Chapter 70: Kind words of persuasion, monkeys crying and cranes complaining

December 11th, light snow.

The prefecture of Huai'an is now occupied by too many powerful and troublesome people.

In addition to the Governor-General of the Grand Canal and the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Canal, who already have a high status, now there is an imperial commissioner and governor.

The prefect of Huai'an was quite wise. He had already vacated the office before the imperial envoy arrived.

After the incident of the government office being suspected of spying on the imperial envoy's confidential information, the prefect went to Shanyang County to work in order to avoid suspicion, and temporarily gave the government office to the imperial envoy and governor Hai Rui.

The Huai'an government office has never been as busy as it has been in the past few days.

Within a few days, dozens of ambassadors and deputy ambassadors from the Salt Tax Bureau, the Salt Warehouse, and the Inspection Office were arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned like dumplings. The prison was almost full.

The day before yesterday, there was a salt tax governor who deliberately damaged the account books. The imperial envoy asked for a plaque and beheaded him on the spot.

Hai Rui, who returned to Nanzhili as an imperial envoy, was extremely ferocious.

The government office at this time.

Hai Rui and Wang Zongmu stood side by side in the lobby, watching a dozen people flipping through account books and rubbing sparks from the abacus in their hands.

The former couldn't help but sighed: "I have to thank Governor Wang for his help. If it weren't for the capable officials in the Canal Transport Office who are well versed in finance, I really don't know what to do."

After getting the account books, one has to learn how to calculate them. Although the imperial envoy's team is large in number, it is still a bit unrealistic to expect to have all the necessary personnel assigned to him. One cannot expect the Embroidered Uniform Guard to do this.

Fortunately, there is the Grain Transport Office.

Those who are in charge of grain transport will always be these minor officials who are well versed in finance.

This is the advantage of having a large-scale government office as your backer. It can only be said that the emperor was very thoughtful.

If it weren't for Wang Zongmu's support, Hai Rui would have had no choice but to ask for help from the Ministry of Revenue's Qingli Division.

Regardless of whether people will pay attention to you or not, the time it takes will not be short.

Wang Zongmu accepted the thanks calmly and said, "It's just a small matter. After all, we are all working for the court."

"But... I'm afraid there are more than one set of account books at the salt works."

This kind of work of deceiving superiors and concealing the truth from subordinates always involves one account being told in public and another in secret.

The implication is that it is somewhat a waste of effort.

Hai Rui nodded and said, "I know this too, so I will compare it with the salt merchant's account books."

Nominally, Lianghuai produces 700,000 jin of salt each year, a figure that has remained unchanged since the founding of the country, so the central government has never known how much is actually produced.

But before leaving, the emperor gave him a secret.

There were approximately 150 million people in the world. Although Hai Rui didn't know how he got the number, assuming that each person consumed five kilograms of salt per year, with some losses and substitutes such as salted fish offsetting the amount, at least 700 million kilograms of salt must have been produced.

Since the salt from Lianghuai accounted for the majority, the amount must be around 300 million jin, or 1.5 million yin.

This further confirms Xu Fuyuan's statement of "times more".

What Hai Rui needs to do now is to determine the amount of salt produced.

Is it the 700,000 citations that has remained unchanged since the founding of the country, or the 1.5 million citations estimated by the emperor?
This is all money!

Only after the amount of salt produced is determined can Lianghuai pay taxes properly.

Wang Zongmu looked at Hai Rui curiously: "The salt merchant's account books? Will they cooperate?"

He witnessed with his own eyes how much trouble the country had been going through in the past few days.

Chen Dong went to Taizhou and burned down two salt fields as soon as he arrived.

The treasury and the brine tower were burned to ruins. The treasury and the tower collapsed, and the salt naturally followed the ruins back into the salt pond and mixed with the brine.

Although it is not known why not a single grain of salt came out when so much salt entered the water, it is just a minor detail - a technical issue of insignificance, and at least politically, the account has been settled.

Although the fire in Huai'an was not as exaggerated, it was almost the same.

The salt towers at several salt fields had fallen into disrepair and were disturbed by the soldiers, causing them to break and collapse into the salt pond.

Needless to say, the account books of the Transport Bureau were burned completely.

We can only blame the dry winter weather and the imperial envoy’s arrival at the wrong time.

Now that things have come to this, there is no reason to ask the salt merchants to hand over the account books.

Hai Rui laughed and said, "When you wring out a towel, you'll always get a lot of water out the first time you wring it out."

"I am holding those little ghosts captive, waiting for the King of Hell to make his statement."

