I'm watching the gate in the jail

In a certain tea house outside Xunzhou City, the two Wang girls who didn't know that they were already in the center of the public opinion storm in the city were sitting on the couch, holding their heavy burdens, watching vigilantly at the one sitting in the corner of the room who was drinking tea. man.

In order to avoid a blind date with the group of people from Shi Laozi's "Sijin Restaurant", the two of them climbed over the wall and left the palace early in the morning, desperately running out of the city.

As a result, before leaving the city, he was stopped by these people, knocked unconscious and taken away.

When she woke up just now, Miss Wang panicked and thought that she and her cousin had encountered bandits, and she was afraid that they would lose money and life.

Who knew that they just warned them not to scream, and they didn't tie them up, so they didn't care.

Although Miss Wang is used to wielding knives and guns on weekdays, she likes to dress up like a man. When she ran away from home, she and her cousin also wore men's clothes.But in fact, he never went out alone at all.

Encountering such a situation is also panic, not knowing how to deal with it.

On the other hand, the cousin calmed down, and comforted her by saying that the big deal would be that she met a bandit, and since the two of them just extorted money from the Wang family, there would be no danger of their lives.

Quan Dang escaped for nothing this time, at most he was sent back to Wang's house and locked up.

Anyway, now both the uncle and aunt already know that the two of them are congenial, if they force the marriage again, they will just die, what a big deal.

Miss Wang hugged Second Miss Wang and thought that it was true, at worst she would die and be reincarnated.In her next life, she must be reincarnated as a man, and be a real couple with her cousin.

"You go."

Just as the two were thinking this way, two bareheaded men walked in outside the door, one of them looked at the older one and said to them.

Miss Wang couldn't believe her ears.

"Oh, this one's for you."

A young bald man next to the old bald man took out two books from his pocket and handed them to her.

"This is……"

Miss Wang looked at the things in her hand and was stunned.

"You don't have a guide, how do you get out of the city?"

The old bald man looked at the two fake mandarin ducks with great amusement.

"Remember, don't stay in Guangxi. Leave Lingnan and go as far north as you can. Don't come back."

Miss Wang opened the guide and found that the above two names were completely unfamiliar.

However, the most important thing is... In her job as a guide, the gender is actually a man.

"Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

Miss Wang doesn't remember knowing these two bald heads.

"This is given to you by my master. He blesses you... white, grow old forever."

The old bald man spoke with a distorted expression on his face.

Hey, it's better to be an eunuch, these chaotic relationships between men and women are simply dizzying.

"May I ask who is your master?"

Miss Wang stood up and bowed to the two of them, "He is the nobleman of our sisters, and I will repay him in the future."

"This... If you have the opportunity to go to the capital, you may have the opportunity to meet him."

The old bald man smiled and did not reveal any more information.

"Let's go, we won't be able to leave the city any later. Master Wang is planning to set up a net to catch you, if you don't leave, it will be too late."

He ordered his men to open the door.

The two Wang girls nodded gratefully at him and walked out quickly.

Finally, relying on these two false road guides, the two left the city gate and walked towards the main road.

They want to rush to the next town to lodge before dark.Otherwise, encountering a real bandit road tyrant is no joke.

"Cousin, tell me, who is that 'noble man' who helped us?"

Miss Wang held a sword in one hand, and asked the second girl's arm with the other.

This cousin was smart and smart since she was a child. Contrary to her always reckless, she has a delicate heart.

Miss Wang Er thought about the men in the room just now, and she had some doubts about their identities.Hearing them talk about the "capital city", I guessed it more or less.

As for the people who suddenly appeared in the entire Xunzhou City recently, people related to the capital, and those who have been to the Wang family, he must not think of doing anything but "that person".

if it is like this.

Second Miss Wang paused, turned her head in horror, and looked at Xunzhou City not far away.

The man said: Don't stay in Guangxi, leave Lingnan and go north...

Is it...

"what happened?"

Miss Wang saw that her complexion was not good, and asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Uncle, he..."

