Shen San looked at Fan Jin, his eyes were a little confused, and he didn't speak. Fan Jin said coldly: "Shen San, these things on the paper are believed to be true, Song Guofu is bold enough to do evil, his subordinates take the opportunity to oppress the people, when someone in a place can rely on their own courage to oppress the weak without judicial restraint, they will indeed become arrogant and bold, and they don't even care about human life." I believe all of what you say, but I wonder why Ling Zun is just a scholar, why can he grasp this news? Even if there is a group of salt stove households to support him, the blood of these hundreds of stove households is not easy to get, just one thing, why would those stove households cooperate with him? Furthermore, since Song Guofu endangered one party, how could he tolerate your people from Shenzhuang leaving Yangzhou so far? You can get revenge, but deceiving the government is not something a smart person should do. Everyone wants to be holy and immaculate, but the official prefers to believe that no one is perfect, and that you both have hidden feelings about each other, and everyone has a stain on them, which is closer to the truth. Don't get me wrong, it's not that Ling Zun or you have a stain means that your lawsuit will be lost. No matter why or who you are checking these things for, and who is behind you to support you in doing this, it does not mean that Song Guofu is innocent, what should he do or what should he do. I just need to listen to the truth. ”

"Master...... Sure enough, it was as it was. Shen San lowered his head, "It's not a secret, Dad investigates these, there is indeed someone behind it, before, Dad was from Master Ma's family...... West Seat. ”

The salt merchants in Yangzhou were divided into two parts, the Western merchants came from Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, and the Huizhou merchants came from Huizhou, for example, Song Guofu was the leader of the Huizhou merchants. When the law was first implemented, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, because they were relatively close to the border gates, had the advantage of being close to the water, and they also transported grain on the spot in the border areas to reduce grain consumption along the way. Among the salt merchants in Yangzhou, the Western merchants were the most powerful at that time.

However, with the abolition of Kaizhong, the advantages of Western merchants were greatly weakened, and their business was not as flexible as that of Huizhou merchants, and the proportion of salt industry in Yangzhou gradually declined, and they were overtaken by Huizhou merchants. At present, the competition between Western merchants and Huizhou merchants in Yangzhou is fierce, and various means of open and secret fighting emerge one after another.

There are people in the upper echelons of Western businessmen, such as Fan Jin's teacher Zhang Siwei, who is a member of Western businessmen, and another example is the Ma family taught by Shen Fengnian, who is the younger brother of Ma Ziqiang. But Hui merchant Song Guofu is not weak in this regard, and his creditors are also powerful people in the DPRK and China, and Western businessmen can't suppress him simply by competing for relationships. After all, today, Zhang Juzheng covers the sky with one hand, and the fighting methods of the people below can't bypass Zhang Juzheng, he implements a whip method, and Song Guofu stands up for a whip method to praise the platform, and it is not easy to move him with the power of the government.

Shen Fengnian's investigation was a counterattack by Western business forces against Song Guofu, finding out his black materials, and then beheading him. Some of these stove households who wrote blood books were originally stove cooks under the control of Western merchants, and some of them received money. As for the news that Shen Zhuang was going to be slaughtered, it was also released by Western businessmen. It's not that this thing is fake, it's just that the cause of the matter is from the Western merchants, and they may not have no way to protect Shen Zhuang. But they deliberately did not act, and then pushed the people of Shenzhuang out to complain, the ultimate goal was to make things bigger.

If there is any mistake in the whole process, it is that the protection of Shen Zhuang is not enough, which leads to a large number of people being killed and taken captive. This is also the character of Western businessmen, who pay too much attention to seeking profit and do not want to waste a penny of investment. Sending some nursing homes to protect it is easy to arouse suspicion, and secondly, it is necessary to spend a sum of money, and I am reluctant to do so.

