Chapter 47

"My lord, we really cannot say!

You had best not ask either; anyone who has offended the Seven Great Families ends up with their family destroyed.

Even the previous Salt Inspection Ding Yushi was..."

The trembling words of the green-clothed scholar further piqued Li Mu's curiosity.

The previous Salt Inspection Ding Yushi died of smallpox, which caused quite a stir at the time, and the court even specifically reiterated the ban on officials frequenting brothels.

Now it seems there was hidden inside information behind the death of the previous Salt Inspection Ding Yushi.

"Forget it, I will take you to see the Marquis of Marquis Wuyang.

As an Imperial Envoy and the Emperor's own uncle, I think he should be qualified to handle this matter!"

While credit is good, the risks are equally great.

A small pawn does a small pawn's work; once he has investigated up to the Seven Great Families, his mission is complete.

As for how to convict these families, it is better to leave it to those above to handle.

Zhou Mansion.

A white-haired old man held wheat grains, continuously tossing them into the pond.

"Master, something terrible has happened!"

"Something has happened in Yangzhou City!"

The butler's blunt words interrupted the old man's good mood; his intuition told him trouble was coming.

In fact, from the moment the salt merchants were arrested, he had sensed danger.

However, he didn't take it to heart; those salt merchants had indeed been too arrogant in recent years, and it was normal for the court to target them.

Similar things had happened in the past.

When the court arrests people, they can just replace them with a batch of more obedient agents.

If they had let those salt merchants continue to operate and expand their network of connections, that would have been the real disaster.

"What happened in Yangzhou City again?

Could it be that the court has convicted those salt merchants!"

The white-haired old man said with a cold laugh.

In recent days, he hadn't been idle.

He utilized the clan's entire network of connections to summarize all the major and minor affairs that had occurred in the court recently.

Party strife in the court is severe, and the Emperor wants to investigate military land; all factions are busy, so where would they have the energy to do anything else!

"Master, Yangzhou City suddenly closed its gates; now entry is allowed but exit is not.

Our inside source risked sending out news that the court dispatched the Marquis of Marquis Wuyang to serve as Imperial Envoy, and he arrived in Yangzhou City yesterday.

This time he didn't come alone; he was accompanied by a large number of soldiers.

When the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture were hosting a banquet last night, they were suddenly attacked by rebels.

The specific situation is unknown, but afterwards, the people brought by the Marquis of Marquis Wuyang took over the city defense, and the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture were all detained at the prefectural yamen!"

After the butler finished speaking, the white-haired old man's brow instantly furrowed.

Private salt is rampant among the people, and the court's salt tax cannot be collected, so sending an Imperial Envoy to handle it is perfectly normal.

They are all reasonable people and wouldn't take things to the extreme.

When an Imperial Envoy comes to inspect, a generous gift is presented directly, and the salt tax will also bounce back a little bit.

Once the wind blows over, it gradually returns to its original state.

But an Imperial Envoy bringing an army is the first time since the founding of Great Great Dayu.

"Things are going to be bad!

Zhou Qi, you immediately send people to summon the clan managers to come and discuss matters tonight."

The white-haired old man ordered immediately.

For some reason, his heart suddenly became unsettled.

His family's involvement in the private salt trade had always been done by manipulating puppets from behind the scenes, with several layers of risk isolation in between.

Under normal circumstances, no matter how the court investigates, they would never be able to trace it back to them.

On the surface, the Zhou family of Huainan are all law-abiding gentry.

Donating to disaster relief, building bridges, and repairing roads—they have all been very active, and their reputation among the people is excellent!

From the founding of the dynasty until now, the Zhou family has never lacked for provincial graduates and metropolitan graduates, and the highest among them even served as a Minister of the Six Ministries.

Looking at the entire Great Great Dayu Dynasty, they are a well-known great family.

Their network of connections spreads throughout the south, and they are the backbone of the Qingliu faction.

That such important news as an Imperial Envoy bringing troops south didn't reach them in advance is clearly abnormal.

A similar scene was constantly occurring among the great families of the Two Two Huai.

Sensing the scent of danger, each family summoned the high-level members of their clan to discuss countermeasures.

Yangzhou Prefectural Yamen.

After a round of interrogation, the identities of the Seven Great Families were finally obtained from the eyewitnesses.

Immediately, a transcript processed with artistic flair appeared before everyone, leaving Li Mu dumbfounded.

As expected of an imperial relative, when it comes to doing such things, they are truly adept.

Clearly, the people only confessed to the Seven Great Families of the Two Two Huai, but on the transcript, it became a list of members of the rebel Seven Prefectures Alliance.

Watching the group of scholars trembling as they signed and pressed their fingerprints, Li Mu even felt like he was the villain.

"Not bad, the rebels have finally been ferreted out.

Battalion Commander Li, for this case being solved in time, you shall be credited with the first merit.

When we return to the capital, I will report it to His Majesty myself!"

The Marquis of Marquis Wuyang said in a great mood.

The rebellion case that occurred last night had its culprits identified the next day; this astonishing efficiency is enough to make the hundred officials feel ashamed.

As for the flaws in the evidence, those are small problems.

Once the people are caught, the evidence will soon be perfected.

At the very worst, there are a large number of witnesses.

The eyewitnesses and survivors from last night can all testify that the Seven Great Families plotted the interception of the Imperial Envoy, leading to the deaths of multiple noble sons.

"My lord, you overstate it; these are all things I should do.

When it comes to merit, it is certainly the Marquis's first merit.

Without the Marquis's meticulous layout, I would not have had the ability to find clues so quickly and lock onto the mastermind behind the scenes."

Li Mu immediately declined.

First merit or second merit is not important; the key is that for this kind of case, he truly doesn't want to stand out too much.

The people from the Seven Great Families haven't been caught yet!

No one can guarantee that these deep-rooted great families will be wiped out in one go.

If there are survivors who escape, they will certainly retaliate afterwards.

These people don't have the ability to retaliate against the imperial court, but carrying out a few assassinations against individuals is still possible.

"Alright, are you afraid I'll embezzle your merit!

Counting the time, the people from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard should be arriving; hand over what we've found to them.

Afterwards, the Capital Battalion will cooperate with them to raid the Seven Great Families.

For the time being, we only need to guard Yangzhou City well!"

The Marquis of Marquis Wuyang said with annoyance.

Raiding the Seven Great Families is a rare lucrative job, and only being able to watch from the sidelines is truly maddening.

It's not that he doesn't want to fight for it, but this kind of work is truly not suitable for the Five Cities Military Commission to do.

A yamen full of rats—no matter how many mountains of gold and silver pass through these guys' hands, it will shrink significantly.

Yet these guys are all well-connected; they are either the Emperor's relatives or the descendants of meritorious officials.

These people are the foundation of imperial power and the cornerstone of the empire.

If the matter is blown up because of corruption, the Emperor will have a hard time dealing with it.

After all, imperial power has always been ten steps away, but within a thousand miles.

When treating those close to oneself, one must show enough generosity to win people's hearts.

The best way to handle it is not to test human nature with profit, and not to give them the opportunity to commit major mistakes.

(End of chapter)