Looking at Chang Pingcang, where the flames were blazing into the sky, and the Tongzhou Guards, where the smoke was billowing, Shen Lie sneered again and again: "The tricks of these corrupt officials... are really the same as they have been since ancient times."
Behind him, the wives and concubines slowly came over and stood side by side with Shen Lie.
And not far away.
A large number of victims supported the elderly and young and pointed and looked at it.
After a while, everyone fell silent.
The fire burned all night.
After a night.
On the second day.
When Shen Lie and Zhang Jianxiu led the factory guards to the Changping warehouse where the fire broke out, what they saw was ashes, and the entire granary was reduced to ashes in the fire.
Also burned to death in the fire was an unlucky watchman.
And also burned together...
Changpingcang’s account books over the years.
The group of people walked slowly through the fire scene with sullen faces. They stopped in front of a stack of unburned account books and heard several captains in gilded uniforms discussing softly behind them.
"I heard... the price of rice in the outer city has increased."
"It's true. Yesterday a pound of fragrant rice sold for ten cents, and early this morning it went up to fifteen cents. Look at this situation... there's going to be a food shortage again!"
This discussion.
Shen Lie and Zhang Jianxiu looked at each other, their expressions changed at the same time, and their hearts were as bright as a mirror. They knew that the powerful people's counterattack was coming.
This counterattack is fast, cruel, and accurate...
He looked at the pitch-black fire scene with a faint gaze.
Shen Lie said softly: "Master Zongxian, please survey the scene here and look for clues. I'll lower you to the palace...immediately go to the palace and report this matter to the Holy One."
Zhang Jianxiu said calmly: "Bring more guards and be careful on the road."
A cold light flashed in Shen Lie's eyes.
Nod.
Then he got on his horse and galloped towards the capital thirty miles away.
An hour later.
Xiyuan.
Turn over and dismount.
Shen Lie hurriedly handed over the sign and walked along the long corridor to the outside of the lake pavilion. From a distance of dozens of feet, he watched the emperor summoning several important ministers.
Even from such a long distance, I can still vaguely hear the roar of Long Live Lord.
It is conceivable.
Long live the Lord must be furious now.
Shen Lie stopped and asked the leader of the guards, "Who is the emperor seeing?"
The leader of the guards hurriedly bowed and said respectfully: "If you want to reply to Mr. Shen, it's Mr. Zhang Ge, Mr. Shen Ge..."
Shen Lie nodded.
No more words.
Just wait.
See what this means.
The furious emperor was furious, and it seemed that his anger would not dissipate for a while. He looked at Zhang Siwei, Shen Shixing and other pavilion elders from a distance, hunched over and looking pitiful.
Shen Lie sighed.
Especially the acting chief assistant, Zhang Siwei, Mr. Zhang, acted as the cabinet's second assistant in a good manner and did not provoke anyone.
After the chief assistant Zhang Juzheng suddenly fell seriously ill, he was appointed as the acting chief assistant. However, because he had been suppressed by Zhang Juzheng for a long time, Zhang Juzheng was also a man of his own words.
This old man obviously lacks prestige.
None of the officials listened to him.
Come back.
But he had to bear the wrath of the young emperor, and he was like a doormat.
Shen Lie even felt that.
This old man is a little pitiful.
The sun is empty at this time.
This time of year.
It seems that the unbearable midsummer is coming.
I was anxious waiting.
In the heat, Shen Lie unbuttoned a few official uniform buttons and began to fan himself.
And the officials, big and small, who were queuing up around them, waiting for the Long Live Lord to lecture them, had already become a little overwhelmed. They began to unbutton their shirts one by one, and some even secretly found places to hide in the shade.
This is a hot and dry time.
Shen Lie looked around.
Inadvertently.
His eyes fell on a middle-aged official, and he seemed to notice something.
Shen Lie narrowed his eyes and looked under the official's rolled-up sleeves. There seemed to be a red and swollen mark on the white arm.
