Thanks to the book friend "Alston-king" for the reward of 50,000 coins, thanks to the book friend "Luo Yucang" for the reward of 10,000 coins, and thanks to the book friend "Uranus Wuya" for the reward of 10,000 coins. So now the chapter owed is [0/7
】.The author is not very good at communication, but he will definitely work hard and live up to the trust of all book friends.』
————The following text————
After a while, He Mei, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was led by the servants to the house and met with three ministers including Xu Rong, the Minister of Dali Temple, Chu Shuli, the Prime Minister of the Daliang Prefecture, and Tang Zheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishments.
When he noticed that Zhao Hongrun was also in the room, He Mei, the official minister, was slightly stunned. There was a slight fluctuation in expression on his wrinkled face, but it was not obvious.
This is not surprising, after all, among the six departments of the imperial court, the Ministry of Personnel has the worst relationship with a certain Prince Su, and there is no benefit from it, unlike the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households, which Zhao Hongrun also offended.
The position of the Ministry of War today is really embarrassing. You must know that the "Sixth Garrison Battalion" originally did not sell the accounts of the Ministry of War. Coupled with the new establishment of the "General's Mansion", the existence of the Ministry of War seems to be in name only, so that now it seems that the Ministry of War is just
Only the "Weapon Casting Bureau" is still eye-catching.
But the problem is that today's "Ordnance Manufacturing Bureau" has gradually become a military products foundry affiliated with the "Smelting Bureau". Although its income has doubled compared with previous years, its status in the court has long been unable to match that of previous years.
The Smelting Bureau is comparable.
Even privately, many officials are still speculating on when the Smelting Bureau will annex the Bingzhu Bureau.
Because of this, the Ministry of War now always acts cautiously in front of the officials of the Metallurgical Bureau, and does not dare to pretend to be the boss like in the past, even if it is Li Huan, the Minister of the Ministry of War.
After all, Li Huan's son Li Jin is the chief minister of Bing Zhu Bureau.
The situation in the Ministry of Household Affairs is roughly the same. In the past, the Ministry of War was in charge of the expenses of the six ministries. However, due to Zhao Hongrun's relationship, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, and the Metallurgical and Manufacturing Bureau successively established private treasury, and the allocations were also changed from "temporary application for funds in case of emergencies."
Without the "advance appropriation of the Ministry of Household Affairs", the Ministry of Household Affairs' voice in national finance has been greatly reduced, and the opportunity to become the first of the six ministries after the Ministry of Personnel has been lost.
Therefore, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue once deeply hated Zhao Hongrun. However, with the expansion of the Sanchuan trade, the Ministry of Revenue made a lot of money on this trade line. Not only did the national treasury become increasingly full, but the Ministry of Revenue also gradually became richer.
Therefore, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue are now both angry and happy. Even though they have many complaints against Zhao Hongrun, they dare not express them at all, for fear of affecting the cooperative relationship between the two.
This is the reason why Zhao Hongrun can owe millions of taels of silver to the Ministry of Accounts and even be able to raise loans.
Only the Ministry of Personnel is the only government office among the six departments of the imperial court that has had a conflict with Zhao Hongrun and has not had any beneficial relationship so far.
What's more, the official's backer is Hongli, the prince of the East Palace.
For these reasons, even though He Mei, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, had no personal enmity with Prince Su, Zhao Hongrun, he instinctively felt alienated and slightly hostile.
"His Royal Highness King Su."
"He Shangshu."
He Mei saluted with a smile, and Zhao Hongrun returned the salute with a smile. It seemed harmonious, but there was a sense of discord. Even Xu Rong, the minister of Dali Temple, and Chu Shuli, the minister of Daliang Mansion, were not very involved in the whirlpool of imperial power.
Everyone feels it clearly.
"cough."
With a soft voice, Xu Rong, the minister of Dali Temple, quietly changed the subject and solved the problem for the two of them: "He Shangshu, I heard from the government official just now that He Shangshu has something important to tell you, and it is related to Zhou Shangshu's case.
