Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 245 People always like to compromise and find a middle ground.
"Has the silver been counted?"

"The inventory is complete. Our warehouse has a total of 5,870 taels of silver. The amount at Chaotian Palace is less, but judging from the number of boxes, it's at least 4,000 taels!"

"so much?"

"Not only silver, but also many treasures, two whole carts full of stolen goods!"

"Didn't you take a good look around? It would be such a waste if they were all sent to the Ministry of Revenue!"

"I've visited it, and it's truly magnificent! I saw a jade-seated golden Buddha, two sets of yin-yang bronze sundials, three strings of South Sea pearls, and four rhinoceros horn cups carved with lingzhi mushrooms... all of which are very compatible with the feng shui of Your Excellency's residence. I've already removed them all, but they haven't been registered!"

Hearing Tan Jing's report, Sun Weixian nodded in satisfaction. Whether in Nanjing or the capital, the Jinyiwei's core skills must not be lost. He then instructed, "Liu Qin and Ma Shunzhi led the team to meet those two members of the Twenty-Eight Constellations of Beizhili. You arrange for their assistance. After they enter the imperial prison, we must keep an eye on them!"

Liu Qin and Ma Shunzhi were two other trusted confidants that Sun Weixian brought from Nanjing. He arranged for them to capture "Ghost Golden Sheep" and "Zhang Yuelu" from the Twenty-Eight Mansions.

He trusted his two subordinates' ability to catch thieves, but he was worried about the prison interrogation process after they returned, fearing that Wang Zuo would try to take credit for it.

After all, the achievements of this arrest were truly remarkable. The entire operation was carried out in one day, the interrogation was completed on the same day, the stolen goods were seized on the same day, and the next phase of the pursuit was initiated. Wang Zuo probably never imagined that he, as a deputy commander, could be so impressive.
Thinking of this, Sun Weixian suddenly asked, "What did you prepare for Hai Hanlin?"

Tan Jing was taken aback: "Should we prepare?"

"Of course!"

Sun Weixian's face darkened.

Tan Jing's eyes darted around, and he said in a low voice, "I saw a set of writing implements, which is quite valuable. It is said to have been passed down from the Song Dynasty. Should we take it out as well?"

Sun Weixian waved his hand: "From now on, all these types should be removed!"

Tan Jing recalled the grand wedding of that man, a scale indeed unparalleled among young officials, and the supreme honor of receiving a book bestowed by the Emperor. However, the mansion and furnishings were quite simple, and he worried, "Won't Hai Hanlin accept it..."

"stupid!"

Sun Weixian said, "If he doesn't accept it, does that mean we won't send it? We should accept gifts when they are most appropriate and gestures when they are least appropriate! Do I have to teach him this basic etiquette?"

"understand!"

The efficiency of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was indeed high. Before long, Tan Jing delivered the writing materials. Sun Weixian couldn't wait to stay overnight, so he went to visit Dongjiang Rice Lane.

As soon as I reached the alley entrance, I saw a figure in a Taoist robe emerge from the doorway. The figure hunched over and maintained this posture for quite some time before straightening up and leaving.

"Humph!"

Sun Weixian's eyes turned cold, and he stepped forward, deliberately making his steps heavier.

Tao Dianzhen turned her head, paused slightly, and her wide sleeves moved without any wind.

Two gazes clashed in mid-air like frosty blades, and neither spoke a word until they passed each other.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Sun Weixian stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a short while, his pageboy Gong Hao opened the door and welcomed him into the outer hall where guests were received.

Haiyue was reading a book when she saw this and got up to greet him: "Brother Defu."

"Oh dear, I don't deserve it!"

Sun Weixian smiled broadly: "Mingwei, please just call me Defu. Although I am a few years older than you, I really dare not call you brother in front of you!"

Haiyue smiled slightly and said nothing more: "Please."

Sun Weixian sat down, exchanged a few pleasantries, and took out the brocade box he was carrying: "I apologize for my sudden visit tonight. I happen to have a set of old stationery items that have been gathering dust. As the saying goes, a fine sword is given to a hero. I hope Brother Mingwei will not find them offensive!"

Having said that, he opened the brocade box and first picked up the ink stick: "This ink was made using the ancient method of Mi Fu, with pine soot mixed with borneol, and it is said that it will not dissipate for a hundred years!"

He then gently tapped the Chengni inkstone: "The gold star eyebrow pattern from the old pit of Shezhou was Huang Tingjian's favorite!"

Then, lifting the stack of stationery, it was revealed that when Li Qingzhao wrote "The west wind rolls up the curtain," she used precisely this kind of swallow-patterned stationery!

Hearing this, Haiyue felt the pen looked somewhat familiar. Sun Weixian continued, "The penholder was made from a rhinoceros horn brought back by Zheng He from his voyages. There haven't been any rhinoceros horns this large since. The pen cap is more ordinary; it's carved from Lantian jade, just for good luck..."

Finally, he removed the cap, revealing the bright red bristles: "The most precious thing is the bristles on this brush! It was made from the tail hair of a weasel with entirely red fur that the chieftain of Yunnan captured in the ninth year of the Zhengde reign. He showed it to many people, and they all said that there might only be one like it in a thousand years!"

Haiyue couldn't hold back anymore.

its not right!
This shouldn't be from the 30th year of the Jiajing reign; how did it get moved to the 9th year of the Zhengde reign?

Of course, he also knew that this might not be a complete set; for a scholar, the Four Treasures of the Study would indeed be the most suitable gift.

Haiyue neither refused nor accepted the gift, but instead asked directly, "Did you come here because you also learned about that matter, Defu?"

