"You have done great service in protecting the city and have killed countless enemies. Your merit is second to none. I will reward you with a thousand taels of gold and a hundred bolts of silk. I will also confer upon you the title of Military Marquis of Zuoqu to assist Yan Liang in controlling Wuqu."
"Wen Chou, thank you so much, Lord."
The same goes for Wen Chou. He may not be able to help others, but he is very willing to help his elder brother.
"Zhou Pu."
"The humble position is here~"
Zhou Pu was also surprised when Yuan Shu mentioned his name. He didn't expect that the prefect would know about him.
"You have done a good job in protecting the city. You should do it again. I will reward you with 500 gold and 50 pieces of silk. At the same time, you will be named the military commander of Youqu to assist Yan Liang in taking charge of Wuqu."
"I humble my duty and obey my orders~"
"Yuan Fang~"
The seals that deserved, the rewards that deserved, lasted for an hour before it ended. Finally, after drinking a lot of wine, it was already midnight when Yuan Shu returned to the bedroom.
"Damn it, I don't feel anything when I drink this wine, but it still has great stamina."
When he got up the next day, Yuan Shu shook his head vigorously. He was still conscious at first yesterday, but later he really didn't know. He really didn't know how much he drank. He only remembered that he vomited once before going to bed.
, drank another bowl of hangover soup handed over by Linglong, and then fell asleep.
"Master, you wake up"
Hearing the commotion inside, Linglong, who had been waiting outside for a long time, immediately came in with a group of maids to help him freshen up.
"Well, Linglong, what time is it now?"
Looking at the sun outside, Yuan Shu covered his eyes.
"It's already noon."
Linglong helped him wash up while answering Yuan Shu's questions.
"It turns out it's already noon, no wonder~"
Drinking made things worse. He originally wanted to meet with Zhending Ling and those idiot officials from the County Sheriff's Mansion today.
"Young Master, Sun Wei has been waiting outside the mansion with a group of officials all morning."
Linglong, who continued to wash herself, suddenly spoke to Yuan Shu.
"Then let them in quickly."
After hearing Linglong's words, Yuan Shu immediately summoned them.
"Master, don't panic. Since they have been waiting for so long, they don't mind waiting a little longer."
Linglong smiled softly and stopped Yuan Shu.
"??"
Looking at the smiling Linglong, Yuan Shu couldn't help but wonder.
"Hehe, Linglong has taken a fancy to a hosta, but she has no money."
Looking at Yuan Shu who was questioning, Linglong suddenly started talking about something extraneous.
"Hey Linglong, isn't it just a hosta? How much does it cost? I'll buy it for you."
"One thousand taels of gold."
The exquisite eyes are curved into a crescent moon, which looks very beautiful.
One thousand taels of gold, are you buying He's Bi?
Although he was ripped off by Linglong, Yuan Shu didn't care at all. Anyway, the Yuan family couldn't spend all the money, let alone buy it for his personal maid, Mao Yu. Besides, he wanted to hear Linglong's words on whether it was worth so much.
"Young Master, have you heard that officials are as clean as water and officials are as slippery as oil? How can these officials climb to this position and not be human beings? In addition, they have been intertwined in Zhending for so many years. If you don't cool them down properly, you may not be able to do anything.
What's going on?"
Yuan Shu listened to Linglong's words very seriously. After all, she was a talented person with cyan qualifications. Although she was a woman, she hit the nail on the head with her words.
Yes, these officials are all donkeys. If I really give them a good look, then they will never take me seriously, even the direct son of the Yuan family, the fourth generation and the third Duke, is no exception.
The so-called iron camp and flowing soldiers are the same for me. Without a foundation, they can make it difficult for them to move forward in Zhending Mansion. So the first thing I have to do is to give them a show of strength and kill them. But the momentum of killing them should be killed.
Where's the chicken?
"Linglong, send someone to recruit Yan Liangwen and Chou."
Before killing the chicken, it is natural to understand these people thoroughly, so that they can be killed with one blow, and Yan Liang Wen Chou, a Changshan native, is his first choice for intelligence.
"Pfft~"
Linglong smiled.
"why are you laughing?"
"Lord, are you calling us?"
When Yan Liang and Wen Chou heard that Yuan Shu was looking for them, they immediately opened the door and came in.
