The person who spoke was Huang Shengju, the magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture who was less than thirty years old.

Although he admired Lu Xiangsheng's style, he saw that the famous Grand Secretary had always seemed to have some point in his words since he arrived in Songjiang. However, the response of the prefect Xie Ruyun, the head of the government, seemed weak and powerless. So Huang Shengju stood up decisively and fought back against Lu Xiangsheng's remarks with a tough attitude. His words were faintly revealed that he suspected that the important officials of the court wanted to take the opportunity to make things difficult for the officials of the Songjiang Prefecture.

"I reported to Mr. Lu that although the words of the magistrate just now are extreme, they are still reasonable in general.

After the attack on the official and murder, the officials sent all their experts in the yamen to investigate the case. Judging from the scene of the attack on the official, although several officials were injured and killed on the spot, there were no remains of swords and weapons at the scene, and the casualties were all caused by sticks, bricks and stones. If there was a master envoy behind the scenes as the scholar said, how could the master envoy not prepare a sharp blade for the perpetrator to hurt people?

As for the number of people who committed the attack, it should be between more than ten and twenty. Because it was dark at the time of the incident, the young and strong man in the dock construction fled in panic. Therefore, no one could know whether there were any familiar people among them. The attacked were all depended on by the capital, and there was no saying that they recognized others.

All these things have led to the fact that the case is gone. However, the officials and officials reported to the Ministry of Justice and requested the court to submit a document to the local governments to arrest suspicious people in order to understand the matter as soon as possible."

After Huang Shengju opened his head, Geng Yuanren also followed the conversation and tried to shift Lu Xiangsheng's gaze to other places. Under different opinions, once Lu Xiangsheng's thinking was chaotic, the report to the emperor would tend to be concluded by the people of Songjiang Prefecture. In this way, this matter may be re-determined as a general criminal case, which is the most favorable result for the Songjiang Prefecture.

"Haha! Although what your government and other officials said is not unreasonable, one of them cannot be concealed!

Since the opening of Longwan, Jiangnan has become more prosperous and rich, which shows that there are countless profits in the sea trade, but there are no differences between maritime merchants and cabbage merchants! They all obtain commercial profits through trafficking between the two places, which is understandable.

However, you should know that all merchants who pass through the canal must collect taxes at the cash gates, but what about the maritime merchants? Their trade income is several times or even dozens of times that of the grain merchants, but the court did not obtain any profit from it!

Based on this point alone, the emperor and the court officials can conclude that the purpose of attacking officials and killing people is to block the court from opening customs to collect taxes! Have you ever seen that the port terminal in Shanghai County has not been suspended yet? This is exactly the second point that the official will say!

The emperor said that from now on, Songjiang Prefecture must come forward on behalf of the court, seeking local people who are proficient in civil engineering, and hiring them to participate in the construction of ports with a large amount of money. If they perform well in it, the court will promote them to the Ministry of Works for actual positions regardless of their identity and origin.

Your government will soon arrange for someone to write and post announcements after the government office, so that this policy can be widely known as soon as possible.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Works will send officials to follow the officials south this time. The emperor strictly ordered that the Shanghai County Wharf must be completed and put into use within half a year. Songjiang Prefecture will do its best to cooperate in this matter. If the construction is not completed in half a year, it will be held accountable!"

Lu Xiangsheng did not express his opinion on everyone's remarks just now, but his expressions and words seemed to be loosening, which finally made Xie Ruyun and others feel a little relaxed.

"Reported to the scholar, because the matter of assaulting officials was too bad, Songjiang Mansion has been focusing on chasing the crime for more than a month. In addition, no one knows the art of earth and wood, so it has caused him to stagnate. Since there is a strict order from the emperor, the officials and colleagues should take charge of the top priority at the moment!

However, the lower officials still had questions in their minds. I wonder if the scholars can solve the problems of the lower officials and others?"

After Xie Ruyun explained and guaranteed it, he raised another question.

