Before the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, that is, more than ten or twenty years ago, there were many rebels in the previous dynasty, and there were also some rebels who proclaimed themselves emperors and kings.

Before the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the late emperor led his brothers and sons to eliminate many rebels and civilian rebels from the previous dynasty. By the time Emperor Wu of Zhou ascended the throne, the rebels and civilian rebels from the previous dynasty had been eliminated.

Almost there.

Han Zhong escaped the fate of being annihilated because he ran to Shu. As for Dong Jin, he was like a rat in the gutter, hiding in the "gutter" that no one could see.

For more than ten years, Emperor Wu of Zhou had been looking for Dong Jin and his accomplices, but he had never found them.

It stands to reason that a group of people like Dong Jin would be easy to find, but they could not be found. Emperor Wu of Zhou speculated that someone was deliberately protecting them so that they could not be found.

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty had been established for more than ten years and had basically recovered the territories that had been fragmented during the previous dynasty, the imperial court's intimidation did not completely reach all states.

Yangzhou has been the most prosperous area in Jiangnan since ancient times. Here, there are many wealthy businessmen, centuries-old aristocratic families, and literati.

Although these dignitaries submitted to the Zhou Dynasty, they did not sincerely submit to the Zhou Dynasty. Yangzhou was far away from the capital, Tiangao Emperor, and these people colluded with each other to conceal certain things from the imperial court, and even fought against the imperial court.

These people deliberately concealed Dong Jin's traces from the court, or deliberately favored Dong Jin. Or they cooperated with Dong Jin to fight against the court.

Emperor Wu of Zhou had long known what the situation was like in Yangzhou, but because Yangzhou was too far away from the capital, and the wealthy families in Yangzhou were no worse than those in the capital, it was not easy to move them. Furthermore, it was difficult to move them at the slightest hint.

whole body.

Zhao Yao told them some interesting things in Lanyuan Pavilion. Of course, including the incident of him stealing orchids.

As long as Dong Jin is brought out, the imperial court can use him as an excuse to clean up the "local snakes" in Yangzhou. Although it cannot give the local snakes a fatal blow, it can hit them hard so that they will not dare to go against the court anymore and obey the court obediently.

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For the late emperor and Emperor Wu of Zhou who were born as farmers, what they hated most was the aristocratic families. Since ancient times, aristocratic families have dominated the officialdom, and their power is strong. They have to cooperate with these aristocratic families, and they have to treat them as snakes.

The capital also has its own salt, but the salt from the north seems not as tasty as the salt from Yangzhou. He has never tasted the salt from the capital, but he heard from Tongxi that the salt from the capital is a bit bitter.

"Exchanging salt for grain seeds?" Zhao Yao asked in shock, "Isn't there salt in Yangzhou? Why exchange salt with Shu?" As far as he knows, Yangzhou's salt is the most in the entire Jiangnan region. It seems that Yangzhou's salt sales

In many places, even in the capital there are shops specializing in selling Yangzhou salt, and the business is very good. The salt his second uncle's family eats is Yangzhou salt. The salt used in the palace is also the high-quality salt sent as tribute from Yangzhou.

Fifth Princess: "..." Actually, orchids are quite delicious.

The salt sent as tribute from Yangzhou was naturally for the consumption of the palace masters, and eunuchs and maids were not eligible to eat it. The salt they ate with Tongxi was salt produced in the capital itself.

After hearing this, Zhao Yao rolled his eyes at the fifth princess indecently, "Fifth sister, are you expecting me to be beaten or scolded by my husband?"

"Who told you not to study hard?" The fifth princess laughed unceremoniously at Zhao Yao, "Without fourth brother and eighth brother to protect you, you would definitely be scolded and slapped on the palm by your husband every day."

Laiqian and Laixi continued to talk about what they knew.

Zhao Yao said with a smile: "Thank you for the compliment."

"Fifth sister, it seems that you didn't eat orchids with me." Zhao Yao said angrily, "If you have the ability, don't eat orchids next time."

