Wei Shantai looked serious and asked about the situation. He immediately rushed to Prince Yin and explained the matter in detail.
Prince Yin pondered for a long time and said calmly: "Master Wei, if you lead people to the Shangshu Mansion and take Chen Shangting's family servants to prison, you can always find out something."
Wei Shantai frowned, cupped his hands and said, "I understand, I understand." He waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Let's go!" He led Ziyi and walked away quickly.
Prince Yin clenched his fists and fell into deep thought again. After a long while, he said: "Chief Guard Teng, lead the people in."
Teng Xifeng said respectfully: "Yes!" He turned to the crowd and said: "Everyone, please come with me." He glanced at Xue Poye again and said slowly: "Deputy General Guard Xue, you are coming too." After that, in
Lead the way and lead everyone to the warehouse.
Walking to the main entrance of the bank, Teng Xifeng ordered everyone to take off their weapons and enter the bank empty-handed, but he did not let everyone take off their clothes and go in.
Although Teng Xifeng's official position is not higher than that of Mo Yi and Luo Wuyan, the situation at this time is special. His Majesty the Emperor personally ordered the Yulin Camp to temporarily take charge of the Treasury of the Household Department. Therefore, although everyone was dissatisfied, they could only take off their weapons. Xue
Po Ye took off his sword, but he did not take off the "cold blade" in his waist, and still took it into the Hubu Bank.
A group of people, led by Teng Xifeng and Prince Yin, entered the bank of the Hubu, an important place in Dachu.
It was quiet inside, and even the snow on the ground had not been cleared away. There was a thick layer of it. Several rows of huge rock warehouses were lined up in front of it. There were eight warehouses in each row. The stone door was tightly closed. Next to the stone door, there was a spear like a javelin.
There were several tall men standing like giants in ancient times. They were wearing leather armor and were not naked like ordinary bank officials.
Xue Poye followed the crowd and looked around. He couldn't help but be confused. The surroundings were extremely peaceful and there was nothing strange at all, but he didn't know what happened.
Teng Xifeng led everyone to a stone door, took out a roll of yellow silk from his arms, opened it, and said in a deep voice: "This is the Holy Spirit's order to open the door. Open the door."
The strong man next to him saw that there was His Majesty the Emperor's jade seal on the yellow silk. He bowed respectfully and waved, and another strong man came quickly. Two strong men pulled the copper ring on the stone door, and one more.
The strong man ran to the stone door, made his left hand into a palm, pressed it against a slightly convex stone on the wall, and shouted loudly: "Open!"
The two strong men holding the copper rings also shouted in unison: "Open!" One on the left and one on the right, they pulled the copper rings to open the stone door.
Everyone stared at the stone door, only to see cracks appearing bit by bit in the stone door, and the muscles of the two strong men were as tight as rocks, their faces turned red, and the strong man pressing the protruding stone also made a low "ooh" sound.
He roared, and his neck turned red from holding it back. From this point of view, it was really not an ordinary difficulty to open the stone door.
Everyone watched with stern expressions as the stone door of the bank opened, gradually revealing a long dark passage.
When the stone door opened, Prince Yin said calmly: "Come in, everyone." After saying that, he entered the bank first, and the others looked at each other and followed.
A strong man followed everyone into the house. Prince Yin asked: "Has the mechanism been sealed?"
Hercules immediately replied: "Your Majesty, the mechanism is sealed, Your Majesty does not need to worry." After saying that, Hercules stepped forward and groped on the wall twice. While everyone was confused, they heard a strange sound of "kaka kaka".
, the originally dark passage suddenly lit up.
Only then did everyone realize that mechanical lamp stands were slowly protruding from the walls on both sides, and on the lamp stands were placed crystal clear luminous pearls.
On the thick walls on both sides, there were a total of eight luminous pearls, which illuminated the passage as bright as day. Everyone was amazed. Although the officials inside were all important officials of the Chu Dynasty, it was still the first time they entered the bank. Unexpectedly, in this bank
There are so many extremely precious luminous pearls in the bank. Even the extremely wealthy Chu State produces only a small number of luminous pearls. One bank contains eight luminous pearls. If each bank has the same number of luminous pearls, it can be seen that its quantity
There are so many, which also shows the prosperity and wealth of Da Chu.
Prince Yin sighed, pointed to a long and narrow passage in front of him, and said calmly: "It may seem like an ordinary passage in front of you, but I remind you that if the agency has not sealed it, this short road
It is the way to death. There are seven mechanisms in this short passage. Almost no one in the world can pass through it with the mechanism open."
Everyone present believed this. After all, this is an important place in the country. It would be very strange if one could enter easily.
