With the arrival of Lin Haoran, the entire Yangzhou city seemed to be in turmoil. As if in the blink of an eye, April has quietly passed, May is approaching, and there is only one last night left in April.

In the Yangzhou Mansion Jail, the air was filled with the smell of urine.

Unlike the other cells, the cells attached here are cleanly cleaned up, not like cells, but rather like relatively simple rooms.

There were three holes side by side in the high wall opposite, and the moonlight shone through the holes, making the dark cell shine.

Whether it is a relative of the emperor or an ordinary Li people, in the face of changes in the environment, they are often able to slowly adapt to it, and then no longer reject this kind of life.

Xu Yuanji had long been accustomed to the smell of the cell, and because he had rested enough during the day, looking at the bright cell, he suddenly lost sleep. After tossing and turning, he sat up from the bed, but in his hand he had a letter in his hand.

He returned to his hometown in Songjiang from Nanjing, passing through the drunken city of Yangzhou, thinking that it would be his merry and happy place, but he did not want to be locked up in this cell for seven whole days.

He is the son of Xu Zhi, the secretary of Dali Temple in Nanjing, and his uncle is the first assistant Xu Jie, who is the head of the world, and he is the little overlord that no one dares to provoke in Nanzhili, but he was locked up by this salt patrol.

As if the world had forgotten them, for seven days here, no one dared to let them out except for the Yangzhou Commander's Guard, who had tried to rescue him.

At this time, he had to admit that this Lord Qincha also had amazing capital, so that he could not give his father a little face, or even sell his uncle's face.

Fortunately, all these years of waiting finally had a response, and the letter from Nanking finally arrived in his hands tonight, and brought him good news.

Chen Gongzi is even more difficult, Guo Pu, the biggest backer behind his father, the former official of the Ministry of Shangshu, has fallen, and he has no strength to argue with Lin Haoran.

In the past few days, their cell has been adjusted by the official Yu Changqing, and tonight he was finally assigned to the same cell with Xu Yuanji, and he also noticed the abnormality after Xu Yuanji came back.

At this time, seeing that Xu Yuanji had an extra letter in his hand, his eyes immediately lit up slightly, and he got up from the bed and asked, "Brother Xu, but Xu Siqing replied?" ”

The relationship between the two is far from being called a brother and a brother, it has always been a relationship of flattery and flattery, and Chen Xian seems to have climbed Xu Zhi and Xu Jiejie through this line.

Xu Yuanji went through this prison disaster, and his relationship with Chen Gongzi was also a lot closer, so he beckoned to Chen Gongzi. When Chen Gongzi came over, he also regained the confidence of the first son of Nanzhili in the past and said: "We will be able to go out soon!" ”

"Really?" Hearing this, Chen Gongzi's eyes immediately widened.

You know, Lin Haoran didn't know what kind of bear heart and leopard gall he ate, and he refused to give anyone face at all. Even if Yangzhou Wei commanded Yang Lai to use force, the result was that he was able to drive Yangzhou Wei Tong to know Xu San'an for his use, and then no one could rescue them.

But now, Xu Yuanji said that they would soon be able to get out, and they would soon be able to get rid of this stinking cell and go to the girl in Mingchun Building to be merry and happy, how could he not feel ecstatic?

Xu Yuanji was very satisfied with Chen Gongzi's reaction, and said confidently like the high-ranking noble son in the past: "The current Shangshu Yin Tai of the Ministry of Rites is his teacher, and my father has already asked him to be a lobbyist, and now he is on his way to Yangzhou!" ”

"Xu Siqing is really amazing!" Chen Gongzi was determined in his heart, and immediately gave a thumbs up.

In this era of heaven and earth, as long as Yin Tai is willing to come forward, even if Lin Haoran is the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, then he must give Yin Tai a little face. If not, he himself will be stained with the stain of disrespecting his teacher, and he will be attacked by all the people who read the world.

The thought of being able to go out immediately, and soon to go to Mingchun Building to enjoy that kind of drunken life, made Chen Gongzi no longer sleepy, and the whole person seemed very excited.

At this moment, there was some movement on the straw mat in the cell next door, and a young man in a prison uniform sat up, but he didn't know if he was being disturbed by them.

Xu Yuanji found that the prisoner in the next cell was also not sleeping, so he gave Chen Gongzi a look, and Chen Gongzi took an apple from the table, but shouted and threw it out.

