Chapter 036 Can’t give up
If you like it, click on it and add it to your favorites. Thank you.
Zhu Yanrong had previously planned to discuss it with Chen Cao in private, but it was obvious that Chen Cao had no such plan at all, and even asked Wu Chun to sing the double act together. The opportunity now is not bad.
There were only two people in the back hall, Zhu Yanrong and Chen Cao, and Wu Chun was not there. Zhu Yanrong had an idea.
"Master Chen," Zhu Yanrong waved his hand to signal Chen Cao to drink tea: "I hope Master Chen will not take everything that happened before seriously."
Chen Cao was lying on his stomach, so it was difficult for him to drink tea. He felt that this old man was humiliating himself: "Mr. Baoguo, if you have anything to say, just say it."
After all, he was the Duke of the country, so he naturally felt unhappy when he was answered in this tone by Chen Cao. He immediately started to care about it again and said in a cold tone: "Chen Cao, I have decided to reinstate you to your official position first. What do you think?"
"Hehe..." Chen Cao sneered: "Mr. Bao Guo, what did you do to Chen? After Wei Guo Gong comes back, Chen will pay everything back bit by bit."
"Presumptuous..." Zhu Yanrong scolded: "You are a mere royal guard, how dare you threaten me?"
"Bao Guo Gong is just the chief officer of the fifth military camp. It's just a fluke that he became the imperial envoy today." Chen Cao raised his eyes with contempt on his face.
Zhu Yanrong was so aroused by Chen Cao that he became furious. He pulled out the Shang Fang sword hanging on the wall and was about to stab Chen Cao to death.
Chen Cao had a scornful smile on his face: "Don't you think carefully, Lord Bao Guo, that there are so many dukes in the capital, who can't choose between you?"
Zhu Yanrong had been the Duke of the country for so many years. He just wanted to scare Chen Cao, but he was choked by Chen Cao's words and froze in place.
Chen Cao said: "The Duke has not figured it out, so Chen will answer for the Duke." He supported his body with his hands and stood up: "The so-called robbery of relief materials this time is the private revenge of that old dog Li Weihan." , the Japanese pirates on Daqushan Island a few months ago are not fake. If this matter is confirmed, Li Weihan is having an affair with the Japanese pirates. The Duke of the country has been in the capital for a long time. He should know that after Wanli’s three major expeditions, the emperor The treasury in the court is running out of money, and Lord Taichang and His Majesty have spent the last money since they ascended the throne. The Duke of the State should know how much money the Ministry of Revenue has given.
Of course, the Duke should also know that after the Japanese suppression campaign on Daqushan Island, Chen secretly handed over 500,000 taels of silver to His Majesty's inner treasury. This amount of money was much larger than the income of Huangzhuang. And it's more real. "
Chen Cao had popularized science for a long time before he came. The reason why Emperor Wanli fought so hard in the three major campaigns, especially the Korean War, was because he had money in his internal treasury. He borne more than half of the money for the soldiers' expeditions, and the Ministry of Household Affairs paid for it. There was only a small amount of money, and the source of this money was Huangzhuang. The Huangzhuang under the emperor's circle was the most fundamental cause of the chaos in the late Ming Dynasty.
Chen Cao didn't wait for Zhu Yanrong to reply, and said: "It's almost the end of the year now, and the grain after the autumn harvest has to be sold to get money. From so many imperial villages, Chen estimates that the money earned is only eight or nine hundred thousand taels of silver, hehe. ..." Chen Cao had a bad smile on his face: "It's not that Chen is bragging. His Majesty's money this year is not as good as Duke Bao's three-month income. Does Duke Guo think Chen is right?"
"Don't talk nonsense..." Zhu Yanrong interrupted Chen Cao sharply.
Chen Cao shook his head and smiled: "Let's talk about it again this time. Li Weihan is the younger brother of Wanli's favorite concubine. He is a relative of the emperor. He took bribes heavily when he was the governor of Liaodong. When he was impeached, he must be the protector of the country. It must be clear that Duke Bao Guo still wants to collude with such a person?"
One sentence touched Zhu Yanrong's heart. He knew very well who Li Weihan was. He was able to get into the position of censor of Youdu even after being impeached. He had given money to Emperor Wanli, otherwise he would have been pulled down long ago.
"Mr. Baoguo..." Chen Cao let out a long breath: "Those so-called disaster relief materials are all silk, tea and porcelain products produced in Zhejiang. I would like to ask Mr. Baoguo, how can the refugees who are already hungry use them? These high-end things, hahaha..." Chen Cao couldn't help laughing: "Mr. Bao Guo, if you don't talk to me alone today, I promise to drag you into the water. Fortunately, you found Chen today. Certain, otherwise..."
