"Our first assistant is really extraordinary."

"Can the average person serve as the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty in his twenties?" "Humph, it's just luck, if it were me."

Listening to everyone chattering, one person finally couldn't help but burst out: "Stop talking, it's already at this time, you are still talking about these useless things. Millions of water workers have been pulled out by Zhang Haogu with a belt.

Without the waterworks, we have lost our last chance. If the Jinyiwei find us, who in Caishikou will be able to escape?"

After hearing this, several people fell silent. Yes, millions of canal workers were gone, and the last capital and hope of a comeback were gone. What else could they do now to deal with the court, the Dog Emperor, and that Zhang Haogu?

?

The room fell into silence, and only the dim candlelight was still swaying, bringing only a little light and warmth to the room.

Han Jiu said: "The situation on my side is not very good. The person named Li is already scared. He didn't support me in the first place. If it weren't for the people named Fan and Wang dragging him down, he wouldn't be able to survive today.

If he can't bear the pressure and collapses and begs for death, then we will all be exposed."

Gu Qi rubbed his brows: "It's the same on my side. Those people, let them be greedy for ink and eat cards. If they are good at it, let them do big things. Do they have the ability? If it weren't for the Governor of Water Transport, he has been trapped and can't get out.

, we probably don’t even have anyone we can trust.”

Ye Shen asked: "What do you think of the man named Yang? He is a dignified governor of water transportation, so he won't be out of cards, right?"

Han Jiu said: "I'm afraid he really has no cards left. The Governor of Water Transport supervises water transport. He also has over 100,000 water transport guards in his hands. But what's the use of those guards? There are one hundred and twenty guards.

Of the 120,000 canal transport troops, are there half of them now?"

After saying this, everyone was completely silent.

Yes, there are one hundred and twenty guard posts, with jurisdiction over 120,000 water transport troops and horses, and one million water transport workers. They hold the canal, the lifeline of the north and south, and control the important town for the transfer of money and grain for the Ming Dynasty. It looks majestic, but once the water transport

If there is any movement in the Yamen, the whole world will be shaken.

But that was before, not now.

The prestige of the Caoyun Yamen was ruined by themselves.

Zhu Si said calmly: "Everyone, if I were you, I would pack my bags and prepare to leave now. The water transport yamen is no longer reliable. It is ridiculous to expect them to succeed."

Gu Qi sneered: "We expect the Water Transport Yamen to succeed? We just hope that he can hold on a little longer, bring more trouble to the Dog Emperor, and make the people in the cabinet miserable. Now that they have completely failed, we should leave, otherwise

When the Jin Yiwei arrives, none of us will be able to leave."

Han Jiu added: "Before we leave, we have to create some trouble for Jinyiwei. Finally, we must come up with a way to let Caoyun Yamen completely confront the Dog Emperor to attract attention."

The few people made a plan and started to act separately again. This time they were for their own escape route.

In the Governor's Palace of Water Transport, the current Governor of Water Transport Yang Peng has a gloomy face. He is a dignified second-rank official of the Ming Dynasty and has the same level as the Six Ministers. He is usually upright and majestic. He has said something about the canal up and down.

Come to think of it, none of the merchants and gentry who are based in Huai'an or the Jianghuai area can come to pay their respects to the wharf.

He has a soft hand on all kinds of filial piety, etiquette, work, shops, etc. He controls the water transportation in his hands and controls the water transportation army along the way. He Yang Peng can be said to be the local emperor of the Jianghuai land, salt merchants, and grain merchants, all of whom are worth a fortune.

Yi, aren't you a little chicken in front of yourself?

But now, the once majestic Governor of Water Transport of the Ming Dynasty looks as miserable as a dog.

The salt merchants and grain merchants who usually fawned over him were gone, and other merchants were avoiding him. Even within the water transport yamen, there were various voices. The water transport yamen and river yamen everywhere were about to collapse.

situation.

All this stems from the confrontation between the water transport and the imperial court. The water transport failed, it was a complete defeat, and it was a complete defeat. With just a few decrees from the court, the millions of water workers that the water transport yamen relied on were transferred to other places. Without these millions

Waterworkers, how can they compete with the imperial court over water transport?

Although not all of the millions of water workers are young and strong, leaving aside the old ones

More than 70% of the young people are still young and strong. If these people are well mobilized, they will be no less than a million-strong army.

But now that there are no water workers, the water transport yamen and river yamen in various places have to act independently. He can't even control the water transport, so what can he do to fight with the court?

Now the imperial court seems to be taking no action, but isn't this a call for a storm to come?

"Your Majesty the Governor, we may not have no last resort."

After hearing this, Yang Peng raised his head, glanced at the visitor, and snorted coldly: "What else is the last resort?"

The visitor said to himself: "The reason why the imperial court pays less and less attention to water transportation is simply because of the benefits of the Chi Road. With the Chi Road, there is no need to worry about water transportation. But the North-South Chi Road has not yet been repaired.

It won’t be completed within two or three years. So how can the imperial court rely on transporting rice grains for millions of people to Zhili during such a long period of time?”

Yang Peng nodded, thoughtfully: "That's good, but in your opinion, what should we do?"

The visitor said: "Do nothing." "Do nothing?" Yang Peng was confused.

The visitor smiled and said: "Yes, we are doing nothing. Because the various yamen and river yamen of water transport have become disobedient, the entire water transport has been paralyzed, not to mention that millions of water transport workers are gone, who will go to Zhili

Transporting grain? Can Zhili survive for a while? How long can it last?"

"Right now, it's not us who are riding a tiger, but the imperial court and the emperor. We simply don't do anything and just let the imperial court embarrass us."

