Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 619 Wu Mengming's Purpose
Wu Mengming echoed Du Xun's words and said, "When I left Beijing, I thought it was just a Hengtong matter. Who would have thought that the water in Shanxi was so deep. Now it's not just Hengtong, but also the Jiexiu Fan family. What's even more shocking is that the capital didn't get any news about what the Fan family did in Shanxi for many years. This is really unimaginable."

Du Xun frowned slightly: "From what Lord Wu has seen, Zhou Anmin has already known about the Jiexiu Fan family?"

Wu Mengming said solemnly, "You have been in the palace for a long time, so it is natural that you don't know about the local areas. Zhou Anmin has been in charge of the Jinyiwei Qianhu Division in Shanxi for many years, and the whole of Shanxi is under his surveillance. The Jiexiu Fan family is not a small family in Shanxi, and they have deep connections with local officials. If Zhou Anmin says he doesn't know anything, can you trust him?"

Du Xun nodded slightly. What Wu Mengming said made sense. As the head of the Shanxi Jinyiwei, Zhou Anmin had the duty of supervision. Moreover, the Jinyiwei not only supervised officials, but also had the power to supervise local areas. The Jiexiu Fan family was a big merchant among Shanxi merchants, but over the years, there had never been any report on this matter from the Shanxi Jinyiwei. This showed that Zhou Anmin could not escape the blame for dereliction of duty.

Du Xun also thought of other questions, that is, why Zhou Anmin would suddenly produce evidence about the Fan family in Jiexiu at this time. Regardless of the authenticity of the evidence, judging from the timing alone, it was too coincidental.

As soon as the news about Hengtong came out, Hengtong's general manager Kang Youfu disappeared. And as soon as they arrived in Taiyuan, Zhou Anmin produced evidence pointing to the Fan family in Jiexiu. So many coincidences were really strange.

Du Xun was able to reach the position of chief eunuch of the Twelve Eunuchs, so he was certainly not someone who could be fooled easily. Considering what he had learned about Hengtong when he left the capital, Du Xun even thought of a possibility, that is, Zhou Anmin deliberately used the matter of the Jiexiu Fan family to divert attention in an attempt to exonerate Hengtong.

Why did Zhou Anmin do this? Du Xun felt that Zhou Anmin was very likely to be involved with Hengtong and Kang Youfu. You should know that during the reign of Emperor Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian opened a mutual trade between Shanxi and Mongolia with the permission of Emperor Tianqi. At that time, Zhou Anmin was the leader of the mutual trade. At that time, Hengtong, as the specific implementer, cooperated with the court including Jinyiwei to carry out mutual trade. It was impossible that there was no contact between the two.

Judging from Hengtong's history of prosperity, it was during that period that Hengtong developed rapidly and eventually became one of the wealthy merchants in Shanxi and the entire Ming Dynasty. Since Zhou Anmin has such a relationship with Hengtong, it is very likely that he can use the story of the Jiexiu Fan family to speak for Hengtong and even get away with it.

Thinking of this, Du Xun glanced at Wu Mengming and asked leisurely, "Except for these, did Zhou Anmin say anything else to Lord Wu?"

Wu Mengming reached into his bosom and took out the banknotes Zhou Anmin had given him and handed them over. "Please look, sir. These are what Zhou Anmin just gave me. He said they were stolen goods seized from Hengtong, and asked me to hand them over to you for disposal."

After taking the banknotes, Du Xun looked through them and immediately shook his head and laughed. The amount of these banknotes was not small, amounting to several thousand taels. This further proved that Zhou Anmin had some connection with Hengtong, otherwise he would not have taken out such a large sum of money.

Moreover, Zhou Anmin said that these were stolen goods and that he was responsible for disposing of them. The meaning of these words was very clear. To put it bluntly, it was bribery.

If Du Xun still couldn't understand such a simple trick, he would have spent so many years in the palace in vain. In addition, there was another point that made Du Xun's thinking simpler, that is, Zhou Anmin only took out silver bills instead of real silver. This explained another point. This method was used to tell Du Xun and Wu Mengming one thing, that is, although the silver bills were good, they were based on the fact that Hengtong was fine. Once Hengtong collapsed, these silver bills would become a piece of waste paper, which would be too hard to wipe one's butt with.

Putting the banknote aside, Du Xun asked Wu Mengming: "Lord Wu has been in the Jinyiwei for a long time, and his ability to investigate cases is naturally incomparable to ours. In Lord Wu's opinion, how can we investigate this case more appropriately?"

"When we left the capital, His Majesty had instructed us that you should lead the way to Shanxi..."

Before he could finish, Du Xun waved his hand and said, "Master Wu, there is no need to be so modest. You and I came here by the emperor's order. We must rely on Master Wu. Why talk about these things?"

"In that case, I'll just speak frankly?" Wu Mengming said with a bow. Seeing Du Xun nod, he said, "I think this case may involve a lot of people. Although the Hengtong incident is groundless, it may not be without reason. From my judgment, although it may be exaggerated, I'm afraid it is true."

Du Xun narrowed his eyes and looked at Wu Mengming. Wu Mengming explained, "I think that whether it is Hengtong or Jiexiu Fan family, they are all birds of a feather. They are not clean. It is said that they colluded with officials privately, smuggled secretly, and even raised private soldiers. I think it is all true."

