Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 144: Family ruined
In Raozhou Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, the three main rivers, Changjiang River, Le'an River and Jinjiang River, converge into the Po River in Poyang, the seat of Raozhou Prefecture, and then flow into Poyang Lake.

Fuliang, where the Chang River flows, has the famous Jingdezhen, Le'an River flows through Dexing and Leping, and Jinjiang River flows through Anren and Yugan.

In the seventh year of Zhengde, Wannian County was added under Raozhou Prefecture, and three inspection offices were set up in this county: Xianhe Town, Hexi Town, and Shitou Street.

Of course, it is because Raozhou Prefecture is connected to Nanchang Prefecture in the west and Huizhou Prefecture in the east, and it has prosperous business and travel, with a constant stream of people coming and going.

Now in the small town of Shitoujie on the south bank of Le'an River, Jiangxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Huang Yuejin brought officers and soldiers from the Neisi District Office who rushed here from Jianchang, southwest of Poyang Lake.

The town of Stone Street, which has been tense for nearly a month, is now even more uneasy.

Many shops on Stone Street have closed their doors tightly with seals on them.

And it is the seal of the Jinyiwei Northern Pacification Division.

Huang Yuejin looked at the seals and continued walking east with a heavy heart.

To the northeast of Shitou Street, on the north bank of Le'an River to the southeast of Leping County, there is a place called Jiezhudu.

This is the estuary where the Le'an River and its tributary Xinfeng River meet. Lime boats from Yongshan and bamboo rafts from Dexing and Wuyuan all dock here. It is also an important water and land transportation route and a bustling market.

The bamboo rafts are connected together, hence the name Jiezhudu.

Huang Yuejin rushed all the way here, but did not enter the city.

There is no county magistrate in Leping now, only the county magistrate who brought some yamen runners to Shangcheng Village after failing to welcome them.

Only a few shops on Shitou Street were closed, but Jiezhu Ferry is now very deserted and all the other villages go around Shangcheng Village.

Huang Yuejin rushed to the outside of Shangcheng Village, got off his horse first, and then went straight to the Cheng family mansion.

From a distance, I could see the soldiers guarding the front and side doors of the mansion. Their appearance and aura were completely different from those of the people from Raozhou Prefecture and the Jiangxi Provincial Military Commission.

Are those the Tusi soldiers from Bozhou?

Seeing someone coming, three people came out from the front door soon, all wearing Feiyu suits.

"But in front of Huang Nietai?"

"Exactly! Haven't you asked for advice yet?"

"The deputy captain of the Northern Pacification Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Yao Erhu."

"...Captain Yao, nice to meet you."

Huang Yujin greeted him and was about to ask something when Yao Erhu said, "Now that Huang Nietai has arrived, whether the other branches of the Cheng family in Leping have committed any illegal acts is the business of the Jiangxi Provincial Criminal Investigation Department. Captain Qin and I have to take the confiscated property and account books back to Zhenjiang. We came in a hurry, so please ask Huang Nietai to inform the Raozhou government and prepare carriages and horses for us."

After saying this, he glanced at the Leping County Magistrate and said, "Now that Huang Neitai is here in person, you can no longer shirk your responsibility by saying that you dare not make the decision without the County Magistrate, right?"

"How can I refuse the order from the captain? The carts and animals are ready, but they are recruited from various households. I am just a county magistrate, so it is really..."

After saying that, he looked at Huang Yuejin eagerly.

"The Imperial Minister of Justice has given the order, so we must obey it first." Huang Yuejin first ordered him to bring it to the county town, and then said to Yao Erhu, "Captain Yao and Captain Qin are going back to Zhenjiang now?"

"Huang Neitai, come in and have a cup of tea." Yao Erhu smiled and led the way. "Since Governor Luo has come in person, I have been here for almost a month. The Cheng family of Leping has many branches. Captain Qin brought a hundred personal soldiers from the Yongwei Camp here, and I feel relieved. It is said that a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. If the main branch of the Cheng family in Hechong gives an order, they will not care that we are wearing Feiyu uniforms!"

