Chapter 322 The Imperial Envoy

At nine o'clock the next morning, Tan Zong rushed to Yangzhou Wharf. The ship of the imperial envoy arrived at about ten o'clock, so he deliberately advanced an hour.

What made Tan Zong feel depressed was that before he got close to the dock, he was surprised to find that the dock was filled with officials, gentry and celebrities of all sizes. It seemed that he was the last one to come to the dock.[]

Due to the recent nightlife, the jet lag has been reversed, and Tan Zong suddenly got up so early today. He was really uncomfortable. He yawned lazily and searched the crowd. Seeing Fatty Wang and the people from the Grain Merchants Chamber of Commerce chatting and laughing happily, he strode over.

"It seems that Mr. Huang is used to this kind of scene. He sits firmly on Diaoyutai, unlike me who come here before dawn." A grain merchant looked at Tan Zong who was walking over casually and said with a smile.

"You're here before dawn?" Tan Zong showed a look of surprise on his face. It was too early.

The people around him didn't respond, but just looked at Tan Zong with a smile. Only this noble prince from the capital could act so calmly in front of the imperial edict and the imperial envoy.

Lu Weimin was chatting with Han Tian and Bi Shijie and other leading figures in Yangzhou City. He accidentally saw Tan Zong coming, and waved at him with a smile and shouted him over.

Except for a tall black and strong middle-aged man with a scar on his left cheek, this was his first meeting, everyone around Lu Weimin had dealt with Tan Zong. Tan Zong smiled and bowed to them and greeted him.

During this period, the black and strong middle-aged man stood there, looking at Tan Zong quietly, his eyes looking a little strange.

"Young Master Huang, this is the leader of Fang Youdefang Hall of the Caogang Zhongyi Hall." After Tan Zong said hello to everyone, Lu Weimin reached out and pointed to the black and brave middle-aged man, and introduced him to Tan Zong with a smile.

Tan Zong finally understood why this person kept looking at him with strange eyes. It turned out that he was the master of Zhongyi Hall.

"Master Fang, this is Mr. Huang Han and Huang." Then, Lu Weimin smiled and introduced Tan Zong to Fang Youde.

"Young Master Huang, I have long admired my reputation." Fang Youde seemed to have forgotten the grudge between Tan Zong and the Cao Gang. He smiled heartily and bowed to him first.

"You are polite to the Lord Fang." Tan Zong also laughed, bowed his hand and acted in a proper manner.

After the etiquette, the two started chatting with the people around them, never talking to each other again, and there was no communication in their eyes.

Seeing this, Lu Weimin shook his head secretly. It seemed that the knot between Tan Zong and the Cao Gang was really difficult to untie for a while.

At ten o'clock in the morning, a voice suddenly sounded from the dock, "Here, come!"

Tan Zong looked up and saw a big boat flashing out from the bend of the river in the distance, sailing along the center of the river, and passing boats dodged one after another.

"Play music!" Seeing this, Lu Weimin turned his head and ordered an official beside him. The official immediately trotted over and asked the musicians waiting on the dock to play a festive song.

The big ship was getting closer and closer. Tan Zong saw a flag with yellow and black characters on it, with four big words "Dai Tianzhang" written on it, fluttering in the wind.

The sergeants in helmets and armor stood on both sides of the ship, looking ahead one by one, with a serious expression and a solemn atmosphere, giving people an indescribable depression.

In front of the deck, a middle-aged man in a fourth-rank official uniform stood proudly surrounded by a group of guards. He was the imperial envoy this time, Zhou Dunran, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice.

A guard was holding a scroll-like item wrapped in yellow silk in his hand, standing behind Zhou Dunran with expressionless face. There was no doubt that the imperial edict to be promulgated this time.

Crackling...

When the big ship approached the dock, the firecrackers that had been prepared were immediately ringing, and the waiting people stretched their heads and looked at the boat.

"The officials of Lu Weimin, led the officials and people of Yangzhou City to await the imperial envoy's steward." After the ship stopped, Lu Weimin hurriedly brought the people to meet him, bowed to Zhou Dunran who was walking off the ship, and said loudly.

"Mr. Lu is not a gift." Zhou Dunran stretched out his hand and raised it up, and said with a smile. He represented the official family at this time, so naturally he did not have to return gifts to Lu Weimin.

"Sir, please!" Lu Weimin stretched out his hand and bowed to make a gesture of invitation. The carriage he prepared for Zhou Dunran was parked not far away.

Zhou Dunran smiled slightly and walked towards the carriage without hesitation. Lu Weimin bowed and followed behind.

"Young Master, do you remember this official?" Tan Zong stood in the crowd in front of him and watched the fun. When Zhou Dunran walked past him, he suddenly stopped and looked at him with a smile.

