Chapter 1021
Shen Wanhe's confession
Chapter 1021 Shen Wanhe's confession
Spring in the south of the Yangtze River in Jinling,
In the restaurant,
It was almost a mess. More than a dozen eunuchs knelt there, filled with righteous indignation and resentment, and listed Shen Wanhe's crimes in one voice. Some even cursed loudly, talking about Shen Wanhe's various crimes of buying people's hearts, and they wished they could bite him twice.
Xiao Guizi heard it carefully. After bringing the people back, she also stood at the entrance of the stairs with Lord Shen. When she heard what these people said, the corners of her mouth curled up and she set her eyes on Lord Shen, but she didn't see any change in the person in front of her. She was surprised. If others were exposed, even if they were calm, they would appear panicked. Unexpectedly, Lord Shen's face did not move at all. It was hard to say whether he was a deep-minded person or a sincere person.
"Godfather, he is like that. He doesn't even think about who earned the money. If you piss off Godfather, just kick him and everything will be gone."
One of them, a slightly fatter steward, was speaking fiercely, and the rest of the eunuchs followed suit.
"Yes, yes, I kicked him."
"Kicked him,"
Everyone was talking at once, as if Shen Wanhe was a very evil person. Eunuch Yang sat on a high seat, stepped on the soft couch with a pair of snow-white bare feet, and looked around with a smile. He could see everything about Shen Wanhe at the moment. He had to be respectful to see his appearance.
Whispered;
"Eat it. Good things cannot be kept. Eat it."
A dozen eunuchs immediately stopped talking, not knowing what the godfather meant. They were still a little confused. Suddenly, the steward who had just spoken suddenly realized and shouted:
"Thank you, godfather. Godfather gave us some money to eat."
After saying that, he gobbled the banknotes into his mouth, and then tore them apart with force, as if he were eating a delicacy. He swallowed them down immediately. The others swallowed them down even faster. Some even stuffed the banknotes into their mouths at once, choking and rolling their eyes, making a fool of themselves.
Seeing everyone stuffing the banknotes into their mouths, Yang Chi straightened his sleeves, looked at his useless bunch of rubbish, and asked;
"Clean?"
"To answer godfather's question, it's clean now,"
"Yes, it's clean."
There were a few eunuchs who opened their mouths to let Eunuch Yang check, but they didn't know that Yang Chi smiled slightly and asked again;
"Did you wash it off?"
It was the manager who reacted very quickly, kowtowed,
"Godfather, as long as it's in your belly, it's not clean,"
"Yes, pull it out, it's clean."
A person next to him immediately looked up, took out a water bag and started drinking. The fight was simply unbearable to watch.
"Ahahaha, well said, well said. Silver is a good thing, but if you eat it directly into your stomach, it will be uncomfortable. After eating it, you will have to poop it out sooner or later. How can you keep it?"
Eunuch Yang laughed and stood up without any hesitation.
"In that case, I'll find a few people to help you. Give your butt a spanking and it will come out easily. How do you think?"
"Godfather, please spare me, Godfather, please spare me,"
Many eunuchs knelt on the ground with sad faces and kowtowed to beg for mercy.
"Howling,"
Yang Chi roared angrily, stood up, walked over, and continued to ask;
"Who ordered the mines in Jiangbei to be opened? How come I haven't heard any news about it?"
"In reply to godfather, it was Ma Tongpan, Boss Shen, and Tongzhi Hu Wenxuan who discussed it together. This is all we know."
One of the little yellows quickly replied. They had spies on Shen Wanhe's movements, and the two officials from the government office had been paying respects at Jiangnanchun Restaurant. How could they not know?
"Well, a few days ago, in the restaurant, you guys pretended to be foreign merchants to buy land, and then you put it on the head of the Weaving Bureau. Whose idea was it?"
Yang Chi fiddled with the tea bowls on the table. They were all made of the finest Ru porcelain from Jiangnan, one set after another.
"Godfather, these ideas were not known to our sons, but it was Judge Ma who asked them to go that day, and they were all present that day."
"Yes, when the sons went there, the carriage that Boss Shen used was hung with lanterns from the Weaving Bureau, and the silver was also given by Boss Shen. This is the evidence."
