Chapter 228: Hezhou smuggling case happened, Jinglong's suspicion
Chapter 228: Hezhou smuggling case happened, Jinglong's suspicion
The next day, the sun generously cast its rays on the mottled river surface, making it sparkle.
Lu Yunyi, who was sleeping, only felt that there were strange lights in front of him, many lights, flickering...
It was unknown how long it took before his consciousness gradually returned.
He sniffed before opening his eyes, and a vague consciousness flashed through his mind.
What a strange smell.
Soon, Lu Yunyi suddenly opened his eyes.
He sniffed carefully again, and the stench in the air almost overwhelmed him.
Instantly, he realized the source of the smell.
He turned to look at the window beside him. The window was wide open and a breeze blew gently, bringing the stench in with it.
There was even a hint of noise and anger.
There were also many footsteps flashing on the complicated corridor outside the room, making the surroundings a little noisy.
After a moment of thought, a glimmer of enlightenment flashed across Lu Yunyi's eyes.
I used my waist to support my body with my hands and sat up.
He leaned his head out of the window, and couldn't help but raise his brows slightly.
The scene before him relieved a lot of the annoyance caused by the stench.
I saw more than a hundred merchant ships densely packed on the river ahead.
There are some fishing boats wandering not far away.
None of them entered the port, but just waited there.
As more and more merchant ships and fishing boats piled up, they had already piled up from west to east, from civilian ports to military ports.
Lu Yunyi stuck his head out. Because the troop transport ship was too tall,
He felt a sudden palpitation for no reason, held on to the wall tightly, and looked over.
At the nearby civilian port, the fishing and merchant ships there had already been evacuated.
Only the five junk boats were left, four of which were intact.
One of them had been burned to a skeleton, and most of it had sunk, with only half of the stern exposed.
Lu Yunyi smiled and took the telescope to look carefully.
There were some officials in official uniforms searching the four garbage boats carefully. Boxes of things were being brought up, and he could even hear faint exclamations.
With a telescope, he could see things farther away.
Soon he saw several garbage ships on the other side of the civilian port.
Their draft was equally deep. Some officials covered their noses while checking from above. Piles of garbage were turned out. It seemed that the stench came from here.
He thought of what the old man selling bamboo hats said yesterday.
The garbage ship stinks so much that if it docks at the port during the day, the port will be uninhabitable.
Now that I hear it, I know it’s true!
The stench could be smelled from such a distance. If it were at the port, it would indeed make Hezhou deserted.
At this moment, a figure appeared at the door, followed by a knock on the door.
Then Li Jinglong's voice came: "Yun Yi, are you awake?"
Lu Yunyi took his head back and said, "Come in."
The door opened, Li Jinglong hurried in, and then closed the door again.
There was some uncertainty on his face, his breathing was a little rapid, and there was an unconcealable weirdness on his face.
He took two quick steps to Lu Yunyi's bed and sat on a chair beside it. After hesitating for a long time, he spoke in a deep voice:
"Yun Yi, have you heard what happened in Hezhou Port?"
Puzzlement flashed in Lu Yunyi's eyes, and he tilted his head:
"What happened to Hezhougang?"
Li Jinglong was stunned for a moment, and he uttered a question in doubt.
Ok?
"It wasn't you who did it?" Li Jinglong looked Lu Yunyi up and down, feeling suspicious.
"What happened?"
Lu Yunyi asked with a smile, while he pulled up the window.
He stood up and walked towards the bookshelf, picked up the spray bottle on the side, and looked back and forth among the pots and jars.
The bean sprouts had already pushed up some of the gauze. A hint of joy flashed in his eyes, and he quickly sprayed water on them with a spray bottle.
Li Jinglong walked up to him and said in a low voice:
“Five smuggling ships were found in Hezhou Port, and many people died. They were carrying porcelain, silk, and even weapons!
You are right, someone really has his eyes on the garbage ship."
Li Jinglong looked a little strange, scratching his head anxiously, and felt disappointed for no reason.
When the two left yesterday, they also asked him not to reveal their whereabouts to others.
"I thought it was you and Liu Heiying who did it?"
Lu Yunyi smiled, nodded slightly, and said frankly: "We did it."
Li Jinglong's eyes widened immediately, and he raised his head suddenly, with a look of shock on his face:
"Really?"
Lu Yunyi nodded, his face turned cold:
"The imperial court banned maritime activities, but these people still broke the law and engaged in smuggling. I hate this kind of behavior the most!"
Li Jinglong touched his nose. He had heard many such righteous words from civil and military officials.
But he also knew a lot about the dirty things that happened behind the scenes.
Even his family aides once told him that some people talk about being righteous and moral, but are actually thieves and prostitutes behind the scenes.
Keep him away from these people.
Judging from Lu Yunyi's military achievements and resume, he is not a good person in any way.
It's a bit strange that he says it so righteously now.
Just as he was wondering, Lu Yunyi snorted coldly and curled his lips:
"Jinglong, most of the money earned by the court from opening up the sea was used to fight wars and build cities.
We are all soldiers, we eat the salary and receive the reward from the court.
