Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 327 The Only Flaw

"The Jianwen Secret Treasury has been opened."

"There were more than 5,000 weapons, more than 3,000 sets of bows and arrows, and more than 1,000 sets of armor, all of which were stored in a sealed box."

"There were also 120 boxes of silver ingots, 30 boxes of gold, and dozens of bags of broken silver."

Even if a trusted confidant personally delivers the letter to ensure it won't be seen by outsiders along the way, the contents of the letter are still written in great secrecy.

Some minor gains were not included at all.

Even so, the treasures within were already astonishing.

A large quantity of weapons and military equipment, including the collections of the Ming Dynasty's armory.

Of course, after a century, and being located in a damp coastal area, rust and damage are inevitable.

When the box was opened, the weapons—bows and crossbows—were in such bad condition that they were all unusable.

Some of them simply cannot be opened at all.

The number can only be roughly determined by the size of each box.

Weapons and crossbows are one thing, but the armor is the most regrettable.

Fortunately, there was still gold and silver.

A huge silver reserve.

There were over a hundred large chests, all filled with gleaming silver and gold bars.

Some of the gold and silver items are even engraved with official seals from the Jianwen era.

For convenience, there were even sacks filled with loose silver coins that could be taken out at any time.

Therefore, Sun Weixian concluded that this was the secret treasure that Emperor Jianwen had carefully prepared in order to make a comeback.

However, the plan was to unveil it several months or even years later. Unexpectedly, Emperor Jianwen became disheartened and entered a Buddhist monastery, and the secret treasure was preserved to this day.

Sun Weixian felt both delighted and regretful.

After all, if this secret treasure were unearthed earlier, the weapons and armor would still be usable, and who knows, it might be able to accomplish something great.

But now, he is over fifty years old and frail, and can no longer do such things.

Of course, despite this, Haiyue still sensed a hint of ambition in the letter.

Anyone who acquires such a treasure would not be content to simply let this immense wealth lie dormant somewhere, quietly rotting away.

Therefore, at the end of the letter, Sun Weixian inquired whether the lifting of the maritime ban could be continued.

He had no intention of rebelling. Armaments and weapons were a hot potato; they were better off discarded. But gold and silver could be spent.

Now that Yuegang Port in Fujian is open and civilian ships are setting sail, Sun Weixian's family is also preparing to do business there. This huge fortune will undoubtedly make their capital even more abundant.

Haiyue slowly put down the letter.

In the end, everyone was happy.

The hidden treasures buried underground have been unearthed, and the gold and silver have once again flowed into maritime trade after the lifting of the sea ban. This is truly a cause for celebration.

But he always felt that the process went too smoothly.

It went so smoothly it felt unreal.

Of course, for someone like Haiyue who doesn't care about the secrets, there didn't seem to be much of a commotion.

But for Sun Weixian, after spending most of his life searching far and wide, he finally unearthed the hidden treasure. There is no greater reward than such an effort.

Therefore, he has no doubts whatsoever, and it seems he is unwilling to listen to other people's advice.

After pondering for a moment, Haiyue still couldn't shake off her doubts and asked Gong Hao, who was grinding ink beside her, "Where is the messenger sent by Sun Weixian?"

Gong Hao replied, "I'll rest at the Yinglue Society."

The growth of the Yinglue Society is closely related to the Southern Garrison Command. Since taking control of Sun Weixian, Haiyue has not been polite. By leveraging his connections and methods, the Yinglue Society has become a powerful force spanning the north and south of China in just ten years.

Because of this connection, many of Sun Weixian's confidants used to stay at the various branches of the British Strategic Affairs Society.

"Summon him."

Before long, a burly young man entered the hall and bowed: "Greetings, Vice Minister Hai!"

"No need to be formal."

Haiyue dismissed the others and sized up the other person: "You and Sun Defu..."

"My surname is also Sun, my given name is Jingxing, and my courtesy name is Zimo."

The young man spoke respectfully, his voice deep and powerful: "Commander Sun is my fourth uncle."

As she spoke, she slowly raised her head, revealing eyebrows and eyes that bore a striking resemblance to Sun Weixian.

"So they're from the Sun family!"

Haiyue nodded slightly, her tone becoming gentler: "I am naturally happy for Brother Defu that his long-cherished wish has been fulfilled. However, there are some things in the letter that are inconvenient to say outright—has there been any leak of information about opening the secret treasure this time?"

"It can't be leaked!"

Sun Jingxing was confident: "We will land on the island under the pretext of suppressing Japanese pirates, while another team of brothers will patrol the surrounding waters. Outsiders will only think it is an ordinary anti-bandit operation and will never guess the secret behind it."

Haiyue asked, "How many people were mobilized?" "Mainly the elite troops of the Southern Garrison Command, with additional soldiers from local garrisons, totaling more than three hundred people."

Sun Jingxing paused, then lowered his voice and said, "However, those who actually went underground to dig for treasure were all members of the Sun family. The rest of them only set up defenses on the outer perimeter and didn't even see the center of the island!"

Haiyue lightly tapped the table with her fingertips: "The Japanese pirates of Shuangyu were wiped out long ago. Since Brother Defu knew the location of the treasure long ago, why has it been delayed until now?"

Sun Jingxing said with a wry smile, "To tell you the truth, my fourth uncle led us to dig out two boxes two winters ago, but at that time Japanese ships were coming and going, so we had to bury them back as they were..."

"Later, the Shuangyu gang was executed, and the remaining members fled at the sight of government ships. We managed to get thirty sand barges and transport the goods during the tide. Before dawn, we had sent them all, boxes and locks, into the navy's secret compartment..."