Although the second girl Wang was raised in a deep boudoir, she had heard a little about the uncle's business.

That person... That's right, the shopkeeper Wan from the capital, even though he let them both go, he won't let his uncle go.

She held Miss Wang's arm tightly, trying to tell all the guesses.

It's just that these thousands of words hit the throat, and finally swallowed it into the stomach.

Going back is just a dead end.

It's better to kill a way out, now and then, rely on yourself!

"I am fine."

Second Miss Wang shook her head and smiled, "Let's go."

"it is good."

"Go to the capital."

"Go wherever you say."

The orange-red sunset was slowly setting towards the west mountain little by little, illuminating the decisive backs of the two women.

The magistrate's mansion is in the southwest corner of Xunzhou City, next to the government office.

The current magistrate, Lord Lu Qiao, was appointed by Tianshun in the eighth year. He has only been in Guangxi for two years, but he has already been in the water like a fish in water. It is completely different from the previous one who died at the hands of rebels.

One day in late May, Wang Zheng and his party, together with the magistrate of the county, Mr. Wei, and Wang Yuanwai, who was a little out of his mind, came to the mansion of the magistrate.

Those who arrived one step ahead of them were Mei Qianzhang and Wanda who had already changed their appearances and pretended to be servants of the Lu family, and Yang Xiuxian and Gao Hui who were squatting behind the rockery.

Although Mei Qianzhang repeatedly reiterated that his make-up disguise technique is invincible in the world, it is impossible to be seen through.Wanda still touched the layer of rice soup skin on her face with some concern.

A few days ago, when Pan Xing and Gao Hui were exchanging martial arts, they accidentally revealed that they would visit the prefect with Wang Zheng at the end of the month.

The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.

Knowing Wang Zheng, Wang Yuanwai and others, Wanda and others, who had colluded with local officials, immediately began to deploy for tonight.

Mei Qianzhang squatted on the wall of the backyard of the prefect of Lu for several days, and observed that there were two young and handsome servants.

He took the opportunity to approach and lure them to gamble and drink with himself.He deliberately lost a lot of money to them, and the three of them quickly became one.

These two people really couldn't support the wall with mud, knowing that there would be a distinguished guest at night, they still followed him to play Shuanglu and touch dominoes under the bridge in the city in the afternoon.

He won a lot of silver back and forth, and as soon as he was happy, he proposed to invite Mei Qianzhang to drink.

After drinking this, it is estimated that if you don't sleep until tomorrow afternoon, you won't be able to wake up.

After hanging out with them for more than half a month, Mei Qianzhang has a clear understanding of the appearance and figure of the two, and even the tone of their speech.

After moving the drunken two to the tea room, he took off their clothes, and then hurried back to the hotel to put makeup on Wanda and himself.

Half an hour later, two drunk young servants knocked on the back door of Lu's house, and after being scolded by the housekeeper, they rushed to the back kitchen to work.

Seeing that his identity was not suspected at all, Wanda and Mei Qianzhang winked at each other, brought tea and snacks, and went to the front hall to entertain the distinguished guests.

Prefect Lu is a person with great zest for life.

Xunzhou at the end of May was already quite lively.Fortunately, it was night, and the place where the banquet was held was a pavilion next to the water. The evening breeze came, carrying a hint of coolness, blowing away the heat, and it was cool and elegant.

Following in the footsteps of the other servants, the two walked while looking at the layout of the Lu Mansion.

Although this Lu Mansion is located in the southwest corner of Xunzhou City, the east side of the house is a highland, and there is a natural hill in the mansion with verdant flowers and trees.

If you climb up early in the morning, you can still see the entire city of Xunzhou Prefecture illuminated by the morning light.

At the bottom of the hill, an artificial lake was dug here to draw in the running water from outside the city.A water pavilion was built in the middle of the lake, surrounded by a lotus leaf.It was the end of May, and there were already blossoming lotus blooming.

The sound of water, wrapped in elegant Kunqu opera, came not far from the waterside pavilion. The sound is clear and melodious, just like the sound of heaven, with the feeling of winding around the beam for three days.

