Chapter 68: Feint to the East and Attack in the West, Clay Dog and Clay Chicken

The Caoyun Yamen is located in the heart of Huai'an Prefecture, adjacent to the Zhenhuai Tower and Huai'an Prefecture Office. It covers an area of ​​45 acres and is spacious and grand.

Six large characters "Governor's Grain Transport Department" are hung in front of the door.

The Canal Transport Office was a huge organization, with storage warehouses, shipyards, canal arsenals, etc., with a total of more than 20,000 people. In the office alone, there were nearly 100 civil and military officials.

Such a huge place naturally has no shortage of prisons - although in name, it is the prison belonging to Huai'an Prefecture.

Wang Ruyan was imprisoned here.

When Wang Ruyan was first brought down, he experienced several assassination attempts. The attacks did not stop until news came from the capital that Hai Rui would supervise the case. Everyone realized that this was no longer a simple corruption case.

After some people came to their senses, the pressure on the Grand Canal Governor Wang Zongmu began to increase day by day.

After all, it is a government office, and many things are decided by Governor Wang and have to be executed by the lower levels.

Most of the grain transport envoys, governors, case supervisors, and chief inspectors under the grain transport office were from Nanzhili, and their family members were all in the local area, so they would inevitably be affected.

This month was supposed to be the time for the autumn grain to be delivered to the capital, but the people below kept delaying, and it has not been done until now.

Everyone is following the rules, but if each link is a little slower, things will be delayed.

A few days ago, the Grain Office of the Ministry of Revenue and the Governor's Office of Warehouses and Factories were so anxious that they sent letters urging them to pay.

Wang Zongmu was helpless, but he had no other choice.

His troubles do not end there. Recently, the censors of Southern Zhili have been constantly impeaching him.

For example, he fabricated the incident of a storm encountered by sea transportation, or impeached Wang Zongmu for deliberately disrupting the grain transport for the sake of sea transportation, and even his book "Detailed Study of Sea Transportation" was said to be "using learning to disrupt politics."

If you are impeached, you must defend yourself.

However, when the censors reported matters based on hearsay, he had to have substance in his defense. For example, when his ship capsized during sea transportation, the censors only had to say it was a rumor, but Wang Zongmu had to attach the confessions of the accompanying officials and the warehouse accounts.

The amount of energy expended is beyond calculation.

As time went by, the number of impeachment defenses increased, and he was still accused of clinging to power and lingering on.

In short, Wang Zongmu was quite overwhelmed.

At this time, Wang Zongmu was sitting in the governor's office, listening to a report from a governor.

"Caotai, General Chen said that he has just arrived and needs some time to sort things out. I hope you don't rush him. He will do it as soon as possible. I estimate that it will be enough in seven or eight days."

Wang Zongmu sighed after hearing this. Although he was anxious, he knew there was nothing he could do.

For some unknown reason, the central government also replaced the commander-in-chief of the grain transport system.

The previous commander-in-chief of the grain transport system, Liang Jifan, Marquis of Baoding, was recalled to the capital and was replaced by Chen Wangmo, Earl of Pingjiang, who arrived just five days ago.

The handover naturally takes some time, otherwise it is easy to be burdened with the bad debts of the predecessor.

Although it is understandable, the transportation of grain will inevitably be delayed for a few days.

Wang Zongmu thought for a moment and said, "Well, let's send out the seven ships that we agreed on yesterday first. If the grain office asks about it, we can say that the remaining ships will be sent out soon."

There is nothing we can do even if they urge us to pay, so we can only give the Ministry of Revenue some cushion for the time being.

The governor copied an official document on the spot and stamped it on Wang Zongmu's hand - the autumn grain could only be shipped with the governor's seal.

Wang Zongmu picked up the seal and pressed it.

Just then, the Imperial Censor Lu Mingzhang rushed in hurriedly.

Upon seeing this, the governor quickly took the documents and left, fearing that he might have heard anything more.

