Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 482: Punish first and investigate later
Beijing,

Inside, the Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhang Jinyu and Shen Zhongxin stood in the hall, saluted Emperor Wu who was sitting on the high platform, and kowtowed together,

"Your Majesty, Zhang Jinyu, (Shen Zhongxin) wishes to see you, long live my emperor."

"Come on, you two, now that you're here, let's talk about how the investigation went."

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong touched the jade finger on his hand. He rarely reviewed the memorial today. Instead, he took out a piece of fine rice paper, held a brush, and wrote some big characters on the rice paper. He was far away and couldn't see clearly what he wrote. What is it? After hearing the emperor's question, Zhang Jinyu and Shen Zhongxin glanced at each other secretly.

Zhang Jinyu was not in a hurry to say anything, and signaled to let Shen Shilang speak first. Shen Zhongxin also refused to give in. This matter is a matter of the Ministry of Revenue and it is inevitable. She replied loudly,
"Your Majesty, I went to the imperial prison with the Marquis early this morning to expedite the interrogation of officials from various departments in Jingcang, especially the doctor Cui Dehai, the grain commander Tian Fangzheng and others. However, in the end, nothing was found. The two of them were talking about each other. , not even a single clue was revealed.”

"Oh, you are so strict with your mouth, it shows how big the matter is!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wu stopped the pen in his hand, looked at Marquis Luo Yun instead, and asked,

"Marquis Luo Yun, you went too, didn't you ask anything?"

Zhang Jinyu saw the emperor looking over and coughed.
"Well, back to your majesty, I also went and tortured Mr. Tian of Liangtai. However, this person is really good and his mouth is not strict. Moreover, I found that this person is probably not simple. When Cui Dehai was interrogated, Mr. Cui They were all shaken, but they didn't know that Lord Tian's words would make all my efforts go to waste. So I and Lord Shen stopped interrogating and left the imperial prison, thinking of going to Jingcang to check and see if there was anything wrong. Other clues, especially Chen also want to know what that fire dragon looks like and how powerful it is."

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong continued to hold the jade ring on his finger without saying a word, and then continued to write with the brush. He was so focused that he didn't know what he was writing. After a while, he put down the pen, put down the brush, and sat back on the dragon chair. , said,
"What Aiqing said is as expected. If you asked me so easily, why bother to investigate? Since it has been done, the crime of decapitation is not something that ordinary people can recognize. If you are really afraid, I'm afraid You can't do such a thing anymore, Shen Aiqing, you continued, what happened later."

Shen Zhongxin hurriedly replied,

"Your Majesty, I, together with the Marquis, took the soldiers to the Jingcang and the burned granary. After an on-site inspection, they found something. First of all, the fire was man-made and not rumored by the outside world. The fire dragon burned down the warehouse, and all the people who set the fire were burned to death in the warehouse. I thought they were dead soldiers, or they were silenced. The most important thing is the grain stored in the official warehouse. I am afraid it is not grain but sand. "

Emperor Wu narrowed his eyes slightly at this moment, with a ruthless look in his eyes. These people were afraid that they were really tired of living, and they deceived the court and themselves in this way. It seemed that it was time to scare the monkeys. He glanced at the two people in the hall. He is a civilized and military man, and he can be regarded as a right-hand man, but he is still a little kinder.
"Shen Aiqing, is there any evidence for what you said?"

"Return to Your Majesty, yes."

After saying that, he took out a ball of paste from his arms. Zhang Jinyu took a glance at it and admired Minister Shen's persistence. It was really okay to put such dirty sand there. Dai Quan walked closer, held it in his hand, and repeated He looked carefully and asked doubtfully,
"Master Shen, when the Zajia family looked at it, it looked familiar. Oh, is it the shape of the burned sand?"

"The interior minister has good eyesight. It is true. This thing was found under the ashes in the center of the warehouse. There are many of them."

Shen Zhongxin didn’t explain too much. There were so many words in just two words, and they covered a lot.

Dai Quan took the thing and put it on Emperor Wu's desk. Zhou Shihong took a look and sighed secretly. This thing was the remnant left after the fire burned the sand. He couldn't help but worry about how much food was left in the official warehouse in the capital.
"Shen Aiqing, if this is the case, then the 11 Beijing granaries that were burned must be the same. Now I want to know how much food is in the other granaries?"

"Back to Your Majesty, the Marquis was also concerned about this matter and asked the Imperial Army to assist him. He went to another intact warehouse to inspect the grain, moved it down from the center, and conducted a thorough inspection.

I report to Your Majesty that the Great War has brought great blessings to the sky. In the warehouse, less than one-tenth is made of sand at the center bottom, and the rest is grain. I think the same is true for the others, so it has not damaged its roots. Fortunately. "Shen Zhongxin was really sweating. If he found that the food was not even half the quantity, he would have been convicted and exiled. However, Emperor Wu still had a worried look on his face. Food was the most important thing, and he also used force in the autumn. Guaranteed, then asked,
"Marquis Luo Yun, what do you think, are those official warehouses really like this?"

Zhang Jinyu looked at the emperor's intention and was afraid that he would not believe the civil officials, even those from the Ministry of Revenue, so he replied,
"Your Majesty, don't worry. It's easy to find out about this matter, but it just takes time. Jingcang is where the confidence of all the ministries in the capital lies, so I think it's better to find out. Today's performance of the Imperial Army is acceptable and they have worked hard. , so I think, let the imperial army send more people, work harder, and thoroughly check the grain storage in each warehouse to see how much is sand and how much is grain. As long as you check, it will be clear at a glance. This matter is still easy to get hungry. In addition, I What I’m worried about is how to make up for those shortfalls?”

