Fenghou

"I know it's okay to donate food, but I also need to donate five thousand shi of grain, isn't it the same as two thousand guan?"

Yao Kaishan smiled, "There is a loophole in it, it just appeared, and the court hasn't patched the loophole yet, it may disappear in a few days."

"What loophole?"

"The imperial court has just announced that corn is recognized as food, but the price of corn is very low now. I just got the news that corn only costs a hundred pennies a stone, and five hundred coins can buy five thousand stones of corn. Donate it to the government. I can treat it as food." .”

Kong Yuan suddenly saw hope, five hundred guan was enough, and five hundred guan was enough in his family.

Yao Kaishan said again: "Once this loophole is discovered, someone will take advantage of it, and the court will plug the loophole, so you have to be quick, it's best to buy food and donate it to the government within a few days."

……

After leaving the county government office, Kong Yuan was worried again. Although his family could afford five hundred guan, it was his wife’s dowry. All the money and extra money are used to support women and sons.

One of the lucrative things in Kong Yuan's job is the disposal of waste distiller's grains. The leftover distiller's grains after brewing in the distillery under the craftsman supervisor are all handed over to him for disposal, and are usually sold to farmers to feed pigs.

However, the brewing workshop of the craftsman is quite wasteful, and the remaining distiller's grains are still useful. Some wine merchants buy them back and continue to brew, and they can brew some more stored wine. Although it is not worth much, it cannot hold a large amount. Generally, wine merchants will return the squeezed distiller's grains to him, and give him a little money, and he will sell the distiller's grains to farmers for public account.

In this way, there is no problem with the account at all, and he can probably get an extra money of ten taels of silver every month. In the past few years, he has used this extra money to raise his son.

Sure enough, at night, Kong Yuan asked his wife to donate five hundred guan to the honorary officer. His wife immediately guessed his purpose, and she was furious, and drove him out of the house together with him and the quilt. Lay all night.

……

In the early morning of the next day, Kong Yuan got a bit of a cold, and came to the official office in a muddleheaded manner. His official office was in Xianyang, not in the Jingzhaojiang Supervisory Office. He was an official dispatched to Xianyang.

Kong Yuan sat in front of the table in a daze for a moment, he took out a booklet from the bookcase, the booklet was densely written with his business experience, he worked as the master craftsman for ten years, it can be said that he has a deep network, he He can get hot goods from the official workshop, such as high-quality sake, he can buy them at a price of [-] Wen per catty, resell them to various wineries, and earn [-] Wen per catty, and distribute them to the masters of the wine shops. With twenty coins in charge, he can earn three pennies a day for one hundred catties.

There are also several best-selling medicines from the pharmacy, such as Feilong Baoming Dan and Jinchuang Hemostatic Cream. These are very popular medicines among the people, but they are difficult to buy, but he can get them.

It's a pity that he will lose his official position if he does this kind of thing, and he is reluctant to part with his official position, so these business contacts can only be discussed later.

But what troubles him now is, where should he get the five hundred coins?He is in urgent need now.

At this moment, the tea boy ran to the door and said, "Master Kong, someone is looking for you outside, and they say they want to talk to you about ways to make money."

Kong Yuan was taken aback, and reprimanded the tea boy, "Don't talk nonsense, be careful and drive you away!"

Kong Yuan hurriedly got up and walked outside...

The first thousand and 550 chapters nine kidnapping

There was a man in his thirties standing outside the official office. Kong Yuan asked, "I am Kong Yuan. Are you looking for me?"

The man stepped forward and bowed, "Pei Qiushan is a famous wine merchant. I want to talk about wine business with Kong Zhubo."

Kong Yuan was a little tempted. What the other party said was definitely not distiller's grains, but high-quality sake. He pointed to the teahouse diagonally opposite the government office, "Let's go over there to talk!"

The two came to the teahouse. There was no one in the teahouse at this time, so they sat down in an elegant room. Kong Yuan saw that he was carrying a rather heavy big box, and asked, "What kind of wine do you want to talk about?" Business?"

"I want to buy high-quality sake brewed by official craftsmen, Kong Zhubo should have a channel!"

