I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 202: The Three Salt Patrolmen

At the canal wharf outside Huai'an City, three official ships slowly approached the shore. On the mast of the first official ship, there was a flag with the words "Right Deputy Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Inspector of Lianghuai Salt Administration" written on it.

The second official ship had a flag on its mast that read "Xu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Inspector of the Lianghuai Salt Administration."

Yes, after some negotiations and compromises, Gao Gong sent Xu Yangzheng, whom he trusted, to inspect the Lianghuai salt administration together with Hai Rui as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

According to the agreement between Gao Gong and Zhu Yijun, Hai Rui was responsible for checking accounts, arresting people, and removing rotten meat; Xu Yangzheng was responsible for reforming the salt administration and healing the wounds.

At the dock, the guard of honor was neat and everyone stood in silence.

An official in a scarlet robe, tall and thin, with an extraordinary demeanor, stood at the front of the crowd.

He is the Governor-General of the Grand Canal, Wang Yi'e.

When the official ship docked, he immediately went to meet it.

"Lord Gangfeng, Lord Mengquan, thank you for your hard work along the way."

Hai Rui and Xu Yangzheng walked from the official ship's gangplank to the shore, bowed and greeted Wang Yi'e, "Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time."

"You two have important responsibilities for the country, so it is my duty to wait for a while." Wang Yi'e laughed.

He passed the imperial examination at the age of eighteen and is only thirty-four this year, already a third-rank official. He can be said to be young and promising, full of vigor and vitality.

Especially when compared with Xu Yangzheng, who is nearly sixty years old, the difference is even more obvious.

Wang Yi'e continued, "I have prepared a small banquet at my residence. Please come and have a look. After dinner, rest for a night. Tomorrow I will accompany you to Yangzhou."

Hai Rui bowed and replied calmly, "Please!"

The three of them got into the sedan chair and walked slowly towards the Grain Transport Governor's Office.

Xu Yang was sitting in the sedan chair, feeling a little emotional.

He was the oldest and most experienced of the three. He passed the imperial examination in the 20th year of the Jiajing reign, when Wang Yi'e was only seven years old.

It's just that Xu Yangzheng is from Guangxi, and is known as one of the Eight Sages of Liuzhou. Unfortunately, Guangdong and Guangxi are marginal areas in the court, so Xu Yangzheng is useless even if he is one of the Eight Immortals of Liuzhou.

His official career was bumpy. In the 27th year of Jiajing, he and his colleagues jointly impeached the father and son of the Yan family, and was demoted to Tonghai County, Yunnan as a prefect.

He then served as the magistrate of Zhaoqing Prefecture in Guangdong, the assistant governor of Guizhou, and the assistant governor of Yunnan. He became famous for solving the case of Xu Yue, the governor of Yunnan, who was murdered in Yuanjiang.

He was transferred to Nanjing as Guanglu Temple Minister and Shangbao Minister, but was suppressed by Yan Shifan who held a grudge against him. It was not until Yan and his son gradually lost power that Xu Yangzheng was transferred to Nanjing as Left Councillor of Tongzhengsi.

In the 43rd year of Jiajing, Hu Qingxu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, was transferred to the position of assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, and Xu Yangzheng took over as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing. During this period, he discovered many malpractices in the grain transport and salt administration, and submitted memorials to the emperor several times.

However, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was replaced frequently at that time, and the real power was in the hands of incumbent vice ministers such as Hu Qingxu, so the memorials were secretly withheld.

When Gao Gong took over the Ministry of Revenue, he accidentally read Xu Yangzheng's report and regarded him as a talent. As soon as Hu Qingxu fell, he immediately transferred Xu Yangzheng to the Ministry of Revenue in the capital and appointed him as a vice minister. He also served as his assistant. This time, he was sent to inspect the salt administration in Lianghuai.

Xu Yangzheng was well aware of the shortcomings of the Lianghuai salt administration and knew that this was a great opportunity for him. If he did well, he would be favored by Gao Gong and become his confidant.

Xu Yangzheng was confident in exposing the malpractices in the Lianghuai salt administration.

When Hai Rui takes action, he will not save face for anyone and will definitely investigate the matter thoroughly.

No account in the world can stand up to careful scrutiny.

What Xu Yangzheng was worried about was how to deal with the consequences after the malpractices were discovered.

He was an official in Nanjing and knew the background and methods of the Yangzhou salt merchants. They were rich and well connected.

Some people said that these salt merchants had close ties with the nobles and officials in Nanjing City. But Xu Yangzheng knew that there was more to it than that.

