Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 491 The secret was leaked in the prison
Night came,

The prison was extremely dark and gloomy at night. What was even more frightening was that from time to time there were bursts of wailing sounds that could be heard far away, and there were also occasional screams that made the frightened people tremble.

When Zhang Jinyu led the people in last, he didn't feel very good. Not to mention the coldness, the smell was indescribably disgusting and also had some bloody smell. He couldn't help but cover his nose.

Damn it, how can these cell bosses and jailers endure it? Not only do they get sick, but their noses can't bear it for a long time. Maybe one day they will get rhinitis, cough.

Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but cursed in his heart, what a damn place, and continued to walk forward with a frown.

Although there were a lot of torches hanging on the two walls in the corridor, Zhang Jinyu still felt that this place was dark and gloomy, and it was not a place for one to stay. After giving it away, she left quickly because she wanted to go back.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered, I didn’t go very far, and vaguely,

I heard someone yelling there. When I heard the voice, I knew it was Cui Dehai, a doctor from the Ministry of Finance. This old boy really knows how to pick up the time. I didn't want to pay attention to it, but the other person shouted quite sadly. It seemed that he couldn't help it. He glanced at Ji Yunhui beside him and ordered,

"Ji Qianhu, bring him here. He Yixiu, prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone. You can record it."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

After replying, the two of them took their orders and left.

Zhang Jinyu naturally swaggered, came to the high platform where the case was tried, and sat down behind the case table. Fortunately, this person was dry and quite warm. There was a layer of soft cushions made of fur on top. There was a bonfire burning in the center, which was quite warm.

It’s this atmosphere that’s hard to describe in words.

You have been running for a day, you are tired, and you are still a little hungry. You said that you have been busy working in vain every day. Instead of holding your beautiful wife and concubine, you are here to serve as a bench. As for those people, the end is the same, bald. The lice are obvious.

Zhang Jinyu didn't have the mentality to solve the case at all. These people just became scapegoats. If they were smart, they would reveal big things. If they were not smart, they would die.

in prison,

Cui Dehai was still looking longingly at the cell door in front of him, crying at the top of his lungs, hoping that the Marquis would notice him. As he was shouting hoarsely, he saw the concierge in front of him, and a familiar figure came down. Isn't that the emperor? Qianhu Ji Yunhui from Chengsi,

"Ji Qianhu, Ji Qianhu, here, here, is the Marquis showing mercy?"

"Hmph, you are lucky."

Ji Yunhui snorted, opened the cell door himself, then pulled Cui Dehai out, looked at the iron-like hands, grabbed his wrist, and endured the pain and said,
"Qianhu, be gentle, be gentle, I can't run away anymore, it hurts, it hurts."

Ji Yunhui ignored him, dragged him all the way, and threw him down the hall. Cui Dehai stumbled and fell to the ground. He didn't dare to complain. Looking at the dim firelight and cold torture tools around him, he was so frightened that he trembled. , quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Marquis Luo Yun on the high platform, and a plaintive voice sounded,

"Master Marquis, Master Marquis, please save Xianguan. Xianguan is just a pawn. From now on, Xianguan will act as the leader of the Marquis and will definitely repay his kindness. I beg you, Marquis."

After saying that, he kept kowtowing to apologize. Zhang Jinyu sat on it and was dumbfounded. He remembered that in the morning he was still willing to die, but at night, he became a coward. The contrast was too great. Was it someone else? He was tortured, but looking at this person’s appearance, it didn’t look like him, so he tried to say something.

"Cui Dehai, you are Cui Dehai. Did I admit the wrong person?"

Cui Dehai hurriedly raised his head and replied,

"Master Marquis, Master Marquis, you did not admit it wrong. He is a subordinate official. I guarantee it is true."

After taking a closer look, it was indeed him. There was blood on his forehead. It looked like he was sincere. Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Shen Zhongxin had returned to his house sooner rather than later. If his guess was correct, he and his wife might eat together. It's time for dinner, but I'm still hungry here. I feel angry just thinking about it. I don't want to ask, but I can't just let it go. This bitch doesn't even look at me.

"Okay, stop knocking. I've made it clear to you. Mr. Cui, you know something in your mind. If you can't tell me anything valuable, don't blame me for not saving you. Let's put it this way, this time, you You have to shed your skin even if you don't die. It depends on how you save yourself. Of course, don't bite randomly. You may be the scapegoat in the end."

Cui Dehai was shocked. Marquis Luo Yun seemed to know something and pointed out a clear path for him. But in order to survive, he had to do this.

"Back to the Marquis, the official was confused for a moment. He was confused. The fire in the Jingcang was set by someone to cover up the lack of food storage. A small part of the official warehouses were replaced by sand."

Zhang Jinyu felt relieved after hearing this, and then immediately gave He Yixiu a wink and asked him to record the confession. He Baihu sat at the table, lit the oil lamp, and wrote down hurriedly.

