Jinyi Town Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 8 Confession
It was already night when He Liu walked out of Beizhen Fusi.

The street is deserted.In front of Jinyu Alley, an old man shouted loudly: "Candy, gourd~"

He Liu walked over and bought a bunch of candied haws.Daughter Xiangxiang loves this food the most.

The old man handed the candied haws to He Liu: "Master, ten big coins."

He Liu casually took out a piece of broken silver that cost two or three dollars, and handed it to the old man.

The old man was terrified: "Master, I can't find it!"

He Liu smiled: "That's all. My daughter loves your candied haws the most. You don't need to look for it."

Thank you, old man.

He Liu is in a good mood.Holding candied haws, he hummed Kunqu opera as he walked home: "I stood on the city tower, looking at the mountain scenery, and I could hear the chaos outside the city..."

Today, the four silver pillars worth more than 20 taels were dug up at Wanqing Liang's house. According to Jin Yiwei's practice, he can get a reward of 200 taels of silver.

The position of checking and inspecting hundreds of households does not seem to be very big, there are only six ranks, but it is a fat and oily position.

He Liu is not as ambitious as those colleagues.With a comfortable salary, he occasionally earns a considerable amount of rewards to support his daughter, he is very content.

Back in her small courtyard, Aunt Zhang greeted her: "Master He is back! I made a pot of noodles with fried sauce. Xiangxiang has already eaten."

"Father!" Daughter Xiangxiang ran out of the main room, and rushed into He Liu's arms like a nimble little monkey.

"Father, did you bring me something delicious?" Xiangxiang asked.

He Liu raised the candied haws in his hand: "You know how to eat it. Here it is."

Xiangxiang snatched the candied haws into her hand: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Dad, I'll eat five, and I'll keep two for you."

He Liu kissed Xiangxiang: "Just keep one for dad."

The daughter ate the candied haws sweetly, and when the last one was left, she took it off the bamboo stick and stuffed it into He Liu's mouth.

It was late at night, He Liu coaxed his daughter to bed and fell asleep, pulled the corner of the quilt for her, and went back to his own bed to lie down.

His mind was full of the four big silver pillars.

How did that Wan Anliang deceive others, melting 20 taels of silver into four big silver pillars without anyone noticing, and then quietly erecting them in that inconspicuous small courtyard?
A series of questions flashed through He Liu's mind.

Early the next morning, Lao Hu came to He Liu's house on time to grab a meal.

Lao Hu put the tin jug on the dining table: "Copy those four stalks from Wan Anliang's house, you will earn a big reward, Lao Liu. But I'm surprised, since Wan Anliang is Why would a corrupt official who pretends to be an upright official want to offend the Emperor, and what memorial will he give?"

He Liu shook his head: "I don't know. The court affairs have always been so unclear. If I can figure it out, I'm not a hundred households, but the governor of Beisi."

Old Hu said: "That's right. My apprentice Liu Da is better than us in this point. He knows everything about the court. Or can he be the governor of Beisi?"

He Liu said: "Yesterday, Governor Liu seemed very happy."

Lao Hu took a sip of his wine and said: "It's right to be happy. Wan Anliang is one of the thorns in the eyes of Yan Song and Yan Shoufu. Yan Shoufu is not happy to find physical evidence of Wan Anliang's corruption! Liu Da's Beisi Governor Yan Shoufu helped him get the position from Commander Lu! He and Yan Shoufu wear a pair of trousers, so I am happy to give Mr. Shoufu this favor."

He Liu put a piece of green celery into the fragrant bowl.

Xiangxiang frowned.Seeing Qingcai is like Yan Song seeing Wan Anliang.

He Liu poured a glass of wine for Lao Hu: "I don't care about those messy things in the court. I thought about it all night last night, but I still can't figure it out—what method did Wan Anliang use to get those four A big silver pillar."

Old Hu asked He Liu: "Didn't you go to prison yesterday? Didn't that Wan Anliang confess?"

"Crack", Xiangxiang wanted to use the chopsticks to sneak the piece of green celery in the bowl to the ground.The sharp-eyed He Liu saw through the baby girl's trick at a glance, and caught Xiangxiang's chopsticks with his own chopsticks.

"No confession. It's as hard as a rock. I have to say that I am an upright official. But before I left the prison, Mr. Jin swore to me that he didn't need to be tortured. He only needed to chat with Wan Anliang all night, and Wan Anliang would be fine." Can confess. What the third master said is a bit big. "

Lao Hu took a sip of his wine: "Heh, since the third brother Jin said this, he has full confidence. I have been in Jinyiwei for 40 years, and I only admire two people, one is your father, and the other is the third brother Jin." His mouth can make the fish in the river jump ashore. Commander Lu said: Jin Laosan's mouth is worth 46 severe punishments!"

