Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1771 The Iron Triangle of Jiangnan!
Just after Zhang Mang took away Zhang Baoping's incense stick from the Lin'an government office, Song Hao, the secretary of the Jianghuai governor's office, quickly walked into Murong Yuyang's cell and told Murong Yuliang the news.

Murong Yuliang, who was reviewing official documents, was stunned when he heard the news, and then immediately became furious. Although he realized that Zhang Mang would not really be of one mind with the Murong family, he did not expect that this person would be so crazy as to take down Zhang Baoping without informing him or obtaining his consent. This not only showed that he did not take Zhang Baoping seriously, but also did not take him, the governor of Jianghuai, seriously!
Thinking of this, Murong Yuliang wanted to meet Zhang Mang in person to see what this fellow was up to, and then asked:
"Bring Chen Mingyang here!"

"Yes!"

Chen Mingyang quickly arrived in front of Murong Yuliang, who then asked him directly:
What has Zhang Mang been doing these past few days?

Chen Mingyang spoke without hesitation:
"Zhang Mang brought five accountants from Yijing. After arriving in Jiangnan, they took some of the account books from Wanfu Bank back with them. They've been staying at the mansion these past few days, probably checking the accounts!"

"Are there any problems with Wanfu Bank's ledgers?"

"Please rest assured, sir. The accounts of Wanfu Bank are extremely complex. Lord Tian and his team have had the ledgers rewritten. Currently, the accounts of Wanfu Bank are enormous. It's simply a pipe dream for Zhang Mang to have the ability to thoroughly investigate the accounts of Wanfu Bank with just five accountants..."

Seeing Chen Mingyang's confidence, Murong Yuliang put aside her worries and immediately gave the order:

"Send an invitation to Vice Minister Zhang, saying I'm inviting him to dinner at my home tonight!"

"Yes!"

Two hours later, darkness enveloped the earth, and Zhang Mang arrived as promised. Led by the steward, he entered Murong Yuliang's mansion in Lin'an. Upon arriving at the mansion, Zhang Mang discovered that he was not the only guest; there was also Tian Yu, the Jiangnan Provincial Governor, and Yin Xiang, the Huainan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.

Upon seeing Tian Yu and Yin Xiang, Zhang Mang knew this meal was no joke; it was a trap set for him. However, Zhang Mang was prepared for this, so he decided to accept it and, after greeting everyone, calmly took his seat.
Although the purpose of summoning Zhang Mang was not actually for a meal, Murong Yuliang still had her men prepare a sumptuous dinner, consisting of twelve main dishes, along with two jars of thirty-year-old Shaoxing wine.

Although the four middle-aged men at the banquet—Murong Yuliang, Zhang Mang, Tian Yu, and Yin Xiang—each had their own thoughts and ulterior motives, they all tacitly refrained from discussing serious matters first. Instead, they toasted each other and enjoyed the feast with the help of the maids.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, Murong Yuliang spoke up directly:

"Minister Zhang, I know you bear a great responsibility here, which is why I specially summoned Tian Yu and Yin Xiang today. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have; they are both very forthcoming and will answer everything they know..."

Upon hearing this, Tian Yu and Yin Xiang both looked at Zhang Mang.

Since Murong Yuliang had said so, Zhang Mang didn't stand on ceremony and immediately began to inquire about the relationship between the two men and Sun Wenheng.

Perhaps because their powerful backer, Murong Yuliang, was sitting right in front of them, or perhaps because both of them were high-ranking officials of the second rank, both Tian Yu and Yin Xiang answered with great confidence.
Tian Yu told Zhang Mang that developing the economy was one of his most important tasks as the Provincial Governor of Jiangnan. To develop the economy, one must deal with money. Wanfu Bank was the largest bank in Jiangnan. Therefore, he had a lot of contact with Sun Wenheng in his work. They had eaten together, listened to music at Tingyu Pavilion, and discussed Wanfu Bank's assistance and support to local businesses in Jiangnan.

However, he had no private dealings with Sun Wenheng and was completely unaware of the Wanfu Bank's deficit. Most importantly, he said he had never received any money from Sun Wenheng.

Compared to Tian Yu, who admitted to having a lot of contact with Sun Wenheng in his work, Yin Xiang, as the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Huainan, completely denied any close relationship between him and Sun Wenheng. He only admitted to meeting Sun Wenheng in some public occasions and attending meetings together, and that they were somewhat acquainted. He also denied receiving any money from Sun Wenheng.

