The silver treasury of the Four Seas Bank was once again stolen, which caused an uproar in the capital. Wanliang's silver disappeared right under the eyes, but no trace of clues could be found. Even the officials were furious when they found out that there were such arrogant thieves in the capital. They hadn't been found out before, but they did it again without fear. This time it was stolen from the Four Seas Bank, so next time it will be stolen from the national treasury!
Emperor Qianxing ordered Dali Temple to find out the truth within three days, and if the thief was not caught, he would come to see him.
When Zhuang Zhong heard the news, he came to the bank of the Four Seas Bank, which was already surrounded by yamen servants, and he couldn't get in even if he wanted to.
Everyone in the Four Seas Bank was taken for interrogation, even Qian Rong and Yin Damei were taken away. The Four Seas Bank was sealed everywhere, and a group of ordinary people surrounded it. There were those who were in a hurry to exchange money, and there were crowds of onlookers, and the front of the Four Seas Bank was completely blocked. Those who kept their money in the bank burst into tears when they saw this scene, and many of them wanted to rush in, and stood outside the door with the guards, and their swords were on edge for a while.
The scene was chaotic, one side wanted to seek death and the other wanted to rush through the door, and there were also many idlers mixed in the crowd and making noises. It's fine if Zhuang Zhong didn't get in, but he was pushed out more and more.
The people who had heard the rumors and rumors and were terrified that the money was still in the Four Seas Bank looked like they had fallen into an ice cave when they saw this appearance, thinking that the Four Seas Bank must have collapsed.
A man was holding a piece of paper in his hand, sitting on the ground and howling, "It's over, it's over, all my belongings are in it!"
The woman next to the man was crying and yelling at the other one, "I asked you to cash the money a few days ago, but you didn't listen! If you want to be greedy for the little money, it's all right now, the bank is here!" It’s fine if the money promised before is gone, and all our old books are gone, how will our family, old and young, live in the future!”
The man suddenly jumped up from the ground, startled the woman, and cursed again, "Who are you scaring!"
The man ignored him, untied his belt, and threw it at a nearby tree, he was about to hang himself on the spot.
Zhuang Zhong happened to be passing by, and when he saw this, he hurried up to rescue him, and the woman came to her senses, crying and beating the man with her fists, "You are so cruel, if you leave, leave us alone." How can the six of you live!"
But the man was determined to seek death, he bumped into the wall and hanged himself, and the others were too busy to die, so they had no time to take care of this side, which made Zhuang Zhong and the man's wife very upset. This kind of thing is still very rare in Dayou, not like it was often broadcast on TV in the past. Although many people can't bear it if they put themselves on their bodies, it is relatively speaking better than the ancients who heard this kind of thing for the first time. The ability to fight is much stronger. After such a fuss, it collapsed immediately, and it felt like the sky was falling.
Zhuang Zhong locked the man's waist with both hands, and shouted loudly: "Brother, the matter has not reached this point yet. The government is investigating. If the investigation is completed, the Four Seas Bank will definitely give everyone an explanation, and the government will decide for us. If you die, you will be wronged if you can exchange the money in a few days? At that time, other men will take your money to sleep with your wife, beat your son, and drive your parents away. "
The man stopped struggling immediately, and the woman was also aggressive, and she also yelled directly: "I tell you, Wang Erer, if you die now, don't expect me to be your widow for the rest of your life! Your son and daughter have no one to support you!" It's your father's fault, your father and mother are old and living on the streets, and it's because of you that you are an unfilial son! Others can't say I'm wrong."
Wang Lao Er hurriedly flattered his daughter-in-law, "I don't want to die, I don't want to die. Didn't I just have a momentary obsession? This little brother is right, it's unjust to die like this! No matter what the money owed by the Four Seas Bank, I can't do this." never mind!"
Just at this time, someone who instigated it said that if you don't have money, you can use things to support it, and a group of people are about to rush inside. Usually the most docile and timid people are like tigers at this time, and the government servants are almost unable to bear it.
Zhuang Zhong is sure that there must be people with bad intentions here, who want to bring down the Universal Bank. Ten thousand taels of silver is really great, but the Four Seas Bank is the number one bank in the capital, so it's unlikely that just because of this ten thousand taels of silver will shake its foundation. But now it has attracted such a big battle, there is still no movement from the government, why should they be so anxious, I'm afraid this matter is not that simple.
