The Red Mansions

Chapter 741 Qi Kun: This is to catch them all, leaving no one behind?
Huanhualou

Gu Ruoqing and the old bustard Liniang were following the sound, only to see light and rhythmic footsteps coming up the wooden ladder, and then a person wearing a light yellow dress appeared at the top of the stairs, with a tall cloud bun, combing the clouds and sweeping the moon, The glamorous woman with exquisite jewelry draped all over her body, accompanied by maids and mothers, went up to the second floor like stars and moons.

The beautiful woman was about [-] years old, with a graceful and gorgeous temperament, a golden hairpin pinned between her lush temples, her face was snowy and beautiful, ruddy like a cloud, almost as charming as a peony stamen, and white jade was beautiful under her neck. , Under the snowy skin, it looks like the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival coming out of torn clothes.

At this moment, under the curved eyebrows, a pair of beautiful eyes full of water looked at Gu Ruoqing.

She is the daughter of Marquis Annan, whose boudoir name is Ye Nuan. Because her husband died early due to illness, she returned to her natal family and started to manage the business of Marquis Annan's mansion in Jinling City.

Gu Ruoqing bowed gracefully, and said softly, "I've seen Madam."

Ye Nuan looked at Gu Ruoqing, and asked in a soft and round voice, "Listen to Liniang, you want to go back to Jinling?"

A hint of hesitation appeared on Gu Ruoqing's cold and jaded face, and he finally sighed and said, "The situation here in Yangzhou has been unsettled recently, and the personnel has been chaotic. I want to go back to Jinling."

In fact, the recent situation in Yangzhou is either that the horsemen are everywhere, or that the Jiangbei battalion is mobilizing soldiers and horses to search for the captives, and of course there is harassment by Liu Shengzao.

"Ruoqing, if it's about Liu Shengzao, you don't have to worry too much. I've already sent someone to inform Liu Shengzao, and he won't pester you anymore." Ye Nuanying sat down, the jade belt and tassels on her skirt fell down. Next, said softly to Gu Ruoqing.

As the daughter of Marquis Annan, born in Jinling City, except for the feudal kings, four princes and eight princes and other old clans, Ye Nuan has face in both government and business circles in Yangzhou City.

Moreover, this woman really likes singing, dancing and folk art. In fact, only such noble women have the leisure and elegance to explore art.

The worry in Gu Ruoqing's eyes faded away, he nodded and said, "Since that's the case, then I'll just participate in this oiran competition."

The Ye family, who is in charge of the Jiangnan camp, is the target of Shengjiao's wooing. She needs to keep in touch with the Ye family to plan for the future.

Looking at the girl with a pure temperament, and pulling Gu Ruoqing's hand, Ye Nuan looked differently, and said with a smile: "With Ruoqing's talent, in this oiran competition, I will definitely win the first prize." Let me spread the name of Huanhualou to the south of the Yangtze River.”

Gu Ruoqing was uncomfortable with Ye Nuan's gaze, and said softly, "I will do my best."

Ye Nuan smiled, and asked softly: "Ruoqing, I heard that the Japanese king assassinated Yongning Bo, and you also witnessed it?"

Gu Ruoqing gave a "hmm" sound, with lingering fear still on his jade face, and said softly, "Nan Ling and I saw each other that day, the gangster broke into the reception room, intending to assassinate that Uncle Yongning, the two sides fought, bloody smell Filling the room..."

Ye Nuan quietly listened to the passing, his expression moved slightly, and he said softly: "Can you tell me, what happened to Yongning Bo? His martial prowess is really as good as what is preached in the streets and alleys of Yangzhou today?"

After the assassination by the king of the captives, and the robbery of the prison by the remnants of the Ma family, now everyone in Yangzhou knows that Jia Heng is brave.

Curiosity flashed across Gu Ruoqing's bright eyes, and he asked, "Why is Madam asking this?"

