noffsinger Chapter 339: Taking advantage of others
Chapter 339: Taking advantage of others
Chapter 339 Exploitation and Seizure
"The imperial edict has arrived!"
Just as the constables of the Three Judicial Offices and Wang Wenzhou's men were in a tense standoff and about to take action, Wang Chengen arrived to deliver an imperial edict.
Wang Wenzhou frowned. Damn, Chongzhen arrived pretty quickly!
"Wang Wenzhou, receive the imperial decree!" Wang Wenzhou said.
Everyone knelt down on the ground.
"Prince Xuan Wenzhou, please come to the palace immediately to see the Emperor. The case of Wang Qiang is a misunderstanding. The Tartar spy was killed by Wang Qiang on my secret orders. This case is now closed, and all those involved are released without charge." Wang Chengen read out the imperial edict.
Zheng Sanjun was incredulous. The Emperor had actually taken the blame for Wang Qiang and cleaned up his mess. Wang Wenzhou was still favored by the Emperor! It seemed that Wang Wenzhou's secret operation in the Qing Dynasty was going very smoothly!
"Your humble servant accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude." Wang Wenzhou immediately knelt down.
"Lord Wang, please come with me," Wang Chengen said with a smile.
"Please wait a moment, Father-in-law, I need to tell you something." Wang Wenzhou quickly walked to Liu Rushi's side and said softly, "Rushi, you've been wronged these past few days. Go home and wait for me. I'll come home to find you in a little while."
"Sigh..." Liu Rushi was both amused and exasperated. Her husband was really unreliable.
Wang Wenzhou followed Wang Chao'en to the palace. The entire way, Wang Wenzhou was deep in thought. What exactly did Chongzhen mean? Chongzhen clearly knew about Wang Qiang's case, yet he had kept Liu Rushi imprisoned. Although he hadn't wronged her, she was still in jail. He had just returned to the Ming Dynasty, and Chongzhen had so easily closed the case! Something was definitely amiss!
When Wang Wenzhou entered the Imperial Study, Zhu Youjian greeted him with a smile and said, "Boxin is back! I've been waiting for you for so long!"
Wang Wenzhou curled his lip and said irritably, "Brother Zhu, you really don't do things right! I risked my life for you in Qing China, but you imprisoned my wife and children!"
Zhu Youjian was furious that Wang Wenzhou would dare to accuse him so brazenly. He thought to himself, "I am the emperor, and for a subject to speak like this is extremely disrespectful!"
Zhu Youjian thought for a moment and then said, "Boxin, I am also helpless. After all, Wang Qiang's actions have violated the law. Those robbers' family members are all innocent civilians who are unarmed."
Wang Wenzhou said irritably, "Brother Zhu, there are far too many innocent people who have died. For example, when I went to the Qing Dynasty this time, tens of thousands of innocent people died because of me! What you're doing is really unethical!"
"Hehe!" Zhu Youjian chuckled awkwardly, knowing that what he was doing was indeed somewhat beneath him. But when it comes to power, many things cannot be based on feelings. Since Wang Wenzhou was so frank, Zhu Youjian was too embarrassed to change the subject any further.
Zhu Youjian asked, "Boxin, have you named your newborn son yet?"
“Brother Zhu! His name is Liu Xiaohua. I don’t need you to go out of your way to name him! You’re too heartless to be an uncle like that. Liu Xiaohua is only two months old, and you’ve already kept him in jail for more than a month,” Wang Wenzhou said sarcastically.
Zhu Youjian shook his head with a wry smile. "Wang Wenzhou, you really don't treat me like an emperor!"
Zhu Youjian thought for a moment, then said with a hint of embarrassment, "Boxin, you are incredibly wealthy, your fortune rivals that of a nation. I am very pleased that Meichu married Liu Xiaohua. But as you know, I have no money! Boxin, do you have any ways to make money? Could you help me earn some silver so that I can prepare a dowry for Meichu when she grows up?"