As he spoke, Chen Cao stared at Zhu Yanrong with a murderous look on his face: "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, Duke Bao. In the matter of sea trade, it was not only Wei Guogong who was involved, but also Wei Zhongxian, the current Chief of Ceremonies. Although the imperial court officially banned sea trade, ..." Chen Cao glanced sideways at Zhu Yanrong: "Dong Baoguo's involvement... We are the Jinyi Guards. Do you think Chen knows about it?"
Zhu Yanrong visibly trembled, and instantly he was like a deflated rubber ball. He slowly sat on the chair and murmured: "No wonder...it involves Duke Wei. If Duke Ding is not chosen, Your Majesty will choose." You chose me..." Then he stared at Chen Cao and said, "Is it possible that His Majesty knows about the sea trade?"
The murderous look on Chen Cao's face was gone, replaced by a mocking look: "When the Jinyi Guards are doing things, they will know the things they want your Majesty to know. Of course, your Majesty will definitely not know the things they don't want your Majesty to know. It's like protecting the country. The dirty affairs between the Duke and Bai Shilang in private..."
Zhu Yanrong raised his head sharply and said after a long time: "You Jinyi guards dare to investigate me?"
"Forgive me, Lord Baoguo..." Chen Cao said with a smile: "That is a matter of Beizhen Fusi. Chen is in Nanzhen Fusi. The investigation is also a matter of Southern Zhili. I dare not reach out to the matter of Beizhili." .”
Everyone knows that what is said in the officialdom is 70% true and 30% false. Since Chen Cao dared to bring it up, he must know the hidden truth.
Zhu Yanrong is a noble and rough man, and he doesn't use the tricks of a scholar, so he immediately handed it over: "I hope Mr. Chen will not tell this scandal."
Chen Cao nodded: "Don't worry, Lord Guo, we know what to say and what not to say, and we know it from the bottom of our hearts."
"I was rude earlier. Please forgive me, Mr. Chen." Zhu Yanrong suddenly changed his temper, and then apologized to Chen Cao: "I don't know what Mr. Chen will do next?"
Chen Cao was sure that Zhu Yanrong would change his gender. His previous words were too threatening. Today's Ming Dynasty has not yet reached the end of the country. It is a trivial matter for the emperor to cut off your hereditary prince.
"Mr. Bao Guo, we are all warriors. Warriors don't talk like literati, and they like to be straightforward." Chen Cao raised his head and smiled: "Let's make a deal directly, so as not to embarrass everyone..."
"Okay..." Zhu Yanrong breathed out easily. Chen Cao didn't pursue him because he had room for change: "This time..."
"It's better to let Chen make the decision for the Duke this time." Chen Cao interrupted Zhu Yanrong directly: "The profit the Duke earned from sea trade is only 10%, which is much worse than those greedy civil servants. Chen Cao When a certain person works for His Majesty, apart from being secretive, the most important thing is to make money;
Three of the four major chambers of commerce in Zhejiang are movable. After the interests of these three companies are all transferred to Chen, the interests that used to belong to civil servants are equivalent to the maritime trade wealth of the entire Zhejiang and South Zhili in Chen's hands. , will all be gathered together, and with the protection of Navy Master Cao Jiang, hehe...
Mr. Guo, do you want to join our circle and make money for His Majesty? When the time comes, we will share it together. Compared with sharing the leftovers in the hands of civil servants, it will be much more practical. We are all warriors, at least we will not cheat you. . "
Zhu Yanrong's heart brightened, but he also knew that Chen Cao would definitely not get it in vain, so he asked: "Master Chen is so sincere, what does he ask for?"
Chen Cao nodded: "Your Majesty is easy to talk to. It's very simple. We have robbed the interests of the civil servants, and they will definitely take revenge. Just like Li Weihan, all Baoguo Gong has to do is to be on the same line with us."
Zhu Yanrong nodded: "I understand what you mean, what else is there?"
"Also, Duke Baoguo is in charge of the Fifth Army Camp and has access to the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army. He is qualified to go to court. At the court meeting, matters related to Cao Jiang Navy are involved. I hope Duke Baoguo can help me a lot."
Zhu Yanrong thought for a while: "This is a simple matter, I already know it."
"There is one last thing." Chen Cao said and stared at Zhu Yanrong: "Although Chen is not willing to get involved in the family affairs of the Duke of Guo, he is entrusted by others and hopes that the Duke of Guo can do it conveniently. "
"Are you talking about that bitch Magnolia?" Zhu Yanrong scolded.
