Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 295 Smuggling along the Grand Canal: A Major Case That Threatens the Whole Province! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Zhao Wenyuan didn't know how he left the Chuigong Hall; he only felt that his head was in a daze.

If I really had to say something...

He only wanted to say four words to Gu Lin.

——No martial ethics!
That's right, they have no sense of martial ethics!
Gu Lin had never done this before, so it was impossible for him to listen to music and enjoy himself with the emperor.

It was by chance that Gu Lin was in this hall this time.

He absolutely doesn't believe it!

Without any hesitation, Zhao Wenyuan immediately contacted everyone again and explained the situation inside the Chuigong Hall that day.

And regarding this matter, everyone reacted almost the same way he did.

Their faces were all heavy with sorrow.

They were naturally able to sense the abnormality.

But what can they do?
Perhaps it's a form of self-comfort inherent in human nature, but these people couldn't help but think of another possibility.

Perhaps this really is just a coincidence?
This is almost everyone's opinion.

Although it may seem naive, it is their instinctive choice.

“In any case,” the other man said, looking at Zhao Wenyuan with a pleading tone, “we will need Brother Zhao to go to the palace again tomorrow to find out His Majesty’s opinion.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenyuan's expression instantly turned cold, and he flicked his sleeve with a cold snort: "Me??"

"Could it be that among all the civil and military officials, only I, Zhao, have a memorial to present?"

"Humph!"

"Tomorrow's tasks will be handled by all of you colleagues!"

The meeting ended in this somber atmosphere.

And the next day—

These people had no choice but to send someone to the Chuigong Hall to request an audience with the emperor again, and the scene he faced was exactly the same as yesterday.

Looking at Gu Lin sitting to the side, even though the newcomer had already prepared for all sorts of possibilities, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

And that night.

A chorus of angry curses rang out, accusing Gu Lin of lacking martial ethics.

That's incredibly unsportsmanlike!

In fact, they had made many preparations for this attempt to sow discord between the emperor and the Gu family. If Gu Lin used other means to forcibly prevent them from meeting the emperor, they would then use this as an excuse to attack Gu Lin again.

Unfortunately, Gu Lin had clearly anticipated their tactics and never gave them any chance from beginning to end.

He just sat there.

Then all the storms will be swept away.

Of course, these people wouldn't give up.

In the following days, their attention was inevitably turned to the eunuchs and concubines in the palace.

Unable to see the emperor, they had no other choice but to make this decision.

Let's not talk about the empresses and concubines—

No one can stop someone from having a romantic conversation with their partner.

Eunuchs, on the other hand, were also a potential breakthrough point.

Since the eunuchs' usurpation of power at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the suppression of eunuchs throughout the Nine Provinces has far exceeded the original historical level, especially under the current rule of the Gu family.

The paths of these eunuchs had long been blocked.

Now that they have the opportunity to target the Gu family, they are naturally happy to see it happen.

However, these people ultimately underestimated Gu Lin.

On the eunuch's side—

If even the slightest problem arises, they will almost certainly disappear from the palace that very night.

They either fell into the water or left the palace on their own.

Gu Lin didn't need to use any effort at all to deal with these people.

As for the concubines, it was indeed a bit more troublesome. After all, Gu Lin could not possibly harm these people, but he could also block their path.

The only way to contact the imperial concubines was through their maternal relatives.

Although there were relatives of the maternal family among those targeted in this case.

But again -

Who would dare to openly attack Gu Lin?
The two sides have been engaged in a constant game of strategy.

Although Gu Lin was not immune to making mistakes, with him personally accompanying the emperor, all of these people's methods were still ineffective.

In the end, the deciding factor in this dispute still came down to the overwhelming public opinion.

This is precisely the point that the Gu family finds most difficult to address.

Jiangning Prefecture, Chen family's grain transport.

As its name suggests.

This place is the base of the Chen family in Jiangning. It is nominally controlled by Chen Mingyuan's brother-in-law. Through the Chen family's foundation, coupled with the influence of Chen Mingyuan and other members of the Chen family in the court, they now have almost completely controlled the canal transport in Jiangning.

This is an unavoidable problem in our time.

Officials and merchants could not be completely separated, and it was equally impossible to avoid local powerful clans.

Because these people almost always control resources and talent.

