Zhenguan Crown Prince Li Chengqian

Chapter 574 Dou Kuan Accepts Bribes
Although Yongchang is located in the border area, its products are still quite rich, and it is adjacent to the Ministry of Gold Teeth that produces gold. The imperial court not only set up a mutual market here to exchange what is needed, but also set up an official mine supervisor to help the Ministry of Gold Teeth to mine gold. Mine, half of the gold from the family.It stands to reason that with so many convenient conditions, life here should be quite easy for both the government and the people.

But for two consecutive years, not only did the imperial court not receive a tael of gold, but even a lot of disaster relief funds.There is also an anonymous memorial that was directly thrown at Yushitai in Chang’an, saying that the corrupt gold mines from the governor to the county magistrate here embezzled disaster relief funds, fished the common people, ran rampant in the state capital, and even secretly cooperated with the Golden Tooth and other ministries. Gou Lian, secretly granting salt and iron and other materials under the control of the court.

Yushitai received such a notebook and it was worth it. After Ma Zhou went to see the memorial alone, the emperor sent an old official who had followed Wei Zheng for many years to go around in the name of supervising Yushi.But in the end, not only was Mao not found out, but the government officials who were tortured too much were read a book, and the emperor immediately dismissed him and investigated him in a rage.

Before this Western Expedition, the emperor specifically told Li Chengqian that no matter what method he used, he had to figure things out. There are three gold mines in all the ministries of the Golden Teeth. After reading such a notebook, it would be strange if the emperor didn't murmur in his heart.

The Jintooth tribes have tens of thousands of soldiers, which are related to the stability of the southwestern rear. Once the war is stalemate, if they collaborate with Tubo and echo each other, the situation will be greatly unfavorable to the Tang Dynasty, so it is necessary to send a prudent official to go there. OK.Because the war is imminent, Li Chengqian has no time to take care of it, so he recommended Dou Kuan to the emperor. Firstly, punishing corruption is Dou Kuan's job. Secondly, this old boy is good at accidents. It's never been done, it's just right to leave it to him. .
In a blink of an eye, it has been three days since Dou Kuan came to Yongchang. In the past three days, except for the bureaucratic reading of the account books, the rest of the time is spent drinking flower wine with Chang Shi Han Kui.The two middle-aged officials of the imperial court really hated seeing each other, so they just cut off the chicken head and burned yellow paper to worship.

Yunxia Building, the largest brothel in Yongchang, Dou Kuan and Han Kui got a table of food and had a drink. Halfway through the drink, Han Kui clapped his hands, and the waiter outside brought in two boxes, put them down, turned around and went out with his head down , it can be seen that Han Kui is either the boss here, or has a great relationship with this place. He didn't bring these things with him when he came in the afternoon!
Watching Han Kui open the box, golden lights flashed inside. It turned out that there were pieces of gold bricks neatly placed in the two boxes.Closing the fan in his hand, Dou Kuan pointed to the box under his feet, squinted his eyes and said calmly: "Hengwen, what do you mean! Do you want to bribe the court's minister of the Ministry of Integrity?"

"Brother Yanji, don't worry, listen to my brother's explanation, this has nothing to do with bribery!" Seeing that Dou Kuan's tone was wrong, Han Kui hurried back to his seat and explained.The former imperial court sent a censor who never understood the past, who was not pleasing to the eye when looking eastward and westward, and did not regard our colleagues who worked so hard to guard the border and protect the people as human beings at all.

Now the court has misunderstood many people about Yongchang Mansion, thinking that it is a place where filth is hidden, so they sent you, the emperor and Chu's confidant, to investigate again. The account books have also been checked in the past few days. The rumors are completely unfounded.

You Dou Shangshu has been an official in the local area for many years. You know that it is not easy for us to do business. You understand our hard work and don't want to embarrass us too much, so we can't be ignorant.Some of the gold is secretly donated by various ministries, so that the government can give more policies during the mutual market, so as not to have to ask for a card, anyway, don't want it for nothing.

Hearing his words, Dou Kuan's eyes flicked to Han Kui who was full of flattery. What he meant was very clear. The person in front just didn't know current affairs and didn't want money. Who has anything to do with Jin Zi these days? Hatred!

You, Dou Kuan, are very knowledgeable about current affairs, and when you came, you said that you wanted to make it easier for everyone, so when we split the money, we can leave you alone, right?Moreover, these golds do not belong to the imperial court, nor are they picked out from the mouths of the common people, so you can safely keep them!
"Oh, Hengwen, I'm not talking about you for my brother. There's no need to do this between us! It's not easy for you to save some property in this poor country. No matter how poor I am, I'm much better than you. Forget it, I'll give it to you." Let the brothers below subsidize the family!" Dou Kuan looked greedily at the gold under his feet, but his words of pity for his subordinates were extremely firm.

Looking at the performance of this Shangguan, he smiled knowingly, Shangdao, not ordinary Shangdao, it seems that today's matter will be completed.So, after filling a cup for Dou Kuan, he flattered him and said, "Brother Yanji's compassion for his subordinates really makes me ashamed. On behalf of the officials under the Yongchang Mansion, I thank the imperial envoy for his kindness. But you still accept these vulgar things." Now, it’s the money for my younger brother and others to buy clothes for my sister-in-law and the children.”

After rubbing his hands, Dou Kuan drank the wine in his glass, and then said in a deep voice: "Hengwen, the imperial court not only pays attention to the administration of officials, but also pays attention to taxes and people's livelihood. Yongchang has been suffering from disasters and losses year after year. What a huge investment in mining gold mines." , I don’t see any benefits, do you think your Majesty can stop thinking about it? So restoring the stability on the ground is the top priority, in short, it’s still the same sentence, His Majesty’s happiness is the first priority.”

Yes, yes, after hearing Dou Kuan's words, Han Kui nodded again and again, and immediately replied in a respectful voice: "Brother Yanji is very right, but you have also seen that the situation in Yongchang is really difficult. I think you can The original tax payment cannot be reduced by [-]% to subsidize the national economy and the people's livelihood.

Without investment, how can the people live well? By then, the imperial court will pay back money, and the Ministry of Gold Teeth will no longer complain.The one who came last time, my little brother has worn out his mouth, but this old pedant just disagrees, and he knows that squatting in the yamen is stupid, how does he know the difficulties of us magistrates! "

Here comes the main topic. Judging from the two boxes of gold, Han Kui and the others just want to save part of the tax in a fair and honest way, and then make huge profits from it.And as long as his request is agreed, there will be "never" famines in Yongchang from next year, and the court will not always focus on such a small place.

"Harmony, His Majesty said that the most important thing in dealing with border affairs is to be harmonious, so as to show the mind of the country. In the fourth year of Zhenguan, millions of grassland people moved south for this purpose. Only with softness can the border be settled. Saints are not As I said, don't move your sword lightly.

Okay, what you mentioned, brother, I will play a copy for His Majesty tomorrow to see what the old man means.After finishing this matter, the governor of Yongchang is still yours. .”

After Han Kui left, the greedy expression on Dou Kuan's face changed. He clapped his hands and called Su Liangsi in from outside the door, and said with a sullen face, "Tell those of us outside to collect evidence and investigate as soon as possible. Get everything in order for me, and then I will hand over the prince's letter to General Gongsun in Chengdu." As he spoke, he handed the letter in his sleeve to Su Liangsi. .
(End of this chapter)