prosperous age

"Master, Eunuch Chen has sent over a note."

When Chen Ju learned of such a serious incident, he naturally had to inform Wei Guangde.

Although he only knew that the emperor had secretly ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to search Feng Bao's house, if he wasn't going to take action against him, why would he need the Embroidered Uniform Guard to search it?

Without a doubt, Feng Bao's current situation is unlikely to be good.

Although Chen Ju did not know that Emperor Wanli had ordered Zhang Cheng to imprison Feng Bao, he could imagine that Feng Bao would be placed under restrictions.

They were either confined in the Qianqing Palace or somewhere else in the palace.

Wei Guangde had almost finished reading all the memorials on his desk and had also prepared his drafts. Just as he was about to rest, he learned about this matter from Lu Bu.

"Let me see."

Wei Guangde casually took the note. It was wrapped in yellow paper, similar to a letter, but much smaller.

After all, this was a serious matter, and Chen Ju was being cautious, so he wouldn't let the person who received the note know about it.

After tearing open the seal, Wei Guangde took out the slip of paper inside. He only glanced at it before his eyes narrowed.

"Search the Feng residence."

After repeating it in a low voice, Wei Guangde naturally thought of the same thing as Chen Ju.

Wei Guangde did not expect that the Wanli Emperor would be so decisive, taking action against Feng Bao so quickly after dealing with Wang Guoguang.

Wei Guangde initially thought that Emperor Wanli would wait two days and have Zhang Siwei produce a few more memorials before taking action against him.

"Zhang Jing".

Wei Guangde looked at the name mentioned on the note again. After all, Liu Ruoyu was a witness and knew that Zhang Jing must have played an important role in the emperor's attack on Feng Bao. Naturally, he would ask the eunuch to remind Chen Ju.

After Chen Ju learned of this, he naturally told Wei Guangde the details.

"I never expected this servant to be so capable."

Wei Guangde thought to himself, the most crucial thing is that this person is in cahoots with Zhang Siwei, so even if he is Zhang Hong's man, he cannot be allowed to live.

The alliance between Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng caused Wei Guangde a great deal of trouble.

We can't win, we really can't win.

Even though the Grand Secretary is the Prime Minister, dealing with his rival, Jian, is quite difficult.

Back then, Li Chunfang also had no authority whatsoever in front of Gao Gong.

At this moment, Wei Guangde, for his own sake, also planned to secretly get rid of Zhang Jing.

Although he trusted Zhang Hong fairly well, knowing he was an honest and reliable person, such a person was actually the most trustworthy to have in charge of the palace seal.

But Zhang Jing was not so reassuring to him.

For a while afterward, no news came from outside.

However, Wei Guangde believed that the Embroidered Uniform Guards had probably already entered Feng Bao's residence to conduct a search.

Just as he expected, Liu Shouyou did not dare to delay after receiving the imperial edict from Liu Ruoyu and immediately took action.

The surrounding commanders were mobilized to first seal off Feng Bao's residence, allowing entry but not exit.

Only after he and Liu Ruoyu arrived in person did he open the door.

"Commander Liu, what do you mean by this?"

The commotion outside had already been noticed by the household.

After all, they were surrounded by a group of Imperial Guards with embroidered spring knives at their waists. The people in the mansion were not blind, so they immediately went into the mansion and closed the gates.

At this moment, the person who opened the door was naturally Xu Jue, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who directly blocked the door and questioned Liu Shouyou about his purpose.

Actually, Xu Jue was a little flustered at this moment.

He was, of course, aware of the news that someone was impeaching Feng Bao and himself.

He was even more aware of the situation within the manor.

However, he dared not show any fear at the moment and could only grit his teeth and stop Liu Shouyou from going in.

"I am here to investigate this case on imperial orders. Magistrate Xu, are you trying to obstruct me?"

Liu Shouyou, who usually greeted Xu Jue with a warm and friendly demeanor, replied with a stern face.

Speaking of which, Xu Jue is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If he dares to disrespect him, he will be punished according to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's family rules.

Of course, this is all predicated on Feng Baozhen losing power.

Even when beating a dog, one must consider its owner. Beating Xu Jue was a minor matter; the main concern was Feng Bao, whom Liu Shouyou dared not offend.

"Commander Liu, you said you were acting on orders, but I didn't know that."

Xu Jue was panicking, but he still tried to remain calm and said, "Besides, how did you end up here while you were investigating a case?"

Although everyone knows this is Feng Bao's residence, the land deed is actually in Xu Jue's name.

"Hehe, it seems I really need you to teach me how to do things."

Liu Shouyou actually disliked Xu Jue very much; he was always arrogant and domineering, and he was still like that today.

After saying this, Liu Shouyou took a step back and revealed Liu Ruoyu.

"By imperial decree, search the Feng residence."

Liu Ruoyu was not intimidated and immediately read it aloud.

As he finished speaking, Liu Shouyou strode forward again, shoved Xu Jue aside, and then beckoned his men to go in, saying, "Search the Feng residence by imperial decree. Be careful, and make sure everyone is clean-cut. Anyone who obstructs you will be arrested immediately."

