Upon hearing that Wu Shilai was outside, Shuntian Prefecture Governor Cao Sanyang immediately put down his official duties and invited him in to meet him.

"Wuzhai, why are you back again?" Cao Sanyang smiled and invited Wu Shilai to take a seat, and asked someone to serve tea.

Cao Sanyang is already past the age of 50, the same age and subject as Zhao Jin, but he has never suffered much, has always been pampered and well-maintained. Therefore, he looks much younger than Zhao Hao's older brother, and about the same age as Wu Shilai, who is ten years younger than him.

"Mingsir." After the attendant left, Wu Shilai asked in a low voice, "I am here to ask about Zhao Xiaolian. What heavenly law did he violate? I respectfully request your instructions."

"Zhao Xiaolian..." Cao Sanyang was stunned and couldn't match the name.

"He is Zhao Zhongcheng's cousin. He was brought directly to the government office by Ni Dahong today." Wu Shilai said with an unhappy face, "His family is so worried that they are gathering all his classmates to beat the drum to report to the government!"

"Oh, you mean him..." Cao Sanyang nodded slowly when he heard Ni Dahong's name, "That's right. Didn't Ni Dahong tell you in detail?"

"He just said he was looking for the Lu family's account book. If you ask me any more, I'll ask you, Mr. Ming." Wu Shilai lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "Please help me solve the confusion in my mind."

"Okay, okay." Cao Sanyang nodded, and after the attendant served tea, he told him to close the door and go out, not letting anyone approach.

When there was no one around, Cao Fu Yin sighed and said:

"Wuzhai, do you think I am willing to take care of this? That Zhao Zhongcheng was a fellow student with me in the government, and as soon as he left, I arrested his uncle. How will my classmates look at me?"

"Then why, sir..." Wu Shilai looked at him puzzled.

I only heard the prefect Cao ask faintly: "Do you still remember Wang Zhi?"

~~

"Of course." Wu Shilai nodded.

Officials, civilians and common people throughout the southeast will never forget the Wufeng ship owner who dominated the sea until their death.

Wu Shilai's proudest achievement in his life was his heroic feat in fighting against the Japanese pirates when he was the magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture.

During that time, Japanese pirates invaded Songjiang and hunted and killed the fleeing civilians. Wu Shilai withstood tremendous pressure and resolutely opened the city gates, allowing tens of thousands of refugees to take refuge in the city and properly resettle them. He also personally led hundreds of crossbowmen out of the city to meet the enemy, and miraculously repelled the Japanese pirates!

Chen Dong, who led the Japanese pirates at that time, was just one of the many captains under Wang Zhi.

"Is this matter related to him?" Wu Shilai asked solemnly, "He has been dead for nearly ten years, right?"

"But the vast territory he established in Japan is still there, and the fleets that crisscrossed the world have not been destroyed. Even now, the Portuguese and the Japanese still only recognize his golden seal. Those sea merchants must hold his golden seal before their ships are allowed to enter the country for trade."

Although there was no one else in the room, Cao Sanyang still subconsciously lowered his voice and said, "My dear brother, you have suffered in Guangxi these years, so it is understandable that you don't know what happened later. Let me tell you this, after Wang Zhi was executed, the Lu family took over his maritime business, including the gold seal."

"Ah!" Wu Shilai shuddered, but then he felt that it was reasonable. Because when Wang Zhi was alive, there were rumors in the officialdom that Lu Bing and Yan Shifan were his backers, otherwise the anti-Japanese commander-in-chief Hu Zongxian would not have been flirting with him all the time and had an ambiguous attitude.

Moreover, according to the files that have been made public, Yan Shifan's henchman Luo Longwen not only served as a staff member in Hu Zongxian's Governor-General's Office, but also traveled on the sea for many years. He was himself a Japanese pirate under Wang Zhi, or a maritime merchant.

At the same time, Lu Bing and Yan Shifan were not only in-laws, but after Yan Shifan's defeat, the Lu family also took in his only son Yan Shaoting... This is also a major crime that the Lu family is now being held accountable for.

Therefore, although Wu Shilai could not understand the mystery, since the Lu family was most likely Wang Zhi's backer, it was reasonable for the Lu family to send someone to take over Wang Zhi's territory after he was killed.

After all, it was a smuggling empire with an annual trade volume of tens of millions of taels of silver!

