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Cao Benshu took the survey results and asked, "Where is Wang Fang?"Cao Benshu asked, "What position do you hold on the Changyuan?"

Wang Fang replied, "Caomin is the big shopkeeper of Changyuan's Shanghai branch. The head office transports goods from Sichuan to Shanghai, and Caomin is responsible for selling these things."

Cao Benshu nodded approvingly: "Your company's accounts match the records of the Shanghai General Department. This is very good. Your company operates legally and pays taxes according to the regulations. On behalf of the imperial court, I commend you."

Wang Fang said happily, "Your Majesty the Censor praised it absurdly. This is what it should be." "A man in his 50s was so frightened that he almost knelt down.

Cao Benshu sighed and said, "Your Excellency's ancestor, Lu Shen, is admired by many scholars. Anyone who compiles history in the Imperial Academy does not know Lu Ziyuan's name. It can even be said that from the Jiajing period to the Datong New Dynasty, all scholars who study history They are all Lu Ziyuan's apprentices and grandchildren!" Lu Guang buried his head and bowed, "The ancestors have a poor name, and the descendants dare not rely on it."

"Don't dare to rely on it..." Cao Benshu was also a scholar. He was so angry that he yelled, "If Lu Ziyuan is still alive, you must be beaten to death." Lu Guang was so frightened that he fell to his knees.

"Stand up, you don't need to kneel down in this court's trial!" Cao Benshu roared. Lu Guang stood up tremblingly, but he always felt his knees were weak, and he planned to kneel down again at any time.

Cao Benshu said: "Your Lu family's Fulong account is the biggest business customer of Changyuan account. The account books of Changyuan account can be matched with the Shanghai General Department, but why can't they be matched with Lu family's Fulong account?" Lu Guang was terrified and didn't know how to answer.

Cao Benshu looked at the case file in his hand and asked, "Last year, Changyuan sold you a total of 3000 catties of Sichuan tea. In your account book, why did you only buy 1800 catties of Sichuan tea and the remaining 1200 catties were all taken away by your Lu family children?" Can't drink it up?" Lu Guang couldn't answer.

"And this raw silk, I sold you 600 dan of raw silk last year, why is there only 400 dan in the account?" Cao Benshu asked, patting the table.hey pass!

Lu Guang knelt down again, and cried, "My lord, please forgive me. For the sake of...you can bypass the Lu family this time." "Oh," Cao Benshu laughed suddenly, "For the sake of... For whose sake, you should make it clear." Lu Guang dared not speak. "Say" Cao Benshu roared.

Lu Guang's voice was as thin as a mosquito, "For the sake of... the Eldest Princess.

Cao Benshu was finally completely angry, "You are talking nonsense, how can the Lu family have anything to do with the eldest princess?"

Lu Guang actually explained in detail: "The son-in-law is the great-nephew of Mr. Shaohu (Xu Jie), and Caomin's uncle is the grandson-in-law of Mr. Shaohu. Caomin and the son-in-law are of the same generation..."

Cao Benshu was speechless immediately, what kind of crooked relatives are these?

After holding back for a long time, Cao Benshu asked back, "Why don't you say that Lu Xun of Eastern Wu is your ancestor, let me take it lightly for Sun Quan's sake." Lu Guang muttered, "Marquis Zhao (Lu Xun) is indeed my ancestor."

Cao Benshu was too lazy to talk nonsense, and asked directly: "Tell me, are these goods that are not tired and fly in the account sold overseas? If they are sold overseas, how can they be released by the Shibo Department?"

Lu Guang was still insisting, "It's all bulk goods in Shanghai."

"Local cargo in Shanghai has to go somewhere," Cao Mushu said, "whether it is sold to a store or sold to the common people in your own shop, just tell me, and I will check the accounts slowly." Lu Guang said, "sold to the common people." . "

Cao Benshu laughed angrily, "Do you think I'm a fool to buy raw silk from Sichuan thousands of miles away and sell it to ordinary people in Shanghai?" Lu Guang was stunned, speechless.

