"Lord Hou, Yangzhou businessman Lu Dezhong has something important to see." Under the gaze of everyone in the lobby, the brocade-clothed guard strode to the front of the hall and reported to Li Yuntian.

"Biography!" Li Yuntian bowed his head slightly when he heard this, and gave the order quietly.

Yang Muen's face suddenly turned pale, and he had an ominous premonition in his heart, it was obvious that Lu Dezhong was not good, as the former vice president of the Salt Merchants Association, he knew too many secrets.

The salt merchants at the scene also became nervous, Lu Dezhong is now the deacon of the Kyushu Chamber of Commerce, and the Kyushu Chamber of Commerce was established by Li Yuntian in Jiangkou County, Jiujiang, Jiangxi, and it is definitely not a good thing to come here at this time.

Pan Xingmin, Zhang Tao and Qin Ke glanced at each other meaningfully, Lu Dezhong's appearance can be described as a reasonable thing, as the former vice president of the Salt Merchants Association, he was naturally also involved in the case of the illegal salt of the Lianghuai Salt Road, since Li Yuntian wants to thoroughly investigate the illegal salt case, then he will definitely be implicated, so it is better to take the initiative to come and surrender and strive for a lighter punishment.

It is worth mentioning that although Li Yuntian is now putting the people of Lianghuai Salt Road and the Salt Merchants Association in prison, the reason for this is the illegal salt that was seized by the Yamen, the governor of Caoyun, and he has not yet formally tried the case, so Lu Dezhong, who left the Salt Merchants Association four or five years ago, was able to escape and be arrested.

In the face of the situation of the Lianghuai Salt Road, Lu Dezhong will definitely not be indifferent, because he knows that he cannot avoid the catastrophe of the Lianghuai Salt Road, and only by taking the initiative can he protect himself.

When Lu Dezhong walked into the lobby, everyone in the lobby showed a look of surprise, only to see Lu Dezhong with his hands tied behind his back, carrying a thorn strip on his back, and a posture of pleading guilty.

Lu Dezhong's eldest son, Lu Xingen, bowed down and followed behind with a pile of account books in both hands, he was Lu Dezhong's most important son, and was now in charge of the Lu family's business in the Kyushu Chamber of Commerce.

"Sinner Lu Dezhong knocks on the Hou Ye and your lords!" In the surprised eyes of everyone, Lu Dezhong came to the front of the hall, knelt down with his legs bent, and said with his head touching the ground.

According to common sense, Lu Dezhong, like Yang Muen, also has the fame of Emperor Yongle, so he doesn't have to kneel in the public court, but since he is called a "sinner", it is logical to kneel.

Lu Xingen knelt down, put the account book in his hand on the account book in front of him, and touched the ground with his head like Lu Dezhong, his attitude was very respectful.

Hearing the word "criminal", Yang Muen's fists couldn't help clenching tightly, his face was pale, and fine beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

The salt merchants at the scene also showed frightened looks, if Lu Dezhong exposed the old bottom of the Lianghuai Salt Road, then the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Boss Lu, what are you guilty of?" Li Yuntian was condescending in the lobby, and at a glance he could see the reactions of Yang Muen and the salt merchants, and a smile immediately appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then his face turned pale, and he asked Lu Dezhong solemnly.

"Hou Ye, the sinner used to privately transport and sell illicit salt when he was in the salt merchants' association, and he knows that he is guilty, and I hope that the sinner will be merciful and give the sinner a chance to reform himself." Lu Dezhong raised his eyebrows and knelt there and replied loudly.

There was a bang, and there was a commotion in the lobby, although everyone had already guessed Lu Dezhong's intention, but when Lu Dezhong said it himself, it still caused a huge shock.

"Nonsense!" After listening to Lu Dezhong's words, Yang Muen's heart was a little relaxed, and he glared at Lu Dezhong with a grim face, "Brother Lu, the Salt Merchants Association is not sorry for you, why do you slander the Salt Merchants Association so much?" Is it because you are now a deacon of the Kyushu Chamber of Commerce and want to take advantage of the opportunity to curry favor with someone? ”

Li Yuntian heard that Yang Muen was alluding to Lu Dezhong's deliberate framing of the Salt Merchants Association in order to please himself, and a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.

"Brother Yang, that batch of illegal salt has been exposed, Master Hou doesn't want to have a salt shortage in Daming so that those cargo ships can continue to set off, otherwise once the order is ordered to confiscate those illegal salts, you and I will be clear about the consequences at that time."

Lu Dezhong looked up at him after hearing Yang Muen's accusation, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he persuaded bitterly, "Brother Yang, why do you have to insist on it when the matter has come to this, do you have to let everyone go to a dead end together?" It's better to confess to Hou Ye, Hou Ye is kind-hearted and will leave a way for everyone to live. ”

"Shut up, Lu Dezhong, how much benefit have you received to lead your brothers to a dead end?" Yang Muen was said to be in pain, especially because Lu Dezhong disturbed the mood of those salt merchants, and when he heard this, his face suddenly turned blue and white, and he pointed at Lu Dezhong with some anger and shouted in a deep voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Lu Mou said so, how everyone chooses must have a conclusion in their hearts, even if they don't think about their future safety, they must consider their families, Vice President Wei and Deacon Zhao are lessons from the past, Lu hopes that everyone can make a careful choice." Lu Dezhong didn't pay attention to Yang Muen, but turned to the terrified salt merchants and solemnly advised.

