Chapter 206 Setting up

"Oh, why are you businessmen so nagging?" At the door of Wei Zhongxian's mansion, the little eunuch of the Sili Superintendent who guarded Wei Zhongxian's door, looked even more ugly than the previous day. He spoke to Yuan Chongyu, Lu Wanling and the eight locust merchants in Zhangjiakou. "How many times do we want our family to say to you? My ancestors are busy with government affairs and are not at home. I ask you to come back tomorrow! Did you hear that?"

"Little father-in-law, have a little bit of a word, take it for tea." Yuan Chongyu wiped the sweat from his black face, stuffed a ingot of silver into the hand of the eunuch, and said with a pity: "Little father-in-law, I'm going to tell you, we have already gone to the Forbidden City, Wenyuan Pavilion (Ming Dynasty Cabinet Office) and the Sili Supervisor. All the father-in-law and the adults there said that Jiu Qiansui was not here, and they might have come back to the mansion. Please go in and see if Jiu Qiansui has come back first? If Jiu Qiansui is here, please report it to me, Xiao Ke will definitely have a good reward!"

"How many times do you want our family to say it? Is our family still not sure whether our ancestors are at home?" The little eunuch honestly and unceremoniously stuffed the silver into his sleeves, and raised his voice and shouted with a stern face: "If Jiu Qiansui is not in the Forbidden City, Wenyuan Pavilion and Silijian, it may be in the East Factory and the North and North Fufu Department, or in the Six Ministry Offices, Dali Temple and Honglu Temple. You can go there to find him, don't bother me here! If you say something more, our family will call the Jinyiwei to drive people away!"

After spending a lot of effort, Yuan Chongyu finally suppressed the urge to strangle the little demon in front of him to death. Fan Yongdou also came up quickly, smiled and bowed to the little eunuch with apologized smile, saying, "Little father-in-law, since Jiu Qiansui is not at home, we dare not continue to disturb you. The young man only asks one more thing - I wonder if Master Feng, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is in Jiu Qiansui Mansion? The young man has also visited the Ministry of Revenue, Wenyuan Pavilion and Master Feng's mansion, and everyone there also says that Master Feng is not here."

"Not here either." The little eunuch yawned and said listlessly: "Don't ask where our Feng Tang official is. Our family doesn't know, we only know that he is not in the Jiuqiansui Mansion."

Having said that, Yuan Chongyu and the Eight Locust Merchants also understood that the little lady in front of him was purely nonsense - because Yuan Chongyu and others had already discovered the eyeliner. Feng Quan had already entered Wei Zhongxian's mansion half an hour ago and never came out again since then. However, even though he knew that the little lady was lying, Yuan Chongyu, Fan Yongdou and others dared not expose it in person, and they did not dare to rush into Wei Zhongxian's house to catch Feng Quan and question him.

The huge sum of tens of thousands of taels of silver was spent. Why did the imperial court and the cabinet issue an edict to appoint the current governor of Liaodong as the governor of Xuanda? Is the silver not stuffed in place, or is Feng Quan and the old eunuch Wei just taking the silver without doing anything? Helplessly, Yuan Chongyu and others discussed it in a hurry and had to sit down opposite the gate of the Wei Mansion, which was mainly facing the sedan chair owner who visited the Wei Mansion to visit officials, and waited for Wei Zhongxian or Feng Quan to come out.

It was really guessed by Yuan Chongyu and the Eight Locust Trading. At this time, Wei Zhongxian, Feng Quan and others were really in the Wei Mansion. However, Feng Quan was so stupid that Wei Zhongxian was fooled by bribing the servants of the Wei Mansion to replace the couplets. Wei Zhongxian found an excuse to punish him hard. After entering the door today, he was punished to kneel in the backyard and think about his mistakes. Before the sky was dark, he could not have the chance to stand up. Wei Zhongxian was discussing secretly with Li Shi, Zhang, Song Jin and others - discussing how to deal with the eight locust Trading Trading who were waiting outside the Wei Mansion to the greatest extent.

