"Tian Que, has the location been confirmed?"
"Confirmed."
"Since it's confirmed, let's act!" Xiao Man put down the brush in his hand. "This game of chess is almost over, it's time to wrap it up."
"Yes."
This night was destined to be restless. Pang Tong's men were escorting disaster relief silver out of Jiangzhou, but not long after leaving the city, they were robbed. The perpetrators were extremely swift. Before they could react, they were incapacitated. By the time Pang Tong received the news, their silver vault had also been ransacked, and years of savings were gone!
"Who, who is it?"
"General, how could it be such a coincidence? We just got the silver, and it was stolen, along with our entire vault."
Pang Tong's face was extremely grim. Jiangzhou, after the disaster, was like a lawless land. It was inevitable that criminals would target them. Many must have had their eyes on the disaster relief silver. They dared not snatch it from the Imperial Envoy, but would they dare to snatch it from him?
"So much silver must have a place to hide. Search, turn the ground upside down, and find the thief who stole the silver! Tear them to pieces!"
"General, we probably can't investigate openly. After all, this matter..." Zou Yang said cautiously. The official grain in his hand had been exchanged for silver, and he hadn't been happy for long before it was stolen.
"Let the merchants report to the authorities, say the silver was stolen, and ask the government to help recover it."
"Yes, General." Zou Yang immediately went to handle it. Moving so much silver out of Jiangzhou was no easy task. The silver must still be in Jiangzhou, and as long as it was in Jiangzhou, it couldn't escape their grasp.
"General, isn't this too coincidental?"
"Has there been any abnormality from the Imperial Envoy's side?"
"There's no abnormality over there. Every day, they dredge silt, clean, repair houses, and distribute grain and medicine. There's nothing unusual."
"Keep a close watch. Report immediately if there's any slightest disturbance. Also, order people to disguise themselves as ordinary civilians and mingle with the disaster victims to gather information. This General wants to see which god-forsaken dog dared to steal this General's silver!"
Wen Mohan was very busy, working on disaster relief and reconstruction day after day. However, he did notice many new faces among the disaster victims, and he couldn't help but sneer.
It seemed the silver hadn't even warmed in their hands before it was stolen. She always gave him surprises!
"Sir, have some water, eat something, and rest." Shi Shu brought a bowl of clean water and handed it to Wen Mohan. Wen Mohan washed his hands before taking it and drinking it all in one gulp.
"Shi Shu, where did your family live before?"
"My family lived in Qu County."
"Were your father and mother both from Qu County?"
"No, my father is from Qu County, and my mother is from Zhang County." Shi Shu handed another steamed bun to Wen Mohan, who took it and ate it elegantly.
"Your mother is from out of town?"
"No, my mother is also from Jiangzhou."
Wen Mohan looked at Shi Shu in confusion. Jiangzhou had twelve counties, but Zhang County was not among them. Could it be that Zhang County had changed its name?
"Does Zhang County belong to Jiangzhou?"
Shi Shu nodded. "It's just that my grandmother's house is very far away. Only after the harvest season would my parents take me to my grandmother's. It was too far, a whole day's walk from morning to night."
Wen Mohan became even more puzzled. "Has Zhang County changed its name?"
"I don't know."
"Does Sir want to know about Zhang County?" an old woman asked cautiously. The old woman, in her seventies, had only a few sparse teeth left. She was holding a bowl of porridge and drinking it.
"Does the elder know Zhang County?"
"I know. Zhang County is quite far from here, about a hundred li away." The old woman said while drinking porridge, "That place is too remote and poor. They can't even get enough to eat."
"Jiangzhou is quite prosperous. Zhang County belongs to Jiangzhou. Didn't the prefecture provide any help?"
The old woman shook her head, her words sounding a bit slurred, "That place can't grow rice. The prefecture never cared. If it weren't for the later discovery of a mineral vein in Zhang County, the people of Zhang County would have starved to death."
"Mineral vein?"
"Yes, I heard it from others. They said there's a mineral vein in Zhang County, and many people were recruited by the government to mine it. Those who went never returned. This flood came suddenly, and I'm afraid many people died."
Wen Mohan frowned. The list of prefectures and counties Zou Yang gave him did not include Zhang County. "Are there many people in Zhang County?"
"There weren't many people before, but I don't know now, as no one knows how many people the government recruited to mine."
"If there are many people, our village alone sent about thirty young and strong men. Add the people from nearby villages, and it's about a thousand people. They've been gone for over a year, and we haven't heard a word."
"Do they know what kind of mineral it is?"
"I heard it's jade."
"I heard it's an iron mine."
"No, no, it's a gold mine."
"Why did I hear it's black oil?" Disaster victims gathered around, discussing animatedly. Wen Mohan's expression, however, became particularly grim. People from every county were recruited to Zhang County. Hundreds of people from each county, totaling thousands. Why was there no information about Zhang County for so many people?
Could it be because of the mineral vein? Did the officials of Jiangzhou want to monopolize the mineral vein for themselves?
After Wen Mohan returned, he immediately ordered someone to investigate matters concerning Zhang County. According to the law, if prefectures and counties discovered mineral veins, they had to report to the imperial court, which was responsible for their extraction. However, Jiangzhou had not reported it. There were likely many secrets hidden within this matter.
Pang Tong and his men were still investigating the whereabouts of the disaster relief silver. However, that batch of silver seemed to have evaporated into thin air. Not only could they not find any clues, but their extensive search for the stolen silver also alerted Wen Mohan.
Wen Mohan sent someone to inquire about what had happened. Zou Yang used a pre-arranged excuse to brush them off, becoming increasingly anxious. They had lost not seventy thousand taels of silver, but three million taels!
"General, what should we do? If we can't find this batch of silver, and we are blamed by our superiors, we can't bear the consequences!"
"Three million taels of silver is not three taels. It must be hidden somewhere we overlooked. Search again, I don't believe we won't find it!"
"General, what if... I'm just saying, what if we can't find it..."
Pang Tong's expression was grave. Three million was not a small sum, but it was the amount that had to be submitted. If it was not submitted by the deadline, they would face eternal damnation!
"Notify the chamber of commerce, and everyone, let's pool three million taels together to submit it. After this matter is resolved, three million taels can be earned back quickly!"
"Those merchants are more cunning than ghosts, they probably won't easily give up the money."
"Tell them that whoever contributes over fifty thousand taels, I'll give them a salt permit!" Pang Tong gritted his teeth. How profitable the private salt business was, any merchant knew. Moreover, salt was now controlled by the government. To engage in the private salt business, one had to go through the government.
"Your subordinate will attend to it immediately."