I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 422 Where is Hai Rui?
Where is Hai Rui?
He is now in Xintai County, east of Qufu.

Xintai County is located beside the Xiaowen River, south of Mount Tai, and belongs to Jinan Prefecture. It is located in the Yimeng Mountain Area, on the main road leading to Mount Tai from Mengyin, Feixian, Yizhou, Yishui, Juzhou, Rizhao and Haizhou in Southern Zhili.

Wutai Town, with Baimaqiao Pass to the south and Jiunu Pass to the west, is a very important town on this road.

In a simple restaurant in the town, Hai Rui, Shu Youliang and Hu Guangsheng sat at one table, and two other guards from the Jinyiwei and Yiweisi were dressed in disguise and sat at another table.

I ordered a plate of boiled peanuts, a plate of smashed cucumbers, a plate of boiled edamame, and a pot of wine.

Hai Rui doesn't drink, but Hu Guangsheng does but he doesn't dare to drink at this time. He is now the head of the guards around Hai Rui and has a heavy responsibility.

Shu Youliang enjoyed this pot of wine alone.

"Oh my god, it's really water wine! Other wines have water mixed in them, but this one has some wine added to the water."

Shu Youliang cursed under his breath and took a big sip of the wine.

Hai Rui glanced at him and said, "It's good to have some wine to drink. The money for the wine will be deducted from your wages. There is no such thing as wine in my expense list for treating you."

"Master, just dig as hard as you can! You gave me a pot of water mixed with some wine, and you acted so generous, muttering to me, you must keep doing it for a month or two."

Hai Rui sneered twice, "Haha, following me is such a hard life. I told you not to come, but you insisted on coming. I told you to keep your wife and children company, but you didn't listen and insisted on coming with me.

Asking for trouble!

It’s good to have some wine to drink. Didn’t you hear what the sailors said when you were on a ship a few days ago? If there’s no water to drink at sea, just drink urine.”

Shu Youliang twisted his neck and stopped being polite.

"You think I want to come? Last time you were attacked at Anbaoli Posthouse in Xiong County and almost died. I was scolded by the mistress for a whole month. She said that raising me is worse than raising a dog. A dog knows when danger comes and barks a few times."

Hai Rui slammed his chopsticks, "Master, I am from the Censorate, and you actually slandered your mistress in front of her. Your mistress will definitely not scold you for saying this, you said it yourself, right? You have been blaming yourself for two months, haha, Master, I have spies all over the house."

"Haha, there are ears and eyes everywhere, and there are only a few people in our family? Master, you are so great." Shu Youliang muttered twice, and saw that Hu Guangsheng was silent. The pair of chopsticks in his right hand was very flexible, and he kept picking up edamame to eat. Only half of the plate was left.

Shu Youliang couldn't help but curse, "You idiot, you ate all the edamame. What are you and I going to eat? Eat shit!"

Hu Guangsheng laughed, "Lao Shu, you want to eat fart? Wait a minute, wait until I finish this plate of edamame, and there will be some soon!"

Shu Youliang rolled his eyes in anger, picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp, shouting: "This life is unbearable! Master, when you go back, you must tell Officer Song that this old Hu can't be used anymore, and we need to replace him."

Hu Guangsheng didn't bother to pay attention to him. He looked at the people walking in twos and threes outside the door. There were more men than women, some were in their twenties and thirties, some were in their forties and fifties, and some were whole families of all ages.

Most of them were unkempt, ragged, and looked pale and thin. They walked unsteadily, leaning on a wooden stick and breathing heavily, as if they had traveled thousands of miles.

All of them had a backpack on their shoulders, some new and some old, in khaki color, with four words embroidered on the front: "Pilgrimage to the mountains and make incense."

These pilgrims who went to Mount Tai dragged their tired bodies and staggered to the entrances of teahouses, restaurants and hotels, smiling, saying a few auspicious words, and then begging, "Master, please give me some hot water to drink."

In the luxurious restaurants, the shopkeepers hid in the shops with gloomy faces and did not come out. The waiters jumped out, waving their hands and shouting, driving away these pilgrims with disgust.

They didn't get angry. After being scolded, they just left with a smile and went to another house to beg for alms.

The restaurant was simple, but the owner was very kind. He boiled two large buckets of water and placed them at the door, along with a few ladles for the pilgrims to use. He also placed a wooden basin with leftovers on the side, giving each pilgrim a bowl of water in limited quantities.

The shopkeeper stood at the door, rubbing his hands, and said sheepishly: "Our business is not very good, and there are too few leftovers. There is not enough for everyone to share. I am really sorry."

