Border Cook

Chapter 647: Privately Made Weapons (4K Chapter)

"Master Wei." Ruan Zhiheng took the opportunity to say, "Those in Jin Weiguo are all desperate criminals, determined to die. This time may just be a warning. For the safety of the Third Prince, Master Wei should withdraw his troops quickly..."

Wei Ruiliang seemed not to have heard Ruan Zhiheng's words. He still raised his hand, then slammed it down heavily, "Send another 300 people into the mountain!"

"Yes!"

Immediately, someone else trotted into the mountains again.

"Boom!"

There was another loud noise.

The power of this gunpowder explosion was obviously greater than before. The ground beneath his feet trembled and even raised some dust.

Ruan Zhiheng spoke again, "Master Wei..."

"Report!" Someone came hurriedly, "Sir, three gates have been opened in Meiling!"

“Enter!” Wei Ruiliang shouted loudly, “If you encounter resistance, kill them without mercy! If there are people who lead the way and confess, spare their lives and treat them leniently!”

"Yes!" The servant took the order and went to pass on the message.

Ruan Zhiheng and Yin Zhizhou were both stunned.

It seems that these words are a bit confusing, and they don’t seem to have anything to do with rescuing the Third Prince…

Wait, is that true?

The faces of the two people suddenly turned as pale as paper.

At this time, Xiao Luoan walked down from the carriage that had been parked nearby and looked at Ruan Zhiheng and Yin Zhizhou with a smile.

When Ruan Zhiheng and the other man saw Xiao Luoan, their eyes darkened.

Sure enough, there was no so-called incident of the Third Prince being kidnapped by the soldiers of the Jin Wei Kingdom. Instead, this was just an excuse to make them completely relax so that they could catch all the people and things hidden in Meiling.

"Governor Ruan and Magistrate Yin didn't seem surprised to see me. I guess they have guessed the key."

Xiao Luoan said, "So, do I understand that you two are well aware of the secrets in Meiling and are deliberately hiding them?"

"I don't understand what the third prince is talking about." Ruan Zhiheng was still being stubborn at this time.

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Now the secret passage in Meiling has been opened. No one can escape if we follow the clues. When all the facts are laid out before us, perhaps Prefect Ruan and Prefect Yin will understand."

Xiao Luoan narrowed his eyes and said, "Someone, please show seats to the two adults, Prefect Ruan and Prefect Yin!"

"Yes!"

Someone immediately came forward and brought a chair and a rope.

Ruan Zhiheng and Yin Zhizhou were tied tightly to the chairs almost instantly and could not move.

The yamen runners they brought with them and those who wanted to rescue were immediately controlled and taken into custody.

The others didn't dare to make any move and just stood there with their heads lowered.

In Meiling Mountain, people came back one after another to report the situation inside.

"Reporting to the Lord, we have discovered ten secret doors and several passages. We have executed thirteen criminals on the spot and rescued twenty-seven coolies who were still alive!"

"Your Excellency, there are mining tunnels, several furnaces, and a number of coolies inside!"

"Your Excellency, we have arrested fifteen people. One of them is willing to confess. I only ask that you can spare the lives of his family members!"

"Your Excellency, we found forged weapons inside..."

weapon?

The expressions on Xiao Luoan and Wei Ruiliang's faces became solemn.

All minerals belong to the imperial court. Mining minerals without the imperial court's permission is a serious crime, so serious that the entire family will be executed.

Forging weapons privately could result in the execution of nine generations of the clan.

"Prefect Ruan, it looks like I need to have a good talk with you about this matter." Xiao Luoan spoke loudly.

Ruan Zhiheng collapsed on the chair.

It's over, it's over...

At night, the entire Meiling Mountain was illuminated as if it were daytime because of the light from torches and lanterns.

On the morning of the second day, it was discovered that Meiling Mountain was covered with tunnels and caves, and that some people were secretly mining and forging weapons in them. The news spread to the streets of Ronghe Prefecture with the northwest wind.

Soon after, news came out that the person who was mining illegally was not someone else but Ruan Zhiheng, the prefect of Ronghe Prefecture.

"No way! Lord Ruan is always kind and gentle, without any airs of an official. He often walks alone on the street, not even riding in a carriage. How could such a simple official do such a thing?"

"You can't judge a person by his appearance. You probably don't know that Ruan Zhiheng's house has been raided. I heard that tens of thousands of taels of silver and countless treasures and antiques were seized from his house. Even the cloth strips used to tie tree branches in the garden were made of silk and satin. Money was spent like water!"

