Fenghou

"Does it mean that if you catch them, the private salt will disappear?"

Yan Hard laughed and said: "Private salt sales are composed of three links. One is the source, which is the salt farm, the other is the transportation and resale, mainly the salt lords, and the other is the sales in the state markets. The arrest of the salt lords is just to cut off the transportation The resale link, as well as source and state sales."

Qin Hui asked: "Is the source from Jingzhao secretly providing private salt?"

Yan Xin leaned forward and said: "The humble staff used to be so skeptical, so I went to visit Lu Gang, and he told me clearly that the flood of private salt in the south of the Yangtze River has nothing to do with them, and they don't need to do such lowly things to ruin their reputation."

Qin Hui sneered and said, "Of course he would say that. He would certainly not admit that he was selling private salt. Does Yan Dutong believe it?"

"At the beginning, Beizhi was a little dubious, but then something happened that made Beizhi realize that the proliferation of private salt may really have nothing to do with them."

Zhao Gou frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Yan Xin bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I heard that many housekeepers of big families buy private salt, and then use the official salt price to repay their bills, filling their pockets, so I went back to interrogate my own housekeeper, and he did the same thing , embezzled several hundred guan, the minister was angry and forced him to buy the private salt from where he bought it, he was forced to confess that he bought the private salt from Feng Daji's dry goods store."

As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the hall, and the majestic father-in-law actually sold private salt.

Qin Hui asked anxiously: "Do you have any evidence?"

Yan Xin took out a receipt and handed it over, "This is a delivery note I found from the housekeeper today. It is the delivery note from Fengji Dry Goods Store, and there is also the shopkeeper's seal. It is clearly written on it. One hundred catties of salt, seventy Wen per catty, reported to Qin Xiangguo, our official salt is three hundred Wen per catty, this is the evidence."

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

The smuggling of salt actually involved the head of state, and the court meeting could only end temporarily. Zhao Gou called Yan Xin to the imperial study room, and asked angrily, "Have you investigated Feng Ji's dry goods shop in detail to find out the truth?"

Yan Xin bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I just found out about my humble position, and I didn't have time to investigate. Maybe the head of the country didn't know about it, and it was the people below who acted recklessly."

Zhao Gou is not a fool, of course he knows that selling illegal salt must be Feng Daji's decision, one family sold several hundred catties of illegal salt, how many tens of thousands of catties of illegal salt were sold by so many families in Lin'an City?

He held back his anger and asked, "How do you plan to investigate?"

Yan Xin hurriedly said: "When it comes to the head of the state, the humble position must follow His Majesty's instructions."

The implication is that without a will, he will not act.

Zhao Gou paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. Concubine Feng De was his favorite concubine, and Feng Guozhang had just been crowned King of Guangling County.It will directly destroy his country and society.

On one side are the relatives of the emperor, and on the other side is the country. In order to protect the country, Zhao Gou could only kill Ma Di with tears.

Zhao Gou gritted his teeth and said, "Check it out, and give me a detailed report in three days!"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, if you want to investigate Feng Ji's dry goods store, I can only put Feng Daji and his son under house arrest first."

"Okay! House arrest first, and finally I will release it."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Yan Xin saluted and hurried away.

Zhao Gou was upset, and suddenly he thought of the 300 million yuan he had promised, and his heart became even more agitated.

He knew very well that the so-called imperial court borrowed money, and the possibility of repaying it was very small. In fact, it was just a trick to get him to pay in a tactful way.

Zhao Gou was stingy from the bottom of his heart. The internal treasury was his private property. How could he be willing to spend 300 million guan to support the court, at most a million guan, and the other 200 million guan. After much deliberation, he decided to ask the Queen Mother to pay the money. Don't you want to bring the son of Beidi to enjoy the glory and wealth?Can!The condition is 200 million yuan.

Of course, Zhao Gou still has a bottom line. These two barbarians are not allowed to set foot in Lin'an, and they can be placed in Pingjiang or Health Mansion.

After making up his mind, Zhao Gou ordered: "Show me your car, go to Qingfeng Pavilion!"

In midsummer, Empress Dowager Wei usually takes refuge in Qingfeng Pavilion.

……

Zhao Gou finally reached a compromise with Empress Dowager Wei. Empress Dowager Wei agreed to lend 200 million yuan to the imperial court, with half of the money paid by her and the other half by her brother Wei Tong. After spending a lot of money, 100 million won't put much pressure on him, and besides, the Queen Mother has orders, so he can get it if he doesn't come out.