In order to allow children from poor families to enter the officialdom and break the monopoly of officialdom by wealthy families, the late emperor asked the Li family to establish the Imperial Academy.

"Tenth brother, Mr. He must hate you to death."

Liang Zhaoyi and Zhao Yao went to the study room.

Zhao Yao told Liang Zhaoyi in detail what they had told him before he received the money.

Before his death, the late emperor repeatedly told Emperor Wu of Zhou that he wanted to combat the arrogance of wealthy families. He could no longer let wealthy families control the fate of the Zhou Dynasty, and had to allow children from poorer families to enter the officialdom.

"Yao Yao, it's time for lunch."

At present, these things in Yangzhou are controlled by wealthy businessmen and aristocratic families. They deliberately hide it from the court and only give out a little at a time to perfunctory the court.

【good.】

The fifth princess was very unhappy about Zhao Yao having lunch at Lanyuan Pavilion every day some time ago.

After hearing what Lai Qian and Lai Xi said, Zhao Yao felt a storm in his heart. He did not expect that the situation in Yangzhou was so dangerous.

After Yangzhou is completely captured, Emperor Wu of Zhou will send officials from the capital to manage Yangzhou. Now the officials in Yangzhou are basically the children of aristocratic families, which means that the entire officialdom of Yangzhou is controlled by aristocratic families.

When Liang Zhaoyi heard this, her heart suddenly sank, and she immediately said, "Let's talk after lunch."

Zhao Yao did not understand the extremely complicated situation in Yangzhou. He only noticed that there was something strange about the rebellion in Yangzhou from the fact that Xie Shi went to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion but failed. If his grandfather's family had not been in Yangzhou, he would not have known anything about it.

Invite Qian and Laixi to go to Yangzhou to learn about the situation.

The most important reason is that the imperial court must completely capture Yangzhou. In this way, the food, salt, and iron ore in Yangzhou can be completely controlled by the imperial court.

Zhao Yao walked up to Liang Zhaoyi and said to her in a serious tone: "Mother, the situation in Yangzhou is more serious and dangerous than we imagined."

After lunch, Poppy and Pan Cairen returned to their palaces.

After listening to this, Liang Zhaoyi and Zhao Yao both had very solemn expressions.

These wealthy businessmen and aristocratic families have existed for hundreds of years, and their power is very huge. Although they were exploited by the previous Xia Ling Emperor, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. It is impossible to destroy them with one blow.

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Xie Shi's trip to Yangzhou to quell the chaos was just a cover to test the wealthy businessmen and wealthy families in Yangzhou. Of course, it was also a fishhook to lure Dong Jin out.

"I disappoint you. No fourth brother and eighth brother are here, and I haven't been beaten or scolded by my husband."

Zhao Yao had something on his mind and ignored the fifth princess's ridicule.

"I didn't steal He Xiang's precious orchids." Zhao Yao said confidently, "I took ordinary orchids, He Xiang shouldn't hate me."

"Oh, here we come." Zhao Yao touched Lai Qian and Lai Xi's little heads and said with a smile, "You can tell me again after I finish lunch."

Zhao Yao frowned and said to himself: "Is the salt in Shu better than the salt in Yangzhou? Or do they want more salt to do something?"

If you want to deal with these "local snakes" in Yangzhou, you have to be patient and give them a fatal blow. Emperor Wu of Zhou never thought of wiping out the wealthy businessmen and wealthy families in Yangzhou with one move. This is unrealistic.

The situation in Yangzhou is very complicated. If you don't plan and arrange it carefully, you won't be able to deal with these wealthy businessmen and powerful families.

"Mother and concubine, does the emperor know these things, so he deliberately sent the Xie family to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion?" Xie Shi has been going to Yangzhou to rebel for more than half a year, but there has been no progress. However, the emperor is not angry, and he has not sent Xie Shi to Yangzhou to rebel.