"You are..." Tan Zong was slightly stunned when he heard this. He had never been to the capital, so how could he know this imperial envoy?

"I am the official Zhou Dunran, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice, once met the young master." Zhou Dunran smiled slightly and reminded him.

"Lord Zhou is really not able to remember the atonement." Looking at Zhou Dunran with a smile on his face, Tan Zong suddenly understood that Zhou Dunran might have been a child care specially arranged by the official, so he pretended to frown and thought for a while, and bowed to Zhou Dunran apologetically.

"When I finish the matter at hand, I will reminisce about the old days with the young master." Zhou Dunran smiled discontently, nodded slightly to Tan Zong, and walked away.

Seeing the scene in front of him, not only did Lu Weimin's eyes change when he looked at Tan Zong in an instant, but the people around him looked at Tan Zong with surprise: The dignified imperial envoy was so polite to Tan Zong. Doesn't this show that Tan Zong's life is extraordinary!

Tan Zong felt that the eyes of everyone looking at him were full of strangeness, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: The official's move is really high. Zhou Dunran hinted to the outside world in a few words that he had a considerable life experience, which not only made his identity more mysterious, but also made his purpose of coming to Yangzhou City even more intricate.

Previously, Tan Zong always thought that Zhao Yunan was dealing with these things in Jiangnan, but he never expected that the government would take action in Yangzhou. It seemed that the government could no longer tolerate those people's mischief and was determined to give them some excellence.

After understanding these things, Tan Zong followed Lu Weimin and others calmly, secretly guessing Zhou Dunran's true intention to come to Yangzhou.

Among the crowd, Fang Youde's face looked a little ugly. The more powerful Tan Zong showed, the less likely the grudge between Cao Gang and him would be to resolve, or the greater the price the Cao Gang paid.

"Is the official's target the Cao Gang?" Bi Shijie followed Zhou Dunran with a deep face. The opportunity for Zhou Dunran to come was too sensitive. When Tan Zonggang had a conflict with the Cao Gang, he arrived. He was openly commending Suzhou Prefecture, but secretly it was very likely to support Tan Zong in dealing with the Cao Gang.

After all, the Japanese bandits' disturbance this time is really too big. Anyone with a little brain will think that the reason why Japanese bandits can enter the inland smoothly must have something to do with the Cao Gang.

However, this time, Bi Shijie was cautious in operating the Japanese bandits, and there was no excuse for the officials to move the Cao Gang.

The Cao Gang has a close connection with the power of the capital. If the government really wants to forcibly rectify the Cao Gang without evidence, it will inevitably cause a rebound from the interest groups in the capital, which will be of great benefit to the two princes. This is exactly what the two princes are willing to see.

In Bishijie's view, even if the official has rectified the Cao Gang, they will not suffer any losses in the organizational system established by the Cao Gang, because they have developed many people among the middle and lower-level personnel of the Cao Gang. If the official wants to move, they will only move the upper class of the Cao Gang, so that their power base in the Cao Gang still exists.

It can be seen that the reason why Zhao Yunbo made the Shanyue people and Japanese bandits make a big fuss in Jiangnan was not a whim, but a decision made after careful consideration. Not only did it mess up Jiangnan, but even Zhao Yunan, the dignified Prince Dashun, was forced to stay in Suzhou City because of the stabilization of the situation.

Although Tan Zong found Zhao Yuanchang in Suzhou Prefecture, overall, the effect was far beyond Zhao Yunbo's expectations, which made him very satisfied.

However, just when everything was developed step by step according to Zhao Yunbo's plan, a mysterious uninvited guest suddenly came to Yangzhou city - Huang Han. No one knew the identity of this young master who was generous and had a Beijing accent. Even Bi Shijie thought he was just the child of a wealthy nobleman in the capital.

It was this young master who was a bit arrogant. He first exposed "Hou Dehai" and then had a fierce conflict with the Caogang Zhongyitang, which made the Zhongyitang mute eat berberine and unable to say what he had.

Bi Shijie is now completely unable to guess what Tan Zong is thinking. This person's behavior is often unexpected and makes people unable to guess his purpose.

Once the officials support Tan Zong to deal with the Cao Gang, what will happen? Bi Shijie is really hard to say now.

Lu Weimin accompanied Zhou Dunran in the carriage, and the others followed behind the carriage: There is an imperial envoy here, who is qualified to ride in a car sedan?

Previously, because Zhou Dunran was there, it was difficult for everyone to speak. After Zhou Dunran got on the carriage, many people immediately came to Tan Zong and approached him intimately.

Tan Zong responded to those people with ease. He had a vague feeling about Zhou Dunran's arrival. It seemed that the government was going to take a heavy blow in Yangzhou Prefecture, killing the chicken and scaring the monkey.

