12dz Chapter 281 Huipin Street
Chapter 281 Huipin Street
In the land of Weizhou, the construction momentum was like a raging fire, rapid and vigorous, especially the construction of the Yi Yu Commercial District. Zhao Sheng's plan was actually to divert the disaster elsewhere.
At first, he thought of establishing his base in Zhao County, and later he settled it in Luancheng.
Unexpectedly, the Lu family caused trouble and caused Luancheng to fall into a vortex of turmoil, and the peace was no longer there.
As a result, the construction of Yi Yu instantly became a shining pearl of interest in the eyes of everyone, attracting pursuit from all parties.
In Dingzhou in May, there is still a slight chill in the air.
Lucheng's commodity fair is held during this season. South Street, one of Lucheng's oldest streets, is not very crowded, but its construction foundation is quite solid and complete.
However, the street next to it seems like a forgotten corner, desolate and deserted.
"We've chosen this street. We'll clear out all the residents and preserve some of the original buildings. The fair will last a full month, and the entire street will be rented out. The price will be determined based on the presence and quality of the buildings."
Zhao Sheng's eyes were firm and his tone was decisive.
"My dear Prince Consort, how should we finalize the price?" Li Weiguang frowned slightly, with a puzzled look on his face.
You know, Luancheng didn't originally have an official specifically responsible for trade. Li Weiguang, the county magistrate, was appointed by Zhao Mingsheng to be the person in charge of this trade fair, while Zhou Tong took over some of Luancheng's other responsibilities.
In order to ensure the safety of the trading venue, Zhao Yongqiang was temporarily transferred to take charge of this matter.
In order to ensure that the entire process was rock-solid and error-free, Zhao Sheng even borrowed 50,000 troops from Li Xin to be responsible for security work.
Seeing Li Weiguang asking about the rent of the site, Zhao Sheng raised his lips slightly, revealing a confident smile and said, "The rent of an ordinary house is three times that of an ordinary house. The land will be rented out at the price of an ordinary house."
"Wow! This price is so expensive!" When Li Weiguang heard this, his eyes widened and his mouth opened so wide that an egg could fit in. He was completely stunned.
"The Li and Zhao families have several other large customers who have made reservations in advance, so we must reserve space for them. Our workshop is divided into three display areas, two of which require different houses, and one area is an open-air venue."
Zhao Sheng looked serious and explained things to Li Weiguang seriously, but in fact he himself had not yet fully sorted out the situation in his mind.
Although this is only a one-month trade fair, some merchants from other places will come long in advance.
After all, in this era, transportation is extremely inconvenient, information is blocked, and many people don’t even understand what a trade fair is.
At this time, some businessmen have appeared on the circled street and are renting houses.
It was freezing cold, so these people built some simple houses on the site and huddled inside to try to keep out the cold.
"Selling sugar figures, selling sugar figures..."
The street's tranquility was broken by the shouting of a vendor, who occupied a corner, carrying a pot of maltose on his shoulder pole, which he stirred constantly with a bamboo stick.
"Hey! We protect this street. You're doing business here. Have you paid the protection fee?"
Suddenly, groups of thugs came over aggressively, surrounded the vendors, and shouted angrily.
Zhao Sheng saw this scene from the attic window and immediately understood that these were just a group of street thugs who were looking for an opportunity to cause trouble.
"What's wrong with Zhao Yongqiang? He lets these thugs come out and act wildly and bully people in broad daylight?" Zhao said angrily.
Li Weiguang, who was standing by, heard the sound and came over to look outside, smiling helplessly.
"Sir, these are the unemployed vagrants of Lu County. They are like weeds, no matter how hard you try, they keep growing back. It's really hard to catch them. This isn't a life-threatening matter to them. They're often caught today and released tomorrow."
"I just don't believe that they would still be fearless after being arrested."
Zhao Sheng's face was gloomy and his eyes were flashing with anger.
"Prince Consort, you don't know that over time they've formed gangs. They've been causing chaos and causing destruction. Even some unscrupulous merchants have secretly colluded with them to put pressure on the government."
