Before Zhou Yanru went to prison, he gave the Embroidered Uniform Guard a wink.
The Imperial Guard was indeed clever; he nodded quickly, returned to the prison ahead of time, and put away all the instruments of torture.
They even specially found bright red sheets to wrap the gentry who were being tortured.
When Zhou Yanru and Zheng Chenggong entered, all they could see were the pale faces of the gentry.
You can't see the wounds on their bodies.
Zhou Yanru nodded in satisfaction at the Imperial Guards, thinking to himself, "These people are indeed savvy."
"This way, we won't frighten Zheng Chenggong."
He was about to lower his head to warn Zheng Chenggong not to go over, lest he smell the blood.
Then, Zheng Chenggong's small mouth was heard muttering to himself:
"Is this what Mr. Gao usually talks about as harmony? I never understood it before, but now I've seen it for myself."
"What harmony?" Zhou Yanru asked curiously.
Zheng Chenggong quickly waved his little hand.
"It's nothing, just stories Mr. Gao told us."
Zhou Yanru did not investigate further.
He approached Old Master Wang, who had been full of energy just moments before but was now barely breathing.
"Heh, what do you have to say now?"
When Old Master Wang heard Zhou Yanru's voice, he instinctively wanted to scold him, but he quickly swallowed the words back.
Instead, he scoffed, "There's no point in talking to someone like you!"
Before Zhou Yanru could say anything, Zheng Chenggong strode over with his short legs.
"Hmph, it doesn't matter if you don't speak, but I have something to say!"
He had just gathered his thoughts outside, and now was the perfect time to let them out.
"Emperor Taizu said long ago, 'Your salary and emoluments come from the people's hard-earned money. Without the millions of people, our Ming Dynasty would have been finished long ago.'"
“And you gentry, having only read some of the Four Books and Five Classics, think you can govern the world and manage the people.”
"However, you are all just outwardly respectable, but in reality you are all thieves and prostitutes."
"Besides oppressing the people, they've never done anything good!"
Upon hearing this, the gentry instinctively wanted to refute it, but their words aggravated their wounds.
So they bared their teeth, but dared not utter a single word.
They were afraid that Zhou Yanru would turn against them again and criticize them for using weapons.
Seeing this, Zhou Yanru smiled with satisfaction.
After Zheng Chenggong had finished speaking, he asked the gentry:
"Since you're not saying anything, does that mean you approve of Xiao Zheng? That's good."
At this point, Old Master Wang finally couldn't hold back any longer.
He muttered in a low voice, "Heh, what are you so smug about!"
"The Grand Canal has long been cut off by the grain transport gangs. There's probably a problem with the grain supply in the capital. When the emperor investigates, you won't have a good ending either!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanru deliberately feigned a nervous expression: "Oh? How did you know there was a problem with the Grand Canal?"
Old Master Wang was certain that he had found Zhou Yanru's weakness.
He even felt a pang of regret: "If I had said something earlier, would I have avoided getting beaten up?"
He quickly forced himself to stand up and coldly said to Zhou Yanru:
"Hehe, of course we know, because those canal gangs are just dogs kept by us gentry!"
He was angry at that moment, so he didn't speak very politely.
"If you dare to lay a hand on us, the Canal Gang will naturally come after you!"
"Zhou Yanru! Release us now and apologize to us, then we might reluctantly consider whether to ask the Canal Gang to stop."
Zhou Yanru deliberately waited until he finished speaking before letting out a sigh.
"Oh, old man, what you say makes a lot of sense, but it's a pity you said it a little too late."
"What's so late?" Old Master Wang was taken aback.
Zhou Yanru then burst into laughter and clapped his hands.
"That's because all your dogs have been arrested by the soldiers!"
His clapping echoed outside the prison.
The soldiers, who were already prepared, immediately brought in all the gang leaders that Li Ruolian had captured.
When Old Master Wang saw them, his heart sank.
"This...how is this possible?"
Zhou Yanru stopped pretending this time.
He laughed loudly, "What's impossible about that? Our Emperor is farsighted and guessed long ago that you would take action on the canal, so he sent troops there in advance."
"The officers and soldiers were well prepared; what trouble could these canal gangs possibly cause?"
"Speaking of which, I should thank you. If you hadn't come to me willingly, it would have taken me a lot more effort to send someone to arrest you!"
After hearing this, the other gentry were also filled with despair.
"It's completely over now!"
But Old Master Wang remained defiant, insisting he had one last card to play.
"Hehe, Zhou Yanru, do you think that once you've dealt with the Grand Canal Gang, we Jiangnan gentry are completely helpless?"
He gritted his teeth and said, "Don't forget, the Maritime Trade Office needs our help to do business with foreigners."
"If you arrest us all, how will the Maritime Trade Office continue to do business this year?"
"Will the imperial court still collect the summer tax?"
After Old Master Wang finished speaking, the gentry breathed a sigh of relief and echoed, "That's right! The Maritime Trade Office can't do without us either!"
Zhou Yanru smiled slightly and pulled Zheng Chenggong, who was standing next to him, closer.
Do you know who he is?
Old Master Wang frowned slightly: "He's just a child, who else could he be?"
Zhou Yanru shook his head slightly.
His surname is Zheng.
"So what if my surname is Zheng?" Old Master Wang said dismissively.
Zhou Yanru said earnestly, "It's the Zheng from Zheng Yiguan's name."
"What?" Old Master Wang had also heard of Zheng Yiguan's name, and he was immediately shocked.
"What is his relationship with that pirate?"
Zheng Chenggong was immediately displeased.
“My father has long been granted amnesty; he is no longer a pirate, but the admiral of the Ming Dynasty’s navy!”
However, his words were, in effect, an admission of his relationship with Zheng Yiguan.
Old Master Wang felt utterly devastated upon hearing this.
"It's over!"
“This pirate leader is someone who collects protection money on the sea. With his support for the imperial court, the Maritime Trade Office can continue to operate even without us.”
"This is really the end!"
Not only this old man, but other gentry also quickly figured out the reason behind it.
In despair, coupled with the intense pain from their wounds, some people actually burst into tears.
"This is it, we're all doomed!"
"Won't the imperial court kill us all now?"
Zhou Yanru felt a surge of satisfaction upon seeing their demeanor, but his expression quickly changed.
"That's not right. The emperor sent Zheng Chenggong's son south with Li Ruolian. Could it be that he had already planned this all along?"
"It's also possible that it wasn't the emperor who foresaw it, but rather that mysterious Master Gao."
"This is really..."
He didn't think about it any further, but saw that the time was about right.
He continued, "You're lucky this time. His Majesty is considering that this is the first year of Chongzhen's reign and doesn't want to start a massacre, so most of you will have a chance to survive..."
Zheng Chenggong was immediately displeased.
He shouted, "Lord Zhou, how can this be? They slandered Mr. Gao, so they should all be killed!"
Perhaps it was because he had too much contact with Zhang Xianzhong, but Zheng Chenggong's mouth was always full of shouts of war and killing.
Zhou Yanru quickly bent down and whispered in his ear:
"This is also His Majesty's order to make use of these gentry."
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