Chen Cao nodded: "Chen Cao is aware of the cause and effect. Chen is not willing to dwell on the past. I hope the Duke will give me a document to facilitate it. Chen Cao will marry that woman someday."
Zhu Yanrong was confused, but he came to his senses and nodded vaguely: "I understand what you mean. The divorce letter is at home. I will bring it to you soon." As he spoke, Zhu Yanrong used a comforting expression. Looking at Chen Cao, he said: "That woman Bai Magnolia is not a good person. She can enchant people. Our government cannot tolerate her. What's more, the son of the family has to inherit my title. We can't make any mistakes in this kind of thing." "
"Chen knows," Chen Cao smiled jokingly, and then became serious: "Li Weihan must suffer this time, so I ask Duke Bao not to protect Li Weihan after Duke Wei comes back. It's not worth it."
Now that everything has been explained, Zhu Yanrong also has his own concerns, so he said very straightforwardly: "As the censor of Youdu, Li Weihan has a lot of handles. If he is provoked and turns against him, I am afraid that I will be involved as well." Get in."
"Hey," Chen Cao felt that Zhu Yanrong was a little worried: "Mr. Baoguo, now we are our own people. Let's be honest. After this incident, Li Weihan would have shed a layer of skin even if he didn't die. If he hadn't been a relative of the emperor, , Hehe, it is inevitable to confiscate the family and exterminate the clan;
Besides, the Donglin Party is still in power in the DPRK, and those gentlemen seriously look down on Eunuch Wei, who is in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Secondly, Li Weihan is involved in too many secrets. If he wants to die, he has to keep it secret, but Chen I was a little curious and dared to ask Baoguo Gong, who is the easiest person to keep secrets? "
Zhu Yanrong trembled when he heard this, took a deep breath and said: "Of course he is a dead person, but?"
Chen Cao answered: "That's right, but that guy is a relative of the emperor. According to etiquette, he is not allowed to die. Therefore, Li Weihan has only two options. First, take the blame and keep the secret and survive. Second, , revealed the secret wantonly, and then had his house confiscated and his family exterminated. This is why Chen said that his skin would peel off even if he didn't die. I would like to ask Mr. Baoguo, if it were you, how would you choose?"
"He is involved in too many shady stories of Donglin Party members, so if he wants to survive, he has to rely on these people. Then what he has to do is to help keep the secret, and these people will save him. Otherwise?" Zhu Yanrong was a little confused. He looked at Chen Cao in horror: "They will do it behind his back and ask the emperor to execute him."
"Of course..." Chen Cao nodded: "This group of Donglin Party members live as so-called gentlemen, but what they do is not what a gentleman would do. It's ridiculous. The officialdom of the Ming Dynasty fell into the hands of these people. I don’t know what harm will happen to me.”
For the first time, Zhu Yanrong felt that he could still worry about the Ming Dynasty, but now he was doing something to benefit himself: "Master Chen, what should we do next?"
Chen Cao looked up at him: "As long as Duke Bao Guo knows about it, just watch and don't do anything next. Oh, by the way, I hope Duke Bao Guo will show his respect to Lord Bai Yubai."
"That old thief," Zhu Yanrong said, getting angry, but for the sake of his dignity, he couldn't get angry directly: "For Mr. Chen's sake, I will let him go."
Chen Cao raised his hands with difficulty and said: "Chen Cao thanks Duke Baoguo..."
...
"Find it out," Zhao Xin was handing oranges to Chen Cao: "I heard that Bai Xinlan is very charming, but she is not the ostentatious kind. Compared with Zhang Chunyao in the Lord's house, the two of them are similar, but Bai Xinlan is said to be highly educated. , a quiet man; Bai Shilang cursed Duke Baoguo in front of the emperor in the Palace of Qianqing, no matter how unpleasant it was, Duke Baoguo couldn't help but took action, and then Shilang Bai teamed up with officials from the Sixth Section to impeach Baoguo. male;
In fact, these are all trivial matters. The key is that Bai Shilang goes out and spreads rumors that Duke Bao Guo’s son is not good. You think, which noble person can endure such a thing, so..."
"I know..." Chen Cao nodded, thinking: "By the way, how is Zhao Tianlin now?"
Asking about business, Zhao Xin put down his things and said seriously: "We have withdrawn from Yangzhong Sandbank and blocked the canal for four days. Wei Guogong mobilized the garrison around Yangzhou and some garrison troops in Nanjing to encircle and suppress. Zhao Tianlin has Japanese iron cannons and us We have muskets to assist us, and those guards are no match for us, and my subordinates have arranged many people to spread rumors along the way. We only need to wait for Wei Guogong to capture those few dead soldiers, and the matter will be settled."