If there is no mistake, these two people are the two girls who were sent to Lu's residence by Wang Zheng half a year ago.

They are all from Yangzhou, and they are "skinny horses" specially bought by Wang Yuanwai from his hometown of Yangzhou. Needless to say how they look, with this Su Baikun accent, I am afraid that there is no second one in the whole world of Guangxi.

Prefect Lu is over sixty this year, and his grandson is about to get married.In his words, he has no interest in female sex for a long time, but he is more Kunqiang, more antique, and even more charming.

That being the case, of course Wang Zheng and the others had to do what they liked.

The two girls were singing far away in the water, and the one standing beside Grandpa Lu was the boy who was sent with them.

According to Yang Xiuxian and Qiu Zijin, Grandpa Lu was originally from southern Fujian.

This is a magical land, especially good for the south wind.

Before the men over there get married, they usually make friends with brothers and sisters.There are even parents who decide to make a bond for their son.You have to ask about the date of birth, the character of the other party in advance, and then hold the ceremony.

These Qi brothers, their behavior and life are no different from husband and wife, and it is said that they also act like husband and wife.But it does not delay people getting married and having children, studying and progressing...

Wanda, a northerner, was taken aback when he heard that, and he could only lament how wonderful the sons and daughters of the south are.

What surprised Wanda the most was that the children of these people also recognized each other as relatives.They interact with each other like a family.

The atmosphere in Fujian is like this, outsiders are dumbfounded, but locals take it for granted, and feel that outsiders are ignorant.

In the middle of the month, after the elopement of the two Wang girls, Wanda felt that his mind had undergone a cleansing.

Who knows that the flushing of the soul is usually not too much.Now I saw that the wrinkles on Mr. Lu's face could kill a fly, and he was holding the hand of his little brother who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old and was prettier than a girl, and said "brother" one by one, Wanda felt like she was going to throw up.

Comrades of the Ming Dynasty, can you not be so fierce.

600 years ago, did our country’s foundation business go on so prosperously?

Thinking of this, Wanda couldn't help but feel his heart move.His eyes couldn't stop looking at the ambush on the other side of the rockery.

But the next moment, he was a little shaken.

Forget it, let's talk about this kind of personal relationship after the things in Guangxi are settled.

What he didn't know was that what he thought was also what Yang Xiuxian thought.

Shocked by the astonishing actions of the two girls from the Wang family, Lord Fusi Yang of Beizhen decided to express his heart to Wanda once he returned to the capital.

He always has a feeling that he should not be unrequited love.

The servants put seven or eight dishes of wine, food and snacks on the table one by one, and were about to turn around and leave.Wanda and Mei Qianzhang looked at each other, thinking how to find an excuse to stay and listen to these people.

After all, Mei Qianzhang had more experience in the world. He picked up the jug familiarly, walked up to Lu Zhifu, and poured wine for everyone one by one.

Wanda stood behind Wang Zheng cheekily, smiling flatteringly at Master Lu.

Prefect Lu put his arms around the beautiful boy in his arms, squinted his eyes and glanced at them, remembering that they were indeed servants of the mansion, and he often heard the housekeeper say that they were not serious children and that they could not be taught well.

However, both of them are young men, and they are considered handsome, so standing here is not a sight to behold.

Master Lu thought to himself: I thought that these two people must know my hobbies, master, and they took the initiative to "show off", so I couldn't help but smile wretchedly.

Then let them stand here to add wine and food to everyone, not much to say.

"Master Lu, are these children still useful to you?"

Wang Zheng sat on the lower head of Prefect Lu, raised his wine glass and asked.

"It is useful, especially useful."

Master Lu drank the fine wine in his glass.

Mei Qianzhang cleverly added it for him immediately, and Master Lu looked at him with satisfaction, thinking that he hadn't noticed it on weekdays.

Mei Qianzhang was covered in goosebumps when he looked at her. After pouring the wine, she stood back and exchanged a chilling expression with Wanda.

"This time Wang and Wang Yuanwai came here mainly to ask about Yanyin."