He described in detail how to transport the secret treasure. Haiyue listened and found that every detail was perfect and there were no problems. She nodded again: "Good! Do you intend to go to sea next?"

Sun Jingxing cautiously asked, "Uncle is unaware of the court's movements and specifically instructed me to consult Vice Minister Hai. I wonder if the maritime ban policy will be tightened again?"

Haiyue said calmly, "For the 100,000 fishing households along the Fujian and Zhejiang coasts, banning the sea would cut off their livelihood. Would the imperial court repeat the lesson of forcing good people into piracy?"

Sun Jingxing breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great!"

Haiyue asked, "Did the Sun family already have these businesses?"

"Don't dare! Don't dare!"

Sun Jingxing initially denied it, then chuckled dryly and said in a low voice, "To be honest, those powerful clans colluded with Japanese pirates to monopolize the sea routes, and how could we, a small family, dare to interfere..."

Haiyue asked, "And now?"

"Now we will naturally follow Vice Minister Hai's lead!"

Sun Jingxing's eyes lit up, and he quickly pulled out a scroll of nautical charts that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and presented it to them: "Fourth Uncle's idea is that our fleet can first reach Haikoupu in Qiongshan, and then transfer to Jiaozhi..."

Haiyue glanced at the flight path outlined in vermilion on the map and chuckled, "These were all ideas Wang Zeng came up with for you, weren't they?"

Sun Jingxing forced a smile: "So it turns out that Vice Minister Hai also knows Manager Wang. After abandoning his allegiance to the Ming Dynasty, he joined Fourth Uncle's ranks. He is fluent in Portuguese, and a piece of Suzhou embroidery can fetch 30% more silver after passing through his hands. Now, all the affairs of the shop, big and small, depend on his planning!"

"Wang Zeng is a talented person, and Sun Defu is good at recognizing and utilizing talent!"

Haiyue pointed to the map: "The nautical chart is well-done!"

Sun Jingxing, understanding the implied meaning from the music, leaned closer and said, "I wish to join forces with Vice Minister Hai and share the profits 30%."

This means giving 30% of the profits to the Hai family. It may not seem like much, but for the massive shipping industry, once a long-term business relationship with the West is established, it means sitting on mountains of gold and seas of silver, with wealth rolling in.

Of course, given Hai Yue and Hai Rui's status, there were plenty of local gentry and wealthy families who wanted to partner with the Hai family in business. If Sun Weixian hadn't had this past relationship, he wouldn't have been qualified to make that offer at all.

Haiyue remained noncommittal upon hearing this, and said calmly, "Zimo, is there anything else you have to do in the capital?"

"Yes! Yes!"

Sun Jingxing understood immediately. Such an important matter could not be decided in a short time. He quickly bowed down again, respectfully bowed, and said, "This nephew takes his leave!"

He left satisfied.

However, after Gong Hao saw the man out of the mansion and returned to his study, Hai Yue's first words were: "This person is suspicious!"

Gong Hao vaguely sensed that the young master's attitude was somewhat unusual, but he couldn't discern anything amiss: "I am foolish and hope the young master will enlighten me!"

Hai Yue stated directly: "Wang Zeng has absolutely no chance of taking control of the Sun family's trade routes! What kind of person is Sun Weixian? How could he allow a manager who is friendly to me to hold the throat of the Sun family's maritime trade?"

His relationship with Sun Weixian was initially hostile, then he manipulated him, and now he is a local tyrant and a powerful figure in the central government.

To survive in this world, you need connections and influence.

Sun Weixian had no shortage of local influence, but lacked central government backing.

Hai Yue, one of the three powerful figures in the court, is the backer that Sun Weixian wants.

However, as a former commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Sun Weixian would not completely submit to Haiyue, especially since he had just unearthed the Jianwen secret treasure and obtained a huge fortune, giving him more independent capital.

Based on this, Wang Zeng's arrangements seem very strange.

Wang Zeng is Wang Zhi. Before Sun Weixian went south, Haiyue specifically mentioned this person and asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard to protect his life when they took action.

With this relationship, no matter how talented Wang Zeng is in business, Sun Weixian would not give him the crucial position of manager of his own chamber of commerce.

Otherwise, if the Sun family were to cooperate with the Hai family, and the shopkeeper was someone whose life had been spared by Hai Yue, wouldn't it be a waste for the Sun family to do all their work for someone else if the two secretly colluded?
In that case, it won't just be 30% going to the Hai family; they might end up with 70%!
"This is the only flaw in Sun Jingxing's words."

"Everything else is flawless, including the process before and after the Jianwen secret treasure was unearthed, but this is the only place where the secret was exposed."

Gong Hao's eyes widened: "Could this person be Sun Weixian's nephew?"

"If it were someone else impersonating him, that would be fine; it would just be a case of information being leaked and someone taking advantage of it..."

Haiyue said in a deep voice, "What I'm afraid of is that he really is Sun Weixian's nephew, Sun Jingxing. If that happens, something terrible is going to happen!"

As he spoke, he picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and quickly wrote several lines on the plain paper. As soon as the ink dried, he folded it into an envelope and pressed his personal seal heavily onto the wax seal: "You shall set off immediately and go to Southern Zhili in person to present this to Xu Jie, the governor of Yingtian! Remember, avoid all the usual routes of the Yinglue Society!"

"Yes!"

Gong Hao accepted the order and withdrew.

It was three months later when he returned to his study, weary from his journey.

In the reply that followed, Haiyue quickly extracted two key messages, and her expression became completely serious—

“Sun Weixian has long been under house arrest, and his family members are issuing orders in his name!”

"The soldiers of the Southern Zhili Garrison have been owed wages for six months, and they are about to riot!"

(End of this chapter)