Jiang Hai spoke in a low voice, as if he was carefully considering every word: "To be honest with Governor Chang, I am quite familiar with Gu Xiu, the head of the Jiangdu Gu family..."
"The Gu family in Jiangdu." Chang Suining couldn't help but say, "Boss Jiang is really not an ordinary person. He can actually be on good terms with the Gu family."
Although the Gu family is not as great as the Cui family and other aristocratic families at the center of political power, they are also considered a prominent family in Jiangnan. Most families like this would consider themselves disdainful of having anything to do with businessmen like Jiang Hai.
From this we can see that the head of the Gu family is not a rigid and conservative person, but someone who knows how to adapt.
"Many years ago, by chance, I and Gu Xiu became close friends... and because I am good at chess, we became close friends after a few encounters."
While Jiang Hai was speaking, he was always paying attention to Chang Suining's changes in expression, and was very cautious.
It is not an exaggeration to say that he came here at the risk of his life... He originally did not want to wade into this muddy water, but last night, that guy Gu Xiu Gu Changshan hugged him and cried bitterly after getting drunk! While crying, he said something like, "Everyone knows that the person who can really make the decision in Jiangdu right now is the new governor. Although she is young and a girl, she has the courage to ask the emperor for an official position... If she is willing to come forward, she will definitely be able to protect my Gu family"; "And my dear brother is now listed in front of the governor Chang, so I think it is still possible to say a few words in front of him"; he also said something like, "My Gu family's hundreds of years of inheritance cannot be destroyed in the hands of me, Gu Changshan. Now I am afraid that the only one who can help me is you, my dear brother... You are my only connection with Chang Suining"; finally, he shamelessly put forward past events - "My dear brother, you must know that the favor between you and me is a life-saving favor!"
Hearing this, Jiang Hai exclaimed that it was absurd. Although there was a life-saving debt between the two, it was he who saved the other's life! Get it clear, he is the creditor!
But the friendship between the two of them for more than ten years is not fake.
Over the years, whenever he encountered difficulties in his business, he often received secret help from Gu Xiu. If it weren't for the Gu family, he wouldn't have been able to sit on the throne of Jiangdu's number one salt merchant so smoothly.
Therefore, in addition to friendship, there are also interests between the two. If the Gu family can really be saved, it will be the best for Jiang Hai.
The reason why Jiang Hai came to Chang Suining for help was because the Gu family was now facing the situation of being labeled as Xu Zhengye's accomplice.
Xu Zhengye has been rooted in Jiangdu for a long time, and there are many people in Jiangdu who are connected with him. In recent days, the imperial eunuchs who have been ordered to investigate the matter have arrested many of Xu Zhengye's accomplices, most of whom are local wealthy families.
And in the past two days, there were signs that the fire had spread to the Gu family. It was said that among those arrested, someone "gave away" information about the Gu family. Whether this is true or not is still being verified.
That is to say, the wrong precedent was set when Li Xian used excessive means to investigate the Luoyang gentry and aroused public anger. The imperial eunuch who was responsible for thoroughly investigating the Jiangnan gentry this time had to restrain the strength of his men - otherwise, the Gu family and the Yu family, which was also a prominent family in Jiangdu and had a marriage relationship with the Gu family, would have been locked up and imprisoned by now.
"However, there are indeed many people who can testify that when Xu Zhengye was in Jiangdu, Gu Xiu had accepted Xu Zhengye's invitation to a banquet and visited Xu Zhengye's house." Chang Suining sat there and said in a calm voice.
Jiang Hai had his own plans, so...this Governor Chang seemed to have never asked about the imperial envoy's investigation from beginning to end, but he knew everything by heart.
Knowing it clearly means that she is in control of the matter. The previous governors of Jiangdu did not dare to say it, but this Governor Chang must be the one who is most capable of controlling every tree and blade of grass in Jiangdu.
Sweat broke out on Jiang Hai's forehead.
Today, he either came to the right place and could really save Gu Changshan; or he came to the wrong place and he would have to die with him... pity his life that he had spent one million taels to buy back...! "Yes, Gu Xiu did accept Xu Zhengye's invitation..." Jiang Hai said with a fat face that showed that being friendly brings wealth, "At that time, Xu Zhengye invited all the important people in Jiangdu City to the banquet. Those who refused to go either had their families slaughtered or were isolated and expelled..."
"The Gu family had to attend the banquet to protect themselves... But as far as I know, the Gu family never conspired with Xu Zhengye! If the Gu family was really an accomplice of the traitors, why hasn't the imperial envoy found any evidence so far?"
"Please ask Governor Chang to investigate. The Gu family is at most..." Jiang Hai lowered his voice and chose the most appropriate words: "At most, they are just neutral and protecting themselves."