?”
"Yes." He Mei smiled slightly, and calmly moved his eyes away from His Highness Prince Su in front of him, cupped his hands and said: "Two days ago, Zhou Shangshu went to our official department. At that time, He and Zhou
The minister met once and had a few words with him... He asked me to allow him to see the list of officials in the treasury."
"Is it really related to those strange cases?"
Xu Rong, the minister of Dali Temple, and Chu Shuli, the minister of Daliang Mansion, exchanged glances, and then the former frowned and asked: "What happened two days ago?"
After all, He Mei was a veteran minister who had been in the court for a long time, so he naturally understood what Xu Rong meant, and quickly explained: "Even today, He cannot believe that there are thieves who dare to harm Zhou Shangshu, an important minister in the court, let alone
What’s more, it was not reported to the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple in time.”
Zhao Hongrun, Xu Rong, Chu Shuli and Tang Zheng remained silent.
Indeed, before the incident, almost no one would have expected that an important minister like Zhou Yan would be killed by thieves. Even if Zhou Yan disappeared for a day, the government and the Ministry of Justice did not pay much attention until Zhou Yan disappeared.
Two days later, his wife felt something was wrong and hurriedly reported it to the government. Only then did the court learn that such a bad incident had occurred.
After thinking for a while, Xu Rong asked seriously: "Congratulations, Minister, may I ask if Zhou Shangshu ever revealed at that time why he borrowed from your library?"
He Mei shook his head when he heard this and said: "Shang Shu Zhou did not disclose this."
Zhao Hongrun, Xu Rong, and Chu Shuli exchanged glances, and then Zhao Hongrun asked in a deep voice: "He Shangshu, when did Zhou Shangshu leave the Ministry of Civil Affairs that day? Has anyone seen Zhou Shangshu leave the Ministry of Civil Affairs with his own eyes?
Department office?"
His direct inquiry made Xu Rong and Chu Shuli look slightly sideways, and also made the Minister of Personnel, He Mei, frown subconsciously.
"Replying to His Highness King Su, the old minister didn't know about this. After the old minister left the office, he went to see Mr. Cao Zhicao... Well, he went to have a drink with Brother Cao and chat. If your highness doesn't believe it, you can send someone to ask.
.”
Having said this, he stood up, without even drinking a cup of tea, and said goodbye: "What He knows about the situation is roughly this. I won't disturb you and say goodbye."
After that, he turned around and left.
Looking at the back of He Mei, the Minister of Civil Affairs, as he left, Zhao Hongrun raised his eyebrows and said with some surprise: "This old man is very angry..."
Chu Shuli, the president of Daliang Mansion, smiled bitterly when he heard this and said, "It was His Royal Highness Prince Su who made your words ambiguous..."
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun said with laughter and tears: "I will never think that he did it. This He Mei is already an old man. In a real fight, he will be Zhou Shangshu's opponent? ... What is he anxious about?"
"
At this time, Xu Rong, the minister of Dali Temple, stroked his beard and said with a half-smile: "I'm not sure if there is anything else that Minister He has not disclosed... For example, as His Highness Prince Su asked, there is nothing
Who saw Zhou Shangshu leaving the office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs?"
His words were far more heart-wrenching than Zhao Hongrun's, but they still made Zhao Hongrun and Chu Shuli take heart.
"Master Xu, what you mean is that Zhou Shangshu was killed in the office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs?" Chu Shuli asked in surprise.
"This old man is still not sure, and has to send someone to check... However, the purpose of He Shangshu's visit is obvious. He is worried that the officials will be implicated, or that he will not report the knowledge..." As he said,
Xu Rong stroked his beard, squinted his eyes and whispered: "According to my many years of experience in judging cases, this official department... has something going on, and there is a high probability that it is inescapably related to Zhou Shangshu's case."
Chu Shuli heard this and said in a low voice: "Why don't you go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and have a look?"
