Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Jia Cong and Pang Chao sent the three people away.

"Sir, are you really sure that these three people will return to the court? You have also set a time limit."

Jia Cong was a little suspicious. He was not sure. Although he was half a member of the New Party, they might not be willing to accept a new faction coming to Beijing to decentralize power.

Pang Chao shook his head slightly: "I'm only three to four points sure."

"How come you are so sure that even I believe you?" Jia Cong was stunned.

Pang Chao smiled and said: "It doesn't matter whether they can return to the court or not. What's important is to help you get through the difficulties in front of you first."

Jia Cong was moved in his heart and said: "This does not mean that my efforts are in vain by lying to them. That gentleman's reputation..."

Pang Chao said: "If I can use their power to help you survive this disaster, what is my personal honor and disgrace worth?"

Jia Cong sighed: "Cong got Mr. Kong as Liu Bei got Kong Ming."

Pang Chao smiled and said: "Chao Wanwan doesn't dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with the sages, but Brother Cong wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with Xuande?"

To be comparable to Liu Bei, at least he is a true overlord.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Although Liu Bei is from the clan, his family has fallen into decline and he has become a mat weaver and shoe seller. After all, Cong was born in the palace of the Duke of the state, and the people he associates with are all high-ranking officials and nobles. Now that he has a husband to assist him, how can he be like Liu Bei?" Just stay in a corner?"

"Okay! These words are quite majestic." Pang Chao said with a smile while stroking his hands.

Jia Cong put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Sir, our journey is across the stars and the sea!"

Pang Chao was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

Jia Cong explained to Feng Jieer, Baochai and others, and took Pang Chao and two teams of soldiers off the boat. Pan Sang and others from Qianhu in Yangzhou accompanied him to Jiangjia Wanshu Garden.

Everyone in the Jiang family had already been waiting at the door. Because they had greeted them in advance, there were not many people there. Only Jiang Biehe, his son Jiang Chuan, and two confidants were in charge.

"Mr. Jiang, are you okay?"

"Thank you for your blessing, Uncle. It's very good. Please give me a favor, Mr. Gongzai." Jiang Biehe said with a smile.

In Duxing Pavilion, Jiang Biehe and his son were sitting together with Jia Cong, Pang Chao and Pan Sang.

"Today, I have the courage to ask my uncle to come. In addition to being entrusted by my fellow salt merchants to show my filial piety to my uncle, I also have three things to report." Jiang Biehe said with a smile.

"Oh? The old man is too polite. If you have anything to say, it doesn't matter." Jia Cong said with a smile.

"Actually, these three things are also the same thing. The salt merchant's family colluded with the water bandits and Japanese pirates the day before yesterday, dragging the admiral's blessing and Pan Qianhu's guidance and help. The old man has found out..." Jiang Biehe said slowly.

"Huh? No, Yangzhou is a salt-producing land. If banditry occurs, salt production will be affected. Most of the salt merchants' profits lie in the salt industry. How can they protect the small losses of the new law but suffer the big losses of the salt industry? It is unreasonable ." Jia Cong said.

Jiang Biehe said: "The Admiral was born a nobleman and did not pay attention to the humble business of merchants. Although the salt production is less, the profit of the salt merchants may not be less, maybe more, it is just to raise the price. What's more..." Speaking of A slight pause here.

Pang Chao nodded and said: "Besides, some people would rather suffer some losses in business, but also want to please certain people to show their intentions. It is cost-effective to exchange commercial benefits for political benefits."

"Mr. Gongzai has a keen eye, and I admire him for that."

Jia Cong was stunned and said: "So that's it, who is it?"

Jiang Biehe said: "It's a coincidence. As the saying goes, a country is easy to change, but a person's nature is hard to change. The person who committed this heinous act was precisely the culprit behind the murder of Lin Yanyuan's beloved son and his wife. He was also the uncle's heavyweight three years ago. The nuclear nest originally hired people to attack and kill people from the Yanyuan Yamen."

Jia Conghu's eyes flashed brightly, he stared at Jiang Biehe closely, and said, "Who is it?"