When Xue Poye was outside the bank, he saw that the bank was extremely long, probably more than ten meters wide. However, after entering the stone gate, there was a very narrow passage at the entrance, only two meters wide.
It seems that the walls on both sides are more than ten meters thick in total, which is astonishing. The more than ten meters of wall may be the place where the mechanism is installed.
Xue Poye was just curious as to why Prince Yin brought everyone into the bank. It should be noted that this is an important place for the country. Except for officials from the Ministry of Revenue, officials from other yamen, no matter how big they are, are not allowed to set foot in it. Even people from the Ministry of Revenue must
When entering the warehouse, you have to take off all your clothes and wear underpants with a bamboo stick stuffed in your mouth before you can enter.
Today's group of people, except for Prince Yin, are not officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and they came in directly without taking off their clothes or stuffing bamboos, which is really unusual.
The group of people continued to move forward, and the passage was indeed not long. In a short time, everyone arrived in front of another stone gate, but this time the stone gate was much smaller than the big stone gate outside. Hercules went over and turned on the switch, and the stone gate opened.
"Wow" slowly opened.
"Everyone come in!" Prince Yin's voice was cold and he entered the house first.
Xue Poye followed everyone into the house, and saw that it was an extremely wide and huge stone house. The walls around it were smooth and flat, and they looked very thick. Rows after rows of stone shelves in the house were arranged in an orderly manner, like
Rows and rows of bookshelves in the city library.
Xue Poye secretly marveled in his heart. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, how could he have imagined that the bank was so grand. However, his mind soon became clear and he realized something.
"This is the bank?" Xue Poye frowned and looked around: "But where is the money?"
There was nothing on the rows of stone shelves, not even a single ingot of official silver.
House of Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue.
Wei Shantai, the governor of Kyoto, stood in the study of Chen Shangting, the minister of household affairs, with his hands behind his back.
The study room was originally a quiet and elegant place, but at this time, the study room was filled with the smell of blood. Chen Shangting's body was leaning peacefully on the big nanmu chair, with his eyes closed, his face was purple, and there were blood stains on the corners of his mouth, which showed his expression.
He even had a weird smile, the kind of smile that would make people's hair stand on end.
A man in purple walked gently outside the door and said respectfully: "Sir, all Chen Shangting's family members have been brought back to the Yamen."
"Does any of them know why Chen Shangting committed suicide?" Wei Shantai asked solemnly.
Ziyi immediately said: "Your Majesty, we asked Mrs. Chen that Chen Shangting seems to be very unstable recently. He sleeps very late every night. Mrs. Chen tried to persuade him several times, but he just smiled and comforted her. Mrs. Chen never expected that he would suddenly drink poison.
Drunk suicide."
Wei Shantai nodded and ordered: "Don't be rude to Mrs. Chen until the matter becomes clear."
Ziyi said respectfully: "Yes!"
Wei Shantai approached the table, picked up the wine bottle on the table, opened the lid and smelled it, and said lightly: "It smells so strong. It seems that Chen Shangting is still afraid of dying, so he drank a lot of Hedinghong." He paused.
, suddenly asked: "Is it possible that he killed me? Is it possible that someone else poisoned me?"
Zi Yi said with certainty: "No, my subordinates can conclude that Chen Shangting definitely committed suicide. There was a strong smell of medicine in his mouth. Lao Qi also came over just now and tested his stomach. The poison in the stomach was dissolved, which means that
, when Chen Shangting drank the poisoned wine, he must have known that the wine contained poison."
"Is it possible that he was given poison after death?" Wei Shantai continued to ask.
"No." Ziyi replied: "We didn't find any injuries on Chen Shangting's body, and we are very sure that Chen Shangting did die from the poison of Hedinghong. We asked the servants guarding outside Chen Shangting's study, but they didn't listen.
If there is any movement in the house, then there is no possibility that someone entered the study to take action." After a pause, he continued: "The most important thing is that if Chen Shangting was poured into poisonous wine after his death, then the poisonous wine would never be in his stomach.
Dissolve.”
Wei Shantai nodded with satisfaction and said softly: "It seems that he really committed suicide."
He walked slowly to Chen Shangting's body, stared at Chen Shangting's face with a weird smile, and sighed: "Brother Chen, what kind of thing made you embark on this road of no return?"
"Sir, do we need to search this study to see if there are any clues?" Ziyi suddenly said: "Sir, you didn't tell me before, and we didn't touch anything in the study."
Wei Shantai shook his head and said calmly: "Even if we dig deep into the ground, there won't be any clues about what he doesn't want us to know." He paused and sighed: "If he wants us to know something, it's something
Maybe it's on him."
