Outside the palace treasury,

Hundreds of palace guards in armor have been cut down to the ground, and hundreds of brocade-clothed guards are carrying wooden boxes from the warehouse, but fortunately, most of the four major merchant gangs are gold, which does not occupy much land and saves a lot of work, and now they have basically moved outside the courtyard.

"Returning to my lordship, the lower officials made a rough inventory, plus the silver originally saved by the palace, and converted it into a total of nearly seven million taels of silver in the treasury." Ding Xiu saw Luo Congee coming over and hurriedly leaned up and bowed down to report,

"In addition, these are the land deeds found in the house and the purchase of some properties in the city, you can collect them first."

After that, Ding Xiu took out another wooden box and handed it over according to the previous rules.

"Hmm."

Luo Congee also took the wooden box and nodded, he has copied so many homes in the past month or so, and the land title deeds and industries obtained are already worth a few streets in the capital, even if he doesn't do anything, the silver he collects every year is an astronomical amount.

"Lord Luo, what should we do with this batch of silver?"

Ding Xiu got up and continued.

"After all, in order to bring down this Prince Shuo today, the money you have collected these days has been truthfully reported on the main hall, and it may not be easy to share the profits in private......

Ding Xiu wanted to speak and stopped.

"Lord Luo, Master Zhao of the household department asks to see you."

As soon as the words fell,

Outside the palace, there was a sound of communication,

"Please come in."

After Luo Congee finished speaking, he continued to frown and said: "Tsk, it seems that the household department is also staring at this batch of silver and wants to fill it into the treasury." ”

"In your opinion, what should be done with this amount of silver?"

Luo Congee asked.

"My lord, since this batch of silver can't be kept, it's better to think of a way and hand it all over to Your Majesty, if it goes into the treasury, you have to pay for the silver to build bridges, roads, and dams, and you have to be greedy for ink and profit, and these millions of taels can't be tossed for a few days."

"If you go to the inner treasury, it will become Your Majesty's private money, and after the matter of raising money, Your Majesty will not easily take out the silver outside, and your Majesty will keep it for us."

"After all, it is not only safe to exist with His Majesty, but it also saves a large amount of storage fees sent to the money bank."

Ding Xiu calculated.

"Well, let's figure out a way then."

Luo Congee nodded.

"Lower Officer, take the order!"

Ding Xiu immediately responded.

Think about how to deal with it.

……

"Xiaguan, I've seen Lord Luo."

As soon as the two finished speaking, an elegant civil official came outside the palace and handed over to Luo Congee, and after a closer look, there were several bookkeepers with abacus and account books behind him.

"Oh?"

"I don't know what Lord Zhao is doing here?"

Luo Congee asked knowingly, and he was speechless in his heart, calculating that the time had just been withdrawn, and the household department had already been prepared, that is, the abacus and the account book were brought.

"Xiaguan, on the order of the Shangshu of the Ministry of Households, I specially came here to count the stolen silver of the palace." The man's eyelids fluttered as he looked at the corpse that had fallen to the ground outside the storeroom, but he still stubbornly said.

"I hope it's convenient for you."

Master Zhao bowed his hand again.

"Stolen silver?"

"Lord Zhao is not right."

Ding Xiu saw that Luo Congee was silent, and said decisively.

"Isn't this stolen silver?"

Master Zhao frowned.

"Naturally not!"

"According to my law, the prince is naturally an official, and there is a complete process for dealing with high-grade officials, the triage of the three divisions is the most basic, and the holy judgment is not excessive, but the process has to be completed, and after the trial, the verdict must also be pronounced, and then the offender can only be found guilty after the prisoner personally signs and draws the detention."

"After the offender is found guilty, the silver can be counted as stolen money and deposited into the state treasury."

Ding Xiu didn't hesitate.

"But this Prince Shuo, first, His Majesty did not pronounce the judgment in front of the palace, but just let my family deal with it by himself, and second, Prince Shuo himself did not sign and draw the pledge, so naturally it is not stolen silver."

"Lord Zhao, is what the official said wrong?"

Ding Xiu asked rhetorically.

After all, the differences between the laws of all dynasties and dynasties since ancient times are also similar, and according to the process, they all have to be proven, sentenced, and convicted.