"Your residence may say something bluntly. As long as it is related to official affairs, I will speak out!"

Seeing that Lu Xiangsheng's attitude became more and more gentle, Xie Ruyun felt more confident.

"The bachelor just said that the emperor and the court officials believed that the matter of opening the sea tax affected the interests of the maritime merchants, so the incident of assaulting the officials occurred. What the officials wanted to ask is, if the Songjiang Prefecture followed the will and completed the port construction within half a year, would it be proved from the other side that no maritime merchants participated in it? Can the crime of rebellion be changed to an occasional criminal?"

"There seems to be some truth from your government. I will skip this beforehand and don't mention it. Everything must be viewed while walking! The Ministry of Justice has also sent someone to work with the official. It is better to contact him as soon as possible."

Faced with the related questions raised by Xie Ruyun, Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a while and did not give a definite answer, but his tone became loose, which made everyone present feel much more at ease. Then everyone talked a few words indifferently, and the officials of Songjiang Prefecture stood up and bowed and left.

"Wenchang, you are pretty, what do you think of Lu Jiandou's attitude today? What are your concerns next?"

In the closed study room in the backyard of Songjiang Mansion, Xie Ruyun looked at Huang Shengju and Geng Yuanren, and asked as they called their faces.

After returning to the government office, the three gathered here to discuss how to deal with the court's tough measures.

"Master, I think this matter is extraordinary. I never thought that the court sent people down so quickly! This point is enough to show that the emperor and the ministers were really angry!

The officials believed that if we want to resolve this matter and reduce its harm to us, we must start from Lu Jiandou and eliminate the crime of rebellion! Otherwise, it would be easy to involve us!

Although Gu, Lu and others respect us all the four seasons, we must not live up to our lives because of this!

The officials believed that Gu, Lu and other four families should be allowed to recognize the seriousness of the matter as soon as possible, abandon the fantasy of trying to resist taxes and evade taxes, and use practical actions to help the construction of the port and take the opportunity to clear away the suspicion!

The sooner the port is put into use, the sooner the commercial tax levyed by the court enters Taicang, and the crime of rebellion will be unavailable. As long as we pass this level, we should use our relationship to transfer to other places as soon as possible, so that things will have nothing to do with us anymore!”

Huang Shengju's suggestion made Xie Ruyun and Geng Yuanren nod.

Gu Shenqing and others are very close to the three of them on weekdays, and every time the three of them have various birthdays, birthdays, 100-month-day, weddings and funerals, the four major maritime merchants will give them generous gifts. It is precisely because of this close relationship that Gu Shenqing and others can be rampant in Songjiang Mansion.

Xie Ruyun and others also knew this time the attack on officials, because Gu Shenqing and others had made a special trip to seek their opinions on this matter, but the final result was beyond their expectations.

At that time, Gu Shenqing promised them that they would only drive away or injure the officials sent by the Ministry of Works, so that these people from the court would be scared and retreat. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a vicious murder. The extremely contemptuous behavior of Gu Shenqing and others also made Xie Ruyun and others very dissatisfied with him. However, because the two sides were too close and almost integrated, they could only pinch their noses and admit the matter, and in the report they said it was a civil rebellion.

"Wenchang's proposal is very appropriate. I will ask someone to go to Gu's family later! In addition, Lu Jiandou's reconstruction of the port should be taken as a major matter, and Wenchang will be fully responsible for this matter! But tomorrow, he will personally accompany the Ministry of Justice to search for clues everywhere, without any cover-up!"

After Xie Ruyun said that, Huang Shengju and Geng Yuanren nodded in response.

Because all the relevant persons involved in this matter have been removed, Xie Ruyun and others are not worried that the people sent by the Ministry of Justice will find any clues to solve the case.

Even the Jinyiwei Qianhu Office in Songjiang Prefecture has not found any evidence related to this case so far, let alone these unfamiliar Beijing officials.
Chapter completed!