"That's ambiguous, and the position is unclear." Chang Suining raised his eyebrows: "But Mr. Jiang, you know that when dealing with traitors, there is no such thing as neutrality."
Jiang Hai felt a chill on his back. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the clear voice again: "However, if you really want to talk about it, in order to protect themselves, Jiang Dongjia did have such an ambiguous 'neutral' behavior when facing Xu Zhengye——"
Jiang Hai was suddenly startled and knelt down in a hurry, groaning in pain.
Listening to Jiang Hai's panicked explanation, Chang Suining remained silent for a while.
Looking at Jiangdu this time, there are too many "neutral" people, and those who can survive are naturally "not simple".
Most of them were indeed forced to do so in order to protect themselves. As for why some people were not held accountable while others were killed during the subsequent reckoning... the difference lies only in political needs.
Now the imperial court and the emperor only want to take this opportunity to rectify dissidents and wipe out the gentry.
As the holy order was passed down layer by layer, the boundary of the word "aliens" was sometimes not so clear. In a massacre caused by a political turmoil, it was inevitable that some people would be accidentally injured.
Obviously, in Jiang Hai's eyes, the Gu family has never been involved in the struggle for the throne. They just want to live in the south of the Yangtze River and pass on the family tradition of scholarship. If the Gu family also disappears in this struggle, it would be a real accidental injury.
And he wanted to avoid this "accidental injury" for his friend.
But right now... Jiang Hai, who had brought trouble upon himself, had only five words left in his mind - I should not have come if I had known!
What Gu Changshan, Gu Duanshen... He doesn't have to save them!
He just came to give it a try. Since the signs were not right, he had to get out of here quickly! "Today... I came here today not to defend anyone. I just told you what I know. As for the decision... it will naturally be up to Governor Chang to judge!" Jiang Hai, who was kneeling there, forced a smile and said, "If Governor Chang thinks that what I said is wrong, just think that I have never been here today!"
"I am just an insignificant fly. If you find me annoying, just wave your hand... I will no longer bother you!"
He looked as if he had rolled in oil, very slippery, with a flattering and submissive smile on his face.
Chang Suining stood up from his chair and walked over.
Jiang Hai was smiling, feeling nervous, but his breathing had actually stopped.
Until the girl came to him, stretched out her hand and helped him up.
Jiang Hai didn't dare to let her get tired, but his fat body was loose and weak after the shock. When he was about to stand up with his hands, he found that the girl was very strong and easily picked him up.
With this strength... it shouldn't be a problem to lift half a pig, right? Jiang Hai's mind was still buzzing with this sentence, and he thanked him flatteredly: "Thank you, Governor..."
Chang Suining: "Mr. Jiang is not an outsider after all."
Jiang Hai listened attentively.
"So I won't hide some things from Mr. Jiang." Chang Suining said, "I've been so busy lately that I'm really exhausted. I have no intention of interfering in the matter of the imperial envoy investigating Xu Zhengyou's party in Jiangdu. Secondly, if all these prominent families who have lived in Jiangdu for a long time are eliminated, it will actually be a good thing for me. After all, I'm not sure whether they are obedient or not. Without them, it will undoubtedly be easier for me to rectify and govern Jiangdu."
The girl's tone was calm and indifferent, but her words were all clear about the pros and cons and were almost cold-blooded and rational.
Faced with such "heartfelt" words, Jiang Hai could only respond: "Yes..."
Then, the other party changed the subject: "But Mr. Jiang Yu Jiangdu has a friendship with me that helps me in my time of need. Since Mr. Jiang has asked for it, I will still help him."
This tortuous attitude made Jiang Hai dare not show his surprise for a moment.
"But I also don't want to trust the wrong people and leave unknown hidden dangers in Jiangdu. How can the Gu family prove that they have no ulterior motives towards the court and Jiangdu?" Chang Suining asked.
Jiang Hai was delighted, and dared to take over the conversation. He took out a list from his sleeve: "The Gu family also wants to help Governor Chang rebuild Jiangdu... This is written by Gu Changshan himself, and I dare to ask Governor Chang to take a look."
Chang Suining took it, unfolded it, and after a quick glance, he shook his head with a hint of disappointment.
Jiang Hai's heart was lifted again.
"Gold, silver, land, houses... I don't want any of these." Chang Suining returned the list to Jiang Hai and said, "If the Gu family really wants to show their sincerity, let them bring two things to me."
Jiang Hai held the list and asked tremblingly, "Please tell Governor Chang..."
…
After leaving the Governor's Mansion, Jiang Hai went straight to the Gu family.
Of course, in these troubled times, he came to see Gu Xiu several times, always through a side door.
"...No one is interested in your stuff!" Seeing Gu Xiu, Jiang Hai threw the list over to him.
