Caoyun Yamen is located in the heart of Huai'an Prefecture, adjacent to Zhenhuai Tower and Huai'an Prefecture. It covers an area of ​​45 acres and is spacious and grand.
Hanging in front of the door are the six characters "Governor-General's Water Transport Department".
The Cao Yuan Yamen has a huge deployment, with warehouses, shipyards, water defense depots, etc. under its jurisdiction, and there are about 20,000 people. In the Yamen's official office alone, there are nearly a hundred civil and military personnel.
Naturally, such a behemoth has no shortage of prisons—although in name, it belongs to the prison of Huai'an Mansion.
Wang Ruyan was imprisoned here.
When Wang Ruyan was first sacked, he went through several assassinations. It was not until news came from the capital that Hai Rui was going to supervise the case that it stopped. Everyone understood that this was no longer a simple corruption case.
After some people came to their senses, the pressure on the Governor of Water Transport, Wang Zongmu, increased day by day.
After all, it is a yamen. Many matters decided by Governor Wang have to be implemented by the subordinates.
Most of the water transport envoys, governors, prosecutors, officials, and governors under the water transport yamen are natives of Nanzhili, and their families and relatives are all local, so they will inevitably be affected.
This month was supposed to be the critical moment for Qiu Liang to arrive in Beijing, but the people below have been delaying it, and it has not been done until now.
Everyone is doing things according to the rules, but if every link is a little slower, things will be delayed.
A few days ago, the Ministry of Household Grain Department and the Warehouse Governor's Office were so anxious that they sent letters to remind them.
Wang Zongmu was helpless and had no other choice.
His troubles don't stop there. Recently, the governor of South Zhili has been impeaching him.
For example, he fabricated the incident of a storm in shipping, or impeached Wang Zongmu, deliberately sabotaging water transportation for the sake of shipping, etc. Even his book "A Detailed Study of Shipping" was said to be "using learning to disrupt government."
If you are impeached, you must defend yourself.
However, when the officials heard about the matter, he was able to make a solid defense. For example, when it came to the capsizing of his ship, the officials only had to mention the rumors, and Wang Zongmu would attach the oral statements of the accompanying officials and the accounts of the warehouse.
The amount of energy expended is incalculable.
Over and over again, I have been impeached and defended more times, and I still want to be impeached. I am obsessed with power and position, and I can't leave.
All in all, it made Wang Zongmu quite anxious.
At this time, Wang Zongmu was sitting in the Governor's Office, listening to a report from a governor.
"Caotai, Mr. Chen said that he has just arrived and needs some time to sort it out. I hope you don't rush Caotai. He will do it as soon as possible. I think it will be enough to wait another seven or eight days."
Wang Zongmu sighed after hearing this. Although he was anxious, he knew there was nothing he could do.
For some unknown reason, the Central Committee also changed the water transportation commander.
The previous admiral and chief water transport officer, Baoding Marquis Liang Jifan, was recalled to Beijing and replaced by Pingjiang Bo Chen Wangmo, who arrived only five days ago.
The handover will naturally take some time, otherwise it will be easy to bear the bad debts of the predecessor.
Although this is reasonable, the transportation of food will inevitably be delayed for several days.
Wang Zongmu thought for a while and said: "In this way, let's send out the seven ships agreed yesterday first. If the grain department asks about it, they will say that the remaining ones will be sent out soon."
There is nothing we can do if we are in a hurry. We can only give the household department a cushion first.
The governor copied an official document on the spot and gave Wang Zongmu his seal - the autumn grain shipment required the governor's seal.
Wang Zongmu picked up the seal and pressed it.
At this moment, Lu Mingzhang, the patrol censor, hurriedly rushed in.
When the governor saw this, he quickly took the paperwork and left, fearing that he would hear too much.
Seeing that there was no one around him, Lu Mingzhang was surprised and said: "Governor Wang, Governor Haigang Fenghai is here!"