As a condition, Zhao Gou agreed that Queen Mother Wei would take back the two sons born in Beidi, and also agreed to confer titles on them as dukes of the country and grant them fields and houses. It can be placed anywhere, but it cannot be placed in Laian.

Empress Dowager Wei finally agreed to the emperor's additional conditions, and decided to place her two sons in Xiaoshan County, Yuezhou, which is only a few dozen miles away from Lin'an, so it is very convenient to visit.

At the same moment when the emperor and the queen mother were negotiating, Yan Xin, the commander of the Plum Blossom Guard, brought hundreds of Plum Blossom Guard soldiers to the Feng Mansion, also known as Guangling County Prince's Mansion.

Feng Daji was originally the governor of Poyang County. After her daughter was drafted into the palace, she gradually gained the favor of the emperor and was named a concubine of virtue. Feng Daji's social status also increased. The palace supplies food, and has earned a lot of money in these years. In addition, the emperor rewarded him with a large amount of land, and he does not need to pay taxes. The annual land rent is hundreds of thousands of shi.

However, since the year before last, Feng Daji's wealth has also suffered a severe blow. His land is mainly concentrated in the Poyang Lake area of ​​Jiangnan West Road. As a result, it was confiscated by the Western Army as military land, and his land rent dropped sharply to several thousand shi.

How could Feng Daji be willing to let his wealth shrink? He wanted his daughter to ask for the land in the south of the Yangtze River for him. It doesn't matter if there are two, but unfortunately his daughter has passed the period of being the most beloved, Zhao Gou will not give him any more land, and finally only gave him [-] yuan as compensation, which is considered to have fulfilled the friendship of a son-in-law.

Feng Daji suffered a lot, but he couldn't get compensation, so the emperor sent him away with a mere [-] guan, which transferred the dissatisfaction and anger in his heart to the emperor Zhao Gou.

Since last year, he has been secretly operating private salt. As a security officer, he also knows that the consequences of operating private salt are serious, but his dissatisfaction with the emperor and his eagerness to get compensation made him start selling private salt without hesitation, let alone others The rich and powerful can sell private salt, why can't I?

In the lobby, Feng Daji is discussing with his two sons about opening a branch in Yuezhou. Their Feng Ji dry goods store has opened [-] stores in Lin'an, basically monopolizing the dry goods market and condiment market in Lin'an. Of course Feng Daji will not be satisfied , starting this year, he plans to expand the store to other places, and Yuezhou will bear the brunt of it.

At this time, there was a fierce noise outside, "You can't go in, this is the county palace, you can't mess around!"

Feng Daji and his two sons looked at each other, they walked quickly to the hall, only to see the butler running in, and said anxiously: "My lord, Plum Blossom Guard broke into the palace!"

"what!"

Feng Daji was furious, "Who is it? You dared to break into my palace!"

"it's me!"

Yan Xin walked in with a large group of soldiers.

Feng Daji was taken aback, "Yan Dutong, what do you mean?"

"It's nothing, I just want to ask the county king and son to live in another place."

Feng Daji gritted his teeth and said: "I am the king of Guangling County, do the officials know that you are so rude?"

Yan Xin nodded, "The officials asked me to treat the prince with courtesy, please!"

Feng Daji suddenly felt bad, lay on the ground and yelled, "Killer! I want to go to the palace to find Concubine De, and someone wants to kill her father. Go and report to Concubine De, and say that Plum Blossom Guard killed someone!"

Yan Xin was really annoyed, and waved his hand, "Take them away!"

A dozen Plum Blossom Guard soldiers rushed up and dragged Feng Daji away. Feng Daji struggled desperately and yelled, but was gagged by a ball of rags, covered his head with a black cloth, tied his hands and feet, and forcibly pulled away. His two sons were more cooperative, but they were covered with black cloth bags and did not suffer from gags and tying up.

With Feng Daji, Yan Xin issued a search order. More than 1000 Plum Blossom Guard soldiers searched 20 shops and warehouses of the palace at the same time, and arrested Zhang Ying, the chief steward in charge of the salt industry. Nine shops seized more than [-] catties of illegal salt, and according to the chief steward's account, another [-] catties of illegal salt were found in a warehouse outside the city. Almost all of the illegal salt in Lin'an City was sold by Feng Ji's dry goods store.

