Chapter 622 Silence

Chapter 622 Silence

Chapter 622 Silence
There are still five days before the New Year, and in Zhongli County, like in other counties, the New Year atmosphere has begun to reach its peak. Every household has begun the final sprint, cleaning the house, pasting door banners, erecting poles, inviting tablets, and arranging altars.

In the morning, a carriage stopped in front of the gate of a private residence in Zhongli County. A middle-aged man in his forties walked out of the carriage. He had a fair face and a long beard under his chin. His name was Yu Kuangzhi, and he was a close aide to Zhang Tai, the governor of Zhongli County.

There was already someone waiting at the door of the mansion, and he quickly invited Yu Kuangzhi in.

In front of the VIP hall stood a man in his thirties, tall, dark-skinned, with triangular eyes, a hooked nose, and a slightly sinister look. This man was Fu Gongyou, the second in command of the East China Sea Navy.

Like other forces, Du Fuwei surrendered to the Western Sui Dynasty at the first opportunity. Du Fuwei was conferred the title of Prince of Donghai County, and Fu Gongyou was conferred the title of Duke of Huaiyang County. After being defeated by the fire attack of Xiao Xia's army on the Huai River, Du Fuwei kept a low profile in the past few years, not only developing the army but also learning how to manage it.

Since Du Fuwei married the daughter of Zhou Haiwang, a big salt lord in Donghai County, he had a stable source of financial resources. He sold salt to Xia Pi County, Pengcheng County, Ruyin County, Qiao County and other places, earning a lot of wealth. Since the year before last, he started selling private salt into Jianghuai.

At present, the person in charge of the Jianghuai area is none other than the second in command, Fu Gongyou. Fu Gongyou used money to pave the way, bribed a large number of officials, and used the support of the government to squeeze Li Zitong's forces out of Jianghuai.

However, Du Fuwei was still very wary of the King of Jin in the south of the Yangtze River, otherwise he would have sent troops to occupy the Jianghuai counties long ago.

"It's rare to see you, Brother Yu!" Fu Gongyou greeted him with a smile and clasped his fists.

Yu Kuangzhi bowed and said, "It's urgent!"

"Please!"

Fu Gongyou invited Yu Kuangzhi into the VIP hall, and the two of them sat down as host and guest. Fu Gongyou asked his men to serve tea, and at the same time put two envelopes on the table and pushed them to Yu Kuangzhi.

"The New Year is coming soon. This is a little gift for you, sir, and Envoy Zhang."

A smile immediately appeared on Yu Kuangzhi's originally gloomy face, "General Fu, you are too polite!"

He put the two envelopes into his arms without hesitation, and then slowly said: "My envoy has just received an order from the King of Jin, requiring the government to strictly investigate private salt. The Salt and Iron Bureau and the Internal Guard will come to the Jianghuai counties to supervise the investigation and punishment of private salt. The envoy wants you to restrain yourself for a while."

Fu Gongyou also learned that salt fish had been investigated and punished in Jiangdu, and he knew that the Jiangnan General Administration Office would strictly investigate private salt in various places.

"Did they say when it would start?"

"No one has said it specifically, but it's usually after the Chinese New Year! Anyway, you have to start restraining yourself. Not only can you not sell salt, you can't sell pickled vegetables either. You have to restrain yourself for at least two months."

“Can’t you sell pickles, too?”

Yu Kuangzhi shook his head. "You are selling pickled vegetables which is actually selling private salt. Everyone knows this. Don't think that the Jiangnan General Administration Office is stupid. If you affect their vital interests, they will definitely be furious!"

Fu Gongyou snorted, "The seven counties of Jianghuai are not under their jurisdiction, but they are quite controlling!"

Yu Kuangzhi wanted to make some sarcastic remarks, but considering the envelope in his arms, he suppressed his dissatisfaction and just smiled and said, "The envoy is also doing this for your own good. The King of Jin just destroyed the Later Liang Dynasty. If you don't have the strength to fight against the King of Jin, then don't try to provoke him. Otherwise, you should know the consequences."

