Qing Yao

Chapter 266 The Provincial Governor is Thinking Randomly Again
The docks where passenger ships cross the river are extremely lively, like a big market, selling all sorts of things.

This place belongs to Zhenjiang Prefecture, and it will take another day to reach Jiangning.

There are two routes from Yangzhou to Jiangning. The other route is to go through Yizheng and Liuhe to Pukou and cross the river.

The Qing army in the early years of the dynasty crossed the river by that route, and Cao Zhenyong's group, since they crossed the river by the Grand Canal, naturally did not need to go all the way to Liuhe.

After landing, Moergeng'e was attracted by the various vendors hawking their wares. Despite his young age, he spent a few copper coins to buy a bag of snacks he had never tried before, intending to share them with Cao Zhenyong.

Cao Zhenyong smiled and said no, looking around. Everyone says Jiangnan is beautiful, and it truly is. The common people look much more energetic than in other places, and the commercial atmosphere is strong, creating a vibrant scene.

In contrast, in northern regions such as Zhili, Shandong, and Henan, most men work shirtless, are thin with their ribs visible, and families of seven or eight people are crammed into low earthen houses. They have to take turns putting on trousers when they go out. Most families don't even have a dining table and can only eat by squatting by the pot.

The conditions were incredibly dirty and chaotic.

The phenomenon of "eating chaff and gnawing on tree bark" was common even in years without disasters, and local economic and commercial activities were sluggish, in stark contrast to the vibrant state of the Jiangnan region.

If we take Huai'an as the dividing line, then the area north of Huai'an is impoverished, while the area south of Huai'an is incredibly wealthy.

This deeply moved Cao Zhenyong. However, what Cao Zhenyong lamented more was not why people in other places lived a life more tiring than death, but rather that being born in Jiangnan was a blessing.

At least, we won't starve.

Some of the passengers crossing the river together stopped at the dock to buy some food, while others had already set off to continue their journey.

The woman who had previously claimed that the emperor had an illegitimate child who had ended up among the common people was now at a "middleman's office" at the dock with her companions, seemingly looking for work.

In the Jiangnan region, various brokerage firms set up "offices" along major transportation routes to facilitate recruitment.

The largest source of workers was textile workshops in Changzhou, Suzhou, Songjiang and other places. As the most popular export product in the Qing Dynasty, the textile industry was the number one industry in the Qing Dynasty. There were at least a million workers engaged in the textile industry in various parts of Jiangnan.

The presence of the Jiangning Textile Bureau and the Suzhou Textile Bureau demonstrates the importance of the textile industry to the Qing Dynasty's economic system.

Because they were in a hurry to make a secret visit to Jiangning, Cao Zhenyong and Moergenge only made a brief stop at the dock before continuing their journey. However, what the two did not know was that as soon as they left the dock, the passengers who had crossed the river with them earlier miraculously returned to the boat. Then the boatman took out a bag of silver and copper coins and distributed them to everyone.

The storyteller from Yangzhou told the tale of the emperor's southern tour, while the opera singer from Yangzhou told the story of the emperor's illegitimate son who had wandered among the common people. They were all professional actors. The rest were either canal workers in disguise or their family members. Their acting skills were not the main point; their value lay in their authenticity.

Although they didn't know the purpose of what the higher-ups wanted them to do, everyone was happy to do whatever the young lord ordered.

Unaware that Cao Chiyong and his group had been under the watchful eye of an invisible force since entering Gaoyou, they had lunch at the foot of a scenic mountain along the way. During the lunch, they did not interact with anyone. It was only then that they realized that the two tables of people eating at the restaurant were all "special actors" arranged by Zhao An.

As evening approached, Cao Zhenyong and Moergengefang saw the Jiangning city wall standing in front of them.

Looking at Jiangning City and the surrounding mountains, it truly has the imposing presence of a tiger crouching and a dragon coiling, no wonder Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty chose this place as his capital.

After entering the city, the two planned to find an inn to stay in, but several inns they looked for were full. Finally, they stayed at the Longmen Inn, which was not far from the Jiangnan Examination Hall.

The name of Longmen Inn comes from the phrase "carp leaping over the dragon gate." Every year during the provincial examinations, the inn is always fully booked, and rooms can only be reserved a month in advance. However, since the provincial examinations are not yet in session, business at Longmen Inn is somewhat slow.

Check-in was a bit troublesome because Jiangning was an important town in the southeast where the Eight Banners were stationed, and it was also the former capital of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the government was quite strict in checking the guests. The innkeepers had to register the guests' information accurately and also had to check the guests' household registration and ID cards.

The government offices would also conduct random checks to prevent criminals from hiding in the city and committing crimes.

Cao Zhenyong and Moergenge came under assumed names for a secret visit, so they naturally wouldn't register their real names or workplaces. Moergenge, used to being arrogant in Beijing, found it troublesome and snapped at the receptionist, "It's not like I'm short of room fees, why are you making such a fuss? I'm in Beijing."

"It's alright, it's alright, we'll register."

Cao Zhenyong promptly interrupted Ergeng'er, who was about to put on airs, but neither he nor Ergeng'er had any temporary ID cards available. However, this did not prevent the front desk from processing the check-in for the three of them.

Because Scholar Cao secretly slipped a few ten-cash copper coins to the front desk.

Rules are rules, but people are flexible.

After getting the room key, Cao Zhenyong quickly pulled Ergeng'e, this spoiled brat, upstairs. The latter muttered that these southern Han barbarians were too troublesome. If this were in the capital, which ignorant Han would dare to make things difficult for him like this?

