Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 60: Fines and Crimes
After hearing Wu Chengjian's intention, Guangxing suddenly felt relieved. He sat down on the chair and said with a smile, "Seeing your arrogant look earlier, I thought you had some bargaining chips. After talking for so long, you finally came to beg for mercy. But look at you now. Do you look like you are asking for favors at all?"
"Master Guangxing is too disobedient." Wu Chengjian said, "I said, I am not begging, I am buying. I pay the money, you give the goods, it is a real transaction, does the buyer need to bow down to the seller?"
Guangxing smiled and said, "But the problem is, this is not buying goods, this is buying lives. If I don't buy it, your life, and even your Wu family... several people... no matter what, all men and women in the family, good and bad, will die. When you lose your lives, can you still keep the money?"
Wu Chengjian also laughed and said, "Of course, of course. We, the Wu family, will definitely not be able to keep the money, but if you don't take action now, Master Guangxing, the money will not fall into your hands. The emperor is in power and needs people. There must be a few lackeys and horses in key positions everywhere in Beijing. The mission of going to Guangdong to confiscate property will not fall on you, Master Guangxing. Master Guangxing, am I right?"
Guangxing's face darkened slightly and he said nothing.
He knew in his heart that Wu Chengjian was right - to Wu Chengjian, the Wu family's wealth and lives were more important than anything else. But to the Qing Dynasty, a merchant family in Guangzhou was not worth the emperor's dispatching his trusted aides to investigate and confiscate at this critical juncture when the world was turning upside down.
Wu Chengjian added, "Master Guangxing, you have been to Guangzhou. Even if you haven't seen the mountains of gold and silver on Xiguan Street with your own eyes, you have heard a lot about it. You certainly can't eat all the wealth of my Wu family, but even if you only eat one or two percent, you will be full."
He raised his eyelids and looked at the study room for a few times: "If nothing else, he could buy a hundred courtyard houses like this and still find more."
"How can I, Guangxing, be a corrupt person?" Guangxing snorted, "It doesn't matter whether the Wu family is searched or not. The contaminated silver will be put into the treasury in the future. It has nothing to do with me whether I go to search or not."
Wu Chengjian stroked the big bowl in his hand and said leisurely, "No one asked Master Guangxing to embezzle and pervert the law. But in the 45th year of Qianlong's reign, Heshen and Lord He proposed that officials who committed crimes could pay money to replace their crimes. Depending on the amount of fines paid, they could be exempted from punishment or given a lighter punishment - this is the system of 'discussing silver for crimes'. This is the rule reported by the Cabinet and the Grand Council, and approved by Emperor Qianlong. So our Wu family just wants to follow this rule and find a way out. But at present, the emperor has not really taken power, and the government is still controlled by Heshen. Our Wu family can't find a way out even if we want to find a way out, so we come to knock on your door, Lord Guangxing - if Lord Guangxing is willing to help and run around, so that our Wu family can pay silver to be exempted from punishment and give a lighter punishment. According to the rules, we have to give you a thank you gift as the middleman."
Without waiting for Guangxing to agree or refuse, he said, "Master Guangxing, even if you are really favored by the emperor, how much reward can the emperor give you directly? You know it in your heart! You will definitely be rich and noble, but you still have to cast your net to catch fish yourself. You will have to do something like what I did today. If you don't do it, you will have to stay in this dilapidated courtyard for the rest of your life. Do you really want to be Hai Rui? If you are willing to live in the dust, it will be a good thing for you, me and everyone else. So why should you refuse the money that is right under your nose just to be angry? Besides, after passing this beach, you may not be able to meet a big fish like me again in the future."
When Guangxing heard this, he was truly moved.
Although he was loyal to the emperor, he had never intended to be like Hai Rui. As long as it was not taboo, it was fine to do what was common in the officialdom. Although Wu Chengjian had an annoying face and harsh words, he always used real money to get things done. He had a very good reputation in this regard. Guangxing had heard more than one person say that Hao Guan never frowned when he spent money like flowing water, so when he said he wanted to buy his life, he really meant it. It was also because of the money that everyone didn't bother with him in recent years - whether in the officialdom or the business world, who would have trouble with money?
What Wu Chengjian said was right. There might not be another big fat fish like him in the world. If he missed this opportunity, although the Wu family would die, Guangxing would have to watch the gold mountain in his hands fly away.
Glancing at Guangxing's expression, Wu Chengjian stopped talking and just waited quietly.
After a while, Guangxing asked, "You are being watched so closely by Heshen now, how can you still make money?"
Wu Chengjian knew that the other party had fallen into the trap, and laughed: "Although He Zhongtang is smart, the capital and Guangzhou are thousands of miles apart. No matter how many spies he has, he can't keep an eye on me all the time. No matter how long his arms are, he can't completely cover the sky of the Bay of Yue. Even in this city of Beijing, he can't keep an eye on me. Haven't I entered your door? What's more, Guangzhou is thousands of miles away!"
"That does make sense." Guangxing said, "But...if you really want to negotiate your life, how much silver can you offer ?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "That depends on how much Master Guangxing wants."
Guangxing had been in the capital for a long time, and he had come into contact with a lot of intrigues in the Forbidden City. He had a good understanding of palace struggles, but he was not sure about the business of Yuehai Bay. In fact, his vision in this regard was narrow, so he was not sure about the degree. After hesitating for a while, he stretched out his palm: "This number."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Let's not play dumb, let's just be frank. Is it five thousand, fifty thousand, or five hundred thousand?"
