Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 281 The Yamen invites you to come over

Wu Zhikui answered very well.

Not only did he explain the whole story, he also provided a lot of information that even the Jinyiwei did not know.

There is no need to mention other things, it's just some matters of plundering and bullying the locals. The most important thing is that Wang Fuping, relying on his many years of experience as a prison officer, successfully discovered the hidden "mastermind" from Wu Zhikui's confession.

Originally, it was impossible for someone like Wu Zhikui, who had extremely low political sensitivity, to connect Ruan Dacheng's move south with himself.

But during that period of time, people kept breaking these things into pieces and putting them in front of him. Even if Wu Zhikui was a bold person, he had to doubt whether His Majesty released Ruan Dacheng because he was short of money.

This was not something he thought too much about.

According to those people, since ancient times, whenever the imperial court was short of money, it had only three options: plunder the people, plunder the merchants, and plunder the officials.

But according to the current situation, these three paths are probably not so easy to take, so Wu Zhikui, who has made a huge amount of money, will naturally become the first target of the court.

At first, Wu Zhikui scoffed at such remarks, but when Ruan Dacheng officially went south, he suddenly came to his senses.

On the surface, the richest gentry and wealthy families belong to the people. As long as the higher-ups are short of money, they can just increase taxes. However, that group of people controls the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, and they have plenty of ways to transfer the tax burden imposed by the court onto those poor people.

Under such circumstances, if Your Majesty had learned some lessons from his father, he would not have done such a thing that would provoke countless thieves.

The rest are businessmen and officials.

Although the Shang had been relegated to the lowest class since the establishment of the four classes of people, by this time they had become one with the officials who were in charge of state power.

Well, to put it another way, the officials in charge of state power have brought merchants under their protection after discovering the huge benefits. They have even used various methods to combine them with local gentry and wealthy families in order to circumvent the court's restrictions on merchants.

Under such circumstances, the several groups that actually controlled most of the Ming Dynasty's wealth had merged into one.

Even if Your Majesty holds a sharp knife in your hand, if you don't want to be hurt by the knife, then things like imposing commercial taxes must not be done.

Once he thought of this, Wu Zhikui had a very clear understanding of the situation before him, and it was understandable that he decided to kill the Shangshu of the dynasty.

But in the end, he still underestimated his own Majesty. Even though this amount of money could be considered a huge amount, compared to striking at the aristocratic families and strengthening control over the local areas, what was it?
January 2

Huating
In the past few months, Qi Laoer has been living a pretty good life.

Now he has left his uncle and started working directly for Master Wen. In addition to the regular salary of three taels of silver per month, he also receives subsidies based on his assignments.

If he could continue doing this job, he wouldn't have to rush to get the silver he had hidden outside Huating City.

As for what kind of job can earn such generous wages, the story has to start from a few months ago.

According to his original plan, he wanted to ask his uncle for help and ask Master Wen to get a certain status for his family in Huating. However, after he was ordered to go to Suzhou, it was unknown why Master Wen kept him.

Qi Lao Er was naturally pleased about this.

After all, he originally regarded Huating as his place to settle down. Now, not only has he found a way to make a living, but he also has the support of the Wen family. As long as he can get his family members registered, his family will be able to get rid of their military household status. How could he resist?

What happened next was simple. His Majesty agreed to reopen maritime trade in the name of the court, so each family gathered some people and ships to go overseas to buy grain.

Qi Lao Er naturally could not imagine that there was a rather complicated exchange of interests involved, but he understood that the masters were willing to sell the purchased grain at the price they had paid a few months ago probably because of the influence of His Majesty.

Otherwise, according to his thinking, those old masters who would not do anything without profit were already kind-hearted if they did not take advantage of the rising grain prices to seize the land from the people. How could they do so if there was no one who could control them and give them the order?

Of course, he had already received wages from the Wen family during that period, and as he had no worries about food and clothing, he only thought about it and did not pay too much attention to it.

But who would have thought that when he only regarded the overseas trade as an ordinary topic of conversation, Master Wen appointed him as the third manager of the next voyage and asked him to pick twenty or thirty strong men from the village to serve as escort.

