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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 404: Who Can Believe

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    Xingzhen took a breath and said: "The Bank of the Ministry of Finance is strictly supervised. Without the involvement of Shangguan, who could misappropriate so much cash? Which bank is so bold and dares to grant and receive cash from the Ministry of Finance?"

    Prince Gong hesitated slightly, and said with a bit of embarrassment on his face: "The bank account has never asked where the silver came from, and there are also many bank transfers from the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household for disaster relief, construction of river embankments, etc. Large amounts of silver are no longer strange.  , I had previously deposited more than 4 million taels of household treasury silver in Rishengchang Bank."

    Xingzhen pondered, she had heard of the name of Rishengchang Bank. Due to the needs of goods circulation and currency turnover in the late Qing Dynasty, an organization specializing in money exchange business was created, called "Biao Hao", also known as "Biao Hao".  This industry is dominated by Shanxi people, and it is also called "Shanxi Bank". It monopolized the country's currency exchange industry. At that time, there were 17 largest bank accounts in the country, and they were opened by people from Pingyao.  There are 7 companies, the largest of which is "Rishengchang". The owner is Li Daquan of Xidapu Village, Pingyao, and the manager is Lei Lutai of Xiyao Village.  It once had many branches across the country and was praised as "the rising sun in Kyoto brings prosperity to the world".

    Rishengchang was originally a paint shop. In the fourth year of Daoguang's reign, it was converted into a bank account and became China's first private financial institution specializing in money exchange and deposit business.  Rishengchang was once famous for being "No. 1 in the world" and "connecting the world". Its branches were spread across major cities across the country, including exchange business.

    After the ticket number business became popular, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties also had money exchanges with these ticket numbers, mainly because some funds for disaster relief and river control from the Ministry of Household Affairs would be deposited into the ticket numbers to facilitate exchange.  Thinking that these officials from the Ministry of Accounts must be in a line, users can deposit the bill number into the Ministry of Finance to obtain short-term interest.  Nowadays, wars are happening frequently and the interest rates of ticket numbers are rising.  A rough calculation of five million taels, the monthly interest rate is more than 20,000 taels. As long as the timing is correct, it is not easy to be discovered. I sighed to myself that it is really man-made wealth that kills birds for food, and there is no unnatural look on his face.  , said: "Sushun went to see Xianfeng first. You should go there quickly. The water in the bank of the Ministry of Revenue is very deep. There is no need to force the matter to come forward. Sushun is in charge of everything. You are not the official in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.  It¡¯s not advisable to get involved.¡±

    Prince Gong responded and said: "So I asked Sushun to go first, and I rushed over later. I left first. It would be bad for people to see me talking to the emperor's wife." He bowed and left in a hurry.

    Back in Chuxiu Palace, Xingzhen frowned and thought about this matter.  It seems that the Qing court is really in trouble, and such ridiculous things will happen to the treasury of a dignified country. The current Manchu minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs is Wen Qing, Fei Mo's family, courtesy name Kongxiu, and a native of Manchuria with a red banner.  The military ministers of the Daoguang and Xianfeng dynasties were honest officials and would not do such things that harmed the public and enriched private interests.  The minister of the Han Dynasty, the Minister of Household Affairs, was Weng Xincun. He was a Jinshi during the Daoguang period and was also a veteran of two dynasties.  He should not be able to do these things. Who is instructing the Ministry of Accounts to embezzle treasury funds?  What about making a profit by depositing your ticket number?  After much deliberation, I had no clue. I thought Xianfeng would come over or summon me in the evening. Only then would I be able to get the clues after hearing the detailed story.

    After dinner, Xingzhen picked up the light and took out a book to write. The title of the book was "Zaichun's Growth Story". It looked like a diary and wrote down every time Xingzhen saw her child growing up. From what point?  When he opened his eyes, when he could stand upright, when his teeth grew, and when he could speak, he recorded them all in detail.  Between the lines, her affection for this child is revealed everywhere.

    While she was writing, someone walked in. Xingzhen looked back and saw Xianfeng with a tired face. She asked in slight shock: "Why is the emperor here now?"