Master Zhang brought out a stack of documents and reported to Wei Zhongxian: "Father, according to the secret investigation and statistics of the child and the Dongchang, he found that these eight traitor businessmen had 86 sub-colonies across the country, distributed among the 34 prefectures of nine provincial government departments. They had close contact and frequent communication. If we directly took action in Zhangjiakou and received news from other local semicolons, there would definitely be situations such as destroying evidence and absconding with money. This would not only prevent us from completely eradicating the eight traitor businessmen, but also causing losses to the treasury income. So the child believes that now we must not alarm the enemy. If the eight traitor businessmen are prepared, we must make all arrangements and preparations first. The thirty-four prefectures and counties across the country will work together at the same time, so that they can be caught in one place, and people and money cannot be escaped!"

"Yes, our family agrees to do this." Wei Zhongxian nodded and smiled: "Dongchang privately estimated that the total assets of these eight traitors' businesses will be worth at least two million taels of silver! If we can catch all the eight traitors' businesses and people and money in one go, then our family will not have to worry about the military pay for the quelling chaos in Shaanxi next year."

"Nine Thousand Sui, I have some suggestions for humble officials." The Dongchang Jinyiwei, who was secretly discussing with Wei Zhongxian for the first time, was very nervous. Without Wei Zhongxian's permission, he did not even dare to express his opinions directly. Until Wei Zhongxian nodded in agreement, Xiao Chuancai said carefully: "Nine Thousand Sui, based on the years of experience in handling cases in Huxian, the reason why traitors such as Fan Yongdou and Tian Shenglan can be so rampant is that they must be condoned and supported by countless court officials and local governments. We also took action against the traitors in the thirty-four prefectures at the same time. If the arrangement is not tight, as long as one of them is wrong and leaks the news, it may be alarmed and all previous efforts will be wasted."

"Mr. Xiao is right. It is difficult for thirty-four prefectures to take action at the same time. It is difficult to achieve everything without leaking water. As long as there is a problem, it is likely to cause all previous efforts to be wasted." Master Zhang nodded and agreed, and said: "So, the child believes that this time, he must not inform the local government in advance. He can only rely on reliable forces such as the Dongchang and the Duke Office to temporarily show a secret order when taking action, and catch them off guard!"

"Old ancestor, Tanhualang, I have something to say." Song Jin saw that the boss of the Fushi Department Tian Ergeng and Cui Yingyuan were not there, so he said carefully: "In my opinion, the Jinyiwei of the Fushi Department may not be reliable. This time, my ancestor asked me to secretly investigate eight traitors and review the investigation records of the Fushi Department on Zhangjiakou, and found that the Fushi Department did not mention the rampant reselling of prohibited materials by these eight traitors - it is obvious that there are also their people in the Fushi Department."

"Is it enough to rely on the power of the East Factory alone?" Wei Zhongxian asked thoughtfully. Master Zhang thought it was a little thought and replied: "Return to his father, his son thought it should be enough. As long as the father selects reliable father-in-laws from the Silijian and the East Factory, entrusts secret orders to them, and finds other excuses to send them to these 34 prefectures separately. At the same time, he strictly ordered these 34 prefectures not to disclose secrets to anyone in advance, including to the Jinyiwei who protected their travel. He did not read the order until he started to take action, which could minimize the risk of leaking the news. At the same time, his father could also replace the unreliable generals in these 34 prefectures in advance and replace them with obedient people, so that he could ensure that everything was foolproof."

"Okay, then." Wei Zhongxian agreed and said: "You will first draw up a detailed action plan. Our family will ask the emperor for an order. As for picking people from the Silijian and Dongchang, we must be careful. Our family believes that it is best for those who support the establishment of a grain and salt criterion system in Zhangjiakou, they are more reliable."

