Five thousand strings of cash was equivalent to five million coins, which was not a small amount. Even in the imperial court, it was an amount that could only be decided by the Prime Minister. Chang 'an City was in an uproar.
"Your Majesty, the Minister of Foreign Affairs impeached the magistrate and arrester of Xingyang County for intercepting the caravan and causing the destruction of lychees worth five thousand strings of cash in Xingyang." In the Taiji Palace, Feng Zhidai said indignantly. Lychees were a specialty of Lingnan. As the representative of Lingnan, it was natural for him to speak out.
"False accusation! It's a false accusation. According to the Minister's knowledge, the lychees were detained in Xingyang for only a day. How could they be spoiled so suddenly? In my opinion, Mo Jiazi must have planned this from the start. "An official from an aristocratic family retorted angrily.
"Lychees are not suitable to be stored. As the saying goes, their color changes after one day and their fragrance changes after two days …" Feng Zhidai proudly informed everyone about lychees.
"What nonsense! As far as I know, the lychees transported by the Mo Family are mostly kept fresh with ice. They won't spoil after a day. "
"It's said that the Mo Family's method of keeping lychees fresh can keep them for a whole month."
…
One by one, the officials spoke up for the magistrate of Xingyang County.
"Then, may I ask why the magistrate of Xingyang County detained the lychees for no reason? As we all know, lychees are fresh fruits and are not easy to store. The longer they are stored, the higher the risk of spoiling. The caravan transported the lychees day and night without any delay. However, they were detained in Xingyang County for an entire day. Otherwise, they would have arrived at Chang 'an City long ago." Feng Zhidai sneered.
"Ah!"
The officials were shocked. They immediately understood that the Jiangnan family's purpose was not the lychees, but the detention of the caravan for no reason. Xingyang County was a transportation hub. It was the chokepoint of the Mo Family. If the magistrate of Xingyang County was replaced, Mo Jiazi would be like a tiger roaring in the forest or a dragon roaring in the sea.
What made the five families and seven nobles even more worried was that the Jiangnan aristocratic families were helping the son of the Mo family. Didn't that mean that they were moved by the so-called development of Jiangnan and decided to cooperate with the Mo family?
Many high-ranking officials couldn't help but look at the Duke of Song, Xiao Yu, at the front of the group of officials. However, Xiao Yu remained unmoved.
Although the Five Families and Seven Kingdoms were powerful, the Jiangnan Aristocratic Family was independent. In terms of territory and strength, they were not too far off from the Five Families and Seven Kingdoms. Moreover, they had great potential. Now, Mo Jiazi had just made up for this shortcoming.
After Xiao Rui's return report, coupled with the frenzy of lychee sales in Chang 'an City, Xiao Rui firmly believes that the prospects of Jiangnan's development are promising.
How could Xiao Yu, who had experienced the world, not understand? Compared to the illusory promises of the Five Families and Seven Hopes, the Jiangnan Aristocratic Family was more willing to believe in the Mo Family's sincerity.
"The fate of Jiangnan can only be controlled in your own hands." Xiao Yu said firmly. He was a descendant of the royal family and had experienced the fall of the dynasty. He naturally knew the importance of controlling his own fate. If the Mo family cooperated with Jiangnan, they would certainly be on equal footing with the Five Families and Seven Hopes as the Mo family envisioned.
Even if one day, the Five Families and Seven Hopes kept their promise to help Jiangnan, how could they not do it secretly? At that time, the Jiangnan Aristocratic Family could only become a vassal of the Five Families and Seven Hopes, and the rise of Jiangnan would be just a joke.
"Xingyang is a transportation hub, and routine inspection of goods is common." An aristocratic family official argued.
"A common occurrence? As far as I know, the Xingyang County Magistrate has detained the goods of the Mo Family Village for no reason more than once or twice. Moreover, in addition to the Mo Family Village, even the traveling merchants have been subjected to many difficulties. "A Jiangnan Imperial Censor angrily rebuked.
"Is this true?" Li Shimin frowned.
"Yes, this is absolutely true, especially the Constable of Xingyang County, who eats and drinks and takes cards, and the traveling merchants passing through Xingyang County will be peeled off." The Jiangnan Imperial Censor angrily said.
The Constable of Xingyang thought that he had the support of the Zheng Family, and he was extremely arrogant because he often intercepted the goods of the Mo Family. He even took the opportunity to extend his evil hands to ordinary traveling merchants, and then secretly attacked the traveling merchants in the name of intercepting the goods of the Mo Family Village. It could be said that his table manners were extremely ugly, and it would be strange if he was not caught.
"That is only the Constable of Xingyang's words. I will write a letter to reprimand the Xingyang County Magistrate and ask him to investigate thoroughly immediately." The aristocratic family official immediately abandoned the rook to protect the general, and was ready to abandon the Xingyang County Magistrate as an abandoned pawn.
