Hong Chengchou is an old man, and hopes that he will not get involved in Mao Wenlong's family affairs. Accompanying the monarch is like accompanying the tiger, not to mention that he Hong Chengchou not only accompanies the emperor, but also accompanies Mao Wenlong, the emperor. Sandwiched between this father and son, although he is very decent in the court, once he encounters something, he will be in a dilemma.

Staying out of the world to keep safe, this is Hong Chengchou's only wish, people don't have so many ambitions when they are old. After a few more years, Hong Chengchou also wants to return to his hometown, be a casual old man, and enjoy the rest of his life. has been busy for most of his life, if he is not guaranteed to have a good end because of royal affairs, it will be a big loss.

The corners of Mao Wenlong's mouth rose slightly, and he stared at Hong Chengchou for a moment, he would have understood Hong Chengchou's thoughts. It is indeed not easy to survive in the cracks, but Hong Chengchou is a veteran of the two dynasties and a hero of the founding of the country. His prestige and status in the court were not comparable to those of other ministers.

"Sir wants to get away with it and enjoy the rest of his life, and that's understandable. But not at this moment, at least after dealing with the Ming smoking ban. At that time, the gentleman will tell the old man to return to his hometown, and the general army will definitely not stop him. Mao Wenlong said with a chuckle.

The old fox is the old fox, and Mao Wenlong saw through his mind in front of him, but he was not embarrassed at all. Hong Chengchou said very calmly: "It's good that the old minister's mind is understood, and this smoking ban is related to the safety of the Ming Dynasty." It is a blessing for the minister to be able to do his best for this. But the family affairs of the chief soldier, the old minister is really powerless, I hope the chief soldier will forgive me! ”

Thoughtful and not leaking, Hong Chengchou is worthy of being a veteran of the two dynasties, and he is an experienced person in speaking and doing things.

Mao Wenlong showed a wry smile on his face, Hong Chengchou had already said this, and he couldn't force it anymore. After frowning and thinking deeply, he spoke: "Since this is the case, then the gentleman will concentrate on the matter of banning smoking." As for Jingwen, I will think of a way after the general soldier goes back. ”

Hong Chengchou got his wish, his old face showed a rare smile, and then he excused himself to be busy and left! Mao Wenlong didn't stay and watched him leave.

The sky was getting dark, and before I knew it, it was already dusk, and when Mao Wenlong was eating, Adou came in a hurry and reported to Mao Wenlong, saying that he would leave for Xiangjiang Island early tomorrow morning.

Mao Wenlong had no opinion, nodded and agreed, and Adou was completely relieved to do things. With the Secret Guard dispatched and Kane as the internal response, if nothing else, things will settle down quickly.

Adou got Mao Wenlong's approval and left. Mao Wenlong didn't have the heart to eat his dinner, hesitated for a moment, then called his subordinates to withdraw, and then ordered Haoda: "Get ready to leave for Nanjing tomorrow." Also, Chen Qiyue transported his belongings back, but there was any news? ”

Hao Da replied: "There is no news from General Chen's side yet. The general army is ready to leave for Beijing tomorrow, so what should be done on this side of Fucheng? ”

Mao Wenlong waved his hand and said: "The matter here can be handled by Mr., there should be no problem with him in charge!" ”

Haoda nodded and didn't dare to say more, and then resigned.

Early the next morning, Adou ordered 10,000 soldiers of the Dark Guard Battalion and quietly left the port of Guangzhou by boat with Kane. Mao Wenlong did not go to see him off, at this moment he had already prepared his bags and hurried to Nanjing.

At the same time, the city was boiling, and Yan Zhenghai's non-smoking yamen was finally opened. The first ban was enacted, the smoking ban.

As soon as this order was issued, it immediately caused an uproar in Fucheng, and the forces involved in it from all sides took action one after another. And Yan Zhenghai did not stop this time, and actually ordered the entire dock to be blocked as soon as possible. All merchant ships docked in the harbor were to be inspected, all cigarettes were confiscated, their names were registered, and the owners of the cigarettes were held accountable.

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and Yan Zhenghai's shot immediately made the entire city shake. When the officers and men inspected the merchant ship carrying heavy cigarettes and were about to confiscate it, they were met with resistance from all sides, and some people with fiery temperaments even directly used knives with the officers and men, resulting in armed fights.

The matter of the inspection and confiscation of cigarettes at the port was put on hold for a while, and in the end, the officers and men were directly expelled from the merchant ships by various forces and could only be guarded on the shore.

The news soon reached Yan Zhenghai's ears, and he called Lin Kexi without saying a word, and the two of them went to Hong Chengchou together to ask him to take an idea.

After Hong Chengchou heard the ins and outs of the matter, he thought carefully for a long time before asking: "On this side of Fucheng, which forces are the most difficult to bite?" ”

Yan Zhenghai didn't know what Hong Chengchou's plans were, but he still replied truthfully: "There are three major families and four major merchant gangs in Fucheng, and two are shipping gangs. These nine forces controlled the trade of the entire prefecture and city, especially in the trade of tobacco, but they were dominated by two shipping gangs. ”

Hong Chengchou frowned, and said without thinking: "The three major families, the four major merchant gangs, and the two shipping gangs, what is the background of these forces, tell the old man well." ”

I thought that the forces on the side of Fucheng would not be so difficult to bite, and Hong Chengchou had already begged for a good errand from Mao Wenlong's hands. Now it seems that it is not the same thing at all, I didn't expect this small city to be so deep? Hong Chengchou secretly said in his heart that he was fooled, but he was helpless.

I want to say goodbye to my hometown and return to my hometown, and I don't want to offend the emperor and Mao Wenlong, the emperor. It's good now, he really won't offend Mao Wenlong, the father and son, but it is very likely that he will offend the ministers of the entire court. No matter how you look at this deal, it is not cost-effective, and in the end, he Hong Chengchou still failed to return to his hometown.

It is very likely that after this quagmire, it is impossible to get out of the quagmire.

Yan Zhenghai clearly felt Hong Chengchou's helplessness, and he was slightly stunned in his heart, afraid that Hong Chengchou would retreat because he was afraid of offending too many people. Yan Zhenghai was very anxious, and immediately asked: "Your Excellency, ......"

Hong Chengchou already knew that he had lost his temper just now, and he didn't wait for Yan Zhenghai to speak, and then said: "You don't have to worry, the old man is definitely not a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. Tell the old man about the background of those people, and the old man will think about how to solve it. ”

Having said that, it was inconvenient for Yan Zhenghai to ask any further, so he had to inform Hong Chengchou of the background of several forces.

The three major families are the Ouyang family, the Zhao family and the Xiao family. These three families are all natives of Fucheng and have supreme prestige in the local area. Even the government sometimes has to borrow the faces of these famous families to convince those people.