Chapter 1523
The Underworld
Chapter 1523 The Underworld
He Guanzhi kept saying that what he was planning might affect the future of the Ming Dynasty, so he had to strictly keep it confidential, and ordered his subordinates involved in the matter to swear a heavy oath, but what he finally discussed with the think tanks was nothing more than his private property business prospects.As the magistrate of Hangzhou, but secretly doing this act of using power for personal gain, it also shows how much Haihan has penetrated and influenced the local government.
A situation like his is not an exception among the officials of the coastal prefecture of Ming Dynasty. Officials below the fourth rank have more or less received benefits from Haihan. There are quite a few high-ranking officials who arbitrage profits from related industries.Taking Zhejiang as an example, the open and semi-open transnational smuggling trade led by Haihan has formed an astonishingly large-scale local industry, and the beneficiaries are far from officials like He Guanzhi, and many people are also relying on this profit Rich industrial survival.
It is hard to say whether the opening of the coast to trade will have an immediate impact on the Ming Dynasty, but it will definitely have a greater or lesser impact on vested interests.And under every big man like He Guanzhi, there is naturally no lack of social forces to escort him.If Master Li wants to solve the threat of competitors for his boss in private, he needs to use these forces that are not very visible on weekdays.Of course, considering that the opponent is the general judge who is in charge of the local criminal names, this matter cannot be taken lightly. At least the famous local thugs are not available. At that time, it would be very bad to involve He Guanzhi.
The master surnamed Li Mingsong was from the Shaoxing Mansion, but he was the one who did the dirty work for He Guanzhi, so he naturally had some available people under him, lurking in and around Hangzhou City with various identities.
Although it was already curfew time in the city, Li Song was a guest of the magistrate, so he naturally enjoyed privileges.After he came out of the side door of He Guanzhi's mansion, he got into a black-covered carriage, and then he went to a certain place in the south of the city under the protection of several armed personal guards under He Guanzhi.
The carriage that Li Song was riding in stopped outside Zhongguofang in the south of the city. After getting off the carriage, someone noticed the existence of their group. Several soldiers who were on duty nearby immediately came over to ask about their identities and purpose. due diligence.However, it is also possible that these big soldiers are trying to find an excuse to swindle some money from the late returners, so that the other party can spend money to avoid disasters, so as to gain some benefits from it.
The guards accompanying Li Song immediately stepped forward and showed the magistrate's warrant to keep these troublesome soldiers away.The small school leading the team saw that it was an official job, so naturally they stopped being troublesome, and called a few of their subordinates to leave here.Only then did Li Song get out of the carriage, then walked into an alley in Zhongguofang, went to a certain family's yard and knocked on the gate.Not long after the lights came on in the courtyard, someone came out with a lantern and opened the courtyard door. After seeing clearly that it was Li Song, he let him in.
Li Song seemed to be very familiar with this place, and entered the house without waiting for the person who opened the door to lead the way.The person who opened the door also followed into the room, and then bowed to Li Song and said, "I've seen Master Li!"
Li Song nodded and said, "Hao Qing, how are you doing recently? Have you received your monthly salary on time?"
The man named Hao Qing replied: "Thanks to Master Li taking care of me, my life is safe and sound. I only need to go around the city and outside the city every day. This job can't be found anywhere else."
Li Song said again: "Then don't forget why you took on this job!"
Hao Qing hurriedly lowered his head and replied: "The villain naturally understands that this humble life was saved by Master Li, and the leisure life now is also given by Master Li. The villain will wait for a word from Master Li, and will not go through fire and water Frown!"
Seeing his firm attitude, Li Song relaxed a little, and asked him, "Do you still have reliable people under your command?"
Hao Qing nodded and said: "Back to Master Li, after the villain came out of prison, in order not to attract attention, there were not many people left in the city, and there were about [-] brothers outside the city, who usually worked on the pier. The fateful friendship is absolutely reliable. However, if Mr. Li intends to deal with someone in the city, he must plan carefully. Now the city is tightly patrolled by police, and there are city defense army patrols wandering around at night. Just do it."
