Chapter 94: Robbery

Master Feixuan and Emperor Wanshou have been in seclusion in the quiet room for five days.

Of course, although they were in seclusion to meditate and pray to heaven for snow, they also had to keep track of family affairs, national affairs and world affairs; and in recent days, none of the family affairs, national affairs and world affairs had been satisfactory - the dry and snowless winter had lasted for many days, and the seemingly calm suburbs of Beijing finally had a surging undercurrent; after encountering the consequences of the drought, many wealthy families secretly carried gold and silver and left the capital and the north under various pretexts, trying their best to avoid the famine that was already looming; after the wealthy families left, the market was depressed, and rumors arose in the city, which even the Jinyiwei could not suppress. The waves in the market were surging, and even faintly blew into the ears of the True Lord, inevitably stirring up unpredictable emotions.

To be honest, when the drought first showed signs in the capital, Master Feixuan was not actually panicked. He even added fuel to the fire and watched from the sidelines, intending to reap the benefits. However, this was not because the True Lord had a plan in mind, but purely out of some blind self-confidence - the Heavenly Book had praised him for conquering the world and creating a prosperous era in the future with achievements no less than those of Emperor Taizong Wen. It was impossible for him to die halfway through his career, and let such a great emperor of all ages fall down in a mere drought, right?

It would be fine if God didn't give face to Master Feixuan and Emperor Wanshou, but could he not give face to the banished immortal? We are all family, why bother to be so serious!

This mysterious self-confidence supported the emperor through the first month and a half. Even though the celestial phenomena had caused so much trouble that court officials were asking for forgiveness and public opinion was surging, he was still able to remain calm and composed. His demeanor and bearing were extraordinary. He even fooled many officials who were unaware of the inside story. They all praised his majesty in private for his calm face despite thunder in his heart, and his ability to remain calm even when Mount Tai collapsed in front of him. He was truly able to make decisions and resolve major doubts. He was the son and grandson of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, and was very different from ordinary people.

But when time dragged on to the second half of a month, even though he was confident, Zhenjun finally couldn't hold it anymore - he didn't doubt the Heavenly Book, but the bad news kept coming one after another, and it was inevitable that he would have some terrible imaginations besides being shaken: the "prosperous age" predicted for him by the Heavenly Book, wouldn't he have to go through the process of God giving a man a great responsibility and then starving him?

——Don’t do that kind of thing! Wasn’t it agreed that you could become the greatest emperor of all time without any hard work or trouble? Why should the frame give him strength? !

The longer the drought lasted, the more severe the panic became; to the point that the emperor had to use meditation and prayer as an excuse to isolate himself from outside disturbances and avoid meeting with court officials, lest they become overly stimulated during their discussions and do something indecent. After the severe head injury, the emperor's endurance was greatly reduced and he really could not stand it anymore.

Of course, nominally it was for meditation and prayer to heaven, but in reality, apart from meditating, fasting, and burning green words, Zhenjun spent most of his time looking through the heavenly book. In panic, desire became even stronger. Zhenjun read this only book of hope over and over again almost fanatically, carefully choosing sentences and trying to find a solution from the details of historical echoes; trying hard to predict the future. Zhenjun is just bad, not stupid. He actually knows very well the real reason for the current crisis: rain and snow are certainly not controllable by human power; but why would the great capital be so poor that it doesn't even have enough food to support any unexpected situation?

To put it bluntly, this is because the Lord and his ministers are extremely lacking in virtue. They have built palaces and temples, held fasts and sacrifices, and given out rewards. Over the past decade, they have squandered money and embezzled money, and finally used up all the savings for the capital's disaster preparedness. This kind of thing is usually not very serious, but once it gets out of hand, it will be worth a thousand pounds. If something big really happens in the capital, how will the history books record the behavior of Master Feixuan?

As his own power and reputation were at stake, the True Lord could not help but feel anxious and uneasy, his temper became increasingly weird and twisted, often causing the palace servants to complain bitterly. The atmosphere in the Western Garden also became increasingly cold, even rigid and stagnant - all the slaves who depended on the imperial power were clearly aware in horror that if things did not turn around, an unprecedented violent political trend would surely destroy everything and drag everyone into the mess. A blind man riding a blind horse, that's all!

