Chapter 191 Yingtai Sunset (3-1)

Sure enough, Lu Chuanlin and Qing Rui had already made an appointment, and told Jiang Shixuan face-to-face that they would meet at the Metropolitan Procuratorate early the next morning. After he met the two officials, he immediately went to HSBC to investigate the case. There are still two sedan chairs and one car, surrounded by front and back, and arrive at Dongjiaomin Lane.Lu Chuanlin, who was sitting in the sedan chair, was waiting for foreigners from HSBC Bank to come out to greet him, when a middle-aged man came out, walked to the sedan chair and asked casually, "My lords, do you want to see us?" Mr. Hillier, the foreign steward?"

"That's right! Mr. Qing and I are here to investigate the case by order." "Oh, please!" The middle-aged man introduced himself: "I am the comprador here, my surname is Yang." So the two first-rank officials got off the sedan chair in front of the bank and were ushered into the guest room. There was already a foreigner waiting. Yang comprador was also honest and blunt, sitting between the host and guest, introduced the names of both parties, Hillier asked: "What are they here for?" When Yang comprador translated the words, Lu Chuanlin replied: "We have received the imperial edict to thoroughly investigate the deposits of Prince Qing Yikuang. Please take a look at the deposit register."

Just as Natong expected, Xilier refused straight away: "The register of depositors is not allowed to be published according to the regulations." "It doesn't matter if you don't look at the roster." Lu Chuanlin quickly gave in, "Just tell us, how much money does Prince Qing have in your savings?" "Whoever deposits in the bank cannot be announced according to the regulations." This time, Lu Chuanlin got a little angry, but he didn't dare to attack, "Then," he asked, "Have you had any contact with Prince Qing?" This time, Hillier's answer was very clear: "I haven't seen this prince at all." At the end of the sentence, Lu Chuanlin asked Qing Rui: "Qiu Weng, do you have anything to ask?"

"I can't ask anything." "So, what about you, Mr. Jiang Du?" "I came here with the two adults by order, but I was not allowed to ask questions in the imperial edict." "You mean, you have nothing to say?" "yes!" "Okay! Let's go then." This trip is also more boring than the day before, so I had to go back to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to discuss the replay. "Only report on the facts." Qing Rui replied: "Foreigners are unreasonable, and the higher-ups know it too, so we won't blame us for our inaccurate investigation."

"Chen Zuo according to the facts! Yes, Chen Zuo according to the facts." Lu Chuanlin said: "Just ask my brother to write the main manuscript like this!" So Qingrui asked someone to draw up a memorial: "On the second day of this month, the Minister of Military Affairs delivered the decree, and the censor Jiang Shixuan played it. The government bank invited the relatives and noble ministers to buy shares, and the capital was 10% off. Yikuang said that he had deposited private funds, etc., so he sent Qingrui and Lu Chuanlin to take the censor with him to the bank to check the records. I hereby. Arrive at the office immediately, inform the censor Jiang Shixuan, and go to HSBC together It happened to be Sunday, and there was no one in the bank. I went back on the third day of the new year and met with the manager of the bank, the foreigner Xilier, and the comprador Yang Shaowo. First, I used the bank's charter as an excuse to inquire about the exchange and deposits. Asked whether Chinese officials have deposited interest in the bank? He replied that the bank has regulations, whoever deposits, and is not allowed to tell others. Then asked whether he had any contact with Prince Qing, and he replied that Prince Qing had never seen it. Inquired about its account , it is said that there is a copy of each Chinese and foreign characters, and it is never allowed to show others. What is the evidence of the censor? It is called a rumor, and the official rules are accurate, so it is not presumptuous to report it. I would like to report Confirm the situation, and replay it according to the facts."

