Chen Xun's case aroused a lot of discussion among the government and the public, but it did not last long.
The reason is that after the Ministry of Punishments investigated Chen Ying and Wang Xuan, they took no further action except confining them in their respective houses.
Later, when the censor asked about it at court, the Ministry of Punishment replied that it would take time to verify the testimony and that a key witness was not in the capital. As a result, the officials in the court gradually stopped.
The weather has gradually cooled down in August. The harsh heat has finally passed, and the breeze brings a bit of coolness to people.
Zhu Qiyu looked at the memorial in front of him with a worried expression. The report from the Ministry of War was sent up. Yu Qian's strategy of encirclement and suppression finally worked. In the past few days, good news has been reported frequently. Judging from the latest military report,
At least the Japanese pirates around Zhangzhou have been basically eliminated.
In the next step, Yu Qian will take this as a starting point and advance to the surroundings step by step. This should be something that makes people happy, but Zhu Qiyu is really not happy.
Now that the Prince's Palace has been basically completed, and the Japanese pirates in Zhangzhou have been dealt with, the merchant ships dispatched by Huangdian still show no signs of returning. The sea is vast, and the merchant ships will not come back, let alone when they can come back. Whether they can come back is still a matter of course.
question.
In addition, the Ministry of Household Affairs has also been crying about poverty during this period. This is not because Shen Shangshu is making trouble, but because the state treasury is running out of money.
This year, due to snowstorms, droughts, floods, and various disasters, the national treasury has basically been in a state of outflows and outflows. In addition, last year's business was not good either. The little foundation accumulated through mutual trading in the past few years has long been lost.
I was beaten to death.
In fact, it is not easy to hold on until now.
The establishment of Huangzhuang reduced a large number of refugees in various places, and the court was able to reduce most of its energy to resettle the refugees. In addition, the Ministry of Punishments seized the property of more than a dozen corrupt officials' mansions, plus the internal treasury
The savings also provided a lot of support, which has allowed me to survive until now.
However, this is almost reaching its limit. After all, tens of thousands of troops are out there and they are spending a lot of money. Although Yu Qian seized many local squire homes in the process of suppressing the Japanese, which greatly eased the pressure on military expenditures, but
The imperial court still had to bear a large part.
Therefore, at this point, if there is no way to raise money, then the army will definitely be ready to return to the court in three months at most.
But having said that, the suppression of the Japanese was not a one-day achievement. The reason why Zhu Qiyu wanted to send troops to suppress the Japanese at this time was to ensure that Huangdian’s merchant ships could return safely. If this goal could not be achieved, then this dispatch of troops would really
It's a waste of money and people, and it's all in vain.
So no matter what, the army cannot be withdrawn for the time being, at least before the end of the year. Of course, if there is still no sign of the merchant ships returning by the end of the year, Zhu Qiyu will have to consider whether he has been too hasty with sea trade.
Of course, the immediate question is, where will the next money come from?
At this thought, Zhu Qiyu frowned and asked Wynn next to him.
"Send someone to ask Shu Liang how the investigation I sent him went."
Because of the natural disasters throughout the year, the imperial court did not have much income, so there was definitely no way to get money from the treasury. Although there was still some money in the treasury, that was the last resort. If nothing else happens, there would still be more money this winter.
There was a snowstorm, and the remaining money and food in the internal treasury were the final preparations made in case the merchant ship really encountered a problem and was unable to return. It cannot be touched under any circumstances.
Then, we can only use some extraordinary methods. In fact, when he sent out the army, Zhu Qiyu had already considered the problem of insufficient funds, so he asked the Ministry of Punishment to participate in the previous plan.
According to the clues found by the Ministry of Punishment and by searching the properties of those officials, Zhu Qiyu initially estimated that it should be able to sustain it until the end of the year, and in fact this was indeed the case.
However, the Criminal Department is now stymied by Chen Ying's case.
The last time we questioned Chen Ying and Wang Xuan, we didn't get much information. Wang Xuan tried his best to accuse Chen Ying of accepting bribes in the name of Chen Xun, and also accused him of committing illegal acts in his hometown. However, Chen Ying did not respond to this.