Fortunately, the turning point has finally arrived. After reading the heavenly book over a hundred times and becoming so proficient in it that he could recite it almost by heart, the emperor finally heard the long-lost reminder tone one afternoon:

[Warning: A major historical change has been detected. 】

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Perhaps it was because of the wrong times, but ever since the incident in Portugal was leaked, the eunuchs in the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau have never had a good night's sleep.

When the nest is overturned, all the eggs will remain intact; Yang Deshui, the general manager of the Weaving Bureau, went inexplicably mad in the capital, and of course none of his subordinates could escape the trap. Although the case of treason by the princes had not yet been concluded, the emperor was not in a position to pick up a knife and kill people; but the Jinyiwei in the capital had already quickly moved south, secretly controlled several key figures in the weaving bureau, seized all the physical evidence, and searched and interrogated people day and night. The Jinyiwei's actions were so sharp and ruthless, on the one hand to guard against collusion between eunuchs and external officials, and on the other hand to clear up fatal evidence - why could the Weaving Bureau be so arrogant and rampant that it even dared to touch the smuggling business? Because Feixuan Zhenjun Wanshou Emperor deliberately relaxed the law in order to make money and granted too many privileges to the slaves below; he thought he was festering an tumor and leaving trouble behind, and finally got to this day.

Such things must never be reported to the public, let alone allowed outside the court to spy on the truth. Therefore, all evidence must be carefully cleaned up, and all traces left by the emperor must be completely erased to maintain the spotless and charming image of the white lotus of Master Feixuan. The Weaving Bureau was complicated and had deep roots, so this task was certainly very troublesome. The Jinyiwei took their trusted confidants to count it repeatedly, and after dozens of days they barely had a clue, which made everyone from top to bottom very annoyed.

That day, as usual, he was sorting out the accounts in a secret house in the weaving bureau. But just after counting a few pages, the guard guarding the outer door rushed in in a panic:

"Let the adults know that things are bad outside! The barbarians came from nowhere and surrounded the whole house!"

The Jinyiwei who was in charge of the inventory was greatly surprised, but not panicked. The secret houses set up by the Weaving Bureau in various places also serve the purpose of spying on intelligence, so the defense is extremely strict. The courtyard walls are carefully built with blue bricks and glutinous rice paste. As long as the key points are controlled, even one or two hundred people will not be able to break in. Although they didn't know where the foreigners came from, they dared to touch the territory of the Textile Bureau and the Jinyiwei. It was like they kicked against an iron wall, and they were afraid that they would lose a mouthful of old teeth.

Before the Jinyiwei could say a word, they heard a loud bang outside, followed by a series of screams of crying and wailing, and countless loud and chaotic footsteps - from the sound, it sounded like someone had rushed in by breaking down the door!

This is truly an act of deceiving God! Although this place is called a "secret house" and there is no sign of the Weaving Bureau hanging on it, where do secrets come from in officialdom? Any local official who has been in charge of affairs here for a long time should have heard some rumors. Since he had vaguely heard the rumors, how could he be so bold as to disrupt the palace's property?

When beating a dog, you have to look at its owner!

The loyal dog suffered a great loss after being beaten, and of course he could not swallow his anger and let people look down on the palace. The leading Jinyiwei, Niu San, slammed the table and stood up, his voice shaking everyone:

"He's rebelling! Who is this bastard official? How dare he barge in here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the courtyard was knocked open. A dozen yamen runners lined up on both sides and pushed in a tall and thin man. The fourth-rank official uniform he was wearing was empty and didn't seem to fit him well.

Niu San was knowledgeable and experienced, and his expression changed slightly after just one glance. He said word by word:

"What does Prefect Hai want to do here?"

The visitor was none other than Hai Gangfeng, the new prefect of Shaoxing and a popular upstart in Jiangnan. It was this man who personally discovered the malpractices in the Weaving Bureau that day. He drove Yang Deshui, the director of the Weaving Bureau, crazy while chatting and laughing. The world was suddenly in turmoil, which led to Niu San and others' hard work in the journey south. Even if the Jinyiwei met such a famous figure in person, they would still be a little wary.