They almost wanted to redeem themselves for meritorious service. They had already thought through everything they could think of, no matter how big or small. This showed one thing: the lantern method was something Ma Guangcheng and Shen Wanhe had thought of together, and it was also something they had done. They had made the decision behind his back.
"Okay, now they are throwing dirty water on the Miscellaneous Family and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Okay, okay, drag these dogs and slaves to the yard and reward each of them with 20 pieces of paper."
"Yes, butler,"
A group of eunuchs came out from behind and dragged more than a dozen people to the front yard. Several of them cried out to the sky and knelt down to beg for mercy. When they reached the stairs, they saw Shen Wanhe standing there and immediately started cursing, but were dragged down by the eunuch Li Shi.
Xiao Guizi's legs were shaking. His godfather didn't know what was going on, but he knew everything. He quickly walked over and served tea to his godfather.
"Don't be angry, godfather. It's not good for your health if you get angry."
"Humph, kid, there must be something you don't know. Shen Wanhe, ah Shen Wanhe, you are really good at it. The matter is done, how to include this ending, do you have any idea?"
Yang Chi held the tea bowl, glared at Xiao Guizi fiercely, and returned to the main seat. He stared at Shen Wanhe who had come over with sharp eyes. Although he was wearing an official robe that made him look majestic, the aura of a businessman inside could not escape his eyes.
"Father-in-law, we were wrong from the beginning. We were totally wrong."
"Haha, I don't understand. Are there any miscellaneous people involved in what you said, huh?"
Yang Chi smiled faintly, a little gloomy. Shen Wanhe stood there respectfully, bowed slightly,
"To answer your question, both are true. The move to change rice to mulberry was too hasty. From the first step, it was a dead end. Your father-in-law didn't see it, and neither did I. In fact, when Magistrate Jia made it clear that day, Lord Zhuang was against it. I saw a clue.
But then I thought, this is the will of the cabinet, it can't be possible, the cabinet and the palace can also take back the words, so I will help sincerely. "
After a pause, he looked at Eunuch Yang. He had a lot of good intentions here, especially the matter of destroying the dike and flooding the fields. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he was always there when the news spread inside and outside the weaving bureau. Especially at the end, when providing disaster relief, he even lost all the savings of the family for many years.
"They are sincere, but there is also a lot of selfishness involved,"
Yang Chi did not deny it outright. During the days he came to Jiangnan, he had been served by this person inside and outside, and he was very happy to have him. But now that the case has come to this point and become so serious, it will not be so easy to have a good ending, especially with the disciple of Marquis Luo Yun and Lord Nan, and the fight between Jing Cunliang and Zhuang Shouzhi, he was afraid that he had overstepped his boundaries.
"Yes, eunuch. If it weren't for you, I would still be a merchant. How could I wear an official robe? So after doing my best, I couldn't stop. The original arrangement was seamless, but I didn't know that two county magistrates from Jinling suddenly came in. Xu Changwen, the magistrate of Chunyang County, and Xu Dong, the magistrate of Yongnian County. One is a disciple of Luo Yunhou, and the other is a disciple of Wuying Palace University Scholar. Finally, there was a disaster relief envoy, Su Chong, the Inspector of Jiangnan, and I realized that we have been caught in a vortex."
Finally, there is one more point, which is the jade mines in Jiangbei, the root of the trouble in Jiangnan in the previous dynasty, and the birthday gift. Shen Wanhe lowered his head and did not mention these things again. These were not Shen Wanhe's intervention. The Ministry of Internal Affairs bypassed the Weaving Bureau and went directly to the government office to give the order. As for who gave the order, it was only the eunuch Yang in front of him.
But inside, the sound of a tea bowl breaking on the ground came, "Shen Wanhe, it's not us, it's you. You are the ones involved. I came to Jiangnan just to supervise the construction and don't ask anything else. Oh, by the way, now I can't ask, the cabinet, the palace, the East King of Suzhou, and even the Third Prince, you want to involve everyone, I can see clearly what's going on behind the scenes."
Yang Chi's face turned pale, but when he thought about being tricked, how could he not hate them in his heart? These dogs were really bold. He was a little afraid in his heart. He still underestimated these people in Jiangnan.
"Yes, what you said is very true, sir. The farmland in Jiangnan is only 130 taels per mu according to the market price, and the best paddy fields are more than 150 taels. These are all official prices. Even in disaster years, they must not be less than 80 taels per mu. But who can afford so much? So, we used a tricky method to use the official price of grain in disaster years and sell it with the tax land share. This is how we made up for the deficit in the disaster relief in Jiangnan."
