Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Jingshan County came from Yundu County in the early Han Dynasty. It was first called "Jingshan" in the third year of Daye in the Sui Dynasty. It was named because of the Yuanshan Mountain in the city.

Although Jingshan City has an earthen wall, it is more than a foot high. Bluestone brick roads run through the four gates of the city. The shops on the main street are quite prosperous, and the south of the city is even more lively.

"Don't be too crowded, just line up one by one!"

"Don't worry, everyone, do we still have plenty of salt?"

"Don't worry, as long as our store is still open, we will never increase prices indiscriminately!"

…

A salt store in the south of the city was crowded with people who came to buy salt. Two waiters with sharp cameras were selling salt while shouting to the eager crowd.

Most of the people here were wearing shabby clothes. Although they seemed anxious, they lined up in an orderly manner, looking longingly at the white salt piled up in the store.

At this time, the white salt fell into their eyes, just like gold with golden light.

Salt is a dilemma faced by many of them. After getting money in exchange for this autumn, they all want to buy salt so that they can live a stable life.

After buying salt, an old man looked very excited and said: "A pound of salt in Anlu Prefecture costs 500 Wen. Today, the price of salt in Jingshan County is only 250 Wen per pound. It's like a living Buddha!" "

"Of course, our shopkeeper is kind-hearted. Even if he makes little money, he still wants to let everyone eat low-priced salt!" The waiter who was working looked at the people queuing up and asked for his shopkeeper's name.

Shopkeeper Zhao, who was lying on a bamboo chair and drinking tea leisurely, couldn't help but reach out and pinch his mustache, looking very proud of himself.

The two waiters in the store worked very neatly. After putting the salt into the bag, they also tied it with a nice knot, so that customers would not be prone to spilling the salt.

Salt nowadays can be said to be comparable to gold.

Although Jingshan County is located in a remote part of Huguang, the price of salt here is lower than that of surrounding areas, which attracts many people from other counties to buy salt, which also helps increase the popularity of the entire Jingshan City.

Li Si saw an old man in civilian clothes coming to buy salt with an extraordinary bearing, and greeted him very enthusiastically: "Sir, how many kilograms of salt do you want?"

"Do you still remember this man? Did he ever come to buy salt from you?" The old man in civilian clothes was tall and handsome. He took out a portrait from his arms and asked.

Li Si looked at the person in the portrait and couldn't help but marveled: "It's strange, although you use very little ink, you can draw more vividly than the government painters! I remember this old man, he came to us a few days ago I bought salt in my store, and I wanted to buy a pound of it with 240 Wen!"

"Did you sell it to him?" The old man calmly took back the portrait and asked seriously.

Li Si turned around and looked at the shopkeeper with a guilty look, then nodded solemnly and said: "Well, the shopkeeper is kind-hearted and asked me to sell it to him!"

"Master, are you here to buy salt? If you don't want to buy it, please leave. Don't stop the people behind you!" The shopkeeper who was drinking tea noticed this and said calmly.

The price of salt he sells now is so low that he has no rivals in the entire Jingshan County or even the entire Anlu Prefecture, so there is no need to worry about not being able to sell the salt in his hand, so there is no need to look down upon this commoner old man.

"Buy!" The old man in common clothes took out his money and said happily.

Li Si thought he had met a rich customer, but when he saw that he was handed only two hundred and fifty cents, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, put away the money and started weighing the salt.

It's already October, and although the sun is shining overhead, the temperature is still very low.

"Grandpa, should we go and meet with the magistrate of Jingshan now?" Wang Yu saw his grandfather walking over with salt, and walked forward from the teahouse to greet him.

Hu Jun was also here, looking worried.

Wang Yue handed the salt he had just bought to Hu Jun for safekeeping. He looked up at the county government office in front and said, "Let's not alarm Magistrate Xiao yet. Let's visit Hu Daniu in the prison!"

A group of people arrived at the Jingshan County Government Office. Wang Yu stuffed a few copper coins into the office staff, and then successfully entered the county jail and saw Hu Daniu who was locked up in a cell.

At this time, Hu Daniu was no longer the number one expert in harvesting rice from all over the country. The wound on his forehead had not yet healed, and he looked sickly. He seemed to have suffered a lot these days.

"Grandpa!" Hu Jun said with tears streaming down his face when he saw Hu Daniu's appearance.

When Hu Daniu saw Hu Jun, he was also in tears. But when he saw Wang Yue coming, he was immediately ashamed and said: "How could the old man bother the prince so much? It's just that the prince doesn't need to worry about the old man. The old man brings the blame on himself this time!"