"Buying wine is not a big problem, the key is the price!"

Selling official craftsman's liquor privately would cost him his official title, Kong Yuan knew it very well, but now he was in urgent need of money, so he couldn't take care of it for a while.

"According to the market price! 150 Wen a catty, I need a thousand catties urgently today, and I can pay the bill in silver."

This price is very good. He can only get 130 yuan per catty when he sells it to a wine merchant, and the merchant himself also earns [-] yuan. The merchant in front of him directly buys it at the market price, so what does he earn?But Kong Yuan didn't care, maybe he could sell it even higher!

"Yes, yes, but you have to pay me 16 taels of silver first, and then pay the rest upon delivery."

"No, I'll give it to you directly!"

The man opened the big box, and Kong Yuan's eyes were blurred. There were at least five or six hundred taels of silver in it, all of which were white silver ingots. He couldn't help swallowing.

The man named Pei Qiushan took out 30 taels of silver and put it on the table and pushed it to Kong Yuan. He smiled and said, "I'm in the teahouse in the afternoon, you can find me anytime."

……

Kong Yuan came back in the afternoon and hired an ox cart, which was filled with twenty jars of high-quality sake, fifty catties a jar.

Pei Qiushan directly took the ox cart and left, even saving the fare for Kong Yuan.

This vote was very profitable, one vote earned 14 taels of silver, which was distributed to the head manager of the winery for four taels, and Kong Yuan took only ten taels, fifty taels of money!

If he had such an income every day, he would earn back five hundred guan in ten days.

That night, Kong Yuan suffered from insomnia, his mind was full of money from that big box of Pei Qiushan, and the white money took away his heart.

……

Early the next morning, Kong Yuan had just arrived at the government office, and yesterday that Pei Qiushan came to see him again, which surprised and delighted Kong Yuan, and the two came to the teahouse yesterday again.

Pei Qiushan smiled and said: "Today is not buying wine, but a big deal. I heard that Master Kong is in urgent need of money. Master Kong can provide what I need."

Pei Qiushan took out twenty ingots of silver and put them on the table, "This is 200 taels of silver, which can be exchanged for one thousand guan."

"What do you need?" Kong Yuan stared at Yin Zi and asked.

"I want the list and addresses of all first-level master craftsmen in the Craftsmanship Supervisor. To be precise, I want the list and addresses of first-level master craftsmen in Xianyang Sifang City, and then I want a detailed drawing of Sifang City."

Xianyang Sifang City is a city within a city, inhabited by the most important first-class craftsmen of the Yong Dynasty. I don't live in Xianyang, but in Jianzhang County.

Kong Yuan did have this list in his hands, but it was a high-level secret of the Yong Dynasty. Of course, he knew very well that once it was found out, it would not be as simple as dismissal from office, and his head would be lost.

"This... sorry I can't do anything!"

Pei Qiushan took out another letter and put it on the other side, his smile became a little cold, "Look at this!"

Kong Yuan took the letter and read it again, his eyes widened. It turned out to be an anonymous report letter, reporting that he was using public affairs for personal gain and selling alcohol for profit. He immediately understood that buying alcohol yesterday was a scam, and he fell for it.

Kong Yuan slapped the table, stood up and said angrily, "How dare you threaten me like this!"

Pei Qiushan said coldly: "That four-year-old boy in Chunshui Nong is your son, right? He's so cute, but there's a red mole the size of a soybean on his calf, which is relatively rare."

Kong Yuan suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and sat down slumped, "What did you do to them?"

"Don't worry! The mother and son are safe and sound. Give me the things, and they will go home happily."

"I can give you the roster and address, but I don't have the detailed drawings of Sifang City."

Pei Qiushan said lightly: "But you can get it, right?"

Kong Yuan nodded.

Pei Qiushan said: "I'll give you three days to give me the roster and the drawings. At this time the day after tomorrow, we will release people here at the same time. If you dare to play tricks, you will see your son's head."

After finishing speaking, Pei Qiushan got up and walked away carrying the big box.

Kong Yuan looked at the pile of silver on the table, at this moment, the white silver became so glaring.

