Chunguang Brocade

Chapter 144 Missing (6000 more [-] words)
Shen Chuxia picked up the cup and sipped tea, but did not answer Su Juesong's words.

"Send them to an uninhabited place to fend for themselves?" But what is the difference between this and killing, Su Juesong looked at the silent little lady.

She shook her head helplessly, "My lord, you have fallen into a strange circle, didn't you notice it?"

"what for?"

Shen Chuxia said, "In this world, who else can guess people's hearts better than you officials?"

"People's hearts?"

She said slowly, "If you kill eight people even if you kill eight people, your sons and daughters will also die together. The sons and daughters will either be exiled or filled with official prostitutes. This kind of punishment can't scare other officials. They are like cutting leeks. After harvesting one crop after another , Could it be that the killing continues endlessly like this?"

Outside the small pavilion, Ji Chong walked slowly to the pavilion with his hands behind his back.

The entourage wanted to sing, but he stretched out his hand to stop him. He stood by the side of the big tree, looked at the clear green pond, and listened to the chatter in the kiosk.

Su Juesong sighed: "This is what Your Highness is thinking about, but why?"

Shen Chuxia put down his teacup and asked, "A corrupt official, should he use the money he got from corruption?"

"..."

"In order to be greedy for money, he must go up and give gifts and take care of it. It is impossible for him to spend the money he got by himself. It may be a family, or it may be a clan..."

Of course Su Juesong understands, his salary is also to support a large family, "What Shen Xiaoniang means is..."

"May I ask if the eight officials who were beheaded were killed, their family properties were confiscated, and the bastards and women were sold into lowly status?"

Su Juesong nodded, "If you die, if you confiscate, if you sell it, of course it's over."

Shen Chuxia shook her head, "The corresponding corruption case is also closed, everyone is refreshed, isn't it?"

"..." It seemed, Su Juesong had to admit.

"What about the people and things that have been corrupted?" She asked coldly, "People are still impoverished without compensation, counties and counties still don't get funds for development, and people are still struggling to survive. What's the point of having corrupt officials kill them?"

"This..." But the officialdom has always been like this, and it's not that the officialdom of the Great Wei Dynasty was unique.

Shen Chuxia smiled lightly, which is why he changed dynasties frequently.

Seeing the sarcasm on the corner of the little lady's mouth, Mr. Su hurriedly cupped his hands, "Please also ask Miss Shen to pull out one or two."

She actually didn't want to say it, but when she thought of Lu Qi's dirty and rough official uniform stained with ink, she couldn't help but said, "If someone is found corrupt in my shop, besides sending him to the official, my first thing to do is What I do is to recover the money he corrupted, no matter how much, no matter how long he chases, he will not let go. In the same way, continue to pursue the corruption seriously, and don't write everything off just because of the death penalty. The corrupt officials are dead, but those who have been corrupted I have to get back the money I got for a lot..."

As if the deadlock had been untied, Su Juesong suddenly realized, "The process of chasing money is the process of chasing responsibility and enriching the treasury. Anyone who reaches out will be caught, alerting the world."

"Yes, that's right. As a ruler, it is impossible to kill everyone involved in the case, but making them repay the corrupt money is the most basic punishment. If one generation is not enough, then two generations, two generations are not enough, That’s three generations, until it’s all paid off.”

Su Juesong said thoughtfully, "If corrupt officials borrow money and pay it back..."

"Wrong, my lord." Shen Chuxia stopped immediately, "For my shop, my purpose is to recover the money and stop the loss. People who are greedy can borrow money, but this is a big taboo in officialdom."

Su Juesong patted his head, "That's right, if you don't kill people, and you can borrow money to make up for the shortfall, then who has the heart of awe, it will become a knot again."

Shen Chuxia really didn't know what to say.

Su Juesong was a little embarrassed, and cupped his hands again, "I also ask Miss Shen to give me some advice."

"I don't dare to teach you." Shen Chuxia was very embarrassed. She just came from a thousand years later. After listening and hearing more, she realized that she had talked too much, so she coughed.

He said: "I once heard my grandfather say that when he was chatting with people, he said that if we want to eradicate corrupt officials, the first thing is to increase the salaries of officials. If you want the horse to run, but don't let the horse eat grass, there is no such reason. ..."