One guess, two, five, six, and I didn’t recognize even half of the word.
In addition, Wang Xuan himself was involved in Ji Tong's case. Everyone in the court said everything about him. Some people accused him of betraying his teacher and betraying his trust. Some people accused him of deliberately setting up a trap and talking nonsense. In contrast, there were many others.
Minister, please submit a memorial requesting severe punishment to Wang Xuan, and at the same time, intercede for Chen Xun.
Although it is not so intense these days, it does not mean that everyone has turned their eyes away. Now everyone in the court is staring at the Ministry of Punishment, wanting to see what the outcome of this case will be.
But the problem is that based on the information currently available, Chen Ying's bribery is most likely true. Although there is no ironclad proof yet, it is only a matter of time to find evidence.
There may be ministers in the court who have been deceived, but Zhu Qiyu believes that more people must have guessed at the truth.
The reason why they are making such noise is to make the Ministry of Punishment bow their heads. As long as Chen Ying can escape smoothly in this case, then the same tactics may not be repeated in other cases.
Zhu Qiyu had noticed this trend a long time ago, but he had not taken any action. It was not that he was ignoring it, but he also sensed that there might be a deeper secret behind it.
Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that Chen Xun is behind these court discussions. After all, he has this motive and the strength.
However, judging from Chen Xun's performance that day, he also knew that sooner or later what Chen Ying had done would not be hidden, so he just wanted to get himself out, and more importantly, with Chen Xun
Being smart, he should know very well what the real purpose of the Ministry of Punishment is in investigating these cases. Doing such a thing at this time, even if it is for self-protection, will offend the emperor Zhu Qiyu, which is definitely not a wise choice.
What's more, Zhu Qiyu has not forgotten that when Zhou Jian and Wang Xuan acted together, there must be a secret hidden behind it.
He had a hunch that this was the source of everything. Only by finding this out could the current confusing situation be clarified.
Not long after, Wynn turned around and said.
"Your Majesty, please see me, Eunuch Shu Liang."
Hearing this, Zhu Qiyu frowned slightly, a little surprised, and said.
"So fast?"
You must know that the person who was sent out had not left long ago, and his oral instructions only urged Shu Liang, but did not summon him to see him.
If you say so...
"Back to the emperor, the eunuch sent by the servant to deliver the message reported that he was not the Eunuch Shu whom he saw in Dongchang, but that he saw him on the way out of the palace."
Huaien explained. After hearing this, Zhu Qiyu immediately cheered up and said.
"Tell him to come in."
"yes."
Then, Shu Liang's figure soon appeared in the palace.
"Slave Shu Liang, please send your regards to the Emperor."
Different from his usual appearance, Shu Liang's expression today was unusually heavy, and he did not have his usual smile.
Zhu Qiyu was not in the mood to talk nonsense. After letting him stand up, he asked directly.
"Since you took the initiative to ask for a meeting, I guess it was an errand I assigned you before. What did you find out?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
Shu Liang took two steps forward and spoke.
"My servant was ordered to investigate the affairs of Zhou Jian, Wang Xuan and others. As the emperor expected, the two did collude. The contents and many accusations of Zhou Jian's memorial were indeed revealed to Wang Xuan.
His, but Wang Xuan is not the instigator."
"My servant found out that behind Wang Xuan, there are many officials involved. Among these people, the most important person is also the person who helped Wang Xuan decide on the whole plan. He is... the young master of the Prince's Mansion, Xu Youzhen.
!”
When the name came out, Zhu Qiyu was a little surprised. He didn't expect that this case would be related to Xu Youzhen.
You must know that although this person is very scheming and ambitious, at least one thing is credible, that is, he is not a greedy person.
In other words, he is the kind of person who values career more than wealth, so he will not do such things that may affect his future.
At most, he himself has paid bribes to others, but as long as he is not accepting bribes or bending the law for personal gain, simply paying bribes is not a big deal.
There are so many such things in today's officialdom. Why is Xu Youzhen involved in this matter?
More importantly, what did he want to do by doing this? You must know that this matter involves Chen Xun, and it may easily trigger discussions in the entire court. If Xu Youzhen played any role behind such a major event,
Why didn't he tell Shu Liang in advance and report it to Zhu Qiyu?