The name "confirmed investigation" is actually a one-sided word, but the sentence "Prince Answer Yiqing has never seen it" is very powerful, implying that no one has seen it yet, so how can he deposit money.On the zhezi, there are people who have been fawning on Yikuang for a long time at the bottom of the zhezi, and they are copied to the government.When Yikuang saw it, a stone fell from his heart, as soon as Wang Zhuxuan arrived, he could withdraw the money and deposit it in another bank. Of course Jiang Shixuan also knew the content of the replay.He sneered and said, "What is this called a confirmation investigation? It's completely just to excuse King Qing. If there is no accident in the future, it will be fine. If there is an accident, look at these two senior officials, and you will be able to walk around without food!"

"What happened?" someone asked. "In the future, if it is found out that King Qing does have HSBC deposits, what should I say? If the sentence 'I would like to confirm the situation' is changed to 'I will not confirm the reasons for not being able to confirm the situation, and repeat it according to the facts.'" No. According to the current theory, if there is any evidence of the deposit in the future, Qing and Lu will either deceive or cover up, and the crime is not light." These words reached Yikuang's ears, and he was secretly startled, so when Wang Zhuxuan arrived, Yikuan ordered Zaizhen to tell him that two things must be done, one is to withdraw money, and the other is to write off the account, without any trace.

Wang Zhuxuan agreed and went there, and replied the next day: "Foreigners, if you withdraw money, you can't write off the account, and if you write off the account, you can't withdraw the money. Choose one of the two, and I'm here to ask for instructions." "Withdrawal without cancellation, this makes sense. Cancellation without withdrawal, how can it work? Accounts are canceled, where is the deposit?" "Oh, I didn't make it clear." Wang Zhuxuan smiled apologetically, "Foreigners mean, the honored money is changed to a different account name, and it is still stored in HSBC for at least three months. As for the account name of 'Qing Ji', insurance sales without a trace."

"That's fine! What account name do you want to change?" "Hear your respect." Zai Zhen thought for a while and said, "It's better to use 'An Ji'." "Yes! I'll go through the formalities." Wang Zhuxuan said, "Please give me Qingji's passbook and stamp, Zhen Beizi." On the second day of arrival, Wang Zhuxuan sent a new "An Kee" passbook, which was a two-month fixed-rate deposit, and two other stamps, one "Celebrating", and the other "An Kee" engraved on his behalf . A turmoil was easily overcome, and the deposit was not damaged. What is even more gratifying is that the reply to Qingrui and Lu Chuanlin's replay, reprimanded Jiang Shixuan, saying, "The officials should report the incident according to the facts. Straightforwardly, how can you make unfounded statements and make a statement? The situation is serious and the name is at stake. How can you allow arbitrary slander? The censor will go back to the original yamen, and I will punish you lightly."

Jiang Shixuan is a censor selected by the Hanlin Academy in the "Open Interview". "Going back to the original yamen" means still going back to the Imperial Academy to work as an editor, which is actually equivalent to lowering the tone.In the eyes of Yikuang and his son, it was really a joyful event, so they saw Wang Zhuxuan's affection very much. Wang Zhuxuan, however, was less grateful, and got closer to Zai Zhen.After two months like this, he suddenly bid farewell to Prince Qing's Mansion, saying that he was transferred back to Shanghai.Let's make a promise that if Zai Zhen goes south on business, he must stop in Shanghai for a while and let him be a good host.They got along well, but suddenly they wanted to break up hotly, Zaizhen felt sad for two or three days.