When Shen San said this, his tone became deeper and lower. In fact, on the road, their father and son have realized that they have become pawns of Western businessmen, but they have been forced to that point, there is no other way except to continue to move forward, and there is no way to regret it. Unexpectedly, he killed the whole village because of this, and even his father's life was lost in this attack.

Fan Jin reassured:

"Don't be too upset, many things don't see the danger at the time, and you can't stop when you find out the danger. Although Ling Zun was ordered by others, it does not mean that he is doing it wrong. Song Guofu's actions are indeed unlawless, and they can be killed but not kept. He is rich and powerful, and with the strength of one or two people, he can't fight against him. It is not a mistake to have the help of Western businessmen in itself. But I don't understand, why do you think that Shangyuan County can redress your grievances? Which merchant gave you the way? ”

"Not all of them. In fact, when Master Fan first came to Jiangning, the grass people had seen the old man. At that time, an old woman offended Master Fan with her words, so she successfully sued, and she was the guidance of the grass people, and asked the eldest lady to send it down. ”

"Oh. The mother who taught Dong Xiaowu scolded people, and the person who relied on this to let me accept the lawsuit was you. I don't want to be a foreigner like you. Look at your words and call yourself a grass people, don't you have no fame? ”

"Exactly. The grass people are talented and dull, and they have never won the fame. ”

"Don't say that. There is no paper in the field, especially in Yangzhou, where a large number of salt merchants' children seek fame, and the imperial court gave seven Western merchants who do not need to return to their hometowns and can go down the imperial examination in Yangzhou, further squeezing out the quota of Yangzhou locals. What's more, Nanzhili Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger, if you don't get fame, it doesn't mean anything. Don't be discouraged, as long as you study hard in the future, you are not afraid of not getting fame. Only by changing the courtyard can we be worthy of Ling Zun's spirit in the sky. I asked someone to arrange a place for you to live, and then arrange for Ling Zun's burial. After a while, I still have something to talk to you. ”

When Fan Jin walked out of the room, Xue Sufang walked up quickly, grabbed Fan Jin's arm and said, "Retreat, do you want to go to the morgue and have a look." ”

"It's just a dead man, it's not like I haven't seen it, why do I have to go and see it?"

"Those people died so badly!" Xue Sufang said hatefully: "They are all ignorant people, not people in the martial arts." Those people are vicious, and they are all dead! If I see it, I will have to reward a few projectiles for one person! I heard that they were killed like this because they sued Song Guofu, think about it, you can't love the house and Wu, and show mercy to your subordinates! ”

As he spoke, Xue Sufang's gaze flew to the back house, and Fan Jin shook his head and said, "Look at what you said, how is it possible?" She is her, Song Guofu is Song Guofu, although the two are brother and sister, I will not spare Song Guofu's villain for her. Besides, their brother and sister are not on good terms. Song had deposited a sum of private money in her mother's pawnshop, but when she took it back later, she saw that it was less than half or more, and it was all taken away by her mother's family. With this Liang Zi here, she has nothing to do with her mother's family. You see that when the Yang family was about to finish, she never asked her mother's family for a penny. ”

"That's what I said, after all, I am a compatriot, my bones are broken and my tendons are connected, if I think about Song Guofu this time, what should I do if she is looking for death and life in front of you? Don't be soft-hearted! ”

Fan Jin said: "Soft-heartedness naturally won't. But whether I can do it or not, I'm not sure now. In fact, don't talk about me, even Zhu Lian and Zhu Shaohu, I may not really be a salt merchant. They are too rich, and they hold the lifeblood of the court in their hands. Yangzhou's regular tax is 1.2 million silver every year, although the collection is not even, but there are 7.8 million yuan a year, if the salt merchants are offended, there is really a year to strike, the elders of several provinces have no salt to eat, and more importantly, the imperial court does not know how to leave these hundreds of thousands of silver. What's more, the salt merchant has hands and eyes, and Song Guofu's relationship can go all the way to the capital, which is so easy to deal with. I am the prefect of Shangyuan, not the prefect of Yangzhou, so it will take a lot of trouble to manage this matter. ”

Xue Sufang raised her eyebrows, "So, don't you plan to care?" ”

"What, if I don't care, Wu'er will take care of it himself?"