Emperor Wu sat on his seat and carefully considered what Luo Yunhou said. What he said was reasonable. As long as more people were sent to the warehouse, no matter how much food was available, it could be checked. It is calculated that there are at least hundreds of thousands of grains that need to be replaced, not counting those that were burned. This matter is a top priority and must be supplemented. If you think about the place where grain is stored in Tongzhou, there must be such tricks. Looking at it, In the world, I am afraid there are [-]% or more false reports.

There are too many things to deal with, so I can only let the warehouses in Zhongzhou conduct a thorough investigation first, and continue to ask,

"What Ai Qing said is absolutely true. After the deficit has been found, no matter how hard it is, there is no way to produce food. Moreover, there is no supply now, so we can only wait for the harvest of autumn grain to come into the treasury. But how can you two Ai Qing make up for these shortfalls?"

Shen Zhongxin's face darkened. This was not a small amount. Even buying it from a grain merchant would require a huge amount of money, even if it was at a low price. The officials were hesitant on how to deal with it and whether to continue digging deeper. replied,

"Your Majesty, I haven't thought about it well. I'm still a little worried about how the officials will deal with it. Are the people behind the scenes going to dig deeper or just stop there?"

Zhang Jinyu glanced at Shen Shilang from the side, but he had made some progress. He was still forced. Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong didn't expect that Shen Aiqing could say such a thing. It seemed that this matter was really difficult, so he ignored it. Looking at Marquis Luo Yun who was standing aside as if nothing was wrong, he felt a little dissatisfied.
"Marquis Luo Yun, you still have some leisure time. It seems that you have a countermeasure already. Please tell me about it."

Zhang Jinyu was confused when asked, why did she get involved again? She just took one more look and was found out. Looking at the emperor's teasing eyes, she felt helpless and replied,
"Back to Your Majesty, in my opinion, no matter how this matter is investigated, the people behind the scenes must have dealt with it cleanly. It is even said that Cui Dehai and Tian Fangzheng have never met each other. Even if they have met, they will not be hurt at all without evidence. , so as His Majesty said, the top priority is to make up for the deficit, either with silver or food. As for how to make up for the deficit, Your Majesty still needs to decide."

Seeing that Marquis Luo Yun really had a solution, Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong felt happy.
"Tell me, what's the solution?"

"Reply to Your Majesty, it's very simple. Now that the matter is clear, the fire is not a fire dragon. The big dragon and the small dragon burn it, it is man-made. Then we can convict the officials of all sizes in Jingcang. I think you can't be soft-hearted and just ransack your home. As for the Whether or not to kill them afterwards is not His Majesty's decision. If the family wealth is not enough, there are still relatives who must have been favored. Half of the family wealth will also be collected until the shortfall is made up. It can be regarded as a great favor from the Emperor. Leave them a way to survive."

Zhang Jinyu did not cry out for beating and killing. It was not her turn to make the decision in this matter. However, in this business, she still had to confiscate the houses. Among these officials from aristocratic families, none of them were fat and wealthy. They were the Rongguo Mansion, among others. Any one of those cards could be sold for a thousand or eight hundred taels of silver, which made me anxious to death.

I also heard that there were not many civil servants in the capital, but porcelain and antique calligraphy and paintings. They were all hidden in boxes. Thinking about it made her eyes water. Zhang Jinyu felt that it was nothing. After all, it was fun to raid homes in Jiangnan, but this We were in the capital, and we were going to raid an official's house. But we just stirred up a hornet's nest, and they would be attacked by a group of people. If nothing else, those officials who spoke out would probably stage a deadly remonstrance. They just didn't know how these deadly remonstrances would be. It would not be staged in the court, and I had never seen how someone died. Could it be that he hit a pillar in the palace? It was too bloody.

Still thinking about it, Shen Zhongxin and Dai Quan both looked at the Marquis blankly. They could say such words without thinking about the consequences. Emperor Wu was also shocked and looked at the indifferent Marquis Luo Yun. It's not true even if you don't say it. When Dai Quan saw that the emperor had something to say, he coughed a little and said,
"Ahem, Mr. Marquis, what you said is a bit too much. This is in the capital. Searching the residences of so many officials will probably bring disgrace to the court and have more negative consequences. Especially what you said, it will also bring the clan members with them. I'm afraid. It will be misleading.”

After listening to Dai Quan's reminder, Zhang Jinyu knew that this was done unfairly, but there was nothing he could do about it. He retorted,

"Everything the internal minister said is reasonable. It's all good for you and me, and everyone is good. But Your Majesty, everyone is good. Only the court is at a loss. If these officials are not dealt with severely, it will not have a deterrent effect. I'm afraid The majesty of the imperial court is gone.

Besides, Your Majesty, I didn’t intend to beat or kill them. I just wanted to temporarily imprison them and make up for the money. It doesn’t matter whether they are killed or not, or whether they confess or not. However, what I meant was to punish them first and then handle the case. It’s just that the order was reversed. For a moment. "

"Haha, what a person who first punishes and then handles the case. Marquis Luo Yun is indeed very smart. Today, I have opened my eyes. The method of this matter is good, but who is going to handle it?"

Emperor Wu laughed, it was a good idea. What Zhou Shihong cared about was filling the shortfall, and other things naturally needed to be thoroughly investigated. However, I think the people behind the scenes had already had a perfect plan, so, as Luo Yunhou said, whether to investigate or not Everyone knows the result, hey, it’s just the ministers in the court, who could they be?

(End of this chapter)