Chapter 39: Arson

After settling Zhao Xiao, Song Yuzhu blew out the oil lamp and went to the next room.

Song Quan followed behind him, wanting to say something but stopping himself. He helped Song Yuzhu get on the bed, and finally couldn't help but speak: "Master, I see that you are not very good to General Zhao. When did your relationship become so good?"

Song Yuzhu answered irrelevantly and asked, "What do you think of Zhao Xiao?"

"As for him... it's hard to say. At first, I almost hated him to death! You treated his injuries, but he turned his kindness into enmity and took you away from the clinic."

Song Yuzhu smiled and said, "Indeed, I was also very angry at that time. Later, I knew Yang Yuanqing's temper. If I didn't go to treat his illness, I'm afraid that all the people in Jiangcheng County would have to be buried with him."

Song Quan sighed: "Sister Xiangyu told me about Xuzhou City. But later on, I got to know her and found that she is quite reliable and treats you very well!"

"Being especially nice to me?"

Song Quan scratched his head: "Yes, sometimes I feel that he is more like your follower than I am, and he does everything with all his heart and soul."

Song Yuzhu smiled and said, "It's getting late, go to bed."

"Yeah." Song Quan turned and walked out, muttering to himself that the young master had not answered his question yet.

*

The next day, Song Yuzhu got up early and led a group of people out of the city. It was a rare sunny day today. The sun shone through the clouds, making them feel warm.

At the city gate, Qian Ming'an was organizing yamen runners to distribute porridge, and there were many officers and soldiers nearby to maintain order and prevent the refugees from scrambling for food and causing riots.

"Mr. Zhu, you're here!" Qian Ming'an came up with a smile on his face.

"Your words yesterday really woke me up! A few days ago, I was afraid that refugees would come into the city and disrupt the peace, but I forgot that they are also citizens of Dongzhou. They really deserve to die! Now I will make amends. I hope it is not too late."

Song Yuzhu snorted and laughed. It had to be said that Qian Ming'an was the prefect of a state and had such a flexible character. Not many people could do that.

"There are about 8,500 refugees outside the city. It is difficult to accommodate them all if we let them come into the city. I think it would be better to let the elderly and children come in first." Qian Ming'an glanced at Song Yuzhu's expression, afraid that he would say something wrong.

"Can."

The officers and soldiers spread the news that the elderly and children could enter the city. After waiting for an incense stick of time, only seven or eight elderly people were standing at the city gate.

These people were all lonely elderly people with no one to rely on. They looked at the officers and soldiers around them with fear and had no joy at all about entering the city.

Song Yuzhu asked, "Does Magistrate Qian intend to allow just a few people to enter the city?"

Qian Mingan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I...I didn't know there were so few people...How about letting women enter the city as well?"

Song Yuzhu nodded to the guard beside him, and someone immediately passed on the message that female refugees could also enter the city.

This time there is no one here... There are obviously many women among the refugees, why don’t they go into the city?

In fact, the refugees wanted to enter the city at first, but after being locked up outside the city for more than a month, they no longer had this idea. Although it was not easy to survive outside the city, at least they could still be alive. If they went in, they might even lose their lives!

Qian Ming'an's face was ugly. These refugees were shameless! If Song Yuzhu hadn't insisted on him settling down, he wouldn't have bothered to care about them. How dare they disobey him?

"You see... it's not that I don't want to accommodate them, it's just that these people are not cooperating?"

"Mr. Zhu, I have a solution, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not!" Gong Yangqing walked over and bowed to Song Yuzhu.

"Master Gongyang, please tell me what you can do."

"It's not that these refugees don't want to enter the city, but they are afraid that they won't be able to survive in the city. Moreover, with so many people entering the city, there is no way to make money. If a riot breaks out, it will harm the people in the city. It's better to send them to the salt fields."

Qian Mingan suddenly raised his head and stared at Gong Yangqing fiercely. Why did this old man suddenly mention the salt field? !

Song Yuzhu motioned for him to continue.

"When Yang Yuanzhen governed Dongzhou, he did not pay much attention to the salt industry. The salt fields on the outskirts of the city have been abandoned for a long time. My lord, you can let these people dry and boil salt."

Qian Mingan interrupted him hastily: "Sir, official salt is not easy to sell. Common people would rather buy private salt secretly than official salt!"

"What is the official salt price?"

"One ounce of salt costs three hundred coins. This is the price set by the court."

Song Yuzhu sneered and said, "Change the price to thirty cents per ounce of salt." It's not a very valuable thing, so of course it can't be sold at such a high price.

Qian Ming'an hurriedly said: "Sir, you must not do this. The price of official salt has not changed for hundreds of years..." Thirty cents per ounce, isn't it cheaper than private salt? How can I make money?

Zhao Xiao walked up to him and looked down at him: "I'm afraid that Prefect Qian hasn't figured it out yet. Dongzhou is not under the control of the court now. Does Master Zhu have to listen to you when setting the price?"

Qian Mingan lowered his head and said, "I dare not."

Song Yuzhu nodded to Gong Yangqing, motioning him to continue.

Gong Yangqing came prepared. He stayed up all night last night and scratched his head to come up with this idea. He wanted to get Qian Mingan and show off in front of Master Zhu. He became more and more excited as he talked about it.

"They won't be allowed to work for free when drying salt. In addition to providing food, they will be rewarded ten cents for each stone of salt they dry. There is no upper limit. This way they can survive and have motivation to work. What do you think?"

Song Yuzhu clapped his hands and said, "That's a good idea! Let's do it as you say!"

Qian Ming'an opened his mouth and closed it again, looking at the remaining snow under his feet with a gloomy face.

It's really hard to deal with! I have given in in every possible way, but they are getting more and more aggressive. They have really turned the tables. It seems that I have to think of another way...

