General Constitution of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 151

Another day.

After Zou Wang's words, many merchants in Wuxi city finally opened one after another.

It's just that nearly [-]% of the shops in the city are still closed.

These are basically Zou's property.

Listening to the servant of Duke Cheng's mansion reporting the situation in the city, a smile appeared on Gu Kexue's face.

"The surname Zou finally knows how to be cowardly?"

Ning Jue looked at Gu Kexue suspiciously.

"Old man, his Zou family is still biting his tongue, how can he be considered cowardly?"

But Gu Kexue made a fool of himself, raised his head and said, "Ke will know when he sees the thief who is about to kill today."

Near noon.

The two servants escorted a "treasurer" who was dressed similarly to the previous two days.

It's just that this "treasurer" has lost the style of the previous days, and even apart from the clothes, he doesn't look like a shopkeeper at all, but like a tenant.

Before entering the county office, he peed his pants in fright.

After being dragged into the back office, there was no need for others to do anything. I was so scared that I couldn't speak, but it was obvious that this person didn't know Gu Kexue at all.

Gu Kexue glanced at the "treasurer", and then at Ning Jue.

Ning Jue also looked sullenly at the "treasurer" on the ground.

"This is the shopkeeper of Jinghai Mihang that you found?!"

"Qian Xian, we have asked around, and he is the shopkeeper of Mihang."

And the "treasurer" heard that Ning Jue questioned his identity.

He kowtowed again and again and said, "Master, younger, the younger one is the shopkeeper of Jinghai Mihang."

With a "crash", Ning Jue threw an official document directly in front of the shopkeeper.

"Read it! If you can read it, you are the shopkeeper of Mihang!"

The shopkeeper hurriedly picked up the official document and read it tremblingly.

"Bong, Bong, Tian Cheng, Cheng, Yun..."

"You took it down!"

"Ah, yes, the smaller one was taken down, my master is wise."

Ning Jue's chest kept rising and falling.

Seeing that he couldn't pretend anymore, the "treasurer" simply stopped pretending.

"My lord is very observant! The little one is blind, but it doesn't hinder the little one from doing business. The little one is famous for being good at doing business."

"It's because the family is poor and can't afford to read, that's why I came to Mr. Zou's house to do work."

Ning Jue stood up, walked to the "treasurer", and asked in a low voice, "How much money did he Zou Wang give you?"

"Master Zou didn't give me any money! The young one is the shopkeeper of Jinghai Rice Shop!"

Ning Jue paced around for a while, then looked at the "treasurer" solemnly and said: "No, listen to me, we are here to clean up Tianmu!"

"In the future, you will have to pay for your family. If your family has no land, you don't have to pay corvee. You let that bastard surnamed Zou do the corvee. The better days are just around the corner. Why do you bother to work for a tiger? Don't you have parents and children? ?”

The "treasurer" seemed to understand Ning Jue's words, and just smiled innocently.

"Qian Xian, Caomin doesn't understand what you're talking about, Caomin is the shopkeeper of Rice Shop!"

Better days are ahead.

Wouldn't it be better to add another 200 taels?
Hearing what the "treasurer" said, Gu Kexue couldn't help but heaved a long sigh.

"That's your life! Can a human life be priced?!"

"Yes." It's just that the one who answered was not the "treasurer" but Gu Qingnong who had been standing behind Ning Jue.

Gu Qingnong smiled lightly, but Ning Jue's face darkened, and he took the official seal and rushed towards the county government.

"Don't fucking kill it! Take your weapon and bring that bastard named Zou back to me!"

"Here!"

The county magistrate who was originally squeezed by Ning Jue to the Town God's Temple opposite the county government, tried to persuade him.

"Ning Qianxian, Mr. Zou is a big family in Xishan, and he donated the eighth-rank crown belt of the inspector. You have no right to cut it first and then play it..."

"roll!"

Ning Jue led more than 20 lieutenants of Fengguo and Fuguo all the way to Zhongxiangtang.

Zou Wang was obviously taken aback when he heard the commotion outside his house.

"What's the noise?"

Zou Wang didn't finish his sentence.

Ning Jue led the people into the front hall.

Zou Wang's eyes gradually narrowed.

"Ning Qianxian?"

"you know me?"

Zou Wang smiled when he heard the words, then cupped his hands and said, "You are famous, so naturally you have been friends with each other for a long time."

"Leading the crowd to fight against the law, aren't you afraid that people's heads will fall to the ground?"

Zou Wang looked at Ning Jue pretending to be confused.

"What does Qian Xian mean by this? Zou has just returned to Xishan from the southern capital. How can he lead the crowd to resist the law?"

"Merchants in the city..."

Before Ning Jue could finish speaking, Zou Wang hurriedly said: "The merchants in the city, yes, Ning Qianxian, I just wanted to go into the city to ask what happened to the merchants in the city. My Zou family can't buy anything now. There are so many people, there must be something dirty, the court can't ignore it."

"Stop talking to me!"

"Ning Qianxian! Why do you think I'm talking nonsense?" Zou Wang looked at Ning Jue in disbelief.

Looking at the family gathered in the distance, Zou Wang's expression darkened, and he pointed at someone at random.

"Give you 200 taels, let you die, will you die?!"

The servant fell to his knees with a "plop".

"Thank you, Master, for the reward!"

Zou Wang changed another person, and said loudly, "I'll give you 200 taels, let you die, will you die or not?"

"There are two children in the young generation's family, thank you, Master!"

Zou Wang's eyes were full of contempt, and finally he looked directly at the Feng Guo and Zhen Guo lieutenants behind Ning Jue.

"Everyone, nobles, Emperor Gao Xueyin! Each of you will give you 3000 taels to let you die. Will you die?!"