For example, why so many corrupt officials and corrupt officials committed suicide immediately after the incident in the previous life, it was not because their conscience found out that they knew their sins were deep and they were bent on dying, but because others died, there was no way to judge, let alone convict.

The case had to be ended without a problem, not only to preserve the silver that had been greedy for ink before, but also to future generations without any stain.

"That's according to the meaning of Ding Zhen's envoy,"

"What is this money in the palace?"

Master Zhao frowned, and suddenly heard that Ding Xiu's words were reasonable, and he couldn't refute them.

"It's a legacy!"

"Naturally, it should be sent to the inner treasury, not to the treasury!"

Ding Xiu's words are chiseled.

"But even in terms of kinship, it should be the princess who inherits first......"

"Well, the princess is dead......"

"As for how she died, this has nothing to do with the household department, it depends on whether the criminal department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate have the courage to investigate......

Ding Xiu said quietly.

"According to the law of the Great Departure, the official will ask the princess's parents and the brothers and princes of your ...... later."

"I think they'll all voluntarily give up their inheritance."

Ding Xiu was extremely determined.

"You ......"

Master Zhao pointed at Ding Xiu and opened his mouth,

I never got the words out.

"That's it, let's go!"

After that, Zhao had no choice but to wave his sleeves and return in disappointment.

……

"This ......"

Luo Congee looked at Ding Xiu, who was convincing and couldn't speak.

"Returning to Lord Luo,"

"Xia Guan knows that his strength is not good, and many things have been unable to keep up with everyone's pace, but he doesn't want to lag behind, so he has been carefully studying the law of my great departure recently, so that one day he will worry more about adults!"

"After all, you have to be reasonable a lot of times!"

"What if it doesn't make sense?"

"Then you have to worry about the adults to reason with themselves."

"After all, the truth of adults is in the knife."

Ding Xiu said with a straight face.

“……”

"Lord Luo!"

"The lower officials have already brought the quicklime here."

At this time, Wang Ruling also approached from outside, looking at the white face in a hurry, and a lot of lime was sticky to the crimson official uniform.

"Your Excellency, you will transport the silver out first."

"The lower official will go and set the fire, and when the fire is finished, the people guarding outside will put the lime along the ......."

Speaking of which,

Wang Ruling led more than a dozen brocade guards carrying fierce fire oil to rush to the backyard.

Not long after,

"My lord, Qi is alive."

Wang Ruling ran out again.

"Your Excellency, would you like to try it?"

There were also two strings of koi fish in his hand, and he handed them to Luo porridge while chanting: "Xiaguan heard that this koi is sold outside is valuable, just hold this stall to try it, and the adults also cushion their stomachs by the way, and they are free, and in the evening, Xiaguan is personally cooking a pot of dog meat for adults......"

"Koi fish can you eat this thing?"

Luo Congee frowned.

"Forget it, you can keep it for yourself and eat it on the road."

"Gone, out of town."

Luo Congee looked at Wang Ruling, who was full of flattery beside him, and Ding Xiu, who was sending someone to escort the silver to the inner library not far away, and felt a lot of emotion in his heart.

……

Twelve miles outside the city,

The green dragon is waiting on the official road,

"Whew, whew, whew......"

"How's it going?"

Luo Congee tightened the reins and looked at Qinglong Dao.

"Returning to Lord Luo, Xia Guan has just controlled the manor where the three major merchant gangs of Jin Shang, Hui Shang, Ningbo Shang, and other three major merchant gangs are located, and the people in charge of each family and the escort of the small servants, a total of 1,234 people, are all in the manor, and no one has escaped."

"But only this is the most tide merchant with the most grain, the granary is built farther away, the lower officials are not manpowered, and the side has not yet been dealt with, so I didn't rush over for the time being."

Qinglong bowed down and reported.

"Well, leave a few hundred horsemen and tie them all up."

"You first lead someone to accompany the official to the Chaoshang to have a look."

Luo Congee ordered.

"Let's go on a trip with the official."

Luo Congee waved his hand.

"Bai Xiaosheng, why does this tide merchant set up a separate warehouse?"

