Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 997 0992 [Bai Lao Er Still Sees Through]

The Ministry of Works seemed somewhat empty.

Li Gang had been promoted to the Minister of Works for only a few days when he encountered such an incident and 60% of his subordinates were taken away.

They all went to the Dali Temple to drink tea.

"The Ministry of Works cannot be in chaos. Your Majesty must quickly replenish officials!" said Zhao Fengji, the Left Vice Minister.

In terms of seniority and achievements in the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Fengji far surpassed Li Gang, not to mention his great contribution in managing the Yellow River.

The reason why he was ranked below Li Gang was because Zhu Ming was deliberately suppressing the "meritorious officials group".

Today's cabinet has become a cabinet of meritorious officials.

Among the seven cabinet ministers, six joined Zhu Ming before he took Xiangyang, and one joined him during the Northern Expedition to Kaifeng.

These people have already formed a group of their own accord, so we must control the six ministries and mix in some sand to become the Shangshu.

Of course, although Zhao Fengji did not become a minister, his official title was higher than that of Li Gang. With his great contribution to the management of the Yellow River, he not only had the title of "special advancement", but was also named the Prince's Junior Tutor and was awarded the title of Viscount as a civil servant.

Therefore, Li Gang had a very uncomfortable time as an official. If he met Zhao Fengji outside the Ministry of Works, he had to give way to him and bow to his subordinates.

Li Gang sighed and said, "The Ministry of Personnel is also being investigated. The current Director of the Ministry of Selection has been arrested. The previous Director of the Ministry of Selection was exiled to Shandong, and the Ministry of Justice has also sent people to Shandong to arrest him. The Ministry of Personnel is in chaos, how can we quickly fill the positions in the Ministry of Works?"

Zhao Fengji said: "We can only ask Your Majesty and the Cabinet to bypass the Ministry of Personnel and select officials in person."

……

The Minister of Personnel, Bai Chongyan, was currently having dinner with Zhu Ming in the imperial palace.

"Sun Rugui, the doctor of the Ministry of Literature, is your man, right?" Zhu Ming asked while chewing mutton.

Bai Chongyan put down his chopsticks and said, "Indeed, I promoted him. He was the first Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty. He was quite talented when he was a local official. He was also upright and known for his integrity. Could it be that Qin Hui was making random accusations when he was arrested this time?"

Zhu Ming said: "A few hours ago, Sun Rugui pleaded guilty."

Bai Chongyan was so shocked that his mouth opened wide and he looked at the emperor stupidly.

Zhu Ming sighed, "I'm relieved that you're not involved. I'm also disappointed that you've got the Ministry of Personnel so tightly controlled. Zeng Xiaoduan, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was also arrested just now. Sun Rugui, the person you promoted, was secretly involved with Zeng Xiaoduan. They worked together to embezzle and pervert the law behind your back and cultivate their own faction."

"How could Zeng Xiaoduan be like this?" Bai Chongyan couldn't believe it.

When Zhu Ming was the prefect of Jinzhou, he once vindicated a scholar, restored his mother's reputation, and even helped him get back his family property.

This scholar is Zeng Xiaoduan, who was promoted to Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel this year.

When Zhu Ming learned that Zeng Xiaoduan had been betrayed, he was so angry that he smashed his inkstone in the palace. The anger brought by being betrayed was more difficult to accept than hearing that Min Zishun was involved.

"Your Majesty." A eunuch shouted at the gate of the courtyard.

Zhu Ming asked, "What's the matter?"

The eunuch replied, "Zeng Xiaoduan's preliminary confession has been urgently delivered by the Three Judicial Departments."

"How come it's so fast?" Zhu Ming asked in surprise.

The eunuch said, "According to the officials of the Three Judicial Departments, Zeng Xiaoduan burst into tears after being arrested, claiming that he was ungrateful and sorry to His Majesty. He answered whatever was asked, and even added to the questions that were not asked. He was willing to die quickly to repay His Majesty's kindness."

"Oh, bring it here." Zhu Ming sighed.

The eunuch held up the confession, and Zhu Ming couldn't bear to read it.

The confession showed that Zeng Xiaoduan had violated the law for the first time eight years ago because he was seeking an official position for his second wife's brother. At that time, he had not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, and he could not bear his wife's pleading, so he used his connections to illegally transfer officials to get a position.