Immediately, two teams of Imperial Guards filed into the courtyard from his left and right sides and began searching.

Xu Jue's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. How could he not know that this matter was probably an imperial decree? Seeing that his master was likely losing power in the palace, how could he not be afraid?

Most importantly, he held a position in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. According to regulations, unless the emperor issues an order, he would not be investigated by the Ministry of Justice, but by the Southern Garrison Command.

Nima, is that a place even human beings can go?
The Embroidered Uniform Guards naturally had their own methods for searching homes and confiscating property. The captains and lieutenants leading the search would immediately grab anyone whose attire was clearly different from that of the servants and ask if they were in charge.

Once confirmed, immediately put a knife to their necks and take them to the accounting office, while identifying the accountant in charge of bookkeeping.

At the same time, they inquired about the location of the mansion's storeroom and quickly sealed it off as well.

As for the other rooms, at this moment, the Imperial Guards simply pushed open the doors and drove everyone in the mansion to the front courtyard to surround the area; they did not begin searching each room individually.

After all, the most important valuables are usually kept in the warehouse.

Once the warehouse and accounting office are sealed off, everything can be found by following the clues.

Before long, a commander accompanying Liu Shouyou came over and whispered the situation in his ear.

"Eunuch Liu, the accounting office and storeroom have been found. Shall we go take a look?"

When Liu Ruoyu came to search, he naturally had to report what he saw back to the palace as soon as possible.

Liu Shouyou took him to see it, which obviously meant to shift the blame.

"Alright, I'll go take a look and then report back to the palace."

Liu Ruoyu smiled and said.

"Commander Xu, let's go together."

Liu Shouyou looked at Xu Jue's pale face and said cheerfully.

He then beckoned, and two strongmen stepped forward, supporting Xu Jue on either side, as he followed the commander into the house.

"Where's the key?"

When the group arrived at the warehouse door, seeing that the lock was still on, Liu Shouyou immediately asked.

"The accountant and the steward of the manor said that the key is in the hands of Steward Xu."

The commander glanced at Xu Jue and said loudly.

"Commander Xu, where are the keys?"

Liu Shouyou looked at Xu Jue and asked with a smile.

"No."

Xu Jue immediately replied loudly, and then continued, "Lord Liu, you have trespassed into my home and attempted to rob me of my property. I will impeach you."

"Once I'm done with things here, I'll give you a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone so you can write."

Now, hand over the keys.

Liu Shouyou spoke up.

"Humph."

Xu Jue grunted and turned his head away. "Search."

Liu Shouyou ignored him and simply waved his hand to give the order.

Immediately, the commander approached Xu Jue and began searching his body.

Xu Jue tried to resist, but his arms were firmly held in place by the strongman and he could not move.

Normally, the commander would have lowered his head and acted as respectfully as a quail when he saw Xu Jue.

But things are different now. They acted roughly and quickly found a bunch of keys on Xu Jue. They didn't know which one it was, but they tried them one by one and soon opened the warehouse door lock.

Xu Jue had already lowered his head and was too lazy to resist.

Continuing this will not benefit him; everything depends on whether Eunuch Feng can manipulate events at will.

He had just learned that his residence was besieged, so he ordered his men to climb over the back wall and go to the palace to report the news. He didn't know what the situation was now.

In fact, anyone who climbed over the wall and went down was immediately apprehended by the Imperial Guards hidden nearby, gagged, and imprisoned.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard has its own procedures for dealing with these matters, ensuring that nothing is overlooked and that no one in the courtyard will discover that someone has been captured.

Qianhu pushed open the gate, and Liu Shouyou and Liu Ruoyu entered the warehouse. Inside was a passageway with several doors on both sides, clearly indicating several warehouses.

Just then, a bunch of keys were found in his hand, so Liu Shouyou immediately ordered his men to open the two nearest doors and light lamps.

As the door opened, Liu Shouyou saw the boxes piled up inside. Some of the boxes had their lids open, and the silver coins inside were visible under the light.

This warehouse has no windows, which is for security reasons. It is guarded by servants around the clock, and it is impossible to function without lighting.

"Open these boxes."

Liu Shouyou then gave further instructions.

Soon, a man in brocade robes stepped forward and lifted the lid of the box, which was still filled with stacks of silver coins.

How many boxes are there here?

Liu Shouyou suddenly asked.

Immediately, the commander began to count the items and quickly reported the numbers.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, there are 23 boxes, 22 of which are filled with Ming Tongbao coins, and 1 box is half full."

"Commander Xu, is this box worth ten thousand taels of silver, or how much?"

Liu Shouyou left the room and asked Xu Jue, who was being pressed against the passageway, in a mocking tone.

Xu Jue did not answer, but Liu Shouyou, or anyone else here, would be familiar with these boxes.

Even if there are some shortages of silver coins in each box, the approximate number should be correct.

