The next day, Yang Peng woke up, only to feel a heavy pain in his head, and couldn't help patting his head. Turning his head to look at the sky, he saw that it was already bright, and quickly got up. Coming out of the room, Wang Kai and other secret guards guarding the door immediately clasped their fists to greet him. Yang Peng looked at the sky and asked, "Are Duan Zhixian and Cheng Shijie up?" Wang Kai hurriedly said: "I don't know!" "What about Dunant and Shirakuto?" Wang Kai laughed and said, "I should still be asleep!" Yang Peng said: "Regardless of them, let's go around Yangzhou City." "Yes!"

Several people left the camp in civilian clothes and came to the most prosperous South Street in Yangzhou to hang out, it was almost noon at this time, but there were few pedestrians on the street, and the scene of the gathering of businessmen and merchants on that day has long since disappeared.

Most of the shops were closed, and the shops that were open were also full of doors, and the flags swayed weakly in the wind. On both sides of the street were many beggars, men, women and children, all unkempt and confused, and they could not see where there was hope. There was a sound of running behind him, and then someone shouted, "Big brother, wait for us!" It was Dunan's voice, Yang Peng stopped and looked back, only to see the round Dunan and the tall and thin Bai Tong running over.

Yang Peng smiled: "I thought you two were still sleeping?" The two smiled embarrassedly, and Dunan said, "I heard that the eldest brother came out together, so the two of us ran out without eating." Yang Peng smiled, turned his head to look at the restaurant with the door open, and pointed: "It just so happens that I didn't have breakfast, so I just have a random meal here!" The two glanced at the restaurant next to them, nodded, and Du Nan said boldly: "I'll treat you today!" Yang Peng smiled, "That relationship is good, I can't ask for it!" Dunan grinned, "Look at what the eldest brother said, as long as the eldest brother doesn't dislike it, the younger brother will invite you to dinner every day!" Yang Peng laughed, patted Dunan on the shoulder, and walked towards the restaurant, and everyone hurriedly followed.

The boss suddenly saw a large group of people coming in, and immediately became excited, he hadn't seen so many guests for a long time, so he hurriedly greeted him, and asked with a huff, "Are a few guest officers going to drink?" ”

Dunan said angrily: "Nonsense, come to your restaurant, don't you drink to watch a play!" "Yes, yes, it's the villain who is confused! Are the guests going to enter the box or are they going to eat and drink in this hall? Dunan didn't dare to make his own decisions and looked at Yang Peng. Yang Peng smiled: "Don't bother, just be in the hall." "Yes, yes, all the guest officers, please!" With that, the boss invited everyone to the window and sat at several tables. The boss asked, "I wonder what everyone wants?" ”

Dunan said boldly: "Bring up all your famous wine and food in Yangzhou!" "The boss's eyes lit up, and he felt that he was really lucky to meet a high roller today! After agreeing to the promise, he hurried down to Zhang Luo. Bai Tong looked out of the window, frowned, and said: "This Yangzhou is the Jiangdu of the year, and it is recorded in the history books that the people of Fufu are gathered here, and it is a paradise on earth, but I didn't expect it to become like this!" ”

Yang Peng said lightly: "After all these years of war, it would be really strange if it could still maintain prosperity!" ”

Dunant frowned and said: "Listening to what the two generals said, they have already ordered the magistrates to implement many policies to benefit the people, and it stands to reason that there should be some improvement, at least the situation is better, but in front of them is such a lifeless and dilapidated appearance!" It can be seen that the policy of the big brother has not been implemented at all! Yang Peng said: "It should be what you said, caused by the local officials deceiving their superiors and subordinates!" Dunan pondered: "Lianghuai has been very rich since ancient times, if it can be governed well, it will provide the country with a steady stream of food and taxes, otherwise, not only can it not enrich the treasury, but it will continue to consume not many resources!" It can be seen that whether the two Huai can be properly governed is really important! ”

Yang Peng took a sip of tea, smiled and asked, "If it were you, how would you govern it?" ”