In this way, his monthly salary increased to three taels, a huge amount that could support an ordinary family of three for nearly half a year.

"Is Steward Qi at home?"

As there was a knock on the door, Qi Laoer, who had just turned off the stove and was about to go to bed early, couldn't help but frown.

When he was in Zhenjiang, he was quite annoyed by the curfew, but now he couldn't help but miss the rules of this big city.

"Who?!"

"It's me, from Mr. Wen's neighbor Hu family."

He stood up and shouted out of the window, and then a middle-aged man's voice was heard in the room. Although the impatience on his face became heavier, his hands still grabbed the clothes piled next to him.

Ever since he took on this job, he has had a lot more social engagements and requests throughout the day. Today he was finally able to go home early, but who would have thought that someone would follow him here.

Alas~~~~It’s hard to refuse a favor.

Although he sighed in his heart, his action of packing his clothes was not affected at all. After about ten breaths, he arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

"Manager Qi, sorry to bother you."

"Oh, it's Uncle Hu. Come in quickly, come in quickly."

As soon as the gate opened, a burst of earnest words reached Qi Laoer's ears. When he stepped aside to invite people in, he saw that the middle-aged man surnamed Hu did not move forward. Instead, he said to the person behind him: "Why don't you ask people?"

"Hello, Manager Qi."

"This is my second son, the one you have seen."

"Yes, I have. I have."

At this point, Qi Lao Er saw that the middle-aged man surnamed Hu was followed by a teenager of about fifteen or sixteen. He roughly understood the purpose of the father and son's visit.

They were an ordinary family, and the rules and etiquette were not that complicated. After entering the main house, they exchanged a few pleasantries and then Qi Lao Er asked directly about their purpose.

"Uncle Hu, is there something going on here so late?"

"To be honest, my second son has reached the age where he should be independent, but my family is not able to support him and his brothers, so I came to you and asked you to find a way out for him."

"This"

“I know this is difficult.”

Seeing that Qi Lao Er had an embarrassed expression, the middle-aged man surnamed Hu took out a small bag the size of a palm from his waist while speaking.

But who would have thought that before he could hand over the small bag, Qi Laoer, who was sitting opposite him, waved his hand and said, "It's not about the money." Seeing this, the middle-aged man surnamed Hu was stunned.

He had already found out that the Wen family was going to recruit dozens of people this time, and the one who decided which one to accept was not someone else, but the second brother Qi in front of him.

It's just that he's acting like this now.
"I have to say this first. Last time we went out to sea to buy grain, there were dozens of large ships. In the end, only four were lost. But if it had happened to me, it would have been a 100% chance of happening."

After he finished speaking, the middle-aged man surnamed Hu seemed a little hesitant, but in just a moment, that hesitation disappeared like a cloud meeting the wind and could no longer be seen on his face.

"Manager Qi, we all know what you said, but business has become increasingly difficult in recent years, and there are fewer and fewer jobs. It's better to go out and gamble than to stay at home and starve."

"Okay, since you"

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

At this point, Qi Lao Er was ready to agree. It was recruiting anyway, so it didn't matter who he hired.

What's more, this person knows him inside and out and can be considered as one of his own as soon as he arrives. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for him to find any reason to refuse.

But just as he was about to agree, he was interrupted by a noise coming from outside the yard.

After careful listening, he realized that the noise was the long-lost sound of a march running.

What?

How?

Weren't the Tartars driven away? Why would a large group of soldiers move at night?

With this in mind, Qi Laoer's first instinct was to sneak out of the city. However, in just a moment, the news he heard from the tavern during the day made this idea disappear immediately, and his tense body returned to its previous relaxation.

"It seems that the military situation is very urgent. The troops have to be mobilized even at night."

"Yes, several hundred soldiers entered the city barracks during the day. I think they will set off overnight."

The speaker may not have meant it, but the listener may have taken it to heart. The middle-aged man surnamed Hu naturally did not know that the army seldom marched at night, but Qi Lao Er came from a military background after all, and when he heard such words, he immediately noticed something unusual.

