I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

Yecheng.

bazaar.

"Salt for sale, top quality salt, two hundred coins a pound."

A man in his thirties was heard shouting loudly, attracting people to come and ask: "Two hundred coins per catty, is it really that cheap?"

You know, the price of salt in Yecheng has now reached 600 coins per catty, and the people are forced to buy low-quality private salt.

"Really? It's two hundred coins per catty. You can buy half a catty or three or four taels, that's fine too," the man replied.

"It's so cheap, it can't be sand salt?"

Others questioned.

This so-called sand salt, which is salt mixed with many impurities, is the worst quality one.

"Absolutely not."

The man opened the sack in front of him, took out a spoonful, showed it to everyone, and said, "Look, it's crystal clear, all high-quality sea salt!"

"Then I'll take one pound."

"Give me half a pound!"

The onlookers paid money to buy it.

Salt is indispensable. If people come across cheap and good salt, they will of course rush to buy it.

"Okay, okay, come one by one." The man started to get busy.

After a moment, a rough voice was suddenly heard: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, everyone."

The people were still rushing to buy salt and didn't hear anything at all.

Suddenly, a group of burly men forcibly pulled the onlookers away and shouted, "Buy whatever you want, get out of here!"

The people were indignant at first and shouted, "Does it bother you that we buy our own things?"

"Who told you to sell salt here?"

Suddenly, a shrill sound was heard, and a shorter and thinner man walked out from behind the group of burly men.

Seeing this person, the onlookers were shocked and said, "Oh no, it's someone from the Li family."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone dispersed.

The salt seller saw that the customers had all left and immediately became angry and asked, "Why are you chasing people away?"

The thin man ignored him and shouted, "How dare you sell smuggled salt! Come on, arrest him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the followers behind him rushed forward, snatched a large bag of salt, and tried to tie up the salt seller.

"Let go! Are you government officials? Why are you arresting me?" The man struggled hard, but he couldn't break free because the other party outnumbered him.

"I'm telling you, we are Mr. Li's people. Isn't this more important than the government? Don't be unconvinced. Whether it's Jizhou Prefecture, Yuzhou Prefecture, or Jiangnan, the salt business is all owned by the Li family. Who are you and how dare you sell salt privately?"

The thin man's voice was shrill.

"Hit me!"

The thin man ordered.

The others obeyed the order and immediately started punching and kicking the man.

The man gritted his teeth and didn't utter a word to beg for mercy.

"Who has such great authority?"

Someone shouted loudly.

Everyone followed the sound.

The person who came was Jiang Zuo, followed by Ma Hengwei and Master Guo.

With such a big commotion over there, it was hard for Jiang Zuo not to be alarmed.

Seeing that Jiang Zuo and his group were only three people, the thin man said with disdain: "Who are you, little brat? Are you in the same group with him?"

"Jiang Zuo, the governor of Zhenbei, what's wrong?"

Jiang Zuo glared at the thin man.

"Jiang, Jiang what?"

The thin man was stunned.

Someone else reminded him, "It's the governor-general!"

"Yes, it's you!"

The thin man was obviously panicked, but he still relied on his power and said firmly: "So what if you are the governor-general? This is not your business."

"I am the Chief Governor. I am in charge of all affairs in Jizhou Prefecture. Do you know what crime you have committed by beating people in the street?"

Jiang Zuo said calmly.

"This man deserves to be beaten for selling contraband salt without permission." The thin man didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt.

"That is the government's business. What does it have to do with you?" Jiang Zuo asked.

The thin man said with disdain: "Our Li family is in charge of the sale of salt, and our master is the assistant of Jiangnan Salt and Tea. Do you think we should be in charge?"

Jiang Zuo said coldly: "It doesn't matter whether you are from the Liu or Li family in Jiangnan, anyone who dares to oppress the people and disregard the law will be guilty! Come, arrest these people and execute them tomorrow!"

"Execution?!"

Hearing this, the people of the Li family were stunned.

As soon as Jiang Zuo finished speaking, a group of plainclothes cavalry officers stepped forward, took control of the group of people, and escorted them to the government office.

"It seems that the Li family is quite powerful."

Jiang Zuo said silently in his heart.

"Thank you for saving me, sir!"

At this time, the man was covered in wounds, but he still knelt down to express his gratitude.

"Get up, no need to be polite."

Jiang Zuo waved his hand and said, "Don't you know that salt is a government-owned monopoly?"

The man kowtowed again and said, "I know my crime, but I had no other choice but to take the risk."

Jiang Zuo did not intend to investigate further. After all, the threat posed by these private salt dealers to the government was not as great as that tyrannical people just now.

"No need to be so polite. What's your name?" Jiang Zuo asked.

Jiang Zuo had been observing this man and found that he was not afraid at all even when facing a beating from everyone. He was truly a real man.

The man said, "My name is Huo Quan, and I am the second in command of the Jizhou Salt Gang."

The Jizhou Salt Gang, which is a gang composed of private salt dealers, has a strong underworld atmosphere, but it is just a chamber of commerce that specializes in selling private salt.

You must know that in Dayan, important materials such as salt and iron are all controlled by the imperial court, and unauthorized sale is absolutely not allowed.

However, due to the huge profits, many people took the risk and later became rich and became wealthy businessmen.

You know, the Li family, the head of the Jiangnan family, obtained so much wealth by selling contraband salt.

It’s just that the Li family is in power, and their salt trade has long been tacitly approved by the court, so they are no longer private salt dealers.

The Li family in Jiangnan almost monopolized the salt sales in half of the Yan State, and other salt gangs were often suppressed by them.

"Salt Gang?"

In Jiang Zuo's impression, it must be a big gang.

"You are selling salt here by yourself."

"You villain..." Huo Quan hesitated to speak, as if he had something to hide.

Jiang Zuo did not force the question, but turned around and ordered: "Master, buy all the salt from this brother."

Huo Quan was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately knelt down to thank him: "Thank you very much, sir! Thank you very much, sir!"

"Sir, please allow me to say a few words. The person just now was from the Jiangnan Li family!" Master Guo stepped forward and said.

"The Li family? So what? The one I want to fight is this Jiangnan family."

This so-called Jiangnan family is like a blood-sucking insect attached to the State of Yan. It will be a worry for Your Majesty until it is eliminated.

Ever since Jiang Zuo was transferred to Yecheng, he has seen the evil deeds of the Liu and Li families in Jiangnan.

"This Li Yang was originally the second son of the previous head of the family. Later, the previous head of the family passed away, and Li Yang took the opportunity to seize the position of head of the family from his eldest brother."

For every new friend or enemy, Jiang Zuo would order people to investigate their background.

He is now following the orders of the Emperor to fight against these rampant Jiangnan families!