Naturally, Chongzhen didn't know that the silver was exchanged for stones. He was still in the palace hoping that the soldiers from Liaodong would come to the capital immediately after receiving the silver.
And those officials who knew that the money was peeled off layer by layer naturally didn't care how much of the money would be sent to Liaodong.
They would do this every time the money was sent out from the Ministry of Finance. As for the harm it would cause in the future, that was none of their business.
They just did what they would always do.
As the first assistant, Zhou Yanru will naturally get a share, not only him, but also the second assistant, Wen Tiren.
It can be said that except for Chongzhen, the other ministers handling this matter will share the benefits. Everyone has a share, and no one will be left behind.
This is also the tradition of the Ming Dynasty.
"Leave all the wooden boxes filled with stones and leave with only the carriage and the wooden boxes filled with silver." Wang Zibing told his men.
This time, the money sent by Jie Daming to Liaodong was smoother than expected.
After only firing a few cannons and two shots, everything was robbed, and there were no casualties. The only thing that was unsatisfactory was that the amount of silver did not match. Most of them were filled with stones. The difference was too much.
Soon, a full wooden box and several empty carriages were taken away from the official road.
The soldiers from the Beijing camp who lost the silver did not come back to snatch it, and even the nearest county seat did not send anyone to check.
Wang Zibing and others successfully disappeared from the vicinity with the money.
On the other side, after the soldiers from the Beijing camp escaped for a while, they found that no one was chasing them, and they were slowly reunited by a general from the Beijing camp.
Several Jin Yiwei also rushed over with the Yuanwai Lang from the Ministry of Household Affairs.
At this time, the Yuanwai Lang came to the generals in the capital camp with a livid face and angrily said: "How did you protect the money? It's fine now. The money has been taken away by the robbers. When you go back, you guys will wait." Be punished!"
Being robbed of salary was a serious crime, and in his eyes, these Qiu Ba from the Beijing Camp were the best candidates to take the blame.
However, he also felt real hatred in his heart.
Not only did he almost lose his life, but he also messed up this errand. After returning home, he had to spend his own money to take care of Shangguan. Otherwise, losing his rank would be a trivial matter, and he would be imprisoned for it.
"My lord, please calm down. I didn't expect that there would be bandits nearby." The general in the Beijing camp had a bitter look on his face.
Forget about ordinary robbers. Even if the soldiers and horses in their Beijing camp were useless, they could still deal with ordinary bandits. However, they didn't expect that they would encounter a group of robbers using fire guns.
It would be good for an ordinary robber to have one or two firecrackers, but it is impossible to bring out a large number of firecrackers, not to mention that the robbers actually brought cannons.
Even their troops from the Beijing camp heading to Shanhaiguan didn't bring cannons.
How could Yuanwailang from the Ministry of Revenue feel sorry for the people in the Beijing camp? He said coldly: "The robbers who robbed the silver must not have gone far now. If you can get the money back, this matter will be over. If you can't get it back, it will be over." Yinzi, just wait to be punished! Huh!"
He shook his sleeves heavily.
"Sir, those robbers are not ordinary robbers at first glance. I'm afraid it will be difficult to get the money back." The general in the Beijing camp said with a bitter look on his face.
Wailang, a member of the household department, said coldly: "If you can't get the money back, then you will be punished when you go back."
He had to work hard to save himself when he returned home. At this time, he had no time to care about the life and death of Qiu Ba from the Beijing camp.
"Sir, those robbers are really extraordinary. It is impossible for ordinary robbers to have so many muskets and cannons. Only the army can get so many firearms." The general of the Beijing camp shouted Qu.
Wai Lang, a member of the household department, turned pale and said, "Do you mean that the person who robbed the money is a member of the army?"
"This possibility cannot be ruled out." said the general of the Jingying camp.
Moreover, he believed that the person who robbed the money was someone from the army. After all, the Shenwu Central Guard was nearby, so it was not difficult to draw out a troop of soldiers and horses to pretend to be robbers and steal the money.
Wailang, a member of the household department, said: "Whether I am a real robber or a fake robber, it is your problem if you can't get the money back. You have time to grind your teeth here, so why not catch the robber as soon as possible and get the money back?" .”
"But what if this is really done by someone in the army?" the general from the Beijing camp asked hesitantly.
Wailang, a member of the household department, said with a cold face: "I don't want to listen to your nonsense. I can't see the money, so you just wait to be punished!"
In fact, he no longer cares whether the money can be recovered or not.
Even if the robber is caught and the money is recovered, the money will not be enough.
The only thing he thinks about now is that someone is taking the blame, and he cannot let anyone put the blame on himself.
"General, let's go find the silver right now." Seeing that the person in charge of the household department in front of him could not be counted on, the general from the Jingying camp had no choice but to lead the people from the Jingying camp back to the place where the money was robbed to catch the robbers and retrieve the money.
After the people from the Beijing camp left, someone from the Jinyi Guards came to the Hubu Yuanwai Lang and asked in a low voice: "Sir, I think what the other party guessed is probably true. The person who robbed this batch of money is probably from In the army.”
"You think so too?" Wailang, a member of the household department, frowned.
He did not fall out with these Jin Yiwei.
He could no longer count on the Beijing camp. If he wanted to return to the capital smoothly, he could only count on these Jinyi guards to protect his safety on the way back to the capital.
Jin Yiwei said: "I have also seen some mountain bandits. It is good for these people to have a few knives and spears. Many of them also use things like dung forks, and those who can produce a large number of firecrackers are not only from the military." , I can’t think of anyone else who can do it.”
"Do you mean you can't get the money back?" asked Wailang, a member of the household department.
Jin Yiwei nodded and said: "I'm afraid it will be difficult to get the stolen silver back. Even if it's an ordinary bandit, as long as he hides the silver somewhere, he won't be able to find it in a short time."
"Let the people from Jingying go look for it first." Although Wailang, a member of the household department, knew that the money might not be recovered, he still decided to wait for the results from Jingying.
If the people in the capital camp were able to find the silver, he would also have some more money to spend on it.
The member of the Household Department of Jinyiwei insisted on staying and waiting for news from the Beijing camp, so he said nothing more and stayed with the other party to wait.
However, Jinyiwei still sent someone back to the capital to spread the news of the money being robbed in advance.
A long time passed, and the people from Jingying who went to look for Jie Yin finally came back.
As expected, the people from the Beijing camp returned empty-handed. They did not find Jie Yin, nor even the robbers. They only found two drivers.
"My lord, we caught two robbers' spies." The general from the Beijing camp came to the front of the household minister Wai Lang and said.
At the same time, the two drivers were escorted up.
