Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 836
Wang Tong seldom drank, but he had a lot of alcohol. The businessman Nie Jin drank too much, and Wang Tong was fine. It was quite interesting to listen to Nie Jin's allusions to Jiangnan.

The Jiangnan mentioned by Nie Jin will not appear in Jinyiwei's newspapers and official texts. In fact, Jinyiwei's grasp of the situation in the world is gradually weakening from the center of the capital. Too weak.

The Jinyiwei on the South Zhili side is in charge of a few Jinyiwei Qianhu in Nanjing, which was set up in the time of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

The thousands of households stationed in Jinyiwei in other places are all appointed by the capital, but it is different in Nanjing. The thousands of households in Nanjing are all local Jinyiwei families, which have also been passed down from generation to generation. Pass it to the capital, and the commander of Jinyiwei will choose one person to serve.

Among them, the eunuch guarding Nanjing and the defense guards in Nanjing have a certain right to speak. After so many years, Nanjing Jinyiwei has formed its own system, and it is difficult for the capital to intervene.

Thinking about the pervasive influence of the rich and powerful families in Jiangnan, it is conceivable what the tendency of Jinyiwei in Jiangnan is. Naturally, there will be no situation that is not conducive to Jiangnan to report to the capital.

In fact, the imperial court's understanding of Jiangnan did not rely on these intelligence and detective agencies, but the reports from the eunuchs sent, and even the eunuchs and civil officials in Jiangnan were also important sources of information.

But the same is true for these sources. What the rich and powerful families do has no conflict of interest with them.

In fact, for Wang Tong, these things are just anecdotes, and there is no need to care about them.

The businessman surnamed Nie drank too much and returned to the boat to sleep soundly. Although night guards were arranged, nothing happened until dawn.

At dawn, there were already a lot of boats on the lake, and Nie Jin also got up, so he had to come over to say a few polite words, and then set sail to leave the shore, but Wang Tong was not in a hurry, and made breakfast on the sandbar according to the rules when marching , After inspecting the ship, it set sail.

The sailing on this day was also calm and boring. When the sun was westward, it entered the territory of Nanzhili, and when it was getting dark, it had already arrived near Pei County.

In fact, the boat is still on Weishan Lake, but then the waterway narrowed, and Peixian set up a private checkpoint to collect some transit tax money from the passing civilian and cargo ships. After passing through the checkpoint in Peixian County, it takes half a day to walk. Arrived in Xuzhou.

Although Wang Tong's fleet said that the official ship was replaced by a civilian ship, they still had to show their identity when encountering such a trap. Otherwise, if the official sent a lot of things to board the ship for inspection and saw the weapons and armor on the ship, they would have to send troops to arrest them. No.

In fact, there was no indication of the imperial envoy, but a few people showed each other the badges of Jinyiwei Baihu. For the county town of Peixian, a Jinyiwei Baihu is already considered a great big shot, so naturally they let it go in fear and fear. offend.

Wang Tong's team was not in a hurry, and stayed in the local area when it got dark. Some people had to go ashore to buy some dog meat, and everyone had a tooth-beating sacrifice at night.

It was impossible to chase the intelligence documents sent from the capital along the canal, but Pei County was a node. After the ship docked, someone sent the locked iron box to Wang Tong.

Pei County was extremely hot in August, and the heat still persisted at night, and Wang Tong didn't bother to go ashore, so he lit the lamp in the cockpit of the boat and read at night.

There is nothing wrong with the capital, and the petty disputes among officials and Qingliu are nothing more than how to proceed with the awarding of the Li family in Liao Town, and whether all the sons of the Li family should be knighted, such trivial matters are not worth mentioning.

Regarding the movements of the court officials, it is mentioned that Li Zhi, the inspector of Zhili, sent several letters to Zhang Siwei who was keeping his filial piety in Dingyou, Puzhou. Li Zhi was Zhang Siwei's favorite student. They are all on the front line, and Shangshu is extremely active in attacking impeachment.

When Zhang Siwei became the first assistant, Li Zhi also got rewarded and became the Zhili inspector, which is a rare position of real power in Beizhili, a place where officials are not worth much.

The rule in the officialdom is that people leave tea to cool down, Zhang Siwei and Ding You return to their hometowns, and Li Zhi's side has changed from being flattered by the stars to being ignored by everyone. The officials and Qingliu mingle with each other, making a fuss and becoming famous, and their relationship with Zhang Siwei is much colder than before. After all, there is a teacher-student relationship, and correspondence is still indispensable. .

Therefore, Li Zhi's sudden increase in letters was considered abnormal, and it was worth mentioning in Wang Tong's newspaper.

Wang Tong was just looking at it, and he would not have any impression. Among the civil servants, Wang Tong had the deepest impression on several people, except for Shen Shixing, Zhang Xueyan, Yang Wei, and Wang Lin. , Li Sancai and Gu Xiancheng were paid close attention to by Wang Tong.

