Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 82 The Conspiracy Between the Ruler and His Ministers Causes Trouble for the Treacherous Officials (Part 2)

The cargo of the Xinglong Ship was robbed in broad daylight in the capital region!
Han Kuang was a little stunned when he received the message.

How can this be?

The capital region of the Ming Dynasty, right under the emperor's nose, was in broad daylight, and the Later Jin army had not yet attacked.

At this time and in this place, someone actually robbed the Xinglong Ship's cargo!

Who would dare to be so bold?
Wei Zhongxian!
If we were to ask who in the Ming Dynasty today would dare to act so lawlessly, it would undoubtedly be Wei Zhongxian.

This guy also has forty shops that specifically buy goods from Xinglonghao. This batch of goods was ordered by those forty shops, and they even paid a deposit. If the goods are not delivered in the next two days, he will have to pay ten times the deposit back!

This looks like a meticulously planned scam.

Is it possible to recover that batch of goods?
Inside the cabinet office, Han Kuang looked at the warm sunshine outside the window, but his heart felt utterly cold.

It's almost noon now.

The shipment was robbed around 7:45 AM at the Guankou Pass, more than ten miles outside Juyong Pass.

More than an hour has passed. If those highway robbers had driven their carriages at full speed, they could have covered hundreds of miles.

Those guys were too vicious. All the drivers and guards were shot so badly they couldn't even crawl, and they were all knocked unconscious. By the time the drivers and guards woke up and asked the Juyongguan garrison to come and report to the capital, more than an hour had passed.

At this point, he still didn't know the specifics of the situation, because the deliverymen had only sent a message to the Xinglonghao branch on Fuchengmen Street.

Even if he suspected Wei Zhongxian was behind it, he had no evidence whatsoever.

Moreover, the most important thing right now is not to cause trouble for Wei Zhongxian, but to find a way to get that batch of goods back.

The problem is, where is he going to find someone to snatch that batch of goods back?
Those highway robbers could take down two or three hundred coachmen and escorts in an instant, so there must be at least several hundred of them. He would need at least a thousand people to rob them back.

He didn't have more than a thousand men under his command, and he could only rely on the imperial court's forces.

Unfortunately, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was already under Wei Zhongxian's control, so they certainly wouldn't help him. The Imperial Guard, the Eastern Depot, and even the Beijing Garrison were all in the hands of the young emperor. Could the young emperor help him snatch the goods back?
This seems a bit ridiculous. Merchants' goods were stolen, and the young emperor was asked to mobilize the Imperial Guards, the Eastern Depot, and the Capital Garrison to retrieve them? The young emperor probably wouldn't even bother with such an absurd thing.

He could only try to get the garrison at Juyong Pass to plunder it.

Although the garrison at Juyong Pass wasn't one of their own, they had received money from them, and they would give them more money after the job was done, so they would definitely help them.

However, to mobilize more than a thousand troops, one must obtain the emperor's approval, then the cabinet's approval, and finally the Ministry of War's official document.

He frowned and pondered for a long time before summoning his confidant and ordering him to quickly have the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture submit a memorial to the emperor, reporting that there were bandits robbing the road more than ten miles south of Juyong Pass. He then personally wrote a draft proposal, suggesting that a thousand soldiers from the Juyong Pass garrison be mobilized to pursue and suppress the bandits.

At this moment, Zhu Jue was neither in the capital nor in the palace.

When the news reached Tongzhou City, Zhu Jue only replied with one sentence: "Order Shuntian Prefecture to send people to investigate the situation."

Are you kidding me? You think you're more powerful than me, mobilizing thousands of men to hunt down bandits with just a word?

He's deliberately stalling for time. It would take at least half a day for Shuntian Prefecture to send people to investigate south of Juyong Pass. By the time they figured out the situation, the goods would already be loaded onto cargo ships and transported to Jinling. How could they possibly recover anything then?

The next morning around 7 a.m., he leisurely arrived at the main hall of Yuxi Palace and opened the first memorial to see that it was another memorial from the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

Those bandits were incredibly ruthless. In broad daylight, they intercepted a caravan of two or three hundred people and opened fire indiscriminately, killing more than sixty people and seriously wounding the rest. They also stole dozens of cartloads of goods and fled south from Changping Prefecture, disappearing without a trace.

Oh, they've disappeared without a trace. Well, that's good!
Han Kuang seemed to be in a hurry. In his draft proposal, he vehemently denounced the bandits and strongly suggested sending a thousand soldiers from Juyong Pass to wipe them out.

At this point, sending the garrison at Juyong Pass would be futile in terms of annihilation.

After reading the memorial, Zhu Jue decisively said, "Approved."

He opened the second memorial and couldn't help but snort coldly.

Minister of Rites He Ruchong submitted a memorial stating that the period of mourning for the late emperor had ended and that tomorrow was an auspicious day for a grand funeral.

He wasn't criticizing the late emperor; the key issue was that such an important memorial had been suppressed under the memorial of the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

Han Kuang, in your eyes, the late emperor is not as important as the cargo of the Xinglong Ship, is that right?

Go ahead and look for it. The goods have already been loaded onto the grain transport ships. This time, I have mobilized dozens of these ships to sail downstream at high speed with light cargo. The goods are probably already in Cangzhou by now. By the time the garrison at Juyong Pass goes to Fangshan to search, the goods will probably be in Shandong. Let's see how you find them then.

If you can't find this, you'd better prepare to lose money. This time, Wei Zhongxian will definitely make the Xinglong ship bleed a lot!

