Chapter 2429 Chapter 486 of Gui Zi Volume Set goals again and choose their key points
Feng Ziying indeed thinks so.
The Zhen family can set a good example, and then give the Zhen family certain guarantees and preferential treatment. This can stimulate other powerful families who are about to be investigated and punished to have some hope. As long as they cooperate with the court, the court may not necessarily kill them all. But the premise is that their cooperation must satisfy the court.
But this requires a process, and the investigation and punishment of the Zhen family in the early stage is necessary, otherwise it will not be able to show the determination and means of the court. However, in the later stage, it can be adjusted appropriately to show the principle of balancing kindness and power and taking advantage of past mistakes and avoiding future consequences.
After handing the two daughters of the Zhen family to Li Qi to take them down to settle down, Feng Ziying signaled Wang Wenyan, who had been hiding in another room, to come out.
“How is it?” Feng Ziying asked.
Wang Wenyan came to Nanjing long in advance to make arrangements. He and Wu Yaoqing carried out targeted intelligence collection around the New Four families in the entire southern Zhili area, especially the Zhen family, combined with the Ministry of Punishment, Long Jinwei, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Jinling Prefecture. We have summarized some clues and information from the side, and it can be said that the various types of information about the New Four are quite detailed.
But after Zhen Baochen fully explained the situation, Wang Wenyan still felt that it was worth the money. It was extremely cost-effective to instigate rebellion against the Zhen family, even if it cost some money.
"It should be said that the Zhen family has confided most of it." Wang Wenyan took the stack of lists and was quite satisfied, "Including those from other places, such as those in the capital, Suzhou and Hangzhou. We have some, but not all, here. It’s all shown, and I guess the Zhen family is worried that we will reject it if we regard it as insincere.”
This was brought out by Feng Ziying under the pretense of changing clothes and given to him to browse and check based on the clues he had.
“Wen Yan, I did a rough calculation, and it far exceeded our expectations.” Feng Ziying said: “Did our previous goals be a little low?”
"Haha, sir, it is better to be low than high. It will be a surprise in the future, and we will have more room for maneuver. What's more, the Ministry of Revenue thinks that it has set a very high level and is worried that we will not be able to achieve it. Isn't that good?" Wang Wenyan smiled and said, "Don't you hope to obtain royal titles and honors for your children and your wife? The imperial court is overjoyed and will certainly not hesitate to reward you."
"Wen Yan has thought everything through." Feng Ziying sighed, "But it is indeed a bit surprising. The Zhen family is like this, but what about the Zhou family, the Hu family and the Tao family? I thought maybe they could give us a surprise."
"Sir, maybe don't have too much hope. The gap between these three families and the Zhen family is still very obvious. In terms of salt and profit alone, it is not comparable to the other three families. However, some of the behaviors of these families are even worse. For example, the Zhou family has monopolized shipping on the Yangtze River, colluded with water bandits, and robbed merchant ships. It has become a major public nuisance. Their behavior is much worse than selling illegal salt, and there are countless times more lawsuits involving human lives. Similarly, the Tao family also annexed land and robbed it, and its reputation has been ruined. It’s extremely bad, but to say that their assets are on par with the Zhen family’s is to look down on them, which is far from it.”
Wang Wenyan’s remarks are consistent, and Feng Ziying also feels that she is a little optimistic.
"But the Ding family and the Tang family, especially the Tang family, may be richer than we thought." Wang Wenyan added: "Especially their collusion with Japanese pirates. We only knew a little about it before, but after hearing the Zhen family's introduction , I recalled the sea area from Liaojiaozui to Dinghai Zhongwei, including Chongming and even the river area to Nantongzhou and Jingjiang. Over the years, there have been many cases of merchant ships being attacked and missing, but the clues are all The vagueness can only be blamed on the pirates..."
"In addition, in Songjiang, Suzhou, Jiaxing, and Ningbo, there are one or two incidents of Japanese pirates landing and looting almost every year, and the targets are extremely precise. One of them was the marriage between the richest man in Jiading and the richest man in Taicang. Lu Youcheng, the richest man in Jiading The daughter was married to the son of Shen Wanquan, the richest man in Taicang. The dowry was said to have been paid outside the land store, but the gold and jewelry were worth tens of thousands of taels. As a result, more than 300 Japanese pirates went deep into the interior and attacked on the night of the wedding, taking away the couple and all their property. He said that he also extorted one hundred thousand taels of silver..."
Wang Wenyan’s words shocked Feng Ziying, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Why have I never heard about such a big thing in the court? There is no news from the Ministry of Punishment and the Denglai Navy?”