Living next door is the celebrity murderer Zhang Wuhen, but the situation is much worse than them, and the whole person looks unkempt. When he saw the apple, he immediately picked it up from the ground and thanked Chen Gongzi.

"Zhang Caizi, what is Lord Qincha looking for you today?" Chen Gongzi naturally knew about Zhang Wuhen being taken to the yamen of the Salt Inspection Yuan, and at this time, he also inquired directly.

Zhang Wuhen wiped the clothes that put the apple on his chest, first took a big bite, and then responded vaguely: "Lord Qincha said that he has found a key clue, and he will redress my grievances soon!" ”

Hey?

When Xu Yuanji heard this, he immediately looked at Zhang Wuhen in surprise.

This case has caused huge controversy, and once Lin Haoran cannot overturn the case, then Lin Haoran's reputation will be damaged. If he overturns the case, then He Dongxu, the prefect of Yangzhou, will definitely be unsafe.

"What key clues did Cincha-sama find?" Chen Gongzi was also surprised, so he asked.

Zhang Wuhen listened to this question, but looked at Chen Gongzi with some vigilance.

"Zhang Caizi, this son has introduced you as a confidant, and he has not cared about your food these days, but you are unwilling to satisfy this curiosity?" Chen Gongzi immediately straightened his face and blamed.

Xu Yuanji glanced at Zhang Wuhen, but he pretended to persuade Zhang Gongzi: "Brother Zhang, don't embarrass Zhang Caizi, we should be a wolf-hearted person, don't mind!" ”

"That's it, I'm a wolf-hearted person!" Zhang Wuhen immediately sighed heavily, then lowered his voice and said through the prison bar: "Lord Qincha has confirmed that the person who Donghua saw that night was not me, but my twin brother Liu Hui!" ”

"Twin brothers? Liu Hui? ”

When Xu Yuanji and Chen Gongzi heard this answer, they looked at Zhang Wuhen with slight surprise, and faintly seemed to have caught something.

Ye Wuhen bit the apple, and sighed heavily: "My surname is Liu, but my father and mother have no queen, and they carried me to Zhangfu from the countryside, so even Lord Fuzun didn't know that I had such a younger brother!" According to Lord Qincha, Donghua recognized the wrong person that day, and the perpetrator of the burglary was actually my brother Liu Hui! ”

Xu Yuanji and Chen Gongzi exchanged glances, and Xu Yuanji suddenly realized: "I see, Miss Xiaoxiao's maid Huan Donghua saw you that day, so I misunderstood Brother Zhang!" But how could Lord Chincha know these things? ”

"It's also a coincidence, Donghua was hunted down and killed inexplicably, and she was rescued by Lord Qincha, so Lord Qincha deduced these truths!" Zhang Wuhen said with a smile on his face.

"Winter flowers aren't dead?"

When Chen Gongzi heard this, he blurted out in surprise.

Zhang Wuhen had already eaten the whole apple, but at this time, he looked at Chen Gongzi in surprise and asked, "Donghua is dead?" How could this be, I still see her today! ”

"Huh...... I heard the bustard say this, and I don't know if it's true or not! Chen Gongzi seemed to have said that he had leaked his mouth, and immediately covered up his authenticity.

Xu Yuanji's brows furrowed slightly, but he secretly glared at Chen Gongzi, and suddenly looked at Zhang Wuhen and asked gently, "What about your twin brother Liu Hui?" ”

"Lord Qincha has not actually brought the case to trial these days, but he has been tracking his whereabouts all along, and when he learned that someone had seen him on the side of Slender West Lake, he was confident that he would be able to capture him very happily!" Zhang Wuhen threw the apple stalk in his hand and said optimistically.

Xu Yuanji secretly exchanged glances with Zhang Gongzi, that is, he continued to chat with Zhang Wuhen, and then returned to the bed, but he couldn't sleep for a long time.

There were suddenly too many accidents around Chen Xiaoxiao's case, first Zhang Wuhen actually had a twin brother Liu Hui, and then the most critical witness Donghua did not die.

As Chen Xiaoxiao's personal maid, Donghua pointed out Zhang Wuhen, which is undoubtedly the most powerful witness, but if Donghua changes her confession, then the case is very likely to go in another direction.

The next morning, it was a gloomy and devastated day, and it seemed that a torrential rain was coming at any moment.

With Lin Haoran entering the Salt Inspection Institute, it seems to be very busy. Not only did people come in and out, but some important salt tax files were also sent in one after another, and some government decrees were issued from here.