This redness and swelling...
It looks like a burn.
His eyes narrowed.
Shen Lie remained calm and walked slowly to the side of the leader of the guards. He curled his lips towards the suspicious middle-aged official and asked softly.
"Who is this……"
The leader of the guards followed Shen Lie's gaze and said quickly, "That's Mr. Jia, a person in charge of warehousing in the Ministry of Household Affairs."
Shen Lie nodded, calmly looked away, turned around a few more times, and quietly retreated from the Xiyuan.
Exited Xiyuan.
Shen Lie thought for a while, turned around and walked towards the Meridian Gate. He first wrote a note to Feng Bao and asked him to come to Shen Mansion for a banquet at noon.
He also asked Dao Shisan to go to Tongzhou Pier to call Zhang Jianxiu.
Done all this.
Shen Lie rode his horse and walked quickly towards his mansion a few streets away, opened the heavy door, and walked in the empty yard.
at this time.
A cold smile appeared on Shen Lie's lips: "The burn...is it such a coincidence?"
Mr. Jia may not have set the fire himself, but at least one thing is certain. Mr. Jia went to Changpingcang, Tongzhou last night.
Afternoon.
Shen Mansion.
"What... Jia Mian, the head of the household department."
As soon as I heard about this person.
Zhang Jianxiu couldn't sit still, his eyes widened, and he rushed to the household department to arrest someone, but was stopped by Shen Lie.
"No need to rush."
Shen Lie grabbed his fourth uncle.
I gave a few words of advice.
"A dignified official of the imperial court, where can he go?"
When saying this.
Shen Lie pondered and thought, and began to ask Feng Bao about the origins of Mr. Jia, trying to dig out some privacy.
An intuition.
Shen Lie felt that the matter was far from simple, so he connected Chang Pingcang, Jia Mian, the head of the Household Department, and the large and small grain merchants who were driving up grain prices.
Behind this.
Shen Lie saw a big invisible net.
"Jia Mian..."
As Feng Bao fell into deep thought and searched for impressions of this person in his memory, Zhang Jianxiu also hurriedly called a few guards.
Ask the guards to return to Beizhen Fusi to review the roster.
Feng Bao seemed to have remembered something, and said quietly: "I still remember that Jia Mian was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Longqing. He ranked among the top 200, which is not high. He is from Puzhou, Shanxi..."
Speaking of which.
Shen Lie was slightly startled, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "Where are you from?"
Feng Bao paused and said quickly: "I am from Puzhou, Shanxi."
Then a thunderclap flashed through Shen Lie's mind, and he remembered that Zhang Siwei, now the head of the Ming Dynasty's civil servants, and Mr. Zhang Ge were also from Puzhou, Shanxi.
"Wait a minute!"
Shen Lie was shocked. Regarding the Longqing Peace Conference, he couldn't help but think about it. Wang Chonggu, the governor of Xuanda at that time, was also from Puzhou.
Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of War, who was once called by Yan Shifan as one of the three most prodigies in the world, was from Puzhou, and they were both fellow villagers of Zhang Siwei and Zhang Ge.
The relationship between these Puzhou fellow villagers is intricate.
It's so complicated.
As Shen Lie tapped the table lightly, he murmured to himself: "Puzhou...Jin Gang...Jia Mian, Zhang Siwei."
This good old man who looks harmless and behaves very low-key, Mr. Zhang Siwei, the acting chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty, has such a complicated interpersonal relationship.
It was so complicated that Shen Lie couldn't help but think of something.
Then Shen Lie asked softly: "Mr. Feng, I wonder what kind of business Zhangge's hometown does?"
Feng Bao has not yet spoken.
aside.
Zhang Jianxiu's expression changed, and he said slowly in a deep voice: "Lao Zhang Ge's family in Puzhou, starting from the Jiajing period, three generations of his ancestors and grandson were involved in the business of salt, iron...cotton, cloth, ticket sales, and grain sales. "
