Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1391

"Your Excellency, Duke Zhenguo, every word I have spoken is true. I have not concealed a single word, nor would I dare to. I hope Your Excellency will see the truth!"

"You say everything you said is true?"

Looking at Mai Zhide blocking his way, Wei Wu narrowed his eyes and asked a question in a cold tone.

Before Mai Zhide could respond, Wei Wu continued to question him:

"As the most important figure in the money lending case, do you really believe that you only know two people involved, Mak Chi-tak?"

"Without you, they wouldn't be able to print banknotes. Someone as important as you, it's impossible for those behind you not to have close contact with you."

"As you said, you only know the other participants, but you don't know who the person behind them is. So how did you collude?"

At this point, Wei Wu deliberately stepped forward, getting closer to Mai Zhide, and stared at him intently as he continued his questioning:

"Forging banknotes to embezzle cash from the national treasury is a business that could cost you your head and your entire family. At the very least, you should discuss it in person!"

"You, Mai Zhide, have been in officialdom for so many years, how could you not know how to protect yourself? Any Tom, Dick, or Harry could come along, and you wouldn't even know their background."

"Having only met two of them, you dare to risk your life and your entire family's lives to gamble with others? Ha!"

Upon hearing this, Mai Zhide understood why Wei Wu had suddenly changed his expression, but for him, this matter was truly unjust.

So after Wei Wu finished speaking, Mai Zhide immediately gave an explanation with a wronged expression.

"Lord Duke Zhenguo, please let me explain. After you hear my explanation, you will know that I am not speaking nonsense, nor am I deceiving you!"

Upon hearing Mai Zhide's words, Wei Wu and Mao Xiang knew that the real substance was about to be revealed.

Although Wei Wu did question Mai Zhide, it did not mean that he did not believe what Mai Zhide had just said.

To be honest, it would have been absolutely impossible to escalate the money exchange case to this point without extremely meticulous planning.

Therefore, it is possible that Mai Zhide said he didn't know much, and Wei Wu also knew a very crucial issue.

That means there's a high possibility that Yao Guangxiao's influence is involved in the money exchange case, and anything related to Yao Guangxiao is never simple.

The reason I acted that way just now was actually just to show Mai Zhide, to make him anxious and impatient!

When people are anxious, they fall into the trap of self-justification and end up saying many things they wouldn't normally say in detail.

As it turned out, Wei Wu's approach was indeed effective; under his pressure, Mai Zhide immediately confessed without hesitation.

"They did send someone to contact me back then, but the person who contacted me was actually just a suicide squad member."

“At first I didn’t want to get involved, but they threatened me with my family if I didn’t cooperate.”

"Then my whole family would die a violent death, and to prove they could do it, they poisoned my dog ​​that very night."

"Everyone in Beijing knows that my wife loves dogs. After the dog died, she gave it a proper burial. Commander Mao must know that!"

As he spoke, Mai Zhide looked at Mao Xiang, as if asking Mao Xiang to testify for him.

Seeing this, Mao Xiang didn't ignore him this time, but nodded in agreement and looked at Wei Wu, saying:

"It is well known in Beijing that Mrs. Mak loved dogs. Her beloved dog died suddenly not long ago, which became a laughing stock on the streets."

Upon hearing Mao Xiang speak up to defend himself, Mai Zhide finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then continued:

“That dog has always lived and eaten with my husband and me in our house, and even slept with us at night.”

"Even so, he was still poisoned to death, and no one in the family, including my husband and me, noticed."

"If they lay a hand on me, my family and I will probably end up like that dog. I... I have no choice but to comply!"

To be honest, Wei Wu didn't expect that because of his coercion, Mai Zhide would explain his motives first in his haste.

The problem was that this wasn't what Wei Wu wanted to know at all, so he immediately nodded after Mai Zhide finished speaking.

"Alright, if that's the case, I'll believe you. Since you don't know much about the people behind them, then tell me what you do know."

"Didn't you say that the two people you knew happened to be involved in printing banknotes? Let's start with them!"

Seeing that Wei Wu believed what he said, Mai Zhide finally felt relieved and quickly said:

"Of the two people I know, one is a craftsman at the mint, and the other, although..."

Just as Mai Zhide was speaking, Wei Wu suddenly interrupted him and asked a question.

"Were there people in the Bureau of Printing and Minting involved?"

Although interrupted by Wei Wu, Mai Zhide dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction and immediately responded.

"Yes, that's because I was in charge of solving the color-changing ink problem; otherwise, I probably wouldn't even have been able to get in touch with this person."

Upon hearing Mai Zhide's response, Wei Wu nodded slowly.

"No wonder you were able to forge banknotes, and print so many of them. You had color-changing ink and skilled craftsmen to work with you!"

Before Mai Zhide spoke, Wei Wu had always thought that those people were skilled craftsmen found among the common people, who painstakingly replicated the template.

After all, apart from color-changing ink, patterns, micro-engravings, and hidden marks can still be achieved with enough effort.

There are many extraordinary people in the folk. As long as they have a real banknote in hand, it is only a matter of time before they can make a template. It's just a bit troublesome.

Now, after hearing what Mai Zhide had to say, he suddenly realized that even the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works had fallen, so the craftsmen of the Printing Bureau were nothing special.

After thinking silently for a while, Wei Wu looked at Mai Zhide and asked:

"What's the name of the craftsman at the mint? Also, you mentioned there were two people. Besides the craftsman, who is the other one?"

Having chosen to be honest, Mai Zhide no longer hesitated and immediately answered Wei Wu's question.

"The craftsman's name was Huang Miaoguan. He was the right-hand man of the chief craftsman at the Printing Bureau, responsible for micro-engraving seals and secret marks."

"And the other person, although not from the Bureau of Printing and Minting, has a deep connection with the Bureau of Printing and Minting, as he is a family member of a craftsman."

"His father was the chief craftsman at the mint, and he was also responsible for replicating the templates and patterns on the banknotes!"