Chapter 265 265. The baby is a little girl~
I couldn't go back to Beijing to see my baby.
The situation at Baihui Escort Agency was more serious than Lei Li and Zhou Yi had expected. They had originally planned to split their forces into two groups, with the main force going to Baihui first, while they would rush back to Beijing to take a look at the baby, and then go to Baihui to join the main force.
But there was unrest in Baihui.
Baihui's escort agency and logistics are more complicated than those in other prefectures, because here, the Meng family is not the primary controlling shareholder, but the president of the Baihui Maritime Chamber of Commerce, that is, the largest maritime business owner in Baihui.
Mr. Fang has controlled the Baihui business district for more than 20 years. Even the government has to give him some leeway. He is a truly popular figure.
Lei Li originally wanted to use a conciliatory policy and reach a cooperation with Boss Fang in logistics in the name of mutual benefit between the government and the people, and then subtly sideline Boss Fang to achieve the goal of completely nationalizing the escort agency.
Unexpectedly, Boss Fang was so resolute and decisive. After hearing about what happened in Zhongchuan Escort Agency, he took the initiative and used their own method to retaliate. He kicked the Meng family and the government out of the escort agency and completely controlled Baihui's logistics.
At this time, the subordinates of Marquis Changning - the officials of all ranks who were taken over the escort agency and Jingwei, had just arrived in Baihui, and were rejected and boycotted by the merchants and people of Baihui.
Lei Li: “…”
Damn it!
Can't he just be left alone for a moment!
He cursed the damn emperor who sent him to do the offending work dozens of times in his heart, and cursed Boss Fang hundreds of times. Finally, he gave up going back to Beijing to see the cute baby, and went to Baihuifu City with Zhou Yi.
The situation is very bad at this time.
Boss Fang has already taken control of all the escort agencies, and the Baihui government is indifferent and inactive. Small merchants and ordinary people do not welcome the Marquis of Changning and his entourage.
When Lei Li arrived at the government office, he felt that beneath the seemingly warm and humble smile of the prefect Bai Hui, there was a contempt and perfunctory attitude of aloofness.
This pot-bellied prefect has received a lot of money from the Maritime Merchants Association over the years. He does not want to break the current situation and destroy his relationship with Boss Fang, nor does he believe in the ability of this rising star.
He even felt that the reason why Marquis Changning always brought those one hundred elite soldiers from the former Kyoto Guards with him whenever he went out and liked to be surrounded by a group of officials, both big and small, was just a bluff.
But he soon found out whether Marquis Changning was just a coward and bluffing.
Because Lei Li wanted to replace this prefect, he wanted to purge all the officials, big and small, in Baihui and make a thorough overhaul.
Those who embezzle and accept bribes and exploit the people will be beheaded and their properties confiscated; those who occupy positions but do nothing will be dismissed and investigated; those who are eloquent but achieve nothing will be demoted; those who are eager to improve themselves but are trapped in the status quo will be won over by a two-pronged approach of using both big sticks and small promises, first giving them warnings and then promising them something in order to win them over.
Lei Li acted as fiercely as a tiger, but he only affected the officialdom and did not mention the escort agency at all. The merchants in Baihui were stunned. They thought that he was a great official who came to clean up the workplace.
But this move is a warning to others, and people with a discerning eye like Boss Fang can see it clearly.
Marquis Changning means:
If you are sensible, everyone will get rich together. If you are not sensible, he can easily get down from the fourth-rank prefect, let alone him, a commoner businessman.
Lei Li spent more than a month rectifying the officialdom of Baihui. Because many people were dismissed and many positions were vacant, he promoted some people to take over temporarily.
Lei Li also painted a big picture for them that if they worked well, they might be able to remove the word "temporary" from their positions. This made the promoted officials excited and eager to follow Marquis Changning to do great things.
Some officials even suggested using military force to capture Boss Fang and his cronies to serve as a warning to others.
This "kill" is not a metaphor.
It was real killing.
"Need not."
Lei Li turned down the offer and said calmly, "We don't need to invest a single soldier. Within a month, Boss Fang will come and offer his escort agency to us."
Upon hearing this, the officials were all puzzled. They wondered what the Marquis of Changning was up to that could make Boss Fang submit so obediently.
After hearing this, Zhou Yi silently looked away. When he thought about what would happen next, he felt that Lei Li's move was particularly insidious.
The new prefect has not yet taken office, and the Baihui government office is completely controlled by the Marquis of Changning. However, the government office seems to be calm, except that the officials who were previously arrested have resumed their work and the constables have started to work.
On the first day, we caught three or two kittens.
The next day, I tried my hand at it and arrested seven or eight people, all of whom were well-known bullies.
Day 3…
Hundreds of people were arrested in one month.
In total, it was found that almost all of them were merchants or their relatives, and the most of those arrested were related to maritime merchants.
Moreover, after they were arrested on the same day, Lei Li went to court and tried and sentenced them one by one in front of the people, and invited the merchants to watch.
If the case was clear, Lei Li would sentence the person on the spot, either by beating with a big stick, imprisonment for a certain number of years, or even execution.
If the case is unclear and complicated, Lei Li will put it on hold, detain the suspect, and make a judgment after the investigation is complete - but at this time, what is the difference between detention and imprisonment? There is no detention center, and the suspect is still imprisoned.