He Liudao: "Well, we will go to the prison in a while, and we will know whether or not Mr. Jin's mouth can tell the fish in the river to jump ashore."

After He Liu and Lao Hu finished their meal, they came to Beizhen Fusi.

Outside the "Truth Room", stood four captains under Jin Wanguan.All four of them looked listless.

He Liu walked over, and the four captains cupped their hands and said, "I've seen Mr. Liu."

He Liu asked: "The third master interrogated Wan Anliang last night?"

A school captain nodded wearily: "Yes. It has been interrogated all night, and it is still being interrogated inside."

He Liu said to Lao Hu: "Old Hu, wait at the door. I'll go in and have a look."

The "truth room" in the imperial prison is not something that anyone can enter whenever they want.Jinyiwei Zhongren, from top to bottom, is divided into lishi, school lieutenant, small banner, general banner, trial hundred households, hundred households, deputy thousand households, thousand households, town Fushi, commander Shishi, commander Tongzhi, commander envoy Eleven and so on.Lao Hu is only a tenth-rank Xiaoqi, so he can't enter and leave the truth room at will.

He Liu is different.Although he is only the seventh-class hundred households, he is the sixth child in the Thirteenth Taibao. He can come and go anywhere in Fusi Yamen in Beizhen at will.

After He Liu entered, he was stunned by the sight in front of him.

The Qingliu leader, Wan Anliang Wan Shilang, who is harder than a rock, is sitting on a chair and weeping bitterly!

Jin Wanguan gave He Liu a wink, motioning him to sit down and not talk.

Wan Anliang cried for half a stick of incense. After a long time, he finally said, "Alas, Grandpa Cheng visited the West Lake and asked all the officials how many boats there are on the lake. None of the officials could answer. Only Monk Daoyan answered: "West Lake There were two boats on board. The officials were puzzled, but Monk Daoyan explained: one is called Ming, and the other is called Li."

He Liu couldn't understand why Wan Anliang said this allusion.

Jin Wanguan said with a smile: "Master Wan means that people in the world either strive for fame or profit. Do you want both fame and profit?"

Wan Anliang wiped his nose: "Yes, Mr. Jin, what you said is true! I figured it out after talking with you this night. I am really the most greedy person in the world. In order to gain a direct admonition to a loyal minister I have always opposed Yan Song because of my reputation. I also wrote to the emperor to persuade him not to use money from the treasury to build temples. For my own self-interest, I was like a thief in the market, secretly taking money from the Shenli Treasury of the Ministry of Rites under my control. Silver. I really want both fame and profit."

The Ministry of Rites Shenli Treasury is where the Ministry of Rites stores incense and tax silver.

Jin Wanguan spread out a piece of paper and picked up a pen: "Master Wan, please be more careful."

Wan Anliang continued: "I have been an official for 25 years, and in the first 22 years, I was indeed a clean official. But why can clean officials only eat brown rice and green vegetables, while those corrupt officials who are strict with the party live in luxury? I want to understand ! Honest officials are for others to see! In the end, they will only suffer for themselves! So I became greedy."

Jin Wanguan said: "Talk about the Shenli Treasury."

Wan Anliang said: "Shenli's inventory stores the incense tax silver collected by the Ministry of Rites over the years. After decades of accumulation, there are always three or four million taels of silver in deposit. The accounts of the incense tax silver are another muddled account, and no one can explain clearly. I am in charge of the Shenli Treasury. Every day, I take four 400 taels of silver coins from the Shenli Treasury and put them in two sleeves and take them home. For three years, I have been doing this every day... The accumulation is just right It's more than 50 taels."

He Liu was amazed—the dignified third-rank official didn't "greed" money, but "steal" it!Just like a thief in the market place!
Jin Wanguan said: "Last night at midnight, you said that the joints of your hands often hurt unbearably. Could it be that you are tired from stealing money in your sleeves every day?"

Wan Anliang said: "Yes. Think about it, Mr. Jin. Four 50 taels of silver coins are 200 taels. They are divided into two sleeves, and the soldiers in the Shenli Treasury will not notice it. You can get it with one hand. Bearing the weight of a hundred taels. Three years of this every day, can the joints of my hands be fine?"

Jin Wanguan recorded Wan Anliang's words one by one in his statement: "Oh, Mr. Wan, I have to say that your way of greedy for money is too low! There is less money in the Shenli Treasury, how do you explain it in the accounts?"

Wan Anliang said: "The accounts are easy to talk about. Every June and the twelfth lunar month, before Lord Shang Shu checks the accounts, I will change the accounts. Anyway, the tax bank is a messy account, and no one will notice the abnormalities in the accounts."

Jin Wanguan smiled: "Okay, now, let's talk about how you melted 20 taels of silver into four huge silver pillars without anyone noticing."

(End of this chapter)