Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 51

The Jin Yiwei urged him: "Go, arrest people, let's discuss the following matters."

Gao Hanwen ignored them and strode out.

……

In front is Shen Yishi's other courtyard.While still on the horse, Gao Hanwen felt something strange.

——The gate of the other courtyard is open, and there is silence inside, like an old house that has been abandoned for many years!
Gao Hanwen got off his horse slowly and walked towards the open door.

A group of soldiers followed him into the deserted compound!

Walking to the door of the open account room, Gao Hanwen had already seen clearly that the bookcases and bookcases full of account books in the account room he had been to not long ago were all empty!Even the big table and the tea tables were empty!
Suddenly, Gao Hanwen saw something, it was a piece of paper pressed by a piece of paperweight jade on the chair he was sitting on at that time!
"You wait outside the door." Gao Hanwen walked in alone after speaking.

He took away the paperweight jade, picked up the piece of paper, and looked at the two neat lines of regular script on the paper.

——"Hou Feihou, Wang Feiwang, return to Mang Mountain with thousands of horses! The cunning rabbit dies, and the good bow is hidden; after me, the king will recover! A song "Guangling San", I will play it again and wait for Yunniang!"

Gao Hanwen was stunned for a moment!

Immediately afterwards, he trembled violently, and he heard the sound of drums, the sound of drums coming from the inner courtyard!
Gao Hanwen hurried out and shouted loudly: "Follow me!"

All the soldiers followed him to the inner courtyard.

The door of the piano room was closed tightly, and the sound of drums came out from inside!
Gao Hanwen stopped in the courtyard, and all the soldiers stopped behind him.

The sound of the drum was so serene, it was knocked slowly, and there was a pause every time it was knocked down, and then there was a lingering sound, like a breeze blowing through the boundless lotus leaves of a lotus pond!

Gao Hanwen's eyes were blank.

Then the knocking sound gradually accelerated, like intermittent raindrops falling on the boundless lotus leaves of the lotus pond!

Gao Hanwen recognized it. According to legend, this is "The Wind Blows the Lotus Leaf" that Ni Heng played for Cao Cao!
It should be a catharsis like a storm, Gao Hanwen understood, and ordered loudly: "Break the door open!"

"Yes!" The soldiers responded loudly, and ran to knock on the door.

With the sound of knocking on the door, the sound of drums really became more intense!The door didn't budge!
Gao Hanwen: "Break open the door immediately!"

Before he could finish his words, several soldiers at the door were suddenly rushed backwards by a wave of heat!

Flames burst out from the gap in the door!
"Go away quickly! My lord!" Several soldiers carried Gao Hanwen and walked out.

"Let me go!" Gao Hanwen shook them off, "Find water, put out the fire!"

But it was too late, the piano room was obviously full of oil, and the fire had already burst into the sky from the roof of the eaves!

Gao Hanwen froze in the courtyard, and his figure was glowed red by the fire!

Four large mahogany boxes inlaid with copper, which contained all of Shen Yishi's accounts, had already been moved here, and each wooden box was affixed with a seal, and each seal was written: "Cheng Weaving Bureau Governor's Yamen".

Yang Jinshui, Zheng Michang, and He Maocai had been sitting beside these large wooden boxes for an unknown amount of time.To turn it on or not to turn it on, to burn it or not to turn it on, or to turn it on and then turn it on, or to turn it on without looking at it, no one said anything.

"Open it and take a look? Or move it to the backyard and burn it?" In the end, He Maocai couldn't help it, and looked at Zheng Michang and Yang Jinshui.

"Eunuch Yang, please decide." Zheng Michang immediately looked at Yang Jinshui who was sitting on the other side.

"What do you think?" Yang Jinshui was already extremely tired of these two people, seeing that they were still acting like this at this moment, he slowly turned his eyes to them and asked back.

Zheng Michang still refused to make a statement, and looked at He Maocai steadfastly.

"You can't scare people to death if you look at it." He Maocai stood up, "If you don't look at it, you will be a ghost."

Zheng Michang looked at Yang Jinshui again, and Yang Jinshui was still looking at him.Zheng Michang had no choice but to make a statement: "Responsible to the imperial court and responsible to the Weaving Bureau, let's open it and have a look."

"Then don't open it." Yang Jinshui didn't give him any more face, "If you really want to be responsible to the court, then hand it over to the four Jin Yiwei and send it to the court."

