Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 242 Kill Xie Qiandi and seize a large amount of golden nanmu!

Zhang Cong sent troops to Yuyao overnight because he was afraid that the Xie family would destroy a large number of precious bamboos and woods that were banned from private use in advance.

In his view, these are all national treasury and should not be wasted.

After sending the troops, Zhang Cong only slept for two shifts and then rushed over in the dark.

When Zhang Cong arrived at the residence of the "Grand Marquis" in Yuyao, he saw that Li Bing's soldiers had already taken control of the house inside and out, but had not yet entered the warehouse to search.

at the same time.

Officials and gentry such as Xie Qian, Fei Hong, Xia Yan, Pan Fang, and Xie Di had also been waiting for him here for a long time.

"Are you Zhang Fujing?"

Xie Qian asked at this time.

Zhang Cong, who had dark circles under his eyes, saw Xie Qian, a man with a head full of silver hair, standing side by side with the cabinet elder Fei Hong. He naturally guessed his identity and said:

"You are Master Xie?"

"He is none other than Xie Gong!"

"Zhang Bingyong, what are you doing here?"

As Fei Hong spoke, he frowned and asked about Zhang Cong.

Zhang Cong bowed to Fei Hong and said, "I am here to investigate the case of the missing bamboo and wood lottery and the case of slandering the imperial envoy!"

"The investigation shouldn't have ended here with Mr. Xie!"

Fei Hong immediately came to his side and said something in a low voice with gritted teeth.

"Why, Mr. Xie is still afraid of being investigated?!"

Zhang Cong asked Xie Qian a direct question in return.

Xie Qian said: "It's a good thing to devote yourself to the king's affairs, but you can't be too inappropriate! You are a second-rank official, you are not qualified to investigate my Xie family!"

"Brother is right!"

Xie Di then said something, and looked at Zhang Cong with a sinister look on his face: "Zhang Fujing, if you dare to investigate my Xie family today, you will not only offend my family, but all the gentlemen in the world!"

"I, Zhang, never ask who I might offend when doing something. I only ask whether it is right or not."

"Your Xie family should be raided by me now!"

After Zhang Cong said this, he ordered Li Bing: "Search immediately!"

Li Bing nodded in agreement and was about to enter Xie Di's residence with his soldiers.

Xie Di stood in front of Li Bing and said, "Who dares?"

"If you want to break into my Xie family, you have to kill me first!"

Xie Di shouted loudly with a fierce look but weak heart.

then.

Xie Di looked at Zhang Cong and threatened: "Zhang Fujing, aren't you afraid of being cursed for eternity?!"

"I told you, I only ask whether I should do something or not!"

"To use the words of the sages, those who know it is impossible still do it!"

Zhang Cong replied.

Xie Di's breathing became rapid: "Don't tell me these things, why would the emperor use a treacherous minister like you!"

"What a tyrant!"

Shady couldn't help but curse as he spoke.

Pfft!

Zhang Cong stabbed Xie Di in the chest with a sword: "You can scold me, but if you scold the emperor and father, then I, as a subject, must kill you!"

Xie Di looked at Zhang Cong in astonishment: "You!"

talking.

Xie Di vomited blood and fell to the ground. His feet and head twitched and blood gushed out of his chest. Soon, his body was soaked in blood.

Zhang Cong stepped directly into the bloody porridge with his cloud-patterned white-soled boots, and wiped the hilt of the Imperial Sword with his handkerchief, and said to Li Bing, "Go in!"

"Yes!"

Li Bing immediately led his men in.

At this time, no one was trying to stop him.

Because everyone was shocked by the scene of Zhang Cong brazenly killing Xie Di.

"My brother!"

Xie Qian even couldn't help but cry out in pain.

He had never suffered a blow of this magnitude in his life!
then.

Xie Qian pointed at Zhang Cong angrily and said, "Zhang Fujing, I, Xie Qian, swear to kill you! I swear to kill you!"

After Xie Qian said this, his eyes suddenly rolled back and his whole body fell onto the bluestone slabs like a golden mountain collapsing.

Upon seeing this, Governor Xia Yan hurriedly supported him and said, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"Lord, what should we do? Lord Xie has fainted!"

Xia Yan became so anxious that he yelled at Fei Hong.

"What else can we do? Let someone carry Mr. Xie back quickly!"

Fei Hong said this in a trembling voice, and at the same time he looked at Zhang Cong with a gloomy look.

Xie Qian was carried back here.

Fei Hong also walked up to Zhang Cong and said, "If Lord Xie gets mad at you, what will His Majesty do?!"

"What else can I do? You can use my head to appease the hearts of scholars all over the world."

Zhang Cong replied.

After hearing this, Fei Hong took a deep breath and looked at Zhang Cong: "Zhang Bingyong! I have been in the government for a few years longer than you, and I have a piece of advice for you: when you are an official, you must be humble and modest!"

"Lord, I have something to say to you as well."

"An official should not be too careless about the people, otherwise, when the villagers dismember you next time, it may not just be the Fei family that is dismembered!"

Zhang Cong also started to teach Fei Hong a lesson. Fei Hong blushed and gritted his teeth, "You mean, it is because I, the Fei family, behaved badly in the village that I was resented by the villagers?"

"You know whether it is or not!"

Zhang Cong replied with a smile.

Fei Hong said: "Do I know? I only know that the traitor Zhu Chenhao hated me for not wanting to join him, so he instigated the local thieves to harm my family!"

"A big family like the Fei family should be able to live in harmony with their neighbors and keep the village free of thieves. How come there are thieves in the village?"

Zhang Cong asked back.

"You are really unreasonable!"

Fei Hong turned around, flicked his sleeves, and went to Xie Qian's "Grand Secretary" room.

