Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 983: Intricate Roots (6)

"How does this involve missionaries?"

Yantai.

Customs Branch.

Cao Shi looked incredulous. He pointed at the file on the desk and said to Chen Jing, who had a serious expression, "Director Chen, are you sure there is no problem with the interrogation?"

"I don't mean to question you. It's just that those missionaries who are powerless and just preaching, how dare they do such a thing?"

"Yes."

Xu Zhong followed closely and said, "If you say that there are Western barbarian sea merchants colluding with this group of treacherous villains, I would believe it. After all, in the maritime trade over the years, there are many armed merchant ships among the Western barbarian ships sailing north."

"But what qualifications do those missionaries have to do this? Also, the power of Tongcheng under the jurisdiction of Anqing Prefecture is far away from the sea. They..."

Having said this, Xu Zhong couldn’t continue.

He felt incredible about what he knew.

They were just investigating a smuggling case and arresting a few crooks. They thought that some people would be involved behind the scenes, but they didn't expect these to be involved.

"What about missionaries?"

Chen Jing glanced at the two of them and said in a low voice, "Have you ever thought about this? Why would missionaries from Europe travel thousands of miles to come to Ming? Is it really just to preach?"

Is not it?
Cao Shi and Xu Zhong looked at each other, and doubts arose in their hearts.

What else can missionaries do if they don’t preach?
"Okay, let's say it's just for preaching, but have you ever thought about it? From Europe to our Ming Dynasty, there are thousands of miles of sea between us. Where did they get the money?"

Seeing the two like this, Chen Jing continued, "The most important point is that every few years, or even shorter, a group of missionaries will arrive in Haojing and then go to various places from Haojing. According to someone I know, many missionaries go to the southeast, especially the coastal areas."

"What is this behavior usually called in the military?"

"Scouting?!"

Cao Shi said in disbelief.

"I'm afraid that's the case."

Chen Jing frowned and said, "Even if not all of them, it at least proves one thing, among these missionaries, some have impure motives."

“So there must be funding behind them.”

"This is also one of the reasons why, when the imperial court banned maritime trade in the past, official maritime trade seemed to have stopped, but private maritime trade was still prevalent."

"So what are you going to do?"

Chen Wu, who had been silent, looked at Chen Jing and said, "Are you planning to arrest all the missionaries along the Shandong coast? If you do this, it may cause problems."

"After all, since Tianjin opened to the sea, there have been many Western merchants who have been trading back and forth for many years. Once this incident happens, will it have an impact on Tianjin?"

"And according to what you have interrogated, even if we catch the missionaries, the problem is not solved. After all, we are far away from the people in the southeast!"

"Besides, if this is really the case, have you ever thought that relying only on an external force and a certain force in the southeast, can all this be accomplished in Shandong?"

Chen Jing was silent.

This is also what he is most concerned about.

His authority was too low, and the clues he found could confirm his guess, but this matter was beyond his ability.

If we don't arrest him, there will be no way to investigate this case.

Even if he is caught, he has no control over how to investigate later.

Moreover, Chen Jing had a hunch in his heart that the officials of the Shaofu in Shandong might also be involved. It was true that he was now an employee of the General Administration of Customs, but he had stayed in the Shaofu for some time before and he had some feelings for the Shaofu.

He was able to enter the official career, even though in the eyes of the so-called mainstream, he was just a government official and a favored minister, but he was able to be where he is today and display his talents because of this!
He has not forgotten his original intention.

But some people have forgotten. If the officials of the Shaofu in Shandong were really involved, then Chen Jing had to guess another thing: were some local groups in Shandong also involved?

"So I have an idea."

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Jing frowned.

"You're not going to find the Governor's Mansion, are you?"

Chen Wu guessed something and glared at Chen Jing and said, "This is not a joke. Besides, you are from the General Administration of Customs, you..."

Before Chen Wu could finish his words, he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

The tightly closed door was pushed open.

Surrounded by a dozen people, the leader walked into the hall with an indifferent expression and glanced at Chen Jing, Chen Wu and others. This made Cao Shi and others immediately alert.

"Who are you?"

Xu Zhong gripped the hilt of the knife and stared at the line in front of him vigilantly.

"I am the captain of the Luan Guard, so there is no need to be nervous."

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Facing the gazes, the man took out a token from his pocket and said calmly, "I came here to ask Director Chen to accompany us to Jinan."

"Jinan?"

Chen Wu asked cautiously: "Why do you want to go to Jinan?"

He knew the name of Luanwei.

But now, people from Xia Luanwei appeared in the Yantai Customs Branch, which revealed a lot of strangeness. Moreover, they were ordered by the general of Denglai Town to assist Chen Jingche in investigating the smuggling case.

"You are Chen Wu, right?"

Seeing this, the man smiled and said, "You have to come along too."

"What on earth do you want to do?!"

When Cao Shi heard this, he immediately drew his sword and stepped forward, staring at the man in front of him and said, "You didn't say anything, but asked my captain and Director Chen to go to Jinan with you. Could it be that the case we are investigating has been traced to you, the Luanwei?"

"Ha ha!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many of the accompanying Luanwei flag officers laughed.

How could Luanwei do such a thing?
"The case you are investigating must have hit a bottleneck, right?"

In this situation, the man stepped forward and said, "I am here on the orders of my superiors to ask you to go to Jinan and bring all the evidence you have found, including the prisoners and witnesses, to Jinan. Don't worry, you are just one of them. There are many others who will go to Jinan with you at this time."

"The Luanwei have been investigating this matter?"

Hearing this, Chen Jing stepped forward and asked.

"Won't we know everything when we get to Jinan?"

The man smiled slightly.

"Then I'll go right now!"

After hearing this, Chen Jing immediately said, "But before I go, I have to arrange the affairs of this office first."

"I can wait."

After hearing this, the man immediately expressed his opinion.

"Someone is coming!"

When Chen Jing heard that, he shouted to the outside of the hall. However, when Chen Wu, Cao Shi, and Xu Zhong, who were standing there, saw this scene, their hearts were filled with shock. This was completely different from what they had thought. They even had a hunch that if they went to Jinan, they would see something they had never seen before. But whether this was good or bad for them, no one could say...

(End of this chapter)