The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Jiang Dezhong came to talk about the item.

After all, Old Jiang was also a "celebrity" in Nanjing, but since this kind of celebrity did not have the support of imperial examination status, he was actually a rich man at most. However, after getting in touch with Zhang Zhou, he instantly became a hot white glove in the capital.

Zhang Zhou said: "Really? Why don't I know?"

Jiang Dezhong smiled and said: "You should go and look at the family tree. If there are still people in the mother's family, ask someone carefully, and you will know that there are no lies."

"That's really a coincidence."

Zhang Zhou didn't think what Jiang Dezhong said was ridiculous.

The small world theory means that any two strangers can always be connected through five levels of intermediaries. If such a distant relative had not asked for something, Zhang Zhou also knew that he would not be connected to anything in this life. relation.

Originally, the Ming Dynasty was a patriarchal society, and the wife family was not considered a close relative, let alone a relative that was beyond the reach of the mother.

"Then what do they want?" Zhang Zhou asked.

Jiang Dezhong sighed: "I don't know what taboo this family has committed. They said that the head of the family has been taken away for more than a month, and no one is alive or dead. The family asked someone to inquire about it. It turned out that more than half a month ago, even the elders of the family were killed. Even Xiaoye was taken away, and it was Jin Yiwei’s fault."

"Yes." Zhang Zhou nodded, "The Yongping Mansion case was initiated by Jinyiwei, and the commander of Jinyiwei personally led the case."

Jiang Dezhong asked: "Can't you be accommodating? After all, there are some relatives. I didn't know it before, but now I know it, so I might as well give it some face. The family over there will definitely thank you very much."

Zhang Zhou said: "Father-in-law, let me ask you, what does this matter have to do with you?"

"This one……"

Jiang Dezhong looked a little ashamed, "Speaking of which, this old man like me also had some business in the north before, either as a winemaker or as a buyer of some things. I have some friendship with people in Yongping Mansion, and this time I was entrusted by others. I also know that you are disgusted with these things. This is not after the British public incident. I have never used your identity to oppress others. This time I am just here to inform you."

Zhang Zhou said: "Tomorrow I will go to Gongyuan to preside over the provincial examination. It will be more than half a month later when I come out. This case was investigated by the Jinyi Guards."

Jiang Dezhong said: "Even if you are a relative, why don't you give me face?"

Zhang Zhou squinted at Old Jiang and said, "I won't do anything for personal gain and pervert the law. I haven't seen anyone. Besides, how can I do this selfish thing?"

You don't give me any money or any benefits. You just say that you are a distant relative of mine, and you want me to be accommodating and risk being accused of being biased and bending the law to help you escape?

"How about you meet me?" Jiang Dezhong asked.

"Didn't you say that all the people in this family have been jailed? Is there anyone left who can walk around?" Zhang Zhou frowned slightly. This meant that something had slipped through the net.

Jiang Dezhong said: "The daughter married off from this family is your cousin's... sister-in-law. Because she has married into another family, she has the opportunity to go out and walk around. Recently, she has visited many families in the capital. No one can talk to you. She has finally found me."

Zhang Zhou couldn't help but smile after hearing this.

The relationship is messy enough.

The daughter of my grandfather's sister, which is equivalent to my cousin, married into the Huang family. Her husband's sister married into another family. Now something happened at home, and then this daughter came out to help...

"Father-in-law, let me tell you clearly, how much money did she give you?" Zhang Zhou asked with a smile.

"I didn't give you a penny." Jiang Dezhong said with a red face, "Even if you give it, can I accept it? But she is not simple... How can I put it, this woman has some tricks, she will give whatever money is needed... But it is said that she My husband’s family may also be involved in the case now, and she is also helping to move around.”

Something happened to her parents' family, and she has been involved in Tongfan's case.

The husband's family may also be involved in the case...

This woman can't hide.

"What will I do if I don't give her money?" Zhang Zhou laughed.

Jiang Dezhong said: "No, I heard that Bingkuan will open a mine in Yongping Mansion in the future. It is always good to have a family who can help you. Besides, these families are actually related to each other...each family has There will always be relatives and friends, as long as they defect to you, whatever you want to do in Yongping Mansion in the future, won't it be like a fish in water?"

"Well, my father-in-law's vision seems to have improved a lot."

Zhang Zhou's words sounded like he was paying tribute to Jiang Dezhong, but they were more of a dig at him.

Jiang Dezhong also knew that this was not a good thing, and sighed: "The situation is actually the same for big companies everywhere. If you want to take root wherever you want, if you don't have a good relationship with them, it may end up causing trouble for both sides. Even the place in Jiangnan... said I feel ashamed. No one bothered to talk to me before, but now they want to curry favor with me, and I still don’t bother to talk to them."

Speaking of this, Jiang Dezhong seemed to straighten his back.