Shen Wanhe smiled slightly and pointed in the direction of Suzhou.
"My father-in-law also knows that the looms newly set up by the Weaving Bureau have been assembled, but there is no raw silk. Only mulberry trees are planted in those fields, so that silkworms can be raised. When the silkworms produce silk, they will be sent to the Weaving Bureau to produce silk. After selling it, it can make up for the deficit of the Weaving Bureau over the years and also be presented to the Ministry of Revenue.
The remaining profits will be divided among the prefects of Jiangnan, especially the officials in Jinling, and the officials in the government offices. In this way, only by buying more land can we make up for the profits of the weaving bureau. Otherwise, after all the hard work, the weaving bureau will still have to pay for it. "
Shen Wanhe took out the account book from his arms and put it on the table.
"Just now, this is the secret account of the Weaving Bureau over the years. All the deficits are recorded in it. Those noble families in Jiangnan have all stretched their hands, but someone is backing them. The Weaving Bureau can produce 300,000 pieces of silk every year, and Shen will accept it. There is no profit or loss. However, the two Xu magistrates, unaware of the inside story, insisted on selling it at the market price of grain. Not to mention the profit, there are also grain reserves of various families. Right now, I can't afford so much grain. I can only resort to this last resort. Buy a few hundred ships of official grain from other places. This is the only way to guarantee the bottom line for the Weaving Bureau."
Now it's one wrong step, and then another, and you're gradually sliding into the abyss. What's more, even if you fall off the cliff, you have to keep moving forward. If you want to find a way out, you need to shut up people from all sides.
"That's right. I have personally seen the accounts of the Weaving Bureau. Suzhou Prefect Ma Wenqiu, Yangzhou Prefect Ye Yuanchang, and even the Zhen family took a share. But you have to know that the more people take a share, the safer it is. What do you want to do next?"
Yang Chi's hand was touching the secret account book, but he had no intention of opening it. At this moment, he also anticipated that the situation in Jiangnan might change.
Shen Wanhe lowered his head. Having said that, if he wanted to stay out of trouble, the Provincial Government Office, the Inspector General Office, the Supervisory Office, and the Prefectural Government Office all wanted to get involved. In the end, who could escape would depend on the Cabinet and the Palace. Since the eunuch said that the more people involved, the safer it would be, there were two nobles in Suzhou.
"Eunuch, in the court, the governor Zhuang and the inspector Jing said that they would make a copy of the case and send it to Suzhou. The East Prince and the Third Prince have nothing to do now, so they are not in a hurry to go to Tang County. I heard that 30,000 troops from the Jiangnan camp have already gone to Yangping, and I heard that Yangping has fallen into the hands of the White Lotus Sect. Suzhou has become the front line. In this case, the East Prince and the Third Prince will not leave."
Since you are not leaving, you have a clear view of what is happening in Jiangnan. Maintaining local stability is also the responsibility of the two princes. So why not make good use of it?
"Haha, good, well said. Since the situation on the front line is tense, how can we leave easily? Lord Shen, if that's the case, just go ahead and do it. You must be more careful."
"Yes, father-in-law."
The two of them looked better, and thought a lot in their hearts, but at this point, it was useless to think so much. Shen Wanhe remained unyielding, clasped his fists and slowly withdrew. After they went downstairs, a eunuch came to report that the execution outside had been completed, which made Yang Chi even more upset.
"Godfather, since this is the case, my son has been too talkative. It has come to this point. Why not give it a try and complete all the raw silk tasks of the Weaving Bureau this year? As long as the deficit can be made up, the cabinet and the palace will see it. As long as there is silver, the palace will not say anything. The Salt Inspector Wang Mengshan is still in Jinling City."
Xiao Guizi also felt that something was not right, but for now, if she didn't move forward, she would retreat.
"Haha, OK, well said. You can arrange the rest. The jade from Jiangbei is indispensable. As for raw silk, the fields in Jiangnan have begun to be replanted. Just wait and see."
"Yes, godfather."
Smoke and dust gradually rose,
Like an old man in his old age, the wind blew from the green valleys across the barren yellow land. The imperial army was already exhausted when they reached the official road at dusk.
