Chapter 95 Good News
Deng Qianqiu was not too excited. Instead, his expression became particularly solemn. "Seal this place off. Don't act like you've never seen silver before. We are few in number and need to count it. Go and recruit a few people. However... to count it, we have to set rules. Everything must be recorded. All gold, silver and jewelry must be turned over to the public. If a penny is missing, I will hold you accountable."

After Deng Qianqiu finished speaking, he stared at Niu Shisan and asked, "Niu Shisan... can I trust you?"

Niu Shisan immediately said, "Captain, don't worry, I don't care about these things. I will have a good life following the captain."

Deng Qianqiu glanced at the others.

The young men said one after another: "Captain Deng, if you miss even a penny, we will lose our heads."

Deng Qianqiu then said, "I will keep an eye on you, and you keep an eye on the others. Make a list right here! To tell you the truth, we will take 20% of the gold and silver and put it in the Hundred Households Office. In the future... you will have to be rewarded. But if there are people who are blind and don't take the silver that is open to the public, and are dishonest, then they are not my brothers, Deng Qianqiu."

Everyone was excited, but Niu Shisan became suspicious. He scratched his head and asked, "Captain Deng, how did you know that the damned traitor's gold and silver were hidden here?"

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "I'll teach you later, but right now, there's no time. Oh, that's right, everyone entering the warehouse must go in naked, count and pack, and check for smuggled items. After packing, seal the boxes. This is the first battle for our Hundred Households Unit to become famous. We want to let everyone in the world know about our Hundred Households Unit's reputation! If you succeed, you'll have a good life. If you fail, you can go back to your military division, and I'll go back to work for my father."

Deng Qianqiu repeatedly explained that the Hundred Households Office was still in its infancy and many regulations had not yet been formulated, so in addition to asking him to keep a close eye on it himself, he also needed to paint a rosy picture for others.

By the way...I seem to have been promised a lot of good things by someone before. Who said that he would be treated to a good life?

"Remember, this is a great achievement. You love money, but Your Majesty loves money more than you do. No, Your Majesty is cherishing the people's blood and sweat..."

Deng Qianqiu gave everyone some encouragement.

In fact, after observation, Deng Qianqiu still believed that these ten young men were relatively simple and honest. However, money could move people's hearts after all, so Deng Qianqiu couldn't help but nag about them.

"Captain, don't worry. You can take a rest outside and leave the rest to us. We will use our heads as guarantee."

Everyone has rolled up their sleeves and started working in an orderly manner.

After recruiting some accountants and a few servants, the warehouse became a restricted area. Everyone entering and leaving had to be naked. There were guards at the door and people watching everywhere, and Deng Qianqiu was watching at the outermost perimeter.

He asked someone to set up a table for him, pulled a chair and sat down, then made a pot of tea and observed what was going on here.

…………

Imprisonment.

Captain Zhou Hong hurried to a workshop.

"Tongzhi Wang..." Zhou Hong saluted.

The man called Wang Tongzhi was still at his desk, holding a pen and reviewing the documents on his desk. He said casually, "Oh, it's Brother Zhou. How was the trial of Yuan Ni?"

"This guy can't stand a beating. After he was beaten, a lot of things were recorded in the file." Zhou Hong said.

Wang Tongzhi still didn't look up. He picked up his pen and wrote quickly, saying, "This is the best. This case is of great importance and should not be underestimated. Otherwise, His Majesty will be furious and both you and I will be in big trouble."

Zhou Hong lowered his voice and said, "That Yuan Ni told me two places to hide his money..."

"Ok?"

The man surnamed Wang was the commander-in-chief of the Yiluansi. After hearing this, he finally became interested, so he put his pen on the pen holder and looked up at Zhou Hong.

"Very interesting. If that's the case, then this is another great achievement. Gather all the men and go search and confiscate immediately. On your side, submit another letter to show your merit, so that your merit can atone for your crime."

Zhou Hong nodded and said, "I have already gathered all the men, but... I just received news that Deng Qianqiu and his men have taken the lead at Qinhuai River Chengji Warehouse. I don't know where he got the news from, but he has already started... This..."

Wang Tongzhi had no expression on his face, but he didn't seem angry.

Zhou Hong continued angrily, "This kid is so hateful. He was originally from our Yiluansi, but he ruined our reputation everywhere. Now, he has set up his own faction, which is clearly detrimental to our Yiluansi..."

After a pause, Zhou Hong continued, "This person has ulterior motives. He has secretly harmed me this time, but he is not plotting against me. He is clearly trying to teach us..."

Wang Tongzhi pressed his hand and said, "Let him harm you, don't always involve other places. I have seen this kind of thing many times, don't involve me."

Zhou Hong was embarrassed.

Wang Tongzhi frowned, "However, he rushed to rob a warehouse first. What about the other one? Where is the other warehouse?"

