"But Lao Liu's operation is considered a success. No matter what tricks these profiteers have, at least they will lose blood this time. A penny and a pound of food, I feel happy just thinking about it."
Thinking of Liu Jin, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh and his mood became very good.
If Liu Jin hadn't noticed that something was wrong in advance and made arrangements in advance, maybe these profiteers would have succeeded this time.
Now he not only saved his own industry, but also dealt a heavy blow to these profiteers. Of course, the more important drama is still to come. The investigation of the theft of official grain from Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse has not yet yielded a result.
It was Emperor Hongzhi who was playing a long game to catch big fish. This incident was obviously not aimed at the victims, but at Emperor Hongzhi and his son. He openly asked Xie Qian to be responsible for investigating the matter, but secretly he also asked Xiao Jing to use Jinyiwei.
The power of the East and West Factory is secretly investigating.
This is the big show, and when the time comes, there will really be something good to watch.
As for cracking down on these profiteers and making these profiteers lose some money, it is nothing at all. For these businessmen, money is nothing at all. They have plenty of money. Even if it is a blood loss this time, as long as the basis is still there, it will soon be over.
They can recover as well.
Only by uprooting these profiteers and the forces behind them can they truly be seriously injured, and even eliminate these hidden enemies.
Therefore, it is necessary to take a long-term approach to catch big fish, which is why Emperor Hongzhi has been holding back.
"Let's go back."
Emperor Hongzhi saw that Zhu Houzhao had not spoken and seemed to be thinking about something. He did not ask in a hurry. He looked at the sky and prepared to return to the palace.
In the study of Emperor Hongzhi in the palace, only Emperor Hongzhi and Zhu Houzhao and his son were left in the entire study. Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhu Houzhao, who was still worried, and asked: "You seem to have been thinking about something?"
"Father, I have been thinking about what kind of medicine these profiteers are selling in their gourds, but I just can't figure it out."
Zhu Houzhao expressed his doubts.
"You can't figure it out, and I can't figure it out either."
In front of Zhu Houzhao, Emperor Hongzhi did not say "I", but "I". The relationship and affection between father and son were obviously very good.
"Father, how is the investigation of the Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse cases going?"
Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and asked. In fact, he was also curious about where the food in these two large granaries went.
"The water is very deep. We have only figured out a general idea now, but we still can't find out the specific details behind the scenes."
Speaking of this matter, Emperor Hongzhi felt like he had been deceived.
He has always believed in the civil servants, the officials under him, and what they said about the righteousness of the court. He felt that all the people in the court were virtuous ministers, but the results found by Xiao Jing made Emperor Hongzhi
They all felt terrible. There were too many courtiers involved. If we were really determined to move here, it would definitely be comparable to several major cases handled by Zhu Yuanzhang during the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Thousands of people would be killed.
But this was just a rough idea. As for who was the real mastermind behind it, it was difficult to find out. This made Emperor Hongzhi feel uneasy and extremely chilled at the same time.
The mastermind behind this was of high authority and must have been deeply trusted and valued by Emperor Hongzhi. There were not many such people in the court, and they could be counted on one's fingers.
This is also one of the reasons why the gap between Emperor Hongzhi and his civil servants is getting wider and wider, and why he has now begun to let Zhang Mao, a representative of the noble military officers and nobles, enter the core decision-making circle.
"Father, maybe it's time to ask about the status of this case."
Zhu Houzhao's little eyes kept turning around, and soon he thought about it and suggested.
"It's time to ask."
After hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi thought about it and nodded.
The next day, morning.
"If there is something to do, start the show, if there is nothing to do, leave the court~"
As usual, Xiao Jing's voice echoed in every corner of the Jinluan Palace. The ministers who had something to report were ready, while the ministers who had nothing to report continued to rest in a daze.
"I have something to report to Your Majesty~"
Soon a minister came forward.
It’s almost the same as before. It’s nothing more than asking Emperor Hongzhi to exempt a certain area from taxes this year, or asking Emperor Hongzhi to allocate funds for disaster relief.
At the same time, there were also the southwestern chieftains who would cause trouble from time to time. These chieftains also needed to be appeased by Emperor Hongzhi. If the trouble became too fierce, troops would naturally be sent to clean up and suppress it.
In addition, there are memorials from local officials, impeachment of various local vassal kings, and in addition to having enough to eat every day and having nothing to do, they also bully men, dominate women, and rob people's land.
Anyway, in the Ming Dynasty, there were many things happening every day. These can only be regarded as trivial matters. As long as there is no large-scale famine or the Tartars and Oaras moving south, it can basically be said that the seas and rivers are clear, and the world is at peace.