Wang Zheng took a look at Wang Yuanwai, who was still a little out of his mind, and regretted bringing him here today.

Speaking of this king, although his daughter and niece committed such a rebellious thing, they were hit hard.

But what hit him even more was that that night, when he was tidying up the study with his sick body and the housekeeper Wang Zhong, he searched for a long time and found that those crucial books were missing.

Those few books are not only related to his business in Guangxi, but also are inextricably linked with the state capital, county government, and officials in Beijing.

Once it falls into the hands of others, the consequences will be disastrous.

The two were so frightened that they turned on the lamp and searched, wishing to turn over the study room, but they couldn't find it.

Compared with that, her daughter's little mess is nothing.

The two of them had been busy all night, and finally Wang Yuanwai couldn't hold on any longer, so he went back to his room to take a nap in the middle of the night.

Unexpectedly, the next morning, the housekeeper said that the thing was found, and it was in the big porcelain vase that the lady pushed down before.

Found this morning.

Wang Yuanwai finally let go of his hanging heart at that time, turned around and began to search for the two dead girls.

But in the past few days, he has become more and more uneasy.

He remembered that he clearly looked into that big porcelain vase that day, and even reached into it to take out. There should be nothing at that time.

What surprised Wang even more was that every time he finished keeping the accounts, he would insert a beard into the last page.If the beard disappears when you open it next time, you will know that it must have fallen into someone else's hands, so be prepared to be on guard.

But in these lost and recovered account books, there is no beard.

Although he could not rule out that when the two maids made a mess in the study, the beards caught in the booklet were lost.

And after waiting for nearly half a month, nothing seemed to happen.

But that feeling of uneasiness is always with me.

It made him unable to eat and sleep, and within a short period of time, he lost a lot of weight.

He is entangled here in every possible way, but others only think that he has lost his daughter and is burning with anxiety.

Wang Zheng hinted many times, asking him to toast the county master and the magistrate, but he remained indifferent.There was nothing he could do to teach Wang Zheng, he could only lament that he had miscalculated today.

"Didn't Yanyin already send it out?"

On such a beautiful day, with a beautiful woman by his side, this group of businessmen with a stinky suit don't talk about sex and moon, but talk about some bad topics, which makes people very annoyed.

"Yes, yes, Wang made a slip of the tongue."

Wang Zheng made an apology and drank a cup by himself.

"Although Yanyin is already in hand, but... Wang Yuanwai and I have been waiting for 'shouzhi' for almost a year. It's not that we are in a hurry, but that the next families from all over the world are urging us. It's really embarrassing for me to wait. .”

As mentioned above, the salt affairs of the Ming Dynasty, from the founding of the country to the first year of Chenghua, adopted the "opening Chinese method".

According to the open method, the sale of salt is divided into three steps: the report, the keeping and the last step of the market.

"Baozhong" means that the salt merchants transported the grain and grass to the place where the frontier army was stationed according to the requirements of the imperial court bulletin, so as to obtain the salt quotation certificate.

"Shouzhi" is the second step. Salt merchants rely on salt quotations to go to the salt farm to withdraw the corresponding table salt.

After that, the salt is sold in the market, which is the so-called "market exchange".

According to the geographical location of Guangxi, there are two Haibei salt fields, located in Leizhou and Lianzhou.

In the autumn of last year, Wang Yuanwai and Wang Zheng had already transported grain, grass and cloth that far exceeded the quota to the treasury of the state capital and the treasury of the frontier army respectively.Shiobiki's words were delayed until the beginning of this year.

Almost a year has passed since the preparation of food and grass, and the two salt farms in Haibei have not sent out the corresponding amount of private salt, which has made them unable to go out to trade for a long time.

"What do you mean by Mr. Wang's words? Do you think that the old man deliberately suppressed the salt for you? You have only waited for a year. Those salt farms in the north have waited for three to five years, or even ten years. Eight years is not unusual."

"Yeah, after all, the imperial court can distribute salt indiscriminately, but the kitchen households can only produce so much salt a year, and everyone has to queue up, not just you."