The silver coins in this room are worth at least 22 taels.

"Everyone out, lock it up."

Liu Ruoyu suddenly spoke up at this moment.

"Everyone out, lock the door."

Liu Shouyou immediately gave the same instruction.

Once the person came out, the commander immediately locked the door.

There are six rooms here, and three of them were opened at once.

The second room also contained silver coins, filled thirty full boxes, estimated to be around 300,000 taels.

The third room was a bit more spacious, with fewer boxes, but when a few boxes were opened, they were filled with glittering gold coins.

Moreover, there were four large wooden cabinets next to it, filled with gold ingots.

Clearly, Feng Bao did not melt down all the gold ingots in the mansion into gold coins; he kept quite a few for himself, perhaps as rewards or something to keep.

The gold ingots in the cabinet are all of excellent purity, exquisitely cast, and of exceptional craftsmanship.

I only glanced at the rooms behind them. One room was filled with paintings, and the other two rooms were filled with antique shelves, containing various gold, silver and jade artifacts and many boxes.

You can guess without even looking that the items inside are priceless.

"Lock all the doors."

As soon as Liu Ruoyu came out, he gave the order, and then whispered to Liu Shouyou, "Leaving aside the other antiques, paintings, calligraphy and paintings, gold, silver and jade artifacts in this warehouse, the silver alone exceeds 500,000 taels, which should be true, right?"

"That's true, there are more, if not more."

Liu Shouyou immediately replied.

"The gold in those boxes, I estimate, should be about 10,000 taels each, totaling more than 50,000 taels, plus four cabinets, each containing about 5,000 taels."

Liu Ruoyu calculated, "What's the current market price for gold, around seven taels?"

“That’s already eight ounces, Eunuch Liu.”

Liu Shouyou immediately replied.

"That's more than 70,000 taels of gold, or more than 500,000 taels."

Liu Ruoyu nodded slightly and said, "I understand. I will return to the palace to report. As for the rest, the value of the gold and silver collected exceeds one million taels."

"exactly."

Liu Shouyou immediately replied.

"How come the price of gold has risen so fast? Just two years ago, it was only a little over six taels."

Liu Ruoyu muttered to himself.

"Eunuch Liu, the Ministry of Revenue has been collecting gold from the market. After minting coins, storing them in the Ever-Prosperous Treasury will make gold scarce in the market, and the price will definitely rise."

Liu Shouyou said in a low voice.

This was actually an open secret in official circles; everyone knew that the imperial court was hoarding gold, but few knew the specific reasons.

However, those who knew about it naturally included Feng Bao and Liu Shouyou, but whether Liu Ruoyu knew about it or not was not his concern.

"Lord Liu, next we need to check the house deeds and land deeds at home carefully according to the account books. I'll go back to the palace now and report the amount of gold and silver in the treasury."

Liu Ruoyu spoke up.

Since the emperor hadn't given the order to confiscate the property, these items couldn't be touched and had to be preserved as they were.

After the imperial decree is issued, we will act in accordance with its instructions.

However, Liu Shouyou knew in his heart that the confiscation of his property would happen in the next day or two.

They've already searched everything and found so much wealth; what else would they do but confiscate the property?

Of course, the Embroidered Uniform Guards wouldn't work for nothing; they couldn't possibly hand over everything.

The amount of real gold and silver is roughly there and not easy to touch, but by slightly moving a finger on the house deeds, land deeds, and the things in those few rooms, a considerable amount can still be revealed.

As for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they all used public accounts.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard kept separate accounts of the spoils they collected from confiscated property, and then distributed them according to rank.

This money will probably have to wait until the end of the year, after we've converted the goods into cash, and we'll try to distribute it before the new year.

After Liu Ruoyu left, Liu Shouyou arranged for people to guard the house, separating men and women and locking them in two rooms. Now they just had to wait for news from the palace.

Liu Ruoyu also left the Feng residence, got into the palace carriage, and headed back.

When he returned to the Qianqing Palace, he found that the palace's chief eunuchs Zhang Hong and Chen Ju were waiting for him there.

The news that the emperor had ordered Zhang Cheng to confine Feng Bao and that the Imperial Guards had been dispatched to search Feng's residence had also reached the palace.

This news actually came from the Eastern Depot, which was under the control of Feng Bao.

Originally, it was the head of the Eastern Depot who was trying to curry favor with Feng Bao and quickly sent the news to the palace, but it spread like wildfire.

If Zhang Cheng had to stay and watch over Feng Bao, then all the other chief eunuchs would come to the Qianqing Palace.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant, Commander Liu, went to Eunuch Feng's residence to search."

Liu Ruoyu was brought into the main hall, where he immediately knelt down to pay his respects and then reported the news.

"What was the outcome? Was it truly as the memorial described?"

The Wanli Emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, the treasury contains over a million taels of gold and silver, as well as countless other books, paintings, and antiques. However, since we have not received an imperial decree, we dare not inspect them and have sealed them all away."

Liu Ruoyu replied loudly. (End of Chapter)