"How is the pension arrangement going?" Chen Cao was trying to sit down, but he grinned in pain when he sat down and refused to let Zhao Xin help him: "By the way, how is the arrangement with Pang Zhifan?"
"Please, sir, we will give the dead soldiers the highest treatment. Each of them will be given five hundred taels of resettlement allowance first. When the time comes, they will be replaced by people on death row and another hundred taels will be given. Pang Zhifan also knows that How to do it, he has a lot of tricks, and he has also boarded the boat, hasn't he?" Zhao Xin said with a bad smile.
...
Three days later, Xu Hongji returned victorious and successfully captured a few pirates who had no time to escape on the Yangzhong sandbank. On the fifth day, rumors spread all over South Zhili, all of which were about pirates blocking the canal. The waterway was created because of private instructions from Li Weihan, the censor of Youdu, and the reason why the pirates were able to successfully avoid the various guard posts along the Yangtze River was also because someone had given instructions in advance.
On the ninth day of November, Pang Zhifan was detained and sent to Nanjing to question his responsibility for the defeat.
Li Weihan had the worst time. He knew that Zhao Tianlin had something to do with him, but this time he was really wronged. However, he couldn't go to anyone to talk about this kind of thing. And the thing that annoyed him the most was that Xu Hongji said it at the beginning. The whole matter was reported to the capital. The eunuch from the capital also arrived in Nanjing yesterday. I thought there must be something big happening this time.
"Sir," Li Weihan's confidant Li Chong ran into the other hall in a panic: "Sir, something bad has happened. Pang Zhifan, a member of the Qianhu House in Hengzhou, just said in front of the officials of the capital and the eunuch who passed the order that they had unexpectedly received a message from the pirates. We got the goods from Huiyuan Trading Company, and there have been rumors in the past few days that the pirates were able to enter the Yangtze River because of your instructions."
"Bastard..." Li Weihan almost cursed, but he was also trembling with anger. This made it clear that someone wanted to punish him.
"Master Li," Chen Cao smiled and led a large team of royal guards into Li Weihan's secluded hall majestically, and then said mockingly: "Master Li, it's a pleasure to meet you..."
Li Weihan calmed down and saw that Chen Cao was not doing well, so he said, "What? Mr. Chen's injury is healed?"
Chen Cao laughed twice, and then said: "Thanks to Mr. Li, Chen's injury is almost healed," he said with a sneer: "I can't wait long, let Mr. Li have a taste of the board."
"What do you mean?" Li Weihan said angrily.
Zhao Xin walked out from the side and shouted sternly at Li Weihan: "Li Weihan, the censor of the right capital, your incident has come out. Come with us back to the Zhenfusi Yamen. This is the driving notice. Mr. Li, are you leaving by yourself? Or are you leaving alone?" Did your subordinate send someone to help you?"
"You..." Li Weihan pointed at Chen Cao, and then said: "At that time, Mrs. Li was my sister, and I was the censor of the right capital of the third rank. What qualifications do you have to arrest me? Besides, I am a Yanguan. , even if the three legal tribunals are involved in a joint trial, that means he is innocent."
"Master Li, are you leaving?" Chen Cao looked at Li Weihan coldly: "The Sanfa Division is waiting for you at the Zhenfu Division Yamen. Who are you trying to stall for time?"
Li Weihan was really unaware, and all the captured pirates confessed that Zhao Tianlin was the mastermind behind it. Zhao Tianlin entered the Yangtze River Closed Canal at Li Weihan's instruction with the purpose of framing the blame on Navy Master Caojiang.
This is a great sin...
The key point now is that Xu Hongji, the admiral of Caojiang Navy, was the most annoyed about the whole thing. The eunuch conveyed the emperor's serious warning to Xu Hongji, which made Xu Hongji determined to get things done.
In the Zhenfusi Yamen, Xu Hongji is the leader, Baoguo Gong Zhu Yanrong is the assistant, and all the chief officials of Nanjing's Three Laws Division are present. Li Weihan is the censor of Youdu in the capital. Although his official position is smaller than those present, his real power is indeed present. The biggest among them all, so the person in charge of the trial became Xu Hongji.
"What crime am I guilty of?" Li Weihan looked at everyone present arrogantly.
Because of his identity, he even sat in the hall facing everyone.
Nanjing officials and officials in the capital were basically either Donglin Party members or Donglin Party related personnel, but the chief officials of the Three Laws Department were also Donglin Party members. All of them were nervous about what happened to Li Weihan.