After thinking it over carefully, he solemnly said, "Order the Ministry of Rites to make proper preparations and hold a grand funeral for my brother tomorrow."

While the Ministry of Rites was busy preparing for the late emperor's funeral, Wei Zhongxian's forty managers were out urging Xinglong Trading Company to expedite the delivery of goods.

Xinglong Ship had no cargo at the moment, so they could only beg and plead for a two-day extension.

The forty shopkeepers seemed to be in a hurry, but Wei Zhongxian seemed to have no time to care about it at all.

The following morning, the late emperor was buried, and Zhu Jue, Han Kuang, Wei Zhongxian, and others were all present.

Whether Wei Zhongxian was genuinely heartbroken or just acting, he cried his heart out and fainted several times! Zhu Juena couldn't help but wipe away a few tears as well.

The late emperor has already had a grand funeral. Next, the empress, imperial concubine, noble concubine, and nine concubines will be appointed.

Zhu Jue seemed to be too busy to care about the fact that Xinglonghao's cargo had been hijacked.

Wei Zhongxian seemed too heartbroken to care whether the Xinglong Shipping's goods had arrived or not.

The garrison at Juyong Pass searched south along the entrance of the pass for three days before finally finding it.

The next morning around 7 a.m., Zhu Jue arrived at the main hall of Yuxi Palace and opened the first memorial to find that it was from the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

The Shuntian Prefect reported the facts to the emperor, stating that the garrison at Juyong Pass had discovered the stolen carriage in a valley in Fangshan County, more than a hundred li south of Changping Prefecture. The horses pulling the carriage were still there, but the goods were nowhere to be found.

Han Kuang's proposal, however, suggested that the matter was likely the work of Wei Zhongxian, since Wei Zhongxian was the only one in the entire capital with such power.

It seems this fellow is really desperate. If the goods can't be found, Xinglong Company will have to pay four or five million taels in compensation.

Even if each of the eight imperial merchants was as rich as a country, four or five million taels was still a considerable sum, since the annual tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty was only equivalent to four or five million taels in the past.

Does this guy think he can avoid paying money by falsely accusing Wei Zhongxian?

After reading it, Zhu Jue immediately announced loudly, "Summon Wei Zhongxian to come and pay his respects."

Soon, Wei Zhongxian strode over, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."

His eyes were still bloodshot.

Zhu Jue shook his head slightly and said, "Alright, Zhongxian, stop crying. The Shuntian Prefect has already submitted a memorial stating that the Juyong Pass garrison only found the carriages and not the goods. Han Kuang has drafted a proposal saying that he suspects you stole the goods. You decide what to do."

Does this mean I should hurry up and extort money from you?

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian immediately bowed and took his leave.

Immediately afterwards, he summoned over a thousand elite cavalry and several thousand imperial guards, and led the forty shopkeepers to Fuchengmen Street, where they surrounded the Xinglonghao branch. Only then did he enter the shop's main hall and arrogantly demand, "Where are the shopkeepers? Get out here for me!"

The manager of Xinglonghao branch rushed over and, upon seeing Wei Zhongxian's bloodshot eyes, was so frightened he nearly collapsed to the ground.

He gritted his teeth and steadied himself before bowing and saying in a trembling voice, "This humble one pays his respects to Lord Wei."

Without further ado, Wei Zhongxian demanded sharply, "Where are the goods we ordered?"

You most likely stole this batch of goods.

The manager of Xinglonghao branch would never dare to say such a thing in front of the great villain, the Ninth Prince.

He could only say tremblingly, "Our goods have been robbed, Lord Wei. Please grant us some more time, and we will definitely deliver the goods."

You want to send another batch of goods over for us to snatch up?
forget it.

That's definitely a trap; we mustn't let the secret guards fall into it.

Wei Zhongxian feigned anger and said, "Do you think I'm easy to fool? I've already given you three days' grace. If you want me to give you more time, does that mean I don't need to do business anymore?"

Do you know how much money you've caused me to lose by being so untrustworthy? And you still want to extend the deadline? Do you think I have no temper?

This guy is not going to go with you anymore, so you should pay him back according to the contract.

If you dare not pay compensation, I will not only confiscate all your shops in the capital, but also all the shops you own in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

And that Fan Yongdou isn't getting away either. If he doesn't pay up, I'll skin him alive!

His words were not a threat at all.

That guy is really capable of doing something like that!
Upon hearing this, the manager of Xinglonghao branch could only bite the bullet and say, "Lord Wei, I can't make the decision about compensation. Could you please allow me to send someone to the main branch to inquire?"

Fine, try not to pay me back.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian immediately waved his hand and said, "Men, confiscate this shop to recoup your losses."

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guards, who were already prepared outside, immediately rushed in and began to ransack the place.

The manager of Xinglonghao branch instinctively raised his hand, but dared not stop them.

Seeing this, Wei Zhongxian pointed directly at his nose and said sternly, "I'll give you three days to ask your main branch if they're going to make a loss. If they are, send the money to me within a month. If they aren't, then don't blame me for being impolite."

Han Kuang was deeply worried upon hearing the news.

Wei Zhongxian is the kind of guy who can throw people into prison and torture them to death even when he has no reason. Now that he has caught them in the right, how can they not compensate?
If they don't pay compensation, Wei Zhongxian will definitely send the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Shanxi to raid Xinglonghao's shops.

There are many shady things happening in Shanxi. Would they really allow the Embroidered Uniform Guard to go there and raid them?
This is really worrying me to death!
(End of this chapter)