Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 513: Chaos in Yuzhou
"Tell me, what else have you found out!" Emperor Yanping looked at Wang Zhongzhi.

Wang Zhongzhi quickly replied: "Your Majesty, in addition to the relationship between the Maritime Customs and the pirates, we have also discovered that many wealthy families in Jiangnan have connections with the pirates!"

"And we discovered that these pirates may be related to the Xingyue Sect!"

Emperor Yanping frowned, "Xingyuemen?"

Wang Zhongzhi said, "Yes, it is Xingyue Sect. We found Niu Ben, the head of Kaiyangxing Hall of Xingyue Sect, in Haizhou Prefecture."

"Hasn't the Shangwu Temple been looking for warriors from the Xingyue Sect for the past two years?" Emperor Yanping looked a little unhappy.

During these three years, Shangwu Temple has not been idle.
After sorting out all the underworld forces in Dayong, Shangwu Temple began to clean up the strongholds set up by external forces in Dayong.

The main target of the cleanup was the Seven Stars Hall of the Xingyue Sect. Over the course of three years, all of the Seven Stars Hall's headquarters had been found and destroyed.

However, many remnants of the Seven Stars Hall managed to escape the Shangwu Temple's pursuit, and some fled back to Xingyue Island, while others hid their identities and lurked in the downtown area.

Among them, Niu Ben, the former head of Kaiyang Xingtang, is one of them.

"Your Majesty, this matter cannot be blamed on Shangwu Temple. There are many masters in Xingyue Sect. It is almost impossible to capture all of them!" Wang Zhongzhi said softly.

Emperor Yanping nodded slightly. He was not blaming the Shangwu Temple. He was just angry with the Xingyue Sect.

"Do you know why they want to attack Yuzhou City?"

Wang Zhongzhi hesitated for a moment before saying, "It may be related to the Weaving Bureau!"

"Why is the Weaving Bureau involved again?" asked Emperor Yanping.

Chen Zhongshu next to him narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a dangerous gleam.

The Weaving Bureau was originally an institution of the inner court, located under the Silijian, which was dedicated to manufacturing silk fabrics needed for the palace. It also provided various types of silk fabrics for tribute trade.

Although the Weaving Bureau is now under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Merchants Bureau, it is actually still supervised by the eunuchs in the inner court.

The substance remains the same, the Weaving Bureau is still under the control of the Imperial Household Department, and Chen Zhongshu is the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department.

If there was a problem with the Weaving Bureau, then he, as the holder of the Imperial Household Department's seal, would be to blame.

Wang Zhongzhi said: "The Haizhou Weaving Bureau had four weaving workshops in Yuzhou, and all four weaving workshops were reduced to ashes overnight."

On the night when Yuzhou was captured, the whole city was ablaze, many houses were burned down, even the prefectural government office was burned down. Although it seems reasonable that the four weaving workshops were burned down together, the problem is that the four weaving workshops in Yuzhou were not together.

Yuzhou City was breached from the south gate, and most of the burned areas were in the south part of the city. However, one of the four weaving workshops was in the north part. Not many areas were burned in the north part, but it included the weaving workshop.

Therefore, the spies of the Secret Guard thought that this matter might be related to the Weaving Bureau.

Emperor Yanping rubbed his eyebrows, he felt that the matter was becoming more and more complicated.

The Weaving Bureau was considered an institution of the inner court, while the Maritime Customs Office was an office of the outer court. The composition of the wealthy families in Jiangnan was quite complex, including wealthy businessmen, official families, and martial arts families.

The Xingyue Sect and the pirates are external forces.

If the Xingyue Sect is related to pirates, it is not difficult to understand.

There are many pirates in the East China Sea, and Xingyuemen is located in the southeastern sea, so they already control some pirates. If they drove the pirates to attack Yuzhou City, this is easy to explain.

In the past two years, Shangwu Temple has been attacking Qixingtang, so it is understandable that they want to retaliate against Darong.

But why are the Maritime Customs and the Weaving Bureau involved?

