Wang Yu didn't wait long before Zhao Zongji came out to meet him.
"Your Majesty." Wang Yu stood up and saluted, "It's really a big emergency to bother you so early."
"What's the matter?" Zhao Zongji asked with a smile.
"Last night," Wang Yu said in a low voice, "there was a leak in the Qingling County Prince's Mansion. Should the Prince know about it?"
"I know." Zhao Zongji nodded.
"Today the Kaifeng Mansion set up a card at the city gate to search the whole city. Is the prince still unaware?"
"I don't know yet." Zhao Zongji said: "But it's time for Kaifeng Mansion to use some thunderous tactics. Bandits are too rampant these days!"
"Actually, they are not looking for a thief, but are looking for someone." Wang Yu said in a deep voice, "That person's name is Zhou Heiqi, and he is a guard of the palace."
"Why are you looking for him?"
"Last night at the fire scene in the palace, he accidentally picked up an account book. He was afraid that he would be killed and silenced, so he took advantage of the chaos and ran away." Wang Yu said softly.
"Why are the account books so dangerous?" Zhao Zongji asked curiously: "Can they lead to death?"
"This account book records the detailed process of Zhao Yun's father and son's family helping officials select, promote, and eliminate disasters over the past thirty years. Because it has enabled countless people to achieve success, turn danger into disaster, and become prosperous, it is called the 'transfer book'." Wang Yuchen
The voice said: "Actually, there is another meaning, that is, the content above is enough to ruin the official's reputation..."
"What?" Zhao Zongji was shocked when he heard this, and said with a shudder: "The father and son of that family are so scheming! No wonder, no wonder the whole court is his supporters!" After he calmed down, he asked: "Such a deadly thing.
, how do you know?”
"Zhou Heiqi knew that the only one who could protect him was His Highness Prince Qi, but the two palaces were too close, so he didn't dare to come directly." Wang Yu said in a tone that did not seem to be hypocritical at all: "He knows that I am the prince's confidant.
Then you found me!"
"Oh..." Zhao Zongji naturally knew that Wang Yu was not telling the truth, but he could understand his difficulties. After all, it was impossible to say clearly that he sent a spy to lurk around Zhao Zongshi and set fire to the palace. "Is that person outside?"
"No. Now the streets are being searched. I don't dare to take risks, so I hid him properly and came to see the prince alone." Wang Yu said, taking out a book box from his arms and saying, "But I brought the transfer book.
Let’s leave it to the prince to deal with it.”
Zhao Zongji opened the book box and saw three thick volumes lying in it. He opened one and found that there was an index. Looking at the dense regular script on it, his scalp became numb and he gasped repeatedly.
Secretly, no wonder the officials were afraid, it turned out that there really was such a terrifying party behind Zhao Zongshi!
"These people may not interact with each other or even be enemies, but under the guidance of such a book, they have to join forces to form a force that can subvert everything." Wang Yu coughed twice and said: "
Fortunately, this transfer book has fallen into our hands! The prince still needs to handle it carefully, no matter what, Wang Yu will follow you to the end!"
Judging from his age, Wang Yu is considered to be a top master. Not only does he not take any credit or steal the limelight, but he shows his loyalty so much that it is hard not to be fond of him. However, Zhao Zongji can't care about that at the moment. He never expected that.
After waiting and waiting for such a big killer, I felt bursts of ecstasy and panic, and my face changed several times. Fang bit his lip and said in deep thought: "...This matter is so big that I didn't expect it, even I...
If it cannot be dealt with, it must be handed over to the Holy Judge." He paused and said, "But you can't just hand it over."
"That's natural." Wang Yu said with a bitter smile: "Otherwise, the snipe and the clam will have to fight, and the fisherman will benefit."
"Yes. It might be the first scandal since the founding of the People's Republic of China. The history of the book will bring shame to the ancestors for generations to come." Zhao Zongji said and put the book back into the box. He knew Zhao Zhen's mentality very well.
Knowing that the emperor wanted stability and reputation, he would never allow things to get too big. "If it really gets too big, Zong Shi will be unlucky, and I will suffer as well."
"I have a plan to keep the prince safe," Wang Yu offered his plan softly.
After hearing this, Zhao Zongji nodded and said, "That's fine. It has nothing to do with us. The officials can handle it however they want."
After Wang Yu returned, Zhao Zongji wanted to call Chen Ke, but after thinking about it again, he decided to go to Chen's house in person and tell Chen Ke about the matter.
After hearing this, Chen Ke had the same opinion, "If this case is not handled well, it will offend a large number of people, so it is really not a good thing."
"Then let Wang Yuanze do it." Zhao Zongji nodded heavily and said: "Even if the officials will suspect that we are causing trouble secretly, as long as we are not caught, we will not sit on our hands." He couldn't help but said happily:
"We have suffered so much, and finally it's their turn to walk away without any more to lose!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the next few days, the Kaifeng Mansion and the Ministry of Justice searched the entire city, arresting many roosters and dog robbers, but no sign of Zhou Heiqi was found. It was impossible for the country to maintain martial law forever, so Zhao Zongshi had no choice but to turn from light to darkness, outside the Song Dynasty and inside.
At the same time, the Ministry of Punishment issued a sea arrest document and ordered all states and counties in the world to help find this person.
Just when the people who didn't know the truth thought that the storm was about to pass, a few days later, an urgent report from Henan Province was flown to Bianjing. At You hour of the same day, the Bank of China presented it to the palace...