On the way, Luo Congee couldn't help but ask out loud, it stands to reason that the four major merchant gangs should be both prosperous and lossy, so why go out alone.

"Lord Luo, do you know, the tide merchants are all from the coastal area, there is a way, the tide people are good at business, the son of the hollow, go out to the sea alone, there is no long thing except the leather pillow felt. After being employed for a few years, seeking a little independence, and then a few more years, almost all of them became overseas giant businessmen, which is their own rotation. ”

"According to the knowledge of the lower officials, in the early years of the Great Departure Dynasty, there were many Japanese gangsters in the coastal area, many of whom were dressed as this tide merchant, selling and looting at the same time, and making a fortune very quickly, but the situation of several generations has been among the four major merchant gangs, and there is a faint tendency to overshadow those old merchant gangs."

"The coastal area, there are no treacherous businessmen, no villages and no bandits, businessmen and bandits collude, if you really want to count it, they can be regarded as the most arrogant and ruthless among the four major merchant gangs in the world, so the other three families are unwilling to build a warehouse with them, and they only unite together when they are external, after all, they can't eat the three families when they do business with the imperial court."

"And the shopkeeper who led the way earlier is also their tide businessman, and most of the idea of colluding with Prince Shuo was also thought up by them, but it is nothing compared to the things they did in the local area."

Bai Xiaosheng said in detail.

"That's not to be underestimated."

Luo Congee thought when he heard it.

"What the adults said is, after all, in the so-called business gang, it is a group of businessmen who gather together, and it is essentially no different from those gangs."

"In comparison, the Shang Gang has to be more tightly organized, and His Majesty's worries in the court are not unreasonable, it is not difficult to rob this batch of grain and grass and kill the perpetrators, but it is not a day's work to uproot them."

"After all, the financial resources and strength shown in the capital are only the tip of the iceberg"

Bai Xiaosheng continued.

"What if you take it for your own use?"

Luo Congee said abruptly.

"Take it for yourself?"

"If you can really collect it for your own use, not to mention the silver they can earn every year, just my Jinyi Wei Espionage Division can borrow their business channels to spread their eyeliner all over the world, if there is a war, where the business is located, the grain and grass can reach ......."

Bai Xiaosheng said firmly.

"Let's give it a try......"

Luo Congee muttered to himself when he heard the sound.

……

Half an hour later,

"It's almost ......"

Luo porridge looked at it from afar, it can already be seen that the granary on the hill is neat, the granary is built of cylindrical civil engineering, the beam of the house is composed of purlins and rafters, all riveted, although it is a temporary construction, it is still exquisitely constructed, and this kind of granary is more than 20 places here, and it can be seen that there are many grain storages.

The perimeter of the granary is surrounded by wooden stakes, except for the part that enters the ground, which is still higher than the flat bottom and nearly a zhang, and from a distance it looks like the base camp of the army, and it can be vaguely seen that there are guards with swords patrolling.

"Ding Xiu, you will divide a thousand people to surround all the roads down the mountain."

Luo Congee ordered,

"Knock, knock, knock......"

The dull sound of horses' hooves on the ground could be heard far away.

"Who are those?"

The windy guards on the lookout said.

The shopkeeper, who was patrolling between the granaries, apparently also heard the movement outside, walked to a high place and looked away, and frowned when he saw the people coming.

"Luo porridge?"

"The people of the Jinyi Guard?"

"What are they doing here?"

The shopkeeper's name is Li Mingxiang, who is the leader who entered Luo's Mansion that day, and naturally he also knows Luo Congee.

"You immediately go and inform the master's house and let them leave through the back door first, I'm afraid that they will not be good at coming."

"Also, let the coolies bring all the gold that is piled up in the storehouses here."

After Li Mingxiang sent two guards to report, he gathered all his men on the edge of the fence at the door.

"Guard Zhou, you go and find some fierce fire oil and pour all these granaries on it."

Li Mingxiang looked at the iron cavalry that was getting closer and closer, and the brocade guards who were scattered and faintly encircled, his eyelids couldn't stop, and he commanded in a cold voice.

"Shopkeeper Li, what do you mean?"

The leader of the guard wondered.

"We'll hear why they're here later."

"If you come for the gold that you bought at the difference in price, give it to him in advance, and we won't miss that thing."