"Not really. But if you don't care about it, don't go into my room this month, and go to that Song woman. ”

Fan Jin laughed and kissed Xue Sufang on the face, "My Wu'er is becoming more and more like a chivalrous girl, I like it." I only said that this thing was difficult to do, but I didn't say that it would not be done. In fact, if you go home, do you think the imperial court will care about Shen Zhuang's lives? In our eyes, this is a living person, and in the eyes of the imperial court, it is just a cold number. Every year, Jiangning dies in winter, ten times and twenty times more than this number, who cares? In the autumn, there are thousands of dead people in the north, and the court has long been used to it. If you report dozens of people to go up, it will not be effective at all. The real fatal part of the salt merchants is not that they kill people and set fires, but that the salt tax. You see that the Western businessman asked Shen Fengnian to investigate Song Guofu's murder, but he didn't dare to mention that he owed taxes, it was not that he didn't owe, but everyone owed it, who would dare to lift the lid? If you want to move them, you can only start with the salt tax. ”

"These people are so rich and still owe taxes?"

"The salt merchant is rich, so he has to cry poor. If a salt merchant who does not owe taxes is considered wealthy by the imperial court, he may be killed in the next step, his house may be raided and imprisoned, and his property confiscated. So if you're a salt merchant, you won't dare to finish the class. This is the congenital flaw of all salt merchants, as long as they find the right opportunity, they will not be killed. But you have to be patient, and you have to have a chance. If the opportunity comes, I can go on a salt patrol......"

Xue Sufang snorted, "You can go to the salt patrol, that is, accumulate net worth for the Zhang family, and when she passes the door, there will be a large amount of money to use." ”

"That's wrong, if I go to patrol the salt, I'll make a hundred and eight gold projectiles for my five sons. At that time, all the slingshots on the rivers and lakes will use iron projectiles, and only Wu'er will use gold projectiles, what kind of scenery?"

"Gold is soft, not a projectile. But if it's a retreat, I naturally like it, and one hundred and eight is as good as three hundred and sixty-five. One pill a day, specializing in these cheap maids in the inner house! ”

"Okay, three hundred and sixty-five, that's three hundred and sixty-five. Let's go, accompany me to the study, you study the ink, and I'll write a letter to prepare for our three hundred and sixty-five gold projectiles. ”

Jingshi, inside the Fan house.

A heavy snowstorm also fell on the capital, and the snow in the north was much heavier than in the south, and by the time the wind and snow stopped, the snow had lost its legs. In the first winter when a group of Cantonese people came to the north, they were hit on the head, and more than half of their family members fell ill after a snowstorm. Rao is a silk jacket and a big velvet coat on his body, or it's cold. Sister Hu is such a diligent woman, she can't get up from the bed, she talks nonsense, and keeps calling Fan Jin's name. Mother Fan was wrapped in a fur coat, holding the hand stove and couldn't help but shiver, and cursed in Cantonese in a whisper.

Liang Pandi relied on a good martial arts, but he could support it, as soon as the sky was fine, he immediately took a broom out, and shouted that the people who were not sick at home came out to clear the snow, and everyone moved to warm up. At this time, another woman who was slightly older than Liang Pandi, who was one or two years older than Liang Pandi, who was far inferior in appearance and had an excellent temperament, came over and saluted Liang Pandi, "Mrs. Liang, the slave and maid can't go on like this, the family has fallen so much at once, what should the old lady do if it spreads?" Didn't you take advantage of the snow to stop, and ask the doctor to take a look?"