These two people have no backing background, but they beat and kicked such a situation in the capital, and what's rare is that these two people know how to measure and make trouble, but they don't involve themselves too deeply. Everyone can benefit from it, and there will be no harm.

While browsing the newspapers there, I heard someone shouting from the direction of the shore:

"Second Master Wu is here, please see the Liang family in Pei County!!"

Wang Tong's fleet was moored beside Kazi. Once his dozen or so ships came over, the other ships would naturally go elsewhere. It seemed that the person shouting on the shore was facing this side.

When he was wondering, Wu Er reported outside:

"Master, this man on the shore is an old acquaintance of the villain. He has been doing business on the water for many years and is well-informed. Can the villain meet him?"

Wang Tong paused, and said:
"I'll go with you!"

It turned out that the person called "Master" was really Wu Er. Wang Tong had nothing to do, but he changed into short clothes and followed him.

"So that the master will know that the brothers of the Liang family ate at the lake on the river and suffered a loss when they traded goods to the Jinan mansion. The subordinates helped Zhou Quan and came back. It can be regarded as friendship, and they still communicate with each other during the New Year .”

"If it's a private matter, I'll come back later."

Wang Tong nodded and replied, he was dressed simply, and he was much younger than Wu Er. He looked just like Wu Er's entourage. Observation is necessary.

The two of them got off the boat and said hello. The man who was waiting there quickly got off his horse and ran over quickly. This man also looked dark and strong, with slender limbs. He looked like someone who was eating on the water.

"If it wasn't for the little ones who saw Angkor, they would have missed it so much."

The man first said something with a smile, and then stepped forward to salute. Wu Er was also polite. This man's name was Liang Jie, and he was the third younger brother of the head of the Liang family. Liang Jie glanced at Wang Tong who was beside him, but didn't pay much attention. He lowered his voice and asked:

"Second brother is on an official post this time, right?"

Although the official ship here has been replaced by a civilian ship, the Liang family knows that the Wu family is now working for the Jinyiwei, and has been working on the lake and river for so many years. It can be seen from Wang Tong's demeanor. Show signs.

The other party asked such a question, but Wu Er couldn't answer clearly. He just nodded sullenly, as a tacit consent. Then Liang Jie smiled, clasped his fists and said:

"Second brother came to the ground in Peixian County. The brothers should treat him well, but since he is on an official mission, it is not easy to disturb him. My brother asked the younger brother to say hello to the second brother and bring some local products. It is really negligent. .”

"Words there, talk there, don't you brothers stay in Pei County all the time, go to Tianjin Wei to play, and the Wu family will treat you well then."

After a few words of politeness, Liang Jie took two steps forward, lowered his voice and said:
"Second brother, my younger brother got news that if you walk another thirty miles to the south, someone will attack you on the river."

Wu Er's eyes widened, he subconsciously looked back at Wang Tong, and then said:

"Walk another 2000 miles to the south, and it's very close to Pizhou. There are more than [-] soldiers stationed in Pizhou, so they dare to move?"

"Second brother's money on this boat has been exposed, and he was targeted by people in Jining. Now the Clippers are already running ahead of you, and they are waiting to do something."

Wang Tong carried quite a lot of gold and silver, the draft was so deep, and he didn't have any goods in it. People with a discerning eye could understand it, but Wu Er was still puzzled. The more than 2000 soldiers in Pizhou were defending the salt industry in the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, and they were considered excellent. , there was a water bandit who dared to attack there, it was too daring, so he had to ask again, Liang Jie hesitated for a moment, leaned closer and said:

"It's just this group of people who have only existed in the past two years. There are quite a few people who report to the officials. They have never been suppressed by officers and soldiers. The brothers who eat on the water can't figure out where they came from. Some say that the officers and soldiers came out, and some say it was the sea. The activities of the salt owls in the state have a lot of relationship with the officials, and you are also a fan now, second brother, so it is inconvenient for me to say some things."

Wu Er looked at Wang Tong, but asked in a low voice:
"Is there anyone staring around here? Come over and report. They will not dare to move if they sense the wind!"

"They are not so meticulous in their work. In the afternoon, two ships from Shandong to Jiaxing capsized. A few people were rescued. They said that some strong men boarded the boat and asked where your fleet was going. If it weren't for the people below The little one has seen the second brother, and the younger brother will not come here. The people in Pizhou don’t care about the men and brothers along the way. Half an hour ago, their boat just passed by. The ships coming from the capital will not receive any warning messages!"

"Tell this brother Liang, after October this year, you must go to the capital once, and you must treat him well."

Wang Tong, who had been silent by the side, suddenly spoke out, but Liang Jie was taken aback. He really thought Wang Tong was Wu Er's follower. Seeing Wang Tong walking towards the boat, Wu Er stretched out his hand and patted Liang Jie. Jie's shoulder, said with emotion:
"Brother, what a blessing!"

(End of this chapter)