Zheng Michang was forced by Yang Jinshui's words, and his demeanor did not seem to be lying, so he couldn't make any more detours.Fortunately, he was able to find out the reason again, and smiled compensatingly: "Eunuch Yang misunderstood me. How much wealth does Shen Yishi have, and which ones should belong to the Weaving Bureau? Which ones must be copied immediately without raising food and recruiting soldiers and sent to Hu Butang to fight the war ? That’s what I mean by being responsible to the imperial court and being responsible to the Weaving Bureau.” Then he looked at He Maocai, motioning him to open the box.

He Maocai also became bored with Zheng Michang's reluctance to take on the burden at this time. He wished to quickly open the seal to see what happened. Chang: "Does Zhong Cheng mean to tell me to break the seal?"

Zheng Bichang: "Do I still have to explain this?"

He Maocai: "It clearly says Cheng Weaving Bureau and Governor's Yamen. If Eunuch Yang doesn't open his mouth and Zhong Cheng doesn't open his mouth, how dare I unseal it?"

At this point, Zheng Michang still didn't open his mouth, and looked at Yang Jinshui again.

"I really don't want to watch it." Yang Jinshui brushed off his robe and stood up, "If you two don't want to watch it either, I'll call the four Jinyiwei brothers to carry the box away." Then he walked out the door.

"Let's open Feng!" Zheng Michang hurriedly said, facing He Maocai, "After all, it is our business to raise military supplies for the front, so don't embarrass Eunuch Yang."

Only now did Yang Jinshui stand still, and turned to look at the two people again.

"I said yes! After reading the account, we are still waiting for money to fight!" He Maocai didn't delay any longer, and immediately tore the seal of a wooden box.

"These few words are still like human words." Yang Jinshui sat back again, "Even if you are an official and a man, you have to think about yourself seven times, but you have to think about others for the court and the rest. Think about yourself and think of you. , is there any pure gold in this world?"

Zheng and He were trained by him so that their eyes met again, their hearts were upset, and their faces were also ugly, but they dared not reply.

Zheng Michang said to He Maocai, "Open them all."

The box was only sealed but not locked. He Maocai brushed it a few times and tore off the other three seals, and then lifted the four covers.

——The box is indeed full of account books!

Zheng Michang and He Maocai looked at Yang Jinshui again, but Yang Jinshui closed his eyes while sitting there.The two of them couldn't call him, so they looked closer to the first box.Almost at the same time, both of them saw a letter on the account book that was full of box No. [-]!

——On the envelope, it is written in regular script: "Yang, Zheng, and He all opened up a stone."

"Shen Yishi even wrote us a letter!" He Maocai said in a broken voice.

Zheng Michang couldn't wait any longer: "Take it apart."

He Maocai picked up the letter and tore open the seal, took out two pages of letter paper, and read it alone impatiently.

Zheng Michang: "Do you know the rules? Put it on the case and watch it together!"

Only then did He Maocai feel something was wrong, and took the letter to the big case and placed it flat on the case.

Zheng Michang said to Yang Jinshui who was sitting there, "Eunuch Yang, let's watch together."

Yang Jinshui then slowly stood up again and walked to the desk.The three of them stood side by side in front of the desk and began to read the letter.

A neat regular script, not at all like the writing of a person who knows that the deadline is approaching.Yang, Zheng, and He couldn't help thinking of this big businessman who had been in close contact with them for many years at the same time.Shen Yishi's expressionless figure seemed to slowly emerge from the letter.Then, the shadow spoke, and the voice they were used to hearing rang in the ears of the three of them: "From the 21st year of Jiajing to the 40th year of Jiajing, in 20 years, this is the last time that Shen submitted to the Weaving Bureau and the Zhejiang government. Approved account book. Four weaving, five governors, only Hu Butang Hu Zongxian and Shen Mou have no accounts, and only Hu Butang has not taken a cent from Shen Mou. Only Hu Butang can be called a national dynasty in the three yamen of Zhejiang Great official, the rest of the lords are insignificant."

Yang Jinshui had no expression on his face, but Zheng Michang and He Maocai couldn't hide their embarrassment at the moment, they looked at each other at the same time, and then quickly looked at the letter.

