Prime Minister

Chapter 130, Page 129: [Counterattack]

Yongqingfang, Yangzhou Prefecture.

In the outer study of the Liu residence, Hu Quan, the clerk of the prefectural government, said urgently, "Brother Bo Xun, Brother De Ming, you two must save our Hu family!"

Liu Rang and Zheng Xuan sat facing each other, both with somewhat gloomy expressions.

That day, after being rebuffed by Tan Mingguang, they knew that Xue Huai would definitely cause some trouble in Yizhen County, but they did not expect that the Hu family would be the first to suffer.

Seeing Hu Quan's flustered expression, Liu Rang said angrily, "I told you all long ago that during this period, all the young men in the family should behave themselves and clean up their past troubles. At the very least, they shouldn't give Xue Huai any leverage. Now you're begging me, what can I do? Do you think Xue Huai will listen to me?"

"Brother Boson, this matter is really not that easy."

Hu Quan felt deeply wronged.

Since Xue Mingzhang stepped down as the prefect of Yangzhou and returned to the central government ten years ago, after a brief period of dormancy, the local powerful families of Yangzhou enjoyed an extremely peaceful period.

Over the years, they have made a fortune by taking advantage of Yangzhou's geographical location. Each family has used various means to seize a large amount of owned land and enslave countless ordinary people as tenants. Their evil deeds during this process are too numerous to count. How could they possibly clean up the mess in just a few months?

Zheng Xuan understood the situation and could only say, "Brother Bo Xun, since this has already happened, we can only do our best to remedy it. We can't just stand by and watch the Hu family be completely devoured by Xue Huai."

He gave Hu Quan a wink, and the latter quickly said, "Brother Bo Xun, as long as the old man is willing to lend a helping hand, I, on behalf of the Hu family, am willing to give up the Qingshan Town Wharf as a token of my gratitude!"

This gift is of immense importance. Qingshan Town Wharf, as one of the transit points on the canal, is the foundation of the Hu family's fortune. The fact that they are now handing it over proves that the Hu family is indeed in dire straits.

Liu Rang sighed softly and said, "Our families are all of one mind and one body. How could my father do such a thing as taking advantage of someone's misfortune? Let's not talk about this anymore. Fine, I will go and ask my father for help and see if he has any way to deal with this."

"Thank you very much, Brother Boson! I am deeply grateful!"

Hu Quan knew Liu Rang's character very well. Although he said he wouldn't take advantage of the situation, if he went back on his word and refused to sell the Qingshan Town Wharf to the Liu family, the Hu family's future would be even worse.

Liu Rang left the two men in the study and hurriedly went to the main hall of the inner courtyard.

"Father."

Liu Rang stepped forward to greet him and then recounted the events that had just transpired in detail.

Liu Fu pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Do you think we should save them or not?"

Liu Rang earnestly said, "Father, although the Hu family is far inferior to the four families of Yangzhou, they have always followed our Liu family's lead all these years. Hu Quan is also extremely loyal to me in the government office. If we don't help them, it may cause unrest among the people."

Liu Fu remained silent, clearly weighing the pros and cons of the matter.

Seeing this, Liu Rang continued, "Father, if we can acquire Qingshan Wharf, it will definitely be more beneficial for our Liu family's future plans in the salt industry."

"So how do you plan to save them?"

Liu Fu raised his hand, picked up the teacup, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

Liu Rang considered carefully and said, "Father, we can't count on Prefect Tan now. There is no one in Yangzhou who can suppress Prefect Xue. We can only ask Governor Chen to step in."

Liu Fu frowned and said, "Ask the governor to intervene? We'll owe Governor Chen a favor for the sake of the Hu family. It won't be easy to repay that in the future."

"This……"

Liu Rang hesitated, knowing at least that without Tan Mingguang's statement, even if all the officials in the prefectural government were combined, they wouldn't be able to put pressure on Xue Huai, who was in Yizhen County.

"You're right, we can't give up on the Hu family easily."

Liu Fu changed the subject and said calmly, "I will write two letters now. Have someone deliver them to the Salt Transport Office and the Grand Canal Office tonight. The Hu family's business is connected to both of these offices. Since Magistrate Xue wants to target the Hu family, let him compete with the officials in these two offices."

Liu Rang felt much more at ease. In fact, he knew that it was unwise to seek help from the Jiangsu governor over such a trivial matter; he was merely giving his father an opportunity to teach him a lesson.

About fifteen minutes later, Liu Rang walked into the outer study with two letters in his arms.

Zheng Xuan and Hu Quan immediately stood up to greet him. The latter asked nervously and urgently, "Brother Bo Xun, is the old man willing to help?"

Liu Rang nodded slightly.

Hu Quan was overjoyed, and Zheng Xuan also breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Rang looked at Hu Quan solemnly and said, "My father said that this is a one-time exception. This time, in order to help your Hu family out of trouble, my father did not hesitate to use the favors he had accumulated over the years. You should know what is important."

Hu Quan solemnly replied, "I understand. Please tell the old man that once this matter is settled, the Hu family will hand over Qingshan Wharf with open arms!"

Liu Rang said no more; he needed to make sure the two letters were delivered that night.

……

May 27, Qingshan Town, Yizhen County.

In the square in front of the Hu family mansion, a high platform was erected on the spacious open ground. Hu Qing, who once acted like a local tyrant in Qingshan Town, was now in a state of decline; in just two days, his face had turned pale and his eyes were sunken.

