Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 141 Scapegoat

Five or six days passed, and the manpower and molds that Wang Jie promised to find were fully equipped.

Ma Laoliu rolled up his sleeves and worked hard.

Because this place was next to the blacksmith shop, the noise and temperature were already very high during the day, so no one noticed when a group of people were melting silver in the back.

They first melted the silver and copper, and then poured them into a pre-prepared mold in a ratio of eight parts silver to two parts copper.

After cooling and solidifying, they become rows of round silver coins.

That morning, just after dawn, Ma Laoliu got up from his bed, fetched a basin of water, wiped his face roughly, and then walked to the workshop that specialized in making silver dollars.

It was pitch black inside, and there was a burning smell.

Ma Laoliu lit a candle, and with the help of the candlelight, the outline of the workshop was revealed in an instant. The house covered an area of ​​about 30 square meters, with three huge stoves and furnaces in the middle.

There were more than ten wooden tables neatly placed on each side, with molds specially used for making silver dollars placed flat on them.

Above, the silver dollar made last night is illuminated by candlelight, emitting a strange glow in the darkness.

Ma Laoliu seemed to smell a faint scent of silver dollars.

He swallowed, took two steps forward, stood in front of the table, picked up two silver dollars, and kissed them hard.

"This damn silver dollar I made myself is so good. Now I, Old Ma, can become a big shot." Muttering to himself, Ma Laoliu grinned and began to imagine the future in his mind.

First marry two wives with big butts, build three big tiled houses, and then have two more children.

The remaining money can be used for business.

After doing this job, I will stop and be a good citizen from now on.

Just as he was daydreaming, a team of Jinyiwei cavalry quietly arrived outside the courtyard.

The leading black-shoe officer glanced at his men, took out a portrait that he had prepared in advance, and ordered, "Remember, except for the person in the portrait, no one else will be left alive."

"Understood." Everyone remembered Ma Laoliu's appearance and nodded in agreement.

"Wang San, the rest of you lead the people to the back and don't let them escape."

"Yes."

As orders were given, a team of Jinyiwei sneaked into the courtyard like ghosts.

At this time, the craftsman responsible for making the silver dollar was still sleeping soundly and had no idea of ​​the danger.

Seven or eight Jinyiwei came to an adobe house, looked inside, saw that they were still asleep, and then they winked at each other.

The man near the door suddenly raised his foot and kicked the door open.

Seven or eight Jinyiwei rushed in together, and the sleeping craftsman was instantly awakened.

Before they could say anything, all they were greeted with was the gleaming steel knife.

These Jinyiwei were well-trained and were very familiar with doing this kind of thing. In just a few seconds, the craftsmen's necks were cut.

To make it look more realistic, they also deliberately messed up the room.

Disguise this place as a fight scene.

Looking at the mess on the ground, the leading officer nodded and ordered, "Go, send a signal to Captain Han and the others, saying that the bandits fought desperately and we had no choice but to fight back, but only captured one person alive."

"As you command." A Ti cavalryman clasped his fists and walked away. The leading officer took the opportunity to leave the inn and came to the small workshop.

Inside the workshop, Ma Laoliu was kneeling on the ground, his body shaking like a sieve.

He kowtowed to the ground and cried for mercy, "General, please spare my life. General, please spare my life. I was just passing by here. I was just passing by here."

"Look up." The officer shouted coldly.

Ma Laoliu slowly raised his head and looked at him with trembling body.

The school officer grinned and said, "You don't look like a vicious person. Tell me what you know. If you confess what you know, your crime will be much lighter."

"Oh, yes, yes." Ma Laoliu nodded quickly, like a drowning man grabbing at his last straw.

The black-booted officer winked at his men, who took out a pen and paper and began asking questions one by one.

Ma Laoliu didn't care at this time, and he spilled the beans like a bamboo tube pouring out beans. After that, he bit his finger and pressed his bloody fingerprint on it.

"Master Jun, that's enough."

"Okay, okay." The black-booted officer looked happy.

He not only revealed the mastermind of this place, but also revealed the locations of two or three other fake silver dollars that he knew of.

He pulled out a carrot, bringing out a large pile of mud. "Can the little one walk?" Ma Laoliu asked tremblingly.

