Zhang Yanling and his entourage left Guangzhou City in the afternoon, and a dozen riders on fast horses headed straight for Baiyun Mountain in the northeast of Guangzhou City in full view of everyone.
After Li Siming received the report, he ordered people to follow the whereabouts of Zhang Yanling and his party, and urgently summoned relevant people for discussion.
In the late afternoon, Zhou Guangquan, the prosecutor of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Punishment, Wan Fengnian, the commander of the Guangdong Capital Command Department, and Sun Guangzu, the commander-in-chief. Kang Anle, the prefect of Guangzhou Prefecture, Xie Zizheng, the co-prefect of Guangzhou, and others were all present.
In the Ming Dynasty, the Chief Secretary, Ancha Division and Dusi were established at the provincial level, which were called the Three Local Divisions. Each was responsible for administration, criminal justice, and military affairs. Today, all the officials of the three local divisions are in place.
In addition to the senior officials of the Third Division of Guangdong, the prefect of Guangzhou, and fellow magistrates, another person was also invited to the meeting. This person was the mysterious Mr. Lu.
When Li Siming told everyone that Zhang Yanling, the Marquis of Jianchang, suddenly appeared at the Chief Secretary's Yamen at noon, everyone was extremely surprised and remained silent for a long time.
"This is really a joke. A Marquis of Jianchang from the capital appeared right under our noses, and we didn't know anything about it. If he hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have known he was in Guangzhou. It's really hard to know what to say.
That's good." Li Siming sneered.
Zhou Guangquan looked at Wan Fengnian and said: "Commander Wan, this is a dereliction of duty on your part. The city gate defenders are your troops. Now you don't need to check your identity when entering Guangzhou City? It has been agreed before that everyone must check their identity."
The identity has been revealed. How did Mr. Zhang sneak in? It’s really puzzling.”
Wan Fengnian was also very angry and said angrily: "What do you mean? My troops have been conducting strict identity checks at all major city gates. No one dares to disobey my orders. How do they sneak in? How do I know? Mr. Zhou
, are you saying that I didn’t report what I knew?”
Zhou Guangquan said: "I didn't say that. I meant that your men didn't care enough about what they did. Otherwise, how could they have gotten in?"
Wan Fengnian said angrily: "Then if you say so, how come you don't know they are roaming around in the city? What do you do for food according to Chasi? A bunch of people secretly inspect and patrol the city every day, haven't they noticed them?"
Zhou Guangquan became angry when he heard this, and said loudly: "You blame me for coming as Chasi? Your men let them into the city, and now you say it's someone else's fault? You really know how to shirk responsibility. Your men made mistakes, but you still
Do you blame anyone else?"
Wan Fengnian naturally refused to show weakness and stood up to retaliate. The two of them started to quarrel with each other.
With a "pop" sound, Li Siming slapped the table.
"What are you two doing? Are you in trouble? Nothing has happened yet, but you are shirking responsibility and blaming each other. If something really happens, what will you do? I asked you to come here
, I am here to inform you about this matter and ask for your opinions, not to watch you quarrel. If there is a quarrel, you two can go out and quarrel, and the whole world will be dark, and I will kill people with a knife, and I will not care." Li Siming shouted.
Although the three local bureaus of the Ming Dynasty are not affiliated with each other, it is obvious that Li Siming is higher than the other two in terms of official position and qualifications. Moreover, Li Siming is the right envoy of the Guangdong and Guangxi Provincial Government, and he is in charge of Guangdong together with the other left envoy.
In the government affairs of the two provinces of Guangxi, the yamen level is one level higher than that of Wan Fengnian and Zhou Guangquan. These two people did not dare to show their qualifications in front of Li Siming.
When they heard that Li Siming was angry about the crime, both of them shut up.
"My lords, please calm down and take a sip of tea to relax." Kang An, the prefect of Guangzhou, stood up, cupped his hands and said with a smile.
"My lords, Mr. Lu and the subordinates think that this matter is nothing serious. The chief envoy has already made it very clear. The Marquis of Jianchang is just here to inspect the opening of the sea ban. He is not targeting us.
Those things happened. The official thinks that there is no need to worry too much. They will definitely use it when entering the city.
The fact that Zhang Yanling sneaked in with a false identity and did so deliberately cannot be regarded as the fault of the soldiers guarding the city. Zhang Yanling just didn't want to make it public. The chief envoy has already said the specific reason. The emperor wanted to impose a sea ban, but he was afraid of other people's gossip, so
Zhang Yanling is asked to keep a low profile, that's all." Kang An said with a smile.
"Prefect Kang is absolutely right, and I actually think so too. Zhang Yanling came as soon as he came. It's not a big deal. If he really came for some purpose, how could we know nothing about it? There have been people in the court for a long time.
The news has been sent. Zhang Yanling only brought a dozen of his subordinates here incognito, obviously not looking for trouble." Zhou Guangquan nodded.
Li Siming nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "I tested his tone in many ways, but I didn't find any flaws. According to my judgment, he did not come for us. It's just that he was in Guangzhou for three days. I'm afraid he heard it.
Or maybe I saw something and I feel a little worried, so I invite you all to come and discuss this matter together."
"The chief envoy is aware of this, and the subordinates also think that this matter is not something to make a fuss about. If nothing else, the Marquis of Jianchang is young and has a notorious reputation as an uneducated and unskilled person. What can he know? Give him a damn
He doesn't have the guts to go to Guangzhou Mansion and act wild. Even if he heard something and saw something, he wouldn't dare to take any action. So, it's nothing to worry about." Guangzhou colleague Xie Zizheng said, stroking his beard.
Everyone nodded. Wan Fengnian said with some embarrassment: "I have lost my temper just now. I'm extremely sorry. This matter is actually not a big deal. Who is Zhang Yanling? He just relied on nepotism to get a high position.
