Zhu Mo saw that Old Li was not angry, and thought that the Taoist temple must be short of money. The government, in order to provide disaster relief, resorted to all means, and the old Taoist was under great pressure... so he suddenly played the victim...?
The problem is, you don't have to donate that much money, why are you so worried? They're not forcibly demolishing your Feixuan Palace!
Alas, let's allocate some to them for emergencies.
He immediately coughed and said, "Let me tell you the truth, that money from Yan Maoqing was indeed taken by me, and it is currently stored in the Ministry of War's granary outside the post station in the suburbs of the capital... I asked Liang Menglong, a subordinate of Zhang Taiyue, to guard it...
The original plan was for Elder Xu to submit it to the imperial court first thing tomorrow morning to aid the relief efforts for the snow disaster in Xuan Da. But since my two elder brothers are in trouble, I will divert a hundred thousand taels to you tomorrow to deal with the government for now... I will make up the difference after I earn it back from the salt fields in a few months.
I know that you are all important figures in the capital, and the government is watching you closely, thinking you are big financiers, so they must make you donate. Donate if you must, but in my opinion, let's donate a hundred thousand taels to shut those officials up! What do my two elder brothers think?"
As soon as these words were spoken,
The old Taoist and Li San's mouths widened, and they could no longer speak—
He didn't embezzle in the first place, and now he was willing to bear a stain to take care of his two sworn brothers? It could be seen that this person's actions were audacious and righteous, truly making people admire him from the bottom of their hearts!
The old Taoist's heart was instantly filled with a mix of emotions—
This Mo'er is simply too extravagant!
Who does this resemble?
It could only be Emperor Chengzu...
Yes,
His heroic spirit and grandeur were indeed most like Emperor Chengzu... The Grand Ancestor had suffered hardships; when did he ever spend money like this?
Alas, at this moment, the snow disaster in Xuan Da is saved,
Now they don't have to face the Yan family's disdainful looks.
Thinking of this,
The old Taoist couldn't help but laugh, "Good, whatever Young Master Zhu says, we'll do! I, this old Taoist, don't want to donate a hundred thousand anymore. I'll also divert thirty thousand taels to manage the Feixuan Palace properly... Hahaha..."
While joking, the old Taoist knew clearly in his heart: in the end, Zhu Mo was willing to divert funds for the sake of the disaster victims...
Li San was somewhat moved at this moment—
If these father and son spent more years together, the world would slowly get better...
At this point,
The three of them's interest in chatting grew, and they chatted until the hour of Hai.
When parting,
Zhu Mo personally escorted them to the street corner.
...
The next afternoon, the weather suddenly turned cold.
The clouds were dense, and heavy snow was imminent.
In the quiet Yan Mansion, Yan Shifan's hearty laughter could be heard from time to time.
Because,
During the day, the spies had already inquired clearly—
As soon as Zhu Mo disembarked, he went to Jinling Ji and took out a bag of sea salt samples. Many wealthy merchants immediately placed deposits on the spot...
That is to say: Zhu Mo was indeed going to be a salt merchant!
They already knew about the Xiangshan Salt Field. They thought it was Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng who were going to run a state-managed operation, but the spies said that Zhu Mo had quietly brought the silver ships back when he returned to the capital... This means that Zhu Mo is not incorruptible, but wants to become a big salt merchant by taking advantage of the situation. That money was intended for opening a shop in the capital! If they acted now and caught him red-handed, and then charged him with illegally selling salt, even if Zhu Mo wasn't executed, they could still seize the money.
This news made Yan Shifan particularly happy, and he shouted loudly at this moment:
"What are you hesitating for? He's just a smuggler of salt, and that money was used to smuggle salt! Why aren't you arresting him? Old Zhang, you are still the Vice Minister of War; go now, go immediately, find a group of soldiers, and go to the granary in the suburbs of the capital to retrieve the silver! Hmm... let me think, let's not arrest Zhu Mo first, let's arrest that perverted scholar! Yes, arrest him first and make him confess Zhu Mo! Old Zhang, what are you still standing there for? Go ahead..."
Zhang Jing repeatedly looked at Old Yan Song's expression. Seeing that he had not expressed his opinion, he simply pushed back, "Little Assistant Grand Secretary, even if he is smuggling salt, there are such people everywhere in the world. Since the Zhengde era, we haven't heard of arresting smugglers of salt..."
