Yang Tinghe received a letter from his son Yang Shen and learned that Zhu Hao had detained a large amount of pig iron from Jinyiwei.
It was already night, and Yang Tinghe immediately called for Yang Ping, his "adopted son" who was responsible for doing chores in the house.
Yang Ping was in his early twenties, younger than Yang Shen and Yang Dun, and taller. He looked like a martial arts practitioner. Yang Tinghe immediately ordered: "Go and call Yongxu."
Yang Ping said: "Master, I'm afraid the second young master is not in the room."
Although Yang Ping was nominally Yang Tinghe's adopted son, he was actually a house slave who ran errands. Seeing that he was honest, honest and capable, Yang Tinghe gave him the surname Yang. He was not a scholar, but could only read and write. Such a person would not dare to treat Yang Dun badly.
No disrespect at all.
What Yang Ping meant was that Yang Dun was out looking for flowers and flowers, so how could he find him?
Yang Tinghe looked ugly, and after thinking for a while he said, "Then go and invite Uncle Huairou."
"Yes!" Although Yang Ping didn't know what Yang Tinghe wanted to do, he quickly took Yang Tinghe's famous assassin and went to Huairou Bo Shi Zan overnight.
…
…
Shi Zan belonged to the nobles of the Nanjing garrison system.
After Xu Pengju's Nanjing garrison position was stabilized, Shi Zan's transfer of Nanjing to Nanjing's coordinated garrison has been delayed. Shi Zan had repeatedly talked to Yang Tinghe about this matter, but up to now Shi Zan is still only serving as a casualty in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, like
A nobleman like him could not get a formal job, and it was difficult to realize the power at hand. As a result, the status of the entire Earl's Palace among the noblemen declined rapidly.
But no matter what, the chief assistant Yang Tinghe called him overnight, and Shi Zan could only eagerly come to keep the appointment.
When Shi Zan, led by Yang Ping, arrived at Yang Tinghe's study, Yang Tinghe had already written a "note."
After the ceremony, Shi Zan said bluntly: "Zhongtang, do you have urgent military orders here?"
Yang Tinghe belongs to the civilian faction. If there were no issues involving the army, he would definitely not be approached.
Logically speaking, Yang Tinghe cannot directly dispatch troops and horses beyond the Ministry of War and the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. This is an act of overstepping his authority. However, if he just talks to the nobles, there will be no problem. But everyone knows that the problem is not that simple.
Yang Tinghe said: "I have an important matter, and I would like to use your relationship to handle it."
When Shi Zan heard this, he was indeed looking for him to do something.
If an ordinary person made such an unreasonable request, it would be fine if Shi Zan didn't spit on him directly, but with Yang Tinghe's words, Shi Zan had no choice.
"Alas! Zhongtang, you should know that I am in the capital now and am in an embarrassing situation of no progress or retreat. Even if I want to help Zhongtang, I am afraid that I am powerless."
Shi Zan's words were not only a complaint, but also a message to Yang Tinghe that if you want to do something with me, you should set some conditions, right?
Yang Tinghe directly asked Yang Ping to hand the note to Shi Zan. After reading it, Shi Zan's expression changed.
Yang Tinghe said: "The new acting commander of Yongping Guards, Li Bo, has some friendship with you. Now I need him to assist Quanzi in doing something within the jurisdiction of Yongping Guards. Shouldn't it be a problem?"
"this……"
When Shi Zan heard this, he knew that this matter must not be leaked to the outside world.
If this matter can be made public, Yang Tinghe can handle it directly through the court. Why should he secretly ask Shi Zan to pass the message?
In this case, this is not a "public matter" but a "private matter".
It is tantamount to Yang Tinghe using the official weapon for personal use and using the military power of Yongping Guard to assist him in handling a private matter, and it was through the hands of Shi Zan. In this way, even if the incident is revealed later, the person responsible will be Shi Zan who passed the message.
