。 ※※ Yansi Yamen did not have its own prison, so the prisoners were imprisoned in the prison of the Suzhou Prefecture.

Wang Xian is mixed in the yamen, although the first time he came to the Suzhou Mansion, he still easily worshiped the temple gate, saw the cell head of the Suzhou Mansion, the two had an intimate conversation, plus a little caution, not a salute, the cell boss agreed very happily, take him to visit the prison.

When he came to the dimly lit and stinking prison, the cell boss opened a gate and said, "Someone has come to see you, who sells smuggled salt!" ”

Wang Xian and Shuai Hui went in, and saw that it was Sima Qiu, Zhou Yang, and Lu Yuan, who opened the medicine shop, and a few of their buddies who were sitting or crooked on the grass pile.

Several people rubbed their eyes, looked at it, and saw that it was Wang Xian, and they were all pleasantly surprised. Mr. Sima was more like seeing a savior, and rushed over and cried: "Looking forward to the stars and the moon, I can be regarded as looking forward to you......"

Let Shuai Hui open the food box he brought, Wang Xian said: "I have wronged you during this time, let's eat something and sacrifice to the Five Organs Temple first." ”

Needless to say, everyone looked at the roast goose, roast chicken, and bacon in the food box, and their mouths were already watering. As soon as he hugged him, he didn't care whether his hands were dirty or not, so you tore me and dragged me, chewing and swallowing.

Wang Xian felt very uncomfortable when he saw this, "Eat slowly, I'll deliver it every day for a while." ”

It was originally a comforting word, but everyone choked, Sima Qiu had a chicken butt in his mouth, and Baba asked, "Do we still have to go to jail?" ”

"No, it won't." Wang Xian hurriedly comforted: "This time, I came with the handwritten letters of Zheng Fantai and Zhou Zhentai, and I don't have to worry about the Yamen of the Fortune Division not letting people go." ”

"That's okay......" Sima Qiu put down his heart at this time, and saw that everyone had eaten up the roast goose, leaving only one goose butt, and said angrily: "Lao Tzu is not a rabbit master, what are you doing with so many butts!" ”

The wind swept the clouds, full of boxes of meat, and in the blink of an eye, it entered everyone's stomachs, and leaned on the grass pile one by one with satisfaction. At this time, Lu Yuanwai remembered that he was a person with status, but he was also like a hungry ghost reincarnated to grab food, and couldn't help but say ashamedly: "The prison food is so unpalatable, I dream of big elbows all day long......"

"Outside the staff suffered." Wang Xian smiled understandingly, and asked, "How did it come to this?" ”

"We don't know what to do." Lu Yuanwai scratched his head and said: "This trip went well at the beginning, the grain over there in Huguang is as cheap as soil, even if it is the spring famine season, one or two silver can buy three stones of rice." The silk and tea we shipped were also very popular, and the two sides hit it off and finalized a long-term cooperation. ”

"The grain merchants in Huguang were very enthusiastic and helped us to complete the approval of the political secretary, because we were worried about the grain shortage in our hometown, Mr. Sima and I took the first batch of grain ships back." Lu Yuanwai continued: "I have the strip of the Huguang Political Division in my hand, and it is unimpeded in the two lakes and the Yangtze River, and I have reached this Suzhou Hushu Pass, and I have paid the tax, and I am just about to pass the customs, and the people of the Salt Transportation Division will search again." I thought they were trying to make a profit, so they made the money. Who knew that they said that if I bribed them, I must have a weak heart, so there must be private salt on board. ”

"Then I searched the boat, and the result was really sharp-eyed, and in the grain pile, I found several packets of coarse salt." Sima Qiu said with a ghostly expression: "Then with these few packets of coarse salt, the boat was detained, and we were also arrested and put in prison." ”

"I escorted the latter batch of grain ships, three days later than them," Zhou Grain Merchant said with a bitter face: "The encounter is the same as theirs, and they were also searched for illicit salt by the Salt Transportation Division, and then the boat was detained and arrested......

"You've been wronged, haven't you?" Wang Xian said softly.

"From the lake to sell these grains, we will make at least 10,000 taels of silver. A few packets of private salt are only a few dollars, who would throw watermelon for a sesame seed? Zhou Yang was aggrieved.

"Is it someone down there?" Wang Xian asked.

"Impossible, eastern Zhejiang produces salt, and Huguang does not produce salt, that is, it is necessary to sell smuggled salt, and it should also be sold from eastern Zhejiang to Huguang, not the other way around!" Lu Yuanwai said with a depressed face.

"Did you pass the hall?" Wang Xian frowned slightly.

"Nope." Sima Qiu shook his head and said: "This matter is extremely strange, I suspect that we have fallen into the trap of others, and the reason why we did not go to court is also because the planting is too clumsy, and I am afraid that we will be exposed as soon as we see the light......"

"Is this blackmail?" Wang Xian said softly.

"Not really." Sima Qiu said in an authoritative tone: "If it was blackmail, someone should have spread the word a long time ago, so that we would have broken the fortune and eliminated the disaster." But if you don't pay attention to us now, what kind of blackmail is it? ”

"That's another reason...... Wang Xian sighed, and asked about the situation at that time, which official led the team, and so on, until they confided in Zhilu Dao, then got up and said: "You endure for a few more days, I will fish you out as soon as possible." ”

Everyone nodded slowly, but they didn't have much hope in their hearts. Because after a conversation with Fang Cai, they also understood that this is someone secretly making a mistake, and it can affect the two Zhejiang Salt Transportation Divisions, it must be high-ranking officials and dignitaries, Wang Xian is so small, if he wants to fight with others, isn't it a grasshopper shaking the tree......