    Xianfeng shook his head and did not answer. He stepped forward, looked up, and asked, "Lan'er, what are you writing?"

    Xingzhen hurriedly hid the record behind her back and said with a smile: "It's nothing, I just wrote it randomly."

    People are like this. The more they cannot know something, the more they want to know. Xianfeng said curiously: "What is it written? Show it to me."

    "There's nothing to see. Your Majesty, sit down for a moment and I'll give you a cup of tea." Xingzhen smiled and tried to run away, but Xianfeng grabbed her and said, "Hurry up and show me. Is it possible that you are lonely? I wrote something  Pornographic words that I can¡¯t read?¡±

    Xingzhen angrily said: "Your Majesty is lonely, let me go, there is really nothing to see."  He went to grab the book and said with a smile: "Is it some palace drawing of Chun or something? Lan'er, you are not good, look at these."

    Xingzhen looked at his tired look and handed the book over in desperation. There was nothing shameful about it anyway, it just wrote about children.

    ?? Xingzhen sat aside, resting her hands on her forehead, watching Xianfeng's expression change.

    I saw him reading page by page, the smile on his face getting stronger and stronger, the tiredness on his face faded a lot, and his eyebrows relaxed, no longer had a frown on his face, he smiled secretly in his heart.

    After a while, Xianfeng saw what she had just written today, slowly closed the book, held Xingzhen's hand and said with a smile: "You'd better be thoughtful, it will be interesting to see these when the children grow up.  "

    Xingzhen put the book away and said with a smile: "Yes, when I think about it, time flies by so fast. Zai Chun is almost one year old."

    ??

    Xingzhen whispered: "When the child was one month old, the emperor celebrated grandly. Now that he is one year old, it is too extravagant to celebrate again?"

    Xianfeng shook his head and said: "Lan'er, do you know? Since I became an adult, when I was still my elder brother, I have had a son named Fujin. Since I ascended the throne, I have never had an heir. At that time, there were rumors in the palace that I could not  Giving birth made me very distressed. Later, when you were born, I was really ecstatic, so it is natural that I should love Zai Chun as my child."

    Xingzhen said oh, although Xianfeng said the word distress in an understatement, but the emperor was unable to have children, this distress was not ordinary. It seemed that Xianfeng's love for the two children came from the bottom of his heart, and he said softly: "  The servant understands. Then do as the emperor likes. The emperor's mother is not in good health. It would be good to hold a celebration to make her happy. But don't be too extravagant. There is still a war now, and there are many places to spend money.  Save some money."

    When Xianfeng heard the word "yin", he was furious and said: "I must use more money to prevent those heartless slaves from being greedy!"

    Xingzhen was startled when she saw the veins on Xianfeng¡¯s forehead popping out.  It seemed that Xianfeng was really angry to the extreme. He had been holding back just now. He gently held his hand and asked, "What's wrong? If you have anything to say, tell me. It feels more comfortable to say it."

    Xianfeng snorted heavily, stood up and walked back and forth. As he walked, he said angrily: "Recently, I appointed Sushun as the Minister of Hubu, and asked him to check the Hubu treasury with Lao Liu, who just returned to Beijing. Unexpectedly, the Hubu treasury  There is actually a shortage of more than five million taels of silver, and this household is rotten to the core."

    Xingzhen asked softly: "Has your Majesty called Wenqing and Weng Xiancun to ask?"

    Xianfeng said angrily: "It would be better if I didn't ask. I just said they didn't know. When I asked, I got even more angry. It turned out that they knew about it."

    Xingzhen was surprised and asked: "Do you two adults know?"

    Xianfeng said bitterly: "The two of them said that the Ministry of Household Affairs has a long-standing custom. Whenever there is a balance of money allocated to the local government, it will be deposited into the Jingzhong bank account. Firstly, there will be interest and increase the treasury income for the Ministry of Household Affairs. Secondly,  It is convenient to withdraw money. You can just use the official bank draft to withdraw it from another place. It is safe and secure."

