Lu Yi asked his men to send all the captured merchants to the original government office, which is now the temporary office of the factory guard, where the suspects are housed, fed, housed, and detained.
Prince Dai's Mansion has become Yang Wenyue's headquarters. As the first official to restore Datong, a certain prince rewarded Prince Dai's Mansion to Yang Wenyue based on the principle of using abandoned houses.
Anyway, Datong and even the entire Shanqian will no longer have all kinds of strange vassal kings, and the Daiwang Mansion will no longer be a residence for vassals. If it is sold, no one will dare to buy it, so it is better to use it as a reward.
In the Xuanda Defense Area, Xuanfu is the first priority and Datong is the most important. In order to avoid being dumped by braids, the center of gravity must be set in Datong, with a certain strategic depth reserved in advance to allow the Ming army to retreat, or run away...
Yang Wenyue must have a suitable residence to sit in Datong, and Prince Dai's Mansion is very suitable.
Of course, such a large acting prince's palace is a bit too high just for Governor Xuanda.
A certain prince simply divided the palace into three, with the two on the left and right being used by the Governor of Xuan and the magistrate of Datong, while the middle one was used as an office space.
Entering from the Yumen Gate in the south is the Datong Mansion Office, and entering from the Guangzhi Gate in the north is the Governor's Mansion Office.
In this way, both civil and military officials can live in the palace, and no one can say anything.
If something happens, you can communicate and discuss at any time and improve office efficiency.
Lu Yi asked his second brother Shen Teng to accompany Liu Qingyun, the leader of the East Factory, to count the gold and silver jewelry left by Wang Puyu, as a favor to the other party.
Shen Teng was just going through the process. How Dongchang acted specifically was their business. This was just reciprocating the matter of arresting Luo Yangxing.
Before leaving, the prince specifically told the factory guards that the treasure of Prince Dai's palace was just the tip of the iceberg, and the real big ones were the Shanxi merchants in the city.
With Wang Pu's urine, even if he dared to openly shout to the court, he would not offend his parents, because Shanxi merchants could provide him with food and salary.
Even if he seeks refuge with Huang Taiji, he still has to rely on Shanxi merchants to help him bridge the gap, otherwise Huang Taiji will not trust Wang Pu, and Wang Pu's autographed letter is not as useful as a word from Shanxi merchants.
"Brother, I heard that Shanxi merchants often transport goods out of the customs from Zhangjiakou Fort. I'll wait in Datong..."
Had it not been for the capture of the big fish Wang Denku, Gao Xiaosong would have been worried that his brothers would have failed in Datong and would not be able to explain to His Highness the Crown Prince when they returned.
"Third brother, there is no need to worry too much. Your Highness is strategizing and calculating. How can His Highness not know about the incident at Zhangjiakou Fort? I'm afraid someone has already taken action. Don't tell anyone else about this matter!"
The prince even listed the list of Shanxi merchants who colluded with the Donglu. How could he not know about Zhangjiakou Fort? Lu Yi speculated that when the prince asked them to act in Datong Mansion, Xuan Mansion would also take action at the same time.
"My little brother, you should keep your mouth shut!"
Gao Xiaosong now understood clearly that the prince sent out such a large-scale factory guard to wipe out all the Shanxi merchants. It was enough for him to understand this kind of thing in his heart. If he leaked it to outsiders, he would be in trouble.
On the way here, everyone saw many displaced people, many of whom were burned, killed, and looted by the Donglu in winter and spring. Therefore, Gao Xiaosong had no sympathy for the Shanxi merchants who were allied with the enemy.
Businessmen in the capital are just evading taxes, and they only need to make up for it within the specified time. The nature of what the Shanxi merchants did was completely different. Secretly sponsoring the enemy was tantamount to treason and rebellion, and would be punished by the nine tribes.
You can understand from the importance Governor Xuanda attached to them. Yang Wenyue specially allocated 500 soldiers each to Liu Qingyun and Lu Yi for their dispatch. If the merchants under investigation dared to openly disobey orders or even instigated their servants to resist, they would be killed without mercy.
The prince had spoken first. In order to find out the Shanxi merchants' account books, silver coins and hidden materials, he would not hesitate to dig three feet into the ground, not to mention causing a panic in Datong City.
The army went on an expedition to Shanxi and fought a battle with Wang Pu. After including various expenses and pensions, hundreds of thousands of taels were spent. Someone must reimburse this money.
The Ministry of War asked the Ministry of Household Affairs to make additional allocations. The Ministry of Household Affairs demanded that after Yang Wenyue entered the city, he must earn back the investment in this war with interest, which must reach 200%.
Specifically how to make money, Yang Wenyue has no relevant experience, so he has to rely on the prince's eagle dogs. They are familiar with this aspect and are senior industry insiders...
"Sir, I found the account book!"