Qiao Yunsheng, the Minister of Punishment, was the first to speak: "Wei Guogong, is there room for change in this matter?"
All the people present were high-ranking officials, and even the government officials were outside the lobby. Qiao Yunsheng dared to ask Xu Hongji in front of Chen Cao, so he naturally knew that Chen Cao was Xu Hongji.
Xu Hongji turned to look at Qiao Yunsheng on the right, and then said seriously: "Nanjing can no longer make the decision on this matter. I have sent people 800 miles away to deliver a letter to the capital in a hurry. There will be news in five days , But now in front of several father-in-laws, the matter must be resolved clearly, otherwise I, as the garrison of Nanzhili, will not be able to absolve myself of the blame."
Qiao Yunsheng felt deflated and turned to look at Cao Yubian, gesturing for him to speak.
Cao Yubian understood and was about to speak, but Zhu Yanrong suddenly said: "Master Li, the matter is no longer that simple. I have been appointed as an imperial envoy and have the right to supervise. Besides, if the seriousness of this matter is not reported, there will be big consequences in the future. disaster."
Li Weihan looked at Zhu Yanrong in surprise. He didn't know why Zhu Yanrong said such things, but such a cunning person soon understood that even Zhu Yanrong dared to say this, which showed that he didn't know what really happened. Things to know.
Li Weihan took a deep breath and said: "If you don't give me an explanation today, I will impeach you one by one in front of His Majesty when you return to Beijing the next day."
Xiong Mingyu's face turned ugly immediately. He obviously wanted to protect you, but you said such words. If it weren't for Li Weihan's identity, Xiong Mingyu would have scolded you in court.
Xu Hongji did not speak, but Zhu Yanrong said: "Master Li, before we start again, as imperial envoys, we should interrogate Chen Cao clearly. In front of the Third Law Division, some things can be better proved."
Li Weihan's eyes looked like he wanted to kill someone. He stared at Zhu Yanrong and said, "Mr. Bao Guo, you'd better think about some things clearly to avoid..."
"How about we meet in the future?" Chen Cao interrupted Li Weihan directly, and then raised his hand towards Zhu Yanrong: "Mr. Baoguo, when I was interrogating my subordinates a few days ago, the matter was broken because of the pirates. Today, Chen Cao is here in front of me. Lords of the Three Law Divisions, please make it clear;
My lords, Chen Cao still said what he said, to help the victims, what kind of relief should be used? When I asked Duke Bao that day, he didn't answer, but Eunuch Wu next to me did. "
Wu Chun smiled and nodded, and Zhu Yanrong said seriously: "Of course, we need to use food and clothing to help the victims."
"Come on..." Chen Cao looked at Li Weihan loudly and said: "The materials intercepted by Cao Jiang's navy from the pirates are all porcelain, tea, silk and other products from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and even porcelain from the Longquan official kiln. Tools, I would like to ask Duke Baoguo and all the adults present, do the refugees in the capital need these things?"
No one spoke. Chen Cao looked around and couldn't help but sneered. Then he looked at Zhu Yanrong. Zhu Yanrong said: "How can refugees use these things?"
"That's right," Chen Cao said loudly: "Listen up, gentlemen, this batch of supplies was taken from the hands of pirates and Japanese pirates when Xiaguan led Cao Jiang's navy to attack Daqushan Island, and became trophies of war. He stayed in the Caojiang Navy. The Nanjing War Department knew about this, and His Majesty also knew about it;
Let me ask Mr. Li, you keep saying that Chen Cao robbed the merchant ship belonging to Mr. Li. Hehe, the things on it proved to be not food. So, may I ask Mr. Li, where does Mr. Li plan to transport this batch of supplies? "
"Presumptuous..." Li Weihan retorted calmly: "How dare you steal a dragon and turn a phoenix into a phoenix? I will definitely impeach you when I return to Beijing."
"You are so presumptuous..." Xu Hongji shouted: "Come here, bring all those people up."
The dead men acted very well, begging for mercy in various ways, and their heads were bleeding. Xu Hongji pointed at one person and said, "Tell me, who ordered you?"
One of them said: "To tell you what, sir, we were originally fishermen from Zhejiang, and the imperial court banned the sea. The boys followed Zhao Tianlin to Daqushan Island to work as pirates. That day, the official army conquered Daqushan Island, and Zhao Tianlin took us to help the Japanese. Zhejiang merchants went to do business and thus escaped the encirclement and suppression by the army, but..."
"Nonsense..."