"Leave? Where to?" The black-booted officer suddenly frowned and said with a dark face, "You rioters, you don't follow the right path, and you dare to do such a thing that will cost you your head. Now that we have caught you today, we will naturally bring you to justice."

"Wang San!"

"I'm here." A Ti cavalryman came out with a fist clasped.

"Tie this guy up and take him back to the prison. When we have caught all these criminals, we can punish them all at once."

The officer in black boots shouted angrily, and several Ti cavalrymen rushed forward, pinned Ma Laoliu to the ground, and dragged him away.

Ma Laoliu twisted his body and begged for mercy in a hoarse voice: "General, General, you can't catch me, you can't catch me!"

"take away."

The officer in black boots waved his hand, and several people blocked Ma Laoliu's mouth and dragged him away.

After a while, hurried footsteps were heard outside the courtyard, and Han San walked in with a deputy director from the Ministry of Justice.

As soon as they entered, a pungent smell of blood penetrated into their nostrils.

Han Sanyi frowned and called the black-booted officer over to ask, "What's going on?"

The officer in black boots understood what he meant and repeated the speech he had prepared in advance.

Han San smacked his tongue after hearing this, and looked at the official and said, "Brother Zhao, I'm so sorry, we only caught one alive, and the rest of the bandits were killed."

"You take the people away, but I have to take half of the silver coins and molds here, otherwise I won't be able to report back."

The official was too lazy to dwell on the matter and just stated his own demands.

Seeing that he was so tactful, Han San was naturally happy to do him a favor: "Of course, you pick the things first, and I'll pick them after you finish."

The two of them divided the area and after working for half a day, all the things in the room were cleared out.

Back in the interrogation room of the Jinyiwei prison, Han San took out the complaint, glanced at the names and locations on it, and couldn't help but sighed: "Now, I finally have something to report."

"Energy."

"I'm here." The black-booted officer who had been induced to confess answered with a fist salute.

"Go, arrest those on the list above. Remember to keep as many alive as possible this time. Let them hunt and bite. If they bite someone they shouldn't, you must know what to do." Han San ordered.

"I understand." Ai Neng smiled, copied a list, and led his people away.

Han San also felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He picked up the confession, sneered in his heart, and went straight to Wang Jie's house.

Wang Jie followed, and the two of them sat down in the living room. Wang Jie was the first to complain, "Third Master, you were really cruel this time. You said that the accomplices would be given a lighter sentence, but why did you kill all of them?"

"You know nothing." Han San glared at him and said, "We are helping you. Do you know what it means to have too many mouths? Besides, it's not just us who are handling this matter. There are also officials from the Ministry of Justice. If he finds out the trick, we will also have to bear the brunt of the consequences."

As he spoke, he took out the supply of paper and slapped it on the table.

"have a look."

Wang Jie took it and saw that his name was also on it.

His face instantly turned red, and he looked at Han San and argued excitedly: "Master San, what does this mean? This guy is purely making false accusations. You also know that I got those things to help you. Otherwise, even if you lend me ten courages, I would not dare to do such a thing."

"We know you don't have the guts, but those bad guys in the Ministry of Justice who dig holes and breed maggots don't know that." Han San said, sighing, looking up at the roof and said, "You don't know that Zhao Wen from the Ministry of Justice is determined to catch you."

"They also said they checked your previous background. Tell me, what can we say?"

Could it be that he knows everything?

Wang Jie's heart skipped a beat. If the people from the Ministry of Justice followed up the investigation and found out something, he would be in great trouble.

Thinking of this, he calmed down, slowly turned his head to Han San, and whispered: "Master San, I have been honoring you a lot in the past two years. You should know best what kind of person I am."

"Yes." Han San picked up the teacup on his left hand, moistened his lips, and put it on the table with a "bang". He smiled and said, "We know who you are best, otherwise we wouldn't come to save you."

"Thank you, Third Master." Wang Jie complimented hurriedly.

"Hey, don't be in a hurry to thank me. This matter can be a big deal or a small one. It all depends on how you deal with it." Han San waved his hand to interrupt him.

"What does Third Master mean?"

"We are all thousand-year-old foxes, stop playing dumb with me."

"Oh, my Third Master, this time we have lost both the lady and the army."

(End of this chapter)