I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 251 Convince Su Jingming with reason! Mr. Cao’s persecution paranoia

Monk Huiben’s numerous crimes.

Soon it spread to the ears of Fourth Master Cao and many businessmen.

After reading the accusations on the eighteen large pieces of paper, many businessmen were convinced that what was written on the paper were all facts.

Because they also know some details.

The content on the big paper was more substantial than what they knew, and it also solved their confusion on some things.

Some people were even secretly tricked by Monk Huiben.

They were lucky that they didn't go to the state government office to make a fuss, otherwise they would have been implicated.

What the merchants care about is not whether Kongshan Temple and Monk Eben are finished, but why Su Liang, who has just arrived, has such incredible information.

This is very scary.

Especially those businessmen who had seriously violated the laws of the Song Dynasty.

this moment.

The businessmen thought Su Liang was like a hunter with superb archery skills.

The whole of Yangzhou is his hunting ground.

The merchants were like prey, all within Su Liang's range. There was no way to hide or escape.

……

The sixth day of November.

Monk Hui Ben confessed to all crimes.

Su Shunyuan, the magistrate of Yangzhou, seized the entire Kongshan Temple and all the property of Monk Huiben.

This is a typical case of "taking advantage of his status as a monk to do things worse than animals". Su Shunyuan has decided to print the contents of the case in the Yangzhou newspaper after the case is concluded to warn all monks.

……

In the afternoon of the next day, in the back hall of Yangzhou Prefectural Government Office.

Su Liang smiled and said to Su Shunyuan: "Brother Caiweng, how about we go to see Fourth Master Cao later?"

Hearing this, Su Shunyuan's heart trembled suddenly.

"The crimes of Fourth Master Cao... are also... too numerous to describe?"

Su Shunyuan couldn't believe it.

Mr. Cao Si started his business by river transportation. What is most talked about is that he is a righteous man and follows the rules in doing things.

Even if there are some unruly places, the house will not be ransacked.

"No, Fourth Master Cao made a small mistake, but nothing serious."

Say it.

Su Liang handed Su Shunyuan the information about Fourth Master Cao compiled by Cao Hu.

After Su Shunyuan finished reading, he looked at it carefully again, hesitated for a moment, and then looked at Su Liang.

"Jing Ming, Mr. Cao is already considered a rare good businessman. You can't be confused!"

"Although you are favored at the moment, if you rashly raid Fourth Master Cao's home, let alone the possibility that the merchants will go on strike or leave Yangzhou City. If this matter is investigated carefully by the court, you will be punished, even... even I will also...I will also impeach you to the court!"

"The Song Dynasty is a place where laws are enforced. You must not rely on the power of the Reform Department to do whatever you want!"

Listening to Su Shunyuan's earnest persuasion, Su Liang couldn't help but laugh.

"Brother Cai Weng, when did I take advantage of the power of the reform department to do anything wrong? To raid Monk Huiben's house is just to raid the house first and then to ask for the crime. Although the order is wrong, the result is correct. This time, I am not going to raid the house. , but let you accompany me to reason with him!"

"Reasonable?"

Su Shunyuan looked at Su Liang and felt that it was a little strange for this Taiwanese admonisher who once said, "In Yangzhou, I am the law of the Song Dynasty" to say this.

Su Liang smiled warmly.

"As a Taiwanese admonishment officer, my way of solving problems is always to be reasonable!"

Say it.

Su Liang took out a document from the desk at the back and handed it to Su Shunyuan.

Su Shunyuan opened it and looked at it, wondering: "Is this... okay?"

"The world is bustling for fame and fortune. To these businessmen, telling them to 'worry about the world first' is tantamount to playing the harp to an ox. It's better to talk about interests."

"Then...then...the officials and Mr. Fan...know about this?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know? I don't know, you actually dare to promise like this?" Su Shunyuan's eyes widened and he raised his voice.

"They will definitely agree." Su Liang said with a smile.

At this moment, Su Shunyuan was speechless.

Su Liang's way of doing things surprised him every time, and he always went outside the rules.

"Then what do I need to do?" Su Shunyuan asked seriously.

