After checking the bedroom and study room. Chang Feng also led people to check the bedrooms of every concubine, prostitute, and servant in Cai Mansion.
However, the harvest was very little, and cash, copper coins, and treasure banknotes were also confiscated. The total amount was only five hundred taels of silver.
The number of confiscated homes jumped to 4,190 taels. It's still far from the number of thirty thousand.
It was already evening. Chang Feng gave an order: "Move the ladder and check the 'eaves hidden'!"
Eaves hiding is a method of hiding silver.
There is a whole piece of semi-cylindrical tiles at the front end of the eaves, called tiles. The tiles are usually engraved with the characters "Fu Lu Shou" or auspicious animals and auspicious clouds.
Officials and wealthy households usually poured molten silver inside the tiles. After solidification, it is set on the eaves. This method of hiding silver has two benefits.
First, if a thief wants to steal the money inside the tile, he has to carry a ladder up to the house. There is too much movement and it is difficult to succeed.
Secondly, it is said that tiles filled with silver can protect the house and ward off evil spirits.
Chang Feng's warriors moved ladders up to various houses one after another. Kick the tiles directly to the ground.
Most of the tiles will fall to pieces with a "snap" when they hit the ground. Occasionally, you can hear one or two "ding dong" sounds of silver falling to the ground.
The warriors below collected the silver. The income was very little, and a total of more than 300 taels of silver "hidden in the eaves" were found.
It was already dusk after Chang Feng ordered people to count, record, and seal the items in boxes.
Jinyiwei has a rule of "do not raid your home at dusk". This is because they are afraid that people who will raid your home after dark will secretly take away gold and silver under the cover of darkness.
Chang Feng ordered people to place sealed boxes containing gold and silver in the front yard.
Chang Feng said: "Third Xiaoqi will stay here tonight on duty. For the rest of the brothers, let's step on the 'outgoing stool' and then go off to work."
A captain of the third small flag looked troubled: "General flag. Today is my father's fiftieth birthday. Just to accommodate me, we didn't hold a birthday banquet during the day, but held it at night..."
Chang Feng said cheerfully: "It's okay, it's a lot less if I don't have you. You can just go home. By the way, I wish you a long life."
Chang Feng's father once said something to him before his death: The greatest evil for an official is to embarrass others to the greatest extent within the scope of his own power.
Chang Feng deeply agrees. As the ancients said, it is best to make things convenient for others.
He has always been generous to his subordinates.
The captain raised his hand and said, "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief."
Chang Feng took Hu Zi and led the brothers who were not on duty at night to the door of Cai Mansion and prepared to leave.
Fatty Xu had prepared a four-foot high bench and placed it at the gate.
The four legs of this high bench are carved with the auspicious beast Qilin. This stool is called the "Innocent Stool".
Chang Feng and his men began to take off their clothes and belts one after another, until they were left with only a pair of filthy trousers.
Chang Feng took the lead and walked to the innocence bench. Raise your hands above your head, raise your legs high, and step over the innocent stool. The moment he stepped onto the bench, he clapped his hands. "Snapped"!
This is the rule that Jin Yiwei learned from the soldiers of the Taicang treasury. Check whether anyone carries any silver coins.
It was early autumn, and the weather was already a bit chilly in the evening. But you must abide by the rules when crossing the innocence bench, and you must take off your clothes.
Even in the middle of winter, you still have to suffer from the cold when the house is searched.
Cross the Innocence Stool. Chang Feng and others started to get dressed.
Fatty Xu said: "Master Chang, don't frown. You're so worried."
Chang Feng said: "You have a title to inherit, so you don't have to worry."
"Now the number of 30,000 is just over 4,000. If I lose the title of Jin Yiwei, I will become a useless person. How can I marry Xiaoyan?"
Liu Xiaoyan is Changfeng's childhood sweetheart and childhood sweetheart. The two of them will definitely have a baby kiss.
Liu Xiaoyan's father has become attached to Liu Ji, the "Mian Mian Ge Lao" in recent years. He rose rapidly in the officialdom and was promoted to the Chief Envoy of Northern Zhili.
Liu's father gradually disdained Chang Feng, who had lost both his parents and had no family background, so he unilaterally broke the engagement.
Fatty Xu said: "Are you still thinking about your Xiaoyan? According to me, how can a person hang himself from a tree?"
"On Rouge Street in Nancheng, there is a whole forest full of wild flowers!"
