Chapter 1456: One Man After Another, One Case Upon Another

"Second Brother, the Huazhou case has nothing to do with me. I know nothing about it at all. If it hadn't come to light, I wouldn't have known that Zhang Jin was so audacious as to tamper with the river works. I absolutely had no part in this case!" Zhao Kuangmei spoke with agitation, urgently proclaiming his innocence.

His eyes were full of expectation, hoping Zhao Kuangyin would believe him. Yet such a performance was clearly far from convincing.

"If you had nothing to do with it, why come over in such a panic, trembling with guilt, seeking my counsel?" Zhao Kuangyin demanded.

"This..."

"At a time like this, what is there left that you cannot say!" Zhao Kuangyin was no ordinary man — merely recalling the recent public sentiment in the capital and the expanding scope of the Huazhou case gave him a fair guess, and he said at once: "What other trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

Zhao Kuangmei's behavior was like that of a child who had done wrong, needing Zhao Kuangyin to coax the words out of him. Hearing the question, however, he looked as if a weight had been lifted, and with his head slightly lowered, he said in a muffled voice: "Half a year ago, I attended a banquet at the Zhang residence. When we were deep in our cups, Zhang Jin proposed a way to make money..."

Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin's brow furrowed irrepressibly. Clearly, he absolutely did not believe it would be any legitimate business, but he said nothing further, merely waiting for him to finish.

Zhao Kuangmei dared not raise his head, and as if under interrogation, poured it all out in one breath: "In the spring of this year, the court carried out a currency reform, and since the state is short of silver, the price of silver soared. Now on the market, one tael of silver can be exchanged for nearly fifteen hundred cash — two hundred cash more than the official exchange rate set by the court.

Therefore, Zhang Jin proposed that we could profit from this."

In fact, the Great Han was currently in extreme shortage of silver, especially after the currency reform, when the market's demand for silver became even more desperate. The court was also making great efforts to solve the silver shortage — besides opening silver mines across the country to increase output, it was also importing silver from Goryeo and Japan.

Against this backdrop, the market's reaction was very real — the value of silver soared, and the value of all kinds of silverware rose as well. Under this policy, the high officials and nobles who were originally the main holders and users of silver clearly reaped enormous profits from it, almost as if picking it up for free.

Meanwhile, silk and copper cash, which had been the main transaction currencies in the past, inevitably fell in value. While the court and the nobility harvested a crop of leeks, those who sensed the enormous profits at stake could hardly resist starting to scheme — the interests involved were simply too great.

Listening to this, Zhao Kuangyin still kept a stern face, but what Zhao Kuangmei said next made him unable to hold it together: "We partnered and opened a silver mine in Shaozhou..."

"Bang!" Zhao Kuangyin slammed a broad palm onto the desk, shaking the brushes on the brush rack so they wobbled incessantly. Standing up, he roared in anger: "You have some nerve! Privately opening a silver mine — what crime is that, what punishment does it carry? Do I need to flip open the Criminal Code and read it to you?"

"Second Brother, I was drunk at the time and bewitched by Zhang Jin. Afterwards, I did regret it, but I had already agreed, and there were witnesses — it was hard to back out..." Zhao Kuangmei defended himself feebly.

"Bullshit!" Zhao Kuangyin, in his extreme fury, could not help cursing, his finger almost jabbing into Zhao Kuangmei's face: "I think you're just blinded by greed! Don't push all the blame onto Zhang Jin — he's a complete fool and a parasite, and you're not much better!"

"I wasn't the only one working with him — several other young lords present also took part!" Zhao Kuangmei said.

"Heh!" Zhao Kuangyin sneered: "Are you afraid of missing out on this money train too? Hm?"

"A man like Zhang Jin — even if you hadn't fallen into this case, you'd have tripped up on something else! It's also my fault for paying too little attention to you on ordinary days — I never knew you'd thrown in with him!" Zhao Kuangyin let out a sigh.

Hearing this, Zhao Dezhao, who had been standing silently to the side, felt his eyelids twitch. He looked at his fourth uncle, then at his father, and felt a mix of lingering fear and relief. Back at Princess Anping the Great's wedding banquet, Zhao Kuangyin had warned him not to associate with such people — and now, not long after, it proved that the old father had foresight.

Zhao Kuangmei's face twisted with bitterness, and he sank into dejection again, saying listlessly: "Second Brother, I know I was wrong. I've been regretting it all this time too. After the Huazhou case, I've been terrified — if Zhang Jin confesses this matter too, I, I... Second Brother, you must save me!"

Seeing his utterly panicked expression, Zhao Kuangyin's heart ultimately softened. He drew a deep breath, thought for a moment, and asked: "This silver mine you opened — what's its current situation, and how much did you take?"

"Two mines — there are two!" Zhao Kuangmei said, but meeting his brother's gaze that was turning angry again, he hurriedly lowered his head: "Everything is managed by Zhang Jin's people. Two months ago, they said it produced over seven thousand taels, and I took a share of nine hundred. Seeing that there was profit to be made, I found another mine..."

"Hmph! Truly outrageous profits! Others do all the work and worry, and you just sit back collecting money. Have you never considered that such good fortune doesn't exist in this world?" Zhao Kuangyin said coldly.

