Cao Benshu admired Fan Hongjing's character very much.
But Fan Hongjing's account books greatly disappointed Cao Benshu. Most of the contents in the account books could be verified by comparing transactions between firms, but it was just more troublesome and time-consuming.
Which officials took the dirty money and how they distributed it was the key to the investigation, but Fan Hongjing never got it. All clues to the case were cut off because of Chen Xianchun's suicide.
When Wang Cai was promoted, he refused to plead guilty, and there was no evidence that he was making money. As for the officials at higher levels, there was no way to investigate, unless everyone was arrested and tortured - which would lead to random attacks and unjust accusations.
The case was wrongly filed, or even the case was enlarged. "Still no money was found," Cao Benshu asked.
The anti-corruption officer in charge of the search said, "I dug up three feet of Wang's house and only found a few hundred silver dollars. I'm afraid that the dirty money was stored in private banks, and they didn't keep formal accounts and didn't even have access receipts, so it would be impossible to find out."
.'
Cao Benshu frowned. No dirty money was found, no evidence of corruption was found, and even the gangster suspected of murder disappeared without a trace. Such a big case could only be traced to Chen Xianchun, who committed suicide in fear of crime.
In Fan Hongjing's posthumous letter, he said that Wang Cai wanted to drag him into trouble. But the man was dead and there was no basis for his words. Wang Cai could completely refute it. "Just check the accounts from ten years ago!" Cao Benshu said.
Ten years ago, Wang Cai was still a minor official. He personally handled the customs duties and could be convicted if any problems were found.
But everyone looked embarrassed. The old accounts from ten years ago had to be compared slowly, transaction by transaction, with the accounts of the general affairs department, suppliers, foreign trade dealers, and the shipping department. Some firms went bankrupt, and some
Some companies have changed their businesses, and some companies have gone to other provinces to do business. The workload is simply killing people. Moreover, those officials in the shipping department who were investigated said that corruption was relatively restrained at first. Even if the problem is found for old accounts ten years ago,
It was also a small amount, and the officials at that time were not so rampant. "Cao Jin, there is progress in the case."
Just when Cao Benshu was frowning, a new breakthrough suddenly occurred in the interrogation of Chen Xianchun's family.
When Chen Xianchun was an official in Shanghai, he did not bring his wife, but only his second son who had committed suicide, and several relatives of the same clan who worked as servants in his old family. Most of these relatives did not know anything about it, and the only effective information they gave was only
It is Chen Xianchun who likes to associate with certain people. The officials and businessmen who often associate with Chen Xianchun have been controlled at this time, but it is still difficult to find out the facts of the case.
Two close confidants of Chen Xianchun and his son are currently missing. It is not known whether they ran away or were killed and their bodies hidden. Standing in the hall was a Hu Ji named Haitang.
Cao Benshu asked, "You said that the day before Chen Xianchun and his son committed suicide, a stranger suddenly came to visit."
"I came here at about four o'clock in the afternoon," Haitang recalled. "The young master (the second son of Chen Xianchun) was riding a carriage home. When he turned the corner, someone suddenly got on the carriage, which shocked me." Cao Benshu asked, "
Why didn’t the coachman say he saw anyone?”
Haitang explained, "The man avoided the coachman, climbed directly onto the back of the carriage, and said in a low voice, 'It's me.' After hearing this, the young master opened the small door at the rear of the carriage, put the man into the carriage, and asked the coachman to drive the carriage away.
Backyard. When he arrived at the backyard, the young master dismissed the entourage and the driver, and asked the entourage to invite the master." "You were also there at that time," Cao Benshu asked.
Haitang said, "No, the young master asked me to go back to my room to rest. After more than half an hour, the young master returned to my courtyard. He sighed and asked me to get the wine, and then he drank alone in the courtyard." "After drinking the wine, he did it again. What?" Cao Benshu asked.
Haitang said: "After drinking, the young master went to the master's place. When I woke up the next day, I found out that both the master and the master had committed suicide. Cao Benshu asked again, "Your master, did you usually talk in your sleep or talk strange words?"
Haitang said: "A month ago, the young master suddenly felt depressed and asked me to dance for him. That night, the young master had a nightmare. Some of his words in his sleep were unclear, but one sentence was 'Don't kill me'."
