The First Corrupt Official of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 271 Mr. Ye is childish, the imperial envoy died before he left the army, your uncle is still your uncle!
In the eyes of officials passing by on both sides,
The two supervisory censors of the seventh rank, wearing green robes and official uniforms with the pattern of "鸂钒" on their front patches, walked forward with their heads held high and their eyes not squinting.

One of them is holding a sword with a scabbard wrapped in fish skin, which doesn't look very delicate.

This sword is not comparable to the standard sword of any of the Jinyi guards behind him, nor is it comparable to the standard sword of any cavalry in the Xuanwu Lake camp.

But this sword was Zhu Yuanzhang's first sword after he became a general!

Now Zhu Yuanzhang has not cast Shang Fang's sword, but only has an Emperor's Sword stored in the Imperial Study Room. Although he did not give Zheng Shiyuan the Emperor's Sword that had never seen blood, he gave him this 'Emperor's War Sword' that had cut down many people. !
And Han Yike, who was walking next to Zheng Shiyuan, was also carrying a yellow baggage, which contained Zhu Yuanzhang's handwritten imperial edict!
Behind them, there was Jiang Yu and twenty sharp-eyed Jinyi guards accompanying them!
Zheng Shiyuan and Han Yike are both thin, but one has a dark-skinned Chinese character face and the other has a white-skinned awl face. Their looks alone are enough to make them black and white.

Now that they have the power of life and death in their hands, they have directly become the 'Black and White Judges'.

"Great, simply great!"

"God is wise, His Majesty is finally willing to take the plunge!"

"My uncle just fell in love with a girl in Fengyang and bought her back to be his maid. However, because Ye Qing sent His Majesty a song 'Speaking of Fengyang Dao Fengyang' during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he lost his head and refused to say anything. , I hung it on the city wall for three days to show off to the public, and finally I can let out my bad breath!"

"I know that your uncle took away my daughter by force, and ended up throwing five guan of money on her father's face. My uncle didn't do this immoral thing, and spent [-] guan of money to buy fifty acres of land. I got my head chopped off because of this song, so I’m finally going to take revenge!”

"Ye Qing is so bold that he dares to embezzle agricultural taxes. Doesn't he know that Your Majesty is from a peasant background?"

"As far as I know, not only is Ye Qing not stupid, he is also a talented person. How could he not be greedy for commercial taxes from the cloth industry, but focus exclusively on agricultural taxes?"

"."

The civil and military officials who happened to come across this scene watched the three people go away, all whispering there.

Among them, the Huaixi officials had the most joyful expressions. In their view, Black and White Wuchang turned into Black and White Judge and drove straight to Yanmen. Ye Qing was dead no matter what.

As for other officials, they were talking about his abnormal behavior.

We must know that the taxes in the industrial, commercial and manufacturing industries are numerous and complex, and it is difficult to count them, so this is an opportunity.

The agricultural tax is relatively simple, and all the data is dead. If you are not careful, you will be ruined.

Any corrupt official with some experience will never be greedy for industrial and commercial manufacturing taxes and go to the high-risk and low-value agricultural taxes.

Throughout the ages, corrupt officials who embezzle money and food for disaster relief have always been caught more often, while corrupt officials who have committed crimes in other places have been caught less.

But he, Ye Qing, ignored the experience left by his ancestors of corrupt officials and specialized in high-risk and low-value agricultural taxes. It is really unbelievable.

If Ye Qing was just a newbie, he wouldn't think it was a big deal.

But he, Ye Qing, was a master who was famous in the court at the border. It was really unbelievable for a master to make stupid mistakes.

Among the crowd, Wang Baobao, who had already put on the official uniform of the Ming Dynasty, had his hair styled in a Han style bun, and the official hat of the Ming Dynasty, really didn't want to hear it anymore.

He held the official document and went directly to the Governor's Mansion.

In the Governor's Mansion, in the Governor's private study, Wang Baobao got angry when he saw Xu Da, who was still reading military official documents carefully.

"My Lord Wei, are you still in the mood to sit here and drink tea?"

Xu Da looked at the first-grade 'Kilin' patch on his official uniform, then looked at the fourth-grade 'Tiger' patch in front of Wang Baobao and said, "General Wang, are you talking to me like this?"

Wang Baobao just smiled and nodded and said: "Don't do this with me. I was my commander back then, and I was the commander who defeated you. You know better than anyone the reason why I am your general here." .”

"He, Zhu Yuanzhang, wants to kill Mr. Ye, right?"

"Okay, I won't wear this shitty official uniform anymore. Either let me go back to Beiyuan, or you, Xu Da, give me a knife right now."