Silk is abundant in the south of the Yangtze River, and shipping it from Sichuan to sell it is roughly equivalent to shipping coal from the northeast to Shanxi.Cao Benshu said: "Since you can't tell where the goods are, then you can only be sentenced to smuggling by your Lu family..." "My lord, spare me!"

Lu Guang quickly shouted, "It's not smuggling, the Lu family did not smuggle. These goods were released by the Shibo Department." The only crimes for shipping through the Shibo Department are tax evasion and bribery of officials.As for smuggling, small amount of exile, large amount of decapitation Cao Benshu asked, "Which city ship official let you go?"

Lu Guang gritted his teeth and replied, "Caomin has no contact with the officials of the Shibo Department, but...the second son of Mr. Chen Futi's family has some contacts with Caomin. The tax evaded every year will give [-]% of the benefits to Chen's second son. As for the officials of the Shibo Department, Second Master Chen will take care of them himself. "Go to Chen's house and arrest people," Cao Benshu ordered immediately.

The inspectors and police officers from Shanghai County were seconded, and under the leadership of officials from the Procuratorate, they immediately went to arrest people in a carriage.

About an hour later, the anti-corruption officer came back and said in a low voice: "Father and son of the Chen family committed suicide in fear of crime. There is a lot of ashes in the study, which may have been burned. The ashes are already cold, and they may have been burned in the middle of the night or in the morning."

Cao Benshu sneered, "Okay, committing suicide in fear of crime, I really think I can't go on with the investigation and arrested Wang Cai, the secretary of Shibo, and let people watch day and night, don't let this guy die too!"

The Datong court had special measures to prevent officials from committing suicide in fear of crime.

As long as the evidence is solid, officials who dare to commit suicide in fear of crime will have their household registration books confiscated and exiled.Moreover, in order to prevent the separation of families from crimes, those who are separated within ten years will also be exiled.

After the promulgation of this policy, the number of criminals who committed suicide decreased rapidly.

After all, even if it was a case of criticizing Tian Zheng, if so many people were arrested and sent to exile, it would only harm their wives and children, and neither their parents nor brothers would sit together.Once you commit suicide in fear of crime, you will have to bear all the crimes in your household registration book!

Cao Benshu feels that this case is a bit big, and would rather commit suicide than exile the whole family. Some central government officials may be involved behind this.

Chapter 922 [Already Rotten]

City ship division.

Wang Cai was not allowed to leave the office, and even his family members were not allowed to have any contact with him.

The investigation is still going on, Cao Benshu no longer intervenes in person, but came to chat with Wang Cai: "Wang Tiju, your deputy committed suicide in fear of crime, do you know the news?"

"Chen Xianchun committed suicide." Wang Cai was surprised, and he didn't know whether it was from the heart or a fake expression.

Cao Benshu sighed: "Chen Xianchun's problem is very serious. I investigated several trading companies engaged in maritime trade, and all of them evaded customs duties through his son. Such a large-scale tax evasion, as the chief officer of the Shipping Department, you will not always don't know

Wang Cai said sadly: "This old Chen is really confused. He was originally just a poor scholar in Hubei. Thanks to His Majesty and the court's kindness, he has achieved his current glory. He should serve the country well. How can he be corrupt? What about colluding with merchants? As the chief officer of the Shibo Department, as Chen Xianchun's superior, I have the responsibility of being ignorant and ineffective in supervision. How can I have the face to continue to be an official? Cao Yushi, I will take the blame and resign myself." I don't know," Cao Benshu asked.

Wang Cai said: "I really don't know anything. I am the chief officer of the Shipping Department, but the management of goods and merchants is only in charge of Chen Xianchun."

This set of rhetoric is in line with common sense. Whether it is an imperial government office or a private company, it is really the deputies who actually do things.

Cao Benshu said, "It seems that I misunderstood you, but for your safety, you should stay here for the time being. When the truth comes to light, it will not be too late to leave this room."

Cao Benshu left after speaking, the door was locked, and Wang Cai was placed under house arrest.

Only Wang Cai was left alone in the room. He was quite energetic just now, but he collapsed on the seat in an instant.

