Lin Gao Qiming

"You don't need to ask, you just send someone to watch over him, and see where he goes, who he meets, and what he says. If you have a letter of approval, report it."

"Yes, I will send someone there!" Wu Mengming only felt that "God's will is unpredictable", and he really couldn't figure out how this little official from Fujian aroused the emperor's interest, and he actually enjoyed the treatment of the governor of the ministry. .

"And Wang Yehao..."

"Weichen has arrangements by his side."

Chongzhen nodded: "Let the editor secretly ask what is the relationship between him and that Zhou Lezhi."

"Yes!" Wu Mengming waited for a while, seeing that the emperor had no new orders, he took a few steps back, ready to go out, but was stopped by the emperor again.

"Delong Bank, is the business going well now?"

Wu Mengming was taken aback. This Delong bank is not a big bank in the capital, and it is much less famous than Shanxi Laocai's "Shanxi House".But it is well known in Beijing that there are thieves and thieves in this bank.Because from the beginning, Delong focused on the exchange of silver and money in Guangdong.

It is a long way from the capital to Guangdong and Guangxi.For some people with little knowledge, "Guangli" has almost the same meaning as "barbarian".However, there are quite a few businessmen and officials of Guangdong origin in the capital, and the exchange of money and money is quite frequent.

In the past, due to the high mountains and long roads, the transportation was inconvenient, whether it was from the capital to Guangdong, or from Guangdong to the capital, the remittance discount was very high.When one tael of silver is remitted to Guangzhou, the discount is five or six times or even ten times that of Jiangnan.The remittance time is also very long, which is inconvenient for the Cantonese gentry and businessmen.

After Delong opened in the capital, the remittance between Guangdong and Guangxi opened up a new situation almost immediately. Not only the amount of remittance is not limited, but the handling fee is low, and the speed of remittance is the most unmatched by the traditional industry.For remittances to Guangzhou-Jingshi, the fastest "telegraphic transfer" only takes three days to arrive.This kind of speed, not to mention that no one has been able to do it in the past, even the imperial court's expedited [-]-mile Tang Bao could not do it.What's even more rare is that it also has a "letter transfer" with a lower fee, which can be transferred within ten days.

This speed completely subverts people's cognition. From Guangzhou to the capital, if there is an emergency, it will take at least nine days to travel from Guangzhou to the capital.The delivery of money is even more clear, and it didn't take long to completely monopolize the exchange of money between the capital and Guangzhou.Not only the gentry and merchants from Guangdong and Guangxi praised it, but also attracted many northern businessmen to use it as a fund channel to go south to Guangdong to do business.Those rats who have already sniffed out the water leaks from the boats also used Delong to exploit them for money, and sent it to the south in a steady stream to build a new nest.

This kind of north-south remittance was later expanded to between the two capitals, and soon became Delong's biggest business. This kind of north-south remittance continued even after the fall of Guangdong and Guangxi, just out of the routine of "spreading the land and charming eyes". , Stopped the wire transfer.However, the "Xinhui" branch between Guangdong, Guangxi and the capital is all connected, and the time has been extended to one month. The reason is naturally the relationship between the war.

Everyone knew in their hearts whether Delong's Leng Da shopkeeper had a "passion", but they each knew it.After all, who wants to block this channel?Not to mention that the shopkeeper Leng is also known as a "hard backer" figure in the business circle of the capital, not only the officials from Guangdong and Guangxi, but also the great eunuch in the palace.So it has been almost two years since Guangzhou fell, during which time there were quite a few people who wanted to get rich and report on Delong's "Tongkun", all of whom died without knowing it.Wu Mengming naturally didn't want to come to the muddy water.

Now the emperor suddenly asked about this matter, Wu Mengming's mind raced through many thoughts, could it be that someone said something to the emperor directly?besides……

The matter was so important that he didn't dare to answer it lightly, so he just followed the emperor's question and answered: "I don't know about this matter. He used to be a bank, and his business was good or bad, so he couldn't tell from the outside. Wei Chen went back to investigate carefully."

Chongzhen stared at Wu Mengming for a long time, seeing cold sweat on his back. After a long time, he lowered his voice and said in a voice that could barely be heard between the two of them: "This matter must be kept secret! This bank has something to do with it. You went to check it back and forth——you don’t need to inform Dongchang about this matter, it’s handled secretly.”

Hearing this, Wu Mengming's legs were already trembling, and he felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff. As long as he made a mistake in the response, dismissal from office and punishment would be light, and he might lose his life.

Wu Mengming didn't know how he got out and how he got back to the Yamen.He returned to his signing room, other errands were easy to talk about, but the investigation of the bank was too tricky.

Wu Mengming knew a thing or two about the Delong Bank: the shopkeeper Leng came from Guangdong, and he was originally a "younger" in the capital.I don't know who to find a way to gain a foothold in the palace bell and drum department, Mr. Yang, and he has gained a foothold in the capital.Also because of Eunuch Yang's relationship, many eunuchs in the palace kept their money in this bank.

It is not difficult to investigate Delong or Ningyunyun, but the emperor's sentence "don't inform Dongchang" before leaving is the scariest thing.