The first reaction was that it was a widowed woman, and she had other strange thoughts, but it seemed that she had never heard any scandalous anecdotes about the young lady of the Ye family who was a widow.

Ye Nuan smiled lightly, and said, "I'm also helping someone to ask, that person is a little curious about Uncle Yongning."

When he was in the Hou's Mansion earlier, his father asked him to use the spies in Yangzhou to help him inquire carefully, especially to inquire about some details about Jia Heng's stay in Yangzhou, Jiangbei Camp and the last assassination.

As she said that, she looked at Nan Ling with her charming and flowing eyes, and asked, "Miss Nan Ling also saw that day?"

"Ma'am, it was chaos that day, I didn't dare to look at it, but Yongningbo was very calm." Nan Ling said in a charming voice, the girl's eyes were shining, as if hiding stars.

Ye Nuan smiled, looked at the girl with the double bun, Nan Ling was too young, and said, "How did I hear that Wang Shouqi redeemed you and planned to give you to Yongning Bo?"

Nan Ling's eyes darkened all of a sudden, and he said: "That Uncle Yongning didn't like it, he didn't keep me."

Ye Nuan looked at Gu Ruoqing and said, "What does Ruoqing think of Yongningbo Jiaheng?"

Gu Ruoqing frowned, and said, "Ma'am, Uncle Yongning's martial arts are indeed extraordinary, and his strength is amazing, he is used to fighting on the battlefield."

Ye Nuan nodded, her beautiful eyes were thoughtful, and said: "In this way, I'm really a general."

Judging from other information, it is indeed brave and resourceful, and the force is extraordinary.

Gu Ruoqing's gaze was gloomy, and some bad memories seemed to well up in his heart, and he said, "It's just because you are not as good as the weaker crown, you can't help being arrogant and arrogant."

In the eyes of this Holy Maiden of the White Lotus, whether Jia Heng's words and deeds that day were good or the subsequent performance, the impression left on her was that she was domineering and ruthless.

Ye Nuan nodded, and said with a smile: "Anyone who is capable should always be proud. I heard that Wang Shouqi invited this Uncle Yongning for tomorrow's oiran contest. How about Ruoqing helping me introduce him tomorrow?"

Because her father's identity is a bit sensitive after all, especially since she has an agreement with the Liangjiang Governor's Yamen, she can't visit that Yongningbo directly at home, and she is a bridge between them.

This is the survival wisdom of Annan Hou Ye's family. Facing Liangjiang Governor Shen Fang, he had to cooperate with Shen Fang for the sake of a group of veteran generals, and find another person to show favor to Jia Heng in order to raise the price.

But in order to prevent Zhen Zhu from being looked down upon by others, he had no choice but to let his own daughter come out to hide.

Gu Ruoqing thought for a while, and said softly: "Then just look for an opportunity that day, but I don't know that Yongning uncle very well."

The junior sister is right next to that person, if it's really not possible, it's better to ask the junior sister to help me when the time comes.

While the two were discussing Jia Heng, Jia Heng, Chen Xiao and a group of guards from the Jinyi Mansion quietly returned to Yangzhou by fast boat.

At this moment, it was almost midnight, a round of dim yellow full moon hung in the middle of the sky, casting countless brilliance, the back hall of the Yanyuan yamen was brightly lit, and the shadows of people were reflected on the screen.

Qi Kun and Lin Ruhai sat opposite each other, drinking tea and talking.

Lin Ruhai put down the teacup, with a smile on his refined face, he said: "Master Ge, Ziyu is probably still on the way, it's not too late to discuss it tomorrow."

Qi Kun said: "It's okay, I'll just wait."

The arrest of Liu Shengzao, the envoy of the Lianghuai Salt Transport, and the uncovering of the case of the deficit of the Yangzhou Salt Transport Depot are of great importance. When he just received this letter, he felt his heart skip a beat.