Zhang Mang didn't believe the two men's stories at all. Although he knew that His Majesty had sent him to Jiangnan as an imperial envoy to investigate the case in order to divert attention from the investigation team, and that His Majesty probably didn't really expect him to find anything, Zhang Mang still hoped to take this opportunity to demonstrate his abilities since he had come to Jiangnan.

So, for the past few days, he ostensibly spent his time at his residence with his accountants investigating the accounts of Wanfu Bank. However, Zhang Mang was well aware that Wanfu Bank, as the second largest bank in the entire Daqian Dynasty after Dadongsheng Bank, had such complex and vast accounts that it was impossible for him and a few accountants to investigate them thoroughly in a short time…
Moreover, the best accountants in the entire Daqian Dynasty were in Jiangnan, so it was a very easy task for Murong Yuliang to find a few accountants to revise the accounts.

Therefore, Zhang Mang never considered the accounts of Wanfu Piaohao as the direction of the case investigation. His idea for dealing with this case was to focus on the people involved and find a breakthrough from them.

Zhang Baoping, Yin Xiang, and Tian Yu were Zhang Mang's targets. He wanted to uncover the truth from these three people, but he also knew that if he went to investigate directly, it would be difficult to find anything useful. So he pretended to focus all his energy on the accounts in an attempt to lull Zhang Baoping and the others into a false sense of security.

When Zhang Baoping and the others saw that Zhang Mang was focused on checking the accounts, they inevitably lowered their guard, which gave Zhang Mang an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Based on the information gathered over several days of investigation, combined with his years of experience in the gambling industry, Zhang Mang was almost certain that Tian Yu, Yin Xiang, and Zhang Baoping were all corrupt. It was highly likely that these three had all received money from Sun Wenheng. In fact, Zhang Mang was not surprised by this result. After all, Wanfu Bank was such a large and lucrative business that Sun Wenheng could not possibly consume it all by himself. He must have shared it with everyone.

Therefore, from the Ministry of Revenue and the Jiangnan Provincial Administration Commission down to the local prefectures and counties, there were definitely people colluding with Sun Wenheng, all working together to exploit the people's hard-earned money. While it's certain that all three received bribes, their situations were actually quite different…

First, there's Tian Yu, the Provincial Governor of Jiangnan, according to Zhang Mang's understanding. Although he is the highest-ranking administrative official in Jiangnan, as a non-Jiangnan native member of the Communist Party, he is somewhat incompatible with the local Jiangnan members who tend to band together and exclude outsiders.

However, with Murong Yuliang above them, everyone was able to maintain a semblance of unity.

Liu Yufeng, the Jiangnan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner who has already been implicated, and Zhang Baoping, the Lin'an Prefect who was just taken away by Zhang Mang, are prominent figures among the local Jiangnan faction of Communist Party members. Together with Sun Wenheng, who is also a native of Jiangnan, they are seen by outsiders as an iron triangle, sharing the same ideals and supporting each other. There are even rumors that the three of them want to recommend Zhang Baoping to succeed Tian Yu as Provincial Treasurer.

Therefore, under such circumstances, although Zhang Mang did not believe that Tian Yu had not received any money from Sun Wenheng, Zhang Mang could believe his claim that he and Sun Wenheng were not deeply involved!
As for Yin Xiang, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Huainan, although he was a high-ranking official of the second rank, according to Zhang Mang's understanding, he was a relatively marginalized figure within Murong Yuliang's faction. In the distribution of benefits within Murong Yuliang's faction, his share was even less than that of Zhang Baoping, a third-rank official. While Yin Xiang dared not openly complain about Murong Yuliang's arrangement, he harbored considerable resentment in private…
Meanwhile, Yin Xiang's son, Yin Pingkang, was a well-known playboy in Huainan. He often spent lavishly on beautiful women on pleasure boats, displaying great generosity. Among his many acts, he presented the courtesan Liu Qingqing with twelve precious gold and jade ornaments on her birthday. Zhang Mang had never seen these twelve gold and jade ornaments in person, but according to some rumors, the set of ornaments was worth at least five thousand taels of silver.

