Chapter 254: Coming to the Surface

Shandong, Denglai.

On a stormy night, the Denglai Governor's yamen in Laizhou City was bustling with guests and blazing with lantern light.

In the main hall of the yamen, servants constantly carried fine wine and dishes in and out; even with the torrential rain outside, they scurried back and forth without a word of complaint—after all, their master was hosting a banquet.

Truth be told, these servants truly dared not complain.

In these times, even Shaanxi and Henan were overrun with roving bandits; although their own Shandong was a bit dark, being able to find work in the Governor's yamen was a blessing cultivated in a past life—at least they wouldn't starve.

And if luck smiled upon them and they encountered some great personage, they might even receive blessings others could only dream of.

"Inspector Zhang, you may rest easy on this matter. A few days ago, the Jiaozhou Prefect's yamen even sent someone to find me, the Governor. Even if this matter were reported up the chain, it would surely be suppressed and never reach the Eastern Warm Chamber."

Hearing Chen Jin's words, Inspector Zhang Yan drank a cup of sulky wine and still said hatefully: "Tell me, what's wrong with that Li Ruolian? Why would he suddenly set his sights on our Denglai?"

"Inspector Zhang, you must choose your words carefully." Chen Jin chuckled, directly pulling a serving girl who had come to refill his wine into his embrace, and said:

"Denglai may be small, but it still encompasses two prefectures. Though it cannot match the prosperity of prefectures like Jinan with the canal passing through, there is one trade that even the Jining merchants covet endlessly."

Hearing this, how could Zhang Yan not understand that Chen Jin was referring to the private salt trade he himself oversaw? They exchanged knowing smiles and naturally said no more.

Seeing Chen Jin boldly thrust his hand into the serving girl's clothing right in public, Zhang Yan felt an itch in his own heart, stood up and dragged one down for himself, his movements even more ostentatious.

Though Chen Jin was somewhat carried away, he was after all a man of letters and still held back somewhat in public; but Zhang Yan was different—the fellow was a ruffian and scoundrel by origin, and the salt workers under his command were all men who fought without fear of death and played without restraint, stirring the room into a chaotic mess. The dignified Denglai Governor's yamen of the Great Ming now looked little different from a brothel.

"Mm, what Governor Chen says is right."

Zhang Yan nodded. Last year, taking advantage of the Imperial Son-in-law's visit to Shandong, he had forcibly dragged him into the scheme, all for the day when the court might investigate this matter.

"Heh heh, to speak bluntly, even if this matter reached the Eastern Depot, I doubt they'd investigate carefully. You should know, the Imperial Son-in-law is royalty itself. That Wang Cheng'en has spent his whole life serving the royal family—if he offended them, wouldn't he be in deep trouble?"

Chen Jin's face was full of cold sneers, clearly confident in having Gong Yonggu wrapped around his finger. Zhang Yan heard this and also roared with laughter, saying:

"Exactly! Speaking boldly, don't look down on my small Jiaozhou Inspectorate's jurisdiction—if you tried to find officials in all six prefectures of Shandong who haven't taken tribute, that would be harder than ascending to the blue sky!"

Chen Jin was also amused, pointing at him from across the room, and said: "You rascal, where did you learn that phrase 'harder than ascending to the blue sky'?"

"Uh, haha..." Zhang Yan probably knew he, a crude man, had made a fool of himself, but his skin was extremely thick. He raised his wine cup and said with a smile:

"Isn't it thanks to the Governor's excellent guidance? Having followed and learned over the years, I picked it up!"

The Chen Jin, Zhang Yan, and others inside the room would never have imagined that while they chatted and laughed freely, two servants outside the door with sharp, fierce eyes were closely watching their every move.

"Centurion, what about Chen Jin? This fish is the biggest one in Denglai."

Hearing this, the Centurion first sneered a few times, then said: "You rascal, no wonder you're still a Squad Leader. Can you use your brain before acting?"

"Chen Jin is a big fish in Denglai—even that surnamed Zhang has to kowtow to him—but compared to what the Provost's Office considers big, he doesn't measure up. Too small."

The Squad Leader dared not talk back, and nodded to ask: "Then, Centurion, how should we report to Chiliarch Gao?"

"Just say we still need to wait a bit longer. We'll keep a tight watch on Chen Jin on our end, and have the brothers in Jiaozhou keep an eye on the Inspectorate. It should be within these next few days."

A few days later, the Jiaozhou Inspectorate.

Just as dawn was breaking, a group of salt workers dressed in blue jackets, wielding sabers with hostile expressions, filed out of the Inspectorate yamen one after another, with handcarts behind them carrying no small amount of goods.

The leader of these salt workers wore simple leather armor and carried a steel blade—he must have been a man of no low standing.

"Everyone stay sharp. The Inspector places great importance on this shipment. If it doesn't get delivered, we'll all be in deep trouble, understand?"

"Brother Li, rest assured! Everyone's eyes are wide open. With the goods in our Inspectorate's hands, even the government wouldn't dare interfere!"

"Hahaha."

The salt worker leader Li Meng heard this and laughed heartily, neither confirming nor denying, then swaggered out of the city under the gaze of many onlookers.

"Oh, if it isn't Brother Li! Shipping goods again?" A Company Commander guarding the city gate saw the Inspectorate's sizable procession, thought to himself that they weren't to be trifled with, and quickly hurried over with a smile to ask.

"The Inspectorate doesn't usually ship goods at this hour. Has something happened?"

Li Meng seemed to be in a good mood today, and explained: "Hey, it's because our Inspector has too many friendly yamens. This shipment is bound for the Governor's yamen. I didn't want to make this trip either, but there's no helping it."

As he spoke, Li Meng added with a sly, secretive air: "And this Governor isn't our Denglai's Lord Chen—it's Governor Wang of Shandong."

Hearing this, the surrounding soldiers were instantly full of astonishment and began murmuring among themselves, except for one soldier whose expression turned wrong—unusually calm and composed.

The Company Commander was secretly alarmed upon hearing this, also thinking that the Inspectorate's power was growing ever greater. He gestured for those inside to open the city gate while saying:

"Ho! No wonder they had to ship today. Governor Wang's goods are the court's goods—they can't be delayed."

"Brother, you're a true friend! When I return to Jiaozhou, I'll treat you to a drink!" Li Meng laughed heartily, cupping his fists.

"Then I'll be waiting for that drink of yours!"

As they spoke, neither noticed the soldier at the city gate with a cold sneer on his face.

"Shandong Governor Wang Gongbi—investigate this man. I want his ancestors traced back eighteen generations, every last detail!"

A few days later, the Eastern Depot, having just received the news, sprang into action. After Wang Cheng'en gave the order, intelligence and urgent dispatches from all over the country quickly converged.

That very evening, Chief Torture Chiliarch Li Youde came to the Criminal Section to find Wang Cheng'en, cupped his fists, and said in a low voice:

"The files on Shandong Governor Wang Gongbi have been organized by my men. Even what his ancestors eighteen generations back did, what they were called, and when they died—all of it is clear as day."

"This man is of the Donglin faction, has long had dealings with the Qi faction, and has a poor reputation among the common folk. Many locals call him weak and incompetent."

"Investigation shows that this man began accepting bribes from Inspector Zhang Yan of the Denglai and other Inspectorates starting in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, when he was Prefect. To date, the amount is no less than one hundred thousand taels. If we trace further up, Grand Secretary—"

Hearing this, Wang Cheng'en felt it was enough, immediately waved his hand to signal him to stop, and said hoarsely:

"You've done well. Go inform Director Li that the big fish he wanted has been found."