Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 258: Golden House Hidden, Seventeen Beauties

Yang Yuan was surprised to see Cao Yong prostrating himself on the ground.

What kind of important event must have happened that could make a second-rank official of the imperial court, the God of Wealth of the Song Dynasty who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, bow down to him so regardless of his status?
However, although Yang Yuan was shocked in his heart, he did not look panicked at all.

During the years he worked at Youqiu Media, he came into contact with many secrets and met many glamorous figures.

This is also the look on those great men when they are beset with bad luck, in great distress, or about to fall from grace.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope, they will decisively abandon all dignity and decency and beg desperately with a humiliating face.

Even ordinary people, when faced with such difficulties, may not be able to humble themselves like them. That is what is called "being able to bend and stretch".

Yang Yuan knew very well that he had to remain calm at a time like this. Whether the thing could be done or not was still unclear, so he had to maintain his composure.

Even if things cannot be done in the end, he must be made to believe that his end is the best result after other people's efforts to mediate.

Yang Yuan put down the teacup, stood up calmly, and stepped aside to show that he did not accept the courtesy.

Then he stepped forward, bent down, helped Cao Yong up, sighed softly, and said: "Mr. Cao, your matter is indeed very difficult to handle."

In fact, Yang Yuan still doesn’t know what happened to Cao Yong.

Upon hearing this, Cao Yong became even more panicked. Even his life-saving straw said that his problem was difficult to solve. Cao Yong felt even more desperate.

"Please help me think of a solution. I don't want to keep my reputation or position, but I want to get out of this unscathed. That's all I want."

"Don't be impatient. You know your own business best. Sit down and talk slowly. There may be something we don't understand, and perhaps a turning point lies there."

Yang Yuan patted his hands with a smile, offered him a seat, and asked Cao Yong to sit down.

Cao Yong, in a daze, picked up the tea that he had previously served to County Magistrate Xu and drank it all in one gulp.

Yang Yuan said calmly: "Mr. Cao, calm down first, and then tell me the whole story."

"No more delay, no more delay. I'm fine."

Cao Yong calmed himself down and immediately told Yang Yuan what had happened.

From the 20th to the 22nd year of Shaoxing, Cao Yong served as the deputy envoy of Liangzhe Transportation.

In the 23rd year of Shaoxing, he was transferred to be the prefect of Yuezhou.

In the 24th year of Shaoxing, he was promoted to the prefect of Lin'an Prefecture, and half a year later, he was also the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Now it is the last quarter of the 24th year of Shaoxing, and he has been promoted to Minister of Revenue.

Looking at his rocket-like promotion speed, we can tell that he was a person cultivated by Qin Hui.

The domestic section of the Jin people's smuggling route this time was mainly from Shanyin to Lin'an.

Lin'an is also an important commodity distribution center, but if all bulk goods are purchased in Lin'an, it will attract too much attention.

Lin'an has an "Imperial City Administration" which has an additional layer of surveillance network compared to other places.

Therefore, Shanyin became their main purchasing place for goods, and Lin'an was just a transit station.

During the transfer process, the substance is transferred several times to make the source more concealed.

In this smuggling route, the main operator on the Shanyin side was the Liangzhe Transportation Bureau.

The people in the Liangzhe Transportation Bureau were all Cao Yong’s old colleagues and colleagues.

As for Lin'an, he was the prefect and the "actual manager", which directly provided a lot of convenience.

Qin Hui cooperated with Wanyan Zheng and gave him the green light to engage in smuggling, and the matter was left to Cao Yong.

Qin Hui himself would naturally not leave any evidence.

If the imperial court investigated this matter alone, Cao Yong would inevitably be dismissed from office and exiled.

Now, a "Ma Huang Crossbow" was found among the smuggled goods, and the situation has become more serious.

The emperor was furious. For Emperor Zhao, who was extremely insecure, this touched his bottom line.

Faced with the furious Zhao Gou, Qin Hui could only temporarily avoid the attack.