Su Liang thought for a while and said, "When I reason with Mr. Cao, you just need to nod your head in approval after each sentence."

Su Shunyuan was a little dumbfounded. Su Liang regarded him as a compliment.

But he didn't object.

As the saying goes, too much talk leads to mistakes. If something goes wrong and he doesn't say anything, he doesn't have to take responsibility.

……

After a while.

Cao Hu drove a carriage, carrying Su Liang and Su Shunyuan towards the fourth master Cao's house.

Su Liang knew that Fourth Master Cao loved wine, so he specially brought two jars of Meishou wine, the signature wine brewed by Fengle Lou in Bianjing City, and ordered someone to pack a table of wine and food.

About half an hour later.

Inside Cao's house.

Fourth Master Cao was pacing back and forth in the backyard, feeling restless.

In the past, he would take a nap for most of an hour, but now, let alone taking a nap, he couldn't even sleep at night.

First is Su Liang's personal letter.

Then they searched Monk Huiben's library.

He felt that it might be his turn.

this moment.

Fourth Master Cao felt like a good woman being teased by a street bully.

He knew that the bullies would still harass him, but he didn't know when they would come.

This feeling of powerlessness made him very anxious.

He had already sent people to watch at the gate of the state government office. Once soldiers or government officials came towards Cao's house, he would immediately escape through the back door and leave by boat along the river.

If you go to jail, you will be tortured to extract confessions, and you will be charged with some trumped-up crimes.

That is when yellow mud falls into the crotch, it is either feces or feces.

These two days.

Fourth Master Cao has scolded the court and Su Liang countless times. He has never seen such unreasonable scholar-bureaucrats.

He couldn't even understand it.

If Su Liang ransacked his house indiscriminately, would the court really not care? Are other officials turning a blind eye? Aren't you afraid of the merchants' rebellion?

at this time.

The housekeeper of Cao's house walked over quickly and said: "Fourth Master, Su... Su Liang and Su Shunyuan are riding in a carriage, it seems... they are coming towards us!"

"What? Hurry... prepare the carriage quickly, I want to leave Yangzhou City quickly!"

The butler added: "But...it's just the two of them, plus a groom and two guards. It doesn't look like they are here to ransack the house!"

"No matter how many of them there are, it's best to leave."

After that, Fourth Master Cao took the gold and silver items he had prepared and went straight to the back door.

He had just arrived at the back door.

Then he saw a burly man sitting on the carriage at the back door, and the man also held a crossbow in his hand.

Even for soldiers of the Forbidden Army, going out with a crossbow in hand must go through layers of scrutiny.

Obviously, this is Su Liang's person.

The man looked at Fourth Master Cao and said with a smile: "Fourth Master, the weather is getting colder and it is not advisable to go out!"

This person is indeed from Su Liang.

If Su Liang hadn't sent people to keep an eye on these merchants, they might have fled Yangzhou City before Su Liang could reason with them.

Fourth Master Cao's legs were trembling and he couldn't help but go back to the house. He kept shaking his head and murmured: "The government is forcing the people to rebel, the government is forcing the people to rebel! Su Liang is trying to make me and him fight to the death. No wonder... no wonder some people call Su Jingming troubled in the world. He... he is really reckless. People!"

About a quarter of an hour later.

Su Liang and Su Shunyuan came to the door of Cao's house.

After Cao Si learned the news, he strode out with the intention of completely breaking up with the government.

"Cao Si meets Su Yushi, Su Zhizhou!" Cao Si cupped his hands and said.

Su Liang said with a smile: "Master Cao, you're welcome! Over the years, the development of Yangzhou's commerce and trade is inseparable from your efforts on the canal. I know you are good at wine, so I brought you wine and food. Let's chat while drinking. !”

Immediately, everyone entered the dining room.

Cao Hu put the food and wine on the table and stood behind Su Liang.

Su Liang stood up, poured a glass of wine for Fourth Master Cao himself, and said with a smile, "Fourth Master, how does this wine taste?"

Fourth Master Cao was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly took a long breath.

"I didn't expect! I didn't expect! I, Cao Si, have been crawling and rolling on the canal for half my life, and now I will die on the wine table!"