Although thinking that Uncle Yongning was leading the decree, he would definitely thoroughly investigate the deficit of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Envoy, but he was still a little shocked and stunned by such a vigorous and decisive action.

This is to catch them all, leaving no one behind?
And when the two were sitting and talking, a guard from the Jinyi Mansion outside entered the hall, cupped his hands and said: "Master Lin, the supervisor of my family is here."

Qi Kun and Lin Ruhai got up one after another, but they saw Jia Heng who came from under the eaves, wearing the stars and the moon, and beside him were Chen Xiao and several guards in brocade clothes.

The lanterns hanging from the eaves of the corridor swayed with the wind, interlacing light and shadow from near and far, reflecting Wu Xun, a slender young man with sword eyebrows and bright eyes in a black and red python suit.

Because of the illumination of the candlelight against the lantern, the face under the brows of the young man was half-lit and half-dark, which made the originally clear and sharp face a little more solemn like a mountain abyss.

At this moment, although there is no visual sense of "every time I hear you, there is always a strong wind, and every time I see you, there is always thunder", but when Kui Ye comes, it really has a bit of an artistic conception of rushing about in a hurry.

Qi Kun stared at the boy with burning eyes, and called out, "Uncle Yongning."

Lin Ruhai also got up and looked at the boy in python suit, feeling a little excited.

After several months of entanglement, there is finally a glimmer of hope in clearing up the salt affairs!
After that, it was a thorough investigation of the criminals related to the deficit of the salt storage depot for many years.

Jia Heng nodded to the two of them and called out: "Old Qi Ge, Uncle Lin."

After being greeted by each other, they took their seats one after another, and the guards of the Jinyi Mansion offered fragrant tea, backed away slowly, and stood by their sabers.

Qi Kun looked silent for a moment, broke the silence, and asked: "Uncle Yongning, Liu Zhenfu said earlier that he could be arrested immediately, what's going on?"

Jia Heng looked at Liu Jixian who was standing with him, and said, "Liu Jixian, come and report to Elder Qi Ge in detail."

Liu Jixian picked up an official document of the Experience Department, read it by the light, and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Ge, in order to get a lighter punishment, the relevant criminals confessed to the case of the deficit of the Salt Transportation Department. All the eight general merchants in Yangzhou are on the list. Since the first year of Chongping, they have accumulated a huge deficit of tens of millions of taels by eating enough food without money and embezzling on credit. The deficit is so large that it is shocking. Collect with all our strength, and Liu Shengzao, Lord Liu, has been confirmed to be involved in the case, in order to prevent criminals from escaping, concealing, and destroying evidence, Jin Yi suggests arresting them quickly."

After Qi Kun listened to the briefing, he was silent for a moment. The cabinet minister looked at Jia Heng with clear eyes, and asked, "Uncle Yongning, if all the eight major salt merchants are involved in the case, how should the case be tried?"

Because Jia Heng had already taken the imperial decree and presented it to Qi Kun, he led the renovation of the Lianghuai salt business, which is justified, but the eight major salt business general merchants in Yangzhou were all wiped out. For civil officials like Qi Kun, it was a bit surprising. .

Jia Heng's face was silent, his voice was like a clang of gold and stone, and he said: "How to deal with it in the end depends on the Holy Majesty's will, and at least all the embezzled money must be recovered and returned to the warehouse. The actions of the relevant salt merchants in recent years will be punished according to the seriousness of the crime."

Qi Kun frowned, thinking about the impact of this case on Yangzhou Salt Affairs, and asked: "Uncle Yongning, how will we start tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow is August [-]th. Yangzhou salt merchants have invited Liu Shengzao to participate in the judging of the Oiran Competition. Tomorrow, Master Qi and I will lead the guards of the Jinyi House to take down Liu Shengzao, and then Master Qi can ask me for Jinyi in front of them. Intervene and investigate the long-standing malpractices of the salt business, and other salt merchants may not be arrested temporarily, but only monitored in the mansion, restricting access." Jia Heng said in a deep voice.