What is this Xu Youzhen thinking...
Seeing the emperor's expression change, Shu Liang lowered his head and said.
"Your Majesty, this matter is very complicated. When I came, I had already written a report with detailed information and asked Your Majesty to read it."
While talking, Shu Liang took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over.
Zhu Qiyu didn't hesitate much. He raised his hand and opened it to read. However, the more he looked down, the more his brows wrinkled.
Shu Liang is still very capable in doing things, not to mention that he must have put in a lot of effort after being busy for so long this time.
The results are indeed very rich. The ins and outs of the whole matter have been basically sketched out under Dongchang's investigation.
From this report, it can be seen that the cause of this matter is the county magistrate named Jitong who is still detained by the Ministry of Punishment. He and Wang Xuan are Jinshi in the same discipline and are from the same hometown. They have a good relationship. This big plan,
He was found to be reselling Changpingcang grain without permission.
What's even more terrible is that the county where he is located was one of the most severely affected by the drought in Jiangxi last year. Because of Ji Tong's corruption, six incidents occurred in the local area before the court's disaster relief grain arrived.
There were looting, two civil uprisings, hundreds of people died of starvation, and in the end there was even an attack on the county government office.
However, even if the trouble became like this, the prefect at the time still wanted to suppress the matter. In the end, it was the common people who stopped the inspection censor's sedan chair that exposed this major case.
This case had already been concluded by the Ministry of Punishment. When the memorial was submitted, Zhu Qiyu was really angry and almost wanted to kill him, but Jin Lian persuaded him, saying that he had evidence in prison.
, it can be regarded as meritorious service, and in the end, it was changed to exile.
But I didn't expect that he would be so deeply involved in this matter. Well, it's not accurate to say that. It should be said that he was the cause of this disaster.
This Ji Tong himself had no ability, and his talents and learning were not very good. When he first took the examination, he was lucky enough to get the last place in the examination.
Logically speaking, the most normal place for a person like him would be to be a judge in charge of prisons in the county. Moreover, he would most likely be a judge in a remote place. However, he happened to be selected.
A magistrate.
The reason behind this is naturally that Ji Tong used money. Unlike many officials who came from scholarly families, Ji Tong's ancestors were all businessmen. In his generation, he finally managed to develop a seed for reading. His
In order for him to study hard, his father even paid for it to build an academy and invited great scholars to teach him.
Ji Tong and Wang Xuan met at this time. Unlike Ji Tong, Wang Xuan came from a poor family, but he was very talented. The two of them soon became good friends.
Later, when they took the same mid-term examination, Wang Xuan ranked among the top two and was left in Beijing to become a censor. Ji Tong, on the other hand, found a job as a county magistrate through some activities.
It should be said that things were normal up to this point, but things became unusual after that. Ji Tong inherited the business habits of his family. After he took office, he thought about how to make money all day long. At first,
He focused his attention on the construction of canals, but later a flood broke out and the embankment was washed away. As a result, he was demoted and became an ordinary county magistrate.
However, within two years, he moved around again and was promoted. Moreover, this time, he also sought a position as magistrate of the Wenhua Land of Jiangxi.
Two years after taking office, he set his sights on Chang Pingcang again.
After all, the Changping warehouse is generally not used. Although the government will conduct regular inspections, it is not strict. The grain inside can be resold according to the fluctuation of grain prices, which can make a lot of profits. The most important thing is that it is not easy to be detected.
, if there is a disaster, if it is a major disaster, it is not his turn to worry about it. If it is a small disaster, he can go to the neighboring prefecture and county to borrow money, and nothing big will happen.
More importantly, with the lessons learned last time, Classmate Ji is smarter this time. He knows that doing so is very risky. Therefore, since he took office, he has started to stuff money everywhere, from the state capital to the governor's yamen.
Everyone has received money from him.
Because of this, the state government turned a blind eye to what he did. After tasting the sweetness, Ji Tong seemed to have grasped the essence of being an official, not only giving money to the state government
, and even more intends to rely on this method to continue climbing up.
So, he approached Wang Xuan, and that's what happened next...
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This chapter has been completed!