Huang Qiao lay on the ground shivering, and Huang Ke picked up a stick and beat the eldest son violently.
Huang Qiao was born to Huang Ke's first wife. As the second wife, Mrs. Nie did not feel very distressed, but she still had to come forward and persuade her: "Master, just give her a few casual beatings. You will beat Jun Qing to death."
Huang Ke said angrily: "It would be better if you beat him to death. The Huang family's face has been completely disgraced by this traitor!"
"Ah...Oh," Huang Qiao cried, "Father, please spare his life. My son will never dare to do it again. Please spare your son this time."
Huang Qiao's wife, Mrs. Gu, knelt beside her and kept wiping her tears. She begged and said: "father-in-law, please calm down. My daughter-in-law still has some dowry items. Whether it is the land or jewelry, they were all sold to Jun Qing to make up for the shortfall. Jun Qing died."
How can we, the three of us, live without her!"
Huang Ke just pretended not to hear, and beat him with more than ten sticks. He was old and frail, panting from exhaustion, threw the stick to his servant, and ordered: "Keep beating, even if you kill him!"
How dare the servant really beat the young master to death? He raised it high and patted it down gently. Huang Qiao cooperated very well and continued to shout.
This great drama all started because of Wang Yuan.
Wang Yuan checked the kitchen staff of the three temples and then began to check the purchasing expenses.
However, the procurement work of Guanglu Temple and other yamen does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. This matter is linked to the Ministry of Household Affairs. So Wang Yuan contacted his father-in-law Huang Ke, and the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household Affairs jointly investigated.
Before Huang Ke sent people to conduct a thorough investigation, he called his son Huang Qiao to inquire about the situation. When asked casually, he instantly said, "Father is kind and son is filial."
Huang Qiao was a Imperial College student. Because he had no hope of taking the imperial examination, he could only wait to fill the vacancy. He was assigned to the Ministry of Works as the ninth rank and deputy promotion. Over the years, he slowly worked his way up through seniority, and now he has been transferred to the office of Guanglu Temple.
, is a seventh-rank official responsible for supplying drinks to various yamen in the capital (including the imperial palace).
The main supplies for Guanglu Temple are provided by local or special households. For example, vegetable farmers have to grow a certain amount of vegetables for Guanglu Temple every year. But there are always times when supplies are insufficient, so the Ministry of Household Affairs has to allocate funds to purchase them. Everyone knows how to purchase.
Rich in oil and water? How could the officials let him go?
The chief official in charge of procurement only doubled the price and falsely reported it. At Huang Qiao's level, the purchase quotation had quadrupled? And the officials below him were still falsely reporting the price? The final purchase price would be five times the market price.
Between ten times.
The conversation between father and son is as follows——
Huang Ke asked: "How much buying money have you been greedy for?"
Huang Qiao said: "Not much? I have been in office for two years and only got a few hundred taels of silver."
Huang Ke was furious: "My Huang family belongs to a rich family in Suining? My family has countless fertile fields? How dare you greed for just a few hundred taels? Can you make a difference!"
Huang Qiao said: "My son can't eat alone. Officials at all levels are in charge, so I don't dare to be greedy. A few hundred taels is the limit."
"Are you still too young?" Huang Ke became even more angry.
Huang Qiao quickly explained: "That's not what my son meant? Does it mean that everyone is greedy? If you are not greedy, you will be squeezed out by your colleagues."
Huang Ke said angrily: "Fart, your father is the Minister of Household Affairs and your brother-in-law is the Minister of Rites. Who dared to exclude you after eating a leopard? You can't resist the temptation yourself, don't put the blame on others!"
So? The family law is taken care of, and a filial son emerges from under the stick.
After a severe beating, Huang Ke's anger subsided a little: "How much have you been greedy, and you can make up for it with money from home? You can confess your crime and resign yourself!"
"Yes." Huang Qiao could only agree.
Huang Ke said: "I am not strict with my children, so I have to go to Shu and resign."
Huang Qiao was shocked and said: "Father? It doesn't have to be like this!"
