Chapter 647 The tiger must be beaten, and the ghost must be caught
The stolen money Chen Mo found was not silver, but gold.
The listed price in the Ming Dynasty is that one tael of gold is equal to sixteen taels of silver, but there is a price but no market. It is not that there is no gold, but that there is no silver. Silver is more liquid, so that no merchant ship to Manila will Collect gold, gold is mainly used as jewelry.
Gold, a precious metal that has poor circulation and cannot be liquidated on a large scale, can be safely left to the outside room for safekeeping. The outside room simply does not have the channels to realize such a large amount of gold.
Chen Mo was very confused. The amount of gold was a bit too huge. Is this really a figure that Huang Chun, the official of Shuntian Prefecture, could get by greedily?
"Dig three feet into the ground." After Chen Mo noticed the problem, he began to conduct a thorough search of the outer room's home. Chen Mo felt that there was something fishy. There might be a large number of people standing behind Huang Chun who committed suicide.
You know, Luo Yao, the former governor of Sichuan, worked hard in Sichuan and finally got 340,000 silver in his own hands, which was confiscated by the court. This Huang Chun, Shuntian Mansion How can you be so virtuous and capable as an official?
Soon, the Tiqi pried open the outer chamber's mouth. When the outer chamber learned that Huang Chun was dead, the outer chamber had no idea of denying it, because she was just an outer chamber and didn't know much. , but Wai Shi still knows some of Huang Chun's secrets. According to Wai Shi's confession, Huang Chun did raise a child like her, but others in Tianjin Wei also raised Wai Shi!
Wang Qian has done a lot of research on outer chambers. Wang Qian said that if an outer chamber is found in a place, then this place is the gathering place of outer chambers. If they are gathered together, there will be ten or a hundred of them. The outer rooms live here, and around these outer rooms, a stable outer room economy is formed in which "one person's luxury is the livelihood of tens of millions of people".
Gold, silver, jewelry, rouge, gouache, traveling, servants, nuns, liars, people, etc. will all come together and appear together after smelling the smell.
During the interrogation of the outer chamber, Chen Mo discovered that Wang Qian was indeed a leading figure in the study of outer chamber culture in the Ming Dynasty!
Sure enough, this ten horizontal and ten vertical village that resembles a small town is just a gathering place for outhouses, with hundreds of outhouses living there. Tianjin Wei is an important sea trade town in the north of the Ming Dynasty, with convenient transportation and commercial exchanges. Frequently, Baiyin also has a certain degree of blockage in Tianjin Wei, and Baiyin's alienation of people is subtly affecting people's hearts.
These outer chambers are not only the outer chambers of officials in the capital, but also the outer chambers of famous Confucian scholars, wealthy businessmen, and influential families. These outer chambers serve more as a kind of The social role does not mean exchanging and playing with each other. That is secondary. The main thing is that the outer room provides a place for conspiracy and a reason for meeting.
During the investigation, Chen Mo found that his guess was right. Huang Chun did not own this property worth 720,000 silver, and the complexity of the matter exceeded Chen Mo’s suggestion. The scope of punishment for thousands of households.
Three days later, Chen Mo returned to the capital at full speed, and met with Tishuai Zhao Mengyou without stopping. After briefly reporting the situation, Zhao Mengyou took Chen Mo directly to Tonghe Palace without an 'appointment' Next, Chen Mo saw the young emperor who was reviewing memorials.
"No need to be polite, sit down." Zhu Yijun did not raise his head, but wrote quickly, a memorial from the Guangzhou Prefecture, the emperor personally annotated it, and wrote about a hundred words.
Chen Mo secretly looked at the emperor, feeling sincerely reassured.
When His Majesty handled official documents, he was quite serious and serious, giving people a very reassuring feeling. Of course, he just looked at it secretly a few times, then sat down and waited for the emperor's inquiry.
"What's the specific situation?" Zhu Yijun finally finished approving the memorial, put down his pen, and asked.
"There is a list here. The stolen money of 720,000 yuan in silver held by Huang Chun's outer office is jointly held by them." Chen Mo handed a list and file to Feng Bao.
