"Aren't you talking nonsense, the key to open the big lock of the silver vault has always been kept by this official himself, how could someone steal it without knowing it?" Zheng Michang scoffed at Hai Rui's words and said mockingly.

Immediately after that, Zheng Michang followed this train of thought and continued to speak.

"Even if the official's key is stolen by the gangsters, he can't open the silver vault, after all, except for the time when the silver is counted, no one is allowed to get close to the silver vault for half a step on weekdays, and violators will be killed! Unless they collude to steal the key without the official's knowledge, and then ......"

The more Zheng Michang thought about it, the more he felt that it was possible, and his eyes gradually became sharper, no wonder he was so sleepy before, someone must be doing something behind his back! I used something similar to ecstasy incense, otherwise, with my own will, how could I have fallen asleep so easily?

"You, come over to this official immediately!"

Perhaps in order to verify his conjecture, Zheng Michang called the subordinate who was in charge of waking him up before, and said in a deep voice: "What else do you have to quibble, hurry up and recruit from the truth!" Where did you hide the 100,000 taels of silver? ”

"My lord, my subordinates have been wronged! All along, the work of counting the silver taels has been carried out under your supervision, how can your subordinates do it? The subordinate who was called out by Zheng Michang flashed a trace of panic in his eyes and sobbed.

"It seems right to think about it, but the suspicion on your body can't be cleared up for the time being, and those guards who are in charge of guarding the treasury must be in collusion with outsiders and guarding themselves! Come, and take them down with you. ”

"Yes!"

As soon as Zheng Michang's words fell, a soldier immediately responded, wanting to take all those guards down for interrogation.

"My lord, I have been wronged! Ever since we received your orders, we have been doing our duty and not daring to let a single mosquito in. Seeing this, those guards knelt on the ground with a 'plop' and pleaded with Zheng Michang.

"Hmph, you still dare to quibble, pull down the official, and serve the big punishment! Be sure to ask them to tell where the silver taels are. ”

Zheng Michang ignored his subordinates' pleas for mercy, but waved his hand and motioned for the soldiers to drag them down and torture them.

In fact, Zheng Michang knew very well in his heart that the stolen silver taels had nothing to do with these guards, but in such a big case, someone had to stand up and bear the responsibility.

There's no way, for the sake of the black gauze hat on the head, let's suffer them again.

"Wait, Lord Envoy, the lower officials think they have been wronged!"

Just as the guards were about to be escorted down, Hai Rui opened his mouth to stop the soldiers.

"Hmph, you say they are wronged, they are wronged? The official believes that they are suspected of committing a major crime, and they must be interrogated before they can prove their innocence and be escorted to the official! ”

"Your Excellency, please give the lower officials some more time! Xia Guan already has some eyebrows about the case, and presumably the case will be solved soon. Hai Rui arched his hand to Zheng Michang and said softly.

"My lord, this is ......" Regarding Hai Rui's request, Zheng Michang didn't dare to make an idea, so he handed over the decision to Hu Zongxian on the side.

I saw Hu Zongxian nodding slightly and agreeing.

Seeing this, Zheng Michang said to Hai Rui: "Okay, then the official will give you some more time, if you still can't find the stolen silver by then, you have to act according to the official's wishes, understand?" ”

"Well, the lower officials understand, if the lower officials can't find out by then, they will do it according to the will of the political envoy!"

After listening to Zheng Michang's words, Hai Rui nodded and began to look around the silver vault, searching for clues that might have been left behind.

I don't know how long time has passed, just when Zheng Michang was a little impatient, he only heard Hai Rui's voice coming: "Your Excellency, after you found out that the silver was stolen, you issued an order that no one should enter or leave the political secretary, right?" ”

"That's natural, not only that, the official let everyone leave the silver vault as soon as possible, and also controlled all those who were responsible for counting the silver two!"

After Zheng Michang finished speaking, his face was full of smugness.

"The lower officials have discovered the key clues, and combined with what the political envoy said, it can be concluded that the 100,000 taels of silver have not been lost all along!"

"In other words, the 100,000 taels of silver have actually been in the treasury all along."

Hai Rui said, showing the dirt he found in the corner to Zheng Michang and Hu Zongxian.

"This ...... This is dirt, how can there be dirt in this vault! Could it be that ......" After Zheng Michang saw what Hai Rui was in his hand clearly, he couldn't help but be shocked.

And Hu Zongxian, who was on the side, also seemed to understand something, and shifted his gaze to the stone bricks paved on the ground.

"Come on, dig up the tiles and see if there's anything empty underneath." Hu Zongxian frowned and commanded.

A few moments later, several soldiers came with shovels and pried open all the floor tiles in the storeroom.

When the floor tiles were pried open, a large rectangular hole was revealed, which was filled with silver taels of the same color.

Hai Rui leaned down, picked up a ingot, and sent it to Zheng Michang: "Lord Political Envoy, take a look, is this the silver lost in the treasury?" ”

Zheng Michang took the silver taels from Hai Rui's hands, and after comparing the fineness, weight, and size one by one, he said happily: "That's right, this is the stolen silver, wait for the official to count the number." ”

Zheng Michang said, and swept over his subordinates who were kneeling on the ground with an extremely cold gaze, and before, it was this person who disturbed his dreams.

……

"Report to my lord, the number of silver taels has been counted, a total of 100,000 taels, exactly the same!"

I don't know how long it took, but the person in charge of counting the silver taels finally finished the count and reported to Hu Zongxian.

"Okay, now that the stolen silver has been found, this case is over! You can watch and deal with the people involved. Seeing this, Hu Zongxian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and ordered.

"Yes, Lord Governor! It's time for this case to be closed, and the lower officials will definitely not let go of a person. ”

Zheng Michang bowed his hand to Hu Zongxian and replied respectfully.

"My lord, my lord, spare my subordinates this time! The subordinates are also money addicts, and the subordinates' wives are seriously ill and need money for treatment, so the subordinates have to ......"

"What the fuck, you're going to use your family as a shield if something happens, right? This official looks down on you the most for such a waste! I don't care about you! ”

As he spoke, Zheng Michang was furious, and then flew up and kicked the man in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

Perhaps feeling that it was not enough to relieve his anger, Zheng Michang snatched the shovel from the hands of the soldiers on the side, and gave this person a few more blows on the head, and in an instant, the blood flowed like an infusion.

"Fuck you, let you move the salt tax, let you move the official's black gauze hat, let you fool the official! Who gave you such guts? I don't care about you! Zheng Michang scolded while beckoning him with a shovel.

"What are you doing in a daze? Beat this official to death! Damn it! Perhaps tired from the fight, Zheng Michang threw the shovel on the ground and instructed the soldiers outside.

"Yes!" When the soldiers outside heard Zheng Michang's order, they immediately surrounded him, followed by another beating.

"Okay, is the Yamen of the Chief Secretary the lair of the ruffians? Look at what you are doing now, you should do it according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty! Seeing that the heat was almost over, Hu Zongxian waved his hand and said softly.

"Stop! Stop! Seeing this, Zheng Michang hurriedly asked the soldiers to stop.

At this time, the man on the ground was already out of breath, and he looked dying.

(End of chapter)