City Division.

Wang Cai was forbidden to leave the office, and even his family was not allowed to contact him again.

The investigation continued, and Cao Benshu no longer asked in person, but ran to chat with Wang Cai: "Wang Tiju, your deputy committed suicide in fear of crime, do you know this news?"

"Chen Xianchun committed suicide" Wang Cai looked surprised, and he didn't know if it was from the heart or a pretended expression.

Cao Benshu sighed: "Chen Xianchun's problem is very serious, I investigated several trading companies engaged in maritime trade, all of them evaded customs duties through his son. Such a large-scale tax evasion, you, as the chief official of the city, will not be unaware of it all the time?"

Wang Cai said bitterly: "This old Chen is really thick. He was originally just a poor scholar in Hubei, but thanks to His Majesty and the court, he has today's scenery. He should serve the country well, how can he be corrupt and collude with businessmen? As the chief official of the Municipal Department of Shipping, as Chen Xianchun's boss, I have the responsibility of not knowing people and ineffective supervision, how can I still have the face to continue to be an official? Cao Yushi, I will take the blame and resign myself. "You really don't know," Cao Benshu asked.

Wang Cai said, "I really don't know anything. It is true that I am the chief official of the Municipal Shipping Department, but the management of goods and merchants is only responsible for Chen Xianchun. ”

This set of rhetoric is in line with common sense, whether it is the imperial court yamen or a private company, it is really those deputies who do the specific things.

Cao Benshu said, "It seems that I misunderstood you, but for the safety of Your Excellency, let's continue to stay here for the time being." When things come to light, it's not too late to leave this room. ”

Cao Benshu left after speaking, the door was locked, and Wang Cai was placed under house arrest.

Wang Cai was the only one left in the room, who was quite energetic just now, and instantly collapsed on his seat at this moment.

He didn't know that the imperial court's investigation of the city was actually Zhao Han's temporary idea. He thought that Chen Xianchun's son was too ostentatious and attracted the attention of the integrity officer, and cursed the Chen father and son who had committed suicide countless times in his heart.

Although the phenomenon of the navy doing business continued, the imperial court set up layers of constraints.

Directly by the Ministry of Commerce and the Navy Governor's Office, the officials are responsible for naval trade, which is equivalent to a state-owned shipping company established by the Ministry of Commerce and the Navy Governor's Office. The Ministry of Commerce and the Naval Governor's Office may retain part of the profits, and the rest shall be paid dividends to the Ministry of Finance. In addition, the navy's trade is limited every year to prevent disrupting the market and competing with the people for profit.

There must be loopholes in this practice, such as the Navy's quiet smuggling, which will certainly not be completely eradicated. In fact, the navy's military spending is rising year by year, and it cannot be supported entirely by finance, but is only a temporary concession policy.

But there are also benefits, the navy is out of trade, the navy is quietly smuggling, and they are very active in combating civilian smuggling. In the waters of Shanghai, businessmen who dare to play smuggling are fine for small fights, but once they become bigger, they will inevitably be targeted by the navy.

Since smuggling could not be carried out at sea, and the inland trade was jammed by the General Division, the merchants could only collude with the officials and merchants in the city. This form of tax evasion is very "safe", and it must be checked in detail with the tripartite account books of the supplier company, the export company, and the general education department, and the transactions can be found out by slowly comparing them one by one. The imperial court will not check the accounts like this!

Wang Cai felt that he was very wronged, because Shanghai had been playing this trick since the day the port opened.

It's just that I was cautious at the beginning, and the tax evaded was not very much. After the unspoken rules were gradually formed, officials, officials, and businessmen became accustomed to it, and this became more and more unscrupulous.

So much so that Chen Xianchun became the second-in-command and asked his son to take the initiative to reach out to Shangjia. Those trading companies that do not evade taxes, as long as they go to sea for two or three years in a row, will be instigated by officials to evade taxes, and legal operators will become outliers. What else to check

At least half of the city's divisions, from top to bottom, from officials to officials, are involved. Petty officials earn dozens of taels a year, petty officials earn several hundred taels a year, and middle and high-ranking officials earn thousands or tens of thousands of taels a year.

This is already the norm, and it is already the unspoken rule of the city!

Wang Cai felt that he was very incorruptible, he had been in the customs system for more than ten years, and only made a total of more than 100,000 taels of silver. Chen Xianchun, who committed suicide in fear of crime, was ruthless, and it was estimated that the embezzled silver was more than 300,000 taels.

Cao Benshu went to another interrogation room.

More than a dozen petty officials and officials of the city department were already trembling with fear at this moment.

Cao Benshu sat down slowly: "Inspection, tax declaration, and bookkeeping, are you a few doing it, Chen Xianchun has committed suicide, do you also want to commit suicide, just your grade, I'm afraid you can't be greedy, if you confess honestly, maybe you can still make meritorious contributions."

Just like dumplings, the little officials all knelt down, "The adults spare their lives, Hu Lushi says how to do it, and the little ones do it." Once a quarter, the oil and water are divided. I can't share much, and I only have a few taels of oil and water money a month. "Hu Huiqing, you are so bold" Cao Benshu slapped the stunned wood.

The reporter named Hu Huiqing, who knelt down with weak knees, said with a crying voice, "Lord Yushi, the little ones are just going with the flow." Before the villain was recorded, the city division had already done this. If the villain is disobedient, how can this record be deserved" Cao Benshu asked, "How long has this kind of thing existed?"

