Chapter 472 Thousands
Han Ruzi always felt that there were leakers by his side.
Zhao Ruosu was indeed able to understand many of the emperor's plans in advance, but he was far from being comprehensive. He and the emperor were only a cooperative relationship, neither favored nor a friend. There should be no way of knowing the private and vague thoughts in the emperor's heart.
But the ministers in the court seem to live in the heart of the emperor, and they are extremely accurate, always moving in peace between appeasing the emperor and angering the emperor.
Han Ruzi couldn't believe anyone, but he couldn't expel everyone around him because of this. He expelled Zhao Ruosu, and then silently observed and looked for evidence.
Nothing so far.
When he came to Huxian, Han Ruzi suddenly sighed with emotion that Yang Feng was his best teacher, courtier and companion. He said that he was a friend a bit too much, but he understood each other and rarely made mistakes.
Yang Feng is not without selfishness, but his selfishness and the emperor's well water do not violate the river water.
Han Ruzi had already decreed that large-scale visits from all over the country would be avoided on the way to the hunt, and only major local officials would be allowed to enter the camp to meet with them.
Wang Pingyang officially joined the Ministry of Rites. He was not a big official, and was responsible for communicating with the forerunners and officials along the way. He did a good job, always in line with the emperor's wishes, and kept everything simple and minimized waste.
In this way, Han Ruzi can also have more rest time, but he usually only goes to bed at the second shift, and slept later today in order to wait for Jin Chunzhong.
Jin Chunzhong came to Hu County to investigate many days in advance, and received the emperor's instructions before leaving.
It wasn't until after the third watch that Jin Chunzhong finally came. He smelled of alcohol. Zhang Youcai, who led him into the tent, frowned, very dissatisfied, and a little surprised. Jin Chunzhong was always respectful, but he could make mistakes and drink before seeing the driver.
Jin Chunzhong knelt down and bowed, his body swayed slightly, it was difficult to keep his balance, "Your Majesty, forgive me, Wei Chen has to drink this wine."
"Get up and talk." Han Ruzi nodded to Zhang Youcai, the eunuch exited the tent, and shook his head at Jin Chunzhong's back before leaving.
"Have you found it?" Han Ruzi asked, with a little anticipation in his heart.
After Jin Chunzhong got up, the shaking became more obvious, "There is no clue, Yang Feng's family may have moved out of this place."
Han Ruzi's brows also furrowed.
Jin Chunzhong couldn't see the emperor's expression clearly. There was only a trace of sobriety left in his heart. He wanted to tell the emperor what he had heard about these days, so he stepped forward and said eagerly, "Your Majesty has been fooled."
"Huh? Are you joking?" Han Ruzi didn't react, thinking that Jin Chunzhong's previous words were lying to himself, thinking that the so-called drunkenness is really accurate.
Jin Chunzhong shook his head vigorously to make himself more awake, "Jokes? No jokes, Your Majesty remembers Miss Yaoyue? She is also in Huxian County. Thanks to her, Weichen's trip to Huxian County didn't come in vain..."
Jin Chunzhong felt that he had made it very clear, but the emperor heard it was a mess, and interrupted sternly, "Where did you come from Yaoyue? How could I recognize such a woman? Jin Chunzhong, what the hell did you do in Hu County?"
When he was drunk by the emperor, Jin Chunzhong was startled, the smell of alcohol rose up, and he understood in his heart, but his mouth was even more clumsy, "Your Majesty, your Majesty, calm down. Your Majesty doesn't recognize or recognize Yaoyue? Oh, yes, it's Wei Chen who made a mistake, remembered. Wrong. That's how it happened, Yaoyue first worked as a singer in the workshop, then was bought by the Liang family, then went to Zhang's family, then to Li's family, and then to Yan's family... It's not that she did something wrong, but Too good at doing things, either by being jealous of the main room, or by others..."
Han Ruzi waved his hand and asked Jin Chunzhong to come over, "Drink a few sips of tea, sit over there to sober up, and come over and talk."
The emperor's words were the imperial decree, and Jin Chunzhong immediately carried it out. He grabbed the teapot on the table. He didn't find the teacup. It's a big deal, Your Majesty..."
"Sit down over there, sober up first." Han Ruzi interrupted, he really didn't want to listen to nonsense anymore, he was already very polite to Jin Chunzhong, and if it was someone else, he would have already driven out of the tent.
The only chair in the tent was sat by the emperor, and there were a few round stools left. Jin Chunzhong picked one and sat down, took a deep breath, and tried to control his body, trying to prove that he was sober.
After three breaths, Jin Chunzhong fell down, crawled on the carpet, and fell asleep.
Zhang Youcai outside heard the sound, went in to check, and was stunned when he saw Jin Chunzhong's appearance.
Han Ruzi got up, "Don't worry about him, let him sleep here."
There was no need for Han Ruzi to stay up late, he went back to his sleeping tent to rest, Zhang Youcai sent the emperor away, returned to the study tent, helped Jin Chunzhong, covered a thin quilt, shook his head and left.
Concubine Shu Deng Yun had already slept. She was already used to the life of patrolling hunters, but she must ensure her sleep. No matter what the emperor did, she had to go to bed early anyway.
Han Ruzi was lying on the bed, still operating the breathing method according to his habit. When he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly thought that he could drive away the people around him, but he could not drive away the habits they left behind.
The next day he got up very early. According to the original plan, he would leave Hu County before noon without local officials. It was not an important town. The emperor was just passing by.
