Zhu Cilang encountered a big problem.
The case of the Xu family occupying private land was very controversial, with all kinds of opinions. He didn't know which one to trust.
This cannot be blamed on Zhu Cilang’s incompetence.
He is the Crown Prince Regent, and all the public opinion in Nanjing is prepared for him.
Caught in the whirlpool of public opinion, Zhu Cilang was bombarded with all kinds of news every day. He had neither the ability nor the energy to distinguish the truth from the false.
Modern people aren't much better.
In today's world where self-media is rampant, many seemingly non-controversial news stories will be reversed or even reversed again.
It can be seen that information needs to be verified from multiple parties to ensure its authenticity.
Inside the Chunhe Hall.
Zhu Cilang looked at the ministers in front of him with mixed feelings.
Who should I trust?
A group of officials led by Ma Shiying hoped to severely punish Zhang Huangyan and Huang Zongxi and give justice to the Xu family.
They didn't dare to offend Wang Zhixin, so they omitted Wang Zhixin's name.
Officials led by Shi Kefa supported Zhang and Huang and demanded that the land of the Xu family be returned to the people.
"Your Highness," Ni Yuanlu in the corner spoke up. He stepped forward and saluted, "I think the most urgent task is to stop the gossips and calm the anger of all parties."
"After everyone calms down, send a capable official to Yangzhou Prefecture to verify the situation."
"We will know who is right and who is wrong once we investigate."
Zhu Cilang nodded gently: "What you said makes sense, sir. I will do as you say."
After the court meeting ended, a decree from the crown prince was sent to Yangzhou: Zhang Huangyan and Huang Zongxi were suspended from their posts for investigation, and all files were immediately sealed and awaiting verification.
A few days later.
Zhu Cilang sent his companion eunuch Qiu Zhizhong to Yangzhou to investigate the case.
In order to get Qiu Zhizhong to speak for them, people on both sides used various methods to bribe him!
Civil servants fight among themselves, and the nobles benefit.
Inside Nanjing Baoyuan Bureau.
Liu Kongzhao, the Marquis of Chengyi, and Zhu Guobi, the Marquis of Funing, were watching a craftsman casting coins.
As the temperature cooled, the mold opened and silver coins fell to the ground one by one.
Liu Kongzhao picked up a silver coin and put it in his mouth and bit it.
Zhu Guobi asked hurriedly: "How is it? Can you bite it?"
Liu Kongzhao chuckled and said, "Although it's very strenuous, I can still bite it."
"Great!" Zhu Guobi slapped his thigh hard.
The craftsman smiled with relief after hearing this.
Zhu Guobi patted him on the shoulder and said, "You did a good job. I will reward you with 1,000 taels of silver. I will not treat you unfairly in the future. I will give you rewards every month based on the number of silver coins minted."
"Thank you, my lord!" The craftsman knelt down to express his gratitude.
"Get up."
The craftsman bowed again and turned to leave.
Only Zhu Guobi and Liu Kongzhao were left in the yard.
Liu Kongzhao counted on his fingers for a while and then said, "The ratio of silver to copper given by the court is 91% silver and 9% copper. The ratio we adjusted privately is 90% silver, 9% copper, and 1% white copper."
"This way, we can earn nearly one cent of silver for every silver coin we mint."
"According to the current coinage progress, we can earn 70,000 taels of silver by the end of the year."
Zhu Guobi originally thought it would be an astronomical sum, but he did not expect it to be only 70,000 taels.
He said with a look of disdain: "This is too little!"
"It's a lot!" Liu Kongzhao explained, "It may not seem high, but it's actually a long-term investment. The deposits in various places in Nanzhili must be at least 10 million taels. We can earn more than 1 million taels just by adjusting the silver-copper ratio."
“Is there any business in the world that is easier to make money than this?”
"Okay, something is better than nothing." Zhu Guobi said casually.
"There is another way to make a lot of money!" Liu Kongzhao looked mysterious.
"Just say what you want to say, don't be so fussy."
"Mint your own coins privately! You can earn 9 cents to 1 tael of silver per coin! You can earn 10,000 taels of silver from 100,000 taels!"
"Shh!" Zhu Guobi pretended to be quiet: "Don't talk nonsense. Privately minting money is a crime that can lead to the extermination of the whole family. We can't seek death ourselves."
Liu Kongzhao was a little indignant: "If you secretly changed the silver coin ratio, it wouldn't be a crime to exterminate the whole family?"
"Of course not!" Zhu Guobi answered confidently: "First of all, it is impossible to check the ratio of silver coins after they are cast. Secondly, it is okay even if you find clues. After all, it is difficult to accurately control the ratio when melting silver and copper, and there will be more copper and less copper."
Liu Kongzhao opened his mouth but had nothing to refute.
Zhu Guobi laughed and turned to leave.
He stopped halfway around.
Liu Kongzhao frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Have you heard about Xu Yifan's case?"
"Of course I heard about it! This case caused a sensation in the city. Not only me, even the kids selling newspapers on the street knew about it." Liu Kongzhao replied.
"Hehe," Zhu Guobi sneered twice, "When the civil officials are biting each other, we are the ones who benefit. Now the prince has sent Qiu Zhizhong to Yangzhou to investigate. Once the facts are found out, the infighting among the civil officials will stop, which will be extremely disadvantageous to us."
"What should we do? Qiu Zhizhong has already gone to Yangzhou. Sooner or later, the truth will be revealed!"
"If you can't find out, you can't come back, or...if you can't come back, you can't find out!"
"What does Brother Zhu mean?" Liu Kongzhao asked knowingly.
"Like this!" Zhu Guobi made a gesture of wiping his neck.
"It's not appropriate... If Qiu Zhizhong died, we would benefit the most, and it would easily arouse suspicion from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Liu Kongzhao was a little worried.
"Not necessarily," Zhu Guobi shook his head. "If Qiu Zhizhong died, most people would think it was murder to silence him, rather than someone taking advantage of the situation. By then, the Nanjing court would be in chaos for a while in order to find the murderer."
"We can take advantage of this period to speed up the minting of coins."
"The more coins you mint, the more money you make!"
"It's really great!" Liu Kongzhao gave a thumbs up with admiration.
"Stop flattering me and find some good people to go to Yangzhou."
"good!"
The seemingly peaceful Nanjing was heading towards chaos and there was no turning back.
The chaos in Nanjing did not affect Fujian.
On the fourth day of May in the twenty-first year of Chongzhen, Zhang Tongchang and his entourage arrived in Fuzhou, Fujian by boat.
The merchants supervised the boatmen unloading the boat, while Zhang Tongchang came to an ordinary house in casual clothes.
He reached out and knocked on the gate.
A hoarse voice came from the door: "Why are you knocking?"
"Come and buy the Imperial Jade Wine."
"How much is the wine?"
"I'll buy one hundred and eighty cents a cup."
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