Fu Gongyou stood up and saluted, saying, "Thank you for your reminder!" Yu Kuangzhi said goodbye and left. One of his men said to Fu Gongyou with concern, "General, if we stop selling salt in Jianghuai, we will suffer great losses."

Fu Gongyou said angrily: "Do you think I want to stop? The King of Jin is just temporarily unable to take care of us now, but once he finds out that we have damaged his use, the army will rush to Donghai County. What can we do to resist?"

Several of his men dared not say a word, and Fu Gongyou said again: "Pass the order down, not only the Jianghuai counties will suspend the purchase of salt and salt fish, but also the sale of pickled vegetables in the Jiangnan area. Stay out of the spotlight for a few months, and I will return to Donghai County to report to the lord."

The next morning, more than twenty internal security spies came to Zhongli County. The leader was Shi Xiaozhen, who had previously investigated a case in Xuancheng County. He was promoted to Lang Jiang for his meritorious service in investigating a case in Xuancheng County. This time he was responsible for the inspection of Zhongli County.

In name, it was to check the salt, but in reality it was to investigate the infiltration of various forces into the Jianghuai counties, in preparation for the restoration of rule over Jianghuai in the future.

But at present, Xiao Xia does not want to fall out with the court for the time being. The emperor only agreed to return Jiangdu County to him. The other six Jianghuai counties, including Lujiang County, Liyang County, Tongan County, Zhongli County, Yiyang County and Huainan County, are still under the jurisdiction of the court.

Although Xiao Xia could not obtain these six counties in name, he was still prepared to bring these six counties into his sphere of influence, which involved economic, political and military control.

The economy is the biggest part. For example, salt and pig iron must be monopolized by the Jiangnan Salt and Iron Bureau. Private mining and smelting of copper and iron ore is allowed, but it must be registered with the Jiangnan Dao General Administration Office. At the same time, it is not allowed to sell them without authorization and they can only be purchased by the General Administration Office.

For example, bulk goods such as grain, cloth, oil, and timber in the Jianghuai region are all strategic resources. They will not be of concern to small merchants’ normal business, but large-scale purchases must be controlled by the official trading companies in the Jiangnan Road.

The second is political control, that is, control of the government. If the government is loyal to the court, it is normal and the King of Jin allows it. But if the government colludes with other forces except the court and the Jiangnan Road, it is political derailment and will inevitably be strictly investigated.

The third point is military control. According to the agreement reached between Xiao Xia and the court five years later, no troops are allowed to be stationed in the Jianghuai region, except for special circumstances.

That is to say, apart from the military presence of the imperial court and Jiangnan Road, no other forces can have a military presence in Jianghuai, including troops, warriors and intelligence points, all of which belong to the military category.

These other forces may be Du Fuwei, Li Zitong, or even the Western Sui court or the Wagang Army, etc.

This time, the internal guards entered the Jianghuai counties, nominally to inspect the salt, but in fact to implement the three major controls.

After Shi Xiaozhen and his men arrived at the location, they immediately began to investigate and divided into five groups to understand the situation separately.

Shi Xiaozhen brought two of his men to the north of the city. Basically, there were vegetable markets near the city gates of all county towns. Farmers would carry their loads into the city early in the morning and set up stalls on both sides of the city gates to sell their food. Many shops dealing in food were also near the city gates.

The Jiangnan Official Salt Shop is no exception. The official salt shop with a red roof is particularly eye-catching and can be seen from a long distance.

This official salt shop is the headquarters of the entire Zhongli County. It has a warehouse and a relatively large store. In addition to the normal three clerks, there are also a manager and a delivery clerk.

Shi Xiaozhen found the steward and showed him his inner guard badge. The steward's surname was Zhao, a middle-aged man in his forties. He quickly invited Shi Xiaozhen and his men into the back hall.

Shi Xiaozhen sat down and said with a smile: "We found someone selling private salt in Jiangdu, selling it in the form of pickled vegetables, so we need to conduct an in-depth investigation. I am in charge of Zhongli County, and I need you to tell me about the private salt sales in Zhongli County!"

(End of this chapter)