In the afternoon of that day, more than thirty scouts took action in advance and spread out within ten miles around the Jiangnan Mint, keeping an eye on all the disturbances around them. More than a hundred officers and soldiers set up a road on the land and water channel leading to the outside of the Mint.

Card to ensure that no one will send messages or transfer stolen goods before taking action.

Everything was arranged well, and now the people at the Mint were like turtles in a urn, and could only act after dark.

The reason why it was arranged at night was, firstly, that most of the people at the Mint had already finished their work and made a temporary raid, so they did not have time to organize people to transfer the counterfeit money; secondly, after controlling the traffic, they did not have time to send intelligence to the outside world.

After nightfall, three warships sailed down the river and arrived at the gate of the Mint.

Yesterday's building boat, together with several cargo ships, docked at the small pier on the riverside.

The fire suddenly lit up.

Li Mo left more than a hundred men to guard the warship. The rest held torches, got off the warship, and came to the gate of the mint.

There was a faint light on at the entrance of the Mint.

Several guards saw the lights suddenly turning on outside and immediately sounded the alarm.

Dang Dang Dang Dang!

The rapid ringing of the bells spread throughout the Mint, and soon there was movement inside, with shouts, curses, and chaos.

Fan Xiaodao, Zhao Xing, and Li Mo came to the door of the Mint. The brazier at the door had been lit.

On the guard towers on the left and right sides, there were five archers on each side, with their bows and arrows drawn, aiming at them. The captain at the head saw Li Mo wearing armor, and the soldiers behind him were all wearing the uniforms of the Jinling garrison.

The equipment was well-equipped and the team was neat. They didn't look like bandits at all, so they stepped forward and asked loudly: "Who is coming?"

Fan Xiaodao stepped forward and said: "We are the Jiangnan Liumen and Jinling garrison, and we have been ordered to conduct a surprise inspection of the Mint!"

As soon as the captain heard where the other party was coming, he knew something must have happened and said, "Later, everyone, I will report it to our lords."

Not long after, the Mint's door opened wide, and five or six people came out.

The two leaders were the fourth-rank official and the young eunuch from the inner court who accompanied Qu to dinner yesterday. The person in front was Niu Gong, the director of the Mint. The young eunuch sent by the inner court was named Feng Mingqun. Yesterday,

They had already met during the meal, but Qu Moucai was not among the crowd, which made Fan Xiaodao feel strange. However, whether Qu Moucai was present or not, it would not affect today's actions.

Fan Xiaodao stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "Master Niu, Shaojian Feng!"

Niu Gong glanced at Fan Xiaodao, "Who is your Excellency?"

Fan Xiaodao said, "I just had dinner with you two yesterday with Qu. Have you forgotten now?"

Niu Gong glanced at the young prisoner and asked, "Do you know him?"

Feng Shaojian shook his head, "Our family went to Wuxi yesterday and came back early this morning. How could we know this person?"

Niu Gong then looked at Fan Xiaodao and said, "Six gates? Garrison? I don't know what the purpose of visiting late at night is?"

When Fan Xiaodao saw the two pretending not to know them, he was not angry. He repeated the previous words, "Please open the door and cooperate with our investigation."

Niu Gong's eyes sharpened and his face darkened, "Investigation? Whose order is it to investigate? Our mint is a fourth-rank yamen, and your six gates are just from the fifth rank, so what authority do you have to investigate?"

Fan Xiaodao took out a document, which was an investigation order signed by Governor Xu Ting, and handed it over.

Niu Gong took the investigation order, glanced at the signature, and reached out to tear up the investigation order.

Li Mo was furious, "What are you..."

Niu Gong said coldly, "The Jiangnan Mint is under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Even if there is an investigation, it should be done by the Transportation Department. When will it be the turn of the Governor's Office to take a trip into this muddy water? I advise you to go back and forth where you go. Otherwise,

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, local troops are not allowed to enter the mint without formal orders. Governor Xu is here, do you want to come out and explain?"

Li Mo said, "The Governor has not come."

Niu Gong asked Feng Shaojian, "Master Shaojian, from the sixth-rank yamen to investigate the fourth-rank bureau, is it considered arrogance?"

The white-faced and beardless young eunuch said sharply, "This is not trespassing, this is clearly rebellion and rebellion. Our family will send a letter to the capital tomorrow, and we will ask people from above to come and comment with us."

Rebellion? Conspiracy?

What a big hat.

Zhao Xing sneered, "Your mint secretly minted iron coins without permission, allowed them to circulate on the market, stole them, and enriched your own pockets. Can this be considered rebellion or treason?"

As soon as these words came out, Niu and Feng's expressions changed drastically.

