Chongzhen Wiretapping System

Chapter 305 The emperor is no longer the emperor of the past

On the side of them, a ship with sails was rammed head-on.

This happened suddenly. Originally, Yang Tinglin glanced at the river and recognized that the boat was heading downstream like them.I just don’t know why, but the steering wheel suddenly turned and it came across.

It was too late when it was discovered, mainly no one expected that such a thing would happen. There was only a loud "bang", and the ship just hit the side of the official ship.

"Plop, plop"

On the bow, many people were caught off guard, and under the violent shaking of the official ship, they fell into the river one after another.

On the contrary, Yang Tinglin himself, after all, came out of the battlefield, and his skill was not comparable to that of ordinary civil servants. He immediately shrank and lowered his body, and firmly grasped the side of the boat.

The hull was also damaged, swinging on the river.

"What's going on?" The people in the cabin were still in shock and rushed out one after another. They were relieved to see that Yang Tinglin was fine.

The sound of panic could also be heard on the ship that hit it, and someone was still shouting loudly, "I hit the official's ship, it's terrible, I hit the official's ship!"

Yang Tinglin didn't care about other things at this time, looked at his men rushing over on the boat, and immediately ordered them: "Someone fell into the water, save him quickly."

At this moment, the ship that caused the accident not only failed to save the people, but turned around and fled downstream quickly, and there was a clear voice: "Run, if you are caught by the official, you will definitely pay for your life!"

Yang Tinglin heard the sound and turned his head to look, only to see that the boat had already sailed away, its sails were fully bulged, and it was sailing away.

Seeing this situation, Yang Tinglin couldn't help being furious.Hit the boat, and several people fell into the river. Instead of saving people quickly, they ran away immediately?

What made him even more angry was that the people on the boat never went up to the deck from the beginning to the end, that is, they didn't show their faces, and the boat was not special, so it was hard to identify.

Yang Tinglin's subordinates were naturally equally angry, and shouted to the other side: "You hit the boat, and you still want to run?"

"Hurry up and save people, someone fell into the water!"

"..."

However, they yelled to no avail, the boat didn't stop at all, and went further and further away.

If we want to save people here, it is impossible to chase the boat, we can only watch the boat escape.

"My lord, the people on the boat just now spoke with a southern Hokkien accent, so they must be from Fujian!"

"Yes, I heard it too. It should be from Fujian, but he just ran away after hitting the boat!"

"..."

At this time, it was not the time to pursue the ship, so Yang Tinglin could only organize people to save people.On the river, other passing boats saw the situation here, and leaned over instead, extending a helping hand.

However, among the few people who fell into the river, only one who knew how to swim was rescued, and the others were all washed away by the river, and it is unknown where they went.

Yang Tinglin's official ship was also seriously damaged, so he was transferred to the rescue ship.

Everyone was very angry at the escaped ship just now.

Of course Yang Tinglin was no exception, and immediately ordered: "After docking, track the ship along the way. The bow of the ship is also damaged, so it is easy to identify."

After landing on the shore, Yang Tinglin and his party could not continue to Changshu County.Those subordinates who fell into the water had to continue to search. Yang Tinglin himself was also injured, so he stayed at the Changzhou Mansion for now.

On the Changshu County side, of course, Zhang Pu didn't wait. He showed up in person and explained at the gate of the county government office that he guaranteed that the emperor's will originally had a minimum limit of more than [-] mu of grain fields.In addition, he also asked Pan Xiuwen and other local officials to come forward to explain to the people and scholars in Changshu.

Naturally, Pan Xiuwen and others couldn't disbelieve this like ordinary people, because they had received the imperial palace newspaper, which was written in black and white.

With the Dongchang fanmen watching from the side, Pan Xiuwen and others did not dare to play any tricks, so they had to go out and explain to the common people and scholars that there was indeed a lower limit of one hundred acres of grain fields.This time the inspector inspected the adults who had grain fields of more than [-] mu, and those who owed taxes and wanted to pay them were also these people.

To the relief of Zhang Pu and others who were concerned about the development of the situation, the explanations provided by the county magistrate, county magistrate, chief bookkeeper and others were useful after all, and the situation immediately eased.

However, what they didn't expect was that soon, there were fake mansion newspapers circulating outside, and there was no mention of the lower limit of one hundred acres of grain fields.And there are folk rumors that even if there is a minimum of [-] mu of grain fields, it is only temporary. First, the grain fields above [-] mu will be collected, and then everyone will be harvested.If you don't boycott now, it will be too late to boycott later.