While talking, Wei Shantai took out a silver glove from his arms and put it on his right hand. Then he groped lightly on Chen Shangting's body. After a while, his hand stopped on Chen Shangting's waist. He reached out and pulled out a pair of silver gloves.
Here comes a piece of paper.
Wei Shantai slowly opened it. It was an excellent piece of rice paper, square and square, with two very powerful calligraphy written on it.
Wei Shantai whispered: "The way of heaven!"
He frowned, as if thinking about the hidden meaning of these two words.
Da Chu Hubu Bank.
Except for Prince Yin and Luo Wuyan, everyone was extremely shocked. Even though Mo Yi and others had vaguely known what happened before, when an empty warehouse was placed in front of everyone, everyone was still shocked.
Xue Poye only found it unbelievable that the grand bank of Dachu Hubu was actually empty, not even a penny of silver. This was something no one could have imagined.
Prince Yin's cold voice slowly sounded in the warehouse: "You have also seen that there is not a penny of silver in the bank of my Dachu Hubu. What you can see is only this warehouse, other than that
, out of the eighty treasury of the Ministry of Household Affairs, 37 treasuries of silver are missing. According to statistics, the total is 26 million taels. In other words, the 26 million taels of official silver of our Da Chu were suddenly lost."
Twenty-six million taels of official silver!
Everyone gasped.
This number is so huge that no one dares to imagine it. What kind of wealth is that?
Although Prince Yin looked calm, anyone with a discerning eye could already see that Prince Yin's body was shaking slightly, and his face was a little pale.
As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Prince Yin's authority in the Ministry of Revenue is definitely no less than that of Chen Shangting, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. Now that a huge amount of silver has been lost from the Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue, Prince Yin will naturally be involved. If one thing goes wrong, His Majesty the Emperor Long Yan will be furious. Yin
The prince even feared for his life.
Just imagine such a huge loss of official silver, what a big deal it is, and how huge the manpower and material resources involved are. Even if you try your best to hide it, how can you not reveal a trace of it, but Prince Yin, as the Minister of Household Affairs, did not
I half realized that the crime was so serious that it was really indescribable.
In addition, Chen Shangting, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, has committed suicide. The top leader of the Ministry of Revenue is naturally Prince Yin, who also bears the responsibility for the loss of official silver.
Prince Yin's heart had already reached the bottom of his heart. He had been focusing on the overt and covert fight with Prince Fu. Who knew that in the end, there would be a fire in the backyard. This crisis was even more dangerous than the political struggle that had just subsided.
"The Treasury of the Ministry of Finance has always been heavily guarded. It is no exaggeration to say that even flies and mosquitoes would have difficulty flying in. Moreover, the outside is heavily guarded by garrison troops, so it is logically safe." Prince Yin took a deep breath and calmed down.
He said slowly: "It wasn't until yesterday that my father issued a decree to transfer the silver to Beiguan for payment. Today the bank opened its doors, and then I discovered that a huge amount of silver was stolen from our bank in Dachu. This...!" Prince Yin's face was gloomy.
Didn't continue talking.
Everyone present felt the seriousness of the situation.
Luo Wuyan was a guard of the Kyoto garrison, and the Hubu Bank had always been guarded by the garrison. Now that the bank was stolen, Luo Wuyan was naturally to blame, so his face was extremely ugly.
Everyone finds it inconceivable that a bank that is difficult even for mosquitoes to enter, and even has several mechanisms, could have so much money stolen?
This is not one tael of silver or one hundred taels of silver, not even one thousand and twenty thousand taels, but twenty-six million taels. Even if this batch of official silver had to be transported out of the Treasury of the Ministry of Household Affairs, it would be troublesome, but why did it disappear out of thin air?
Didn't even the garrison notice it?
Xingbu Shang: "Your Highness, is this matter related to Chen Shangting?"
Prince Yin gritted his teeth and said coldly: "I'm afraid he is the only one who has the ability to freely enter and leave the bank. This matter naturally has a lot to do with him."
Teng Xifeng said slowly: "But Chen Shangting is dead now. With Chen Shangting's scheming attitude, even if Lord Wei takes action, I'm afraid he won't be able to find too many clues."
Prince Yin glanced at everyone and said slowly: "The Criminal Department, the Kyoto Prefecture, and your Yulin Camp are all places where our great Chu masters gather. I'm afraid I will have to trouble you all to do your best on this case." After a pause.
, sneered and said: "I am naturally responsible for this matter, but my father has also made a decree for you all to handle this matter together. You must get to the bottom of it, otherwise... Hehe, you should also know that military pay is not
If we are in place, I'm sure there will be trouble in the military department, and then my father will have to blame some people."
