Chapter 151

Lin Ruhai said in a deep voice, "Zou Huaiyi, the battalion commander of the Jin Ling Guard Water Supervision Department, actually colluded with Eastern Japanese ronin and is the culprit of the Longtan Port bloody case!"

"This person actually committed such a heaven-shaking act. Does the Advisor know the truth?"

Jia Cong said, "We captured a man who helped Eastern Japanese ronin hide their tracks, named Huang You'an. Three years ago, he was a platoon leader in the Ying Tian Prefecture yamen. Because he committed a crime, he was dismissed by the previous Ying Tian Prefect.

Because he was familiar with the internal affairs of the Jin Ling yamen and had some courage and city government, and because he was dismissed by the yamen and had nowhere to go, and was a relative of Zou Huaiyi, he was recruited by Zou Huaiyi.

He is responsible for contacting and colluding with Eastern Japanese ronin. Zou Huaiyi is the chief official of the Water Supervision Department and knows everything about foreign merchant ship goods, personnel, sailing, etc.

He chose suitable merchant ship sailing news and passed it to those Eastern Japanese ronin through Huang You'an, instructing them to loot merchant ships on the high seas, kill all the crew, and rob goods and materials.

Then he let those ronin sell the looted foreign goods in Ningbo, Jin Ling, and other places in the name of the Great Inner Clan merchant ship to make a huge profit.

According to Huang You'an's confession, in the past few years, Zou Huaiyi colluded with Eastern Japanese ronin and committed more than 20 major cases on the high seas, obtaining countless foreign goods and assets.

Because Zou Huaiyi has been familiar with various keys of sea transport for many years, he chose targets that were loaded with huge wealth but had no powerful connections behind them.

For others to smuggle 200,000 strings of foreign goods like this, it is as difficult as ascending to heaven, but in his eyes, it is as easy as turning over a hand.

Zou Huaiyi saw that the matter was getting bigger, and the court would definitely investigate it strictly. Worried that someone would find clues from the Great Inner Clan merchant ship and implicate himself.

Two months ago, these Eastern Japanese ronin looted 100,000 strings of foreign goods on the high seas according to the information provided by Zou Huaiyi, and returned to Jin Ling to sell them for profit in the name of the Great Inner Clan merchant ship as usual.

Lin Ruhai was shocked when he heard Jia Cong's words. He had been an official for many years and had heard of many cases of corruption and law-breaking by officials, but it was rare to see someone as daring as Zou Huaiyi.

Most people have some scruples when earning wealth, but it is inevitable that some people like Zou Huaiyi will appear, who are insatiable and do things that are contrary to the world for the sake of endless wealth.

Just look at the salt affairs of Lianghuai, looking back at this dynasty and tracing back to previous dynasties, trafficking private salt, chasing huge profits, and even killing officials and rebelling, I don't know how many have appeared.

Every time they committed a crime on the high seas and killed people for goods, they would sink the ship and destroy the traces, so for several years, no one had ever noticed their tracks.

The Emperor opened the Shipping Department in three places, prospered foreign trade, and attracted wealth to the people. Foreign goods were imported into the Great Zhou like mountains and seas, and the huge profits were immeasurable.

He took advantage of the chaos in Longtan Port and instructed his accomplices to load all the foreign goods worth 200,000 strings of cash onto the ship and transport them out of Longtan Port to avoid leaving roots of trouble.

It was because of these unexpected troubles that the Emperor specially permitted the Salt Administration Censor of Lianghuai to recruit and strictly train 3,000 soldiers and civilians as a barrier for the salt administration of Lianghuai.

Since the founding of the Great Zhou, I have heard that many people in the Jin Ling officialdom use official connections and sea trade foreign goods to make a fortune.

Who knew that they would encounter another Eastern Japanese Shallow River Clan merchant ship entering the port at the same time. Because the eunuch Wang En, who guarded the Shipping Department, accepted the bribe of the Shallow River Clan merchant ship, the two ships fought in the port, causing a great disaster.

Jia Cong continued: "Zou Huaiyi's Water Supervision Department camp was built west of Longtan Port, leaning against water and backing mountains, with convenient terrain. There are a thousand soldiers in the camp, and more than fifty ships of various types."

It is the place where wealth flows frequently, the market is prosperous, and the people have no worries about hunger. But under the intoxication of gold and fans, it is easier to corrupt people's hearts and produce many evil things.

Actually instructed Eastern Japanese ronin to kill 61 yamen runners and prisoners of Ying Tian Prefecture, and mixed into the Great Mercy Temple construction site to hide. All these evil deeds are unforgivable."

He is the chief official of the Water Supervision Department. He has managed the Water Supervision Department for many years. This Water Supervision Department is like his private army. The defense, patrol, search, and personnel allocation of various waterways are all decided by him.

After the incident, in order to cover up and hide those murderous Eastern Japanese ronin, he let Huang You'an rely on his previous relationship in the Ying Tian Prefecture yamen to find out the news that the yamen was escorting prisoners to the Great Mercy Temple for hard labor.

Its momentum cannot be underestimated. Once an order is issued to arrest, if he jumps over the wall like a dog, inciting the Water Supervision Department to make trouble, it will be a heaven-shaking disaster. Jin Ling City will be in danger! I'm afraid the entire Lianghuai area will be poisoned by it.