Zhu Yijun simply read the memorial, took a deep breath and said: "There is a reason for Huang Chun's suicide. Hai Rui acted too fast. He has not disposed of the gold yet. Once he is investigated and the gold is recovered, Huang Chun is determined not to survive the five poisonous punishments of Beizhen Fusi, so if he dies, everyone will be safe."
"Huang Chun doesn't want to show his dignity, but there are many people who will help him show his dignity."< br>
"Tishuai."
"I am here!" Zhao Mengyou immediately stood up and said with great enthusiasm. Zhao Mengyou, who has been with His Majesty for twelve years, already knows very well what His Majesty is going to do. Yes, this will be a major and important case that will affect the Ming Dynasty in the next ten, twenty, or even fifty years.
"Arrest everyone according to the list and put them in the sky prison to wait for questioning. Be careful not to let them commit suicide." Zhu Yijun specially reminded that Huang Chun's suicide must not happen again.
Zhu Yijun took out the second blank driving post. These were ten opportunities that Wang Chonggu gave the emperor to have power and willfulness. Zhu Yijun used all of them on the assassination case of Wang Chonggu.
If you dare to assassinate Wang Chonggu this time, you will dare to assassinate the emperor, the prince, and the queen next time.
Zhu Yijun wants to catch them all and punish them.
"I obey the order!" Zhao Mengyou obeyed the leader's order and left. He was confident that Fusi, Beizhen, was a place where you could not live but die. Without the permission of the Ming Emperor, death would be a luxury. .
Zhao Mengyou left, leaving Chen Mo behind. Chen Mo was a little confused. His immediate boss just left like this, leaving him to face the saint alone? !
"Chen Mo, I remember you. Five years ago, without you, Lin Fucheng would have died a thousand times." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Don't be nervous, you have ideas, methods, and relaxation in handling cases. This You have made a great contribution this time, and I will not push you out to be a scapegoat."
The Ming Dynasty Jinyiwei has a very embarrassing problem, that is, how to avoid becoming Ji Gang and how to become Lu Bing.
Ji Gang killed Xie Jin on behalf of Emperor Cheng Zuwen, but later Ji Gang was charged with treason;
Lu Bing saved foreign court officials more than once, but he always won the trust of Emperor Jiajing.
Zhu Yijun made a promise directly. The person who arrested the person was Tishuai. It came from the direct instruction of the emperor. This case was done by the emperor himself. If you have the courage, come to Fugu!
Li Kaifang is gone, nothing happened!
"Tell me what you think about this case." Zhu Yijun asked Chen Mo to briefly talk about his experience in handling the case.
"What do you think? I...do have some immature ideas." Chen Mo was not particularly nervous. Your Majesty does not eat people. On the contrary, His Majesty was very kind during the several times he met with the Holy Spirit. He was not the King of Hell according to folk rumors. The same moody character.
"The dead man Li Sanhu, the old boss of Meishikou Xu Zhaode, the patrol censor Zhao Chengfan, and the official Huang Chun, they dared to assassinate Wang Cifu. In fact, they fell into a misunderstanding. They thought that as long as Wang Cifu died, the Ming Dynasty official factory would be destroyed. It belongs to them, but in my opinion, the official factory is not the official factory of Wang Cifu alone, it is the official factory of Ming Dynasty, and it is the official factory of His Majesty." Chen Mo first said the motives of these people.
It was wrong from the beginning. Really killing Wang Chonggu would only make the emperor furious, and set off a murderous crime like the four major cases to avenge Wang Cifu, and the government and factory groups would continue to create laws. If implemented, the shipyards, coal bureaus, woolen factories, plantations, etc. pursued by these people will become a mirror image.
"They actually despised His Majesty." Chen Mo said with a strange expression: "I clearly felt this when I was handling the case."
"In the minds of these treacherous people, Your Majesty..."
Chen Mo couldn't find a suitable adjective to describe it for a while. The main reason was that he couldn't be disrespectful in front of the palace.