Many of Qin Hui's cronies were implicated. Now it seems that no matter whether the "Ma Huang Crossbow" case can be thoroughly investigated or not, an explanation must be given to the government and the public.

A second-rank official, the Minister of Revenue, is obviously qualified to make this explanation.

So, Cao Yong became a discarded pawn.

After hearing this, Yang Yuan said, "Lord Cao, there are only you and me here, and you don't have to admit anything you said once you leave here.

So, I want to ask you a sincere question now, is it true that you didn't get the Mahuang Crossbow?"

Cao Yong said with a bitter face: "Mr. Yang, I have been an official for half my life, so I know the importance of things.

Before Cao became famous, he worked as a liquor tax supervisor. Later, he held various positions, including Deputy Envoy of Transport and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, all of which involved dealing with money.

There are many ways to make money, why do you need to do such a deadly business?"

"Besides, I am only a civil servant and have never been involved in military affairs. How can I get this kind of national weapon that is still under secret supervision? What's more..."

Cao Yong said with a distressed look: "Cao is now an official in Lin'an!

If we can get the Mahuang Crossbow, why would we send it to Shanyin and then go through so much trouble to transport it back to Lin'an from Shanyin? Isn't that just a waste of time?"

Yang Yuan pondered, "Is there a forge workshop of the Military Equipment Bureau in Shanyin?"

Cao Yong said: "Yes, there are, but the skilled craftsmen are all concentrated in the weapon workshop in Lin'an.

I think, since the imperial court attaches so much importance to the Mahuang Crossbow, they would not give it to the craftsman workshop in Shanyin to manufacture it? This... Cao is really not sure. "

Yang Yuan had just taken on the task of investigating the "Ma Huang Nu Case". Since Cao Yong was related to this, he became interested and thought that he might be able to find a breakthrough from Cao Yong's side and solve the case.

But judging from Cao Yong's words and expressions, he did not seem to be lying and probably knew nothing about the origin of this "Mahuang Crossbow".

Yang Yuan said, "Mr. Cao is now in the palace, and has not been punished. The court has not restricted your movements. Why did Mr. Cao conclude that the government intends to kill you?"

Cao Yong hesitated for a moment before whispering, "This is...my daughter secretly sent someone to inform me."

"Your daughter?" Yang Yuan wondered, could it be Cao Miao, the girl who coaxed Madam Tong to go to Phoenix Mountain to find the cat last time?

Did she hear this from Madam Tong? Madam Tong... shouldn't know about this.

After Cao Yong explained, Yang Yuan finally understood that Cao Yong was talking about his eldest daughter.

When Cao Yong's eldest daughter was thirteen years old, she married Qin Hui.

Saying it is "marrying" is actually just flattering yourself.

Because Qin Hui's wife was the granddaughter of former prime minister Zheng Juzhong, Cao Yong's eldest daughter was actually Qin Hui's concubine.

However, due to Cao Yong's status and position, the status of this concubine in the Qin family is higher than that of ordinary concubines.

While the emperor continued to show favor to the Qin family, he also conferred on her the title of "Lady Yan" and she became a court lady.

Then she could not be treated as a concubine, so the Cao family could say that their daughter was "married off".

It was this daughter of Cao Yong who realized from her husband Qin Hui that the Cao family was in a precarious situation, and she found ways to inform her father.

Yang Yuan thought, if I want to investigate the "Ma Huang Crossbow", I must go to Shanyin where the "Ma Huang Crossbow" was discovered.

Lu You's trip to Shen Garden will be soon, so it's a good opportunity to solve the problem at once.

Cao Yong worked as the deputy envoy of transportation in Shanyin for two years and was familiar with the place.

Even if he has nothing to do with this matter, I can learn more about the situation in Shanyin from him, which should be helpful to my investigation.

As for Cao Yong..., the always patient "Wanyan Jiumei" wants to pick up a knife and kill people, so the chance of saving him is probably slim.

Let's just deal with him perfunctorily for now; it's not worth worrying about him.

Thinking of this, Yang Yuan smiled and said, "I already know what Cao Gong said.

I will report this matter to my superiors, and if there is any news, I will contact Cao Gong."

