Mr. Zhao said a few words of condolences to Xu Bangrui, then came out of the mourning shed. Xu Weizi took him to a guest shed nearby to rest and have tea.

In fact, Zhao Hao was not really tired, but it would be impolite to leave immediately, so he had to sit down, have a cup of tea, and talk to Xiao Zhi in a low voice.

There were still a dozen guests in the guest shed, all of whom had come to pay respects earlier, and were now drinking tea and chatting there. Seeing the young man come in, the guests ignored him at first, but when they heard Xiao Zhi call him Master, the shed immediately became quiet.

Zhao Hao put down the teacup in surprise, thinking, has my reputation become so famous that it is known to everyone?

Then he saw a tall, middle-aged man with triangular eyes and a hooked nose stand up and walk to him.

"Excuse me, you are Mr. Zhao, right?"

"Yes, who are you?" Zhao Hao felt a little uncomfortable with his condescending look.

"Chen Wangmo, the Earl of Pingjiang." The man revealed his identity.

"So it's you, my Lord," Zhao Hao bowed and said, "What advice do you have for me?"

In fact, he knew that Pingjiang Bo was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Grand Canal, and the commander-in-chief of the Grand Canal, Gu Huan, was old, so he basically had the final say over the Grand Canal Group.

You touched someone else's cake, so you're going to be held accountable.

"I have heard of your great name for a long time. A few of us old brothers would like to invite you to dinner. I wonder if you would do me the honor?" Chen Wangmo put his hands behind his back and looked at people with sidelong glances.

"It's really unfortunate that I have to go back to Suzhou tomorrow." Zhao Hao was too lazy to attend their Hongmen Banquet, and there was nothing good to say to these rotten nobles. "It's better to come to Jinling next time, and I will be the host. Please honor me, sir."

"You!" Chen Wangmo didn't expect that he would dare to disrespect him in public, and his face immediately darkened and he said, "Don't be so arrogant!"

"Uncle." How could Xu Weizhi let his teacher be humiliated? He immediately stood up and said, "In front of my grandfather's spirit, please calm down!"

"Haha, I'm very calm." Chen Wangmo twitched his lips twice, looked past Xu Weizhi, looked at Zhao Hao and said, "Since Mr. Zhao doesn't have time, let's chat here."

He waved his hand and asked the rest of the people to leave the shed first.

"Please speak, sir." Zhao Hao nodded and let Xiao Zhi leave first.

Of course Gao Wu never leaves his side, otherwise if Gao Wu starts fighting due to a disagreement, Young Master Zhao will not be a pushover.

Chen Wangmo didn't care, so he sat down on the chair next to Zhao Hao and said slowly: "Jiangnan Group's business is very big."

"Just to make a living." Zhao Hao smiled faintly.

"You have already made a lot of money in Jiangnan. Isn't it a bit too much to go beyond the limit?" Chen Wangmo picked up a longan from the table, peeled it, put it in his mouth, and started chewing it.

"What do you mean, Lord?" Zhao Hao was in no mood to play dumb with him. This bunch of nobles were just trying to scare people with their prickly fangs. What's so scary about a toothless tiger?

"You transport grain by sea, which has taken away our rice bowl!" Chen Wangmo said through gritted teeth.

"There has been enough noise in the court about this topic." Zhao Hao raised his finger, signaling him to shut up, and said, "The Royal Shipping is here to help the grain transport. If you feel that your job has been taken away, you should help Pan Zhongcheng repair the canal and restore the grain transport as soon as possible!"

"Haha, Mr. Zhao is deliberately pretending to be ignorant!" Chen Wangmo snorted coldly, "You know better than anyone that transporting grain for the court is a losing business. Transporting goods for merchants from the north and south is the real profit. Now all the goods that should go through the canal are transported by sea! And your charges are so cheap..."

As he spoke, he gritted his teeth and said, "Even if the canal transportation is restored, as long as you continue to transport goods for them, how many merchants will be willing to find us to transport goods!"

Zhao Hao really wanted to laugh out loud, but thinking about the people next door who were still mourning, he suppressed his laughter and looked at Chen Wangmo with a strange expression and said, "What are you talking about, Master? It's like a fight between our two families. You said don't move, or I won't be able to beat you. How can a decent person say such a thing? When encountering such a thing, shouldn't you look for the reason from yourself? You can also reduce the freight, isn't it all over?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Chen Wangmo looked at Zhao Hao coldly and said to him, "The livelihood of millions of canal workers depends on it. You can't give up even a penny!"

"So what?" Zhao Hao crossed his legs and dusted off the dust on his white robe.

"I know your main business is overseas trade. You can do whatever you want in this area. We will never be jealous." Chen Wangmo punched the tea table and said, "But don't get involved in domestic freight. Let's keep our distance. You go your way and I go mine. How about that?"

"I'm sorry, sir. Overseas is too unstable. It can only be regarded as icing on the cake." Zhao Hao shook his head slowly and said, "It's still more stable in China..."

What a joke! Master Zhao wants to launch a commercial revolution in the Ming Dynasty. How can he stimulate the development of industry and commerce without increasing the transport capacity and reducing freight rates?

"Boy, don't refuse my toast and then drink the forfeit!" Chen Wangmo's eyes suddenly spit fire, and he stared at Zhao Hao as if he wanted to eat him.

