A huge salt merchant's struggle was just like Hongqing's clever arrangement. It was considered to be over without much trouble, but the aftermath was still unfinished. On the surface, the salt merchants were busy with the plan to attract sales last year's tickets, but in fact the dispute was revealed to the capital. Many local officials made this statement and attributed the root of the shortage of salt on the market to Hongqing's salt affairs rectification. There were also many controversies in the court about this. For this reason, there were many court officials who went to this chapter. For a time, Hongqing became the center of discussion between the court and the opposition, and the public opinion tendency was obviously extremely unfavorable to Hongqing.

Are you worried? Not at all! Although Hongqing is in Yangzhou, she has a "sharp knife" staring at her eyes. With the strength of the fifteenth brothers, Hongqing is very aware of the things in the capital, but she doesn't care about it at all. She neither defends herself nor wants the third master or the fifteenth brothers to make the book move. No matter what other things, Hongqing has had a tacit understanding with the old man before leaving Beijing. Within a year, no matter how Hongqing tossed, the old man will not interfere. Of course, if you can't produce a decent result in a year, then the consequences will be not so easy to bear. However, two months have passed and it's still long, which is enough for Hongqing to plan for a long time.

The old man did not disappoint Hongqing. Once all the chapters related to salt affairs arrived at the inner court, they were like stones sinking into the sea, and there was no sound. The ministers were puzzled and their guesses became even stronger. One day, Li Guangdi pretended to accidentally mention the tight salt supply in the two lakes and other places, and had a vague intention of using this to refer to Hongqing's book. However, he had just started and was immediately scolded by the old man without hesitation, so that he could concentrate on doing the affairs of the Ministry of Justice and care less about the matters that should not be taken care of.

As soon as the old man's instructions came out, the court and the people were shocked, for nothing else, just because Li Guangdi is a current Grand Secretary, and the Ministry of Justice is just his part-time job, so there is nothing he can't report on the world. Now, just mentioning the matter of salt affairs, it actually caused the old man's criticism. This was obviously not just warning Li Guangdi, but warning the officials who dared to make salt affairs accusations. Therefore, the topic of salt affairs that was originally hotly discussed was like snow meeting the sun, and it melted away in an instant.

Time flies, and it is the third day of September in a blink of an eye. It has been more than April since we arrived in Yangzhou. Hongqing seemed to have forgotten that the official business of this mission was the rectification of salt affairs. Almost all of his thoughts were on the local governance of Yangzhou. He was busy urging grains and judging cases. As for the matter of salt affairs, unless He Mingfu sent the official document, Hongqing ignored it. Of course, there was one thing that Hongqing never relaxed, that was the rectification of the Salt Camp. However, Hongqing himself rarely came forward, and Ji Huaijin was responsible for it. However, Ji Huaijin proposed it on the other end.

The request was that whether it was to ask for people or things, Hongqing always responded to all requests and was easy to speak. Ji Huaijin did not disappoint Hongqing. After more than four months of rectification, the originally loose salt patrol camps in various parts of the Huai River had a new look. Although it was not qualified to take it out for combat, it was quite effective to use it to patrol private salt. In August alone, nearly ten private salt smuggling cases were seized. Although the amount involved in the case was not large, for illegal people, the salt patrol camp had some deterrent power. However, it was hard to say if it was really a big deterrent.

The Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, but the supply of salt in various places has not only not been alleviated since early summer, but it has become even more in short supply. Even if the salt merchants in Lianghuai shipped the salt from the salt farm to various provinces, they still could not relieve the tension. So that the salt shops in various places have quietly increased the price of salt by nearly 30% despite the explicit regulations of the court. People in various provinces complained that the profit margin of salt transportation has increased a lot more than in previous years.

The salt merchants further stimulated the nerves, but the salt intake in formal channels was difficult to increase. Faced with the heavy profits, the thoughts of salt merchants of all sizes began to become active. Even though there was a threat from the salt patrol camp, the salt merchants could not help but be ready to move in the face of huge profits. Now, Hongqing has just finished the government affairs of Yangzhou Prefecture and is planning to go to the back yamen for a while, and then he heard Li Minxing report that Ji Huaijin has an urgent matter to report.

"You all retreat!"

Ji Huaijin arrived very quickly. As soon as Hongqing finished his seat, he had already accompanied him to the study room by Li Minxing. However, after seeing the ceremony, he did not say anything for a long time. As soon as he saw this, Hongqing was sure to have a secret matter to report, so he waved his hand intentionally and shut all the people waiting by his side.

"You have reported to the imperial envoy, and your subordinates have received a secret report that Chen Biao has shipped 40,000 kilograms of private salt to smuggle it to Jiangxi tomorrow night. It is of great importance. The subordinates dare not decide. They come and ask the imperial envoy to make an explicit decision."

