Li Xiao was dealing with the chaos in Jinan, and Sun Chengzong in the capital was not idle either. Since he wanted to suppress a group of people, he had to win over a group of people. Blindly offending all classes of society was simply stupid behavior.

Sun Chengzong was not a fool. When Li Xiao proposed that the officials and gentry should pay for the work together and work as errands, the wily Sun Chengzong had already found the person he needed to win over.

People in the world today are roughly divided into four classes: scholars, farmers, industry and merchants. Scholars mostly refer to scholars, farmers are farmers, and workers are more complex. There are craftsmen, handicraftsmen, etc... and there are also clerks from various shops in the city.

The saddest thing is Shang!

In the Ming Dynasty, the status of merchants was the lowest. It was obvious that the family had a lot of wealth, but during the Hongwu period, if you dared to wear silk clothes, you would be guilty. Even if Zhu Hongwu's descendants were kinder to merchants, even though they were allowed to wear silk clothes, merchants were still

The target of exploitation by officials.

No matter how rich you are, it's all nonsense without a good backer. When a poor scholar confronts a rich businessman, the winner is often a poor scholar. Because they are scholars, they are naturally close to officials. If you dare to go against scholars, you will end up with this.

One dies, or even seeks life but cannot seek death.

The magistrate who ruined his family, and the magistrate who destroyed his family. This is the tragic end of businessmen after offending officials.

As for taxes, apportionment, or the various filial piety of officials, it is a very exciting way to exploit a businessman, and the officials swarm him. They are scraping off layer after layer, for fear that they will suffer a loss and pay less.

For more than two hundred years in the Ming Dynasty, merchants were exploited along the way, and it was hard to explain the sadness and pain involved.

Li Xiao looked at the fat man in front of him. People usually sweat when they are nervous. Fat men feel more disgusting when they sweat. The sweat flows down the cheeks like a stream. Standing in front of Li Xiao, he is trembling, and the fat all over his body is shaking like waves.

.

"Are you Shen Wanling?" Li Xiao stared at this guy wearing a military hat and a silk gown. Doesn't it mean that rich people these days can't be a little bit pursuing? According to Li Xiao's judgment, this guy is already good enough for the show.

"The villain Shen Wanling, please see the Master."

Li Xiao turned his head and couldn't bear to look at the pitiful appearance of this fat man who wanted to bend down but couldn't. How did such a pig become the president of the Shandong Chamber of Commerce?

"Shen Wanling, please sit down." Looking at Shen Wanling's trembling legs, Li Xiao felt that it would be better to let him sit down before his legs were bent by the fat.

"Thank you, Sir!" Shen Wanling probably couldn't hold on any longer, so he cupped his hands in front of Li Xiaogong and sat on the chair next to him.

Seeing Shen Wanling struggling to stuff himself into the chair, Li Xiao was worried about the firmness of the chair.

"Look at this, this is the new decree of the imperial court." Li Xiao casually threw a document to Shen Wanling.

Shen Wanling wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked carefully at the document in front of him. When he turned the first page, his eyes, which were squeezed by fat, lit up.

"Sir, this decree...!" After reading the document, Shen Wanling's face turned red with excitement.

"This is the latest decree from the imperial court to you businessmen. The heads of the chamber of commerce have the same rights as scholars. Even in court, you don't have to kneel down." Li Xiao felt that this article was very important to Shen Wanling. According to

With his weight, once he kneels down, whether he can get up is a big problem.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you so much, the court! I am here to represent the Shandong merchants and thank you for your grace. From now on, if your Lordship has an assignment, I will go through fire and water without hesitation." Shen Wanling's face was trembling with excitement, and he looked like he was about to It was a sign of a stroke. After holding on for a few times, I seemed to want to stand up from the chair and kowtow to thank you. But I failed!

He is also a smart person who has already figured out who has the final say in the court.

"I don't want you to go through fire and water, and I don't need you to fight to the death. I have an errand for you right now. I don't know if you can handle it well." Li Xiao looked at Shen Wanling. Even if this guy wanted to go through fire and water, I'm afraid he would just run away. Not moving.

"Master Shangshu is so kind, but if you send Shandong merchants, they will do their best."

"I want the ground in Shandong to be stable, and you have to help the government to prevent chaos on the ground in Shandong. Once this job is done, everything on the paperwork will become a reality."

