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

In the evening, the temperature in Hangzhou city finally dropped a few degrees.

Many figures appeared in the back hall of the governor's office.

"What a rebellion! Today, more than sixty spineless people actually went to the prefectural government office to register and hand over the operating expenses!"

In the back hall, Hangzhou deputy general Wang Lei spoke first, his face looking very angry!

"A bunch of ignorant people who dared to disobey the orders of the governor, they will regret it sooner or later!"

Soon, people in the audience echoed the sentiment.

For a moment, there was a lot of discussion in the back hall.

"How are the other merchants doing?"

Suddenly, Governor Chen Hanzhi spoke, immediately attracting the attention of everyone present.

"To answer your Excellency's question, except for those sixty or so cowardly people, all other businesses are operating normally."

"But this afternoon, a large number of convoys arrived outside Hangzhou."

Wang Lei responded quickly.

"Convoy?"

Chen Hanzhi was a little surprised. Until now, no one had reported this news to him.

"Yes, the convoy was carrying a large amount of food and some very heavy equipment, all of which were placed in the prefectural government office by Xia Yun."

Wang Lei added truthfully.

Where does he get so much food?

Chen Hanzhi was a little confused. He still remembered that when Xia Yun first took office, he brought hundreds of thousands of loads of food and fodder.

Could it be sent by the imperial court?

No, if it was disaster relief grain allocated by the imperial court, there would have been a report sent to Zhejiang in advance.

Could it be the food from Xia Yun’s own family?

After a moment, Chen Hanzhi shook his head.

Since he couldn't figure out the reason, he simply ignored the matter.

"Don't worry, Governor. I heard that the salt merchant Mr. Zhou's family has written a letter to the ministers in the court, impeaching Xia Yun for crimes such as deceiving the emperor and abusing power."

"I think by now, the young minister has already reported the truth to His Majesty, and the imperial court will issue an order soon."

At this time, in the back hall, a red-robed official who was at the head of the right side suddenly spoke.

Immediately afterwards, some officials present echoed the voice.

"Lord Zhao is right. The Zhou family has a very good relationship with the young elder. Xia Yun has captured the head of the Zhou family, and the young elder will definitely not let Xia Yun go."

"..."

Hearing this, Chen Hanzhi's brows instantly relaxed a lot.

"With the young minister in charge, everything will be fine. But Lord Zhao, I remember that you submitted a petition to the court last time to raise 200,000 dan of food and grass for disaster relief. I wonder where the food and grass is now?"

Chen Hanzhi asked immediately.

This was because this person was none other than Zuo Anning, the provincial governor of Zhejiang.

"Haha, Lord Chen, don't worry. The young minister has issued an order to mobilize 200,000 dan of grain and grass from the two provinces of Huguang, which have never been affected by disasters, to be shipped to Zhejiang. I think it will arrive soon."

Zuo Anning was calm and composed, without a trace of worry on his face.

In fact, the memorial about him previously submitted to the court was purely fabricated on the spur of the moment by the Junior Minister and others.

The purpose was to keep his position as the provincial governor and prevent it from falling into the hands of others.

"It's so good, so good."

Chen Hanzhi nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

With those 200,000 dan of grain and fodder, one good thing could cover up a hundred bad things, and his governor's office could be considered to have made a contribution to disaster relief.

However, Chen Hanzhi only relaxed for a few breaths.

Suddenly, a servant with a panicked look on his face hurriedly opened the door and appeared in the back hall.

Chen Hanzhi originally wanted to scold the servants for not knowing the rules.

But the words that came out of the servants' mouths next were like a thunderclap falling on the ground, instantly exploding the entire back hall!

"Sir, this is bad! The prefectural government has sent soldiers to seal off all unregistered businesses and shops in Hangzhou! Even factories and taverns have been sealed off!"

The servant spoke hurriedly.

When everyone in the field heard this, an expression of astonishment flashed across their faces.

"This is impossible! How could Xia Yun be so brave! How dare he close down all the shops in the city?!"

Then someone exclaimed.

"Sir, it is absolutely true! All the merchants who tried to resist were arrested and thrown into the dungeon of the prefectural government! There are still a large number of merchants on their way to the prefectural government dungeon!"

The servant was very anxious, fearing the officials present, and quickly opened the door again.

As expected, there were bursts of noise coming from outside the governor's office alone!

"Snapped!"

Seeing this situation, Chen Hanzhi became furious instantly, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground, breaking into pieces with a snap!

"Wang Lei, immediately select five hundred soldiers and follow this governor to the prefectural government office!"

"Yes!"

Chen Hanzhi and Wang Lei sang the same tune, and at this point in time, Chen Hanzhi could no longer sit back and relax.

Whether for public or private reasons, he had to go to the prefectural government to ask for an explanation.

Soon, Wang Lei gathered five hundred soldiers, led by Chen Hanzhi himself, and left the governor's office in a mighty manner.

Most of the other officials followed.

As expected, soon after they left the governor's office, they saw the streets in chaos!

......

On the other side, the prefectural government office.

Fifty banquet tables were set up on an open space, and all the soldiers and servants in the government office were busy cleaning inside and out.

At the same time, batches of Hangzhou merchants who resisted the government were taken to the prefectural prison by a team led by Jiang Wenzhong and detained.

"Well done, brothers. Hurry up and catch him. After that, we can eat meat and drink together!"

Chong Heihu, who had just arrived in Hangzhou City, did not participate in the capture operation. At this time, he was busy directing the soldiers to set up the banquet scene.

Xia Yun, the prefect, was sitting in the court, listening to Xu Wan'er reporting to him on the progress of the arrest.

"So far, Hangzhou's three largest grain merchants, five largest silk merchants, and 123 restaurant owners have all been thrown into dungeons. The remaining merchants who resisted and were thrown into dungeons total 328."

While Xu Wan'er was reporting, she also added the number of new detainees.

"Where are the four major salt merchants in Hangzhou? Why can't we see them?"

Xia Yun raised his eyebrows. He didn't believe that those big salt merchants would willingly let him close their shops and salt warehouses.

"We did capture quite a few people from the four major salt merchant families, but we didn't see the leaders of the four major salt merchants."

Xu Wan'er shook her head, feeling a little regretful.

The four major salt merchants in Hangzhou have the highest status among all the merchants in Hangzhou. If the leader of the four major salt merchants can be caught, it will definitely be a heavy blow to other Hangzhou merchants.

However, just when Xu Wan'er and Xia Yun thought that the leader of the four major salt merchants would be arrested, a loud shout came from outside the court, instantly eliminating the regrets in their hearts.

"Your Excellency! The four major salt merchants in Hangzhou have been captured!"

Hearing this, Xia Yun and Xu Wan'er's eyes lit up at the same time.

They naturally recognized the source of the voice. It was not someone else, but Jiang Wenzhong.

Sure enough, after just a few breaths, Jiang Wenzhong led a group of soldiers and appeared in the court, suppressing four old men!