Solemn yelled to calm everyone down, but his voice was quickly drowned out, and no one would hear his yelling at all. Solemn can't do anything about this kind of thing, these people think that they can't listen to other words because they have lost their money, and there is no speaker here, so even if he shouts loudly, others can't hear what he said.
Just when the yamen servant couldn't hold it anymore, the ground suddenly shook, and the rumbling sound was getting closer and closer. Everyone followed the prestige, and suddenly someone shouted, "It's King Sizhao! The black cavalry is here!"
Feng Huan rode a tall horse and led nearly a hundred black cavalrymen to run aggressively. Feng Huan yelled, "Who dares to be presumptuous here!"
The original troublemakers were all quiet, and they didn't dare to make any further moves.
The big man came to his senses and howled, "My lord, the grassroots are also forced to die."
One person dared to speak out, and the others responded one after another. They all knelt on the ground, kowtowed and howled, telling their sufferings.
Feng Huan flicked the horsewhip vigorously to the ground, making a crisp sound, interrupting the crying of a group of people, and the scene immediately became quiet again.
Feng Huan's eyes were sharp, he swept over everyone's heads, and said coldly: "This place is guarded by government officials, but you dare to break in blatantly. This is making things difficult for the court! Why, do you want to take the opportunity to rebel?"
When a big hat is put on, everyone is silent, and they dare not speak any more. This is a serious crime that affects the whole family. If you run out of money, you can still make money again, and you will not be able to stand up for a few lifetimes after this hat is buckled.
Only then did Feng Huan say: "The emperor has ordered Dali Temple to find out the truth within three days, and he will definitely give everyone an explanation. Now hurry up and disperse, otherwise they will all be dealt with by rioters."
Seeing the high-spirited black cavalry, how could the crowd dare to delay here, and they dispersed in a hurry. Zhuang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, if Feng Huan was a step behind, he might be in trouble.
For the Four Seas Bank to be so large, there must be a shadow of the government, and the so-called collusion between the government and the businessman is the same. What Zhuang Zhong didn't expect was that the person who came forward was Feng Huan, and there was such a big fight. But thinking that such a big case happened at the emperor's feet, if the thief could not be found, the emperor might not be able to sleep at night, worrying that his own treasury would be emptied sometime. Ever since the theft happened, everyone was afraid that the thief would steal from them. It is better to say it is to stabilize the people's hearts than to attach importance to the Four Seas Bank, and not let some people take the opportunity to make trouble! And Feng Huan is like a brick, moving wherever there is something to do, it is not unusual to appear here.
"My lord." He bowed solemnly forward.
Feng Huan saw that his handsome brows were furrowed, "Why are you here? If you mess up just now, your small body will be squeezed into meat paste."
"I came here to investigate the case, but in the end I didn't have any evidence, and the clerk wouldn't let me in." Zhuang Zhong said a little depressed. He is nothing now, and he looks tender. Others thought he was a dandy who came to join in the fun.
"Idiot." Feng Huan said, reaching out from his waist, and threw a small gadget on Zhuang Zhong, "Take it."
Zhuang Zhong hurriedly grabbed it, and took a closer look, it was a piece of transparent warm jade, the water head and workmanship are not ordinary.
Feng Huan raised his chin, "Whoever dares to stop you in the future will take out this jade pendant."
In Zhuang Zhong's heart, it was called beauty, and even looking at Feng Huan, he felt a little more handsome than before. Although he is now the son of Marquis Wen Yuan, but he has not officially entered the genealogy, Marquis Wen Yuan is also lukewarm to him, and his name is not justified. Although Feng Huan has been helping him all the time, he still can't be confident. Now that he has this jade pendant, it's different, and there are more things he can do with someone covering him.
Qian Rong and Yin Damei were taken away for interrogation, all the banks were guarded by officials from the government, and the Qian family also sent people to watch here, but they couldn't decide. Zhuang Zhong couldn't help but sigh, this personal property is really too insecure, if it's an honest official, it's fine, if it's greedy, I'm afraid the case will be solved and the bank will be emptied.