Gu Xiu, his two sons, and a dozen other clan members all changed color when they heard this. Gu Xiu's eldest son hurriedly asked, "What does this mean? Did she refuse? Did she think the things were too little?"
This is already the majority of the Gu family's assets! "It's not that it's too little, it's that I don't want it at all!" Jiang Hai sat down in the chair and waved to the maid for tea.
Gu Xiu couldn't sit still anymore, so he stood up and asked, "So, is there still hope?"
"I don't want these." Does that mean you want something else? Jiang Hai drank a cup of tea and said, "I want you to bring two things to see..."
Everyone in the Gu family treated it with seriousness. What two things?
"Books and people!"
The Gu family was stunned.
Jiang Hai conveyed the instructions in detail: "I want you to bring out 100 books from your collection that have never been circulated in the market! And bring out at least 10 talented and famous children from your clan!"
Someone in the Gu family changed his expression: "One hundred volumes of books..."
His Gu family was not as good as the Qinghe Cui family. Their collection of books totaled more than 500 volumes, but if we talk about the rare books that have never been circulated, there are only a little over 100 at most, and the rest are duplicates that have been copied for generations... I'm afraid she sneaked into their library and counted them, and then asked for them according to this number! "This is clearly taking advantage of the fire, why doesn't she just rob!"
Jiang Hai reluctantly raised his eyelids and glanced at the man: "Do you think they can't just rob it?"
"Of course she can rob it!" said the old member of the Gu family, "But will it belong to her if she robs it? She still has to hand it over to the imperial envoys and take it back to the capital!"
But donating books is different. If they donate them to Jiangdu Prefecture School, then they will belong to her, the governor of Jiangdu. She has the final say on how the books are used!
"Why else would they discuss this with us?" Jiang Hai was too lazy to argue with this old-fashioned guy, and looked directly at his friend Gu Xiu: "Governor Chang said that he will give you three days to think about it. If you have thought it through, you can copy the hundred books and keep them for yourself. She only wants the originals."
Gu Xiu felt a little relieved. Since he didn't ask for it right away and also gave them time to copy it, it wasn't too harsh.
While several tribesmen were still arguing, Gu Xiu's second son, who had just turned seventeen, couldn't help but ask about the matter of the important person - is there no one who cares about this?
"...Are there any requirements in terms of age and appearance?" the boy asked indirectly.
Jiang Hai: "As long as they are talented!"
The young man breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, as a well-known handsome man in Jiangdu, he would be doomed if someone coveted her beauty.
"Anyway, I've already told you what you want to say. You can discuss it among yourselves." Jiang Hai didn't stay any longer as he had a lot of other things to do.
But in Jiang Hai's opinion, there was no room for negotiation on this matter. He wanted to be defeated by the court or buy peace with this governor Chang. It was a matter of life and death. Was it worth considering? Gu Xiu personally sent him away. On the way, Gu Xiu sighed and said, "... In this way, not only my Gu family, but also the Yu family and the rest of the families who are in danger will be plundered by her in this way."
"It's a matter of mutual consent. That's called a deal."
Jiang Hai consoled him, "Changshan, you have to think positively. In today's world, you aristocratic families are not only the thorn in the emperor's side, but also the prey of the rebel armies. As the saying goes, it is a crime to possess a treasure... Take this opportunity to donate your collection of books that you can no longer protect, and you can also stop some villains from coveting it. You can also get some protection from the governor Chang. In the long run, it may not be a bad thing."
After walking another ten steps, Gu Xiu finally nodded. It was he who begged Jiang Hai to knock on the door of Governor Chang. Naturally, he had thought about the pros and cons over and over again in the morning.
Gu Xiu was in mixed emotions, but out of the corner of his eye he saw his friend suddenly stop.
Gu Xiu looked over and immediately asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything missing?"
"No, I suddenly thought of it..." Jiang Hai seemed to freeze, and said belatedly: "Since she knows the situation of the Gu family so well, she may not be unaware of our friendship... She forced the salt merchants like me to donate silver, first roasted me on the fire, and then treated me well. In addition to letting the salt merchants "set an example" for other merchants, she may have intended to open up this path for me first, and just waited for me to come to her door on your behalf today!"
"From the merchants in Jiangdu to your prominent families...she has planned everything long ago!" Jiang Hai cried out in pain, pointing at the locust tree on the road ahead: "See, we are just like the leaves of that locust tree, one by one, she has plucked us all into submission, clean and tidy...Not a single leaf in Jiangdu City can escape from her grasp!"
This little girl is obviously only of this age, but she has such plans, calculations, and determination... and she has never revealed it at all!
If you play tricks on her, she will tear your pants off if you are not careful!
Jiang Hai sighed again. His life was in someone else's hands, so why should he care about his pants? 4200-word update has been delivered. Good night!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
