Mixed with salted fish in Hongwudang

Chapter 416 Master Gao, what do you think of killing by poison?

Jinan Funan City Gate.

Zhao Ziliang, the political envoy of Shandong Chengxuan, is inspecting the work at the porridge shed at the gate of the city.

Zhao Ziliang looked at the thick rice porridge in the iron pot, and inserted a chopstick into it. Seeing that the chopstick was stuck in it, he showed a gratified smile on his face.

"Not bad!"

"Your porridge shed is not bad, better than those bastards at the North City Gate!"

"I allocated a lot of food to them, and they dared to withhold it without permission. They should be chopped off!"

"By the way, are today's disaster victims ready?"

"Yesterday, the grandson of the emperor said that we will have dinner with the victims today. Find a few clean-looking children, take them to the bathhouse in the city to wash them, and then change into clean clothes. Don't let them kill the lice. Send it to the grandson of the emperor..."

"In addition, find a few more squires in the city, let them wear patched clothes, and have a good meal with the emperor..."

"okay!"

Zhao Ziliang arranged this work, thinking that the grandson of the emperor would come soon, and ordered Chen Zhi, the commander of the generals, to continue to let him bring the soldiers of the guard to make up the numbers.

However, seeing that the emperor's grandson's car was coming, Chen Zhi was not seen.

It wasn't until the emperor grandson's carriage appeared at the gate of the city that a yamen servant ran over panting.

"Lord Zhao, something is wrong. The emperor's grandson just issued an order to close the barracks and no one is allowed to go out!"

"what?"

When Zhao Ziliang heard this, he felt his brain explode!

Finished!

The grandson of the emperor knew that he had recruited soldiers to pretend to be disaster victims!

Just when Zhao Ziliang was feeling uneasy, Zhu Yunxi's carriage drove out of the city gate and drove straight towards his porridge shed.

As the emperor's grandson's carriage got closer and closer, Zhao Ziliang's heart became more and more heavy, and gradually sank to the bottom of the valley.

When Zhu Yunxi's carriage stopped beside the porridge shed, Zhao Ziliang knelt on the ground wearily as if he had lost all his strength.

Zhu Yunxi took two steps forward and kicked Zhao Ziliang who was kneeling on the ground.

"Master Zhao, there are not many disaster victims here today!"

"what……"

"Not many..."

"It is estimated that the victims of the disaster have gone home?"

Zhu Yunxi snorted coldly when he heard the words.

"is it?"

"I'll give you one last chance, I'll talk back after I think about it!"

Hearing this, Zhao Ziliang hurriedly kowtowed.

"Your Highness, spare your life!"

"My minister is convicted, I shouldn't have lied to His Highness, I shouldn't have asked someone to pretend to be a disaster victim..."

Seeing the situation, Qu Neng, the procurator for procuring punishment at the side, knelt down and pleaded guilty like Zhao Ziliang, and at the same time told Zhao Ziliang to distinguish.

"Your Highness forgive me!"

"Although Mr. Zhao is wrong, he is also thinking about His Highness's safety!"

"Your Majesty has repeatedly ordered us to ensure His Highness's safety. There are mixed fish and dragons among the victims. It is difficult to guarantee that there will be no Bailian rebels. That's why we made this terrible plan..."

When Zhu Yunxi heard this, he raised his foot and kicked the two of them down one by one.

"To shut up!"

"It's not up to you to protect Gu's safety!"

"If you just find some people to act for Gu, even if Gu gets angry, he won't do anything to you!"

"But you should never, never should have stopped the real disaster victims dozens of miles away and let them starve to death!"

"Come here, take Zhao Ziliang and this dog out and chop them up, then hang their heads on the city gate for public display!"

Zhao Ziliang was shocked when he heard this. After all, he was also a dignified chief minister of a province, but he was cut off like this?
"Your Highness, spare your life!"

"My minister is convicted, I dare not again!"

"Your Highness, I am a member of the third rank. Even if you want to kill me, you must have His Majesty's will. You can't kill me..."

"Grandpa?"

When Zhu Yunxi saw that they moved out the emperor's grandfather, they laughed angrily at once.

"Why don't you send the two of you to the capital and let Grandpa Huang deal with you for Gu?"

"Grandpa Huang's method is much more ruthless than lonely. Once the two of you are sent there, it's hard to say whether you can still leave a whole body, hehehe..."

The two who were still crying just now, wishing to explain the law of the Ming Dynasty to Zhu Yunxi, proving that the grandson of the emperor was not qualified to kill them, immediately shut up after hearing Zhu Yunxi's words.

The two of them suddenly thought of the methods used by the old emperor to kill people over the years, such as skinning and filling grass, executing him in a hurry, gouging out his eyes and cutting off his hands...

Damn it, I fell into the hands of the old emperor, it's almost worse than death!
"Come here, escort the two of them to the capital and hand them over to Grandpa Huang!"