Xu Rong nodded, then turned to look at the sky outside the window, and said to Zhao Hongrun: "Your Highness, King Su, it's getting late today. Otherwise, I and Lord Chu will go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs first to meet with He Shangshu.
Let’s negotiate some more and check out the officials and government servants who met Zhou Shangshu that day. His Highness will go back to his residence to rest for the night, and then go directly to the Ministry of Personnel tomorrow.”
He also meant well. After all, investigating cases and looking for clues is the most boring thing. Sometimes it is difficult to find any useful clues after working for several days. Therefore, Xu Rong wanted to let Zhou Shangshu rest first.
Once there are any definite clues, I will report it to His Highness.
After all, the other party is the famous King Su, how can he be seriously regarded as an ordinary official assisting in the investigation?
Next to him, Chu Shuli also smiled and said helpfully: "Your Highness, please listen to Mr. Xu's advice. I feel that this case is not simple, and it may take a long time to find clues. It is not good to act too hastily."
Seeing that the two elders in front of him had said this, Zhao Hongrun couldn't refuse, so he raised his hands and said: "I am deeply grateful to the two elders for their kindness... Then, see you at the Ministry of Civil Affairs tomorrow?"
"Good!" Xu Rong, the minister of Dali Temple, and Chu Shuli, the minister of Daliang Mansion, nodded and smiled.
After bowing to each other, Zhao Hongrun led the sect guards to leave first, while Xu Rong, the minister of Dali Temple, and Chu Shuli, the minister of Daliang Mansion, also prepared to leave.
When he reached the threshold, Xu Rong glanced back at the room, turned around and said to Tang Zheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Punishment, "Master Tang, tonight I will ask the imperial guards to temporarily block your office. Tomorrow, I will ask Master Tang to sneak into your office quietly."
Go to the ministry’s treasury and check the cases of Wang Ling, Ma Qi, Su Li and others..."
Tang Zheng, the left minister of the Criminal Department, was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to accept it, but then he came to his senses, his expression suddenly changed, and he said with a look of astonishment: "Master Xu, you... what do you mean?"
Next to him, Chu Shuli, the principal of Daliang Mansion, also had a look of astonishment on his face, because the implication of Xu Rong's words was very shocking.
You should know that Zhao Hongrun had seen the case of Wang Ling and others two days ago. If the former had not mentioned it himself, almost no one would have known about it.
This also means that the murderer who killed the Minister of Punishment Zhou Yan and his accomplices may not know about it.
And in this case, if the cases of Wang Ling, Ma Qi, Su Li and others are really found in the Ministry of Punishment's treasury, it means that someone wants to hide the truth.
At the same time, it also means that the Ministry of Punishment... has a traitor!
"Gu..."
After swallowing his saliva, Tang Zheng, the left minister of the Ministry of Justice, had a little cold sweat on his forehead. He cupped his hands and said, "I understand."
After chatting for a few more words, Tang Zheng said goodbye to Xu Rong and Chu Shuli.
Watching the left minister of the Ministry of Justice leave, Chu Shuli was a little surprised and asked in a low voice: "Master Xu, do you think this Master Tang can be trusted? He can also enter and leave Zhou Shangshu's room freely."
Xu Rong smiled slightly when he heard this, then narrowed his eyes, also lowered his voice, and said with a chuckle: "Xu will ask people to thoroughly search the criminal department's warehouse tonight to find the case of Wang Ling and others... This Tang Zuo
Whether the minister can be trusted or not, we will know tomorrow."
When Chu Shuli heard this, his face was full of astonishment, and then he shook his head in confusion: "You, you are still like this..."
Ignoring Chu Shuli's teasing, Dali Temple Qingzheng Xu Rongchang let out a breath, and then frowned deeply.
"If there is really a traitor hidden in the Ministry of Punishment, then... Zhou Shangshu's case may be involved..."
For some reason, Xu Rong felt a chill in his back.