Chapter 468: Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys
The heads of the Zhou family and the seven major salt merchants all gathered here to discuss the impact that the assassination of the imperial envoy might have on everyone.
Suddenly, Zhou Yan, the son of Zhou Boru, rushed into the hall with his people, and said in a panic: "Master, it's not good, a large number of officers and soldiers have entered the city, and they have surrounded the Wang family, the Bai family, and many other families..."
"What??"
Everyone was shocked and stood up one after another.
Even Zhou Boru, who always had an unchanging expression when the mountain collapsed, couldn't help but shudder, reluctantly sat on the main seat, and asked: "Is the news true? Where did the officers and soldiers come from?"
"It is said that the imperial envoy sent them into the city to arrest the assassins and the remaining gang members. Master, what should we do? Judging from their posture, these officers and soldiers are obviously coming for us. I'm afraid that after a while..."
Before he finished speaking, the housekeeper shouted in the courtyard: "Master, master, it's not good, there are many officers and soldiers outside the door, surrounding all the doors!"
Zhou Boru suddenly couldn't sit still and stood up all of a sudden, his face was terrifyingly gloomy.
Even if he is like this, let alone several other people, many of them have a look of deathly gray on their faces.
As the saying goes, when a scholar meets a soldier, it is hard to explain. The same is true for businessmen. They, salt merchants, have the energy to influence people in the government. They rely on the power of the people behind them, but these are in front of the arrogant officers and soldiers.
, but it is difficult to have any effect.
The key is, how could Jia Lian...how dare he directly send troops to surround them!?
How could he have such boldness and ability to directly attack them without convicting them?
Is it true that as an imperial envoy, you can not follow the rules and act arbitrarily? The imperial censors and officials are not just for free.
Although I couldn't figure it out in my heart, and even couldn't believe it, at this moment, the fear was definitely there.
Wang Shanxiang quickly asked Zhou Yan and the housekeeper: "Even the Bai family is surrounded?"
Of all of them, who doesn't know that the Bai family is the Queen Mother's family? Although the Yangzhou salt merchant Bai family is only a branch of the Bai family, it is still a direct lineage of the Bai family.
Even if Jia Lian is an imperial envoy, he dares to directly touch the Bai family?
"Surrounded, everyone is surrounded. Our seven families are all surrounded by officers and soldiers without exception."
Hearing what the steward said, Zhou Yanru hurriedly asked: "How is the situation at the imperial envoy's camp? What is the imperial envoy doing?"
He said that the imperial envoy's residence was not the manor prepared by the Yangzhou government for Jia Lian, but the Salt Patrol Censor's Yamen. Wherever the imperial envoy lived, that was where the imperial envoy's residence was.
Although Jia Lian's people have tight control over the business, the huge government office will still continue to handle the salt administration, and the people inside will always have to eat. As long as everyone in the past is not kicked out, the salt merchants will have a way to know
The situation inside the palace is just a matter of time.
If it's not possible, you can also send someone outside to keep an eye on the movement of the carriage at all times.
"The situation inside the camp is not clear yet, but the following said that the prefect and others went inside the camp early in the morning, but they have not come out yet.
As for the Imperial Envoy..."
When the housekeeper said this, he glanced at the Zhao family master and said, "The imperial envoy seems to have gone to the Zhao family with his own soldiers."
Hearing this, Mr. Zhao's face suddenly turned pale. He leaned on the table and murmured: "It's over, it's all over..."
The others didn't care to look down on him and looked at each other. Zhou Yanru said: "It's useless to panic now. Let's go out and see the situation first."
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy has an order. Yangzhou salt merchants are selling illegal salt, embezzling salt taxes, and violating national laws. From now on, all goods, carriages and horses are not allowed to enter or exit, waiting for the Imperial Envoy to come to check the accounts and goods, and to interrogate the crime. Anyone who disobeys the order or
Anyone who dares to disobey and resist will be shot without mercy."
There were not many officers and soldiers surrounding the Zhou family, but they were all majestic and guarded all the entrances and exits of the Zhou family.
Seeing Zhou Yanru and other principals coming out, the generals on horseback immediately announced their orders.
Zhou Yanru and others were shocked, hesitated for a moment, raised their hands to the general and asked: "May I ask where the Imperial Envoy is now? We want to see the Imperial Envoy, but I don't know if it is possible?"
