Sending another high-ranking official like a provincial governor would be a dead end, especially since the last one hadn't been killed by them and was still in office. He had simply become "blind and deaf" and "his orders could not leave his office," effectively making him a useless chess piece.
The current Emperor Mingzheng selected Wang Suwen, a fourth-rank official, to go to Yangzhou to survey the canal water conservancy under the pretext that the Ministry of Works wanted to repair the canal. He was not appointed by the emperor, but was dispatched by the Ministry of Works. The accompanying personnel were all "technical experts" in today's words, a group of people engaged in water conservancy.
Shortly after Wang Suwen arrived in Yangzhou, the 26-year-old Wan Luo, the eldest son of the Wan family, the richest family in Yangzhou, a legend in the business world, who at a young age could intimidate a group of old-timers, died.
Wan Luo was a brilliant child, learning quickly from the age of three. At six, he was held on his grandfather's lap while he listened to his uncles and brothers discuss business.
Grandfather liked him. No matter what business or what the family was discussing, as long as grandfather showed up to participate, he would always bring him along. Later, everyone knew that a small chair would be placed next to the old man's seat, and Wan Luo would just listen quietly and never speak.
When he was twelve years old, he attended a chamber of commerce meeting of several banks to discuss whether they should unite. Grandpa Wan called his name and said, "Luo'er, go ahead." Wan Luo stood up and said, "Yes, Grandfather." From then on, his legend began.
He stood up as just a teenager, tall but childish after all. He spoke eloquently in front of the heads of the Chen, Ruan, Song, Qian, and Lu families. If Wan Luo's first stunning appearance was considered by many to be just a mouthpiece for Grandpa Wan, then in the next thirteen years, Wan Luo used his strength to slap the faces of those who despised him time and time again.
Wan Luo's death can be said to be a coincidence, or it can be said that Wang Suwen did it intentionally.
After Wang Suwen arrived in Yangzhou, he got along very well with the son of the Lu family, one of the local wealthy merchants. The Lu family was originally the one that the local political and business groups agreed to host Wang Suwen.
This kind of reception is not a formal reception in the official circles, but every time there is an "outsider" coming to Yangzhou, Yangzhou's iron plate will put forward the corresponding candidate to make friends openly.
Lu Mingqi, the son of the Lu family, and Wang Suwen, each had their own ulterior motives, so they naturally became friends quickly. Wang Suwen accepted the money Lu Mingqi gave him, and he chose the skinny horse he liked the most among the gifts.
After accepting other people's things, the "feelings" will naturally be further strengthened. If you are soft-hearted, you will become more talkative. Wang Suwen seemed to say it casually that the team that came to inspect the water conservancy this time brought the latest fire bombs, and the person who made the fire bombs was also in the team. They would go to blow up the "Dapian Bridge" in two days.
This "large bridge" was built right next to the water, with stone pillars underneath, which hindered navigation. Among the many tasks that Wang Suwen's water conservancy team had to do was to demolish the "large bridge" and build a new arch bridge under which ships could navigate, thus connecting the original canal.
This would require the use of fire bombs. Lu Mingqi's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he quickly put on a dandy smile, saying that he would go along to watch the bridge explosion. He had to see such a big event. Of course Wang Suwen wouldn't refuse.
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