"By the way, how's the county?" When they parted, Sima asked questions.

"In six days, there will be no food in the official treasury." Wang Xian said bitterly: "Those big families are stocking up on grain, sharpening their knives and waiting for this moment." ”

Zhou Yang and Lu Yuanwai were very envious when they heard this, and they immediately remembered that they had transported grain back by themselves in order to prevent the people from selling their fields cheaply. Deng Shi put on a righteous face and said: "It's so shameless to take advantage of people's danger!" ”

"Don't worry, the government has stopped private trading of land." Wang Xian sighed. "And take out the newly opened official land to sell, and will not let the people sell the land at a low price......"

"The eldest lord is kind-hearted...... Zhou Yang and Lu Yuanwai praised: "The people of Fuyang have a blue sky like the eldest lord, it is really a creation!" ”

Wang Xian couldn't help but roll his eyes, ball, Lao Tzu was ignored by the gorgeous .......

After leaving the prison, Wang Xian talked to the cell boss again, and under his recommendation, he met the warden of the government office, invited him to Guanqian Street to eat and drink, and presented him with a letter of silver, and the warden pointed out the maze for him: "This case is indeed strange, according to the rule, the salt transfer department does not have the right to arrest and judge, and the illegal salt dealers are found, and they are all interrogated by the government office." However, this time, the people from the Salt Transportation Division specially informed us of the sentence and adjourned the case for one month. ”

"The Suzhou government has a heavy workload, and the punishment room receives more than 100 cases a day, so it is normal to postpone it for a month." The warden took a sip of wine and said: "What is the Tao behind this, it has nothing to do with us, and we don't want to know about the Dao, anyway, it is the case of the Yan Division, they can try it when they want." ”

"Can you manage to get ahead?" Wang Xian asked.

"Impossible," the warden squinted at him and said, "Brother is also a fellow believer, and I won't hide it from you, the Yanyun Division is the big patron of our torture room, and the master of the punishment will never offend them." ”

"Hehe......" When we met for the first time, it was already very good to be able to inquire about some useful news, and Wang Xian didn't expect to rely on him to do things. If the other party has a big package, he will be suspicious, but fortunately, people see him as the same kind, and he also talks a little bit about it, and he does not cheat him.

After inviting the warden to eat, Wang Xian asked Tian Qi to take him to Changzhou County Yatou Post to meet him.

Wang Xian handed over the door bag and presented a letter: "I am a scribe from Fuyang County, Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and I am ordered by my eldest lord to send a letter to your eldest lord." ”

For the sake of the door bag, Menzi asked him to sit in the gatehouse for a while, and then went in with a letter to report, and came out and said: "My eldest man is just free, you can go in with me." ”

Wang Xian followed him into the back office, waiting in the outside signing room, and after a while, a short stature, a thirty or forty-year-old official with a delicate face, came out wearing a seven-grade regular uniform, and Wang Xian hurriedly paid a salute.

"Get up." That official is Xu Ming, the magistrate of Changzhou. Suzhou is divided into two counties, one of which is Cheung Chau. In his previous life, he was a county official in a provincial city without cultivation, although Suzhou is not a provincial capital, but there are many yamen and complex relationships, which is more painful than the provincial capital of other provinces.

However, Xu Zhixian was kind to Wang Xian, let him sit down and talk, and sat down on the right seat and said: "I have read the letter of your eldest master, since you are his noble protégé, you don't have to pay homage as a public courtesy." After a pause, he said: "I am the same year as him, and our friendship is not ordinary, so you can call your uncle." ”

"Uncle Shi." Wang Xian was flattered and said, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the Gan Party is really fucking strong, and there are its own people everywhere......

"I already know what you're here for." Xu Zhixian said lightly: "I have also heard about the detention of the Fuyang grain ship, and I wrote to inform your teacher the day before yesterday, and I also helped him find a way......

"It's bothering the uncle." Wang Xian said respectfully: "Don't tell the uncle, I only have a few days of grain left in the official warehouse of Fuyang, and once the grain is cut out, the people will sell their land at a low price." Even if the people swallow their anger and sell their land, they will hold back their grievances. To whom is this anger sung? It must be those victims who robbed them of their jobs, as well as my family's master...... "Wei Zhixian didn't say in the letter that he opened the field, so Wang Xian naturally couldn't talk much.

"Hmm." Xu Zhixian said: "I am also a county official, I empathize with this," and paused: "The day before yesterday, I interceded with a fellow villager from the Salt Transportation Division, and he secretly told me that this case was personally ordered by their Tongzhi to arrest the ship, and without his order, they did not dare to release the ...... privately."

There are seven major salt divisions in the world, among which Suzhou and Zhejiang both belong to the two Zhejiang transfer salt envoys. Its prefect is the capital transfer envoy, with the same knowledge, deputy envoy to support, the yamen is located in Hangzhou. Under the two Zhejiang Salt Divisions, there are four divisions, Suzhou Mansion belongs to the jurisdiction of the Susong Salt Transportation Division, because of its extremely important status, the second in command of the Yamen of the Salt Division, and the Lord Tongzhi sits in charge.

This time, it was the No. 2 person in the Liangzhejiang Salt Division who stirred up the wind and rain......

"I think this matter should also fall on you Hangzhou," Xu Zhixian glanced at Wang Xian and said: "Let's see if I can let the province talk to the capital transfer envoy, and be accommodating, it's better than speaking to me, a county official." ”。