Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Yangzhou City in February feels a bit more springy, and the water in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is still clear.

The Yangzhou wharf has been cleared by the wolf-like Yangzhou guards. An official ship coming from the direction of Songjiang Prefecture is slowly docking, and the imperial envoy's flag is swaying in the wind.

Upon learning that the imperial envoy Wang Yue's official ship had arrived, officials from all the yamen in Yangzhou City rushed to the dock next to the south gate, preparing to welcome the imperial envoy holding Shang Fang's horse-killing sword.

Li Zhiqing, the transshipment envoy of the Huaidu and Huaihe capitals, was an out-and-out official of the third rank, and now he was the actual leader of Yangzhou officials, so he stood at the forefront without hesitation.

Yang Mingyuan, the prefect of Yangzhou, and Zhang Lushan, the censor of the Salt Patrol of Huaihe River, stood behind. When they saw the tall official ship approaching slowly, they couldn't help but feel nervous.

Since Wailang Guandong, a member of the household department of Yangzhou Chaoguan, had drowned in the Xiaoqinhuai River after drinking alcohol earlier, only a few low-ranking officials in Yangzhou Chaoguan were present to greet him.

Despite this, there are actually dozens of officials, large and small, from all the yamen in Yangzhou City.

"Is Wang Yue really here?"

"This can be false, I just heard that this person is murderous!"

"Be careful what you say, or I'll kill you with Shang Fang's sword!"

…

There were quite a few scholars who came to watch. Faced with the beheading of the king who had gained a great reputation in Huguang, everyone showed a bit of fear.

"I heard that this imperial envoy killed many corrupt officials in Huguang, but I don't know!"

"All officials in the world have the same moral character. You can tell just by looking at that iron-faced censor!"

"You can't say that. It is said that this imperial envoy really makes decisions for our people!"

…

Many people staying here learned that the person on the official ship turned out to be the imperial envoy Wang Yue. Combined with the news from Huguang earlier, they also looked forward to the tunnel.

Because a few hundred meters further ahead is Yangzhou Chaoguan, there are many merchant ships coming and going here.

It's just that ships are also divided into different levels. Now facing such an official ship flying the imperial flag, all merchant ships will naturally have to give way.

The imperial envoy ship had been moored at the dock, but Wang Yue had not been seen for a long time.

"How is this going?"

"What a big arrogance. Is this a show of intimidation?"

"I've seen a lot of imperial envoys, but I've never seen someone so arrogant!"

…

Yangzhou officials were originally hostile to Wang Yue, but now that they saw that Wang Yue had not shown up, they couldn't help but complain in a low voice.

Just when everyone was waiting impatiently, a eunuch in brocade clothes came to the deck and said: "Everyone has been waiting for a long time. I am Sun En, the eunuch of the Weaving Bureau. Fortunately, I am accompanying him to Yangzhou on business this time!"

"I've met Eunuch Sun!" Li Zhiqing and other officials couldn't help but look at each other, but they didn't know which song Wang Yue was singing, but they still said politely.

Sun En knew that he would not get the attention of these civil servants who regarded themselves as honest officials, so he responded calmly: "You're welcome, gentlemen!"

"Eunuch Sun, I wonder why the imperial envoy refuses to come out to meet you?" Li Zhiqing naturally didn't care what errand a eunuch from the Weaving Bureau was here to do, so he asked directly.

Officials such as Yang Mingyuan, the prefect of Yangzhou, and Zhang Hushan, the censor of the Salt Patrol in Huaihe River, were also very confused by Wang Yue's actions, and they all looked at the eunuch Sun En on the deck.

Sun En cleared his throat and then said what he had already prepared: "My lords, the imperial envoy has not recovered from his serious injury. He is traveling on the road today, and the weather in the river is changeable, causing the cold to invade the body and the occasional wind and cold! Therefore, please Please return to the administrative center for the time being and listen to your call!"

not see?

Yangzhou Magistrate Yang Mingyuan and other officials couldn't help but look at each other in shock after hearing these docile words.

Although I had heard earlier that Wang Yue had been seriously injured in the attack, since he had already come all the way from Songjiang Mansion, he should have shown up anyway, but he unexpectedly chose to avoid seeing him in the boat.

"The Imperial Envoy came to the Prime Minister's Salt Administration according to the order. Now he is injured and patrolling the herds on behalf of the emperor. He also contracted an illness in Yangzhou. The Yangzhou officials are very uneasy. I don't know if there is a need, but the Yangzhou officials are ready to drive him and do not dare to delay." Li Zhiqing If you want to explore the truth, you can express your position on behalf of everyone.

"I wonder if the imperial envoy has any needs, and the Yangzhou officials will help you!" Yangzhou Magistrate Yang Mingyuan and other officials knew that they were trying to contact Wang Yue, and immediately echoed Li Zhiqing's words.