"The battle in Shangyu is over. We interrogated the Portuguese prisoners and got some information." Hai Gangfeng said calmly: "The Portuguese prisoners said that the Weaving Bureau was reselling illegal liquor and seeking a generous gift. Because there was not enough glutinous rice for brewing, a large amount of rock honey was smuggled from overseas. This matter is of great concern, so of course we have to ask the eunuchs of the Weaving Bureau to confront us."

Of course, it is impossible for smuggling trade to be all outbound without any inbound trade. The Weaving Bureau bypassed the Maritime Customs Office to export silk, tea and porcelain, while also collecting cheap materials overseas and importing them for resale. Da'an had no regard for Western handicrafts, and the sales of gems, pearls and other treasures were simply too low. After much deliberation, the Weaving Bureau actually decided to start the wine-making industry. Nowadays, peace had been restored for a long time, and drinking was prevalent in both the north and the south, so the profit from selling wine was considerable. However, the grain consumed in winemaking was really expensive, so the court had cracked down on it repeatedly, and even ordered restrictions on the glutinous rice used in winemaking. Even the Weaving Bureau could not afford to do so.

However, the unexpected arrival of overseas forces opened the eyes of the Weaving Bureau. After occupying various parts of Southeast Asia, Portugal, Spain and other countries reclaimed wasteland and planted sugarcane on a large scale. The technology of the sugar industry continued to rise as the market expanded, and production increased dramatically. In addition to meeting the needs of Europeans, there was actually a lot of surplus to sell to other countries. These surplus rock sugar (sucrose) and molasses (a by-product of sugar extraction) are extremely cheap, but they are excellent raw materials for making wine. After the weaving bureau bought the goods and processed them slightly, they could make five or six times the profit by reselling them. It was really a huge pie in the sky.

Such a pie is of course absolutely against the ancestral system, and if it were leaked, it would be a huge scandal of competing with the people for profit. Seeing Hai Gangfeng reveal the secret, Niu San's expression changed and he could only speak dryly:

"The eunuch from the weaving bureau has something important to attend to. Please ask the governor to come back later."

"May I ask what else you can do for me?"

"This is what the palace wants. Why are you asking so many questions?"

Hai Gangfeng said calmly: "Since it is the palace's intention, please bring the decree."

How can there be a purpose for such a thing? Can Master Feixuan personally appoint someone to clean up his mess? Niu San was a little irritable:

"It's an oral order!"

"If it is an oral order, I will not ask any more questions." Hai Gangfeng said calmly, "But according to the ancestral system established by Emperor Gaozu, the Jinyiwei must have a written permit to leave the capital to prevent fraud such as impersonation. Please show your permit."

The corner of Niu San's mouth twitched - the emperor's oral instruction to them was to set off quickly without delay, so where would they have the time to get a permit? Besides, even if there is no certificate or document, as long as the Jinyiwei badge is displayed, which official along the way would not be terrified and try his best to curry favor with him? How come I meet such a young man now?

This sentence put Niu San in a dilemma. It was really hard to answer easily. Fortunately, there were no cowards among those who came out to do their job. Zhao Wu, who was standing next to him, spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"What Magistrate Hai asked is quite interesting. Although we are working for the palace, we dare not break the rules of our ancestors. But since the emperor has granted us the privilege of doing things at our convenience, we are no longer just the court's lackeys, so of course we have to obey the emperor's will in some matters. I wonder if Master Hai agrees with this reason?"

I have the emperor's support, what do you think of me?

Hai Gangfeng slowly turned his head and looked carefully at the official from Beijing.

"According to what you just said, the privileges granted by the Emperor to you are not in accordance with the rules of our ancestors. Do you want me to accept your words now?"

This sentence came out calmly, but it made Niu San's pupils shrink - he had dealt with many powerful officials and Jinyiwei of the Da'an Dynasty, but this was the first time that Niu San had met such a sharp-witted and fearless person! They could make things happen at will, but today they hit such a rock!

Unfortunately, such a fierce attack was ineffective. If it were an ordinary civil official, military general, or eunuch, even as strong as Yan Fenyi and Xu Shaohu, they might suffer a loss under the exquisite wit and fierce spirit. But the Jinyiwei is different. From the very beginning of its establishment, the Jinyiwei has never been a place for quibbling about words and reasoning!

