"Master Wei." Ruan Zhiheng took the opportunity to say, "Those in Jin Weiguo are all desperadoes, and they are determined to die. This time may be just a warning. For the safety of the third prince, Master Wei should withdraw his troops quickly..."
Wei Ruiliang didn't seem to hear Ruan Zhiheng's words, he still raised his hand, and then dropped it heavily, "Send another three hundred people into the mountain!"
"Yes!"
Immediately, someone was trotting towards the mountains again.
"Boom!"
There was another loud noise.
The power of the gunpowder explosion this time was obviously greater than before. When the ground beneath my feet trembled, some dust was even raised.
Ruan Zhiheng spoke again, "Master Wei..."
"Report!" Someone hurried over, "Sir, three doors have been opened in Meiling!"
"Come in!" Wei Ruiliang shouted loudly, "If you encounter resistance, kill without mercy! If there is anyone who leads the way to surrender and confess, keep his life and deal with it leniently!"
"Yes!" The people below took the order and went to deliver the message.
Ruan Zhiheng and Yin Zhizhou were suddenly stunned.
These words seem a little hard to understand, and they seem to have little to do with rescuing the third prince...
Wait, isn't it?
The faces of the two people suddenly turned as white as paper.
Xiao Luoan got out of the carriage that had been parked on the side and looked at Ruan Zhiheng and Yin Zhizhou with a smile.
When Ruan Zhiheng and Ruan Zhiheng saw Xiao Luoan, their eyes darkened.
Sure enough, there was no such thing as the third prince being kidnapped by the soldiers of the Jin Wei Kingdom. Some of them just used this as a reason to let them relax completely so that they could catch all the people and things hidden in Meiling.
"Zhifu Ruan and Zhizhou Yin didn't seem surprised to see me. They must have guessed the key."
Xiao Luoan said, "Then do I understand that the two of you know the secrets in Meiling and deliberately hide them?"
"I don't understand what the third prince is talking about." Ruan Zhiheng was still arrogant at this time.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Now the secret passage inside Meiling has been opened. No one can escape if you follow the clues. When all the facts are presented to you, maybe Ruan Zhifu and Yin Zhizhou will understand."
Xiao Luoan narrowed his eyes and said, "Come here, show me your seats to the two adults, Ruan Zhifu and Yin Zhizhou!"
"Yes!"
Someone immediately came forward and brought a chair, along with a rope.
Ruan Zhiheng and Yin Zhizhou were tied tightly to the chairs almost instantly, unable to move.
The government officials brought by the two of them still wanted to rescue others, but they were immediately controlled and detained.
The rest of the people didn't dare to make any movement and just stood there with lowered eyebrows.
In Meiling, people came back one after another to report the situation inside.
"I'm telling you, sir, we have discovered ten secret doors and several passages, executed thirteen criminals on the spot, and rescued twenty-seven coolies who were still alive!"
"Tell me, sir, there are mining tunnels, several furnaces, and a number of coolies inside!"
"I'm telling you, sir, to arrest fifteen people. One of them is willing to confess. I just want you to save the lives of his family!"
"Tell me, your lord, there are forged weapons found inside..."
weapon?
The expressions on Xiao Luoan and Wei Ruiliang's faces became solemn.
All minerals belong to the imperial court. Mining minerals privately without the imperial court's permission is a serious crime, which can be serious enough to kill everyone.
And if you forge weapons privately, you can kill the nine tribes.
"Prefect Ruan, it seems that I need to have a good chat with you about this matter." Xiao Luoan spoke loudly.
Ruan Zhiheng collapsed on the chair.
It’s over, it’s over…
At night, the entire Mei Ling was illuminated as if it were daytime because of the light from torches and lanterns.
And in the morning of the next day, there were tunnels and caves all over Meiling, where some people were mining privately and forging weapons. The northwest wind spread to the streets and alleys of Ronghe Prefecture.
Immediately afterwards, the news came out that the person who was mining privately was no one else, but Ruan Zhiheng, the prefect of Ronghe Fucheng.
"No way. Mr. Ruan has always been kind-hearted and has no official airs. He often walks alone on the street without even riding in a carriage or horse. How could such a simple official do such a thing?"
"You know people but don't know their hearts. You probably don't know that Ruan Zhiheng's home has been ransacked now. I heard that tens of thousands of taels of silver, countless treasures and antiques were confiscated from his home, and even the tools used to tie tree branches in the garden were confiscated. The cloth strips are all silk and satin, and the money is flowing like water!”
