Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 518 Arrest

After Li Weitai finished speaking, Zhang Kentang was speechless. Seeing that the opponents had stopped, Meng Jun said loudly: "How can there be a law that will last forever? The salt and iron monopoly can relieve the pressure on the people and make the national treasury sufficient. It is beneficial to the country and harmless to the people. As for whether the court monopoly will lead to corruption or inferior utensils, these problems can always be solved."

The emperor has given the conclusion himself, what else can Zhang Kentang, Liu Jiyan and others say?

Therefore, at the court meeting, the imperial court formally promulgated and implemented the salt and iron monopoly system.

From then on, Meng Jun successfully took the first step in real reform. As the saying goes, every change is followed by blood, and there is no reform without victims.

………………

Jinling City, an important city in the south of the Yangtze River, has become visibly desolate after Meng Jun and a large number of officials, soldiers, and their families left here. However, Jinling is a big city in the south of the Yangtze River after all, and it is only a matter of time before it becomes prosperous again.

As night fell and the stars rolled, the city of Jinling was immersed in silence. Only the occasional sound of drums from the city walls broke the loneliness of the night sky.

In the Qingluan Guard's government office in Jinling City, three people were sitting around a desk.

The person in the middle was none other than Lu Ping, deputy commander of the Blue Luanfeng. Lu Ping left the capital and came to Nanjing with only one important thing in mind, which was to thoroughly investigate the wealthy merchants and gentry who spread rumors in Jiangnan, and at the top of the list was the Ningbo Cao family.

Sitting on Lu Ping's right is his deputy Liang Sanjin, and sitting opposite him is Kong Wei, a captain of the Qingluan Guard stationed in Jinling. When Lu Ping came to Jiangnan to do business, he certainly could not have done without the help of Kong Wei, who has been stationed in Jinling for many years.

Today's Lu Ping is no longer the same as before. He no longer needs to set up a shop and lurk. The Qingluan Guard was established in the southeast, and the layout in the southeast is much more detailed than that in the north. Therefore, after Lu Ping summoned Kong Wei, he went straight to the point and said, "Captain Kong, have you prepared all the information about the Ningbo Cao family?"

Kong Wei quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "After receiving the urgent order from the commander, I immediately sent people to Ningbo to collect all the information about the Cao family, waiting for the commander to review it."

Lu Ping laughed and waved his hand, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. I am not the commander yet. There is only one commander of our Qingluan Guard, and that is Lord Meng!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm sorry for my words, please forgive me, sir!" Kong Wei responded quickly.

"Bring all the information here!"

"Yes, my lord."

After a long while, Lu Ping snorted, slammed a pile of documents on the table, and cursed: "You are a fool! How dare you spread rumors and fabricate stories about His Majesty, tarnishing His Majesty's reputation. You deserve to die a hundred times!"

Kong Wei hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, Cao Yin had never done this before. Since the court announced the salt and iron monopoly, Cao Yin has jumped out. Therefore, the Ningbo centurion hurriedly reported it."

After Kong Wei finished speaking, Liang Sanjin asked, "Sir, what should we do? Should we notify the Ningbo prefect?"

Lu Ping cursed, "Why are you still notifying me? This is about His Majesty, and the Qingluan Guards have no choice but to do their duty. Pass the order down and have the Ningbo Hundred Households arrest the man."

Just after he finished speaking, Lu Ping seemed to have thought of something, and stopped Kong Wei who was about to write. He frowned, as if thinking about something.

After a while, Lu Ping shook his head and said, "The Cao family is a maritime merchant, so they must have hired assassins. Even with the Ningbo Qianhu's hundred or so men, they may not be able to catch him. If something goes wrong and Cao Yin escapes, I, Lu Ping, will be so embarrassed."

Liang Sanjin heard this and asked, "Sir, do we need to request the garrison troops?"

Lu Ping rolled his eyes at Liang Sanjin and cursed, "You've grown flesh from all the food you eat, and you don't even know how to use your brain. Can we mobilize the garrison at will? Please don't mobilize. Once the documents are sent back and forth, I'll have finished my work and returned to the capital."

After cursing, Lu Ping said in a deep voice: "Gather all the best Qingluan Guards from Jinling Prefecture and Shaoxing Prefecture and rush to Ningbo immediately. Send a letter to Ningbo Qianhu, telling him that if Cao Yin escapes before I arrive in Ningbo, I will kill him myself!"

"Yes"

A few days later, personnel from the two Qingluan Guards arrived in Ningbo City one after another. The situation was treacherous, and Lu Ping was worried that Cao Yin would get wind of it and run away early. Therefore, he issued strict orders to the Qingluan Guards in Jinling and Shaoxing, ordering that no one was allowed to leave the team, and even to go to the toilet, five people had to go together.

Along the way, Lu Ping was also worried about the long night and many troubles, so after giving the order, he took the best men of the Qingluan Guard and traveled day and night without daring to stop.

The moment he arrived in Ningbo City, Lu Ping finally breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the news that Cao Yin had not left the city. Even though he was exhausted, Lu Ping was still ready to take his men to Cao's mansion and arrest Cao Yin immediately.

At this time, Ningbo Qianhu Huang Xianzhi hurriedly dissuaded him, "Sir, we have a large group of people and are very aggressive. Cao Yin will definitely get wind of it. Moreover, I heard that many of these sea merchants have secret passages in their homes!"

Lu Ping was stunned. In his anxiety, he really didn't think about this for a moment.

Huang Xianzhi, a captain of Ningbo, suggested: "Sir, in the past month, Cao Yin has been going to Yaxianju every day around 3 p.m. It would be better for us to bring some men and hide outside, and when Cao Yin shows up, we can capture him on the spot!"

Lu Ping nodded and praised: "Okay, okay, your name is Huang...Xian, right? I will remember you."

Huang Xianzhi immediately responded: "Your Excellency, my name is Huang Xianzhi."

Lu Ping nodded, and then asked: "What kind of place is this Yaxianju?"

Huang Xianzhi replied: "Oh, that's a brothel, but I heard it's very expensive!"

Lu Ping snorted and said disdainfully: "A brothel is a brothel, and you still call her Yaxian, bah!"

"Sir, this is different from an ordinary brothel. I heard that you have to be talented in literature..."

Huang Xianzhi was interrupted by Lu Ping before he finished speaking: "Okay, what about the brothel? How many people does Cao Yin usually have around him?"

Huang Xianzhi's expression also turned serious, and he said, "On weekdays, Cao Yin usually has three personal guards around him, and four or five servants. Those three guards are not simple."

The waiting time is always long. Lu Ping had been waiting for a long time in the restaurant opposite Yaxianju. He had almost finished the sixteen dishes, but Cao Yin had not appeared yet.

Not only Lu Ping, but even Huang Xianzhi felt a little uneasy. Could it be that after coming for a month, he would not come today?

Just when everyone was feeling uneasy, Cao Yin's carriage finally appeared at the intersection, and Huang Xianzhi signaled Lu Ping with some excitement.

Lu Ping waved his hand, signaling everyone to get ready.

After a while, Cao Yin's carriage stopped at the door of Yaxianju. Cao Yin straightened his clothes and was about to enter when more than twenty men rushed out from the restaurant opposite. The leader was Lu Ping.