As the saying goes, the wool comes from the sheep's back. Where could Yin Pingkang, a playboy who indulges in all sorts of vices, get so much money?

There is no doubt that it was caused by his father, who was a provincial inspector!

If the situation weren't so urgent that Zhang Mang needed to act immediately, he would have liked to secretly investigate the financial situation of Yin Xiang and his son Yin Pingkang. Zhang Mang wasn't sure if the two had close ties with Sun Wenheng, but he was certain that Yin Xiang had definitely received money from Sun Wenheng.

In fact, after becoming the head of Wanfu Bank, Sun Wenheng became the biggest moneybag for the Jianghuai officials. Not to mention these five officials of the third rank or above, even the prefects and magistrates below them rarely did not receive money from Sun Wenheng. In Jiangnan, perhaps only those minor officials who did not hold official positions could be clean.

As for the most important and crucial figure, it is Zhang Baoping, the prefect of Lin'an. Although he, Liu Yufeng, and Sun Wenheng are known as the "Iron Triangle" among the local Jiangnan Communist Party members, his relationship with Sun Wenheng is the closest among them.

Rumor has it that he and Sun Wenheng have had a 20-year-old relationship. Before Sun Wenheng became the general manager of Wanfu Bank and Zhang Baoping became the prefect of Lin'an, the two had a long-standing connection. The reason why Sun Wenheng's own Dadechang Trading Company was able to rise rapidly in the last ten years or so and stand out among many trading companies in Jiangnan is inseparable from Sun Wenheng's shrewd decision-making, but Zhang Baoping, as a member of the Communist Party, also had an important influence behind the scenes.

So when Zhang Baoping said during the day that he had no private dealings with Sun Wenheng, Zhang Mang knew that this guy was taking him for a fool. It wasn't that Zhang Mang hadn't given him a chance, but since Zhang Baoping was being shameless, then he wouldn't be polite!

Seeing that Zhang Mang had finished asking his questions, Murong Yuliang, who was sitting in the main seat, also spoke up:

"Commander Zhang, please feel free to ask any questions you may have, and say anything you may have. Just don't end up inviting my two generals for tea. Jianghuai is different from other regions; we have heavy economic tasks. If these tasks are delayed, I'm afraid I can't bear the responsibility to His Majesty!"

Sensing the underlying threat in Murong Yuliang's words, Zhang Mang smiled slightly and said:

"I am naturally aware that the Jianghuai region is the economic pillar of the imperial court. Lord Murong, please rest assured, I have already asked both of you what I needed to ask, and I will not bother you any further..."

Upon hearing Zhang Mang's words, Tian Yu and Yin Xiang both relaxed. To be honest, the news that Zhang Mang had taken Zhang Baoping away directly from the Lin'an government office had been a great psychological threat to them, making them somewhat uneasy. Therefore, Zhang Mang's promise was undoubtedly a reassurance to them.

With this reassurance, the banquet returned to normal. At the same time, Murong Yuliang realized that Zhang Mang wanted to speak to him privately, and he also had something to say to Zhang Mang. Therefore, he arranged for Tian Yu and Yin Xiang to leave first.

After the two left, Zhang Mang spoke again with a sincere expression:

"Lord Murong, there may be some misunderstanding between us!"

Hearing Zhang Mang say this, Murong Yuliang did not speak, but simply picked up her wine cup and took another sip of the thirty-year-old Daughter's Red wine.

Seeing this, Zhang Mang knew that Murong Yuliang wanted him to explain why he had taken Zhang Baoping away. After organizing his thoughts, he began to speak:
“Lord Murong, you should know how close Zhang Baoping and Sun Wenheng are. So Zhang Baoping has long been targeted. I just got there first. I think that having Zhang Baoping in my hands is a good thing for both you, Lord Murong, and myself!”

Upon hearing this, Murong Yuliang narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at Zhang Mang. The subtext of Zhang Mang's words was that the Command and Control Office or the Internal Security also wanted to arrest Zhang Baoping. If that were the case, then it might not be a bad thing for Zhang Baoping to be under Zhang Mang's control. But was that really the case?

Thinking of this, Murong Yuliang slowly spoke:
“Regardless of your reasons, Vice Minister Zhang, shouldn’t you have informed me, the Governor of Jianghuai, before taking away the Prefect of Lin’an, such a significant move?”