"I know about this. My distant cousin works as a cook in the government office. I didn't dare to say anything for fear of retaliation before, but now I finally spoke up and said that Ruan Zhiheng is very particular about what he eats and drinks every day. He eats Lingnan lychees in the summer and abalone and ginseng in the winter. For wings, I only eat clear soup noodles on weekdays, which are all cooked in broth. I don’t have ten plates or eight bowls every day, and I don’t even use chopsticks!”
"I also heard that Ruan Zhiheng only had one wife on the surface, but actually kept several outhouses nearby, and even a private garden where he kept many beautiful young girls for his pleasure."
"I understand what you are saying, but I can also understand his greed for money and mining. It's just that what is he doing forging weapons? How can I exchange this thing for money? No ordinary person will buy this thing?"
"You don't understand this. After this weapon is manufactured, it can be used to extract military expenses. If it doesn't work, it can also be sold outside."
"Sell it outside? Where?"
No one has answered this question, but everyone is keeping it secret.
Where can I sell it? Where else can I sell it? Apart from the Great Zhou Kingdom, there are no places where I can sell it?
As long as you put this kind of thing up for sale, are you afraid that there will be no buyers?
This Ruan Zhiheng is not only corrupt and perverting the law, he is actually collaborating with the enemy and treason!
Logically speaking, if a prefect of Ronghe Prefecture does not have such great ability and courage, there must be someone behind him!
I just don’t know who is the backer behind Ruan Zhiheng... After such a question was raised, people who were very close to Ruan Zhiheng on weekdays all silently stopped talking and said they were sick at home and went out less often. quantity to avoid being affected.
When the Wen family learned the news, they were immediately panicked.
Wen Yongze, the head of the Wen family, had a gloomy old face. He raised his eyes and looked at his eldest son Wen Liyan, "You know everything about Meiling, right."
"Go back to my father, I understand." Wen Liyan was frightened, his face full of panic, "It's just that I never thought that Ruan Zhiheng would be so bold. In addition to mining ores, he would also secretly forge weapons to make a profit!"< br>
"You should have thought of it earlier!" Wen Yongze snorted coldly, "Ruan Zhiheng is just a poor scholar supported by the marriage of a concubine of our Wen family. A person who climbed up from hell. Once he takes power, you know better than anyone the consequences. ! ”
"Meiling can only mine iron ore, but the contribution Ruan Zhiheng sends every year is very impressive. You have been handling this matter, but you haven't noticed anything wrong with it?"
Wen Yongze's questioning made Wen Liyan break into a cold sweat.
Indeed, it is just an iron mine. Even if it produces a lot of output, considering the value of the iron ore, it really shouldn't have such considerable profits.
And he actually saw some problems, but Ruan Zhiheng gave too much, so much that he didn't want to ask too much.
As the saying goes, cats have cat ways, dogs have dog ways, and Ruan Zhiheng has a way to make money. If you ask too many questions, you will destroy this way and block this way of making money.
But it was precisely because of this greed that the conniving Ruan Zhiheng was so bold that he even dared to forge weapons privately.
This book was recently updated in ##六@@九@@书@@!! Updated!
"Many of these people know that Ruan Zhiheng was supported by our Wen family. Now that he has committed the capital crime of beheading, what will others think of our Wen family, and what will the emperor think of our Wen family?"
The more Wen Yongze spoke, the more angry he became on his face, "I'm afraid that I, the Wen family, are harboring evil intentions and using Ruan Zhiheng's hands to secretly make weapons. I am suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treason, and have the intention of treason!"
"Father is overly worried. If our Wen family had such intentions, we would not have supported the establishment of the Great Zhou Kingdom in the first place. The Emperor is well aware of this matter and would not feel this way." Wen Liyan opened his mouth to defend.
"Are you worrying too much? At this time, you still want to say such stupid things!" Wen Yongze was so angry that he reached out and picked up the tea cup on the coffee table next to him, and threw it straight at Wen Liyan.
The teacup passed by Wen Liyan's forehead, fell next to him, and smashed into pieces with a bang.
Wen Liyan's heart suddenly lifted and they clenched together tightly.
"Crossing the river and demolishing the bridge, unloading the mill and killing the donkey, this has always been the case throughout the ages. Once the emperor came to power, he would never be grateful for the help of the aristocratic family. Instead, he believed that the aristocratic family had too much power. He could not sleep peacefully and was eager to find out what was wrong with him!"
"You actually said that the emperor would not think so. Who gave you such confidence and courage? If you step back ten thousand steps, even if the emperor stops the matter with Ruan Zhiheng, he will definitely make Chen'er angry because of it in the future. How else can he do it? Become a prince?”