Dongchang is the emperor's "household slave". As the emperor's most trusted ceremonial supervisor, eunuch and admiral of Dongchang, Cao Huachun, the governor, has participated in the most secrets of the emperor.Although Wu Mengming is also a close minister that the emperor relies heavily on, he still has to rely on him.At this moment, the emperor wanted him to "secretly handle it", obviously he had already started to distrust Cao Huachun.

If he defended the eunuchs in his reply, the emperor would definitely suspect that he was in cahoots with the eunuchs; if he told the truth, Eunuch Yang is the eunuch in charge of the bell and drum department, although his status is not as respected as the eunuchs such as the eunuchs and the eunuchs After all, he is also one of the chief eunuchs in charge of the 24 yamen. Gao Shiming's apprentice—the relationship in the palace is intricate. Once he is investigated because of this matter, he will offend all the eunuchs in the palace to death!

He knew that Eunuch Yang had been very jealous of Wang Dehua in recent years, if he offended Wang Dehua again, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Wu Mengming's back was sweating, and he lingered in the signing room for a long time.He felt that he should discuss the following matter with Cao Huachun, no matter what Cao's attitude was, at least he could communicate.But the emperor specifically reminded him today—in case the emperor finds out...

It suddenly occurred to him that the emperor just told him that he didn't need to inform Dongchang, so as long as he didn't mention this matter to Cao Huachunming.Eunuch Yang has a relationship with the bank, so he must avoid it.Wang Dehua didn't get in the way.

Eunuch Yang has always been Afu Wang Dehua, and I am afraid that Delong's benefits will also be shared with him.As long as you reveal some information to him, he will naturally understand.What to do specifically, Eunuch Yang will naturally send someone to discuss with him.

Thinking of this, he probably had an idea, and immediately called a few capable generals under his command, and whispered some instructions.

The winter nights in the capital were terribly cold. Except for a very few people who had to make ends meet and watchmen who patrolled the streets on a regular basis, ordinary people who still had a place to live hid back home early.The streets were empty and deserted.

In this cold and bleak market place, at the west intersection of Huguo Temple in the capital, there is a courtyard that is brightly lit. This place is the famous Liuquanju restaurant in the capital.This restaurant opened in the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty. Even in the Chongzhen Dynasty, it was a century-old restaurant.

The frontage of the restaurant is not big, just three frontages on the side of the street. Compared with other big restaurants, it looks much bigger than other big restaurants, but inside it is unique. Its backyard is spacious and sparse, which has a bit of pastoral charm in the middle of the street.There is a large willow tree in the courtyard that is more than a hundred years old, and there is a clear spring under the tree, and the spring water is clear and sweet.The shop owner uses this clear spring water to brew rice wine, which has a mellow taste and fragrance, and is called "Jade Spring Wine" by diners.

In addition to the "willow tree", "spring water" and "yellow wine", the most famous thing about Liuquanju is that its plaque is inscribed by Yan Song.Therefore, it is quite famous in the capital.There is an endless stream of feasting dignitaries and dignitaries here, who gather here day and night to exchange cups and chat with each other.

At the moment, in the private room in the backyard, a "cold relief" banquet is being held.

This is not an official banquet, but a casual drink among colleagues and friends.Most of the visitors were officials and friends from the yamen of Shuntian Prefecture in the capital, and there were as many as fifteen or sixteen people.

There are all kinds of side dishes for drinking on the table: bad fish, pine flowers, drunk crab, dried meat, vegetables, dried and fresh fruits...all of them are available, and there are more than 20 kinds of them.There are also a variety of good wines
The fire walls in the private room were all lit up, and it was cold and windy outside, but the room was as warm as spring.A group of guests pushed cups to change cups, recited poems and made pairs, so happy.

A middle-aged scribe sitting in the chief seat is none other than Yin Zhongyi of Shuntian Prefecture.Zhong Yan was an upright official, with the reputation of controlling officials strictly and befriending the people with leniency. The emperor also called him "the choice of purifying oneself and serving the public".

Although he has the reputation of being honest and honest, he cannot be blindly harsh and stubborn in the officialdom.Entertainment on the scene is also an essential "work".Today's cold-elimination banquet was initiated by him, as a way to reward and condolences to the officials and friends under him.

A group of people were arriving at the Xingnong Room when Zhong Yin's entourage suddenly walked in and whispered something in his ear.Seeing his frowning slightly, the colleagues at the dinner all lowered their voices and looked at him.

Zhong Yin signaled the chief follower to step down, and signaled the Mu You who was in charge of the punishment to step forward.He took care of the other party in a low voice, "...you will arrange for someone to check tomorrow, and report to me immediately if you have any news."

"Yes, the students will make arrangements now." After saying that, the master said goodbye and left the table.

Zhong Yin waited until the master left the door, saw a group of people looking at him, and said: "All of you here are from the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion, and the students have stopped playing sloppy with you. I'm afraid I'm going to be busy."

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay.The case that could cause Shuntian Prefecture Governor to intervene in person must be a major case, everyone held their breath and waited for his next words.