Chapter 253: Find a Big Fish

The two exchanged a glance, and each immediately knew what the other was about to say. Wang Cheng'en nodded to himself, thinking that what was coming could not be avoided, and gestured for Centurion Wang An to leave.

Wang An was sensible enough; only after asking repeatedly and confirming there was no mistake did he take his leave.

"Director Li, now it's just the two of us. If you have something to say, say it plainly." Wang Cheng'en poured himself a cup of tea and spoke casually.

"Regarding the matter of Imperial Son-in-law Gong, I imagine Supreme Commander Wang has already heard?" Li Ruolian first asked tentatively, and upon seeing Wang Cheng'en nod, smiled and said, "I thought as much. The Eastern Depot's agents are spread across the realm, so naturally their information flows more freely than my Embroidered Uniform Guard's."

Li Ruolian's expression was calm, but inwardly he was somewhat shocked.

No wonder His Majesty established the Inner Depot and Western Depot to divide the Eastern Depot's power — and that wasn't enough, so he kept elevating the Embroidered Uniform Guard's authority and standing, wanting his own Embroidered Uniform Guard to oversee and counterbalance the Eastern Depot.

Denglai was the Embroidered Uniform Guard's territory; Chiliarch Gao Wencai was thriving there, and there were several chiliarch posts around it as well. By all rights, news on the Embroidered Uniform Guard's home turf should have reached the Northern Provost's Office first.

But no — the Provost's Office received the news a full day later than the Eastern Depot.

A single day might mean nothing to an ordinary man, but when it was given to an old hand like Wang Cheng'en, who knew what arrangements he had already set in motion.

"Director Li jests. The Eastern Depot has been pared down by the court for over a decade and is no longer what it once was. I received word of Imperial Son-in-law Gong's matter a day early, but I dared not make any arrangements — I've been waiting for Director Li all this while." Wang Cheng'en did not put on airs, speaking with a genial smile, as if he could not hear the sarcasm in Li Ruolian's words.

Li Ruolian chuckled and shook his head, having nothing more to say to this old fox, and continued:

"In these decades, Imperial Son-in-law Gong has left the capital only once, and has always been diligent and careful. Surely the dossiers on your side at the Eastern Depot can find nothing else that violates propriety?"

"Moreover, that one time was only when he was ordered by imperial decree to handle matters at a moment of national crisis. He stayed in a few small places like Wuding for less than a few days and didn't even go to Jining — how could he have gotten tangled up in the deadly business of private salt?"

As he spoke, Li Ruolian's expression darkened, and he snorted coldly: "According to the report from the Denglai Chiliarch Post, that surnamed Yan, the patrol inspector of the Denglai Patrol Inspection Office, knowingly broke the law. He must have heard that my Embroidered Uniform Guard was re-establishing the chiliarch post in Denglai and, fearing severe punishment, maliciously dragged the Imperial Son-in-law down with him!"

Hearing this, Wang Cheng'en immediately understood why Li Ruolian had come to see him. It seemed he was afraid the Eastern Depot would report directly to the Emperor, and wanted to plead for Gong Yonggu and find a compromise that would spare his life.

As they say, talking with an old hand is easy — you've barely said a few words before the other party has already guessed what's on your mind.

"Director Li need not be anxious. This matter has the Eastern Depot stumped as well. Without Director Li's input, I would not dare memorialize Your Majesty directly — I must think it over carefully first."

Wang Cheng'en saw no need to make an enemy of Li Ruolian. Moreover, Gong Yonggu truly did not deserve death; the man could even be called the most well-behaved Imperial Son-in-law. Recently the Eastern Depot had learned that even Zhang Huangyan had secretly visited brothels several times behind the Princess's back.

After all, the Great Ming dynasty's restrictions on Imperial Sons-in-law could be called extremely strict. Although last year, due to the national crisis, the Chongzhen Emperor had reformed the ancestral rule that Imperial Sons-in-law could not hold substantive office, in practice the other rules had not changed much.