Li Song snorted and said, "It's not the good thing that Wang Yuan did. It's about strengthening patrols and maintaining law and order in the market... The law and order in Hangzhou has always been good, except for a period of chaos when the Haihan people came two years ago. , how can there be any security issues? It's just him trying to gain political achievements for himself!"
Li Song came all night to find this man named Hao Qing. He used to be a well-known boat boss on the Qiantang River, and he did both black and white business. He once owned more than 40 boats in the Qiantang River Basin, and nearly a thousand people worked for him.After Hao Qing had a certain family background, he inevitably began to expand a bit, and wanted to expand the business, but he had no official background, and it was difficult to get the most sought-after Haihan products on the market, so at the end of last year, he simply brought He led his subordinates to rob two sailboats carrying Haihan goods on the Qiantang River.Unexpectedly, the owner behind this batch of goods was He Guanzhi, the magistrate of Hangzhou, so the happy days of Hao Qing and his gang were over, and they were wiped out by the army in just a few days, and even Hao Qing was arrested. Go to prison.
In this robbery case, the stolen goods were obtained and the crime was conclusive. In addition, the owner of the goods was a local official.However, Li Song, who was in charge of the case documents at the time, believed that Hao Qing could stay because Hao Qing was very familiar with the situation in the Qiantang River Basin, and the government was recruiting such people everywhere in order to control the activities of Haihan ships in the Qiantang River. Those who are familiar with the Qiantang River environment.
Of course, this is only a superficial reason. In fact, it is because Li Song is looking for a suitable candidate for He Guanzhi, who can handle some special situations for He Guanzhi when necessary that it is not appropriate to use official power.
The reason why there is such a demand is that the trade activities between Haihan and Daming have not been recognized by the court, and are still smuggling activities in nature.Although the Zhejiang government held its nose and admitted the local legality of this smuggling trade, it has always maintained an attitude of not supporting, not opposing, or encouraging, let alone providing legal protection for this kind of behavior.If Hao Qing hadn't robbed He Guanzhi, the Hangzhou government might not even have accepted such a robbery.
Who else can understand the psychology and methods of their peers better than the robbers?Li Song thinks that Hao Qing is a very suitable candidate to perform some special tasks.Moreover, Hao Qing has parents and a wife and children, so it will be easier to control him in the long run.After He Guanzhi listened to Li Song's suggestion, he handed over the matter to him, but he must not let Hao Qing know that he was involved behind the scenes.
So Li Song lifted Hao Qing out of the prison, saying that he would give him a chance to make up for his mistakes and avoid the death penalty.Hao Qing didn't expect that he would still have the chance to escape from death, so he naturally chose to cooperate with him.Half a month later, there were fewer groups of armed water bandits similar to Hao Qing's gang on the Qiantang River.However, the cooperation between the two parties did not end there. Li Song left Hao Qing in the city of Hangzhou and asked him to monitor the movement on the pier outside the city on weekdays. On the other hand, it is also used to monitor other merchants that may compete with his owner, and if necessary, Hao Qing can take action to remove these obstacles.
Of course, Hao Qing was left behind in Hangzhou City, as well as his family.Otherwise, how could Li Song rest assured that Hao Qing could freely enter and leave Hangzhou City, and even gave him various conveniences.And Hao Qing also understood that if he wanted to save his life and keep his family safe, he had to continue to work for Li Song.As for who is the big man behind Li Song, Hao Qing doesn't know much about it. He only knows that the other party is willing to spend money to support him, and one day he will have to sacrifice his life. Life is worth it.
Li Song came to visit in the middle of the night, and of course Hao Qing understood that this master didn't come to visit him when he had nothing to do, but had a task for him to complete.He heard that Li Song even scolded the general judge of the Hangzhou government casually, knowing that this person's background would only be stronger than the general judge, so he didn't dare to make any noise at the moment.
After Li Song said this, he also felt a little lost, coughed dryly and said: "Hao Qing, as the saying goes, you can raise soldiers for a thousand days, and use them for a while. I think that I treat you well on weekdays, and even your family members are raising them together. Now The time has come for you to contribute, are you willing to risk your life?"