“The statue in the temple?” Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and asked.
"Yes." Chen Mo immediately bowed his head and said, this is what His Majesty said, not him.
In the process of handling the case, these treacherous traitors did not take the emperor seriously at all. They all thought that a young man in his twenties was nothing to worry about. As long as Wang Chonggu was killed, the political enemy Zhang Juzheng There will definitely be a comprehensive liquidation of Wang Chonggu, and finally they can get the fat they have been planning for a long time.
"In the final analysis, they are all interested in my scraps. They all say that they are disgusted to death, but this greedy and greedy face has exposed the value of the official factory." Zhu Yijun nodded, was he going to kill Wang Chonggu? It was simply a plot to get the emperor to hold half of the shares in the major government factories!
This is picking out Zhu Yijun’s money bag, which is unbearable!
"As for this gold, I have discovered that it has a useful effect. What should I say? Your Majesty, this gold belongs to Huang Chun and other traitors, but it is not theirs." Chen Mo said this. Confused, he hurriedly explained, trying to explain clearly.
The role of gold is an equivalent, used to evade the court's high profits tax.
Huang Chun embezzled 30,000 taels of silver. If he wanted to send it to his family overseas, he would have to leave the customs, but he would have to pay a profit tax of up to 50%. The most important thing is that a promotion official could not explain where it came from. With so much silver, at this time, a broker is needed.
Huang Chun handed over the silver to the brokerage compradors. These brokerage compradors mortgaged the gold, which was not easily liquidable, to Huang Chun. The overseas silver was transferred to Huang Chun’s family. After the transaction was completed, the gold brokerage The comprador takes it away.
In this process, the brokerage comprador will charge a handling fee of up to 30%.
"In this way, we can avoid the inspection of the imperial shipping department. It seems that the silver has not flowed out of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact the stolen money has flowed out of the Ming Dynasty. The stolen money will be turned into goods and flow out of the Ming Dynasty." Chen Mo does not understand currency. , and he doesn’t even understand economics. He is just an official who reads newspapers and miscellaneous newspapers every day. This is just his shallow knowledge.
In Chen Mo's view, currency is goods. The definition of silver is the hard-earned money of everyone in the Ming Dynasty. The loss of goods is equivalent to the loss of silver.
Zhu Yijun thought for a while, took out a piece of paper, wrote a few words, and said, "Is this what you mean?"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty!" Chen Mo quickly bowed his head and said , Your Majesty is such a smart person. He even felt that what he said was confused. He even thought about it for a long time before he could understand the function of gold. His Majesty could completely understand the function of gold by dividing it by three and five.
Because letters are too slow, these gold equivalents need a safe place to place them. Over time, such a stable chain of interests was formed.
"Your Majesty, I don't think this is accidental." Chen Mo said with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, there may be more than one gathering place for outsiders like this in the Ming Dynasty."
Accidental phenomenon ? Chen Mo doesn't think so. He felt that now that he had found a place, it was basically certain that a path had formed and existed widely.
"What you said makes sense." Zhu Yijun tapped his fingers on the table a few times and said to Zhang Hong: "Go and invite Wang Cifu and Wang Qian to come over."
Wang Qian is Hai Rui Anti-Corruption As an extremely important starting point, Wang Qian provided conclusive clues more than once to help Hai Rui fight corruption. Otherwise, a tough official like Hai Rui would have been difficult to eliminate corruption to this extent because he did not understand corrupt officials.
Wang Chonggu arrived soon. Wang Qian came a little later. As soon as Wang Qian entered the imperial study, Wang Chonggu wanted to kick Wang Qian out because Wang Qian's body was full of the smell of rouge and gouache. I don't know. Just came out of a girl's arms.
"Greetings to your Majesty, long live your Majesty. Long live your Majesty." Wang Qian also knew that he was discourteous, but he couldn't come to bathe and change clothes. His Majesty screamed anxiously.
"I am guilty." Wang Qian was not ambiguous and directly apologized. He was a fourth-grade censor of Qiandu and was in charge of Yanxing Tower. Your Majesty seldom summoned him, so he dared to be so bold. , go out and fool around in broad daylight.