As a result, the situation slowly began to become tense again.

It's as if someone is making a move. If you make a move, I will also make a move. It depends on who is better.

Regarding this, Zhang Pu knew very well that it was definitely Qian Qianyi who was playing tricks behind the scenes.In the current situation, it is difficult for a strong dragon to overwhelm a local snake!

It was impossible to go on like this, Zhang Pu finally decided to force Pan Xiuwen to come forward, press him to clarify the situation, and at the same time, ordered him to arrest those who spread rumors outside within a time limit.

Pan Xiuwen was apprehensive about this matter at first, but under the oppression of the Dongchang fan, he had no choice but to agree.

However, when he did it, he acted vigorously, and immediately dispatched yamen servants to patrol the streets, and when he saw anyone talking about it, he was immediately arrested in the county yamen jail.

one, two, three...

In just one day, Pan Xiuwen actually arrested nearly 100 people and sent them to the county government prison.

As a result, the outside world did not talk about this matter anymore, but a very bad atmosphere began to permeate,
Jiang Dong found out sharply that the matter of arresting people, as Zhang Pu said before, not only did not ease the situation, but made the situation worse. When they walked on the street and looked at them head-on, they were all eyes of hatred .

what to do?Let people go?

Pan Xiuwen disagreed, and told Zhang Pu that these people were indeed spreading rumors, and if they were released, it would fuel their arrogance, and they would definitely continue to spread rumors after they left.

As a last resort, Zhang Pu had no choice but to write a letter to the prefect of Suzhou Prefecture, so that troops could be dispatched there.

Changshu County is under the jurisdiction of Suzhou Prefecture. There are no soldiers in Changshu County, but Suzhou Prefecture, as a high-level government, definitely has troops stationed there.But in the past, the riots in Suzhou happened in Suzhou Fucheng.Therefore, it is not known whether this appeal letter is useful or not.

To Zhang Pu's surprise, the Suzhou government quickly responded, but on the third morning, someone arrived.He said to the yamen servant at the door: "Is Zhang Xunyong inside? We are here at the order of the prefect of Suzhou Prefecture. Please inform me."

There was a Dongchang soldier standing behind the door. Hearing this, he couldn't help being overjoyed. He hurried out to have a look, only to find that it was just a man dressed as a head catcher with a dozen or so catchers, and no army was in sight.

So, when the yamen servant reported inside, the Dongchang fan asked curiously: "Why are there only a few of you? Where are the sent troops?"

"Army?" The headhunter was a bit puzzled when he heard it, and when he saw that the person in front of him was a soldier from the East Factory, he clasped his fists and said, "I don't know, here is a letter from the magistrate, and I will meet Zhang soon." Mr. Xunyan, it should be said in the letter."

While talking, I saw Zhang Pu striding towards the door surrounded by Jiang Dong and others, with a hint of excitement and a little relief on his face.

Before the person reached the door, he had already opened his mouth and asked loudly: "Which leader came to help?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Pu saw the situation at the door and couldn't help being taken aback. There was no army as he imagined, only some police officers.

When the head catcher saw Zhang Pu, he knew that the rightful lord had arrived, so he took out a letter from his bosom and presented it with both hands, saying it was a reply from the prefect.

The Dongchang fan servant next to him immediately stepped forward and forwarded it to Zhang Pu, and then saw Zhang Pu disassembled it at the door for a quick look.

At this time, everyone was staring at Zhang Pu, but they saw him scanning ten lines at a glance. Soon, his face darkened. Obviously, the letter should not be good news.

Zhang Pu casually handed the letter to Jiang Dong beside him, then turned around and walked inside with a gloomy face.

Jiang Dong took it and looked at it, but it was the prefect of Suzhou Prefecture who said that Changshu County was just complaining in the streets and alleys, and it was not a big deal.No one can afford the consequences if they rashly send troops over and stir up civil uprisings instead.

However, Zhang Xun has repeatedly emphasized here that if someone spreads rumors and tampers with the will, then only those people with ulterior motives should be arrested.To this end, he sent experienced headhunters to assist Zhang Xun.

There is nothing wrong with this letter, on the surface.At least from the perspective of the magistrate of Suzhou Prefecture, it is natural for him to say so.However, in fact, the situation in Changshu County is already very serious.What's the use of just sending a dozen or so catchers?No wonder Zhang Pu turned around and left with a gloomy face after seeing it.