After a while, more than an hour passed. When Emperor Hongzhi saw that no ministers came forward again, he turned his gaze to Xie Qian and said, "Xie Aiqing, how is the investigation of the grain theft cases in Dezhou and Linqing warehouses?
Already?"
Upon hearing Emperor Hongzhi's words, all the drowsy ministers in the entire court suddenly shuddered and cheered up.
Everyone knows that the cases of Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse are so important. I don’t know how many people are involved. This famine was not that serious at first, but because of this incident, it has now become a time bomb.
, once this bomb explodes, I don’t know how many people will die.
Not only the civil servants cheered up, but even the military commanders and nobles who had always existed like air also cheered up, pricked up their ears, listened quietly, and were also looking forward to the next chapter.
When Xie Qian heard Emperor Hongzhi's question, he stood up slowly. He stood tall and straight, with extraordinary bearing and calm demeanor.
"Your Majesty, this case has a wide range of implications and is very difficult to investigate. So far, we have only discovered that grain dealers colluded with officials in Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse to resell official grain."
Xie Qian's voice was not too loud, but it was transmitted very clearly to every corner of the Jinluan Palace. After hearing Xie Qian's words, many people in the court secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Now it seems that Xie Qian has no intention to investigate this case further. Otherwise, with Xie Qian's ability and means, it took him so long to only find out some grain merchants and managers.
Officials of two granaries.
Hongzhi frowned slightly after hearing this. He was very dissatisfied with the result. After searching for so long, he only found out that the grain merchants colluded with the management to resell official grain.
Does this need to be checked?
There is no need to look it up at all, you can think of it with just your toes.
"Are they those grain merchants?"
"And those officials?"
"Have you found out the whereabouts of the grain in the other two warehouses?"
However, Emperor Hongzhi was still not in a hurry, but continued to ask questions in depth.
After hearing what Emperor Hongzhi said, some of the ministers began to feel uneasy. It seemed that Emperor Hongzhi did not intend to close the case so easily. This would be difficult to handle now.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, it has been discovered that grain merchants Liu Youliang, Zhao Yingyuan, Lu Yunliang and others colluded with all the officials in Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse to resell official grain from the two warehouses."
"As for the whereabouts of the official rations, it is no longer possible to investigate."
Xie Qian still asked methodically.
"Why can't we continue the investigation?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he was slightly stunned and asked.
"Because all these grain merchants have been brutally wiped out, not even a single clue has been left. This is why I was only able to find out this step."
Xie Qian replied.
"The whole family was wiped out?"
Emperor Hongzhi's eyes were shining. Of course he knew about this, and knew it in detail, but what he showed now was that he was very shocked and surprised.
"Yes, they were brutally destroyed. Thirty-six members of Liu Youliang's family were killed. Fifty-four members of Zhao Yingyuan's family were also killed. All seventy-two members of Lu Yunliang's family were also killed."
Xie Qian reported cold figures one after another. The three grain merchants' families added up to more than a hundred people who were killed in this way, and their families were wiped out. This was simply a horrific tragedy.
"The universe is bright and the sun and the moon are shining brightly. Such a tragedy happened in our Ming Dynasty. Why has it never been reported?"
Emperor Hongzhi stood up directly and glanced at the ministers with very stern eyes.
As Emperor Hongzhi finished speaking, several ministers immediately knelt down one after another. These were officials responsible for related matters, including Bai Ang, the Minister of Punishment.
"Your Majesty, because this case is related to the theft of official grain from Dezhou Warehouse and Linqing Warehouse, I have not opened another case to investigate and report it."
There was a trace of trembling in Bai Ang's voice. This kind of big case was usually reported to the emperor immediately, and a thorough investigation was required. If he didn't report it now, this crime alone could make him lose his hat.
"Okay, very good. I don't know how many things there are in this Ming Dynasty, and how many things have not been reported."
Of course Emperor Hongzhi knew very well in his heart that these people were scapegoats, pushed by the forces behind the scenes, but what he didn't expect was that these people would be so ruthless and murderous people in order to cut off clues.
Of course, what really made Emperor Hongzhi angry was that these courtiers never reported such a big thing to him. If he hadn't taken the initiative to ask about it today, this matter would probably have been concealed, and even in the end,
Most of them just don't come.
Such a huge wave could be easily suppressed by these people. This made Emperor Hongzhi suddenly feel that there were still many ministers he could trust in the dynasty.