He didn't know that the imperial court's investigation of the Shibo Department was actually Zhao Han's impromptu idea.He thought that Chen Xianchun's son was too ostentatious, which attracted the attention of the anti-corruption officials, and cursed the Chen father and son who had committed suicide countless times in his heart.

Although the phenomenon of the navy doing business in the field is still going on, the imperial court has formulated layers of constraints.

The Ministry of Commerce and the Navy Governor's Mansion directly send officials to be in charge of naval trade, which is equivalent to a state-owned shipping company established by the Ministry of Commerce and the Navy Governor's Mansion.The Ministry of Commerce and the Naval Governor's Office can retain part of the profits, and the rest needs to be paid to the Ministry of Finance as a bonus.Moreover, the navy's trade is subject to an annual quota to prevent disrupting the market and competing for profits with the people.

There must be loopholes in this approach. For example, smuggling by the Navy quietly cannot be completely eliminated.It is true that the military expenditure of the navy has been increasing year by year, and it cannot be fully supported by finances. It is only a temporary concession policy.

But there are also advantages. The navy trades off, and the navy smuggles quietly. They are very active in combating private smuggling.In the waters of Shanghai, businessmen who dare to smuggle can do small things, but once they become big, they will definitely be targeted by the navy.

Since smuggling cannot be carried out at sea, and the inland trade is blocked by the Department of General Affairs, merchants can only collaborate with officials and merchants in the Department of Shipping.This form of tax evasion is very "safe", and it must be checked in detail with the tripartite account books of the supply company, export company, and general tax department, and can only be found out by comparing each transaction slowly.The imperial court will not check accounts like this!

Wang Cai felt wronged, because Shanghai has been playing this trick since the day the port was opened.

It's just that I was cautious at the beginning, and the tax evasion was not a lot.After the unspoken rules gradually formed, officials, officials, and businessmen became accustomed to it, so they became more and more unscrupulous.

So much so that Chen Xianchun became the second-in-command, letting his son take the initiative to reach out to merchants.Those trading companies that do not evade taxes will be encouraged by officials to evade taxes as long as they go to sea for two or three consecutive years, and legal operators will become outliers instead.what else to check

From the top to the bottom of the Shibo Department, from officials to officials, at least half of them participated in it.Small officials earn dozens of taels a year, small officials earn hundreds of taels a year, and middle and senior officials earn thousands or tens of thousands of taels a year.

This is already the norm, and it is already the unspoken rule of Shibo Division!

Wang Cai feels that he is very clean. He has been in the customs system for more than ten years, and only earned 10,000+ taels of silver in total.Chen Xianchun, who committed suicide in fear of crime, was ruthless. It is estimated that the embezzled money was more than 30 taels.

Cao Benshu came to another interrogation room.

At this moment, more than a dozen petty officials and bureaucrats in the Municipal Department were already trembling with fear.

Cao Benshu sat down slowly, "Inspecting goods, declaring taxes, and keeping accounts, are you guys doing it? Chen Xianchun has already committed suicide, don't you want to commit suicide? As far as your grade is concerned, I'm afraid you can't be greedy. If you confess honestly, maybe you can do it." Take the crime and make meritorious deeds.

Just like making dumplings, all the petty officials knelt down and said, "My lord, spare your life. If Hu Lushi tells you to do it, the little ones will do it. Every quarter, the oil and water will be divided. It won't be much, and it will only be shared for a month." A few taels of oil and water. "Hu Huiqing, you are so courageous." Cao Benshu slapped the gavel.

The recorder named Hu Huiqing knelt down with weak knees, and said in a crying voice, "Master Yushi, the little one is just following the trend. Before the villain became the recorder, the Shibosi had already done this. If the villain If you are disobedient, how can this recorder be worthy of it?" Cao Benshu asked, "How long has this kind of thing existed?"

Hu Huiqing replied, "The villain was already like this at the time when he was advancing in the Shibo Division eight years ago. But in the early days, he had to restrain himself a lot, and everyone was very scared. Gradually, he became less afraid. He felt that the imperial court would not come to investigate, and he became more and more courageous. The bigger it is. Especially that Chen Xianchun, after being a vice-president, even took the initiative to let businessmen evade taxes."