There were some more people from the underworld in front of the leading convoy. Several sect leaders were a little uneasy. They had come to Luo Yunhou Mansion for no reason. It was like a dream. Especially Qin Hao from the Tiger Roar Sect, who was very fond of women. Otherwise, how could he have hooked up with the only daughter of the old sect leader and taken on the seemingly glorious position of sect leader?
In the carriage surrounded by the imperial guards, Zhang Jinyu was lying on the couch on the west side of the carriage, sleeping in a daze. Lan Yue and Xia Yu were leaning against each other on the couch at the back of the carriage, taking a nap. Only King Jin Zhou Chong was tossing and turning on the couch on the east side, unable to fall asleep. He didn't know if it was because the time had come or because it was getting late.
In a daze, Zhang Jinyu dreamed that he was in a room, embracing a woman. When the sky brightened, he saw that it was the Empress, and the woman serving beside her was actually Concubine Wu.
Suddenly startled,
Then he opened his eyes and looked at the familiar carriage. Then he wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth. He was still a little surprised. How could the women in his dream be them? He had only met Concubine Wu once. Although she was extremely beautiful, they had never exchanged a word. It was really weird.
It is said that if you think about something during the day, you will dream about it at night. I have been busy these past few days, living like a monk. Even if I want to find Lan Yue'er, there is a curtain in the big tent, but I can't let go and have fun. When I woke up, I felt dry mouth and tongue. I got up and sat cross-legged. I took the water bag hanging on the wall of the car, unscrewed the lid, and drank a few gulps. Only then did I quench my thirst. While I was drinking water, several people in the car also woke up.
Jin Wang Zhou Ding was the first to wake up. He stood up, sat cross-legged against the window, and opened the curtain. It was already dusk outside. He saw the sun setting. He didn't know how far he had walked.
"My Lord, it looks like we have been walking outside for a whole day, and I don't know where we are."
"Well, Your Highness, get up and drink some water to wake up. We have walked for a whole day and have only covered a hundred miles. It will take more than half a day to get from Qinzhou to Runan. It looks like we will arrive tomorrow evening."
Zhang Jinyu also took out the map and quickly checked it in the light from the car window. According to the fork in the official road, it would take at most half a day to reach the destination. If they marched overnight, they would be able to see the city wall of Runan City in the morning tomorrow.
King Zhou Ding of Jin was obedient. He slept for most of the day and woke up with a dry mouth. He took the water bag and drank a sip. Then he put the water bag down and continued to ask,
"My Lord, when shall we set up camp today? There is no river or anything around."
When I lifted the curtain just now and looked outside, I saw that the sky was almost full of yellow dust. Not to mention the rivers, even the rain in the sky was blown away. These hundreds of thousands of troops were heading north and could not be delayed.
At this time, Zhang Jinyu had already stretched out his feet and put on his boots. He had just seen that it was dry and dusty outside. He still needed to ask those people in the martial arts world.
"Your Highness, please do not disturb me. I will go and take a look."
Without waiting for the King of Jin to ask more questions, he lifted the curtain in front of the carriage and walked out.
outside,
When Ning Bian saw the Marquis coming out, he immediately led a horse over and approached the carriage. Zhang Jinyu exerted force on his feet, flipped over, and threw himself on the saddle of the warhorse.
"We have been walking for a day, is there a safe place to camp?"
"My Lord, the road is filled with yellow dust, and there is not even a farm, let alone any rivers or lakes. The scouts explored ten miles ahead and found nothing, so I did not stop the army from moving forward."
Ning Byeon shook his head. This time, he was still the one leading the army forward, but he didn't come across a water source, so he didn't order the troops to set up camp.
Zhang Jinyu frowned. This was indeed a troublesome matter. Even if there were baggage carts and water carts, it would still be a drop in the bucket for an army of hundreds of thousands. Fortunately, they had prepared in advance. Each soldier needed to prepare two water bags, which solved the problem of drinking water on the road.
"Call those martial arts masters here, and I will ask them a few questions."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
Ning Bian clasped his fists and sent people to rush to the group of black-clothed men in the left front. After a while, several sect leaders who got the news came back on horseback. When they arrived in front of them, the four of them quickly saluted and clasped their fists.
"I am your subordinate, I am here to see you, Lord. I wonder why you have summoned me here?"
(End of this chapter)