A customer sitting at a table near the window, who was in his twenties, had a delicate appearance, and wore a cotton dress and a scholar's scarf on his head. Seeing this, he said, "You are such a stingy shopkeeper. If you want to do good deeds, why don't you buy more rice and food for the pilgrims, and some meat and vegetables.

When doing good deeds, you should be open and aboveboard. Why be so secretive? "

Everyone turned to look at him.

Where does this young master come from? Why doesn’t he eat meat?

The shopkeeper was not annoyed, but rubbed his hands and said cheerfully: "Our shop is a small business, barely making ends meet, so when we do charity, we can only be secretive and can't be generous.

To do good deeds, one must be generous, and one must be a local tycoon." The diners next to him couldn't help but talk about it, "Yes, to be able to do great good deeds, one must be a local tycoon. It's a pity that the richer you are, the more stingy you are."

A dark-faced man said, "That's right. The largest family here is the most stingy one."

The store owner immediately interrupted, "Everyone, eat and drink well, and don't cause trouble, don't cause trouble!"

Everyone was tactful and didn't say anything more, just chatting about family matters.

Hai Rui gave Shu Youliang a look, nodded, turned to the dark-faced man and said, "I am Shu Youliang, a businessman from the south. I am here to buy mountain products. May I ask what your name is?"

"My name is Wang Dagui. I'm a errand boy who runs errands for others. I deliver things to and from several nearby counties to make a living."

"Brother Wang, you have a generous and magnanimous temperament. We admire you very much. Why don't you come to our table and eat with us?" Shu Youliang raised his hand and shouted, "Shopkeeper, add two dishes, one plate of small fish and shrimp, and one plate of sliced ​​beef."

Hai Rui coughed and tapped the table with his right index finger.

Are you crazy? You actually dare to order sliced ​​beef. Do you know how much money we have left in our pockets?

Will the days ahead be ok?

Shu Youliang quickly changed his words, "Store owner, cut the beef into stir-fried cabbage instead! Eat vegetarian food. My family also wants to go to the mountain to worship incense, and we have to fast for a few days. Eat vegetarian food!"

Wang Dagui didn't despise him and brought over a plate of tofu and a plate of fried pork liver from his table. Shu Youliang found a wine glass, wiped it with his clothes, put it in front of Wang Dagui, and poured him a glass of water.

"This is my accountant, his surname is Li. This is my partner, his surname is Hu." Shu Youliang pointed at Hai Rui and Hu Guangsheng and introduced them casually.

"Brother Wang is a local?"

“Locals, our ancestors have been here for generations.”

"That's good. We travel all over the country and collect goods. What we fear most is that we may accidentally offend the local wealthy families and die without knowing how.

I would also like to ask Brother Wang to give us more guidance so that we don’t go the wrong way. Please!”

Shu Youliang raised his glass and said to Wang Dagui.

Wang Dagui was also very generous. He raised his glass and drank it all.

"Mr. Shu, you are too polite. Please feel free to ask me any questions. I, Wang, will tell you everything I know!"

"Thank you, Brother Wang." Shu Youliang approached him and asked softly, "We are going to visit several nearby counties. Who should we not offend here?"

Wang Dagui laughed: "You still have questions, of course you can't offend the Kong family!"

"The Confucius Mansion of the Yansheng Duke?"

"Yes! This Yanzhou territory, as well as the two prefectures of Jinan and Qingzhou, and several counties adjacent to Yanzhou, belong to the Kong family. Even if they are the Kong family's dogs, you can't offend them, or they will bite you to death."

Shu Youliang pretended to be surprised and asked, "Is the Kong family so powerful?"

"That's not true. His ancestor is the most holy teacher of all scholars in the world. Don't you think that's amazing?" Wang Dagui laughed, "Let me tell you this, in Yanzhou, all the people in Qufu County are tenants of the Kong family. In other counties such as Ziyang, Sishui, Zouxian, Jining, and Juye, half of the people are tenants of the Kong family.

A little further away, in Dingtao, Chengwu, Yunxian, Caozhou, Feixian, Mengyin and Xintai County, one-third of the people in each county were tenants of the Kong family.

"If I tell you to live, you live. If I tell you to die, even the gods and the gods cannot save you. Tell me, isn't that awesome?"

Shu Youliang was so frightened that he kept saying, "Brother, after hearing what you said, my heart is beating fast. I don't dare to stay here anymore. If we offend the Kong family by accident, won't we be able to go back alive?"

Wang Dagui laughed, "If you are like a blind man groping in the dark, it will definitely be dangerous. If someone shows you the way, it will be different."

Shu Youliang's eyes flashed, and he asked with a smile: "Brother, can you introduce a reliable person to show us the way?"

Wang Dagui chuckled: "Brother, you found the right person!"

(End of this chapter)