Chapter 0936 Kou Xiangye, who can't take revenge overnight
A strange scene suddenly occurred in the court hall.
The head of the civil service was collectively bombarded by the civil servants, but the military ministers collectively stood up to defend him.
From the founding of the Song Dynasty to the present, there has never been such a strange scene.
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji calmly watched the civil and military officials quarrel.
Wang Zeng was so angry that he stared straight into his eyes.
Cai Qi realized that he had done a stupid thing.
He actually pushed the head of the civil service to join the military camp.
If the head of the civil service is really biased towards the military ministers and speaks for the military ministers in the court, then what business does the civil servants have in the court?
"Cai Qi... I fined you a year's salary, do you have any complaints?"
After Zhao Zhen had enough quarreling between the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, he slowly spoke.
Cai Qi lowered his head in shame and said solemnly: "I accept the punishment..."
Zhao Zhen snorted coldly and glanced at the civil servants with dissatisfaction, "Fourth brother is the head of the civil servants... Not only do you not support him collectively, but you join in playing with him.
You are not only slapping him in the face, you are also slapping me in the face.
You want to tell the whole world that I don’t know people well, and I actually placed a person who is not tolerated by civil servants in a position of peace under Tong Zhongshu’s family.”
"Bang!"
Zhao Zhen slammed the table and stood up, shouting angrily: "Are you all censors? You are so capable of defeating the superiors."
In the court, impeachment and participation have their own rules.
Only the censor can impeach anyone arbitrarily regardless of their rank.
Civil and military classes can also participate at will.
However, if they are all subordinates of civil servants, and they are subordinate to their superiors, especially if they are subordinate to their direct superiors, they are unruly and will not be tolerated by the court.
When Kou Ji was serving in the Criminal Division, in order to deal with his Shangguan Zhang Lun, he also used the slogan of apologizing for Zhang Lun.
From the beginning to the end, he said good things about Zhang Lun and never said a bad word about Zhang Lun.
At that time, his grandfather Kou Zhun already had very high authority in the court.
Kou Jishang cannot act recklessly, let alone others.
There has always been a saying in the court that everyone should perform his or her duties.
Every official has a function.
If everyone did whatever they wanted, wouldn't the court be in chaos?
After hearing Zhao Zhen's reprimand, the civil servants lowered their heads one by one.
Most of them showed no regrets on their faces.
Because when it comes to Kou Ji, they don't care about what the inferior is capable of defeating the superior.
They just wanted to move to Kouji as soon as possible, and Kouji in the province would cause trouble for them.
Although the military ministers did not receive any praise, they felt very relieved when they saw Zhao Zhen punishing the civil servants so badly that they all raised their heads.
In the past, in the court.
They were the object of ridicule by civil servants and the object of reprimand by officials.
Because they are not as knowledgeable as the civil servants, and none of them can speak well.
Therefore, when bickering and sophistry, the civil servants are always on the weak side.
You will always be the one who takes the blame or gets scolded.
Now that the situation has reversed, they naturally feel proud and proud.
After Zhao Zhen reprimanded the civil servants, he said coldly to Kou Ji: "Fourth brother, you have to discipline your own people, and deal with those who are disobedient as you should."
Kou Ji bowed and agreed, "Well..."
Zhao Zhen snorted, waved his sleeves and left Chui Gong Hall.
After Zhao Zhen left, Kou Ji turned around and said calmly to the civil servants behind him: "Because some of you didn't follow the rules, the officials reprimanded all of us.
In order to help you establish a rule, it will last for a long time.
I will lead people to patrol each yamen and check the files of each yamen.
If there are any mistakes, we will handle them according to the rules."
The civil servants looked at each other, not understanding the deeper meaning of Kou Ji's words.
Wang Zeng snorted coldly in his heart.
He knew that many people were going to be unlucky.
Kou Ji didn't care about the reaction of the civil servants. His eyes fell on Han Yang, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and said calmly: "Today, I will go to the Ministry of household affairs to take a look at the files of the Ministry of household affairs..."
Han Yang agreed without thinking too much.
Kou Ji waved his hand nonchalantly, "Let's go."