Xu Da looked at Wang Baobao who was sitting on the chair, looking like a rogue, and he really wanted to jump up and give him a kick.

Xu Da just glared at Wang Baobao and said: "Who did you learn from, looking like such a rogue?"

"I'm telling you, don't do this to me. Do you know why you only defeated me once?"

"You came to me and said this, that's the root cause!"

When Wang Baobao heard this, he immediately became anxious: "Expose someone's shortcomings, right?"

Not only was Xu Da not impatient, but he also crossed his hands and leaned back on the chair: "If you say you beat me, I'll say you only beat me once!"

Wang Baobao just snorted coldly and stopped talking.

Anyway, in one sentence, as long as he, Zhu Yuanzhang, kills Ye Qing, he will either commit suicide or return to Beiyuan to continue working alone.

The reason why he is so stubborn is also very simple, because in his understanding, if he follows Zhu Yuanzhang, he will never realize his ideal. Only when Ye Qing is reused can he have a chance to realize his ideal.

If you can't be the king to restore the Dingsheng Yuan yourself, it is also a very good thing to be a subordinate to witness others restoring the Dingsheng Yuan.

And in his opinion, with Ye Qing's talent, he might be able to see the prosperous China beyond the Great Yuan Dynasty!
Xu Da naturally knew why Wang Baobao put on this official uniform.

Xu Da just smiled and said: "I know why you came to me. Isn't it just to see the censor leaving and the Huaixi officials discussing there?"

"you know?"

Xu Da poured a cup of tea himself, pushed it in front of Wang Baobao and said, "You have forgotten that in addition to being the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion, I am also the Right Prime Minister of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, just like Hu Weiyong!"

"What he knows, I naturally know, and what he can see, I can naturally see."

"You must have heard people outside saying that Ye Qing is obviously not stupid, but he is not greedy for greedy taxes, but only greedy for agricultural taxes that are easy to be discovered and have low value?"

When Wang Baobao heard this, he also seemed to have some enlightenment: "I also feel strange, but I am just too anxious, so I came to you in a hurry. Is there some secret to this?"

Xu Da smiled lightly and nodded: "You don't know, what Ye Qing does always makes His Majesty want to chop him into pieces at first, but in the end he wants to give himself two slaps."

"Look, it will be the same this time!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Da began to taste tea slowly again.

After Wang Baobao thought for a while, he nodded thoughtfully, and then began to slowly taste the tea.

But the moment he put down the tea cup, he still said worriedly: "I have heard that Zheng Shiyuan and Han Yike are not easy to talk to. If they are so cruel, they would even dare to sue the emperor's relatives."

Xu Da just looked in the direction of Yanmen County and said with deep eyes: "Because of this, you and I just need to wait here for news of his promotion."

"Those who have never met Ye Qing feel that something is wrong. People like you and me who have dealt with him, can we still think that there is something fishy?"

"Besides, you should know him better than me. Do you think he is the kind of person who brings disaster to the country and the people?"

After Wang Baobao thought for a while, he regained the calmness that a famous general should have.

Then, he asked with a smile: "Xu Shuai, has my house been settled? I can't live in your house all the time, can I?"

Xu Da nodded and said: "The Ministry of Revenue has bought the house opposite my house. Others will move out this month, and then it will be yours."

"The imperial court contributed part of the money, I donated part of the money through friendship, your sister, Princess Qin, contributed part of the money, and the rest will be deducted from your salary, three per ten."

"If you don't get rewarded for your military exploits, you can pay it off in ten years!"

When Wang Baobao heard such a result, his face was full of disgust. If it weren't for Ye Qing, this official of the Ming Dynasty would have just not done it.

But when he thought of Ye Qing, who was about to be promoted to Beijing, he still looked forward to it and said: "After I have my 'Guiyi Hou Mansion', I will take over all my sisters and daughters, so that it will be convenient for them and Ye Qing." I know Qing."

Hearing such words, Xu Da frowned and issued an eviction order.

While Xu Da continued to drink tea leisurely, Hu Weiyong could no longer look at the memorial in front of him.

Because he also realized something was wrong!
How could Ye Qing, a person who had such a strong interest in the founding emperor, do such a stupid thing?

If he really wanted to take a bite out of the national tax, it would be too easy with his tax strength in Yanmen County.

If he, Hu Weiyong, were sitting in that position, he would definitely be able to take a bite without anyone noticing, without letting Zhu Yuanzhang know about it.

Hu Weiyong would not do such a stupid thing, which is equivalent to taking money in front of the court!
Even Hu Weiyong thought it was stupid. How could Lord Ye, who was able to rule the world and strategize with military skills, knowingly commit a crime even though he was thousands of miles away, causing turmoil in the government and the public?