The thing I am very proud of is that I have a good son-in-law, and when my son-in-law was in the most difficult time, no matter how snobbish I was, I still helped him.

Then the son-in-law did not completely forget about him, and even helped him after he became prosperous, so that he could expand his business.

"You're right. I was looking for work in Yongping Mansion before. This happened because I didn't have a good relationship with the local government. Since there is a chance for reconciliation now, I should seize the opportunity. But I have to pay tribute to the Court tomorrow. Time It may be too late.”

"It's okay. I'll have someone come over to meet you right now. Or...find a place to meet."

"Just my old house." Zhang Zhou said, "Don't be too high-profile. By the way, I will also call the Jin Yiwei people over and ask them what the case is about."

"Okay, okay." Jiang Dezhong stood up and walked out as if he had completed something very important, as if he was rushing to inform.

……

……

Zhang Zhou wanted to go to the Gongyuan Court to preside over the Shuntian Prefecture Township Examination.

After all, he was ordered to support the Yongping Mansion case. After entering, he should ask questions first.

Zhang Zhou first sent someone to invite Mou Bin, the commander of the Jinyi Guards. When he arrived at his old house, he first asked Mou Bin to show him the case, and then went to see the so-called cousin's sister-in-law. With Mou Bin present, he could not It is said that Zhang Zhou gave and received privately.

afternoon.

In Zhang Zhou's old house, Zhang Zhou and Mou Bin sat down and talked for a long time.

Mou Bin sat very cautiously.

Zhang Zhou is a big shot after all. Even if the emperor doesn't favor Zhang Zhou, even if Zhang Zhou is just Cai Guogong, his status is much higher than that of Mou Bin. The commander of the Jin Yiwei only looks good. To ordinary people, he has a high status, but In front of the real power class, one is still a head short.

Of course, in different periods of the Ming Dynasty, the actual power of Jinyiwei also varied.

"This Huang family is indeed related to you, Cai Guogong, and I only found out about my humble position today. I sent someone to check, and it seems that there is nothing wrong with it." Mou Bin was very cautious.

He seemed to be lucky that Guo Ang had checked everything for him before coming.

Otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to answer when asked by Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou said: "They are just distant relatives, so there is no need to protect them."

Mou Bin nodded and said: "I have inquired in detail about this. The Huang family only has some business dealings with the Zhao family. The heads of the two families have discussed doing business together before. There are also some industrial overlaps. In fact, there is no evidence to prove it." If it is proved that he has committed multiple crimes, even if he is found guilty, he only has business dealings with foreigners. Logically speaking, he can only be sentenced to exile..."

Because the border cities of the Ming Dynasty have been cut off, those prefectures and counties that are close to the border cities, especially those like Yongping Prefecture that have trade with foreign barbarians through Jizhou Town, will have an impact.

They will always use some channels to engage in smuggling.

If you are caught doing this, you will be exiled or beaten with a stick. If you have to set up a "Tongfan", it's not impossible, then a few people will be killed... As long as there is money to raise money, the matter will usually be suppressed at the level of the prefecture or the governor of Jizhen, no Report it to the superior.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Commander Mou is aware of everything."

I heard that he was a distant relative of mine. There was no evidence but there was no evidence, and it seemed that I, Mr. Cai Guogong, was selfless.

You, Mou Bin, can also handle things.

"Someone will come over to see me later and talk about the case in detail. Commander Mou has some free time, why not listen?" Zhang Zhou asked with a smile.

"Yes." Mou Bin quickly stood up.

After responding, he was thinking, should he answer yes or no?

"My lord, if there is any inconvenience, you can still avoid your position." Mou Bin added.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "No, it's all for the case. What are the principles of this case?"

Mou Bin said: "Your Majesty has an order. As long as it is convenient for you to open a mine in Yongping Mansion and your business can be accomplished, everything is up to you."

This case is yours, you can forgive whomever you want, and you can prosecute whoever you want.

Of course, we are still responsible for doing bad things, and we, the Jinyiwei, are responsible for the infamy.

"Thank you for your hard work." Zhang Zhou said, "Come here, go and send a message and let the visitors come here to meet you."

……

……

Zhang Zhou was sitting at the main seat in the main hall, while Mou Bin was sitting at the head of the guests. At this time, Mou Bin was wearing regular clothes and meeting guests with Zhang Zhou, and he could feel a lot of pressure.

When he saw that the visitor was a woman in her forties, Mou Bin seemed to relax a little.

The woman was led in by Liu Gui, who said, "This is my master."

The woman is dressed in ordinary coarse cloth, but the Jingchai cloth cannot hide the satin material exposed at the collar. This is a typical example of hiding something when traveling, not showing off one's wealth, and not being able to show off one's wealth. This is the rule of thumb for wealthy families these days.