As an imperial envoy, he inspected the salt administration in Lianghuai, and these kings of hell would not give him any face.

This is room for discussion, and both sides are looking forward to this consultation.

Since the emperor had told Hai Rui in person, all officials above the fourth rank would be recorded and the emperor would make the final decision.

He would not leave no room for these senior officials right from the start.

If you are sensible and give the emperor 50% to 60% of what he wants, you may be able to shake hands and make peace.

Speaking of this, Wang Zongmu couldn't help but remind him: "Gangfeng should be more cautious. These people may not be of the same mind. If you do this, it may backfire."

Among them were founding heroes, local tyrants in Southern Zhili, two former grand secretaries of the Zhongji Palace, and several high-ranking officials. The relatives and subordinates of these figures were all detained. No matter what happened beforehand, they would be linked together afterwards.

Hai Rui looked at Wang Zongmu with a strange expression and said, "Governor Wang, I want to ask you a question in private."

Wang Zongmu was stunned.

He nodded immediately, signaling Hai Rui to ask directly.

Hai Rui hesitated for a moment, then said, "Governor Wang, do you think that I, as an imperial envoy, am exercising the imperial power in accordance with the emperor's will or at the behest of the cabinet?"

Wang Zongmu looked at Hai Rui strangely.

Although he talked about the emperor's grace and will every day, Wang Zongmu was not so pedantic as to really think that the 11-year-old emperor was capable of handling state affairs.

Gao Gong was conferred a title and retired, but he was still asked to cooperate with Hai Rui in the salt inspection. This must have been an exchange with Zhang Juzheng, who succeeded him in the cabinet.

Isn't this obvious?

What did Hai Rui mean by this? Is there some deeper meaning?
When Hai Rui saw Wang Zongmu's expression, he naturally understood what he was thinking and sighed helplessly.

It's no wonder that these old guys in Nanzhili fought stubbornly. They probably didn't understand why he came to Lianghuai.

He has already made his words known, but these people are still waiting to die. They probably think that the cabinet is just trying to establish its authority, and they think that if they delay it for a few years, they will have to replace the current cabinet.

Unfortunately, I regretted it as soon as I saw the coffin.

Just as Wang Zongmu was about to ask, Chen Yinzhao walked in from outside: "Governor, the six heads of the Huai Salt Chamber of Commerce are outside the government office asking to see you."

Hai Rui was cheered up and came as expected.

Wang Zongmu also tactfully bowed and said, "I still have something else to do, so I won't bother Gangfeng any more."

Hai Rui immediately escorted him out personally.

Then he said to Chen Yinzhao: "Go, invite him to the study."

……

All salt transactions were mediated by brokers who would extract a commission from them. These brokers were appointed by the Transportation Bureau and were given "tickets", so they were also called official brokers.

To a certain extent, the price of salt was controlled by these official agents, and the Transportation Bureau supervised the salt market through the agents and also ensured the collection of salt taxes.

What is a big salt merchant?
The big salt merchants are officials in disguise as businessmen, and they are government spokesmen who hold the power to set prices independently.

Small salt merchants can only rely on these big salt merchants. They have to look up to the Chamber of Commerce to decide how much the big salt merchants pay and what the price is.

In other words, these big salt merchants are the first-tier subcontractors second only to the Transportation Bureau.

As for the standards set by the Transportation Bureau, they are naturally self-evident - the dog with the most powerful owner will get the most delicious bones.

The six salt merchants in front of Hai Rui are the largest salt merchants in Lianghuai.

Shen Chuanyin, as the head of the Chamber of Commerce, was elected and sat in the main seat of Hai Rui, feeling quite uncomfortable.

He bowed his hands with a reserved look and replied, "In response to the question of the governor of Hai, we came here because we heard that the account books of the Lianghuai Transportation Bureau were burned. We came here specifically to present the account books of the Chamber of Commerce to the governor for comparison."

Salt fields produce salt, transportation companies sell salt, and salt merchants buy salt.

Each has a set of account books.

The transport office was burned down and the salt fields were in disarray.

Naturally, the only things left were those provided by the salt merchants themselves, and of course, their authenticity was uncertain.

Hai Rui raised his hand to stop him from speaking, and said, "I want to ask you, who asked you to come?"

Shen Chuanyin and the five salt merchants behind him looked at each other.

The former thought for a while, then said with a stiff upper lip: "Governor, we are out to serve the public..."

Hai Rui interrupted him again: "I still have a number of people detained here. Tell me who asked you to come, and I will release them."