Guangxing was the son of a Grand Secretary and had worked in the Ministry of Rites. He was also favored by Emperor Jiaqing. Although he had never seen the "Secret Files" that recorded the fines for discussed crimes with his own eyes, he had frequent contacts with the Grand Eunuch and the bigwigs of the Imperial Household Department. He knew that since the establishment of the "silver for discussed crimes" system, there had been nearly one hundred cases of fines for discussed crimes, and the Imperial Household Department had collected a total of five million taels of fines. On average, each case would cost about fifty thousand taels of silver. Although Wu Chengjian was a wealthy man, he was being closely watched by Heshen, and the wealth he could offer might not be the bulk of the money. Therefore, what he was thinking of when he stretched out his hand was actually fifty thousand taels.
But when Wu Chengjian asked, "Five thousand, fifty thousand or five hundred thousand," his heart skipped a beat and he blurted out, "Five hundred thousand!" This was an outrageous price.
He was waiting for Wu Chengjian to return the money, but Wu Chengjian asked, "Is this the hard work fee for Master Guangxing alone, or is it the total amount needed for the future?"
Does this mean that he can really come up with it? Guangxing was shocked. The 50,000 he said was a reward for his hard work, but if it was 500,000... He thought that if he said it was the total amount, then the money he got would be less. If he said it was his own hard work, 500,000 would be too much. After pondering for a moment, he decided to trick the other party again and said, "Of course it's my hard work alone."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "That's a bit too much. Our Wu family can afford 500,000 yuan, but if you add the money behind the scenes, the amount will be too huge, right, Master Guangxing?"
From Wu Chengjian's tone, Guangxing felt that the price could be negotiated. Even if it was lowered , it would exceed his original plan - he only spent 268 taels of silver to buy this courtyard house the year before last. Although there were some personal factors involved, even if it was calculated as 300 taels... What did Wu Chengjian say just now?
"If he bought a hundred courtyard houses like this, he would still have more to sell."
It seems that it is not a lie!
For a moment, Guangxing felt his chest swell slightly, and said, "What is the price?"
Wu Chengjian said, "I won't ask how much Lord Guangxing has earned, how much he has managed behind the scenes, and how you will divide it among yourself. I will only give you one price: two million to buy the lives of my entire Wu family. If it's possible, Lord Guangxing will take the trouble to run errands for me. If not, I will find another way out when I leave this door."
After saying this, Wu Chengjian stood up, waiting for Guangxing to nod or refuse.
Guangxing stared at Wu Chengjian for a long time and asked, "Can you really come up with two million taels?"
Two million taels... The amount of silver collected for discussing crimes has been collected since the 45th year of Qianlong's reign until now, in the past 17 or 18 years, the Imperial Household Department has only collected 5 million taels from corrupt officials all over the world. Can they collect half of it in one go?
Wu Chengjian said: "As a sign of sincerity, I can take out 500,000 yuan as a deposit. After receiving the money, it won't be too late for you and the people behind you to do it."
Guangxing was surprised: "Take out 500,000 now? Where do you get the money now?" He believed that Wu Chengjian had 2 million in Guangzhou, but this is Beijing!
Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "Master Guangxing, do you think I will really come to Beijing empty-handed? If I don't have any support, would I dare to come? And what is my biggest support? Of course it's money! Not to mention 500,000, even if it's 2 million, I can take it out now."
Guangxing was surprised and asked, "You brought money into Beijing? Where did you hide the money?"
Wu Chengjian did not answer, but asked: "So, Master Guangxing is ready to accept this deal?"
Guangxing hesitated for a moment and said, "If you can really come up with two million taels, fine! I will ensure that you will not die!"
Wu Chengjian had no pressure on his face: "Okay, then please ask Master Guangxing to tell the master behind the scenes to prepare an address for receiving the money, and then tell me that within three days, 500,000 taels of silver will be presented."
Guangxing suddenly shouted, "Wu Chengjian, if you don't see the money within three days, you will die without Heshen's help!"
Wu Chengjian smiled lightly: "It's just 500,000 yuan, why are you so nervous?"
Seeing that he handled it so easily, Guangxing couldn't help but believe that he could really come up with the money. However, he changed his mind and thought, if the other party could come up with 500,000 taels so easily, then wasn't the price he offered too low?
Thinking of this, his heart suddenly felt itchy.
"But there is one more thing that Master Guangxing needs to help me with first."
"搞鎂" is a Cantonese word, but Guangxing can understand it.
Wu Chengjian said, "I have stayed in your house for so long. If I leave this door, I am afraid that Liu Quan's lackeys will catch me somewhere. If that happens, I will be rich but will not be able to live to deliver it to you gentlemen."
Guangxing pondered and said, "If you can really come up with two million, don't worry, Heshen can't take your life away!"
He told Wu Chengjian not to leave for the time being: "I will be back soon. You wait for me." He also told the old servants not to open the door no matter who came, or which government office, except himself. Then he went out.
Guangxing didn't come back for an hour. Gao's servant brought a bowl of noodles to Wu Chengjian, who ate it without hesitation. After eating, he moved the reclining chair in the yard to the study and fell asleep.
In the evening, there was a noise outside the door. It was not Guangxing coming back, but a policeman outside, knocking on the door hurriedly.