Lin Haoran, who was wearing a bullfighting suit, sat at the desk of the government office and looked at the files, which was to check the production of Huai salt, mainly to check the production process adopted in various salt places.

The production of table salt is an evolutionary process, beginning with the search for salt crystals directly from riverbeds, seabeds or lake beds, and then to boiling salt from seawater.

Sea salt was made by boiling and frying for a long time, and until the Sui and Tang dynasties, sea salt was prepared in this way, and the efficiency was quite low.

It was not until the Song and Yuan dynasties that the salt drying method of "drying and exposing into salt" appeared in Haiyan, but it was still very backward in terms of technology, and even many stove households continued to use the method of boiling salt.

Because Ming Taizu established the household registration system, these stove households were ordered to cook salt for generations. Although the price of salt was higher than that of the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty used the low-cost salt distribution method, so their price was lower than that of the Song Dynasty.

It is precisely because of this that the income of the stove households in the Ming Dynasty is actually not high, and the imperial court's desire for salt tax has intensified the exploitation of the stove households, which eventually led to many stove households choosing to flee.

"Teacher, the stove households in Guangdong have arrived, and I will settle them all in the inn!" Meng Zhao has always been by Lin Haoran's side, and he also helped Lin Haoran deal with various things, and then walked in and reported.

"Okay, then let's do what we plan and assign them to the various salt works!" When Lin Haoran heard the news, his eyes immediately lit up slightly, and he commanded Meng Zhao again.

Although he is now a salt inspector, although he already has the determination to rectify the salt policy, he understands that the stove households are the key to his change in the salt law, so he needs to find a way to generate income for the stove households.

But we can't overly blame the gentry group for the harm to the Ming Dynasty, living in this precarious era, everyone will want to survive and do everything possible to protect their own interests.

Although Yan Maoqing increased the salt tax for the imperial court, his failure was that he did not take into account the key group of stove households, and eventually became a street rat.

Lin Haoran learned this lesson and planned to bring direct benefits to the stove household group by improving the efficiency of salt production, and then win the support of the stove household group.

"Yes!" Meng Zhao immediately saluted respectfully, but as if he thought of something, he suddenly said again: "Teacher, I passed by the Jiangdu County Ya just now, and Liu Hui has been caught!" ”

The case is no longer a simple case, it is related to his teacher's future and reputation. When he learned the news, he was also sincerely happy.

Lin Haoran nodded noncommittally, but suddenly asked, "Tinglun, if the case is handed over to you now, how will you try Chen Xiaoxiao's case?" ”

"The student thinks that even if Liu Hui quibbles, as long as he finds someone who saw him enter and leave Mingchun Tower that night, but Zhang Wuhen never appeared, it can be confirmed that what Donghua saw that day was actually Liu Hui!" Meng Zhao replied earnestly in the face of the investigation.

Lin Haoran glanced up at him, nodded lightly and said, "As you said, these days, the teacher has found someone to confirm that Zhang Wuhen did not appear in Mingchun Tower that night, and it was Liu Hui who appeared there, so the person who killed Chen Xiaoxiao was not Zhang Wuxuan!" ”

"If there is such a witness, then the case can be overturned!" Meng Zhao's eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately said with confidence.

Lin Haoran shook his head lightly and replied very seriously: "I can't overturn the case yet!" ”

"Teacher, why is that?" Meng Zhao asked blankly.

Lin Haoran looked at the dazed Meng Shao, but he confided in the truth: "Because the teacher actually released a fake news: Donghua is actually dead, and she has been killed!" ”

What the?

When Meng Zhao heard that Donghua was dead, his eyes immediately widened.

If the most critical person in this case is naturally Donghua who claims to have seen Zhang Wuhen, if Donghua is dead, these clues alone are not enough to overturn the case for Zhang Wuhen.

Lin Haoran saw Meng Zhao's reaction in his eyes, picked up the tea cup on the desk, and suddenly asked with a smile: "Do you know who the Jiangdu County Ya just captured?" ”

"Isn't it Liu Hui?" Meng Zhao was puzzled again.

Lin Haoran shook his head lightly, took a sip of tea before continuing: "Do you remember that day Lin Fu rescued a person from the robbers, and it was this person that the Jiangdu County Ya had just captured, he was Zhang Wuhen!" ”

When Meng Zhao heard this answer, he looked at the teacher in a daze.