Yan Shifan angrily said, "You are all too timid! It is precisely because you are too timid that you have been trampled on like this! You are timid, but Zhu Mo, with his boldness, what else would he dare not do? Cowardice is cowardice! That's why others bully us..."
There was some truth to these words, but the people present, although they agreed, truly dared not act.
Why is it?
The Yan family had suffered losses repeatedly in the past six months, and their courage had diminished.
Old Yan Song, knowing this subtle psychology, naturally understood it, but he only cared about one thing—the three million five hundred thousand taels of salt inspection silver. Only when the silver arrived and the disaster was relieved would it be time for the Yan family to make a move!
Seeing Yan Shifan jumping up and down at this moment, Old Yan Song said gently,
"Yan Shifan, don't you use your brain? If you go to the Ministry of War's granary to get the silver at this time, won't it confirm that our people are corrupt? Moreover, for over a hundred years since the founding of the Great Ming, has such a thing ever happened? Zhu Mo's origin is unknown, and he might even be the heir of a prince from Jiangnan or Jiubian... If you do this, unless there is evidence of other serious crimes... Do you understand?"
Yan Song was an old fox, as stable as an old dog, and had not fallen for decades, all thanks to his calm and composed demeanor in the face of chaos and danger. For the past six months, the Yan Party had been thrown into disarray by Zhu Mo, and at this moment, what they needed most was morale. Therefore, he was teaching him so earnestly, his tone could be said to be extremely unusual.
But Yan Shifan had his own considerations—
Anyway, the money would be in the capital in three days, so why wait? If they don't act now, and another problem arises later, they will have missed a golden opportunity!
Perhaps,
Very likely,
This is the Yan family's chance to turn the tide!
Disregarding Old Yan Song's mood, he still shouted loudly:
"Father! What are you waiting for? While the salt inspection silver is about to reach the capital, we still have leverage! Once it reaches the capital and enters the treasury, it will be under the control of the imperial court! If we are to act, it must be now! Immediately! Father... it's not that your son is being defiant, but that Zhu Mo is incredibly strange. If he causes any more trouble, we'll be truly finished this time..."
Yan Song disdainfully said,
"What more trouble can there be? In three days, the money will reach the capital, and our people will preside over the overall relief efforts in Xuan Da. Are we still worried that the money will disappear? At that time, it won't be too late to confiscate it under the charge of illegally selling salt! Shifan, in the face of a major event, you cannot always be thinking about money..."
Luo Longwen, Zhang Jing, and Gao Hanwen also persuaded him one after another—
"Little Assistant Grand Secretary, please wait a moment... Acting at this time is more harmful than beneficial."
"The Grand Secretary is right, just wait three more days..."
"Your subordinate believes that since Zhu Mo is selling contraband salt, the charge is already there, and we can definitely recover that money... There's no hurry right now..."
Yan Shifan was instantly choked.
"Uh, you, you... Alas... I'm just worried for nothing... Anyway, if I die, I die! I find it strange too, why are people with the surname Yan so timid now? If you're so timid, what's the point of mixing around? Just wait for them to arrest us..."
And at this moment,
Amidst hurried footsteps,
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree suddenly arrived—
"Yan Song, Yan Shifan, receive the imperial decree..."
"Imperial Decree: Heaven loves the people, hence it bestows extraordinary individuals. Now, Zhu Mo, the special envoy for disaster relief in Jiangnan, can be called a fortunate general. He has obtained one million taels of silver of ownerless wealth in Jiangnan and presented it to the imperial court. I am extremely pleased. Zhu Mo is hereby appointed as the Special Envoy for Disaster Relief in Xuan Da, to preside over the overall disaster relief in Xuan Da, with Vice Minister of War Liang Menglong as his deputy. They are to set off immediately. Respect this!"
Hiss!
Phew...
It's over.
This money came at the wrong time. Missing the opportunity to help in an emergency, it was no longer a powerful bargaining chip. It couldn't threaten the imperial court, so the money was of no great use... Now, the palace might be calculating how to allocate the money, and once it's directly transferred to the treasury, it will be extremely difficult to get it out...
The Little Assistant Grand Secretary was right. They should have acted yesterday, or at the latest this morning, to get the silver... If they had taken the silver, what would they have used to provide disaster relief?
Alas,
Several people looked at Yan Shifan,
Only to see him sitting blankly on the couch, his eyes bloodshot, and his hair completely disheveled from him tearing at it.