~~

In the signing room, Cao Sanyang whispered the secret to Wu Shilai.

"Of course, such a big business is not something that the Lu family can take over alone. Almost all the powerful families in the southeast have a share. But Lu Bing was at the peak of his career at that time, and everyone had to rely on his protection, so everyone respected the Lu family as the new King of Jinghai and let them monopolize 20% of the shares."

Wu Shilai nodded slightly.

He suddenly remembered that Cao Sanyang was from Yixing, Nanzhili. Yixing and Pinghu Lu family were separated by Taihu Lake and they were far apart. I'm afraid the Cao family would not miss this feast.

Otherwise, why would he, the prefect Cao, care about such trivial matters?

"But the Lu family's Jinghai King was not a good person. He only wanted to eat and take more, but was unwilling to share the benefits with others. But with Lu Bing around, no one dared to say anything. Later, Lu Bing died, and his son Lu Yi took over as the commander of the Jinyiwei. Everyone had to swallow their anger."

"But after the current emperor ascended the throne, everything changed. Lu Bing's crimes were uncovered, Lu Yi and Lu Wei were imprisoned, the Lu family was raided, and more than 300 people were detained by the authorities." Cao Sanyang sighed and said:

"But there are still some who slip through the net. Lu Bing's second son, Lu Shen, fled to Japan. He actually ordered the entire fleet to set out in the name of King Jinghai to attack Hangzhou City with him and rescue his entire family. How is this possible?"

"So in the internal strife, Lu Shen was killed, and the Lu family's shares were also confiscated. Lu Shen's son Lu Xuan was so angry that he rushed to the capital and wanted to expose everyone so that everyone would perish together." Cao Sanyang said slowly:

"They have the account books of the merchants' purchases and payments. If they fall into the hands of the emperor, the consequences will be disastrous." After saying this, he was silent for a long time, until Wu Shilai couldn't help but speak up, then he sighed and said:

"The merchants got the news and came to me. I sent people to set up checkpoints on the roads leading into Beijing, saying that I had received a report that someone from the Lu family was going to Beijing to rob a prison..."

Wu Shilai finally understood the whole story, but he was still shocked beyond words.

The dignified third-rank Shuntian prefect actually became an accomplice of the sea merchants. If this matter were to get out, I'm afraid no one would believe it...

Cao Sanyang naturally knew what Wu Shilai was thinking, so he slowly stood up, walked to the painting of "Da Ming Mountains and Rivers" hanging on the wall, turned around and looked at Wu Shilai calmly and said:

"I know what you are thinking, Wu Zhai. Whether you believe it or not, I have to tell you that my Cao family has been engaged in farming for generations and has never been involved in any maritime business, let alone taking the slightest stake in their gang. If there is any falsehood in this statement, I will be struck by lightning!"

Seeing that his superior had said so much, Wu Shilai quickly stood up and said, "I have never doubted the innocence of Mr. Ming."

"No, I am innocent. I am an accomplice of the sea merchants. Not only me, but also the officials, gentry and common people in the southeast are all accomplices of the sea merchants."

But then I heard the shocking analysis of the prefect:

"Wuzhai, you are from Zhejiang, and you have been an official in Songjiang. You know that in our southeastern area, farmers who make a living by growing grain are rare. Most farmers grow mulberry and raise silkworms, grow cotton and spin yarn, grow tea and stir-fry tea... Citizens in county towns and prefectural cities make their livings by spinning, weaving cloth, making silk, making porcelain, and making paper. So many things are produced continuously, and they cannot be sold domestically - they can only be sold overseas by sea merchants!"

"Wuzhai, the common people are all supported by the sea merchants. If the court puts all the sea merchants under control, what will the common people in the southeast eat? Without the employment and supervision of the sea merchant group, those sailors will turn into cannibalistic pirates! The Japanese invasion that has just been quelled for ten years may come back in the blink of an eye! The victory against the Japanese that we have won with such great sacrifices will be wasted in an instant..."

"So I can only help them and try to settle this matter for them." Cao Sanyang sighed and said, "After hearing what I said, can Wuzhai understand a little?"

ps. Third update, don't think I'm making up a story. In fact, that was the situation at the time. I just used the novelist's method to connect many historical facts together. There may be far-fetched or exaggerated, but it is definitely not fabricated or out of thin air. Please give me monthly votes and recommendation votes~~