"However, if they come to kill people, they can only light a fire, and no matter what, they can't be cheapened."

Li Mingxiang said ruthlessly, although he had only met once, he knew Luo Congee's temperament very well, either killing people or on the way to kill people, and he would never come here for no reason.

"Knock, knock, knock......"

The sound of horses' hooves is getting closer and closer,

The earth and rocks on the mountain road are splashing with smoke and dust,

"Whew, whew, whew......"

Luo Congee tightened the reins and the horses stood up, and thousands of elite horsemen behind him also stood on the horses together, they had just killed someone, and in order to make a sound, the blood-stained black and red python robe made Li Mingxiang's heart tremble.

"I don't know Lord Luo, why are you here?"

Li Mingxiang stood on the ladder and squeezed out a stiff smile, but looking at the brightly armored Tiqi's legs outside the door, his legs were still a little weak, and the nearly high wooden pillar fence did not bring him a sense of security.

"Lead."

Luo Congee did not respond, but waved.

"No!"

The voice fell,

Thousands of horsemen raised their crossbows hanging from their horses' sides.

The cold light on the arrow cluster made Li Mingxiang feel cold all over his body, and the guards behind him who had seen blood also subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and the elite cavalry in front of him was naturally not comparable to the ordinary caravans they usually pretended to be bandits and intercepted and killed.

"Lord Luo, don't worry, don't worry, you have something to say, come here today, is it because you want to get back the difference in the balance of the grain purchased by the imperial court before?"

Li Mingxiang asked stubbornly.

"Shoot the arrows!"

Luo Congee didn't pay attention to it and ordered directly in a cold voice.

"Woo Woo ......"

The sound of crossbow arrows breaking through the air is endless,

"Puff puff ......"

The arrows fell through the gap in the wooden pillar and into the crowd behind, and even if the wooden pillar blocked most of the arrows, the remaining half passed through and killed dozens of people in an instant.

"Oops, hey......"

Li Mingxiang was so frightened by this battle that he fell to the ground, and the ladder was originally set up behind a thick log, but he was not shot at the first time.

"Lord Luo, Lord Luo,"

"The villain will put the gold down now."

Li Mingxiang said anxiously as soon as he got up, waved his hand, and the guards behind him who were lucky enough to survive also reacted, hurriedly climbed the ladder and poured out the gold in the wooden box.

"This extra gold should be regarded as the tea money that the villain gave to the brothers."

All I could hear was the sound of gold and stone clashing, and countless gold bars were dumped from the wooden fence, and the gold on the ground glowed with a dazzling sheen in the midday sun.

But Luo Congee really didn't look at it, and the people behind him didn't squint, after all, there were a lot of copying houses, and this bit of gold couldn't move their hearts.

"Lord Luo, you shot dozens of people without saying a word, you have to let the villain know why you came, right?"

Li Mingxiang saw that Luo Congee was unmoved, and his heart sank to the bottom, so he made a look as he spoke, and asked the guards near the granary to light torches.

"This official only gives you a choice, and immediately opens the mountain gate."

"Give all the grain and grass to the official!"

Luo Congee stretched out a finger and shouted coldly, he also smelled the smell of fierce fire oil in the air, otherwise he would have let people put the hook lock and forcibly break the door.

He also wanted Qinglong to kill alone, but his knife was fast, and it couldn't compare to the kung fu of dropping the torch, but it was easy to stimulate them.

"Do you know that by this time,"

"The price of a bucket of rice in Gyeonggi has increased from the earliest 30 wen to more than 300 wen, more than ten times, as for meat, not to mention mutton, even pork meat is hard to find, vegetables and fruits are also sold out, and you are still building warehouses to store grain."

"I'm afraid I'm living a little bit of life, and I have to exchange a bucket of rice for a bucket of rice."

"At that time, not only the official will come here to kill, but also the ordinary old women and children in the land of Gyeonggi will be able to sharpen the knife of cooking into a spark......"

Luo Congee looked at the burning torches through the fence, and his tone became colder and colder, you must know that the Chaoshang merchants accounted for nearly half of the grain stockpiled this time, and if they were burned together, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Lord Luo!"