Wang Zongmut stood up and asked: "Are you crossing to Huaiyin?"
Nowadays, Jianghuai is not at peace. As the governor, Wang Zongmu naturally knows who is fighting.
Now that he is being targeted, there is really nothing he can do. After all, it is a passive defense, so it is inevitable that he will be somewhat overwhelmed.
But the situation will definitely be much better once Hai Rui comes.
Even if you can't fight, you can still share some of the pressure.
Lu Mingzhang was out of breath as he spoke and shook his head quickly: "He said he would be at the Caoyun Yamen soon!"
Wang Zongmu was shocked, so fast?
I immediately realized that I was probably going to get off the boat and walk on land. At this juncture, I really shouldn't follow the planned itinerary.
He straightened his official hat and strode out of the Yamen: "Let's go, you and I will greet you personally!"
Lu Mingzhang quickly followed.
The two of them did not forget it on the way, and sent someone to tell Chen Wangmo, the commander-in-chief of water transport.
The two of them arrived at the door, and after waiting for a short time, they saw a group of people coming to the Caoyun Yamen.
Wang Zongmu passed by a bunch of young faces, and he immediately saw a crimson-robed official in his fifties, with a handsome and resolute face, and he knew who he was at a glance.
He stepped forward quickly: "Haigang Peak, I have admired it for a long time!"
Seeing Hai Rui looking over, Wang Zongmu walked down the five stone steps at the entrance of the Yamen.
"I am Wang Zongmu, the governor of water transportation."
Hai Rui quickly returned the greeting: "I have met the Governor-General Hai Rui and the Censor of the Water Transport Capital."
Then he looked at the person beside Wang Zongmu.
Wang Zongmu casually raised his hand and lifted Hai Rui up: "Haigangfeng, there is no need to be so polite. I have admired him for a long time. You might as well call me cousin, Xinfu."
Wang Zongmu was in charge of military and political power, but he was a real civil servant and a disciple of Miao Hong.
Privately, I like to pay attention to the character of a scholar and the tone of friendship between gentlemen.
He then pointed to his colleague beside him and introduced: "This is the patrol censor Lu Mingzhang, whose courtesy name is Fengyao."
Lu Mingzhang saluted: "Governor Hai, I have long admired you."
Hai Rui returned the gift and introduced the people around him.
"This is Gu Chengguang from the Zhenyuan Hou family. The Jin Yiwei is in charge of the affairs."
"This is the Prince of Pingjiang, Chen Yinzhao."
Wang Zongmu glanced at the latter unexpectedly and couldn't help but said: "Your master has gone on patrol and is not at the official office."
Chen Yinzhao saluted: "Governor Wang, this official is now the personal guard of Yushi Hai, and is not here to visit relatives."
Wang Zongmu understood clearly that this was a disguised form of urging Pingjiang Bo Chen Wangmo.
I was thinking that this way Uncle Ping Jiang would move faster.
He looked around: "Where is Chen Dong, the young minister of Dali Temple?"
Hai Rui smiled and said: "We got off the boat early at Qingkou Ferry, and they are still on the boat now."
Wang Zongmu nodded and did not ask any further questions.
The emperor's order was to have the Caoyun Yamen cooperate with Hai Rui on his salt inspection.
To put it bluntly, Nanzhili was unreliable. The Water Transport Office had a high enough position, had tens of thousands of soldiers, and was responsible for the delivery and transshipment of salt taxes, so it was naturally suitable to back up Hai Rui.
The leader was naturally the governor of the Lianghuai Salt Administration.
Lu Mingzhang, the censor of the patrol, reminded: "Governor Wang and the governor of the sea, you might as well go in and have a chat."
Wang Zongmu finally came to his senses and asked Hai Rui to go in and help him cleanse himself from the dust.
Hai Rui shook his head: "Forgive me, Governor Wang. Your Majesty is eagerly waiting for me. The cabinet has urged me several times. I'd better handle the case first."