"Eight years, I'm afraid it will be longer." Cao Benshu knew that this time he was playing Dafa.

Eight years ago, some of the chief officials of the Municipal Shipping Department had been promoted to the central government, and some held important positions in the localities.How many people are involved? Cao Benshu asked, "Is Wang Cai corrupt?"

Hu Huiqing said, "Wang Tiju also came from a junior official in the Municipal Bureau of Shipping..."

Cao Benshu asked again, "Do you have relevant account books that are real accounts, not fake accounts for the court to see."

"I dare not stay." Hu Huiqing bowed her head and said.A small official suddenly said, "There is an account." Cao Benshu sat upright immediately, "You have saved the account." The official replied, "The villain does not have an account, but Fan Experience may have it." Cao Benshu asked, "Who is Fan Experience?"

The little official replied, "Fan Ching was transferred from Suzhou Datong Bank two years ago, and he was in charge of the cashier of the Shibo Department. Fan Ching had been in office for two months. It was not his business, and he also quietly inquired about it. Last year In spring, Fan Jingli died suddenly. It was rumored that someone had killed him. After Fan Jingli died, Wang Tiju personally attended to his funeral and brought people to Fan Jingli's home to sort out his belongings. I'm afraid …… He was searching the account books. Hearing this, Cao Benshu was furious. Not only was he corrupt, but he even dared to murder his colleagues.

Hu Huiqing said, "Fan Jijin is from Guizhou, and the journey is far away, so it is impossible to transport it back to his hometown. For such things, they must either be buried in Shanghai, or cremated and taken away by their family members. Fan Jijin...was cremated." That means there is no way to do an autopsy. .

Cremation is very popular in the south, and it was recorded in Dacheng in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.Not only those who die in other places choose to be cremated, but many local people also choose to be cremated when they die. There are even professions that specialize in burning corpses.

Cao Benshu continued to ask, "Fan Ching went to Shanghai to be an official, but did he bring his family or relatives with him?" maid'

Hu Huiqing said, "I hired a maid, and I don't know the details of this maid."

Suddenly, another small official wanted to make meritorious service, "Master Yushi, that maid lives in Fahua Town, and she is still a neighbor to the villain, but she got married last winter. As for where she will marry, the villain is not too clear. Fahua Town , is Xujiahui, named after Fahua Temple.

The temple fell into disrepair for a long time and was directly demolished, and the monks also returned to the common people and became common people.

The place name of Lujiazui already exists, and it was named after Lu Shen, the ancestor of Lu Guang who was investigated a few days ago.It took Cao Benshu five days to invite the maid named Wu Lian.At first, Wu Lian didn't say anything, just kept crying and shaking her head.

Cao Benshu was even more certain that the maid must know something, so she comforted her with kind words for two days.

Guo Lian finally said, "My lord, Mr. Fan is a good man. He...he stored a small box in the bank, saying that he would not live for a few days, and asked the girl to bring it to the Inspector of Integrity. He also said that there was something in the box. Ten taels of silver, take it out and give it to a girl as a dowry." "Why don't you go get it?" Cao Benshu asked.

"Minnv dare not," Guo Lian said, "on the second day of Fan Xianggong's cremation, Minnv's house came at night. Minnv's father and elder brother were beaten and forced to hand over things. Minnv was so frightened. He couldn't speak, but he didn't hand over Fan Xianggong's box. Later, he was really scared, so he hurriedly married and went to the neighboring county."

Cao Benshu asked, "Where is the access certificate?"

Wu Lian said, "When those villains came to the door, the women swallowed them up." "Do you know those villains?" Cao Benshu asked again.

"There are more than ten people in total, and Minnv knows two of them," Guo Lian said. "One is Liu Er and the other is Zhu Huhu. They are both nicknames. Cao Benshu immediately ordered the arrest and sent people to Datong Bank to pick up the things.