Dunan said with a smile: "If it is the younger brother, the first thing is to promote a few reliable officials for my use, and select those officials who have a good reputation in the local area to be promoted, if there is really none, I have to ask the eldest brother to assign people to me; Then, while encouraging agriculture and commerce to flourish trade, we slowly reformed the government to select and train talents, and gradually replaced those useless officials. After the above is completed, it can be regarded as the initial step on the right track, and the next thing is not so difficult, nothing more than to stick to two aspects. ”

Feeling a dry mouth, he picked up the teacup and drank a large sip of tea, and continued: "First, vigorously develop agriculture, commerce and handicrafts, and implement all policies that are conducive to these developments, and resolutely eliminate those that are unfavorable, and at the same time, we must do a good job in government supervision and rewards and punishments. It would be sufficient to set up a separate team of overseers in the yamen, and at the same time to organize the local gentry, merchants, and students with outstanding reputation, and give them the power to supervise. ”

Yang Peng's eyes lit up and he exclaimed: "Your idea is very good, especially the last one, which can be described as a unique creation of the ancients!" ”

Dunan smiled, "The younger brother just thinks that since this world is the world of the people of the world, the people of the world should be allowed to have the means and power to restrain the officials, otherwise the world is the world of the people of the world, and it will be a meaningless empty talk!" ”

Yang Peng smiled and nodded. At this time, the boss and his wife came up and put several famous local dishes and a pot of wine in Yangzhou on Yang Peng's table. Seeing that his husband and wife were serving the food in person, Dunan asked with a smile: "Could it be that the boss is so difficult that he can't even afford to hire a buddy?" ”

The boss sighed, "That's it!" Since the chaos, this Yangzhou city has become more and more withered, and business has become more and more difficult to do. The proprietress on the side continued: "Actually, our family is quite good, because the store is its own, although the business is not good, it can barely be maintained!" This is not the case with other stores, because it is a rented shop, and the business is so bad that it can't be sustained, so they don't do it one by one! Hey, in previous years, we drank together to celebrate the New Year, but last year's Spring Festival was not deserted! ”

Yang Peng asked: "It has been some time since Yan Yunjun recovered Yangzhou, isn't the situation a little better?" The husband and wife sighed, and the proprietress couldn't help but say: "They all say how heroic King Yan is, but I don't think so!" It's been so long since Yangzhou recovered, and there has been no change! What Mingjiao was like before, and what is it now! A few guest officers, do you think this Yan King has a name in vain! ”

Everyone laughed, and Bai Tong said: "Don't worry, boss, everything has a process, I believe it won't be long before everything will be fine!" The husband and wife sighed. Immediately, I felt that these people did not seem to be ordinary people, except for the fat man and the thin man who seemed to be scholars, everyone else had a strong temperament, especially the one who was the leader, extremely heroic and imposing, and felt that he should be a general with heavy troops! The husband and wife couldn't help but feel a pang in their hearts, thinking of Yan Yun, who had just said something to complain about King Yan, and they panicked. Then I found that they didn't look angry at all, and I couldn't help but let go of my heart. The proprietress hurriedly said: "The little woman was talking nonsense just now, you just think I was a fart, don't take it seriously!" ”

The crowd laughed. Yang Peng asked: "Boss, is the local magistrate okay with the people?" When the husband and wife heard this, they couldn't help but be suspicious, glanced at Yang Peng, and the proprietress asked, "I'm afraid this son is not an ordinary person, right?" Immediately, his heart moved, and he thought of the ministers who were ordered to pay private visits to the storytellers, and his eyes lit up, "Could it be that Gongzi is actually the minister of the Qincha?" ”

Everyone glanced at each other and smiled, and Yang Peng smiled: "You can also say the same." When the husband and wife heard this, they were so frightened that they quickly knelt down and bowed down, "Grass, the grass people don't know that the adults are driving far away and talking nonsense, please forgive the adults!" Yang Peng smiled and asked, "What are your sins?" ”