The silver treasury is all made of fire bricks, and the walls are very thick, nearly two feet. The warehouse door is also thick and heavy, and at least two people are required to open it together, and it will make a dull sound. General Tie is also much bigger than usual, the iron bolt can be as thick as a child's wrist.
Zhuang Zhong surveyed with a magnifying glass, and did not see any signs of destruction. I took the key to the warehouse and looked at it, but I didn't see anything unusual. If someone secretly mixes it, mud should be used, and there may be residues on it, but nothing has been found. And after the door was opened, Zhuang Zhong was even more sure that no one could sneak in through the main door. The sound was so loud, if none of these guards noticed it, unless they were all deaf.
According to Abacus, there will always be four guards guarding the door of the warehouse. If anyone wants to go to the toilet, they must be replaced by patrolling guards. Four people must be guaranteed to stand here.
The warehouse is not that big, and the patrolling guards are basically walking around, and it only takes a cup of tea to walk around.
"This is the place farthest from the warehouse when the guards patrol." Zhuang Zhuang said, when he came to investigate before, Abacus led him to walk the place where the guards walked. Abacus is also being taken away for interrogation now, and all the people in the bank have been taken away. Temporary arrest of individuals for interrogation is impossible. Fortunately, Zhuang Zhong already knew a lot before.
Feng Huan ordered someone to open the warehouse door, and the muffled voice could be heard very clearly.
Solemnly said: "Unless all the guards collude, there is no way to enter through the main entrance."
Feng Huan said with dark eyes: "If there are thieves, there is nowhere to hide here."
The surroundings of the warehouse are bare, all are stone roads. There are watchtowers in all four corners, and there is no dead corner in the courtyard. It can be said that the Four Seas Bank has spent a lot of money on guards, even as much as the national treasury. It was really frightening to be stolen by a thief just like that.
No wonder the officials valued this case so much. It was not enough to steal once, so they stole a second time. This is not an ordinary theft but a provocation! The emperor always likes to think more far-reaching, and he has begun to guess that the real purpose of these thieves is not to come for the Four Seas Bank, but for the national treasury! Now it's just leading the way, and there are still big money behind it.
After the two checked the surroundings, they entered the bank together. The first floor of the treasury is now empty, except for the shelves where the money is placed. The silver treasury was built very high, about two feet long. There are four fist-sized transoms near the roof on both sides, and they are blocked by special tulle, so that only faint light can come in. If you close the door, the air is a little thinner.
Feng Huan ordered: "Bring the shelf over here."
Solemnly teased, "Didn't the prince climb up by himself this time? How troublesome it is to use the stairs."
Feng Huan remembered what happened before, and laughed, "You little guy who holds grudges!"
The corners of Zhuang Zhuang's mouth twitched, "It seems like how old you are."
"It's bigger than you." After saying that, he snatched the solemn magnifying glass, put it in his waist, tucked the hem of his clothes into the belt, and climbed up along the corner like a Spiderman, and then It's like sticking to it, it doesn't move when it sticks to it! However, the whole movement is clean and neat, and extremely handsome. The long legs were propped on the two walls, motionless, showing the profound skill. But a sentence flashed in Zhuang Zhuang's mind: There are legs under the neck.
If it weren't for the two of them here, Zhuang Zhong thought it was to please some girl, so he deliberately played handsome!
Feng Huan took out a magnifying glass from his waist and observed carefully on the transom until all four of them were inspected, and Zhuang Zhong didn't slow down.
Feng Huan said proudly: "How?"
Only then did Zhuang Zhong remember to close his mouth, gave a fake cough, and said seriously: "My lord, it's not shameful not to know how to climb stairs."
result…
Zhuang Zhong got kicked in the buttocks. If he hadn't practiced a few tricks, the chassis was still stable, and he would have fallen to the ground a long time ago.
Zhuang Zhong rubbed his buttocks and went forward to check the lock, slandering in his heart, he really couldn't take a joke.
There is still no abnormality in the second and third locks.
Although the doors on the second floor were not as big, they were all made of pure copper and could not be smashed open at all.
Entering the real bank, there was nothing in it, which disappointed Zhuang Zhong. He hadn't seen a large pile of shining silver placed in front of him with his own eyes, so he thought it would be fun.