Zhou Hong immediately said, "It's at the pier near Shuimen. There are many merchants' warehouses there. According to Yuan Ni's explanation, there are more treasures hidden there."

Wang Tong knew: "If that's the case, why don't you quickly take people to search? Do we have to wait until Deng Qianqiu finds out, and then all the credit will fall on him? More manpower, I'll assign some more people to you. As for the record of the interrogation, submit it to His Majesty as soon as possible. Let His Majesty know that our Yiluansi is still capable of doing things."

"Here."

…………When the report from the Yiluansi reached Zhu Yuanzhang, it was already late at night.

There were many things going on these days and Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't been to the inner garden for several days. He finally arrived at Empress Ma's bedroom, but who knew that the report from the Yiluansi came right after.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang very displeased, and he smiled apologetically to Empress Ma. However, the reports from the Yiluansi were different from other reports. According to the rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang himself, the secret reports from the Yiluansi had to be reported at any time without any delay.

What's more, this might involve a shocking case of rebellion, so Zhu Yuanzhang had to pay even more attention to it.

He read the report carefully. It contained almost all the interrogation records of Yuan Ni. After reading it, Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted at first: "It is just as Deng Qianqiu said. This son of a bitch really hid a lot of gold and silver."

But then, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

Empress Ma poured him tea and said with a smile, "Isn't this a good thing? Why is your Majesty frowning again?"

"How did Deng Qianqiu find the treasure first? This guy... he seems like a weasel, digging around everywhere."

Empress Ma smiled and said, "Isn't this a good thing? I was wondering why Deng Qianqiu didn't come to write a letter these days. It turns out... he went to work for Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang almost jumped up: "You don't understand, this guy... asked for 20% of my gold and silver, saying it was a share of something, and he found it first, so this batch of stolen silver is missing 20%... 20%!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was almost in agony and took a deep breath, as if he felt that this made him seem too stingy.

Zhu Yuanzhang then said, "Fortunately, according to the confession, the place where Deng Qianqiu searched had less wealth, but the warehouse at the other dock had the most. It is fortunate that Deng Qianqiu did not find that place."

So when Empress Ma saw Zhu Yuanzhang muttering about something, she couldn't sleep even late at night.

……

Two days later, just as Zhu Yuanzhang had been expecting, the good news arrived.

Although the warehouse seized by the Yiluansi was larger and contained the most stolen goods, they had sufficient manpower and material resources. This time, they also put in a lot of effort to atone for their crimes. For this reason, the good news was delivered to Zhu Yuanzhang's desk early in the morning.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw the good news, he immediately showed his joy: "170,000 taels of silver, these damned Yuan rebels have exploited so much of the people's wealth in China, they are worse than pigs and dogs. Good, very good, this time the Yiluansi has done a good job, I will naturally commend them for their merits."

He was in an especially good mood, so he also took the opportunity to say, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty, not only have you captured the rebels, but you have also confiscated so much of their property. This is a blessing from heaven, and it is truly Your Majesty's virtue."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said calmly, "Silver is a small matter. The most important thing is the fat of our Ming Dynasty. These Tartars have been robbing us for a hundred years. I don't know how much they have plundered. Now that we can return the property to its original owner, this is not only my good fortune, but also the good fortune of China."

He hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, then Captain Deng, if you can confiscate 100,000 taels, the total will be almost 300,000 taels..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face changed slightly: "Do you know how to count? His place is smaller in scale. Even if there are 100,000 taels, the treasury only has 80,000. The rest..."

"Forget it, forget it. Let's not talk about this. My words are as good as gold. Just consider this as a gift of silver..."

……

warehouse.

Deng Qianqiu almost even slept outside the warehouse.

I finally took a nap, but was woken up again. Looking at the people in the warehouse who were still busy, I got up immediately.

Just at this moment, Niu Shisan came out and hurriedly ran to Deng Qianqiu and said, "Captain, I was just looking for you. The brothers are tired. Do you want to take a break?"

Deng Qianqiu asked, "How much have you counted?"

Niu Shisan said: "We have already counted half of it. We are short of manpower and the rules are complicated. We cannot be careless, so..."

Deng Qianqiu asked again: "How much silver is in the account now?"

Niu Shisan scratched his head and said, "When I went to check just now, it seemed to be 230,000 taels. Now I don't know. How about I go check it again?"

Deng Qianqiu saw that he looked very tired, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Forget it, forget it, let's all work hard. Tell everyone to seize the opportunity and don't always think about resting. You must work hard. From now on, I will take care of you all."

I have given you my orders.

Deng Qianqiu was shocked, but he couldn't help being angry. He had only counted half of it, and it was already 230,000 taels. These damn Tartars, I can't live with them!
…………

Tiger will try to finish the next two chapters in one go.

(End of this chapter)