Hao Qing knew not to show any hesitation in front of Li Song, otherwise the other party would be suspicious, so he immediately responded: "I have been waiting for this opportunity to repay my favor for a long time, please give orders to Master Li!"
Li Songdao: "There are several newly built weaving workshops outside the Jinmen Gate in the south of the city. Have you visited them?"
Hao Qing didn't understand what it meant, but nodded in response: "The little man passed by there the day before yesterday and took a look. It seems that it is still under construction, and there is still some time before it will be completed."
"Then what can you do to shut down these construction sites, the longer the better!" Li Song intends to test him to see if Hao Qing's sharp knife has become blunt after such a long time of leisure.
Hao Qing replied without hesitation: "It depends on how big the trouble is going to be. To put it simply, a few people will be killed, and then the government will seal off those construction sites in the name of investigating the case. As for how long it can be sealed, I think Mr. Li Have your own plan."
Li Song responded noncommittally: "Let's talk about other methods."
When Hao Qing heard it, it seemed that Li Song was not satisfied with this method, so he immediately said: "If you want to make the trouble bigger, then simply set fire to that place, and it is best to burn a few more people in the fire. , In this way, the reason for the government to investigate and close the case is more sufficient. Moreover, it will take longer to rebuild after the event. What does Master Li think?"
Li Song leaned on the back of the chair, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and said after a long while: "Two years ago, a warehouse was first burned outside the city of Hangzhou, and three court officials were burned. A wharf warehouse burned out the fleet of the Haihan people. Are you afraid that people who are interested will not be able to think of the previous accidents if you create another big fire?"
Hao Qing heard that Li Song's tone seemed to be reproachful, and he quickly apologized: "It's the villain who didn't think carefully, Mr. Li is not to blame!"
Li Song actually thought that Hao Qing's idea was not bad, at least the method this person thought of was quite ruthless, and the edges and corners were not worn away because of the leisure time.But Hao Qing's idea didn't work in this matter, or the risk was too great, so Li Song didn't dare to let him make such an attempt.Because the target to be attacked this time is Wang Yuan, the general judge who is in charge of arresting criminal names. The criminal investigation resources he can mobilize must not be underestimated. Once he finds any clues, the matter will not end well.
But it's not easy for Li Song to tell Hao Qing the reason for this. He can only deny Hao Qing's idea first, and ask him to plan other methods.
Although Hao Qing had a quick mind, he didn't understand Li Song's real purpose, so naturally it was difficult to come up with a suitable way to complete this task.After being denied several proposals in a row, Hao Qing could only plead guilty again: "Master Li, the villain is stupid, and I really can't think of any other way. Why don't you point out the purpose of stopping his work?" What is it, maybe you can think about starting from other places."
Li Song thought for a while before saying to Hao Qing: "Once these weaving workshops are completed, the existing weaving business in Hangzhou Prefecture will be diverted, and the big merchants who originally controlled this business may be newly emerged. Merchants took away part of the business. In terms of money, it may be that hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of business will be affected every year, so do you understand?"
Hao Qing responded again and again: "I understand, I understand, the villain understands."
Speaking of this, Hao Qing would be a fool if he didn't understand.Li Song wanted to get rid of these weaving workshops not because of ordinary personal grievances, but because of business competition considerations.In fact, Hao Qing himself had done similar things before, such as killing shipping competitors who were on the same flight segment as him, but the amount involved was far less than the figure Li Song just mentioned.Moreover, Li Song obviously has a strong official background, and he would have many scruples in planning such a thing, but it is quite different from his reckless behavior in the arena.
Hao Qing didn't have a clear idea of how big a business with an annual turnover of over one million taels was. Among the transactions he had come into contact with, the largest one was only a few thousand taels.For him, a million taels was not even clear how many times it was 1000 taels of silver.But he is very clear about one thing, that is, for such a large amount of wealth, there must be many people like Li Song, who will not hesitate to take risks and plan some dangerous methods.
"If this matter is done well, your family can move out of Hangzhou City." Li Song gave Hao Qing a promise in a timely manner.He knew exactly what Hao Qing wanted, and this condition would definitely stimulate the other party to work harder to complete the task.