The voice just fell.

The Zhu family members who were following Ning Jue couldn't help but lower their heads.

No matter how good the new method is, it is nothing more than a grove of plums, how can it compare to the real money in front of it.

Finally, Zou Wang looked at Ning Jue.

"So, you and those in the East Palace are willing to risk your life to save the common people from hunger and cold. I admire you."

"But you can see clearly that the people you want to save are all ours as long as we can afford money. Who are you saving?"

"Qian Xian can also directly kill Zou without reporting to the imperial court! The account books of the Zou family are hidden in this incense hall!" Zou Wang paused: "But what happens after Zou is killed?"

"Will the nobles behind Zou give up?"

Ning Jue suppressed the anger in his heart, gritted his teeth, stared at Zou Wang and asked, "Who is your backstage?"

Zou Wang stretched out three fingers from his sleeve.

"Which three?"

Zou Wang smiled and shook his head.

"Southern Beijing Division, all officials above the third rank basically have land in my Xishan, and nearly half of their land in Xishan is under the name of Zou."

"This is just a small Wuxi County. There are no less than [-] counties like Wuxi in the south of the Yangtze River!"

Zou Wang's emotions became more and more excited: "Qian Xian can kill Zou, and he can also behead all these nobles like Emperor Gao of Taizu! But what happens after the beheading? My Ming Dynasty was in chaos immediately, and the army suffered a catastrophe. Together, have you saved the world?!"

"The two capitals and 13 provinces of the Ming Dynasty are carried on the shoulders of those nobles in the capital. The words "the common people in the world" are not up to Qian Xian and everyone in the East Palace to speak for the time being."

For a moment.

Ning Jue felt that Zou Wang looked very much like Tao Shixian.

"Take it!" Ning Jue raised his hand, and the lieutenants Feng Guo and Zhen Guo who followed behind him rushed up and tied Zou Wang up.

But Zou Wang didn't care.

Until Ning Jue threw Zou Wang into the prison of the county government office, the "treasurer" of the rice shop was still kneeling in the hall of the county government office.

"Why is he still here?"

Without waiting for Gu Kexue to open his mouth, the "treasurer" of the rice shop said: "It is agreed to come to the yamen to behead, but the head has not been beheaded, so let's go."

"You want to die that much?"

Hearing Ning Jue speak, the "treasurer" fell to the ground with his head.

"Qian Xian, the grassroots know that you are a good official, and they also know that the new law is a good law."

"But no matter how good the day is, I won't be able to earn that much money in my life."

"You will complete the grassroots people."

Ning Jue looked at the "treasurer" with a complicated expression and reprimanded: "Then you resist the new law for money? If the new law is abolished because of this, what will happen to the common people in the world?"

"But... aren't grass people one of the common people in the world?"

"Since you pretended to be the shopkeeper of Jinghai Mihang in order to take the Zou family's money, you have become an enemy of the common people in the world. If you don't want to leave, go to the prison and think carefully!"

After the "treasurer" was dragged away, the smile on Gu Kexue's face grew stronger.

"Ke Zhong, this reckless man is right."

"They are the common people in the world, you and me, Mr. Yan Ge, Mr. Xu Ge, Zou Wang, which one is not the common people in the world?"

"The wisdom of the people is not yet developed."

Gu Kexue couldn't help shaking his head when he heard the words, and said softly:

"This kind of thing is the same whether the people's wisdom is open or not."

"That's why we generally call it poor."
-
In the private room on the top floor of Jinling Heming Tower, Lu Huai and Ruan Bi sat for a long time.

"East Lake has already been taken by Naninke."

Lu Huai's voice sounded quietly.

Ruan Bi seemed to have expected this ending.

"Mr. Lu, the situation in Wuxi seems to be not good."

Lu Huai sensed that there was something in Ruan Bi's words, so he said directly: "This is the end of the matter, the good minister has something to say, but it's okay to say it."

Ruan Bi pondered for a moment: "In my opinion, long-term pain is worse than short-term pain."

"Just use the East Lake incident to cause chaos in Wuxi, and treat it as a rotten piece of meat in the south of the Yangtze River. Once this piece of meat rots, it's time for these cruel officials of the New Party to squeeze the abscess."

Lu Huai took a deep breath, frowned slightly and said, "What does Liang Chen mean... the land in Donghu's house?"

"As long as there is something wrong with the East Lake, the 30 mu of land of the Zou family will be in chaos. At that time, whether brothers will fight or get involved in other lawsuits, if the farming season is delayed and the royal grain that Wuxi has handed over to the court this year will be cut off, it will be a big deal. gone."

These 30 mu of fields are dotted all over Wuxi.

It was Zou Wang's before, and everything was in order.

In the past, all the land belonged to Zouwang, and some villages did not dare to make mistakes.

Without Zou Wang, it might not be able to hold back.

The water grabbing, the fighting with weapons, really broke out, and it was not just the Zou family's 30 mu of land that was affected.

"It's a pity that East Lake suffers."

Ruan Bi quietly observed Lu Huai's expression.

After Lu Huai pondered for a while, he slowly got up and paced for a while.

"There is another Hua family in Wuxi... right?"

"Yes."

"Tell Hua Linxiang to find a way to keep the merchants in Wuxi on strike."

"Continue to strike?"

"Of course."

Ruan Bi pondered for a moment and then understood.

When Zou Wang stopped the market earlier, it was to make Ning Jue stop.

At this time, Lu Huai continued to ask the merchants to stop the market, just to use Ning Jue's sword to kill Zou Wang.

"Mr. Lu is brilliant."

At this moment, the clerk from Heming Tower knocked softly on the door and said, "You two, the donkey soup is ready, shall we serve it now?"

"let's go."

"Here."

(End of this chapter)