Qi Kun pondered for a moment and said, "This method is also good."

Arresting all the relevant criminals at once would probably cause panic in the Jiangnan area, which would be detrimental to the overall stability of the court, and the annual harvest of autumn grains would come again.

And only arrest Liu Shengzao, and deal with the relevant salt merchants after the relevant cases are found out, which can better stop Youyou's mouth.

Qi Kun turned to ask again: "I don't know how Yongningbo will rectify the salt affairs in the future, how to draw the latitude and longitude?"

Jia Heng smiled and said: "Elder Qi Ge, please be safe and don't be impatient. We will not be in a hurry to discuss this matter when the Salt Transport Department comes to recover the balance from the deficit."

Qi Kun heard the words, but he also realized in his heart that it is almost impossible to recover the method.

In the past few days, in fact, he was also thinking about the method of opening the middle, and it did have a fatal flaw, but how to change the salt affairs, I don't know what Jia Heng's idea is.

"Nowadays, the case of the salt shortage is bound to have an impact on the production and sales of the salt industry and the daily salt consumption of the common people. Yongningbo should have made early plans for the salt business." Qi Kun reminded.

Lin Ruhai smiled and said: "The new affairs of the Salt Law cannot be decided in a few words. After the corruption case of the Salt Transportation Department is investigated, it is not too late to make preparations."

Qi Kun nodded and said nothing else.

After Qi Kun left, Jia Heng and Lin Ruhai were left in the back hall for a while, talking.

Lin Ruguan asked earnestly, "Ziyu, did you go to the Zhen family the day before yesterday? What did the Zhen family say?"

Jia Heng said: "The old lady of the Zhen family said a lot of good things, but the Jiangnan camp has already rectified its military affairs under the leadership of Liangjiang Governor's Yamen. In order to inspect the deputy envoys of the navy, exercise the navy, redeploy the defense of the river, strictly investigate the coast, and strictly guard against the spies of Jurchen spies."

Now, the Yamen of the Governor of Liangjiang and An Nanhou have first rectified the two guards of the navy, repaired the boats, and prepared to strengthen the defense of the river. At this moment, the military envoy is Zhen Zhu.

Well, Zhen Zhu finally fulfilled his dream of being the Deputy Envoy of the Naval Battalion, and he can lead the army alone and show his ambitions by solving the treatment of the third rank.

After Jia Heng heard this letter, Zhen Qing, who came over to make amends, bounced a dozen times in a row, causing her hands to wrap her arms around Jia Heng's millstone for a while, and bit Jia Heng lightly like a mother cat who has just become a kitten. A bite on the neck.

As for Zhen Shao, he reported leave to Liangjiang Governor's Mansion, and did not accept Liangjiang Governor's Yamen's appointment as the envoy of Zhenhai according to the old lady Zhen's request.

Lin Ruhai frowned, and said in a cold voice, "The Zhen family is indeed going too far."

This kind of political treachery has always been despised by officials, and it is also broken, or it cut off Jia Heng's arrangement.

Jia Heng said: "Uncle, the Zhen family's actions cannot last long."

Keep a distance from the Zhen family, but it doesn't have to be uncoupled, and Mopan also took good care of him a few times in the past two days.

Lin Ruhai thought for a while, and reminded: "Ziyu, when the emperor was in Qiandi, he didn't like Zhen's family very much. Relying on the emperor's favor, they ran rampant in the south of the Yangtze River. They once asked for a thorough investigation of the body and benevolence courtyard. Not being watched by the emperor."

Jia Heng asked: "Is there anything else?"

Lin Ruhai said in a deep voice: "When the Son of Heaven was in the hidden mansion, he saw that I was a big man with internal and external troubles. I was strong on the outside and hard on the inside. I wanted to do a lot of things, but I couldn't do it."