"Is Wang Ruyan still here?"
Lu Mingzhang on the side understood to some extent why Hai Rui was not welcomed.
It's fine if you don't give me any face, just ask if the criminal is still there as soon as you come up, as if the Caoyun Yamen can deliberately let people escape.
Fortunately, Wang Zongmu is a generous person. After all, he is a man who can write books, compile history and write chronicles. The Prime Minister and Fu are not lacking in this kind of magnanimity.
He turned to look at Lu Mingzhang: "Feng Yao, please take the governor of the sea for a visit."
After saying that, Wang Zongmu turned to Hai Rui and asked: "Hai Gangfeng, are you going to interrogate him at the Caoyun Yamen, or are you taking him away?"
Hai Rui thanked him with a cupped hand: "I'm sorry for bothering Governor Wang. Let's go to the Caoyun Yamen to review it. Your Majesty said that when you come to South Zhili, the Governor and Ding Anbo are the first ones you can trust."
Wang Zongmu's expression moved slightly, but he said nothing. He waved his hand and asked Lu Mingzhang to lead Hai Rui to the prison.
…
At this time, the sky was getting dark.
The lanterns on both sides of the Yamen were lit one by one, and each was designated as "General Caobu Yuan".
Cao soldiers held their heads high and stood everywhere in the Caoyun Yamen, looking impressive.
Hai Rui was taken all the way outside the prison of Caoyun Yamen.
Lu Mingzhang said as he walked: "Wang Ruyan is inside."
Hai Rui looked at Lu Mingzhang curiously: "During the days when Wang Ruyan came in, was there no one at the Caoyun Yamen to interrogate him?"
Lu Mingzhang hesitated.
Now there are just some signs, Qiuliang is almost stuck in Lianghuai River and cannot get out. If there is a real trial, the yamen may not even think about transferring.
Besides, it's none of their business, there's no need for a dog to take out a mouse.
He couldn't speak directly, so he held it in for a long time before he said: "It's not easy for the water transport yamen to overstep the boundaries of the agency."
Hai Rui nodded in understanding.
Along the way, whenever Lu Mingzhang encountered a jailer, he asked him to step aside and let Gu Chengguang's Jinyi guards take over the defense of the cell.
After walking inside for a while, Lu Mingzhang stopped, pointed to a cell and said, "This is it."
Hai Rui thanked him.
Lu Mingzhang turned around and was about to leave. Suddenly he remembered and turned around and asked: "Hai Yushi should live in Fu Yamen or Caoyun Yamen."
Hai Rui smiled apologetically and replied: "There are too many people accompanying us. We will go to the Jinyi Guard Qianhu Station later."
Lu Mingzhang naturally understood. After all, No. 200 Jin Yiwei just happened to save the trouble of transporting water to the Yamen, so he bowed his hand and left.
Luo Sigong pushed open the cell door for Hai Rui and stood in first.
Hai Rui half-bent and lowered his head, followed closely behind, kicked away the scattered straw under his feet, and made a place to stand.
As soon as he entered the cell, he could see the haggard Wang Ruyan.
He now has white hair, chapped lips, and is lying on the straw in the cell with a confused expression.
Seeing someone coming in, Wang Ruyan focused his gaze for a moment, and he immediately focused on the leader of the group.
Wang Ruyan looked up and down, then slowly said, "Are you Hai Rui?"
When he was the head of the household department, Hai Rui was still serving as the county magistrate. Later, when Hai Rui was promoted to the head of the household department, he had been demoted to the county magistrate. He happened to be in the wrong place, so naturally he had never seen it.
Now, by chance, they met in the prison, but Wang Ruyan revealed Hai Rui's identity at once, as if he knew Hai Rui was coming.
Hai Rui was not too surprised and asked casually, "Has anyone told you that I was coming?"
Before he could face the saint, Wang Ruyan was already in jail.