Huang Ke in history? Because he was squeezed out to Nanjing? He should have died in depression a few years ago. Because of Wang Yuan's relationship, not only was he not squeezed out by Liang Chu, but he rose to become the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and he naturally lived longer in a happy mood.
. But after all, I am getting old. As a man in his seventies, his health has become worse in the past two years, so he just took this opportunity to resign.
Before resigning, Huang Ke planned to do something big.
Most of the yamen in the capital that involve procurement are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works.
Huang Ke teamed up with Li Hao, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and began to rectify the procurement affairs, which immediately caused chaos in all departments.
Huang Ke is already in his seventies and Li Hao is almost eighty years old. Since the two ministers are determined to resign, what else do they have to worry about? In addition, Wang Yuan is under pressure and the investigation work is carried out quickly. Anyone who dares to stop it will wait.
Let's be impeached.
In one month, more than 200 people, including miscellaneous officials and clerks, were dismissed, dismissed from office, thrown out of office, and imprisoned.
"This Wang Erlang is really... really fearless!" Mao Ji could only lament that one of his disciples also lost his official position.
Yang Tinghe smiled bitterly and said: "We can't stop it, and we can't stop it. The eldest son of Huang Mingyu (Huang Ke), and two of Wang Ruoxu's students, a township party, were all dismissed from office this time for buying fishing profits. How can we accuse them of being so selfless?
Is it possible to eliminate dissidents? There are many people who are interested in the matter and take action after hearing the news. Now it is more than just a matter of purchasing."
The Ministry of Rites inspected kitchen servants and working meals, and the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works jointly inspected purchases. Countless people were thrown out of office and imprisoned in the past ten months. How could the officials of the Department of Science and Technology fall behind?
The Sixth Section gave the matter to the censors, and took the opportunity to impeach corrupt officials. From nobles, eunuchs to civil and military ministers, they all became targets of impeachment. Fang Feng, who had impeached Yang Tingyi until he resigned, was impeached directly this time
Zhang Yong and Gu Dayong also impeached the imperial concubine's brothers for occupying civilian fields, fearing that they would offend too few powerful people.
Originally, it was just the Ministry of Rites' investigation of the three temples, but now it was pushed to a climax by the Yanguan, and the entire officialdom was in turmoil.
"Erlang, stop now, I'm almost bored to death!" Zhu Houzhao was very helpless about this.
This matter started because of Wang Yuan, but Zhang Yong did not dare to intercept the memorials, handed all the impeachment memorials to the emperor for review, and deliberately placed the report letter about the impeachment of the imperial concubine's family at the top.
Zhang Yong and Gu Dayong resigned at the same time. They wanted to retire and return home, which was purely a retreat in order to advance.
The imperial concubine also called her brothers and reprimanded them personally, and most of the occupied land was returned.
In this way, the officials did not stop, and there were more and more impeachment memorials. Zhu Houzhao was so angry that he wanted to scold his mother, and finally couldn't help but call Wang Yuan to the leopard room for a lecture.
Wang Yuan smiled bitterly: "I can't hold it back, those officials are disobedient."
Zhu Houzhao asked again: "The two ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Industry have resigned. What's going on?"
Wang Yuan replied: "The two old gentlemen really want to become officials. They are old and frail. They just want to return home and enjoy their old age in peace."
Zhu Houzhao laughed angrily: "They want to resign, so why don't they just mess up the officialdom before resigning and gain a reputation for being selfless?"
"Probably... right." Wang Yuan could only say.
Huang Ke and Li Hao indeed gained a terrifying official reputation in an instant because of their investigation and procurement. As for how many people they offended, it was none of their business. Both of them were determined to resign and just walked away.
Especially Huang Ke, who did everything to his own son, this matter will definitely be written into the history books.
The next day, there will be a court meeting.
Zhu Houzhao personally greeted him: "Officials of all departments and departments, I have already learned about your memorial, so please do not repeat it again."
Fang Feng came out and said: "Your Majesty, it is the duty of an official to impeach the lawless. There are still corrupt officials who are not punished. How can I turn a blind eye? I have learned that the second son of Dayang Ge Lao (Yang Yiqing) is in Yunnan.