He's just a dandy. He's not here for us. I suggest sending him away immediately. Or, if you're really worried, we can prepare a generous gift, give him some benefits, and shut his mouth.
That’s it.”
"Well, this method works. Let's prepare a generous gift of 51,000 taels of silver for him and just shut his mouth. Even if he sees and hears something, this will be enough to shut him up.
"Zhou Guangquan quickly echoed Wan Fengnian's words.
Seeing this, Li Siming nodded slightly. He turned his attention to a short, skinny old man in black who was sitting nearby. The old man was sitting nearby, drinking tea with a frown on his face, and never spoke.
"Steward Lu, what do you think about this matter? You can also tell me your opinion." Li Siming said.
Everyone's eyes turned to the old man with a humble expression.
Butler Lu coughed, slowly put down the teacup in his hand, glanced at the people in front of him, and then slowly spoke.
"I have heard what the adults just said. I am not as talented and knowledgeable as these adults. I don't know Zhang Houye or Li Houye. But I do have different opinions from you.
.”
"Steward Lu, please don't be polite. If you have any opinion, just say it. Aren't we discussing and judging this matter together? In the end, we must figure this out together." Li Siming said solemnly.
.
"Yes, yes, Butler Lu is very knowledgeable. Please give me some advice." All the officials said one after another.
Butler Lu smiled and said: "Don't take it seriously. I'm just running errands for the prince. I don't dare to talk nonsense on this kind of thing. I just feel that this matter is very strange. This Zhang Houye suddenly
This incident came out from under our noses, which really makes me feel a little scared. I seriously suspect that he is here just for us. He already knows some things that he shouldn't know."
Li Siming frowned and said: "Steward Lu, Zhang Yanling explained this matter. The emperor does not want to make it public. The policy of lifting the sea ban is indeed a sensitive matter and can easily cause disputes. This is actually understandable."
Butler Lu waved his hand and said: "Master Li, I don't object to what you said. I just think it's strange. If you want me to tell you something, I can't. I just think that this Zhang
The Lord Marquis is not a good person."
Li Siming smiled and said: "I can't refute what Butler Lu said. In terms of feelings, it is indeed a bit strange. However, if Zhang Yanling knows something and plans to do something, why should he show up to find me? This is not the case.
Did he expose himself and make us doubt him? What are the benefits of doing so?"
Butler Lu smacked his lips and stroked his beard and said, "I can't answer that. But can I ask? He could have come quietly and left quietly. But why did he come to find you, Mr. Li?"
Li Siming smiled bitterly and said: "Yes, isn't this the question I asked just now? He has no reason to show up. It is precisely because he didn't find out anything that he came to ask me about something so that he could go back and make a business trip. This
This kind of person only goes out on errands to enjoy the scenery. I don’t think he has any other intentions.”
Butler Lu said in a deep voice: "I heard the prince often say that the more reasonable some things appear on the surface, the more unreasonable they are in fact. The so-called imaginary is real, and the real is fictitious. This is the truth that soldiers never tire of deceit. This Zhang
The more logical the Marquis's behavior is, the more doubtful and uneasy the old man becomes."
Everyone rolled their eyes, what's the reason for this? Isn't this nonsense? If the person in front of them was not the palace steward assigned by the prince of Nanchang Prefecture in Jiangxi Province to manage all smuggling business affairs, they would have started to reprimand this person for talking nonsense.
.
According to this kind of thinking, isn't it a deliberate attempt to make a point?
But Butler Lu pondered and continued: "Sir, I still hope that we can be more careful. After all, this matter is too important. It is related to the prince's big business, your black gauze hats, and even your heads and pockets.
money. If there is any negligence,
If you follow other people's rules, you will regret it later. The only experience I have gained over the years is to be cautious, cautious and cautious. You cannot take anything lightly or take it for granted. You must think more about everything.
There are several possibilities, be prepared."
Wan Fengnian smiled and said: "Steward Lu, you should be cautious, but it seems there is no need to be suspicious."
Butler Lu said: "I hope the old man is suspicious. You adults have decided on the matter. The old man only has one request, that is, it cannot affect the prince's business. As for the rest, you can discuss it yourself. The prince gives hundreds of thousands of taels in benefits every year.
Keep it in your pocket for all of you, the prince's business is your business. It's better to be cautious."
The room fell into silence. Several officials frowned and pondered.
After a while, Li Siming spoke in a deep voice.
"Steward Lu, you are right. This matter has too much to do, and the prince's business cannot be missed. Our wealth and life are second to none. We really need to be more cautious to avoid getting into other people's minds. In fact, I am right
Zhang Yanling's behavior is also somewhat confusing, especially the fact that he insists on meeting the people of Fo Langji.
It makes me feel that he seems to have other intentions. Just like Butler Lu, this is also my intuition. Since Zhang Yanling was able to quell the rebellion, he has been promoted continuously in the past two years and gained the favor of the emperor. There is definitely a reason. If he is just a dude
How can such a disciple achieve such success? He seems to be pretending too much. He seems too stupid."
Butler Lu's eyes lit up and he said solemnly: "It seems that I am not the only one who feels this way. It's possible that this guy is pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger."
Li Siming nodded slowly and said: "This possibility cannot be ruled out. But what does Butler Lu think we should do?"
Butler Lu was silent for a moment, then raised his head and looked at the crowd and said, "My lords, I think we must make two preparations. At tomorrow night's dinner, we must test it thoroughly. If you feel something is wrong, you must not leave any hidden dangers. You need to get it.
…Cut the mess with a sharp knife and end it all at once.”
Everyone was startled and looked at Butler Lu in surprise. Butler Lu's eyes were gleaming and fierce. Several officials shivered and had goosebumps from head to toe.