"Godfather, I think I can add one." Li Shi, the eunuch of Jiangnan who is also a traitor, spoke up and said in a dark voice: "To be cautious, when entrusting the secret decree, the godfather can promise to reward them with 10% of the gold, silver and wealth they found. In this way, in order to get more rewards, these people will be more reliable and harder. Also, there must be a large number of local officials involved in this case. The godfather can add a sentence to the decree. As long as any official involved in this case actively confesses to return the stolen goods, they can not be investigated or demoted. In this way, the resistance from the local government can be minimized."

"Thinking very thoroughly." Wei Zhongxian applauded and said with a smile: "What our family is most worried about is to pull out the radish and bring out the mud. It is easy to search these eight traitors. But if hundreds or thousands of officials are involved, it will be troublesome. Just do as Shier said. This time, he only attacked the eight traitors. Except for the main evil officials of Xuanda, the other officials who voluntarily return the stolen goods will not be investigated." - Wei Zhongxian made this decision and was helpless. Although his subordinates were full of capable officials, almost all of them, including Master Zhang and Li Shi, were not clean on their butts. If they even cleaned up all the officials who covered up and condone these eight traitors, then Wei Zhongxian would have shot himself in the foot.

"Let's do that." Wei Zhongxian arranged: "This action is, since our family is personally responsible for the command, with the Yellow River and Huaihe River as the boundary, the north is handed over to Song Jin and the south is responsible for Shier. The letters and contacts between each other can only be transmitted by the East Factory Army, and must not be entrusted to outsiders." Speaking of this, Wei Zhongxian pointed at Master Zhang and said kindly: "Monkey boy, your task is the heaviest. Not only should you be responsible for queuing the general accounts of these eight traitors, but you also have to obtain the real evidence of their smuggling and selling the country, so that our family can take action. You also know that these eight traitors have business dealings with large and small businesses across the country. If our family does not have evidence, they will take them down. There is no way to explain to the merchants in the world who bear 60% of the taxes in the treasury."

"Don't worry, my son keeps these eight traitors, and can't escape your palms. They can search their houses and behead them reasonably and legally!" Master Zhang replied with his fist. Wei Zhongxian thought for a while and said with a smile: "You should be careful. In a few days, the order to be promoted to the new Governor General of Xuanda will be imminent. By then, the eight traitors will be alert and ready, and it will be even more difficult for you to obtain evidence of their crimes."

"My son dare not deceive his father. In fact, he is already collecting evidence of crime." Master Zhang smiled thornyly and said with a thorny smile: "And after going out, the child will have to contact one of the eight traitorous businessmen." Speaking of this, Master Zhang leaned into Wei Zhongxian's ear and whispered: "By the way, in order to buy us time, the child has a way to make money to honor his father, and his father can..."

……………………

When it was dark, Master Zhang, Song Jin, Xiao Chuan and others left Wei Zhongxian's mansion one after another. Feng Quan, the Minister of Revenue, who had been kneeling in the yard for an afternoon, was finally liberated. He rubbed his sore legs and was led into the study where Wei Zhongxian was discussing affairs. As soon as he met, Wei Zhongxian snorted coldly: "Do you know why you were punished to kneel?"

"I know." Feng Quan replied dejectedly: "The humble official should not have deducted the salary of the capital official for his own personal grievances, which led to the censor Hanlin going to Donghuamen to cause trouble." Speaking of this, Feng Quan said unconvincedly: "Nine thousand years old, but the humble official was only two days late. The censor and Hanlin Shujishi went to Donghuamen to cause trouble. It was clearly Cui Chengxiu who instigated behind the scenes, trying to embarrass the officials."

"Wow!" Wei Zhongxian poured a cup of hot tea on Feng Quan's face and cursed angrily: "Damn it, it makes sense for you to deliberately deduct the salary of Beijing officials? You are as rich as you, the Minister of Revenue, and you will never starve to death if you don't receive your salary for the rest of your life? Fortunately, Zhang Ruitu came forward in time to persuade the officials of Beijing to go home. If things get bigger, how can the court be faced? How can our family face be? Our Ming Dynasty court was in the prosperous era of the heavens. Is it so poor that even the salary of officials can't afford?"