Zhao Ziliang was scared to death when he heard this, and hurriedly kowtowed to Zhu Yunxi.

"My minister is convicted!"

"His Royal Highness, I am willing to accept your punishment, please don't give my minister to His Majesty the Emperor, woo woo woo..."

"The humble minister is also willing to die in the hands of the emperor's grandson, woo woo woo..."

Seeing that the two people changed their tune, Zhu Yunxi asked jokingly.

"Do you understand?"

"If you really want to understand, hurry up and write down the confession papers and confess the crimes you have committed!"

"Gu may be able to deal with you lightly!"

"offense?"

The two looked at each other, thinking about what other crimes they had, wasn't it just deceitful, did not let the emperor's grandson see the real disaster victims?

Seeing that the two were so obsessed with obsession, Zhu Yunxi couldn't help saying something.

"Is the disaster in Shandong a natural disaster or a man-made disaster?"

"Is there too much name for miscellaneous taxes in Shandong?"

"How are the exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes collected every year?"

"In addition, what about the crops that were ripe and prolific in the past two years in Shandong? Why did a drought cause the people to be so short of food?"

Zhao Ziliang's face changed drastically when he heard this, even more embarrassing than when he heard that he was going to die just now.

"Your Highness, this is a long story..."

"Gu doesn't care if you say a long story or a short one, if you want to survive, you have to explain the matter clearly to Gu!"

"Come on!"

"Take the two of them to the barracks and keep them under strict surveillance. They are not allowed to commit suicide in fear of crime!"

"promise!"

After the people from Xingwuwei took the two of them down, Zhu Yunxi called Xu Liuzi again.

"Xu Liuzi, take someone to search the homes of the chief envoy and the procurator, and arrest and torture everyone around him to see if there is anything corrupt or perverting the law!"

"promise!"

After Zhu Yunxi finished these things, he said to Erhu.

"Send a signal over there, let them open the switch and let people go!"

"promise!"

An hour later, the victims who were separated by ten miles away rushed over in a swarm, and finally ate the first mouthful of hot porridge since the disaster.

When Zhu Yunxi settled the porridge field, he immediately called all the officials in the city and held a meeting for them in the chief envoy's yamen.

"I assisted Zhao Ziliang, the chief minister, in deceitful actions before, and I knew it alone. But at this moment when I want to employ people, I will forgive you for now!"

"In the days to come, Gu will assign a brocade guard next to each Zhengyin official, who will be responsible for supervising your work."

"During this period, if you do things seriously, be responsible to the court and the common people, you will be promoted to the court at the solitary meeting, and you will be recommended for promotion!"

"If you wait for the yang to obey the yin and violate the yin, and spoil Gu's affairs everywhere, Gu will not hesitate to kill it!"

"In addition, an order is issued to all county officials in the province that if people starve to death, they will be punished regardless of the reason!"

"On the contrary, as long as we can help the victims and prevent them from freezing and starving to death, no matter how big the crime is, we will forgive them!"

"promise!"

Under Zhu Yunxi's drastic action, Jinan City quickly restored order.

Officials at all levels dealt with all kinds of disaster relief work in an orderly manner, and the victims who heard the news from far and near also received relief from the court in an orderly manner under the management of officials at all levels and soldiers.

Everything was going in a good direction, but because of a fire, Zhu Yunxi was completely angered.

The grain he transported by sea via the Daqing River was actually burned at the pier!

After a vigorous investigation by Jin Yiwei, it was found out that the case was actually carried out by Chen Zhi, the commander of the capital, and dozens of officials from Jinan Prefecture.

The reason is also very simple. Once there is food shipped from other places, the food they hoarded before cannot be sold!
In anger, Zhu Yunxi pushed all 78 officials to the river terminal and chopped them down!

This move not only shocked the entire Jinan Prefecture, but also shocked the entire Shandong Province.

This is the first time the emperor's grandson has killed someone!

And kill so many at once!
After this incident, Zhu Yunxi also fully understood what Gao Ming said before, the so-called natural disasters are actually man-made disasters!
If there hadn't been for the Shandong governor to make the people in the first three rows do bad things, how could Shandong Province suffer from the disaster?
Zhao Ziliang and Qu Neng in the cell, after learning that the grandson of the emperor had killed 78 people, did not dare to delay any longer, and hurriedly confessed everything they knew.

Looking at the crimes committed by the two, Zhu Yunxi felt a burst of sadness for Shandong and the entire Ming Dynasty.

"Criminal Zhao Ziliang would like to play!"

"During the time when the criminal minister was the chief envoy of Shandong, he only arranged three tax names, namely, the pen and ink tax for renovating fish scale albums, the yellow book tax, and the storage tax for building warehouses for storage..."

"The rest of the miscellaneous tax items are left over from the previous chief envoys, and the criminals are just following the old ways..."

"The income tax is divided into three parts, one part is given to local officials at all levels, the other part is used for welcoming and sent by the government, and the other part is used for offerings to King Yan and King Lu..."

