Suzhou City, a large family with a high gate and a wide courtyard, living room. Bayi Middle School? Wenwang?? (1) ?.? 8 (8) 1?Z?(1) .COM

"Brother Du, why do you have time to come to Suzhou, now is not the time when the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is busy?"

A middle-aged man with a big belly sat down with Du Boqing, and when the maid brought the steaming tea, the middle-aged man said to Du Boqing with a smile.

At this time, it was the day when the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was preparing for overseas trade goods, and Du Boqing, the vice president of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, should stay in Yangzhou to work on the goods.

Du Boqing didn't speak, but glanced at the maid standing next to him, and then picked up the teacup and tasted it slowly.

"You go down first, you can't get close without the orders of the old man." The middle-aged man realized that Du Boqing had something to say that he didn't want outsiders to know, so he waved his hand at the maid in the room and said.

When the maids heard this, they blessed the middle-aged man and left quickly.

"Brother Du, what's wrong?" After the maid left, the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask Du Boqing with some curiosity, could it be that something happened to the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce?

"Brother Liu, tell me honestly, how much were you involved in the killing of Jinyiwei a few days ago?" Hearing this, Du Boqing put down the teacup in his hand and asked with a serious expression.

"This ......" The middle-aged man with a big belly was stunned when he heard this, but he didn't expect Du Boqing to come for this matter, and he didn't know how to answer for a while.

"Brother Liu, you and I are in-laws, what can't you say?" Seeing this, Du Boqing couldn't help but say in a deep voice.

The pot-bellied middle-aged man named Liu Xingwen is a well-known businessman in Suzhou, who is not only friends with Du Boqing, but also married his daughter to Du Boqing's son, which is the most important way of interpersonal network in ancient times.

"Brother Du, you know, if it weren't for everyone's participation, such a big thing wouldn't have been able to make a fuss at all."

Seeing Du Boqing's solemn look, Liu Xingwen knew that he was not joking, so he said, "Although the junior brother is also involved, the leader is Zhang Youhai. ”

"Zhang Youhai?"

Du Boqing immediately breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and then said with a sneer, "This Zhang Youhai has to compete with you for a high position, this time, let him face this mess in front of him!" ”

The so-called peers are enemies, in the boundaries of Suzhou, Liu Xingwen and Zhang Youhai are famous rivals, both of them are one of the best businessmen in Suzhou, in order to compete for the market, there is no less intrigue in the open and in the dark.

"Brother Du, did you hear any rumors?" Liu Xingwen's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he hurriedly asked in a deep voice.

"Your basket is poking big this time, the imperial court is now worried about the tax resistance in various places, and you have become a bird in this trouble, and the imperial court will definitely make an example of it at that time!"

Du Boqing pondered for a moment, and then said to Liu Xingwen with a serious expression, "You should be low-key during this time, and I will go to see Li Shi to dredge up for you." ”

Li Shi was a eunuch sent by the imperial court to Suzhou to supervise the collection of taxes, and since he came to Suzhou, he had not seen the good faces of those officials and businessmen in Suzhou, and his actions were hindered everywhere.

At this time, the eunuchs were far from being as powerful as they were later, and even the Wanli Emperor was afraid of the local powerful forces, and how could the local snakes in Suzhou care about a small eunuch, since the Jiajing Emperor, the eunuchs were honestly holding their tails in the capital.

Therefore, as soon as Li Shi came to Suzhou, he was given a disappointment by those powerful people in Suzhou, and wanted to find a restaurant to taste the food of Suzhou, but he was closed in all the restaurants and restaurants.

As a last resort, Li Shi had no choice but to go to the Suzhou Manufacturing Bureau for dinner, he was a tax supervisor sent by the imperial court to control the power of the Suzhou Manufacturing Bureau.

"Brother Du, is this time really that bad?"

Although Du Boqing said that the situation was very serious, Liu Xingwen still couldn't believe it, and asked tentatively after hesitating for a while.

After all, since they dare to attack Jinyiwei, they naturally have a certain amount of confidence, considering the consequences of the matter, generally speaking, the imperial court will definitely give in when they see that the people have been provoked, just like in the twenty-ninth year of Wanli.

Therefore, Liu Xingwen still felt that the situation was not as serious as Du Boqing said, and at least let him know Du Boqing's channels for understanding these things.

"I'll tell you, I came to Suzhou this time because I was personally sent by a university scholar!"

Du Boqing knew that Liu Xingwen was still lucky, so he lowered his voice and said, "The scholar is worried that the matter in Suzhou will affect overseas trade after it gets bigger, and it is also a favor to me." ”

"Big ...... Bachelor's degree? ”

Liu Xingwen was stunned when he heard this, his face was full of stunned looks, if it was Li Hongyu, then the matter would be really troublesome, it was obvious that the dignified young master of the Ming Dynasty would not easily send Du Boqing here.

"The scholar said, the times have changed, and now the country's expenses are increasing day by day, so the emperor is determined to innovate, and no one can stop it now, otherwise he will be severely punished."

Du Boqing frowned slightly, and then said with a solemn expression, "Since the scholar said so, then presumably the imperial court is going to be serious this time." ”

"Then it's terrible, then Li Chengzheng will definitely hate us to death, and he will definitely fall into the well at that time." Liu Xingwen's face couldn't help but become a little pale, realizing that he had fallen into a catastrophe.

The businessmen in Suzhou have an excellent relationship with the Donglin Party, and the relationship with the Zhejiang Party is also very harmonious, after all, they businessmen must not offend the people in the officialdom, otherwise how can they make money in business?