"Forgive me, sit down and talk." Zhu Yijun signaled Wang Qian to forgive him and stop pretending to apologize.
"Your Majesty, I went to Taibai Building for decoration. It was really not a fool around. As soon as I passed by, the girl in the building rushed over. I am really... I am guilty." Wang Qian once again stated that he was guilty. He went to Taibai Building during the day for decoration, but the girl jumped at her and he couldn't stop her.
“It’s not like you usually throw money around like a rich man, but those girls can pounce on you? If you have a little money, you don’t know what your last name is, and your income will be cut off for a month!” Wang Chonggu said angrily, the last time His Majesty went to Taibai Tower to watch the excitement, Wang Qian scattered eleven thousand silver in front of the emperor.
Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu's training. This son was already in his thirties and had already been formed. It was too late to train him now. Zhu Yijun signaled Feng Bao to state the situation in detail, and then solemnly asked: "Ci Fu, do you think this is an isolated phenomenon, or is it common?"
"I think it should be common. This business has been done very skillfully." Wang Chonggu put on his reading glasses and read the file carefully before explaining his judgment.
Wang Qian said more bluntly: "Your Majesty, I said before that the outer chamber must be crowded! Why?"
"Because the outer chamber holds so much silver, they must You have to show off, otherwise your heart will feel like a cat scratching its paws, it will scratch very hard, and the mood in the outer room is unstable, just like a firecracker, it will happen at a moment's notice, and if there is no place to complain, then the fingers may have to be suppressed. Die."
"Of course, show off to the sisters, and complain to the sisters, of course, we help each other, stay together, find prostitutes, and introduce each other."
Wang Chonggu looked at his son and said with suspicion: "Wang Qian! Are you raising a child outside? While you are here with His Majesty, take him home and don't cause trouble outside!"< br>
“No!” Wang Qian’s mouth twitched and said, “You’re not looking for it, why should I look for it!”
“Then why do you know so well?!” Wang Chonggu asked.
"Understanding means that I have one? Dad! You are the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, so you must provide evidence when you speak!" Wang Qian's face turned red with anger. He understood that it was for the sake of anti-corruption and national affairs! Before anyone else said anything, my father became suspicious!
“Who has no time to find a cuckold for me? Could it be that he is the reincarnation of the turtle? I dare to swear to God, if I find him, let the thunder of the sky hit me!”
< br>Wang Qian said that there is no outsider who doesn’t steal something. Looking for an outsider is to find a cuckold for yourself. When these outsiders come together, they not only show off and complain, but also introduce each other.
Zhu Yijun and Chen Mo looked at each other, both happy, but did not laugh. After all, Chen Mo had received professional training.
"Then find the place where these outer chambers gather and get rid of this line." Zhu Yijun talked about the purpose of calling Wang Chonggu and Wang Qianlai, to find the outer chambers, find where they gather, and find The broker and comprador found the underground bank and sent them to see Emperor Taizu Gao together with this major case!
"I will obey the order." Wang Chonggu believed that this was very necessary, and asked the Ministry of Punishment and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to act together.
The reason why money flows overseas is because it is not safe in Ming Dynasty. Hai Rui and Haigangfeng are fighting against corruption and do not show any mercy.
Huang Chun died and was beaten in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but his death was of no value because the Emperor of Ming Dynasty still followed the clues and found out the reason why Huang Chun committed suicide. There was a group of people behind him. Unless you die, others will not be safe.
Zhu Yijun told Wang Chonggu that he used a blank driving ticket again in order to handle the case more efficiently. Wang Chonggu said that it complied with the process and there were no problems with the procedure.
Zhao Mengyou returned to Fusi Yamen in Beizhen and summoned all the Tixing Qianhu and nearly 2,000 Tiqi. It was not until all Tixing Qianhu and Tiqi arrived that Zhao Mengyou began to delegate tasks. .