Soon they got a detailed statement from Zhang Ying, the chief steward, that their salt was supplied by Li Zengping, a salt lord in Xuanzhou. As for where Li Zengping got the salt from, they didn't know.

Only then did Yan Xin suddenly realize that he was a bit alarmed, and it might not be easy to catch Li Zengping.

Chapter 410 Chilling Heart

At noon of the next day, the "Beijing News" published a headline on the front page titled "The moth of the country, the royal relatives and relatives were arrested!" 'Big news.

This news made Lin'an, which was suffering from the scorching heat, feel like a fire was added to the stove. The whole Lin'an was boiling, and all the teahouses and restaurants were talking about it.

Everyone saw with their own eyes that all Fengji dry goods stores were seized and sealed.

In Changfeng Teahouse, dozens of tea drinkers are discussing the big case of illegal salt.

"Plum Blossom Guard has never done anything good, this time he finally did something human!"

"This is also forced, and the private salt is flooding. If you don't do it, the Song Dynasty will perish."

"Who would have thought that the private salt dealers were actually relatives of the emperor? This is simply an anecdote in the world."

"This is a sign of subjugation!"

……

Inside the Baiyu Hall, Wang Mu took a sip of tea and asked with a smile, "What does the special envoy think the emperor will do with Feng Daji?"

Lu Gang smiled slightly and said: "If this incident happened silently, it would definitely end silently. Nothing will happen to the Feng family and his son, but if the "Beijing News" pokes this stalk, things will be difficult."

"Will the father and son of the Feng family be killed?" Dong An couldn't help asking beside him.

"Kill? Where did you want to go?"

Lu Gang glanced at Dong An, and said calmly: "There are so many royal relatives staring at him. He dares to kill Feng's father and son today, and others tomorrow. Don't expect the dignitaries to support him. Zhao Gou knows this better than anyone else." , nothing will happen to the Feng family father and son, at most the title of the county king will be gone."

Wang Mu added with a smile: "I think the Feng family's accumulated wealth may not be able to keep it. It's better to avoid disasters if you lose money!"

Lu Gang chuckled, "It makes sense, now the emperor doesn't care about anything except money."

……

In the imperial study room, the emperor Zhao Gou put down the newspaper with a complicated expression. In the past, he would definitely tear the newspaper to pieces and be furious, but today, the headlines on the "Beijing News" gave him a step. He can give others The dignitaries said their words, and the people were full of grievances. He had to investigate the Feng family, otherwise how would he explain to the world?

Of course, Zhao Gou has his own thoughts. He agreed to search the Feng family yesterday, so he was planning on the Feng family's wealth. If he handed over the Feng family's wealth, the Xiangguo would no longer stare at his internal treasury. It also solved the problem of salt tax, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Cleaning up the Feng family can also deter other relatives of the emperor, and beat them to stop messing around, because our country can't stand their toss.

Of course, there is a problem of speed, which needs to be dealt with, but not too much.

At this time, the eunuch reported at the door: "Your Majesty, Concubine De wants to see you!"

Zhao Gou frowned, feeling a little unhappy in his heart, why did Concubine De come to the imperial study?This is breaking the rules of the palace.

But he also knew why Concubine De came here?Zhao Gou held back his dissatisfaction and said, "Show her in!"

In just a moment, the young and beautiful Concubine Feng De came in like a gust of wind, and knelt in front of Zhao Gou, weeping uncontrollably.

"The concubine is willing to serve in Ye Ting, and I beg Your Majesty to spare the concubine's father's life for the concubine's service!"

Zhao Gou saw Concubine De crying so pitifully, he felt so pitiful, he went up to help Concubine Ai and said: "You can't be punished by a doctor. Concubine Ai's father is the head of the state. If he makes a mistake again, he won't be punished with death." , I will arrange for him to retire to the elderly, don't worry about my concubine."

"Where are the concubine's two elder brothers?" Concubine Feng De didn't hesitate at all. If her father didn't die, would she blame her elder brothers?

Zhao Gou wiped away tears for her and said with a smile: "Even the father-in-law is fine, so why would I still bully the uncle?"

Concubine De cheered and threw herself into the arms of the emperor, "Thank you Your Majesty for forgiving my concubine's father and brother. This concubine is in a hurry and shouldn't come to your majesty's study. I promise not to do it again. Please forgive me."