I heard that the imperial envoy was coming, and there were thousands of people in Yangzhou city. The people gathered on both sides of the avenue with their children, waiting enthusiastically to see what the imperial envoy looked like.

In front of the people, soldiers holding spears in their hands all looked serious and maintained order in an orderly manner. As mentioned above, whoever makes mistakes will have their heads.

Zhou Dunran's road to the government office was cleaned and spotless. It was sprinkled with clear water. Some pits were covered with loess, which were photographed with unusually solid porcelain.

Of course, are these loess sprinkled with water? Otherwise, wouldn’t it become mud?

Seeing this, Tan Zong laughed in his heart. This was the "paving the road of loess and purifying the water on the street" when the ancient emperor went on a tour. He was still struggling before. Since he had already paved the road with loess, why did he still sprinkle water on it? Then it would be a muddy thing.

After seeing the formation in front of him, he realized that the loess paved roads were in those potholes, and the clear water was sprinkled outside the loess, and the main function was to prevent wind and dust from swelling.

Among the team to welcome Zhou Dunran, two soldiers who beat the gong to open the way were in front of them. They shouted as they walked, "The imperial envoy arrived, and the idle people avoided it."

Following the two gong-beating soldiers was the ceremonial guard brought by Zhou Dunran from the capital, holding the "silent" and "avoid" signs and various colorful flags, dazzling the people.

The carriage that Zhou Dunran was riding was located behind the ceremonial guard. A strong man, who was big and thick, held the flag of "Shi Tianzhang" in his hand and followed the carriage slowly.

Behind were the officials and gentry and celebrities of Suzhou Prefecture, and they lined up in a long line on the street.

Whenever the carriage passes by, the people on both sides of the road burst into applause and cheers.

Zhou Dunran looked very good. He poked his head out of the window from time to time and waved his hands to the people with a smile, which aroused greater applause and cheers from the people.

Amid the cheers and applause of the people, the carriage stopped in front of the government office, and Lu Weimin bowed and led Zhou Dunran in.

Due to the limited venue in the government office, officials and gentlemen and celebrities of insufficient rank were stopped outside and could only wait outside in depression.

The incense table had been set up in the courtyard of the government office. As soon as Zhou Dunran put the imperial edict on the incense table, Lu Weimin led the officials and gentry and celebrities from Suzhou Prefecture to kneel down and perform the ceremony of kneeling three times and nine times in response to the imperial edict.

After the ceremony, Lu Weimin and others knelt on the ground. Zhou Dunran walked forward, opened the imperial edict, and shouted at Lu Weimin, "The prefect of Yangzhou, Lu Weimin, received the imperial edict!"

"My dear Lu Weimin, please respectfully ask the Holy One!" Lu Weimin quickly touched the ground with his head and replied loudly.

When Lu Weimin kowtowed like this, the people following him also leaned over and kowtowed, waiting for Zhou Dunran to read the imperial edict.

"I'm the one who is the governor of Yangzhou, Lu Weimin..." Then, Zhou Dunran picked up the imperial edict and started to recite it seriously, his voice slamming and echoing over the yard.

I don’t know which minister I read the imperial edict for two minutes but it was not finished. I highly praised the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture, and the officials who were kneeling were all excited.

Tan Zong kneeled in the third row of the crowd. He was lucky that there was a cushion under his knee. People in the first five rows could enjoy the treatment of kneeling on the cushion, while those people in the fifth row could only kneel on the ground.

After hearing the beginning of the imperial edict, Tan Zong was secretly surprised. He thought that the beginning of the imperial edict was "to be in accordance with the will of heaven, and the emperor ordered it to be", but he did not expect that it was "I have given the order to be the Lord."

What Tan Zong didn't understand was that it was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that the emperor used the four words "to the heavenly inheritance" in the imperial edict in order to strengthen centralization and highlight the authority of the monarchy.

"I am very pleased that Gu Tianyimin, the counselor of the Yangzhou Salt Taxation Department, performed his duties conscientiously and loyal to the affairs of the emperor. I am very pleased that he would be the chief of the Yangzhou Salt Taxation Department. I hope he will continue to work hard and live up to my kindness!" Zhou Dunran said the last sentence of the imperial edict and held the imperial edict in his hand, "Mr. Lu, accept the imperial edict!"

"Long live my emperor!" Lu Weimin heard this, he kowtowed and took the imperial edict with both hands.

Gu Tianyi knelt in the sixth row and almost got a soft pad. At this time, his ears were buzzing, and his mind was blank. The official family actually pointed his name in the imperial edict, and even promoted him to the official position.
Chapter completed!