Zheng Michang and He Maocai's eyes were a little dazzled, and they seemed to see Shen Yishi's figure slowly drifting away from the envelope, just like in this room on weekdays, sometimes walking and sometimes sitting down, the voice followed the figure in the air. The room is full of ringing: "Shen, who has been eating rough clothes for 20 years, weaves more than 210 million pieces of silk. Over the years, a total of 100 million pieces have been handed over to the Weaving Bureau, and each official has a profit of 90 million pieces. The remaining [-] pieces are bought raw silk. , and then produce silk, which has made it difficult for Shen to maintain it. He worked hard every day, and did not dare to rest in the middle of the night, and recorded all expenses one by one in the account, which is the account book that you can see."

"His heart can be punished!" He Maocai couldn't help roaring, looking around, "Shen Yishi, you will go to the eighteenth floor of hell if you die!"

Zheng Michang's scalp became numb from He Maocai's roar, and he looked around. How can there be any ghosts in the blue sky and white day?So he rolled his eyes at He Maocai, and then at Yang Jinshui.

Yang Jinshui's eyes were cold, and his voice was even colder: "If your family is ruined, you should go to the [-]th floor of hell; if you get away with it, you can be promoted to Daluoshengtian!"

In this atmosphere, Yang Jinshui uttered such spell-like words again, and Zheng Michang and He Maocai's scalps went numb again.The two couldn't help but looked at each other.

"Let's read the letter." Zheng Bichang quickly turned away.

The eyes of the three looked at the letter again.

Shen Yishi's figure disappeared, but his voice sounded like he was sitting on the chair in front of the big case and said: "My Ming Dynasty owns the whole world. If the imperial festival is used to love people and make the people happy, officials at all levels should be clean and self-confident, and open silk, Porcelain and tea commercial roads, only these three items can make the world rich, why is the treasury running out of money today! The people are plundered if they are extravagant, and the merchants are plundered when the civil upheaval is imminent. Shen’s ending today is all It was expected. However, can Shen’s family’s wealth, which has been exploited for decades, make up for the deficit of the national treasury? You will be disappointed when you see this account! I attach a page of concise accounts at the end, and I hope you can read it In the future, I will think of another good strategy to raise military salaries for the front, which may reduce the crime to the court. Otherwise, Shen will take a step ahead and wait for the public to be imprisoned in Jiuquan, and this day is not far away!"

Seeing this, Zheng Michang and He Maocai's expressions immediately changed, and they all looked at Yang Jinshui.

Yang Jinshui's face was still cold and expressionless.

"Look at the next page!" Zheng Michang was so anxious that his voice trembled a little.

He Maocai hastily removed the page of the letter, revealing an account with several expenses listed on the following page.

沈一石的声音：“其一、沈某共有作坊25、织机三千，每日可织丝绸540八匹。诸公见此账时，吾库存之生丝仅能维持作坊织绸20天，共计一万零960匹。距朝廷所需之50万匹相差48万九千四十匹。”

The gazes of Zheng Michang and He Maocai collided, both equally dazed.

Yang Jinshui glanced at the two of them bitterly, and sat back on the chair by the window alone.Zheng Michang and He Mao were stunned for a while, and then continued to look at that page of accounts.

At this time, Shen Yishi's voice seemed to be whispering in the ears of the two, but it was so clear: "Secondly, Shen has a total of 40 silk and satin shops, and there are 12 pieces of silk and satin in Jiajing in the early [-]s. Three In March, the Weaving Bureau was ordered to allocate [-] horses. The remaining [-] horses, Mr. Zheng Michang used the expenses of the governor's office to distribute [-] horses, and Master He Maocai used the expenses of the inspector's office as an excuse. Share [-] horses. In April, in order to make up enough money to buy grain, we sold [-] horses. There are only [-] silks in stock.”

Zheng Michang and He Maocai's eyes straightened up!Sweat dripped down his face.

"Now, how many taels are there in cash?" Zheng Michang stopped looking at the account, took a few steps back, slumped down on the chair, and looked at He Maocai who was still standing by the desk with absent-minded eyes.

"The cash is less than 1 taels!" He Maocai held the page of the account, his hands were shaking, and his voice was shaking, "This, how is this possible? I don't believe it if I beat it to death!"

"It's over." Zheng Michang murmured, "We have all been played by Shen Yishi..."

