As the evening approached, it was the time to eat. In the private room of Hongfu Restaurant, Taichang ordered a large table of famous Suzhou dishes and drank happily with everyone.

This time, without Wu Yangsheng and Xu Yunzhen, Zhang Yunfang and his wife were added, and the prefect Ni Yuangong, plus a ignorant little baby, the meal was even more lively.

After everyone was full of food and food, Taichang asked Wu Wan'er to go back to the prefectural office with Zhang Yuanfang and his wife to rest, while he took the others and the accompanying Jinyiwei to the imperial shop.

However, this time he did not bring dozens of Jinyiwei, but hundreds of Jinyiwei.

At this moment, Suzhou City has slowly begun to recover, and there are no more people on the streets. There are also many people near the Huangdian, bustling, even more lively than in broad daylight.

The Jinyiwei pioneered the way, so naturally no one dared to block the way. Soon, everyone came to the imperial shop and the porcelain shop.

Taichang waved his hand directly, and the Jinyiwei immediately surrounded the imperial shop and the porcelain shop next to him.

While he ordered the Jinyiwei to clear the customers of the porcelain shop next to him, he also led everyone to the imperial shop.

There was still no customer in the imperial shop. In the dim light, the waiter was crossing his legs and reading a book.

However, he probably didn't read any good books, because the expression on his face was too obscene.

When Taichang saw this guy, he was so angry that he waved his hand without thinking, "Take it down!"

The two Jinyiwei rushed up without hesitation, picked up the guy from the chair, held his hands back, and pressed him to the ground.

This guy really didn't expect that not only did someone enter the store at night, but he also started to take action as soon as he ran in. Until he was pressed to the ground, he roared like a dream: "What are you doing, who are you, do you know who I am?"

I do want to know who you are.

Taichang walked up and said contemptuously: "Tell me, who are you."

I don't know if this guy turned a blind eye to the outside world and was only reading messy books, or was too lazy to ask about Taichang's appearance, but he didn't recognize the current emperor.

He naturally recognized the Jinyiwei, but he didn't seem to be afraid at all.

He said arrogantly: "Tell you, my uncle is Ma Tang Eunuch Ma, why don't you let go of me quickly!"

Ma Tang?

What's the thing?

Taichang couldn't help but look at Cao Huachun on the side.

Cao Huachun quickly said with his ears: "Ma Tang is the former Sili Supervisory Hall and Lu Shou's disciple. It seems that he should be the shopkeeper of this imperial shop."

Oh, it turns out he was a small manager from the sixth grade.

These eunuchs are really not aware of their names. Feng Yu from the Imperial Horse Principal is called Chen Feng, and the Sili Principal is called Ma Tang. What a mess.

No wonder this guy is not afraid of Jinyiwei. It seems that Ma Tang has also joined Wei Zhongxian's disciple.

Alas, I didn’t think so much at the beginning, so I asked Wei Zhongxian to clean up the seal eunuch in the twenty-fourth prison of the inner palace. That guy didn’t take the opportunity to save all the interests of Concubine Zheng and her outside the palace!

Is it amazing to be a small sermon in charge of the sermon in charge of Wei Zhongxian?

Taichang couldn't help but snorted coldly, "Where is the Ma Tang people?"

Hey, something is wrong!

Most people will be shocked when they hear that they are the managers in the palace. This person looks contempt and calls his uncle's name directly!

The waiter who saw the store finally realized it. I heard that the emperor is here today. Isn’t the one in front of me the emperor?

He trembled all over and said, "You, are you the Emperor?"

This guy is really slow to react!

Taichang couldn't help but snorted coldly: "I'm asking you."

What a emperor!

The waiter was so scared that he trembled all over and said, "Go back to the emperor, my uncle is at home."

at home?

Taichang thought for a while, then ordered: "Luo Yangxing, take two hundred people to see me, and the others will stay here and guard."

After saying that, he said coldly to the waiter: "Lead the way."

This Ma Tang is the key figure. As long as you catch it, the matter of the imperial shop will be almost clear. Others must not be clear about this guy.

That's why Taichang decided to take people to the Matang in person.

Anyway, Suzhou City Defense has been taken over by the Imperial Guards, and the nearby streets are covered with Jinyiwei, so he doesn't have to worry about his safety.