"It is impossible to hand over all the grain and grass."

"The hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit, and the soil in the world is for profit, and we are people who are seeking profit, and we have spent so much effort, it is impossible to give it up."

"What's more, even if the grain and grass are handed over, Lord Luo doesn't take care of it, and it will be even more difficult for us to survive......"

Li Mingxiang also saw it through and flatly refused.

"Do you really think that this official can't help you?"

"Is it true that this grain and grass can threaten the official?"

Luo Congee saw that Li Mingxiang was determined to die, and his tone became more and more cold when he heard his voice, and he was also prepared for the worst in his heart.

I am not one of those heroes who can be threatened for the suffering of the people in the world, if you insist on burning, then burn it, who the hell is willing to be with you.

"Put the hook lock!"

Luo Congee thought about it and ordered directly.

"Bang ......"

Countless sharp hooks flew out and stabbed into the stake, slamming the horse's belly, causing the horse to suffer pain, and hundreds of horsemen turned their horses' heads and galloped backwards.

"Click......"

I could only hear the cracking of the stakes,

"In that case, then the jade will be burned!"

"All set on fire!"

Li Mingxiang is also a ruthless person, and when he saw this, he snatched the torch from the hand of the guard Zhou next to him and was about to throw it out.

"Poof......

Just as Li Mingxiang raised the torch and was about to throw it on top of the granary, the guard behind him suddenly took out a sharp knife from his arms and stabbed it from his heart.

"Bang Bang ......"

The torches also fell to their feet,

The rest of the guards who were about to light the fire were also stunned,

"Why ...... You"

Li Mingxiang pointed at the Zhou guard.

"You want to die, but we brothers don't want to die......"

"Is it difficult to have to bury you?"

"We're just the guards of the Shang Gang, not the dead, damn it, every year we just take you a few dozen taels of silver to eat, pretend to be a widow in our hometown, pretend to be a bandit, kill ordinary people to make some extra money, and now you let us fight with the Jinyi Guard, isn't it because we have a sick brain?

"Smack......

That week, the guards kicked Li Mingxiang's body to the ground, spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm, and shouted.

"Brothers, lay down the torches!"

"Brothers, lay down the torches!"

"Go open the door!"

……

"Lord Luo, this dog thief is dead!"

"Don't hurt the innocent!"

"Don't hurt the innocent!"

In the dust,

All I could hear was someone shouting.

"Is it so interesting?"

Luo Congee rode his horse through the open gate of the cave, and looked at the leader of the guards who knelt on the ground in surprise.

"Your Excellency!"

"As the saying goes, those who know the times are the best ones."

"Although the little one is not a handsome man, he is also a person who knows the times very well, so he naturally has to take advantage of the situation, we are just begging for food, there is no need to work hard for him."

"Sir, did you say?"

"If the adults want to clean up this tide gang, the little ones and the brothers can also lead the way for the adults."

Zhou Huwei smiled wryly.

"That's the same thing."

"It's also thanks to the fact that you met this official today,"

Luo Congee laughed when he heard the sound, patted his cheek with the back of the knife and said.

"Little one, thank you, Lord Luo."

"Little thanks......"

Hearing this, Zhou Guard hurriedly knelt on the ground,

Together with hundreds of guards behind him, he kowtowed and said.

"Poof......

The voice fell,

Heads fly,

"If you meet someone else,"

"Maybe I'll let you go."

Luo Congee looked at the headless corpse that fell to the ground and finished the second half of the sentence slowly, and he didn't know why, but he always felt that these people were angry when they spoke, and they were angry when they listened.

"Kill them all."

Luo Congee looked at the guards kneeling on the ground and said coldly.

"Back to Lord Luo, someone escaped through the back door."

Not long after,

A brocade-clothed guard rode to report.

"Oh?"

"It's the master of the merchant gang."

"Did you escape?"

"This official originally thought that the Chao Gang was composed of a group of businessmen who were not afraid of death, and since they wanted to live, it was easy to talk about it."

Luo Congee said in his heart, but he was misled by the momentum of the leading businessman Jia Yushi, and said that he was looking for another soft bone to control, and now it seems that there is still a saying.

"Let's go, and go down with this official to search."

……

(End of chapter)