A feudal lord handed over two booklets, both of which were found in a small box created by Wang Dengku.
"Where's the silver?"
Apart from the account books, Lu Yi was most concerned about this, because this was the object that the prince cared about most, and he had to take both the stolen goods and the stolen goods.
"Your Majesty, forty-three boxes of silver and treasures have been found and are being loaded and transported back to the government office!"
These businessmen were really rich, and their wealth was no less than that of the businessmen in the capital. However, the feudal lords who participated in the search were greatly surprised.
"Okay! There are more than one den in the city. Order his family members to tell them. If they dare to resist, they will be severely punished!"
So what if these Shanxi merchants were ruined and their lives were ruined? The deeds they did caused tens of thousands of people in the Ming Dynasty to be ruined and their families were ruined. The death of these Shanxi merchants was not a pity.
Lu Yi clutched the account book and said to Gao Xiaosong: "Let's go back to the government office to solve the case!"
This box contains two thousand taels of silver, and forty boxes are only eighty thousand taels, which is far from the established goal. Lu Yi believes that there is still great potential to be tapped among the merchants in the city.
After catching a big fish on the list, plus some small fish in the net, if I only bring back two to three hundred thousand taels of silver, I'm afraid I won't be able to return to the East Palace.
Lu Yi's psychological bottom line is 500,000 taels. Even if these black-hearted merchants sell their sons, daughters, wives and concubines, they still have to collect this amount of money.
The Prince's property belongs to the Crown Prince and will not be sent to Taicang, so the Dongchang vassal brought by Liu Qingyun is responsible for tracing it.
The bloody silver earned by Shanxi merchants had already been booked by the Ministry of Revenue. For this reason, the Ministry of Revenue sent a team of about fifty people, led by a doctor and two principals.
The purpose is to supervise along the way and participate in the escort. They will be counted before sealing and shipping in Datong. When they arrive in Taicang, the capital, they will be unpacked and counted a second time in public, so that they can be accurate.
After the prince took charge of the country, he severely punished those who enriched his own pockets. In view of the substantial increase in salary and salary, anyone who is not a profit-seeking fool will not commit crimes.
If you are reported by colleagues or servants, because ten taels of silver may cost your life and fortune, it is completely worth the loss.
And generally speaking, every time an action is completed, no matter whether it is civil or military, the prince will reward the meritorious officials generously, and the monthly salary they will receive will be much higher than the prescribed amount, so many people will not take risks.
After the prince vigorously promoted the reporting reward system, many people started to focus on this method. Colleagues should not reach out, otherwise they will be caught!
As long as the factory guards search the other party's house based on the report, and the money found is higher than the official's accumulated salary, then he needs to go to the Town and Finance Department to explain. The consequences of unclear explanation should be very clear...
The whistleblower can get 10% of the gold and silver hidden by the moth. On the contrary, false accusations against others are equivalent to corruption once the crime is found out. This invisibly plays the role of mutual supervision.
"Wang Dengku, I don't know whether I should call you sir, a member of the imperial family, or a senior official?"
Lu Yi, who was sitting in the prefect's seat, was very polite, but there was a hint of joking in his words. He never thought that one day he would be able to enjoy the pleasure of being a prefect.
"Cao Min is just a commoner. He has no fame and no reputation, and he has never taught. Sir, I don't stick to this."
Wang Dengku, who was kneeling on the ground, was still polite at this time and did not dare to slack off in the slightest. He did not yet know whether the other party was really hostile. He could only make a target after finding out the general context.
The word "Sir" was also something he learned and practiced after seeing the feudal lord address him this way before. Otherwise, he would still have to address the other person as "Guanye".
In order to avoid revealing his official position during the operation, a certain prince introduced a new title of "adult" in the factory guard. Subordinates can use this title when meeting their superiors, eliminating the risk of leaking secrets and cumbersome nicknames.
"Mr. Wang is too modest. In my opinion, your behavior is worthy of this title. I have seen these two accounts. Mr. Wang's accounting skills are extraordinary. He can really be regarded as a young businessman." Sir!"
Before being taken to Beizhen Fusi, Lu Yi could still conduct a preliminary trial on the suspect in Datong. This was the power specially approved by a certain prince, because he was worried that the suspect would be punished on the way to the capital and then commit suicide in fear of crime.
Lu Yi has already browsed a few pages. By comparing the monthly total of the incoming and outgoing accounts and the taxes paid, he can see that the Wang family's business is very good, but it cannot be seen at all in the external accounts.
All the doorways are in the internal account. Just last month, the Wang family's fleet transported no less than three thousand shi of grain to the outside of the customs. Each stone was worth five taels of silver, and more than 16,000 taels were recorded in the account. However, only thirty-two taels of taxes were paid in the external accounts.
This is just food. In addition, there are also salt, sugar, tea, cloth, porcelain, iron and other materials, involving more than 27,000 taels of silver. Even if all are calculated based on the minimum tax of 30 taels, A tax of nine hundred taels of silver must also be paid.