"Have you arrested the people from the Maritime Customs?" Emperor Yanping asked
"No, in order to avoid alerting the enemy, we did not take any action!" Wang Zhongzhi replied.

Emperor Yanping nodded slightly, "Then continue to investigate, and we must get to the bottom of it! I will let Shangwu Temple cooperate with you!"

The Secret Guard is professional in investigating cases, but they have many things to do and it is impossible to mobilize too much force in Jiangnan.

The most important task of the Secret Guards at present is to search for the traces of the Shen Yang Sect. In the past three years, the Shen Yang Sect seemed to be non-existent. Neither the Secret Guards nor the Shangwu Temple have found any traces of the Shen Yang Sect.

Now the Secret Guard has set its sights beyond Dayong and has dispatched a large number of personnel to the southeastern waters and the many dynasties south of Dayong.

Therefore, the Secret Guard cannot mobilize too many manpower now, but the Jiangnan Shangwu Division under the Shangwu Temple has enough manpower.

"I obey your order!" Wang Zhongzhi accepted the order.

After receiving the imperial edict, Wang Zhongzhi first went to Shangwu Temple to find Zhang Luan, and after borrowing some manpower from Zhang Luan, he went to Jiangnan.

Jiangnan is the most prosperous region in Dayong. Not only does it have abundant grain production, but it also has developed silk and cotton textile industries. In addition, there are tea, pottery, wine, medicine, shipbuilding and other industries. Jiangnan has unique advantages.

In addition, Jiangnan is rich in water resources, with large rivers, lakes and seas running through it, and water transportation is extremely convenient, which makes Jiangnan the most prosperous region in Dayong.

Yuzhou is one of the nine prefectures and four states in Jiangnan Province. Located in the northeast corner of Jiangnan, it is one of the most important raw silk producing areas in Jiangnan.

The situation in Yuzhou at this time was more serious than Lin Zhan had expected. When he arrived in Yuzhou, he found that it was not only Yuzhou City that was attacked by pirates, but also many villages and towns were looted by pirates.

And even after the pirates attacked Yuzhou City, there were still small-scale pirates roaming around in Yuzhou.

Entering the country from the northern part of Yuzhou, many villages were looted wherever they passed, and countless people were killed.

In a village, Lin Zhan looked at the houses filled with smoke and corpses scattered all over the ground with an extremely ugly expression.

"Fourth Master! Only one child is still alive!" A guard came to Lin Zhan holding a crying baby.

This guard is a member of the Yang family. Since Lin Zhan grew up in the Yang family and is Yang Zhengshan's apprentice, he is younger than Mingcheng, Mingzhi and Minghao, so the servants and guards of the Yang family call him the Fourth Master.

Looking at the child in his arms, Lin Zhan's eyes suddenly turned red. He thought of himself and also of Wang Mingzhe, who was about this age at that time.

If Yang Zhengshan had taken them in, he might have starved to death long ago, and Wang Mingzhe would definitely have starved to death. At that time, Wang Yunqiao alone would definitely not be able to support Wang Mingzhe.

"Take good care of him, he will be my apprentice from now on!"

"Yes!" The guard carefully took the swaddling clothes.

Lin Zhan looked at the corpses all over the ground, his eyes flashing with a cold gleam.

"Let's go to the state capital first!"

He had no time to bury the victims. His most urgent task was to get to the state capital as soon as possible and organize soldiers and young and strong men to wipe out the pirates who were still on the loose.

A group of more than 20 people sped along the official road and arrived at Yuzhou City around noon.

The four gates of Yuzhou City were closed, and there were many soldiers on duty on the city walls.

Lin Zhan rode his horse to the city gate and looked up at the soldiers guarding the city on the city wall.

"Who is outside the city?" the soldiers guarding the city shouted loudly.

"I am Lin Zhan, the new governor of Yuzhou." Lin Zhan shouted loudly.

The soldiers on the city wall discussed this for a while, and then said, "Master Lin, please wait for a moment, and let me report first!"