"I know about this. My distant cousin works as a cook in the government office. He was afraid of retaliation and didn't dare to say anything before, but now he finally spoke up and said that Ruan Zhiheng is very particular about what he eats every day. In summer, he eats Lingnan lychees, and in winter, he eats abalone, shark's fin, and fish maw. On weekdays, he eats clear soup noodles made with broth. He doesn't eat more than ten plates and eight bowls every day, and he never uses chopsticks!"

"I also heard that Ruan Zhiheng only has one wife, but in fact he has several concubines and even a garden where he keeps many young and beautiful girls for his pleasure."

"I understand what you said, and I can understand that he is greedy for money and wants to mine. But what is the purpose of forging weapons? How can this thing be exchanged for money? No ordinary person would buy this thing?"

"You don't understand this, right? After this weapon is manufactured, it can be used to obtain military funds. At worst, it can be sold outside."

"Sell it outside? Where?"

No one has an answer to this question, but everyone is very secretive about it.

Where can I sell it? Where else can I sell it? Apart from the Great Zhou Kingdom, aren't there places where I can sell it everywhere?

As long as this kind of thing is put up for sale, are you afraid that there won’t be a buyer?
This Ruan Zhiheng is not only corrupt and committing treason, he is actually collaborating with the enemy and committing treason!
Logically speaking, a prefect of Ronghe Prefecture should not have such great ability and courage. He must have someone backing him up!
I just don't know who is the backer behind Ruan Zhiheng... After this question was raised, those who were close to Ruan Zhiheng all kept silent, claimed to be sick at home, and reduced the number of times they went out to avoid being affected.

When the Wen family learned the news, they immediately fell into panic.

Wen Yongze, the head of the Wen family, had an extremely gloomy face. He looked up at his eldest son Wen Liyan and said, "You know everything about Meiling, right?"

"Father, I understand." Wen Liyan was terrified, his face full of panic, "But I really didn't expect Ruan Zhiheng to be so bold. In addition to mining ore, he even forged weapons privately to make a profit!"

"You should have thought of it earlier!" Wen Yongze snorted coldly, "Ruan Zhiheng is just a poor scholar supported by a concubine of our Wen family through marriage. He is a man who climbed up from hell. You know better than anyone what the consequences will be if he gets to power!"

"Meiling is only capable of mining iron ore, but the tributes that Ruan Zhiheng sends every year are very considerable. You have been handling this matter all along, but you didn't notice anything wrong?"

Wen Yongze's questioning made Wen Liyan break out in a cold sweat.

Indeed, it is just an iron mine. Even if the output is quite large, considering the value of the iron ore, it should not have such considerable profits.

In fact, he could see some problems, but Ruan Zhiheng gave him too much, so much that he didn't want to ask too much.

As the saying goes, cats have their ways, dogs have their ways. Ruan Zhiheng has his own way of making money. If you ask too many questions, you will ruin this way and block this way to make money.

But it was precisely because of this greed that Ruan Zhiheng was allowed to be so bold that he even dared to forge weapons privately.

"Many people know that Ruan Zhiheng was supported by our Wen family. Now that he has committed such a capital crime, how will others think of our Wen family? How will the emperor think of our Wen family?"

The more Wen Yongze spoke, the angrier his face became. "I'm afraid they're going to say that my Wen family harbored evil intentions, using Ruan Zhiheng to secretly manufacture weapons, and that we're suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treason, and that we're plotting rebellion!"

"Father, you are worrying too much. If our Wen family had such an intention, we would not have supported the establishment of the Great Zhou Kingdom. The emperor knows this matter very well and would not think so." Wen Liyan opened his mouth to defend himself.

"Worry too much? At this moment, you still want to say such stupid things!" Wen Yongze was so angry that he reached out to pick up the teacup on the table next to him and threw it directly at Wen Liyan.

The teacup brushed past Wen Liyan's forehead, fell beside him, and smashed to pieces with a "bang".

Wen Liyan's heart suddenly lifted up and was tightly clenched.

"After crossing the river, they will destroy the bridge. After they have done their work, they will kill the donkey. This has always been the case. Once the emperor comes to power, he will never be grateful for the help of the noble families. Instead, he will think that the noble families have too much power. He cannot sleep well and is eager to find faults!"

"You actually said that the emperor would not think so. Who gave you such confidence and courage? Even if the emperor stopped this matter with Ruan Zhiheng, he would definitely vent his anger on Chen'er in the future. How could he become the crown prince?"

