The prison in Jinling is very large. It used to be the capital of the Ming Dynasty. The cells are all built according to the specifications of the Tianlao. They are very large and very strong.
At this time, the entire prison was full of people, including officials, big businessmen, big gentry, and people from big families who were imprisoned by Liu Jin and Wang Shouren at the end of last year.
They are repeat offenders in this incident and are being held here, awaiting trial.
In Zhang Yuanting's cell, Zhang Yuanting was wearing a cotton coat, looking at the falling snow outside the window with his hands behind his back.
"It's snowing again."
Zhang Yuanting's eyes were slightly moist. If he had been in the past, at this moment, he would have been lying drunkenly on the beauty's knees while watching the snowflakes and reciting poems on a flower boat on the Qinhuai River.
But now, he was in prison and no longer in the mood to appreciate the snowy scenery.
He just wanted to get out now. In this dark cell, he suddenly became much older.
"Zhang Yuanting, someone is here to see you."
Just as he was staring at the snowflakes outside in a daze, the voice of jailer Jiang Song came.
Hearing the voice, Zhang Yuanting turned around and looked over. The person coming was Zhang Yuanting's good friend Ouyang Yuan. Ever since Zhang Yuanting was imprisoned, Ouyang Yuan had been helping him deal with many things.
A lot of money was spent on the jailers in the prison, asking them to take care of Zhang Yuanting, serve him with delicious food and drinks, and also provide him with enough warm clothes and cotton cloth in the winter.
Even though they are in prison, even though the Zhang family has been sealed up, Zhang Yuanting's Zhang family is after all a famous family in Jinling. A skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and its wealth is beyond ordinary people's imagination.
It is impossible for the Zhang family to put all their eggs in the basket of Jinling. Whether overseas or outside the customs, the Zhang family has a large number of industries, and has even established a colony overseas with many big families, isn't it?
It falls down so easily.
Not only can they live comfortably in the prison, but Zhang Yuanting, Zeng Qing, Jiang Cheng and many officials detained in the prison are also trying to find ways to contact their relatives and friends, including fellow students and fellow villagers, to find ways to rescue them.
.
However, this time the people in charge of the case were Liu Jin and Wang Shouren. They had deep roots in the court and had great hands and eyes. They had tried many methods, but to no avail.
No matter whether they mobilized officials to impeach the two of them, or they tried to show softness to Liu Jin and Wang Shouren, it was useless. The two refused to accept this trick, so they could only remain in prison, waiting for trial.
"Brother Ouyang~"
Seeing Ouyang Yuan, Zhang Yuanting immediately became excited.
"Any news?"
Ouyang Yuan shook his head slightly. Of course he knew what Zhang Yuanting was talking about. It was nothing more than whether Liu Jin and Wang Shouren had been overthrown by everyone, and whether he could get out.
It is really difficult to bring down Liu Jin and Wang Shouren.
Officials originally from Jiangnan Shilin in the court suffered several heavy blows, and a lot of big cats and kittens were killed. There were not many big shots from Jiangnan left in the court.
Moreover, the remaining people are all monkey spirits. Who among the monkey spirits can't see that this is the intention of Emperor Hongzhi. If you stand out at this time, you will never have a good life in the future.
What's more, Liu Jin and Wang Shouren were both popular people around Emperor Hongzhi, and they were also members of the new military generals group, with strong support from the military generals group.
As a civil servant himself, Liu Jin was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and the officials of the world. He could decide the life or death of most officials at will.
Wang Shouren's background is also strong enough. His father, Wang Hua, was the number one scholar and had been an official for many years. He had friends from the same family all over the government and the public. He was also from Zhejiang. Zhejiang has many talented people and capable people since ancient times.
The officials are almost the troika of the Ming Dynasty.
It is too difficult to get Liu Jin and Wang Shouren.
"Then Brother Ouyang is coming this time?"
Zhang Yuanting showed a disappointed look. He didn't want to stay in this prison for another day.
"Zhang Yuanting~"
Ouyang Yuan looked at Zhang Yuanting and called out his name directly.
"Brother Ouyang?"
Zhang Yuanting felt very surprised. In the past, he always called himself Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang, but this time he was called by his name directly. It seemed that he suddenly became unfamiliar and unfamiliar.
"Do you know that the whole of Jinling has changed now?"
Ouyang Yuan continued.
"changed?"
Zhang Yuanting is very confused, what can Jinling become?
"In the past, Jinling was prosperous and busy, with people coming and going, and traffic was constantly flowing. However, now, the entire Jinling has become extremely depressed and deserted. The prosperity has fallen, and there are few cars and horses. It is like a garden after a cold wind, a place of loneliness and depression."
"Jinling used to be the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties and the founding capital of the Ming Dynasty. It was rich in resources and treasures and had outstanding people. No matter where we go, Jinling people can hold our heads high."
"But now Jinling people are like rats crossing the street. Everyone shouts, not only are people from all directions scolding us, they will no longer work for us Jinling people, even foreign businesses and factories are not willing to cooperate with us. When I heard that
People from Jinling are shaking their heads. We have to pay all the money at once before they can ship the goods. They can no longer get credit, and they are unwilling to hand over orders to us. Frankly speaking, I have no credibility."