As soon as these words came out.
Civil and military officials from all over the dynasty gathered together in small groups, chatting in small words, and left the Chui Gong Hall.
Kou Ji also left the Chui Gong Hall and went to the Political Affairs Hall first.
He sent people back to the house to bring a few people over.
Then Kou Ji took several people to the Ministry of Finance.
Han Yang was waiting at the door of the Hubu Yamen. After seeing Kou Ji, he reluctantly took the initiative to greet him.
"Your Majesty..."
"Okay, no need to say more, just go to the room."
Kou Ji knew where the household registration room was, so he didn't need Han Yang to lead the way and led his people straight to the registration room.
Han Yang felt that there was nothing wrong with the household files, so he admitted Kou Ji to the file room.
Kou Ji entered the examination room, sent someone to move a stool, and sat at the door of the examination room.
The people from the Kou Mansion bowed and stood in front of Kou Ji.
Under the gaze of Han Yang and others, Kou Ji said calmly to the people in the Kou Mansion: "You are all the rare accounting experts trained by our Kou Mansion. You have read the scriptures in my Kou Mansion frequently.
It shouldn't be difficult to check the files in the household department.
I don’t ask too much. If the bad debt is less than 3,000 yuan, don’t report it to the boss.”
The people from the Kou Mansion agreed.
Han Yang stood behind Kou Ji and curled his lips in disdain when he heard Kou Ji's words.
He has been in the Ministry of Finance for several years.
He still knows the accounts of the Account Department very well.
Ever since the imperial court eliminated several corrupt officials, the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue have not had any problems for a long time.
So he was very disdainful of Kou Ji's words.
Don’t report bad debts below 3,000 yuan?
Being able to find out thirty guan of bad debts is considered a high-profile event.
Han Yang watched with disdain as the people from the Kou Mansion walked towards the accounts files of the Ministry of Accounts.
After the people from the Kou Mansion got the file, they quickly flipped through it, as if they were just looking at the flowers on a horse.
The accounting method of the Ministry of Accounts is completely different from the accounting method of the Kou government.
Therefore, people in the Kou Mansion only need to read through the account files of the Ministry of Accounts to roughly determine whether there are any problems.
In addition, they are all experienced accountants, and they have recorded and checked numerous accounts.
The problems existing in the accounts of the Department of Accounts cannot escape their notice at all.
"Sir, in the thirteenth year of Tiansheng, there were thirteen thousand in and out of Huaizhou salt tax... In the fourteenth year of Tiansheng, there were eighteen thousand..."
"Sir, in the thirteenth year of Tiansheng's reign, there were 32,000 in and out of money and food for flood relief in Xiangzhou... The specific details need to be investigated in detail..."
"..."
The accounting clerk of the Kou Mansion quickly reported the problems they found while flipping through the account books.
Kou Ji said nothing, just watched calmly.
Han Yang's eyes widened and he exclaimed: "It's impossible..."
A Kou Mansion accountant who was checking the accounts casually put down the account book in his hand and said lightly, "The method of fraud is too simple, but it is much better than the inferior methods on the market. It should be able to hide it from most people."
No problem. But it can't be hidden from us.
For example, for the account book I just checked, Han Shangshu can retrieve a copy of the local account book kept by the Ministry of Accounts and check it carefully to see the problem.
If you can't trust us, you can borrow three old accountants from Yizijiaozipu to verify."
Han Yang couldn't care about his identity at this moment. He shouted: "The accounts of the Ministry of Accounts have been verified at least three times. There can be no problems."
The accountant of the Kou Mansion casually picked up an account book, flipped through it, and said calmly: "But the accounting method of the Account Department is still the earliest accounting method.
The new accounting method has been promoted in Yizijiaozipu for more than two years.
But the Ministry of Revenue did not send anyone to study.
Just because Hubu doesn't like it doesn't mean that others don't like it.
As long as people understand the new accounting method, they can easily find loopholes in the old accounting method and make a lot of money from it."
Speaking of this, the accountant of the Kou Mansion raised the account file he was looking at, "For example, this one, there is no problem in the accounts, and the money spent is not wrong at all.
