The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

An Chen looked at him with disdain: "Xue Wen? His name is Xue Shao, courtesy name Wen Shao, the Imperial Inspector of Jiangnan!"

Feng Hongde's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and it took him a long time to find his voice: "He's a civil official, and he's here to investigate the affairs of us military officers... Our affairs should be handled by the Five Military Commands."

An Chen: "Go on, you can complain slowly, get angry slowly, I wonder if Cao Rong next door will be waiting for you."

Feng Hongde's shoulders slumped, and after a long silence, he finally asked, "What do you want to know?"

An Chen wanted to know a lot: where did Feng Hongde get his money from, where did he send it, and where was he hiding his money now?

Unlike Cao Rong, Feng Hongde preferred to buy land.

Cao Rong's family lived in the capital, so he liked to exchange his money for gold and silver jewelry, hoping to bring good luck back to the capital.

Feng Hongde, however, was from Chaozhou.

Feng Bancheng wasn't called that for nothing; aside from the land he forcibly seized, all the rest of his land was purchased.

Whether it's a normal sale or a forced purchase, he'll acquire land as long as he has the money.

Therefore, Feng Hongde did not have much cash, but he owned a lot of land and houses.

This also has an advantage: when confiscating his property, they can obtain his asset list, land deeds, and house deeds, thus gaining control of most of his assets.

An Chen handed his confession to Pan Jun.

Pan Yun then took two Imperial Guards and flew to Chaozhou City in a flash. They slipped into his room, touched the area he specified, and sure enough, found a mechanism that opened his secret room.

Pan Yun and two Imperial Guards walked in: "Why do corrupt officials like to set up secret rooms?"

Imperial Guard A: "Aren't there too many good things here?"

Imperial Guard B: "It's also possible that it was to save their lives."

Feng Hongde's secret room also contained gold and silver, box after box, each box full.

Silver was ingots of official silver, each weighing twenty taels, while gold was in palm-sized gold bars.

The box was so heavy that two Imperial Guards almost couldn't lift it together.

Pan Yun touched the gold and silver and began to search, quickly finding a box in the drawer under the only table.

Inside was a stack of land deeds and house deeds, with more than twenty large-denomination banknotes pressed at the bottom.

Pan Yun's heart burned with excitement: "It seems that Commander Feng has a lot of faith in money shops. But Lord Cao, despite being a high-ranking official and a native of the capital, who is well-informed, prefers gold."

Imperial Guard A: "Because silver notes are easier to carry. Feng Hongde only has one daughter. If something happens, he can just stuff a silver note into her hand and she can run away."

And now all of this benefits the imperial court.

Indeed, the imperial court really benefited.

Pan Yun separated the banknotes, land deeds, and house deeds and entered them into the register one by one. The two Imperial Guards also counted the gold and silver jewelry in the secret room and entered it into the register. After that, Pan Yun emptied the secret room.

According to Feng Hongde, his main assets are in this secret room. He said that if they search this place, the rest can be left to An Chen and his team to handle later.

It was already completely dark when the three of them left Feng Hongde's bedroom.

Pan Yun said to the two men, "I need to go back to the capital. You two stay here and contact the military households. I will be back by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

The two guards, A and B, nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with envy and admiration.

Pan Yun caught Pan Xiaohei as he jumped off the roof. After the two Imperial Guards had left safely, she took out the Three Treasures Cauldron, enlarged it, jumped inside, and soared into the sky, heading directly towards the capital.

The emperor waited all day with the yellow talisman in his pocket. By the time he finished reviewing all the memorials, his eyes were sore, and he returned to his palace covered in the smell of official robes, the imperial advisor still hadn't replied.

The emperor looked somewhat aggrieved and sat in his chair, looking rather unhappy. The empress brought him a bowl of pear juice and said, "Your Majesty, please cool down."

Zhu Qiyu said unhappily, "I'm not angry, I'm just a little worried. Do you think something might have happened to the Imperial Advisor?"

