Chapter 61. Corrupt officials and fat pigs.
Zhao Junchen was originally a little subconsciously pitiful about Wen Guanliang's situation, but after hearing the numbers Wen Guanliang said, he only felt contempt for Wen Guanliang. 【Read the latest chapter】
He wanted money rather than his life, and finally ended up in this situation. He can only say that he deserved it.
"One million taels..." Zhao Junchen smiled softly, but his eyes when looking at Wen Guanliang were quite cold: "Mr. Wen Ge is so generous."
Zhao Junchen was speaking sarcastically, and Wen Guanliang could naturally hear it. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and the pain in his face became more obvious, and he said: "How about adding another five hundred thousand taels, or one and a half million taels?"
Zhao Junchen did not speak, but looked at Wen Guanliang in front of him, frowning slightly.
Seeing Zhao Junchen like this, Wen Guanliang gritted his teeth and said, "How about two million taels?"
Zhao Junchen frowned more and more, and a trace of impatience flashed on his face.
"Two million and a half million taels..."
This time, Wen Guanliang was interrupted by Zhao Junchen just halfway through his words.
"Mr. Wen Ge, you don't seem to have seen your current situation clearly." Zhao Junchen's voice was calm, but with a little coldness: "It's not your money that I want now, but your majesty! This money, not For other purposes, but to buy the lives and safety of your whole family! Is life more important? Or is money more important? How is His Majesty's methods and temperament today? Mr. Wen Ge, you are an old minister and you should know better than the lower officials. Think about it for yourself. With such a small amount of money, can Your Majesty let you go?"
Wen Guanliang naturally understood what Zhao Junchen said, but he was so greedy for money that it blinded his mind. Now Zhao Junchen's words finally dispelled all his luck, and his face turned gloomy for a moment.
Under Zhao Junchen's gaze, Wen Guanliang finally spoke again after being silent for a long time.
"Five million taels!"
When he said this number, Wen Guanliang gritted his teeth tightly and his voice was sharp and hoarse.
Doubling the number in one breath seemed like a big deal, but Zhao Junchen was still not satisfied.
"There is no airtight wall in this world. Mr. Wen Ge, how much wealth do you have? Since I can roughly estimate it, your Majesty must also know clearly. Mr. Wen Ge, these five million taels of silver are not a small amount, but do you really think Will this amount of money allow His Majesty to let you go?" Zhao Junchen's voice was soft, but with an unquestionable flavor: "I don't want to waste any more time. If Mr. Wen Ge, you are still challenging my patience and patience because of your stinginess with money. If I have good intentions, then there is no point in continuing this conversation. I will find other ways to save Zuo Lanshan and Zhan Shanchang. Although the matter will be more troublesome, it is not unsolvable. However, Mr. Wen Ge You have to think carefully. If this situation continues, the consequences of confiscation and execution are inevitable. By then, not only will your money be gone, your life will be gone, and your reputation will be gone, but it will also harm the descendants of your Wen family! "
Speaking of the latter part, Zhao Junchen's tone was extremely serious.
Wen Guanliang looked at Zhao Junchen for a long time, breathing heavily, and then spoke again: "Seven million taels!"
Zhao Junchen nodded, stood up suddenly, and said to Wen Guanliang: "Mr. Wen, I'm going to leave first. I'll wait for you, Shen and Huang, to come. Please apologize to them on my behalf." Just say that the official will entertain them both at a separate banquet on another day and apologize to them in person."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Junchen turned and walked towards the door.
"Wait a minute." Seeing Zhao Junchen like this, Wen Guanliang couldn't help being shocked, and quickly stood up and said: "How many are needed? Tell me a number!"
"Nine million taels!" Zhao Junchen stopped and turned to look at Wen Guanliang with a calm voice: "Nine million taels is the bottom line. If you want to be foolproof, you need at least 9.5 million taels!"
Zhao Junchen said calmly, but such a figure was obviously too much beyond Wen Guanliang's psychological endurance, and he subconsciously exclaimed: "This is impossible!"
"Yes, it is indeed impossible for you." A trace of contempt flashed in Zhao Junchen's eyes: "For this, the official has already seen this, so the official will leave, because there is no relationship between the elder and the official. There’s nothing left to talk about.”
After a pause, Zhao Junchen continued with a sneer: "However, Mr. Wen Ge, you are a senior after all. Out of good intentions, I would like to tell you the truth. Next, Mr. Wen Ge, you should surrender to His Majesty, truthfully. If you confess your crimes over the years and avoid the serious ones, His Majesty, considering that you are an old minister, may be able to leave some blood to the Wen family."
Zhao Junchen's words finally broke Wen Guanliang's psychological defense.
Wen Guanliang fell down on the chair and said with a sad smile: "Nine million taels, at least nine million taels... He has managed to acquire tens of millions of wealth in his lifetime, but he never expected that it was like a flower in the mist, and he was just keeping it for others. That’s all.”
"It's the wealth you gained from corruption!" Zhao Junchen corrected again. But looking at Wen Guanliang's appearance, he sighed softly subconsciously: "Yes, it is indeed cruel to have tens of millions of wealth just to keep it for others, but if you don't even have such awareness, why did you become a corrupt official in the first place? Money can't help you. Emperors are not immune to the human heart. Mr. Wen Ge, do you really think that His Majesty has tolerated your corruption and bribery all these years just for the sake of the overall situation? In the eyes of the emperor, there is no essential difference between raising pigs and raising corrupt officials. If they are fat, they will be slaughtered. It’s inevitable, your family property is meant to be kept for others.”