Qu Neng's flow of miscellaneous taxes is similar to what Zhao Ziliang explained, and combined with the confessions obtained by Jin Yiwei from interrogating other officials, it can basically prove that what Zhao Ziliang said is true.

In addition, the two also explained about the food accumulated in Shandong Province over the years.

"Shandong is short of food, and the food accumulated over the years is limited. In addition to the use of troops on the border, the number of food borrowed and embezzled is not a small number..."

When Zhu Yunxi saw this confession, a big question mark suddenly appeared on his forehead. He sensitively felt that there was a problem here.

"Uncle Hu, can the grain of the frontier army be transferred to Shandong Province?"

Although Erhu is just a janitor, he has been standing outside Lao Zhu's Qianqing Palace all year round, and has been involved in many important political events.

"There should be."

"In the early years, the imperial court could exchange grain for salt, so many merchants transported grain to the border and exchanged it for salt..."

"Also, King Yan may be involved in this matter. Your Highness, it's better to bring Zhao Ziliang here to ask..."

"Oh?"

When Zhu Yunxi heard the words, he immediately ordered someone to bring Zhao Ziliang over, and asked him in detail about the grain requisition.

Zhao Ziliang had left something alive in his confession, and if the grandson of the emperor found the trick, he would naturally ask him.If the grandson of the emperor didn't find out, he wouldn't need to say more.

Seeing that the emperor's grandson just asked this question, Zhao Ziliang said everything in one go.

"Your Highness is wise!"

"It's true that the guilty minister did not do it alone. The guilty minister has only been in Shandong for more than a year, so how could he commit so many crimes!"

"The previous chief envoys have participated in this matter, and the guilty officials just followed the old rules and continued to mobilize food to Yandi..."

Zhu Yunxi's expression darkened suddenly when he heard this.

"You mean, the lonely fourth uncle transferred the grain from Shandong?"

"Yes……"

"Why does my fourth uncle need so much food?"

"This……"

Zhao Ziliang was in a dilemma again, because if he continued, he would be suspected of alienating the flesh and blood of the Tian family.

"Your Highness, why do you ask questions knowingly?"

Zhu Yunxi sighed helplessly upon hearing the words.

"Gu Zhen doesn't know!"

"Master Zhao, if you don't want your wife and children to be sent to the Jiaofang Secretary, you should honestly explain to Gu, and the young lady is here to play riddles for Gu!"

Zhu Yunxie's threat became the last straw that overwhelmed Zhao Ziliang, making him completely smashed.

"The guilty minister is guilty!"

"But the crime of the guilty minister cannot be punished!"

"The frontier army has always been involved in smuggling, and the King of Yan has guarded the Northland for more than ten years, and has trade relations with the Mengyuan tribe in the Northland and the Liaodong Jurchen."

"However, Beiping's food production is limited, and it has been relying on salt to import grain from Shandong over the years. This has led to an empty treasury in Shandong, and people will starve to death whenever there is a drought..."

"Now the guilty minister has said everything that should be said and shouldn't be said. I just ask the emperor grandson to give the guilty minister a good time, and don't implicate the criminal's family, woooooo..."

When Zhu Yunxi heard this, he walked out of the room angrily, went to the yard and looked up at the sky.

After his persistent questioning, he finally got the truth that he least wanted to know.

This mess in Shandong, toss and toss, still toss to the people of their old Zhu's family!
Gao Ming looked at Zhu Yunxi's back looking up at the sky, his face could not help showing distressed expression.

Although Zhu Yunxi is the grandson of the emperor, he is actually still a child and should not have endured these things.

However, he was born in the royal family and shouldered the weight of the Ming Dynasty, so he could only come into contact with these dark things prematurely.

Gao Ming kept watching silently until Zhu Yunxi lowered his head before he stepped forward.

"Your Highness has made a decision?"

Zhu Yunxi let out a long sigh.

"I won't tell Grandpa Huang about this, so as not to embarrass Grandpa Huang."

"But the matter of King Yan really should be taken care of!"

Gao Ming nodded and said.

"Your Majesty is old, so it is really inappropriate to know about this matter. But if His Majesty is not allowed to know, what crimes should His Majesty punish King Yan with and make King Yan vigilant?"

Zhu Yunxi is also having a headache about this matter.

Neither can Grandpa Huang know that this matter is related to King Yan, nor can he let King Yan go.

Otherwise, he would not even be able to pass the test of his own conscience.

"Master Gao, what do you think of poisoning?"

"Poisoned?"

Gao Ming's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he quickly tried to persuade him.

"Your Highness, you have not ascended to the position of Great Treasure yet, so you must not make such a risky move!"

"Once other feudal lords know about this, they will join hands to oppose you!"

"Don't be afraid of being alone!"

"With the imperial court's army of millions in hand, are you still afraid of these feudal lords?"

(End of this chapter)