"The Imperial Advisor is so powerful, what could possibly happen to her?" the Empress said. "In my opinion, the Imperial Advisor simply doesn't want to reply to you."

emperor:……

After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked, "Why?"

"The replacement of the Guangdong Regional Commander is a matter of state. Your Majesty can ask the Minister of War, the Minister of Personnel, or the Grand Secretariat. How can you ask the Imperial Preceptor?"

The Emperor said, “I have consulted the Imperial Advisor on many matters of state, and she has always given me her advice. Moreover, she was the one who told me about the case in Guangdong.”

“She reported to His Majesty on behalf of Imperial Censor Xue. Firstly, Imperial Censor Xue is a friend of the Imperial Preceptor; secondly, she pities the people; and thirdly, she wants His Majesty to become a wise ruler for all time. Since she has seen him, she told His Majesty,” the Empress said. “But that doesn’t mean she is willing to interfere in state affairs. Before, His Majesty only asked whether a certain matter should be done, but he never asked her about specific personnel appointments and removals.”

The Empress said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, you mean well, and the Imperial Advisor is a good person, but once people's desires are amplified, they will change."

"I entered the palace late and have never met Wang Zhen, but I have heard that Wang Zhen was a virtuous man when the late Emperor was young. He always encouraged the late Emperor to study and understand reason, which is why the Empress Dowager and the three Grand Secretaries Yang did not forbid the late Emperor from getting close to Wang Zhen. It was only when the late Emperor called Wang Zhen his teacher and Wang Zhen became increasingly domineering and made decisions beyond the late Emperor's authority that the Empress Dowager wanted to kill him. This shows that people's hearts can change, and the Forbidden City is the place with the highest power in the world. Being in it, one can become more powerful and influential quickly."

The emperor was stunned.

The Empress held the Emperor's hand and said softly, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Advisor's silence shows that she is polite and knows her place. This is a good thing, and you should be grateful to her. How can you be upset about it?"

The emperor was a man who listened to advice, and besides, what the empress said made a lot of sense.

He lowered his head, and after a long while, he sighed, then raised his head and said, "Thanks to you."

The emperor felt better after being persuaded by the empress and slept soundly through the night.

The next day, he got up before dawn to attend court. After the morning court session ended, Cheng Jing walked over in small steps and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Preceptor has returned."

The emperor's eyes lit up, and he asked in a low voice, "Where are we now?"

"Wait in the side hall of the Imperial Study for His Majesty's summons."

The emperor immediately got up and went to the imperial study.

Pan Yun is enjoying breakfast at the palace.

When the emperor strode in, she was enjoying a large meat bun.

The emperor suddenly felt hungry. He was in a hurry to attend the morning court session and had only eaten two snacks. He was also hungry now.

Pan Yun put down his chopsticks, slowly got up, and was about to bow when the emperor strode over and raised his hand, saying, "Grand Preceptor, there's no need for such formalities. Someone, bring my breakfast here as well. I want to eat with the Grand Preceptor."

Cheng Jing agreed and instructed the palace servants to prepare the meal, while he personally served the two of them.

The emperor asked with concern, "Did the Imperial Preceptor return from Guangdong?"

Pan Yun nodded: "Yes, so far we've raided three companies, and some of the confiscated assets are with me."

Pan Yun wasn't worried about the emperor having trouble digesting the information, so he directly handed Xue Shao's memorial to him.

It contains a detailed explanation of the situation, as well as his suggestions for reforming the military settlements in Guangdong.

Pan Yun casually handed over a list of the assets they had confiscated during this period.

A thick stack of papers appeared, and the emperor stood up in shock after only opening the first page: "This, this, this is richer than I am!"

Pan Yun said meaningfully, "Compared to the Tang and Song dynasties, where wealth was stored among the people, our Great Ming seems to have wealth stored among the officials."

Zhu Qiyu's face turned bright red. (End of Chapter)