Chapter 68: The Great Case of Splashing Heaven

  Liuchun Garden, Zhang Mengjiao sighed with a light breath while holding Jin Shiyang's information, "This newly appointed Jiangsu Governor, is another honest and fearless official, with Zhang Bohai getting such strong support, this new round of Jiangnan's governorship struggle is likely to begin again."

  Yin Zhen furrowed his brow and said: "This Chen Pengnian is quite good, why did the Emperor summon another Jin Shiyang?"

  "The emperor must be worried that Chen Pengnian would be implicated in the case of Yu Zhong's corruption, so he transferred a clean-handed Jin Shiyang to be Zhang Bohang's partner." Zhang Mengjiao smiled and said, "The emperor is indeed very concerned about the two rivers."

  "Let them fight, as long as they don't interfere with us." Yongzheng's expression was relaxed as he picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Now that it's already June, the wood materials from various places have started to arrive in Shanghai one after another. My shipyard won't be able to start work until the end of the year at the earliest. You bring this message to your father: all the wood materials should be used by him first, and my shipbuilders can also be assigned to him first. The progress of building ships must be expedited."

  "Don't worry, sir. At the beginning of the year, my father invited a large number of shipbuilders from Suzhou, Jiangning and Quanzhou. Now there are already four 1,500-ton ships with their keels laid, and if we transfer some shipbuilders here, the progress will naturally be faster, and it won't delay your affairs."

  Yin Zhen nodded in satisfaction, "En, your Zhang family's shipyard should also be expanded. Tell your father to boldly expand it. In the future, there will be plenty of orders. The imperial court's restrictions on civilian shipbuilding may be relaxed, but this news must not be leaked out."

  "Thanks for the tip." Zhang Mengjiao said excitedly, this was a huge piece of good news. Now, there were not many craftsmen who could build large ships with 1,500 tons of cargo, basically all of them had been poached by Shanghai. Once the restrictions were lifted, wouldn't orders come pouring in like snowflakes?

  Zhang Yuanlong was shocked upon hearing the news and immediately set out to prepare for the expansion of the shipyard. However, his good mood was soon ruined by the news from his subordinates that one of his fleets had been plundered by pirates in the East China Sea, resulting in huge losses.

  When Zhang Yuanlong heard the news, he was simply unbelievable. His family had been making a living on the sea for generations, and most of the pirates in the East China Sea were acquaintances. Last year, they even sold a large amount of rice to them. How could they suddenly turn against him? He immediately sent his men to investigate at sea to see who was so unruly.

  However, the people sent have not yet returned, and there are continuous robberies of fleets on the East China Sea. Within a short period of time, six fleets were robbed, with Zhang Yuanlong suffering the greatest loss, having two fleets robbed in succession.

  Originally, Zhang Yuanlong did not intend to report the case, but after finding out who was behind it, he would use his personal connections to mediate and minimize the losses. However, too many ships had been robbed, and someone had already reported the case to the Shanghai County Government, so upon learning of this, he reluctantly went to the county government to file a report as well.

  Xu Shi-zhen was shocked when he received the report, this is a big case, but then he let out a sigh of relief, fortunately, this kind of maritime case does not belong to his jurisdiction, otherwise, his official hat would be lost. He ordered someone to transfer the case to the Songjiang Maritime Defense Department and reported it layer by layer. As the prefect of Songjiang, Zhu Yan-zhi was not so relaxed, he sent someone to report quickly and rushed to Liuchun Garden, this matter must be informed to Yin-zhen urgently, such a big case, don't know how many officials will be implicated, also don't know how many officials will be dismissed.

  After Zhang Yuanlong arrived at the government office to file a report, he suddenly remembered that his family's fleet was already in name the Qing Dynasty's Far Ocean Trading Fleet under the 14th prince, Yin Zhen. He then rushed to Liuchun Garden and almost simultaneously entered the garden gate with Zhu Yanqi. When Yin Zhen heard this news, he was also shocked for a long time without speaking. This pirate is really outrageous, daring to commit multiple crimes in the same place repeatedly.

