Li Zuo was shocked by Xu Yunzhen's generosity...
The bag was filled with bright yellow gold! He weighed it with his hand and found it was at least fifty taels.
Li Zuo did not dare to take it back, and hurriedly pushed back Xu Yunzhen's right hand and the bag, and said with some embarrassment: "My Lord, since I have been paid by the Lord, I should help you solve your worries. Your Majesty has been assassinated, and according to the rules, this house must be searched."
"Hey!" Duke Dingguo Xu Yunzhen pushed the gold bag to Li Zuo again, "General Li Qian, you misunderstood. I meant to trouble General Li Qian to search quickly."
Li Zuo was stunned for a moment, then he put the gold into his arms as if nothing had happened. After getting Xu Yunzhen's permission, he ordered, "Search!"
In a moment, a soldier came running back from the yard next to him in a panic: "Captain Qian, a dead body was found in the yard next to him!"
Li Zuo and Duke Dingguo Xu Yunzhen were shocked at the same time, the former had a complicated expression, and the latter had an even more complicated expression.
......
The residence of Wang Zhengzhi, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Wu Mengming and Wang Zhixin stood opposite each other, looking at the account books in their hands.
No one knows how to confiscate property better than them.
In less than half a day, the homes of former Prime Minister Wei Zaode and Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Wang Zhengzhi had been completely searched and ransacked.
Wei Zaode had already sent his family back to his hometown in the countryside, and there were only a few servants in his house. Fortunately, his property was still there, and a total of 25,000 taels of silver were found, as well as many famous calligraphy and paintings, antiques and jades.
Wang Zhengzhi was the second to be investigated. The Imperial Guards were responsible for the outer perimeter security, while the Eastern Depot was responsible for confiscating the family property. Hundreds of guards rushed in, first arresting people, then rummaging through boxes and cabinets, digging the ground and ponds, and thoroughly searching the house.
It took nearly two hours to complete the inventory.
Wu Mengming looked at the account book in his hand and said to Wang Zhixin, "Admiral Wang, today we searched Wei Zaode's house and found 25,428 taels of silver, and famous calligraphy and paintings, antiques, and jade articles worth 13,229 taels of silver."
"It's less than 40,000 taels in total! Wei Zaode was the top scholar in the 13th year of Chongzhen, and entered the cabinet in the 16th year. It's reasonable to find out this amount of family property."
"Isn't it too little to find this little amount of money in the household of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?" Wu Mengming pointed to the last line of numbers in the account book.
Wang Zhixin took a glance and saw that it clearly stated that the total was 157,826 taels.
"It's quite a bit..." Wang Zhixin swallowed greedily, "Wang Zhengzhi only went to the Ministry of Revenue in April of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, and the silver he seized was enough to pay for his mission."
Wu Mengming smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Before he came to the Ministry of Revenue, he was the Minister of the Imperial Household Department."
Wang Zhixin frowned and was stunned for a while, realizing the seriousness of the problem.
What is Taipu Temple used for?
He was in charge of the entire Ming Dynasty's horse policy and animal husbandry, and controlled all the horse households, pastures, and horses in the country.
It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War and its official rank is third grade.
Horse households refer to households that raise horses. These people are assigned by the government to perform corvée labor to raise horses, and they are required to deliver a certain number of horses to the court on time.
Because of the task of raising horses, their corvée labor and land taxes were exempted by the court.
During the Chenghua period, with the implementation of the system of converting taxes and labor service into silver, the horse administration system, which was essentially corvee labor, also began to be converted into silver through various channels.
Therefore, the task of handing over horses to the court could be converted into silver for payment.
Horse farmers did not raise horses but had the privilege of being exempt from corvée and land tax, so the Imperial Household Department collected fodder silver from these people.
You can also make money by renting out an empty ranch.
Over time, the position of Taipusi became a lucrative one.
Wang Zhengzhi first served as the Minister of the Imperial Household Department and later as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. It is really unreasonable to find only 150,000 taels of silver in his home.
Wang Zhixin thought for a moment and said, "If you think it's too little, you can make up for it from Zhu Chunchen later!"
"Two different things!" Wu Mengming raised his voice and warned, "I see that your Majesty is different today than usual. Don't lose your favor because of this little money."
"If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, how will His Majesty know?"
Wu Mengming was choked, sighed and changed the subject: "It's the next turn for the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion, what are your plans?"
Wang Zhixin laughed sinisterly and said, "We are your majesty's sword. We will kill whoever you tell us to kill. Not to mention the Duke of Cheng, even the Earl of Jiading is no problem."
Zhou Kui, Earl of Jiading, was the father of Empress Zhou and the father-in-law of Chongzhen.
Wu Mengming was frightened by Wang Zhixin's words. He put his index finger on his lips to silence her. "Admiral Wang, be careful. Too much talk will lead to mistakes!"
Wu Mengming didn't really care about Wang Zhixin. He was able to sit in the position of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard thanks to Wang Zhixin's support.
If Wang Zhixin is convicted, he will also be implicated.
Wang Zhixin didn't take it to heart at all. He ordered the factory guards to divide the property into two parts. One part was registered and handed over to the Ministry of Revenue, and the other part was moved to the secret warehouse of the East Factory waiting for distribution.
Afterwards, the group arrived at the gate of Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Chengguo...
Clean and tidy streets, towering courtyard walls and imposing mansion gates come into view.
The Mansion of Duke Chengguo, the Mansion of Duke Dingguo, and the Mansion of Duke Yingguo are all on this street.
Wang Zhixin gritted his teeth and ordered, "Boys, here comes the tough part. This is the residence of Duke Cheng, the twelfth Duke Cheng of the Ming Dynasty. If we manage it well, we will not get any credit, but if we fail to do it well, it will all be hard work."
"Do you know what to do?"
"It's all up to the factory supervisor!"
"Okay! When we go in, we will only search the house and not arrest anyone, especially the women. They must not be touched! Anyone who disobeys my orders will be beheaded!"
"Yes, sir!" the eunuchs answered in unison.
Wang Zhixin swallowed and walked up the stairs.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, he was interrupted by the sound of horse hooves behind him. Turning his head, he saw two fast horses galloping towards him from the same direction.
It seems that one can distinguish the other from the Eastern Depot guard by their clothes.
They came to Wang Zhixin and Wu Mengming respectively and said a few words in low voices.
Wang Zhixin and Wu Mengming changed color at the same time.
"Your Majesty was assassinated?" Wang Zhixin stood still, unable to believe his ears.
"Say it again!" Wu Mengming thought he had heard it wrong, so he asked the Jinyiwei who delivered the message to say it again.
The emperor was assassinated?
This has been big news in every dynasty.
No, it's a huge scandal!
If anything happened to the emperor, those ministers and nobles would crush to death those who were responsible for the emperor's safety.
After confirming the news was correct, Wang Zhixin was the first to react. He shouted, "Men, someone dared to assassinate your majesty. Follow me to capture the assassin!"
"Yes, sir."
Wu Mengming drew out the embroidered spring sword from his waist, raised it above his head and shouted, "Jinyi Guards!"
"exist!"
"There is a thief trying to assassinate your majesty. According to reliable information, the assassin is hiding in the mansion of Duke Dingguo. You must immediately surround the place tightly and don't let even a fly escape."
"Did you hear that?"
"Yes, sir."
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