Over the years in Fish and Meat Township, countless families have been broken up. He was impeached by the imperial censor ten years ago. Not only has this person not been brought to justice, he has now become a local official. Please order the local prosecutor to investigate!"
Well, the emperor refused to persuade him to retreat, and this guy conveniently offended Yang Yiqing again.
Yang Yiqing could only go out, take off his official hat, kneel down and say: "I have not taught my children strictly, please resign and go back to your hometown to retire."
"No," Zhu Houzhao was so angry that his head was smoking, and he pointed at Fang Feng and said, "You, a person who is just trying to gain fame, are not allowed to stay in the capital anymore. You can become the county magistrate wherever you want!"
These words stirred up a hornet's nest, and a bunch of science and education officials came out in unison.
"Your Majesty, you can't do that. It is the duty of the censor to report something, so how can you be punished for what you say?"
"Your Majesty demoted Fang Yushi, please come up with a crime!"
"Your Majesty has destroyed his own ears and eyes, and the country is in danger!"
"..."
Zhu Houzhao was so quarreled that his brain almost exploded. He asked the chief of ceremonies of the court meeting to straighten the order, and then he said: "We promote Fang Feng to be the inspector of affairs in Guangdong. This matter should not be discussed again."
This was a promotion for Fang Feng, and he was promoted very far away. He would be out of sight in Guangdong.
The speakers finally said nothing and returned to their shifts one after another.
But Fang Feng knelt down and refused to get up: "I dare not accept such an important position, please Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate the son of Mr. Dayang Ge!"
Yang Yiqing could only agree: "Your Majesty, please investigate the dog thoroughly."
"Check, check, check, let the local government investigate." Zhu Houzhao was irritated.
Seeing Fang Feng's sudden promotion, another censor came out: "Your Majesty, I want to impeach you..."
Zhu Houzhao stood up suddenly and shouted: "Stop talking!"
The censor ignored him and said: "I impeach Mao Qu, the second son of Mao Ge. This man accepted bribes from officials and used his father's authority to promote others. Fei Xiu, a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was also a disciple of Mao Ge.
Fei Xu and Mao Qu worked together and promoted many local officials indiscriminately!"
Mao Ji could only say: "Your Majesty, I have not taught my son strictly, so I request to retire and return home."
Zhu Houzhao was furious: "Drag this guy out to fight!"
The censor shouted: "Your Majesty will beat me to death, and I will impeach you to the end!"
"His Majesty!"
Countless officials came out again, making the court noisy like a vegetable market.
Zhu Houzhao was so angry that he left directly and did not come to court for two full months.
Zhu Houzhao also deliberately disapproved the resignation letters of Huang Ke and Li Hao. The mess these two veterans had made, Zhu Houzhao didn't want them to pat their butts and leave, so he could stay in the capital and be looked down upon by all the civil and military officials.
Wang Yuan remained silent throughout the whole process, saying that it had nothing to do with him and that it was not him who had the headache anyway.
The biggest gain from this matter was that Wang Yuan found a capable minister. The ability to quickly solve the kitchen service problem was all thanks to Song Cang, the Zuo Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple. Although this person was Yang Tinghe's disciple, Wang Yuan could also promote him.
After Liu Rui, the minister of Guanglu Temple, resigned, Wang Yuan recommended Song Cang to take over the post.
The minister of Guanglu Temple who was in his early forties was not outrageous for a shujishi, but Song Cang was not even a shujishi! The promotion speed was too fast. He was promoted by Yang Tinghe before, and was promoted by Wang Yuan later. Song Cang's
I don’t know how many people are envious of my career experience.
As a result, Song Cang became the target of public criticism. The Yang party scolded him for betraying his benefactor, and neutral officials also considered him a clitor.
Song Cang didn't care about these criticisms at all. He just went to work as usual every day and took all his meals in the office. After work, he studied behind closed doors and ignored the mundane things that came to him. He became a very conspicuous anomaly among Beijing officials.