The proprietress whispered: "Little women shouldn't, shouldn't talk nonsense!" The boss next to him said angrily: "You are really talking nonsense!" King Yan is wise and martial, that is a great figure that has rarely appeared in thousands of years! What do you know about a woman, you mess around with your mouth, you really damn it! ”

Yang Peng smiled and waved his hand: "The boss lady is not wrong!" There are some complaints in my heart, so what's the harm in talking about it! This matter is that King Yan did not do well, I'm sorry for you, I'm here to apologize to you for him! As he spoke, he stood up and bowed with his fists folded.

The husband and wife were startled and hurriedly kowtowed: "The grass people don't dare!" The grass people don't dare! Yang Peng helped the two of them up, and the two looked at Yang Peng with emotion and nervousness. Yang Peng asked the husband and wife to sit, but the husband and wife didn't dare to say anything, Yang Peng asked to sit again and again, and the husband and wife were not good enough to refuse, so they sat down with a twist.

Yang Peng asked: "I want to listen to the voices of your people during this private visit, only by knowing the difficulties of the people, can King Yan prescribe the right medicine!" When the husband and wife heard such words, they were so moved that they didn't know what to say. Yang Peng smiled and said, "I'm still the same question just now, what do you think of the local magistrate?" ”

The husband and wife glanced at each other, and the boss sighed, "This matter, the grass people really don't know how to talk about it!" Yang Peng smiled: "Don't worry about anything, just say what you know!" "Yes!" There was a pause, "Hey! Speaking of local magistrates, I'm afraid that there is nothing we little people don't hate! As he spoke, his face showed a look of anger and hatred, "These guys don't care about the life or death of our people at all, not to mention the expropriation and extortion, and they also use their power to wantonly encroach on the land and property of the people, and many families have bankrupted their families and have to flee!" ”

When Yang Peng heard this, he couldn't help frowning. The boss hugged his fists and said: "Adults may not know, this Yangzhou and even the entire Huainan area are controlled by the three major families!" The people of the three major families can be described as rampant and domineering on this land, robbing the people and seizing property, and even killing and injuring appointments, all kinds of evil! Yang Peng and everyone couldn't help but be angry, they expected some shortcomings of the local officialdom, but they didn't expect it to be so rotten, it really reached the point where it had to be rectified!

"What are the three major families you are talking about?" Yang Peng asked.

The boss said: "It's the Zhou family, the Zheng family, and the Wang family." They are all big families in Huainan. "Smiled," said that he was not afraid of adults laughing, but in fact, the grass people were also from the Zhou family. Everyone was a little surprised, and Dunant said jokingly: "Isn't it great, the boss must have gained a lot of benefits from it!" The boss smiled bitterly: "My lord made fun of it!" Although the grass people belong to the Zhou family, they are not the same thing as the Zhou family, and that circle is actually very small! Pointing to the wife next to him, "The surname is Wang, and the Wang family is also the same sect and master, but in fact, the two sides have no contact at all!" There are a lot of people with the surnames of Zhou, Zheng, and Wang, but they can't be said to be people from those three families! ”

Yang Peng smiled and nodded, "I understand what the boss meant." Then he thought: "The current Yangzhou prefect is named Zhou Xian, and he must be a member of the Zhou family among the three major families, right?" The boss nodded, "Exactly, and he is still the head of the Zhou family!" Frowning, "This week is very vicious!" Not long ago, his son Zhou Lu fell in love with the daughter of the family on the corner of the street, and when the marriage failed, he openly broke into the house to rob people, and the two old men were seriously injured and collapsed on the bed, but they were still worried about their daughter! Ay! I don't know what happened to the daughter of that family? I'm afraid it's been ruined! After saying that, he sighed a few more times.