Lin Zhan nodded. He did not feel dissatisfied. Instead, he felt a little relieved.

The presence of soldiers guarding the city showed that Yuzhou City had not completely lost control, which was undoubtedly good news for the current situation. About a quarter of an hour later, a middle-aged man in cotton armor came to the city gate tower. He first looked at Lin Zhan and his party, and then shouted, "Master Lin, please put the promotion documents in the basket!"

As he spoke, a basket was lowered onto the city wall. Lin Zhan took out the official document given to him by the Ministry of Personnel and asked a guard to put it in the basket.

Another half a quarter of an hour later, the tightly closed city gate opened, and a middle-aged man in cotton armor led a dozen soldiers out of the city gate.

"I, Li Boran, the left captain of Haizhou Guard, pay my respects to Lord Lin. I am sorry for being disrespectful just now. I hope Lord Lin can forgive me!" Li Boran stepped forward and bowed.

Lin Zhan dismounted and helped Li Boran up, "Captain Li, there's no need to be so polite."

Li Boran stood up and looked at Lin Zhan, but when he saw Lin Zhan's young face clearly, he was stunned and felt a little bitter in his heart.

He is too young. Why did the court send such a young official?

Lin Zhan is indeed young. He is only twenty-six years old now. Even though he has grown a beard, he still looks very young.

Given the current situation in Yuzhou, Li Boran hoped that the court could send an experienced and prudent governor to take charge of the overall situation.

Obviously Lin Zhan did not meet his mature and steady expectations.

"Lord Lin, let's go into the city first!" said Li Boran.

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Lin Zhan nodded slightly, then mounted his horse and entered the city.

The situation in the city was relatively good. Although many burned places could be seen, the streets were still relatively clean, except that every household hung white silk.

"Lord Lin, the prefectural government office has been burned down, so we have temporarily found an inn as our office location!"

Li Boran led Lin Zhan to an inn. Naturally, there were no guests in the inn. There were only some soldiers and officials. It looked a bit messy.

"The situation is rather complicated and the conditions are a bit simple. Please forgive me, Lord Lin!" Li Boran said softly, while observing Lin Zhan's expression.

Lin Zhan just nodded slightly and said calmly: "Please ask Captain Li to help my brothers arrange a place to stay and rest."

Li Boran was slightly relieved to see that Lin Zhan did not dislike this place, but he immediately said: "All the rooms here are full, but there are still a few rooms in the back that can be vacated!"

"It's okay, as long as there is a place to sleep, we can just squeeze in!" Lin Zhan waved his hand indifferently.

Li Boran immediately asked someone to make arrangements, and soon he cleared out three rooms for Lin Zhan and his group. There were certainly no beds, so everyone could only sleep on the floor. Fortunately, it was not cold in Yuzhou, so they could at least make do with some sleep.

After the accommodation was arranged, Lin Zhan and others put down their luggage and immediately went to the lobby of the inn.

At this time, there were more than a dozen people in the hall. Li Boran introduced them, "This is the new governor, Lord Lin Lin!"

Lin Zhan cooperated and took out his official documents and passed them to everyone for review.

"Your humble servant Wang Ruihua, deputy commander of the Haizhou Guard, greets Lord Lin!"

"Your humble servant Zhang Yu, the co-magistrate of Yuzhou, pays respect to His Excellency the Magistrate!"

Several people bowed.

After listening to everyone's self-introductions, Lin Zhan's eyes fell on Zhang Yu, the Tongzhi of Yuzhou.

"Master Zhang, please tell me about the prefectural government first!"

The prefect's office was burned down, and the former prefect's entire family, as well as many officials, soldiers and militiamen in the office were killed.

Currently, the highest-ranking official in Yuzhou City is Zhang Yu, a sixth-rank Tongzhi.

Zhang Yu said with a pale face: "In reply to your Excellency's words, there is nothing left in the prefectural government office now. Eighteen officials were killed, and there were more than thirty soldiers and servants. In addition to a few clerks and clerks, only I and Master Ning are left!"

