Chapter 093 A windfall of tens of millions
After today’s update, we will pause the update and update again on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. Happy New Year to everyone.
three days later
"Uncle..." Zhao Xin quickly walked into the imperial envoy's office: "Send them all. All the merchants who participated and have entanglements with Liu Weisi have been sent."
Chen Cao stood up: "How did Hangzhou Commercial Bank do it?"
Xin Zhao said with an upright face: "According to my uncle's instructions, there is tainted evidence from Liu Youwei, Qi Shangwen, and the Chief Envoy and Inspector General. Hey, Hangzhou Commercial Bank participated in gathering the mob and provided funds, and it was involved in the serious crime of rebellion. My subordinates have arrested twelve shopkeepers, big and small, sealed all the warehouses of Hangzhou Commercial Bank, and seized three million taels of cash from the bank in their name alone."
"It seems that Zhang Wuxu is preparing to fight back." Chen Cao touched his head: "Come on, we have confiscated 30 million taels of cash now. I can't eat it by myself." Chen Cao took out a piece of paper and said While saying this, he wrote: "Report a total of 10 million taels of gold and silver seized in Zhejiang. Five million taels shall be handed over to the national treasury, three million taels of His Majesty's internal funds shall be handed over, and two million taels shall be shared among the governors."
"The rest are all ours?" Xin Zhao raised his eyebrows.
Chen Cao nodded: "The money will go faster than the news from Zhejiang, otherwise things will be in disharmony. I'm worried that the Donglin Party will be defeated in advance, but I believe that the emperor and Wei Gong will do something after receiving these five million taels. Otherwise, I will Just use the money to rebel and show them.”
Zhao Xin handed over his hand: "Uncle, please put it down, my subordinates will definitely take care of it."
"Has the counting begun?" Chen Cao frowned.
Xin Zhao took the letter and said, "I will take care of it now."
Xin Zhao left, and Zhang Yangming came to visit.
"Master Zhang, why do you have time to come to my place?" Chen Cao smiled and welcomed Zhang Yangming into the lobby.
Zhang Yangming handed over his hand: "Uncle Dingwu, I am here to ask about the aftermath in Zhejiang."
"Didn't we all agree on that day?" Chen Cao frowned, and then said with a smile: "As a legendary eunuch, I also know how to use people's money to eliminate disasters for others. After all, you were in Zhejiang during the Japanese Rebellion. Isn’t that what you do too?”
Seeing the embarrassment on Zhang Yangming's face, Chen Cao slapped him: "Oh, by the way, you are all from the Donglin Party. It is easy to talk in a party. If you make a mistake..."
"That's not what Uncle Dingwu said." Zhang Yangming felt that the words had been spoken and there was no need to hide them: "We are all scholars, and we are not as open-mouthed as Uncle Dingwu."
"Eh..." Chen Cao waved his hands and said, "This is not a big deal. Mr. Zhang, you have to think so. These charges are all proven charges. Once they are investigated, all of Zhejiang will suffer. Those of them are too few. If your family is confiscated and your clan is exterminated, even if you escape this disaster, your whole family will be exiled. What would you think if it were you?"
Chen Cao's words are not unreasonable. The surrender of Liu Youwei and Qi Shangwen made the entire Zhejiang officialdom passive. The last straw that broke the camel's back was the suicide of Chief Minister Liu Weisi.
Zhang Yangming felt that he couldn't defeat Chen Cao at all, so he gave up arguing with him and turned to Zhejiang: "Uncle Dingwu, you have gained a lot in Hangzhou this time. Can you do the next thing before I go to the official position?" Get some air?"
oh...
The old guy turned out to be worried about this.
Chen Cao smiled and nodded: "I understand, Mr. Zhang, put it down. After the matter in Hangzhou is settled, I will go south to inspect the Zhejiang provinces, and then recruit new troops for the given military army. I hope there won't be any more big purges." Don’t worry about it.”
Zhang Yangming breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried that Chen Cao would use this to rectify the entire Zhejiang officialdom: "In this case, I can't disturb you. If Uncle Dingwu needs anything, even if I send someone to patrol the Yamen, I will give my full assistance."
"Oh, by the way," Chen Cao stopped Zhang Yangming and said, "Master Zhang, I am easy to get along with. You'd better inform your subordinates that I will be patrolling all the provinces in the south. Don't deliberately seek trouble to avoid misunderstandings. .”
"Thank you Uncle Dingwu for reminding me. I will take my leave..."
After sending Zhang Yangming away, Chen Cao lay down comfortably on the chair. He stretched out his body and closed his eyes to rest. He already felt leisurely that he would live a life like a king before he was thirty years old. There are many wives and concubines, surrounded by children, and a lot of money: "Hey, although this kind of life is a bit frivolous, it is much better than being a pug in the department serving tea and water to the director..."
"Uncle?"
"Ah..." Chen Cao said to himself leisurely and contentedly, but he didn't know that Xu Ling walked into the lobby carrying something. Xu Ling couldn't understand Chen Cao's words, so she called out tentatively, making Chen Cao tremble.
"Xu... Miss..." Chen Cao sat up properly, because his "Chen Cao lying down" was really unattractive.
Xu Ling heard Chen Cao call her 'girl', and thinking about how embarrassed she was when Chen Cao raped her that night, her face suddenly turned red: "Uncle...Uncle...I've cooked a bowl for you." Bird's nest porridge, you have time to drink it."