Zhao Zhen was still leaning on the recliner, and Zhao Zongji was still sitting behind the big case. There were still five yellow boxes in front of him. Hu Yandui still took out the sealed memorial from the first box, and opened them one by one skillfully.
Open it, and Zong Ji will read it to the officials.
Zhao Zongji was already very smart. In just half a month, he was already very proficient at it. A memorial contained a thousand words. He could distinguish the priority with just a glance, and then summarize it in the most concise language. He could read the memorial at the same speed.
Several times faster than before.
Over a cup of tea, he had already read four memorials. When he saw the fifth memorial, his expression couldn't help but change, and he said in a deep voice: "This is an urgent memorial from Henan Prefecture, saying that Yiyang County has discovered Zhou Heiqi, a wanted criminal from Kaifeng Prefecture.
During the roundup, Zhou Heiqi jumped off a cliff and died. Some valuables and an account book were found from his body. The contents of the account book involved hundreds of officials. The Henan government did not dare to specialize in it, so it was immediately sealed and handed over to the officials!"
"What account book?" Zhao Zhen asked with a slight frown.
Hu Yandui took out a three-inch-thick box from the box and wrapped it in layers. After checking that the appearance was intact, he removed the outer skin and presented it to the official.
Zhao Zhen opened the box, took out a book and looked at it for a moment, then his face suddenly changed, and he exhaled deeply: "I admire you, I admire you!" After saying that, he stood up, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and sneered again and again.
Said: "I have been confused for many years and finally solved it in one day! I admire you, I admire you!"
Judging from Hu Yandui's many years of experience, it was rare for an official to lose his mood! He couldn't help but be secretly surprised, wondering what kind of account books could make the emperor, who was so heartbroken, lose his composure.
Zhao Zongji knew what was going on, but he became more and more afraid to speak nonsense. He just stood up and waited for Zhao Zhen to calm down.
It took a long time for Zhao Zhen to stand still. Hu Yandui quickly offered him the soothing soup. The emperor took a sip and said to him: "Show these brochures to King Qi."
"My son, can I ask first?" Zhao Zongji did not take over, but looked at Zhao Zhen and said, "What is the content of this?"
"You will know after reading it." Zhao Zhen said calmly: "But I still tell you, this is the black account book that Zhao Yunrang and his son have used to suppress hundreds of Chinese and foreign ministers for decades!"
"My dear minister, please don't look at it." Zhao Zongji bowed his head and said.
"Why don't you look?" Zhao Zhen asked coldly.
"I'm afraid that after reading this, I don't know how to reply to my father." Zhao Zongji said: "If we talk about a thorough investigation, it will arouse the fear of all the officials, and even become angry; it will also make people say that I took the opportunity to attack Zongshi.
If you say you don’t want to investigate, the laws of nature are clear and the laws of the country are hard to deceive... So after thinking about it, it’s better not to investigate.”
"You are naughty and don't look at it if you don't want to." Zhao Zhen said with a calm expression: "But the government is so corrupt, how can you just escape?"
"Report to the Emperor Father." Zhao Zongji said seriously: "If you want to reform the officials first, this is the teaching of the Emperor Father. However, I believe that rectifying the administration of officials depends on 'strict legislation and governing officials according to the law', rather than relying on a book with unknown origins."
The black account book. With all due respect, I would like to say frankly that the officialdom is not managed properly nowadays, and the ministers cannot be entirely blamed. This is also due to the deteriorating social customs."
"So," Zhao Zhen snorted coldly: "It's still my fault?!"
"I don't dare!" Zhao Zongji hurriedly shook his head and said: "I just think that as time goes by, things will get into trouble with the administration of officials. The officialdom is turbid, and sometimes good officials have to pay bribes. For example, the promotion and promotion of officials to fill vacancies are all controlled by
With the hands of a sharp-edged official, you can take office as soon as possible and be promoted if you can get through the joints; if you fail to manage it, it will inevitably be wasted... I believe that the vast majority of the hundreds of officials on the account books are loyal and good, but they are just
For one reason or another, you have to do something wrong and get caught. If you start a prison indiscriminately, firstly, it goes against the benevolence of our ancestors; secondly, it is easy to throw away the children together with the dirty water; thirdly,
If you come, it will also cause worries among all the officials and may lead to unexpected events. Therefore, I sincerely ask my father to think twice!"
After listening to Zhao Zongji's words, Zhao Zhen's expression softened, he nodded and said: "It seems that you are more mature than I thought, very good, very good." Then he sat back on the recliner and said: "In your opinion, you should
What to do with this account book?"
"In my humble opinion, these fake books with unknown origins should be burned in a fire." Zhao Zongji said without hesitation.
"If you burn it, others won't know about it?" Zhao Zhen shook his head and said, "Don't forget Henan Prefecture and Yiyang County have seen this thing!"
"Then we have to aggrieve the officials of Henan Prefecture and Yiyang County. The officials issued an edict that it was difficult to tell the authenticity of the account books, but they believed that Prince Pu and his son would not form a clique for personal gain, and they believed in the integrity of the officials, so they burned them to the ground. Any
No one is allowed to discuss it any further! All officials will naturally be grateful for the kindness of the official family, and will also put down their burdens and redeem their past merits!"
"Ji'er understands the general situation very well, I feel very relieved." Zhao Zhen nodded and sighed: "But the official administration is so corrupt, and I still have to cover it up. It is really unseemly."