"There's no need to ask. Send someone to guard him and see where he goes, who he meets, and what he says. If you have the accurate information, report him."
"Yes, Wei Chen will send someone right now!" Wu Mengming only felt that "God's will is unpredictable". He really couldn't figure out how this little official from Fujian aroused the emperor's interest and actually enjoyed the treatment of a minister and governor. .
"And Wang Yehao..."
"Weichen has arrangements with him."
Chongzhen nodded: "Let the editor secretly inquire about the relationship between him and Zhou Lezhi."
"Yes!" Wu Mengming waited for a moment and saw that the emperor had no new instructions. He took a few steps back and prepared to go out, but was stopped by the emperor again.
"Delong Bank, how is business now?"
Wu Mengming was surprised. Delong Bank was not a big bank in the capital. It was much less famous than Shanxi Laocai's "Shanxi House". But it was common knowledge in Beijing that this bank had conspirators and thieves. Because from the beginning, Delong has focused on money exchange in Guangdong.
It's a long way from the capital to Guangdong and Guangxi. For some people with little knowledge, "Guangli" means almost the same thing as "barbarian". However, there are not many businessmen and officials of Guangdong origin in the capital, and the exchange of money is quite frequent.
In the past, due to the high mountains and long distances, transportation was inconvenient, so whether it was from the capital to Guangdong or from Guangdong to the capital, the remittance discount was very high. One tael of silver was sent to Guangzhou, and the discount was five to six times or even ten times that of Jiangnan. It also took a long time to remit money, which was inconvenient for Guangdong gentry and businessmen.
After Delong opened in Beijing, the exchange between Guangdong and Guangxi almost immediately opened up a new situation. Not only did its remittances have no limit on the amount, but the handling fees were low. The most important thing that left the traditional industry behind was the speed of exchange. For remittances from Guangzhou to Beijing, the fastest "telegraphic transfer" only takes three days to arrive. Not to mention that no one could achieve this speed in the past, not even the imperial court's 800-mile urgent Tongbao could not achieve it. What's even more rare is that it also has a lower-cost "Xinhui" service, which can be remitted within ten days.
This speed completely subverts people's understanding. When encountering urgent business from Guangzhou to the capital, the Titang official rushes at night, and it takes at least nine days to get from Guangzhou to the capital. The delivery of money was even more clear. It didn't take long to completely monopolize the money exchange between the capital and Guangzhou. Not only were the merchants from the Guangdong and Guangxi gentry highly praised it, but it also attracted many northern businessmen to use it as a capital channel to go south to Guangdong for business. The rats who had sniffed out the leaks in the ship also used Delong to get money from their greedy money, and continuously sent it to the south to build new comfortable homes.
This kind of north-south exchange was later extended to the two Beijings, and soon the exchange became Delong's biggest business. This kind of north-south exchange was still carried out even after the fall of Guangdong and Guangxi, just out of the routine of "catching locals to attract attention" , the wire transfer was stopped. However, the "Xinhui" branch between Guangdong and Guangxi and the capital was all open, and the time was extended to one month. The reason was naturally due to the war.
Everyone knows whether Delong's shopkeeper Leng has a "tongkun", but they all know it tacitly. After all, who would want to block this channel? Not to mention that Shopkeeper Leng is also known as a "strong backer" in the business circles of the capital, including not only officials from Guangdong and Guangxi, but also the eunuchs in the palace. So it has been almost two years since Guangzhou fell. During this period, there were quite a few people who wanted to report on Delong's "Tongkun", and all of them "died" without knowing why. Wu Mengming naturally didn't want to go into troubled waters.
Now that the emperor suddenly asked about this matter, Wu Mengming quickly ran through many thoughts in his mind. Could someone have said something directly to the emperor? besides……
The matter was so important that he did not dare to answer easily. He just followed the emperor's question and answered: "I don't know about this matter. He was originally a banker, and the quality of his business cannot be seen from the outside. Wait. Weichen will go back and investigate carefully."
Chongzhen stared at Wu Mengming for a long time, and cold sweat broke out on his back. After a long time, he lowered his voice and said in a voice that could only be heard clearly between the two of them: "This matter must be kept confidential! I heard that someone among the Zhongguan officials was related to This bank has something to do with it. You go and check it out - you don't need to inform Dongchang about this matter, it will be handled secretly."
When Wu Mengming heard this, his legs were trembling, and he felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff. As long as he made a mistake in response, he would be dismissed from office and punished, and his life might not be saved.
Wu Mengming didn't know how he got out or how he got back to the Yamen. He returned to his mortgage room. All other errands were easy to deal with, but the investigation of the bank was too tricky.
Wu Mengming knew something about Delong Bank: Shopkeeper Leng came from Guangdong and was originally a "younger boy" in the capital. I don't know whose connections I found, and I found Yang Eunuch, the head of the bell and drum department in the palace, and established a foothold in the capital. Because of Eunuch Yang's relationship, many eunuchs in the palace kept their money in this bank.
It is not difficult to investigate Delong or Leng Ningyun, but the emperor's words before leaving, "You don't need to inform Dongchang" are the most terrifying.
