In the humble hall of the Chen family, Li Hongyu and Zhao Xin chatted with the Chen family, chatting and laughing, and some respected people in the village also came to accompany them. Bayi Middle School? Wenwang (1)?.

Since the two of them are kind and have no arrogance, this makes the atmosphere of the scene very relaxed and pleasant.

"Uncle, shouldn't the fishing tax on Poyang Lake be collected by the government?" Chatting and chatting, everyone's topic talked about fishing tax, and Li Hongyu asked quietly.

"Li Gongzi, the fishing tax is collected by the government, but later Master Chen said that Poyang Lake is his, let us hand over the fishing tax to him, and there is no need to hand it over to the government."

Chen Laohan sighed when he heard this and said, since Old Man Chen took over the fishing tax, the price has been raised year after year, and now it is three or four times that before he took over, which makes the fishermen breathless.

"Doesn't the government care?" Zhao Xin asked in a deep voice when he heard this.

Although others don't know, she and Li Hongyu know very well that how can Poyang Lake become a private property? There must be a lot of hidden secrets in this.

"Of course it does, those goddamn bastards helped Chen Papi to do evil, and arrested those who couldn't pay the fishing tax and put them in jail." At this time, Chen Tieniu, who was standing aside, said hatefully, it was obvious that Old Man Chen had colluded with the government.

"No one has reported this matter?" Li Hongyu groaned for a moment when he heard this, and asked.

He didn't want to ask this question, because he already knew the answer, if the higher-level government was willing to take care of it, Old Man Chen would not still be collecting fishing taxes now, but in order to learn more about the situation from Chen Laohan and others, he still asked,

"Why didn't I file a complaint, but the government not only didn't accept the complaint, but also found a reason to beat those who complained about it, and Chen Papi even made trouble for those who complained afterwards."

An old man at the scene shook his head when he heard this, and then sighed and said, "Everyone knows that Chen Papi has a hard backstage, so no one complained about it later." ”

"Damn!" Zhao Xin's face suddenly turned cold, those people in the government secretly colluded with Old Man Chen and oppressed the people, and they were really hateful in the fish and meat township.

If there were no people from the government to help him abuse, then how could Old Man Chen dominate Poyang Lake, which lives in Nuoda?

"A few uncles, I heard that Liu San and Master Chen seem to have a feud, did they have any secret feelings about their feud back then?"

Li Hongyu naturally knew that Old Man Chen's control of Poyang Lake was indispensable for collusion with the local government, but he didn't want to delve into the matter of fishing tax now, but Yu Feng asked instead.

From Chen Tieniu and the people, Li Hongyu already had a general understanding of Liu San's character, although he was the leader of the water bandits who robbed the passing merchants of Poyang Lake and robbed the local rich people, but his reputation among the people was very good, unlike other water bandit forces that killed innocents indiscriminately.

Moreover, due to his personal grudge with Old Man Chen, Liu San has been with Old Man Chen many times, and each has its own winners and losers, so Li Hongyu has also become very interested in Liu San.

Obviously, as Old Man Chen's opponent, Liu must have a lot of evidence of Old Man Chen's guilt in his hands, and he will be dealt a fatal blow at that time.

Li Hongyu didn't want to waste too much time in Poyang Lake, after all, it was his newlywed Yan'er now, and it was not appropriate to handle too much official business.

It is rumored that forty years ago, Liu San's grandfather led people to rob the Chen family's goods, but was killed by the young Chen master, and the corpse was hung on the flagpole in front of the county for ten days to set an example.

However, Li Hongyu felt that things were not so simple, the water bandits led by Liu San's grandfather were not very powerful at that time, and the Chen family was a local noble family and had always been very strong, so it seemed that there was no need for him to rob the Chen family's goods with an egg or a stone.

Unfortunately, because all the robbers were killed at that time, it is difficult to verify the truth, and the rumors circulating in the market are the result of the government's announcement.

Now that the old people in the village are there, Li Hongyu thinks that maybe he can find out something unknown from it.

"Secrets?" Chen Laohan and the others showed a look of surprise on their faces, they didn't expect Li Hongyu to ask such a question.

"Did you hear any rumors at the time?" Li Hongyu knew that many years had passed, and it was difficult to think of any clues for a while, so he reminded, "As long as there are rumors on the market, it counts." ”

Hearing this, Old Man Chen looked at several village elders present, he was only a few years old when Grandpa Liu San was killed, and it was impossible to know the hidden secrets.

"Speaking of which, there was indeed a rumor at the time, but it was not confirmed, and it was later dissolved."

Several old men glanced at each other, and then a thin old man with a white beard thought for a while and said, "After Liu San's grandfather was killed, there were rumors that the reason why he took the risk of robbing the goods at that time was to grab some salt back, and the price of salt on the market was very high that many people couldn't afford it. ”

"Yes, I also heard this rumor, saying that the Chen family secretly operates a private salt business, and the salt from our Poyang Lake and the surrounding state capitals is sold by the Chen family."

Hearing this, another old man nodded and said, "Later, a notice appeared in the yamen, saying that the salt matter was a rumor spread by the water bandits, and no one mentioned this matter again."

"Illicit salt!" Li Hongyu's brows suddenly frowned slightly, and now Grandpa Liu San had the motive to rob the Chen family's goods, in order to take the risk of grabbing some salt, but unfortunately the matter was revealed, so that the whole army was wiped out.