He was called back and no one else was sent to quell the rebellion in Yangzhou. This is very strange, unless the emperor knew about the situation in Yangzhou and deliberately sent Xie Shi to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion.

Seeing that Zhao Yao did not quarrel with her, the fifth princess was surprised, and then asked with concern: "Tenth brother, what's wrong with you? Were you scolded or beaten by your husband?"

Hearing this, Liang Zhaoyi shook her head helplessly: "You..."

When the fifth princess saw Zhao Yao, she asked him angrily why he didn't have lunch at Lanyuan Pavilion.

Liang Zhaoyi saw that Zhao Yao was not coming to the dining hall for a meal, so she had to come out to call him.

The fifth princess was so angry that she was about to say something to Zhao Yao when Poppy warned her: "Eat well and don't talk."

Taixue has been established for more than ten years, and currently it has imported some children from poor families to the imperial court. Although the power of these children from poor families is still unable to resist the famous families, the late emperor and Emperor Wu of Zhou believed that in the future, when the children from poor families grow stronger, they will be able to resist the powerful families.

The fifth princess curled her lips and said, "I didn't praise you."

He had already guessed that Xie Shi's trip to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion would not go smoothly, and those wealthy businessmen and powerful families would secretly hinder Xie Shi's efforts to quell the rebellion.

At the end of last year, Emperor Wu of Zhou received a secret letter and learned that Dong Jin was in Yangzhou and that he was hidden by the wealthy families in Yangzhou. He began to plan and arrange everything, and deliberately sent Xie Shi to Yangzhou to quell the chaos.

After hearing this, Liang Zhaoyi frowned and said with a serious expression: "I didn't expect people from Yangzhou to collude with Dong Jin and Han Zhong."

Laixi said: [I don’t know about that. 】

The fifth princess wanted to say something more, but Beauty Poppy glared at her, and she did not dare to say anything more.

Mei Yu and Pan Cairen were a little curious about Lan Yuan Pavilion, and kept asking Zhao Yao about Lan Yuan Pavilion during the meal.

"By the way, concubine, let the little kitchen make me steamed buns with orchid stuffing tonight."

"You should know." Liang Zhaoyi said with emotion, "No wonder the rebellion in Yangzhou has not been put down for a long time."

Taixue is open to students from all over the world. Regardless of their origins, as long as they are talented, they can enter Taixue to study. If they perform well in Taixue, they can enter the officialdom.

Seeing that the fifth princess was silent, Zhao Yao gave her a look of contempt.

"Eat fried orchids and use orchids as stuffing for steamed buns. You, tenth brother, are definitely the best in the world."

[By the way, Yaoyao, that Han Zhong exchanged salt for Yangzhou grain seeds.] Laixi almost forgot about this.

Laiqian and Laixi went to Yangzhou for a while and heard a lot from their friends. They also heard a lot of things with their own ears. But they are animals after all. No matter how smart they are, they are not as smart as humans and cannot understand.

The meaning behind what they see or hear.

By the way, what can salt do?

No, what big thing can salt do?

He felt that the wealthy businessmen and famous families in Yangzhou were definitely doing something big in the salt business. He asked his second uncle to write a letter to his grandfather and ask him to investigate the matter secretly.

Zhao Yao suddenly thought of something, his face changed drastically, and he lowered his voice and said: "Mother, concubine, the people in Yangzhou don't want to rebel, do they?" They are engaged in salt and iron ore to make weapons. This is definitely a rebellion.

Otherwise, what are they doing?

Liang Zhaoyi also thought of this and said with a very serious look: "It's very possible." Otherwise, these things cannot be explained.

Zhao Yao gasped; "This... is too scary."

"Since your father knows the situation in Yangzhou, he will not allow such a thing to happen." Liang Zhaoyi was full of confidence in Emperor Wu of Zhou, "The affairs in Yangzhou should be under the control of your father."

"That's good, but grandpa and the others are still very dangerous. You still have to remind grandpa to be careful."
Chapter completed!