……

The news of the police coming from the Suzhou government reached Qian Qianyi immediately.

When Hou Fangyu heard this, he immediately showed admiration, looked at Qian Qianyi and praised: "Sure enough, as Mr. Yu Shan expected, Zhang Pu won't be able to come to the army, haha!"

Hearing this, Qian Qianyi was only slightly complacent, stroked his gray beard and said nothing.

The magistrate of Suzhou Prefecture can secure his position here, of course it has something to do with Qian Qianyi.After he heard that Zhang Pu sent people to Suzhou Mansion, he had sent a letter first, and the result was obvious.

After Hou Fangyu laughed for a while, he asked Qian Qianyi, "To prevent the night from having many dreams, when shall we do it?"

"Why do we do it?" Qian Qianyi shook his head and said, "What do we do? The public anger has not reached its peak, and when it does, it will naturally erupt. What are you in a hurry for?"

At first, Hou Fangyu was taken aback when he heard it, but after hearing it, he suddenly realized and nodded in agreement.

"The presence of people from the Suzhou Mansion is an opportunity. I believe that it will be almost there!" Qian Qianyi said lightly, then stood up and said, "The old man takes a nap, it's nothing serious, don't disturb the old man!"

Hou Fangyu immediately bowed to send him out, but he was thinking in his heart that he was really old, and he was going to sleep before he was tired in Xia Tian!
Although Qian Qianyi was old, the situation that followed was exactly as he expected.

The head arresters from Suzhou patrolled the streets, and in just one day, they arrested so many more that the county government jail was full of people.

The arrival of these arresters not only did not ease the situation, but exacerbated it.

Jiang Dong saw that the situation was not good, and immediately advised Zhang Pu: "The situation is already very dangerous. As your lord said, there may be a civil uprising. Why don't you take a step back and talk about it later?"

Hearing this, the old man Qian Qianyi's proud smile flashed in Zhang Pu's mind, he immediately shook his head and said: "This official is on a tour by order, how can I be scared away by a group of unscrupulous people!"

He is a person who is familiar with the details of the civil uprising, and he has the confidence to say this.He knew that the key lies in the local government.

Just as he was finishing speaking, a servant from Dongchang stepped in quickly and said: "My lord, there are a lot of people gathered outside, and the situation seems to be not good."

As soon as they heard this, everyone knew that at this time, they might not be able to leave even if they wanted to.

Therefore, Zhang Pu made a decisive decision, and immediately went to find the county magistrate Pan Xiuwen, and said straight to the point: "If there is a civil uprising in Changshu, and something happens to my official and the Dongchang fan, you, a small county magistrate, will never be the emperor's thunderbolt." angry!"

In fact, Qian Qianyi had thought of his threat a long time ago, and he had already encouraged Pan Xiuwen, so he could rest assured.

Once a civil uprising occurs, at least his colleagues in the southern officialdom will tell him that it is Zhang Xunyong who has committed crimes in the local area, robbed and plundered, and disregarded human lives...that will arouse the anger of the people and cause the civil uprising.

In short, in a word, it is Zhang Pu's fault.

If it was changed to the past, with the Suzhou riot as a precedent, nothing will happen.

However, Zhang Pu had already expected this, and immediately threatened Pan Xiuwen, saying: "The current emperor is wise and powerful, Jin merchants and captives, there are cabinet ministers to cover up, and there are censors to speak for them. There is also the commander of the guard station, even if this is the case, what is the outcome? Do I need to remind me of this?"

The Shanxi Merchants Tonglu case should be said to be the biggest event in the 12 years of Chongzhen, and even the biggest event in the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years.Although Changshu is indeed far away from the capital, Pan Xiuwen absolutely knows the details of such a matter.

As soon as he heard it, he immediately lost his composure.

But he didn't have time to speak, but Zhang Pu continued to add: "Ming people don't say dark words. Behind the trouble this time, I know that Qian Qianyi is the one who came to Changshu to investigate and deal with it." The biggest landlord. Do you think this matter can be done better than Shanxi merchants? Can you deceive the emperor and let this official take the blame? Do you dare to bet that the current emperor will be like the Wanli emperor back then, and finally lighten up? Let you go lightly? Or, do you dare to bet that your end will be better than that of Shanxi Merchants?"

(End of this chapter)