Start with Baihuguan

Maoyan Lane, Lee House
The Li family's mansion is located here. Although everyone in the vicinity knows the power of the Li family, Maoyan Lane has always been quite peaceful.

At least compared to when Xie Qian was a cabinet minister, the officials lived here, and the entire Maoyan Alley can be described as officials coming and going, which is extremely lively.

There was a rapid sound of horseshoes galloping over, and the two servants standing behind the stone lion were shocked immediately and looked in the direction of the sound of horseshoes.

The person who came got off his horse and turned out to be one of Li Huan's personal soldiers.

The soldiers got off their horses and immediately walked towards the gate, shouting: "Go to Tongbing, the master is back to Beijing, the master is back to Beijing."

With this cry, the huge mansion that was originally silent seemed to come back to life all of a sudden.

In the mansion, Mrs. Feng spends most of her time in her yard praying for her son Li Huan. As for the two wives who also live in seclusion, the huge mansion seems to be a little less lively because of Li Huan, the master. .

In a secluded courtyard, Zhu Lin in a skirt was leaning on the rug, holding a scroll of classics in one hand, and subconsciously picked up a snack on the side with the other and put it into her mouth.

This scene of leisurely posture makes people feel relaxed. I have to say that Zhu Lin's current situation is really leisurely.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, but it disturbed Zhu Lin who was absorbed in reading.

The beautiful eyebrows frowned slightly, Zhu Lin slowly raised her head and looked at the person who came. Although she didn't say anything, when the personal maid who ran in looked at Zhu Lin panting, her pretty face couldn't help but glow. A little bit of joy said: "Ma'am, you are back, the master has returned to Beijing.
The maid's words seemed unclear, even Zhu Lin didn't react for a while, but immediately Zhu Lin's hand that was holding a volume of classics trembled slightly, and her body that was lying on the side also trembled. The body stretched straight, and then the slender and beautiful body sat up from the slump.

Staring at the maid, Zhu Lin couldn't help but said, "What did you say? Husband has returned to Beijing?"

The maid nodded repeatedly and said: "Just now the master sent his own soldiers back to the mansion to report the news. The soldiers have already gone to see the old lady, and there will be news soon."

Zhu Lin nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Seeing Zhu Lin's calm appearance, the personal maid who has been following Zhu Lin couldn't help but said anxiously: "Madam, the master is coming back soon, why are you so unhurried, why don't you hurry up and tidy up?" , to welcome the master back to the mansion."

As she spoke, the maid couldn't help pushing Zhu Lin to get up and walk towards the dressing table.

Zhu Lin smiled and said, "What are you panicking about? If my expectations are not bad, the husband will definitely enter the palace as soon as he returns to Beijing. If he enters the palace this time, he will probably have to wait until the evening when the husband returns to the palace." .”

Just like Zhu Lin's side, Zhang Jin, who also lived in another courtyard, also received the news.

Zhang Jin's reaction was exactly the same as Zhu Lin's.

The two daughters are both wonderful women with exquisite thoughts. Naturally, they knew that Li Huan would definitely go to see the emperor when he returned to Beijing, so they both guessed that Li Huan would never return home early, so no matter what he thought in his heart, at least on the surface it seemed Very peaceful.

In the evening, the gate of Li's Mansion was wide open. Right at the gate, a group of people were looking at the main road outside the gate of the mansion. There were obviously fewer pedestrians on the road.

Many people who passed by the gate of the Li Mansion noticed that the Li Mansion, where the red lanterns were hung high, opened the gate uncharacteristically, and several servants lined up on both sides in high spirits, giving the impression that they were welcoming something. People return to normal.

The opening of the middle door is the highest treatment for welcoming people in this era. As the head of the Li family, Li Huan has been away for more than half a year.

At this time, Mrs. Feng was waiting inside the gate of the mansion, accompanied by Zhang Jin, Zhu Lin, and Lian Qiao.

It can be seen that Feng's face is full of anticipation, even though he has been waiting for nearly a month, but this time seems to be non-existent, Feng's expression of impatience is not the slightest .

He heard Feng say to Lianqiao beside him: "Lianqiao, did you send someone to find out when Huan'er will be able to come back (this chapter is not over yet!)
Chapter 320 The Salt Merchant

what. "

Of course, Feng Shi didn't seem to be in a hurry, but psychologically, he still had a sense of can't wait.