Zhao Xiao specially sent more than a thousand officers and soldiers to take them to the salt fields in the suburbs.

Suddenly there was a commotion among the refugees, and a man dressed fairly decently shouted that he wanted to see an official.

Zhao Xiao ordered someone to bring him over.

The man immediately stepped forward and kowtowed, saying, "My name is Zheng Jia. I was originally a merchant in Dongzhou. I have sold raw silk, tea leaves, and silk, and have traveled to many places. I heard that you are going to start selling salt again. I wonder if you are in need of odd jobs. If you can help me, please let me know!"

This guy is smart, speaks clearly and has courage! He knows that he won't make much money at the salt field, and he happens to be good at business, so maybe he can find a way out!

In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient, and most people never left their hometowns in their entire lives. Therefore, there were very few people who knew the way, and in a caravan, an old traveler who could recognize the way was a treasure.

Song Yuzhu: "Where have you been?"

Zheng Jia said: "I have been to Shangjing, Jizhou, Xuzhou, Zhongzhou and Xizhou!"

"Get up."

"Thank you, sir!" Zheng Jia clenched his fist and trembled slightly.

There is no rush to sell salt right now. It won’t be too late to arrange it after the refugees have refined the salt.

Song Yuzhu said, "The refugees still need food and clothes. Governor Qian, please tell me what to do."

Qian Ming'an was stunned for a moment, and murmured: "There is still some money in the government storehouse, which can last for about a month."

"Not even a month or so."

"I am willing to give another 5,000 taels to help the refugees."

Zhao Xiao said coldly, "Five thousand taels is too little. I heard that Prefect Qian would spend over a thousand taels of silver for a banquet. This amount of money is not enough to fill your teeth."

Qian Mingan gritted his teeth and asked, "How much silver does General Zhao want?"

"Take out 100,000 taels first, and we'll talk later if it's not enough!"

Qian Mingan almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He really dared to ask for it! Although 100,000 taels was just a drop in the bucket for him, it was really painful to give his own money to those refugees!

Gong Yangqing, who was standing next to him, looked at his twisted face and almost died of laughter. He finally got rid of his anger after all these years! Seeing him suffer a setback made him happier than picking up silver for free.

"One hundred thousand taels is too much... I will try to pool my money with other officials to see if we can get the sum together."

Song Yuzhu said, "Let me first thank Prefect Qian on behalf of all the people."

*

Back at the government office, Qian Mingan was furious. This group of people were really going too far!

This won't work. This time they asked for 100,000 taels, and I paid it myself. Next time they will dare to ask for 200,000 taels. Why should I give the silver I worked so hard to save to those lowly people?

Zhang Haiyi, Qian Mingan's trusted subordinate, walked up to him and whispered, "Sir, if you can't do it, let me handle it."

"What are you going to do?"

Zhang Haiyi gestured at his neck and said, "While it's dark and windy, let's just kill them all!"

"But we have no soldiers!"

"Your Excellency is confused. They are staying in an inn in the city. Why do they need soldiers?"

Qian Mingan suddenly realized, "You are right! Since they don't want to accept my toast, don't blame me for being cruel and ruthless!"

Zhang Haiyi sent someone to the gambling house to find a man named Tong Si.

Soon, the servant from the mansion brought a man with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks. This man was a famous gangster in Dongzhou City. In the past, Zhang Haiyi would assign him any shameful work.

"Greetings to the master!" Tong Si knelt down and kowtowed three times.

Zhang Haiyi said, "I'll give you a task. When you complete it, I'll reward you with a house, one thousand taels of silver, and two beautiful wives."

Tong Si's eyes widened: "Are you joking with me, sir?"

"Do you think I'm kidding?"

Tong Si said excitedly: "I wonder what the master wants me to do?"

Zhang Haiyi waved at him, and Tong Si quickly got up and moved closer to him, listening attentively.

"You go to the inn at night and take them..."

Tong Si was stunned. Although he was greedy for money and lustful, he also knew his own weight. If he tried to kill those people with his own abilities, he was afraid that he would be killed before he even started.

"Sir, please don't embarrass me. If I had killed an ordinary civilian, I could have done it, but I heard there's a general in there. I'm just courting death!"

Zhang Haiyi stretched out his finger and pretended to look: "I heard that your wife just gave birth to a son for you?"

Tong Si's face changed, knowing that if he couldn't accomplish this task, his family would probably be implicated.

I could only bite the bullet and accept the task: "Don't worry, sir, since you value me, I will definitely get things done for you!"

Zhang Haiyi waved his hand and said, "Go down."

After the people left, Qian Mingan swallowed his saliva and asked, "Is this person okay?"

"Don't worry, sir. He has killed many people, so he won't fail."

"That's good. When the matter is done, you will definitely benefit from it."

*

Tong Si came out from the back door of the government office and went to the gambling house to play a few rounds as usual. After losing all his money, he returned home.

His wife was making clothes for the baby at home. Seeing him coming back so late, she angrily scolded him, "You've been out all day and can't make a penny. The rice jar at home is almost empty. We'll starve to death tomorrow!"

Tong Si smiled and pinched his son's face and said, "Don't worry, I'll let you live in a big yard tomorrow!"

The child burst into tears, and the woman picked him up angrily: "Just blow it!"

In the middle of the night, Tong Si quietly got up and went to the side room, put two kerosene bottles in his pocket and went out.

The lights in the Jufu Inn were turned off. A figure tiptoed to the back of the inn, quietly lit a kerosene bottle and threw it in through the window!

The ceramic bottle exploded on the wooden floor, flames flew everywhere, and it caught fire instantly!

"Oh no! There's a fire!"

(End of this chapter)