Chapter 51

After the Zhou family hurriedly raised the banner of rebellion, other families also followed suit, and in a short period of time, they pulled out tens of thousands of rebel troops.

Relying on their operations in the local area, many departments and counties surrendered without a fight, and in a short period of time, they captured five county cities; the Lianghuai region seemed to have entered a chaotic world overnight.

Yangzhou City.

Ever since the news of the seven great families rebelling came, the scholars who had been detained by the Wucheng Military Commission were all broken.

It was simply too pit-like!

It turns out these people were really preparing to rebel; it was a waste that they had even complained for the salt merchants.

It was too late to regret now; they had already been trapped. Running around and complaining for rebels, just thinking about it made them feel terrified.

In the face of cruel reality, any explanation became pale and weak.

The weapons and armor appearing on the battlefield and the five county cities that were quickly captured all showed that these people were plotting to rebel.

The gentry everyone knew were all virtuous and prestigious leaders. They absolutely could not do such rebellious things as raising private armies and hiding weapons and armor.

The most miserable were the gentry who had intermarried with the seven great families; clearly, they hadn't done anything, but they were passively made members of the rebel group.

Facts proved that intermarriage must be done with caution.

The in-laws had done business that would lead to the execution of nine clans, and their own family couldn't escape either.

When dealing with the issue of chaotic parties, the dynasties of all generations followed the principle of "better to kill by mistake than to let go."

Those close to the rebel army cursed and joined the rebel ranks.

Those far from the rebel army were miserable.

They were pure gentry, at most raising a few retainers to guard the house, and their combat effectiveness was not much higher than that of the yamen runners.

Wanting to raise troops to rebel, they didn't have that strength.

They could only mobilize their connections to operate in the government to avoid being implicated as much as possible, while arranging for their children to go out to avoid disaster.

"My lord, on the left are the ones sent by the Wang residence in the west of the city, in the middle are the ones sent by the Liu residence in the east of the city, on the right are the ones from the Wei residence, and behind them are the ones sent by the Hu residence in the west of the city……

The student has checked, and the gifts sent by each family are of great value.

Among them, the gift sent by the Wang family is the heaviest; besides some antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, there is also a box of silver, with a total value of about 20,000 taels of silver.

The gifts sent by the gentry of Yangzhou City have a total value of no less than 150,000 taels."

Lan Linjie said with a trembling voice.

The number was too shocking.

With his salary level, serving as a private secretary for Li Mu for a lifetime, he wouldn't be able to earn so much money.

"I have long heard that Yangzhou is the wealthiest under heaven; seeing the handwriting of the Yangzhou gentry, the rumors are indeed not false!

One does not receive a reward without merit; they sent such a heavy gift, what is their request?"

Li Mu asked with a smile.

He originally thought he was doing a bitter job, but he never expected that there would be money delivered to his door.

However, the gift was too heavy, which was also tricky.

If each family offered a few hundred taels of wealth, he could directly accept it.

Since ancient times, there has been a rumor that "soldiers passing by are like a comb"; Li Mu restrained the discipline of his soldiers, and the gentry spending money to buy peace was also in line with the rules.

The heavy gifts sent by each family must have a request.

If the matter could be handled, then accepting it would be fine.

Anyway, coming south this time, everyone was here to get rich. The colleagues interrogating the salt merchants would not earn less, and him being one more person getting rich wouldn't be conspicuous.

If the matter was too tricky, then no matter how much money there was, he wouldn't take the hot potato.

"My lord, the seven great families are deeply rooted in the Lianghuai region and have many connections with the Yangzhou gentry.

Now that the rebel army has broken out, each family is in a panic.

These people are anxious to get out, so they want to take your path and connect with the Marquis of Wuyang."

Lan Linjie replied.

Connections are divided into circles; the Yangzhou gentry also have connections in the civil official group.

Like an in-law relative like the Marquis of Wuyang, they usually wouldn't even bother with him.

It just so happened that the situation was special this time, and the Wucheng Military Commission took over Yangzhou City.

Now, the ones who could decide their fate had become the nobles and in-law relatives.

No matter how wide their connections in the court were, they were beyond their reach at this time.

Not to mention the Marquis of Wuyang, even Li Mu, this battalion commander responsible for order in the city, could easily destroy a family.

Once the hat of colluding with rebels was put on, they could immediately be raided and exterminated.

Even if the Senior Grand Secretary wanted to overturn the case for them, he couldn't catch up with the speed of the Wucheng Military Commission's blade.

With the hanging sword over their heads, the families in Yangzhou couldn't sleep, anxious to find an opportunity to connect with the Wucheng Military Commission.

Although the Great Dayu officialdom is corrupt, it doesn't take just any money. Without a middleman to bridge the gap, the gifts wouldn't even be able to enter the door.

These gifts being able to appear before Li Mu was still because of the connection made by Lan Linjie's classmate.

"Tell them, involving the rebel army, the matter is very difficult to handle.

If the involvement is not deep, this official can give them a favor.

However, the threshold of the Marquis of Wuyang is high, especially involving a treason case, and I cannot guarantee that he will definitely intervene."

Li Mu said, pretending to be in a difficult position.

It is a national tradition not to speak fully.

Even if it's just a matter of passing a word, one must express the difficulty so that the financier feels that their money was spent worthily.

Deep in his heart, he had long been happy.

When luck comes, it really can't be stopped.

When he was in the capital, he had done a middleman's business once, and he never expected to run into it again after coming to Yangzhou.

The court needs stability, and killing the seven great families is for the sake of reforming the salt administration.

The salt merchant interest group is rebelling, and the number of gentry being dragged into it is increasing rapidly.

If the court wants to quickly quell the rebellion, it cannot force all the gentry in Lianghuai into the rebel camp.

When dealing with treason cases, they must deal lightly with the gentry who are less implicated in order to win the hearts of the local scholars.

Under this broad background, acting as a bridge is completely zero-risk.

"My lord, I won't hide it from you.

One of my classmates and friends comes from the Wang family in the west of the city, and two years ago, they had an intermarriage with the Zhou family, but they didn't know about the Zhou family rebelling.

Because of the classmate friendship, I……"

Lan Linjie said, biting the bullet.

If it weren't for the Wucheng Military Commission taking over Yangzhou City and not being able to figure out the relationship between each family and the rebels for a while, the Wang family would have already been raided by now.

"Mr. Lan values friendship, and this official can understand.

However, rebellion is a capital crime involving the nine clans; as in-laws of the rebels, they will definitely appear on the list of chaotic parties.

Wanting to be acquitted, it's not enough for just the Wucheng Military Commission to let go; it also requires coordinating the relationship with the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It's quite possible the relationship needs to go all the way to Eunuch Zuo of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

This matter is very difficult to handle!"

Hearing "very difficult to handle," Lan Linjie felt a sense of relief in his heart.

Although he hadn't followed Li Mu for long, he knew that his master's official position wasn't high, but his paths were quite wild.

Even the previous party struggle case could be handled through connections.

Since this matter left an opening, he thought there was some certainty.

"My lord, please rest assured, the Wang family has been passed down for more than two hundred years and still has some family assets; we absolutely won't make things difficult for you!"

Lan Linjie immediately guaranteed.

Anyway, the money wasn't coming from him; being able to clear the path was worth it for his classmate.

Such a life-threatening matter, if money were given outside, no one would dare to take it.

(End of chapter)