The money from the Four Seas Bank is not just piled up here, but part of it will be used to operate other things. In addition, after the first time it was stolen, many people came to exchange it, and the rest is even less. I didn't expect the thief to be so bold. It didn't take long for him to come again and evacuate the place.
The scene was not damaged, Zhuang Zhong only made a rough survey the first time, his heart sank to the bottom of the valley, and he didn't find any clues.
Zhuang Zhong frowned and looked around, "This room doesn't even have transom windows. If the door is closed, it will be a secret room. How did these thieves steal the silver taels?"
Feng Huan scanned around, knocked against the wall, and said, "Brick by brick."
The other guards also came in and knocked bricks one by one. It was inevitable that they would miss them, and Zhuang Zhong asked them to mark the bricks they knocked. Until all the bricks were knocked again, nothing was found, and everything was solidly built.
The roof of the storeroom is made of tiles, but a flat shelf is also made on it, and the shelf is also covered with thick wooden boards, which are put together piece by piece and fastened with nails. But no matter whether it is tiles or planks, no one has ever seen anyone tampering with it.
The floor was also checked one by one, but nothing was found.
Feng Huan was finally furious. After searching for a day, he found nothing. Such a powerful thief appeared in Dayou. If he couldn't find it, even the officials would have trouble sleeping and eating.
"I don't believe this thief can go to heaven and earth?!" After Feng Huan lost his temper, the anger in his heart was suppressed a lot, "How is the investigation by Guan Dawei?"
Zhuang solemnly shook his head, "There is no progress. I suspected that it was the old head Liu who was in charge here. Not only he but also his two sons were arrested and tortured. I don't know if I haven't asked anything yet, so much money has been stolen here. Guan Dawei once wondered whether it was Qian Rong, the owner of the Four Seas Bank, who guarded the house and sent people to follow him, but until the money was stolen, he did not find any movement between the couple. The bank has never been opened during these days, and it has been locked all the time. It wasn’t until Guan Dawei came in to search again yesterday that he found out that the last few thousand taels of silver had also been stolen.”
Since the theft happened, as long as Qian Rong and his wife wanted to go in, they had to notify Guan Dawei. Guan Dawei said he wanted to keep an eye on him, but actually he wanted to take advantage of it. Therefore, the two of them would not go in if they had nothing to do, thinking that it would be okay to have so many guards and yamen servants watching in secret. After all, with such a big disturbance, ordinary thieves would not dare to come again at this time. But they forgot that this was no ordinary thief, and they emptied the bank vault not long after.
Feng Huan ordered his subordinates to bring Qian Rong and Yin Damei. As soon as Yin Damei saw Feng Huan, he cried, "My lord, I can't live this day! We are very sad after losing so much money. This official is so powerful." You still have to say that we were guarding and stealing! If our family was not decent, we would have been tortured like Old Liu Tou. You haven’t seen how Old Liu Tou was beaten. He kept saying that it was Old Liu Tou who did it. Yes, but after tossing people like this, the thief actually appeared again! Could it be that old Liu still has the ability to ecstasy?"
Feng Huan roared: "Speak up for me!"
Qian Rong hastily tugged at the corner of Yin Damei's clothes, Yin Damei didn't dare to howl anymore, but still couldn't help sobbing.
Guan Dawei saw that Feng Huan's face was not looking good, so he hurried forward to defend himself, "My lord, criminals are hard-spoken, and they won't speak without some means. It is also helpless for the subordinate officials to torture and interrogate, and there is no such practice in the law. There is nothing wrong with it, many people judge cases like this.”
Feng Huan squinted at him, "Then what did you find out?"
Guan Dawei lowered his eyes, "It is inconvenient for these two people to be tortured after they are relegated from the official position. They have never told the truth until now."
Yin Damei spat at him directly, "Guan Dawei, what else can you do besides using torture?! I am not a thief, but what can you find out by using torture? You said that my wife is guarding the evidence of self-stealing? Do you think that my mother is caught by the door just like you?" , This is ten thousand taels of silver. Unless our bank doesn't want to do it anymore and loses so much in one breath, who will dare to deposit money into our bank in the future? Ten thousand taels of silver is a lot, but for our bank, we want to earn it back It's not that difficult. Why did I cut off future business for the sake of 12,000 taels? As you have seen these days, it not only affects the business of our bank, but also makes it impossible to do other businesses. Why do we bother for this mere Wan Liang, ruined the foundation of the Qian family?!"