"The silver is in Gao's hands, we..."

"I believe you will solve this in the future, but to keep officials clean, they must get money to live above the middle-level life. Otherwise, what is the point of working hard for ten years to enter the official career?"

"Yes." Don't say this, Su Juesong himself came here like this, indeed.

"Secondly, don't kill, but you are not allowed to borrow money to repay corruption. Whoever borrows is guilty of the same crime, and the embezzled funds must be thoroughly investigated. If it is recovered, those who do not return it will be guilty of the same crime.”

"I'm afraid this process will be..." Difficult.

"Killing people is indeed the simplest and most direct method, but is it useful?" Shen Chuxia raised her eyes and asked back.

Su Juesong smiled wryly, "No one would do such a thankless and offending thing."

"What if it pleases you?"

"what for?"

"Master Su, why are corrupt officials killed and banned again and again?"

"This……"

"Why is it written off after killing the official?"

"That's a messy account, and it's almost impossible to check."

"Why can't I find out?" Shen Chuxia asked.

"It's very complicated." Even Su Juesong thought so.

It's not complicated. In fact, to put it bluntly, the investigators are still not dedicated, or feel that there is no need to be dedicated, or have too many connections and dare not investigate.

Shen Chuxia said, "Lord Su, you won't forget how many impoverished Jinshi in the capital have not been awarded officials, and how many people under your command are waiting for promotion."

"You mean..." Su Song was overjoyed, feeling that there was some drama, but he couldn't figure it out.

"In the process of chasing down corrupt officials, whoever has contributed the most and uncovered the most corruption deficits will be the corrupt official who is pulled down."

"That's right." Su Juesong thumped his hands, "This way we can unearth their greatest potential and find out the lack of stolen money. It's killing two birds with one stone."

Shen Chuxia smiled slightly: "The most important point is that after finding out the shortfall, the newly appointed official does not need to subsidize the shortfall money in private, so it will prevent him from needing to corrupt the law to fill up the shortfall of corruption."

Su Juesong took it for granted, "Sure enough, it is Mr. Shen who cultivated Mr. Shen. I will tell His Highness and discuss with him how to continue."

He just rushed down the steps and found Ji Chong walking out from behind the big tree.

"Your Highness..." Su Juesong was dumbfounded, how much had he heard?He looked at Miss Shen and told him with his eyes that he didn't invite His Highness to come down, he came by himself.

Shen Chuxia didn't feel anything at all, since he dared to speak out, he didn't have to be afraid of others knowing, and this person still urgently needs to reform His Royal Highness the Regent of the Great Wei Dynasty.

He put his hands behind his back, lowered his head, and slowly climbed up the small pavilion.

Stand against the wind.

"I always think that everyone is afraid of death. In fact, I can't kill everyone, so Gao wished that I could kill a few. One proved that I was indeed a martial artist, and the other, the dead carried everything for them. .”

"Your Highness..." Su Juesong quickly lowered his head in shame, "I'm incompetent as an official, so I can't help His Highness to seek Gao's party."

Shen Chuxia stood with her head down.

Ji Chong turned around and looked at the two of them, "Three points are correct, Mr. Su, you go down immediately and use my personal money to give the officials who worked for me two months of money. Second, the eight people who were killed Officials, as long as their families can reveal the whereabouts of the silver, they don’t need to be distributed or sold into the church workshop, but if they can’t tell the whereabouts of the silver, they can commit any crime.”

"Yes, Your Highness, this subordinate will do it right away."

"There is one last point." Ji Chong said, "Tell Feng Shizi and the officials who went to Hengnan to handle the case, whoever traces more money and finds more deficits will be the prefect of Xiangheng."

"Yes, Your Highness." Master Su was full of energy, and ran away in a hurry.

For a while, the afternoon sun moved westward, leaving only two shadows, one tall and one short, gradually overlapping as the sun moved westward.

Shen Chuxia felt guilty and wanted to run away, "Then...that Your Highness, most people can talk about wars on paper, but in practice, it is very difficult. Really, you have worked too hard."

Ji Chong looked at her without blinking, "Very good."