The magistrate took a mouthful of food and said along the way.

Wanda was stunned to hear that these two "parent officials" were so brazen.

Isn't the significance of "opening the Chinese law" to use the enthusiasm of businessmen to mobilize the economic development of various places?

As a result, the state capitals in various places took other people's grain and grass, and did not give others salt. Merchants were trapped at the border and could not return to the inland to continue trading goods.

If things go on like this, the enthusiasm of the businessmen will be hit, and the violation of the open-China law is only one of the results.

What's more serious is that the official salt sale is delayed, and salt cannot be bought through normal channels in various places, or the price of salt rises as a result, and private salt will soon fill the gap.

Sure enough, Master Lu's subsequent words confirmed his thoughts.

"Anyway, the 'surplus salt' that Mr. Wang should collect is all collected. It won't delay your business."

The so-called "surplus salt" is actually private salt.

The folk households who cook sea salt on the seashores of various places, including the inland Zigong well salt, are called "stove households".

The kitchen households have also been inherited from generation to generation. They have never farmed the land, but are only responsible for producing salt.The salt produced will be handed over to the government according to the quota, and this part will be the so-called "official salt" in the future.

Then the excess salt after handing over is the so-called "surplus salt".

Where did the extra salt go?

If you eat it yourself, you will definitely not be able to eat it all. Naturally, it has entered the market through some channels, and has become a "private salt" that has been strictly prohibited in the past dynasties, but has been repeatedly banned.

Wang Yuanwai and Wang Zheng, one is a "Yan Yin" who specializes in salt, and the other is responsible for buying the "surplus salt" from the kitchen households.

At that time, the two sides will work together, and the official salt will be sold with private salt.

Because of the serious license plate, the government can't crack down even if it wants to.

Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, those who could sell and buy private salt were definitely not the green forests and grasslands, but the aristocratic families from all over the world.

More than ten years ago, Wang Zheng took advantage of the instability of the country, the "Civil Fort Change" and the "Seize the Gate Change" occurred one after another, and officials had no time to look south, and gradually came into contact with this business.

It has gradually grown in Guangxi, and now it is the only one.

For more than ten years, the magistrate and county magistrate of Xunzhou prefecture seem to have changed.Some are willing to study the business together with him.

As for those who are unwilling to cooperate... the rebels and bandits on the mountain are not reasonable people.

In Guangxi, the casualty rate of magistrates is much higher than that of the important towns in the north.

Of course, Wang Zheng is not a fool, if he really dares to start his own business and sell private salt alone.It is estimated that as soon as he walked out of Lingnan, he was surrounded by officers and soldiers.

No matter how capable the Wang family's caravan is, it can't compete with the regular army of the imperial court.

"Master Lu, smart people don't speak secretly. You also get a commission in this business. We can't get salt, and the salt can't leave Guangxi, which will also affect your income."

Wang Zheng narrowed his eyes and smiled.

This Mr. Lu's commission is amazing. He and Wang Yuanwai split the bill [-]-[-]. In addition, they have to take [-]% separately to contribute to the prefect and county magistrate respectively.

In addition to the fixed commission, the four festivals of the year, the birthdays of the chief and relatives, the marriage of children, and even the death of a concubine, they all have to "express".It is also necessary to do what it likes, sending all kinds of antique calligraphy and paintings, beautiful children and beautiful maidservants to show "filial piety".

Now Master Lu has collected the money, but he doesn't arrange for the salt farm's guard and expenditure treasury. Apart from deliberately taking Joe, he wants to share more benefits.Wang Zheng couldn't think of any other reason.

"It's not that I deliberately made it difficult for you, master. Master also has his difficulties."

Prefect Lu took the hand of the pretty boy beside him, and touched his chest.

"There is news from the imperial court that the bandit-hunting army formed in Nanjing will soon set off to Guangxi to suppress the bandits. I guess it will happen next month. As for the imperial court this time, the food and grass are clearly insufficient. More or less, we need Raise grain and grass locally. The amount of grain and grass that you handed over to the treasury last time is far from enough."