Obviously, the Chen family will not leave a living mouth, so as not to expose the matter of private salt.

In ancient society, due to the low level of productivity, salt necessary for people's livelihood and monopolized by the state became the most profitable item, and salt merchants became the richest merchants in the world.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's activities of selling illicit salt were rampant, and those who had access colluded with the government, and those who did not have access to bet on their lives, all of whom were attracted and tempted by the huge profits of illicit salt.

Li Hongyu has long been unable to stand the filth in the salt industry, and the annual salt tax of 10 or 20 million taels is only 1 or 2 million taels to the imperial court, and only one-tenth can be received, and the rest all goes into the pockets of relevant interest groups.

If the imperial court can collect the salt tax, not all of it, only half of it, then the military expenses of the Liaodong war will be available.

It is a pity that the water of the salt industry is too deep, and many officials and businessmen are involved, and those people form a huge vested interest group and protect each other at all levels, so no official dares to investigate the affairs of the salt industry.

If the rumors that these two old men heard back then were true, then the Chen family was the largest local smuggler of salt, which also made it stand tall.

"Dad, it's not good, my little sister was kidnapped by the son of the Chen family." Just when Li Hongyu inquired about some details of the year from the two old men, a young man rushed in in a panic and said to Chen Laohan with an anxious expression.

"Third child, what did you say?" Hearing this, Chen Tieniu, who was originally standing against the wall, suddenly became anxious, and rushed over to wait for the young man to ask.

"Second brother, my little sister was snatched away by the second son of the Chen family in the town market just now, and when I rushed there, they had already boarded the boat and left."

The young man who came to report the news was Chen Tieniu's third brother, wiped the sweat from his forehead and said eagerly, "Second brother, save your little sister, otherwise you will definitely be ruined by that brute." ”

"This bastard is actually bullying my sister!" Chen Tieniu was furious when he heard this, and he raised his leg and rushed out of the door.

"Stop!" Li Hongyu frowned when he saw this, and then shouted at Chen Tieniu, "The second son of the Chen family knows that your family is here, if you give him something, what will happen to the family?" ”

"But I can't watch my little sister be ruined by him!" Chen Tieniu couldn't help but stop when he heard this, gritted his teeth and said, as an ordinary person, there is no way to encounter this kind of thing.

"Tie Niu, it's too late for you to go now, when you chase them, they have already arrived in Hushui Town, if you go, you will be caught in the net, and this matter is better to think long-term." At this time, an old man couldn't help but persuade.

Hushui Town is the location of the Chen family's ancestral home, and the Chen family has been operating in the local area for a long time, and their power is intertwined, so if Chen Tieniu kills him, he will definitely kill himself.

"Uncle, that guy is a brute, I don't know how many women from good families he has ruined, so he won't reason with us." Chen Tieniu couldn't help but grit his teeth when he heard this, "As long as he dares to touch the little sister, I will let him see the king of Hades!" ”

"I'll send someone to ask for someone, and you'll wait here."

Li Hongyu knew that the situation was urgent, and the Chen family was the overlord of Poyang Lake, which could be described as an out-and-out bully in the local area, so the second son of the Chen family would definitely do that kind of beast-like thing to Chen Tieniu's sister, so he groaned for a while and said to Chen Tieniu in a deep voice.

"Childe!" Chen Tieniu was stunned when he heard this, and then a worried look appeared on his face, although Li Hongyu and Zhao Xin are also the sons of powerful people, but the Chen family has never been afraid of anyone in Poyang Lake, and I am afraid that they will not let people go easily.

"Don't worry, I'll get your sister back." Li Hongyu knew Chen Tieniu's worries, so he smiled slightly and said, he hadn't taken this kind of earth overlord in his eyes yet.

"Thank you, Childe!" Chen Tieniu hesitated when he heard this, then knelt on one knee and solemnly thanked Li Hongyu, he had no way to save his little sister, so he could only trust Li Hongyu.

"It's just a gesture, but you can do something for me." Li Hongyu stepped forward to help Chen Tieniu, and said to him.

"Childe, as long as you open your mouth, my iron bull will definitely go to the soup and fire, and I will not hesitate to do it." Chen Tieniu patted his chest when he heard this, and agreed in one bite.

"I want to see Liu San, the sooner the better." Li Hongyu leaned over and whispered in Chen Tieniu's ear.

"Why?" Chen Tieniu was slightly stunned when he heard this, he didn't expect Li Hongyu to make such a request, and asked suspiciously.

"If you want to bring down the Chen family, you must be helped by Liu San." Li Hongyu replied in a low voice, "If Liu San agrees, let him come to the painting boat to find me." ”

"Okay, I'll bring the words." Chen Tieniu's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this, but he wanted to bring down the Chen family in his dreams, so he nodded solemnly to Li Hongyu.

Although Chen Tieniu and Li Hongyu and Zhao Xin have known each other for a short time, they feel that they can trust Li Hongyu after this period of contact, and if Li Hongyu can really bring down the Chen family, then it can do a great harm to the people of Poyang Lake.

Li Hongyu immediately called two guards and whispered to them, and the two guards left after bowing their hands to Li Hongyu and went to save Chen Tieniu's little sister, which made everyone at the scene look forward to it.

(End of chapter)