novelAbuy Chapter 300 Affairs
Chapter 300 Affairs
On September 20th, Liu Jinbao specially sent someone to deliver a letter.
The letter recounted many things and expressed remorse and helplessness, but its core message was singular: he had refused the offer to go overseas to trade with foreign countries on behalf of his son. Shao Shuyi simply smiled after reading it. This old man, he's getting more and more conservative; he probably just wants to stay and live a simple life on his land in the Jiangning countryside, even though he himself is still doing shady things.
As for Taicang, they responded: they are willing to give it a try, but a face-to-face meeting is required.
At this point, Shao Shuyi had nothing more to say. He instructed Ma Tuosha to continue with all matters and to keep things generally calm. Then he selected Bian Yuanheng and Jiang Sanbao's teams to board the Liu Yi, a sea-drilling vessel, and head to Taicang and Shanghai.
Before setting off, he seemed to hear someone calling him from afar. He immediately rushed onto the deck and ordered anchor to be raised and the ship to sail. The one calling him was Ge Daji, the clerk in charge of criminal investigations in Jiangyin Prefecture, an old acquaintance. His purpose was obvious, so Shao Shuyi slipped away first.
"Quick! Quick! Pull up anchor! Raise sails!" Shao Shuyi urged repeatedly.
The ship's foreman, Zang Hansan, responded and immediately got to work.
On Yaqian Street in the distance, Jiang Guanbao, the patrol inspector of Ma Tuosha, was still blocking Ge Daji.
"Ge Tikong, you're late." Jiang Guanbao said with a regretful look, "Cao She left by boat this morning."
"Gone? Where did he go?" Ge Daji looked annoyed. "I came twice and didn't see him either. Is he hiding from me?" "Cao She is indeed too busy," Jiang Guanbao said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Ge Daji looked around, seemingly searching for something.
Ahead was a shop selling food and drinks, with several tables set up at the entrance, where seven or eight waiters were sitting.
Not far away was a butcher shop, and two teenagers were squatting at the entrance, laughing and joking.
Further away was a raw silk shop, where a shop assistant sat listlessly in front of the door, occasionally glancing in this direction.
Occasionally, a pedestrian crossing appears on the street.
These people were of varying wealth and social status, but they all had one thing in common when they passed by: they liked to glance at him a few times.
Ge Daji cursed inwardly. This godforsaken place was full of thieves and spies. As soon as he got off the boat, someone would tip him off. How could he possibly catch Cao Luo or Shao Shuyi?
"Jiang Guanbao, tell me the truth, is Cao Luo avoiding me?" Ge Daji turned around, staring intently at the other man, and asked. Seeing the other man's fierce expression, Jiang Guanbao's heart skipped a beat, and he tentatively asked, "Chief Ge, is there something you need?"
"Nonsense!" Ge Daji said irritably, "I'm a provincial official in charge of case handling, and I'm very busy. How can I have time to come to this desolate place every few days? Let me tell you the truth, the Prince of Zhennan has already led his troops eastward and is now in Zhenjiang. He'll probably stay for ten days to half a month. But at the latest, he'll arrive in Jiangyin by the end of October. At that time, he'll be inspecting the troops, investigating smuggled salt, and handling pending lawsuits. Which of these has nothing to do with Cao Luo? You'd better tell him quickly and get everything sorted out, otherwise we'll be in a difficult position too."
Jiang Guanbao frowned and thought for a moment before asking, "Is the Prince of Zhennan serious?"
"I don't know if it's true or not, but he just won a battle, so you have to treat it as real," Ge Daji said. "The interpreter Han army has five suits of iron armor with you, right? Return them quickly. If the Prince of Zhennan finds out, it will be a big problem."
"Closing up the smuggled salt stalls is a good idea; don't make it too blatant. Wait until everyone's left before doing anything else, otherwise the whole prefecture will be implicated. Wrongful convictions and pending lawsuits are difficult to handle. Judge Ma has a mountain of complaints against Cao Luo piled up on his desk; if the Prince of Zhennan comes and someone stops him to plead their case, even if it's just for show, he'll still have to look into it."
After listening, Jiang Guanbao sighed and said, "What you say is quite right. Who are these people accusing Cao She, and what are their accusations?"
"Is there any bullying or monopolistic behavior?" Ge Daji glared and said, "There are quite a few businesses that have filed lawsuits for this, at least four or five."
Was there murder? The matter at Ganming Guangfu Temple was merely suppressed; the case was not closed.
Zhao Yangui's cousin went to Suzhou to buy some salt, but three people were killed on his way back. Someone witnessed Zhang Hou'er, a chivalrous knight from Xishun, committing the crime, and Cao Luo was also blamed for it.
Wang Er, a man from Ma Tuo Sha, was the first to report Cao Luo, who turned out to be "Brother Meng," the leader of the red-headed bandits, shocking the state government.
Master Li of Taining Township…
"Wait a minute." Jiang Guanbao's scalp tingled. "There are actually people from Matuosha who have filed complaints?"
Ge Daji sighed and said, "What's wrong with you guys? You can't even keep an eye on one person. He ran to Suzhou first, and with the censor protecting him, the prefectural government couldn't detain him."
"Who is Wang Er? Where does he live?" Jiang Guanbao asked, somewhat angrily.
"Just a scoundrel," Ge Daji said. "Someone must have given us some guidance on this matter, otherwise we wouldn't have found the censor Ye Erjini. But in any case, the censor has already taken over the case, and the prefectural government can only act according to circumstances; they can't force the issue."
Jiang Guanbao was genuinely annoyed and said, "We'll raid his house today."
"Look at you, you're delirious from your illness." Ge Daji glared at him and said, "What you're saying now, I'll just take as you being confused and talking nonsense. In short, Cao Luo is the person who's been accused the most in Jiangyin."
