After more than ten days of trekking, they finally arrived at Haiyuan City.
Looking at the gate of Haiyuan City, Xie Xian couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
The city gate in front of us is so heavy and exquisitely built that it far exceeds the scale of Taoyuan County.
One cannot help but admire the wealth of the place where the salt merchants live.
Even the city walls and gates are much better.
Du Lingfeng was expecting this expression, so he explained, "Thank you, Brother Lu, this city gate was built with funds from the Lu family."
"Every nail on the city gate is made of solid gold!"
Xie Xian looked at the city gate and felt for the first time that Taoyuan County looked a little shabby. He flattered, "The salt merchants are indeed extraordinary..."
"Haha, that's nothing, let's go in and take a look!"
As they were about to ride their horses into the city, they were immediately stopped by soldiers. Du Lingfeng dismounted and took out a document and a silver note.
After chatting with the officers and soldiers for a while, he led everyone into the city.
During the process of entering the city, Xie Xian asked curiously: "Brother Du, even though we have the pass, do we still need to pay silver? How much silver did you give just now?"
"Fifty taels!"
"What! Fifty taels?!" Xie Xian was greatly surprised.
Fifty taels! It's enough for an ordinary family of three to eat for many years. It's outrageous to charge such a high toll!
Taoyuan County is not so dark!
"Brother Xie, you don't know that if I were to enter the city alone, I wouldn't have to pay any money. But this time I brought too many people with me, so I have to pay more tolls."
"The amount of money collected is so excessive, don't the government care?"
Du Lingfeng laughed: "Government? Since you are already in the city, we are truly family, so I won't hide anything from you!"
"The guarding of this city gate has always been a lucrative position. Ordinary people cannot guard this city gate without connections!"
"Since they are all here through connections, why would the government bother investigating?"
"Only wealthy businessmen can come here. Ordinary people naturally have no chance to enter the city, so it doesn't matter if you pay some money."
Xie Xian did not comment.
What he said does make sense. Ordinary people are almost stuck in the place where they were born for their entire lives. Except for the scholars who go to Beijing to take the imperial examinations and the merchants who travel around the country, there is almost no movement of people.
It is not surprising that such a situation occurs. I have seen it before when I was doing business outside.
But such high charges are unheard of!
"Brother Du, since the Lu family can afford to build the city gate, they must be very important in Haiyuan City, right?" Xie Xian asked.
"Of vital importance?" Du Lingfeng smiled contemptuously: "You think this is a simple matter. It is more than of vital importance."
"Look at this street scene. These are all the Lu family's assets!"
Du Lingfeng pointed and saw that the street in front of him was extremely clean and the shops on both sides were in good order.
However, this scene seemed a little weird in Xie Xian's eyes.
"Hmm... it's really nice, but why are there no old people and children on the street?"
Xie Xian quickly discovered something strange on the street. Although there were people walking on the street, there were no young women.
This seems strange.
"Thank you, brother, you are really careful!" Du Lingfeng sighed: "Young women are afraid of being spotted by the Lu family, so they don't dare to go out on the street."
"Don't be surprised. Let me say something extremely treasonous. The Lu family is the emperor of Haiyuan City. In the city, the Lu family can do whatever they want, and no one dares to stop them."
Xie Xian's expression started to become strange when he heard this: "How could this be? Isn't there a government office here?"
"Of course there are, but with the influence of the Lu family, what can the prefect of this place do? In addition to the fact that all the shops on the street have been bought by the Lu family, there is also the influence of the Salt Gang outside the city. The government here has long been in name only."
"If the government wants to do anything, it still needs money from the Lu family."
"The combination of government and business has benefits for both sides, so why not do it?"
Xie Xian was truly eye-opening today. He didn't expect that the situation had gotten so out of control so far away from the central area!
"According to what you said, doesn't the Lu family have the power to bully the people, act lawless, and treat the Great Jing Law as if it were nothing?"
"Alas... In Haiyuan City, I find it funny when you talk about Dajinglu." Du Lingfeng laughed bitterly: "Yes, it's just as you said. The Lu family can do whatever they want in Haiyuan City and bully the people!"
"The current head of the Lu family is named Lu Renjie. To be honest, I am a little afraid of him. He is lustful and violent. He will drag away any woman he likes on the street. If she refuses, he will beat her to death! But if you want to sell illegal salt in Jianjiang, you can't do it without his approval."
"Hey, don't tell anyone else about this. When you see him, keep your head down and speak softly."
Seeing Du Lingfeng's frightened look, Xie Xian's expression gradually became serious.
Oops, the situation here is beyond imagination. I am afraid that I don’t have enough people to solve the problem…
"Brother Du, since this person is so lawless, isn't he afraid of causing public outrage?"
Du Lingfeng said bitterly: "What is there to be afraid of?"
"As ordinary people, what they want is an explanation."
"If the matter gets out of hand, we can find a scapegoat, put him in jail, and give some explanation to the higher-ups. After a few days, when the matter is over and the public grievances have subsided, the higher-ups won't ask about it anymore, and then everything will be fine."
"And what about those scapegoats? They are all old actors. They are well fed and well drunk in there. They will be able to come out after a while."
"If anyone makes trouble again, those who expose the trouble will be killed if they deserve to be killed."
"If it ends like this, it will be over."
"Of course, the common people are not stupid. After a few times of going back and forth, they will give up their fantasy and let it be whatever it wants! Anyway, it is not their turn, so who is willing to take the lead? What's the use of being passionate? If you take the lead, even if you survive by chance, you don't know which cell you will live in."
"Shameless!" Xie Xian held the reins tightly with both hands, clenching his teeth and saying, "Brother Du, I think you don't like this kind of thing, do you?"
Seeing his performance, Du Lingfeng said helplessly: "Brother Xie, now that we are here, we should make the best of it. There are too many unfair things in this world, and we can't control them all!"
"You and I are both scholars. Who among us didn't have the ideal of helping the world when we were young?"
"I have seen so much, and in the end I realized that we were just young and didn't know the difficulties of the world. Look, are we still qualified to be called scholars now?"
"Be patient, it's about making money, don't shiver."
"After meeting Master Lu, you will return to Jianjiang. We won't have much contact in the future, only once or twice a year. As for me, I will find another place, and we can still communicate through letters."
Xie Xian suppressed the undercurrent that was surging wildly in his heart and curled his lips: "Brother Du, I have broadened my horizons today."
Du Lingfeng remained silent and did not speak.
The group walked for a while and arrived in front of a large house. Du Lingfeng said, "Xie brother, this is one of my houses. You can stay here first and rest for two days. You can also take a look at the scenery of Haiyuan City."
"Although there are some special circumstances here, when it comes to enjoyment, it is no less than your Fenghua Tower."
"I'll come see you in two days."
......
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