On the west bank of the Huangpu River stands the young county town of Shanghai.

This low and simple brick and stone city was built in the 32nd year of the Jiajing reign, more than ten years later than Kunshan County.

Because Shanghai County was located in a remote area and no one cared about it, and there was no grand secretary like Gu Dingchen to support it in the court.

In order to avoid being plundered by Japanese pirates, the county could only rely on the gentry and common people to contribute money and manpower.

They demolished all the brick houses to build the walls, and finally, in less than two months, they built a magnificent city with a circumference of nine miles, a height of twenty-four feet, and a moat that was seventeen feet deep and six feet wide.

This somewhat ugly but very solid city protected the people of the entire county from being plundered by Japanese pirates more than a dozen times in the following years...

Although the anti-Japanese war was won, the people of Shanghai were still on high alert because of its remote coastal location. Especially since they heard that Chongming County, which was separated by a river, had just wiped out a group of Japanese pirates a while ago.

This made the people of Shanghai very nervous, so when they saw the magnificent fleet of ships entering Shanghai from Huangpu and heading towards the county town, the gunmen patrolling on the city walls quickly sounded the alarm!

Amid the sound of the alarm bells, people living in the towns and villages outside the county town did not even bother to pack up their belongings. Instead, they carried their elderly and children on their backs and ran towards the county town.

The moment the bell rings, all the drawbridges on the trenches will rise, and the people who have not yet fled to the county town will have to fend for themselves...

The city was also in chaos. The gunmen and militiamen quickly dropped their work and ran to the armory next to the city wall to gather.

There, they will receive armor and weapons, accept orders from county officials, and go to the city walls to resist the Japanese pirates.

The newly appointed magistrate Zhang Qi did not dare to delay and quickly called the county magistrate, the registrar and others to rush out of the county government office.

Without time to prepare the horses, Magistrate Zhang and his assistants ran all the way to the Xiaonan Gate, which sounded the alarm.

When he climbed up the city gate tower panting, he saw that the fleet was less than two miles outside the city.

He took a quick look and became furious.

"You bastard, are you blind? Can't you see the flags of the Yingtian Governor and the Susong Military Preparations Department?!"

The militiamen had no words to say and could only bow their heads and take the blame. Who told them that they were illiterate and had never seen such a big scene?

Li Ronghao, the county magistrate, finally caught his breath and said with a dry mouth:

"This is strange. What are the Zhongcheng and Bingxian doing here together?"

"I'm afraid they are here to fight against the Japanese." Yu Dianshi guessed.

"..."Zhang Zhixian was a newly-appointed Jinshi who was selected immediately after his exams. He would not speak easily at a time like this, for fear of saying too much and making mistakes, which would affect his prestige.

As the assistants were discussing, the warship stopped at the Neitan Wharf, and teams of officers and soldiers dressed in Ming military uniforms went ashore and formed up.

Poor Judge Tian ran to the edge of the trench and shouted loudly across the suspension bridge, asking the Shanghai magistrate to come out quickly to greet him.

~~

The drawbridge was slowly lowered, and Zhang Qi led all the assistant officials to the left side of the city gate to respectfully welcome the arrival of Lord Zhongcheng.

Lin Run rode into Shanghai City with an expressionless face, followed by Zheng Yuanshao and other civil and military officials.

Not to mention County Magistrate Zhang and others, even Zheng Yuanshao couldn't understand why Lin Zhongcheng suddenly came to Shanghai.

But Lin Zhongcheng had a gloomy face all the way, so he didn't dare to ask and could only follow behind silently.

"Where is Magistrate Zhang?" Lin Run suddenly asked in a deep voice.

"I'm here. I'm here." Upon hearing the voice, Zhang Qi hurriedly got up from the ground and trotted to the front of Lin Zhongcheng's horse.

"We came to Shanghai to investigate a case of collusion with the Japanese." Lin Run finally revealed the answer and said, "How many Wanyuan stores are there in the county?"

"Shanghai is a small place and there is only one," Magistrate Zhang replied hurriedly.

"Captain Feng!" Lin Run shouted in a low voice.