"I am afraid that if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked! The Constable of Xingyang's bad behavior, I am afraid that without the connivance of the Xingyang County Magistrate, it is impossible to do it. In my opinion, the culprit must be the Xingyang County Magistrate. It is his connivance that led to the tragedy of the five thousand goods being destroyed. "The Jiangnan Imperial Censor clenched his teeth and refused to let go.
In an instant, the officials of various surnames and the aristocratic family of Jiangnan quarreled together. This time, although there were not many officials of the aristocratic family of Jiangnan, they had grasped the weakness of Xingyang County. One tried to drag the Xingyang County Magistrate into the water, while the other wanted to abandon the pawn to protect the cart. The two sides could not agree.
"Your Majesty, please make a decision." Seeing that the quarrel could not be resolved, the officials of Jiangnan turned to Li Shimin and asked.
Suddenly, all the officials in the court quieted down. The reason why they could blatantly block the vehicles of the Mo Family was that they took advantage of the loophole of the law of the Tang dynasty. The County Magistrate did have the right to inspect the traveling merchants. Even if it was brought to Li Shimin, they would have room to defend themselves.
However, the aristocratic family official did not expect that Mo Jiazi first started the lychee craze in Chang 'an, and then made the aristocratic family of Jiangnan pull the Jiangnan Imperial Censor into a pirate ship. Then, he cheated the Xingyang County Magistrate with hundreds of carriages of bad lychees. The nominal loss of five thousand strings of goods was instantly used by the aristocratic family of Jiangnan Imperial Censor. This time, the Xingyang County Magistrate would not pass so easily.
Li Shimin sat firmly on the throne and did not rush to give an order. Instead, he turned to look at Xiao Yu and said, "Xiao Yu, in your opinion, how should we deal with this matter?"
Suddenly, everyone's eyes were focused on Xiao Yu, Marquess of Song. Xiao Yu looked around and saw the hopeful eyes of the aristocratic family of Jiangnan Imperial Censor, as well as the warning and anxious look of the aristocratic family official.
Xiao Yu stood out and said, "Merton once said that no agriculture is stable, no industry is rich, and no business is able to live. Continuous traveling merchants can allow the Tang dynasty to trade with each other. Traveling merchants can allow the people of Chang 'an to taste the tribute oranges of Yazhou and the lychees of Lingnan. If traveling merchants are cut off, not only will the fruit farmers be busy for a year, but they can only watch the fruit rot on the branches with nothing to gain. The people of Chang' an will not have the luck to taste delicious food, and the court will lose a lot of taxes."
Li Shimin nodded and said, "Xiao Yu's words are reasonable."
"As far as I know, Xingyang County is not the only one that detains traveling merchants for no reason. There are countless people like the County Magistrate of Xingyang County in the world. Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly. "Xiao Yu said proudly.
"Wow!"
Suddenly, the aristocratic family officials could not help but be in an uproar. They did not expect that Xiao Yu would dare to go against the will of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes and publicly support Mo Jiazi. They also did not expect that Xiao Yu would be so ruthless that he was not satisfied with just taking down the County Magistrate of Xingyang County. He even wanted to attack the other officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes.
It should be known that in order to encircle and suppress Mo Jiazi, the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes had used a lot of shady means. In addition, they usually detained traveling merchants. Perhaps not many of them could withstand investigation.
Li Shimin smiled mysteriously and pushed the boat with the current. He said, "In that case, this matter will be handed over to Xiao Yu to investigate."
A group of Jiangnan officials could not help but cheer in their hearts. Xiao Yu was the leader of Jiangnan. He had personally expressed his willingness to cooperate with the Mo Family and had the support of His Majesty. Didn't this mean that the development of Jiangnan could be carried out smoothly? Thinking of the huge benefits of the development of Jiangnan, a group of Jiangnan officials could not help but be excited.
In contrast to the excited Jiangnan officials, the officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes were suddenly dispirited. If Jiangnan and the Mo Family joined forces, then they would have used a lot of political resources and used a lot of financial resources. In the end, they would have failed. This time, the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes had suffered a great loss.
The officials of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes looked at Xiao Yu in disbelief. They did not understand why Xiao Yu would join forces with the Mo Family. It should be known that they had secretly promised Xiao Yu more.
However, Xiao Yu lowered his head and lowered his eyelids. The Five Surnames and Seven Hopes had indeed promised him more. However, his Xiao Family's foundation was in Jiangnan. He did not have the power and influence of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes. He was only the leader chosen by the aristocratic families of Jiangnan. Without the support of the aristocratic families of Jiangnan, his position would be even more awkward.
Of course, there was an even more important reason. It was Li Shimin's position. Li Shimin did not want to see Mo Jiazi lose, nor did he want to see the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes dominate. The aristocratic families of Jiangnan were important chess pieces to contend against the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes. This was the reason why Xiao Yu did not hesitate to stand on their side.
Using the Mo Family's Mo skills to prosper Jiangnan and obtaining the support of His Majesty, there was hope to contend against the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes. This time, Jiangnan would definitely be the biggest beneficiary.
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