A month ago, when Cao Benshu was about to arrive in Shanghai, "Did anyone call out anyone's name?" Cao Benshu asked. "No," Haitang shook his head and added, "Maybe he shouted, but I didn't hear clearly." Cao Benshu asked. "Do you remember what the stranger who got on the carriage that day looked like?"
Haitang said, "Wearing a Taoist robe and a big hat. The brim of the hat covers his nose, and only his mouth and chin can be seen. By the way, he has a big beard, and he also has whiskers on his cheeks."
Cao Benshu fell silent immediately, feeling that the clue was about to be lost again.
This man can cover his face with the brim of his hat, which shows that he is deliberately hiding his appearance. Then his beard may also be glued on deliberately. Cao Benshu asked again, "How tall?"
Haitang said, "He bent down to get into the car. After sitting down, he also bent down and lowered his head. It is not easy to see how tall he is." "There are no scoundrels or scars," Cao Benshu asked again. "No." Haitang Shake his head.
Cao Benshu called all those who were being followed that day for questioning, and took Haitang to the scene to testify. "It was at this corner that I got on the bus," Haitang said.
An anti-corruption officer responsible for keeping track said, "I rented a carriage and followed it about three to four feet away. When the Chen family's carriage turned the corner, I didn't notice anything unusual. When I followed the corner and followed it, I also didn't see anyone getting on. car.'
Cao Benshu said, "You are three to four feet away from him. In other words, the time from the time the stranger jumped on the back of the car to the time he was put into the carriage must not have exceeded half a minute.'
"There's not even half a minute, at most ten seconds!" said the anti-corruption officer. Haitang echoed, "The young master opened the door very quickly, as if he had made an appointment." Cao Benshu immediately went to a nearby store and asked if anyone had seen it. Nothing was found. It had been so long that even if he had seen it, he might have forgotten it. The clean-up official suddenly said: "The carriage I rented at that time almost hit a pair of sliding poles when it turned the corner! The two bearers carrying the sliding poles probably looked at it. The person getting on the bus has arrived.”
Cao Benshu immediately ordered that the sliding-pole sedan bearers from the city be called in. This method really worked. Two sedan bearers stood up and said that they had indeed bumped into him at that time.
Cao Benshu asked, "How can you still remember after so many days?"
A bearer said, "Mr. Chen Ergong's big carriage is the only one in the city. It is more beautiful than the merchant's carriage. How can I forget it when I encounter it? "Did you see that man get on the carriage?" Cao Benshu asked.
The bearer shook his head, "I saw it. At that time, the people were still thinking, who is so bold as to dare to pick up the rear of Mr. Chen's car? Who would have expected that Mr. Chen actually opened the door and let the man in." "Did you see his face clearly?"
"No, the hat covers my face, so I just remember he has a big beard." Well, it was all in vain.
An anti-corruption officer named Cai Gang, who was responsible for monitoring the mansion, suddenly said, "This person has to come out after he goes in. The brothers stared at every corner of the mansion and found no suspicious person coming in or out, nor did they find any more suspicious people."
The carriage has left."
The anti-corruption officer who was also responsible for monitoring the mansion was named Liang Zhenguang. "At about ten o'clock the next morning, the Chen family and his son were found dead. At that time, there was a chaos inside. Half of the brothers rushed in to check the situation. That person was most likely to take advantage of the chaos.
The wall is gone!" "Search the walls everywhere," Cao Benshu said.
After searching for more than 50 minutes, I finally found climbing marks on a wall. There were a few footprints on the snow-white wall, but the footprints were incomplete.
Moreover, it had rained two days ago, so the footprints were already very faint.
Liang Zhenguang simulated the situation in his mind: "This man started running from the flower bed, jumped up on the wall with his feet, grabbed the top of the wall with his hands, and then climbed up the wall with his feet and hands. For such a high wall, he must be agile.
Not too old. "Hey!"
Another integrity officer found a small piece of cloth under the wall, which should have been torn from clothes hanging on the brick corners on the top of the wall. Cao Benshu took the piece of cloth and asked Haitang and the bearer, "That man is wearing cloth clothes" and "No."
The husband shook his head.
Haitang answered more definitely, "He is wearing a Taoist robe made of lake silk."
Cai Gang said, "This man was changing clothes in the house. He probably sneaked into a servant's room and changed his silk Taoist robe into cotton clothes. Then he pretended to be a servant and took advantage of the chaos to come here and climb over the wall." "Check.