"The Cui family will definitely take this opportunity to add insult to injury. You see, once the news reaches the capital, the dogs raised by the Cui family will immediately jump out, bark and bite people. At this time, you still say that I am worrying too much. ?”
Wen Yongze yelled and cursed, making Wen Liyan unable to raise his head, let alone make any sound.
When Wen Yongze saw this, his anger became even stronger.
It is said that a flowing court and an iron-clad family will always stand firm no matter what hardships they endure.
But why does he feel that this generation is not as good as the previous one, and the Wen family is going downhill?
He thinks he can still maintain the current glory and power of the Wen family, but in the next generation...
As the eldest son, Wen Liyan has a certain mind and ability to deal with things, but his overall view is really far behind.
The second son, Wen Lijin, although he had read many more poems and books than Wen Liyan and was well-organized, he also read too much and had many of the pedantic and indecisive qualities of a scholar.
The third son, Wen Liren, is as his name suggests. He is kind-hearted, overzealous and upright. He is afraid to let him know too much about many matters in the family, otherwise he will simply become a monk without thinking.
In addition, although there are four concubines, they have not been systematically cultivated since childhood, so their abilities and vision are limited. They help take care of some common affairs, do some business, and serve as officials. It is okay, but if they are in charge The entire Wen family...
Suddenly, among the children of Li Zi's generation, none of them met his liking.
We can only see what the next generation will look like.
Wen Yongze's thoughts wandered a little far. When he came back to his senses, most of the anger in his heart had disappeared. He sighed and said, "Immediately arrange manpower in the court to be the first to participate. Ruan Zhiheng mines privately, enriches his own pockets, and forms cliques for personal gain." .”
"Send someone to deal with Ruan Zhiheng to prevent Ruan Zhiheng from losing his sense of proportion and saying things he shouldn't have said. Do things more neatly and get caught."
"It was widely spread throughout the Wen family that the wife Ruan Zhiheng married was not a daughter of the Wen family, and she was not of the same lineage as the Wen family, but had the same surname. He immediately searched for a woman of the right age in the family, replaced her name, and tried to distance herself from Ruan Zhiheng. .”
"Yes." Wen Liyan responded and asked, "Do I need to write a letter to the emperor to explain this matter?"
"No need." Wen Yongze said, "The more I explain, the more it proves that this matter has something to do with the Wen family. Instead, I keep silent, letting others see that our Wen family is really not afraid of slanting shadows."
"It's just that you need to send someone to deliver a letter to the palace immediately and tell the imperial concubine that you must appease Chen'er's mood. Chen'er was already dissatisfied because Xiao Luoan was going to Meiling to check. Now that something like this has happened, she feels so sad in her heart Must be very resentful.”
Wen Yongze was a little worried about this matter.
"Yes." Wen Liyan responded, but also frowned, "This child Chen'er is really spoiled by the imperial concubine. He always blames others whenever something happens."
"No matter how spoiled he is, he is still the eldest son of the emperor. He is the proud son of heaven and is beyond compare." Wen Yongze glanced sideways at Wen Liyan. "You are an uncle. Instead of helping him and thinking about him, you complained first. You are so If the upper beam is not straight, how can the lower beam be straightened? ”
"What father said is absolutely true." Wen Liyan immediately changed his tune.
Wen Yongze stroked his beard and looked at Wen Liyan again.
That's what he just said, but why doesn't he know Xiao Luochen's temperament?
There is only one prince that the Wen family can support now, and there is no choice.
If...
Wen Yongze paused and asked, "How did you go about the things I asked you to do earlier?"
Wen Liyan understood what Wen Yongze was talking about and nodded hurriedly, "Don't worry, father, the eldest daughter of the fifth bedroom and the youngest daughter of the fourth bedroom are both smart and beautiful. They will go to the New Year's Eve party with my father and me. I have also mentioned this to the imperial concubine. The imperial concubine replied that she will host the New Year's Eve banquet and will arrange a banquet for the two of them in due course, which will definitely make the emperor favor her."
"Then, the imperial concubine will arrange for the two of them to accompany them to the palace. They will definitely be favored by the emperor. The imperial concubine and I will definitely take care of this matter. Don't worry, father."
"That's good." Wen Yongze nodded.
If these two people can really gain favor, the Wen family will have another force they can rely on.
And if the two of them can give birth to another dragon son, he will be remembered in the name of the imperial concubine and the mother, and the son will be honored by the mother, and the glory will be unlimited. (End of chapter)