In Wen Dang's study in the Prefect's Mansion, Wen Dang was sitting upright, with an ugly face. On one side was Chang Shi Changshi, and on the other side was Captain Tang Meng. The three of them had been sitting in silence for a long time, and no one spoke. Li knelt in front of them.
Cheng raised his head and looked at the people, then put his head down and knelt down in a proper manner.
"Li Sima, are you saying that these things happening in the city are related to rumors?" Wen Dang asked first.
Li Cheng said quickly: "Yes, most of the rumors come from strangers, and they are just things to talk about after dinner. It is not easy for us to deal with them!"
"Arrest! Arrest all those who dare to make false remarks about the government!" Chang Shi was very angry. There were too many rumors, and the versions were all kinds of weird. The core was still the emperor and the literary party.
Tang Meng waved his hand: "How can we arrest this? There is a saying in "Guoyu" that it is better to defend the people than to defend the river. If we arrest people, I am afraid that these rumors will be confirmed, and those guys behind the scenes will definitely clap their hands and laugh.
"
"Then what should Captain Tang do?"
"wait!"
"Wait? Wait until when?"
"I have heard some rumors from outside these days. It is said that the Empress Dowager has put His Majesty under house arrest and has put Dong Zhongshu in prison. These are all possible, but what is said is that the King of Huainan is planning to use this incident to deal with Shu County and the prefect.
This matter is groundless, and it was done deliberately by those who do not want to see our Shu County prospering!" The more Tang Meng said, the angrier he became, and he bowed deeply to Wen Dang: "I think that the prefect need not worry about this matter. After half a month,
Before the imperial edict arrives, those who spread rumors will naturally disappear, and it will not be too late to deal with them when the time comes."
Wen Dang thought for a moment and nodded slightly. Then he signaled Li Cheng to stand up: "Is there any news about Zi Heng?"
Li Cheng quickly said: "My subordinates have sent people to look for him, and he should be back in a few days."
"Hey! When Zi Heng was in Chengdu, the world was peaceful and our Shu County was prospering. Now, just a few days after leaving, people are panicking. You may think this is a coincidence, but I don't think so. Everyone, this matter is worthy of our careful consideration.
, as soon as you serve as an official, you will benefit one party. Shu County has just improved, and I don’t want to go back to the way it was before."
"Here!" Tang Meng, Chang Shi, and Li Cheng quickly stood up and responded.
In the private room on the second floor of Cuixiang Building, Huo Laosi was drinking while looking out the window. People were coming and going on the street, and it was still very lively. It was close to the West Market, and the largest number of people were naturally businessmen from all over the world. They hugged each other when they met.
They salute, say a few words and then leave in a hurry. For these people, business is the most important thing, and the rest is just the last part of the conversation.
After drinking three to five glasses in a row, the shopkeeper opened the curtain and came in. He placed all the food and wine on the waiter's tray on the table. He turned around with a smile and took the waiter out. The food was not rich. Since Su Ren left,
Huo Laosi comes to Cuixiang Tower every day to sit and sit. This is the territory of the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce. There are many merchants coming from the south and the north, and he can get a lot of information about various places from here.
In the lobby downstairs, someone was talking loudly, and of course they were talking about recent major events in the court: "What is the difference between the Empress Dowager putting His Majesty under house arrest and Empress Lu at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China? As ordinary people, we should jointly report to the court.
I would like to advise you to force the Empress Dowager to release His Majesty. If the current Dou family is incomparable to Empress Lu, although Queen Lu is cruel, she is somewhat capable. How can the current Dou family be in charge of the world without talent or virtue?"
The person who spoke was a young junior, and you could tell by his dress that he was a Confucian scholar. This time the Confucian scholar was hit the hardest, so naturally he was even more angry.
At another table, an older guy with a fat head smiled and said: "Your Majesty is young, and if you want to make a difference, we can't discuss it, but he is still a child of seventeen or eighteen years old, and he is being encouraged by you Confucian scholars.
Who knows what the world will be like?"
"Governing the world is your Majesty's business. How can a woman from the Dou family have such ability? Isn't Su Xiaowei seventeen or eighteen years old?" The Confucian scholar obviously disapproved of this man's statement: "What happened to the Lu family back then? Could it be that Dou
I can't see clearly. Now that the Dou family is in control of the court, and people like Dou Ying are supporting her, she might really become the second Empress Lu."
"So what about Empress Lu? What we seek is stability. As long as Shu County remains the same, who is in charge of the court has nothing to do with you and me?" Another person retorted, and this was supported by many merchants.
The Confucian scholar was furious: "You profiteers, you only care about the present. Don't you know that if the court is in turmoil, even people as far away as Shu County will definitely be implicated. Don't forget that the prefect of Shu County is also a Confucian scholar. In order to attack Confucian scholars, Mr. Dong was imprisoned. Wen Wen
Can the prefect call for a long time?"
Everyone took a breath of cold air. The Confucian scholar's words were unpleasant, but they also made some sense.
The Confucian scholar smiled slightly: "Do you understand now? When the imperial court has something to do, no one in the world can escape, and Su Xiaowei is also a student of Prefect Wen. If Prefect Wen is held accountable by the court, how can Su Xiaowei deal with himself? This Shu County
I don’t know how long our prosperity can last. I would like to advise you, even if you don’t want to get involved in court disputes, you should at least stay away from that Su Xiaowei.”