"... Captain Yao, you are joking. How can Jiangxi have such courage? I heard in Nanchang that the Northern Governor-General came to investigate the case personally, so he naturally ordered the Raozhou government to restrain the villagers and appease the various tribes."

"hehe."

What Yao Erhu said was not an exaggeration.

It is said that the Cheng family of Leping originated from Hechong Cheng, which is close to Dexing and Wuyuan. The ancestor can be traced back to Cheng Zhonggong, who settled here after being transferred to Jiangxi Jiedushi during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang.

From the Tang Dynasty to the present, the Cheng family of Leping has been thriving. Not only have they produced more than a hundred officials of all ranks, but they have also become famous merchants in Jiangyou.

After Luo Sigong came here personally and took away the head of the Shangcheng Village branch, only Yao Erhu and five other people were guarding the place during that period of time.

There are more than 20,000 descendants of the Cheng family in Leping, and it is said that they never stray from Cheng family for three miles.

They were indeed able to intimidate the White Spear Soldiers by wearing only their Feiyu uniforms.

Huang Yuejin had not been able to come in person to inquire about the case before, otherwise he would have seemed very concerned about the case and would have only added to the suspicion.

It was Xiao Daheng who sent someone to deliver a letter to Nanchang first, and Huang Yuejin then set out to rush here.

The two men walked into the Cheng family mansion, and Yao Erhu introduced a middle-aged general in front of them to Huang Yuejin: "This is the second uncle of General Ma, the left lieutenant general of the Yongwei Camp, and the second brother of General Qin Liangyu, who made the first contribution to the Nanchuan Road in the Pingbo Camp and was personally awarded the third-rank official uniform by His Majesty, Qin Banghan."

"Nice to meet you. I was transferred from Sichuan to Jiangxi in September of the year before last. I have heard of your sister and your brother-in-law for a long time." "Oh? So Huang Neitai was the Sichuan Provincial Governor before. He served two terms as the Provincial Governor. This time he handled the Cheng family case in Leping. I want to congratulate Huang Neitai on his promotion."

Huang Yujin gave a bitter smile and said, "Captain Yao is really joking. Jiangxi has produced such a lunatic. The governor, I, and the governor of Jiangxi are all to blame. How can I talk about promotion?"

"That's why I said we should handle the big cases well."

"I was just about to ask Captain Yao for advice. The Grand Secretary of Justice only ordered me to thoroughly investigate all merchants in Jiangxi. I wonder... what areas should I investigate?"

Yao Erhu grinned: "I am just a rough warrior, how can I understand these things? Huang Neitai doesn't know how to investigate thoroughly, so I should write to the Grand Secretary for advice."

Then he said to Qin Banghan: "Brother Qin, tell your brothers to move all the things out first, and take the remaining family members to the door."

Huang Yuejin silently watched the chieftain's barbaric soldiers, who had strange appearances and could not speak the same language, moving boxes and bags of things out and piling them on the open space at the door.

From the backyard, many women, children, old and young, with ropes tied around their hands and feet, came out, looking haggard and pale, crying in panic.

He sighed in his heart: At least the Cheng family is destroyed this time.

Amid the hustle and bustle, loading began again as Leping County drove all the carts and the animals pulling the goods over.

This time, there were some people around who dared to watch the excitement from afar, but most of them watched with mixed feelings. After all, they saw the Cheng family's wealth being loaded onto the car box by box, and the former noble men and ladies of the Cheng family were now prisoners.

Seeing that everything was almost ready, Yao Erhu went over to check it and then came in front of Huang Yuejin again.

"Tai Huang, there is one more thing. We have more than a hundred people escorting them and all this stolen goods, and we still have a long way to go. We don't need guards along the way, but we still need to prepare some food for the people and horses at the post station outside Dexing County."

Yao Erhu took out two ingots of silver from his pocket and said, "No need to spend money. Your Majesty has allocated special silver for this business trip away from Beijing."