"Sir, this kind of thing involves a newcomer being kidnapped and extorted. It is said that the next day the two families collected the ransom and redeemed the person. They did not make it public. It was only because of their special family status that we came to know about it. ,…”
"And this kind of incident, I have only sorted out these four houses so far. From the thirty-sixth year of Yuanxi to the present, these four houses have happened one after another for more than ten times. In other words, these four houses have basically It happens every three or four years, and the targets are all chosen very precisely. Most of them are when wealthy families are getting married or celebrating birthdays, and receive a lot of gifts..."
"These Wubao villages and villages of large families are relatively strong and well-prepared, but they were all attacked by the so-called 'Japanese pirates'. Without internal response, or even guidance from people in the government, it would be difficult for outsiders to grasp the details. So I suspect that there should be insiders and people in the government who are causing trouble..."
“If the scope is expanded, for example, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Hangzhou, and Ningbo are included, I estimate there will be more discoveries…”
Wang Wenyan’s words shocked even Feng Ziying. If it was true as guessed, then the Tang family would be almost like a pirate leader wearing a powerful skin.
It’s no wonder that the Tang family can become the second largest shareholder of Taihe Bank.
With channels for selling stolen goods in other places, a strong network of contacts, a superior geographical location, and the support of other industries, it is reasonable for the Tang family's strength to expand rapidly. It is easy to quickly establish ties with the established scholar families in Songjiang. Normal.
Maybe if we give the Tang family a few more decades to cultivate a group of scholars, it is not impossible for the Tang family to turn into a Songjiang scholar family with a family of around 800 people. By then, it will be difficult to disturb the Tang family.
Now it seems that the Tang family may be the biggest discovery this time, and they may be able to dig out an even more shocking invisible rich man.
“It seems like the Tang family is the key target, even before the Zhen family.” Feng Ziying pondered.
"My subordinates also mean the same thing. The Zhen family has actually been put on the table now. Everyone is watching. It is impossible for him to escape. But the Tang family is different. Songjiang is in a corner, and he has his own fleet. , and there are Japanese pirates overseas, and they may even have bases overseas. If the news accidentally leaks out, and a large amount of property is transferred away by them, we will suffer a lot."
Wang Wenyan thought hard, "I'm afraid if you want to say hello to Master Sun, you have to use the Denglai navy to block the sea off Songjiang to prevent the Tang family and Japanese pirates from getting on the line and escaping. Even if the ship is sunk at sea, That’s a pity, it’s best to hold it down and capture it on land.”
"It's not enough to rely on the Denglai Navy alone. We also need Long Jinwei. They have a complete set of methods to deal with the powerful in these places. In addition, the Ministry of Punishment also has enough informants in these places that they can also use." Feng Ziying glanced at Wang Wenyan , "Why, are you worried that Captain Long will compete with the Ministry of Punishment for credit?"
"Haha, no, my subordinates are not that narrow-minded. Your contribution to the victory of Jiangnan is already great enough. I also understand that high merit is not rewarded. I brought everyone in, and people carried people in sedan chairs and dragon bans. Whether it's a lieutenant, a criminal department, or a procuratorate, all of them can actually play a role. If you give them this face and opportunity, smart people will know how to reciprocate."
Wang Wenyan was born as a prison official, and he was even more proficient in these people's ways of the world.
Feng Ziying agreed with Wang Wenyan’s opinion.
We must guard against the Tang family and capture them completely.
It may involve too many major cases and may involve more officials.
No matter which one it is, it will cause huge waves.
Inviting Long Jinwei, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate in will be enough to share his own pressure, and at the same time, he will also give them the opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Everyone will be happy when the time comes.
When arranging personnel in Jiangnan, you can win the support of these people, especially those from the Ministry of Punishment and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Moreover, even if I do something out of the ordinary after I return to Beijing in the future, they can help me smooth things over and explain.
Feng Ziying went to find Sun Chengzong overnight and introduced the situation. Sun Chengzong was also greatly shocked.
The disappearance of merchant ships on the sea in Jiangnan happens from time to time. It is normal for ten or twenty merchant ships to disappear due to bad weather every year.
However, most of these wrecked ships are concentrated in Liaojiaozui and Hangzhou Bay. In theory, they should be sea areas with better sea conditions and weather. This is a bit strange.
What's even more suspicious is that many of these wrecked ships were transporting relatively valuable bulk materials, rather than general bulk cargo, such as spices, copper blocks, silk, precious wood, etc. This makes people have to think These situations are related to the roadblock attacks by pirates and Japanese pirates.
These are all secondary. What is even more shocking is that the "Japanese pirates" "cooperate inside and outside", accurately select locations to land, attack wealthy merchants along the coast, and even kidnap and extort. This is a bit shocking.
It is too hard to accept that people should be involved in internal affairs and officials, and then loot large households, plunder and extort, and most of them did not report to the official because they were worried about retaliation.
If this is the case even in Jiangnan, how can it be called the second-best place after the capital city?
What exactly are the local governments in Jiangnan doing?
(End of this chapter)