It's really pleasing to look at.
But Han Shangshu should understand that there will be some flaws in any account.
There are no flaws like this, it’s obviously been re-done.”
Han Yang's expression completely changed.
He can't be said to be proficient in accounts, but he has worked in the Accounts Department for many years and his understanding of accounts is far beyond ordinary people.
He knows that when any account is reflected in the ledger, it cannot be perfect, and there will be some flaws in the middle.
But these flaws exactly prove the authenticity of these accounts.
On the contrary, those accounts that are flawless must have problems.
A place's annual accounts contain countless amounts of money coming in and going out, and there will inevitably be losses and omissions.
There were even those three hands that quietly took away some small fortunes.
After all, people use money with square holes.
With so many copper coins piled together, even if one or two coins were taken away, it would not attract attention.
You follow one or two articles, and I follow one or two articles. If you add up, the number is not small.
Those officials and minor officials who work are not saints who regard money as dirt. Faced with money that can easily be taken away, it is strange that they are not tempted or take action.
It is precisely because of this that the imperial court always turns a blind eye in this regard.
After all, there is no way for the imperial court to ensure that everyone in the government and the public is not greedy for a penny.
As long as he is not imprisoned and beheaded, it is impossible for the imperial court to mobilize troops and engage in large-scale war.
Under such circumstances, if the accounts appear to be flawless, there must be something fishy in them.
After Han Yang's expression changed, Kou Ji said quietly: "Hubu should not make such a low-level mistake. I'm afraid there is something inside.
You send two people to Yizijiaozipu, tell them that it was me who was in charge, and borrow a few of them to come over and check the accounts together.
Don't worry if my people find out the wrong account and you don't admit it.
In addition, go to the big file room and bring over the files that people in my house have found to be problematic.
The main ledger, deputy ledger, and local deputy ledger should be checked together.
It’s clear at a glance whether there are any problems.”
Han Yang gritted his teeth and agreed.
Han Yang sullenly walked out of the file room and followed Kou Ji's instructions to ask someone to move other files. He also went to Yizijiaozi Shop to hire someone.
Kou Ji's name was very useful. The people sent by Han Yang just mentioned it in Yizijiaozipu, and Yizijiaozipu immediately sent more than a dozen accountants to the household department.
Subsequently, people from the Kou Mansion, people from Yizijiaozipu, and people from the Household Department checked the accounts and found out a lot of fishy things from the many account books in the Household Department.
Compared with the people in the Kou Mansion and the Ministry of Revenue, the people in Yizijiaozipu are very meticulous in checking their accounts. Even if there is something fishy about a penny, they have to check it carefully.
The audit process lasted three days.
The bad debts discovered exceeded Han Yang's imagination.
At first, Han Yang thought there was nothing fishy about the accounts of the Household Department. Even if there were, it would only be a few dozen at most.
But after the three parties checked the accounts, the figures found were unacceptable to Han Yang.
"Prime Minister Kou, Xiaoren and others have carefully examined the accounts of the Ministry of Accounts. Most of the problems in the accounts are related to the accounting method. Some people in the local area used the earliest accounting method at the earliest, and the traces of fraud are very obvious.
Can be easily judged.
But when the accounting method of Yizijiaozipu appeared, someone immediately studied it and used it locally.
The means of fraud have also improved a lot, and it would be difficult for people who are not familiar with the new accounting methods to detect the tricks involved."
After the people from Yizijiaozipu checked some of the accounts of the household department, they respectfully told Kou Ji the truth.
Kou Ji nodded and said, "Thank you for all the hard work. I ordered people to set up a table in Fanlou. You can go back and relax together."
"Thank you, Prime Minister Kou..."
After Kou Ji sent someone to send away the people from Yizijiaozipu, Han Yang said calmly with a livid face: "Now you know what your problem is? The methods of counterfeiting among the people are constantly improving, and the way of keeping accounts is
It's also changing.
But your Ministry of Household Affairs has always been stuck in its ways and stuck to the same old things. It has never thought of responding to different problems as soon as possible when different problems arise among the people. As a result, it has caused a lot of losses to the court."