Everyone was furious, and Dunant asked, "The local government doesn't care, doesn't the local garrison care?" The boss was stunned, "This matter, what does this matter have to do with the local garrison?" Shouldn't all such things be handled by the local government? ”

Yang Peng asked: "After this incident, did that family take any measures?" The boss nodded, "Who says no?" After their daughter was snatched away, the two elders begged their relatives to sue the official, my lord, you think, the prefect is Zhou Lu's father, how can he take care of this case? The person who went to file a complaint failed to get the complaint, but was beaten by the prefect. Since then, no one dared to sue, and the two old men could only wash their faces with tears at home all day long! Hey, there are so many things like this that I can't talk about it for a while! ”

At this moment, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps at the door, and the boss and his wife looked up, suddenly became nervous, and hurriedly greeted them. Immediately, everyone saw the boss and his wife very respectfully greeting a few young people dressed in domestic clothes, "Oh, a few are really rare guests, please please!" The young men had roe deer eyes, their chins raised, and they looked arrogant and domineering.

A few people walked to a table and sat down, and the boss bent down and asked, "What do you want?" A young man said angrily: "It's not the first time that the masters have come, what are you talking about, just pick the good one!" "Yes, yes, a few masters later!" Then he and his wife went to the back to work.

Yang Peng and the others remained silent and drank by themselves. I only heard the few family members next to me talking loudly there, and one said: "I didn't expect that woman to be so fierce that she actually committed suicide with scissors!" The other snorted coldly, "Suicide is a fart!" That little woman is simply ignorant, if she dies and makes Yanai unhappy, can her parents get out of it? I'm afraid that the next day Yanai will take the lives of her parents! If she was smart, she should be obedient to the yain and be a concubine in the ya, so that not only would they be fine, but they would have endless glory and wealth, which is really stupid! Others chimed in.

Yang Peng and the others felt that what they were talking about should be the woman who was robbed by Zhou Luqiang just said by the boss, and they really admired the woman's strong character. The proprietress came out from the back with a few side dishes and a pot of wine, walked straight to the hidden killing table, and set the wine and food in place.

When those family members saw this, they were furious, and one of them slammed the table and shouted: "Don't you see the masters here, dare to serve them wine and food first!" The proprietress hurriedly stepped forward to make amends, only saying that the guests wanted it first, and asked them to forgive their sins, but the proprietress did not dare to say Yang Peng's identity, because she felt that since the other party was a private visit to Weifu, she should not be willing to expose her identity indiscriminately.

The housekeeper who slapped the table raised his hand and slapped the proprietress and scolded: "You old pious woman, you are so impatient!" Yang Peng and others were taken aback when they saw him beating people, and they all got up.

Although the proprietress was beaten, she didn't dare to get angry, just a strong reparation. The family who beat the proprietress refused to give up, grabbed the placket of the proprietress with his left hand, and raised his right hand to see that he was about to slap her again. At that moment, a powerful palm suddenly grabbed his wrist. The family was taken aback, turned his head to look, and saw a heroic and very angry face, and the curse words that had reached his lips were stuck in his mouth, and he couldn't help but feel fear in his heart. Immediately thinking that he was a family member in the Zhou family's mansion, and he was afraid of who would come, his courage immediately became fat, and his left hand loosened the placket of the proprietress's clothes, and he actually slapped Yang Peng, and he had to admire this person's courage!

However, how could he touch Yang Peng with this little means, his palm was still in mid-air, and he felt a huge force violently lift himself up, as if the clouds were flying through the fog, and then slammed into their table with a loud bang, smashing the square table and falling to the ground. Several other family members were so shocked that they scattered to dodge, and when they reacted, they couldn't help but be annoyed and angry, and rushed towards Yang Peng one after another.

The secret guards immediately stepped forward, and with three punches and two kicks, they beat those who were used to bullying the people so that their noses were blue and their faces were swollen and they were looking for teeth. Yang Peng raised his voice and said, "Okay, stop fighting!" The guards stopped, and one of them kicked one of them in the head in dismay. Several of the housekeepers were lying on the ground, groaning and screaming in pain. It was not easy for them to help each other get up, glaring at Yang Peng and them with a resentful face, and one of them said viciously: "You wait!" You wait! It's not over yet! After saying that, they supported each other and stumbled away.