"Su Yushi, don't think that poisoning me to death, forging false evidence that I violated the laws of the Song Dynasty, and embezzling my family property will solve the money shortage problem. You are too short-sighted. As long as you can't kill all the Yangzhou merchants, we will We will continue to resist, our money is earned one by one, why should we be sacrificed?"

Su Liang was stunned for a while after hearing this, and thought to himself: This Fourth Master Cao must have listened to Goulan's story too much and developed delusions of being persecuted.

He was about to explain.

Mr. Cao Si waved his hand, picked up the wine glass, and said: "I know what you are going to say. If I don't drink, you will definitely target my family, right? But if I, Cao Si, die, the river in Yangzhou City There will definitely be chaos, and when the time comes, you will inevitably be held responsible!”

Just when Fourth Master Cao had a determined look on his face, he was about to drink the wine in one gulp.

Su Liang grabbed the wine glass and poured all the wine into his mouth.

Fourth Master Cao couldn't believe it, rubbed his eyes and said, "This... this... wine is not poisonous?"

Su Liang asked, "Why should I poison the wine?"

"If you poison me, can't you just accuse me of having my house confiscated and solve Yangzhou's money shortage?"

"How could I, Su Liang, as a Taiwan admonisher, poison people's lives for no reason and fabricate false evidence? Wouldn't that be violating the law knowingly?"

“Then why was Monk Huiben’s house confiscated?

"Because he did commit a heinous crime, but you, Mr. Cao, did not!"

"Then...then...is the handwritten letter true or false?"

"It was indeed me who wrote it, but it was just to dispel the rumor of 'note exchange for money' spread by you. If I had really acted according to what was said in the letter, your Fourth Master Cao would have been in prison long ago!"

"Isn't that man with a crossbow at the back door of my house watching me? Once I leave, he...maybe shoot me?"

"The crossbow he took? Sorry, my fault. I just asked them not to let you leave Yangzhou. As for shooting you, that is absolutely impossible. The future of Yangzhou cannot be separated from you, and the future canal cannot be separated from you." I won’t drive you!”

"You...if you don't want to kill me? Why did you come to my house?"

"In order to persuade you to help Yangzhou City solve the money shortage problem, I, Su Liang, like to reason with people the most."

"No, I can't help. My money didn't come from Dafeng. I won't pay!"

"I won't let you suffer. How about we have a detailed chat?"

……

Su Liang and Mr. Cao had a series of questions and answers, and soon the matter was explained thoroughly.

Fourth Master Cao looked at Su Shunyuan and confirmed again: "Su Zhizhou, could it be that I have listened to books too much? Su Yushi really never thought of killing me and then ransacking my Cao family to solve Yangzhou's money shortage?"

Su Shunyuan nodded seriously.

With this nod, Fourth Master Cao suddenly felt more relaxed.

Immediately.

Fourth Master Cao picked up the wine jar and poured a glass of wine for each of Su Liang and Su Shunyuan.

"I'm overthinking it. I'm overthinking it. The rumor about exchanging copper coins was indeed spread by someone under my command. I apologize!"

The three of them stood up, raised their glasses, drank it all, and then sat down again.

At this time, the atmosphere was completely different from before.

Su Liang smiled and said: "Fourth Master Cao, I, Su Liang, am not as scary as you think. I heard about your reputation when I was studying hard in the cold window. This time I came to visit with Su Zhizhou to have a talk with you." Good deal.”

Say it.

Su Liang took out the document that Su Shunyuan had read in the back hall of the state government office.

Fourth Master Cao opened it and was dumbfounded.

He first glanced at Su Liang and Su Shunyuan, and then squeezed his thigh hard.

"This...this...is true?" Mr. Cao couldn't believe it.

This document is a letter of appointment signed by the Reform Department.

The Reform Department wanted to appoint Cao Si as the Yiwu official in Yangzhou City.

Although this official position is not big and has no official position, it is just a dispatch officer, and Yangzhou City Yiwu has not yet been established, but as a businessman, Mr. Cao clearly understands what this means.

This was a strategy that Su Liang had long thought of.

First scare Cao Si, and then cooperate with him.