"It's just that the Mongols are behind Hengtong, and the Jiannu of Liaodong are behind the Jiexiu Fan family. Moreover, these two families are deeply rooted in Shanxi, and their relationship is even more complicated. Apart from local officials, the royal family cannot escape suspicion, and even the Nine Borders may also..."

Having said this, Wu Mengming paused. Du Xun did not speak, but continued to look at him and waited for him to continue.

Wu Mengming said: "This case involves a lot of serious matters. If we investigate it, the consequences will be disastrous. In my opinion, since Zhou Anmin has thrown out the Jiexiu Fan family, it would be better to let Zhou Anmin investigate..." Wu Mengming's meaning was very clear. He believed that both Hengtong and Jiexiu Fan family had problems, so both families had to be investigated. Considering Zhou Anmin's situation, it would be better to change the previous arrangement and let Zhou Anmin investigate Jiexiu Fan family first, starting from Jiexiu Fan family to open up the situation.

After all, the evidence of collusion between the Jiexiu Fan family and the Jiannu is real, and Wu Mengming is very clear about the situation of Shanxi merchants. Shanxi merchants have existed for more than two hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and have deep-rooted relations with the local area. It is normal for them to have collusion in officialdom or even in the government army, otherwise they would not do such a thing.

Shanxi is Zhou Anmin's territory. Wu Mengming believes that Zhou Anmin has some connection with Hengtong. If Zhou Anmin is asked to investigate Hengtong first, he may encounter considerable resistance. It would be safer to start with the Fan family in Jiexiu and take down this target.

As a senior official of the Imperial Guard, Wu Mengming understood what Emperor Chongzhen needed, and was even more clear about the purpose of Emperor Chongzhen sending them to Shanxi. The Jiexiu Fan family not only engaged in smuggling trade with the Jiannu, but also colluded with Yuan Chonghuan. Once Emperor Chongzhen knew about this, he would definitely investigate it strictly.

In this case, it would be better to investigate the Jiexiu Fan family first. Anyway, it was Zhou Anmin who exposed this matter. As long as there is solid evidence to capture the Jiexiu Fan family, not only can we give an explanation to the emperor, but it will also be of great benefit.

After all, the Jiexiu Fan family was a wealthy merchant among Shanxi merchants, and the imperial court was in need of money. The benefits gained from taking down the Fan family were enough to make the emperor happy. Moreover, by taking down the Fan family and continuing to dig deeper, they could rectify the officialdom in Shanxi, including cracking down on the Shanxi royal family, which could also prepare for the next move against Hengtong.

By that time, Zhou Anmin thought he had a good plan, but he didn't expect that it was exactly what Wu Mengming wanted. Zhou Anmin had been put in a difficult position because he had offended a large number of people in the Fan family incident. As long as Wu Mengming and Du Xun pushed him, he had no choice but to continue investigating Hengtong. By that time, Hengtong would also be unable to escape. Confiscating Hengtong and handing over the entire Hengtong industry to Emperor Chongzhen would not only solve the problem of food and salary that troubled Emperor Chongzhen, but also bring great benefits to Wu Mengming and Du Xun themselves.

After everything is revealed, Zhou Anmin will be useless as a chess piece, so he can be abandoned. When the time comes, the court will find a reason to deal with Zhou Anmin and give an explanation to all parties. Wouldn't everyone be happy? Not only did the things that Emperor Chongzhen entrusted him to do, but some hidden dangers were also dealt with. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone!

Faced with Wu Mengming's suggestion, Du Xun thought it over and felt that this was a good idea. He could use the opponent's force to his advantage and put himself out of the vortex. Then he could let Zhou Anmin take the blame and deal with Zhou Anmin after the dust settled. Then everything would be fine.

This method is very good and very practical. It's amazing that Wu Mengming came up with this idea in such a short time. This guy is quite capable.

However, Du Xun felt that Wu Mengming's behavior of repaying kindness with enmity and using Zhou Anmin as a pawn was shameful, but what did it have to do with him? He and Zhou Anmin had no friendship, and both parties were outsiders. Moreover, it was Wu Mengming who implemented the plan. Even if the world wanted to scold him, it would not be his fault. Wouldn't it be better for him to be a spectator on the side?

"Since Lord Wu thinks so, we will follow Lord Wu's advice. We will report to the Emperor, Lord Wu, so there is no need to worry."

"Thank you, eunuch. I'll trouble you to take care of His Majesty's side." Wu Mengming said with a bow.

Du Xun waved his hand and said, "You and I are both here on the orders of the Emperor, and we should serve the Emperor. You should handle this matter carefully and carefully. Once you have done it, our family will speak well of you in front of the Emperor."

"I am truly grateful to you, sir. I will need your support in the future..."

"Okay...Okay..."

Under the dim candlelight, the two continued to discuss the matter, discussing how to lure Zhou Anmin into the trap step by step. After the discussion, the two showed excitement on their faces. In their opinion, both the Jiexiu Fan family and Hengtong were already on their plates. As long as they took down these two families, dealt with a few officials, and finally threw Zhou Anmin out, this mission would be completely successful.

By then, not only will he be able to give an explanation to Emperor Chongzhen, but he will also be able to reap great rewards from Shanxi. You must know that Shanxi merchants are the richest in the world. Both the Jiexiu Fan family and the Hengtong family have huge wealth. Once the wealth of these two families is obtained, it will not only solve the problem that Emperor Chongzhen is worried about silver, but also allow himself to gain benefits. This is simply a win-win situation!

(End of this chapter)