Smuggling Daming

"Li Gong, Yang Gong, why are you here?" Seeing the people who came to visit him, Wang Lun was also very surprised.I saw that it was Li Dongyang who came in, and beside him was a middle-aged man with a calm demeanor. This man was Yang Tinghe, another important minister of Daming. The two of them were busy with government affairs and their identities were too sensitive, so Wang Lun didn't He didn't expect that the two of them would come to visit him, let alone that they would still come together.

Li Dongyang was also very excited when he saw Wang Lun, who was wearing prison clothes and his beard was disheveled. He stepped forward to support Wang Lun and said in a trembling voice, "Brother Ruyan, I made you suffer!"

"Thank you, Mr. Li, for your concern. Although Mr. Wang is in prison, he didn't suffer too much. On the contrary, Mr. Li is in the court. Not only must he always be on guard against eunuchs, but he also tries his best to protect us. , the suffering is what very people can bear, compared with Li Gong, what is my suffering?" Wang Lun also said very excitedly.

What Wang Lun said was not to flatter Li Dongyang, but to tell the truth. At the beginning when Liu Jin was in power, a group of ministers such as Xie Qian and Liu Jian were squeezed out and resigned and returned to their hometowns, but Li Dongyang stayed. Many people didn't understand, and even thought that he was greedy for power. In the end, even one of Li Dongyang's students drew a line with him. It can be said that Li Dongyang was under pressure at that time.However, later events proved that Li Dongyang endured humiliation. With him in the court, he protected many officials from Liu Jin's persecution, and only then did Li Dongyang's stains be washed away.

Then Li Dongyang and Wang Lun exchanged some pleasantries, and then sat down on the chair moved by the jailer to talk. At this time, Yang Tinghe also stepped forward to greet Wang Lun.The two of them used to be officials in the same dynasty, so they both knew each other, but their friendship was not that deep.

After the three of them sat down, Li Dongyang asked Wang Lun about his situation in prison and how his family was doing now, etc. Then he suddenly changed the subject and said with a serious expression: "Brother Ruyan, we have known each other for many years, some I'll just tell you the matter directly. This time Jiefu and I came here to visit you, and there are some things we want to ask you."

"Oh? Mr. Li, please tell me. If Wang knows everything, he must know everything!" Wang Lun was not surprised when he heard Li Dongyang's words. After all, Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe are cabinet scholars, and they should have come to prison in their identities. See your own.But now they came together abnormally, which meant that there must be other reasons.

At this moment, Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe looked at each other, and then Li Dongyang continued to speak: "Brother Ruyan, this time I want to ask something about your prospective son-in-law Zhou Zhong."

"Zhou Zhong?" Wang Lun was very surprised when he heard this, and he also showed a somewhat puzzled expression on his face, although Zhou Zhong's Journey to the West had a great influence among scholars.It also initially started his own fame, but in the identities of Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe.How could he be interested in a grassroots like Zhou Zhong?

"Yes, in fact, I have collected some information about Zhou Zhong before. It is said that his father is related to smuggling, and he seems to be involved in smuggling now. I don't know if it is true?" Li Dongyang asked again .Many people in Shuangyu Port knew Zhou Zhong's identity, and these people came from all over the Ming Dynasty, so it was not difficult for Li Dongyang to find out that Zhou Zhong was involved in smuggling.

Wang Lun also knew this.So when Li Dongyang asked this question, he didn't hide it immediately.Sighing, he introduced the situation of Zhou Zhong's family, and then pointed out that Zhou Zhong was very dissatisfied with the eunuch's ruling, so he had the idea of ​​giving up being an official, and now he specializes in running the smuggling chamber of commerce at home.

Although smuggling is illegal, as early as Xiaozong's reign, smuggling along the southern coast was almost semi-public. Not only some bold businessmen from the people participated in smuggling, but even the family members of some officials participated in it, such as some of the leaders led by Xie Qian. Officials in the south directly control the operation of the smuggling chamber of commerce.

Li Dongyang is from Changsha, Huguang, and Yang Tinghe is from Xindu, Sichuan, both of which are also famous lands of fish and rice. Although the two of them did not directly participate in smuggling like Xie Qian, their relatives often organize goods to be transported overseas to smuggling base transactions. Therefore, Wang Lun is also inextricably linked with smuggling, and Wang Lun is no exception, and he knows this, so when Wang Lun talked about Zhou Zhong's participation in smuggling, he did not hide anything.

After listening to Wang Lun's introduction of Zhou Zhong's situation, Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe both nodded, and at the same time, they also had a little more respect for Zhou Zhong in their hearts. They have already shouldered the burden of the family at such a young age, and even did a very good job. After writing such a sensational work as Journey to the West, he actually took over the half-dead chamber of commerce at home, and carried forward the chamber of commerce again. This kind of ability and charm is not something ordinary people can possess.