"
The Chens and their sons did not know how to restrain themselves. Not only was the carriage luxurious, but the family also had many servants, most of whom were hired locally. These servants were grounded and called in for separate interrogations.
Soon someone couldn't bear it anymore and handed over the lake silk Taoist robe and leather hat, and even took out a fake beard. Cao Benshu was very angry and asked, "Why did you hide it during the interrogation before?" The servant was frightened.
She almost cried, "These clothes are very expensive, the common people...the common people want to keep them for themselves..." "Okay, stop talking." Cao Benshu held back the evil fire. Everyone moved ladders and continued to explore inside and outside the wall. The wall
In addition, it is estimated that no one has walked around for a long time, and the area against the wall has been covered with moss.
Even though it had rained two days ago, there are still clear footprints on the moss. Especially the footprints of the one he jumped on were very complete. "Hey," Cai Gang lay on the ground and observed carefully, "these footprints,
Why is one foot shallow and one foot deep? "This guy climbed over the wall and sprained his foot when he jumped down," Liang Zhenguang said excitedly.
Cao Benshu asked, "Of all the people being interrogated these days, especially those from the Wang family, are there any who have difficulty walking?" "No." Everyone shook their heads.
Cao Benshu returned to her temporary residence and called all the investigators.
Soon someone said, "There are no people who have difficulty walking, but one person is sick. He was lying on the bed when the case was asked." "Who?" Cao Benshu asked.
The man said, "Du Xingxue, a teacher from the maritime merchant Wu Wengang's family, would go to Wu's house every holiday to give tutoring lessons to Wu Wengang's son." Fan Hongjing deposited the account books in Datong Bank after drinking with businessman Wu Wengang.
He died suddenly. After reading Fan Hongjing's suicide note, Cao Benshu took Wu Wengang's family under control for investigation and interrogated all relevant personnel. The Wu family's tutor was also questioned because of his frequent visits, but no one suspected it.
There is something wrong with this teacher.
Cao Benshu personally led people to Du Xingxue's home. Du Xingxue was drinking alone. When he saw someone barging in, he was obviously stunned, and then stood up and bowed. Cao Benshu sneered, "Isn't Mr. Du seriously ill in bed?" "I have a slight illness, but he has recovered."
." Du Xingxue said. Cao Benshu said, "Take a few steps and take a look."
Du Xingxue didn't have a slight leg, but a broken bone. He suddenly said with emotion, "It is indeed the Inspectorate. The Inspectorate of this new dynasty is more powerful than the Inspectorate of the previous dynasty. The accounts of the Municipal Platinum Department in the past ten years, as well as the records of many officials
The profit-sharing account books are all in the big box in my study. I have only one request. I am willing to submit to the law, but when my wife and children are exiled, it is best to be exiled to Malza (Markang). I asked someone to inquire, and there are still people there.
It’s not too painful.” That’s it.
Cao Benshu couldn't believe it, "Why did you go to Chen's house?"
Du Xingxue said, "The father and son of the Chen family have been reluctant to commit suicide, so I can only persuade them personally. These two wimps are more greedy for money than anyone else. They don't know how to pretend to be poor, but they are afraid of death when things happen."
Are you from Wang Cai?" Cao Benshu asked.
"He is not worthy yet," Du Xingxue pointed to the roof, "My master has been transferred to Nanjing a long time ago. You are so proud this time." Cao Benshu said, "Who is it?"
Du Xingxue smiled and said: "Your Excellency, why bother to ask again? I'm afraid you have already guessed it in your mind. Ten years ago, he was promoted to the Shanghai Market Making and Shipping Department, and now he is serving in the Central Committee. It's just that one person.
"Just him," Cao Benshu confirmed. Du Xingxue said, "Who else can it be?"
Cao Benshu immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time said disdainfully, "If you are a Zuo Shilang, you are talking about Cong Tian. You are sitting there and looking at the sky." Du Xingxue said with a smile: "In the eyes of Cao Yushi, Zuo Shilang's official position is not big enough.
But the adoptive parents of Zuo Shilang are the parents of Mr. Fei Ge (Fei Chun). Do you still dare to find out?"
Cao Benshu gritted her teeth and said, "Don't talk about Mr. Fei Ge, he is a relative of the emperor. I will find out! Arrest him. Find the account books!"