Seeing that there was no one around, Lu Mingzhang said in surprise, "Governor Wang, Hai Gangfeng, the Maritime Inspector, is here!"

Wang Zongmu stood up and asked, "Have you reached Huaiyin Ferry?"

The situation in Jianghuai is not peaceful now. As the governor, Wang Zongmu naturally knows who is fighting.

Now that he is being targeted, there is really nothing he can do. After all, he is on passive defense and is inevitably a little caught in a dilemma.

But the situation will definitely be much better once Hai Rui arrives.

Even if we can't win, we can at least share some of the pressure.

Lu Mingzhang panted heavily while speaking and shook his head quickly: "They said they would arrive at the Canal Transport Office soon!"

Wang Zongmu was shocked. So fast?
I immediately realized that we had to get off the ship and walk to land. At this critical juncture, we really shouldn't follow the planned itinerary.

He straightened his hat and strode out of the government office: "Let's go, you and I will go and greet him in person!"

Lu Mingzhang hurried to follow.

The two men did not forget about it on the way and sent someone to tell Chen Wangmo, the commander-in-chief of the Grand Canal Transport.

The two men arrived at the door and waited for a while before they saw a group of people coming towards the Caoyun Yamen.

Wang Zongmu passed by a bunch of young faces and saw at a glance a senior official in a red robe who was over fifty years old. He had a strong and stern face and he knew who he was at first glance.

He stepped forward quickly: "Hai Gangfeng, I've heard a lot about you!"

Seeing Hai Rui looking at him, Wang Zongmu walked down the five stone steps at the entrance of the yamen in small steps.

"I am Wang Zongmu, and I am honored to be the Governor-General of the Grand Canal."

Hai Rui quickly returned the greeting: "I am Hai Rui, your humble servant, and I am honored to meet the Governor-General and the Chief Censor of the Grain Transport Department."

He looked at the person beside Wang Zongmu again.

Wang Zongmu casually cupped his hands and lifted Hai Rui up: "Hai Gangfeng, you don't have to be so polite. I have admired you for a long time. You may as well call me by my courtesy name, Xinfu."

Wang Zongmu held both military and political power, but he was actually a civil official and a true follower of the School of Mind.

In private, I like to pay attention to the literary style and the tone of gentlemanly friendship.

He pointed to his colleague beside him and introduced him, "This is the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Grain and Grain Inspection, Lu Mingzhang, courtesy name Fengyao."

Lu Mingzhang saluted and said, "Governor of the Sea, I have long admired you."

Hai Rui returned the gift and introduced the people around him.

"This is Gu Chengguang from the Zhenyuan Marquis family, the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei."

"This is the son of the Earl of Pingjiang, Chen Yinzhao."

Wang Zongmu looked at the latter in surprise and couldn't help but said, "Your master is on patrol and is not in the office."

Chen Yinzhao bowed and said, "Governor Wang, I am now the personal guard of the Imperial Censor of the Sea, not here to visit relatives."

Wang Zongmu understood that this was a disguised way of urging Pingjiang Earl Chen Wangmo.

I thought to myself that this way the Earl of Pingjiang would act faster.

He looked around and asked, "Where is Chen Dong, the Junior Official of the Dali Temple?"

Hai Rui smiled and said, "We got off the boat early at Qingkou Ferry, and they are still on the boat now."

Wang Zongmu nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The emperor's order was to have the grain transport office cooperate with Hai Rui in inspecting the salt.

To put it bluntly, Nanzhili was unreliable. The Caoyun Yamen had a high enough position, had tens of thousands of soldiers, and was responsible for the delivery and transportation of salt taxes, making it a natural fit to back up Hai Rui.

The leader was naturally the Governor of the Lianghuai Salt Administration.

Lu Mingzhang, the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Canal, reminded them, "Governor Wang, the Maritime Inspector, why don't you go in and have a chat?"

Wang Zongmu then came to his senses and was about to invite Hai Rui in to welcome him.

