Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 115 A Sharp Knife
Lord Neitai Wu Weicheng?
Several provincial government officials sitting at the top almost all turned their eyes to Cao Yucheng, the prefect of Nanjing, and said in their hearts, "Great."

They didn't dare to confront their immediate superior, Elong, not because they were afraid of him, but because it was not worth it and would have a bad reputation.

The Governor Elong is an airborne bureaucrat from the royal family, with no roots or connections in Jiangnan Province. The family of Wang Jincai, a large grain merchant that he had worked so hard to develop, was taken over by others. How much can he do?

There is nothing wrong with putting the blame on the Minister Wu Weicheng so that he can avoid being implicated.

The governor, Elong, also came to his senses. He sat down again, panting, frowned at Cao Yucheng and asked, "The Jinling prefect is my supervisor. Is it really impossible?"

"Please understand, Your Excellency, this is a case of 'illegal sale of military rations' that was handled by the General. It concerns the military affairs of the imperial court and is not something that this government can interfere in."

"So... Minister Wu Weicheng is okay?"

"You may inquire, but if I interfere with the release of the prisoner, I'm afraid Lord Wu Weicheng will be unable to withstand the impeachment. This matter is extremely difficult, and it may have reached the emperor. The prisoner must be escorted to the imperial prison in the capital. If the case is complicated, it will be tried by the three judicial officials."

"Huh..."

Upon hearing this, Governor Elong took a deep breath, his face changed, and his expression became visibly weak.

If the family of Wang Jincai, the big grain merchant, is proven guilty, I, as his backer, will not be able to escape the consequences. If I am implicated, it will be a big deal.

Elong felt bitter at the moment. Why was it so difficult to get some money?
He doesn't even think about it.

Food is a bulk commodity, and its price doesn't fluctuate much. The key is to sell in large quantities. The larger the quantity, the more money you can make.

Elong was so greedy that he took away most of the profits, almost eating them all.

The big grain merchant Wang Jincai was forced into a corner. If he didn't make money from such a big business, but only wanted to gain publicity, who would be willing to work hard and rush ahead for him?

So, all kinds of weird ideas came out.

Passing inferior goods off as good ones is the most conscientious practice. They would pass off moldy grain as good grain, mix in sand and stones, and shortchange the soldiers in all kinds of ways, and the military rations were no exception.

Now... someone has caught me in a weak spot.

After discussing for half a day in the hall, they still couldn't come up with a set of rules. The governor Elong could only drive all the officials away in frustration and returned to the inner house with his hands behind his back.

Wu Jianchuan, the councilor of the prefecture, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry as he took a handwritten letter and was told to go to the Censorate to meet with the Chief Justice Wu Weicheng. In the end, this matter fell on him.

Regardless of how chaotic the Provincial History Office was, after Zheng Guohui arrested the people, he directly searched the residence of the big grain merchant Wang Jincai.

In the end, he only seized gold, silver, and cloth worth 1.3 taels of silver, which was not even enough to fill his teeth, and he called it too stingy.

For such a small amount of money, the Thunder would be at a loss.

A total of more than 17 dan of grain were confiscated in stores and warehouses. No more than % of the grain was good quality, and % was low-quality grain that was moldy and adulterated.

From this
Wang Jincai, the big grain merchant, only cares about the price when buying grain and doesn't care whether it is edible or not. He is so cruel.

"Jinghai, this matter is too reckless and not the golden mean." Li Hezhang advised with a serious expression.

In official circles, one must keep a low profile and blend in with others. Zheng Guohui acted so ruthlessly without discussing it with him beforehand, which put him in a passive position.

"I was reckless, but I feel uncomfortable not being able to vent my anger. I hope my brother Xianqun will forgive me."

Knowing that he was in the wrong, Zheng Guohui smiled apologetically, walked up to Li Hezhang, held his arm, and asked him to sit down and talk.

Then he walked to the side and sat down, picked up the pineapple pieces on bamboo sticks on the plate and was about to pass it over.

Li Hezhang quickly stretched out his hand to block it. He was a little overwhelmed by Zheng Guohui's attentiveness and sighed.

"Jinghai, don't blame me for being nosy.

Insincere social engagements are rampant in official circles, but no one will go to extremes and always leaves some room.

This is the truth of officialdom. There will always be a time when the mountains are high and the waters are low.

If they tear off their faces and start a fight, even if they win the fight against Elong, they will only hurt the enemy by a thousand and their own by eight hundred. What do the officials in the court think?
Jinghai has a bright future. I know your heart isn't in the court, but you can't ruin your own future. It's not worth it!"

"Brother Xianqie is right, but I just don't want to tolerate that damn official." Zheng Guohui said harshly and handed over the pineapple chunks again with both hands.

Li Hezhang took it reluctantly, said "thank you", and said, "In that case, then fuck him, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Brother Xianqie, what you said is exactly what I agree with. Seeing that the date is getting late, the Japanese official will set off for the north soon. I will ask Brother Xianqie to take care of everything at home, including my two useless brothers."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Just leave it to me. If there's anything naughty, Jinghai won't blame me for being too harsh."

"That's right, wonderful!" Zheng Guohui clapped and laughed, looking extremely happy.

Li Hezhang is a true elder. He is upright and does not tolerate any flaws. The Li family in northern Anhui has always had strict family education, so you can rest assured in leaving the matter to him.

Having found such a strict teacher, the third son Zheng Guoguang and the fourth son Zheng Guoyao will suffer now, and Zheng Guohui is very happy.

"Jinghai, when will you leave?"

"In the next two or three days."

"Then give the military camp instructions and leave as soon as possible. Oh, and don't forget to take Wang Jincai and his family with you. They're a burden if they leave them here. If someone gets killed, you won't be able to explain it."