Jia Yu lowered his head and looked at these gorgeously dressed merchants in front of him, knowing that they were world-famous salt merchants. In normal times, these people would have the energy to stir up the whole Jiangnan situation, but now they could only be obedient in front of him.
Containing the turbulence in her heart, Jia Yu said in a serious voice: "The imperial envoy just explained that all goods, carriages and horses are not allowed to enter or exit, and there are no restrictions on personnel. You gentlemen can do what you want."
When they heard that their access was not restricted, Zhou Yanru and others relaxed slightly, and then became nervous again.
He had already used violence against them, but he did not restrict their freedom. Did he expect that they would be unable to resist him? I don't know whether Jia Lian was confident or arrogant.
So Zhou Yanru immediately took several other family members and rushed to Zhao's house.
The Zhao family's mansion has long been in chaos.
All members of the Zhao family, regardless of age or sex, were driven to the front yard. Those who dared to resist and yell at people were inevitably beaten, and then they could only watch helplessly as the officers and soldiers took boxes of treasures and goods away.
Move to the front yard.
When Mr. Zhao rushed home and saw this scene, he almost fainted on the spot.
Under the leadership of the officers and soldiers, when they arrived at the compound, they saw Jia Lian setting up his formation and sitting in the hall drinking tea leisurely.
"May I ask, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, what does this mean?" Mr. Zhao stepped forward and asked loudly.
Seeing the rightful owner coming, Jia Lian slowly raised his head and took in the expressions of the seven rich men below him.
He did not answer Mr. Zhao's words, but asked coldly: "Are you Zhao Tang?"
"I am none other than Zhao Tang..."
"Take it."
As Jia Lian finished speaking, soldiers immediately came forward, detained the Zhao family master, and took him to the side where he knelt down.
While struggling, he asked loudly: "May I ask, sir, what crime did my Zhao family commit? Although my Zhao family is just a businessman, I also work for the imperial court. The imperial envoy punished me for not teaching him, and I, the Zhao family, are not convinced!"
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"Execute without teaching? That's interesting. I will tell you now what crime your Zhao family has committed.
First, as a salt merchant designated by the imperial court to sell official salt, he used the official salt as a cover to sell private salt and embezzle national taxes.
Secondly, seeing what happened was exposed, he took a desperate risk and sent people to assassinate the royal envoy.
Of these two crimes, which one is not a capital crime? If you confess honestly, I may be able to spare your life, but if you dare to quibble again, I will definitely kill you."
When the master of the Zhao family heard this, he was horrified and wanted to die.
That's it for the first one. They had known for a long time that as long as Jia Lian investigated seriously, he would definitely find out about their illegal salt sales.
But what is this? Of the more than 20 salt merchants in Yangzhou, which one dares to say that they have not done this behind the scenes?
It can even be said that since the salt tax monopoly in the Kingdom, the sale of private salt has never been completely eliminated. Moreover, most of them are done by salt merchants with salt quotations. Because there are official salt
Covering up, they are selling illegal salt and are less likely to be exposed.
But it is not easy to be exposed, which does not mean that it will never be exposed, nor that there will be no trace. Not to mention, in the past two years, the sale of illegal salt by salt merchants has indeed become more rampant. As long as Jia Lian stays in Yangzhou longer, he will be caught.
It's not too difficult to find out what's going on with them.
This is also the reason why they made up their mind from the beginning to win over Jia Lian.
It's just that Jia Lian's appetite was too big and it hurt them too much, so they put the plan on hold and found another way.
Who knew that Jia Lian would act so quickly and attack them? This is very unscientific. The business has not been settled for a while. Shouldn't they be given some time to think about it?
As for the assassination, that's even more nonsense. As the master of the Zhao family, he didn't even know it! Could it be that someone deliberately framed his Zhao family?
It must be that old dog Wang Shanxiang. Only his arrogant man has such courage. That day at the Zhou Manor, he was the first to reveal his intention to assassinate the imperial envoy...
Although he thought so in his heart, Mr. Zhao was not stupid enough to bite Wang Shanxiang immediately. After all, now it was not just a matter of his Zhao family, but the entire Yangzhou Salt Company.
At this time, unity is very important. If Jia Lian really wants to attack his Zhao family today, he also hopes that the other six families will work together to fight against Jia Lian.
So I just cried out for injustice.
"Unjustly accused? If I didn't have any evidence, how would I have found your Zhao family?
Someone, bring the assassin up."
The "assassin" who had appeared in front of Wu Zhirong and others before was immediately taken into custody.