It was ordinary for a man to take multiple wives and concubines, but Zhang Huangyan was a third-rank Imperial Son-in-law of the Great Ming. Even if the court had not explicitly said he could not take concubines, with the Princess watching from the side, would he dare?

Naturally he would not dare. Being intimate with the same person over and over — at first Zhang Huangyan might have felt he had married above his station into the imperial family, even secretly thrilled by it, but by now it was like an old, withered cucumber — there was no passion left at all.

Furthermore, Zhang Huangyan held himself to extremely high standards. Other Imperial Sons-in-law lazed about in their mansions all day, but he was different — studying, composing couplets, rising at the crow of the rooster to practice; he missed none of it.

But he was still a normal man. With no passion in the marital bed, his heart itched, yet he dared not tell the Princess for fear of hurting her. So what could he do? He could only go to the brothels to taste some flesh.

Gong Yonggu could be called the model of Imperial Sons-in-law across the generations of the Great Ming. When the historical Chongzhen Emperor told him he could not keep private soldiers, the man truly did not keep a single one.

Even when the rebels had breached the city in history, and the Chongzhen Emperor told him that at a time like this there was no need to hide anything — take his private soldiers and escort the Princess and the Crown Prince to the southern capital —

Gong Yonggu was not hiding anything at all. Beneath his command, apart from household servants attending to his daily needs, he did not have a single sword-bearing guard. Even the Eastern Depot, that thorough investigative outfit, could search Gong Yonggu's dossiers however they liked and find nothing at all besides the private salt affair.

At the time, even the Eastern Depot's agents were astonished — wasn't this a living sage?

In all these decades, the man had never used his status as Imperial Son-in-law to do a single bad deed, had never even spoken a single word about court politics or the state of affairs. He had been well-behaved before the Princess's death, and now that she had been gone so long, he remained utterly loyal to the Great Ming, with no other faults to be found — he had not even visited a brothel once.

In truth, Wang Cheng'en also admired Gong Yonggu in his heart and did not want to make things difficult for such a paragon of virtue, so he directly gave Li Ruolian a reassurance.

Li Ruolian nodded, the urgency on his face easing somewhat. Wang Cheng'en was an old hand from the Prince Xin Residence; he would not deceive him with such words. On reflection, if the Eastern Depot cooperated on this matter, there might yet be a turning point.

"When Gao Wencai re-established the chiliarch post in Denglai, he recruited many local veterans. According to these men, the patrol inspector's seat is a veritable money-printing treasure. This surnamed Yan is merely a minor patrol inspector, yet he owns two salt fields in the Jiaozhou area alone, with several hundred salt workers. The Patrol Inspection Office has branch offices in every city, and even the local prefects and garrison commanders are on good terms with him. His family wealth must surely be in the tens of thousands."

It seemed Li Ruolian had done his homework. Wang Cheng'en himself had not realized that this minor patrol inspector's post could quietly produce such a fat profit. He could not help thinking that if this revenue flowed into the national treasury, it would be no small sum of income.

Suddenly struck by a thought, Wang Cheng'en sneered:

"It seems what Shandong needs a full audit of is not just grain reserves and farmland — the expenses and income of the salt pans and salt fields must also be investigated thoroughly. No matter how much profit this minor patrol inspector rakes in, without someone above to back him, he would never dare act so boldly."

Hearing this, Li Ruolian grew somewhat agitated and stood up, speaking with venom:

"Your Excellency the Director has hit the nail on the head. I have already ordered men to investigate — from this surnamed Zhang patrol inspector, down to the salt bureau envoys, up to the censors of Denglai, whether or not they are on the salt circuit, virtually every official in the two Denglai prefectures is dirty!"

"If we are to deal with this, we must eliminate the entire salt circuit. Director Li, you want to clear the Imperial Son-in-law's name, and I want to as well. But relying on a single patrol inspector is nowhere near enough. You and I need to drag out a big fish."

As he spoke, Wang Cheng'en smiled: "And this big fish would best be an old mud eel on the salt circuit. That way, the court can conveniently reclaim the salt circuit, the national treasury gains a new source of revenue — one move, many gains."

"Your Excellency the Director speaks truly, but who should that person be?"