The salt merchants also had deep connections with the nobles and relatives of the emperor in the capital. They spent a lot of money and had friends all over the world.

Xu Yangzheng also knew that among these salt merchants, some secretly controlled a large number of salt smugglers, some secretly gathered assassins, and some had close relations with the Cao army. Once their weak points were found, these salt merchants would definitely turn against them when their families were destroyed. How could they be suppressed and the aftermath be dealt with?

All the pressure was put on the Governor of the Grand Canal, Wang Yi'e.

Thinking of this colleague, Xu Yangzheng couldn't help feeling jealous.

At the age of 18, he was a Jinshi and was selected to be a county official in Fujian. He happened to encounter the invasion of Japanese pirates, and then a war broke out. After fighting for more than ten years, at the age of 34, he became the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor-General of the Grain Transport, a third-rank official.

What am I doing at the age of 34?
Still dealing with the Miao people in Yunnan and Guizhou.

Xu Yangzheng was worried whether Wang Yi'e could control the situation!
Although he had been fighting bandits in Fujian and Jiangxi for more than ten years and could be considered an able official, there was a huge difference between bandits and salt merchants.

Just kill the bandits. Their heads are not as valuable as those of the Japanese pirates and the northern barbarians.

But behind every salt merchant, there are dozens of high-ranking officials. Not to mention, it takes enough courage to catch them.

Amidst the anxiety of losing and gaining, three official sedan chairs stopped in the sedan chair room of the Grain Transport Governor's Office. Xu Yangzheng got out of the sedan chair and followed Hai Rui. Under the guidance of Wang Yi'e, they soon arrived at the front hall.

There was a round table here, and the servants placed six dishes on it one after another. Xu Yangzheng glanced around and was a little surprised.

They were all very ordinary dishes, and together they cost less than five cents of silver.

Hai Rui took a quick look, nodded with satisfaction, lifted his collar, and sat down first.

Wang Yi'e said politely to Xu Yangzheng, "Mr. Mengquan, please. Please don't be disgusted by the simple food."

Hai Rui spoke first: "Simple food is good. It won't upset your stomach."

Wang Yi'e laughed, "Mr. Gangfeng is straightforward. I have spent a lot of time in the army over the past ten years. I usually eat from the same pot as the soldiers. I eat whatever I can catch, including fish and shrimp from the sea and rivers, and birds and beasts from the mountains and forests.

One year in Fujian, Wang was trapped in an isolated city. He survived by eating wild vegetables and tree bark for seven or eight days. So Wang didn't care about food, as long as he could fill his stomach.

Lord Gangfeng and Lord Mengquan, please don't despise me."

Xu Yangzheng sat down, glanced at the food on the table, and replied with a smile: "Xu has been in Yunnan and Guizhou for more than ten years. Compared with the food I ate there, this table of food is considered a delicacy."

Wang Yi'e was the last one to sit down and laughed: "It seems that the three of us can all eat simple food. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!

It seems that the fine wine and delicious food of the Yangzhou salt merchants cannot tempt us."

Hai Rui also laughed, pointing at Wang Yi'e and saying, "Zijian, you are a good boy! Not bad, no wonder His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thinks so highly of you!"

Wang Yi'e stood up first, picked up some dishes for Hai Rui and Xu Yangzheng, then picked up his own bowl and started eating.

"Lord Gangfeng, Lord Mengquan, please help yourself. I have been in the army for a long time and have developed the habit of eating quickly.

We never know when the army will be attacked by the enemy, and we don't know if we will be on the march the next moment. So we should eat quickly and eat voraciously. Please don't think I am vulgar. "

Hai Rui picked up the bowl with a smile and started eating slowly.

Xu Yangzheng also shook his head and started eating slowly.

The two of them had only eaten two-thirds of their bowls of rice, but Wang Yi'e had already gulped down three bowls of rice, put down his bowl and chopsticks, burped, and drank two sips of hot tea.

Xu Yangzheng finished a bowl of rice and ordered another half bowl.

Hai Rui was full after eating one bowl of rice. He put down the bowl, which was as clean as if it had been washed with water, and picked up the seven grains of rice that had fallen on the table and on his lapel, and stuffed them into his mouth one by one.

Wang Yi'e invites you two to sit down and have some tea.

After the servants served the hot tea one by one, Xu Yangzheng picked up the hot tea, lifted the lid, blew gently a few times, and asked slowly: "Zijian, I heard that when you passed the imperial examination, your teacher was Shaohu Gong?"

(End of this chapter)