Chang Feng shook his head slightly and said nothing.
At this moment, the rumble of horse hooves sounded in the distance.
A hundred cavalrymen opened the way and headed straight for the gate of Cai Mansion. The cavalry were followed by two hundred gilded guardsmen who were trotting all the way. Behind it is an official sedan.
In front of the official sedan, there is an official sign with the seven characters "Jin Yi Wei Bei Zhen Fu Shi" written on it.
Chang Feng's direct boss Zhu Ji is here.
The governor of Beizhen is only the sixth figure in the Jinyi Guard. There are also commanding officers on the left and right, commanding left and right colleagues, and commanding envoys.
Zhu Ji's official position was no more than the fourth rank of military attache. In the capital city where there are many high-ranking officials, this level is not very high.
The grandeur of his travels was comparable to that of ministers.
Jin Yiwei is a smart guy who likes to show off his power through swagger.
Zhu Ji, who had a rude look on his face, got off the official sedan. Chang Feng quickly knelt down with his subordinates: "Welcome to the envoy!"
Zhu Ji said straightforwardly: "Take me to see the family property that was copied today."
Chang Feng and Fatty Xu took the orders. Take Zhu Ji to the front yard.
Zhu Ji pointed to the four boxes: "That's it?"
Chang Feng replied: "Report to the envoy of the town. Today we have found gold, silver, copper coins, and treasure banknotes, totaling 4,490 taels of silver."
"In addition, eight people including the beautiful Shanxi mother-in-law and Yangzhou Shouma were found in the Cai Mansion. They were worth more than 2,000 taels of silver."
Zhu Ji glared at Chang Feng: "The number of 30,000 set by the commander is a real number. Women, mansions, and land are not allowed to be used to judge the number."
"According to Wei Li's rules, the time limit for confiscating a house is three days. If you can't collect 30,000 dirty silver in three days, you'll get out of here."
Chang Feng secretly complained in his heart. This strange task of first determining the amount and then searching the house was a little more difficult.
Zhu Ji asked again: "Have you copied Cai Zhong's letter?"
Chang Feng held up a wooden box and said, "This is the letter copied from Cai Zhong's study."
Zhu Ji picked it up and flipped through it: "Oh, they are all normal correspondence with local officials."
After speaking, Zhu Ji closed the box, and then took out two small seals from his sleeves: "Seal the box containing the letters as well."
Chang Feng discovered that Zhu Ji seemed to attach great importance to the letter box.
He took the seal and put it on the box.
Seeing that the letter box had been sealed, Zhu Ji turned and left.
Chang Feng and Fatty Xu cupped their hands and said in unison: "Congratulations to the envoy!"
Zhu Ji walked away.
Fatty Xu was frothing at the mouth: "Ah haha! Look at how arrogant he is! Isn't he just Commander Wan's scoundrel? He got promoted by eating Commander Wan's shit!"
In the Jinyi Guards, Zhu Ji was known for being ruthless in his treatment of criminals and extremely harsh on his subordinates.
The Qianhu, Baihu, and General Banners under him all gnashed their teeth when they mentioned "Zhu Zhen Fu Envoy" in private.
Although the people below hate him, his position is as stable as Mount Tai. Because he is so good at flattering Commander Wan.
What Fatty Xu said just now, "Eating Commander Wan's shit" is not an adjective, but eating shit in the physical sense.
Five years ago, the commander made Wantong suffer from diarrhea. His sister Wan Guifei sent four imperial doctors to treat him but they could not find the root cause of the disease. I had no choice but to find someone to taste the feces and analyze the cause of the disease.
This kind of work is usually done by humble servants.
Zhu Ji is a ruthless person! He rolled up his sleeves, then took a sip of tea and rinsed his mouth. Take the initiative to take on the responsibility of tasting shit.
The imperial doctor made a gesture of invitation: "Zhu Qianhu, while it's hot!"
Zhu Ji knows some medical skills. He guessed the cause of the disease by tasting feces and prescribed a prescription. It actually cured Wantong's disease.
After this incident, Zhu Ji was promoted to the governor of Beizhen.
Today, in the Ming Dynasty, there are "two father-in-laws of aphrodisiacs", "three pavilion masters made of paper", "six ministers of clay sculpture", "censor of Xiniaodu"...
On Jinyiwei's side, there is another "dung-tasting envoy". The evil of officialdom is evident.
Chang Feng said to Fatty Xu: "Stop complaining. Get off work."