Hai Rui shook his head and said, "Please forgive me, Governor Wang. Your Majesty has been eagerly waiting for you, and the cabinet has urged you several times. I will focus on the case first."

"Is Wang Ruyan still here?"

Lu Mingzhang, who was standing by, somewhat understood why Hai Rui was unpopular.

Not only did they not give him the honor of a meal, but they also started by asking whether the criminal was still there, as if the Canal Transport Office had deliberately let the criminal escape.

Fortunately, Wang Zongmu was a magnanimous person. After all, he was a man who could write books, compile history and compose chronicles. A prime minister should have this magnanimity.

He turned to look at Lu Mingzhang: "Feng Yao, take the governor with you."

After that, Wang Zongmu turned to ask Hai Rui, "Hai Gangfeng, are you going to try him at the Canal Transport Office, or are you going to take him away?"

Hai Rui bowed his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for troubling Governor Wang. We will have the case tried at the Canal Transport Office. His Majesty said that when we come to Nanzhili, the Governor and Earl Ding'an are the first people we can trust."

Wang Zongmu's expression changed slightly, but he said nothing more. He waved his hand and asked Lu Mingzhang to take Hai Rui to the prison.

……

At this time, the sky was gradually getting dark.

The lanterns on both sides of the yamen were lit one by one, each with the inscription "Zongcaobuyuan" on it.

The grain transport soldiers held their heads high and stood in various places of the grain transport government office in an orderly manner.

Hai Rui was taken all the way to the prison outside the Caoyun Yamen.

Lu Mingzhang said as he walked: "Wang Ruyan is inside"

Hai Rui looked at Lu Mingzhang curiously and asked, "During the time Wang Ruyan was incarcerated, has no one from the Canal Transport Office tried him?"

Lu Mingzhang paused.

There are just some signs now, and the autumn grain is almost stuck in Lianghuai and cannot be shipped out. If a real investigation is carried out, the government office may have no chance of moving forward.

Besides, this is none of their business, so there is no need to try to catch the rat with the dog.

He couldn't say it directly, so he hesitated for a long time before saying, "It's not appropriate for the Canal Transport Office to interfere in other people's affairs."

Hai Rui understood and nodded.

Along the way, Lu Mingzhang asked every jailer he met to leave, allowing the Jinyiwei under Gu Chengguang to take over the defense of the cell.

After walking a little further, Lu Mingzhang stopped and pointed to a cell and said, "This is it."

Hai Rui bowed and thanked him.

Lu Mingzhang turned around and was about to leave, but suddenly remembered and turned back to ask, "Does Censor Hai live in the government office or the grain transport office?"

Hai Rui smiled apologetically and replied, "There are too many people accompanying us. We will go to the Jinyiwei Qianhu Office later."

Lu Mingzhang naturally understood. After all, having 200 Jinyiwei would save the Caoyun Yamen from trouble. He bowed and left.

Luo Sigong opened the cell door for Hai Rui and stepped inside first.

Hai Rui half-bent over and lowered his head, followed closely behind, kicking away the scattered straw under his feet to make room for standing. As soon as he entered the cell, he saw the haggard Wang Ruyan.

The man now has a head full of white hair and chapped lips, and lies on a pile of straw in the cell with a dazed look on his face.

Seeing someone coming in, Wang Ruyan focused his gaze slightly and first fixed it on the red-robed official who was leading the group.

Wang Ruyan looked him up and down and said slowly, "Are you Hai Rui?"

When he was the director of the Ministry of Revenue, Hai Rui was still the county magistrate. Later, Hai Rui was promoted to the director of the Ministry of Revenue, and he had been demoted to the county magistrate. They happened to pass by each other, so naturally they had never met.

Now, by chance, they met in prison. Wang Ruyan immediately revealed Hai Rui's identity, as if he had known that Hai Rui was coming.

Hai Rui was not too surprised and asked casually, "Did anyone tell you that I was coming?"

Before he met the emperor, Wang Ruyan had already been imprisoned.