"I've already transferred them to the Xiaguan Wharf military camp and will take them with me when we leave." "How long will it take?"

"Three months, maybe. If you have something important to do, you can return earlier. The longest time limit is no more than three months."

"Then I wish my lord a happy marriage and a son soon. This is my gift." Li Hezhang said, pulling out a folded gift list from his sleeve and handing it over.

Zheng Guohui said, "Thank you, Third Uncle," and took it with both hands. He opened the gift list and took a look. He immediately raised his eyebrows and said, "The rest is fine, but this famous Huizhou inkstone is Third Uncle's favorite. A gentleman does not take away what is loved by others. How can I do this?"

"He's a hero, but is Jinghai a gentleman?"

"A gift from an elder cannot be refused. If this is the case, Jinghai will feel ashamed to accept it." Zheng Guohui accepted it with a smile.

The gift list included the usual pens, ink, paper, inkstone, brocade, cloth, etc., totaling two carts of gifts. The value was not very high, just over a hundred taels of silver, but the thought behind it was what mattered.

Li Hezhang was not a rich man. He served as an official for 20 years, mostly as an aide to Zeng Guofan and his two brothers. His salary was not much, just enough to support his family.

Zeng Guofan, originally the backer of the Li family, has risen rapidly in the past decade or so. The most famous thing is that Prince Gong Yixin was particularly fond of Zeng Guofan, and promoted him seven times in ten years, making exceptions all the way.

Li Hezhang was promoted to the rank of fourth-rank governor of Gansu and Liang, and was then invited by Zeng Guofan to be in charge of the food and fodder logistics of the Zhejiang and Fujian armies. He devoted all his efforts to assisting with strategic planning and it was impossible for him to embezzle money.

He had never been appointed to the Ganliang Road, so naturally he could not earn much money.

Seeing the gift list, Zheng Guohui thought of something else and asked, "Brother Xianqie, is there any money left in the account?"

"What do you think?" Li Hezhang asked back.

Zheng Guohui is very ruthless in making money, but he is even more ruthless in spending it. The money flows out like a river, giving Li Hezhang, the chief steward, a headache.

When asked in return, Zheng Guohui did not get angry. He smiled and said, "Hehe..." and then explained;

"It is precisely because I cannot accumulate wealth that I want to return the 6 taels of silver to the Li family, so that they will not forget it for a long time."

"What good things are you thinking about?" Li Hezhang couldn't help laughing when he heard his words, and nodded helplessly.
"My second uncle also guaranteed the money I borrowed from my clan. General, please don't harm us.

Now I have to pay back two thousand taels every month, and the interest is calculated at one cent. If it is lower, I can't justify it to my clan.

It took more than two years to pay it off.”

Zheng Guohui said, "Since Brother Xianqie is so concerned, I will not ask any more questions and will go north with peace of mind."

These two days

The seagoing vessel docked at Xiaguan Wharf was being loaded with cargo in full swing. Various heavy boxes and cages were loaded onto the ship, and officers and soldiers were on high alert all around.

Outsiders cannot get close at all.

Even the arrival of the Censorate was turned away with one sentence: "This is a strategic military area. To enter, please bring the general's handwritten order."

Officials from the Censorate could boss people around in other places, but they had no idea what to do in front of these stubborn officers and soldiers.

There is no way, I can only make a wasted trip.

When Neitai Wu Weicheng arrived at the Gulou military camp with official documents, he learned that Zheng Guohui had already left Nanjing by boat and headed north to the capital.

The family of Wang Jincai, a grain merchant involved in the case, was also escorted to the imperial prison in the capital on the same ship. The relevant case was handed over to the court for trial and no one could interfere.

Negotiator Wu Weicheng, who had come with great fanfare, turned pale when he heard this. He was firmly turned away and sat back in his sedan chair in anger, ordering his men to turn around and return.

At this time, I am still stranded at the gate of the Drum Tower military camp. No one is there to greet me and I can't find the person in charge. Should I embarrass myself here?
Originally, Wu Weicheng, the Censor of Jiangnan, and Zheng Guohui were from the same faction and were both disciples of the Minister of Rites, Fuzhu Shoushan.

But now that Zheng Guohui has defected to Prince Gong, the two are no longer on the same path, so naturally there is no extra affection between them. Everyone should just handle their business in an impartial manner.

At this time, Zheng Guohui had already reached the sea. The large sailing ship Guangming sailed all the way and arrived at the sea near Weihai in just three days after leaving Jinling.

Another day and a half will take you to the Haihe Wharf in Tianjin.

The Guangming sailing ship was very capable of carrying hundreds of tons of cargo, and it sailed forward easily and carefree, cutting through the waves.

Zheng Guohui was leisurely drinking tea and reading in the luxurious stern cabin. He felt very happy when he thought about those people who came to him empty-handed.

After all, he is a reborn person, and he can't tolerate Elong's bad habits.

Whether from the perspective of business competition among grain merchants or from the court's party struggles, especially the latter, he must not be given a way out once he takes action.

This is also the awareness of being a member of Prince Gong's party. Zheng Guohui regards himself as a sharp knife, and he will chop down any political enemy who dares to show his teeth.

This is what it means to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

Zheng Guohui, who was well-versed in history, was certain that the current imperial court could not do without Prince Gong. It was inevitable that the two old ladies in the palace would have to seek help from Prince Gong's mansion sooner or later.

The court is in such a mess. Do you really think anyone can run it smoothly after picking it up? Those royal family members are totally incapable of handling it. How ridiculous of them to take it for granted.

As for losing your reputation and being disliked by officials in the court, does that really matter?
As long as he clung to Prince Gong Yixin's thigh, Zheng Guohui was not afraid of offending all the court officials. In a word, it was nothing.

(End of this chapter)