"The Cui family will definitely take advantage of this opportunity to add insult to injury. Just wait and see. Once the news reaches the capital, the dogs raised by the Cui family will immediately jump out and bark and bite people. At this point, you still say that I am worrying too much?"

Wen Yongze's scolding made Wen Liyan unable to raise his head, let alone make the slightest noise.

When Wen Yongze saw this, his anger grew even greater.

It is said that the imperial court changes with time, but the aristocratic family remains forever. No matter what storms they go through, the aristocratic family will always stand firm.

But why does he feel that this generation is getting worse than the previous one, and that the Wen family is also going downhill?

He believed that he could still maintain the current glory and power of the Wen family, but when it comes to the next generation...

As the eldest son, Wen Liyan has a certain degree of intelligence and ability to handle affairs, but his overall view is indeed far from satisfactory.

Although the second son, Wen Lijin, was much more well-read than Wen Liyan and had a greater vision, he also read too much and became pedantic and indecisive, which was common among scholars.

The third son, Wen Liren, is as his name suggests, kind-hearted, overly enthusiastic and upright. No one is allowed to know too much about many family affairs, otherwise he might become depressed and become a monk.

In addition, although there are four illegitimate sons, they have not received systematic training since childhood, so their abilities and horizons are limited. It is okay for them to help manage some household affairs, do some business, and serve as officials, but if they are in charge of the entire Wen family...

For a while, among the children of the Li generation, there was not a single one that satisfied his taste.

We can only wait and see what the next generation will look like when they grow up.

Wen Yongze's thoughts drifted a little far away. When he came back to his senses, most of the anger in his heart had disappeared. He sighed and said, "Immediately arrange for people in the court to take the lead in reporting Ruan Zhiheng for privately opening a mine, enriching himself, and forming a clique for personal gain."

"Send someone to deal with Ruan Zhiheng, to prevent him from losing his sense of propriety and saying something he shouldn't say. Do things more quickly and efficiently to avoid being caught by others."

"Inform the entire Wen family that Ruan Zhiheng's wife is not from the Wen family, and is not from the same lineage as the Wen family, but has the same surname. Immediately find a woman of the right age in the family to replace his name and try to clear her name from Ruan Zhiheng."

"Yes." Wen Liyan responded, and asked, "Do I need to write a letter to the emperor to explain this matter?"

"No need." Wen Yongze said, "The more you explain, the more it proves that this matter is related to the Wen family. On the contrary, keeping silent will make others think that our Wen family is upright and has nothing to fear."

"But you need to send someone to deliver a letter to the palace immediately, telling the imperial concubine to calm Chen'er down. Chen'er was already unhappy about Xiao Luoan's plan to go to Meiling to check, and now that something like this has happened, he must be very resentful."

Wen Yongze was a little worried about this matter.

"Yes." Wen Liyan responded, but he also frowned, "Chen'er has really been spoiled by the Imperial Concubine. Whenever something goes wrong, he always blames others."

"No matter how spoiled he is, he is still the emperor's eldest son, a child of destiny, and not everyone can compare to him." Wen Yongze glanced at Wen Liyan, "You are his uncle, but instead of helping him and thinking about him, you complain about him first. How can you make the people below you right when the top is not right?"

"Father is absolutely right." Wen Liyan immediately changed his tone.

Wen Yongze stroked his beard and looked at Wen Liyan again.

He just said this, but how could he not know Xiao Luochen's character?

The only prince that the Wen family can support now is this one prince, and there is no room for choice.

if……

Wen Yongze paused and asked, "How is the task I asked you to do going?"

Wen Liyan understood what Wen Yongze was talking about and nodded quickly, "Don't worry, father. The eldest daughter of the fifth room and the youngest daughter of the fourth room are both smart and beautiful. They will attend the New Year's Eve banquet with father and me. I have also mentioned this to the Imperial Concubine. The Imperial Concubine replied that she will host the New Year's Eve banquet and will arrange for the two of them to perform at the banquet at the appropriate time. It will definitely please the emperor."

"Afterwards, the Imperial Concubine will arrange for the two of them to enter the palace to accompany the Emperor. They will definitely be able to gain favor from the Emperor. The Imperial Concubine and I will definitely get this done. Don't worry, father."

"That's good." Wen Yongze nodded.

If these two people can really gain favor, the Wen family will have another force they can rely on.

And if the two of them could give birth to another prince, he would be adopted under the name of the Imperial Concubine, and the son would be honored by the mother's status.