(End of this chapter)
He Guanzhi kept saying that what he was planning might affect the future of the Ming Dynasty, so he had to strictly keep it confidential, and ordered his subordinates involved in the matter to swear a heavy oath, but what he finally discussed with the think tanks was nothing more than his private property business prospects.As the magistrate of Hangzhou, but secretly doing this act of using power for personal gain, it also shows how much Haihan has penetrated and influenced the local government.
A situation like his is not an exception among the officials of the coastal prefecture of Ming Dynasty. Officials below the fourth rank have more or less received benefits from Haihan. There are quite a few high-ranking officials who arbitrage profits from related industries.Taking Zhejiang as an example, the open and semi-open transnational smuggling trade led by Haihan has formed an astonishingly large-scale local industry, and the beneficiaries are far from officials like He Guanzhi, and many people are also relying on this profit Rich industrial survival.
It is hard to say whether the opening of the coast to trade will have an immediate impact on the Ming Dynasty, but it will definitely have a greater or lesser impact on vested interests.And under every big man like He Guanzhi, there is naturally no lack of social forces to escort him.If Master Li wants to solve the threat of competitors for his boss in private, he needs to use these forces that are not very visible on weekdays.Of course, considering that the opponent is the general judge who is in charge of the local criminal names, this matter cannot be taken lightly. At least the famous local thugs are not available. At that time, it would be very bad to involve He Guanzhi.
The master surnamed Li Mingsong was from the Shaoxing Mansion, but he was the one who did the dirty work for He Guanzhi, so he naturally had some available people under him, lurking in and around Hangzhou City with various identities.
Although it was already curfew time in the city, Li Song was a guest of the magistrate, so he naturally enjoyed privileges.After he came out of the side door of He Guanzhi's mansion, he got into a black-covered carriage, and then he went to a certain place in the south of the city under the protection of several armed personal guards under He Guanzhi.
The carriage that Li Song was riding in stopped outside Zhongguofang in the south of the city. After getting off the carriage, someone noticed the existence of their group. Several soldiers who were on duty nearby immediately came over to ask about their identities and purpose. due diligence.However, it is also possible that these big soldiers are trying to find an excuse to swindle some money from the late returners, so that the other party can spend money to avoid disasters, so as to gain some benefits from it.
The guards accompanying Li Song immediately stepped forward and showed the magistrate's warrant to keep these troublesome soldiers away.The small school leading the team saw that it was an official job, so naturally they stopped being troublesome, and called a few of their subordinates to leave here.Only then did Li Song get out of the carriage, then walked into an alley in Zhongguofang, went to a certain family's yard and knocked on the gate.Not long after the lights came on in the courtyard, someone came out with a lantern and opened the courtyard door. After seeing clearly that it was Li Song, he let him in.
Li Song seemed to be very familiar with this place, and entered the house without waiting for the person who opened the door to lead the way.The person who opened the door also followed into the room, and then bowed to Li Song and said, "I've seen Master Li!"
Li Song nodded and said, "Hao Qing, how are you doing recently? Have you received your monthly salary on time?"
The man named Hao Qing replied: "Thanks to Master Li taking care of me, my life is safe and sound. I only need to go around the city and outside the city every day. This job can't be found anywhere else."
Li Song said again: "Then don't forget why you took on this job!"
Hao Qing hurriedly lowered his head and replied: "The villain naturally understands that this humble life was saved by Master Li, and the leisure life now is also given by Master Li. The villain will wait for a word from Master Li, and will not go through fire and water Frown!"
Seeing his firm attitude, Li Song relaxed a little, and asked him, "Do you still have reliable people under your command?"
Hao Qing nodded and said: "Back to Master Li, after the villain came out of prison, in order not to attract attention, there were not many people left in the city, and there were about [-] brothers outside the city, who usually worked on the pier. The fateful friendship is absolutely reliable. However, if Mr. Li intends to deal with someone in the city, he must plan carefully. Now the city is tightly patrolled by police, and there are city defense army patrols wandering around at night. Just do it."