"Promise! The Shandong Chamber of Commerce will go all out to ensure the stability of the ground in Shandong. The Shandong Chamber of Commerce voluntarily pays 50,000 taels of military expenses for the Shandong garrison every year, and I also ask the Minister to agree."

Businessmen are actually the group that dislikes turmoil the most, and now Li Xiao has given them such great benefits. How can there be any reason to be dragging their feet? Shen Wanling hurriedly promised Li Xiao that the Chamber of Commerce will work hard to ensure that the ground in Shandong is not chaotic. And every year, The Chamber of Commerce will hand over 50,000 taels of silver as Li Xiao's military expenses.

Fifty thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, but it is nothing to the merchants. If all the things promised in the documents are implemented, merchants will not be afraid of exploitation by officials in the future. The clever Shen Wanling still wants to give the Chamber of Commerce Find a big backer. Otherwise, God knows if those officials will put on small shoes for the merchants after they stop paying filial piety.

With such a big backer as Li Xiao, are we still afraid of those petty officials?

"Haha! Thank you very much, Mr. Shen, for your kindness!" Li Xiao was very satisfied with this person who knows how to be grateful. This is a rare character that needs to be promoted.

Those scholars who were lucky enough to leave Jinan at the beginning of the turmoil went to various places and quickly mobilized some people, hoping to stir up trouble as quickly as possible. However, they found that the people in Jinan City who had promised to come to support were still not available. And in The people they mobilized also encountered strong interference from certain forces. The merchants who had originally promised to give them some money and food suddenly turned against them.

Not to mention the lack of money and food, even borrowing a venue.

Man Ye has been working very hard recently, leading his First Cavalry Division on an armed parade in Shandong. Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, who had just finished suppressing the bandits, moved to Zichuan to intimidate the other side.

Wu Changshi was surprised to find that the fire of unrest that was originally planned to burn the whole of Shandong only burned a sign in Jinan and then died down. The whole of Shandong did not become chaotic, and as for Hebei, not even a flame was ignited. As early as the battle to defend the capital During this period, most of the Shilin people in the capital were running away.

The small flames in Jinan are almost extinguished. In addition to the apparent suppression by Tianxiong soldiers, more importantly, a hidden force is stationed in Jinan.

Li Yongfang looked at the tattooed guy in front of him. This guy was called the White Tiger. His skin was indeed very white, and the tattoos on his body looked like tiger patterns. When the soldering iron was applied to his body, this guy would roar like a tiger. .Perhaps, this is the origin of his nickname.

"White Tiger, I know you are the leader of the Tiger Gang. Inviting you here is just one thing. Who is behind the instigation of the people?"

"Sir, they are all those students. I swear to God, I am telling the truth. Otherwise, if the lights go out and I go out, please let me go." His hands were tied with iron chains, and the white tiger wanted to kneel down but knelt down again.

Can't come down.

"Of course I know that it was the students who instigated the trouble, and I also know that the person who caused the most trouble is called Huang Xiaofeng. But I also know that wearing a black scarf and holding a bench, umbrella, and crutches are not what a fool like Huang Xiaofeng thinks.

Got it.

You white tiger is known as the black and white in this city of Jinan. Why? You don’t want to give my old supervisor face? Show your tactics more brightly. Killing you here is not much different from killing an ant. Now you say

Come out and your life can be saved.

If you fail, then God bless you. You won’t like the feeling of not being able to survive but not die!” As a veteran spy, Li Yongfang is very experienced in interrogation. No matter how tough a tough guy is in his hands, he will become too soft.

Like a noodle.

This is the first mission given to Li Xiao after his return, and it must be completed beautifully.

"It's really the students who are causing trouble. My lord, just treat this villain like a fart." The white tiger's tears were almost dry. No one who saw it could believe it. This is Jinan City.

The all-powerful leader of the Tiger Gang.

"Oh! You still don't give up, thinking that someone will protect you. Come here! Bring someone up." Li Yongfang waved his hand, and his men brought in someone. When White Tiger saw it, he turned out to be his deputy gang leader. Unexpectedly,

, he was also caught here. But judging from the fact that his clothes were quite neat, he probably hadn’t been punished yet.

Li Yongfang stopped talking, and just ordered someone to find a vat. Then he lit firewood under the vat and started burning it. After a while, the firewood made the vat extremely hot. White Tiger and the deputy gang leader kept exchanging glances, wondering who was above him.