When the deposit expired in three months, Yikuang thought about it one day, and thought it would be better to bring it up and keep it on hand.So he sent a trusted guard named Ha Shishan to withdraw the money with the passbook stamp, but he returned empty-handed with a frustrated face. "what happened?" "The money was withdrawn." Yikuang was shocked and confused, "How could it be?" He said, "You must have gone to the wrong place, right?" "That's right! Isn't it next to the bank of the German embassy?" "Well! What did they say?" "It is said that the passbook has been reported lost, and a new passbook has been issued. This passbook will not be counted." "Not counting?" Zai Zhen was very confused, but what about the seal? " "The seal has been changed. This one doesn't work either." "Who changed it?" "That, that, no question." "You don't need to ask, sir!" A cashier who knows the rules of the bank interrupted: "It was cheated, it was Wang Zhuxuan's good deed." According to the deduction of this tent, Wang Zhuxuan's hands and feet are easy, the key is to hand over the passbook and stamp of "Qing Ji" to someone, which is equivalent to offering 600,000 taels of silver with both hands, please accept it with a smile.As for the bankbook and seal of "Anji", it was genuine at first, but since Wang Zhuxuan had bad intentions, he could seal it on two blank books in advance, one for reporting the loss and applying for a new one, and one for changing the seal .In this way, the passbook and the seal of "Anji" in the Wangfu became useless. No wonder Wang Zhuxuan was transferred to Shanghai, it was a step that had been planned long ago.It's all strange and strange, but at the beginning, he lost his temper and lost 600,000 silver, so he had to admit that he was dumb. But Yikuang was not as open as his son, and because he was dumb, he couldn't vent his breath and felt even more uncomfortable.He has a long face all day long, and no happy and interesting things can make him break his face and smile. Jiang Shixuan was in the opposite state of mind to Yikuan, who received 200,000 silver from Wang Zhuxuan, although it was one-third less than the original half-half agreement, but he was already satisfied, and would wake up from his dreams in the middle of the night laughing.Of course, if you have money, you might as well spend it openly. Anyway, he has made a fortune from his wife, and his ostentation is far better than that of "borrowing debts from Beijing", so it is not easy to see if he is rich. This is Jiang Shixuan's own thinking, and others see it differently.Especially for a newly built residence, the majesty of the water-polished brick wall alone is no less than that of the Wangfu.Being in the Imperial Academy in Beijing, and letting the examiners from Guangdong, and the underachievers from Sichuan, can they still make a fortune?After inquiring under this question, the truth that Yikuang and his son were fooled, as well as the black and white between Jiang Shixuan and his wife, were revealed. So, one morning, the servants of Jiang's family found that people were crowded under the wall. They went to see that there were sixteen bright red characters written on the large water-milled bricks, which were a couplet against Gongwen: "Resign On the Baitai, the clothes are impeccable; if you live in a luxurious house, you have chickens at home." I don't know what kind of special foreign paint is used, and it can't fade away no matter how much it is scrubbed.So Jiang Shixuan's face also elongated. ※ ※ ※ For the loss of 600,000 silver, the price of door bags in Prince Qing's Mansion has increased again.Moreover, the rules are stricter, there is no flexibility, and you cannot enter the door without a door bag.There are also some honest people who don't inquire about the market, and when they see Qing Wang Yikuang's brilliant handwriting, which is posted high on the wall, and it is strictly forbidden to accept door bags, they believe it to be true, so that they are in vain. There was a Henan Xuezheng Lin Kaimo who went to Beijing for official business. After returning to his post, he paid a visit to the dignitaries as usual and bid farewell. In the end, there was only one place left in Yikuang. He went there three times and did not see him. "All the ministers in Beijing have seen each other. As long as they see the prince, they can leave. That's why it's so hard to see!" "It's easy to meet." A smile on the door of Prince Qing's Mansion said, "If you're interested, you'll naturally invite me in!" "I mean? What do you mean?" Looking at him from the door, he looked like a nerd, so he said honestly: "I'll just tell Mr. Lin, I have to reward you with a bag." "Look, butler!" Lin