Li Song snorted and said, "It's not the good thing that Wang Yuan did. It's about strengthening patrols and maintaining law and order in the market... The law and order in Hangzhou has always been good, except for a period of chaos when the Haihan people came two years ago. , how can there be any security issues? It's just him trying to gain political achievements for himself!"
Li Song came all night to find this man named Hao Qing. He used to be a well-known boat boss on the Qiantang River, and he did both black and white business. He once owned more than 40 boats in the Qiantang River Basin, and nearly a thousand people worked for him.After Hao Qing had a certain family background, he inevitably began to expand a bit, and wanted to expand the business, but he had no official background, and it was difficult to get the most sought-after Haihan products on the market, so at the end of last year, he simply brought He led his subordinates to rob two sailboats carrying Haihan goods on the Qiantang River.Unexpectedly, the owner behind this batch of goods was He Guanzhi, the magistrate of Hangzhou, so the happy days of Hao Qing and his gang were over, and they were wiped out by the army in just a few days, and even Hao Qing was arrested. Go to prison.
In this robbery case, the stolen goods were obtained and the crime was conclusive. In addition, the owner of the goods was a local official.However, Li Song, who was in charge of the case documents at the time, believed that Hao Qing could stay because Hao Qing was very familiar with the situation in the Qiantang River Basin, and the government was recruiting such people everywhere in order to control the activities of Haihan ships in the Qiantang River. Those who are familiar with the Qiantang River environment.
Of course, this is only a superficial reason. In fact, it is because Li Song is looking for a suitable candidate for He Guanzhi, who can handle some special situations for He Guanzhi when necessary that it is not appropriate to use official power.
The reason why there is such a demand is that the trade activities between Haihan and Daming have not been recognized by the court, and are still smuggling activities in nature.Although the Zhejiang government held its nose and admitted the local legality of this smuggling trade, it has always maintained an attitude of not supporting, not opposing, or encouraging, let alone providing legal protection for this kind of behavior.If Hao Qing hadn't robbed He Guanzhi, the Hangzhou government might not even have accepted such a robbery.
Who else can understand the psychology and methods of their peers better than the robbers?Li Song thinks that Hao Qing is a very suitable candidate to perform some special tasks.Moreover, Hao Qing has parents and a wife and children, so it will be easier to control him in the long run.After He Guanzhi listened to Li Song's suggestion, he handed over the matter to him, but he must not let Hao Qing know that he was involved behind the scenes.
So Li Song lifted Hao Qing out of the prison, saying that he would give him a chance to make up for his mistakes and avoid the death penalty.Hao Qing didn't expect that he would still have the chance to escape from death, so he naturally chose to cooperate with him.Half a month later, there were fewer groups of armed water bandits similar to Hao Qing's gang on the Qiantang River.However, the cooperation between the two parties did not end there. Li Song left Hao Qing in the city of Hangzhou and asked him to monitor the movement on the pier outside the city on weekdays. On the other hand, it is also used to monitor other merchants that may compete with his owner, and if necessary, Hao Qing can take action to remove these obstacles.
Of course, Hao Qing was left behind in Hangzhou City, as well as his family.Otherwise, how could Li Song rest assured that Hao Qing could freely enter and leave Hangzhou City, and even gave him various conveniences.And Hao Qing also understood that if he wanted to save his life and keep his family safe, he had to continue to work for Li Song.As for who is the big man behind Li Song, Hao Qing doesn't know much about it. He only knows that the other party is willing to spend money to support him, and one day he will have to sacrifice his life. Life is worth it.
Li Song came to visit in the middle of the night, and of course Hao Qing understood that this master didn't come to visit him when he had nothing to do, but had a task for him to complete.He heard that Li Song even scolded the general judge of the Hangzhou government casually, knowing that this person's background would only be stronger than the general judge, so he didn't dare to make any noise at the moment.
After Li Song said this, he also felt a little lost, coughed dryly and said: "Hao Qing, as the saying goes, you can raise soldiers for a thousand days, and use them for a while. I think that I treat you well on weekdays, and even your family members are raising them together. Now The time has come for you to contribute, are you willing to risk your life?"
