Then Lu Degong took the painting up and took it down, opened the lid of a large box on the table, and saw that it was a real sand table.

He Yan said: "Lord Lu has really worked hard. ”

"Where, where, as it should be, as it should be." Originally, Bao Yi'an's thin horse slim was rejected by He Yan, and Lu Degong's face was still a little lost, but as soon as he heard He Yan's words, he became happy again and continued to introduce He Yan.

Holding a thin stick, he pointed on the sand table and introduced: "Think about it, when the time comes, the fleet of the Holy Lord will slowly march along the canal, and the banks of the river will naturally be surrounded by weeping willows and flowers. ”

"The fleet turned down the river, turned a corner, and turned out of a bazaar on the shore, not luxurious, but very elegant."

"The people in this market are coming and going, rubbing shoulders, but everyone has a smile on their faces."

"This stall is equipped with Yangzhou's characteristics and specialties, what jade, calligraphy and painting, paper-cutting, embroidery, bonsai, rouge, and all kinds of local snacks in Yangzhou."

"Of course, there are also storytellers, commentators, and beautiful girls who sing small songs on the shore, and there are all kinds of them, and they are dizzying."

"Of course, these are wild fun in the mountains, it's a little loose, but it's been a long time to be in the wild fun in the mountains."

"Thinking about it, the emperor has lived within the palace walls for a long time, and most of them will like it."

He Yan smiled: "I like it too." ”

Lu Degong smiled happily when he heard this: "Haha, that's good." ”

"In the future, it is all the way into the city, and when the city wall of our Yangzhou is washed with water, we should pick up the drivers, etc., all of them are dressed up, and what we want is this atmosphere."

Saying that, Lu Degong picked up the small boat on the sand table, put it forward, and continued: "The fleet of the Holy Lord can sail all the way to Pagoda Bay. ”

"When the time comes, Yangzhou, Jiangning, civil and military officials will all be at the dock."

He Yan said: "Okay, just follow Lord Lu's arrangement." ”

"As for the place to live, let's not look for another place, it's still Mr. Wang's Kangshan Thatched Cottage."

Wang Chaozong said: "No problem. ”

……

More than a month later, Qianlong suddenly arrived in Yangzhou.

Officials of all sizes in Yangzhou hurriedly went to Tianning Temple, where Qianlong was located, to pick up the driver.

Just when everyone was greeting the holy car, Lu Degong, who was standing beside He Yan, sighed in a low voice: "Alas, we are clumsy. ”

"The emperor wants to surprise us, so we should follow the holy will and should not prepare in advance."

He Yan said: "Do you dare? ”

"Don't dare." Lu Degong stopped talking after speaking.

After a while, Qianlong called He Yan and Wang Chaozong in.

He Yan and Wang Chaozong went in as soon as they heard the call.

After arriving inside, He Yan and Wang Chaozong saw each other, and Qianlong didn't say anything else, just let Wang Chaozong lead the way, and the three of them went directly to Kangshan Thatched Cottage.

After arriving, Qianlong said: "Akzhan, you wait outside first, and Wang Chaozong will come in with me." ”

He Yan and Wang Chaozong said: "Yes." ”

Then Wang Chaozong followed Qianlong into the house, and He Yan was outside to watch the scenery.

Inside, after Qianlong entered the house, he walked to the window, looked at the rockery and waterfall outside the window, and asked Wang Chaozong: "How did Yin Ruhai die?" ”

Wang Chaozong replied: "He was forced to die by military salaries." ”

Qianlong said: "No, it's you, you, and me." ”

"My mistake is to let Yin Ruhai do the salt administration."

"Your fault is that you are in Yangzhou, and you didn't help Yin Ruhai well."

Wang Chaozong knelt down and said: "It's hard for the minister to take the blame. ”

Qianlong raised his hand to let him get up and said: "Yin Ruhai I understand, you don't know about Chaozong, from him to the jinshi, to the Hanlin, into the household department, and to be an official, I have been watching him and have high hopes." ”

"It's a pity, he died in Yangzhou."

Wang Chaozong said: "Lord Yin is a good person. ”

Qianlong was disappointed: "But he is not a good official." ”

"I am ready for him to make mistakes in Yangzhou, even if he does a little out of line and goes too far, as long as he confesses to me, I will forgive him."

"But he's just like that, honestly killing himself."

"He only knows that I have given him a future, and he has a life."

"Tell me, what do I want his life to do?"

After saying this, Qianlong didn't continue to talk about Yin Ruhai, so he asked what the situation was in Yangzhou and what the situation was in the Lianghuai salt industry, and asked him to answer truthfully.

When Wang Chaozong heard this, he only said the big ones, not the small ones.

It is said that there are five major problems in the salt affairs of the two Huai now, which are indulgence, accumulation of malpractices, corruption, extravagance, and excessive donations.

Then he explained these five to Qianlong one by one.

Qianlong listened and said: "Corruption is certainly a problem, Yin Ruhai is not greedy, but he didn't do a good job." ”

"Extravagance must be tempered, have the ability to make money, and enjoy enjoyment is also understandable."

"I know that you have contributed a lot to the imperial court over the years."

"It's easy to donate and lose, but I said a word."

"But the emperor, the great benevolence is not benevolent, I sit in this position, if I want to take care of the world, I can't take care of everyone."

Just as they were talking about this, Zheng Dongxin suddenly came to the cottage to find Wang Chaozong.

He Yan watched Zheng Dongxin being carried by the four guards, struggling there blindfolded, and said, "I know him, it's Zheng Dongxin, a famous man in Yangzhou, there should be no problem." ”

Zheng Dongxin heard He Yan's words, and immediately said urgently: "Lord A, is it Lord A?" ”

"Tell me about it, I'm not an assassin!"

"I'm sorry, Lord A, we have to hand this person over to the emperor to deal with, I'm sorry." After the guard finished speaking, he carried Zheng Dongxin and continued to walk.

After a while, Wang Chaozong came out with Zheng Dongxin.

Wang Chaozong saw He Yan and said, "My lord, the emperor told you to go in." ”

"Okay." After He Yan finished speaking, he went in.

After He Yan finished his journey, Qianlong looked at He Yan and smiled: "You have worked hard in the past few months." ”

He Yan said: "It is the duty of a minister to do his best for the emperor, and it is not hard." ”

The emperor said: "Did you bring the account book?" ”

He Yan took out the account book from his arms, sent it over, and said, "Your Majesty, please take a look." ”

Qianlong took the ledger and began to look.

After looking at it for a while, he asked, "The biggest official written on this is Lu Degong?" ”

He Yan said: "Yes." ”

Qianlong said: "How many taels of silver are involved here?" ”

He Yan said: "A total of more than 9 million taels." ”

"But the number should be false, and many people should be falsely numbered."

Qianlong: "Where did this account book come from?" ”

He Yan said: "Lu Degong did it with the four major merchants, and then gave it to me." ”

"There is a real account in Yangzhou Wubentang, and all the income and expenses of the treasury are there."

"Now the ledger is kept by Mr. Wang."

Qianlong was silent for a moment and said: "You are in Yangzhou these days, if you change the salt business, what do you think?" ”