"..." What's good, Shen Chuxia felt guilty, but also felt that this boast was so good that people in front of the village would not go to the store.

Ji Chong raised his head, "Since the gold mines in Yan and Zhao support the army and pay officials' salaries, what should I do if I don't have any money to marry you?"

"Then be the door-to-door son-in-law. Not only do you not need to pick a gift, but I will also pay the dowry upside down."

Ji Chong smiled.

Uh... When someone blushed, did she really want to marry this guy?

"I won't tell you anymore, I'm going back."

Ji Chong said, "The treasure map is still useful to me, at least it can pay officials' salaries."

Shen Chuxia pursed her lips, "If His Highness really uses this method to investigate corrupt officials, I believe it won't be long, Mrs. Gao..."

Ji Chong stretched out his hand to stop her from continuing, "If I run Gao and his son, it's impossible for me to be involved in corruption."

"Why?" Shen Chuxia was puzzled.

Ji Chong froze for a moment, then suddenly smiled again, "I really think you know everything."

"..." She didn't understand the complicated officialdom in the first place, and what she said were all things in the history books of later generations.

The little lady who was talking about each other just now became ignorant and cute in an instant. Ji Chong couldn't help reaching out to touch the top of her hair, but Shen Chuxia dodged it, "Your Highness..." Her hair is going to be messed up, and she will be seen by others when she goes out what it looks like.

Ji Chong seemed to understand her micro-expression, and stretched out his arms to hug her, confirming her thoughts.

"Your Highness... Your Highness..."

What method will Ji Chong use to overthrow Gao's party?Shen Chuxia didn't think of his solution until he left the Prince Regent's Mansion.

Forget it, this is not a solution she can figure out.

After dinner, Shen Chuxia went home and brought back the letter Shen Jinlin wrote to Shen Yuanshi. Shen Yuanshi read the letter, and she stared at the oil lamp. What will happen to Shen Jinlin when he is handling the case in Hengnan?

Will it be the most capable person?If he could sit in the magistrate of Xiangheng, he would be a great official of the frontier. However, her intuition felt that he should not be the most powerful person.

After two or three days, Shen Chuxia went to the North Moat to find Boss Yu. On the way, she was stopped by Zhang Shuran.

"I heard that you came to Beijing. I was going to find you. I didn't expect that we met on the road." Zhang Shuran said with a smile, and took her arm. "It's been a long time since I saw you. Let's go and sit at my house."

For some reason, Shen Chuxia was no longer used to her enthusiasm, so she pushed her hand away calmly: "I have an appointment with Boss Yu, and I still have something to do, next time."

"Why next time, it's better to meet by chance than to invite each other. My house is a bit far from here, so you can sit in my restaurant for a while and have a cup of tea." Zhang Shuran invited with enthusiasm, and no one could refuse.

"Next..." Shen Chuxia still refused, but she took her arm again and dragged her away.

Well, a cup of tea is a cup of tea.

Asarum and Fennel followed closely.

Zhang Shuran is as enthusiastic today as when they first met. They appreciate each other, have a common language, and have endless topics to talk about every day.

"I heard that your North Moat Inn and warehouse business are booming. How did you do it?" She asked with a smile, clean and tidy, like a strong woman who seeks advice from her peers.

"It's all Boss Yu's business." Shen Chuxia felt a little uncomfortable, and didn't want to say too much.

"Without clever guidance, no matter how honest and capable Boss Yu is, his business will be solid, and he will definitely not be so popular."

"Probably because of the good location."

Zhang Shuran didn't seem to see Shen Chuxia's perfunctory, and continued chatting happily with her, and arrived at the restaurant after a while, "Come on, today I invite you to drink the first batch of Longjing tender buds from Yuhang District."

It's only March, and the buds have been picked?
Shen Chuxia didn't know much about tea, so she took her to the private room. The two of them sat down and drank tea together. Suddenly, the relatively still space made them feel awkward.

Sitting silently.

Zhang Shuran lowered her head to drink tea.

Shen Chuxia couldn't stand being so quiet, so she quickly drank the tea in the cup, and was about to get up and leave, but Zhang Shuran took the cup and poured another cup, "What's the hurry, since we haven't seen each other for so long, we can't talk more a while?"