The salt merchants couldn't help but glance at each other when they heard this, and a complicated look appeared on their faces, Wei Deguang and Zhao Wenju died strangely, there were already rumors on the market that Chen Wenren would get rid of the two, don't look at them outside, they are invincible, but in front of Chen Wenren, they are just ants.

If they choose to continue to follow the Lianghuai Salt Road, then they may be abandoned by the Lianghuai Salt Road in the future, and let them, the salt merchants, bear the responsibility for trafficking in illicit salt.

"Lu Dezhong, you threatened my Salt Merchants Association in front of the court, and wanted me to admit the trumped-up charges, and your heart can be punished!" Yang Muen saw that the salt merchant behind him seemed to be moved by Lu Dezhong's words, and he was secretly anxious in his heart, and pointed at Lu Dezhong and shouted.

"Brothers, the Lianghuai Salt Road is my Ming Dynasty's tax land, if someone wants to confuse right and wrong and crack down on dissidents, those adults in the court will definitely not turn a blind eye, and will definitely give us justice!" Then, Yang Muen's words turned around and opened his mouth to cheer up those salt merchants.

Hearing this, the faces of some salt merchants suddenly softened, although if they persisted, they might end up being betrayed by the Lianghuai Salt Road, but it was also possible that they would continue to engage in the salt business and live a leisurely life of drunkenness and gold, and once they confessed their crimes to Li Yuntian, they would undoubtedly have to live a hard life in the future, which was unacceptable to them.

Li Yuntian keenly noticed the change in the faces of those salt merchants, and secretly shook his head helplessly, as the saying goes, good people die for money, and birds die for food, these guys who are greedy for pleasure are looking for their own death, and they really don't deserve sympathy at all.

"Master Hou, this is the account book of the private salt business that the criminals have done over the years since they became the deacons of the Salt Merchants Association, I hope that the Hou Ye can raise his noble hand and give the criminals a chance to reform themselves." Lu Dezhong didn't argue with Yang Muen, glanced at the stack of account books beside him, and said to Li Yuntian in a deep voice.

"Lu Dezhong, you secretly colluded with Zhao Wenju and Chen Youcai to forge the account books of our Salt Merchants Association to transport and sell smuggled salt, what is your intention?" Yang Muen had already guessed what they were when he saw those account books, so he preemptively said to Lu Dezhong coldly.

The content of Lu Dezhong's account book can definitely be corroborated with the content of Zhao Wenju and Chen Youcai's account book, and Yang Muen wants to lead and slander the three of them for colluding in private, so as to prove that the content of Lu Dezhong's account book is untrue.

"President Yang, do you have any evidence of Deacon Lu's collusion with Deacon Zhao and Deacon Chen?" Li Yuntian naturally knew Yang Muen's intentions, and asked lightly.

"My salt merchant association has never done private salt business, they have made something out of nothing, and they have to frame my salt merchant association for having an affair with illegal salt, and there is no other reason except to collude in private!" Yang Muen looked at Li Yuntian expressionlessly and replied with a sneer.

"President Yang, this official advises you to think about the source of the extra wealth in your mansion first, and the authenticity of Deacon Lu's account book and the adults present have their own judgment." Li Yuntian saw that Yang Muen looked righteous, without the slightest shame on his face, and secretly felt in his heart that Yang Muen was really cunning and cunning, no wonder he could become the president of the Salt Merchants Association, so he fought back in an orderly manner.

"Master Hou, Xia Guan is very old, his memory is not good, and he has forgotten the provenance of those items." Yang Muen's face changed when he heard this, and he put on a posture of a dead pig who was not afraid of boiling water, and wanted to carry Li Yuntian to the end, but at this moment he had no way out.

"Don't worry, this official will find out the origin of those things." Li Yuntian didn't want to have a senseless entanglement with Yang Muen, so he quietly said to Yang Muen, "President Yang, you see if the record on the confession is accurate, and if there is no objection, sign it." ”

The clerk in charge of recording the confession then brought the confession to Yang Muen, who looked at it and signed it, and this level of interrogation confession is usually not fake.

"This official has said a lot just now, do you have anything to say to this official before the trial begins?" Waiting for the clerk to take away Yang Muen's confession, Li Yuntian glanced at the uneasy salt merchant in the lobby, and asked in a deep voice with a stern expression.

The salt merchants glanced at each other when they heard this, and then stood there with their hands down, after all, it is not easy to admit their crimes in public, and it is also a shocking case involving the embezzlement of ink in the two Huai Salt Roads, and everyone has a lot of psychological pressure.

"Brother Zhang, can you and I listen to the advice of the younger brother after many years of friendship, the matter of the two Huai Yandao can no longer be hidden, since the Hou Ye has given the opportunity, when will you not recruit at this time?" Seeing this situation, Lu Dezhong couldn't help but look at a round-faced middle-aged man standing behind Yang Muen, and persuaded him affectionately.

This middle-aged man surnamed Zhang is a vice president of the Salt Merchants Association, and has a close relationship with Lu Dezhong, and after Lu Dezhong gave up his position as the vice president of the Salt Merchants Association, he succeeded Lu Dezhong as the vice president of the Salt Merchants Association, so Lu Dezhong wanted to use him as a breakthrough to break the current deadlock.

"Brother Zhang, don't be confused by Lu Dezhong, the case of Lianghuai Yandao this time is very important, and those officials in the imperial court will definitely give us justice." Yang Muen couldn't help but panic when he saw that Lu Dezhong wanted to divide the salt merchants at the scene, and hurriedly told Vice President Zhang.

The people in the lobby immediately looked at Vice President Zhang, who looked a little dazed, and secretly waited for his choice, which would have an important impact on the salt merchants present.