Logically speaking, this person's knowledge should have stagnated before he was imprisoned, but his current behavior clearly shows that someone has communicated with him.

Wang Ruyan nodded: "It scared a lot of people."

As he spoke, he changed his lying position.

Hai Rui asked someone to bring a table and two low stools, and motioned for Wang Ruyan to sit down.

Wang Ruyan glanced at him, too lazy to move: "Go ahead and try him. I also want to see what Hai Qingtian is capable of."

Hai Rui shook his head and said, "The Junior Official of the Dali Temple has not arrived yet. It is not in accordance with the Ming Dynasty law for me to judge the case alone. Even if I do, it will not count. Let's just have a casual chat."

"Wang Ruyan, who are the many people you mentioned just now?"

Wang Ruyan looked at Hai Rui with a scrutinizing gaze and said, "Hai Rui, why are you pretending to be so noble?"

"Don't you know why you came here?"

"There are so many people in the Huai River area, all of them want to take a bite of the salt administration. Why do they have to pick on a small character like me?"

"Don't you know who they are?!"

"If you dare to ask, I dare to tell you! After I tell you, can you throw all these people into jail?!"

Hai Rui looked quietly at the somewhat crazy Wang Ruyan.

Seeing Wang Ruyan finished speaking, he spoke at the right time: "Of course, I can't just say the name, but if you can give a complete account of your experience, past, and physical evidence of the crime, I will deal with it according to the law."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Ruyan burst into laughter.

It was as if he had heard something extremely ridiculous.

He laughed until tears came out, and then he gradually stopped laughing.

He laughed and said intermittently: "Deal with it according to the law?"

"The robes of civil officials are embroidered with birds, and the robes of military officials are embroidered with beasts. After putting on these robes, who among the civil and military officials in the court is not a beast in human clothing!?"

"How many of the senior officials, powerful officials, and nobles in Nanzhili are clean?"

"Why don't you, Hai Qingtian, go straight to Nanzhili and wipe out all these people?"

"Don't even mention Nanzhili. Even in the capital, if you go to the imperial court and catch someone with your eyes closed, you will definitely catch the right person."

"Why don't you stand up for the people?"

"Hai Rui! Don't think that you, a mere Censor-in-Chief, can clear up the turmoil and eliminate all injustice! You think you are speaking for the people, but in fact you are just a knife in the hands of others! Sooner or later, the cabinet will use you and throw you away!"

Hai Rui watched him vent and listened with interest.

Wang Ruyan's words did not sound like he was speaking for himself.

Now that things have come to this, you should tell everything and fight to save your life.

But now he is talking nonsense here.

So... this is what those people wanted to tell Hai Rui?
It's all about deep and extensive involvement and complicated connections, which is no different from the investigation of Xu Jie back then. They even want to use his original fate to try to make him retreat and protect himself.

There's really nothing new about it.

Hai Rui sneered inwardly, turning his neck back and forth, observing the cell.

This cell didn't look special, but with his many years of experience in handling cases, he always felt that something was wrong.

The prison is close to the government office, and this cell in particular is too close to the inner room.

Hai Rui ignored Wang Ruyan, sometimes looking up to observe, sometimes squatting down to fiddle with it.

After a while, Hai Rui finally noticed something was wrong. He stared at the haystack under Wang Ruyan, put his hands behind his back, bent down and took a closer look.

He turned around and signaled Luo Sigong with his eyes.

Luo Sigong understood, strode forward, pulled away Wang Ruyan, who looked a little panicked, and pushed away the pile of straw under him.

I saw a thin metal rod-like object sticking out of a small hole in the straw pile.

The little lotus has just shown its pointed tip.

Hai Rui glanced at Wang Ruyan, whose mouth was tightly covered by Gu Chengguang.

This person was no longer as crazy as before. Instead, his face was pale and he was whimpering as if he wanted to say something.

