Chapter 939 Is This Still Songjiang of the Ming Dynasty?
Xie Yong and others returned to the base. As soon as they entered, Xie Yong found that the door was gone.
After arriving in Songjiang, according to the instructions of the Ministry of Revenue, the government office gave them a doorman and a cook. The doorman was used to receive visitors, and the cook was to prevent Xie Yong and others from being beaten up when they went out to eat.
Don't think this is a joke. When Xie Yong and others first arrived in Nanjing, someone kindly reminded them to be careful in Songjiang and not to go out unless necessary...
——Those people will be extremely angry and may even resort to violence.
Xie Yong still didn't believe it at that time, saying, "I am the head of the Ministry of Revenue, who dares to do anything to me?"
The man sighed, "This is the South!"
What about the South?
Xie Yong is stubborn and strong-willed, which is why he was sent to Songjiang.
With Daoye and Jiang Qingzhi in charge in the north, the powerful and wealthy were all under the emperor's nose and dared not take any drastic actions, so the work of clearing the land was carried out easily.
But in the south, the emperor is far away, you have to count on the six ministries in Nanjing... Sorry, after arriving in Nanjing, Xie Yong and others waited for the six ministries to meet. After waiting for three days, an assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue came and gave some encouragement, and then... nothing happened.
On the first day in Songjiang, someone set off firecrackers outside the base.
It’s the middle of the night!
Xie Yong and his companions were exhausted and furious, but when they rushed out of the camp, they only saw a few dark shadows quickly disappearing into the night.
The next day, Xie Yong informed the local officials about the matter, but the result was...no result.
It's over.
Only then did Xie Yong realize the difficulties in the south.
"The cook is not here either." The minor official Wang Bi went to the kitchen and took a look, and saw the stove and the pots were cold.
"Where is he?" Xie Yong had not been sleeping well recently and was exhausted, looking quite haggard.
Wang Bi said, "He was there this morning, but in the middle of the day, could he be out shopping?"
"We bought some this morning, and it's almost noon. What did you buy?" Xie Yong said with a straight face, "I'll scold the cook when he comes back."
Several people went back to rest and waited for the cook to come back, but after waiting for a long time, Xie Yong even dozed off several times, and the cook still didn't come.
"Forget it, let's go out and eat!"
There was no dry food in the garrison, and Xie Yong was so hungry that his face turned pale, so he went out with a few subordinates. As for the sergeants, they had their own ways, so Xie Yong didn't need to worry about them.
A few people found a small stall and each ordered a bowl of noodles and a bowl of fish soup.
The fish is river fish, and Xie Yong and others are not used to the taste of sea fish.
The noodles are not as strong as those in the north, but they have a unique flavor.
In particular, some dried shrimps and some soy sauce that is said to be brewed with an exclusive secret recipe are put in it. A sip of the soup is extremely delicious.
Xie Yong was eating with great relish and was about to give some praise when he heard a scream from his side.
He looked over slowly and saw the accompanying clerk Chen Yue lying on the ground, with blood oozing out from the back of his head...
Xie Yong turned around suddenly, but the people coming and going behind him were all looking at them in surprise.
"Who is it?" Wang Bi stood up subconsciously, picked up the stool and looked around.
No one said a word.
The expressions of those onlookers were indifferent, even hostile.
"Get out of Songjiang!" someone shouted.
"Songjiang does not welcome corrupt officials!"
"If you don't get out of here, I'll make you wait till you come back!"
"..."
This hostility suddenly surged, and Wang Bi turned around and said, "Master."
Xie Yong slowly stood up and said, "Go and get a doctor."
A petty official ran away.
"Make way." The crowd blocked him and the clerk shouted.
There was a hint of teasing in those cold looks, just like a cat playing with a mouse.
"Give Way!"
The clerk shouted hoarsely, his voice breaking.
The crowd slowly made way.
The clerk ran out, said, and then disappeared.
Wang Bi roared, "We are here to help you! Why are you repaying kindness with hatred?"
No one answered him.
Xie Yong squatted down to check Chen Yue's injuries and found a cut on the back of his head, which was now swelling rapidly.
He looked up and said, "Don't argue with them, it will make people..." There were four people in their group. At this moment, one of them fell down and one of them went to ask for a doctor, leaving only him and Wang Bi.
If Wang Bi left, he would be the only one left at the scene to look after Chen Yue... Xie Yong turned around and wanted to discuss with the stall owner and ask him for a favor.
But what he saw in the stall owner's eyes was indifference.
After an unknown amount of time, the clerk came back.
Winter in the south is different from that in the north. If there is no wind, it is fine, but there are only a few days without wind. When the wind blows, the chill will penetrate into your bones.
That is a feminine coldness.
The clerk was sweating profusely, "Master, I have visited several doctors, but none of them could give me an excuse."
Wang Bi was furious, "Don't they know why we are here?"
Xie Yong shook his head, "They know."
"On the first day we arrived, we deliberately announced our purpose in the downtown area. Logically, these people should know about it." Wang Bi said angrily.
"Then why are they hostile to us?" Seeing that Chen Yue was still unconscious, the clerk stamped his feet and said, "Master, let's go to the government office!"
"The government office?" Xie Yong smiled sadly. "The cook was away, so we were forced to go out for dinner, but we were attacked... Do you think all this was accidental?"
The clerk shuddered, "How dare they do this?"
"This is Jiangnan!" The stall owner behind him sneered, "The running dogs from the north had better get out of here, otherwise..."
Judging from the appearance of the stall owner, if we had known their identities earlier, we might have been able to tamper with the noodles and fish soup.
Wang Bi shuddered, "Master, Chen Yue has a head injury and can't be delayed any longer." "Carry him away!" Xie Yong made a prompt decision.