Qian Rong is not as eloquent as Yin Damei, but he is not bad, "My lord, I really did not do this. Our Qian family has been honored by the officials, and our business is going smoothly. We are not so desperate to take this step."
"How many days have you not entered the treasury?"
Qian Rong said: "It has been five days."
"They were still there at that time?"
Qian Rong nodded again and again, "Your Majesty can testify for the young one."
Guan Dawei affirmed: "It was indeed still there at that time."
"Are you sure it's all real money?"
Guan Dawei replied without hesitation: "I'm sure."
Feng Huan narrowed his eyes, "Think about it again."
"Official..."
Seeing Guan Dawei's faltering, Yin Damei immediately became anxious, "Guan Dawei, you made a lot of mistakes back then, so it's not true!"
Guan Dawei gave Yin Damei a dark look, this woman dares to say anything! But he had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "I'm sure."
"Did you take it yourself or did they give it to you?"
Yin Damei and Qian Rong stared at Guan Dawei, as if they would tear each other apart if they lied. There were still many guards at the time, so Guan Dawei had no choice but to tell the truth, "It was I who walked around, Taken from the shelf. Unless these two know in advance which I'm going to take, it's all supposed to be real."
Zhuang Zhong pinched his chin and thought, if the two of them guarded against themselves, it would be really easy to do it the first time. They had taken a large amount of money from the treasury before, and each time they took out more, no one knew about it.
Zhuang Zhong could probably guess Guan Dawei's intention of torturing Old Liu Tou. Apart from really wanting to pry his mouth open, he still wanted to attract the real murderer. Guan Dawei believed that the thief was an insider, either Old Liu Tou or Qian Rong himself. This move can paralyze the real thieves, making them think that the people in the government believe that it is Lao Liutou who stole, relax their vigilance and secretly transfer the money to avoid future troubles, and he can take the opportunity to catch them.
Who knows that people are not as good as heaven, the real thief has not been revealed, and so much money has been lost in the treasury for no reason. In the past few days, no one has really entered, and no one has moved the money out. The people sent by Guan Dawei have been keeping a close eye on the bank and the Qian family, but the money was lost without anyone noticing it.
Guan Dawei said: "My lord, I speculate that the silver has never left the bank, I'm afraid there is another dark room in the bank."
Qian Rong said: "Impossible, this bank was built by my order, and there has never been a dark room before."
Guan Dawei snorted coldly, "If you check it out, you will know. Are you so anxious because you have a guilty conscience?"
Yin Damei said: "Since my lord doesn't believe it, go and investigate over there. If I can find out the dark room, I, Yin Damei, will cut off my own head and give you a kick. If the tunnel dug by outsiders is not mine!"
Guan Dawei narrowed his eyes, "How do you know there is an authentic way?!"
Yin Damei rolled his eyes directly, "Who said I knew there was a tunnel, you guessed there was a dark room, so I just said that there is a tunnel, and I am not counted, maybe some bastard put the abacus in our Four Seas Bank, so I got it out .Hey! That's true! No one can take the silver from above except by digging in from below!"
Although it has been checked before, it has not been dug deep. With a wave of Feng Huan's hand, a group of people found a shovel and started digging, but they didn't find anything after lifting up all the floor tiles. Unconvinced, Guan Dawei ordered them to dig three feet into the ground.
"There is no tunnel, how did the thief get away with the silver?" Zhuang Zhong muttered to himself, frowning.
The official prestige circled around, "My lord, these bricks are so thick, I'm afraid there are articles inside. If the middle is hollowed out, it's not impossible to stuff it in a little bit."
Yin Damei jumped up anxiously, "This brick will not collapse if the house is demolished! I spent a lot of money to repair my money bank, so who will pay if I can't find anything after so much trouble?"
Feng Huan asked: "Are these bricks solid? Where were they fired?"