Whether the imperial court needs to do something or the local governments need to do something, these people are needed to mediate between them.

This is why the Censorate's initial investigation was so difficult. The Chen family had been operating in Jiangning for generations, with intricate and complex relationships. They had managed to win over both superiors and subordinates effectively, so ordinary audits and inquiries could not reach the core issues.

Moreover, these people are also very intelligent.

To deal with the Gu family, they made far too many preparations, at least not revealing the slightest clue in the open.

However, water overflows when it is full, and the moon wanes when it is full.

—No matter what, if there is a problem, there will always be clues.

Gu Lin was well aware of this.

Therefore, he was never in a hurry. He simply sent members of the Gu family to various government offices, without even having to do anything special. They were just like the previous generations of Gu family members, doing their jobs in these places.

Jiangning Prefectural Government Office.

The Gu family member who came to the Jiangning Prefectural Government this time was named Gu Xu.

Although his talent was quite mediocre, he was a very meticulous person, which was the main reason why he came to Jiangning.

Since arriving in Jiangning.

He was also following Gu Lin's instructions, never deliberately doing anything, but simply helping the people with all sorts of trivial matters.

Gu Lin's purpose in doing this was also very simple.

Others could take advantage of the Gu family's reputation.

As the head of the Gu family, how could he not be competent?

These powerful families dominated their respective regions.

He didn't believe these people had the same character as the Gu family, and that they had never done anything wrong in the local area!
This kind of thing can't be completely suppressed.

Even if they can suppress it for a while, as long as the Gu family members are still here, the people will naturally find an opportunity to expose all their problems!
This is the prestige of the Gu family!
That night.

As the autumn rain began to fall, the lights in the back hall of the government office were dim. Gu Xu had just finished reviewing the day's files and was about to rest when he suddenly heard a suppressed knocking sound from outside the hall, urgent yet soft, unlike the usual announcements from government officials.

He became wary and signaled his personal servant to go and check.

A moment later, the old servant led a person in.

The man was soaking wet, wearing a straw hat and a tattered raincoat. Judging from his appearance, he looked like an ordinary fisherman or boatman. His face was covered in rain and fear. As soon as he entered the door, he knelt down on the ground with a thud, his body trembling slightly from the cold and fear.

"Lord Gu! I have a confidential matter to report!" The man's voice trembled, his head was bowed very low, and his hands were tightly clutching an object wrapped in oilcloth.

Gu Xu remained calm, signaling the old servant to close the door and stand guard outside. He then immediately looked at the man and said, "Get up and answer."

"What secrets do you possess that require you to come here in the dead of night, and why have you sought out this official?"

The man then stood up shakily, but still dared not raise his head. He held the oilcloth bundle above his head with both hands, his voice low and filled with moisture and fear: "I am Li Gui, a minor manager in the canal gang, in charge of the repair records of canal boats in the Jiangning section."

"I...I really couldn't bear to watch any longer, and I was afraid of being implicated in the future, so I dared to come and seek out Gu Qingtian!"

"The Grand Canal Gang? The Chen family's canal transport?" Gu Xu's eyes narrowed slightly, but his tone remained calm. "Tell me in detail."

Li Gui swallowed hard, raindrops sliding down his temples: "Lord Gu, you are wise!"

"On the surface, the Chen family's grain and salt shipments were all government-owned, and the accounts were clear and accurate."

"When the officials of the Censorate come to investigate, they naturally won't find any problems."

"But the problem isn't in the accounts, it's in the ship's hull!"

"The bottom of the ship?" Gu Xu leaned forward slightly.

"Yes!" Li Gui seemed to have found his courage and spoke faster. "Every few times, the Chen family's ships would use the excuse of old or damaged planks to enter their own dock for repairs."

"Although the maintenance is real, every time they do it, they tamper with the underwater compartments under the hull!"

He carefully unwrapped the oilcloth, and inside were not account books, but several seemingly ordinary but deliberately cut fragments of old ship planks, and a small packet of black, peculiar-smelling lumps wrapped in oil paper.

“Please look, Mr. Gu,” he said, pointing to the fragments of the ship plank, “this may seem like ordinary old material that has been replaced, but if you look closely at the wear marks at the mortise and tenon joints and the water stains, you’ll see that this could not have been caused by the same period or the same voyage!”

