter)