At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

In just half a day, everything Xia Yun did in the prefectural government office once again caused a disturbance in Hangzhou city.

First, Xia Yun ordered the arrest of Zhou Wendi, one of the four major salt merchants, without any explanation, which shocked a group of Hangzhou merchants.

But immediately afterwards, the four major salt merchant families in Hangzhou came forward together and brought the matter directly to the governor's office.

Secondly, the work-for-relief regulations promulgated by the prefectural government aroused cheers from countless disaster victims in Hangzhou.

Since ancient times, the imperial court’s disaster relief has mostly been in the form of grain relief.

Until the famine ended and the farming season arrived, the people began to plant seeds and sow again and support themselves.

This was the first time that the people of Hangzhou had encountered a work-for-relief program like Xia Yun's, where wages were paid every day.

Therefore, once the order was issued, all the disaster victims in Hangzhou City actively cooperated with the registration, and the whole process went very smoothly.

……

In the back hall of the governor's office, Chen Hanzhi listened to various reports from his subordinates, his face changing from gloomy to bright.

However, at this moment, the other officials in the back hall all had an expression of gloating on their faces.

"Don't worry, sir. Xia Yun arrested the master of the Zhou family with the intention of killing a chicken to scare the monkey, but he underestimated the four major salt merchants in Hangzhou."

"You have to know that the salt trading rights of these four major salt merchant families were granted by the late emperor. How can Xia Yun, alone, go against the will of the late emperor?"

After the servant reported the situation, the judge of the governor's office spoke first.

The expression on his face was full of ridicule towards Xia Yun.

"Mr. Zhang is right. The four major salt merchant families have been entrenched in Hangzhou for many years. They have made friends with countless officials and have connections in the cabinet. Now the incident has reached the governor's office. In my opinion, Xia Yun is destined to have a difficult ending."

Wang Lei, the fourth-rank deputy general of Hangzhou, echoed the sentiment.

Previously, the governor's office suffered a loss because of the Zhang Yuandao incident. Now he finally had the chance to see Xia Yun suffer a setback, so he was naturally very happy.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the entire back hall was quite relaxed, as if everyone had seen Xia Yun's humiliating end.

After all, Governor Zhezhi was a genuine first-class provincial governor.

Even if Xia Yun had a powerful background, it would be impossible for him to fight against him.

"How is the situation with his merchants in Hangzhou?

Suddenly, Chen Hanzhi, who was sitting in the main seat and thinking, finally spoke.

"In reply to your Excellency, the merchants in Hangzhou have now gone on strike to protest the notice issued by the prefectural government."

Judge Zhang Qingquan responded quickly.

Hearing this, Chen Hanzhi nodded, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

"Send someone to inform those big households that if anyone dares to go to the prefectural government office to register and pay business taxes, they will be an enemy of me, Chen."

"Xia Yun is just a grasshopper in autumn. He won't be able to jump for a few days. Once Xia Yun is transferred away, Hangzhou will be ours."

Chen Hanzhi stroked his beard, his words full of threats.

"Your Excellency is right. I will send someone to pass on the message."

Zhang Qingquan agreed repeatedly.

"Also, send some people to keep an eye on the disaster victims and see what Xia Yun is up to. Report back if anything happens."

Chen Hanzhi then added another sentence.

"Yes, I will obey your orders."

Wang Lei clasped his hands together and accepted the order respectfully.

……

"Governor, Xia Yun's actions clearly show contempt for the imperial court and the Zhejiang officialdom. Please help us."

Inside the Governor's Mansion, four old men were sitting in the hall, all dressed in silk and satin.

The person sitting in the first seat in the hall was wearing a bright red official robe, his hair and beard were all white, and his face was dignified without even being angry.

This person was none other than the Governor of Zhezhi, Lei Zhenning.

However, Lei Zhenning's face was full of gloom at this time. He had not said a word since the four major salt merchant families came in.

"Master Lei, my Zhou family has been in the salt business for decades. Whether it's paying taxes or making up for donations, everything has been done for the court. It's a pity that my son was arrested and thrown into the prefectural prison."

At this time, the oldest of the four old men stood up tremblingly, holding a cane in his hand.

"Lord Lei, please consider my age and rescue my son from the prefectural prison. I am willing to go to prison myself."

The person who spoke was Zhou Maocheng, the old patriarch of the Zhou family, who was already in his 80s.

When he got excited, Zhou Maocheng even knelt down on the ground in front of Lei Zhenning.

"Ugh."

Finally, Lei Zhenning reacted, and a sigh came out of his mouth.

"Master Zhou, there is no need to do this. Someone, help Master Zhou up."

Lei Zhenning then gave instructions.

The soldiers on both sides hurried forward and helped Zhou Maocheng up.

"Xia Yun is the prefect of Hangzhou appointed by the imperial court, in charge of the civil affairs of the city. As the governor-general of Zhezhi, I must act in accordance with the laws of the imperial court. Regarding Xia Yun's confiscation of business rights, I will report the situation to the imperial court as soon as possible."

"As for Zhou Wendi's imprisonment, Master Zhou, don't worry too much. Xia Yun is an official appointed by the court, so he will definitely not break the law knowingly."

Lei Zhenning spoke continuously, and his words were flawless.

"May I ask, Governor General, when will my son be released from prison?"

Not getting a definite answer, Zhou Maocheng seemed a little unwilling and asked again.

Hearing this, Lei Zhenning felt a headache coming on.

"As for Zhou Wendi's matter, this governor will mediate. If Mr. Zhou is worried, he can write a letter and send someone to deliver it to the young minister in the capital, asking him to issue an order."

Lei Zhenning shook his head slowly and then said nothing more.

Upon seeing this, the representatives of the four salt merchants realized that they would not get any results, so they stopped insisting and stood up to say goodbye and left the governor's office.

After a while, Lei Zhenning sat alone, feeling helpless.

As the governor-general of Zhejiang and Nanzhili provinces, and the head of the nine governors-general of the Daliang Dynasty, he was originally the highest military and political chief in Zhejiang Province.

However, his current situation is dire straits and he is caught in a dilemma.

First, he was an official from Jiangnan and a frontier official promoted by the cabinet.

No matter what he thinks, outsiders will think he is a Jiangnan Party official.

Secondly, Zhejiang is located on the coast, and has been disturbed by Japanese pirates in recent years. Coupled with this year's famine, it can be said that it is facing both internal and external troubles.

As the governor-general of Zhejiang, he had to drive out the Japanese pirates, protect the country and pacify the civil unrest and control famine, which had already made him very busy.

Third, the censor of the Censorate made a fuss in the court last time, and the empress was quite dissatisfied with Zhejiang due to the various corruption cases in Zhejiang.

Although there were a number of officials from Jiangnan, such as the cabinet ministers, mediating in the court, he knew very well that the Daliang Kingdom was ultimately the kingdom of the empress.

Once the group of Jiangnan officials in the court lose their power, the empress will sooner or later launch a major purge!

By then, Lei Zhenning will also be caught up in it. Now, the new governor of Hangzhou, Xia Yun, is a general appointed by the empress herself in the court.

If he deliberately made things difficult for Xia Yun at this time, he would be disliked by the empress sooner or later.

With these three combined, although he is now the governor of two provinces on paper, he is unable to advance or retreat.

Therefore, he has not met Xia Yun since Xia Yun took office in Hangzhou, and all civil affairs of Hangzhou have been handed over to Xia Yun for handling, in order to avoid more trouble.

However, Xia Yun's various methods had unknowingly put him on the fire.