"This list is a list hand-picked by His Majesty. Before sunrise tomorrow, everyone must be sure to be brought to justice, including their families! Let's start assigning tasks!" Zhao Mengyou put the list on the table. Start assigning tasks to ten households with thousands of sentences.
"Whoever escapes within the jurisdiction is an accomplice in the crime!" Zhao Mengyou once again reiterated the case handling regulations. No matter who escapes, they are all jointly responsible.
“Now, let’s go!”
Zhao Mengyou commanded the Tiqi to start dispatching. A man who had been sentenced to thousands of households rushed to the Wucheng Army and Horse Division and showed his driving certificate. The nine gates of the capital slowly closed amidst people's scoldings, and then the gates of each square. The Tiqi began He took over the guarding of the square gate, punished thousands of households, and began to enter the square to take people.
There is another group that goes straight to the big house at the foot of Baiwang Mountain, where there are also targets for arrest.
The scope of the arrests is not only corrupt officials, but also a group of businessmen. These businessmen are all the owners of the identified underground banks. They have been engaged in this kind of thing for a long time and have become the puppets who work for the tiger. The tiger needs to be beaten, and the demon needs to be caught.
It is destined to be an uneven night. Almost no one knows what happened. There are waves of Tiqi on the street. The sound of neat footsteps comes from far away and then leaves quietly. The sound of breaking the door. One after another, you can even hear the sounds of shouting and killing, but these noises will soon disappear into the night.
In the early morning of the next day, the sun rose as usual, and the gate of the square opened slowly. Everything seemed to be no different from an ordinary morning. Even the place where the shouting of murder occurred last night was nothing unusual. There were only a few The gambling houses and shops with evil intentions are not open today, and the doors of several powerful and powerful houses are closed.
Just when everyone in the capital was guessing what had happened, a notice began to be posted outside Donghua Gate announcing why Tiqi had arrested someone yesterday. This was a corrupt official and his minions who were captured by the wise Emperor Ming. He received the good news, and soon the news spread throughout the streets as if it had wings.
Zhu Yijun appeared in the Wenhua Hall as always.
"Sir, I arrested 56 court officials, 124 merchants and brokers and compradors yesterday." Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng and talked about yesterday's actions.
"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng said with an indifferent expression: "Your Majesty, among the court officials arrested yesterday, none of them were subordinates of the ministers, and there were only seven merchants from Chu."
"That's right, sir, your teachings are good." Zhu Yijun said with a smile on his face. Zhang Juzheng's disciples were all greedy openly and did not hide it at all, just like Zhang Juzheng.
"On the contrary, it is the Shanxi Party. This time, court officials accounted for 23 seats, which is almost half. Among these 124 merchants, 83 are Shanxi merchants." Zhang Juzheng looked at Wang Chonggu with gloating, and this time the last The unlucky one is the Jin Party.
After this incident, the Jin Party was severely weakened again.
"Alas, they are not up to par, and I have no good solution. Just let them go." Wang Chonggu waved his hand and said indifferently: "56 officials were arrested yesterday, and none of them were officials. Born, that’s enough.”
Jin Party? Really unfamiliar.
He Wang Chonggu is now the leader of the Labor Party!
This time, the Labor Party, which has not yet fully formed, has no one on the list, including businessmen. The Labor Party itself is not a regional party, and no businessmen have joined the Labor Party. The Labor Party itself advocates more goods and seizing What is important is production. As for who to sell it to and what it is used for, that is not the responsibility of the Labor Party.
“I found that the 56 arrested court officials have a common characteristic.” Zhu Yijun said with emotion: “They all scolded Wang Cifu.”
General civil servants The alliance does not exist, and there are many mountains in the DPRK and China. If the civil servants can really unite completely, they can just change the DPRK.
"Ah? This..." Wang Chonggu was silent for a moment and said, "It seems that what I did hit their lungs."
"That's true." Zhu Yijun He said with considerable approval: "The transfer of Xizhimen Coal Market Entrance to public ownership is the beginning of the whole thing. But after the silverfish have been cleared, I can rest assured that I can patrol the south."
