Zhu Wei, King Qin and others waited in the study for a while, and then the engineer from Dajiala Safe Factory came in. Everyone looked up and saw that the yamen servant in front had a face full of fatigue and fatigue. It was Zhu Wei who sent him to Ping'an Prefecture.
The one at the back was wearing a gray new-style canvas coat, thick-soled riding boots, and a huge new-style backpack on her back. Her hair was tied up casually. She was actually a girl in her twenties!
This girl was full of energy and had nimble steps. She looked at Zhu Wei and cupped her hands: "This must be Mr. Zhu."
Zhu Wei said: "Exactly. I dare to ask the girl how to call her."
"My surname is Song, just call me Song Gong."
Zhu Wei nodded: "Song Gong arrived very quickly."
Song Gong said: "I heard that you are eager to use the things in the cabinet, so the two of us traveled all day and night to get there."
The yamen servant said from behind: "Sir, this Song Gong is good at riding. I almost fell down from exhaustion."
Zhu Wei glanced at him: "I don't even have the physical strength of a woman. Just rest."
Engineer Song said: "It's not surprising. We maintenance workers are out running day and night, and we have already practiced it. Ordinary people can't compete with us. Where is the thing? Take me there quickly."
Zhu Wei said: "Song workers should rest for a while and have some tea and snacks before getting busy again."
"No need," Song Gong said, "finish your work earlier and then rest."
People volunteered to work earlier, so why should Zhu Wei be so polite? He immediately stood up. Everyone then returned to the warehouse.
I saw this Song Gong also walking around the safe. The little eunuch just now couldn't help but ask: "Sister, is the cabinet broken?"
Song Gong said casually: "No. It's fine."
The little eunuch said: "Many locksmiths have come to do it."
"Didn't they open it?"
"Although it hasn't been opened, it's damaged because it's not intact?"
"No." Song Gong took off the big backpack on his back, "I have repaired so many safes, and this one is considered to be in perfect condition." The young eunuch was stunned.
Song Gong moved away, took out a book as thick as a brick from his backpack, held it in his hand, and took out a strange-looking object. Suddenly there was a click, and the thing suddenly emitted a dazzling white light! The guards were quick.
Like a strong wind coming to protect the King of Qin: "Protect Your Majesty!"
Song Gong looked back at them and explained: "This is a battery lantern. Your warehouse is too dark. I want to check the factory code on the bottom of the cabinet."
Instead, she lifted the lantern behind the safe and placed it on the ground. She lay down on her back against the safe and looked sideways at the bottom of the cabinet. Everyone in the Qin Kingdom looked at each other, but they heard her say: "djl06p12..." a long string of words.
She didn't know what it was. She immediately sat down cross-legged, picked up the thick book and looked at it in front of the lantern. After a while, she found what she was looking for, and made a mark on the book with her finger. There was another click, and the lantern went out.
"The battery power is limited, so you have to use it sparingly." The Song worker stood up and walked back to the safe with a lantern. He started turning the first code disk and easily turned to the last one. "Crack" sound was like the tension of a sword.
When the spring sounded, Engineer Song said: "The cabinet door is unlocked, you can open it yourself. According to our factory's rules, engineers are not allowed to open the customer's cabinet door by themselves, in case they see something they shouldn't see."
Zhu Wei was still a little stunned: "Is it open?"
"It's open." Song Gong held a lantern and held a thick book as he walked to the next safe. "Master, please check the contents yourself. I will open this."
Zhu Wei still didn't believe himself. He reached out to the first safe and pulled the handle hard: it's open! Everyone cheered. They saw that there were not many things in the safe, but a pile of documents. Zhu Wei and King Qin looked at each other.
He glanced at it and closed the cabinet door. Mr. Song was already lying down, looking at the new factory code, grinning quietly.
But in a moment, all the safes that the locksmiths in Chang'an City stared at had been opened. Song Gong stood up and patted the dust on his body, and while packing up the lantern, he said: "It's done. Is there anything else?"
"No, no, no more." Zhu Wei thanked her profusely and praised, "The girl is really capable."
Song Gong said: "In that case, I'm going to find the inn. If you have anything to do, go... Well, I'll find the inn and let you know."
Zhu Wei hurriedly said: "Girl, you have come all the way here, how can I let you stay in an inn? We have our own post house in Chang'an, so girls can just go there and rest. The government post house is also safer. You are a girl's family after all."
Song Gong thought for a moment: "That's fine." He smiled and said, "It would be more generous to work for the government." Zhu Wei then sent a yamen servant to lead her away.
These more than thirty safes were filled with documents. Zhu Wei and King Qin sent others to guard outside the warehouse. They lit several clear glass oil lamps in broad daylight, and they were the only ones in the room hurriedly looking through the documents. There were some documents.
It is a chronicle of bribery and acceptance. Whoever bribes whom for what reason can get it; whoever asks for a bribe for what reason can get it; if it fails, the money can be refunded. And so on. There are also some shortcomings of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and their families.