Cui Dehai didn't speak quickly, and then continued,
"Long before Xiaguan took office, in order not to be involved, he immediately organized people to conduct a thorough inspection of the Jingcang, and found that the grain stored in it was not enough. But one night later, a person came to Xiaguan, it was Tian Fang, the commander of the grain platform. Mr. Masada, he came as a lobbyist, built a bridge, found many buyers, exchanged the stored grain for money, and then divided it up. When the newly harvested grain comes into the warehouse next year, he will fill it up, wait until it is inspected, and then ship it out. It was sold, so nothing has happened so far.”

When Zhang Jinyu heard this, he couldn't understand why these people were so bold. These grains were the capital's reserves, mainly to provide salaries to the imperial family and officials. The most important thing was that if the capital used troops, this would It's just military rations. If the emperor knew that you were playing like this, it would be easy to kill your entire family.

Besides, can you sell the grain in Jingcang just as you say? He slammed the table with his hand and cursed,

"Cui Dehai, you are talking nonsense. Just a few of you in Jingcang can transport the grain out without anyone else noticing? And the so-called transporting grain, you can safely transport so much grain by yourself. , you are treating me like a monkey!" "I don't dare, I don't dare! When I returned to the Marquis, I was also surprised at the time. Later, I was afraid that something would happen, so I sent my close people to watch secretly, and waited for many days. You know, everyone in Jingcang has been bribed. Even the convoys of grain merchants transporting grain are followed by people. When they arrive at the city gate, as long as the people following them take out something, they will be let through without anyone checking. At that time , Xianguan knew that someone must be secretly controlling the court, but Xianguan never found any clues about the other party. Once, the person sent by Xianguan followed the mysterious man who was accompanying the motorcade, but in just one day, the person sent by Xianguan disappeared. Finally, the body was found in a mass grave outside the city, and from then on I didn’t dare to send anyone to follow him.”

Seeing Cui Dehai's story below with snot and tears, Zhang Jinyu believed it, but after talking for a long time, he couldn't find any clues. There was nothing he could do to save you. At least he could give you a goal.
"Wait a minute, Cui Dehai, Master Cui, I want to tell you, if you say this, or if you talk nonsense like this, even if what you say is true, I have made it clear that you are dead, do you understand , according to what you said, you don’t know the people in the court, and you don’t know the contacts, so what do you know, and since the food is shipped out, how do you deal with the irregular inspections by the Ministry of Revenue every time. "

"Going back to the Marquis, Tian Fangzheng arranged for them to use sandbags instead, and bran instead. Those people brought them when they came. As for whether there is anything else, Xiaguan needs Marquis to guarantee the lives of Xiaguan's family. Only then can I say it.”

Cui Dehai also risked his life. When he thought about his beloved concubine, he was very unwilling to be treated casually by the jailers. At this time, he was still thinking about his beloved concubine. He stood up suddenly and shouted with blood on his face. ferocious.

Zhang Jinyu stared into this man's eyes, with a look of determination and pleading in his eyes. It was not that he felt sympathy, but he really wanted to know what kind of medicine was sold in this gourd, and maybe there was any opportunity to use it for himself. Upon hearing it,
"You're really excited. If I want to protect your life, I'm afraid I'm lying to you. I can only say that as long as what you say is really important, I, the Holy One, will intercede for you. As for how to express your regret, It depends on God’s will, but I can promise you that if I have the chance, I will naturally save your life, which is great.”

"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your kindness. I will never forget it."

After hearing the Marquis's assurance, Cui Dehai seemed to have made up his mind, bowed vigorously, and then said,

"Master Hou, I also knew at that time that I was afraid that I was being pulled into the water, so I was on guard. I secretly raised a lot of people in the outside world with a lot of money, and then I just kept an eye on those grain merchants. But strange to say, Those people bought grain and stored it in a village in the south of the city. But at the beginning of last month, a grain merchant named Wang suddenly said that he wanted to buy grain for ten large warehouses. His humble position must have disagreed, but this man They were forced to compromise with the threat of the previous transaction and the coercion of other officials. The grain was transported for more than ten nights. As soon as the last batch of their convoys left, the subordinates followed and followed them. I waited for a full month before I came back to reply. Mr. Marquis, what did you guess?"

Zhang Jinyu was suddenly startled. Good guy, you are so bold. You are going to directly drain the pot of the imperial court. If you have more time, you will have to evacuate it. Besides, the Jianghu people have been following you for a month, so they will definitely leave. It's very far away, and it will take at least ten days to go back and forth. So where will it be?
Within the radius, it is also around Zhongzhou, not too far away, in the four directions of east, west, north and south, where can it be?

Suddenly, I thought of what Shen Baoan said when he came here that night, about the land south of Jingnan.

"Come here, bring a stool for Mr. Cui and help him sit down."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

Ji Yunhui, who was behind him, walked to the corner, moved the stool over, and placed it in the hall. Then he grabbed Cui Dehai by the collar and "helped" him onto the stool. At this time, Cui Dehai was still a little shocked and sat there. Shivering.