"You damn Zhu Youjian! You shameless bastard! So you've got your eye on my money!" Wang Wenzhou was quite helpless. He was afraid of being slaughtered like a pig by Zhu Youjian, so he had been very careful and kept his money hidden. It seemed that Zhu Youjian had finally discovered that he was rich! Fortunately, he was still useful to Zhu Youjian, otherwise, Zhu Youjian would probably have slaughtered him like a pig.
"Brother Zhu! We wrote it all down in black and white back then. Meichu is going to sleep with me now that she's grown up, not with Liu Xiaohua!" Wang Wenzhou wanted to remind Zhu Youjian not to push him too far, because he had something on him.
"Hehe!" Zhu Youjian chuckled awkwardly. To be honest, he didn't want to extort Wang Wenzhou either. For an emperor to extort a subject was simply too shameful. But Wang Wenzhou was incredibly wealthy, and not only that, he also possessed a loyal armed force. This was something Zhu Youjian couldn't tolerate. If he did, the Ming Dynasty's emperors might one day no longer bear the Zhu surname but the Wang surname.
"Boxin! I am the reigning emperor, and my word is law. How can I break my promise? Rest assured, I will not betray you, and you will not betray me!" Zhu Youjian said hastily.
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Making money is a piece of cake. How about this, half of the shares in all my businesses will be transferred to Meichu's name. After all, she'll have to sleep with me when she grows up, and I can't treat her unfairly."
Zhu Youjian said in a serious tone, "Boxin, this is not right! How could I possibly accept your money?"
"Damn it!" Wang Wenzhou cursed inwardly. "Zhu Youjian! You're shameless! You're greedy for money! I really regret sleeping with your girl! After sleeping with her, I not only risked my life for you, but I also lost half my fortune!"
"Brother Zhu, we're all family, no need to be so polite!" Wang Wenzhou felt like crying. He was always the one extorting others, but this time, not only was he being extorted by Zhu Youjian, but he also had to beg him to accept it.
Zhu Youjian nodded and said, "How about this, I will send someone to check the accounts later. Even close brothers should keep clear accounts."
Wang Wenzhou curled his lip. Judging from Zhu Youjian's greedy behavior, it was probably not just a simple audit. If things went wrong, Zhu Youjian might seize control of the three major industries. However, Wang Wenzhou wasn't worried. After all, apart from his own people, he didn't know how things would work. As long as the people actually in charge were still those from the labor camps, Zhu Youjian wouldn't be able to take away real control.
Zhu Youjian was silent for a moment before speaking, "Hanshan Express is somewhat similar to the post stations. Back then, the national treasury was empty, and the court had to cut expenses, which is why the post stations were abolished. Thinking about it now, it's rather inconvenient. How about this, the court provides the silver to buy Hanshan Express?"
Damn it! Wang Wenzhou was about to lose his temper! The Hanshan Express network had already been established, and Wang Wenzhou had invested a total of over ten million taels of silver. Wang Wenzhou knew that Zhu Youjian definitely didn't have that much silver; what he meant by "buying it" was that Zhu Youjian wanted to nationalize it and control Hanshan Express.
Wang Wenzhou was puzzled. If he were Zhu Youjian, he wouldn't have chosen Hanshan Express; he would have chosen Hanshan Bank. In a few years, the bank would have controlled the entire Ming Dynasty's economy. Zhu Youjian's choice of Express didn't make sense! Did Zhu Youjian covet the security capabilities of Express?
Thinking of this, Wang Wenzhou said sarcastically, "Brother Zhu is too polite! When I accidentally slept with your sister-in-law, you gave her to me without saying a word. We are closer than blood brothers, so what's mine is yours! No need to buy it, I'll donate Hanshan Express to the court."
Zhu Youjian blushed immediately. It seemed that Wang Wenzhou was unwilling. Thinking about it, it made sense. After all, it was an industry worth tens of millions of taels of silver. He just took it away like that. Anyone would be unhappy in that situation.
"Good! Bo Xin is loyal to the emperor and loves his country, which pleases me greatly!" Zhu Youjian said with a wry smile.
"Brother Zhu, if there's nothing else, I'm going home now. I've been away for so long, and my wife and children miss me terribly." Wang Wenzhou was in a bad mood. Everything he had worked so hard for since his transmigration had been taken away by Zhu Youjian overnight.