"Wan Chun, Gui Lie, and Hai Dafu." Jiang Biehe said.

Jia Cong closed his eyes slightly and quickly searched for information about the three people in his memory. Three faces with different expressions gradually appeared in his mind. Wanchun was feminine and cunning, Gui Lie was fierce and rough, and Hai Dafu was kind and cruel. If these three faces Man, it makes sense.

"Do you have any evidence?" Jia Cong asked solemnly.

"This old man has such a big heart and courage to talk about such a big thing, and he doesn't dare to say anything." Jiang Biehe said sternly, and with a wave of his hand, Jiang Chuan hurriedly opened the box he was carrying and took out a stack of books.

"This is the evidence and case files that I have investigated over the years. The witnesses and material evidence are in the garden. The admiral can send someone to take over the interrogation at any time. This matter has been reported to Pan Qianhu this morning." Jiang Biehe said.

Jia Cong looked at Pan Sang.

The latter stood up hurriedly, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, Admiral, I have been investigating these three cases for a long time. This morning, I compared the case files in the office with Mr. Jiang's book. There is no doubt that they are these three families."

Jia Cong nodded slightly and said, "Mr. Jiang, Cong will definitely repay this great kindness."

"My uncle has always taken care of us and other salt merchants, but now there is no way to repay him for a trivial matter. My uncle will never mention this matter again." Jiang Biehe said hurriedly.

The Jiang family probably already knew the murderer of Jia Min and his son. The reason why they told themselves now was obviously because they thought they could get a good price.

Jia Cong understood these joints as soon as he thought about them. A businessman is a businessman.

Jia Cong chuckled: "Cong has a clear sense of grudges and never likes to owe favors. For such a great favor, if Cong pretends to be confused while pretending to understand, wouldn't it make people laugh?"

"Uncle, I'm joking, but I'm just showing my loyalty and filial piety, it's not a human thing."

Jiang Biehe waved his hand and said, from the last nest incident, he knew that Jia Cong was a generous and generous person. If these three families were destroyed, then the nest in their hands would get a share of the pie.

Jia Cong said: "Are all the salt merchants here? Let's eat first and then talk about business. We Jin Yiwei also follow the rules. The dying person should also let him have a good meal."

Pan Sang smiled hurriedly and said: "Admiral, you are kind and righteous, and I admire you for your humble position."

"My uncle is truly a gentleman. All the salt merchants have been waiting for you at Yeyu Hall." Jiang Biehe cupped his hands and said with a smile. At that moment, Jiang Biehe led Jia Cong and others to another pavilion in the garden, Yeyu Hall.

Jiang Chuan introduced with a smile that the name of the hall comes from a famous saying in the Tang Dynasty, a businessman knows that the waves are calm when he sleeps during the day, and a boatman feels the tide when he talks at night.

Jia Cong had never heard of this poem, so he acted as if he understood it, smiled and nodded, praising "it's very elegant".

"Everyone has been waiting for a long time. I finally fulfilled my mission and had the honor to invite my uncle." Jiang Biehe led everyone into the hall, cupped his hands and said with a smile.

Everyone hurriedly stood up and cupped their hands and said, "I've seen my uncle."

"Everyone is alright?" Jia Cong said with a smile as he looked at the dozen or so big salt merchants in the hall who had bought their fortunes from him.

"Thanks to my uncle, everything is fine. I haven't congratulated my uncle on his promotion of official career and salary." Everyone laughed.

Jia Cong laughed, exchanged a few words with everyone, and sat down at the chief table.

"I didn't intend to bother you all, but I heard from Mr. Jiang that many local sages insisted on inviting me to be a host. Cong thought that it would be free of charge, so he came here shamelessly." Jia Cong said with a smile.

"Uncle, you are joking. It is a great honor for us to show you the honor." Everyone laughed and said.

Seeing that the price of the delicacies had gone up, and they were immediately piled up on the table, Jia Cong smiled, picked up a glass of wine, and said, "You are so kind, I feel ashamed to accept it, so I borrowed flowers to offer to the Buddha and give a toast to all the sages."

