Chapter 973 With ulterior motives
The atmosphere in Huating City suddenly changed.
The topic quickly shifted from Jiang Qingzhi's cruelty and ruthlessness to the Qinhuai River's famous prostitute group heading south to Songjiang Prefecture.
After meeting Jiang Qing, the group of famous prostitutes were settled next to his residence.
According to Nanmei, it is better to live together.
But Xu Wei declined on the grounds that Jiang Qing had too many things to do.
Whenever they lived together, someone would take advantage of it to cause trouble... Chang Wei Bo set up a place of wine and women in Songjiang Prefecture, where he reveled and partied with the famous prostitutes from the Qinhuai River every day.
This is yellow mud falling down the crotch, it's either shit or it's shit.
Suddenly, there were hundreds of people on the street. They stared at the residence of the famous prostitutes. Old Shepi gave them knowledge and told them how rare it was to see the famous prostitutes in Qinhuai River.
"At least one meeting would earn you a thousand dollars."
"What if I touch your hand?"
"Touch your hand? Don't even think about it without five thousand dollars."
"Bao Dong, I don't like what you said. What are this beautiful girl's hands made of? Five thousand coins, five thousand coins can buy me a year of food, drink and entertainment. Is it that important? Just touch her hand."
Bao Dong was a well-known gossip in the city. Hearing this, he chuckled and said disdainfully, "Do you know what a famous prostitute is? The name comes first, and she is famous."
"Famous is great?"
"Ah! Yes, being famous is great. Believe it or not, someone will come with money just to meet you, drink a cup of tea, and listen to a song."
"I don't believe it!"
"Make a bet?"
"What are you gambling?"
"Bet a thousand bucks!"
"It's a bet!"
Before he could finish his words, someone shouted, "Get out of the way."
When everyone turned around, they saw several men in brocade clothes riding horses towards them, surrounded by servants.
When these people arrived outside the residence of the famous prostitutes, they dismounted and waved their hands. A servant came forward with a heavy bag, opened it, and found it was full of copper coins.
"My husband has long admired Fang Niang's name. Five thousand coins, just to have a cup of tea with Fang Niang and have a chat!"
The doorman was brought by Nanmei, and he knew the market situation of Qinhuai River very well. He laughed and said, "Thank you very much, but the ladies are not seeing guests on this trip."
"Why?" Several men in brocade clothes were puzzled.
What does it mean to not make money even if you have one?
Menzi said, "Ladies, you are here for Long Wilbur. Please ask Long Wilbur for advice on what to do next."
"I'll give you 10,000 coins!" A burly man in brocade clothes took out a silver ingot with a ostentatious look.
"I'm sorry." The doorman had seen many young men in Qinhuai River spend a lot of money to win the limelight, so he was not moved at all. "If you want to see the ladies, please go to the next door and ask."
But how could those men in brocade clothes dare to go next door?
Bao Dong turned around and stretched out his hand.
"One thousand coins!"
The man who made the bet with him turned pale, "Do you dare to bet again?"
Bao Dong laughed, "What are you betting on?"
The man said, "If you can find out what Chang Wei Bo uses these prostitutes for, I will give you another thousand coins. No, two thousand coins."
"You still want to make a profit of one thousand? Okay, I'll help you."
Bao Dong was a bold man. He walked to the gate of Jiang Qingzhi's residence with a smile and bowed, "I am Bao Dong, entrusted by the elders of the city to come here to ask for advice." He pointed to the next door and asked, "Why did these ladies come to my Songjiang Mansion?"
The soldier guarding the gate was about to yell when a man walked out. It was Xu Wei.
Xu Wei was fanning himself. He was just trying to find a reason to tell Jiang Qingzhi about his plan, so he said calmly, "My Lord said that fighting and killing is not good. There will be a courtesan competition in the city later, and all these famous prostitutes will come out to show their talents. It will be up to you to decide who will win in the end."
Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this, and the men in brocade clothes looked at each other.
"We can actually see the talents of Qinhuai River's famous prostitutes right at our doorstep. We must take care of this."
Someone boldly asked, "Do you want us to take care of it?"
Took the bait...Xu Wei smiled and said, "This matter needs someone to take care of it, just wait..."
Several old snakeskins, no, several men in brocade clothes raised their hands excitedly, "We are willing to..."
"Easy to say, easy to say."
Most of those who came to watch the group of famous prostitutes were old snakes. They were overjoyed when they heard the words, and immediately their evaluation of Jiang Qingzhi changed from a killer god to a kind and amiable, honest official who loved the people like his own children, and a good official.
"No wonder I heard that Suzhou Prefecture gave Chang Wei Bo the Umbrella of All People last time..."
Bao Dong was very proud and hired a carriage, and went home with three thousand coins. When his wife saw him coming back, she said, "I went to buy vegetables today, and someone said that the world is going to change drastically, and if things go wrong, many people will die."
Bao Dong put down his bag with a thump. He usually liked to play with antiques and so on. His wife thought it was these old things and didn't pay attention to them. She continued, "That's scary!"
"What big change?" Bao Dong asked.
"That person said that every 120 years is a reincarnation. This time the world will turn upside down... There will be a bloody disaster in the south!"
"Can it be eliminated?" Bao Dong asked.
"can!"
“How to resolve it?”
"Religious."
"What teaching?"
"White Lotus Sect."
……
There were dozens of famous prostitutes, plus more than a hundred servants and maids accompanying them, and they packed the next door tightly.
Each famous prostitute had a room, and no matter how many people accompanied her, they only had one room.
Ning Yu's room was arranged in a remote place, dozens of steps away from the famous prostitutes.
This arrangement was exactly what Ning Yu wanted. "My wife."
Yuanyang came in and whispered, "They've started."
There was only a bed, a table that served as a dressing table, a chair, and a few small stools in the room, all of which looked new.
Ning Yu sat on the chair, her previous charm had long disappeared, her eyes were sharp, "How is it?"
Yuanyang said, "We went to the vegetable market and other places to preach first. The women were willing to listen, but except for three or five people, no one was willing to join our gathering."
Ning Yu narrowed her beautiful eyes, "The South loves wealth, and will not release the eagle until it sees the rabbit. This is also the reason why it is difficult for my Holy Church to preach in the South. However, this time Jiang Qingzhi will definitely stir up some waves in the South..."
"Madam, our people have been gathering information from many places. The people in Songjiang Prefecture hate Jiang Qingzhi to the core. Some even cursed the dog emperor and wished him a miserable death... Madam, this is a great opportunity!"
Ning Yu shook his head, "Don't underestimate Jiang Qingzhi. As for the emperor, he is a ruthless man."
"If he is cruel enough, why doesn't he do it?" Yuanyang asked.
"This is the south, the foundation of Ming's taxation. It's certainly satisfying to act brazenly, but once a big mess occurs... You must know that from the capital to the nine borders, they all rely on the money and food from the south for support. Otherwise, the dog emperor can't even afford to support the capital guards."
Yuanyang's eyes lit up, "So we came to the south just to wait for an opportunity?"
Ning Yu nodded, holding her chin with one hand, and looking out the window with her beautiful eyes. "It would be better if there was a commotion, and it would be best if there was a river of blood. In this way, my Holy Church can use this resentment to spread its teachings and take root in the south!"
Yuanyang lowered her head, then raised her head after a long while and said, "My lady, Jiang Qingzhi will definitely force those people in Songjiang Prefecture to declare their land and population. If we take advantage of the situation and start making a fuss..."
"They are already making a fuss." Ning said calmly, "He is in the open, and we are in the dark. Keep an eye on him, I am sure those scholars will not sit still and wait for death."
……
"Uncle."