  He immediately determined that this was a very powerful pirate, and the pirates who lived on the island generally did not eat the grass at the edge of their nest, let alone be so reckless in committing crimes, which would be no different from seeking death. Such a big case will definitely attract the imperial water master's expedition.

  After a moment of contemplation, he picked up his pen and wrote a letter to General Shi Yide of Jiangnan, ordering his personal guard to deliver it to Zhenjiang by horseback. Once Yin Zhong finished, Zhang Yuanlong cautiously said: "Fourteenth Master, the Zhang family has been sailing at sea for generations, I also know a few pirates in this East China Sea area... do you want to secretly send someone to make contact..."

  "No need, this should be a gang of pirates who have flowed here, daring to rob the fleet, and their strength should not be small. Sending people out to sea is likely to be gone forever." Yunzheng said lightly: "Besides, such a big case must attract the attention of the high-level officials of the two rivers, and it's certain that troops will be sent to suppress it. At this time, you'd better not make any unusual moves, otherwise, a charge of being an accomplice of the bandits will be pinned on you, and your Zhang family will be doomed."

  Zhang Yuanlong was startled when he heard this and no longer dared to have any private thoughts.

  "What is the extent of this loss?"

  Zhang Yuanlong replied honestly, "A total of 26 ships were robbed, 5 ships were lost, and more than 20 people died. All the valuable goods were looted, with a loss of at least over 200,000 taels."

  Hearing that the loss was not too great, Yin Zhen put his mind at ease. "Have you talked to those sailors who made it back?"

  Zhang Yuanlong's old face turned red, he really didn't ask the surviving sailors many questions, but was busy counting and verifying the losses. "Fourteenth Master, as soon as I received the news, I rushed to your place..."

  "Go and have a thorough talk with them, don't miss any details. Since that group of pirates dares to commit crimes in one place repeatedly, they should be reckless and arrogant, maybe we can get some information out of them." Yin Zhen let out a sigh, "You go ahead and take care of things first, I'll keep an eye on this matter, if there's any news, I'll notify you immediately." Then he said to Zhu Yan Zhi: "This case happened suddenly, it's inevitable that it will involve you, you were already demoted and kept in your position, at most it's just a fine, there's nothing to worry about. Go back and focus on your work, when the opportunity arises, I'll speak up for you."

  With that said, Zhu Yan Zhi's heart finally fell into his stomach, and he thanked him profusely before leaving. Zhang Yuan Long, who left with him, had a painful expression on his face.

  News of the Donghai merchant fleet being robbed and suffering huge losses was immediately transmitted from Shanghai to Suzhou, Zhenjiang, and Jiangning.

  Suzhou, Jiangsu Provincial Governor's Office, Zhang Bohang received the report and was stunned for a while before regaining his composure. He ordered someone to quickly send a message to Jiangning, Zhenjiang, and then issued an order to gather a battalion of troops and hastily set off for Shanghai.

  Zhenjiang, Jiangnan Governor's Office, Shi Yide first received a letter from Yin Zhen. As soon as he read the opening, he was shocked and broke out in cold sweat. After reading the letter carefully, he still couldn't believe it, so he read it again from the beginning. Then, he immediately ordered his subordinates to pay attention to the official documents from Langshan, Jinshan, Shanghai, Chongming, Suzhou, etc. After a moment of contemplation, he picked up his pen and wrote two official letters to the garrison commanders of Suzhou and Langshan respectively.

  Soon after, he received the report from Songjiang Hai Fang Tongzhi Fu and Zhang Bohang. He no longer hesitated and immediately stamped the two official documents. Then, he ordered his personal guards to send the documents by fast horse to the two town generals. He then led his own banner troops to rush to Suzhou.

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