Unfortunately, both Liu Er and Zhu Huhu have left Shanghai.The hooligans who hung out with them also all ran away, and went directly to the sea by boat. Some said they went to Luzon, and some said they went to Japan. silver.

Cao Benshu opened and read the posthumous letter first, "My name is Fan Hongjing, my style name is Ding'an, and I am from Kaili, Guizhou. My father died early, and my uncle oppressed me. Fortunately, I was raised by a loving mother. Thanks to Your Majesty, I took back three shops of my deceased father, and I have the financial resources to support them." My old mother... Now I am an experience of the Shanghai Shipping Department. There are filth and filth here, and I must thoroughly investigate and rectify it... Wang Cai and Chen Xianchun, the deputy, knew that I was secretly investigating and invited me to join in the dirty work. I pretended to agree , I got more than [-] taels of dirty silver one after another...

"I drank with Wu Wengang, a sea merchant, and slandered him about the amount of tax evasion.

I am alert, and I am afraid that he will tell the truth, so I will deposit the account books I have created in Datong Bank, Shanghai County...

Chapter 923 [I have stabbed the sky]

Cao Benshu admires Fan Hongjing very much.

But Fan Hongjing's account books disappointed Cao Benshu.Most of the contents in the account books can be found out by comparing the transactions of the companies, but it is more troublesome and time-consuming.

Which officials took the dirty money and how to distribute it is the key to the investigation, but Fan Hongjing never got it.All clues to the case were cut off because of Chen Xianchun's suicide.

Wang Cai was promoted, but he did not plead guilty to life or death, and there was no evidence that he made money.As for the officials at the top, there is no way to investigate, unless everyone is arrested and tortured-this will lead to indiscriminate hunting, resulting in unjust, false and wrongly decided cases, and even the expansion of cases. "Still no money was found," Cao Benshu asked.

The anti-corruption officer in charge of the search said, "I dug Wang's house three feet into the ground and only found a few hundred silver dollars. I am afraid that the dirty silver is stored in private banks, and it does not use formal accounts, and there is no access certificate. It is impossible to find out." .'

Cao Benshu frowned, no dirty money was found, no evidence of corruption was found, and even the gangster suspected of murder disappeared without a trace.Such a big case can only be investigated to Chen Xianchun who committed suicide in fear of crime.

Fan Hongjing said in his last letter that Wang Cai wanted to drag him into the water.But the person is dead, and there is no basis for his words, so Wang Cai can completely dismiss it. "Just check the account ten years ago!" Cao Benshu said.

Ten years ago, Wang Cai was still a petty official. He personally handled the tariffs, and if there were any problems, he could be convicted.

But everyone was embarrassed. The old accounts from ten years ago had to be compared with the accounts of the Department of Education, Suppliers, Foreign Traders, and Shipping Department, transaction by transaction.Some firms closed down, some changed their careers, and some went to other provinces to do business. The workload was simply killing people.Moreover, those officials of the Municipal Bureau of Shipping who were investigated all said that corruption was relatively restrained at the beginning.Ten years ago, the old account, even if the problem is found, is a small amount, and the officials at that time were not so rampant. "Cao Jin, the case has progressed"

Just when Cao Benshu was frowning, the interrogation of Chen Xianchun's family members suddenly had a new breakthrough.

Chen Xianchun was an official in Shanghai, so he didn't bring his wife, but only his second son, who had committed suicide, and a few relatives of the same clan who worked in the old house.Most of those close friends didn't know what to ask, and the only valid information they provided was that Chen Xianchun liked to associate with certain people.Officials and businessmen who often interacted with Chen Xianchun had been brought under control at this time, but it was still difficult to find out what the case was.

The two confidantes of Chen Xianchun's father and son are currently missing, and it is not known whether they ran away or were killed and hid their bodies.There is an orchid standing under the hall, whose name is Haitang.

Cao Benshu asked, "You said that the day before Chen Xianchun and his son committed suicide, a stranger came to visit unexpectedly."

"It was around four o'clock in the afternoon," Haitang recalled. "My son (the second son of Chen Xianchun) was going home in a carriage. When he turned the corner, someone got into the carriage suddenly, which surprised me." Cao Benshu asked " Why didn't the coachman say he saw someone?"