Zhejiang officials such as Xia Yan and Pan Fang also followed and looked at Zhang Cong sideways.

Because in their view, Zhang Cong was indeed unreasonable, and what he said was so inhumane and harsh.

"Everyone knows that the Fei family helped the poor and needy in Qianshan and was loved by the people. But in Zhang Fujing's mouth, the Fei family became the public enemy of the people of Qianshan!"

It was at this time that Xia Yan spoke up to speak up for Fei Hong.

Zhejiang Provincial Governor Pan Fang also said: "It is because the cabinet minister is magnanimous and the prime minister is broad-minded that he did not bother with him. Otherwise, just based on this point, he could be charged with the crime of slandering the elders and defaming famous officials!"

"Budo!"

"We found a lot of bamboos and trees. I counted the golden nanmu trees alone and there are more than a hundred of them!"

"The warehouse is filled with red sandalwood, wenge, and huanghuali wood!"

At this time, Li Bing suddenly walked out of "Dafangbodi" in a hurry and started talking to Zhang Cong.

Fei Hong, Xia Yan and others also heard it at this time because they had not walked far.

Zhang Cong praised loudly after hearing this: "Great!"

then.

Zhang Cong ordered: "Immediately organize local laborers, recruit boats, load the bamboo and wood onto the boats, register them, and then transport them to the capital!"

Li Bing nodded and said yes.

Fei Hong was also stunned for a moment, then he walked over quickly and called out to Li Bing: "Are you telling the truth?"

Li Bing clasped his hands and said, "Sir, how dare I slander the Xie family!"

At this time, Fei Hong said to his followers: "Go and call the Xie family to ask them what is going on with this bamboo and wood?"

Fei Hong's followers immediately bowed and left.

Fei Hong himself followed Zhang Cong to the "Dafangbodi" and came to the place where bamboo and wood were stored.

Xia Yan and other Zhejiang officials also followed.

By then.

Zhang Cong saw that there were indeed a large number of bamboos and wood stored in the warehouse, and there were indeed no less than a hundred pieces of golden nanmu wood, all of which were as thick as bear waists and had orange-yellow cross-sections like gold.

Fei Hong couldn't help but take a few steps back, dumbfounded.

then.

Fei Hong looked at Xia Yan and Pan Fang and asked loudly, "What are you doing in Zhejiang? Don't you know that Xie Di has hidden so many bamboos and woods for the royal family?!"

"My Lord, allow me to report!"

"We also know that Xie Di is a relative of Lord Xie, so even if the tax collectors reported that a large number of Xie family ships passed by, we dare not ask too much!"

Governor Xia Yan hurriedly explained at this time.

He also wiped the sweat from his head.

Then, Xia Yan bowed to Zhang Cong again and said, "It is the Grand Marshal who is very perceptive, courageous and resourceful. He was able to seize so many banned bamboos and woods! I admire you very much, I admire you very much!"

no way.

Xia Yan had to change his attitude towards Zhang Cong.

Because he soon realized that so many bamboos and woods were seized, and the key point was that there were also many banned woods, which gave the court a reason to confiscate all of them.

Although these bamboos and wood may not all be transported from the bamboo and wood section, but rather wood that the Xie family participated in smuggling, these woods were prepared to be sold to many wealthy families in Jiangnan to build luxurious gardens!
But now, the imperial court has confiscated all of it. Can the Xie family still say that these woods are not all from the bamboo and wood extraction factory?
Therefore, Xia Yan knew clearly that this meant that the emperor would not have to worry about insufficient or poor quality shipbuilding materials when building warships in the future, and Zhang Cong would also make great contributions because of this!
Receive greater grace!
As for the burning of the bamboo and wood extraction factory and the cruel killing of gentry, they were not things worthy of being blamed by the emperor!
Next, he will be promoted and even enter the cabinet, further gaining the emperor's trust.

Naturally, Xia Yan had no reason to offend Zhang Cong, an official who was sure to be greatly favored by the emperor.

"Your Majesty once said that a minister should use his body as a torch. As long as you do this, you will be fearless and can solve this major case!"

Zhang Cong has always been soft-hearted and does not respond to tough words. After hearing Xia Yan's flattery, he couldn't help but laugh and talk.

"Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely right!"

"It truly speaks to the integrity that a minister should have!"

Xia Yan pretended to think seriously, then nodded, and smiled again and spoke to the Inspector Pan Fang.

Pan Fang naturally nodded as well: "Yes! This is truly a profound insight, and it should be passed down as an official motto for generations! It should be passed down as an official motto for generations!"

"Exactly this!"

"In terms of practicing the teachings of the Lord, I am still lacking compared to the ministers!"

Xia Yan continued to agree seriously, and seeing that Zhang Cong liked to hear good words, he praised Zhang Cong again and took the initiative to bow to Zhang Cong.

Fei Hong looked at this scene with mixed feelings, but he had to change his attitude towards Zhang Cong and said:
"The teachings of the Holy Spirit are indeed penetrating and point out the way a minister should behave. They are worth our understanding and practice. However, I still hope that you will not take this too far and directly order the detention of Lord Xie, or even directly search the 'Grand Scholar's House'!"

"Because no matter what, the Grand Secretary's Mansion was built by the imperial decree of the Filial Piety Temple, and Lord Xie is also a veteran who assisted two generations of previous emperors!"

"As a minister, I must always consider the late emperor's reputation!"

Fei Hongyan said.

Zhang Cong said after hearing this: "But we have to ask. He, Xie Ge Lao's family, has found so many banned woods, so they have to give an explanation to the court!"

"The elders and ministers are reporting!"

“This is not our home!”

"My family and my second uncle's family have long been separated, and we have even created a separate family tree!"

Xie Zheng, who rushed here, immediately knelt down in front of Fei Hong and Zhang Cong.

(End of this chapter)