A man in his thirties stood outside the government office. He looked very unfamiliar. Kong Yuan asked: "I am Kong Yuan, are you looking for me?"
The man stepped forward and bowed, "I am Pei Qiushan, a famous wine merchant. I would like to discuss the wine business with Master Kong."
Kong Yuan was a little tempted. What the other party was talking about was definitely not sake lees, but high-quality sake. He pointed to the teahouse diagonally opposite the government office, "Let's go over there and talk!"
The two of them came to the teahouse. There was no one in the teahouse at this time. The two of them went to a private room and sat down. Kong Yuan saw that he was carrying a large and heavy box, so he asked: "What kind of wine do you want to talk about?"
Business?"
"I want to buy high-quality sake brewed by official craftsmen. Kong Zhubo should have channels!"
“Buying wine is not a big problem, the key is the price!”
Kong Yuan knew very well that selling Guanjiang wine privately would lead to the loss of official status, but now that he was in urgent need of money, he couldn't care less about it for the moment.
"Follow the market price! One hundred and fifty cents per catty. I need a thousand catties urgently today. I can pay the bill with silver."
The price is very good. When he sells it to a wine merchant, he can only get one hundred and thirty cents per catty. The merchant himself also has to earn twenty cents. The merchant in front of him buys it directly at the market price, so what does he earn? But Kong Yuan doesn't care.
, maybe they can sell it for higher!
"Yes, yes, but you have to pay me sixteen taels of silver first, and the balance will be paid when the goods are delivered."
"No, I'll give it to you directly!"
The man opened the big box, and Kong Yuan's eyes suddenly blurred. There were at least five to six hundred taels of silver in it, all of which were white silver ingots. He couldn't help but swallow.
The man named Pei Qiushan took out thirty taels of silver and put it on the table and pushed it to Kong Yuan. He smiled and said: "I will be in the teahouse in the afternoon. You can find me at any time."
........
Kong Yuan came back in the afternoon and hired an ox cart. The ox cart was filled with twenty jars of fine sake, weighing fifty kilograms each.
Pei Qiushan directly took the ox cart and left, even saving the fare for Kong Yuan.
This vote was a great profit. One vote earned fourteen taels of silver, which were distributed to the chief steward of the winery. Kong Yuan took ten taels or fifty taels of silver for himself!
If he had such an income every day, he would have earned back five hundred dollars in ten days.
That night, Kong Yuan couldn't sleep. All he could think about was the money in Pei Qiushan's big box. The white money took away his heart.
........
Early the next morning, as soon as Kong Yuan arrived at the government office, the Pei Qiushan from yesterday came to see him again. Kong Yuan was surprised and happy, and the two of them came to yesterday's teahouse again.
Pei Qiushan said with a smile: "Today is not about buying wine, but a big deal. I heard that Master Kong is in urgent need of money. Master Kong can provide me with what I need."
Pei Qiushan took out twenty pieces of silver and put them on the table, "This is two hundred taels of silver, which can be exchanged for one thousand guan."
"What do you need?" Kong Yuan asked, staring at the silver.
"I want the list and address of the first-class master craftsmen in the Craftsman Supervisor. To be precise, I want the list and addresses of the first-class master craftsmen in Xianyang Sifang City, and then I want a detailed drawing of Sifang City."
Xianyang Sifang City is a city within a city. It is home to the most important first-level craftsmen of the Yong Dynasty. Some of them belong to the crafts supervisors, and some belong to the firearms supervisors. There are also some first-class master craftsmen of the weapons supervisors, but the master craftsmen of the weapons supervisors
I don't live in Xianyang, but in Jianzhang County.
Kong Yuan did have this list in his hand, but it was a high-level secret of the Yong Dynasty. Of course he knew very well that once he was discovered, it would not be as simple as dismissal from office, but his head would be lost.
"This... I'm sorry I can't do anything!"
Pei Qiushan took out another letter and put it on the other side. His smile became a little cold, "Look at this!"
Kong Yuan took the letter and read it, his eyes widened. It turned out to be an anonymous report letter, reporting that he was using public affairs for personal gain and selling wine for profit. He immediately understood that buying wine yesterday was a trap and he had been fooled.
Kong Yuan slammed the table, stood up and said angrily: "How dare you threaten me like this!"
Pei Qiushan said coldly: "The four-year-old boy in Chunshui is your son, right? He's quite cute. He actually has a red mole as big as a soybean on his calf, which is relatively rare."
