Zhang Qianhu laughed: "But a rough maid, how dare the lord ask for money from the marquis? If the marquis feels sorry for her, the marquis will surrender her to the marquis."

After saying that, Zhang Qianhu turned around and shouted, "Let her go."

The two servants let go of the maid, and the saved little maid ran to Zhao Peng, knelt on the ground and cried: "Thank you for your help, and thank you for your help!"

Zhang Qianhu said: "You will follow the Marquis in the future."

The little maid turned around and knelt down to Zhang Qianhu and thanked him: "Thank you for not killing me."

Zhao Peng said: "This girl, when the typhoon has passed these few days, you can go to Nanjing with me to serve a young lady. A maid happened to be by her."

The little maid who was furious accidentally splashed tea and rescued the little maid. It was just a small episode. At noon, many people came one after another in Zhang's house, including local gentry, local salt merchants, and local county magistrates. According to later generations, these were all successful local people.

Just imagine, Zhao Peng is equivalent to the later generations of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Officer and the Minister of the Ministry of State Security, and the Director of the Military Intelligence Bureau. What a great figure. If these successful local people can see him, it is a great honor for those "successful people".

Zhang Qianhu also had his own little plan in his mind. The leader of the Jinyiwei was here. You should know that officials like him in this era have more or less problems. Zhang Qianhu's problems are big. If you really check it, ten heads are not enough for Zhao Peng to cut them down.

Zhao Peng has the Shangfang sword in his hand, and only a small fifth-rank military official like Zhang Qianhu can not only kill first and then report, but even if he is killed, he only needs a light sentence before going to the emperor. It is just that there is evidence to kill people, especially in Guangdong territory. A small official like Zhang Qianhu has complex connections behind it, which can affect his whole body.

It is not difficult to find evidence of Zhang Qianhu selling private salt, but in the late Ming Dynasty, what is the crime of selling private salt? If it were the Hongwu and Yongle periods, selling private salt was a death sentence, but in the late Ming Dynasty, which salt merchant did not sell private salt? If the sales of private salt were to behead him, the salt merchants in the Ming Dynasty could cut them all.

Salt ingestion is an important income of the Ming Dynasty's finances. Taking the Wanli period as an example, for each 300 kilograms of salt, it was called the government to buy salt ingestion with six cents of coins, and then a tax of three taels of silver was collected. The salt transportation fee was paid for three taels of silver. That is, one salt ingestion could get six taels of silver and six cents of coins. According to the salt production in the Ming Dynasty, the salt tax in the Wanli period should be 13.28 million taels of silver per year, but in fact? The salt tax in the court's annual income was only 2.5 million taels! Most of it was lost.

Officials from all over the country plucked their hair by geese. In addition, private salt evasion caused a decrease in national fiscal revenue, but they could not control it at all. Private salt is one of the important incomes of officials and salt gentry in various places. If they really want to kill people according to the laws of the Hongwu period, I am afraid that many people will be killed.

However, the salt tax of the Qing Dynasty was very successful. In the two Huai Rivers alone, the salt tax paid in a year was 6 million taels. Although there were also losses, the loss was much better than that of the Ming Dynasty. For Zhao Peng, the historical novices, he did not know how the Qing Dynasty did this. However, he did not need to know this. In short, the next step of the salt reform of the Ming Dynasty must be carried out. As for some people who are not convinced, it depends on whether they obey the Jinyiwei's sword.

As long as the knife is sharpened quickly, who dares to refuse to accept it? In fact, there is no need to kill so many people, kill chickens to warn monkeys, and kill a group of outstanding birds. The rest are honest and obedient.

After lunch, it was already late. In fact, the meal was eaten from morning to evening. Zhao Peng felt that he didn't even have to eat dinner anymore, so he went back to the shore and ordered the Jinyiwei to set up camp.

Originally, Zhang Qianhu wanted to keep Zhao Peng staying in his house, but Zhao Peng refused. He insisted on setting up camp outside with his brothers: "Thank you, Zhang Qianhu, but most of these brothers were brought back from the north by Ben Hu. When they marched outside, they were used to living with Ben Hu."

Zhang Qianhu had no choice but to let Zhao Peng leave. Before leaving, Zhao Peng asked Zhang Qianhu for the little maid's contract to sell her body.

There were storms outside, thunder and lightning, and the wind was very strong. Fortunately, the Zheng family's fleet had all been anchored in the inner harbor, and the typhoon did not land directly in the Shantou area, but passed through the sea outside. Although the wind and waves on the river surface were very strong, the ships were in the safe harbor, so there was no danger. It was just that the people on the boat bumped along the ship and felt very uncomfortable.

The hardest thing is that Zhao Peng and others who have gotten ashore camped in the wind and rain, but it is a chore. However, none of these Jinyiwei complained and are busy building camps.

The Jinyiwei were busy in the storm, and the little maid she had just rescued also worked hard to help. Although she couldn't help much, she helped the Jinyiwei hand over tools and helped hold the wooden stakes, which was a bit of effort.

It was very late to get busy, and the wind and rain were getting less, and the simple camp was completed. The wooden pillars were pushed into the ground, and wooden boards were laid on it, wooden piles were erected on the wooden boards, and then canvas were laid to build a simple barracks. The barracks laid on the wooden boards can make the barracks look dryer. Otherwise, the tents would be built on the ground on rainy days, and the ground was covered with mud, which was very uncomfortable.

After setting up camp, Zhao Peng called the Jinyiwei, who had disguised himself as a salt dealer and scattered out to inquire about the news, to his central army tent to inquire about the situation.

According to the situation learned by the Jinyiwei, the military households here are indeed miserable. They chop wood and cook salt day and night, and the salt produced is taken away by salt dealers at low prices. The hard work can only make ends meet. However, the salt dealers sold the salt to the salt dealers, but they almost made huge profits without any effort.

The military households were all leaking water, and the ground was just muddy. It rained heavily outside and lightly inside the house. On rainy days, the ground in the home was muddy. The military households were so clean that there were not even rats, and even rats might starve to death.

Those who can become salt dealers are usually the chief banner and relatives and friends of hundreds of households, but the money these salt dealers earn is only small, and the real big dealers are naturally the salt dealers, gentry and officials who make it. However, the salt dealers see through the connections behind the salt dealers, and leak a little soup from their fingers for them to drink, which is enough for them to live a life of food and clothing without worries.

In ancient times, the price of salt was very high. It was not that ordinary people in the salt-producing areas were reluctant to even put more salt when they were eating, because salt consumption accounted for a large part of the daily consumption of the people. However, those military households who actually produced salt could not enjoy any benefits brought to themselves by the high salt price, and they could only struggle on the brink of death.

Zhao Peng clicked: "I understand that we must reform the salt industry system. Maybe many people will die for this, but there is no price to change there? If you want to change, there must be a price, and it is the price of life!"

Afterwards, Zhao Peng called the little maid whom he rescued during the day: "Little sister, what's your name?"

The little maid replied timidly: "Go back to the master, my name is Yiyun."

"Where is my hometown?"

"My hometown is this Qianhu House, and my father is a Qianhu House military household. Just because he owes usury, my father had to lower his debts with me."

Zhao Peng said: "From the future, you will follow me to Nanjing and be a personal maid for Miss Zuo."

"Thank you, sir! Thank you!" The little maid thanked you repeatedly.
Chapter completed!