Zhao Gou nodded, "It's enough not to be an example. In addition, I want to make it clear to my concubine that I only want to protect the lives of the father-in-law and his son, but there must be punishments that should be given. Otherwise, my country will not be guaranteed."

Concubine Feng De's pretty face turned cold, and she asked in a trembling voice: "How does Your Majesty plan to punish my father?"

"It is impossible to give him the title. The king of the county sells private salt, and I will become the laughing stock of the world. All his illegal gains will be confiscated. I will arrange for him to have a Huangzhuang. He can go to Huangzhuang and stay quietly for a few years! As for the two Uncle Guo, I will give them errands and let them leave Lin'an, and wait until this matter subsides."

Concubine Feng De's eyes were gloomy, it seemed that it was impossible for her father to escape unscathed.

She had to thank the official for forgiveness again, and resigned.

Seeing Concubine Feng De go away, the eunuch reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Yan Dutong has arrived, waiting outside!"

"Acclaim him an audience!"

After a while, Yan Xin walked in quickly, bowed and saluted: "My humble minister sees Your Majesty!"

"How is it? Is the list out?" Zhao Gou asked anxiously.

The list of the amount of private salt sold by Feng's father and son has long been released, Zhao Gou doesn't care, he is more concerned about the list of Feng's wealth.

"Report to Your Majesty, it has already come out!"

Yan Xin took out a list and handed it over, Zhao Gou quickly took the list and read it carefully.

The first thing he saw was the copper coins and gold and silver stored in the Qianfufu, equivalent to 50 guan, and then he saw the gold and silver stored in Baoji Cabinet Square, which was equivalent to 35 guan, which together amounted to 85 guan. Jade jewelry, silk and satin, as well as land, real estate, shops, and various goods in warehouses are worth 10,000+ guan, and the total estimated value is around 150 million guan.

But Zhao Gou also knew that the real estate and shops in Lin'an are not easy to sell now, and there is no market for the price, so he said to Yan Xin: "Leave him two houses, including the current Wangfu, and leave him ten shops. Give it to them too, and all other property and real estate will be confiscated and put into the internal treasury."

"I understand. Besides, what should I do with Feng's father and son and the other arrested stewards? I implore your Majesty to clarify!"

"All the stewards were publicly executed as private salt dealers. As for Feng's father and son, does General Yan know that I belong to Yuanhuangzhuang?"

"I know, it's in Xuanzhou!"

"Yes! Send their father and son to Guiyuan Huangzhuang for resettlement. Send them away today, and send a few Meihuawei spies to monitor them. They are not allowed to run around. Tell them that they will be allowed to return to Lin'an in two years."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Yan Xin resigned and left. Zhao Gou issued an order that night to dismiss Feng Daji as the prince of Guangling County, demote him to a commoner, and confiscate his illegal income.

……

Zhao Gou's decree was an explanation to the other royal relatives and relatives. Selling private salt to shake the foundation of the country can save his life at most, but his official rank and property cannot be kept. Zhao Gou grasped this degree very well.

But what Zhao Gou didn't expect was that when the other thirteen Feng family stewards were publicly executed on the charge of selling illicit salt, the real culprit of the illicit salt, the father and son of the Feng family, was safe and sound. It caused an uproar among the people and the ruling and opposition parties, and the entire Lin'an city was full of discussions. The Tai students were even more furious, criticizing the emperor for openly protecting the emperor's relatives.

A few days later, "Jingzhao" also published a print for the first time. The name of the print was "Fighting Evil". Three fat mice left in a sedan chair. Ant C asked to beheaded.

This pair of prints had such a great impact that within a month it spread throughout the entire Jiangnan region. Even the Empress Dowager Wei was quite critical, thinking that the emperor was too tolerant of the emperor's relatives and his relatives, and if he handled it improperly, it would easily chill the hearts of the scholars. Really shake the country.

Chapter 410 Invitation

In Changfeng Teahouse, Lu Gang handed a letter to Wang Mu. Wang Mu took a look at the letter and was shocked, "It's a letter from His Highness!"

Lu Gang nodded, "His Royal Highness's fleet will arrive at Qiantang Bay in two days. His Highness wants to meet the people of Lin'an. You can post this letter on the headlines tomorrow."