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- Whereupon, Yong Gui arrested the people from Yarkand who were involved in the jade smuggling case.
When Emperor Qianlong found out about the affair, he handed the case over to the Bureau of War. The high military officials immediately moved in on Gao Pu�s properties in the capital and confiscated everything. They found affluence every�where. The initial survey revealed that he had 113 rooms to his living quarters, 42 qing 8 mu of land (1 qing equals 6.6667 hectares), and fifty-nine servants. They also found eighty-four pieces of unaccounted for jade. However, there was little gold on the premises. Only five strings of gold cash were found, which did not tally with what should have been there. Thereupon, the officials began an intense search of the properties and an intimidating interrogation of the servants. As a result, they found a large amount of money in the living quarters of Chang Gui. He claimed the money was his own and he had buried it to prevent it from being confiscated. After further serious questioning, he confessed that the money had been brought on two occasions from western China by Gao Pu�s attendants. From separate interviews with the servants, the officials learned that shortly after Gao Pu was sent to Yarkand, gold money had continually flowed back to his home in the capital.
The investigators also came across some letters from Gao Pu which mentioned some suspicious business being looked after for him by his associates, Li Fu and Xiong Jian. A warrant for their arrest was immediately issued. It was suspected that they would be in Suzhou or Yangzhou because that was the area where many jade workshops were concentrated, and where the merchants lived who would buy jade to cater to the tastes of the wealthy people in the Wu district. Also Em�peror Qianlong figured that since Gao Pu�s father had once been a Salt Censor in Yangzhou, Gao Pu would probably still have lots of old acquaintances in that city who would help him. Therefore, the emperor sent a memorial to the present Salt Censor of Yangzhou, Yilinga, to be on the lookout for Gao Pu�s associates, Li Fu and Xiong Jian. Yilinga immediately sent two investigators to make separate in�quiries. One investigator reported that Li Fu had not yet arrived in Yangzhou, but the discovery of two designs on paper for large jade carvings in the possession of a member of a Suzhou jade merchant�s household seemed to be a clue. Knowing that large pieces of jade were not readily available in China, it was felt that the jade for these designs would probably be supplied by Li Fu, so they kept their eyes open for him.
The second investigator was more successful. He reported that a Suzhou mer�chant named Mr. Qin had met with Zhang Luan, another associate ofGaoPu, who had set up a meeting between the merchant and Li Fu. Later Li Fu came to Mr. Qin s home bringing jade material worth a fortune. Thus at this stage it could al�ready be proven that Zhang Luan was helping Gao Pu illegally transport jade material.
By the time Yilinga contacted the Yangzhou Customs, he discovered that Li Fu and Xiong Jian had just left 10 days earlier heading north on the Grand Canal in two boats, displaying Gao Pu�s official banners of the Bureau of War. The boats contained over 40 chests, which had been passed by the customs. Yilinga reported all his findings to the emperor, who was outraged that such incom�petence could exist, and sent a decree ordering the officials in that area to be more diligent with the investigation, and issued a warrant for the arrest of Zhang Luan. Yilinga also informed the Governor of Jiangsu of this serious matter. The Governor and two district magistrates hastened to Zhang Luan�s house in Suzhou to interrogate him. Zhang Luan confessed he had financed and accompanied Li
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