Someone's playboy killed someone, someone's relatives and friends robbed a daughter, and someone stole tax money.
Zhu Wei couldn't help but secretly praise the man behind the scenes for his ability to pull people into trouble. The Qin State had already eliminated the salt tax. Since Liu Feng became prime minister, the land tax has been reduced by 30%. In addition to minerals, tea, iron, etc., a tax on luxury goods has also been added.
Gambling tax and other large taxes, commercial tax are also subdivided into various categories. A few days ago, Zhu Tong checked the Qin State's taxes in recent years. There was a reduction when Liu Feng just left, but the reduction was not severe. The real sharp reduction was about half a year after Fuyuntang started operating.
Initially, the major reductions were in taxes on business, mining, gambling and luxury goods. According to the files in the safe, most merchants have no problem. There are many casinos hidden underground, and the owners of the mines are all local tycoons.
, it is indispensable to lie about the amount of mining. The root cause of the sharp decline in tax revenue is the government's false accounts. At first, only a few people made false accounts, and then more and more people made false accounts, reaching most of the imperial court.
Zhu Wei turned over a book and handed it to the King of Qin. The King of Qin took a look and saw that a certain county magistrate and his subordinates had made false accounts and embezzled tax money. This was the person he sent to check the taxes last time.
His uncle. After a while, King Qin himself found out about another corrupt man, whom he had also sent to check taxes. King Qin slammed the book down and gritted his teeth: "No wonder they couldn't find out! They were the ones who checked the co-authors themselves.
Own."
Zhu Wei's scalp went numb looking at the files in this room. After a long while, he sighed: There are really too many officials involved this time.
There was a safe, and Zhu Wei remembered that it was placed at the very back of the Fuyuntang warehouse when he was moving it. However, when Song Gong opened the safe just now, he muttered that according to the code, the factory date was the latest. Zhu Wei felt a little strange. He opened it.
At first glance, the upper and lower floors of such a large cabinet were empty, except for a flat box the size of a palm and as high as a thumb placed in the middle drawer. The box was made of rosewood, flat and without any patterns on it, and it didn't even have a cover.
There is also a small lock on the lacquer box, which is a mechanical spring double-buckle steel lock produced by Dajiala.
Zhu Wei took the box in his hand and said with a frown to King Qin: "I don't know if Song Gong can open this thing."
King Qin took it and weighed it, but found nothing. "How about letting the locksmith try it first?"
Zhu Wei then walked quickly to the door, called his confidant who was guarding outside, and asked him to hire a good locksmith who could open the mechanical spring double-buckle lock. He turned back to the warehouse and saw King Qin standing in a daze. Zhu Wei didn't
Dare to disturb, just wait quietly. After a long time, King Qin said quietly: "I have spent so much effort, but Qin is still like this."
Zhu Wei thought to himself: "Your Majesty, there is no one to blame for this matter. Even if there is no Fuyun Hall, there is also Qingfeng Hall, Mingyue Hall, and Xiaoxing Hall. This is human nature."
King Qin sneered: "What nature? Greedy for money?"
Zhu Wei said: "Wealth, power, fame, and sex. Most people want these four things, and a lot of power and wealth can be exchanged for fame and sex." He sighed, "It's true. It wasn't until just now that the old minister began to admire the prince.
At that time, the prince wanted to worship Liu Feng as prime minister, but the whole court opposed it. Although the old minister agreed with his mouth, it was because since he was a minister, he had to support the prince. At that time, the old minister also despised Liu Xiang in his heart.
He didn't even pass the Jinshi exam, and he's still a merchant..." King Qin's expression softened a little. Zhu Wei picked up a booklet and said, "If we follow Prime Minister Liu Feng's old strategy, we can copy the tax bill in triplicate into a booklet and keep it.
For merchants, county government and Jincao, double-entry accounting must be used everywhere - although the clerks below have to do more work, this thing will probably not exist. It is said that you can hide the truth, even if you want to hide it.
Even a small fish tank is laborious.”
King Qin frowned and said, "Didn't King Gu say that he would not move in accordance with the national policies set by Prime Minister Liu?"
Zhu Wei said: "As the saying goes, people leave after tea cools. He is no longer in Qin, and many people are dissatisfied with his national policies. How can he not be moved? I don't know how many changes he has made."
King Qin said angrily: "Do you all turn a deaf ear to the words of the lonely king?"
Zhu Wei smiled bitterly and said: "No one dares to care about anyone..."
King Qin smashed the safe hard: "Where is the Yushitai!"
Zhu Wei said: "The Yushitai has no time to deal with such trivial matters as a slight change in national policy."
"Little things?!" King Qin sneered, "According to Zhu Aiqing, what is a big thing?"