Based on the implementation of the Yi Law in Kaifeng Prefecture, he had noticed that the effect of using officials to govern business was far less effective than using business to govern officials.

Therefore, it is planned that when the Market Change Law is fully implemented early next year, merchants will have jurisdiction over merchants, and the local chief official will also serve as the chief promotion officer.

Fourth Master Cao is so excited because if this happens, he will become an official.

In the Song Dynasty, although the status of businessmen had improved, it was far inferior to that of officials.

Although this is a small official without a formal position, it can satisfy a businessman's pursuit of fame, and as long as he does not violate the laws of the Song Dynasty, his business will continue to be prosperous.

For people like Fourth Master Cao who already have enough wealth, what they lack most is fame, so Su Liang took advantage of him.

There is a saying: The best way to manage a flock of sheep is to manage the leader.

If Master Cao is appointed as the city's Yiwu promotion officer, this policy will be easier to implement based on his influence.

Su Liang continued: "Fourth Master Cao, after the implementation of the Market Change Law in Kaifeng Mansion, I know that business is the only way to manage business, and the government office is only responsible for supervision, so that it will be better. Next, please contribute to the court!"

Su Liang's attitude was extremely sincere.

All of a sudden, Fourth Master Cao's face was raised.

Fourth Master Cao thought for a while and said: "Su Yushi, Su Zhizhou, this condition is indeed very good, to be honest, I am indeed moved, but...but I can't make all the businessmen in Yangzhou listen to me, and It may only be able to alleviate the money shortage, but not cure it.”

Su Liang smiled slightly and immediately understood Fourth Master Cao's worries.

If you want to solve the money shortage, the only way is to circulate the copper coins stored in the home to the market. However, at present, money is more important than materials, and if you spend the coins, you will definitely lose money.

It is impossible for Fourth Master Cao to put all his copper coins on the market just for such an official position.

"Fourth Master Cao, you just need to convince Ao Lie and Qiao Sanniang, the eldest young men of the Ao family. We will try our best to meet the conditions they put forward. Next year, the court will launch a strategy to solve the money shortage throughout the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, Yangzhou will no longer have a money shortage. It will still appear in other places, so for now, just alleviate it first.”

Fourth Master Cao nodded.

"I can convince Ao Lie, that boy I watched grow up, and I can also convince several businessmen who have business dealings with me, but Qiao Sanniang? This... this lady regards money as her life, and she is very shrewd , I...can only give it a try first."

"Su Zhizhou should know this better."

Su Liang was stunned and turned to look at Su Shunyuan. He didn't expect that this honest magistrate had a story with Qiao Sanniang, the former flower of Yangzhou.

Elder Su Shun blushed and explained: "When I first came to Yangzhou and took office, I once advised Qiao Sanniang to close the romantic places and let more girls become good people. Then she stood on the street and scolded the state government for a long time. Those words were very shocking. Vulgar, very vulgar!"

……

A moment later, in front of the gate of Cao's house.

Fourth Master Cao put Su Liang and Su Shunyuan into the carriage with a smile on his face.

His bare head shone brightly under the winter sun.

Mr. Cao Si looked at the carriage going away, shook his head like a scholar and said: "It is really a blessing for Yangzhou that Su Yushi came to Yangzhou, and it is really a blessing for me, Cao Si."

……

The next day.

Fourth Master Cao persuaded Ao Lie, but the latter did not make any demands.

Because once Mr. Cao becomes the official of Yangzhou City Yiwu, Ao Lie's flower market and fish and crab market will not be afraid of being invaded by some colleagues through dirty means.

The copper coins lost due to their circulation to the market will be quickly earned back.

However, Qiao Sanniang is a tough one.

She doesn't care about fame, she only cares about money. She directly told Mr. Cao that she would fight anyone who touched her money.

Su Liang and Su Shunyuan gathered in the back hall, looking at the relevant information about Qiao Sanniang, thinking about how to find each other's weaknesses.

……

Note: This is for business management, not personal property. When Wang Anshi implemented the Market Change Law, it was true that "the officials responsible for the changes in the market affairs were recruited from Jia people", and the effect was remarkable.

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(End of this chapter)