    Xingzhen said: "It is reasonable and reasonable to listen to what the two adults said."

    Xianfeng said angrily: "These two fools will tamper with their approval slips every time when their subordinates handle this matter, and release more treasury silver. Zhong Lin and Wang Xizhen are so bold that they have a lot of silver transactions in the household department."  It was all handled by them, and over time, there was a huge gap of five million taels."

    Xingzhen was slightly surprised and asked: "The two of them are just small clerks, how can they have such courage? Who is behind them? Can anyone confess?"

    ??

    Xingzhen nodded and said: "It seems that it really wasn't done by one or two people. I think it was someone with a lot of background behind it. Can those Ku Yin be chased back?"

    Xianfeng sighed and said: "The more than four million taels deposited in the Rishengchang bank account have not yet been redeemed. Sushun personally checked the bank account's accounts and found that all the banknote deposits that coincided with the time when the Treasury bank issued them were there.  No one has come to pick it up yet, but after checking, all the money orders with other bill numbers have already been picked up."

    Xingzhen frowned and said, "I think these people don't dare to go to the money order account to redeem it. Do you plan to continue investigating this matter?"

    Xianfeng clenched his fists and said: "Investigate, why not investigate? I have ordered Sushun, Zaiyuan, and Duanhua to handle the case. Starting from the Criminal Prison Prison, I want to see who dares to kill people and silence them in the Criminal Prison Prison."  . I also need to check other ticket numbers. There should be clues left by those people who deposited and withdrawn money. Let me find out who is related to this matter, and they will be punished severely! "

    Xingzhen sighed and asked: "Where are Wen Qing and Weng Xinchun? They have always had a very good official reputation, and they will definitely not be greedy for ink."

    ??

    "I demoted two adults,"Who will succeed the two positions of Manchu and Han ministers?  Xingzhen asked.

    "Sushun and Zhu Fengbiao come forward and let them sort out this mess in the household department." Xianfeng said.

    After hearing this, Xingzhen was shocked. Zhu Fengbiao was the master of Yiyi, the seventh son of the emperor. He was close to Prince Gong, but Han ministers generally had to take orders from Manchu ministers.  So far, Sushun has actually benefited the most from this incident. When handling the case, it is not Sushun who has the final say on which official from the Ministry of Revenue wants to be removed?  Moreover, he was promoted to the position of Minister of Household Affairs. This position was promoted very quickly. He then said softly: "So far, Sushun has benefited the most from this matter. Could it be him"

    Before she finished speaking, Xianfeng interrupted her and said: "Don't make wild guesses. I still trust Sushun. Remember, it is a great grace for me to let you participate in political affairs. Don't think about criticizing me anymore."  A trusted minister!"

    Xianfeng's subsequent words were a bit cold. Xingzhen was stunned for a while, then she suppressed her inner words and said, "It's my fault. I'm just making random guesses without evidence."

    Seeing that she had admitted her mistake, Xianfeng stopped dwelling on the previous topic and sighed: "These are troubled times. But I never expected that there are still these heartless people greedy for money and what they do is outrageous. Thinking of the late Emperor  When I was still alive, the Ministry of Household Affairs also had such a major case, which made me shudder. Who else can I trust?"

    Xingzhen heard him talk about the major household case that occurred during the Daoguang period, and she had heard of it.  That happened in the 23rd year of Daoguang reign. At that time, the nephew of Zhang Chengbao, a Kubing soldier in the Bank of the Ministry of Revenue, donated his official position. The money was donated to the Ministry of Revenue. His uncle Zhang Chengbao was responsible for weighing the money and collecting it. In the end, the money was confiscated.  But a receipt was issued.  This matter was kept secret, and because it involved complicated personnel relations and distribution of interests, it was exposed.  As a result, the shady story got bigger and bigger, and finally the huge shady story of the Ministry of Accounts' bank account was revealed.  It is said in history that "in the 23rd year, the treasury officials distributed the money unevenly and criticized themselves internally. This matter cannot be concealed again and reaches the heaven."