Although most of the big names in this era had government backgrounds, they also knew that they would become the target of public criticism once they got ahead, just like this time.

If it hadn't been for the idea of ​​some big players in Yongping Prefecture to develop mines, they wouldn't have suffered such huge retaliation.

"Mr. Caihuang, a civilian woman, pays homage to the Duke of the country."

After saying that, he knelt down and kowtowed respectfully to Zhang Zhou.

After ringing his head three times, he would lie on the ground with his head down and would not stand up to look at Zhang Zhou or behave in any other disrespectful manner.

"Caihuang family..." Zhang Zhou repeated.

People named Cai are rare.

"That's right, a civilian woman," the woman said.

"What's the matter? Get up and talk. I heard that you are here for your mother's case?" Zhang Zhou said.

The woman then raised her head a little, but her head was still lowered, and she continued to kneel on the ground, not looking at each other.

These days, the gap between the officials and the people is very big, and now the woman also knows that she is here to ask Zhang Zhou for help. If she does not follow the etiquette, she may be kicked out directly.

The woman said: "Your Majesty, you are right. My mother's family has suffered some injustices, all because of villains. I heard that there are villains in the county who covet the Huang family of my mother's family, and some people have suffered a little in the Huang family." She came out to make false accusations when she was treated unfairly, and the women of the common people ran around in various places, but it is a pity that they spoke lightly and still can't do anything for their mother's family."

Zhang Zhou smiled and looked at Mou Bin beside him and said, "What do you think, Commander Mou?"

The woman knelt on the ground, originally wondering who was sitting next to her. Even if Zhang Zhou called Mou Bin "Commander Mou", she didn't know what the commander meant.

"Are you being wronged by a villain? How dare you say that Jin Yiwei took people for no reason?" Mou Bin, of course, wanted to refute.

You little woman.

What a blind eye.

Didn’t you know that the culprit who arrested your mother’s family, the Commander of the Jinyi Guard, is sitting next to you? You keep saying that your family members were all falsely accused. Even if you didn't name Jin Yiwei and said that the false accusations were made, you are actually saying that we can't see clearly and even united with your enemies to wrongly accuse you?

Caihuang said: "The civilian woman inquired from the government and said that the person who sued the Huang family was the person who was kicked out by the Huang family."

Mou Bin glanced at Zhang Zhou first, but when he saw that Zhang Zhou had no expression, he sneered: "You Huang family are involved in the Zhao family, and you have done business with foreigners, and there are many inappropriate things." His dealings and even bribes to the generals guarding the gates were all verified by the Jin Yiwei."

"My lord, that's not the case..." Caihuang quickly kowtowed again and continued to argue.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Ms. Caihuang, I can understand your intention to excuse your mother's family, but the person sitting in front of you is the commander of the Jinyi Guards. He is the one who led people to get the Huang family. Could it be that he doesn't know the case? ?"

Caihuang's body was shaken.

Suddenly, I felt like someone was holding a knife on my neck, and it started to fall.

The reason why I was so angry with the commander of the Jin Yiwei was because I thought my mother-in-law's family didn't die early enough.

Zhang Zhou said: "But Commander Mou also said that the Zhao family of Yongping Mansion is the culprit of Tongfan. If you, the Huang family, are willing to come out and testify against them, you can still be lenient."

Caihuang said hurriedly: "This is natural."

Zhang Zhou looked at Mou Bin again and said, "Commander Mou, do you think this is good?"

"Of course it's okay." Mou Bin responded while thinking, His Majesty has let you make your own decision, why do you still seem to care about my opinion?

Will my words work?

Zhang Zhou said: "But I won't be able to intervene in this case for some time in the future. How about putting this case on hold for a while?"

Mou Bin said: "His Majesty has ordered that Duke Cai Guo take charge of this case. Naturally, he will have to wait until Duke Cai completes the Shuntian Prefecture Township Examination before making a decision."

"Then let's continue the investigation first." Zhang Zhou said, "After I come out, we will decide the case again."

"Sir, the civilian woman still has something to ask for." When Caihuang heard this, Zhang Zhou was ready to give up.

Her idea was that it was a rare visit to see Zhang Zhou. This was probably her last chance. If she just left like this, it would be a waste of time.

Zhang Zhou said: "Say."

Caihuang said: "The civilian woman wants to see her father in prison, say a few words to him, let him know the situation outside, maybe... tell him the matter, and let him... take care of it."

This is to ventilate the old father and let him find a way to exonerate the Huang family.

Zhang Zhou glanced at Mou Bin, who immediately understood and nodded: "As long as it is approved by Cai Guogong, it is okay to meet. But someone must be present."

"Yes. The civilian woman thanked the two adults."

After saying this, he kowtowed respectfully and thanked each other. (End of chapter)