The person who got into trouble this time was a guy named Han Duo.

His identity is the Minister of Works (contractor).

First, let me give this person an evaluation.

shrewd.

Absolutely shrewd.

This guy Han Duo has committed crimes before. In our current terms, he is called a person on bail outside prison, also known as a person serving a sentence outside prison.

But Han Duo was very capable. In order to fully exploit him, Zhu Yuanzhang let him serve his sentence outside prison and continue to work in the Ministry of Works.

But this guy doesn't want to make progress.

While carrying the punishment, he did not restrain himself, but did another thing.

He investigated all the officials working in the Ministry of Works.

He recorded all the illegal and disciplinary matters such as your Minister Zhang Sanzhang privately taking kickbacks, your accountant Li Sili privately contracting projects, your manager Wang Erwang deducting food expenses from workers, etc., and then compiled them into a booklet in detail.

This book is equivalent to the account book used by the Eighth Route Army to record spies and traitors.

The records above are all broken things with red dots and black dots.

Anyway, as long as you do something bad and take kickbacks from someone, he will record it one by one.

And this booklet became Han Duo's stepping stone for blackmail.

With this booklet, Han Duo can do whatever he wants in the Ministry of Industry without restraint.

If you dare to say no.

Then I will take out my little notebook and reveal all the bad things you have done in the past.

What?

You dare to steal it!

good!

Very good!

I've been on guard against this move of yours for a long time.

I still have countless archives outside.

You burn it!

Tear it apart!

What?

You are going to kill me!

Come on then!

I will neither run away nor resist!

By the way, before you take action, let me give you a warning.

As long as I die, all the bad things you did in the past will be handed over to the emperor.

What, you called me a bastard!

Swear, scold as much as you like.

A person who is petty is not a gentleman, and a person who is not poisonous is not a husband!

As long as you cooperate obediently, you can scold me as you please!

Anyway, scolding won't kill anyone.

As long as my goal is achieved, you can scold me whatever you want.

I don't care.

He is such a rotten person, but because of the evidence he has, he has climbed the ranks faster than anyone else.

Soon he climbed to the rank of Minister of Industry.

In the Ministry of Industry, this guy can be said to be someone no one dares to mess with.

After being promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Han Duo, who used to only play small jobs, felt that the previous method of making money was too slow.

So I discovered two other ways to make quick money.

One is craftsman's money.

In the early Ming Dynasty, craftsmen did not need to pay wages for their work. At that time, they were all corvees.

In other words, if you are a bricklayer, it is your responsibility and obligation to build houses and palaces. You have to do it whether you want to or not.

And Han Duo, who had just been promoted, found that there was meat to be fished for here.

So he called the craftsmen together and asked them who didn't want to work. If you didn't want to work, you didn't have to do it. As long as you paid me, you could do whatever you wanted.

In this way, he first plundered a large sum of money.

Now that you have money, you still have to work!

The craftsmen have all been run away, what should we do now?

There is a way.

Han Duo found another group of people and asked them to work without paying them. If anyone dares not to do it, I will beat the crap out of you!

If you don’t want to do it, you can, get the money!

This is another income.

The second type of money is embezzlement of public funds.

This part of the money is much simpler.

Building a house for Boss Zhu requires wood and materials.

These materials definitely need money to speak for themselves.

Han Duo discovered that the money could also be embezzled.

The method of corruption is credit.

So he first asked people to get the things, but he didn't give the boss money. He kept it on credit first, and then returned part of it to you when he was in a good mood and showed mercy.

After all the work is completed, I will reward you with half of the silver as wages. The remaining money will be regarded as your filial piety to me, and I will not give it to you. You dare not ask me for it anyway.

By going back and forth like this, Han Duo quickly became rich.

But the tree is big and attracts the wind.

Han Duo's fortune was soon noticed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

He discovered that Han Duo's pocket grew irregularly and geometrically, and suspected that he had embezzled huge amounts of public funds.

So he ordered people to arrest Han Duo and strictly check his assets.

At that time, not a penny of your assets could be unknown. All your assets had to be made public. As long as there was a piece of money that was not clear, a thorough investigation would be conducted.

There is only one way to conduct a thorough investigation.

Jinyiwei.

As for whether you can explain it or not, don't bother at all.

With Jin Yiwei here, I won't be afraid that you won't explain.

Finally, after all the assets were handed over, Han Duo was convicted of corruption.

As a result of the punishment, Han Duo and all the officials from the Ministry of Works were executed without leaving any trace.

After handling the Han Duo case, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an absolutely terrifying edict.

He didn't understand what these corrupt officials were thinking. He had already banned corruption and imposed severe and almost harsh torture, but these corrupt officials were still rampant in corruption.

He couldn't understand what these officials were doing!

Aren't these people afraid of death?

Is it really possible to risk your life for money?

Is money so tempting?

In the face of near-capital punishment, is money really so attractive?

If this is the case, the edict issued a few days ago is invalid.

From now on, all criminals involved in corruption, regardless of their severity or the amount of corruption, will be executed if they are suspected of corruption.

It has to be said that Han Duo's case set a precedent for Zhu Yuanzhang's massacre.

During the Zhu Yuanzhang period, there were many types of corruption. Not only did you take money directly, it was considered bribery. Even if you took a chicken from a common person's home, or even an egg from a common person, it was considered corruption.

The punishment for corruption is basically Lingchi (cut into pieces alive).
To be continued...