"What's the point of being urged by the next family? My lord, I'm being urged by the court every day."

Master Lu put down his wine glass and cupped his hands towards the north.

Hearing that he casually told the court secrets to Wang Zheng and Wang Yuanwai, two businessmen, Wanda and Yang Xiuxian, who was squatting on the rockery not far away, were speechless.

"If you don't do this, you can double the amount of rice, and I'll ask Beihai to send you salt. As long as the food and grass are ready, I'd rather not take a commission. How about it?"

Prefect Lu said very rascally.

"Suppressing bandits...it's not like they haven't been suppressed before."

Wang Yuanwai finally came back to his senses, and said dryly, "In the eighth year of Tianshun, he fought so hard, it wouldn't affect the defense."

Isn't it just troublesome bandits?

If the bandits are not suppressed, where will the magistrate's "filial piety" come from?

If you don’t pay the fee, how will you charge the camp protection fee?

The group of people on the mountain came down to rob every now and then, and they, the businessmen who are resident in Guangxi, are not used to it yet.

It's been more than ten years, and I haven't heard of any business being wiped out by the bandits.

Why so much fanfare this time?

"That time it was the power of the two provinces, this time it was the power of the whole country, can it be the same?"

Prefect Lu sighed, stood up, and looked around this magnificent mansion.

Although he has only been in business here for two years, looking at everything in the mansion, everything is meticulously carved, showing the elegance of Mr. Lu everywhere.

Looking at the pavilions, there are all Zhulan flower thresholds, carved beams and painted buildings.Looking at the water, the lotus fragrance bursts out, and the water waves are clear.Looking at the rockery, it is exquisite and emerald, and the mountains are green.

It's a pity that once the war is launched, no matter how beautiful the scenery is, it will be burned.

But what did it matter to him?

As long as he is not caught by the court over the past few years, in the final analysis, he is just lax in governing the state, which is nothing more than a crime of "dereliction of duty and laissez-faire".

On the left, there were few places more remote than Guangxi in the Ming Dynasty.The bottom one is Hainan Qiongzhou.

Anyway, in these years, all that can be earned has been earned, and even going home for the elderly is a good place to go.

Master Lu sat down, put his arms around his young "brother", and said with a smile.

"Master Wang, I know that you have friendship with the one on the mountain. How should I put it, this time it may be 'doomed'. Wang Yuanwai is from Huaiyang, and he can run back to his hometown before the army arrives. What about you... …you have to think about the next step for yourself.”

After the master finished speaking, he also felt a little disappointed.

So he served tea to see off the guests, and went back to the room with his "brother" in his arms.

Wang Zheng and Wang Yuanwai bid farewell to the magistrate at the door, and the faces of the two were very different from each other.

If what Lu Zhifu said was true, then it would be a catastrophe for their business.

If it is said that Wang Yuan, who is a native of the south of the Yangtze River, at least has a place to retreat, and at worst go back to Yangzhou and start all over again.

Then Wang Zheng, who is a Yao, will face an even harsher situation.

Wanda and Mei Qianzhang went back to the teahouse and put their clothes back on.

Gao Hui came in, carried them out one by one in each hand, and threw them into the backyard of Lu's mansion.

After dealing with the aftermath, Wanda washed his face, went downstairs, and looked at everyone present with livid faces.

"Who are you?"

The first question was Mei Qianzhang.

After a night of investigation, Mei Qianzhang, no matter how stupid she was, could detect the extraordinary identities of these people.

He originally thought that these people might be inspectors, but quickly overturned his idea.

To listen to the movements of the officials, to monitor the ministers, and to arrest the thieves.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were only two institutions that could do such a thing—Dongchang and Jinyiwei.

Don't tell others, but Xiaoqiu had "sleeped in the same bed" with him. Whether he is an eunuch or not, I couldn't be more clear about it.

There is only one possibility left.

"Yes, we are Jin Yiwei."

Wanda raised his chin and sighed, "Jinyi's army is in command of the envoy, Jinyiwei of Beizhen Fusi."