Chapter 178: Arms Subcontracting (Thanks to book friend 0385 for the reward!)

Hearing that Ye Mingsheng dared to bargain with him, Li Guangbin immediately flew into a rage and scolded in a low voice:
"Ye Mingsheng, you are so brave! If I hadn't helped you, would you be where you are now?"

Facing Li Guangbin's outburst, Ye Mingsheng was not surprised. He smiled and said calmly:

"Mr. Li's help to me is something I will always remember in my heart. Your help to me was not in vain, right?"

Having said that, Ye Mingsheng glanced at Li Guangbin and continued with a smile:

"Master Li, I don't know what you have found out, but now that it has come to this, you and I are already on the same page. There is no need to hide anything from me, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Guangbin was speechless for a moment. He opened his mouth but could not say anything. After a long time, he finally uttered something in hatred.

"I shouldn't have boarded your pirate ship in the first place!"

After saying this, Li Guangbin pulled out a file from the bookshelf behind him, threw it to Ye Mingsheng, and said angrily:
"Here's what you want, take a look for yourself you bastard!"

Ye Mingsheng didn't care about Li Guangbin's anger. He picked up the file and began to look through it carefully. Soon he found what he wanted.

However, what surprised him was that this volume only recorded that the worn-out weapons and ordnance that the Ministry of War had confiscated from the Xuanwu Army in the sixth year of Anhe were only kept in the warehouse of the Ministry of War for three months before being taken out. There was no other record...

Looking at these few words, Ye Mingsheng was indeed a little disappointed. He thought that the files would confirm his view that his batch of worn-out military equipment and weapons were used for export, but now it seems that all his efforts were in vain!

But on second thought, Ye Mingsheng was also a little confused. Since nothing was written, why was Li Guangbin so afraid?
Is there some mystery here that I am unaware of?

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng looked towards Li Guangbin with an inquiring look, waiting for this second-generation official to answer his questions.

Feeling Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Li Guangbin snorted coldly, but after hesitating for a moment, he did not keep the secret, but explained:
"The Ministry of War has three ways to deal with worn-out military equipment and weapons: recasting, repairing, and exporting. The first two methods will be marked on the file!"

"As for why the export is not marked, it is because it involves a business called Rong Kangsheng!"

When saying the last three words "Rong Kangsheng", Li Guangbin obviously emphasized his tone, as if he was hinting something to Ye Mingsheng.

Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly when he heard this. Just like the Yixinrui Company last time, he had never heard of this Rongkangsheng Company.

It doesn’t matter if he hasn’t heard it. What Li Guangbin expressed is enough for him to make a judgment.

A business that the Ministry of War of the Great Zhou court could avoid and Li Kai, a second-generation official, could not help but show how powerful he was...
After a moment of silence, Ye Mingsheng's eyes flashed with light, and he looked at Li Guangbin and asked tentatively:

"Is it related to the Prime Minister?" Although Li Guangbin was a little surprised that Ye Mingsheng could guess the answer, he did not try to hide it. He nodded and whispered:
"Shangguan Tingshu!"

When he heard that it was him, a deep doubt flashed in Ye Mingsheng's eyes.

Shangguan Tingshu is the son of the third brother of Prime Minister Shangguan Hongyuan, and also Shangguan Hongyuan's nephew. Because his father died early, he was raised by Shangguan Hongyuan since he was a child.

Since Shangguan Hongyuan had only one son, Shangguan Changgong, he was particularly fond of his nephew Shangguan Tingshu. It was no exaggeration to say that he treated him as his second son.

Shangguan Tingshu, 31 years old, currently does not hold any official position, but according to some news circulating in the court, Shangguan Tingshu is one of Shangguan Hongyuan's important aides. He has a considerable influence on Shangguan Hongyuan and can even mobilize the resources of the entire Shangguan family.

Therefore, if the person behind the Rongkangsheng Company is Shangguan Tingshu, it is understandable why Li Guangbin would be so wary and even afraid...

However, this was in some conflict with Ye Mingsheng's previous opinion. Ye Mingsheng previously believed that Xu Zhaojie would not be able to complete all the operations alone, and there was most likely someone or a force behind him helping him get this batch of weapons.

But now according to the information we got from Li Guangbin, the person who is now suspected of helping Xu Zhaojie is Shangguan Tingshu, the nephew of Shangguan Hongyuan!

Honestly speaking, when this idea came into his mind, Ye Mingsheng himself found it hard to believe that Shangguan Tingshu and even the entire Shangguan family, all their power in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty, now depended on the Prime Minister Shangguan Hongyuan. If one prospers, all prosper, and if one suffers, all suffer.

Therefore, even for his own considerations and for the consideration of his family, Shangguan Tingshu should not help Xu Zhaojie to privately store military equipment and take actions that are detrimental to the interests of Shangguan Hongyuan!
After thinking it over carefully, Ye Mingsheng decided not to jump to conclusions and continued to ask Li Guangbin:
"Master Li, do you know how this Rong Kangsheng Company operates in detail?"

Li Guangbin seemed a little impatient with Ye Mingsheng's question, but under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, he still patiently spoke:

"I don't know exactly how Rong Kangsheng operates. I only know that most of the military weapons exported by the imperial court are handled by this Rong Kangsheng Company. Rong Kangsheng Company does not engage in other businesses, but specializes in the export of military weapons."

"Because many of the routes for exporting military equipment and weapons are not under the control of the imperial court, and selling military equipment and weapons to one faction is likely to offend its hostile forces."

"So in order to conceal their tracks and avoid unnecessary trouble, Rong Kangsheng Company outsourced the specific transportation work to other companies after obtaining military equipment and weapons from the Ministry of War."

"Rong Kangsheng and his men are only engaged in subcontracting, but Rong Kangsheng's annual income from this project, excluding the share he pays to the Ministry of War, earns at least 100,000 taels of silver every year..."

When talking about "one hundred thousand taels of silver", Li Guangbin, who was greedy by nature, had an enviable look on his face.

Li Guangbin's words immediately made Ye Mingsheng's heart move. He felt that he had figured out every level of Xu Zhaojie's operation. However, before that, he still needed to conduct a final verification with Li Guangbin.

"Is the company that obtained the weapons from Rong Kangsheng called Yi Xinrui?" Staring at Li Guangbin, Ye Mingsheng asked seriously:

(End of this chapter)