Jia Heng said with emotion: "After the Holy Majesty succeeds to the throne, it is not easy."

Lin Ruhai laid the groundwork for a while, and finally persuaded secretly: "Ziyu seems to have a close relationship with the Zhen family. Of course, the Zhen family is a family friend, so it's not easy to cut them off at once, but if we can use the army to alienate them, it is also an opportunity. .”

In the officialdom, if there is no clear-cut opposition, it is called cutting, and estrangement is a certain degree of cutting.

Jia Heng put on a face and said: "Uncle, I will pay attention."

He was using the Zhen family in the first place, and what he wanted was to wait for him to personally copy the Zhen family, and the Zhen family would thank him, and Mopan would not blame him.

Well, all the good things can be said, and all the bad things can be done.

After Lin Ruhai expressed his intention of persuasion, he stopped. Because he was suspected of teaching an important military minister to do things, he asked softly: "How is the Jiangbei camp? Have you ever had all the weapons and soldiers paid?"

Jia Hengdao: "Today, the soldiers of the Jiangbei Camp have been fully compensated, and the relevant generals and schools who were greedy for the soldiers' salaries have paid nearly one million taels of money. For training, the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing has urgently raised a wave of soldiers' salaries to recruit soldiers, which should be able to provide a real number of soldiers, and the [-] soldiers in the Jiangbei Camp will be ready in a short time."

He plans to try out the system of serving in different places in Yangzhou and Henan, mobilize once a year, and then use other methods to appease the morale of the army.

There is a problem with serving in a different place. Soldiers are homesick, and the bureaucratic system deceives the top and the bottom, stirring up mutiny.

For example, Pang Xun's Guilin Rebellion, with hundreds of soldiers from Guilin to Xuzhou, directly cut off the Jianghuai River, pushed down the first domino of the Tang Dynasty's downfall, and then brewed the Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao Rebellion.

However, Yangzhou is not as difficult as Guilin. I am afraid that Henan soldiers will be lost in the Qinhuai wind and moon soon.

As for the Nanjing household department, Tan Jie from the Nanjing household department has been more diligent than anyone since he said the words of Yilidong. I got silver taels.

Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "Ziyu is the best at these military affairs, so I won't talk about it."

After finishing talking with Lin Ruhai, Jia Heng and Chen Xiao returned to the courtyard where they lived. The slim and beautiful girl cast a pair of clear eyes at the young man, and said in a low voice: "If the salt storehouse is empty, you can recover a lot of money. Use soldiers next year." I have all the silver."

"After you have the money, you can rebuild the naval division, and when you go to the north, you can also support the army." Jia Heng paused slightly.

Chen Xiao asked: "With the current national strength, can we really regain the old land of Liaodong?"

Although the young man in front of him is a little messy about men and women, he has extraordinary knowledge in matters of military affairs.

Jia Heng shook his head, his eyes seemed to pass through the quiet moonlight, cast his eyes on the vast grassland in the north, and said softly: "If everything goes well, it will take at least five years, maybe a long time." Some, even ten years."

Chen Xiao also looked at the bright moon that was sinking in the sky, and murmured: "Five years and ten years, is it so long?"

If he can really recover the old land of Liaodong, then the prestige will be high, and with that suspicion, he will definitely not be tolerated. At that time, he will take back the throne with the prestige of a great victory, and the world will be able to ignore his origin. Disgraceful.

Jia Heng turned to look at the girl with a thoughtful look on her pure and beautiful face, and called out: "Xiaoxiao."

At some point, he felt that the daughter of King Zhou became his helper. When did it start?Perhaps it was that time...to taste the soup?After all, ten drops of blood, blood is thicker than water.

Chen Xiao withdrew her chaotic thoughts, her clear eyes reflected the youthful and strange appearance, she frowned and said, "What are you calling me for?"

Jia Heng stretched out his hand, patted Chen Xiao's shoulder lightly, and said warmly: "When things are settled here, let's walk around, you've been haggard a lot during this time."