So, Zhao Wu flew into a rage and kicked over the table:

"Hai, I fuck you! You are a poor bastard born in a juren family, who got into this position with shit luck. What right do you have to show off here? What a shitty fourth-rank official! The green-haired turtle in Yongding River is rarer than people like you! If you have the guts, tell Mu to come over here!"

The imperial power has authorized the execution of the crime first and the reporting later; the secret service is the emperor's knife, how can a knife have any dignity? When pushed into a corner, they would start to use foul language and curse, often making the upright civil servants' teeth chatter and tremble all over. It was really like a scholar meeting a soldier, and they couldn't explain themselves even if they were right. And even if something bad really happens, this group of lackeys can usually get away with it, and they even have a ready-made excuse - the Jinyiwei are all rough people, why bother with them?

Hai Gangfeng's self-control seemed to be far superior to that of his colleagues. Even when he was insulted like this, his expression did not change. Zhao Wu was about to provoke again, but he heard a cough from outside the crowd:

"Are you here to look for me?"

The guards outside the door immediately made way, and the Prince of Mu walked slowly into the courtyard, looking around at the people in the courtyard, and couldn't help but smile:

"I was just passing by, and I didn't expect to hear my last name... What do you want from me?"

This is like beating the younger one and bringing out the older one! Just now, Zhao Wu was just quick-witted and took advantage of the fact that Hai Gangfeng had little experience and was an official from outside the capital to insult him without restraint. He even dragged Hai Gangfeng's backers into the matter, trying to attack him from a high position with all his might. But when the other person's backer really showed up, Zhao Wu couldn't help but wilted - he was not really rude or stupid, he was just pretending to be crazy and stupid because he had nothing to fear; now the fake who was pretending to be crazy and stupid met the real thing, so of course he didn't dare to say a word.

The prince's majesty was so great that the ordinary Jinyiwei were terrified and could no longer utter a single outrageous statement. As a boss, he had no choice but to take the lead. Zhao Wu narrowed his eyes:

"Is the prince also going to get caught up in this muddy water?"

"I am just helping Prefect Hai with his work, how can there be any confusion?" The prince said calmly, "Prefect Hai has the imperial decree to investigate the case of treason by the princes. Since it involves the Weaving Bureau, of course I have to help a little."

Zhao Wu was silent for a moment:

"We also have errands to do, so please understand, Your Highness."

"Of course I dare not hinder the Jinyiwei from doing their job." The prince said, "But may I ask, where is your imperial edict?"

That’s the end of the story. Without an imperial edict, there is no evidence. It is absolutely impossible to suppress the Prince of Duke Mu just by relying on a fabricated "oral order". Not to mention that the other party has already mobilized the yamen runners to take control of the situation. Even if the two sides can really argue publicly in court, the local officials will never dare to speak for the Jinyiwei - after all, doing things without orders is not acceptable.

They could not use their status to force pressure, and there were loopholes in the regulations that could never be filled. According to common sense, the Jinyiwei had already lost this game completely and could never recover.

However, the old saying still applies: Jinyiwei has never been a place where reason prevails.

Zhao Wu sat still, with his head down, thinking for a long time, as if he was going to put a lot of effort into making a difficult decision. But he finally made the decision. He slowly raised his head, his expression hardened.

"Your Highness, you should still respect yourself." The emperor's confidant said word by word, "Don't waste time on this matter."

After saying that, he made a snapping sound with his hands and actually broke off the handle of the wooden chair.

This black jujube wood chair is harder than steel. It can be broken while sitting upright. The strength of the chair is incredible. Zhao Wu threw the wood down and the Jinyiwei who were sitting quietly on both sides stood up immediately. They had wasp waists, monkey backs and bones of steel. More than ten pairs of eyes stared at the prince standing at the bottom of the stairs.

The spies appointed by the emperor are all good fighters picked from hundreds, and are particularly good at charging into battle formations. These dozen people have been working together as one for a long time, and their fighting power is not comparable to those weak-handed and cowardly yamen runners. If the situation really gets out of hand and both sides start fighting, it's hard to say which side will suffer the most.

This is the limitation faced by the spoiled children of wealthy families. How could a violent organization like Jinyiwei gain its foothold by eloquent talk and political manipulation? The emperor is far away and the sky is high. Even if they are ruthless and use an iron fist, what can the nobles do?