As he said that, the visitor casually mentioned: "Sir Governor, if I were you, in this situation, the water transportation yamen and river yamen in various places are unreliable, so I just hold the troops directly. Don't forget that there are 120 guards in the water transportation.

So, after laying off the old, weak, sick and disabled, there are still tens of thousands of elites. Including those from the Cao Gang, the number is at least 70,000 or 80,000. How can these people sit on the cloud platform and watch the court without anyone they can rely on?

What a joke."

Yang Peng's heart was moved, and he had to admit that he was indeed moved.

A moment of greed will lead to a gap that is difficult to fill.

He has come so far that he can no longer hold back, and as soon as the confrontation with the imperial court begins, he has no way out. If someone really takes him back to Shuntian Mansion, he will end up not only being skinned and used as grass, but also being cut into pieces.

If we can take advantage of the current situation when water transportation is completely paralyzed and various places are in dire straits to hold on to the troops and horses of water transportation, then it is not impossible to protect ourselves.

At worst, if he takes people to sea, he can still dominate overseas.

"You're right, you're right, this is the only thing we can do now, you're right," Yang Peng murmured to himself, as if he was stunned.

And the person who came had already left quietly. He had finished the last things and was now preparing to take advantage of the chaos to leave.

"Pack up your money and sell everything that can be sold. Just keep the gold and silver jewelry that are easy to carry and sell. You can easily take them away when the time comes. Don't ask for any clothes, land deeds, or large objects. Keep some gold and silver, and keep the treasures.

We’ve got all the money with us. We’ll have to use this thing when we go out. We need to leave as soon as possible.”

Not only in Huai'an, there are people all over the Jianghuai River who are busy cleaning up. The water transportation yamen and the river yamen, how majestic they once were, are now in such a mess, which perfectly explains what it is like when a tree falls and the hozens are scattered.

Those involved were all selling their shops, properties, and houses, and were only concentrating on packing up their gold and silver so they could escape.

The place to escape is also very clear, it is Nanyang!

Nowadays, Nanyang is undergoing great development, merchants are gathering, good and bad are mixed, and various dynamic societies have emerged one after another. Nanyang is now a hot land, and the status of Ming people is very high. It is not a problem to go to Nanyang and become a gentry and rich man.

This is what Master Fan and Master Wang are planning now.

They were not stupid. They knew that the canal work was gone and the court liquidation was coming soon. Therefore, they immediately began to sell off their property, including houses, land, and shops that should be sold. At the same time, they prepared gold and silver and waited for them to be cleared.

The wealth is gone.

But just as they were about to sell their shop and land, people from the Yamen appeared and sealed their shop. Master Fan and Master Wang were dumbfounded.

"what's the situation?!"

"It is said that it is an official document from the tax office of the Ministry of Household Affairs, asking all localities to strictly investigate tax evasion. Our shop has been closed because of tax evasion!"

"this"

Master Fan and Master Wang almost lost their temper. Tax evasion and tax evasion were caught?!

"You can't go to the bank. The shop has been sealed. Then our bank account is probably also blocked. We don't want the money. Take the gold and silver and leave quickly!"

"Yes, hurry up and go!"

Fortunately, even if these shops are not sold, there is still money in hand.

After all, there has been corruption in the past years, and since the court did not allow the purchase of real estate, I have more money in my hands. I have all kinds of gold and silver at home. These are hard currencies. If I just take them away, I can live a prosperous life.

So Mr. Fan and Mr. Wang prepared to take their gold and silver, their families and their families in a carriage and hurried out towards the coast. When they arrived at the coastal port, they could leave on a merchant ship.

When the Jianghuai area was in confusion, Zhang Haogu was already sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai in the Shuntian Mansion of the capital, flipping through the books calmly.

Huang Zongxi read to Zhang Haogu the news from various places: "Yuanfu, all provincial water conservancy and official road projects have been launched. It has absorbed 300,000 water workers, and construction has now begun. In order to appease the water workers, the provinces

I gave the water workers a month's monthly payment in advance, and the water workers and their families have stabilized."

Zhang Haogu nodded slightly: "Well, yes, 300,000 households have been stabilized. Projects in various provinces have been launched in a hurry, and there are always some oversights. Let the Ministry of Industry send people to guide them carefully. The court and the provinces have spent a lot of thought on these projects.

If it fails to be inspected by then, it won’t look good.”

Huang Zongxi continued: "As for the four sections of Chi Road in the south, preliminary construction has now begun. A total of 150,000 people have been recruited, and the land is currently being leveled."

Zhang Haogu said with a smile: "This Chi Road in the south has been explored by the imperial court a long time ago. This Chi Road runs through the north and south, connecting Shuntian and Yingtian. It is the core trunk. It was planned to be built in a few years, but now it is not possible to build it.

Good. Anyway, God may not necessarily give the court more face in the future. Projects in various places have been launched, which can also relieve a lot of pressure and allow the people to have something to do."

Huang Zongxi flipped through the pages: "The area between the two lakes, the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River has begun to build factories and warehouses along the river. Each major chamber of commerce has established its own project, and it will attract 200,000 water workers."

"Three hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, one hundred and fifty thousand, totaling 650,000 water workers and 650,000 households." Zhang Haogu read this number and nodded slowly.

Yes, it is true that there are millions of canal workers, but it is not true that all the millions of canal workers went to gather and make trouble. If all the millions of canal workers were really mobilized, then the first thing the court would do

It’s time to suppress and maintain stability.

In fact, among the millions of canal workers, 700,000 to 800,000 people were mobilized. However, if you throw away the young people who are passionate and have no brains, and then throw away the old ones, the remaining young and middle-aged people are the most important to the court.
To be continued...