He said this very frankly. Once the military pay is not available, the border officers will naturally be very dissatisfied. A mutiny can happen at any time. This is definitely not something that one or two people can stop. When that time comes, His Majesty the Emperor will always choose some scapegoats.
And this scapegoat must be someone or a few people present.
These people are all very scheming people, but now that things have happened, they can't help but feel a chill in their bodies.
Luo Wuyan heard that Prince Yin did not mention the garrison camp in his words, and knew that he meant to ridicule him, and his face became even more ugly. However, this time the matter was closely related to the garrison camp, so he could only close his eyes helplessly.
Although Xue Poye was shocked and puzzled by the theft of the treasury silver, he was not impressed by Prince Yin's slightly threatening words.
I am only the deputy chief guard of Yulin. No matter how I look for a scapegoat, it will not be my turn that night.
After all, the loss of Kuyin has almost nothing to do with the Yulin Guards. The Yulin Camp was just transferred to change the defense today. If there is anyone present who is the safest, besides Xue Poye, it is Teng Xifeng.
These two people had nothing to do with this moment, so they just smiled inwardly at Prince Yin's threatening words.
However, Mo Yi and Liu Tuo from the Criminal Department, as well as Luo Wuyan from the garrison camp, knew that Prince Yin's words were highly likely.
Luo Wuyan's guard neglected his duty, and he was naturally to blame. If the Ministry of Punishment did not investigate the case to the bottom and recover the stolen official silver, it would most likely be angered by His Majesty the Emperor. It is definitely not an alarmist statement to accuse Luo Wuyan.
Therefore, the expressions of these people changed drastically.
Luo Wuyan, who had been silent all this time, finally said: "Your Highness, tens of millions of taels of official silver, not every drop, even if it is transported out of the city, it is extremely difficult. I have ordered the garrison to search the entire city.
The Admiral Hou of the Fourth Gate was notified to strictly inspect the vehicles and packages entering and exiting the Fourth Gate."
Mo Yi frowned and said: "It is very difficult to transport so much silver out of the bank. How can we get to the city gate? Could it be that they all have wings and flew away?"
Prince Yin touched the smooth and cold stone shelf and sneered: "The official silver was stolen, and the hidden truth behind it is probably very serious. I think with Chen Shangting's strength alone, even if he has extraordinary abilities, it will be difficult for him to succeed. In his case,
There must be a group of people behind you."
Luo Wuyan immediately echoed: "What His Highness said is that this must be a carefully planned conspiracy."
Teng Xifeng suddenly said: "Master Luo, have you sent people to search everywhere?"
Luo Wuyan nodded and said: "Not bad."
"Lord Luo, do you mean that the news of the theft of the household bank has been spread?" Teng Xifeng frowned and said in a cold voice. Although he commands the Yulin Guard, he is a close associate of His Majesty the Emperor, so he is far more powerful than him.
His official position is high, and he has more or less the right to intervene in any affairs in the court.
Luo Wuyan's expression froze, as if he realized something, and cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead.
Teng Xifeng sneered: "Lord Luo, do you want to kill His Highness?"
"I...I...!" Luo Wuyan realized that he had made a huge mistake. He was frightened and speechless for a moment.
Xue Poye immediately understood the meaning. What the court is most worried about now is that the border officers will mutiny because of the military pay incident. This is by no means alarmist. As long as there are generals with ulterior motives at the border and a slight instigation, if the military pay is not available,
There could be a mutiny at any time, so the news of the stolen treasury silver must be concealed as long as possible.
Now that Luo Wuyan is searching the official silver with great fanfare, it is tantamount to announcing to the world that the official silver has been stolen. People with a little astuteness may be able to figure out the key. Once the news of the stolen official silver is spread everywhere, it will soon be
If it reaches the ears of the border officers, things will be very bad.
As for allocating silver from other treasury, it is not impossible, but other silver naturally has its own use. The salary of officials in the world, the civil engineering works in Dachu, and the relief of hungry people. Wherever there is no need for silver, allocating other silver is just a matter of course.
If you demolish the east wall to make up for the west wall, there might be trouble inside first.
The best solution at present is to hide the news first, collect money from everywhere, and send it to the border. If the border officers don't know that the official silver has been stolen, they will just make up some lies and delay for a while, saying that they are delayed on the road.
In addition, it is just a matter of recovering the lost silver as soon as possible.
Once the news leaks out, it will naturally be too late to raise money. The only way to solve the potential crisis is to recover the lost money in the shortest possible time and transport it to the border.
Prince Yin's face turned even more ashen and he snorted coldly.
Luo Wuyan was even more frightened. He stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but his hand was so soft that he couldn't lift it up for a moment.dd