Chapter 618: The conscience is not obliterated (for the general nine)
Three days later, the Yamen of the Dudu Mansion.
Liu Mingzhi sat in the high hall with a cold expression and looked through the accounts left by Gu Zhiheng in his hands. He ignored the Qingzhou officials who were kneeling below him and just turned over the accounts in his hands!
Glancing at the head of Ren Yuan, the governor of Chrome Province, who was still dead, Liu Mingzhi put down the account book in his hand and slowly walked down the high platform. He looked at Qingzhou Governor Tong Hewu who was kneeling at the head and squatted down: "Captain Tong, you can recruit your own imperial envoy.
Let me tell you!"
Tong and Wu were obviously frightened but still looked at Liu Mingzhi: "Master Liu said that the lower officials are not clear about it!"
Liu Mingzhi nodded and stood up: "Since you are so stubborn, I will tell you one by one!"
"In February of the 27th year of Dalong Xuande's reign, a locust plague appeared in Qingzhou and locust eggs emerged. You, Qingzhou Governor Tong Hewu, and the governors of the eight prefectures under your jurisdiction jointly reported this matter to the capital! Isn't that right?"
"That's right! In this case, why did Mr. Liu summon the subordinate to court? My colleagues and I did not commit any dereliction of duty or commit any crime!"
"You are right in saying that you did not neglect your duties when you discovered the locust seedlings. You even requested the emperor to send an imperial envoy to control the locust plague."
"The Six Ministries received the emperor's order and then sent a letter to Qingzhou Prefecture. The locusts have not yet formed. Qingzhou Prefecture officials will do their best to control the young locust eggs."
"right?"
"Yes, the official has indeed led officials from various states under his jurisdiction to make every effort to control the locust plague."
"In addition to letting you be on guard against the problem of locust eggs, the six-part reply also gave you the news that His Majesty is going to open up trade routes and encourage merchants from various prefectures in Dalong to actively go out and trade with each other. It is at that time that
I am sending an envoy to the Kingdom of Jin to discuss border trade with the Turks!"
"Yes, it is no secret that His Majesty wants to open up business channels!"
"You have learned that His Majesty has opened up trade routes and encouraged merchants from all over the state to actively trade. Everyone knows that although merchants have a low status, they are the most profitable industry. The imperial court encourages large-scale trade. This has never happened since the founding of Dalong. All
Officials in the state government have all discovered the huge profits, and your Qingzhou government is no exception!"
"Yes, Qingzhou Prefecture responded to the imperial court's order. What's wrong?"
"It is indeed right to respond to the imperial order, but you should not neglect the administration and allow the locust plague to take shape. You have been busy preparing tea but neglected the problem of the locust plague. It was not until the locust plague completely broke out that you realized that the matter was serious and it was too late.
"
"But you don't know how to repent. It's not too late to control the locusts when the locust plague broke out in April. However, you are so greedy that you are blinded by greed. You found that the tea you prepared for a bumper harvest was eaten by locusts, so you started to store grain.
Come on, this is right!"
After Liu Mingzhi finished speaking, except for Tong and Wu, who could barely remain calm, the rest of the governors were already shaking like chaff, kneeling on the ground and not daring to raise their heads!
"At first, when you saw that things were getting out of control, you ordered the people to drive away the locusts. This is why Dingzhou was implicated, but you ignored the people's fear of locusts! The effect of driving away the locusts did not achieve what you thought! However,
At this time, some of the food in the treasury has already moved north, so you thought of a way to cover up the plan of the locust plague outbreak and the lack of food in the treasury!"
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy cannot understand what your Majesty said!"
"Oh? Don't you want to talk to Master Tong about how the White Lotus bandits kidnapped officials in Qingzhou?"
"Qingzhou is indeed controlled by the Bailian bandits. This is something that all officials in Qingzhou Prefecture know!"
Liu Mingzhi sighed and clapped his hands gently: "General Chang, Mr. Gu, it's your turn to come out!"
Two people walked out of the back hall. It was Qingzhou guard Chang Yunfeng and the shopkeeper of Yunlai Inn. It should not be said that they were Gu Zhiheng's orphan Gu Qingquan!
Tong Hewu looked at Gu Qingquan in horror: "Why aren't you dead yet?"
Gu Qingquan looked at Tong Hewu with wide eyes: "Thief, where are my mother and my sister?"
Chang Yunfeng also looked at Tong Hewu coldly: "Thief, even if you have a plan to hide it from the sky, you never thought that the imperial envoy would see through your conspiracy with his sharp eyes!"
"You haven't already!"
Chang Yunfeng smiled miserably: "If I hadn't pretended to surrender, how could I have fulfilled the last words left by Mr. Gu before his death!"
"You two sit down first!"
"It's my lord!"
Liu Mingzhi cleared his throat: "The locust plague broke out. The governor of Qingzhou, the governor of Shengzhou, and the governor of Pizhou already knew that things were beyond what they thought. They knew that the most important thing was to control the locust plague rather than respond to business affairs, so they began to control the locust plague.
However, you, Qingzhou Governor Tong Hewu, and the governor who has opened grain warehouses privately do not think so. Due to geographical reasons, the grain warehouses of the other five states have opened grain warehouses without the consent of the capital. Unfortunately, they have already gone astray.
Gu Zhiheng and the other three knew that they wanted to return, but they were threatened with the lives of their families and forced to open the treasury, right?"
Tong Hewu stared blankly at Liu Mingzhi who lowered his head!
"So you all, knowing that the locust outbreak could not conceal the truth, banded together and staged a show for me to see. No, it should be said that it was staged for everyone to see. Your Majesty, including His Majesty, was blinded by your illusion and thought that
It’s really the White Lotus Sect’s bandits who are causing trouble!”
Tong Hewu knelt on the ground and held on: "This is all your inference, sir, and there is no factual proof!"
Liu Mingzhi sighed melancholy: "You have a good uncle. It's a pity that Tong Xiang's lifelong reputation was ruined by you!"
"Actually, you already knew my identity. At the same time, you didn't know that Gu Zhiheng, the governor, knew that he would die if he opened a warehouse privately. Fortunately, his conscience was still intact, so he arranged for Lieutenant Zhen to lead me to Yunlai Inn. Of course,
Since I entered the city, nothing has escaped the eyes and ears of the Governor's Mansion. You have intentionally or unintentionally led me to the People's Court where the magistrate of Qingshan County is located. Knowing that I will go on patrol incognito, I will definitely go to the disaster camp to investigate the situation.
The childish genius never thought that he would become an abandoned child until his death!"
"It wasn't until you learned from the spies that I went to General Chang's camp, so you started the second play for me. The governor who lives an absurd life but is powerful, and Gu who cares about the country and the people but has a lotus tattoo.
Governor."
"You guys are really good at scheming. You used my cleverness to lead me to the White Lotus Sect. Indeed, at first, I really believed that it was the White Lotus Sect that hijacked Qingzhou officials and wanted to cause civil unrest among the people.
rebel!"
"But you were too hasty! Not only did you not let a great achievement go to my head, but you also made me discover that something was wrong with Qingzhou City. Why did the White Lotus Sect do these useless things!"
"However, I know the importance of disaster relief and rely on you local officials to suppress the doubts in your heart and concentrate on controlling the locust plague. You must also think that I have made a great contribution by being recorded as a counselor at such a young age.
Got carried away!"
"But there is a gap in all the secrets. You have ignored the conscience of Gu Zhiheng and the other three!"
"May I ask the imperial envoy where the evidence is?"
"Don't worry, I will make it clear one by one and send it to the Governor of Dingzhou, Ge Changjun, Mr. Ge!"