What are you talking about?Shen Chuxia really wanted to say, 'Stay away from Uncle Daguo', but she swallowed the words again.

"We can't talk any more, it's almost noon soon."

"Then, by the way, I will pay you back for the new dishes here. This is a recipe I begged from the sage of Qufu. There are many people who come to eat it." Zhang Shuran showed a confident and proud light on his face.

To be honest, it doesn't involve uncle Daguo. In the Great Wei Dynasty, a dynasty where women were rarely able to go out, a woman like Zhang Shuran who is as smart as a man can stand in the world is actually quite admirable.

"No..." Shen Chuxia refused with a smile, got up and left.

Suddenly top-heavy, weightless for a while, people want to fall to the ground, "You... are tea..." Before she could finish her sentence, her body softened and fell onto the chair.

Zhang Shuran put away her smile, felt guilty and uneasy, looked outside, wanted to reach out to help, but stopped.

Outside, there was an unpleasant smell in the air, Asarum fell down in the corridor, Fennel resisted his limp body, and fought with several people, saw Miss Zhang come out, behind the half-closed door, the little lady Just as unconscious as Asarum.

She took a deep look at Miss Zhang, turned around and got into a private room, and jumped out of the window.

"Don't let her escape." Several strong men followed closely.

In the corridor, Uncle Daguo was dressed in crimson, swaying, passing by Xixin, he looked down at the girl, then raised his eyes to look at the room.

Outside Zhang Ji Restaurant, two guards watched as the two young ladies entered the restaurant arm in arm and affectionately, hid outside, waiting for the young ladies to come out.

After lunch, no one came out. The two were a little puzzled, but they didn't think too much about it. There are always endless topics to talk about when young ladies stay together.

After waiting for a while, one of the secret guards said, "Miss Shen was planning to go to the North Moat Inn today, right?"

"I guess so." As secret guards, they didn't know exactly where the protected person was going, they just followed closely.

"Since the second half of last year, Miss Shen seems to have rarely seen Miss Zhang..."

"Too bad..." The two of them remembered that Miss Zhang and Uncle Da Guo were ambiguous.

One showed his head like a passerby and entered Zhangji Restaurant.

The other hurried to the Regent's Palace.

Today, His Majesty was unwell, Ji Chong was called into the palace early in the morning, and has not come out until now.

Xiao Wu frowned: "Could it be that Uncle Da Guo picks up when His Highness is not around?"

The dark guard was about to cry, "Then...then what should I do? I think the two of them are as good as one person. I never thought that something was wrong after eating lunch for so long. Miss Shen is really going to do something. Are we going to lose our heads?"

Xiao Wu said, "I'll go and call Captain Huang first."

From last year to now, there has never been any unusual person around Shen Yuan's family. They thought Gao would not do anything again, but they didn't expect that such a big mistake would happen if they didn't pay attention.

Until it got dark, Shen Yuanshi saw that her daughter hadn't come back yet, and she didn't get a message to say where she was. She panicked and shouted, "Xiu'er, Xiao Qiu, hurry up and find someone."

Shen Xiu'er has always known that there are people around at the Prince Regent's Mansion, "Second Aunt, don't worry, there are people protecting us, I'll go out and ask him."

Shen Xiaoqiu grabbed her hand in fright, "I... will go with you."

"it is good."

The two went out, stood in the yard and shouted through the air, "There is that big brother around..."

The little lieutenant who was hiding in the tree branch quickly jumped into the yard, "Little lady, what's the matter?"

"Please tell us where Chu Xia is now?"

The little captain thought in his heart that I was only responsible for the safety around your house. The little lady went out with two hidden guards, so she should be fine, but on the surface, he nodded kindly, "I'll ask you guys right away." After speaking, he climbed the wall and went out.

"Brother, wait a minute..."

The little lieutenant who was halfway up, "What's the matter, little lady?"

Shen Xiuer pointed at the door, "Would it be faster?"

"..." The little captain thought to himself, if you didn't call me, I would have already flown over.

Half an hour later, the little captain jumped out of the tree canopy and jumped out of the yard again, "Your Highness, please don't worry, the little lady is delayed by something, and she will probably be back tomorrow."