If it stops here, it actually doesn’t mean anything.

But when his younger brother found out, he also came to ask for an official position. He also said that when their mother was still alive, she wanted to see them succeed, and he cried and complained.

Zeng Xiaoduan thought about his deceased mother, and also thought that his wife's younger brother was an official, so why couldn't his own younger brother do the same?

He first got his younger brother a minor official position in his hometown, and he jumped several levels within a year. He even took the opportunity of returning to his hometown to visit relatives and hinted to local officials to tamper with his younger brother's file, directly promoting him to a first-class official, and successfully transferred to an official in the second year.

My wife's younger brother and my biological brother are both officials, so of course my brother-in-law cannot be left behind.

Until Zeng Xiaoduan was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, he frantically promoted his three relatives. His brother-in-law even became a prefectural magistrate.

Zeng Xiaoduan could not arrange for his relative to be a seventh-rank official, so he had to collude with the doctor of the Ministry of Literature who was in charge of the matter. When he asked others to do things, he naturally had to return the favor, or at least turn a blind eye.

During the whole process, he accepted a lot of bribes.

Zeng Xiaoduan has exposed all the officials who were promoted illegally in recent years, a total of fifty-seven people!
These fifty-seven people were only promoted by Zeng Xiaoduan.

As for more low-ranking officials, the Langzhong of the Wenxuansi can make the decision and submit the report to the Shangshu and Shilang for review and signature.

Zhu Ming handed the confession to Bai Chongyan.

After reading it, Bai Chongyan was speechless for a long time.

He trusted the doctor of the Ministry of Literature he promoted too much, and he also believed that Zeng Xiaoduan would not mess around. Bai Chongyan just glanced at the official documents submitted by the two guys and directly signed and stamped to approve them.

Or, most of the top leaders are like this, and it is impossible for them to personally verify everything. One is the second-in-command with a long history, and the other is a confidant promoted by Bai Chongyan. How can Bai Chongyan control them if they work together to deceive? It is difficult to review it carefully, and the written materials must have been done perfectly.

Zhu Ming said: "Don't be the Minister of Personnel for the time being. Go and be a prefect to gain some experience."

"Yes." Bai Chongyan felt bitter.

The cases of Zeng Xiaoduan and Sun Ruyue were not confessed by Qin Hui.

Qin Hui was very afraid of death, so he wanted to confess in a toothpaste-like manner, confessing only a few things at a time, and then let the three judicial departments investigate, slowly delaying time and allowing himself to live a few more months.

He only gave out the former Langzhong of the Ministry of Literature, Feng Youlai, who was Min Zishun's confidant.

However, Bai Chongyan's confidant Sun Rugui was arrested by the Sanfashi for trial because he promoted Yang Yuan, who was frightened to death.

Sun Rugui saw Qin Hui being arrested, and soon he was also arrested. He thought that he was confessed by Qin Hui. So, he couldn't stand it on the third day, and he kept talking and finally confessed Zeng Xiaoduan.

……

Bai Chongyan left the palace in a daze. When he returned to the Shangshu's residence, his wife said that Bai Chongwu had been waiting for him for a long time.

Bai Chongwu served as the governor of Iwami Castle for several years. It would be a lie to say that he did not make any money, but the amount was negligible. After returning from Japan, Bai Chongwu gradually rose in rank and is now the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, just the right-hand man of Qin Hui.

"Third brother, are you okay?" Bai Chongwu asked fearfully.

Bai Chongyan smiled bitterly: "It's okay. His Majesty showed mercy and didn't punish me too harshly. I was just demoted to a prefect."

Bai Chongwu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."

"What about you?" Bai Chongyan asked.

Bai Chongwu said: "I have been transferred to the Ministry of Revenue for just over a year, and Qin Hui was also just transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. I have no connection with Qin Hui. There are so many mountains of gold and silver overseas, and the emperor is far away. I have been able to resist making a lot of money. How could I be corrupt and pervert the law after returning to the capital?"

Bai Chongyan said: "As long as my brother is safe."

"Yes, as long as I'm safe, I'm very nervous to be an official," Bai Chongwu said, "Once Qin Hui's case is over, I will retire on sick leave and settle down in Jiangnan."