"Last year, we had more than five million people in Jinling, which was the third largest city in the Ming Dynasty. But now, the entire Jinling suddenly lost millions of people. They are no longer willing to come to Jinling, and they will no longer do anything for us Jinling people.
No matter how good the terms we offer, they no longer believe in us."
"It's all you, it's all you who harmed our Jinling!"
Ouyang Yuan looked at Zhang Yuanting, his eyes turned red.
"I have said it a long time ago. Even if you are dissatisfied and want to get rid of him, don't use such dirty methods. The workers have worked hard for a year to make cattle and horses for us. We must have a conscience.
, you must do things with credibility.”
"The wages that should be paid must be given to them in full."
"But what about you? Even if you don't pay wages, you still hire gangsters to beat the workers. This has completely chilled your heart and your reputation has been completely ruined."
"It's not only ruining the reputation of your Zhang family, Zeng family, Jiang family and others, it's also ruining the reputation of us Jinling people as a whole."
"Wherever we Jinling people go, as soon as the other party hears our accent, they will immediately say, you Jinling people are really capable. We are just ordinary people, and we don't dare to interact with you Jinling people who have great abilities."
"Haha, we can't find workers in our factory. The factory that my family invested millions of taels in can only sit there quietly idle."
"When we go to buy goods, we can no longer just say a word like before. We have to pay the full price before the other party is willing to ship the goods."
"When we go to the bank for a loan, we have to put up more than twice the collateral to get the loan. Our overseas colonies can't recruit people at all now. When the other party hears that the employer is from Jinling, they immediately shake their heads."
"It has even become difficult for us Jinling people to even get married. When they hear about us Jinling people, no one else is willing to marry their daughters over. It must be a Jinling woman. They are not willing to marry, saying they dare not reach out."
"It's all you, it's all the good things you did."
Ouyang Yuan wanted to kill Zhang Yuanting at this moment.
When they wanted to take action with them, Ouyang Yuan directly refused.
He always felt that the workers had to work hard for him for a year, so they must be given the money they deserve, and he could not have any twisted thoughts about this kind of thing.
Even if you are dissatisfied with the imperial court's tax collection, even if you want to get rid of Wang Shouren, you can still think of other ways and don't worry about this.
As a result, they continued, causing unrest among hundreds of thousands of workers. Now the news has spread all over the country, and by the way, the reputation of Nanjing people has also been ruined.
Workers were unwilling to come to Nanjing to work, and business people were unwilling to do business with Nanjing people. The trust and reputation that had been built so hard in the past were completely gone in the blink of an eye.
This has a huge impact on people like Ouyang Yuan. The factory at home has a huge investment and cannot start work, so they can only watch helplessly and worry.
It is difficult to do business outside the home-owned business. When people see that you are from Jinling, they are not willing to do business with you.
"But, we are also doing it for everyone's benefit."
"Business taxes are too heavy. Why do we have to pay so much tax on our hard-earned money?"
Zhang Yuanting was completely stunned. He had only been in prison for a few days, but such a huge change had already happened outside.
He didn't know how to answer, so he could only forcefully quibble.
"For our own good?"
"What's good about us?"
"It's not just us who have to pay taxes, other people in Ming Dynasty also pay taxes. Those big commercial banks pay millions or tens of millions of taels of silver every year. They still make a lot of money, so why can't we pay taxes?"
Ouyang Yuan replied immediately.
"Let others take care of your Zhang family's affairs from now on. For the sake of our friends, I have tried my best to help you here. Next, I will be busy reviving my own factory."
Without saying a word, Ouyang Yuan would walk away.
"Brother Ouyang~"
When Zhang Yuanting saw this, he immediately became anxious. There were still many things at home that he wanted Ouyang Yuan to help with, otherwise he would not know how much of the Zhang family's huge family fortune would be left by then.
"Just take care of yourself."
Ouyang Yuan shook his head and left straight away. He was thinking about how to save his family's industries, factories, businesses, overseas colonies, plantations... He would be troubled in the future.
Zhang Yuanting looked at Ouyang Yuan's retreating figure and stayed where he was for a moment. He did not expect that the entire Jinling people would be greatly affected by this incident.
"It's time to eat~"
After a long time, a cold voice sounded. Jailer Jiang Song carried a large bucket, threw an iron bowl on the ground, and poured a spoonful of porridge into it, as if feeding a pig.
"How do you eat this?"
When Zhang Yuanting saw it, he immediately became angry. He had never eaten such pig food, let alone spent a lot of money to eat it for himself.
"From now on I will eat this, whether you like it or not."
"Hmph~"
"It's all your fault for ruining the reputation of us Jinling people. My daughter's engagement was broken off, and the house I just bought last year may be in ruins now. The price of the house I bought before has also plummeted.
I still owe the bank loan, and it's all your fault. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be like this."
Jiang Song snorted coldly and said, "You are our sinners in Jinling!"
"this?"
After Zhang Yuanting heard this, he was in disbelief and his eyes widened.