……

In the past few days, the focus of Neiwei's attention has been on the Guangyuntan incident. Two days ago, the Guangyuntan fortifications collapsed, and more than [-] laborers were buried in the bottom of the lake. Dozens of laborers all died. This matter is very serious. Furious, he asked the Ministry of Industry, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, Yushitai, and internal guards to intervene, and the cause of the accident must be thoroughly investigated within three days.

More than half of the internal guards were sent to investigate the Guangyuntan incident. Zhong Huan personally participated in the investigation at Guangyuntan and found that the reason was simple. In order to meet the construction schedule, the construction party directly sent labor to dig and transport the silt without piling reinforcement. It collapsed.

The reasons were ascertained and the responsibilities clarified, including the arrest of the foreman, supervisor, technical officer and responsible officials of the Metropolitan Water Supervision Department. Prefect.

However, Zhang Yuanlang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, angered Lu Wei because he firmly disagreed with Lu Wei's request to shorten the construction period. Shang Shu immediately returned to Beijing to take over the Guangyuntan project.

At dusk, when Zhong Huan was on his way back to the government office, a soldier came to report, "General Qi, someone in the government office has reported a crime. Commander Li, please go back immediately and say that the case is serious."

Chong Huan hurried back to the office of the Internal Guard, and as soon as he entered, Li Zhen, the commander in chief, stepped forward and said, "It may be related to the case reported by Luo Shun'an!"

Five days ago, Luo Shun'an, the shopkeeper of the Silla Inn, came to report in secret. Another group of Korean spies came, about a dozen of them, but he didn't know where these Korean spies were hiding?The internal guards have been investigating, but so far without any results.

Chong Huan cheered up, and quickly asked: "Who is the reporter?"

"It's Bo Kongyuan, the supervisor of craftsmen. He said that someone kidnapped his concubine and son, forced him to hand over the register and address of first-class craftsmen, and even killed someone!"

"Where are people now?"

"In the lobby!"

Chong Huan walked quickly to the lobby, where Kong Yuan was circling around anxiously like an ant on a hot pot.

The reason why he came to Neiwei to report the crime was because he found the body of the little maid in the well, which directly broke him down.

He realized the cruelty of the other party, even if he handed over the roster, he would be silenced.

"Our general is here!"

Kong Yuan was so anxious that he knelt down and begged, "I implore General Zhong to save my son!"

"Don't be in a hurry, sit down and explain the ins and outs of the matter clearly, and we will save your son."

Kong Yuan sat down tremblingly and said: "Actually, it happened yesterday. Yesterday morning, a man named Pei Qiusheng came to me to buy wine by claiming to be a wine merchant..."

Kong Yuan didn't dare to hide anything, he explained in detail what happened yesterday, even he hesitated to talk about the fact that he took care of a woman outside and gave birth to a son, and that he wanted to get an honorary officer.

"Wait a minute!"

Zhong Huan suddenly heard the flaw in Kong Yuan's words, and asked anxiously, "How many people know that you urgently need five hundred guan?"

"Only Xianyang County Wei Yao Kaishan knows!"

Kong Yuan suddenly reacted and opened his mouth wide in shock.

Chapter 560 Evening News

Chen Qing had just returned to the harem, and he was not in a good mood today. The Guangyuntan incident came to an end today. In addition to compensating each dead laborer for two hundred guan, he also dealt with more than a dozen officials, which made him feel the most uncomfortable It is Lu Wei.

Lu Wei can be said to be the biggest person responsible for this accident, and also the instigator of the accident. The original plan was three years, but Lu Wei forcibly changed it to two years. Therefore, everyone is rushing to the deadline, and the things that should have been done have not been done. In order to build reinforcement piles, the silt had to wait for six minutes to dry before excavation. It took at least five days, but the construction foreman couldn't wait five days and forced the excavation. As a result, it collapsed and 35 workers died tragically.

In fact, Chen Qing is very clear about Lu Wei's thoughts. He is too eager to make political achievements. The year is also good.

At this time, Yao Mei came in and said, "Your Majesty, the inner guard Zhonghuan urgently asks for an audience, and he is already waiting in the Linde Palace."