    Emperor Daoguang was horrified after hearing the news, and ordered the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment to go for an inspection. This inspection was not trivial, and he found that the number on the book was different from the actual silver inventory by more than nine million taels.  Emperor Daoguang was frugal by nature, and his ministers went to Beijing to report on their duties.  When it was time for dinner, he was reluctant to leave the minister to have a meal. This time, he lost more than nine million taels of silver. Naturally, Long Yan was furious.

    Emperor Daoguang scolded his ministers bitterly and said: "It has never happened before that we have lost more than 9,252,000 taels of silver. Reading the memorials overcomes the anger. With the country's official money and food, how dare you collude with them?"  Cheating. Grabbing at will, like this, with no conscience, and working with the thieves of the country All the ministers who have been in charge of the treasury and sent to check the treasury are all trusted and high-ranking officials, and they have followed the lead without realizing it. No one can  I don't know if all the kings and ministers feel guilty for committing adultery and betraying their commission! I blame myself for being ignorant!" Emperor Daoguang was furious and determined to get to the bottom of it.

    A large number of Ku soldiers were arrested and imprisoned, a large number of officials were suspended for review, and the officials of the Ministry of Punishment were busy day and night.  In the end, it was found that the more than nine million taels of silver were not stolen by one person, nor was it a short-term crime. As for the criminal, it can basically be concluded that he was a soldier from the bank.

    At that time, there were ten large warehouses in the capital, including those for grain, money, and cloth and silk.  There are three treasuries containing money: the first is the inner treasury of the Forbidden City.  There are more than one million taels of silver in this inventory. It is a spare "crossing the river money" for the emperor, which is used to pay for the emperor's exile when he is desperate. It has not been used so far, and they are all large silver ingots of fifty taels each, so they are not easy to be used.  It was stolen, so it was sealed and the superior officials basically did not check the treasury.

    The second one is the Treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.  Although it is called a silver warehouse, it does not store silver, but only gold, jade and jewelry. The warehouse is not large and is very convenient to manage.

    The third one is the Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue, also known as the national treasury.  There is a lot of money hidden in the treasury, which is received and spent almost every day.  Ku Bing was very busy moving in and out every day.

    In order to ensure the safety of the treasury of the Ministry of Households, the Qing Dynasty formulated a strict management system for the treasury. There was a minister in charge of the treasury, who was concurrently served by the Minister of the Ministry of Households. Below him was a doctor and a middle-ranking officer, and then there were several people with treasury books. None of these people had  Power enters the bank, and only Kubing can enter the bank.

    If a warehouse soldier wants to enter the warehouse, even in the severe winter, he must take off his clothes and pants. After entering the warehouse, he must change into the clothes and pants in the warehouse. When he finishes his work and leaves the warehouse, he must take off his clothes again. There is a bench at the door of the warehouse.  Stepping over the bench naked, clapping your hands upward, shouting "Come out", and then you can put on the clothes you came in and go home.  Standing on the bench, raising your hands, clapping your hands, and shouting are to show that you have no money in your body, armpits, mouth, or hands.

    From this point of view, the Ministry of Revenue¡¯s bank supervision is very strict, and it seems that the Treasury soldiers have no chance to take advantage of it, but this is not the case.  There are two ways for Ku soldiers to steal silver. The first is to "hide silver in valleys".  The second method is to use a teapot to bring money out in the severe winter.  There is water in the pot, put the silver in the teapot, open the lid of the teapot when leaving the warehouse, tip the teapot down and pass.  In fact, if the silver is frozen in the teapot, it will naturally not be poured out.

      These are the two main methods, and there are other methods.  In this way, over time, a little accumulated, and a lot of money in the bank was stolen without even realizing it.  Since it wasn't done in one day, and it wasn't stolen by one person, why is it only discovered today?

    It turns out that since the thorough inventory of the treasury in the fifth year of Jiaqing, it has only been a routine check every year. The minister of the treasury check turned over the accounts, looked at the doors and windows, made a hasty inspection, gave some serious instructions to the treasury soldiers, and then gave up after going through the formalities.  No one would believe that they were not aware of the Ku soldiers' self-stealing, but in a word, they couldn't afford to offend them.

