Chapter 570: The First Family in the Three Wus
At dusk that day, the setting sun shone obliquely on Taihu Lake and the canal, and two official ships slowly sailed into the Hushuguan Wharf.

Hai Rui stood on the bow, his hands behind his back. The setting sun cast an orange-red hue on the right side of his face and body.

“Haoju, you are from Changzhou, tell us the origin of Hushuguan.”

“is teacher.”

Huangfu Tan answered respectfully.

“According to legend, when Qin Shi Huang was on a tour to the south, he was looking for the sword of King Wu. He opened Helu’s tomb and saw a white tiger squatting on a hill (i.e. Tiger Hill). He chased it westward for more than 20 miles but could not find the white tiger. So he called the place where the white tiger disappeared Tiger Hill.

In the Tang Dynasty, the name “Hu” was taboo, so it was changed to “Huluan”; in the Five Dynasties, Qian Liu, the King of Wu Yue, feared the name “Liu”, so the name was changed to “Hushu”. In the fourth year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Revenue set up a banknote office here, so it was named Hushu Pass.

Over the past century, this place has become the northern gateway of Suzhou, with merchants and travelers gathering here, making it a prosperous town.”

Shu Youliang said with a smile: “We have been to Suzhou before, and every time we were like lost dogs. This time, the master is the governor, the highest official in Jiangsu, and a local tyrant.

We, the master’s followers, are naturally respectable. We are so powerful and imposing, just like a fox borrowing the power of a tiger.”

Huangfu Tan laughed secretly when he heard this.

The teacher said that Uncle Youliang passed the imperial examination and became a juren. Could it be that he bought this title?

Zhang Dao asked from the side: “Master, why don’t we go into Suzhou City and stay here for one night?”

“Yes, we won’t enter Suzhou City.”

Shu Youliang said at the side: “You know our master’s temper. He will never give those people the opportunity to flatter him.

Master, we may not enter Suzhou City, but we must go to Hushuguan Town. The royal family has changed their temper, increasing the salaries of civil and military officials and giving them allowances, so that the horses can run faster and eat more.

Master, you can’t be content to lag behind others.”

Hai Rui laughed and scolded, “You dog! You only know how to bully me. All right, we will disguise ourselves and go to Hushuguan Town to find a good and cheap foot restaurant to have a meal.

Youliang, be more careful this time and don’t go to that kind of fly shop again. It’s easy to have diarrhea after eating.”

“Master, it’s really difficult to eat cheaply without having diarrhea. Is there anything in this world that can have the best of both worlds?”

“You bastard, are you trying to make me angry on purpose?”

Huangfu Tan quickly came out to smooth things over, “Teacher, Uncle Youliang, let me treat you to this meal. I am from Changshu, Suzhou, and this is Changshu territory. Let me be a good host.”

“Haoju, I really can’t bear to see you spend the money you earned from selling your body.” Shu Youliang looked reluctant and turned to ask, “By the way, which is the biggest and best restaurant in Hushuguan Town?”

Huangfu Tan was speechless and depressed for a moment.

Uncle Youliang, you have such a sharp and vicious tongue.

Zhao Kuan stayed behind to guard the boat, while Zhang Dao, Wang Shiqiu, Fang Zhiyuan, and Hai Rui, Shu Youliang, and Huangfu Tan went ashore. They walked along the road along the river bank towards the town in casual clothes.

The setting sun was still struggling on the surface of Taihu Lake in the west, but many places in Hushuguan Town could not wait to light up. People were coming and going on the streets, and the local dialects were like flocks of sparrows, jumping on the bluestone streets between the night and the lights.

“The best restaurant in Hushuguan Town is called Taihuchun, and it is also famous in the entire Suzhou Prefecture.” Huangfu Tan led the way.

“Don’t go to Taihuchun, just find a random restaurant.” Shu Youliang said, “No one’s money comes from the wind. You have a wife and children to support, so you can’t spend money lavishly.

You are now a disciple of the master, and you must be a decent person in the future and follow the right path. If you follow the master, let alone other things, you can forget about getting rich, and you will have to endure a few years of hardship first.

Save some money and be prepared.”

Shu Youliang gave Huangfu Tan a lecture that left him at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Uncle Youliang, which of your words are true and which are false.

Fang Zhiyuan said from the side: “Haoju, listen to Uncle Youliang. He is just a bad-mouthed person, but he has a good heart.”

