Chapter 3141 Fear
"...I don't believe it." Then where did Qingzhou get so much salt?
"Forget it, forget it. Let the county magistrates come and buy salt and distribute it to them according to the previous quantity. Next season, send someone to Qingzhou a month in advance to get information. If there is salt, that would be great. If not, go to Jiangnan. It will be the summer harvest season by then, which is very labor-intensive. We must have enough salt."
"yes."
Jizhou and Xiangzhou heading west from Qingzhou, as well as Zhengzhou and Huazhou heading south, all received the large gift carts sent by Bai Shan. The soldiers went south from Xiangzhou, and after arriving in Zhengzhou, they turned back east, passing through Huazhou, Yanzhou and Yunzhou before returning to Qingzhou. Because they did not bring enough salt, Yanzhou allocated the last three carts of salt, so when they arrived in Yunzhou they went in with empty carts.
The soldiers delivered an official letter directly to the governor of Yunzhou, as well as a letter from Bai Shan.
After reading it, the Yunzhou governor was speechless for a long time. "So it's my turn, and it's gone?"
The soldier consoled the governor of Yunzhou, saying, "Yunzhou is not far from Qingzhou. If you need salt urgently, why not send someone with me back to get it?"
The governor of Yunzhou thought about it for a while and nodded in agreement. He then dispatched a team to go to Qingzhou with them to get salt, and brought money and carriages.
After sending the person away, the master was a little worried, "Is there really so much salt in Qingzhou?"
"We'll know in ten days."
It would take at most six days to travel from Yunzhou to Qingzhou and back. Four days were enough for them to purchase salt. If they did not return after ten days, or returned without bringing salt, they would have to look for salt elsewhere.
"Over in Jiangnan..."
"Hmph, let them keep nagging. Oh, and let them stay at the post station. The post station covers their food and lodging anyway. If they want to raise the price, they won't even have a door or window." The Yunzhou governor's face turned grim. He sneered, "If they want to fight the court, then go ahead. But they're gambling with the lives of the people of the Central Plains and all those in salt-deficient areas. No wonder His Majesty won't tolerate them."
Aren’t the noble families in the Central Plains and Guanlong arrogant enough?
They are more powerful and do not take the royal family and the emperor seriously, but who would dare to gamble with the salt of the people of the world?
It’s no wonder that His Majesty took action against Jiangnan first. He really has no bottom line.
The governor of Yunzhou angrily turned around and returned to the yamen, then ground ink and began to write a memorial impeaching the salt administration in Jiangnan.
At this time, Yang Heshu was trying his best to control the salt production of various salt fields and government offices at all levels. For this purpose, he risked his life to inspect the salt fields in person, and then he saw the salt fields that had been blown up and emptied of wood.
The official who received Yang Heshu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Your Excellency has seen this. This is not our excuse. It is simply because the saltworks is old and firewood is hard to find, so we have to suspend salt production."
The official looked at Yang Heshu's expressionless face and said carefully, "I still ask you to write a letter to say a few good words for us. Even a good cook cannot cook without rice."
Yang Heshu withdrew his gaze, lowered his head and stared at him quietly for a long while. As the sweat on the official's face began to pour down, he nodded slightly and said, "I understand."
Yang Heshu turned and left.
After they had ridden a long way, he slowed down his horse and led his men slowly on the official road. Not long after, two riders caught up with them from behind, and he reined in his horses.
The two guards saluted from their horses, then rode forward and whispered in Yang Heshu's ear, "There's salt in the warehouse, and quite a bit. It takes up two-thirds of the warehouse."
Which means it's almost full.
Yang Heshu tightened his grip on the reins and whispered, "Have someone keep an eye on the intersection. If they move the official salt, be sure to keep an eye on them. I want to see what they do with it later."
After returning, Yang Heshu sent an official letter to all salt fields in the country, asking them to state the current inventory of the salt fields, the number of workers in the salt fields, daily consumption, etc.
Gu Huai received the news and after a moment's silence, he said, "Let's delay it for now and see what he wants to do."
Lu Binghua, who was brewing tea nearby, said nonchalantly, "What else can we do? We're just trying to force them to produce salt, but every saltworks has found a reason. From the officials to the managers and farmhands, they've all been silenced. Even if Yang Heshu knows there's something wrong, without evidence, he can't do anything to us."
Zhu Hongru, who was sitting opposite him, shook his head and smiled, "Brother Lu was too cruel to Lord Yang. After all, our families still have some friendship."
The Yang family is a Guanlong family. When the people moved south, a branch of the Yang family settled in their Wu County. After that, the families intermarried. An aunt from the Lu family married into the Yang family, and a girl from the Yang family also married into the Lu family. Not to mention those far away, one of Lu Binghua's aunts was from a branch of the Yang family.
This is also one of the reasons why Yang Heshu feels both dangerous and safe here.
There are many people who want to kill him to prevent future troubles, but there are also many people who want to keep him alive because of family ties and other interests.
The emperor sent Yang Heshu over, which really hit their weak spot. Before he arrived, the voices of each family became confused.
As for resisting the imperial court, there were those like Lu Binghua who planned to fight to the end and wanted to firmly grasp Jiangnan; naturally, there were also those who wanted to take a step back and live in harmony with the imperial court and the emperor.
Not to mention that there are several families, even within a family, brothers and sisters with the same father and mother have different opinions.
Last year, the emperor took advantage of the assassination and frame-up of the prince to arrest many people in Jiangnan. The Lu, Zhu and Gu families all suffered losses. Among them, Lu Binghua's younger brother was arrested for allegedly spreading rumors that the prince was rebelling and forging letters. Although he did not die, he was sentenced and exiled to Liaodong.
In this life, unless the emperor grants amnesty to the world, you may never be able to come back.
The Lu family had to send a branch of their family to Liaodong to accompany his brother and let him settle there.
Lu Binghua looked unhappy and was obviously angry.
Gu Huai then said, "We should be more careful. We have all seen what Yang Heshu is capable of. If he hadn't helped the Crown Prince and deceived us last year, we wouldn't have suffered such a disastrous defeat."
Zhu Hongru slowly took a sip of the tea that was handed to him and said with a faint smile, "Yang Heshu is recognized as the best among the Guanlong Central Plains aristocratic families. If I could draw with him, I would be very proud of it. So, Brother Gu is right. We should be careful with him."
Although Lu Binghua was not convinced in his heart, he did not say it out loud.
Gu Huai just assumed that he agreed, so he ordered people to delay time.
But Yang Heshu was not completely without means. The officials of the salt fields complained to Gu Huai after delaying for less than two days. They could not delay any longer. If they delayed any further, Yang Heshu would take over the salt fields directly. By then, not only would these officials be replaced, but even the control of the salt fields would fall into Yang Heshu's hands.
He was the inspector of Huainan Road and had the authority to do so.
(End of this chapter)
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