"Can the Imperial Doctor move? Didn't they only treat the emperor? We Cantonese people are really unfamiliar with this place, if the money steward has a way, just go and ask for it, it doesn't matter how much silver you use. ”

Looking at this woman's cold red face, thinking of her background, Liang Pandi realized that his way was not good, and hurriedly stepped forward to comfort: "I am a rough person, I can't speak, and I don't think about things thoughtfully, Sister Caiyin, don't be like me." In short, Jin Tsai is not here, we have to take care of this family for him, and it would be best to invite a good man. ”

Since Fan Jin left, he has been guarding the family property for him, and even after the Fan family moved into Beijing, he brought silver over, and Qian Caiyin, who was willing to bury herself in the Fan family as a slave, was close to Liang Pandi's age, and they could also communicate with each other, and their friendship was the best. Hearing her say this, she hurriedly shook her head and said, "Mrs. Liang, don't say that, I'm a subordinate, you are a wife, why be so polite." I don't dare to be this sister word, so that people can't hear it. The lord has many friends in Beijing, and there are also noble friends, and things in Langzhong are easy to do. I'll go on my own trip, you speak Cantonese, I'm afraid Lang Zhong won't understand. ”

At this time, there was a knock on the door, Gu Bai took two subordinates to open the door, but saw Zheng Wan dressed like a ball and jumping in, and as soon as she entered the door, she pounced on Qian Caiyin and called Sister Caiyin affectionately. Behind her, Zheng Guotai pushed a trolley with great difficulty, and he actually saw sweat on his head in winter.

"In the past few days, the people have nothing to send, so they made a pot of stew and sent it to warm everyone's body to drive away the cold."

Since the Fan family moved here, Zheng Wan has been running here twice in three days, and Fan Jin's mother is called Godmother. Everyone likes this little cutie very much, Liang Pandi hurriedly ordered someone to come and pick up the car, invited the guests to the room to rest, and whispered to Qian Caiyin: "Prepare four taels of silver first." Xiaowan is well-intentioned, but Zheng Guotai is a street boy, maybe he owes the debt at the end of the year, and uses this pot of stew to make up for the shortfall. Don't wait for him to open his mouth, take four taels of silver and plug it. ”

"I don't think he's necessarily here for money, our family's Ah Qiao, he's been thinking about it for a long time."

"That'...... I can't be the master. Forget it, let's let the kitchen prepare a banquet first, since people are here, we have to entertain a meal, please Lang Zhong is not in a hurry in advance. ”

"I understand."

Gu Bai led someone to the door, looked at the stone lion covered with snowflakes, sniffed hard, and subconsciously wiped his sleeve under his nose. "I really didn't expect that when I entered my brother's door, I could also use a stone lion. However, not everyone has this creation, in this kind of family with stone lions, this time in the capital, a large piece of land, only I Gu Bailong Jinghu fierce. While speaking, under the pinch of a few servants, Gu Bai put a few fist fights at the door, ready to fight all the way.

Just as a bunch of servants around him were cheering, a woman's voice suddenly sounded: "What are you doing early in the morning?" Is this Fan Mansion or Juggling Team? How can you be so dignified and get together to play the circus? Blind and can't see anyone coming? How did you do this errand? If you are at home, one person will receive twenty lashes first, and then say, there are no rules! ”

Gu Bai retracted his fist and looked at the voice, and then the person suddenly became half a cut shorter, "Miss Xia He? The eldest lady is here? ”

Tall, a young maid in a satin cotton jacket stood at the foot of the steps and pointed at a man above and scolded, behind her, a warm sedan chair, although this sedan chair is unfamiliar, but the maid Gu Bai can not be more familiar, during this time, Xia Lian, the big girl of the Prime Minister's Mansion who has come to Fan's house several times to give gifts. The person sitting in the sedan chair behind her is most likely Zhang Shunqing, the daughter of the Zhang family. The first time this eldest lady came to the door, she caught up with her foreign appearance, Gu Bai's heart was cold, and he felt that his creation might not be as big as he imagined.