Huangfu Tan glanced at Hai Rui and saw him nod, so he gave up and said, “Okay, there are several restaurants in Rice Wine Lane over there. The food is good and the prices are reasonable. Regular customers like to eat there.”

Shu Youliang said cheerfully, “That’s right, we should go to restaurants like this. By the way, Haoju, will eating at those restaurants cause diarrhea?”

Everyone laughed.

“I fish and catch shrimp every day, and live my life in the red-light district. Last night I got drunk at Qin Lou on credit, and today I am a hanger-on at Li’s house.”

There was singing coming from the front, and someone was walking in front, sighing every three steps.

“Hey, the tune this person sings is interesting.” Shu Youliang said.

“He’s just a hanger-on.” Fang Zhiyuan said.

“Where do you come from, hanger-on?” Shu Youliang asked curiously.

Fang Zhiyuan chuckled, “Haoju is a local, let him talk.”

“Haoju, you go ahead.”

“Uncle Youliang, Qingke is a group of scholars, some are students, some are scholars, who have no hope of passing the imperial examinations, so they imitate the idle and wild scholars and call themselves Shanren.

But the real hermits are famous people like Wang Fengzhou, who are famous wherever they go. Those who call themselves hermits are actually Qingke.

Instead of doing their job properly, they sometimes read faces and tell fortunes, and use their eloquence to cheat people out of a few dozen coins to fill their stomachs.

Some of them wandered around the houses of nobles and ministers, and helped the sons of rich families to sing and drink, so as to support their families. These people were also called “Xiaoke”. These people could speak, write, draw, sing, or play some musical instrument, and they all had a skill.

There is another type of people, the young playboys, who, relying on their family’s little money and their own literary talents, imitate the heroes in the books, wandering around without any worries.

When they have ruined their family property, they attach themselves to officials and gentry, currying favor with them and fawning on them. They call themselves “qingke”, but in Suzhou they are called “bangxian”, and their nicknames are “mianpian” or “laobaixian”.

Shu Youliang asked: “Bamboo strips, old white fish? What do you mean?”

“They all mean to help. A truly wealthy young man would feel fulfilled only with their help.”

Seeing that Shu Youliang still didn’t quite understand, Huangfu Tan continued to explain: “Uncle Youliang, you see, to make bamboo utensils, you first have to have the strips of bamboo, and then the bamboo utensils can be made into patterns.

Dried fish is a cheap product in the sea, but when cooked with other meat and vegetables, it tastes very delicious and you can eat it with relish. “

“I see. The nicknames given by Suzhou people are really interesting.”

When he came to the front, the hanger-on suddenly turned around and was stunned when he saw Huangfu Tan. “Brother Haoju?”

“Brother Si Lian!”

It turns out to be an old friend.

This brother Si Lian was a classmate of Huangfu Tan. Later, Huangfu Tan passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, but he failed. Relying on the fact that his family had some money, he wandered around and soon became a hanger-on.

“Brother Si Lian, why are you here?”

“Oh, it’s hard to put it into words.”

Hai Rui’s eyes flickered, and he said calmly, “Haoju, since I’m your friend, let’s have a meal together.”

“Good teacher.”

“Who is this?”

“This is my teacher, Mr. Hu.”

After a few pleasantries, everyone went to Rice Wine Lane, found a restaurant that looked relatively clean, ordered a few dishes, and started with rice.

As soon as the food was served, Brother Si Lian apologized, picked up the bowl and started to eat it quickly. He finished two bowls of rice, burped, put the bowl down, and drank half a bowl of tea. Only then did he look more refreshed.

Huangfu Tan waited for him to recover and asked, “Brother Si Lian, what happened to you?”

“Alas, Hai Rui, the governor of Jiangsu, has taken office. Did you know?”

Everyone looked at each other and realized that no one in the world knew this better than them.

“I know, what’s wrong?”

“When the news of Lord Hai’s appointment as the governor of Jiangsu reached the capital, officials and gentry in the southeast regions strictly restrained their children from wandering around. I make a living by hanging around. If these young men don’t wander around, I can only starve.

I endured for a month or so, but I couldn’t bear it any longer. I also heard that it was true that Hai Gong was the governor of Jiangsu, not a rumor. He wouldn’t stay in Jiangsu for just one or two months. If this continued, I would starve to death sooner or later.