But as Du Boqing said, now the times have changed, and the Zhejiang Party has been overturned by the Donglin Party in one fell swoop and then gradually died out, and the Donglin Party was even more energetic last year, and now it is suppressed by Wei Zhongxian's forces in the court, which means that it will be difficult to get a strong boost from the court after the accident in Suzhou.

The reason why the matter in the twenty-ninth year of Wanli was not resolved was naturally that the Zhejiang Party and the Donglin Party in the court united to suppress the matter, and even the Wanli Emperor had to turn a blind eye.

Now, the officials of the Zhejiang Party are attached to Wei Zhongxian, and the officials of the Donglin Party who have just subsided in the Xinjiang closure case do not dare to come forward, so the Emperor of the Apocalypse is not ready to clean up Suzhou.

As for the "popular uprising", it mainly depends on the emperor's attitude, if the Emperor of the Apocalypse can be as "sympathetic to the people" as the Wanli Emperor, then this matter will not be over.

But once the Emperor of the Apocalypse is provoked, then the consequences will be unimaginable, and judging from the current situation, the Emperor of the Apocalypse will use harsh measures to solve this matter.

"It's a good thing you're not the leader, otherwise this time it would be really troublesome." Du Boqing saw that Liu Xingwen's face became ugly, so he opened his mouth and comforted, "Even if Li Shi looks down on us, he still has to give the scholar a face, so this time you are in danger." ”

"Brother Du, should I go out to avoid the limelight?"

Liu Xingwen was already flustered at this time, since even Li Hongyu felt that something big was going to happen in Suzhou this time, then he couldn't help but want to leave this place of right and wrong, so after thinking about it, he said to Du Boqing with concern.

"Walking away is not the best policy, but it is easy to attract criticism and criticism." Du Boqing couldn't help but shake his head when he heard this, and after a deep groan, he said, "However, it is urgent to find a way to get out of it now." ”

"Get out?" Liu Xingwen's brows suddenly frowned slightly, at this time, the matter of tax resistance in Suzhou was in an uproar, how easy is it to get out calmly?

"It's really not good, the only way to do it is to use bitter meat!" Du Boqing had already considered this matter for Liu Xingwen on the way here, so after thinking about it, he looked at him and said, "But in this way, you will have to suffer some flesh and skin." ”

"This is not in the way, as long as you can stay away from this right and wrong." Where can Liu Xingwen care about whether he has to endure hardships at this time, and when he heard this, he hurriedly asked, "Brother Du, what can I do?" ”

Hearing this, Du Boqing walked up to Liu Xingwen's side, and whispered a few words in his ear, Liu Xingwen was slightly stunned at first, and then nodded again and again, I have to say that Du Boqing's method is indeed a good way to get out.

"Okay, it's up to Brother Du." Then, Liu Xingwen gritted his teeth and nodded solemnly to Du Boqing, compared to escaping this catastrophe, what is it to suffer a little?

On the next day, Liu Xingwen had an accident when he went to the restaurant for a banquet, perhaps because he drank too much wine after the wine game, and the drunken Liu Xingwen accidentally fell down the stairs when he went downstairs in the restaurant, fell and broke his head and bleed, and passed out.

This made the people at the scene panic immediately, and hurriedly lifted Liu Xingwen with all hands and feet, and immediately sent him to the best medical center in the city.

Although Liu Xingwen's external injuries were bandaged after the doctor's diagnosis and treatment, Liu Xingwen was unconscious, which made everyone anxious.

The doctor can't do anything about it, after all, ancient medical skills are limited, and Liu Xingwen has injured such an important part of his head, so whether he can wake up can only rely on himself, maybe he can wake up in a few days, or maybe he will have to do it for the rest of his life.

Liu Xingwen's matter has set off a lot of waves in Suzhou City, he is a famous businessman in Suzhou City, and he belongs to the people who will tremble when he stomps his feet in Suzhou City, which will naturally attract people's attention, some people sympathize with his misfortune, and some people gloat about it.

Zhang Youhai is the representative of the people who applauded this, Liu Xingwen can be said to be his sworn enemy in Suzhou City, the two fought openly and secretly for the sake of power and interests, and secretly made each other stumble, although they were harmonious on the surface, but in private they wanted to put each other to death.

Now, Liu Xingwen suffered this misfortune Zhang Youhai is naturally the happiest, so he specially gathered friends to drink and came to a drunken party.

Regarding Liu Xingwen's encounter this time, Zhang Youhai claimed that Liu Xingwen had done too many bad things on weekdays, so he suffered God's punishment and deserved it.

"Damnation?"

In the back house of Liu's mansion, in a bedroom, Liu Xingwen, who should have been in bed unconscious, was leisurely looking at an ancient book in his hand, and when the housekeeper told him the news that Zhang Youhai had fallen at the banquet about Liu Xingwen's fall, he couldn't help but sneer:

"I don't know what is dead or alive, I don't know when I'm dying, I want to see which of the two of us will suffer the 'curse' first!"

Obviously, Liu Xingwen's fall in the restaurant was the bitter trick that Du Boqing thought of, and as soon as Liu Xingwen came, he would be able to get out of the matter of resisting taxes, and no one would discuss the matter with him.

The "heavenly punishment" in Liu Xingwen's mouth naturally refers to the anger from the Emperor of the Apocalypse, and now that Zhang Youhai jumps more happily, it will only be more unlucky at that time.

Although Zhang Youhai has deep roots in Suzhou and knows dignitaries in the capital, since Liu Xingwen, who is in a similar situation to him, has to use bitter tactics to get out of the tax resistance, how can Zhang Youhai, who is not aware of the danger approaching, escape this time?

(End of chapter)