Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 609 Secret Investigation

The few people who heard the driver's words had all experienced troubled times, so they naturally knew that what he said was from the bottom of his heart. In times of peace and prosperity, if local officials wanted to harm the people, they had to do it secretly, for fear of being discovered.

But if it is a time of chaos, an army full of murderous intent will not only harm the people, but it is also common to massacre the entire city.

A few people used the excuse that they wanted to open a shop in Jining City, so the coachman Sun took them around the streets of Jining City.

When Meng Jun came out, he thought he would encounter some playboys bullying common women and taking advantage of their power to bully others, but after walking around Jining City for a long time, he didn't see anything.

On the way, Meng Jun casually asked the coachman Sun whether there were any playboys or corrupt officials in Jining City who took advantage of their power to bully others.

As a result, the driver Sun fell into deep thought, and after a long while he said: "No, there are no wealthy families in Jining City now like in the former Ming Dynasty. I have never seen such a dandy boy who bullies others by taking advantage of his power. As for corrupt officials, there must be some, but I am a rickshaw driver, how can I know?"

Meng Jun just asked this casually. Even if there really were corrupt officials, Meng Jun would not arrest them on the spot. Instead, he would take normal channels and let the court send officials to investigate. If there were problems with the investigation results, Meng Jun could also let the Qingluan Guards conduct another secret investigation. He would never take action on his own and violate procedures.

Looking at the peaceful situation in Jining City, Meng Jun felt that perhaps it was because Jining was too close to the capital, and local officials were still wary and afraid.

In the capital, common people are generally bolder, after all, they live under the feet of the emperor. If an official goes too far and makes a big fuss, it can easily lead to a major incident. Therefore, although officials in the capital are noble, they are not as good as local officials in some aspects.

Moreover, generally speaking, the farther away from the ruling center, the weaker the court's supervision will be. Over time, it will be easier for corruption to occur and for local tyrants to exploit the people.

Therefore, after finishing his trip to Jining, Meng Jun did not leave the group, but went all the way south along the canal. In every city, Meng Jun met with local officials and warned them to work hard and take the court's laws to heart.

As for whether it would be useful to say it, Meng Jun had a question mark in his mind, but it was better to say it than not to say it.

When the emperor arrived in Yangzhou, Meng Jun went into the city on purpose. Yangzhou was once an extremely prosperous city on the north bank of the Yangtze River during the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, after Duoduo's massacre, the prosperity was gone after so many years. However, the situation at this time was much better than when Yangzhou was just recovered. At least it was no longer sparsely populated.

Meng Jun crossed the Yangtze River and saw white sails shuttling on the south of the Yangtze River, a busy scene. Meng Jun returned to the city of Jinling where he had been away for a long time. He had stayed in this city for many years. Meng Jun could still feel the excitement in his heart when he just captured Jinling.

After he captured the city of Jinling, his power expanded further, like adding fuel to a raging fire, and he was unstoppable all the way until he finally achieved his empire.

The news of the emperor's southern tour had already spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River. When the people in the city heard that the emperor was coming, they flocked to the streets, shouting "Long live the emperor!"

Meng Jun did not live in the palace in Jinling, but instead stayed in the former shogunate. Looking at the familiar courtyard, he seemed to be able to touch the past. At that time, he was ambitious and planned day and night just to seek survival in this troubled time.

Afterwards, Meng Jun summoned local officials, who had already been waiting outside the shogunate for a long time. Upon hearing that the emperor had summoned them, they were all somewhat terrified.

After Meng Jun approached the officials, he smiled and said to Shen Congwen: "Officials only report good news and not bad news. I don't believe what I saw today was not arranged by local officials."

Shen Congwen bowed and said, "Your Majesty's achievements in civil and military administration may not have been arranged by officials, but rather the people love you and welcome you spontaneously."

………………

In the Jiangnan region, since Meng Jun opened up maritime trade, the enthusiasm of the gentry and merchants in Jiangnan has been aroused, and a large number of factories have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

Many of the wealthy people in Jiangnan have earned wealth through industry and trade that would have been difficult to obtain in the past hundreds of years. However, the wild growth of capital must have led to sins that Meng Jun did not understand.

Among the places in the south of the Yangtze River, Songjiang Prefecture has access to rivers and seas and a superior geographical location. After the rise of commercial maritime trade, its development speed is even faster than that of Nanjing.

Therefore, Meng Jun stayed in Jinling City for a day, and then went to Songjiang Prefecture secretly with Shen Congwen and Lu Ping.

When Meng Jun left, he left Yu An in Jinling so that others would not know that he had left Jinling. At the same time, Meng Jun strictly ordered Yu An not to disclose the news of his leaving Jinling, and to block all officials who wanted to see him.

The few people took a boat along the Yangtze River to Songjiang, which took only two days. Once they arrived in Songjiang, Meng Jun used the same trick again, and this time he hired a horse-drawn carriage.

Songjiang seemed even busier than Jinling. The harbor was full of masts and the dock was bustling with people. Foreign faces could be seen everywhere on the dock. It was a completely different experience from being in the north.

The driver hired by Lu Ping was also a local. His surname was Yang and his given name was Xiuqing. He was in his fifties this year.

When Meng Jun first heard the name, he was stunned. This name seemed familiar, the East King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Meng Jun shook his head and felt a little strange in his heart. If it weren't for the age mismatch, he would have thought that the East King had also come to the late Ming Dynasty.

This Yang Xiuqing looked different from the rickshaw driver Meng Jun hired in Jining. The old rickshaw driver Yang's words and expressions revealed an undisguised sense of superiority, which made Lu Ping very unhappy, but Meng Jun did not care and talked to him with great interest.

According to old coachman Yang, he had several houses in Songjiang Prefecture, which he rented out to outsiders on a daily basis. The rent alone was enough to support his family without having to worry about food and drink.

Not to mention that his two sons have set up a factory, which makes a fortune every day. His son-in-law is also a capable man. He just passed the imperial examination this year and will become an official soon. His future prospects are limitless.

Meng Jun was stunned after hearing these words. You are so rich, and you are over 50 years old. Instead of enjoying yourself at home, you have to come out to pull a cart.

Hearing this, Lu Ping said sarcastically, "Oh, so good, then why are you still pulling a cart?"

Old driver Yang laughed and said, "You don't understand, you stranger. I'm bored at home, so I came out to drive the cart and talk to people, so that they can know that I am living a good life."

It had been a long time since Lu Ping was choked to the point of being speechless. It turned out that you, an old man, came out to pull the cart to show off.