However, the two of them were considered to be members of the officialdom and quickly calmed down. Niu Gong asked, "You can eat randomly, but you can't talk nonsense. Sometimes, you have to be responsible for the words that come out of your mouth. We mint coins."

Since the establishment of the bureau, everything has been done in accordance with the court regulations, and there has not been a single mistake in making money. Yet you are here slandering people and saying that we are manufacturing and selling fake money. Do you have any evidence?"

"The evidence is in the Mint. Let us go in and we will naturally lead you to find the evidence!"

Niu Gong said, "No one is allowed in without evidence."

Fan Xiaodao thought to himself that he had already reached this point, and the garrison and people from the six gates were dispatched together. How could he not have time to listen to their wrangling, and to go through the formalities and documents.

At this moment, the soldiers were approaching, and there were only two results. Find the evidence and kill them all. If they couldn't find the evidence, they broke into the Mint without permission and committed a major crime. He and Zhao Xingxing glanced at each other. The other party understood it and took action almost at the same time, controlling them respectively.

Join Niu Gong and Feng Shaojian.

Whoosh!

The two men who saw the leader on the sentry tower were caught. They quickly shot two arrows, but they were easily knocked to the ground.

When Niu Gong saw that they were not playing according to the routine, he was frightened and shouted: "Don't shoot the arrow!"

Fan Xiaodao said: "Open the door!"

"I am an official of the imperial court. If you do whatever you want..."

Fan Xiao's sword slashed across Niu Gong's neck, and blood flowed out. "After tonight, you won't be the same anymore."

When Niu Gong saw that he was serious, he felt that his three souls and seven souls were about to ascend to heaven. He said in horror: "Fan Captou, Mr. Fan, Mr. Fan, if you have something to say, let's talk to each other. Yesterday, we had dinner together!"

Fan Xiaodao sneered, "Why, you know me now? Qu is still in there?"

Niu Gong said: "I don't know."

Fan Xiaodao exerted a slight force on his hand, "We are bound to win tonight, and for this reason we have also staked our own future. If we fail, we may end up being turned into bandits, but before that, it is just a matter of convenience to kill you first."

"

Blood flowed down Niu Gong's neck, "Mr. Qu is not here."

"Then you should know what to do, right?"

Niu Gong trembled and said: "Open the door!"

The Mint doors are open.

Fan Xiaodao smiled, pulled Niu Gong's sleeve, and wiped the blood on his neck, "Isn't this the case? I have to embarrass you and me."

Li Mo ordered his people to disarm all the Mint's soldiers and horses and control the situation. Luo Cheng led the policemen and went to several refining workshops of the Mint. They posted seals and collected accounts.

, but I didn’t encounter too many obstacles.

Now that we have sent troops, we must make it an ironclad case.

Feng Shaojian said sharply: "It's contrary, it's all contrary! Our family must report today's matter to the Ming Palace. If nothing can be found, be careful of your bullshit!"

Zhao Xing's eyes flashed fiercely, and he stretched out his hand to give him a mouthful, "Be polite!"

Feng Shaojian received a slap, with a look of resentment in his eyes, "You will regret it."

After experiencing the initial fright, Niu Gong gradually regained his composure. He was an official of the imperial court, and Fan Xiaodao was an official, not a bandit. No matter how courageous he was, he would not dare to touch him at all. Those harsh words before were just scaremongering.

, as for what makes counterfeit money? It’s not possible!

It is a legitimate mint, officially certified by the imperial court.

The money they make, no matter how fake it is, is still real money!

Thinking of this, he felt calm and said, "Fan Xiaodao, you are in great danger!"

Fan Xiaodao smiled and said, "I would like to see how you can quibble in the face of irrefutable evidence!"

Niu Gong breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Fan Xiaodao, "Where is the evidence?"

Luo Cheng and other searchers came in one after another to report.

"Sir, no iron or tin coins were found in the coin refinery!"

"Sir, the coin vault is normal and no iron or tin coins were found."

"Sir, no raw materials were found in the inventory."

People from outside gradually came in to report that everything was normal in the entire Jiangnan Mint, and no iron-tin coins or raw materials for refining iron-tin coins were found.

As the announcements came one after another, Niu Gong's face became more and more proud, and his eyes towards everyone became more and more confident.

"You, you, you," he pointed at the three of them, "made false accusations and framed court officials out of nothing, acted beyond their authority, and you are about to die, and you don't know it?"

how so?

Li Mo was full of doubts. He had not participated in the investigation of the case, but he believed in the judgments of Fan and Zhao. This time he led troops to seize the Mint, and he took a huge risk. Before the trip, Xu Ting told him,

If the situation is wrong, the Government House will deny involvement in this operation.

At this moment, his confidence was also shaken.

Fan Xiaodao's face was ashen.
To be continued...