Kong Yuan suddenly broke into a cold sweat and sat down slumped, "What did you do to them?"
"Don't worry! The mother and son are safe. Give me the things and they will go home happily."
"I can give you the roster and address, but I don't have detailed drawings of Sifang City."
Pei Qiushan said calmly: "But you can do it, right?"
Kong Yuan nodded.
Pei Qiushan said: "I will give you three days. Give me the roster and the drawings. Deliver the goods here at this time the day after tomorrow, and we will release them at the same time. If you dare to play tricks, you will see your son's head."
After saying that, Pei Qiushan stood up, picked up the big box and walked away.
Kong Yuan looked at the pile of white silver on the table. At this time, the white silver became so dazzling.
.........
In the past few days, the focus of the internal defense has been on the Guangyuntan incident. Two days ago, the Guangyuntan fortification collapsed, burying more than 30 workers at the bottom of the lake, and dozens of workers died. This incident is very serious. Emperor Chen Qing
Furious, he requested the Ministry of Works, Capital Water Prison, Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, Yushitai and Internal Guards to intervene, and the cause of the accident must be thoroughly investigated within three days.
More than half of the internal guards were sent to investigate the Guangyuntan incident. Zhong Huan personally participated in the investigation at Guangyuntan and found that the reason was also very simple. In order to meet the construction deadline, the construction company directly sent workers to dig out the mud without piling reinforcement.
It collapsed.
The cause was found out and the responsibilities were clarified. The foreman, supervisor, technical officer and the responsible official of the Du Water Supervision were all arrested. Jiang Shi, the Du Water Supervisor, was dismissed from his post. Lv Wei, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, was demoted one level and was reassigned to Taiyuan.
Prefect.
However, because Zhang Yuanlang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, firmly disagreed with Lu Wei's request to shorten the construction period, he angered Lu Wei and was no longer responsible for the project. He was transferred to Hukou of the Yellow River to solve the ship transportation problem. The responsibility had nothing to do with him. Zhang Yuanlang was promoted to the Ministry of Industry.
Shangshu, immediately returned to Beijing to take over the Guangyuntan project.
At dusk, Zhong Huan was on his way back to the government office. A soldier came to report, "To the general, someone in the government office reported that the situation was serious. Commander Li asked you to go back immediately, saying that the situation is serious."
Zhong Huan hurried back to the Imperial Guard Office. As soon as he entered the door, Commander Li Zhen stepped forward and said, "Maybe it has something to do with the news reported by Luo Shun'an!"
Five days ago, Luo Shunan, the shopkeeper of the Silla Inn, came to report secretly that another group of Korean spies had arrived, about ten people in total, but he didn’t know where these Korean spies were hiding. The internal guards have been investigating, but so far there has been no result.
.
Zhong Huan perked up and asked quickly: "Who is the person who reported the news?"
"It's Bo Kongyuan, the supervisor of the craftsmen. He said that someone kidnapped his concubine and son, forced him to hand over the name list and address of the first-class craftsmen, and even killed them!"
"Where is he now?"
“In the lobby!”
Zhong Huan walked quickly to the lobby. In the lobby, Kong Yuan was like an ant on a hot pot, spinning around anxiously.
The reason why he came to the Inner Guardian to report was because he found the body of the little maid in the well, which immediately caused him to collapse.
He realized the cruelty of the other party, and even if he handed over the list, he would be silenced.
"Our general is here!"
Kong Yuan was so anxious that he knelt down and begged: "Please General Zhong, please save my son!"
"Don't be anxious yet. Sit down and explain the whole story clearly. We will save your son."
Kong Yuan sat down tremblingly and said: "Actually, what happened yesterday. Yesterday morning, a man named Pei Qiusheng, who claimed to be a wine merchant, came to buy wine from me..."
Kong Yuan did not dare to hide anything. He explained in detail what happened yesterday. He even hesitated to talk about the fact that he had adopted a woman outside and gave birth to a son, and that he wanted to get a decorated officer.
"Wait a minute!"
Zhong Huan suddenly heard the flaw in Kong Yuan's words and asked anxiously: "How many people know that you are in urgent need of five hundred guan of money?"
"Only Yao Kaishan, the captain of Xianyang County, knows!"
Kong Yuan suddenly reacted and opened his mouth in shock.