Kaimo pointed to the inscription on the wall: "My lord has something to say, how dare I?" "My lord, I have to say that, Mr. Lin, you can't save this money." Lin Kaimo didn't want to save the money, but he didn't prepare for it.If you send someone back to the inn to pick it up, it will delay your time, so you can't help but hesitate. At this moment, a blue woolen car with the rear gear sped up, and when the curtain was lifted, a red-capped lion man Xu Shichang came out. When he saw Lin Kaimo, he asked, "Is the old uncle out of Beijing yet?" It turned out that Lin Kaimo's father was Lin Tianling, one of the famous Hanlin in the early years of Tongzhi. He was selected to walk in the Hongde Hall, but he taught the eldest son of Prince Gong Zhong who was accompanied by Muzong.At that time, among the young relatives and nobles, Zai Cheng's talent was unparalleled, and his naughtiness was also the most naughty. He insulted his master and did everything.Lin Tianling was overwhelmed with emotion and insisted on leaving. In order to express his apology, Old Gong Wang managed to release him as an examiner in the south of the Yangtze River.There was a student from Zhenjiang, named Zhi Hengrong, who later entered the Hanlin Academy and was Xu Shichang's room teacher for the exam. Therefore, Xu Shichang became Lin Tianling's pupil. Considering his seniority, he should naturally call Lin Kaimo "Uncle Shi". "I'm here to see the prince." Lin Kaimo replied, "Then you know that the palace still has..." "I know, I know!" Xu Shichang didn't let him continue, "Uncle Shi, wait a moment." Not long after, the door said: "Please, my lord!" This was naturally the result of Xu Shichang's one word, and it is conceivable that the face on the door will not be good-looking. ※ ※ ※ After sending off Xu Shichang and Lin Kaimo, Yikuang received a long-awaited visitor. This person's name is Zhou Rongyao, and his identity is quite strange. Zhou Rongyao wears a dark blue top hat and lives in a fourth-rank official residence, but he has always been a book office, the book office in charge of the Guangdong Customs Treasury, with his hands and eyes open to the sky, and made a fortune of several million silver.From Li Hongzhang, Tan Zhonglin to Deshou, most of the successive governors of Guangdong and Guangxi looked at him differently, but since last summer, they have met their nemesis. This nemesis is Cen Chunxuan.As soon as he took office, he first became a military officer and then a civil servant.Pan Ying, the commander-in-chief of Nan'ao Township, and Tang Shengyu, the registered commander-in-chief of Liuqing Town, were dismissed from their posts and sent to the army.Among the civil officials, Pei Jingfu, the magistrate of Nanhai County, who is known as a capable member in Guangdong, bears the brunt of the civil servants.Who knew that Pei Jingfu was also very powerful, and somehow no one came forward to report him.So Pei Jingfu asked for a fine to help pay, but Cen Chunxuan had no choice but to agree.After he was released, Pei Jingfu took a wrong step and fled to Macau privately.This turned out to be an excuse, Cen Chunxuan negotiated several times, but to no avail, he sent warships to Macau in a fit of anger, and insisted on bringing Pei Jingfu back.As a result, he was extradited back to the province and was ordered to serve in Xinjiang. Cen Chunxuan has the addiction of being a member of the family. He takes part in a small part in three days, a big part in five days, and finally joins Wu Yong. Wu Yong was released from Gaolian Road in Guangdong when Xin Chou returned to Luan.When Cen Chunxuan took office, he was transferred to Lei Qiongdao. Hainan Island, where Han Yu and Su Dongpo lived in exile, is the jurisdiction.Wu Yong felt aggrieved by this tune, but Cen Chunxuan was still not satisfied with it. Eleven people participated in one excerpt, with Wu Yong at the top. According to common sense, the higher the list, the heavier the punishment. There are no exceptions, but there are exceptions!Cen Chunxuan's proposed punishment for Wu Yong was "please open the vacancies and send them to the Ministry for introduction", and the following ten will be confiscated and sent to Xinjiang, or dismissed from office and never employed.In this way, it seems that they have not forgotten the feelings of incense in the past, but in fact they have deep intentions. Because Cen Chunxuan knew that Wu Yong's family members were not in decline, if the punishment was too severe, Empress Dowager Cixi would be unhappy.Now it is listed with the bad guys with serious circumstances, and it ranks first, implying that Wu Yong's official voice is worse than those who should have confiscated their homes and sent