If there were a way to undo mistakes, the first thing he would do would be to skip going to the Yizhen County government office a few days ago and instead take Hu Yong directly to the Liu family in the prefectural city to avoid trouble.

The second thing is that he shouldn't have been indecisive and hesitant. He should have just gone all the way and killed Wang Shuan directly. That way, there would be no victim to file a complaint, and Xue Huai wouldn't be able to directly cause him trouble.

The third thing is that he shouldn't have been so greedy for prestige and built such a spacious square in front of his house. Today, he is being tried here, which is undoubtedly the greatest irony of fate for him.

When the sun was high in the sky, Hu Qing, Hu Yong, Hu Ziyu, and Xu Guozhong were taken from their temporary prison by government officials and escorted to the square in front of the Hu family's house.

"Hu Qing is here!"

"That beast Hu Yong is here too!"

Before the four even entered the square, a burst of angry shouts came towards them, instantly silencing them.

Even Hu Qing, who had seen his share of storms, couldn't help but be momentarily stunned at this moment, while Hu Yong and the others were even more frightened.

Hu Qing forced himself to calm down and looked around. He saw many familiar faces staring at him menacingly, as if they wanted to tear his flesh apart.

"You are so brave!"

Hu Qing instinctively flew into a rage and then berated the people of Qingshan Town.

He couldn't understand how the people who used to be like sheep in front of him, always talking about Master Hu, could change so much in just a few days.

However, the crowd did not shrink back as he expected. An angry voice roared, "Go to hell!"

A handful of rotten vegetable leaves streaked through the air like a shooting star, hitting Hu Qing's face with incredible precision. The pungent stench almost made it impossible for Hu Qing to breathe.

He angrily raised his hand to wipe his face, but more rotten vegetable leaves came flying at him. The four of them had nowhere to hide and were almost submerged. If Zhang Shi hadn't ordered the county yamen runners to maintain order, they probably wouldn't have been able to safely reach the vicinity of the high platform.

On the high platform, Xue Huai calmly watched this scene.

Standing to the side and behind, Wang Gui leaned closer and whispered, "Your Excellency, those people were supporting the Hu family before, why have they changed so drastically?"

"The Hu family has long been rich and unkind, and they usually bully the good people in the village. The people dare not speak out against them."

Xue Huai said calmly, "Previously, they didn't know the government's determination, so naturally they didn't dare to express their opinions easily. Now that they have witnessed the situation of the Hu family father and son with their own eyes, and learned from the village elders what happened at the graves of Wang Dayou and his wife, how could they continue to submit to Hu Qing's tyranny? You should know very well how many people in Qingshan Town have reported and denounced the Hu family's illegal activities in the past two days, right?"

He turned back to look at Wang Gui with a slightly puzzled expression.

As he said, with the Hu family father and son imprisoned, the people of Qingshan Town no longer feared the Hu family's power. In the past two days, they have been rushing to report them, keeping the officials of the prefectural government and the clerks of Yizhen County exhausted.

As one of them, Wang Gui should have been well aware of the reasons for the people's change, so asking this question now seemed somewhat foolish.

He gave an awkward smile and said cautiously, "This humble servant is dull-witted, and it is truly an honor to receive your esteemed guidance."

Having said that, Xue Huai naturally understood the other party's willingness to serve him. He nodded slightly and said, "There's plenty of time in the future, no need to rush."

This statement has two layers of meaning. Xue Huai does not reject Wang Gui's offer of service, but considering Wang Gui's background and past, he certainly will not accept him so easily. He must put Wang Gui through sufficient tests to prove that he does not have ulterior motives.

Wang Gui understood the deeper meaning of those words and quickly replied respectfully, "This humble servant understands."

At this moment, Hu Qing and the other three had been brought to the stage by the yamen runners. After the previous baptism, they were all in a sorry state, no longer displaying their former arrogance.

The public trial was presided over by Zhang Shi. He first told the crowd the details of the case involving Wang Dayou and his wife, from Hu Qing and two others seizing the Wang family's land to Hu Yong beating Wang Dayou to death. He explained the details very clearly, which instantly ignited the anger of the people in the square.

One after another, ordinary people took to the stage to recount the illegal activities of the Hu family over the years. When they spoke of their sorrows, they couldn't help but curse loudly, and the audience below did the same.

Today, in addition to the people of Qingshan Town, Xue Huai also asked Zhang Shi to invite representatives of some local gentry and wealthy households in the county town to watch. At this moment, these people were hiding in the row behind Xue Huai, their faces pale and their bodies trembling, fearing that they would be the next Hu Qing.

The situation on the scene became increasingly turbulent. If Zhang Shi hadn't summoned most of the county clerks and runners to maintain order, the Hu family father and son would probably have been torn to pieces by the angry crowd.

Just as the crowd was in high spirits, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar.

Two groups of people appeared one after the other on the straight road outside Qingshan Town, about two miles apart.

Jiang Sheng quickly came up behind Xue Huai and whispered, "Young Master, the people have arrived."

Xue Huai looked up and nodded, saying, "No need to pay attention to it."

A moment later, the first group of about twenty riders arrived at the perimeter of the square. Their appearance was like an invisible wave, gradually suppressing the noise in the square.

On the high platform, Hu Qing, who was almost unable to lift his head, heard Hu Yong's shout and immediately looked into the distance. When he saw the knights' clothes and attire, a look of surprise suddenly appeared in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)