However, before the group went out, the local Dongchang fan from Guangzhou arrived. So Zhong Jinwei made another inquiry.
The result of the inquiry surprised Zhong Jinwei. Dongchang did not find any illegal or corrupt activities in Sun Chuanting, the director of the Shibo Tribunal.
But the young woman swore that she had not received the child's father's pension. Otherwise, she would not have ended up like this.
Zhong Jinwei didn't worry too much. Anyway, he took people directly to the Shipping Department to ask Sun Chuanting for evidence, and basically he was able to get to the bottom of the matter.
The Guangzhou Shiboti Jushi was not far from the restaurant where Zhong Jinwei was. The group walked for about a quarter of an hour before they saw the Shiboti Jushi.
Logically speaking, the Ship Lifting Department is in charge of overseas trade and is equivalent to the customs of later generations. No matter what, the appearance should at least be decent.
But what Zhong Jinwei saw was exactly the opposite. The walls and buildings of Shibosi were very dilapidated, and peeling walls could be seen in many places.
The two soldiers standing at the door were relatively energetic, but their armor and military uniforms were not new. Seeing Zhong Jinwei and his party approaching the door of the Tiju Si Yamen, one of them stepped forward to stop them and said: "This is an important place in the Yamen, and there are a lot of people waiting here."
Go away quickly."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a very conspicuous young woman and her two children among these big men in rich clothes.
When the soldier saw it, he directly said: "If you say you don't have money to pay, you don't have money to pay. It's useless for you to make trouble again."
This soldier obviously knew the young woman. From his words, he could tell that the young woman had come many times but never asked for money. In other words, what the young woman said was probably true.
Zhong Jinwei saw this in his eyes and thought in his heart, his face darkened. This Sun Chuanting was so famous that it was even passed down to future generations, but he dared to embezzle even the pension money of his subordinates.
This kind of behavior was so bad that Zhong Jinwei secretly decided that he must be severely punished!
After Gu Baichuan received Zhong Jinwei's signal, he took a few steps forward and walked up to the soldier. He stretched out his hand and took out his waist badge and showed it to him. At the same time, he said: "If someone is coming from the capital, please ask Sun Chuanting to come and greet him."
The soldier could clearly see that the person in front of him was a Dongchang officer or a sergeant. His expression immediately changed and he quickly explained: "Sir, Sun Tiju is not in the Yamen, but has gone to the Governor's Yamen in Zhaoqing."
After finishing speaking, seeing Gu Baichuan's frozen face, he hurriedly explained: "Even if the villain has eaten the courage of an ambitious leopard, he will not dare to lie to you. Sun Tiju really is not in the Yamen."
Gu Baichuan understood that he did not dare to lie to him, so he turned to look at Zhong Jinwei, waiting for the Duke's instructions.
Zhong Jinwei came out of the crowd and came to the soldiers and asked him: "How long have you been gone and when will you come back?"
When the soldier saw that the commander of the East Factory treated the young man with respect, he knew that this man must have a bigger background. So he did not dare to neglect and quickly replied: "Master Tiji left early yesterday morning. As usual,
As usual, I think I can come back today."
Zhong Jinwei looked at the sky and decided to go inside and wait for Sun Chuanting to return. He was extremely disappointed with Sun Chuanting, so he didn't want to wait any longer.
As soon as the group entered the gate, they found that in a large courtyard, many soldiers were listlessly hiding in the shade to enjoy the cool air. Looking at the number of people, it seemed that not many of them were out patrolling and anti-smuggling.
Zhong Jinwei's face was even more gloomy. In history, Sun Chuanting, who almost destroyed Li Zicheng, did he have a false reputation, or was the history passed down false? Otherwise, with such soldiers and military discipline, could he win the battle?
He ignored the soldiers and walked straight inside without saying a word. Anyone familiar with Zhong Jinwei knew that the Duke was probably angry. Otherwise, given the approachable character of the Duke, he would definitely not have such an expression.
When the soldiers who were enjoying the cool weather in the courtyard saw the comrades on duty at the door leading a group of big men in brocade clothes and surrounding a young man walking inside, they knew that a big shot might be coming, and they hurriedly changed their lazy and boring state.
But Zhong Jinwei ignored them and walked over, which made them relax again. Then when they saw the young woman in the crowd, they felt strange and began to sit and chat casually.
Zhong Jinwei came to the lobby and sat down, and asked: "Who is in charge of the office now? Let him come to see me."
The guard looked a little at a loss. After Gu Baichuan snorted coldly, he quickly replied: "In reply to this lord, there is no one in charge in the yamen. The ones in charge have all been taken away by Lord Tiju."
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he became even more angry. For such a big office to have no one in charge, it would be like being paralyzed. Fortunately, the imperial court still had high hopes for him and the Guangzhou Shipping Office.
"Why did Sun Chuanting go to the Governor's Mansion?" Zhong Jinwei asked in a cold voice with water on his face.
His anger was even felt by the young woman's two children, who hugged their mother's legs tightly and did not dare to make a sound.
The servant was suffering under the pressure of the big shot. He had never seen such a scene before, and he was extremely frightened.
Suddenly, he fell to his knees and stammered in reply: "Ti... Sir Tiji, go to the General... Governor's Mansion, yes..."
Before he finished speaking, there was suddenly a burst of chaotic footsteps outside, and a lot of noise coming in. Listening to the sound, it turned out to be Sun Chuanting back.
Indeed, it was Sun Chuanting who came back. When he was at the door, he listened to the remaining guard explaining the situation.
When he had people at the level of director of the East Factory, he gathered around a man from the capital to look for him, and he entered the yamen with a gloomy face first. The young woman who had come to ask for pensions many times before was also inside.
After hearing this, Sun Chuanting knew that it was not a good thing. The house was leaking and it rained all night. How could it be so difficult to do something?
He didn't have time to complain, so he led his subordinates to walk in quickly. As he walked, he was thinking, who is coming from the capital, could he be that giant Buddha?
The soldiers in the courtyard had already heard the movement at the door. They changed their laziness and withdrew from the shade with a roar.
After Sun Chuanting led the officials, big and small, through, the soldiers began to gather around and talk quietly, not knowing what would happen next.
Sun Chuanting came to the entrance of the lobby and found that there were big men in brocade clothes standing on both sides. There were quite a few of them, and they had always been in the lobby. When he saw such a large posture, he quickly filtered the information in his heart, and suddenly remembered that Duke Xingguo was going south under the order.
Could it be him?
However, there seems to be no sign or news of the Duke's arrival in Guangzhou, so how could he suddenly appear in his yamen?
Sun Chuanting stopped thinking if he couldn't figure it out. Anyway, he went in and saw who it was.
So, he led his men and strode into the lobby, and then looked up the hall.
Wang Peng was standing on one side of the entrance of the lobby. When he saw these officials coming in, he shouted: "The imperial envoy Xing Guo is here, and he still doesn't kneel down to pay respects."