"Master, these two generals were guarding the door all night yesterday."
It turns out that Yan Liangwen Chou actually stayed on duty all night outside his door. He is really a good subordinate.
"Yan Liang, Wen Chou, please tell me the situation in Zhending Mansion, such as how many big families there are on duty in the government, and the relationship between them."
"My lord, there are four families in Zhending Mansion: Zhang, Sun, Zhao, and Li. Among them, the Zhang and Sun families are the most important. The Zhang family is responsible for making ironware. All the military weapons of the county are made from this family. The legitimate son Zhang Wang is a military commander, but he has been killed in battle.
The Sun family is the master of grain. It is said that he owns thousands of hectares of fertile land in Zhending. All the grain merchants of Zhending Prefecture depend on him. His second son, Sun Wei, is the current Zhending order. His son-in-law, Zhou Chang, is Zhending county captain and is responsible for patrolling.
Zhending city.
There are also many people from the Zhao and Li families on duty in the government. The Zhao family is in charge of horses, and it is said that they have an unclear relationship with Wuhuan. The second son, Zhao Bing, is the Si Cao and is responsible for the purchase of horses for the county government.
The Li family is in charge of the salt industry, and Li Lin, the legitimate son of the Li family, is an official in charge of civil affairs. He is more of a private salt dealer than a salt merchant. He has a group of salt lords under his command who dare to die and are very fierce. There are also rural bandits and robbers from neighboring villages.
There is no denying them face.
Besides the four, there are seven or eight slightly smaller ones, but they are far behind compared to them."
Yan Liang didn't say it was okay, but he frowned when he told Yuan Shu that one was in charge of ordnance, one was in charge of grain, one was in charge of horses, and one was in charge of the salt industry. This was tantamount to taking advantage of them all.
"Yan Liang, among the four major families, which family has the worst reputation?"
Yan Liang glanced at Yuan Shu and turned his head, knowing what he meant. He was looking for someone to perform an operation.
"My lord, if the four major families have a bad reputation, it is naturally the Li family who sells smuggled salt. But if my lord wants to scare the monkeys, I would recommend this family."
After Yan Liang finished speaking, he picked up a white flour pancake from Yuan Shu's table and threw it into the sky.
After hearing Yan Liang's words, Yuan Shu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
The Zhang and Zhao families could not move, at least for the time being. Ordnance and horses required very high professionalism, and they were in hot demand wherever they went. In troubled times, when the gun wields power, he still needs the support of these two families.
Although the Li family has a bad reputation, private salt must have its own fixed channel. If it is cut off rashly, there will be no way to get salt in a short period of time, which is not an easy matter.
The Sun family is different. Food is one's lifeblood. As the saying goes, if you have food in your belly, you won't panic. It's better to have this thing in your own hands. And the most important thing is that there is no technical content in growing food. For
In troubled times, the most indispensable thing is refugees. What are refugees? They are farmers who wander around without enough food to eat.
"Well, Yan Liang, I want to eat this white flour pancake, but I don't want others to talk too much. What do you think I should do?"
Since Yan Liang thought of disturbing the Sun family, he must have his own ideas.
"My lord, it is true that Sun was unfavorable in safeguarding the city and neglected to take precautions. This alone is a serious crime. Moreover, during the war, he was greedy for life and fearful of death, and tried to escape many times. According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, these two crimes are enough to be dismissed from the official position and ransacked the home."
Without saying much, Yan Liang stood aside. It all depended on Yuan Shu's wishes. He was just making suggestions.
When an official wants to remove an official, his family must be ransacked, but after he is dismissed, who should he look for? How far should he go to confiscate his family? Should he only touch Sun Wei or uproot the Sun family? These are all issues that he has to consider.
"Sun Wei, you'd better be sensible and behave well for me. That way I can still leave a way for your Sun family to survive. If you resist to the end, don't blame me for being ruthless."
After thinking for a while, Yuan Shu made his decision.
"Yan Liang, take my token and go to the private riding camp quickly, and tell them to be ready and set off at any time."
"As you command~"
"Wen Chou, lead twenty guards to guard the door. Be ready to take action at any time upon my orders."
"Follow your orders"
"Linglong, it's almost time. In an hour, we'll recruit those people to talk to Jingjin Mansion."