"Here!" The tall captain immediately stepped out from the crowd.

"Immediately seal up Wanyuan with Magistrate Zhang, and do not allow anyone to enter or leave. Count all the accounts and transport them to the governor's office."

"Ah?" Zhang Qi felt a little overwhelmed when he heard this. Wanyuanhao was the god of wealth in the county, and it had the salt transport government as its strong backing.

The governor sealed up the house and left. How will he live his life in the future?

“This, this, this…” Zhang Qi stuttered and was unable to utter a word. He quickly looked to the old county magistrate Li Ronghao beside him for help.

County Magistrate Li has a pair of big, bright eyes, and a very conspicuous mole on his right cheekbone.

Seeing this, he said hurriedly, "Zhongcheng, please allow me to report that Wanyuan is in charge of the salt tax in Lianghuai and Liangzhe. Although Shanghai is a branch, it also affects the whole system. Should we notify the deputy salt transport envoy stationed in this county first?"

"No need for that. This court will discuss this with Zou Yanxian ourselves." Lin Run did not want to create unnecessary trouble.

Besides, he and the Salt Inspector-General Zou Yinglong were old friends and comrades-in-arms, so if they could make some concessions, things wouldn't become too awkward.

However, seeing how nervous these two guys from the county are, they probably can't even stand up straight in front of the Wanyuan.

"Don't worry, we won't let you offend anyone." After saying that, he glanced at the team of flag officers following behind him and said, "You two should go too."

"Understood!" Captain Feng and two flag officers hurriedly received the order.

Seeing that the governor had brought out the royal decree, Magistrate Zhang and County Magistrate Li dared not shirk their responsibility anymore.

He quickly led the officers and soldiers to the Wanyuan on Yaqian Street.

Lin Runze, along with Zheng Yuanshao and others, went to his own governor's office located in the northeast of the county seat.

~~

On Yaqian Street, the merchants who had just calmed down after a false alarm were about to resume business when they heard a series of clattering sounds coming from the street entrance.

Merchants and citizens all looked over and saw a large group of fully armed soldiers, carrying shining spears, approaching aggressively.

The rustling sound was the sound of the soldiers' weapons rubbing against their armor.

The common people could see that they were not soldiers from the county. They looked at each other and whispered to each other, wondering what had happened.

Then they saw that the eldest and second masters were among them, bringing their troops to Yaqian Street, in front of Wanyuanhao, which was second only to the county government office.

All I heard was the officer in charge shouting, "Alert!"

"Yes!" Two centurions each brought a team of soldiers to block both ends of the Wanyuan, and no outsiders were allowed to approach.

Captain Feng held the hilt of the knife in his hand and strode towards the gate.

Like all money houses in the world, there is a team of guards guarding the entrance of Shanghai Wanyuan.

The guards didn't take Feng Qianhu, a fifth-rank general, seriously at all. They blocked the door with their weapons in their arms and said:

"What business does this military officer have?!"

"You know it's official business, why don't you get out of here!" Captain Feng's personal soldier behind him shouted with a dark face.

"I'm sorry, sir. Our Wanyuan is a business of the Salt Transport Office. Without the order of the Salt Commissioner, the government cannot come in and mess around."

The shopkeeper came out upon hearing the voice and bowed to Captain Feng. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

As he said this, he slipped a meeting ticket into Captain Feng's hand without leaving any trace.

Captain Feng dared not take his money, so he immediately pushed it back to the shopkeeper and shouted, "By order of the Minister of Justice, the Shanghai Wanyuan Store is closed down. Anyone who dares to disobey will be punished by military law!"

The two flag officers behind him flashed the life-threatening royal flag, and the shopkeeper immediately lost his arrogance.

This is something that can really kill people. It would be a shame to get beheaded on the spot.

"Get out of the way!" Captain Feng pushed the shopkeeper aside and waved his hand fiercely, saying, "Go in, arrest everyone, pack all the accounts and send them back to the governor's office!"

"Yes!" The soldiers rushed into the Wanyuan one after another.

ps. I was worried about the fate of a popular character for the whole day today, but fortunately I finally figured it out.