What could Cao Zhenyong say? He could only give a wry smile and ignore him.

After muttering to himself for a while, Ergeng'e probably felt it was pointless, so he went to Cao Zhenyong's room to ask how to secretly visit Zhao Youlu.

"Start with the grassroots level,"

Cao Zhenyong suggested that starting tomorrow, he should frequent various teahouses and taverns. The customers in these places are usually commoners from the lower classes. They speak without restraint and like to discuss current affairs and officials. It would be easy to find out Zhao Youlu's reputation as an official.

"Is it that complicated? Lord Cao, why don't we start directly with the grain transport office?" Moergeng'e felt that Cao Zhenyong's method was too cumbersome and a waste of time. He suggested that the two of them secretly ask a few minor officials in the grain transport office.

They were imperial envoys, so those petty officials wouldn't dare to lie to them.

"Officials and their subordinates are one and the same. If Zhao Youlu is a corrupt official, then his subordinates must also be corrupt officials. They are a den of snakes and rats, protecting each other. How could they possibly tell us the truth?"

Cao Zhenyong felt that Moergenge's idea was too naive, and hearing that Moergenge's accent was too "Beijing accent", he suggested that the two of them investigate separately.

She's quite thoughtful.

Former Jiangsu governor Chang Lin once disguised himself as a tea drinker in a Suzhou teahouse to inquire about the misdeeds of the magistrate of Changzhou County. However, because his accent clearly indicated that he was not a local, he was reported, and the bailiffs came and arrested him, taking him directly to the county government office where he was given ten strokes of the cane.

Chang Lin was furious. After the beating, he didn't leave but shouted for the county magistrate to come over. When the magistrate arrived, he realized that his subordinate had beaten the governor. He was so frightened that he wet his pants on the spot.

The accents in the capital are completely different from those in Jiangning. Therefore, Cao Zhenyong was worried that Moergeng'e's fluent Beijing accent would easily be recognized and targeted by those with ulterior motives. Moreover, they were inquiring about an official who was a fourth-rank Daotai. If the news were to leak to Zhao Youlu, the effectiveness of their secret investigation would be greatly reduced.

He himself had lived in Anhui for more than ten years when he was a child, so he could speak fluent Anhui dialect. In addition, there were many Anhui people in Jiangning City, so he didn't have to worry about his identity being exposed when he disguised himself as a tea drinker.

But we can't just leave Moergeng'e idle at the inn, after all, this imperial bodyguard is probably the emperor's most trusted person.

After thinking it over, Cao Zhenyong suggested that Moergenge, as an imperial bodyguard, directly visit officials such as the Jiangning Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Jiangning Prefect to inquire about Zhao Youlu's character through official channels.

Because Zhao Youlu was the grain commissioner of Anhui, he had no connections or vested interests with local officials in Jiangning, so the evaluations and feedback from these officials were genuine and credible.

"Alright, I'll go to the provincial governor's office tomorrow."

Moergenge was delighted with this, as direct contact with the Jiangning officials would not only allow him to learn about Zhao Youlu's character directly, but also bring him some benefits from the Jiangning officials he visited.

He was a second-class imperial bodyguard of the fourth rank. With that status, not only would the provincial governor's office treat him with respect, but even the provincial governor's office would have to give him at least a hundred or eighty taels as a token of their respect.

After agreeing on a division of labor, the two went their separate ways the next day.

Cao Zhenyong went in and out of teahouses of all sizes in Jiangning City to inquire, while Moergenge swaggered off on horseback to the Jiangning Provincial Administration Office. Upon arrival, he directly presented his imperial guard badge, which frightened the guards at the gate into quickly inviting him inside.

Because he was too fat, Fu Chang, the governor of Jiangning, slept very well. The steward tried to wake him up several times but failed, so he had to push open the door and call out to him a few times.

Being woken up suddenly while sound asleep, Lord Fu's morning grumpiness was predictable, but he was also taken aback by what the steward said: "You mean the palace guards want to see me?"

"Yes, sir."

The butler said that he had already arranged for the guard to have tea in the living room.

Why are the palace guards seeing me for no reason?

Fu Chang looked suspicious. This was against the rules of the organization. Even the guards were not allowed to meet with this local official without an imperial decree.

But if there was an imperial decree, the guard shouldn't have come to see him alone.

Suspicious, he still had the maid dress him and came to the living room, feeling both nervous and confused.

"Lord Fu!"

Mörgeng'e rose to his feet, but did not bow, because the imperial guards were not required to perform the grand ceremony of greeting local officials; they represented the face of the royal family.

Fu Chang knew this custom, so he smiled and stepped forward to ask the guard to sit down again, and inquired why he wanted to see him.

Moergeng said, "It's nothing serious, I just wanted to ask Lord Fu about someone."

Upon hearing that the person had come to inquire about someone, Fu Chang immediately breathed a sigh of relief and asked Mo Ergeng'e who he wanted to inquire about.

"This is Zhao Youlu, the Jiang'an Grain Commissioner in Jiangning City. I wonder if Lord Fu knows anything about him? What kind of official is he? Is he a good or bad official? If Lord Fu knows, please tell me the truth."

Moergenge's question was quite poor; he didn't even know how to probe indirectly, which was clearly related to his spoiled and dissolute nature.

"Zhao Youlu?"

Fu Chang exclaimed, "Ah! I know this person. He's a good official, quite honest, and very promising at a young age."

After saying that, he suddenly had a thought, leaned forward slightly, and asked cautiously, "Did the Emperor send you to inquire about Zhao Youlu?"

(End of this chapter)