Currently, the Jin Ling garrison and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have doubts about this matter, and it is difficult to determine whether they are colluding with Zou Huaiyi, so their subordinates are difficult to use lightly.

Therefore, the Emperor specially issued an urgent edict, allowing Prince Ning the power of emergency decision-making, seeing the opportunity to mobilize soldiers and civilians in Yangzhou and Gusu. Now the situation is as dangerous as a pile of eggs. Please, Uncle Lin, coordinate the salt soldiers to help Prince Ning eliminate the traitors."

Since there is an imperial edict and Prince Ning's golden seal and letter to ask for help, Lin Ruhai naturally has no reason to refuse.

The two negotiated the details of mobilizing salt soldiers for an hour, and Lin Ruhai asked the salt soldier camp commander, Commandant Zheng Yong, to take stock of the distribution of salt soldiers in various places.

Because the salt affairs of Lianghuai are busy, the collection of salt tax and the suppression of private salt trafficking in various places require salt soldiers to sit in command or encircle and suppress.

And the salt industry is profitable, attracting merchants from all directions, bustling and endless, and also attracting the covetousness of Japanese pirates along the coast, who often harass along the river in small groups, requiring salt soldiers to be on guard and defend.

After calculation and planning, 800 salt soldiers can be mobilized, divided into 8 platoons, each with 100 people, led by a platoon leader.

After the major event was decided, Jia Cong finally let out a sigh of relief. The total number of Lianghuai salt soldiers is 3,000, and they are also responsible for the important tasks of Lianghuai salt affairs. Being able to borrow 800 at once, Lin Ruhai has done his best.

Coupled with Prince Ning's personal guards, the available manpower of the Ying Tian Prefecture yamen, and the more than 100 soldiers Liu Hai guarding the Great Mercy Temple, the number has exceeded 1,000.

Even if they face the powerful Water Supervision Department camp, they have enough reliance, and it is not really a battle between two armies.

After all, those who really dare to rebel are a very small minority. As long as they can take down the chief culprits like Zou Huaiyi, the major event can be settled. Bringing salt soldiers into the city is more to suppress the various forces in Jin Ling City.

Lin Ruhai saw that Jia Cong was exhausted, thinking it was because the situation was critical and he had been rushing all day without stopping. He asked his family to take him to bathe and rest. Anyway, the mobilization of salt soldiers also takes a certain amount of time.

After Jia Cong took a nap for two hours, the mobilization of the salt soldier camp was completed.

The situation in Jin Ling is unpredictable. Jia Cong doesn't know how long the news in the Ying Tian Prefecture prison can be blocked. In short, delay will lead to changes.

He didn't dare to delay for half a minute, so he said goodbye to Lin Ruhai, agreeing that after the Jin Ling matter was settled, he would definitely visit and thank Uncle Lin again.

At this time, Yangzhou City was still shrouded in the silence of dawn. The street stalls were just opening, and most people were still in deep sleep. The first morning bell of the Tiefo Temple in the north of the city also rang.

Jia Cong and Yangzhou Salt Transport Department Commandant Zheng Yong, as well as eight platoon leaders, took 800 salt soldiers, facing the red light of the east, left Yangzhou City, and went straight to Jin Ling.

Jia Cong saw that these 800 salt soldiers were neat in military appearance, high in spirit, with swords, guns, and leather armor, all of them were blood-blooded young men around twenty, even better than the garrison soldiers he saw in Jin Ling.

He didn't know that the Lianghuai salt soldiers were built specifically to protect salt affairs. Although the court also allocated grain and pay, the quantity was not much, just to cope with the scene.

Most of the salt soldiers' grain and pay were raised by Lianghuai salt merchants according to their quotas. Because the main role of salt soldiers is to crack down on private salt trafficking and protect the national salt tax.

This point is related to the vital interests of Lianghuai salt merchants. Only when private salt trafficking is suppressed can the common people buy official salt, and these salt merchants can make a lot of money by relying on the salt permits issued by the court.

So salt merchants spare no effort to raise grain and pay for salt soldiers. The swords, guns, and armor configured for salt soldiers are all top-notch. For these salt merchants, raising salt soldiers is almost equal to raising private soldiers.

And the situation of eating empty pay and drinking soldiers' blood in local garrisons is extremely common, and after a long period of peace, training is rigid and loose, all of which greatly weaken the combat effectiveness of garrison soldiers.

And these Lianghuai salt soldiers have to confront those private salt traffickers who risk their lives and wander the rivers and lakes every year, which is the most cruel actual combat training, so their combat effectiveness and bravery are extraordinary.

And Lianghuai salt soldiers have a semi-official and semi-civilian attribute, and the foundation of their composition is unique. The soldiers are all from civilian elites, with sufficient grain and pay. Salt merchants provide money and grain, and there should be supervision, so there is no problem of eating empty pay.

The poor and strong in Lianghuai even flock to join the salt soldiers.

Because joining the salt soldier camp is not only a good job to make a living, but also to arrest private salt traffickers, salt merchants will issue bonuses, the government will also reward, and there is decency in the village.

Comparing the two, the soldiers, training, and grain pay of the salt soldiers are all excellent.

The morale and military appearance reflected by this made Jia Cong feel that the excellence of the salt soldiers would be above the garrison soldiers in Jin Ling.

(End of chapter)