Chen Lian would run to Jiang Qingzhi's base whenever he had nothing to do. Xu Wei gradually became familiar with him and would tease him when they met, "The bloodstains on your face... is there a fire in the backyard?"
Chen Lian sighed, "It didn't catch fire, but I got angry."
"Oh! Why?" Xu Wei asked.
Chen Lian said, "Today someone said that if you want land, you have your life. That person is a well-known vicious person in Songjiang Prefecture. In addition, some people say that the Lord is more cruel than the Japanese pirates."
"That's not right." Xu Wei said, "They are even more cruel than the Japanese pirates. How can this sound threatening?"
"It is a threat!" Chen Lian smiled bitterly, "Where do you think those pirates came from? Except for a few who are real Japanese, most of them are unemployed vagrants in the southeast, or lazy people. These people have a lot of connections with the local big families."
"Tell me." Xu Wei invited him to sit in the study, got some pickled broad beans brought from the capital, and tasted the beans while drinking.
"It tastes good." Chen Lian ate a few pickled broad beans, "It's more authentic than the ones from Shaoxing. The ones from Shaoxing are too strong and salty."
"Mr. Bo made it himself." Xu Wei said with a smile, "Want to eat it?"
This is to ask Chen Lian about his attitude afterwards.
Although Chen Lian bowed his head, it is still unknown what his position will be in the future.
This person is the prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, and is also a local official. If he goes further, he can return to Beijing to take up an important position, or if he stays in the local area, he can also be the deputy of the governor, or other important positions.
By pulling Chen Lian over, Jiang's faction will be able to gain a foothold.
This chess game, from simple to complex, is the process of power expansion.
Jiang Qingzhi was busy, and many things had to be taken care of by Xu Wei and others. Xu Wei observed the officials of Songjiang Prefecture for a long time, and wanted to find a few officials with potential, but he didn't expect that the one with the most potential was Chen Lian.
Songjiang Prefecture was the sphere of influence of the Xu family. Xu Fan was greedy and frantically annexed land. If it were another official, he would have been completely defeated and simply joined the corrupt. But Chen Lian was different.
Chen Lian raised his head and asked, "I wonder what the Lord thinks of me?"
How does the Chiang faction position me?
This is very important.
But these words were meant to bargain. If it were someone from the Yan Party, they would definitely scold him for being ungrateful.
But Xu Wei smiled and said, "My Lord said that the Xu family is greedy. He thought that most of the officials in Songjiang Prefecture were corrupt when he went south this time. He didn't expect that there would be someone who could stay clean."
This statement refers to Chen Lian.
Chen Lian was slightly moved.
"He was able to deal with the Xu family without offending Xu Fan, and Xu Fan even regarded him as his confidant. At the same time, he was able to quietly delay the Xu family's annexation of land... Chen Lian is not a simple person!"
Xu Wei looked at Chen Lian, raised his glass,
"This is what the uncle said himself. I did not add or subtract a single word."
Chen Lian's eyes welled up with tears. He turned his head away and said, "Wen Chang, being an official... is difficult!"
Xu Wei nodded, "I know, so after following Master Bo, I have no plans to become an official."
The same is true for Hu Zongxian.
"My uncle has a broad mind and a long-term vision. Following my uncle, I will have plenty of opportunities to put what I have learned into practice."
Chen Lian took a deep breath, "Someone is planning to collude with the Japanese pirates!"
Xu Wei stood up suddenly, "Who?"
"I don't know. But the news is confirmed." Chen Lian said, "I came to ask the Lord for instructions... on the next steps."
Xu Wei's eyes lit up and he nodded, "Follow me."
The two went to the backyard.
Jiang Qingzhi is reading a letter.
Xu Wei came in and winked, "My Lord, Prefect Chen is here."
Jiang Qingzhi put down the letter.
Chen Lian saluted.
"Chen Lian, meet the uncle!"
Not this officer.
Not the old man.
But, real name.
This means to surrender.
(End of this chapter)