Luo Sigong leaned close to Hai Rui's ear and said in a mosquito-like voice, "Governor, this is for eavesdropping. It is specially equipped for the inner guards."

This item existed when the country was founded. Luo Sigong's ancestor was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so he had naturally seen it.

A rare smile appeared on Hai Rui's stern face.

Crouching down, he looked at the small metal pole sticking out from the other side of the wall.

Hai Rui covered the small metal pole and asked, "Is the government office next door?"

Gu Chengguang nodded.

Hai Rui pondered for a moment, then ordered, "Please ask Commander Gu to go there."

Gu Chengguang bowed, turned and left the cell.

Waited for a while.

Hai Rui thought about it, let go of the hand that was covering the object, and slowly stood up.

He turned his back to Wang Ruyan, looked at the corner of the wall, and said, "Wang Ruyan, clearing up the wrath of the emperor is something that your majesty should do. I, Hai Rui, naturally cannot do it."

"It is precisely because Your Majesty wants to clear up the world that I, Hai Rui, will start with you, Wang Ruyan, and with the Lianghuai Salt Administration."

"You don't have to act like the world is unfair. I'll tell you straight away."

"Before I came here, His Majesty made it clear that the salt tax cannot be reduced by a single cent next year when the new era is changed!"

"If you cooperate, a small character like you may be able to find a way out."

"On the contrary, if you disregard the laws of the Ming Dynasty, resist to the death, and embezzle taxes..."

"Don't talk about you, Wang Ruyan! The royal relatives, hereditary nobles, and senior officials you mentioned will all bring disaster upon themselves!"

"Don't say you didn't predict what you said!"

In the last sentence, Hai Rui's tone was grim and murderous!
……

The prison where Wang Ruyan was imprisoned was located between the lobby of Huai'an government office and the grain transport office.

Wang Zongmu cleaned the Caoyun Yamen thoroughly and no one was allowed to enter.

But many uninvited guests came to the Huai'an government office today.

The prefect disappeared, leaving only a few people of unknown origin gathered in the lobby.

Several people looked at each other with grim expressions.

The middle-aged man with a mustache was furious: "This is outrageous! A mere fourth-rank official dares to speak so arrogantly!"

In addition to this man with a mustache, there was another man dressed in plain clothes. From his behavior, it was obvious that he was an official. His face was also livid.

The man in plain clothes with an official appearance gnashed his teeth and said, "Okay, okay! I want to see how he brings us fatal disasters!"

A young man said nothing, bowed and was about to leave: "Everyone, I will go back and report to my master first."

The man with the mustache turned around and stared at the young man, saying seriously, "Sir, this man has abandoned all emotions and looks like he can't communicate with you. Let's get ready."

The young man nodded silently: "I will tell my parents at home."

After saying that, he stood up and walked out.

At this moment, a minor official outside the government office suddenly stumbled in!
Several people's expressions changed and they turned to stare at the clerk.

The man with the mustache was even more upset and kicked him: "If you have to fart, do it now!"

The clerk was already panting, and was suddenly kicked. He rolled and crawled to the side of the commoner official: "Zhang Jishizhong! Just now..."

He took a breath and said, "Just now, Governor Wang and General Chen sent people to Huaiyin Ferry to welcome the Junior Official of the Dali Temple and Deputy General Jiao."

Zhang Huan frowned impatiently and scolded, "What's wrong?"

The clerk quickly continued, "In the end, the boat didn't even reach the shore!"

Zhang Huan's face changed drastically!

Not only him, but everyone present reacted and stood up.

The man with the mustache exclaimed, "Oh no! This is heading straight for the salt warehouse and the salt well!"

The voice just fell.

I only heard a loud noise coming from outside the government office.

Several people turned their heads to look at the same time.

There was a bang.

The gate of the government office was broken down.

Gu Chengguang led the Jinyiwei and rushed in, surrounding everyone.

He walked forward slowly and looked at them.

With a sullen look on his face, he said, "Everyone, please follow me."

(End of this chapter)