Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 306 Sulfur
Shuntian Express, Daxing distribution point.

Mrs. Wu usually sorts out the account books and personnel management at the Shuntian Express headquarters. At the end of each month, she habitually comes to the various distribution points in Gyeonggi to inspect and check the accounts.

Today she came to Daxing County to check the accounts and inquired about some personnel management issues in Daxing County.

The managers of each distribution point were arranged by Chen Ce. These people were the southwestern spies left by Wang Yue to Chen Ce. There was no doubt about their loyalty.

With the experience of the past two years, their management capabilities have also improved. After checking the accounts, Madam Wu prepared to leave.

After walking to the workshop where the goods were sorted, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Were all these goods sent by the same person?"

The manager of the Daxing branch nodded and said, "Yes."

Madam Wu couldn't help but be curious. This batch of goods were all sealed in sacks. Judging from the size and weight, they should be quite heavy. It was a large load, and she could make a lot of money by sending one load of goods over.

"What's it?"

The manager of the Daxing branch said, "The label says it's clay and it was sent to Xuanfu."

Mrs. Wu was even more puzzled. Why did Xuanfu need such a large amount of clay? However, according to the express confidentiality agreement, they could not view the customer's express delivery information, otherwise they would be punished.

Madam Wu hummed and said, "I understand. You can continue working."

At noon, she returned to Huaihua Hutong to find Chen Ce and reported to him the express delivery financial situation in various parts of the capital in April.

Overall, express delivery in Gyeonggi Province was still making huge profits in April.

They had lunch at Chen Ce's place. After lunch, Wu asked Chen Ce with some confusion, "What can clay be used for?"

Chen Ce said casually: "To make mold rubbings, the printing press needs it, what's going on?"

Madam Wu shook her head and said, "Nothing. Today I went to Daxing County to check the accounts and saw a large amount of clay sent to Xuanfu. I was a little surprised. Who would need such a large amount of clay for what? It turned out to be used for making printing presses."

Chen Ce smiled, but soon he was stunned for a moment and asked Madam Wu: "Where to send it?"

"Xuanfu."

Chen Ce frowned slightly. Xuanfu was located in the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty, and the humanistic culture there seemed to have not developed so rapidly. Moreover, the largest printing press workshop was in Jiangnan. What was the purpose of sending such a large amount of clay to Xuanfu?
Chen Ce asked suspiciously: "Are you sure it's clay?"

Madam Wu shook her head and said, "We don't have the authority to open the customer's package and check it."

With the development of the express delivery industry, the government has repeatedly imposed some restrictions on the industry. One of them is that customers’ express deliveries cannot be opened for inspection at will. If the victim reports it, the courier operator must pay ten times the value of the compensation!
As business expands disorderly, the imperial court will certainly make macro-control measures at the same time to protect the interests of the people. This is an inevitability determined by market demand.

Chen Ce was silent for a while, then said to Madam Wu, "Go find Liu Hong and ask him to take apart this batch of clay from Daxing County and have a look."

Madam Wu said: "If the government knew..."

Chen Ce said: "The tenfold fine is not important, let Liu Hong investigate."

"it is good!"

In the afternoon, Liu Hong found Chen Ce, sweating profusely, with a serious expression on his face. He said to Chen Ce, "Sir, that batch of goods is not clay, but sulfur!"

Chen Ce was stunned for a moment, and Madam Wu's expression immediately became serious!

As we all know, with the development of firearms, sulfur became an important military material in the Ming Dynasty. The sulfur resources in the Ming Dynasty were scarce, and most of the sulfur came from the tribute trade between Japan and Ryukyu. The Ming Dynasty laws repeatedly prohibited private merchants from trading sulfur.

The Great Ming Law established by Hongwu stipulated that anyone who privately traded in military supplies such as iron and sulfur would be sentenced to death; those who carried them on their shoulders would be punished one level lower and exiled.

If this batch of sulfur was really transported to Xuanfu and was discovered, the people responsible for carrying it would be subject to the serious crime of exile!
The owner of the entire Shuntian Express is Chen Ce. If something really goes wrong, Chen Ce will definitely be held responsible.

Liu Hong gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it! Someone wants to harm us!" Chen Ce shook his head and said, "They want to cause trouble for me."

Madam Wu said, "I'll go check who the sender is."

After a while, Mrs. Wu came back dejectedly. She couldn't find out the sender, who was anonymous.

This is a loophole and irregularity in express delivery management.

Chen Ce also guessed that there was a high probability that he would not be able to find the other party's identity information, but since they wanted to frame him, there must be a backup plan.

He pondered for a moment and said to Liu Hong: "Replace the sulfur with clay."

"The sulfur was seized."

“The goods were delivered as scheduled.”

There will definitely be follow-up. Chen Ce wants to find out who it is, what the purpose is, and why they want to frame him.

Liu Hong clasped his fists and said, "Okay!"

Chen Ce glanced at Madam Wu again and said, "Luckily you are here. Fortunately you are careful enough. From today on, you will issue a regulation that all citizens who send mail must carry the registered sender's information!"

Madam Wu nodded: "Okay! I'll do it right away."

He couldn't go to Shuntian Prefecture. Chen Ce was not sure if it was someone from Shuntian Prefecture who was trying to harm him. He had to find someone he could trust and tell the other person about these things in advance to avoid any trouble later.

Zhu Houzhao!
He planned to let Li Zhen inform His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

While Chen Ce was thinking, Minister Qin and Minister Xu came over with smiles. Seeing Chen Ce's serious face, the two ministers couldn't help but joked, "Boy, what are you thinking about? You're almost in a trance."

Seeing the two old ministers, Chen Ce suddenly changed his mind.

"You two elders have come at the right time. Do you have anyone you trust? Can you introduce them to me? I have something important to tell you."

Qin Hong and Xu Guan had never seen Chen Ce act so cautiously, so they couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

Chen Ce said solemnly: "Someone wants to harm me."

Ok?
The two old ministers' faces immediately turned gloomy. Who was so bold as to do this?

"Who?"

The two old ministers spoke in unison. A few days ago, Xu Guan kept saying that as long as he was there, no one could harm Chen Ce. But he was slapped in the face so quickly, which really made Minister Xu angry.

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "I don't know. Today, my subordinates found a large amount of sulfur at the Daxing Express Delivery Point and sent it to Xuanfu."

boom!
The two old ministers were stunned for a moment, they knew what this meant, sulfur was one of the important resources for making gunpowder, and sulfur was already scarce in the Ming Dynasty, and if such a large amount of sulfur was traded among the people, anyone caught with it would be guilty of a death penalty, and those responsible for the transportation would be exiled at the very least, even if they were not sentenced to death!

No wonder the kid looked so solemn just now, this is really going to kill him!
"Have you offended someone?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I don't think I have had any open conflict with anyone. But since the other party wants to harm me, there must be a backup plan."

"So now I need to find someone I can trust and tell them everything, so that they can testify for me in the future and prove that I am innocent."

Qin Hong and Xu Guan nodded secretly, it was true that the boy was thoughtful.

"You wait."

Qin Hong simply said one sentence, then walked out with his hands behind his back and an angry look on his face!
(End of this chapter)