them to the army, and the intentional mitigation of punishment is just a slap in the face and just a defense.If all the ten below are severely condemned, how can Wu Yong, who is at the top, be alone? But when Empress Dowager Cixi saw this note, she didn't take it seriously, and asked how to deal with the military plane?King Qing didn't answer, but Qu Hongji spoke. He was already very interested in marrying Cen Chunxuan, so he said seriously: "The country's system of more than two hundred years, the feudal officials of the border, and the participation and impeachment of subordinates are not prohibited. Of course, this book is handled as usual." "Wu Yong is a very conscientious person, and it won't be bad if he comes to be an official. I think I will keep this note." "Cen Chunxuan's plan for Wu Yong's punishment is too light. After being introduced by the Ministry, if the Empress Dowager wants to be kind, she can still use it." "Why bother?" "Play it back with the Queen Mother," Qu Hongji said, "There are several people in Cen Chunxuan's excerpts, and the plot is serious. It seems that it is inconvenient to keep all the excerpts together because Wu Yong is alone." The Empress Dowager Cixi felt slightly displeased, "I only know that Wu Yong is a very conscientious man, and he must be an official. For a person like Wu Yong, Cen Chunxuan wants to join him. There are many officials in the world who should join him. " She paused, patted the case slightly with her right hand, and said in a more emphatic tone: "Cen Chunxuan has always liked ginseng, and to be honest, it may not be true. For this note, I still advocate staying in China. " "Cen Chunxuan is doing things with all his heart, and now when he is rectifying the administration of officials, if his book is retained, it will encourage the luck of the greedy officials. Besides, Wu Yong is the first in all the papers, and there must be some unbearable things in it. If the emperor The empress dowager can give admonishment face to face, which is also the way to preserve Wu Yong." Qu Hongji felt that what he said was very crowning, and it could win a lot of face for Cen Chunxuan.Who knows that his perception of Wu Yong is exactly the opposite of the Empress Dowager Cixi's deeply imprinted memory. Whoever says Wu Yong is not good, Empress Dowager Cixi doesn't take it seriously.The more he persevered, the worse the evil became, and finally the old lady was aroused to change color! "Could it be that people who Cen Chunxuan says are bad must be bad? I know that Cen Chunxuan's words are not very reliable, and I know that Wu Yong will definitely not be bad! From this, it can be inferred that other people are not necessarily bad either!" She repeatedly hit case, "Stay in China! I am determined to stay in China! I am determined to stay in China!" This appearance is actually disgusting with Qu Hongji.Not only Qing Wang Yikuang's face is earthy, but even Wang Wenshao and Lu Chuanlin, who are hard of hearing, feel terrified.Qu Hongji touched such a big nail that he had never seen since he joined the military, his pale face naturally looked even paler. Returning the value back to the government, Qu Hongji had to send a letter to Guangzhou after the court dispute.Cen Chunxuan naturally found it boring, but he learned how to be a good boy, knowing that if he wants to join others in the future, he must describe his bad deeds in detail.Shen Wuyong was self-defeating, if he listed any crimes, even if the Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to protect her, she would at least have to send staff to thoroughly investigate this cover-up procedure, so as not to detain them all and make the other ten people cheaper. Among the other ten people was Zhou Rongyao.He was lucky enough to escape this hurdle, but he was still in a cold sweat. He knew that Cen Chunxuan would never let him go, and he would do it sooner or later. If he didn't make his own plans sooner or later, there would be no disaster. day. Therefore, he quietly made plans in secret.The first step was to send someone to Beijing to donate a fourth-rank title; the second step was to find a connection with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and accept Li Lianying; The third step is to go to Beijing for activities in person. Before the person arrives, 800,000 silver has already been remitted to Beijing, but such a wealthy guest lives in an ordinary inn along the East River.The clothes are plain and unpretentious, try to avoid being ostentatious, and the moves are astonishing, the door bag of Prince Qing's Mansion gave away 500 taels, seven times more than others.Therefore, quite a few people spoke well of him in front of Yikuang, and