He sighed and said, "That's enough. If you see him, tell him to be careful. Don't make any rash moves recently. Return the iron armor of the interpreter Han army as soon as possible, and settle the debt for the raw silk. Don't let anyone accuse him of robbing the people and oppressing the villagers. That's all. Tell him to take care of himself."
After saying that, seemingly still not satisfied, he muttered a couple more words under his breath: "Hiding! Hiding! All you do is hide. Do you think you can get away with it?"
Jiang Guanbao stood aside, grinning foolishly.
Brother Cao is truly "heinous," his crimes "too numerous to count," and it's certainly time to deal with the whole affair properly.
"By the way," Ge Daji said, just as he was about to turn and leave, "Cao Luo is from Taicang, right? I'm not entirely sure what he's been doing there. But maybe someone has reported him? He framed a few scholars from Taicang before, didn't he? He clearly has enemies, and perhaps they've reported him too? Tell him to be careful."
"Yes, yes, yes," Jiang Guanbao replied repeatedly.
"I must have had the worst luck in the world to end up with someone like this!" Ge Daji waved his hand and said, "I'm leaving, no need to see me off. From now until the end of the year, be careful with your work and don't let any more thieves sneak over."
"Yes," Jiang Guanbao replied.
After Ge Daji left, Jiang Guanbao thought for a moment and decided to go to Chongsheng Temple first to inform Madam Liu of the situation.
The reason is simple: Madam Liu gave birth to a son for Cao Luo, giving him an heir. In the eyes of those who depend on Cao Luo, her status is extraordinary, and seeking her out is the right thing to do.
After visiting Chongsheng Temple, he still had to cross the river to go to Huangtian Trading Company to find Yu Yuan and hear his opinion.
After figuring it out, he didn't delay any longer and immediately took action.
At noon on the 21st, the Liu Yi drilling sea loach quietly stopped near a remote fishing village.
That evening, Liu Yi's boat carried an old man and a young man eastward, arriving at the mouth of the Wusong River the following morning.
The ships Ma Jia and Ma Yi have been anchored here for several days.
After learning a little about the situation and that everything was normal, Shao Shuyi led two groups of people on foot to Fei's residence, which was three miles away.
However, Fei Xiong was not there. They waited until evening before they finally saw Fei returning on horseback in the distance.
Shao Shuyi straightened his clothes, stepped forward to pay his respects, and glanced at the group behind Fei Xiong.
There were a dozen or so people in total, most of them were ordinary servants, plus a few scholarly retainers with a scholarly air about them. Only five or six of them were armed. It was unclear whether they were guards arranged by the government or recruited by him.
"Little Tiger." Fei Xiong's attitude became even more amiable. He dismounted and walked forward, saying, "I've seen those two boats. They're quite new." "We bought them less than a year ago and haven't even been out to sea yet," Shao Shuyi said.
"It must have been a ship built in Quanzhou," Fei Xiong said. "Fujian has plenty of large timber and shipwrights. There were shipyards there as early as the Jin Dynasty, and now in the Yuan Dynasty, it is second to none, probably only slightly inferior to Liujiagang."
"Master Fei is truly an expert," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.
Fei Xiong laughed and said, "I've transported grain dozens of times in my life, dealing with ships all day long. I can tell at a glance what I'm capable of. It's nothing special. But you, I heard you volunteered to relieve the people of Wuxi from danger and wipe out Bi Si's gang. You're a promising young man."
Shao Shuyi was slightly surprised.
Fei Xiong had clearly put in the effort to find out. This was because the official report from Wuxi Prefecture most likely didn't mention his name, Shao. And since Fei Xiong was part of the Grand Canal system, how could he have known the inside story so quickly without specifically inquiring?
As for who to ask, isn't that obvious?
"I often travel between Jiangyin, Wuxi, and Changzhou. With the canal blocked, I can't do business, and many people who depend on me for a living are destitute. I have no choice but to do this," Shao Shuyi said.
Fei Xiong glanced at him and asked again, "Just this reason?"
Shao Shuyi's mind raced, and he subconsciously replied, "If we don't wipe out Bi Si as soon as possible, it might encourage more bandits to follow suit, and Jiangnan will be in chaos, which will be good for no one."
Fei Xiong nodded and said approvingly, "If you can think this way, then my support for you hasn't been in vain. Some people just want to stir up trouble; I really don't know what they're thinking."
After saying that, he pointed to the two groups of men standing not far away and asked, "These are the famous 'Yellow Armor Army' of Jiangyin?"
"They're just shop assistants from a trading company, who dabbled in farming in their spare time. They wouldn't dare call themselves soldiers," Shao Shuyi quickly replied. "I often tell them that they must be conscientious in their work and, more importantly, have a conscience. If Jiangnan falls into chaos, your whole families will be impoverished and destitute. Therefore, they must protect their hometown and prevent the bandits from invading. If the government issues an edict, they cannot hesitate to comply. If Lord Fei issues an edict, they must also go without hesitation."
Fei Xiong's expression softened further. He patted Shao Shuyi on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I'm very pleased that you have this thought. Come on, let's come in and have some tea. We have guests tonight, and we'll have a feast together then."
"Yes." Shao Shuyi gestured with his eyes, instructing the Fu brothers to direct the boatmen to carry the gifts and follow.
Fei Xiong glanced at it, and this time he didn't refuse.
"The kitchen didn't even serve your men last time, it was a real oversight," Fei Xiong said. "Let them rest in the back room and have some tea and rice." Shao Shuyi was secretly pleased.
Their attitude has changed. They didn't refuse the gifts and even arranged meals for their subordinates. It seems that everything is earned through hard work.