"Why are you all complaining now, when you earn so much money every day, and I'm only asking you to take out 100,000 strings of cash?"
Seeing Zhe Wanchun's shocked expression, Tang Ke said disdainfully.
"Lord Tang, although we do earn a lot of copper coins every day, every single one of those copper coins is earned with our sweat and blood. We have never defaulted on a single penny of tax owed to the court. Are you saying this because you intend to rob us blind?"
Seeing his overbearing attitude, even Zhe Wanchun, who had a good temper, was starting to lose his patience.
"Rob you blind? I don't like hearing you say that. Listen carefully, this is the court borrowing money from you. Once the war in the north is over and the court has recovered, they will naturally return the money to you!"
Hearing Tang Ke say this, Zhe Wanchun almost burst out laughing from anger.
This was truly more outrageous than robbing them blind!
The Song and Liao dynasties were hereditary enemies.
From the founding of the Song Dynasty by Emperor Taizu until now, these two countries had been fighting intermittently for over a hundred years.
Up to this point, both sides had won and lost, and neither had ever gained a decisive advantage.
Even though the Liao kingdom was already in decline, what was the true state of the Song Dynasty's army? Did anyone know it better than them?
If it were Zhong Shidao leading the army, perhaps there would have been a chance.
But now, the commander was Tong Guan, a eunuch who only knew how to be jealous of talented people. If he could lead this Song army to win this war, it would truly be a ghost story!
According to Tang Ke's statement, it would probably take ages to get the money back after giving it out.
It was clearly outright robbery, yet this fellow still had to find an excuse. If one were to talk about shamelessness, this old scoundrel Tang Ke would definitely rank at the top among everyone he had ever met.
"Since Your Lordship says it's a loan, what if I refuse to lend?"
Since this fellow was already so shameless, Zhe Wanchun had no reservations about playing along.
However, to get him to fall for it, he naturally had to play coy first.
"It doesn't matter, you certainly have the right to refuse. However, I have received reliable intelligence that your shop harbors Liao spies. It would be best to wait until I have thoroughly investigated everyone in your shop before you reopen!"
Having reached this point, Tang Ke was naturally not going to be polite.
"Lord Tang, you are clearly trying to make things difficult for my general!"
Zhe Wanchun took a deep breath and said with a smile.
"Make things difficult for your general? For your General Zhe Kucun? Do you think he is worthy of it?"
Tang Ke laughed dismissively.
"Lord Tang certainly has his ways. However, when it comes to doing business, shouldn't we be allowed to haggle? I don't have that much cash on hand, but I have brought a treasure today. I'm afraid Your Lordship wouldn't dare to accept it!"
As Zhe Wanchun spoke, he took out the jewelry box from his sleeve.
"As long as it's something that Manager Zhe brings out, there's nothing this official wouldn't dare to accept!"
Tang Ke didn't even look at Zhe Wanchun's expression, merely sitting aside and trimming his fingernails with a small dagger.
"Lord Tang, do you think this item could be worth 100,000 strings of cash?"
Seeing his casual demeanor, Zhe Wanchun directly opened the lid of the jewelry box.
"It's just a..."
Tang Ke was about to say that a mere set of jewelry couldn't possibly be worth 100,000 strings of cash.
However, the moment his eyes fell upon the cat's eye stone inlaid on the phoenix hairpin, he froze on the spot.
A single cat's eye stone might not be particularly valuable, but the price of a top-grade cat's eye stone was priceless.
Moreover, the five top-grade cat's eye stones inlaid in this set of jewelry, regardless of their size or color, appeared to be exactly the same.
Not to mention the value of the design and craftsmanship of this set of jewelry, the value of just these five identical cat's eye stones would definitely not be less than 30,000 strings of cash!
Even an outsider like Tang Ke was somewhat stunned upon seeing such top-grade items at first glance.
"The actual value of this item can only be known by finding a suitable buyer!"
However, Tang Ke quickly recovered and said nonchalantly.
"What about the seals on the shop?"
Zhe Wanchun didn't even look at the jewelry set, but asked Tang Ke with a cold smile.
"You can go back first. I'll send someone over in a while to remove your seals!"
After clearing his throat, Tang Ke said casually.
"Lord Tang's handling of cases is truly just and incorruptible. I am deeply impressed!"
Zhe Wanchun sneered, left a parting remark, and turned to leave.
After Tang Ke closed the door, he picked up the jewelry set again.
This was truly a rare treasure!
However, the thought of having to sell it to exchange for copper coins made Tang Ke feel a bit reluctant.
After a moment of hesitation, Tang Ke made up his mind.
Since he was already doing an unpopular task this time, if he could extort 100,000 strings of cash, he could also extort 3 million strings of cash.
100,000 strings of cash divided among 72 main shops meant that each shop would only have to contribute a few thousand strings of cash more.
The Crown Princess's birthday was approaching, and this item would be a perfect gift for the Crown Prince!
Having made up his mind, Tang Ke, without a second thought, covered the jewelry set.
However, after searching his office with such a treasure, he still couldn't find a suitable place to store it.
Such a good item seemed too conspicuous wherever it was placed.
After pondering for a moment, Tang Ke tore off a tablecloth from a nearby table to use as a wrapper. He carefully wrapped the box, and then turned to leave his office.
He beckoned his trusted young servant, got into his carriage, and headed back to his residence.
As soon as he left, the bailiffs who had come to find him could only return empty-handed.
Since Tang Ke had already gone home, these people didn't dare to follow him to his residence.
Helpless, they could only turn back to report to Li Yan.
However, Li Yan was already weak in health, and now with an external injury, he had fallen into a deep sleep after taking medicine.
By the time they returned, Li Yan was already asleep. Seeing his frail appearance, these bailiffs dared not wake him...
The last chance to stop Tang Ke was missed due to this unintended circumstance.