Zhang Jinyu looked at Ji Yunhui's rude actions and the black lines on his face, and finally opened his mouth. If someone is so frightened that they hold their breath when you catch them like this, their efforts will be in vain. She comforted them,
"Look at how you treat Mr. Cui, your actions are so rough. Mr. Cui is a civil servant,"

Unexpectedly, Cui Dehai came back to his senses and said hurriedly,

"Master Marquis, I'm lowering my rank. It's nothing, nothing!"

"Since you have nothing to do, let's continue talking."

Zhang Jinyu saw that Cui Dehai's face had regained some human color. Except for the scary blood stains on his face, there was nothing wrong with it. He winked at Ji Yunhui by the way. The latter understood and did not leave. He just stood there. Behind Cui Dehai.

Mr. Cui paused for a moment, calmed down, gently touched his official uniform, and then said,
"Master Marquis, the people sent by Xiaguan came back in more than a month. Xiaguan asked them where they had followed them. They said they went to Linshan County in the south of Beijing. All the grains were sold to the four major grain merchants in south of Beijing. It’s been divided up, and you can’t get in or out. This is not only happening in the capital, but I heard that they even bought a large amount of grain in the south of the capital.”

"Wait a minute, you just said that the four major grain merchants can only enter and exit. Why haven't I heard of them? Are there any of their grain shops in the capital?"

These words aroused Zhang Jinyu's curiosity. Those who can be called the four major grain merchants are not just rich and have a house full of money. As for the source of the money, that's all. It's better than robbing money. It's fast. Monopolizing the grain trade has brought huge profits in the past dynasties. Things can be used without food. Ordinary people, as long as the price of grain increases, if nothing else, if they don't need it for a month, a small family may need a home. Broken, of course, is also the source of turmoil. The previous dynasty was so useless, tsk tsk!

"Well, back to the Marquis, in Nancheng of the capital, there is a Wang family's grain store that belongs to their Wang family. As for the other three, there is no one. The so-called four major grain merchants can also dominate the south of Jingnan. Among them, the Wang family is the leader in Jingnan. The owner of the family, Wang Dafu, also found out clearly that he was related to the Wang family in the capital. As for the other three, the official also found out that they were Li Fugui from the Li family, Liu Yulun from the Liu family, and Tian Baosheng from the Tian family. Who it is, this subordinate has not found out."

Cui Dehai still had a backup plan to find out what was going on with these grain dealers. Zhang Jinyu smashed his lips, and he still had some brains. He named them one by one. He was really talented, but that one was different from the Wang family. It does matter. Which Wang family? There are many officials in the Wang family in the capital. It can’t be
"I would like to ask you, which royal family in the capital is the Wang family you just mentioned? Isn't it Wang Ziteng, the military commander of the Beijing Camp?"

"Master Hou Mingjian, this is the Wang family, the subordinates will definitely not make mistakes. Later, they sent people to Linshan County to verify, and they will never dare to lie. There is another thing. When they came back, they were all saying that there was a severe drought in the south of Beijing. There are hungry people all over the place, and there are many bandits. I'm afraid there are signs of great chaos. I don't know what will happen next."

Cui Dehai didn't dare to say anything else. If this matter went wrong, the court would be in turmoil, and there would be no hope for his life and fortune. Besides, it didn't matter who his family was, he should find a way to save his life. No matter how chaotic it was, it would be a place. Official matters.

Zhang Jinyu was shocked when he heard this. He got up and walked back and forth behind the table. He felt troubled in his heart. They were all talking about the incident in the south of Jingnan. I am afraid that there is something going on there. The emperor probably doesn't know much about it at the moment, but there is no such thing. Don't just say something is wrong. There is also Wang Ziteng. The Wang family is really capable of tossing things to the point of death.

"Cui Dehai, do you know that what you just said may cause disaster. There is another thing. Didn't you just say that there is a grain merchant named Tian? What is the relationship between this person and the grain leader Tian Fangzhengtian?"

Cui Dehai gave a wry smile. He was worthy of being the Marquis of Guannei. He must not be a good person when he becomes a Marquis at such a young age. It turned out to be the case when he saw it today. He looked at the Marquis' question and replied with a wry smile,

"Going back to Lord Marquis, this person is Tian Fangzheng, the grain commander, Mr. Tian's brother-in-law. The official met him when he was a guest at Mr. Tian's house, and they even drank together, so the official paid attention to it and met him. He went to see him several times and sent people to inquire about his details. Once when he was getting money, he was the one who sent the money. He sent people to follow him. This person entered Mr. Tian's mansion again and then returned to Jingnan. Unexpectedly, It would be wrong.”

After Zhang Jinyu heard this, he cursed secretly. Sure enough, the wealth is not going to outsiders, these corrupt officials are making use of everything!

"Cao, that's no wonder!"

(End of this chapter)