After everyone stepped back, Ji Huaijin's originally tense face instantly showed a few excitement. She took a step forward, lowered her voice and reported.

"Chen Biao? Is this news reliable?"

Hongqing's memory is amazing. As soon as Ji Huaijin mentioned this name, Hongqing immediately remembered the appearance and origin of this person. He knew that this person was a capable general under Liu Banu. On the surface, he looked like an independent salt merchant, but in fact he was just a lackey under Liu Banu. Since this person was planning to traffic in private salt, he was obviously doing it according to Liu Banu's intention. As soon as he thought of this, Hongqing's eyes suddenly became clear.

"When I go back to the imperial envoy, this matter was reported by Fang Wansheng, the chief general of the Salt Inspection Camp of Andong (now Lianshui County). According to what he said, Chen Biao gave out a thousand taels of silver to buy it. Fang Wansheng had already accepted the money to confuse Chen Biao. However, he notified the officials early in the morning, intending to lead the snake out of the cave. The matter is very important, and the officials dare not make a decision. They came to ask the imperial envoy to make a decision clearly."

When Ji Huaijin heard Hongqing ask this question, he didn't dare to neglect it and quickly explained the story in detail.

"oh?"

What Ji Huaijin said was in line with common sense, at least there was no flaw on the surface, but Hongqing did not think that things would be so simple and there was nothing else. Although she didn't have much contact with Liu Banu, Hongqing knew that this person was a scheming person and should not be a blind person. This person had done this kind of thing about selling private salt for many times. If he had really planned it, how could he reveal such a big flaw? If there was nothing strange here, it would be really strange.

"The imperial envoy clearly understands that the subordinates have confirmed that Chen Biao's salt quota for this quarter has been used up, and the salt quota for the next quarter has not yet been released. At this time, the lucky salt should be private salt!"

Seeing that Hongqing had no conclusion for a while, Ji Huaijin couldn't hold back her anger. For nothing else, since he took over the Salt Camp, although he had solved several entrainment cases in succession last month, the amount involved in the case was only less than 3,000 taels of silver. There was no sense of accomplishment. Not only that, he also became the object of sarcasm of his colleagues. This made Ji Huaijin, who was eager to make contributions, was quite annoyed. In order to achieve great achievements and demonstrate his ability, he was very determined to fight a turnaround. He didn't want the matter to go away, so he said from the side.

"Well, Lord Ji, don't worry. Ben Beile has a few thoughts and needs to discuss with Lord Ji. After that, is it possible that Chen Biao plays a trick of testing? If he has a ticket from Liu Banu in his hand, he deliberately pretends to be a private salt seller to lure us to take action. Once it is launched in a big way, it will be fruitless. Those salt dogs will have the reason to cause trouble again. At that time, the serious consequences will be conceivable. This is something we must be careful about."

If you are eager to make contributions, Hongqing will only be above Ji Huaijin, not below her. Not to mention anything else, it has been almost half a year now. Although the old man still has no urging him, it is obviously not a big deal to keep him silent. It is hard to imagine what serious consequences will be if the old man's patience is worn out. Just this one, Hongqing wants to take down Liu Banu quickly, but he just wants to think about it, but he can't act recklessly. Hongqing is still vigilant enough about this.

"this……"

After being said by Hongqing, Ji Huaijin couldn't help but hesitate. After all, if he really had a big investigation, he would make a mistake, and those salt merchants would not stop. This situation was not something Ji Huaijin liked to see. However, if he ignored it, Ji Huaijin was very unwilling to accept it. In a dilemma, he really didn't know what to say for a while.

"Is Fang Wansheng reliable?"

Hongqing did not explain more, but instead asked about Fang Wansheng's loyalty.

"When I go back to the imperial envoy, General Fang Qian was the general that the lower official knew when he was a Yandao Daotai in Henan. In June, the lower official personally transferred him to Andong. He has always been cautious in his actions and is not a corrupt person."

When Hongqing asked about Fang Wansheng, Ji Huaijin didn't dare to be careless. She quickly calmed down her chaotic thoughts and quickly promised Fang Wansheng's loyalty.

"That's good. This time it's only 40,000 kilograms of salt. For many places like Liu Banu's two lakes, Shanxi, northern Shaanxi and other places, it's just a drop in the bucket. Regardless of whether it's true or false, it's not a big deal. If he really wants to sell private salt, it won't be just this time. In terms of quantity, Lord Ji can secretly order Fang Qian to be slandered and be the one who has to be responsible for everything. When Liu Banu's other side takes a big action, he will report it to Ben Beile and know it. That's it."

Hongqing looked at Ji Huaijin seriously, and saw that he looked calm, obviously not like he was lying. He had a clear idea in his heart, so he pondered and made a decision.

"Catch the big and let go of the small? OK, the official knows what to do."
Chapter completed!