Yikuang didn't take it lightly. When they met each other, Yikuang couldn't help being surprised and a little disappointed. He really couldn't see what strengths Zhou Rongyao had?With language barriers in place, he felt that the words were not speculative, so the host served tea to see off the guests before the chairs were warmed up. Zhou Rongyao understood the rules in the officialdom, stood up hurriedly, took out a red envelope from his sleeve, held it in both hands, and said: "The prince will reward you." Yikuang didn't answer, just said: "You must not, you must not!" Zhou Rongyao had been instructed, and knew that this sentence would be said several times a day in Yikuang sometimes, just like what was said on the door of the palace: "You have to say the words of the prince", and you "can't save money".Then he put the red envelope on the table, saluted and resigned.Yikuang gave a few steps away, and when Zhou Rongyaoqian asked to "stay", Haha turned around and left, picked up the red envelope, and took out the bank note with two fingers, he couldn't help being dumbfounded, it was 40,000 taels Big red envelope! So his perception of Zhou Rongyao changed again, and of course he also thought that if he made such a move, he must have something to desire.It happened that Natong came to visit, so I mentioned this person by the way. "There is a man named Zhou in Guangdong Customs. Have you met him?" "Yes." Natong replied, "People are not bad." "What does he want to do in Beijing?" Na Tong knew the amount of Zhou Rongyao's contribution, and he also got some benefits, so naturally he had to do his best. "Although Zhou Rongyao's background is not high, he is very capable, proficient in foreign affairs, and good at socializing. If he is sent to that country to handle negotiations, he will be a good hand." "Does he want to be envoy?" "It doesn't seem to be a problem to send it to a small country." Yikuang thought for a while, then nodded and said, "This will have to wait for an opportunity. Since you know him, there must be a chance to meet him. I ask you to bring him a word, and I will pay attention to him." "Yes!" Natong paused for a moment and said, "He also told me that if he is cultivated by the prince, he will also have filial piety." Yikuang thought for a while, "Things are difficult, let's talk about it!" He asked again: "Are you from the office? Any news?" The so-called "administration" refers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although Qu Hongji used to be a minister and minister, he spent a lot of time in the military aircraft department. On the contrary, Na Tong, the minister who was not also a minister, came to the Ministry every day. Regarding the situation of the Japanese-Russian war, It is relatively clear, and he often meets with the Japanese Minister Uchida Yasuya. At this time, Yikuang asked, and immediately replied: "I am going to ask the prince for instructions. Uchida said that Japan has decided to set up the headquarters of the Manchurian Army. The commander-in-chief is Dashanyan. , the Chief of Staff is Kodama Gentaro.In addition, there is a chief of staff in the base camp, who is Youpeng from Shan County.Uchida said that Japan is very sure about the war, and what's more, the war against Russia is to win back the three eastern provinces for China.China should not stand idly by.... " "That's not right!" Yi Kuang interrupted him and said, "First, China and Russia have a secret treaty, according to the public law of all nations, they should send troops to help Russia, and now they use the Liaohe River as the boundary to maintain neutrality, which is invisibly helping Japan. Second, Wei Ting has sent his advisor, Banxi, who disguises himself as a Chinese, and often goes out to the Japanese camps to make contact, how else can he help Japan?" "I told Uchida the same way. Uchida made two requests. First, he wanted to see the secret treaty between China and Russia. Second, he wanted to ask China to allow them to recruit red beards outside the customs and fight Russia for them." "The second point is not good, it will attract right and wrong. The first point, you might as well allow him, but you have to make it clear first." "Yes." Natong paused for a moment and said, "Uchida told me about the red beard. He took over with Wei Ting, and Wei Ting agreed to help him secretly." Yikuang immediately interjected: "Since Weiting has agreed to him, of course there is nothing wrong with it." "I also think there is nothing wrong with it. If you are afraid of Russia's protest, you might as well send a note to Japan and ask him to stop it. Isn't this just an explanation on the surface?" "Okay! This method is good! Let's do it like this."