These people smuggled for personal gain, and their losses were all the money of the court.
In other words, they make money from us!!!"
Lu Yunyi's voice became louder and louder, gradually becoming passionate, and even a little excited and angry.
Li Jinglong was stunned. After a few breaths, he nodded repeatedly. It made sense!
"Yun Yi, how did you find the smuggling ship?"
Lu Yunyi's face was solemn:
"I said last time when I was competing with Duke Cao that only by being good at observing the surrounding environment can one be successful.
I noticed these fishing boats on our first day of departure and even asked a sailor about them.
When I got here and found it again, and it was tightly surrounded by those merchant ships, I felt that something was wrong.
Yesterday the old man said that garbage ships are not allowed to enter the port during the day.
But those five garbage ships were parked there so openly, with such a deep draft, and there was no peculiar smell in the port, so they were definitely not carrying garbage.
So last night Liu Hei Ying and I went to investigate, and indeed, we found something wrong."
Li Jinglong's eyes widened slightly, he took a breath, and could not hide his horror.
The cause and effect and process are extremely reasonable and well-founded. He can also go to the navy to verify it.
Compared with this speculation, Li Jinglong admired Lu Yunyi's ability to act more.
If there is any doubt in my mind, I will immediately verify it, or even investigate it myself.
Li Jinglong figured out some things and his expression became strange.
He thought about what happened in Qiufeng Pavilion yesterday.
To become famous in such a high-profile manner was not in line with the style of the front army scout unit.
"What about what happened at Qiufeng Pavilion yesterday?"
Lu Yunyi laughed dryly and returned to the bed to sit down. He took out his robe and put it on.
"Openly repairing the plank road, secretly marching through Chencang, can be regarded as a strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking the west.
With the testimony of those Hezhou officials, the disaster of the smuggling ship cannot be blamed on us anyway.
Jinglong, please don't leak it out. Once the weapons are delivered, we will leave this troubled place as soon as possible."
Li Jinglong was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding why such a great achievement was wasted.
But he soon understood the reason.
Smuggling using garbage ships must have existed for a long time, and there are countless officials involved in this line.
There were also many officials in the court who benefited from this.
If people find out and uncover this smuggling channel, they will definitely be eaten alive.
Destroying someone's wealth is like killing one's parents.
Thinking of the numerous criticisms, Li Jinglong shuddered for no reason and nodded repeatedly:
"Yes, yes, this matter has nothing to do with us.
But don't worry, Yun Yi. When I return to the capital, I will definitely go to the palace and explain the whole story to His Majesty!
The imperial court will not mistreat its meritorious officials.
Although this matter is of great importance and cannot be disclosed to the outside world, Your Majesty will certainly reward you from somewhere else."
Lu Yunyi's face was calm, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
The purpose of informing Li Jinglong of this matter was to create a situation where the civil and military officials were unaware of it but the emperor knew about it.
His face was somewhat solemn, and he said thoughtfully:
"Jinglong, our general has 30,000 men on this trip.
There are so many smart people among them, how could they not see the hidden clues of this garbage ship..."
Li Jinglong suddenly felt his lips dry, and froze for a moment, then he said tremblingly:
"Are you saying that there are people in this army who are involved?" "I don't know... But because I don't know, I'm telling the outside world that only you, me, Liu Heiying and I know the whole story, okay?
After all, our real job is to fight big battles, not to investigate smuggling."
Lu Yunyi looked at Li Jinglong with burning eyes, his eyes full of determination.
This made Li Jinglong feel a sense of trust for no reason.
He clenched his hands tightly on the side, feeling a little excited.
The mood at this moment is a bit like when I was a kid and I did something bad together, and we agreed not to tell the adults at home.
And after doing bad things together, we become good friends.
He nodded vigorously, his face solemn: "Don't worry, Yun Yi, I won't tell anyone about this!"
Lu Yunyi smiled. Now that things had come to this, this was the best possible situation.
Not only did he avenge the turmoil of the previous few days, but he also gained the trust of Li Jinglong. After the war, he could win more rewards from His Majesty and gain some fame in Hezhou.
Lu Yunyi put on his clothes and shoes, looked at Li Jinglong, and nodded towards the outside:
"Let's go and see what happened."
Li Jinglong was stunned for a moment, then he smiled mysteriously and nodded in agreement:
"Yes, the air is filled with a foul odor. We should go and have a look."
Soon, Lu Yunyi and others stepped off the troop transport ship. When their feet touched the ground,
Lu Yunyi suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Li Jinglong:
"By the way, how did you deal with Lin Shian yesterday?"
Li Jinglong smiled, feeling somewhat gloating:
"I heard that his ribs were broken in two places. He went to Governor Xu and Lord Shen to complain, but was scolded.
They said he didn't know what was good for him, and he started fighting with his own people before he even saw the enemy."
Liu Heiying felt a little sorry for not going to the brothel yesterday. He was in a bad mood and curled his lips sarcastically:
"This is shooting oneself in the foot. You deserve it."