Chen Qing nodded, "Prepare a carriage for me, and go to Linde Hall!"

Chen Qing knew that Zhong Huan must have something extremely important to come to him at this time.

He soon arrived at the Linde Hall, and Zhong Huan, who was waiting here, hurriedly came up to him and bowed to salute, "My minister sees Your Majesty!"

Chen Qing sat down and asked, "What's the rush here at this time?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, there is an important clue that may involve Korean spies."

"you say!"

"Today, Bo Kongyuan, the craftsman's supervisor, came to the humble job to report the crime. Someone kidnapped his concubine and son, and forced him to hand over the roster and map of the first-class master craftsman in Sifang City..."

Zhong Huan reported what happened today in detail, and Chen Qing asked after listening, "What did you find?"

"After discussing with my colleagues, I made two big discoveries. First, the theft of Tiehuolei, which we had been unable to solve before, has finally come to light."

The Koryo people stole an iron fire mine from the construction of the Danba Waterway. This case has never been solved, because the Korean spies they caught only knew how to get an iron fire mine. They have nothing about how to get it. It is known that the specific operator has already gone to Korea with Tie Huolei, and the internal guards have combed through the various links of the construction of the Danba Waterway several times, but no loopholes have been found. Affection.

Chen Qing said with a smile: "Let's talk about the first one first, where are the eyebrows?"

"The clue is that we got the direction wrong and have been sorting out the Danba Waterway. In fact, this Tie Huolei was not lost when the Danba Waterway was being built, but was lost in Xianyang County."

"Xianyang County also uses Iron Fire Thunder?"

"I used it last winter to blow up the ice floes. The county captain Yao Kaishan was in charge. We have actually seen his records, which are very complete and standardized. We didn't pursue them. We are still looking for clues on the Danba waterway."

Chen Qing nodded, "Now you are finally starting to suspect Yao Kaishan."

"Exactly! Kong Yuan was in a hurry to ask for [-] yuan to buy an honorary officer and marry a concubine, and that Pei Qiushan appeared, but only Yao Kaishan knew about it, and they both had the word "mountain" in their names, which is a bit strange. They were arrested before. The leader of the Koryo spies is called Luo Hushan."

Chen Qing smiled and waved his hands, "Let me make a digression first, five hundred coins can buy an honorary officer and marry a concubine? It seems impossible!"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I don't know exactly what counts as a lowly position, but Kong Yuan said that there is a loophole now. The imperial court officially listed corn as grain, but the price of corn is very low. Five hundred guan can buy enough corn to donate to the government."

Chen Qing was stunned, and couldn't help laughing: "It's really a big loophole. This loophole must be filled immediately, and the sentence 'equivalent to the value of grain' must be added, otherwise everyone will buy corn to donate to the honor officer."

"Your Majesty, there is a second discovery that what the other party really wants is not the first-level craftsman of the craftsman supervisor, but the list of first-level craftsmen of the firearms supervisor. They are very cunning. After inspecting the roster and address of the first-level craftsmen, the remaining first-level craftsmen are the first-level craftsmen of the Firearms Supervision, so they want the detailed map of Sifang City."

Chen Qing nodded, "You mean, they got the Tie Huo Lei, and found that they couldn't copy it when they got back, so they wanted to kidnap the firearms supervisor craftsman?"

"Wei Chen thinks so."

"Then what are you going to do?" Chen Qing asked again with a smile.

"Weichen considers to follow the plan and ask Kong Yuan to hand over the roster and detailed map to them, but if we do a small trick on the map, we will wait and catch them all."

Chen Qing walked away with his hands behind his back and said, "Do you think they will enter Sifang City to kidnap craftsmen?"

"Other than that, I can't think of any other way, and now Sifang City is not as strict as before. It is normal to go in and out at night, the gate is not locked, and there are no soldiers standing guard. It is said that many vendors go in every day to sell vegetables and snacks."

Chen Qing still shook his head, "If that's the case, with Yao Kaishan's assistance, wouldn't it be easy for them to kidnap people, and what would they want to do with Kong Yuan? Wouldn't it be unnecessary?"