"Haha, I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen such shamelessness!" Zhao Hao finally couldn't hold back his anger, and slammed the table and shouted, "You Caoyun Group has used enough despicable means. They maliciously ran our Jiangnan Bank and colluded with Japanese pirates to attack our fleet. What, have you forgotten about it after the new year?!"

"..." Chen Wangmo's heart skipped a beat, and he said in a muffled voice: "That's the bad debt you have with Hengtong. What does it have to do with our Canal Transport Office?"

"You've confessed yourself, haven't you?" Zhao Hao couldn't help but clap his hands and sneered, "Since it has nothing to do with you, how do you know that Hengtongji colluded with the Japanese pirates?"

"Didn't you say that?" Chen Wangmo felt guilty and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. His arrogance was suppressed, and he said in a muffled voice: "Don't interrupt me. Just say whether you agree or not."

"You have to do business that comes to your door. I can't help you, sir." Zhao Hao lifted the corner of his robe and slowly stood up.

"Then don't blame us for being rude." Chen Wangmo also stood up suddenly, stared at Zhao Hao coldly and said: "The anger of millions of canal workers is something that your Jiangnan Group cannot afford!"

"Okay, stop bragging." Zhao Hao sneered, glanced at him coldly and said, "Just come on, I haven't settled the score with you last time, this time we'll settle all the new and old grudges together!"

"Just wait and see!" Chen Wangmo was so angry that his lungs were about to explode. He didn't expect that the man with the surname Zhao would be so arrogant, even more arrogant than them, the nobles!

"Just go ahead." Zhao Hao smiled and walked out of the shed. Gao Wu turned around, looked at Chen Wangmo deeply, and followed him out.

With a "crack", Chen Wangmo smashed the tea bowl and sat on the chair gasping for breath in anger.

"What's the matter, Old Chen? Didn't you scare that kid?" Nanhebo, Dongningbo and others came in upon hearing the noise, and their faces all looked unhappy when they saw the situation.

In fact, Chen Wangmo did intend to scare Zhao Hao this time. From the Ming Dynasty to today, these hereditary noble titles were only used to scare people.

I didn't expect that guy would ignore me. This is really intolerable!

"Damn it, if I don't teach him a lesson, he will really have no idea of ​​his own limitations!" Chen Wangmo gritted his teeth for a while before he caught his breath, but there was a fierce light in his eyes!

~~

Coming out of the Duke of Wei's mansion, as soon as he got on the carriage, Zhao Hao ordered Gao Wu: "Contact that guy and ask him to find out for me what Chen Wangmo and his gang are up to."

Gao Wu nodded and got out of the car to pass on the order.

On that day, after Mr. Zhao returned to Liuyun Mountain Residence, the Security Department raised the security level. All the men in Caijia Lane ended their vacation and set up several lines of defense inside and outside the villa halfway up the mountain.

At the same time, the Security Department notified the Xiaocangshan Management Company and ordered them to strengthen their vigilance to prevent anyone from committing evil deeds.

But in a restaurant and entertainment venue like Xiaocangshan where all kinds of people mix together, it is impossible to guard against a few troublemakers sneaking in.

As a result, a brothel near the Furong Pond caught fire that night. Fortunately, although there were many buildings near the pond, they all had high horse-head walls that served to isolate the fire source. In addition, the firefighting team put out the fire with all their strength, so the fire did not spread to the adjacent buildings.

Zhao Hao stood on the dark terrace of his villa halfway up the mountain, looking at the blazing fire below the mountain, the panicked crowd, and the people desperately trying to put out the fire. There was a flicker of fire in his eyes, but his voice was as cold as ice:

"These nobles are really despicable..."

"Yes." Uncle Wu, who happened to be invited to Liuyun Mountain Residence, stood side by side with Zhao Hao, looking at the firelight below the mountain and said, "These guys rely on the protection of their ancestors to do whatever they want and have no regard for the law. Isn't it the result that the court always gives them a break?"

"Hmm..." Zhao Hao nodded. Just as Wu Shilai said, the reason why Chen Wangmo was so fearless was because the court's laws were not fair at all. Under the premise of discussing relatives and nobles, it was impossible to bring down a noble without solid evidence. Moreover, even if the nobles were convicted, they could still be exempted from punishment.

The nobles are as disgusting as the royal family, but their numbers are well controlled so their harmfulness has not risen to the level of the latter.

Because it is different from the royal family who can be canonized no matter how many children they have, even if the title is hereditary, only one person can be chosen from among the sons and daughters to inherit it, and the others do not enjoy the privilege. Otherwise, Xu Bangrui and Xu Bangning would not have fought so hard for the right to inherit the title.

"But their children and family members can't discuss marriage or status!" Zhao Hao sneered, clapped his hands, and asked the guards to bring up two large boxes.

"What is this?" Uncle Wu's eyes narrowed.

"From Gu Huan to Chen Wangmo, as well as the sixteen Nanjing nobles including the Nanhe Earl's Mansion and the Dongning Mansion, and their families, there are one thousand complaints and charges of various crimes." Zhao Hao said lightly.

"Ah?" Wu Shilai's eyes almost popped out. "Where did you get this from?"

"Since we are going to fight against the Caoyun Group, why don't we collect dirt on them?" Zhao Hao smiled faintly and said, "Uncle Wu, just treat it as a report from the public."

ps. The transition chapter is not easy to write... I can only update twice today...