"You stay in the room for a while, I'll go out and take a look."

After giving instructions, Qi Lao Er went straight out of the room, leaving the Hu father and son who were full of confusion and a little at a loss.

Why do you think Qi Laoer is so nervous?

Just like the night raid, arresting people and ransacking their homes were equally easy to do at night, so he thought of the Wen family where he was working.

In the past, the Wen family had colluded with the Tartars in Suzhou. Although it did not cause any damage to the Ming army, if someone reported it, it would be a serious crime of treason.

Of course, Qi Laoer had no intention of playing the role of a loyal savior when he went out to check. The reason why he did this was probably just to see the situation so as to decide whether he should escape from the city.

When he left his yard, there was no one on the road. Qi Laoer stood at the door for a while, and only hesitated when he heard a faint sound.

The direction from which the noise came seemed to be completely opposite to where the Wen family was. Obviously, no matter what the purpose of those soldiers was, it had nothing to do with the Wen family.

just
After hesitating for a moment, he finally rushed towards the direction where the sound came from. After about an incense stick of time, the sound had changed from the sound of marching troops to a series of howling for help.

Hiss~~~~~, it’s the Zhou family.

There is only this small area in Huating County. Even though Qi Lao Er did not dare to get close for various reasons, he was able to roughly identify the location where the noise came from through his familiarity with the city.

After investigating to this extent, Qi Lao Er did not dare to stay for long. He quietly moved away from that area. He did not care that the Hu father and son were still waiting at home, and ran straight to the Wen family compound.

That's right, the reason why he took the risk to go and check after confirming that the soldiers' night march had nothing to do with the Wen family was to get some useful information to report to his employer.

His behavior can be understood as deliberate flattery, but if you look at it from another angle, isn't it also a loyal act?

Of course, everything has its limits, and this is about what you can do with those three taels of silver.

A moment later, the Wen family's courtyard appeared in Qi Laoer's sight. After some notification, he saw Master Wen who had just gotten up in the study.

"Can you see it clearly?"

"Looking closely, there are probably about 200 to 300 to 400 people."

Hearing this, Master Wen couldn't help but think for a while.

Although the Zhou family was usually very arrogant, as far as he knew, they had never done anything that would cause the imperial court to make such a fuss.

But what Qi Lao Er said was very convincing, and it was obvious that he really saw the Zhou family being surrounded by a large number of soldiers. This situation made him a little confused.

Is it
probably not.

As his mind turned, Master Wen suddenly remembered the incident in which the Minister of Justice was ambushed and killed, but he eliminated it in just a moment.

Although the court had not clearly announced the outcome of the case, the news that several large families in the Huzhou area had their properties confiscated by the court had long been circulated. How could a family like him with some connections not know the reason?
"Xiao Qi, I heard that you have some friendship with Wu Ziyi?"

"Well, he seemed to see that I had been in the military before, so he became a little more friendly."

"Come," after hearing Qi Laoer's answer, Master Wen called him to the inner room of the study. Then he took a small box down from the shelf, took out a ten-liang silver note from it and handed it to Qi Laoer. Then he continued, "Wait till dawn to find him. You must find out what happened tonight. Do you understand?"

"Well, I will definitely live up to your trust."

"I am confident that you can do the job. After I am done with this, I will register your family and find a suitable marriage for you. Then you can go to sea with peace of mind."

According to common sense, if the situation had reached this point, Qi Lao Er should at least express his gratitude profusely, if not burst into tears. However, when he was about to kneel down, he heard footsteps outside the study, and then heard someone outside say, "Master, someone from the government office has come, and they want you to come over."

"Snapped!"

Before he finished speaking, Master Wen seemed to be frightened by something. His hands went limp and the small box fell directly to the ground.

"Master, it's okay. If there is anything, it will probably be soldiers."

I don't know whether it was because of Qi Laoer's words or some other reason, but only half a breath had passed since the small box fell to the ground, and Master Wen's calm voice was heard again.

"Oh, let them wait for a moment. I will go with them after I am dressed properly."

(End of this chapter)