So I asked around to find a place to make a living. Someone told me that there were many factories in Qingpu, Shanghai, and they were in need of workers. No matter young or strong, women or children, as long as they could work, they could find a job.

Especially the artisan accountant, which is the most popular. Brother, although I don’t know the craftsman’s skills, but I can write and count, I can find a good job there, and it won’t be a problem to support my family. ”

Huangfu Tan said happily: “This is good news. Are you short of money? Brother Si Lian, I still have some money here.”

Brother Si Lian shook his head and said, “I appreciate Brother Hao Ju’s kindness. Money is only one aspect. The more important thing is that someone is trying to stop us from going to Shanghai.”

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Huangfu Tan asked, “Ah, is there anyone who doesn’t allow you to go to Shanghai to make a living?”

“Yes.”

Hai Rui asked from the side: “What exactly is going on? Can this young man explain it more clearly?”

“Yes, Brother Si Lian, tell me about it. I have been wandering around for a few years and rarely go home. I didn’t expect this place to become like this. There are actually people who are getting in the way.”

“It’s funny to talk about this. Before, the wealthy and powerful families in various places had countless fertile fields at home, and anyone who wanted to rent their fields or become their tenant had to be picky.

Since the 41st year of Jiajing, Shanghai has been open to the public, and there are many spinning mills, cotton mills, silk cocoon mills, and silk cloth mills. The wages there are high, and in order to attract people to work, they have built houses and provided them with free accommodation.

They also set up clinics, public schools, shops and supply cooperatives, where food and clothing were sold at lower prices than outside. Children had books to read, and sick people had doctors to see.”

Everyone listened quietly, and Hai Rui frowned slightly.

“With such good conditions, everyone wanted to go. The news spread quickly, and the landless people in the southeast all ran there. Later, those who had land and had extra manpower also ran there.

In the past few years, more than 100,000 people have fled there, all of them young and strong. The wealthy and powerful families in the southeast suddenly found that many of their tenants had fled and there was no one to farm the fields.

At first they didn’t take it seriously. But in the past two years, not only factories have flourished in Shanghai, but also shops, forwarding agencies, banks, shipping agencies, and various companies have been desperately recruiting people.

The more people come over, the better their business becomes, and the better the business becomes, the more manpower they need.

In the past two years, the wealthy families in Suzhou, Huzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou and other prefectures and counties have been cursing, so they reported to the government, saying that the tenants had escaped. Anyway, they fabricated various charges and excuses and asked the government to send yamen runners to stop the people at the important roads and passes. “

Hai Rui’s brows furrowed more and more.

“All these wealthy families had many relatives and friends who were officials. The local government did not dare to offend them, so they sent out yamen runners. The wealthy families were worried that the government would not do its job well, so they simply sent capable managers with strong servants and family servants to mix in with the corvée and intercept people going to Shanghai.

Regardless of whether I was his tenant or not, I was not allowed to go to Shanghai and could only return to my hometown. I was stopped in Huating County and had to return to Suzhou, thinking of going to Zhenjiang or Taicang first, and then going to Shanghai along the river from there.

Hai Rui asked, “How dare these wealthy people stop ordinary people from making a living!”

“They are really brave. I heard that the Xu family in Huating took the lead in this matter. With this former cabinet chief in charge, how could they not be brave?”

“Huating Xu Mansion? Are they really the ones leading the charge?”

“They are the most aristocratic family in the Three Wus, and Prime Minister Xu is the leader of the gentry in the southeast. Of course, the Xu family took the lead in this matter. They have the most land and not enough tenants, so they are the most affected.”

Huangfu Tan looked at Hai Rui and swallowed.

Don’t talk nonsense about this.

“Brother Si Lian, did you see it with your own eyes?”

“The second son of the Xu family has connections everywhere, and he has appointed himself as the chief supervisor of the defense against Su Changsong, acting as the central commander. You can find out about this by asking around in Suzhou.

I went to Huating but was driven back, and saw with my own eyes the third son of the Xu family leading a group of servants there in command.

You can go to the West Land God Temple in Hushuguan Town to see that there are thousands of people gathered there, all of whom were driven back from Huating and other places, preparing to go to Shanghai from Taicang.”

Everyone was silent.

Master, seeing the character of the Xu family, should we still go visit him and give him the last bit of respect?

Shu Youliang looked at Hai Rui, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Hai Rui picked up the bowl and said, “Let’s eat. After we finish eating, let’s go to the land temple.”

(End of this chapter)