Hao Qing knew not to show any hesitation in front of Li Song, otherwise the other party would be suspicious, so he immediately responded: "I have been waiting for this opportunity to repay my favor for a long time, please give orders to Master Li!"
Li Songdao: "There are several newly built weaving workshops outside the Jinmen Gate in the south of the city. Have you visited them?"
Hao Qing didn't understand what it meant, but nodded in response: "The little man passed by there the day before yesterday and took a look. It seems that it is still under construction, and there is still some time before it will be completed."
"Then what can you do to shut down these construction sites, the longer the better!" Li Song intends to test him to see if Hao Qing's sharp knife has become blunt after such a long time of leisure.
Hao Qing replied without hesitation: "It depends on how big the trouble is going to be. To put it simply, a few people will be killed, and then the government will seal off those construction sites in the name of investigating the case. As for how long it can be sealed, I think Mr. Li Have your own plan."
Li Song responded noncommittally: "Let's talk about other methods."
When Hao Qing heard it, it seemed that Li Song was not satisfied with this method, so he immediately said: "If you want to make the trouble bigger, then simply set fire to that place, and it is best to burn a few more people in the fire. , In this way, the reason for the government to investigate and close the case is more sufficient. Moreover, it will take longer to rebuild after the event. What does Master Li think?"
Li Song leaned on the back of the chair, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and said after a long while: "Two years ago, a warehouse was first burned outside the city of Hangzhou, and three court officials were burned. A wharf warehouse burned out the fleet of the Haihan people. Are you afraid that people who are interested will not be able to think of the previous accidents if you create another big fire?"
Hao Qing heard that Li Song's tone seemed to be reproachful, and he quickly apologized: "It's the villain who didn't think carefully, Mr. Li is not to blame!"
Li Song actually thought that Hao Qing's idea was not bad, at least the method this person thought of was quite ruthless, and the edges and corners were not worn away because of the leisure time.But Hao Qing's idea didn't work in this matter, or the risk was too great, so Li Song didn't dare to let him make such an attempt.Because the target to be attacked this time is Wang Yuan, the general judge who is in charge of arresting criminal names. The criminal investigation resources he can mobilize must not be underestimated. Once he finds any clues, the matter will not end well.
But it's not easy for Li Song to tell Hao Qing the reason for this. He can only deny Hao Qing's idea first, and ask him to plan other methods.
Although Hao Qing had a quick mind, he didn't understand Li Song's real purpose, so naturally it was difficult to come up with a suitable way to complete this task.After being denied several proposals in a row, Hao Qing could only plead guilty again: "Master Li, the villain is stupid, and I really can't think of any other way. Why don't you point out the purpose of stopping his work?" What is it, maybe you can think about starting from other places."
Li Song thought for a while before saying to Hao Qing: "Once these weaving workshops are completed, the existing weaving business in Hangzhou Prefecture will be diverted, and the big merchants who originally controlled this business may be newly emerged. Merchants took away part of the business. In terms of money, it may be that hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of business will be affected every year, so do you understand?"
Hao Qing responded again and again: "I understand, I understand, the villain understands."
Speaking of this, Hao Qing would be a fool if he didn't understand.Li Song wanted to get rid of these weaving workshops not because of ordinary personal grievances, but because of business competition considerations.In fact, Hao Qing himself had done similar things before, such as killing shipping competitors who were on the same flight segment as him, but the amount involved was far less than the figure Li Song just mentioned.Moreover, Li Song obviously has a strong official background, and he would have many scruples in planning such a thing, but it is quite different from his reckless behavior in the arena.
Hao Qing didn't have a clear idea of how big a business with an annual turnover of over one million taels was. Among the transactions he had come into contact with, the largest one was only a few thousand taels.For him, a million taels was not even clear how many times it was 1000 taels of silver.But he is very clear about one thing, that is, for such a large amount of wealth, there must be many people like Li Song, who will not hesitate to take risks and plan some dangerous methods.
"If this matter is done well, your family can move out of Hangzhou City." Li Song gave Hao Qing a promise in a timely manner.He knew exactly what Hao Qing wanted, and this condition would definitely stimulate the other party to work harder to complete the task.
(End of this chapter)