It's just that Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe didn't just come to get to know Zhou Zhong himself. After Li Dongyang finished listening, he asked again: "Ruyan, Zhou Zhong is indeed a rare talent, but I want to ask one more question. Do you know more about Zhou's Nanyang Chamber of Commerce?"

Wang Lun was even more surprised when he heard this. He couldn't understand why Li Dongyang was interested in a small smuggling chamber of commerce?However, he still opened his mouth and replied: "To Mr. Li, the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce was founded by Zhou Zhong's father, Zhou Hai. Although it was only established for more than ten years, it has developed rapidly. Now it is one of the four major chambers of commerce in Shuangyu Port. Mainly take the sea route in the Nanyang area, but last year Zhou Hai took the fleet out to sea and never returned. Everyone thought they had encountered a shipwreck. This also caused a big blow to the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce and almost split into several small chambers. Fortunately, Zhou Hai Gravity turned the tide, and this reintegrated the chamber of commerce."

Wang Lun briefly introduced the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce he knew, but what he said was obviously not what Li Dongyang wanted to hear. Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe looked at each other, and then Yang Tinghe asked, "Brother Ruyan, what is the smuggling business?" Yang has also heard about the matter. As far as I know, many smugglers are backed by other people. For example, some people in Yuyao Xie Gong's family were involved in smuggling. Since the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce can develop so fast, then Brother Ruyan knows that the Zhou family Who is behind the support?"

I heard Yang Tinghe asked if there is any support behind the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce?Wang Lun couldn't help being stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile and said, "To tell you the truth, brother, although Zhou Zhong's father Zhou Hai and I have known each other for many years, the main reason is that when I didn't get the honor, my old father was sick. I spent a lot of money to treat my father's illness, which finally made the family's life difficult. At that time, thanks to Zhou Hai's financial support, my father was cured of his illness, and I was able to successfully obtain fame, so I put the youngest His daughter betrothed to Zhou Zhong, but I don't know much about Zhou Hai's business!"

When he said this, Wang Lun paused for a moment, and then continued: "However, I have been friends with Xu Guan, the prefect of Songjiang, for many years, and Xu Guan and the Xie family who are also smugglers are brothers-in-law. According to him, the Xie family I have always guessed that there is someone behind Zhou Hai, but as for who this person is, they have never found out!"

Hearing that the people behind the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce were so mysterious, Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe looked at each other again, with such an expression in their eyes.Then they asked some detailed questions about the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce, and then they said goodbye to Wang Lun. During the whole process, they did not explain to Wang Lun why they asked these questions. , Then sat down again and guessed the intention of Li Dongyang and the two of them to ask these words?

Li Dongyang and Li Dongyang got into a carriage immediately after leaving the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. At this moment, Yang Tinghe finally couldn't help but said, "Li Gong, do you think the person behind Zhou Zhong is King Anhua?"

Li Dongyang was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then he opened his mouth and said: "Judging from the situation you just explained, the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce must have the support of a big person behind it, and Zhou Zhongyuan is overseas, but he expected that there must be a big event in the Yuechaotang this month." It happened, so I guess he probably knew about King Anhua's rebellion in advance, so even if the person behind him is not King Anhua, he must have a deep connection with King Anhua!"

It turned out that both Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe had misunderstood Zhou Zhong. In order to get Wang Lun offended, Zhou Zhong told him that he must delay until April. At first, Li Dongyang didn't really believe it, but he didn't expect the situation to develop so quickly. Now he is sure Well, Zhou Zhong's prophecy was correct. If there were no accidents, Wang Lun would indeed not only be innocent, but would also make great contributions.

But in this way, Li Dongyang has an unsolvable doubt in his heart, that is, why did Zhou Zhong know that King Anhua would rebel?Li Dongyang couldn't understand this question no matter what, and finally he told Yang Tinghe about the incident, and then the two secretly investigated Zhou Zhong, and found that Zhou Zhong was probably supported by someone behind him, otherwise he would just be a teenage boy. , How can you control a large chamber of commerce, and also make the chamber of commerce sound and colorful?

Knowing this, both Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe suspected that the person behind Zhou Zhong might be King Anhua. Only in this way can Zhou Zhong know about King Anhua's rebellion in advance.So today the two of them went to see Wang Lun in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, in order to confirm their conjectures, but unfortunately they did not get any solid evidence, they only further proved their conjectures were very likely.

"Huh? No!" At this time, Yang Tinghe suddenly thought of another thing, and turned his head to Li Dongyang in confusion, "Li Gong, even if the person behind Zhou Zhong is King Anhua, but King Anhua's rebellion Wang Lun cannot be exonerated directly, but it is the incident we conspired that can make Wang Lun innocent and meritorious. Could it be that he knew about our conspiring in advance?" (To be continued. If you like this work , you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation.)