Li Weiguang explained worriedly.
"Lu County doesn't even have a county government? How is it managed then?"
Zhao Sheng opened his eyes wide, his face full of disbelief.
"Hehe, Prince Consort, there really isn't a county government office in Lu County. Only the village head is in charge of the affairs of a few streets."
Li Weiguang smiled awkwardly.
Well, it is really absurd and shocking that a county does not have a county government office.
"General Cheng doesn't care about the things here?" Zhao Sheng frowned, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.
"General Cheng is willing to take charge, but he's too busy to handle everything. The key is that he doesn't have the power to enforce the law."
Li Weiguang sighed.
At this point, Zhao Sheng finally understood the reason.
He turned to Liang Dong and said, "Go inform Zhao Yongqiang. I never want to see this happen again. Have him contact the local headman and take action together. After arresting these people, send them all to the Jing County mining area to open a mine."
Liang Dong understood what Zhao Sheng meant, raised the corners of his mouth, revealed a determined expression, responded, then turned around and left in a hurry.
"County Magistrate Li, Lu County is actually under the jurisdiction of Luancheng. Before the new county magistrate takes office, you must pay more attention to this matter. Local public security must be properly maintained."
Zhao Sheng looked at Li Weiguang seriously.
"My dear Prince Consort, I understand. I will try my best in the future and live up to your expectations." Li Weiguang quickly bowed in response.
After a while, Zhao Yongqiang came hurriedly with a team of energetic security personnel, and quickly arrested the troublemakers.
As Li Weiguang had predicted, it wasn't long before the gentry of Lu County became restless. They approached the head of the street and, together, angrily approached Zhao Sheng's house, demanding to see the person in charge of the street's organizer.
"I am the magistrate of Luancheng. Please tell me what you want to say."
Li Weiguang stood at the door, his voice loud and intimidating without even getting angry.
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man in a blue shirt hurried forward and said respectfully, "I am the head of the village here, and the man behind me is Mr. Jia, a local gentry."
"Oh, what brings you here?" Li Weiguang clasped his hands in front of his chest and looked at them.
The slightly portly Mr. Jia behind the village head hurried forward, bowed, and said, "Just now, an attendant who was maintaining order at the trade fair took away my concubine's cousin. Is this behavior against moral principles?"
Zhao Sheng never had a good face towards these bullies. He stepped forward and asked coldly:
"Mr. Jia, right? Do you know the name of this street?"
Mr. Jia's eyes widened when he was asked this question by Zhao Sheng suddenly. His mind raced and he thought for a long time, but he still couldn't remember the name of the street.
In fact, this street originally had no official name, and everyone generally called it South Street.
"Let me tell you, this street is called Huipin Street, a new name given by Luancheng County. It's a duty-free street where goods from the Great Zhou and other countries are traded. It belongs to Luancheng and also to the Great Zhou. May I ask, which country's laws are based on the principles of morality you speak of?"
Zhao Sheng stared at Jia Yuanwai with a sharp gaze, and every word he spoke was sonorous and powerful.
"This..." Mr. Jia was speechless for a moment, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He looked at the head of the village in panic, hoping to get some help.
Li Zheng knew the ins and outs of this street.
The Princess's Mansion issued an order, saying that this place would be designated as a venue for a trade fair. The residents of this street were cleared out not long ago, and many people benefited from it.
Since the order came from the Princess's Mansion, he, a small village head, naturally didn't dare to say anything.
"Besides, Lu County is under the jurisdiction of Luancheng, so Magistrate Li is naturally the chief officer here. You guys are being too daring to show disrespect to your superiors."
Before these people could react, Zhao Sheng shouted in a stern voice.
"County Magistrate Li, according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, how should this Mr. Jia be punished?" Zhao Sheng turned to look at Li Weiguang with a serious expression.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, although the title of Yuanwai was considered an official position, it did not actually have much real power. It was just an official staff member outside the court.