Sure enough, the prince's expression changed. He looked at Zhao Wu deeply:

"What do you want?"

Zhao Wu said: "It's not that great, I just want to advise the prince to calm down and not embarrass us rough people."

While he was talking, several fighters close to Zhao Wu had quietly adjusted their center of gravity and grasped the handles of the chairs. The Jinyiwei who were ordered to go south this time were called the "Twelve Tigers", and each of them had a nickname containing the word "tiger". The eldest brother, Zhao Wu, was the most skilled in martial arts and had the best understanding of his brothers. Now the arrow is on the string, as long as the boss makes the slightest noise, the other tigers will immediately pick up the chairs and go down the stairs, quickly separating the oncoming yamen runners; Zhao Wu, the fierce tiger, will rush down the mountain and rush straight to the center, arresting the prince of Duke Mu first.

Of course, he would not be so cruel as to offend Duke Mu by taking ruthless action against the prince, but as long as his two arms were removed, this noble son would no longer be able to remain stubborn.

Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, the prince was silent for a moment and took a step back.

"Okay," he said.

The yamen runners behind him dispersed and pushed out several wheelbarrows with slender conical iron cylinders on them. The large red painted characters were very eye-catching:

Feixuan Zhenjun No. · Youth Enjoyment Edition.

Zhao Wu: …………

Zhao Wu sat down immediately.

"Of course, we are just rough people." He said with a pleasant face, "Rough people don't know anything, so it doesn't matter if it's a little difficult, right? Please take a seat, my lord. Why do you have to do this?"

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In general, the Twelve Tigers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard behaved quite quietly in the following period of time. They sat quietly and gracefully on the wooden chairs, with their legs together, their arms folded, their eyes looking straight ahead, and they stood still and stared at the unicycle rocket cars in the yard. The yamen runners brought by Mu Qi and Hai Gangfeng searched each room in turn, brought out the eunuchs detained there one by one, and confirmed the criminals by comparing them with the confessions of the Portuguese. Half an hour later, they finally found the eunuchs Wang and Jin, who were most closely connected with smuggling and winemaking, and dragged them out.

He had originally been counting on the Jinyiwei to save his life, but it turned out that the Jinyiwei couldn't even save themselves. The two eunuchs were in such despair that when they were brought out they were completely limp and could only be dragged on the ground like dead pigs. Zhao Wu sat upright and watched for a long time, then suddenly spoke:

"Your Highness should think about yourself. The affairs of the Weaving Bureau are not easy to manage."

The Weaving Bureau is the emperor’s secret treasury, and Master Feixuan is absolutely at odds with it. Prince Mu, the Duke of Mu, is relying on his might to disrupt such a taboo. Is he really not afraid of hidden dangers in the future?

Even if you are the chief of the meritorious officials, such a major matter cannot be touched casually!

The prince stood in the courtyard, always keeping his hand close to Huo Jian, never giving the Jinyiwei any chance to take advantage of him. Hearing these words that sounded half exhortation and half threat, he hesitated for a moment and finally shook his head:

"Thank you for your reminder. If things really get out of hand, I will have no choice but to submit a petition to apologize and then return to Nanjing to reflect on my mistakes."

Don’t all the nobles in the world have the ultimate trick of calling dad?

Besides, Lord Yan can't just stand by and watch, right?

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The intelligence base of the Weaving Bureau already had a secret room used for interrogation. In order not to bother two masters for the same matter, the prince directly summoned the jailer from Shaoxing Prefecture. He placed all kinds of torture instruments in the cell, which were dazzling and bloody, and the eunuchs of the Weaving Bureau were trembling with fear.

"Alright." The prince looked down at the two prisoners, whose faces were as pale as paper, and said calmly, "I can tell you two, if you can spit out all the rock honey, molasses and glutinous rice that you have in stock for brewing wine, I may be able to save your lives."

Seeing that the two eunuchs' eyes were wide open and they remained silent, Prince Mu could only slow down his tone:

"...You two don't believe it? Even if you don't trust me, you should at least trust Elder Yan, right?" He took out a small seal from his sleeve and waved it in front of the prisoner's dull eyes: "Take a look, what is this?"

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