The discussion downstairs was getting louder and louder, and Huo Laosi heard it clearly. He looked at Liu Gao opposite and said, "Did you hear that? The rumors have turned around and are heading towards Mr.! But after checking, this person
Who is it? What’s the origin?”
Liu Gaodao: "He is just a pawn. He lives in the Laisheng Inn in Dongshi. It is said that he is from Jiangling. These days, this guy is wandering around in various restaurants, always encouraging people to submit letters, and always mentions Mr.
Get involved."
"By the way, there are also a few Confucian scholars from Jiangxia and Nanyang. Although they live in different inns, their daily activities are the same. They say they are here to study and they don't know each other. In fact, they are in different places every day.
After discussion, we have been monitoring them for a long time, and we only need ten people to catch them all!"
Huo Laosi shook his head: "Don't worry, let's take a look. I'm afraid this is their first step. Even if we catch them, it won't be easy to deal with them."
"Then what should we do? Let these guys incite the people?"
"What's Mr. Sima's opinion?" Huo Laosi asked.
Liu Gao sighed: "It's just like what you said. I want to see for myself. Let's catch each one and see how many people there are in Huainan Kingdom!"
The sudden noise attracted the attention of Huo Laosi and Liu Gao. There were suddenly more pedestrians on the street, coming from far away from the other end and occupying the entire street. People who were setting up stalls and trading had to get out of the way.
Don't know what happened.
Liu Gao squinted his eyes and looked at it, and said to Huo Laosi: "It's broken. The worst case scenario has occurred. No, I have to tell Mr. Sima!" After saying that, Liu Gao ran out.
There was a roar of people, and those at the front were the Confucian scholars Huo Laosi and Liu Gao just talked about. They were all filled with indignation, shouting and continuing to encourage people on the street to join their team. Huo Laosi lay on the window and watched.
, there were everyone in this group of people, including salesmen, farmers who came to the city, and even a few petty officials.
"Send a letter to the imperial court and return the government to your majesty!" someone shouted, and the group of people followed suit.
Heads emerged from the facades and small buildings on both sides, and everyone was looking at this group of people. The Confucian scholar in Cuixiang Tower also became energetic and shouted: "Everyone, look at the people of the world who have already taken action. Why are you doing this?"
Sit down? A spineless merchant is not worthy of serving the people of the world. Although I am a little Confucian scholar, I still want to contribute to the world and your majesty."
With a flick of his sleeves, he walked out of the door with his head held high. Everyone looked at each other. As monkey merchants, they would not participate in this kind of thing. Even if they wanted to participate, they would help secretly. As the last of the four people, merchants should protect themselves wisely.
.
Huo Laosi came down from upstairs. Many people knew him and stood up to salute Huo Laosi: "Fourth brother, here, let's..."
"Sir hasn't come back yet. Shopkeeper Cui has already gone to look for him. What I mean is to wait and see what happens and wait until he comes back." Huo Laosi stood on the stairs and looked down at the people in the lobby. He enjoyed this feeling very much: "
Everyone, take care of your own stores and manpower. Don’t say I didn’t remind you that what Mr. hates the most is this kind of boastful guy!”
"Thank you Fourth Brother, thank you Shopkeeper Huo..." With Huo Laosi's words, everyone finally felt relieved. Those who had been involved immediately sent people back to call back their friends, friends or relatives.
The huge crowd went straight to the prefect's mansion. As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the alley, a large group of county soldiers blocked the way. The leading Confucian scholars from other places looked at each other, and one of them shouted: "We want to see the prefect, why do you stop us?"
?”
Hawking glanced at the guy: "Who are you? Your accent sounds like you are not from Shu County. Where do you think you are a spy?"
"you……"
Before the guy could open his mouth, two county soldiers rushed out from behind Hawking. With just one punch, they knocked the guy to the ground and tied him up.
Another Confucian scholar stepped forward quickly: "Why did you arrest him? He broke the law?"
"I can arrest you if you want. Go and arrest that guy too. Anyone who dares to say a word will be arrested!" Hawking glared at the crowd and said loudly: "Everyone who is a commoner in Shu County, get back here. If you want to do something like this, I will arrest them all!"
Business people, go back and give you a moment to burn incense. If anyone is still here, don’t blame me for being rude!"
The crowd relaxed a little. The leading Confucian scholars still wanted to speak, to gather people's hearts back, but they saw Hawking's eyes and his open mouth closed again.
Hawking sneered: "Let them go, all go away. You still want to mess up Chengdu based on your ability. Leave Chengdu before the sun sets today, otherwise you won't be so lucky today!"
Several Confucian scholars silently helped their own people up, turned and walked out of the crowd. The people who were encouraged by them also dispersed. The vigorous show was ruined by Huo Jin. The officials of Shu County who were staying in the Prefect's Mansion
They all let out a sigh of relief.
Wen Dang asked Sima Xiangru: "Chang Qing, do you think they have any other conspiracy?"
Sima Xiangru shook his head: "The governor should be prepared. It is best to move the county soldiers into the city just in case. This time they are just testing. No one knows what they have planned."
Wen Dang nodded: "Okay! There must be no chaos in Chengdu!" (To be continued)