"I've been forgiven for nine thousand years. I will never dare to do it again next time." Feng Quan knelt helplessly, kowtowed and begged for mercy. Fortunately, the matter was not big, and Wei Zhongxian was not angry either. He just kicked Feng Quan again and shouted: "Get up, next time, our family will punish you to kneel under the sun until you die!"

"Thank you Jiuqiansui." Feng Quan kowtowed again, and then stood up with difficulty. Wei Zhongxian yawned and said, "You are here today to make the appointment of Governor General of Xuanda?"

"Nine Thousand Years of Mingjian." Feng Quan nodded, smiled and asked carefully: "Nine Thousand Years, on your 60th birthday, the Liaodong Governor had already sent 150,000 taels of silver to the mansion, and you will receive it. The Liaodong Governor wanted to inquire and see when you would ask the emperor for the imperial edict, and the Liaodong Governor would also arrange the preparations for the delivery of his post."

"The official hat will not fly again, why are you in a hurry?" Wei Zhongxian took the tea from his maid Xin, took a sip, and said lightly: "Winter is here. Jiannu is used to launching an attack on Jinzhou and Ningyuan in winter. Changing commanders at the last stage is a taboo for military strategists. Let him guard Liaodong first and wait until spring begins."

"Don't." Feng Quan was very anxious - Feng Quan knew very well that the eight locust merchants in Zhangjiakou were so concerned about the successor of Governor Xuanda. In addition to fearing that the new governor would not be difficult to deal with, one of the more important reasons was that the eight locust merchants had already been smashed into pieces by the young master Zhang's little plague god, and they urgently needed to rebuild the transaction channel. To do this, only if the governor of Liaodong took over as Xuanda, could he do it quickly.

After one day, the eight major locust merchants did not know how much money they would lose, and Feng Quan did not know how much money they would lose! In a hurry, Feng Quan had to bite the bullet and said, "Nine Thousand Years, Bei Zhi believes that this matter cannot be delayed. The cabinet received a report from Shaanxi Tang some time ago. The governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Sun Ge Lao, planned to launch an attack on the rioters' nest. The rioters in Shaanxi are likely to wander to Shanxi or Datong. On Xuanda, there is an urgent need for a commander who can fight and fight to prevent the spread of the thief."

"But here in Liaodong..." Wei Zhongxian pretended to be hesitant. Seeing that Wei Zhongxian was moved, Feng Quan hurriedly said: "Please rest assured that Jiu Qiansui is in charge. There will be no problem with Xiong Governor in Liaodong. Besides, the imperial court will only change generals and not soldiers. The new Liaodong Governor took office to command Liaodong soldiers, and Liaodong is absolutely foolproof. As for Liaodong Governor, Jiu Qiansui, you only need to place the Slaughter Army under his command, suppressing the Shaanxi thieves and resisting Lin Dan Tatars."

"Slave Slaughter Army?" Wei Zhongxian frowned with a gray eyebrows and snorted: "I just want to buy our Slaughter Army and the position of Xuanda Governor of the imperial court? You, the Minister of Revenue, don't you know how much money our family spent when building the Slaughter Army?"

"150,000 taels? Old eunuch Wei thought it was too little?" Feng Quan was shocked when he heard the hint in Wei Zhongxian's words, but when he thought that when building the slave army, Wei Zhongxian personally controlled the inner treasury, the national treasury alone took out more than 300,000 taels of silver, Feng Quan felt that it was still reasonable. Thinking of this, Feng Quan hurriedly replied: "Don't worry, Jiu Qiansui, I will go back and reply to them, let them release a little more blood, and I will definitely keep Jiu Qiansui's satisfaction."
Chapter completed!