When Shen Yuanshi heard it, she felt bad, "Xia'er lives in the palace? It's not good to be an orphan or a widow."

There are hundreds of servants in the entire palace, and more than 2000 guards around, how could they be lonely men and widows?The little captain realizes that the question has been taken astray, well, then you think so.

He silently climbed up the wall again, and disappeared under the canopy of the tree.

"Xiu'er, this..."

Shen Xiu'er smiled awkwardly, "Second Aunt, I heard that there are people in the Regent's Palace..."

"That's also a lonely man and a widow." Don't think she doesn't know, except for one master in the Prince Regent's mansion, who is a servant, there is no one to stop her, Xia'er...

Shen Yuanshi felt that she couldn't stop worrying, "No, I'm going to call Xia'er back. What does it look like if you don't return home at night?"

Ji Chong didn't escape until eight or nine o'clock. During this period, his people failed to bring any news into the palace. It must be Gao Chen's tricks.

As soon as he left the palace, he received news from Xiao Wu. He was in a state of shock, but he didn't show it on his face. He asked, "Where is Mr. Wen?"

Xiao Wu said, "The little one has already asked Mr. Wen to help find someone."

"How about it?"

Xiao Wu didn't dare to say more: "Master Wen is conducting a thorough investigation." He almost dug Zhang Ji Restaurant three feet into the ground, even nearby.

It's a pity that no one was found, and Mr. Wen had to expand the scope of the search.

Xiao Wu thought His Highness would deal with the two hidden guards immediately, but he remained silent. After a while, "Send a letter to Gao Chen and ask him to release them."

"Your Highness?" Zhishi was startled, "Will he admit it?"

Ji Chong narrowed his eyes, "Go and write first."

"Yes, Your Highness." Zhishi hurried to do it.

When Shen Chuxia opened her eyes, she felt dizzy, her whole body was drained of strength, and her eyes were pitch black. She thought she had been blinded by the poison, so she sat up suddenly in shock, and kept shaking her fingers in front of her eyes.

But no matter what, I still can't see it.

"How could this be..." Was she blind?Tried to look at the finger again, but still couldn't see it, this... This is more terrifying than killing her, okay?

The sudden thought was overwhelming, as if it was going to knock her down, and just when her spirit was about to collapse, she heard the sound of water.

One drop two drops...

She followed the voice and listened.

When the water droplets fall, they reflect a faint light.

light?

She struggled to move her limp body towards the light, raised her head, and a beam of light shot down from the round eyes on the top of her head. Only then did she feel the cold and feel that she was locked in a cave.

Could it be that she has been transported out of the capital by Gao Chen?
How long has she been in a coma?
Through direct perception, she was not so hungry, it might have been a night, or a day and a night.

How far can you go in one day and one night?She thinks she is near the capital, so is this cave the mountain around the capital?
It is absolutely impossible to go to the north, that is where Ji Chong's army is stationed.

Shen Chuxia has a little understanding of the surroundings of the capital. She thinks that the west side of the capital may be larger, but the place with mountains is far away from the capital. However, there are several temples on the mountains, which have always been places where nobles and commoners offer incense and tribute.

Will she be on that hill?
After a while, her body was not so weak, she tried to get up, but footsteps came, and she fell to sit on the cloudy and cold ground, listening to the footsteps.

After a while, a bright lantern appeared in Shen Chuxia's eyes, and she looked up.

The entourage who took the lantern inserted the lantern in the stone wall lamp holder, turned and left.

Uncle Daguo Gao Chen shook his head.

Shen Chuxia saw him swaying in front of him, stared at him, and said nothing.

Gao Chen raised his eyebrows, "It's really Ji Chong's woman, she's like this, she's still calm in the face of danger, she has the demeanor of a general, no wonder he wants to marry you."

She snorted coldly, "Uncle Guo likes playing dirty tricks so much?"

"Tsk tsk..." Uncle Daguo didn't seem to mind at all, with a pale face, and a sinister smile, "No matter what the method is, as long as the effect is good."

Shen Chuxia was speechless in anger.

Uncle Daguo looked around the cave, "Can you tell where this is?"

(End of this chapter)