Sun Weixian's eyes flickered: "What is it?" "It's about the arrest of the Liyuan Society thieves, who revealed a shocking list of their accomplices. Now it's a question of how to deal with them!"

Haiyue said, "Have you seen the list of names that Fan Jing'an gave in his confession?"

"I've seen it..."

Sun Weixian said decisively, "This villain knows he is doomed and wants to drag all his old enemies down with him. He is making many accusations and spouting nonsense, so he is not to be believed!"

Haiyue looked at him: "Can't we investigate the wealthy merchants from Jiangnan on the list?"

Sun Weixian's expression turned serious: "We can't investigate everything!"

"However, the Li Yuan Society's actions constitute treason, and His Majesty will not forgive them. The Cabinet will not miss this opportunity!"

Haiyue said, "The ministers who opposed the conquest of Annam previously cited the empty treasury as the reason, which is indeed an indisputable fact. The cabinet has long been worried about this, but has been unable to resolve it. Now the opportunity has come."

Sun Weixian understood, and his expression became uncertain.

After a brief silence, he gritted his teeth and slowly said, "Mingwei, there's no need for empty talk between us. While Li Yuanshe certainly deserves to die, the powerful clans of Jiangzhe have been domineering and lawless for years, yet every emperor has found it difficult to shake their foundations. Why is that? It's because most of the nation's taxes come from this region! Even if we have irrefutable evidence of treason, to eradicate these powerful clans, the court must be willing to bear the terrible cost of turmoil in Jiangzhe, the disruption of the Grand Canal, and the loss of tax revenue. Otherwise, let's hold off!"

In his view, Li Yuanshe had overstepped its bounds and its slogans were too offensive. If it hadn't been so arrogant in targeting the imperial power, even if its actions were no different, the court wouldn't have been so alarmed.

Even so, the only ones they could actually eliminate were medium-sized border merchants like the Fan family. Even if the top Shanxi merchants were involved in the crimes of the Liyuan Society, there wouldn't be much of a turmoil, let alone the local tyrants in the Jiangnan region.

"The war in Annam is indeed lacking in supplies and provisions to support a protracted conflict..."

Sun Weixian said in a deep voice: "If the court really dares to take action against the powerful families in Jiangnan and use their confiscated assets to pay the army, I'm afraid that while we're still sharpening our knives, all the grain transport ships will be stranded on the other side. At that time, the supply lines will be cut off, which will only drag down the war in Annam and cause the royal army to suffer a great defeat!"

These words truly came from the heart. Haiyue nodded slightly in agreement: "We really must guard against such a counterattack!"

Sun Weixian had just breathed a sigh of relief when Haiyue continued, "But the cabinet will not give up!"

"The Cabinet... the Cabinet... Grand Secretary Zhang!"

Despite his background as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Sun Weixian intentionally sought to gravitate towards the scholar-official circle, and naturally heard about the various opinions the literati had of that Grand Secretary.

"Those who advance by chance and whose aim is to curry favor are all petty people." "Those who use flattery to mislead others are actually making themselves appear arrogant when they are not."

Especially since the implementation of the new policies, Zhang Cong's reputation has been declining. Even though he lived frugally, did not bestow favors upon his sons and nephews, never indulged his family members in evil deeds, was upright and honest, and devoted himself to public service, in terms of personal character, he was the most admired moral gentleman among the literati. However, these gentlemen of the literati never mentioned this. They focused on Zhang Cong's past memorial supporting the emperor's respect for his father, which caused the controversy of the Great Rites Controversy, and his evil act of crying and remonstrating at Zuo Shun Gate. They considered it nothing more than flattery and the face of a petty person, and he should be nailed to the pillar of shame.

Sun Weixian knew perfectly well what was going on. The new policies of land surveying, the Single Whip Law, and the rectification of officialdom were all aimed at the vested interests of those people. With the pen in their hands, how could there be a single good word?
But precisely because of this, Zhang Cong never considered the words of these people when he acted, and even after Gui E died and the power of the newly rich in the Great Rites Controversy gradually declined, he still remained consistent.

Haiyue said, "Once His Majesty is persuaded, he will naturally need a Jinyiwei officer familiar with Southern Zhili to carry out the mission..."

"Me?"

Sun Weixian gave a wry smile, stood up, and said seriously, "Thank you for your advice, Mingwei!"

Haiyue looked at him: "What do you intend to do?"

Sun Weixian replied without hesitation, "Of course I'll find an opportunity to feign illness. This is a task I absolutely cannot take on, as my clan is still in Southern Zhili!"

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guards were the emperor's henchmen, they were still flesh and blood, with families and relatives, and were inevitably bound by worldly affairs.

Take Sun Weixian, for example. His family was deeply entrenched in various forces in Southern Zhili. If he were to be ordered to raise the butcher's knife against his old friends, even if it was an imperial decree that was hard to disobey, he would likely face great difficulties in the Jiangnan region in the future.

Haiyue wasn't surprised at all, but added, "But Fan Jing'an is ultimately someone we've captured. If you don't go, and someone else does, wouldn't they be furious if we traced the root of the problem back to them?"

"this!"

Sun Weixian was stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh: "What should we do?"

Haiyue said, "I have two suggestions, which Defu may take into consideration."

Sun Weixian's good mood for making a contribution vanished completely, and he said listlessly, "I am all ears..."

"One!"

Haiyue lightly tapped the table with her fingertips: "There is more than just Grand Secretary Zhang in the cabinet!"

Sun Weixian's eyes flickered, as if he were deep in thought.

"Second!"

Haiyue's lips curled into a smile: "People's nature always prefers compromise and moderation. If we first show the force of thunder and display the momentum of annihilating the clan, and then only take money and food in the end, I believe those smart people will understand the good intentions behind it!"

(End of this chapter)