Everyone in the group laughed, but Lu Yunyi felt a little emotional and couldn't help but sigh:
"The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop, and there is one more mortal enemy."
The group arrived at Hezhou Port, which was already crowded with people.
With just a glance, you can see the onlookers, port workers, and the shop assistants and shopkeepers of the merchant ships.
Even though the air was filled with a foul odor, it still couldn't stop them from gathering here, standing on tiptoe and looking forward.
Every time a box was moved out, they would let out a sigh and then a few curses.
It’s not true that they hate smuggling, but it’s true that it delays their work and business.
Now the Hezhou Port is blocked inside and out, and merchant ships are not allowed to enter or leave.
In addition, the detained garbage ship is also here.
It can be imagined that at least today the vendors at this port and the streets not far away are unable to do business.
A large area of open space has been cleared in the center of the port.
Many officials from the Hezhou government office were constantly moving boxes down.
At the same time, the boxes were opened one by one and counted, with several clerks recording the items.
Whenever a box is opened and its contents exposed,
The people around will start heated discussions and curse at the same time!
The officials were soaked in sweat and exhausted from a busy night.
But their expressions were extremely solemn and they were still tense.
Even if there is no smuggling here, just based on those few corpses,
This is already the biggest case in Hezhou in the past decade, so big that the Taiping Prefecture has personally intervened.
Now that such a large smuggling case has occurred, not only will the Taiping Prefecture be involved, but even the imperial censor will be sent from the capital to supervise the case.
The officials and the government rise and fall together.
I have made up my mind to do things well.
Try to get rid of these things from Hezhou.
The New Year is coming soon. If the government office does not do well, these officials will not have a good time either.
Not far from these officials,
A slender official in his forties, wearing a green official uniform, stood there quietly with a solemn expression!
This person was Chen Xu, the prefect of Hezhou, a fifth-rank official.
There were nine bodies in front of him, eight men and one woman, all of them died in different ways.
Two coroners were carefully examining the body, their faces filled with deep thought.
Beside Chen Xu were some officials from the Hezhou government office, both big and small.
They looked at the corpses in front of them, and then at the boxes of smuggled goods stacked up, and couldn't help but sigh, their expressions gloomy.
Chen Xu, who was standing at the front, felt sad.
He has been in Hezhou for three years and has personally made the Hezhou Port more and more lively. Most of the merchant ships will stop here.
Now, such a thing happened at the critical stage of the assessment, which made him feel that it was fate that was playing tricks on him.
Officials in the Ming Dynasty were evaluated every three years and divided into three grades: high, medium and low, namely competent, average and incompetent.
Only high-ranking officials would be included in the imperial court's Ministry of Rites' inspection list, and only those officials who had made no mistakes during their tenure would be given the opportunity for promotion.
Now that something like this has happened in Hezhou, regardless of whether the case is settled or not,
He would be implicated because of this matter. At the least, he would have to wait for another three years. At the most, he would have to stay where he was, moving back and forth between the various prefectures in the Ming Dynasty...
Chen Xu was extremely pessimistic. He was the last candidate for the imperial examination in the third year of Hongwu.
Having been in official circles for nearly twenty years, he naturally knew the undercurrents in the court.
If there was no one behind such a large-scale smuggling, he would never believe it even if he was beaten to death.
Now that the smuggling case has happened, the assessment is a minor matter.
If some important person gets angry, he can easily drag him into the case and end up losing his job.
Now that the case has become known to everyone, there will be an explanation.
I don’t know how many officials from all levels will have to be laid off, and one more like him won’t make much difference.
"Ugh"
Chen Xu sighed in his heart, his expression becoming increasingly gloomy.
Even though the nine corpses before him were terrifying and eerie, he was not in the mood to be afraid at the moment.
At this moment, the port manager came hurriedly, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said hurriedly:
"Sir, Duke Cao is here."
Hearing this, Chen Xu was startled, and suddenly raised his head, with a glimmer of light in his eyes.
"Where is it? Take me there quickly!"
"Yes, yes, Duke Cao and the others are not far away."
"Wait a minute!"
At this time, a man who looked like a master hurried up, approached a little closer and said in a low voice:
"This is a good opportunity to get out.
Although Duke Cao was at the top of the court, he was still young and had no one under his command.
If we can rely on him, we might be able to avoid this disaster."
Chen Xu nodded repeatedly after hearing this:
"I thought so too. I heard that Duke Cao and his party had a great time eating, drinking and having fun in Qiufeng Pavilion yesterday, and they even left a couplet.
This shows that he has a good impression of Hezhou.
Even if we don't get his protection, we should remove me from this case and let him say a few good words for us."
The master's eyes narrowed, and his waist bent a little more:
"Sir, Duke Cao has a huge fortune and is the highest official in the Ming Dynasty.
Ordinary things are not in his eyes, so he has to start with reputation."
Chen Xu's eyes flickered:
"Brother Zheng came to my house yesterday to tell me about this matter. He wanted the government to publicize it. I just want to take this opportunity to have a word with Duke Cao."
"In that case, please go quickly."
"it is good!"
(End of this chapter)