Wang Bi and the clerk carried Chen Yue, and Xie Yong led the way towards the crowd.
"Make way." Xie Yong looked up at the people in front of him.
He had a resolute character and was intimidating without even getting angry. The man standing in front of him was a burly man and smiled contemptuously, "Get lost!"
The crowd made way for them, and Xie Yong and his three companions slowly walked out.
"Look, it looks like four dogs!"
"running dog!"
The sound of ridicule continued to be heard from behind.
The first medical officer said that all the doctors were out seeing patients.
The second one, no one paid any attention to it.
"Master, this is intentional." Standing outside the third clinic, looking at the indifferent pharmacist inside, Wang Bi said in despair: "Why can't people in Jiangnan distinguish between right and wrong?"
"What's the matter?" At this time, a doctor came over with a medicine box, and when he saw the back of Chen Yue's head, he shouted, "Hurry up and let the injured lie down."
"Mr. Li..." the medicine boy spoke, and the doctor frowned and shook his head slightly.
The doctor lowered his head and carefully examined the wound. He then opened the medicine box, took out a pair of scissors, and cut off the hair at the wound in a few strokes.
"Get some warm water," the doctor ordered, but the medicine boy never returned.
"Oh!" The doctor sighed, went in to get some warm water, came out to clean the wound, and then applied medicine.
"Keep using this medicine until the wound forms a scab." The doctor gave a packet of medicine powder and carefully instructed the time to use the medicine.
"Thank you."
Xie Yong bowed. This was the first time he encountered kindness since coming to Songjiang.
The doctor looked at him, wanting to say something but stopping himself. When Xie Yong took out the money bag, he waved his hand and refused to take it. He whispered, "Many people in Jiangnan pay tribute to avoid taxes. If we clear them out... both of them will be angry!"
Xie Yong also thought of this, "Thank you for your advice, sir."
Jiangnan is rich in products and has a climate suitable for farming. Although the sage's family is in the north, the roots of Confucianism are in the south.
Scholars who had achieved academic success had the privilege of being exempted from taxes. Farmers and their families would bring their fields to the homes of scholars or local gentry and pay a small amount of taxes.
In this way, scholars and gentry got a lot of money and population for free every year. And those who volunteered to join the army also paid less taxes...
It's a win-win.
But what disappeared?
It's taxes and population.
Clearing the fields is to make everything visible.
"We are doing this in a thankless job!" Wang Bi said weakly.
"Someone has to do this." Xie Yong's eyes were firm. "Let's go to the government office."
The three men took turns carrying Chen Yue to the government office, but when they asked, they found that Chen Lian was not there.
"Something happened down there, and the Lord of the Palace took people to deal with it. He said he would not be back today."
Xie Yong and his two companions carried Chen Yue out of the government office, only to realize that Songjiang was so big that there was no place for them to hide.
"Chen Lian did it on purpose." Wang Bi said bitterly, "This man must have colluded with the local gentry to stop us from doing what we want."
Xie Yong said in a deep voice: "Don't talk nonsense."
"Master." Wang Bi couldn't help but continue, "Haven't you figured it out yet? Chen Lian happened to avoid us during this incident, which means he knew about our attack. Maybe he knew about it even when the cook was not here. The whole Songjiang Prefecture is in cahoots!"
"What should we do?" Another clerk said with a wry smile, "There are enemies everywhere now!"
Xie Yong said coldly: "Tomorrow we will go to Xu's house. Tomorrow, we will open the door and go straight in!"
He was prepared to force his way in and break off relations with the Xu family.
"It seems as if I have seen a veil of darkness that has obscured the eyes of the people of Songjiang. Only by being tough can we tear open this veil of darkness!" Xie Yong said firmly, "Chang Wei Bo is right. We should not be soft-hearted when dealing with these people. We should use thunderbolt methods!"
Wang Bi sighed, "A powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake, and we are not a powerful dragon either."
"Can Lord Xu just sit there and watch his family like this?" Xie Yong said, "I'll write a letter back to the ministry and send it by express horse, asking the minister to discuss this matter with Lord Xu..."
The three of them took turns carrying Chen Yue all the way back to the base.
"Who is that?" Wang Bi saw a person lying outside the gate of the station.
There were some things scattered around the man, including a box.
The clerk ran over, squatted down, turned the man over, and exclaimed, "It's the doctor!"
The doctor who treated Chen Yue despite the warning of the medicine boy was now unconscious. The back of his head was swollen in almost the same place as Chen Yue's, and blood was constantly flowing out...
"Is this still Songjiang of the Ming Dynasty?"
Xie Yong's emotions finally broke down, and he stood outside the station door and roared.
……
“This is Jiangnan for people from Jiangnan, and Songjiang for people from Songjiang!”
At the Xu Mansion, Xu Jie's eldest son Xu Fan, who was in his early twenties, and Chen Lian were drinking tea.
The two chatted and laughed, and soon Chen Lian returned satisfied. After leaving Xu's house, he instructed: "If Xie Yong and others come to see you these days, just say that I am not here."
"Yes!"
In the mansion, Xu Fan said to his staff, "Chen Lian is a smart man. By the way, do you have any news about Xie Yong?"
The staff nodded, "Xie Yong is a stubborn person."
"Stubborn?" Xu Fan said calmly, "That is, you won't give up until you achieve your goal!"
"Yes. He is quite resolute. Perhaps this is why Lu Song asked him to come to Songjiang." The staff member whispered, "Someone is secretly discussing and preparing to send someone to the Ministry of Revenue..."
The staff took out the fire starter.
After blowing a few times, sparks flew and the staff looked up at Xu Fan.
Xu Fan narrowed his eyes.
"Very good!"
(End of this chapter)