Haitang explained, "The man avoided the driver, climbed directly to the rear of the car, and said in a low voice, 'It's me'. After hearing this, the young master opened the small door at the back of the car, put the man into the carriage, and asked the driver to drive the carriage away. Backyard. When we got to the backyard, the young master dismissed the entourage and the coachman, and asked the entourage to invite the master as well." "You were there at the time," Cao Benshu asked.

Haitang said, "No, the young master asked me to go back to my room to rest. After more than half an hour, the young master came back to my courtyard, sighed and asked my concubine to get the wine, and then drank in the courtyard by myself." "After drinking the wine, do it again." What?" Cao Benshu asked.

Haitang said: "After drinking, the young master went to the master's side. When I woke up the next day, I found out that the master and the young master both committed suicide. Cao Benshu asked again, "Your young master, do you usually say anything in your dreams or strange things?"

Haitang said: "One month ago, the young master was suddenly depressed, and asked my concubine to dance for him. That night, the young master had a nightmare, and some of the words in the dream were inaudible, but one sentence was 'Don't kill me'."

A month ago, when Cao Benshu was about to arrive in Shanghai, did he call out anyone's name? Cao Benshu asked. "No," Haitang shook her head, and added, "Maybe she shouted, but I didn't hear clearly." Cao Benshu asked, "Do you remember what the stranger who got into the carriage that day looked like?"

Haitang said, "I'm wearing Taoist robes and a big hat. The brim of the hat covers the nose, and only the mouth and chin can be seen. By the way, it's a bearded man with whiskers on his cheeks."

Cao Benshu was silent for a while, feeling that the clue was about to be cut off again.

This person can cover his face with the brim of his hat, which shows that he is deliberately hiding his appearance.Then his beard may have been glued on on purpose.Cao Benshu asked again, "How tall is it?"

Haitang said, "He stooped into the car and bowed his head after sitting down. It's not easy to see how tall he is." "There are no scoundrels, scars, etc." Cao Benshu asked again. "No." Haitang shook her head.

Cao Benshu called all those who had been following him that day for questioning, and took Haitang to the scene to testify. "I got on the bus at this corner." Haitang said.

An incorruptible official who was in charge of tracking said, "I rented a carriage and followed it about three or four feet away. When the Chen family's carriage turned the corner, I didn't notice anything unusual. When I followed the corner, I also didn't see anyone getting on it. car.'

Cao Benshu said, "You are three or four feet away from him, that is to say, the time from when the stranger jumped onto the back of the carriage to being put into the carriage must not exceed half a minute."

"How can there be half a minute, at most ten seconds!" said the clean government official.Haitang echoed, "Young Master opened the door very quickly, it seems that we have made an appointment." Cao Benshu immediately went to a nearby shop and asked if anyone saw it.The result is nothing, time has passed too long, even if you see it, you may forget it.The incorruptible official suddenly said: "At that time, the carriage I rented almost collided with a pair of sliding poles when it turned a corner! The two bearers who picked up the sliding poles probably saw the people getting on the carriage."

Cao Benshu immediately ordered to find the bearers in the urban area.This method really worked, two bearers stood up and said that they had indeed bumped into each other.

Cao Benshu asked, "After so many days, how do you still remember?"

A bearer said, "Mr. Chen's big carriage is the only one in the whole city. It is more beautiful than the carriage of the sea merchant. Whenever I meet him, I will forget. "You saw that man getting on the carriage." Cao Benshu asked.

The bearer shook his head, "I see. At that time, the grass-roots thought, what audacity would dare to pick up the rear of Mr. Chen's car. Who would have thought that Mr. Chen would open the door and let that man in." "See if he looks like it?"

"No, the hat covers the face, so I remember it's a beard." Well, it was a waste of effort.

An incorruptible official named Cai Gang, who was in charge of monitoring the mansion, suddenly said, "This man has gone in, he must come out. The brothers watched all over the mansion, and did not find any suspicious people coming in and out, and no more The carriage has left."