An honest villager in Anlu Prefecture would not come to Jingshan County, but this matter has to start with the price of salt.

When the price of salt in Anlu Prefecture was still high, the price of salt in Jingshan County was only 250 wen, a full 150 wen less.

Hu Daniu and the villagers were all people who had endured hardships. After harvesting rice and exchanging some money, several of them went to Jingshan County to buy salt.

Although they could only eat dry food to satisfy their hunger during the journey, drink unclean water from the roadside when they were thirsty, and even had to sleep in the wild, the group finally arrived at Jingshan County successfully after two days of trekking.

After Hu Daniu bought the salt, he went to the nearby teahouse to beg for a bowl of crude tea, and prepared to drink the tea before embarking on his return journey.

But while he was drinking tea, the bag of salt he had just placed on the table disappeared. There was only a scholar around him who was holding a bag of salt and was about to leave.

Sitting in the cell, Hu Daniu looked full of regret and said: "The old man was also blinded by pork at that time. He only thought that the scholar had taken the old man's salt. He actually didn't listen to the other party's explanation and was so angry that he injured someone on the spot! What if? If I had been calmer at that time, I would have known that it was a misunderstanding. How could this scholar steal the old man's salt?"

Wang Yu learned the ins and outs of the matter and found that the matter was very difficult. He couldn't help but turn his head and look at his very smart grandfather.

Wang Yue didn't say much. After coming out of the county jail, he met with the magistrate of Jingshan County.

The name of the magistrate of Jingshan County is Xiao Zhang. He was a Jinshi for 20 years in Chenghua. He was the magistrate of Jingshan County for the first time. Now he is nearly fifty years old and there is not much hope for his official career.

"Uncle Nian, I have just verified this case. The scholar's name is Liu Jiamo, a child born in this county. He went to the salt store to buy salt, and then went to the teahouse next to him to drink tea. There are witnesses to this. He was about to leave that day. At the teahouse, Hu Daniu openly robbed him of salt and was even beaten by Hu Daniu. The county did not expect that this outsider would be so lawless. He will be severely punished when he goes to court tomorrow!" When Xiao Zhixian saw Wang Yue , is to tell the whole story.

The network of relationships in the officialdom is far beyond imagination, and it is possible to "connect with relatives and friends" at every turn.

Wang Yue was a Jinshi in the 5th year of Jingtai, while Xiao Zhixian was a Jinshi in the 20th year of Chenghua. It seems that the two people have nothing in common, but Peng Hua, the examiner who presided over the 20th year of the Chenghua examination, was a Jinshi of the 5th year of Jingtai. First.

Even though Peng Hua was closely related to other high-ranking officials in the imperial court, his elder brother Peng Shi was the number one scholar in the orthodox 13th year, so Peng Shi was friends with Wan An and Liu Ji in the same year.

No matter how life-and-death the civil service group fights, the intersection of blood lines of "teachers and students, fellow villagers and fellow students" remains an inseparable whole.

Wang Yue took a sip of tea and asked quickly, "I'm confused about something. Why is the salt here so much cheaper than in Anlu Prefecture?"

"Uncle Nian, do you know who Anlu Zhizhou belongs to?" Xiao Zhixian did not answer the question directly, but asked very seriously.

Although Wang Yue disdains collusion, he also knows that there are many factions in the officialdom, and Wan'an's rise to power has also arranged for a large number of party members to govern the place.

Faced with this question, he nodded with understanding and said: "Wan Zhizhou is the nephew of the middle son of the Wan'an tribe, the chief minister of the dynasty, so he is naturally from Wan'an."

"Wan'an only knows how to flatter people and flatter his superiors. He is in a high position and does not seek to achieve anything. He is even more greedy towards his subordinates. Every year, he makes countless money from the people below. When Wan Zhizhou takes office, he collects the benefits of the salt merchants, so Let the salt dealers just sit there and raise the price. The salt in Jingshan is not cheap, but the salt in Anlu Prefecture is expensive. This county is just doing its duty!" Xiao Zhi County criticized Wan Zhi Prefecture Road.

Wang Yue knew that Wan Zhizhou's reputation was really bad, so he held a cup of tea and said straight to the point: "I'll be honest with Xiao Zhixian! Hu Daniu has some friendship with me. It's too early to say that he is robbing salt and hurting others. How can you judge this matter?" Isn’t it true that Liu Jiamo made false accusations?”

"Your Majesty, come and be safe!"

At this moment, an old man in rich clothes walked in from outside and greeted Wang Yue proactively.