The southern tour has been intensively prepared for three months, and arrangements are being made from inside to outside, from top to bottom.
"I have a memorial." Zhang Juzheng took out a memorial and reported on the preparations for the southern tour. Everything is ready. If nothing happens in the coming spring, we will set off in February and the fireworks will go down to Yangzhou in March.
Zhu Yijun carefully read Zhang Juzheng's memorial and said: "This is too troublesome."
"It's not troublesome at all. Your Majesty is a man of ten thousand gold." Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said : "If we weren't in a hurry, we could have been more prepared."
"There is no need to build so many palaces. I can't live in a palace, so I can save 1.5 million silver by omitting this item. "Zhu Yijun wanted to cross out one item, the construction cost of the palace.
"Your Majesty, this money cannot be saved. On February 20, the eighteenth year of Jiajing, Emperor Sejong visited the south and arrived at the Zhaozhou Palace. A fire broke out in the Zhaozhou Palace. The fire was not big and was put out quickly. February On the 26th, I stayed at the Linming Palace. At midnight, I walked into the water again. On the 28th, I arrived at the Weihui Palace. At night, there was a sea of fire in an instant. "Zhang Juzheng said very solemnly: "This money cannot be saved. ."
"One and a half million silver can build a two-hundred-mile road." Zhu Yijun was still a little distressed.
"Your Majesty, this money cannot be saved. I am very relieved about the palace built by Wang Cifu." Zhang Juzheng once again violated the emperor's will and refused to save money.
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal." Wang Chonggu said very directly: "If they dare to kill me, they dare to assassinate Your Majesty. No matter what, the money must be paid."
"This big jade chariot actually costs 70,000 silver. I only sell a five-masted ocean-going ship for 50,000 silver. This thing actually costs 70,000 silver? Is this jade chariot made of gold or silver? It's so expensive!" Zhu Yijun said to The second item raises doubts.
"Made of gold." Zhang Juzheng said with great certainty: "Wooden-clad steel, even if it is exploded with gunpowder, it will only explode into the sky and not break up. The Ministry of Industry has tried it."
"I am here for this car. The car uses seven thousand kilograms of gunpowder in the arsenal." Wang Daokun quickly explained why this thing is so expensive. The cost is not just a car, but the research and development cost.
"We are just crossing the Yangtze River, do we need to build a special sealing boat?" Zhu Yijun looked at another item on the list worth 150,000 silver, and asked dully.
Zhang Juzheng said very solemnly: "This is the top priority of prevention. We must not save money on sealing the boat. If we want to save it, then we should not go to the south."
It is very waterproof. Regarding fire prevention, the Great Ming Fire Virtue is not afraid of fire, but is afraid of water.
“You can’t save on this, and you can’t save on that? Which one can save more?” Zhu Yijun looked at the long memorial. This is not a memorial. This is clearly a bill. A southern tour actually costs Spending more than 3 million silver!
"Your Majesty, I have already saved whatever I can, and the rest cannot be saved. Your Majesty, what you get from the southern tour cannot be measured in silver." Zhang Juzheng told the emperor very clearly , it is impossible to save money by saving money.
Some things are valuable, and some things are priceless. The emperor's southern tour means the strengthening of Nanya's centripetal force. Under the general trend of opening up the sea, he must go to this trip no matter what, and it is very valuable. May form a regular system.
How much does it cost to measure centripetal force?
Zhu Yijun sighed, picked up the big seal, stamped it on it, and said helplessly: "Then it won't be marked, and it will be carried out as promised. This may be the reason for the rigidity of the imperial court."
The reason for the rigidity of the imperial court is actually very simple. There were many loopholes in the system when it was first established. In order to plug these loopholes, the system needed to be repaired. In the end, the code was stacked layer by layer. Every time a repair was made, It only aggravated the rigidity, and finally led to the rigidity of the Ming Dynasty that was about to become a rotten tree.
Dao Ye visited the south for a few days and was burned by fire three times. He returned home defeated. In order to avoid this happening, he had to make repairs. In the end, the rules became very cumbersome.
(End of this chapter)