Moreover, after this investigation and trial, it is unknown how long the detention will end.
After the investigation, it was finally found to be a small matter, and the sentence was only a few months in jail or a fine. But the time spent in detention before was not counted. Didn't he spend time in jail in vain?
Those businessmen were not convinced.
"If you are not satisfied, you can appeal."
Lei Li's peach blossom eyes were full of smiles, and he seemed very kind and gentle, but there was a knife hidden in his smile.
"According to the laws and regulations of our Great You Dynasty, if citizens file complaints of injustice, local governments cannot ignore them. Regardless of the size of the case, they must accept the complaint, investigate and determine the facts, and restore justice to the people."
"This duke is acting in accordance with the laws of our dynasty. There are rules and regulations, and I have no selfish motives."
"If you wish to appeal to the court, accusing me of unlawfully arresting people and acting unfairly, you must write a petition and file it in Beijing. I am a super-first-rank official, and the Dali Temple has no jurisdiction over me."
Lei Li very considerately told those businessmen how to redress their grievances and sue him, and also said,
"If you don't have the money to hire someone to write your petition, I do have a few experts in this field."
"In a few days, the criminals at the government office will be tried and there won't be so much official business. I'll have them hold a free writing session at the entrance of the government office. You can line up and write for me. Don't worry, it won't cost a penny."
Lei Li felt that he was very kind. No other marquis was so kind. He even asked the officials in the government office to write petitions for people for free. He was simply a great philanthropist.
But those merchants did not accept his kindness. Instead, they were furious and wanted to scold him severely, but they were afraid that Lei Li would put them in jail on charges of "insulting court officials" and "rebellion".
——There are too many people arrested, and there are always a few who get defensive and start cursing in court.
Lei Li just said a few words lightly, and then hit them with twenty boards, hitting their flesh so hard that they didn't have the energy to say a word.
"Oh..."
Lei Li feigned fortitude and shook his head. He said to Zhou Yi, "It's so hard to be a good person these days. I wouldn't even accept free legal education for them."
"They really have no conscience."
Zhou Yi was talking nonsense against his conscience. Seeing that Lei Li's hair was messy, he reached out to straighten it for him.
"You've arrested quite a few of Boss Fang's people, including his subordinates, his uncle, his cousin, and his beloved youngest son. What's Boss Fang's reaction?"
“No response yet.”
Lei Li sneered, "But he'll bow down sooner or later. Fang has been bullying Baihui for so many years, while he himself has established himself as a good man and has gained a lot of good reputation."
"My own son, however, abducted women from the streets, forced them into prostitution, and married no fewer than twenty wives and concubines. My uncle bribed the police and colluded with them to frame other merchants and steal their goods and land deeds."
"His uncle was a drunkard and a whoremonger. He even beat someone to death and claimed he was drunk and paid a fine to get away with it."
"Not to mention the merchants under his command. They forced other merchants to join the association and pay high membership fees, and also maliciously bought up the goods of small merchants at low prices."
"This isn't the first or second time, but Mr. Fang has turned a blind eye."
"He didn't control himself and caused so much trouble. He thought that because he was considerate of their old friendship and apologized to them and cleaned up their mess, he was a good person? He can just pretend to be a white lotus and get away with it."
"Let him dream big!"
Unfortunately, Boss Fang has too much power. Half of the ships on the sea belong to him. He controls the best and largest sea routes, and he also has almost all the best shipbuilders under his control.
The bulk of Baihui's tax revenue comes from Boss Fang, and the economic chain is closely related to him. It can be said that a single move can affect the entire body, so he cannot be moved for the time being.
Otherwise, Lei Li would have arrested the one with the surname Fang long ago.
He had a hundred Jingwei and the constables from the government office, and he didn't believe that they couldn't catch Boss Fang.
The storm is coming.
Boss Fang also sensed Lei Li's imminent threat and realized that if he continued to hold his ground, he would be the only one to die. The Marquis of Changning was nothing, but the imperial court that the Marquis of Changning supported was no pushover.
On a rainy afternoon, he finally bowed his head and asked to see Marquis Changning.
When Changning Hou Lei Li arrived for the appointment, he still brought his wife and a hundred guards with him. He sat there like the moon surrounded by stars, and his half-smiling eyes made Boss Fang break out in a cold sweat.
In the end, it was naturally handed over to the escort agency.
But this tug-of-war lasted too long, and Lei Li completely missed the baby's hundred-day wine celebration, which made him feel extremely bad and anxious.
There were still some uninterrogated prisoners left in the government jail, but Lei Li ignored them and let other officials handle them. He and Zhou Yi fled under the pretext of returning to Kyoto to report to the emperor.
It doesn't count as two people.
Because he brought a few Jingwei soldiers with him. The two cities were far apart, and there might be bandits everywhere. It was better to be safe than sorry, so he brought some bodyguards.
Ride faster.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi finally came back when the baby was four months old.
The little baby was as delicate as a piece of jade, wearing a goose yellow dress and a silver bracelet. He was spitting bubbles and looking at them curiously with his big black eyes.
The husband and wife were both moved.
This is their little granddaughter!
——Miao Yurui and Lei Shengjiang’s baby is a lovely little girl!
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