"Yeah, he is playing with you with his life!" Yang Jinshui sat on a chair and said coldly, "You yamen, including your family, how much money has been spent on him for so many years, you yourself We know it well. This year, in order to change rice into mulberry, we bought another [-] shipments of grain and how much we spent. We have all the grain we bought now lent to Chun’an and Jiande. Shen Yishi’s family really has a golden mountain , dug and hollowed out.”

Zheng Michang and He Maocai seemed to have no choice but to believe the account in front of them. One was sitting on a chair, the other was standing by the desk, neither of them looked at the other, they were all staring at the front in a daze.

"Is there anything else, my lords?" Yang Jinshui stood up slowly, "If there is nothing else, Yang will go back and write the chapter of apology to the palace."

"Eunuch Yang!" Zheng Michang came over, "You must not just plead guilty like this. If we all plead guilty like this, the military supplies in front will not be supplied, and this war will not be able to continue!"

Yang Jinshui looked outside the door: "It's too late now to think that the war won't go on!"

"Eunuch Yang!"

Zheng and He unexpectedly knelt down beside Yang Jinshui at the same time.

"I am ashamed of the emperor and my ancestors!" Yang Jinshui looked up at the sky outside the courtyard.Without looking at the two half-short figures beside him, "Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang fought so hard in the front, the imperial court relied on the military pay for helping them to steal Shen Yishi's family wealth this time, but we couldn't afford the military pay ..."

"We're going to find ways to raise food and money!" Zheng Michang immediately answered, "I just hope that my father-in-law will tell the imperial envoys of Jin Yiwei, and ask them to pass it on to Chen and Lu Gonggong, so that the court will give us some time limit."

Only then did Yang Jinshui slowly look at them: "Even if the imperial court gives you a time limit, can the two adults still find a second Shen Yishi to copy his home?"

"As long as the imperial court allows us to commit crimes and meritorious service, we can find another way." Zheng Michang said and immediately looked at He Maocai, "Old He, how much military salary do you think we can raise if we try our best?"

He Maocai: "If you work hard, how can you raise food, grass and military supplies for a month or two!"

"Then what about the case of Shen Yishi?" Yang Jinshui looked at them again, "We have to give the court an explanation for such a result of the house raid."

"Find someone to take the blame!" Zheng Bichang replied.

Yang Jinshui: "Who should I blame?"

Zheng Michang: "Gao Hanwen!" He said and looked at He Maocai.

He Maocai immediately answered: "Yes! It's all because of his ineffective handling of the case that the criminal committed suicide in fear of crime, destroyed the account books, and transferred his private property!"

Yang Jinshui looked at them deeply, thinking there.

Here, Gao Hanwen's eyes are also blank!
The outside of the hall was full of soldiers, and four Jinyi guards were sitting on chairs.The steward Shen Yishi stood with his head bowed in the middle of the room, and there was complete silence.

Gao Hanwen's mind was obviously blank, and he slowly turned his eyes to Shen Yishi's supervisor: "How many days did you say all the workshops can weave?"

"20 days." The steward looked at Gao Hanwen timidly, and immediately lowered his head when he saw his sharp eyes, "Because the raw silk in stock is enough to weave for 20 days."

Gao Hanwen: "How much silk can we weave in 20 days?"

The steward said: "A total of 960 pieces can be knitted."

"960 pieces?" Gao Hanwen's voice trembled, and he asked loudly, "Where's the silk in stock? How much silk does your silk and satin store have in stock?"

"More than 100 silk and satin shops only have a hundred pieces of silk in stock?" Gao Hanwen's eyes stabbed at the manager like two knives.

The steward: "Just, just a hundred horses..."

Gao Hanwen's face also turned pale: "Arrest these people! Search the warehouse immediately!"

The soldiers outside the hall ran in together.

The steward unlocked the warehouse with trembling hands, and Gao Hanwen kicked open the warehouse door and walked in first.The four Jinyiwei looked at each other and walked in.The soldiers stood nervously outside the door.

In the warehouse, Gao Hanwen's back was standing there fixedly.

The four guards in brocade clothes stood by the door, but they also remained silent.

There are only rows of empty wooden racks in the entire warehouse, and there is no silk!
Gao Hanwen turned around slowly and looked at the four Jinyi guards.

The four royal guards also looked at him quietly.

(End of this chapter)