Yang Yuan paused, and then said, "Lord Cao, there is no need to send anyone to look for me again. If I have any news, I will go to your residence to pay my respects."

When Cao Yong heard this, he felt that this was an attempt to throw him away like a big snot, but he felt that he could still save him!

Cao Yong said quickly: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Yang. Here is a small gift, please accept it first, Mr. Yang.

If Youqiusi can save me, I have prepared a great gift. I am willing to transfer all the shares of Hakata, Japan to Youqiusi.

As Cao Yong spoke, he stuffed a piece of hard-textured paper into Yang Yuan's hand.

Before Yang Yuan could examine the object, he was startled and asked, "Hakata, Japan?"

Cao Yong said: "Yes, I have a share deed in Hakata, Japan. With this share deed, I can earn... 1.6 million kan per year!"

Yang Yuan was shocked. He really didn't expect that Cao Yong could make so much money without showing off.

What is this money worth?

It is recorded in the Chronicle of the Years Since Jianyan that Yue Fei's army earned 1.58 million strings of cash a year from the interest collected from the 14 treasuries for public envoys, rewards, border defense, and trade, plus the conversion of rice from military farms, plus the income from pawnshops, restaurants, and gambling houses.

I don’t know what Cao Yong invested in Hakata Port in Japan, but this is the amount of money he could earn in a year.

The money Yue Fei earned was enough to support more than 100,000 soldiers of the Yue Family Army for three months.

Cao Yong also earns so much money, but he only supports his family. Can he spend it all?
I want to do justice for heaven!

Yang Yuan showed some interest in the Boduo shares, but his face was still cold and uninterested: "I understand. I will report Cao Gong's intentions. Cao Gong just waits for the news."

Cao Yong smiled bitterly and said, "Please ask the Youqiu Division to act faster. The government has arrested many people but has not touched me.

The emperor is worried that Prime Minister Qin will interfere, so he is forbearing and not taking any action. "

"The emperor must want to wait until all the evidence is available, so that he can arrest me and execute me as quickly as possible, without giving Prime Minister Qin a chance to react.

The emperor did not expect that Prime Minister Qin had given up on Cao. Cao's only hope of survival was to seek the help of Youqiu Si. "

In Cao Yong's mind, the only one who has the ability to move stars and change constellations is Qin Xiang.

Now even Prime Minister Qin has chosen to avoid the government's attention and has abandoned him. Who can save his life?

Now, we have to give it our all. Even if "Youqiu Si" only wants to save his family, he will be satisfied.

While Yang Yuan was secretly visiting Cao Yong, County Magistrate Xu took Emmanuelle Belle and Xue Liang to another place to drink tea and wait.

Only after Yang Yuan came out did County Magistrate Xu escort them out of the county government office together.

After Yang Yuan said goodbye to County Magistrate Xu, he walked for a distance and then took out the "note" that Cao Yong had forced upon him from his sleeve.

When Yang Yuan opened it, he found that it was actually a house deed.

After taking a closer look, Yang Yuan raised his eyebrows. What a coincidence.

This is a house with two entrances and two exits in Liufufang, Zuoyibei Lane, adjacent to Qingbo Gate.

After passing Qingbo Gate, you will see the West Lake scene of "Singing Orioles on the Willow Waves".

Liufufang is just diagonally opposite "Renmeifang" and is on the same side of the road as the Lin'an government office, not far away.

Yang Yuan turned around and smiled at Emmanuelle Belle, who was standing tall like a guard beside him:

"Belle, you're in luck. Come on, let's go check out the accommodations prepared for you and your sisters."

Emmanuelle Belle was a little surprised. I just reached a cooperation agreement with Mr. Yang, and I already have a place to live?

Looking ahead, it is very different from the street behind, and the landscape is more diverse.

Bei Er thought, "Could it be Mr. Yang's private estate?"

Thinking of this, she remembered a term that Mr. Song had taught her.

"Am I naive after all? Could it be that Mr. Yang wants to hide seventeen beauties in his golden house?"

(End of this chapter)