Bai Chongyan was surprised and asked, "Brother is an honest official, why did it come to this?"

Bai Chongwu stood up and closed all the doors and windows. "We are family, so let's not talk about different things. I was corrupt when I was a bailiff in the former Song Dynasty. How could I not be corrupt when I became an official in the Ming Dynasty? It's just that I know the emperor's temper, so I became more cautious and restrained. When I was a governor overseas, I made a full 30,000 strings of cash..."

"Second brother is so confused!" Bai Chongyan was shocked.

Bai Chongwu lowered his voice and said, "Don't worry. There are mountains of gold and silver everywhere. What is 30,000 strings of cash? I did it very secretly, and it is impossible to be found out. After returning to the capital, I have never embezzled a penny again. The emperor's punishment for corruption is too scary."

Bai Chongyan was a very upright person, even a little pedantic, but his ability was a little mediocre. After serving as an official for more than 20 years, he was actually played around by his deputies and confidants, and he didn't even know that he was being deceived by the combination.

When he heard that his second brother had embezzled tens of thousands of strings of cash, he became uneasy and paced around the room anxiously, fearing that he would be found out.

Bai Chongwu looked a little upset: "Sit down, don't walk back and forth anymore. Qin Hui's case this time is very serious. Anyway, I dare not be an official anymore. I will run away to Jiangnan to settle down and stay away from the court."

Bai Chongyan said: "Second brother, why don't you turn yourself in."

"What did you say?" Bai Chongwu thought he had misheard.

"Turn yourself in." Bai Chongyan said.

Bai Chongwu was speechless for a moment: "Why should I turn myself in? I am the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. In the past ten years, I have only embezzled less than 40,000 strings of cash. I can be regarded as a model of an honest official. Besides, I have decided to retire due to illness and leave the capital far away. Why should I turn myself in?"

Bai Chongyan asked: "Really can't find out?"

Bai Chongwu laughed and said, "Not to mention that the three judicial departments can't find out, even my subordinates couldn't find out if they asked them to. At most, they suspected that I had taken money, but they were not even sure of this suspicion. If anyone can really find out, I will accept it even if I am beheaded."

"I hope so." Bai Chongyan sighed.

Bai Chongwu sat at the desk, stretched and said, "It's best if you're okay this time. I was worried that something might happen to you. I don't have any ambitions. When I was in Xixiang County, I just wanted to make more money and live a rich life."

"Now I am considered rich. The annual salary, the rewards from His Majesty, and the small gains from small businesses... Oh, and the house His Majesty rewarded me. Selling it will also bring a lot of money. I won't move to a big city in the south of the Yangtze River. I will choose a small place in the countryside, move with my wife and children, and become a local rich man. I don't have to worry about anything, and I feel happy just thinking about that life."

"My sons are all useless, so I can only train my grandchildren. When they are older, if any of them is a good student, I will shamelessly send him to the emperor to study with him and take the imperial examination."

Bai Chongyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Second brother really thinks things through."

"I know how capable you are," Bai Chongwu warned, "After I leave the capital, you must not take bribes or pervert the law, and don't form cliques with anyone. Just be an honest official and a loyal minister. You are too defenseless against your own people. As long as they have a good relationship with you, you think they are good people. Let me tell you, those people have evil hearts!"

Bai Chongyan thought about what happened today and bowed sincerely, saying, "Brother, your teaching is very true."

Bai Chongwu pointed to the northeast, which was Min Zishun's official residence: "Even if Min Zishun doesn't die this time, he will definitely be skinned alive!"

"Did he really embezzle money?" Bai Chongyan asked.

Bai Chongwu said: "I don't know whether he is corrupt or not, but when he was in the Ministry of Personnel, he promoted many officials to become his cronies. He may not have been corrupt, but the people he promoted against the rules probably committed crimes. Moreover, he was in charge of the national treasury warehouse for several years, and the money and grain that passed through his hands were like water. I don't believe he can really endure it."

Bai Chongyan said in disbelief: "Is he that kind of person?"

Bai Chongwu patted his brother on the shoulder and said, "Take care of yourself. I'm leaving first. Remember, don't be corrupt or form cliques. People like you are more suitable to be lone ministers."

(End of this chapter)