Logically speaking, this person's knowledge should have stopped before he was imprisoned, but his current behavior clearly indicates that someone is communicating with him.
Wang Ruyan nodded: "It scared a lot of people."
He said and changed his lying position.
Hai Rui called for someone to bring a table and two low stools and motioned for Wang Ruyan to sit down.
Wang Ruyan glanced away and was too lazy to move: "If you want to interrogate, let's interrogate him. Wang also wants to see what Hai Qingtian is capable of."
But Hai Rui shook his head: "The young minister of Dali Temple has not arrived yet. It is not in accordance with Ming Dynasty law to judge the case by myself. After the trial, it will not be counted. Let's just treat it as a casual chat."
"Wang Ruyan, the many people you just mentioned, who are you referring to?"
Wang Ruyan looked at Hai Rui with a scrutinizing gaze and said, "Hai Rui, why are you pretending to be so noble!?"
"Don't you know why you came here?"
"There are so many mouths up and down the Huaihe River, all of them have taken a bite of the salt policy. Why do they have to catch me as a small role and not let go?"
"Don't you know exactly who they are!?"
"If you dare to ask, I dare to tell! After telling you, can you throw all these people into prison!?"
Hai Rui looked at the somewhat crazy Wang Ruyan quietly.
Seeing that Wang Ruyan had finished speaking, he spoke at the right time: "Of course it's not possible to just mention the name, but if you provide all the experience, past, and physical evidence of the crime, I will deal with it according to the law."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Ruyan burst into laughter.
It seemed like he had heard something extremely ridiculous.
He laughed until tears came out, and then he gradually stopped.
While laughing, he said intermittently: "Dispose according to law?"
"The robes of civil servants are embroidered with birds, and the robes of military attachés are embroidered with animals. Putting on these robes, every civil and military officer in the dynasty is not dressed like a beast!?"
"How many of the superior officials, high-ranking officials, and powerful nobles from all over the Southern Zhili Province are clean?"
"Why didn't I see you Hai Qingtian? He went straight to Nanzhili and killed these people in one go."
"Don't say Nanzhili, it's the capital city. You go to court and catch it with your eyes closed. It's safe to keep it."
"Why don't I see you making decisions for the people?"
"Hai Rui! Don't think that you, a mere censor of Qiandu, can clear up Yuyu and clear away the injustice! You think you are asking for help for the people, but in fact you are just a knife in someone else's hand! Sooner or later, you too will have to
Throw it away after being used by the cabinet!”
Hai Rui watched him vent and listened with interest.
Wang Ruyan's words do not seem to be spoken for himself.
Now that we have reached this point, we should tell the truth and fight for our lives.
But now they are talking nonsense here.
So...this is what those people wanted to say to Hai Rui?
The words are also very involved and intricate, just like when they went to investigate Xu Jie. They also wanted to use his original fate in an attempt to get him to retreat from the difficulties and protect himself wisely.
There's really nothing new.
Hai Rui's heart trembled slightly, and he turned his neck this way and that, observing the cell.
This cell didn't look special, but with his many years of experience in handling cases, he always felt that something was wrong.
The prison is close to the government office, especially this cell, which is too close to the inner room.
Hai Rui ignored Wang Ruyan, sometimes raising his head to observe, sometimes squatting down to fiddle with it.
After a while, Hai Rui finally realized something was wrong. He stared at the haystack under Wang Ruyan, put his hands behind his back, and bent down to look closely.
He turned around and looked at Luo Sigong.
Luo Sigong understood, strode forward, pulled away Wang Ruyan, who looked a little panicked, and pushed away the pile of straw under him.
I saw a thin metal rod-like object sticking out of a small hole in the straw pile.
Xiaohe just showed her sharp corners.
Hai Rui glanced at Wang Ruyan, whose mouth was tightly covered by Gu Chengguang.
This man was no longer crazy as before, but looked gloomy and whined about something.