Hu Huiqing replied: "The villain has been advancing in eight years, and it was already like this at that time. But earlier it was much more convergent, and everyone was scared. Slowly, I was not afraid, and I felt that the court would not come to investigate, and I became more and more bold. Especially Chen Xianchun, after making a deputy promotion, he took the initiative to let businessmen evade taxes. ”

"Eight years, I'm afraid it's even longer." Cao Benshu knew that he had played Dafa this time.

Eight years ago, some of the chief officials of the city department had been promoted to the central government, and some were holding important positions in the local government. How many people are involved? Cao Benshu asked, "Is Wang Cai corrupt?"

Hu Huiqing said, "Wang Tiju was also made by a petty official from the city......

Cao Benshu asked again, "Do you have relevant account books, which are the kind of real accounts, not fake accounts for the imperial court." ”

"Don't dare to stay." Hu Huiqing bowed his head and said. A small official suddenly said, "There is an account." Cao Benshu suddenly sat up straight, "You have saved the account," the little official replied, "The villain has no account, but Fan may have experience." Cao Benshu asked, "Who is Fan Experience?"

The official replied, "Fan was transferred from Suzhou Datong Bank two years ago, and was in charge of the cashier of the Municipal Shipping Department. Fan has been in office for two months, and it is not his business, so he quietly inquired. Last spring, Fan experienced a sudden and violent death, and rumors ............. It is rumored that someone killed him. After Fan Shishi's death, Wang Tiju personally treated his funeral and took people to Fan's home to sort out the relics. Fear......... It's just searching the ledger. Cao Benshu was furious when she heard this, not only embezzled, but also dared to murder her colleagues, "Where is Fan Shishi, and have the bones been transported back to his hometown for burial?" Cao Benshu asked.

Hu Huiqing said, "Fan is from Guizhou, and the journey is far away, so it is impossible to transport him back to his hometown. This kind of thing is either buried in Shanghai, or cremated and taken away by the family. Fan Experience...... Cremated. "There's no way to do an autopsy.

Cremation was popular in the south, and there were records of Dacheng in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Not only do people who die in other places choose cremation, but when local people die, many people also choose cremation, and even have a profession that specializes in burning corpses.

Cao Benshu continued to ask, "Fan experienced going to Shanghai to be an official, did he bring his family or relatives" Hu Huiqing said, "I didn't bring it, I heard that he lost his wife, and he has a young son in his hometown in Guizhou." Cao Benshu asked, "Have you ever hired a servant?"

Hu Huiqing said, "I hired a maid, but the little one doesn't know the details of this maid." ”

Suddenly, another little official wanted to make meritorious service, "Lord Yushi, that maid lives in Fahua Town, and she is still a neighbor with the villain, but she got married last winter." As for where to marry, the villain is not too clear. Fahua Town, that is, Xujiahui, is named after Fahua Temple.

The temple fell into disrepair and was demolished directly, and the monks also became common people.

The place name of Lujiazui is already there, named after Lu Shen, which is the ancestor of Lu Guang who was investigated a few days ago. It took Cao Benshu five days to invite the maid named Wu Lian. At first, Wu Lian didn't say anything, just cried and shook her head.

Cao Benshu was even more sure that the maid must know something, and she spoke kind words and comforted her for two days.

Guo Lian finally spoke, "My lord, Fan Xianggong is a good person. He...... He deposited a small box in the bank, saying that he would not live for a few days, and asked the people to pick it up and hand it over to the integrity inspector. He also said that there were ten taels of silver in the box, and he took it out and gave it to the people's daughter as a dowry. "Why don't you go and get it?" Cao Benshu asked.

"The folk girl doesn't dare," Guo Lian said, "The day after Fan Xianggong's cremation, the folk girl's house came at night. Minnu's father and eldest brother were beaten and forced to hand over the Minnu's things, and Minnu was so frightened that she couldn't speak, but she didn't hand over Fan Xianggong's box. Later, he was really frightened, so he hurriedly married and went to a neighboring county. ”

Cao Benshu asked, "What about the access credentials?"

Wu Lian said, "When those villains came to the door, the folk girl swallowed it in her stomach. "Do you know those villains?" asked Cao Benshu again.

"There are more than ten people in total, and the folk girl knows two," Guo Lian said, "one is named Liu Er, and the other is called Zhu Laohu, both of whom are nicknamed." Cao Benshu immediately ordered an arrest and sent someone to Datong Bank to pick up something.

It's a pity that Liu Er and Zhu Laohu have all left Shanghai. The ruffians who fought with them all ran away, and went directly to sea by boat, some said that they went to Luzon, and some said that they went to Japan and got something from the bank, a letter, an account, and ten taels of silver.

Cao Benshu first opened the posthumous letter, "My name is Fan Hongjing, the word is Ding'an, and I am from Kaili, Guizhou." My father died early, my uncle bullied him, but fortunately my mother raised me. Thanks to His Majesty's kindness, he took back three of his deceased father's shops, and then had the financial resources to support his mother...... Today, it is the experience of Shanghai Bosi, where there is dirt and dirt, and it must be thoroughly investigated and remediated...... Wang Cai was promoted, and Chen Xianchun, the deputy was promoted, knowing that I was secretly investigating, and invited me to join the same stream many times. I pretended to agree, and got more than 800 taels of dirty silver...

"I drank with the maritime merchant Wu Wengang, and attacked him for tax evasion.

This fang is alert, for fear of being informed, I will make the account book in Shanghai County Datong Bank...