Lian Qiao had a smile on her pretty face when she heard the words: "Don't worry, old lady, she has already arranged someone to watch over her, but if your husband leaves the palace, our people will definitely come to report it as soon as possible. .”

While speaking, Lian Qiao said to Feng Shi: "Madam, please sit down and rest for a while, don't tire yourself out."

It was at this time that the sound of horseshoes getting closer and closer could be heard faintly outside the gate of the mansion.

The sound of the horse's hooves stopped abruptly outside the gate of the mansion. The sound immediately alarmed Feng Shi, Zhang Jin, Lian Qiao and others, and at the same time attracted everyone's attention.

Feng Shi stood up with a look of joy on his face and said, "Could it be that my son is back!"

A soldier rushed into the mansion and shouted: "Master has returned to the mansion."

Soon there was a rush of hoofbeats. This time the hoofbeats were louder and denser, but it made Feng Shi, Zhang Jin, Zhu Lin and others who had been waiting for a while look happy.

When Li Huan rode his horse to the front of the mansion, he got off his horse and saw a group of people surrounded Feng Shi and came up to him.

Led by Feng Shi, Zhu Lin, Zhang Jin and others walked out of the house and looked at Li Huan and others with concern.

Li Huan's eyes swept over Zhu Lin, Zhang Jin and the others, then strode forward, bowed directly to Feng Shi and said, "My son pays homage to mother."

Feng Shi helped Li Huan to his feet, and looked up and down Li Huan carefully, as if to make sure that Li Huan had not been hurt in any way.

After confirming that Li Huan was safe, Feng Shi let out a long breath and said, "Okay, okay, Huan'er get up quickly."

At the same time, Zhu Lin and Zhang Jin also stepped forward to Li Huan and said: "I have seen my husband.

Li Huan nodded slightly towards the two daughters, and said with a smile on his face: "The two wives have worked hard to serve their mother at home."

When Li Huan returned to the mansion, everyone in the Li mansion rejoiced over it, but in the capital, there were quite a few people who were restless and could not sleep peacefully.

Sitong Guild Hall is located in the most prosperous place in the capital, covering a very large area, which can definitely be regarded as a place where every inch of land is expensive.

Not to mention other things, just the land area occupied by that guild hall, if it is converted, I am afraid that there is no tens of thousands of taels of silver that cannot be taken down.

The Sitong Guild Hall is also a very famous place in the capital, and there are not a few wealthy gentry and dignitaries who come here on weekdays.

Such a place, if there is not enough powerful forces or people behind it, I am afraid that the Stone Club Hall has already been occupied by someone, and it is impossible to be so safe in a place like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the capital. some years.

As we all know, it is not a certain person standing behind the Stone Guild Hall, but a force, Lianghuai salt merchants.

On the whole, the salt products of the Ming Dynasty are not controlled by the Ming court, but to be precise, they are controlled by a small number of salt merchants.

Relying on the salt quotations issued by the government, these salt merchants colluded with each other and accumulated extremely terrifying net worth.

And this Sitong Guild Hall is a place chosen by Lianghuai salt merchants in the capital to gain insight into the movement in the capital at any time.

Lin Pingzhi, who was a member of a thousand households of Jinyiwei, had already mentioned when he revealed the details of Chen Wenliang, the censor of Zuodu, at the Great Court Meeting. .

Following the Dachao Conference, Chen Wenliang was exposed by Li Huan because of his failure to impeach Li Huan, so that the news spread that he was sent to imperial prison.

Not to mention anything else, the Stone Guild Hall was definitely the person or force that got the news the first time.

At this time, in the Sitong Guild Hall, in a rather elegant room, several figures were sitting there with dignified expressions.

If someone saw these figures, they would definitely be very surprised.

Lianghuai salt merchants are an interest group. Since it is an interest group, it is impossible to have only one or two families, but an interest group composed of countless people.

At this time, those who can represent the Lianghuai salt merchants and send important figures from the clan to sit in the capital all the year round are naturally the few major families that really hold the right to speak among the Lianghuai salt merchants.

The atmosphere in the room seems empty (this chapter is not finished!)
Chapter 320 The Salt Merchant

The comparison is dignified, even if the few people present can casually mobilize tens of millions of silver coins, which affects the demand for salt for almost most of the people in Daming, but at this moment these people still seem restless.

Finally, one person couldn't bear the oppressive atmosphere and took the initiative to break the calm: "Everyone, I think everyone has got the news that Mr. Chen was murdered by the traitor Li Huan."