Luo Sigong leaned into Hai Rui's ear and said in a voice as loud as a mosquito: "Governor, this is for listening to corners. It is specially used for internal guards."
This object existed during the founding of the People's Republic of China. Luo Sigong's ancestor had sent out the commander of the Jinyi Guards, so he had naturally seen it.
A rare smile appeared on Hai Rui's serious face.
He knelt down and looked at the small metal rod protruding from the other side of the wall.
Hai Rui covered the small metal pole and said, "Is the government office next door?"
Gu Chengguang nodded.
Hai Rui pondered for a moment and then said, "Can you please tell me to go there?"
Gu Chengguang handed over his hands and turned around to leave the cell.
Waited for a while.
Hai Rui thought for a moment, let go of the hand covering the object, and stood up slowly.
He turned his back to Wang Ruyan, looked at the corner, and said: "Wang Ruyan, clarifying Yu Yu is what His Majesty has to do. Of course I, Hai Rui, can't do it."
"It is precisely because His Majesty wants to clarify Yu Yu that I, Hai Rui, start with you, Wang Ruyan, and start with the Lianghuai Salt Administration."
"You don't have to act like the world is unfair, I'll tell you clearly."
"Before I came, His Majesty made it clear that when the Yuan changes next year, the salt tax cannot be reduced by any cent!"
"If you cooperate, I may not be able to give you a way out for a small role like you."
"On the other hand, if you ignore the laws of the Ming Dynasty, resist to the death, and embezzle taxes..."
"Don't talk about you, Wang Ruyan! Any royal relatives, hereditary nobles, or superior veterans you talk about will all be in danger of death!"
"Don't say you didn't predict what you said!"
In the last sentence, Hai Rui's tone was serious and murderous!
…
The prison where Wang Ruyan was imprisoned was located between the Huai'an government office lobby and the Caoyun government office.
The Caoyun Yamen was cleanly cleaned by Wang Zongmu, and no idlers were allowed to enter.
But in the Huai'an government office, many uninvited guests came today.
The prefect disappeared, leaving only a few people of unknown origin gathered in the lobby.
Several people looked at each other with ugly expressions.
The middle-aged man with a mustache was furious: "This is outrageous! A small fourth-rank official dares to speak nonsense!"
In addition to this man with a mustache, there was another man dressed in civilian clothes. He obviously had an official status in his behavior, and his face was also livid at this time.
The man in civilian clothes gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, okay! I want to see how he brings death to us!"
Without saying a word, a young man raised his hands and was about to leave: "Everyone, I will go back and report to my family first."
The mustachioed man turned around and stared at the young man, and said seriously: "Your Majesty, this person has abandoned love and sex, and looks like he is unable to communicate. Let's get ready."
The young man nodded silently: "I will tell the adults at home."
After that, he got up and walked out.
At this moment, a clerk from outside the government office suddenly stumbled in!
Several people's expressions changed, and they all turned to stare at the little official.
The mustache was even more upset and kicked him up: "If you fart, hurry up!"
The clerk was already panting, and suddenly he was kicked again. He rolled over to the man in civilian clothes and looked like an official: "Zhang is in trouble! Just now..."
He took a breath: "Just now, Governor Wang and General Chen sent people to Huaiyin to meet the young minister of Dali Temple and Deputy General Jiao."
Zhang Huan frowned impatiently and scolded: "What's wrong?"
The clerk quickly continued: "As a result, the ship didn't dock at all!"
Zhang Huan’s face changed drastically!
Not only him, but also several people present reacted and stood up suddenly.
The mustache exclaimed: "No! This is going straight to the salt warehouse and salt well!"
The words just fell.
I heard a burst of noise coming from outside the government office.
Several people turned to look around in unison.
There was a bang.
The door of the government office was broken open.
Gu Chengguang led the Jinyi guards and rushed in, surrounding everyone.
He walked forward slowly and looked at a few people.
He looked grim and said, "Everyone, please come with me."
Chapter completed!