The proprietress said with a sad face: "They will definitely not give up, how is this good, how is this good?" At this time, the boss had already come in, and he was very surprised to see the mess in the hall, and he couldn't figure out what was going on. After listening to his wife's brief account of what happened, his face instantly turned pale, and his lips trembled involuntarily.

Bai Tong said: "You don't have to worry, everything has Yan, my lord, it's going to be fine!" Only then did the husband and wife remember their identities, and hurriedly knelt down, begging Yang Peng to make decisions for them. Yang Peng helped the two of them up and said with a smile: "It's going to be fine, don't worry!" When the husband and wife heard this, their originally frightened hearts couldn't help but calm down a lot.

Yang Peng raised his voice and said: "Don't let this matter disturb our interest, everyone sit down and continue to eat and drink!" They all returned to their seats and sat down, and continued to eat and drink. The husband and wife hurriedly brought over the rest of the wine and food, and their hearts were always unstable. The boss took the smashed table out of the door and put it down. I was about to go in, when I suddenly heard the noise of people on the street in the distance, and I couldn't help but follow the sound. It doesn't matter if you don't look at it, I was startled when I saw that nearly a hundred servants were rushing towards this side with shouts, and passers-by avoided one after another, and a few of them were clearly the Zhou family members who had been beaten just now. The boss hurried back and stammered, "No, it's not good! They, here they are! ”

Yang Peng and the others, who were eating and drinking, put down their wine glasses, and at this time, the sound of hurried and chaotic footsteps outside came into everyone's ears, Yang Peng's heart moved, and he couldn't help frowning. The gate suddenly went dark, and a large group of fierce and vicious servants poured in. The boss and the proprietress were so frightened that they hugged each other and retreated to the corner, trembling to themselves.

The strong man who looked like a headcatcher glanced at the hall, and there were only Yang Peng and a few people in the hall, and the headcatcher's gaze naturally fell on them. At this time, a family member who had been beaten before pointed at Yang Peng and the others and said very resentfully: "It's them!" ”

The head catcher frowned, but he didn't take action immediately. He was born in the public family for many years, and his vision is still a little, he feels that these people have an iron and blood spirit, but he is afraid that they are not ordinary people, so he does not dare to act rashly, and raises his voice: "Who are you?" How dare you make trouble in this Yangzhou city? ”

Dunant glanced at him and said mockingly, "Why do you say that we are making trouble?" "The few family members next to him all the time, "Why can't it be a few of them who make trouble?" ”

Seeing that the other party still had such momentum at this moment, several family members were furious, and they all shouted and scolded: "You bastards, you don't know when the time of death comes!" I'll see if you're still arrogant! Then one of them shouted at the catcher: "Zheng catcher, what are you talking about with them, why don't you arrest them quickly!" ”

Zheng Zhutou glanced at Du Nan and thought secretly: I'm just afraid that they are too careful, how can they have a background, I have seen the important generals of the Yanyun Army, there are no such people, and they cannot be ordinary sergeants, the military law of the Yanyun Army is like a mountain, it is impossible to come to this restaurant to drink at this time, look at their outfits, there are ten ** merchants from other places. As soon as I thought of this, I had a bottom in my heart, and said coldly: "I said that if you make trouble, you will make trouble!" ”

Dunan sneered: "This head catcher is really a great official! I heard that King Yan will not treat the people like this, whose power do you rely on to dare to be so rampant? Zheng Zhutou was furious and shouted: "You dare to speak to me like this, you are really impatient!" Come on, take them down for me! All the officials answered in unison, and rushed forward. The guards had been on guard for a long time, and when they saw this, they immediately took action. I saw that the hidden killers were punching and kicking, and the officials used to bully the people, but where was the hidden opponent, they were beaten and staggered and retreated.

After all, what happens next, let's see how it will be broken down next time.