Zhu Wei said: "Officials are breaking the law!" He pointed to the cabinets of documents and said, "If these were handed over to the Yushitai, it would be a big thing, a real big thing. As for the tax forms of merchants, most of them have changed their style.
It's because the junior officials below are lazy and don't even have a decent criminal officer. What's this if it's not a trivial matter?"
King Qin smashed the safe again: "Big things are caused by indulgence in small things."
Zhu Wei lowered his eyes and said, "What the prince said is absolutely true." He finished without saying a word.
King Qin gritted his teeth. For a long time, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He picked up the red sandalwood box and threw it to the ground. Even though the box looked crude, it was still made of red sandalwood. It didn't move at all. King Qin was filled with resentment and had nowhere to express his anger, and he was fierce.
He stepped on it with two feet. The box remained unchanged. King Qin stepped on the box and jumped twice on one leg. The box was like a brick. King Qin kicked it hard and the box flew up. Zhu Wei nodded secretly in his heart: Master Wu
I wasn't lazy, I had some leg strength. "Dang!" The box fell and hit a safe.
The King of Qin did not let go, so he drew his sword and started to chop upwards. The red sandalwood wood was hard and dense, and the King of Qin was still a young man. He was not very strong, so he only made a few marks after several consecutive cuts. The King of Qin shouted: "Here comes someone!"
A guard immediately ran in. King Qin pointed at the box and said, "Cut it open for the lonely king!"
The one who came in was the leader of the guard. He was carrying a treasured blade and could cut iron like mud. He followed the order and split open the box. He was smart and slashed straight at the piece of wood where the lock was secured along the gap, cutting off a whole piece of wood in a chain.
King Qin felt a little relieved when he saw the box opened. He opened the lid and found a piece of paper inside. It was daytime, and there was an oil lamp in the room. Zhu Wei glanced at it and looked at it.
It was a land deed. King Qin took out the land deed and looked at it. His eyes immediately straightened! After a while, his whole body trembled, and the land deed floated away from his fingers.
Zhu Wei bent down and picked up the land deed, not daring to look at it. The room was suddenly as quiet as a graveyard.
Suddenly I heard someone shouting outside the door: "Master, Uncle Tong is here!"
Zhu Wei shouted as if he had found a savior: "Let him in quickly!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Tong strode in and said with a smile: "Uncle, nephew, I heard that a gentleman has come here. Can he open the safe?" He looked around and saw that all the cabinet doors were open, and praised, "Sure enough, there is a common practice among the people.
Master, no engineers are needed."
Zhu Wei coughed twice and said, "That gentleman didn't open the safe. An engineer from the original factory has arrived." He winked and handed him the land deed in his hand.
Zhu Tong looked down and frowned: "I'm afraid this thing is not true."
Before he could finish his words, King Qin immediately opened his eyes: "Isn't it true?! Is it a lie?"
Zhu Wei said: "This thing is hidden very carefully. If it is fake..."
Zhu Tong said: "When the fake is the real thing, the real thing is also fake. Anyway, I don't think it's right. Even if it is real, it is probably a fake gift."
"What fake gift?"
"The owner of Fuyuntang wanted to give the land deed to the Queen Mother, but he didn't actually give it to her. He just wrote a deed, took it to complete the transaction, and then locked it in a safe. The Queen Mother was completely
I didn’t know I had such an industry.”
Zhu Wei frowned: "What is this?"
Zhu Tong chuckled and said: "What else can they do, just scare people. They have this thing, except the prince himself, who would dare to investigate Fuyuntang? Uncle, how dare you? Unless it is Liu Feng who has left."
King Qin said solemnly: "Why did Liu Feng dare to investigate?"
Zhu Tong said: "In the past few days since I returned to Chang'an, I have inquired about many things about Prime Minister Liu. He is not afraid of offending the powerful."
King Qin narrowed his eyes and looked at him a few times: "Are you afraid?"
Zhu Tong said: "Afraid." King Qin frowned. "Of course Liu Feng is not afraid. He is not from Qin. Talking about family members, he doesn't even have a concubine. He was born in Qin State and has uncles, brothers and sisters, and he has a wife and children.
Even if he is alone, Wan Sheng is not afraid. Mr. Ping An’s bodyguards have muskets, but Wan Sheng’s uncle does not. For this reason alone, Wan Sheng has no choice but to be afraid of him.”
King Qin picked up the land deed and read it again. "Are you suspicious of Ping An?"
Zhu Tong said: "If there are no other clues, Wan Sheng is the first to suspect him. Who else in Qin dares to impersonate the name of the King and Queen Mother? If found out, the whole family will not be punished?" King Qin pondered. Zhu Tong looked at the box.
He glanced at it and said, "What is that?"
Only then did King Qin Zhu Wei discover that there was another piece of paper in the box, folded into a square shape. When he opened it and looked at it, it turned out to be a map, with mountains, water and houses. Zhu Wei asked curiously: "Where is this?"