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Wen Guanliang raised his head blankly, looked at Zhao Junchen in front of him, and asked slowly: "Could it be that you have had such an awareness a long time ago?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said quietly: "I have had this realization since the day I found out that I was a corrupt official."
Wen Guanliang smiled miserably and said, "No wonder I lost at your hands."
After another period of silence, Wen Guanliang spoke again: "Nine million taels. I don't have that much cash, only about 8.3 million taels."
"Then sell your properties." Zhao Junchen said decisively: "Beijing Zhili's real estate, real estate, pawn shops, bank shops, all properties, treasures at home, sell them all. Anyway, you are going to return to your hometown as an official, these properties will stay in Northern Zhili is also difficult to manage. All the cash earned will be handed over to His Majesty. The more the better, and the properties you have arranged in your hometown are enough for you to support yourself in your old age."
People are knives and servants, and I am fish and meat. Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Wen Guanliang looked numb, and finally gave up all useless struggles and resistance, and just nodded silently without any rebuttal.
Seeing that the matter was finally settled, Zhao Junchen had no intention of leaving, and returned to sit in his original position, continuing to play with the wine glass in his hand.
The two of them just sat facing each other in silence, the atmosphere was strange and awkward, but Wen Guanliang was numb and Zhao Junchen was leisurely, and neither of them felt anything was wrong.
………
After another incense burner, there were hurried footsteps outside the door, breaking the quiet silence in the private room.
Then, Xu Qingyan's voice sounded outside the private room.
"Sir, the two pavilion elders Shen and Huang are here."
Zhao Junchen nodded to Wen Guanliang, and then walked out the door first.
Opening the door of the private room, Zhao Junchen asked Xu Qingyan, "Did the two of them come together?"
Xu Qingyan nodded and said, "We came together."
Zhao Junchen nodded and chuckled: "That's it."
Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong have been fighting each other for the past few days in order to transfer the forces of the Salt Envoy Division. However, seeing Zhao Junchen getting involved, they united together in the shortest time. In the officialdom, who is the enemy and who is the friend? The most obscure things.
At this time, the two of them came together, which was also a statement of stance.
While Zhao Junchen was thinking secretly, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao were already walking towards Zhao Junchen along the stairs, hugging each other.
From a certain point of view, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao walk together, and the contrast in their styles is quite joyful.
Huang Yourong has a gentle expression, elegant face, fair skin and no beard, and a handsome figure. He always has a kind smile on his face, which makes people feel kind after seeing him. But Zhao Junchen knows that such an expression is just Huang Yourong was a cover-up. Among the important officials in the imperial court, he was probably the most sinister in terms of his abilities and vicious thoughts. In short, he was a smiling tiger.
On the other hand, Shen Changmao has an old-fashioned appearance, serious expression, cold eyes, and slender figure. People can't help but feel fear after seeing him. In the court, Shen Changmao has always been the most unscrupulous in his work. , but Zhao Junchen also knew that this was still a cover-up. If Shen Changmao was really stupid, he would never have reached this point. The most popular thing in the officialdom is conspiracy, and the least fearful is trickery. Most people are accustomed to this. However, Shen Changmao's strong determination of "as long as you mess with me, I will fight back with all my strength" makes people dare not easily become his enemy.
Next to Zhao Junchen, Wen Guanliang saw Shen and Huang and snorted subconsciously. The reason why he fell into this situation was certainly because he was defeated by Zhao Junchen, but Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong added insult to injury and pursued him. The fierce beating was indispensable. Thinking of the money he would lose next, Wen Guanliang's hatred for Shen and Huang grew stronger. However, the situation was stronger than the others. Now his power was greatly reduced. Facing Shen and Huang, I can only show my dissatisfaction on my face, but I dare not make any other actions.
Zhao Junchen ignored Wen Guanliang's hatred and dissatisfaction. Instead, he bowed his hands to Shen and Huang, looked respectful, and said loudly: "It's a great honor for the two seniors to come together to show their respect!"
"Where is it?" As Huang Yourong spoke, he walked up to Zhao Junchen, raised his hands and returned the greeting: "Junchen invites you, why can't I come? In recent days, Junchen has been so popular, and I just want to have sex with Junchen. Recently, even if Junchen doesn't invite me today, I will invite Junchen to get together some time later."
On the other side, although Shen Changmao didn't say much, he nodded towards Zhao Junchen.
However, Wen Guanliang, who was also an important minister in the cabinet, was beside Zhao Junchen, but Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao seemed not to see it at all and ignored him.
As the saying goes, "A phoenix is not as good as a chicken." In the eyes of Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao, although the original Wen Guanliang could not be called a phoenix, the status of Wen Guanliang today is not much more noble than that of chickens and ducks. In the officialdom, after losing power , it is natural to be despised, insulted, and stepped on a few more times.
Wen Guanliang understood this very well. After snorting again, he ignored Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong and just said to Zhao Junchen: "Since Shen and Huang are old men, I have something to do, so I will leave first."
Understanding that Wen Guanliang didn't want to be angered here anymore and planned to prepare some money, Zhao Junchen nodded and said with a smile: "In that case, Mr. Wen Ge will go slowly, so I won't give it away."
Next, the negotiations between Zhao Junchen and Shen Huang were mainly about Wen Guanliang, but to some extent, they had nothing to do with Wen Guanliang.
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