The master of the Zhao family naturally knows his own servants. Just looking at this posture, he completely understands that Jia Lian is indeed well prepared.
"What a slave, I have treated you well over the years, but you are so ambitious that you dare to assassinate the Imperial Envoy, and dare to slander the Bai family? Do you know that assassinating the Imperial Envoy is treason?
It's a capital crime. You can just die. Why don't you drag my entire Zhao family with you to be buried with you?
Hurry up and tell the truth! Who was instructing you? As long as you tell the truth, the Imperial Envoy might be able to spare your life. Otherwise, you and your whole family will be dead!"
"master……"
"Hurry up and say it!
"
The master of the Zhao family is still a bit quick-witted. He first points out that the crime of assassination and conspiracy to treason is an ironclad death penalty. Then he uses a stern tone to force him to tell the truth. In this way, as long as this slave leaks a few flaws, he can be cleared of the Zhao family.
injustice.
After all, he is just a slave, and his respect for the master of the Zhao family is deep in his bones. Under the questioning of the master of the Zhao family, he immediately cried and said: "Master, this slave is also unjust. I will go home from the shop today.
, he was knocked unconscious by a sneak attack on the way. When he woke up, he fell in the imperial envoy's cabin and was arrested as an assassin. The slave was really unjust and never thought about paying back the Zhao family...
"
When the master of the Zhao family heard this, he immediately redressed his grievances against Jia Lian.
Seeing this, the other six people also echoed their words. At this time, they could not watch Jia Lian confiscate the Zhao family.
Today it is the Zhao family, and tomorrow it may be the other six families.
"Please, the Imperial Envoy, make a clear decision and give justice to the Zhao family!"
Wang Shanxiang also took the opportunity and said loudly: "Although you are an imperial envoy, you must rely on truthful evidence in your actions.
Although these villains have a humble status, they are still working for the imperial court. We, the salt merchants, contribute nearly 20 million taels of silver to the national treasury every year, accounting for almost a quarter of the entire national treasury’s annual revenue! Even the current prime minister and even
The prince once praised us salt merchants as people who have made meritorious service to the court.
Sir, please act with caution and don’t let the meritorious people in the world feel cold towards the imperial court!”
The threatening meaning of Wang Shanxiang's words was obvious. The others also remained silent, but their silent expressions expressed their attitude.
They indeed believed that they had made great contributions to the court. And every year they used a large amount of real money and silver to find backers in the court. One was to protect their identity as salt merchants from being taken away, and the other was naturally because officials were trying to extort them.
When the time comes, the person behind the scenes can help them settle things.
This is their biggest reliance, and it is also the reason why everyone in the world knows that their salt merchants are wealthy, but no one dares to take any chances with them.
None of the officials or forces that have hindered the interests of their salt merchants over the years have had a good end. Those who have real backgrounds and those who confront them have mostly become their own.
Therefore, they are definitely not at the mercy of others. Wang Shanxiang pulled out the flags of the chief minister and the prince to warn Jia Lian not to go too far.
"Hehehe, that's well said. He is indeed a meritorious person of the imperial court!"
Jia Lian laughed, walked down the steps step by step, came to Wang Shanxiang, pulled off the Shang Fang sword from his waist, and asked with a smile: "Do you recognize this sword?"
Wang Shanxiang looked blank, but pretended to be calm: "It must have been when your Majesty left the capital that your Majesty gave Shang Fang the sword..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw Jia Lian pull out his sword and put it against his neck, which scared him so much that he trembled all over.
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How brave do you have to threaten me?"
Hearing Jia Lian's murderous words and noticing the cold blade on his neck, Wang Shanxiang turned pale and finally put away his arrogant attitude: "I don't dare, I don't. I don't mean to threaten you..."
"It's not a threat? Then what you're saying is that the chief assistant and the prince ordered you to sell illegal salt and send people to assassinate me?"
The expressions of Zhou Boru and others changed greatly. Jia Lian just drew his sword, since he still tried to drag the prince and the chief minister into trouble?
Does he really want his life?
Wang Shanxiang even knelt down in fright with a thud.
No matter how arrogant he is, he knows that these words cannot be accepted. He just colluded with salt merchants to sell illegal salt for convenience, and could not hurt the prince. But he ordered someone to assassinate the imperial envoy, and even the prince could not afford to suffer the crime.
Because the imperial envoy represents the current emperor!