Not Yang Tinghe.
This is the purpose of Yang Tinghe coming to Shi Zan.
Shi Zan said: "What kind of thing is that in the middle hall? If it's a trivial matter, such as escorting a few criminals to the capital, it won't be a problem, but if it involves mobilizing too many troops, I'm afraid..."
Yang Tinghe said: "We don't need too many manpower. Quanzi and the local magistrate here will provide help, but we need Yongping Guard to find an excuse and assist the officers and soldiers of the guard station to transport a batch of things to Yongping Guard City for safekeeping.
Strictly keep secrets, and don't let any news leak out, especially not let the Jinyi guards know."
Yang Tinghe said everything except what he wanted to transport.
Shi Zan felt that this was a game between Yang Tinghe and the emperor, and now he was going to be involved in the party struggle between the new emperor and Yang Tinghe's faction.
This was not a good thing for Xungui. After all, Xungui was naturally close to the emperor, rather than serving any minister. Although he also knew that going to Nanjing to coordinate the defense would not be possible without Yang Tinghe's decision.
"As for the matter of returning to Nanjing that you mentioned, I have already discussed it with the people from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of War. Maybe it can be done within the next month or two. Everything is up to you."
Yang Tinghe's meaning couldn't be more obvious. If you help me once, I will agree to let you go to Nanjing to serve as a co-guard. Otherwise, you will have to stay in the capital and be idle. It is your choice.
Shi Zan said: "If Li Ti doesn't listen to me..."
"Then he will probably be transferred to a remote guard station in the southwest to serve as a command officer. It's up to him to choose!"
Yang Tinghe was not polite at all.
Shi Zan is nominally taking the lead in this matter, but this is for me, the chief assistant. Do you really think that the chief assistant can compete with the emperor without any skill and energy?
Isn’t it easy to deal with a Yongping guard who directs the affairs? They don’t demote your official position, directly transfer or even promote you, but they can let you go to a place where no one can shit, and let you know the consequences of offending the powerful!
When Shi Zan heard this, he felt that this was not only a threat to Li Bor, but also a threat to Shi Zan.
Shi Zan nodded solemnly. He knew very well that even if Yang Tinghe retired, most of the people who would take over as chief assistant would be those recommended by Yang Tinghe. Most of the civil servants in the court were direct descendants of Yang Tinghe. The Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Rites were all under Yang Tinghe.
Under firm control, what qualifications does a Huairoubo have to challenge the chief assistant on the spot?
Even if this chief assistant may retire soon, he is not something a nobleman with little real power can afford to offend.
…
…
The note written by Yang Tinghe was taken away by Shi Zan, who then notified Li Boring and asked him to assist Yang Shen in handling matters.
Yang Tinghe's idea is very simple.
It is unrealistic to transport this batch of pig iron directly to the large warehouse of the capital's household department, because the amount of the project is too large and there are too many people involved, and the traces will almost certainly be traced by the Jinyiwei.
If you want to make this batch of pig iron the property of the imperial court, it is better to send it directly to Yongping Guards.
Yongping Guard is a military base. If the pig iron enters the military base, even if Jin Yiwei wants to transport it away, you have to report it to the court. And if there is a dispute, it can be inferred that the pig iron was mined by the local guard itself, rather than Jin Yiwei controlling the iron mine.
time to produce that batch.
Iron is a dead thing, and it has no name. It belongs to whoever has it.
Under the control of the government, perhaps the Jinyiwei can deal with Zhu Hao. If it is in the hands of the Imperial Guards, what can you, the Jinyiwei, do?
As long as the people of Yongpingwei accept this batch of goods, it will be difficult for Jinyiwei to take them back.
Moreover, if Yang Tinghe wants Yongping Guard to do things in a low-key manner, it is best if the Jin Yi Guards cannot detect it and digest it on the spot, so that they can advance, attack, retreat and defend. Regardless of whether the Jin Yi Guards detect it or not, this batch of pig iron will basically not be used for manufacturing again.