The crowd didn't speak, and the man didn't feel annoyed, he just looked at the crowd and said: "Master Chen is one of the representatives of our Lianghuai salt merchants who paid a huge price to push him up. If we sit in the township, then we don’t have to worry that our interests will be affected too much, but now that Mr. Chen is in such a catastrophe, I’m afraid that not only will he not be able to bring us asylum, but it may also bring us Lianghuai salt merchants. Great harm, let’s talk about it, how we should deal with it.”

The one who spoke was the Xu family of Yangzhou. The Xu family of Yangzhou and the Chen family of Yangzhou are both large salt merchant families in Lianghuai. The two families above the court are also fighting non-stop.

However, the two are fighting over each other, but whenever the interests of the entire salt merchant group are involved, the two will work together as soon as possible to deal with it.

Just like at this moment, Chen Wenliang was ordered by Li Huan to be imprisoned. Under normal circumstances, the people of the Xu family would definitely be happy and happy, but at this moment, Xu Wenchang, the elder of the Xu family, showed his concern for the Chen family.

The Chen family naturally has clan elders sitting in the Sitong Guild Hall. At this time, the clan elder of the Chen family, Chen Wenbang, was sitting there with a gloomy face.

Chen Wenliang is the pillar of their Chen family. If there is no such a person as Chen Wenliang from the Chen family, it is impossible for their Chen family to gradually grow from an ordinary family of salt merchants to a giant family of salt merchants like a giant.

In just a few decades, with Chen Wenliang's rise in the officialdom, it was originally just a small salt merchant's family, but now it has become one of the best salt merchants in control of the Lianghuai salt industry.

It can be said that without Chen Wenliang, the current prosperity of the Chen family would not have existed.

However, Chen Wenliang was sent to prison suddenly, which was like being struck by lightning for the Chen family. With such bad news, it is conceivable that the situation of the Chen family will become extremely difficult in the future.

Even if the imperial court attacked their Chen family, without Chen Wenliang as the mainstay, the Chen family would have to give up a lot of benefits. After all, the internal strife in the salt merchant group is not light at all.

There are still two or three families like the Xu family and the Chen family, but the representatives of those two or three families are sitting there, not intending to speak.

Chen Wenbang frowned, looked up at the crowd and said slowly: "Everyone, who can make my brother escape this catastrophe?"

Everyone knew what Chen Wenbang meant when they heard the words, but they were all silent for a while.

Wanting to save Chen Wenliang from Li Huan's hands was somewhat impossible.

Who is Li Huan? Chen Wenliang impeached Li Huan for treason at the court meeting, which can be said to have completely offended Li Huan to death.

In this case, the relationship between Li Huan and Chen Wenliang was a life-and-death situation. Since Li Huan seized the opportunity to put Chen Wenliang in prison, it would be strange if Li Huan was willing to let Chen Wenliang go.

Chen Wenliang is dead, the Chen family is over!
It can be said that this was the instinctive thought of everyone after they learned that Chen Wenliang had offended Li Huan and was imprisoned.

At this time, no matter whether there is a way or not, even if there is, I am afraid that no one will speak.

At this moment, Xu Wenchang suddenly said to Chen Wenbang: "Brother Chen, I'm afraid Mr. Chen is hopeless, but you must know that if you decide to stop, you will suffer chaos instead.

Chen Wenbang couldn't help being stunned for a moment when he heard the words, and glared at Xu Wenchang. He didn't understand what Xu Wenchang meant by this, didn't he just want the Chen family to give up Chen Wenliang completely?
If it was someone else, they would give up if they were given up, but it was their Chen family who were able to have the people of Kang Ding today, and it was precisely because of the other party that their Chen family had the grand occasion today, and Chen Wenliang was also the elder brother of Chen Wenbang's compatriots. , asked him to make a decision to abandon Chen Wenliang in order to preserve the Chen family, Chen Wenbang really couldn't make such a decision for a while. (This chapter is not finished!)
Chapter 320 The Salt Merchant

With a light cough, Zhao Anmin, who looked like a member of a rich family in brocade clothes, said slowly: "Everyone, we can actually try to get to know and communicate with this emperor's favorite minister, after all Li Huan is not a scourge, is he!"

[Ask for a monthly pass, there is no such thing as a monthly pass. 】

To be continued
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Chapter 320 The Salt Merchant