What on earth do officials with Liaodong accents do?

Li Yongfang, who had closed his eyes to relax, suddenly opened his eyes.

"The vat is heating up! You have all heard the story about asking you to enter the vat. Now let me give you two a choice. Tell the person behind this matter. There must always be someone in this vat. Whoever speaks first will get it.

Isn’t it the one who didn’t say anything if the egg didn’t go in...! Hehe! I guarantee that one of you will be burnt on the outside and tender on the inside." Li Yongfang looked at the two of them with a smile on his face.

"Gudu!" Both of them swallowed a big mouthful of saliva.

A person can endure being tortured and not talk about it, but now there are competitors for confession, which makes both of them feel uneasy. In the end, loyalty in the world is not very reliable. There will be so many dishonest people for the sake of profit.

What happened, it's hard to say whether he would betray his brother in order to avoid suffering.

"Hey! They are all tough guys." Li Yongfang poured a cup of tea into the hot vat and made a "sizzling" sound.

The deputy gang leader was the first to be unable to bear it and fell to his knees with a "pop". Facts have proved that in the face of torture, the loyalty of brothers is nothing.

"Sir, I'll do it, I'll do it." The deputy gang leader knelt on the ground, looking very spineless.

"Son of a bitch, stand up for me. Are you still my brother? Stand up, there are no bears in the Tiger Gang." The chain was broken and the chain clattered, and the white tiger looked furious.

"Quack!" Li Yongfang picked his ears, as if pulling out some earwax. He flicked them with his fingers and pointed at the white tiger: "Throw him into the tank, be careful and soak his neck with cold water.

towel. This way he can live a little longer, and maybe he can see his body being roasted."

"No!" Several strong men tied up the white tiger with iron chains and stuffed it into the tank without any hesitation. A smell of burnt skin and flesh came up, and the white tiger roared like a tiger again. Two slices were soaked in

Sacks filled with cold water were attached to his body one after another to ensure that he would not die before his legs were cooked.

"Say it! If you try to coax me, your end will be worse than his." Li Yongfang looked at the deputy gang leader below with the most sincere smile on his face.

"Return! Guan... Guan... Guan... Guanren's words." Amidst the screams of the white tiger, the deputy gang leader was speechless, and there was a large area of ​​wetness inside his crotch.

"explain!"

"The masterminds include Chen Laojun, a Taoist from Laojun Temple, and his godniece, Chen Ansheng, the host of Jixiang Temple. They were the first to mobilize believers to cause trouble, and nine out of ten cases of beating officials were caused by them.

He did it." Li Yongfang shouted, and the deputy gang leader's stuttering healed without medicine. He began to confess like beans poured out of a bamboo tube!

"Oh! What a fucking outsider. Who came up with the idea?" Li Yongfang asked with interest. Unexpectedly, there were monks involved.

"The person who came up with the idea was a scholar named Fatty Li. I heard... I heard that he was Chen Ansheng's sweetheart."

"Hey! There is such a thing...!" Li Yongfang's eyes widened with an expression of disbelief.

"Where are they now?"

"This little guy doesn't know. Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer troublemakers every day, and they are all hiding. I really don't know where they are!"

"Did I buy another vat and put you in it and you would remember it?" Li Yongfang pointed to the big vat containing the white tiger. The smell of meat had already begun to waft out of it. The white tiger's body was roasted.

It's shiny and full of grease.

"No! No! No! I really don't know, I beg you to spare my life."

"Someone is coming...!"

"Master! Master! I have something else to report, okay?" Seeing Li Yongfang ordering someone to bring another vat, the deputy gang leader immediately panicked. Now, the white tiger didn't even have the strength to howl.

All gone, leaving only a painful expression on his face.

"Then it depends on what it is. Can you tell me?"

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow morning they will take advantage of the dung carts leaving the city to attack the city gate, probably to protect them and escape."

"Smashing the city gate, how do you know?"

"Someone among them bought some weapons from our Tiger Gang. I overheard this. It seems that Chen Laojun, Chen Ansheng and Fatty Li will take advantage of the chaos and prepare to escape."

"This is actually useful. Put him in jail. No one can interrogate him without me." Li Yongfang walked out very proudly. Such important information must be reported to Li Xiao first.

"Brother, I can't do it either." The deputy gang leader looked at the dying white tiger.
Chapter completed!