Sun En found that the transfer envoy from the Huaihe River was quite difficult to deal with, so he responded quickly and wisely: "The imperial envoy is almost injured. The wind and cold are really a minor illness. There is no need to disturb the place. Just rest for three days!"

"The Yangzhou officials will retire now and listen to the call!" Li Zhiqing saw that the other party was indeed determined not to meet, so he immediately decided to give in.

Sun En couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said politely: "Your Majesty, please convey my apology to the Za family. Please forgive me!"

"The imperial envoy patrols the herds on behalf of the emperor and presides over local political affairs. How dare the Yangzhou officials accept the apology! I hope the imperial envoy will recover soon and the Yangzhou officials will retire first!" Li Zhiqing saw Sun En's reaction in his eyes and replied very appropriately. .

Seeing that the imperial envoy Wang Yue refused to disembark, all the officials had to take official sedans back to Yangzhou City from the south gate.

Regardless of whether Wang Yue's injury is true or not, now that the dignified imperial envoys have arrived, no matter how rampant they are, they have to keep their tail between their legs during this period.

The ten-mile long green brick street in Yangzhou City is still lively, but it doesn't seem to be affected at all.

Officials from various yamen returned to their respective yamen one after another, but the "Yangzhou Iron Triangle" gathered again at the Lianghuai Capital Transfer Envoy Yamen. Now the three of them no longer avoid taboos at all.

Since Wang Chunlai, Si Tongzhi, the transfer envoy to the Huaihe River, and Guandong, a member of the Nanjing Household Department at Chaoguan, fell into the water drunk and died, Yang Mingyuan, the prefect of Yangzhou, and Zhang Lushan, the salt censor of the two Huaihe Rivers, followed Li Zhiqing's lead.

Now that the imperial envoy suddenly arrived, all their officials gathered under Li Zhiqing's command, but they hoped that Li Zhiqing could lead them through the crisis at hand.

As soon as he returned to the meeting hall, Yangzhou Magistrate Yang Mingyuan complained directly: "Wang Yue is really putting on a big show today, but he avoids it. Which song is he singing?"

"Is it rare that Wang Yue is really seriously injured and has not yet recovered?" Zhang Hushan, the censor of salt inspection in the Huaihe River, frowned slightly and expressed his judgment.

Li Zhiqing sat down in the main seat, took the tea cup brought by the maid and said: "Wang Yue was attacked and fell into the water last year and is missing. However, no matter how seriously injured he was, he should be fine now! This man is an unparalleled famous general in our Ming Dynasty. He has made many military exploits at the border and is very good at using military tactics. The Huguang direction did not expect Wang Yue to fight back, and as a result, the entire Huguang officialdom neglected to take precautions. This was the opportunity for Wang Yue to take over. Now that Wang Yue has not shown up, I’m afraid he’s planning something else!”

"Master Li, in your opinion, what should we do now?" Zhang Hushan, the salt censor of the Lianghuai River, knew that Li Zhiqing was resourceful, so he asked seriously.

Yang Mingyuan, the prefect of Yangzhou, was well aware of Li Zhiqing's ruthlessness, so he turned to look at the backbone of his group.

Li Zhiqing held the lid of the tea and poured the hot tea lightly, and then expressed his thoughts: "Knowing yourself and the enemy is the only way to win every battle. We must find out as soon as possible what Wang Yue wants to do when he comes to Yangzhou, and where will he come from?" Get started! If I’m not wrong in my estimation, I’m afraid Wang Behead will have disembarked early!”

"Disembark early? If he doesn't come to Yangzhou City, where will he go?" Zhang Hushan frowned and asked immediately in confusion.

Li Zhiqing took a sip of tea and seemed to be in control of everything: "I have ordered the magistrates and prefectures under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Prefecture to send more people to check various checkpoints. Once any trace of Wang Yue is discovered, they will report it immediately!"

Yangzhou Prefecture has jurisdiction over three prefectures and eight counties. Gaoyou leads Baoying County and Xinghua County, Taizhou leads Rugao County, Tongzhou leads Haimen County, and directly administers four counties: Jiangdu, Yizhen, Taixing, and Jingjiang. Jiangdu County is the seat of the government.

After so many years of management, he had already tied the county magistrates and prefectures below to his warship, and now he naturally followed him to watch out for Wang Yue.

If Wang Yue still wanted to use the "kill back" trick he used in Huguang, he would not give the other party a chance. He definitely wanted to keep Wang Yue's whereabouts in his hands, but he would not give Wang Yue any chance. Take advantage of the opportunity.

As soon as he finished speaking, the official in charge of intelligence transmission hurriedly came to report: "News just came from Taixing County! They found a group of strangers coming by water in the territory. Most of them have Beijing accents. They are suspected of being Wang Yue and his party!"

"Haha... Wang Yue is really going to Taixing? It seems that he is going to the salt field on this trip!!" After Li Zhiqing learned of Wang Yue's movements, he couldn't help but show a sly smile.