"They are all bricks from Wang's brick kiln. They are all solid. If the prince doesn't believe it, you can send someone to ask."
Guan Dawei said: "My lord, who knows what's tricky in it. Now I can't find any other clues, why don't we investigate deeply like this, maybe we can find something."
Yin Damei became even more anxious when she heard this, "My lord, if Brick moved his hands and feet, he would be able to see it if he checked carefully. There is no need to tear down the wall."
Guan Dawei said: "My lord, I have been busy with this case for half a month, and I have not found anything else. I think that such a seamless method of committing crimes must be the work of an inner ghost. So many silver coins are under the nose. It must not be easy to move away. It must be hidden in the money bank. If you can’t find it in the field, it means that there is something wrong with the house. As long as you check it thoroughly, you will definitely find it.”
Qian Rong knew that he couldn't escape today, and finally fought hard: "If you think there is something weird, just pick a few pieces and smash it..."
Guan Dawei interrupted directly, "It's not necessarily that there is something inside each brick, and there may be interlayers."
"If there is a mezzanine, you can hear it if you knock on it."
"There are many ways to cover up."
Yin Damei who was on the side couldn't listen any longer, and yelled, "Fucking shit! This is not your house, you sure don't feel bad! Guan Dawei, don't bully people too much, I, Yin Damei, am not a vegetarian."
The threat in Yin Damei's words didn't make Guan Dawei back down. Before that, he had some concerns, thinking that they would meet each other in the future, and he had something in the hands of the other party. But now that the officials are personally inquiring, how dare he neglect, if he doesn't do well, he will lose his head. It wasn't that he was in trouble with the Qian family, he really couldn't find any clues, this was his last hope, and he would never miss it.
Guan Dawei has already determined that this case is self-stealing, otherwise it would be impossible to have no signs like this. If Yin Damei hadn't been from the Yin family and was just a small merchant, he would have had thousands of tricks to get Qian Rong to swallow up the theft.
"Why is Mrs. Yin so excited? This house is nothing to your Qian family. If you have nothing to hide, don't make any noise to stop it."
"You..." Yin Damei never thought that the official Dawei would turn his face so quickly, all the money from the past went to the dog's belly. He could only turn to Feng Huan, "My lord..."
"Oh, why are there so many ants here! It's still termites." A yamen servant who was digging the ground shouted.
"This thing is very poisonous, my God, why are there so many, come up quickly and don't get bitten!"
A group of yamen servants who were digging the soil climbed up one after another when they heard this, for fear of being crawled by these termites. A yamen servant also said that he had heard old people say that ants also eat people in some places. The places they passed by were like locusts crossing the border, and soon a strong man would be left with only a skeleton. As soon as this was said, everyone was very reluctant to rush out, for fear of being contaminated with these terrible things.
When Zhuang Zhong heard the movement, he rushed over, and he saw a group of termites, so dense that it made people feel scalp numb. There was an ant hole in the corner, and it was from there that these ants came out.
Zhuang Zhuang thought of something, his eyes lit up, "Quick, quick, find these ants' nests for me!"
Those yamen servants were scared to death, you looked at me and I looked at you, but no one dared to go down.
"These termites don't eat people..." Solemn and helpless, he said that he was about to jump down with a shovel, but Feng Huan, who heard the news, grabbed his clothes.
"what happened?"
Turning his head solemnly, his face brightened, "My lord, the thief has been found."
Feng Huan was caught by this smile, and was stunned for a moment, without any response.
"The thief was found? Is there something tricky on the ground?!" Guan Dawei rushed in when he heard the news, and Feng Huan let go of his hand.
Yin Damei and Qian Rong also came over, Qian Rong looked around, puzzled and said: "There is nothing."
Feng Huan cleared his throat, "You said the thief was found, where is it?"
Zhuang Zhong didn't answer directly, but said: "If I'm not wrong, there must be a big termite nest in the corner, and the thieves are these ants."
Guan Dawei immediately laughed when he heard this, "Nonsense!"
Feng Huan didn't hesitate at all, and ordered the servants to find the ant nest and dig it out.
After a while, a huge ant nest was dug out in the corner of the wall, and the dense termites made people feel goosebumps all over their bodies.
Pointing at the ants solemnly, "The thieves are all here."