At this moment, he thought he was going to die. If Jia Lian even dared to say this, he would also dare to kill him with a sword, right?
Fortunately, Jia Lian did not. Seeing him kneeling down, a trace of arrogant contempt appeared on his face, he slowly inserted his sword into the scabbard, and then said: "Forgive you for being a coward, and you will not dare to accuse the crown prince.
Before I left the capital with the order, I also met the prince. The prince is dedicated to serving the country and the people. It is not easy for His Majesty to take care of state affairs, but he observes how difficult the people's livelihood is.
Knowing that Yangzhou's salt administration was in chaos, he was very angry. He also specifically ordered his officials to investigate this matter and severely punish anyone who interfered.
And now you are still trying to uphold the crown prince's banner and think that you are absolved? You really don't know how to live or die."
After saying these words in a cold voice, Jia Lian looked at the shopkeeper of the Zhao family: "You assassinated me first and then recanted your confession on the spot. It is really not a pity to die."
As soon as Jia Lian finished speaking, there was a flash of cold light, and a horrifying trail of blood, accompanied by screams of horror and despair, spread throughout the Zhao family compound, making everyone who witnessed it tremble.
Many of the Zhao family members who were kneeling in the distance were frightened and started crying. For a while, the sound of wailing could not be heard.
Looking at the Zhao family servant lying in a pool of blood, Jia Lian's mind did not change.
The so-called assassination was just for his actions tonight, a well-known trick. It was also to silence the backers of these salt merchants.
Although he knew that Emperor Ningkang was here, even if he wiped out all these big salt merchants, Emperor Ningkang would probably be able to withstand the pressure and would not do anything to kill the donkey.
However, he always has to think more about himself.
He was an imperial envoy who was sent out of Beijing on orders. How dare these salt merchants assassinate him? This was completely against the rules.
You must know that even in the midst of a court battle, they would not resort to assassination. To put it bluntly, these salt merchants are just citizens, not even officials.
Killing an official with the people is already a heinous crime. But the person he killed was an imperial envoy ordered by the king? With these words on the table, no matter how hard he dealt with these salt merchants, the people behind them would not be able to say anything.
In this way, even if someone impeached him, the pressure on Emperor Ning Kang would be much less.
Therefore, the so-called assassination was just a scene he directed and acted. As for why he chose the Zhao family in the first place, it was only from his investigation and the list given to him by Xu that he knew that the Zhao family was the most serious family involved in illicit affairs.
One of the three.
The other two families are the Bai family and the Wang family.
Needless to say, it goes without saying that the Bai family doesn't look at the monk's face and the Buddha's face. Princess Zhaoyang treats him so heartfeltly, so he must have some mercy.
The Wang family... He really wanted to use it to make a raft, but he had to give the prince some face...
Adhering to the principle of step-by-step, choosing and choosing, this Zhao family is the most suitable for a head-to-head stabbing.
So this slave of the Zhao family was naturally captured by him and was a shopkeeper of the Zhao family. The salt merchants had huge interests in the salt industry. In order to protect these interests, the slaves they raised were more vicious than the others.
Vicious.
It just so happened that this shopkeeper was a very famous one among them, and he probably had more than one life in his hand, so he could use his life to scare these salt merchants.
With the death of the Zhao family shopkeeper, all the salt merchants seemed to understand some of the situation and fell silent.
Jia Lian walked back to the hall, looked down at them and said: "The Zhao family violated national laws and assassinated the imperial envoy. After all the family property was checked and counted, it was transferred to the state treasury. From the Zhao family to the master Zhao Tang, they were all detained in place.
After I review them one by one, I will deal with them in accordance with national laws."
No one spoke, and no one dared to protest.
Everyone was afraid that the next person lying on the ground would be themselves. Even Mr. Zhao sat limply on the ground and said nothing.
So Jia Lian looked at Zhou Boru and others: "Salt policy is a major political matter of the country and is related to the destiny of the country. The court also trusts you, so it makes you responsible. However, you have ignored the trust of the court and treated the salt policy as if it were nothing for your own selfish interests.
Is it true that the imperial court does not dare to touch you and others? Or does it think that without you and others, the people of the world will not have enough salt to eat?
Please go back and prepare all the accounts from previous years, and then I will come to check them one by one."
Facing Jia Lian, Zhou Boru and others who did not speak to them at all, they could only silently follow the guidance of the officers and soldiers and go out as they had come.
The difference is that there were seven of them when they came in, but when they went back, there were only six.