Zhang Hushan finally took office not long ago and did not know many things at all. He immediately asked in confusion: "Mr. Yang, what is he doing in the salt field?"

"Zhang Yushi, I'm afraid you are not aware of it intentionally. In the early years, I have already released the news that there is a large-scale private salt factory in Yangzhou Prefecture!" Li Zhiqing took a sip of tea and looked smug.

Zhang Hushan learned that this was false news deliberately released by Li Zhiqing, so it was naturally impossible to find the hidden private salt farm in Taixing County, so he smiled slightly and said: "Haha... I see, then he is looking for a needle in a haystack. !”

"Zhang Yushi, what you said is ridiculous. You are not looking for a needle in a haystack, you are looking for the moon in the water!" Magistrate Yang also picked up the tea cup and immediately corrected him.

Catching the moon from the water?

Zhang Hushan was a little confused immediately, but he couldn't understand what it meant.

Not far from Si Yamen due to the transfer of Huaihe River, the brothel named "Yangzhou Dream" seemed more lively than before.

Because Wang Yue came to Yangzhou, it disrupted Li Zhiqing's plan, and some things had to be changed.

Master Li Zhiqing and Qian Gu seemed very busy today. He was here to meet with the salt merchants that had been negotiated earlier, like a hard-working little bee with a mustache.

"Master Li, I wonder why you suddenly came to my office?" Wang Yue was naturally not on the official ship, and he was still bragging about the salt merchants coming from Hubei.

Master Li opened the door and came in to see Wang Yue waiting here. He said straight to the point: "Executive member Hu, the salt you want has caused an accident, so we have to change the method and time of the transaction!"

"Master Li, I don't know why there is a change?" Wang Yue frowned slightly, but he asked clearly.

Master Li had already determined that Wang Yue was a wealthy man, so he explained the whole story: "The imperial envoy has arrived in Yangzhou, and some things should not be handled superficially! If you really want salt, deposit the money in Jiangdu within two days. Money shop, otherwise we have to wait until the imperial envoy leaves before we can trade!"

"Didn't I say that cash transactions were required earlier? Now I suddenly have to deposit money in an unheard-of bank store. What if the shopkeeper runs away with the money?" Wang Yue felt secretly happy in his heart, but he was pretending. Be vigilant and authentic.

Master Li has met vigilant salt merchants more than once today, and he directly revealed: "The Yangzhou City Chamber of Commerce is behind the Jiangdu Money Shop, which also has the shares of our Lords and all of you. Why do you deposit money in it?" Absolutely safe! It’s just that this matter is of great importance, so don’t make it public!”

"Haha... Of course, I won't tell anyone outside of this! Since Jiangdu's money store is safe, I will have people transfer the money back, but it will take some time for the money to be stored outside the city!" Wang Yue immediately responded. It's an honest statement.

Master Li found that Wang Yue was very thoughtful, but he warned seriously: "This matter is quite urgent. If your money cannot be credited before noon the day after tomorrow, then if you miss this time, you will have to wait until the imperial envoy You can’t trade until you leave!”

"Okay, the money will definitely arrive on time, but I don't know what to do when I get the deposit receipt?" Wang Yue asked calmly when he saw that he was getting closer to the truth.

Although I have penetrated into the enemy's interior, I have never been able to figure out their specific gameplay.

What puzzled him the most was how these people ensured that they could successfully lift the salt with salt bait, and where did they get so much salt bait for themselves, and what was going on in the mysterious private salt farm, and what happened? Where did the silver on that silver ship go that night?

In order to find out the truth of the matter, he needs to complete this transaction, get the truth from their mouths, and then kill them all.

Master Li saw that the big deal was about to be completed, so he gave instructions: "After you deposit the silver into Jiangdu Money Store, come to Siqian Pier with the deposit check at noon the day after tomorrow. Someone will take you on board to discuss it in detail!"

"Okay, see you then!" Wang Yue did not expect that the other party would arrange the transaction location on the ship, and nodded calmly.

In this transaction, the silver that was purchased from the imperial court for Yan Yin could be obtained on credit, but four taels of each Yan Yin had to be paid in advance. Since Wang Yue chose the highest amount of five thousand taels, he now needs twenty thousand taels of silver.

Just after returning to his residence, Wang Yu said in a dilemma: "Grandpa, where did we get 20,000 taels?"

"You are wrong, it is not 20,000 taels of silver, but 20,000 taels of silver deposit!" Wang Yue saw his grandson having a headache, and planned to teach his grandson a lesson first.

Wang Yu frowned, but he said in confusion: "Grandpa, aren't 20,000 taels of silver and 20,000 taels of silver deposit certificates the same thing?"

"Wrong, this is different!" Wang Yue looked into Wang Yu's eyes and replied enigmatically.