    This not only involves the interests of important members of the imperial court and a complex official game, but also the gang of Ku soldiers are not simple. The water is very deep, and some even take both black and white.  On the day the treasury was opened, groups of heavily armed bodyguards gathered under the trees to enjoy the shade outside the door of the Treasury. Their majesty was unmatched by ordinary officials of the Ministry of Commerce.  These are Ku Bing's personal bodyguards. In fact, it is not Ku Bing's pretense. They often face the danger of being kidnapped and robbed, because the huge profits can easily make criminals take advantage of their wealth.  In addition, it costs six to seven thousand taels of silver to make up for the vacancy of one Ku soldier. In this case, who would destroy his job? Would it be strange for him not to fight to the death?

    When the Dongchuang incident happened, some Ku soldiers fled quickly after hearing the news.  The furious Emperor Daoguang ordered the infantry commander Yamen and Shuntian Prefecture to strictly control the situation.  In the end, most of the soldiers were controlled and many were arrested, but how to deal with it was also a big problem. Not only were there a large number of people and a wide range of people involved, but it was also difficult to obtain evidence.  In addition, this was a crime committed over several decades, and officials at all levels have unshirkable responsibilities. If they had been a little more responsible, such a strange case would not have occurred. If officials were held accountable now, they would face the possibility that the law would not be held accountable.  .  Therefore, Emperor Daoguang was at a loss as to who to settle the score with.

    After the ministers¡¯ persuasion and enlightenment, Emperor Daoguang gradually calmed down from his extreme anger.  Emperor Daoguang said angrily, "We should have set up heavy canons to enforce laws and regulations, but after many years of service, officials were not appointed for one term, and there were many scribes, clerks, and servants." It was impossible to get to the bottom of the matter.  Except for a few Ku soldiers with solid evidence and serious crimes who were sentenced to death, exile, and imprisonment, the officials were basically not held accountable. This was not a lenient treatment for them, but Emperor Daoguang's move had ulterior motives, and the country was in urgent need of money.  , in addition to giving demotion points to the officials who should bear the responsibility, the key is to order them to pay for the losses to the treasury and recover the losses as much as possible, but the results of the recovery are not ideal.

    The major bank case had a huge impact on Daoguang. Not only did more than nine million taels of Xuefhuahua's silver disappear, which made Daoguang, who advocated frugality, feel heartbroken. What was even more frustrating was that no reason could be found for such a major case.  Several Ku soldiers who have been committing crimes for many years are still at large.

    Emperor Daoguang angrily rebuked: "I have been ordered to seize it by decree, but I have ignored it for months and years, and have not yet obtained it. What kind of things do the yamen and others do? They have already let it go! They are still under the command of the infantry, and all the yamen in the five cities of Shuntian Prefecture are strictly responsible for the acquisition.  Bring the case to justice without any further delay!" Even though Daoguang was furious, there was still no news about the fugitive Ku Bing.

    Emperor Daoguang has been in the world for more than 20 years. Although he has tried his best to govern, he has achieved little. Although he tried hard, he was unable to turn the tide.  The failure of the Opium War was a heavy blow, and later there was a vertical attack on the bank case. The setbacks came one after another, and the political affairs were even worse. Emperor Daoguang, whose ambitions had been exhausted, showed obvious laziness and fatigue. He began to avoid the contradictory reality and slowly  Slowly disheartened.

    Later, in view of the major case in the Household Department during the Daoguang period, the Qing government began to deposit part of the money in the bank account to reduce the number of people who passed it. Unexpectedly, such a major case would still occur.  Now Xianfeng is also facing the same problem as Emperor Daoguang. It has not been a day or two before the ministers deceived the superiors and subordinates. Now it is the autumn season, and there are still people who dare to take advantage of Ku Yin. The ancients said: "There is no greater sorrow than the death of the heart."  , as Xianfeng said, who else can he trust?
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