"Regret is useless now!" Zhao Kuangmei wished he could slap himself, and his face was indeed filled with remorse.

In fact, had it not been for the Huazhou case, this money-making channel of theirs might have truly operated for a long time. At least when it came to recruiting partners and building a network of interests, that Zhang Jin did have some skill, and he was willing to share the profits.

Having people like Zhao Kuangmei involved was like adding layer after layer of insurance to the chain of interests. Of course, only people of Zhao Kuangmei's standing could be so easily bewitched — the core scions of the great families mostly pursued official careers, reputation, and power, and would almost never stoop to chasing such vulgar silver-and-gold profits.

And stepping back, even the Huazhou case — had it not happened to fall into the Crown Prince's hands, with anyone else handling it, the outcome might have been different. This was the naked reality: the powerful are powerful because of their power, and they use power to protect their privilege.

"Where's the money?" Zhao Kuangyin asked.

"I didn't dare spend it — it's all buried in the manor outside the city!" Zhao Kuangmei said hastily, as if reporting an achievement.

"You can bury the dirty silver, but can you hide the dirty deed?" At this moment, Zhao Kuangyin truly wanted to grab a horsewhip and give his own brother a thorough beating.

"You didn't cast that silver into ingots, did you!" Zhao Kuangyin stared at him with fierce eyes.

"No, no, we didn't dare — they're all just silver cakes and loose bits of silver!" Zhao Kuangmei said hurriedly.

Of course, saying this was somewhat absurd, and the reason they hadn't cast coins was perhaps simply that the timing wasn't right, the output too low, and the craftsmanship not up to standard.

The silver coins cast by the Great Han's mint at present used very advanced techniques, were strictly managed, and were easy to distinguish.

Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin's expression finally relaxed somewhat. He sat down again and began to think seriously. Privately opening a silver mine was explicitly prohibited by the court, and the offense was already considerable — but compared to that, privately casting silver coins was a thoroughly suicidal act, truly undermining the court's foundations, defying the court's authority, and opposing the state's fiscal system.

Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin could still keep his composure. Various thoughts swirled in his mind as he sought a way out, but the more he thought, the graver his expression became, because no matter how he turned it over, there was no easy way to brush this aside.

"Go back for now. Let me think this over carefully — I'll inform you of what to do!" After a long while, Zhao Kuangyin looked up and instructed.

"Second Brother!" Without a clear answer, how could Zhao Kuangmei find the heart to leave?

"Remember, from now on, keep yourself out of trouble!" Zhao Kuangyin said sternly.

In fact, there was no need for Zhao Kuangyin's uncompromising warning — these days in the capital, all the snakes and demons were behaving themselves. Almost everyone of a certain standing had become mild, virtuous, respectful, and restrained. Brazenly defying the law was ultimately the province of only a few muddle-headed souls.

"You truly didn't cast any coins?" Zhao Kuangyin asked again.

Zhao Kuangmei was slightly taken aback, and instead became less confident: "I suppose not! The silver mine was all managed by Zhang Jin — I don't know the specifics..."

Hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin felt anger rising. For the first time, he felt a sense of frustration at his brother's lack of ambition.

Staring at him, Zhao Kuangyin asked in a deep voice: "Kuangmei, I want to know — isn't your annual salary and the income from your lands enough for you to live a life of luxury?"

At the question, Zhao Kuangmei's still rather handsome face showed a trace of dejection and shame, and he said: "Second Brother, I... have nothing to say!"

"Get out!" Zhao Kuangyin barked at once.

Zhao Kuangmei's body stiffened. Hanging his head, he made a bow, turned, and walked out with heavy, dragging steps.

"Wait!" The still stern voice halted Zhao Kuangmei's steps. Turning back, he saw Zhao Kuangyin ask: "Besides the silver mine, is there anything else?"

"This..." Zhao Kuangmei hesitated again.

Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin spat out one short, forceful word: "Speak!"

"A household servant partnered with someone in a timber trade, cutting some lumber in Qinlong to sell." Zhao Kuangmei's voice was very low.

Under Emperor Liu's leadership, to protect the soil and water, the court had issued a logging ban on the northwestern regions, especially for the deep forests and great trees. Needless to say, what Zhao Kuangmei was doing was no ordinary firewood business, but rather the great hardwoods on the banned list that could be used as building materials.

With the silver mine matter as a foundation, Zhao Kuangyin was much calmer now. He said nothing, merely staring at him. Zhao Kuangmei reacted quickly this time, and said with solemn emphasis: "Only those two matters — nothing else!"

"You may go!" Zhao Kuangyin waved his hand.

"Second Brother, what will happen to Zhang Jin?" Before leaving, Zhao Kuangmei asked hesitantly.

Zhao Kuangyin was blunt and cold: "You still have the mind to worry about him? Think about yourself! You'd best pray that when the prisoners are beheaded at the Southern Market one day, you're not among them!"

"Yes!" A flicker of fear crossed Zhao Kuangmei's bitter face, but looking at Zhao Kuangyin seated behind the desk, he inexplicably gained a bit of confidence — yet his steps remained heavy.

Zhao Dezhao cast a glance at the deeply grim-faced Zhao Kuangyin, then followed out to see Zhao Kuangmei off.