Han Ruzi's life is very regular. After getting up, he first read the new memorials that were sent overnight, and browsed through them. There were no important memorials. He had breakfast with Concubine Shu, who got up later, and then summoned the accompanying officials and generals. It's not too long, and it can end more than an hour before noon.
By this time, the vanguard team had already set off and went to clear the road. The emperor had about half an hour of free time, and he could go on the road when he was ready.
As soon as he got busy, Han Ruzi almost forgot about Jin Chunzhong. He only remembered it a moment before departure and asked Zhang Youcai, "Where's Jin Chunzhong?"
"I woke up in the middle of the night last night, and I have been waiting to see Your Majesty." Zhang Youcai replied.
Han Ruzi thought for a while, and passed on the decree to let the team wait another quarter of an hour before he came to see Jin Chunzhong.
All the tables and chairs in the tent had been emptied, leaving only an empty tent. Jin Chunzhong stood inside with a red face, kneeling when he saw the emperor.
Han Ruzi raised his hand to stop it, "Do you want to say it now, or go with me and talk about it on the way?"
The emperor did not accuse, Jin Chunzhong's face turned even redder, but he was fully awake and knew what was the most important thing, and immediately said: "Wei Chen encounters a maid next to General Huang Pugong here, and she wants to sue the imperial court."
"Is that the girl who invites the moon?"
Jin Chunzhong had already forgotten what he said last night, he was stunned for a moment, "Your Majesty forgive me..."
"Excuse your innocence, since you are General Huang's maid, why didn't you file a complaint in the capital, but went to Hu County?"
Jin Chunzhong recounted the experience that Yaoyue was threatened by Yan Pengshi and had to escape.
"Her suspicion is reasonable, but since Yan Pengshi is unwilling to give up her maid, why did she give her to Huang Pugong in the first place?"
"Yaoyue is also puzzled. At that time, Master Yan Peng went home angrily and didn't explain anything."
Han Ruzi thought for a while, "You stay, take Yaoyue to the East China Sea, don't follow too closely."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Yaoyue is not an ordinary maid. She was born in a knight's house and should not stay in the patrol team. Han Ruzi has already sent someone to investigate Huang Pugong's disappearance at sea. When he arrives in the East China Sea, he may need Yaoyue as a witness.
There were still a large number of people waiting outside, and they were all lined up on horses. Han Ruzi turned to leave, and Jin Chunzhong hurriedly said: "There is one more thing, Your Majesty should know."
"Tell me, be brief." Han Ruzi hesitated for a moment and decided to give Jin Chunzhong a chance.
"This Song He is not simple. He specializes in buying and selling people, going in and out of Jiangmenhou's mansion, and getting to know many powerful people in the court."
Strictly speaking, Da Chu prohibits buying and selling people, and only allows the signing of slave contracts, which have a time limit and also have wages, but in the private sector, this is a "sell contract". His mother entered the palace like this at the beginning, and after giving birth to her son, she would never leave.
"Yeah." Han Ruzi knew that this kind of thing was not legal, but he didn't have the energy to interfere.
"Wei Chen drank with him last night." Jin Chunzhong's face turned red again, "Finally, he was quoted to reveal the truth after drinking. It turns out that he is not just buying and selling women, but his business is much bigger. He claims to be 'tens of thousands'."
The average Ren Yazi handles only a few dozen people, even hundreds of people. Han Ruzi said, "He's not bragging, right?"
"Wei Chen thought so too, so he laughed at him, Song He added, 'Thousands' are all modest, he has the cooperation of the government, the business is very big, and he sells it in the farms of the princes all over the country. Servant, he also said that business has been particularly good in the past few years, and there are thousands of people for sale in Hu County. Song He thought that Wei Chen came to visit unannounced, so he bought Wei Chen, and the price was 100,000 taels."
Han Ruzi's heart moved, "Where did he get so many people?"
"He didn't elaborate. I was in a hurry to see the emperor, and I didn't have time to ask questions."
Han Ruzi was pacing back and forth in the tent, and Zhang Youcai lifted the curtain twice and probed the emperor silently.
Han Ruzi stopped, "Then you can stay for a few more days, ask things clearly, and then come to see me in the East China Sea, do you need help?"
"No, too many people will lead to suspicion." Jin Chunzhong had a ready-made reason for staying, that is, Yaoyue, he was very obsessed with this woman, and he had gained Song He's trust.
Han Ruzi got out of the tent and mounted the horse, and the team went out of the camp.
During this tour, Concubine Shu was allowed to ride in a carriage. , and a number of advisors personally selected by the emperor, the simple sorting problem gave the Ministry of Rites a headache for several days.
The team was orderly, and the emperor was surrounded by close ministers and guards, each guarding his position, and no one could be ahead or behind.
King Donghai and Cui Teng were close ministers, and they were the nominal generals of the Suwei Army, so they were closest to the emperor. King Donghai asked with a smile, "Is it Jin Chunzhong? Wouldn't your majesty take him on the road?"
"Let's talk when he finds someone." Han Ruzi said coldly, showing some dissatisfaction with Jin Chunzhong.
The emperor didn't have many secrets. Jin Chunzhong was looking for Yang Feng's family. Several people around him could guess it, but the emperor didn't admit it, and they didn't mention it, which happened to be an excellent cover up.
In the evening of the same day, Han Ruzi kept thinking while reading the memorial: When the refugees were resettled, they recruited many soldiers. Where did these people go? Could it be the reason for Song He's "good business"?
There are few people in Yunmengze reclaiming wasteland, but there are "thousands" of traitors who sell people.