Chen Cao took the bird's nest porridge and felt that Xu Ling's calling herself 'slave' was really ugly, so he said: "Don't call yourself 'slave' anymore. Call yourself...well...forget it, just call yourself 'me'."
"How can that be done?" Xu Ling shook her head. The hierarchy in this era was extremely strict, especially between wealthy lords and ordinary people.
"Hey, forget it, just do whatever you like," Chen Cao said and looked at Xu Ling again, but he had some immature thoughts in his heart, but then he thought that it was really inappropriate to do this in broad daylight. Okay, so he put down the bowl and took Xu Ling's hand: "I, Chen Cao, am also a count after all. Since I want your body, I have to be responsible. I don't trust the food cooked by others outside. I will leave it to you from now on. You Are you willing?"
Xu Ling was a little embarrassed to be caught by Chen Cao like this, but thinking that she had been raped by Chen Cao before and had a substantial relationship, how could she make any other plans, so she lowered her head, blushed and whispered: "Slave I have been married, but although I have not given birth, my body is no longer intact. I am a noble servant of the Ming Dynasty... a slave..."
"Okay, I understand," Chen Cao patted the back of Xu Ling's hand: "Follow me, Chen Cao, and you will never suffer a loss. I like people like you..."
"ah?"
"Uncle..." Zhao Xin hurriedly walked into the lobby, but when he saw Chen Cao holding Xu Ling's hand, he quickly turned around to exit.
"Come back," Chen Cao called to Zhao Xin, then let go of Xu Ling's hand: "Go." Then he stood up straight and said, "What's the matter."
Seeing that Xu Ling had left, Zhao Xin turned around and walked into the lobby, smiling and holding his hands in his hands: "Uncle, what a happy event, you are really amazing. All the wealthy merchants in Hangzhou, who have anything to do with it, have all sent money. Those few All the money from big merchants has also been sent, this is the ledger.”
Xin Zhao handed over the account book: "Total calculation, the amount this time has reached 56 million taels. Uncle, it's a big fortune..."
Chen Cao smiled, and then calculated the account carefully: "Except for ten million taels of this money, the rest will be used for the construction of the new army." Chen Cao smiled and looked at Zhao Xin: "You also Do you want to be a Duke..."
Zhao Xin was excited: "Uncle, in broad daylight..."
"I know," Chen Cao waved his hand: "By the way, it's impossible for Hangzhou Commercial Bank to just have such a small amount of money and continue to investigate."
"My subordinate was about to report," Zhao Xin handed another account book to Chen Cao: "This is taken from a trading house. The Hangzhou Trading Company has warehouses in Taizhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing, and Ningbo, and according to their The shopkeeper admitted that there are still a lot of goods at the seaport of Shaoxing Prefecture, and there are merchant ships at the Guangdong Shipping Department that have just set sail and are about to return to Hangzhou."
Chen Cao flipped through the pages and looked at Xin Zhao: "According to your estimate, how many assets do you have?"
"My subordinates asked their accountant to do the calculations," Zhao Xin handed over: "The total assets can reach at least 30 million taels. Not counting this, if their employees and shopkeepers are uprooted, uncle , plus another fifty million taels."
"No..." Chen Cao shook his head: "I'll accept it when it's good, and I'm determined not to mess around again. The recovered assets are 30 million, 10 million will be given to His Majesty, and the remaining 20 million will be turned over to the national treasury. So much money After receiving it, even the Donglin Party has nothing to say."
"Then after this calculation, the uncle received only 46 million, which is too little, uncle." Zhao Xin looked helpless.
Chen Cao looked at him funny: "How much do you think I should take?"
"Why do we have to round up a whole number..."
"Okay, I understand. You, Xin Zhao, will fund the shortfall of four million to make up for me."
"ah..."
...
His own life was bought with countless money. Chen Cao stayed in Hangzhou for a few more days. Before leaving, he made special arrangements to fill Qi Shangwen's vacancy in the Chief Envoy Si Yamen and arrange a suitable position. After all, this guy did For the sake of his daughter's sake, he had to deal with his advantageous father-in-law. As for Liu Youwei, Chen Cao did not break his promise. He directly arranged him under Huang Chongtao's rank and gave him a commanding officer first. Title, wait until a suitable vacancy becomes available before making arrangements.
By the time Chen Cao left Hangzhou, it was already the second day of December, and his next step was to go to Taizhou Mansion to meet the famous Qi Jiajun at that time.
Although Qi Jiguang was buried in Penglai, the real head of the Qi family at this time was Qi Changguo, the fifty-one-year-old governor of the Nanjing Youjun Dudu Mansion and a de facto general in Taizhou.
His son Qi Xianzong worked under Chen Cao, and now he is also a third-rank Nanjing right-guard commander.
So Chen Cao planned to go to Taizhou Mansion to meet this elder first, and then see if there were any useful people under his command who could be used by him. After all, the Qi Jiajun brand was built by Qi Jiguang himself.
Chen Cao's boat sailed down the Dongyang River from Yanzhou Prefecture until it stopped at Xianju, and then the imperial envoy team of more than a thousand people headed for Taizhou Prefecture.
Huang Jianchun, the prefect of Taizhou, had received the news long ago, and on December 11th, he finally saw the imperial envoys with flags fluttering at Shiliting in Linhai County, the capital of Taizhou.
"Huang Jianchun, the magistrate of Taizhou, respectfully welcomes Uncle Dingwu, the commander of the imperial envoy Jin Yiwei who inspects the Zhejiang provinces..."