"These are signs of repeated disassembly and reassembly, and multiple uses!"

He picked up the black, lumpy object again, and a smell mixed with spices and mold wafted out: "This thing... I secretly scraped it off."

"It was firmly embedded in a specially made hidden compartment in the bottom of the ship, and the outside was disguised with moss. Unless the ship was dragged ashore and dismantled, it would be extremely difficult to find during the voyage."

"This is a smuggled item from Southeast Asia, a rare agarwood more valuable than gold!"

"There are other woods like sappanwood, pepper, and possibly even iron filings. But I am of lowly status and cannot access the core materials; I can only guess based on the smell and the occasional scattered fragments."

As he spoke, Li Gui's body continued to tremble.

In fact, he was also quite helpless about this matter.

Although he was just a minor steward in charge of recording, he had gradually come into contact with some core members because he had worked for the Chen family for many years.

Logically speaking, he would never have come to expose such a thing to the Gu family.

But that's just how human nature is.

Li Gui had never been involved in smuggling before and thought he was doing quite well, but after witnessing the profits involved, things changed.

His deep-seated greed drove him to take these smuggled goods.

If he had simply kept secretly eating the leftovers each time, perhaps no problem would have arisen.

But it was precisely because of greed that it was gradually amplified.

Some of his actions were finally noticed.

When the Chen family launched an internal investigation, only one path remained for him.

Reporting to the Gu family might offer a chance of survival.

But once the Chen family finds out, he will inevitably die in the shadows sooner or later; that's for sure.

He has no choice!
Gu Lin had no interest in what Chen Gui's background was. He immediately took the black, blocky object from Chen Gui's hand, smelled it, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

Although the flavor is already quite complex.

But he immediately asked for the taste of some Sichuan peppercorns.

But what truly terrified him was not these things.

If what Chen Gui said is true, then he is certain that there is definitely more than one person from the Chen family involved!
Because the potential benefits are simply too great!
The current trade tax in the Song Dynasty was based on different taxes levied on different goods.

In addition, these items are not cheap goods to begin with.

Now they can completely evade taxes.

The benefits generated from this are beyond even his imagination as a member of the Gu family!

"Openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass"

These eight words suddenly popped into Gu Xu's mind.

"Sure enough, to deal with these people who are well-prepared, we have to wait for them to cause trouble from within."

His expression grew increasingly serious.

After a moment of silence, Gu Xu walked up to Chen Gui, his gaze sharp, and asked, word by word:

"Are you willing to atone for your crimes by performing good deeds?"
The autumn rain falls gently.

Chen Gui ran through the darkness towards his dilapidated home.

Actually, he still has some money.

After all, he had already succeeded many times during this period.

However, even though he made some money, he dared not spend it under the control of the Chen family in Jiangning. He could only hide the things he had secretly brought out in the cellar of his house and check them carefully every day.

According to what he usually said to Gu Xu.

"He's truly terrified of being poor!"

Although he dared not sell them or spend them, just looking at these things made him feel at ease.

But tonight, Chen Gui clearly had no interest in looking at those things anymore.

I just got home.

Ignoring his wife's earnest greetings, he lay back down on the couch with a numb expression, his mind still replaying the words Gu Xu had just spoken to him.

Simply put, as long as he pretends nothing happened, the Gu family will definitely spare his life and might not even pursue his crimes.

If anyone else had said these words, Chen Gui obviously wouldn't have believed them.

But this is, after all, the Gu family!
Moreover, he truly had no way out!

"But how long will this take?"

"We can't wait until those Chen guys actually find out about me, can we?"

His mind was a mess, and he tossed and turned on the bed, unable to fall asleep, his thoughts a jumbled mess.

And under the same night sky.

Through the rain, a member of the Gu family's personal guard was galloping out of Jiangning Prefecture.

This was naturally Gu Xu's order.

He had to report the news to Gu Lin immediately.

Although Gu Xu's talent was mediocre, he was well aware of the great importance of this matter.

In his view, now that the matter has been brought to light, it is imperative to eliminate it completely!
The Great Song Dynasty now revolves around the Grand Canal.

The canal transport system has such a huge loophole that it must be suppressed no matter what!
(P.S.: I'm begging for monthly votes at the beginning of the month. Please support me, brothers. I would be extremely grateful.)
(End of this chapter)