Huang Yuejin stared blankly at the two ingots of gold and silver he stuffed into his hands, and then saw him turn around and walk over there, shouting: "Raise the flag, clear the way, and return to the camp!"

The flag of the emperor's personal guard was raised, and the deputy captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard followed behind to provide support.

"Huang Nietai, let's say goodbye now!"

Yao Erhu waved his hand, Huang Yuejin also saluted, and watched the team slowly go away.

Your Majesty allocated special silver... This branch of the Cheng family in Leping, which specialized in business and created the great reputation of the Cheng family in Jiangyou, was suddenly destroyed and how much dirty silver was confiscated?
This must be only a portion of their wealth, a small portion of cash hidden in their hometown home.

Next, we will conduct a thorough investigation of all merchants in Jiangxi... Is this the way the court wants to increase revenue from merchants?
……

"You have traveled a lot, so you don't need me to remind you of the key points. This case is an important case that your majesty has personally asked about. If you are still concerned about the family, there is no need to talk about other things."

In the Yongwei Camp west of Zhenjiang City, the three important officials of the Judicial Department were sitting high above, while Cheng Shaolin, the head of the Shangcheng Village branch of the Cheng family in Leping, was kneeling below.

"My family is in misfortune. Two brothers of my clan have violated the law. I am ashamed of my inability to manage my family." Cheng Shaolin looked at Xiao Daheng, Zheng Jizhi, and Li Tingji, "But I'm sorry that I don't understand the key point of what you said."

Cheng Shaolin was kneeling below, but his back was still straight.

Zheng Jizhi and Li Tingji looked at Xiao Daheng. In this first round, the criminal obviously did not understand the "good intentions" of the Grand Secretary.

"Two of the Nine Ministers have come. Lord Li is the only official under the Grand Chancellor in the Censorate. The Northern Pacification Envoy of the Imperial Guard has gone to Leping in person." Xiao Daheng looked at him. "Do you think you can fool people by pretending to be stupid?"

"I have always been a law-abiding citizen, but unfortunately there is someone in my clan who is blinded by greed." Cheng Shaolin kowtowed coldly, "No matter how the court judges and punishes me, I am willing to accept the punishment."

"Okay." Xiao Daheng was unmoved. "Since you said so, then I, the imperial envoy, will just have to bear some of the burden."

He walked out of the desk in the middle and slowly walked down the hall.

"Where did your brother Cheng Bosong get the plank boat he used to impersonate the Japanese pirates? He said it was built privately by your Cheng family. As the head of the family, you have no choice but to do the duty."

"Japanese ships were rampant along the Yangtze River and even entered the Jiangnan Canal. The defenses of Changzhou and Songjiang Prefectures were ineffective, and the Caojiang Navy was ineffective. These should all be questioned."

"The grain transport was robbed, and the Dragon and Tiger Left Guards were not able to transport it properly. The incident involved the General Office of the Grain Transport Army and the Governor-General's Grain Transport Department."

"Cheng Bosong was smuggling salt, and the navy of the Yangtze River was not doing its job in salt inspection. Did the inspection offices, sub-prefectures, sub-inspectors, and salt inspectors of the prefectures of Nanzhili, Jiangxi, and Huguang along the Yangtze River do their best to inspect? Did the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue manage the salt permits well?"

Xiao Daheng walked up to him and looked down at him: "You just need to say that you obey the law? The Cheng family in Jiangyou smuggled salt in Jiangnan, pretended to be Japanese pirates and intercepted grain, and hoarded grain in the capital to make a profit. You just need to say that your cousin is greedy and that's it?"

Cheng Shaolin was unmoved, but Xiao Daheng said directly: "The clerk is here. If you sign and seal, then I, Zheng Jiqing, and Deputy Chief Censor Li will go west to Nanjing and send a letter to the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue to summon the officials involved to defend themselves!"

"I live in Leping and manage clan affairs. I am really unaware of the situation. I am willing to take the blame for not being able to manage my family well."

Cheng Shaolin remained calm, as if he had nothing to fear.

(End of this chapter)