The Lord Ning he was referring to was Ning Yuanhe, the magistrate of Yuzhou, a little old man with gray hair.

"How many soldiers can we mobilize now?" Lin Zhan asked again.

Zhang Yu said, "In addition to the 500 soldiers brought by Captain Li, there are 600 soldiers from the Inspection Office in the city, more than 100 yamen runners and constables, and more than 800 militiamen I just recruited!"

Hearing this, Lin Zhan rubbed his eyebrows with a headache.

Li Boran, the captain of the garrison, belonged to Haizhou Guard. As the prefect, he had no authority to mobilize Haizhou Guard. At this time, Haizhou Guard was already responsible for arranging a captain of the garrison to be responsible for the city defense.

As for the Inspection Office, its duties are to investigate people who have no way out, arrest fugitives, crack down on smuggling, maintain normal business and travel exchanges, etc. But to be honest, the soldiers of the Inspection Office are completely useless.

The only ones left were the constables and militiamen. Let alone the militiamen, they were just ordinary people, not even soldiers.

There are quite a few useful warriors among the constables.

Many of the bailiffs and constables in government offices at all levels are warriors, and some are even acquired warriors. Although there are no very strong warriors, they are responsible for solving cases and hunting down criminals, and often have to face warrior criminals, so they do have some strength.

"Where is the Shangwu Division? Is there a Shangwu Division in the city?" Lin Zhan asked again.

Zhang Yu shook his head. "We in Yuzhou have not yet established a military department, but Haizhou Prefecture did set up a military department last year!"

Lin Zhan was not surprised. At present, the Shangwu Temple has begun to set up Shangwu Divisions in various prefectures, but not all state capitals have done so yet. Some state capitals have already set them up, but some have not.

"Where is the money and grain? How much money and grain do we have now?"

"The government's rice warehouse and tax silver were looted by pirates, but the official warehouse in the city is still there, and there are 20,000 stones of rice in it!"

Lin Zhan nodded. He was not worried as he had food in his hands. Twenty thousand shi was not a lot, but it was enough for a while.

Then he asked about the situation in the city. There are still more than 30,000 people left in the city, but the people are in panic and hiding in their homes and dare not go out.

Yuzhou has three county towns under its jurisdiction. These three county towns have not been attacked by pirates, but their gates are now closed. Because there are still pirates roaming around, they dare not open the gates at all.

After understanding the general situation, Lin Zhan asked again: "Didn't the Dusi Yamen send troops to wipe out the roaming pirates?"

Zhang Yu and Li Boran looked at each other and said, "There should be, but the army doesn't seem to have arrived yet!"

Lin Zhan frowned, "What do you mean by not coming over?"

"Only Haizhou Guard and Sangzhou Guard are available near Yuzhou. However, Sangzhou Guard is a navy. It is said that they have already gone to chase the pirates. As for Haizhou Guard!" Zhang Yu looked at Li Boran.

Li Boran smiled bitterly. "The main duty of the Haizhou Guard is to guard Haizhou Prefecture. Since the Yuzhou pirates appeared, the Haizhou Guard has placed its forces in Haizhou Prefecture. The commander only sent me to Yuzhou City."

Lin Zhan glanced at him, nodded slightly, and didn't say much.

Although Li Boran's words were not clear, he still understood them.

The commander of Haizhou Guard was probably a coward who didn't dare to come to Yuzhou to wipe out the pirates, so he hid in Haizhou Prefecture. In fact, he was not wrong to do so. Compared with Yuzhou, Haizhou Prefecture was undoubtedly more important.

When Yuzhou was attacked by pirates, it was reasonable to guard Haizhou Prefecture from being attacked by pirates.

Li Boran was sent to Yuzhou, which obviously showed that he was excluded by his superiors, otherwise Haizhou Wei could have simply not sent anyone to Yuzhou.

However, Lin Zhan had a very good impression of Li Boran. The situation in Yuzhou City was still under control, and this was all thanks to Li Boran.

If Li Boran hadn't been here, Yuzhou City would probably be in chaos.

(End of this chapter)