Sometimes I feel that the girl in front of me is living out of hatred and has no relatives, which is quite pitiful.

Chen Xiao: "..."

This man teased her again, right?
After all, I was surprised many times on the spot, and I have some understanding of some of Jia Heng's "tricks".

Just meeting those warm eyes, the sincerity in the depths of the eyes was undisguised, and an uncontrollable warmth surged in my heart, but the jade face was frosty, and I glanced at the young man with cold eyes, and said in a low voice: "Sister Lin, Qing'er, and Xue'er who are with you, go for a walk."

In Jinling for a few days, apart from baa-baa, she was messing around with the two demon concubines, and it was not unusual for her to be squeezed dry by the two demon concubines one day.

……

……

While Jia Heng and Chen Xiao were talking, on the distant coastline from Chongmingsha Estuary to Tongzhou Port, the sea was calm, only a bright moon hung high above the sky with few stars, and a ship with a deep draft The sails of the sea-going ships, the masts hung high, swelled with the sea wind, and the sound of "cracking" from the breaking water of the boats spread far away.

On the bow of the ship, several figures stood impressively. Prince Duoduo of Emeritus Jin Yu was dressed in military uniform, with a sword on his waist, looking into the distance, with a somewhat pale face, gloomy like iron.

Next to him are Yan Qing, the leader of the Jinsha Gang, Qin Dong, the leader of the Four Seas Gang, and Shangguan Rui, the leader of the Nujiao Gang, but they are all wearing Jurchen standard armor, and the 300 people of Zhengbaiqi Yiniulu are around Standing mixed with several pirate forces, it was really hard to tell them apart for a while.

After some mediation and pressure from Duoduo, many pirates such as the Jinsha Gang, the Four Seas Gang, and the Nujiao Gang, who are active in the Nanyang maritime trade, gathered for profit. About 8000 people rode 30 Many ships approached Tongzhou Port.

Duoduo stared into the distance, and said coldly: "Everyone, what the king said just now, the navy and soldiers of Chongming Station were completely defenseless, and the battlements did not even give warnings, which shows that the guards along the coast are negligent and negligent. We are vulnerable, and when I annihilate the Zhenhaiwei in Tongzhou Port, we will be able to go straight to Jinling."

Of course, those present knew that this was pure nonsense, how could it be possible to take down Chen Han's southern capital with only 8000 of them, but as long as they plundered the coastal cities, the gains would not be small.

At this time, Shangguan Rui's face was solemn, and Weng Sheng said in a tone of voice: "My lord Yu, there are quite a few naval divisions in Tongzhou Port, at least 1 people."

"Shangguan Gangzhu is too worried. The Zhenhai Guard in Tongzhou Port has been out of battle for a long time in recent years, and they are all old and weak." Deng Biao, who was beside Duoduo, said.

The little novice from the Gourd Temple said: "I'm afraid that all the way to Jinling will be flat, and the old capital of Chen and Han can be conquered in one fell swoop, and the Southern Kingdom will be settled, just around the corner."

Qin Dong, the leader of the Four Seas Gang, said: "There is still a soldier in the Jiangbei camp, and besides, there are many infantry in Jinling, and there are many guards around. It is impossible for us alone."

If it weren't for the fact that they were driven by the maritime trade interests of the Prince Donglu, and it was just that they pretended to be Jurchens, this muddy water would be really difficult to navigate.

Duoduo said in a cold voice: "Jiangbei Camp is also nothing to worry about, and there are almost no naval forces. Besides, even if we can't attack Jiangbei Camp, the counties along the coast are all prosperous and prosperous places, so this trip is worthwhile." gone."

Hearing this, all the pirates present felt a surge of enthusiasm in their hearts.

Anyway, when the Jurchens who fought tough battles with the government and army, they just stood by and cheered, this was a lucrative business.

(End of this chapter)