Han Yang gritted his teeth and said, "I will definitely try my best to recover the imperial court's losses."
Kou Jiqian said calmly: "I have to pursue you, but you have neglected your duties and have to be punished. One minister and two ministers are your account to the court."
Han Yang raised his head and looked at Kou Ji in shock.
Just some bad debts, you need a minister and two ministers?
Crazy?
Kou Ji glanced at Han Yang with a half-smile but said, "Let the officials handle this matter. What we need is not just a minister, but two ministers."
Han Yang's heart trembled, and he gritted his teeth and lowered his head.
There is a saying that big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimps.
With Kou Ji's status, he only had one minister and two ministers in charge of the household department.
With Zhao Zhen's status speaking out, Han Yang's position as the Minister of Household Affairs may have to be moved.
After Kou Ji saw Han Yang surrendering, he laughed and told his people: "Go to the Criminal Department..."
The group of people left the household department in a grand manner.
The next day.
A minister of the household department and two ministers of the Ministry of Finance were demoted to the local government.
It was Han Yang who petitioned to demote them, and Kou Ji who approved them.
It took nearly half a month after that.
Kou Ji visited all the major government offices in the imperial court.
Some yamen really have problems, and some yamen have little problems.
But when you encounter someone like Kou Ji who is deliberately looking for trouble, I can find some problems for you without any problem.
In the end, there were only six ministers, five ministers and nine ministers.
Other yamen were also damaged one after another.
This incident shocked the government and the public.
Both civil and military officials saw the authority of the newly appointed Tong Zhongshu.
I also saw the courage of the newly appointed Tong Zhongshu's disciple Ping Zhangshi.
If he doesn't move, everything will be calm.
If he moves, it will be a storm.
Kou Ji originally thought of giving him three rounds before stopping, but after one round of investigation, the civil servants relented.
One by one, they wrote a letter asking for merit for Kou Ji, expressing their support for Kou Ji's visits to all the government offices and purging the court halls, which improved the efficiency of all the government offices by more than one level.
When Kou Ji saw this, it was hard to take action.
Inside the political hall.
Wang Zeng was sitting on the chair in the public room, listening to the lively compliments coming from the public room of Kou Ji, and couldn't help but sigh.
"A tiger is a tiger. If it doesn't move, it will be over. If it moves, the world will be turned upside down."
After saying this, Wang Zeng looked at Cai Qi who was sitting next to him, curled his lips and said: "Tell me, who is not good at playing, but he is the one who plays.
If he doesn't raise the butcher's knife to kill people, we will already be burning incense.
You actually took the initiative to provoke him."
Cai Qi snorted coldly and shouted: "The imperial court is a place with rules. If someone like him is unruly and acts wantonly, shouldn't he be punished?"
Wang Zeng rolled his eyes, "So you lose your salary for a year."
Cai Qi said disdainfully: "It's just a year's salary, I don't care. I can give up my life to contribute to the court, so a mere salary is nothing."
Wang Zeng said angrily: "You, Mr. Cai, are so righteous, but I, Wang Zeng, am short-sighted."
Cai Qi snorted and had no words.
Wang Zeng curled his lips towards where Kou Ji was, "You, Mr. Cai, do not hesitate to defeat the superiors for them. Now, not only have they not accepted your favor, they have gone to flatter their opponents.
What do you think?"
When Cai Qi heard this, he became angry and shouted in a low voice: "A bunch of villains..."
Wang Zeng laughed heartily, took out a memorial from his sleeve, handed it to Cai Qi, and said with a smile: "Even so, how about you sign your name on my memorial?
As long as the officials approve my memorial, you will be angry."
Cai Qi glared at Wang Zeng, took Wang Zeng's memorial, flipped through it briefly, stared in shock, and shouted: "Are you crazy?"
Wang Zeng smiled and shook his head: "I'm not crazy."
Cai Qi asked: "Didn't you get such a memorial? If word spreads, I'm afraid you, Wang Zeng, will become the target of public criticism in the future."
Wang Zeng put away the smile on his face and said in a deep voice: "I, Wang Zeng, always do what I say."
Cai Qi gritted his teeth and said, "If I ask those officials' sons to go to remote areas after becoming officials, they will scold you to death."