What trains and railways.
Inside the palace.
Zhu Si learned about the current situation in Yongping Mansion from Huang Jin's report.
Zhu Si was used to being stingy. He was heartbroken that a large amount of pig iron was missing out of thin air. He frowned and asked, "Millions of kilograms of pig iron are very valuable, right?"
Huang Jin didn't know how to answer this question.
Zhang Zuo smiled and replied: "Your Majesty, the price of pig iron in the Ming Dynasty is less than one cent per pound of silver, which is less than ten cents, and the price of wrought iron is only twenty cents."
Zhu Si asked: "How much iron does that iron pot use?"
Zhang Zuo thought for a while and replied: "An iron pot used for stoves in the north costs more than twenty kilograms of wrought iron per pot. Not counting the craftsman's fee, it costs more than half a tael of silver."
"Oh. I see, then these millions of kilograms of pig iron are worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, right?" Zhu Si's accounting skills are not bad.
Zhang Zuo responded with a smile.
He was a little ashamed. Now the little emperor was becoming more and more difficult to fool. He wanted to get to the bottom of everything.
, if you don’t have some skills, you will really be confused.
In the past, Zhang Zuo really couldn't handle it, but as time went by, he gained a lot of experience, and he no longer had any problem in dealing with such things. It did take some homework for him, a ceremonial eunuch, to pay attention to the daily necessities of life among the people.
.
Zhu Sidao: "Using tens of thousands of taels of silver as bait, wouldn't it be... a bit expensive?"
Zhang Zuo smiled again and said: "Your Majesty, such a large amount of iron cannot be sold to the public. It is either used for military supplies, railway construction or shipbuilding. Now Mr. Zhu is mining in Yongping Mansion, so this iron cannot be counted.
What."
"Okay, I understand. It's said to be worth tens of thousands of taels, but the market can't digest it. That means it has a price but no market." Zhu Sidao.
Huang Jin added: "Your Majesty, this batch of iron should have been transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs..."
When Zhu Si heard this, he felt much better.
"I asked Jingdao to mine. Not all the steel he earned from mining was used to build trains, but also to supply military supplies to the imperial court, that is, to make weapons. Now he has given a batch of things that were originally meant for the imperial court to a man named Yang.
I thought it was a waste of money to seize it privately, and then let him disobey the rules and transport it privately, so he gave up excuses and evidence of crime. Finally, with a stroke of my pen, I directly sent this batch of iron to the court, and by the way, the prestige of the surname Yang was destroyed, and the world
Knowing that he will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal...tsk, tsk, he really achieves multiple things with one stone."
Zhu Si was even happier.
It can not only deal with Yang Tinghe, but also use this batch of iron for practical purposes in the imperial court. It is not very satisfying.
Zhu Si smiled and said, "Tell me, does this count as treating Yang as a monkey?"
Zhang Zuo and Huang Jin were unable to answer the emperor's questions directly.
Look what this says...
Even if that's the case, you can't say that. He's your chief assistant, and no matter how bad the relationship is, you have to maintain a semblance of harmony.
"What is Yang doing now?"
Zhu Si asked.
Huang Jindao: "The people below reported that Yangge Lao sent someone to invite Uncle Huairou to his house, probably to discuss the matter."
Zhu Si asked again: "How do you say Jingdao?"
Huang Jin took out something from his arms and said: "This is Mr. Zhu's secret memorial, written in secret text. I have had it checked by someone. When I learned what Mr. Zhu meant, I guessed that Mr. Yang Ge wanted to use the place.
The men and horses of the guard station transported the iron away, and Luo An, Lu Song and other Jinyi guards were notified to intercept and investigate with all their strength."
Zhu Si nodded: "Can we obtain evidence that the person named Yang is involved in this case?"
"It's not clear yet."
Huang Jin respectfully replied, "It all depends on the interception results."