"Uncle, please." Everyone hurriedly stood up and raised their glasses.

"Eat vegetables, eat vegetables. The governor is also hungry." Jia Cong said with a smile, raised his chopsticks and signaled to Pang Chao, Jiang Biehe and others, then started eating by himself.

Everyone did not dare to disturb him and hurriedly followed him to eat the food, but in their hearts they were thinking about what to say later.

Now that Lin Ruhai has left, Xu Qing is left in charge of the salt affairs. With their relationship, if Jia Congruo says hello, Xu Yanyuan will not show off his face. This is why they must ask Jia Cong for a while, thinking of paving the way in advance.

Jia Cong ate very quickly and was full in a moment.

When everyone saw him put down their chopsticks, they quickly followed suit and waited for him to speak.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Have you eaten yet?"

"Uncle Xie cares, eat well, eat well."

"Well, now that I've eaten and drank enough, I'll talk about two things."

"Uncle, please give me your instructions." Everyone said hurriedly.

"Back then, my aunt and cousin, the wife of Lin Yanyuan, and my beloved son died in Yangzhou without any explanation. Do you know?"

How could everyone not know this? They didn't dare to answer even if their hearts trembled. Could it be that Jia Cong wanted to settle an old score and use the topic as an excuse?

Jia Cong added: "Three years ago, when I was helping Lin Yanyuan re-evaluate its headquarters, someone hired Dahe Gang gangsters to attack the Yamen of Yanyuan at night. Do you know?

The day before yesterday, Dahe Gang water bandits caused trouble and Japanese pirates invaded the country. There were also secret connections among salt merchants. Do you know? "

Everyone did not dare not answer, and hurriedly said: "Uncle, please make it clear that we really don't know anything about it. We will never dare to commit such a treasonous crime."

"There is no need to panic. The governor will not wrongly accuse a good person, nor will he let a bad person go. You can rest assured." Jia Cong said calmly.

"My uncle is very perceptive and can resolve cases like a god. We know it all."

The innocent person breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking that someone was going to be in trouble. The more thoughtful ones are already considering how to take up the vacated salt industry market share.

Wan Jia, Gui Jia, and Hai Jia looked at each other, and their hearts tightened.

Jia Cong laughed and said nothing nonsense. He looked at the three families and said, "Master Wan, Master Gui, and Master Hai, what do you three have to say?"

The three of them stood up in a hurry, bowed and said, "Uncle, I know clearly, but we don't know the truth."

"Well, I don't know if it's a blessing. Since I'm full and I'm going on the road, maybe I'll remember it when I'm on the road." Jia Cong smiled faintly. Several captains had already come in and captured the three of them.

"Uncle! There is no evidence, I won't give up!"

"Uncle, you are wronged!"

"Uncle, don't accuse good people unjustly!"

The three of them were busy shouting.

Jia Cong laughed and looked around at everyone: "Look, everyone, what does it mean to not know when you are about to die? If I have no evidence, why don't I name other families, but only three of you?"

As the saying goes, if you walk at night for a long time, you will encounter ghosts. The three of them have done so many great things, and they still expect to keep it a secret for the rest of their lives? Just take it down. "

The three people's faces were ashen, and before they could complain, the captain in Jinyi took out rags, blocked their mouths, and dragged them out.

Everyone in the hall was frightened. They didn't expect that a living King of Hell would be invited here today.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Don't be alarmed, you haven't done anything bad, what are you afraid of?"

"Yes, yes, uncle said yes. We will never dare to associate with such gangsters." Everyone agreed with a smile.

"That's good." Jia Cong nodded, and said: "Pan Sang, send people to raid these three houses, confiscate the nests in their hands, and return them to the Salt Court. Please ask Mr. Xu to be loyal to justice among salt merchants." Please take good care of me."

"Yes, sir. I have already made arrangements for my humble position to ensure that nothing slips through the net," Pan Sang said.

Jiang Biehe was overjoyed. Just this sentence was worth a mountain of gold. (End of chapter)