The six salt merchants were all stunned.

Of course they knew about this, but the problem was that the master had not told them to do this before he asked them to come.

Shen Chuanyin was quite quick-witted. He cupped his hands and said, "Governor, we are salt merchants, so we are here for the overall situation of Lianghuai salt tax."

"If it is someone who affects the overall situation, I hope the governor will show mercy."

"If it's irrelevant, the governor can use his power as he pleases."

Hai Rui looked at him in surprise and asked, "Are you a juren?"

Shen Chuanyin admitted it with a shy look on his face. For a scholar to go into business was, to put it more seriously, to be willing to be degraded. Hai Rui did not press him any further and asked, "Where are the account books?"

Shen Chuanyin said quickly: "The two boxes of account books are outside the government office. I will send someone to bring them in immediately!"

Hai Rui winked at Gu Chengguang.

The latter acted decisively and went straight out the door.

Hai Rui nodded to Shen Chuanyin with satisfaction and asked, "You don't have to beat around the bush with me. Just tell me how much is it?"

The name is not important; the amount of tax paid is the real key.

If he could collect 400,000 yuan in taxes, Lianghuai would be able to pay 1.1 million yuan in taxes next year, and Hai Rui could return to Beijing immediately.

He looked at the big salt merchant, waiting for his answer.

Shen Chuanyin answered immediately: "Governor! Last year, the Chamber of Commerce undertook a total of 800,000 salt imports!"

The salt tax in Lianghuai was 700,000 yin. The extra 100,000 yin were naturally not paid to the central government, which was the embezzled tax.

One hundred thousand ounces of salt would be worth hundreds of thousands of taels, but Hai Rui frowned.

One hundred thousand citations?
These people won't cry until they see the coffin!

The emperor said that he would achieve 50% of the success, so he should at least spit out 350,000 yuan! A mere 100,000 yuan, how could he send away a beggar?

The psychological expectations were quite different.

Hai Rui turned his head away, his expression gloomy and unclear: "President Shen, please think it over carefully. Is it really 100,000?"

Shen Chuanyin nodded with some difficulty.

There was no other way. Although several big bosses all said to give a 20% profit, which means 140,000, there were nearly 10,000 mouths in the Chamber of Commerce, and he was not the only one who had the final say.

He only retained a share of 40,000 yuan, which was the limit of what he could do.

Hai Rui did not comment: "Where did these 100,000 yuan come from? Why isn't it in the account of the Canal Transport Office?"

If the tax is not paid, it is smuggled salt!

The crime of embezzling taxes must be traced back to certain people.

Shen Chuanyin said quickly, "It was Wan Hao, the chief priest of the Imperial College, who instructed Wang Ruyan to conceal the extra salt from the salt field!"

"This person has no respect for discipline and secretly controls the Transportation Department. When he sold it to our Chamber of Commerce, he lied to us and said that the tax had been paid for the 800,000 yuan."

"I guess all the embezzled tax money went into this person's pocket!"

Nanzhili also had sacrifices and academies, and the chief academic officer of the Imperial College was a fourth-rank official, which was not a low status.

Hai Rui didn't expect these people to throw in a sacrificial wine as a cover-up. He sat up straight in surprise and asked, "Do you have any evidence?"

Shen Chuanyin nodded heavily: "The traces of this thief are all recorded in the accounts!"

That means there is complete evidence.

Hai Rui did not answer for a moment.

He slowly stood up and paced back and forth in the room, looking thoughtful.

The six salt merchants were puzzled but didn't want to disturb them.

Have a good time.

Shen Chuanyin called out hesitantly, "Governor..."

Hai Rui came to his senses and finally ended his long thinking.

He turned around and said to Luo Sigong, "Arrest all these people and put them in jail. Let the Jinyiwei interrogate them thoroughly!"

The sudden change made the six salt merchants panic.

Shen Chuanyin's face changed drastically. He stood up and threatened, "Hai Rui! Think twice!"

Before he could finish his words, Luo Sigong knocked him to the ground and dragged him out.

The other five salt merchants were not spared and were captured and taken away one by one by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Hai Rui watched quietly as several people were taken away, and sneered in his heart.

Before coming, the emperor had said that as many of these salt merchants as possible would be killed, and he was waiting to confiscate their properties and bring the silver back to Beijing.

It would be fine if these salt merchants were innocent, but why are they able to get away with it if they are guilty?

Hai Rui stood in the office and waited for a while before turning around and opening the door of the compartment.

There were several people tied up in the inner room. They were the people Hai Rui had detained in the government office a few days ago.