Dongchang was the emperor's "domestic slave", and the governor, Cao Huachun, as the emperor's most trusted eunuch and eunuch and the governor of Dongchang, was most involved in the emperor's secrets. Although Wu Mengming was also a close minister whom the emperor relied on, he still relied on him. At this moment, the emperor asked him to "do it secretly", obviously he had distrusted Cao Huachun.
If he had defended the eunuchs in his reply, the emperor would definitely suspect that he was colluding with the eunuchs; if the report was true, Eunuch Yang was the eunuch in charge of the Bell and Drum Department, although his position was not as respected as that of the eunuchs such as the ceremonial eunuch and the imperial horse eunuch. After all, he is also one of the top eunuchs in charge of the twenty-four yamen, Gao Shiming's apprentice - the relationship in the palace is intricate. Once he is investigated for this matter, he will offend all the eunuchs in the palace to death!
He knew that Eunuch Yang had been very fond of Wang Dehua in recent years. If he offended Wang Dehua again because of this, the consequences would be even more disastrous.
Wu Mengming was sweating on his back and lingered in the signing room for a long time. He felt that he should discuss the following matters with Cao Huachun. No matter what Cao's attitude was, at least he could get some relief. But the emperor specially reminded him today - in case the emperor finds out...
He suddenly thought that the emperor only asked him not to inform Dongchang, so he just had to not mention the matter to Cao Huachunming. Eunuch Yang has a relationship with the bank, so he has to avoid it. Wang Dehua was not in the way.
Eunuch Yang has always attached himself to Wang Dehua, and I am afraid that Delong's benefits will also be shared with him. As long as you reveal a little information to him, he will naturally understand it. Eunuch Yang would naturally send someone to discuss with him what to do specifically.
Thinking of this, he probably had an idea. He immediately called a few of his capable generals and gave them some instructions in a low voice.
The winter night in the capital was extremely cold. Except for a few people who had to make a living and the watchmen who patrolled the streets on a routine basis, ordinary people who still had a place to stay hid early in their homes. The streets were empty and deserted.
In this cold and desolate market place, at the west intersection of the Capital Huguo Temple, there is a courtyard that is brightly lit. This is the famous Liuquanju Restaurant in the Capital. This restaurant was opened during the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty. Even during the Chongzhen Dynasty, it was still a century-old restaurant.
The restaurant's facade is not big, just three facades on the street. It looks much more urban than other large restaurants, but it is unique inside. Its backyard is wide and spacious, giving it a somewhat pastoral charm in the urban area. There is a large willow tree in the courtyard that is more than a hundred years old. Under the tree, there is a clear spring with clear and sweet water. The owner uses this clear spring water to brew rice wine, which has a mellow taste and overflowing aroma. It is called "Yuquan Wine" by diners.
In addition to the "willow tree", "spring water" and "yellow wine", Liuquanju is most famous for its plaque inscribed by Yan Song. Therefore, he is quite famous in the capital. There is an endless stream of dignitaries and dignitaries who come here for banquets. They gather here day and night to exchange glasses and drink with each other.
At this moment, in the private room in the backyard, a "cold-relieving" banquet was being held.
This was not an official formal banquet, but a casual drink among colleagues and friends. Most of the visitors were officials and secretaries from the Shuntian Prefecture in the capital. There were fifteen or sixteen people in total.
Various side dishes for drinking are laid out on the table: marinated fish, pine flowers, drunken crabs, dried meat, vegetables, dried and fresh fruits... everything is available, there are more than 20 kinds of them. We also have a variety of fine wines
The fire wall of the private room was on fire. It was cold and windy outside, but the room was as warm as spring. A group of guests exchanged glasses, recited poems, and had a great time.
The middle-aged scribe sitting in the chief seat was none other than Yin Zhongqian of Shuntian Mansion. Zhong Yan was an upright official, with a reputation for controlling officials with strictness and being lenient with the people. The emperor also called him "the choice to clean oneself and serve the public."
Although he has a reputation of being upright and honest, in the officialdom, he cannot be blindly strict and stubborn. Socializing on-site is also an essential "job". Today's cold-relieving drinking banquet was initiated by him as a reward and condolences to his officials and friends.
When the group of people arrived, Zhong Yan's personal entourage suddenly walked in and whispered a few words in his ear. Seeing his frown, his colleagues at the table stopped talking and looked at him.
Zhong Yan signaled the long followers to step back, and signaled the secret agent in charge of the punishment to come forward. He whispered a few words of concern to the other party, "... You will arrange for someone to check it tomorrow. If you have any news, report it to me immediately."
"Yes, students will make arrangements right away." After saying this, the master said goodbye and left the table.
Zhong Yan waited until the master left the door and saw everyone looking at him and said: "Everyone here is from the Shuntian Mansion Yamen, and the students don't want to fight with you anymore. A case has just come out, and we will only be here tomorrow." I’m afraid I’m going to be very busy.”
Everyone looked at each other. A case that can alert the Shuntian Prefecture Yin to personally intervene must be a major case, and everyone holds their breath, waiting for his next step.