Wang Zeng said without caring at all: "As long as they can endure the experience of living in a remote village and become a good official who can do things for the people, I, Wang Zeng, will be infamy for thousands of years, and I am willing to do so."
Speaking of this, Wang Zeng looked at Cai Qi and said: "Everyone in the world praises you Cai Qi for being upright and not afraid of the powerful. Why are you afraid?"
Cai Qi cursed loudly: "I'm not afraid of the emperor's relatives, so why should I be afraid of them? Who are they? We are the prime ministers of the central government. They should be afraid of us. When did it happen the other way around?"
Wang Zeng took the opportunity and said: "Then just sign it."
Cai Qi said disdainfully: "If you don't sign... I'm on the same level as you, how can I lose your wisdom? I want to write a separate letter."
Wang Zeng looked at Cai Qi in astonishment and asked, "Are you going to help me share the infamy?"
Cai Qi looked Wang Zeng up and down, snorted and said, "I'm afraid that you will gain a good reputation all by yourself."
Wang Zeng said dumbfounded: "There may be times when things can be brought back to order, but this will never happen."
Cai Qi said nonchalantly: "Who can say for sure what will happen in the future? Even if there are scoldings, the one above is definitely more than us. By then it will be too late for others to scold him, so how can he take care of you and me."
Wang Zeng was stunned, glanced at the public room where Kou Ji was, and then laughed loudly.
Wang Zeng felt that Cai Qi was right.
When it comes to offending the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, Kou Ji is the expert.
They are all amateurs.
Their modesty is nothing compared to Kou Ji's.
Don't look at the civil servants who are struggling to support Kou Ji now. Later, when Kou Ji takes advantage of their interests, they will scold them.
Wang Zeng and Cai Qi discussed it and finally each wrote a memorial and handed it to Zhao Zhen's desk.
After Zhao Zhen saw the content of their memorial, he laughed very happily.
Zhao Zhen likes ministers like Wang Zeng and Cai Qi who sacrifice themselves for others from the bottom of their hearts.
After Zhao Zhen carefully reviewed their memorial, he approved it and sent it to the Political Affairs Hall.
Kou Ji saw the two memorials placed in front of him and was stunned for a long time.
"I finally found time to work with you two on business, and you just show me this?"
Kou Ji complained to Wang Zeng and Cai Qi in the political hall with a dissatisfied look on his face.
Two old men, each holding a teacup, sat on either side of Kou Ji, paying no attention to him.
Seeing that the two people ignored him, Kou Ji raised the memorial in front of him and said: "Does this kind of thing still need to be reported? With your status and status, it is enough to serve as the examiner a few times and make this matter a routine.
"
When Cai Qi heard this, he couldn't help but say, "Some things can never become a practice unless they are written in plain text."
Kou Ji curled his lips and said, "That being said, you can say it more tactfully and let the officials make this decision. There is no need to bear the infamy yourself."
Wang Zeng couldn't help it any longer. He put down the teacup heavily and shouted: "As a minister, how can we let the officials be brought into disrepute?"
Kou Ji snorted and said disdainfully: "How many infamies have you brought to the officials?"
Wang Zeng and Cai both stared.
Seeing this, Kou Ji didn't say anything more about it.
"Since the official approval has been given, let's follow the official approval. This matter will be left to you two."
Wang Zeng and Cai Qi heard this and almost said in unison: "Why do we have to let the two of us do all the errands? You are the prime minister."
Kou Ji said calmly: "Since you know that I am the Prime Minister, you should know that I handle all major matters."
"Is it a big deal to go to other yamen to seek revenge?"
Cai Qi couldn't help but sneered.
Kou Ji said calmly: "You only saw me going to other yamen to find trouble, but you didn't see that I had quietly helped the court gather one million soldiers and horses, and now I have sent people to Liaodi.
The first batch of soldiers and horses that arrived in Liao Di have now been distributed to various parts of Liao Di.
Some of them have reclaimed a lot of wasteland, and some of the crops they have planted are already sprouting.
It is expected that during the autumn harvest, there will be tens of millions of tons more grain.