Tax evasion is the next best thing. The above-mentioned materials are not allowed to leave the customs, because customs trade has been stopped under the imperial court's order. Transporting any materials outside the customs without authorization is a crime of collaborating with foreign enemies.
"This is the steward's record of his actions. Cao Min really doesn't know the truth. If it weren't for your current search, Cao Min would have been kept in the dark by his servants and deceived by them for a long time. These thieves will be severely punished when he returns, and all the taxes and fees owed will be included. If you make up for it, it will definitely not cause trouble to the adults."
Wang Dengku directly passed the responsibility to the steward. Whoever keeps the accounts will bear the corresponding responsibility. It is very easy for the huge Wang family to find a scapegoat. At the worst, he can just give his family more money, so that his family can live without worries for the rest of their lives. .
"Really? How do you think my handwriting looks like Mr. Wang's? Can you ask an expert to come and taste it? If you compare it with other calligraphy treasures in Mr. Wang's study, you will definitely get to the bottom of it. By the way, there is no official in this book. The fingerprints are only those of your husband, how do you explain this?"
Lu Yi planned to first force Wang Dengku to admit that this was his own account, and then dig deeper step by step, leaving him no room for resistance.
After the prince took fingerprints, the factory guards also learned this trick, which was very useful during interrogations because no two people in the world have exactly the same fingerprints.
Many suspects don't know the secret. After being exhausted, they have to confess or be tortured. After being "fucked" by the Jin Yiwei, if they can still bear it, they can enjoy a "one-day trip to Dongchang" …
"The steward must have deliberately framed Cao Min and found someone to copy Cao Min's handwriting, and the fingerprints must have been pressed after the steward found someone to engrave the seal!"
Since Wang Dengku chose to pour the sewage on the steward, the other party would take all the blame.
"Okay then, invite the steward over and let the two of you confront each other face to face. If you can't get along, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Lu Yi didn't believe that the supervisor could accurately explain the contents of the interrogation to the suspect unless it was discussed in advance.
"Sir, this steward went to Taiyuan Mansion before the siege and has not returned yet. He must be afraid that the incident will happen."
Wang Dengku would not be stupid enough to let Jin Yiwei have the opportunity to confront him face to face, otherwise he would inevitably expose his flaws.
"Oh? Really? Who is this person's last name? On what day will he leave the city?"
Lu Yi knew that the other party was just talking nonsense, but he wanted to see how cunning and cunning this Shanxi merchant was.
"...This person...surnamed Liu...name Yuan...left the city three days ago!"
Wang Dengku had no choice but to make up a name on the spot. As long as he was asked to leave the city early, the Jin Yiwei would not be able to investigate.
"I see, then I will ask other people in your house if there is Liu Yuan in charge. If not, I will torture you!"
How could anyone else record this kind of account book? He was just trying to keep it in a cocoon.
"...Maybe...Cao Min...remembered it wrong!"
Wang Dengku's forehead began to sweat. The account book was obtained. This meant that his biggest handle was in the other party's hand, and he could not justify himself at all.
"Who is it?"
Lu Yi sat calmly on the Taishi chair, waiting for the suspect to finish his sentence.
"This... Cao Min is willing to offer you thousands of taels of silver, but I just ask you not to pursue any further investigation!"
After Guizhou Donkey ran out of tricks, Wang Dengku had no choice but to resort to the magic weapon that had always been tried and proven - silver!
"I didn't expect Mr. Wang to be quite rich. So, the contents in this account book are true? Otherwise, Mr. Wang would not have such strong financial resources!"
Lu Yi heard that Shanxi merchants were rich, but he didn't expect that the other party would get thousands of taels of silver.
It's just that he can't get the money, and the Jin Yiwei is staring at him from top to bottom.
If one person's mouth is not blocked and the news reaches the prince, he will be in great trouble.
"Sir, there is no need to go into details, right? If allowed, Cao Min is willing to add another five thousand taels!"
Wang Dengku believed that the other party was still unwilling to give in because he felt that the price he offered did not meet the other party's expectations.
"Fifteen thousand taels?"
Lu Yi also admired this Shanxi businessman. It would take seven or eight large boxes to pack such a large amount of money.
"Exactly! Why don't you make it easier, sir?"
Seeing that the other party was hesitating, Wang Dengku realized that the opportunity might have come and he could spend money to buy a way out.
"Have you written it all down?"
Lu Yi didn't answer, but asked the entry officer next to him.
"Write it down!"
In order to avoid omissions, Lu Yi specially arranged two record officers.
"The suspect Wang Dengku first evaded taxes and then bribed his official in court. What crime should he be punished for?"
This money has to be taken, but Lu Yi will receive it from His Highness the Crown Prince instead of making money at the moment.