Ma Tang's residence is not far from Huangdian. He turned a street and walked less than a hundred steps before he arrived.

Before Taichang could speak, the guard guard outside the gate of the Ma Mansion pointed at them and shouted: "Who are you, don't you know where this place?"

Are you a man and don’t you know that I came to Suzhou today?

These eunuchs sent from the palace are so arrogant that even their subordinates don’t know who they are!

Taichang was too lazy to talk too much, so he waved his hand and said, "Take it down and open the door."

Several Jinyiwei rushed up immediately, knocked the two guards at the door to the ground in a few seconds, and then rushed in through the small door next to them.

After a while, the door was opened.

Taichang looked at Ge Cheng, then looked at Cao Huachun and Liu Shiyou, and then ordered: "Luo Yangxing, you bring a hundred people to guard the outside, Cao Huachun, you bring a hundred people in, arrest all the people inside, don't let Ma Tang run away."

Luo Yangxing and Cao Huachun hurriedly said the order, and then took the people to work hard inside and outside.

Soon, the originally quiet Ma Mansion screamed in surprise, and all kinds of noises continued.

After about a quarter of an hour, Cao Huachun quickly stepped out and bowed, "Master, everyone inside has been caught, and Ma Tang is here too."

Taichang nodded slightly and said, "Well, lead the way."

He followed Cao Huachun into the scene and saw a hint of anger on his face.

This Ma Tang probably spent almost the money he had greedy for money.

The Ma Mansion is so luxurious, it is comparable to the imperial palace!

He walked to the main hall patio and saw that he was even more angry.

This dead eunuch actually recruited more than a dozen servants and guards in the courtyard, and more than twenty maids and old ladies. There were six or seven gorgeously dressed girls kneeling on the steps in front of the main hall.

Needless to ask, this is all three wives and four concubines who have married each other.

Are you, and you don’t have that thing, and you actually have more wives than me!

He walked into the main hall with anger on his face, went to the main hall, and then said coldly to Ma Tang, who was kneeling on the ground with his hands tied up, "Ma Tang, do you know your guilt?"

Ma Tang hurriedly begged for mercy and said, "Your Majesty, please spare me, I have not done anything that hurts the heavens and the truth!"

Is killing someone only illegal?

Taichang still said coldly: "Speak, how much greedy, what are the accomplices?"

Can this be said?

Ma Tang thought about it and then said cunningly: "Your Majesty, I am not greedy for anything. I come according to the rules of the palace and I have paid all the things I should pay."

The rules in the palace are right?

OK, I will let you know what the rules are in the palace now.

Taichang immediately snorted coldly: "Drag it out and hit the twenty big boards again first to give him an appetizer."

The four Jinyiwei immediately dragged Ma Tang outside without hesitation, pressed the ground and beaten him.

After finishing the twenty-plate boards, Ma Tang was already grinning in pain and sweating profusely.

Seeing this, Taichang couldn't help but sneer: "How about it, this appetizer is good, can you say it? If you don't say it, I'll have to serve you a big meal."

Oh my god, there is a big meal!

Ma Tang was used to enjoying it outside, and his body was so delicate and expensive, so he could endure such a beating there.

He immediately became honest and said whatever Taichang asked.

This time, Taichang finally understood.

It turned out that the official kilns and tea mountains were previously jointly managed by the Ministry of Revenue and the local government. After Wanli released the mining supervision and tax envoy, the eunuchs in the palace took the opportunity to take all of these, and then sent their respective confidant eunuchs to run imperial shops in various places.

After these eunuchs arrived at the local area, they threw the imperial shop aside as a cover, and then recruited their relatives and opened their own shop.

In this way, they used their own pockets to pay the revenue of Huangdian and the profits of industries such as official kilns and tea mountains.

Taichang originally thought that they were colluding with local officials. After a long time of working, they had formed their own industrial chain. From production to transportation to revenue, they controlled them themselves. They didn't have to pay dividends to local officials at all, and local officials did not dare to come to the imperial shop to make a fuss.

This is also the reason why Ma Tang was unscrupulous in opening a store here to make money after Sun Long and Sun Zhixie fell, because they were not in the same system at all and had little connection with each other. Ma Tang thought he had not noticed something was wrong with the imperial store.
Chapter completed!