Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

After leaving Zhang Zhenzhou, Chen Congyun and the others became increasingly smug and confident.

"President Chen, the imperial court has blocked all the official roads in Jiangnan and Huainan. I'm afraid the people we've deployed over the years won't dare to stop us. Should we go into hiding?"

One person cautiously approached and asked with some concern.

Chen Congyun nodded and chuckled twice: "Hehe, Patriarch Liu, our Crown Prince is so proud and has come to cause us trouble in such a grand manner. If we don't give him some face, it will be awkward for everyone."

“Recently, everyone should take good care of the factories they are in, especially those in the inner factories. They must keep a close eye on them and make sure there are no problems. Once the storm has passed at the court, we will come out again... Since the court wants us to do big business, how can we not give them face? When the time comes, we can send some of those good things to the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. Wouldn't it be a breeze for our clan members to take the imperial examinations?”

Everyone's minds were filled with images of future clan members becoming pillars of the government, wielding power over the fate of their respective regions, and an unnatural blush rose on their faces.

They all excitedly cupped their hands in greeting to Chen Congyun and congratulated each other.

"If that day ever comes, it will all be thanks to Chairman Chen. The Shen family of Huzhou will certainly follow Chairman Chen's lead..."

"The He family of Yuanzhou is willing to do everything in its power to assist Chairman Chen, even if it means striving for the position of prime minister or higher!"

"The same applies to the Ming family of Tanzhou!"

"......"

Everyone immediately bowed to Chen Congyun on the spot, and the words they uttered on the street were enough to frighten the merchants and officials from other regions to death.

Did these merchants from Jiangnan and Huainan eat some kind of dragon gall and phoenix marrow?

Otherwise, how could they be so ignorant and arrogant?

"Ahhh! My husband, I'm in so much pain, I'm in so much pain, just kill me, just kill me..."

Zhang Zhenzhou, a seven-foot-tall man, a tough guy who emerged from the chaos of war, looked at his wife, who had followed him through thick and thin since their humble beginnings and had even nearly lost her life several times, now writhing on the bed like a demon.

The hand that had never trembled even when killing was now shaking like a leaf.

The maid had already been driven out.

He rushed forward and embraced his wife, feeling the skin and bones in her hands, and his heart felt as if it were being torn apart by a thousand sharp blades.

"Qingyu, don't be afraid, your husband is here. With your husband here, you'll feel better soon..."

The burly man, with tears streaming down his face, comforted her while his hands trembled as he opened the brocade box Chen Congyun had given him. Inside were neatly arranged pieces of brown ointment, each about the size of a thumb.

Upon seeing this, Qingyu, who had been struggling in Zhang Zhenzhou's arms, reacted as if a hyena had seen flesh and blood.

He instantly revealed a crazed expression that seemed inhuman.

"Ah! Husband, quick, give me a breath, husband! Ah! I feel so uncomfortable, hurry!"

The hoarse, even increasingly shrill screams were completely unlike the gentle and graceful woman from Jiangnan that Zhang Zhenzhou remembered. This made his hand, which was gripping the poison, tremble even more violently.

He gritted his teeth.

Deep down, he already knew that the thing that the villain Chen Congyun had given him was nothing more than a poison that devoured people's hearts.

But without this thing, his wife was living a life worse than death every day.

As the flame inside the glass lampshade scorched the paste in the pipe, emitting a nauseating odor, Qingyu, who had been struggling, suddenly seemed to calm down.

In the pitch-black night, Zhang Zhenzhou stood at the door, glancing back at his emaciated wife on the bed, his fists clenching tightly.

A name was squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Chen Congyun..."

.......

Li Chengqian squinted as he looked at the report that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had once again delivered, while listening to Qianlou's report beside him. His expression grew increasingly gloomy.

"You mean, after learning that we had blocked the official roads, many officials in both regions actually took the initiative to send messages to this Chen Congyun?!"

"Not bad!" Qianlou's expression was also not good.

The new policies have been in effect for nearly ten years since they began in Taiyuan Prefecture.

It has been implemented at the local level for four or five years.

Regions like Jiangnan and Huainan were already very favorable in terms of geography and resources, so a considerable number of young officials were sent to these places through the imperial examinations.

Even so, with the imperial court making such a grand show of dealing with Jiangnan Circuit, as if it were to quell the rebellion, these officials' first thought was not to cooperate with the court.

Instead, they informed that Chen Congyun!

Li Chengqian took a deep breath: "What is the background of this Chen Congyun?"

Qianlou presented Li Chengqian with the information he had gathered about Chen Congyun.

"Chen Congyun, courtesy name Xunzhen, was a native of Hongzhou in Jiangnan Circuit. He participated in the imperial examinations several times during the Wude era but failed. He then inherited his family's traditional Chinese medicine shop. At that time, the imperial court encouraged the development of the local pharmaceutical industry. Chen Congyun used his ancestral property as collateral to obtain a bank loan of 50,000 strings of cash. He left Hongzhou under the pretext of going to Linyi, Siam and other places to find medicinal materials."

"Then, while passing through Lingnan Road, he happened to meet an Arab merchant..."

After that, the information provided by the Embroidered Uniform Guard became increasingly vague and limited.

Qianlou felt somewhat guilty: "Your Highness, I not only placed people in Chen Congyun's household, but also in the homes of all the members of the Jin Fu Society in Jiangnan. However, either we haven't had the opportunity to investigate further, or... we've lost contact with them."

On the back of Li Chengqian's hand, which was gripping the document, the veins throbbed twice.

If contact has been lost, then the situation is likely dire.

"Hehe, the talents I painstakingly cultivated over several years have already been bribed to this extent after only one or two years in the field. This Chen Congyun certainly has some tricks up his sleeve!"

Li Chengqian was smiling, but his seemingly complimentary words contained a chilling killing intent.

"Have Zhang Zhenzhou, the governor of Hongzhou, and Li Xiyu, the governor of Shuzhou, made any moves?"

Qianlou pondered for a moment: "The latest message from Zhang Zhenzhou, the governor of Hongzhou, via carrier pigeon says that Chen Congyun once brought people to our door. We didn't find out what they talked about, but the Jin Fu Society that Chen Congyun established afterward obtained development documents for the mineral resources around Hongzhou... not contracts, but acquisitions!"

"Bang! How dare you!"

Li Zhi and Li Zhen, who were standing nearby, could no longer bear to listen.

Among the princes, both men were considered to have good tempers, but upon hearing this news, they were both quite angry at the merchants and officials of Jiangnan Circuit.

"Your Majesty, this Zhang Zhenzhou must be executed by slow slicing!"

Li Zhi was so angry that he trembled all over.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath and looked at Qianlou: "And then? What about Li Xiyu?"

Qianlou gritted his teeth: "Li Xiyu, the governor of Shuzhou, colluded with local wealthy merchants to kill several prefecture and county governors who were trying to persuade him to surrender, and also seized the military power of the surrounding canal transport naval forces!"