Naturally, one can hear the noise outside from this compartment.

The expressions of the several people were different.

Hai Rui's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "Who is the brother-in-law of the Imperial College's chief academic officer?"

Several people had gags stuffed in their mouths, making them unable to speak.

The Jinyiwei picked one of them up and walked him in front of Hai Rui.

Hai Rui nodded and said, "Let him go."

Wan Hao's brother-in-law naturally knew what Hai Rui was planning, and he couldn't help but look at Hai Rui with a complicated expression.

Only after the Jinyiwei started pushing him did he stagger out.

Before leaving, he did not forget to look back at the people tied to the ground, and a trace of resentment flashed in his expression.

Hai Rui looked at Zhang Huan, the Nanjing Imperial Censor, and asked, "How is it, Imperial Censor Zhang, have you thought it through?"

After saying this, he signaled the Jinyiwei to remove the gag.

As soon as Zhang Huan could open his mouth, he burst into curses: "Hai Rui! You are doing evil and lawless things, you must be killed!"

Hai Rui shook his head and couldn't help but say teasingly, "It's a pity that you're already in despair now."

He ordered the Jinyiwei: "Go to jail and punish him directly."

Zhang Huan's expression changed: "How dare you! I am the Imperial Censor! The Emperor will not easily punish you!"

"I'm going to impeach you! I'm going to impeach you!"

He was about to open his mouth when someone from the Imperial Guards suddenly punched him in the stomach. He drooled and curled up into a ball, unable to speak any more.

Hai Rui looked at the man with the mustache again and said, "I wonder who you are. How dare you stop me at the ferry?"

"So he's just Xu Jie's servant."

After he said this, he did not let the Jinyiwei take off the gag, but took out a document with the seal of the Three Law Departments and said, "The evidence is conclusive, kill him."

The man with the mustache opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

He kept whimpering and his body squirming wildly, as if he wanted to say something.

But before Hai Rui could open his mouth, his movements suddenly stopped.

When the Jinyiwei retracted his knife and dragged the man out, the man with a mustache was still twitching.

As he was dragged past Hai Rui, he stretched out his hand with difficulty and grabbed the hem of Hai Rui's shirt, as if he wanted to say something.

Hai Rui did not even blink, and said seriously: "What I have done is in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. If Xu Jie is dissatisfied, he may come to me in person to appeal."

After saying this, he looked at the Prince of Wei with a gentle expression.

The blood from the mustache splattered all over Xu Weizi, who was now trembling as he looked at Hai Rui.

Hai Rui nodded and asked the Jinyiwei to take off his gag and untie him.

Xu Weizhi pointed at Hai Rui with a look of fear in his eyes: "You... you actually took human life lightly!"

Hai Rui was too lazy to talk to him any more.

Straight to the point: "Go back and tell Duke Wei that I will take over the tax of 100,000 yin for His Majesty for the time being, but it is not enough."

"The Duke of Wei's family has been blessed by the emperor for generations. Whether to exterminate the family or perish with the country is entirely up to him."

Xu Weizi looked up in surprise and met Hai Rui's determined gaze.

He opened his mouth wide, revealing an expression of disbelief, a smile of surprise to a certain degree - grinning, eyes wide open, pointing at himself: "My family has made contributions to the Ming Dynasty and shed blood for Taizu, and you, a mere fourth-rank official, dare to force my clan to be exterminated!?"

As he spoke, he kept looking into everyone's eyes, seeking a smile of recognition, but no one paid any attention to him.

At this moment, Chen Yinzhao stepped forward, looked at Xu Weizhi, and said softly: "Prince of Weiguo, His Majesty has a verbal instruction before you leave."

Xu Weizi was stunned.

The emperor...oral order?
He had never received an oral order from the emperor in his life. He turned around with a confused look and looked at Chen Yinzhao.

Chen Yinzhao stood facing north, his face solemn, and spoke each word with emphasis: "I ascended the throne at a young age, making clouds and rain fall, and I have never forgotten my meritorious service."

"The King of Zhongshan has made great contributions to the country. I have always admired him and have often thought about building a temple for him."

"In June, he specifically instructed the cabinet to order Xu Bangrui, Duke of Wei, to return to Nanjing for his final rest."

At this point, Chen Yinzhao paused and tried his best to imitate the emperor's tone at the time: "I have given you enough face."

"Xu Bangrui, don't seek death."

Xu Weizi was shocked.

Then his eyes rolled back, his legs stretched out, and he fainted.

(End of this chapter)