"Knowingly committing a crime?"

"Could it be that he did this on purpose? Does he have a back-up plan?"

"What other twists can there be in this matter?"

"."

Thinking of this, the more Hu Weiyong thought about it, the more wrong he became. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he was not trying to punish Ye Qing, but was doing Ye Qing a big favor.

If things really took a turn, it would be how angry the emperor started to get, and how big the trouble became, the more compensation he would have to pay later.

What can the emperor do to compensate?

He, Zhu Yuanzhang, was a poor emperor who had more money in his pocket than his face. Apart from compensation with official titles, he had no choice but to sell his daughter!
The more Hu Weiyong thought about this, the more he frowned and his eyes became deeper.

"Hu Xiang,"

"This is this year's list of officials. Please take a look at it, Prime Minister Hu."

Just when Hu Weiyong was deep in thought, Lu Ben, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who still looked like it had nothing to do with him, came to him with a thick thread-bound blueprint.

The cover of this thread-bound blueprint reads "List of local officials in the seventh year of Hongwu".

After Hu Weiyong came to his senses, he took it and started to read it. After a symbolic read, he bent the book directly and prepared to stamp it with a 'riding seal'!
But just when he was about to stamp his seal, he suddenly stopped and asked, "Mr. Lu, why do you think Mr. Ye wants to take action on the agricultural tax instead of other tax items?"

"He's not such a brainless person!"

Lu Ben just said calmly: "I don't know, I have something to do in the department, so I'll leave now."

After Lu Ben left Zhongshu Province, he just looked in the direction of Yanmen County, with an intriguing curve at the corner of his mouth, and then returned to his staff.

He was the one whose thoughts were closest to Xu Da's. Not only did he not think Ye Qing was brainless, but he thought Ye Qing did a great job.

In his opinion, Ye Qing's promotion to the imperial court has become an unstoppable fact. Once Ye Qing enters the imperial court, he will find a way to make good friends with Ye Qing.

He didn't have any big purpose, he just wanted Ye Qing to be his future grandson's mentor!With a talented teacher like Ye Qing, the son of the crown prince's concubine has a much greater chance of becoming a full-time official!
in the afternoon,

On the official road to Yanmen County, twenty escorts riding tall horses were escorting a carriage heading towards Yanmen County.

The driver of this carriage was Mao Xiang's disciple, the deputy envoy of Jinyiwei Jiang Yu.

In the carriage, Han Yike, known as the 'white-faced Impermanence', looked at the 'black-faced Impermanence' Zheng Shiyuan opposite and said: "Master Zheng, what do you think of this Master Ye Qingye?"

Zheng Shiyuan said seriously: "What you and I know about him are just hearsay."

"But based on the behavior of His Majesty and His Majesty in hiding by his side twice, and His Majesty's behavior of rewarding and punishing the officials who promoted him, His Majesty both loves and hates him."

"First of all, he is a corrupt official, but before the agricultural tax incident, he was a corrupt official that His Majesty both loved and hated."

"This is enough to show that he is different from the corrupt officials we have seen."

"At the very least, there is something that His Majesty is reluctant to kill!"

"Your Majesty is unwilling to kill corrupt officials. He must be a great talent that will shock the world. Just based on his strategic suggestions, as well as Wang Baobao's surrender and the recovery of the imperial seal, he deserves the title of great talent."

"Actually, what really made me have a good impression of him as a corrupt official was that he used a song to expose the lawlessness of the noble family members of Huaixi."

"Judging from this incident, he is very similar to us!"

"When I left the palace, although I didn't hear what those people were saying, I can be sure that they were gloating about their misfortune. If possible, I really don't want to use this knife!"

Speaking of this, Zheng Shiyuan also took a look at the emperor's sword, which didn't look very eye-catching.

But then, his eyes became cold and ruthless again.

"However, if it is found that he has really used the national agricultural tax, I will also fulfill my duties as an imperial envoy!"

Han Yike also nodded in agreement. If it was found out that this was really the case, he would also read out the imperial edict granting Ye Qing 250 knives to be beheaded!
At this moment, Zheng Shiyuan opened the curtain again, looked at Jiang Yu who was driving the carriage and said: "General Jiang, I know that you are General Mao's disciple. General Mao and Master Ye have a long-standing personal relationship."

Before Zheng Shiyuan could speak, Jiang Wei's eyes became sharp and he interrupted at the same time: "Before departure, my mentor did come to me. He asked me to protect the two adults. He believed that Master Ye must have a deep meaning in this move. .”

After Zheng Shiyuan nodded, he sat back in the carriage.

At the same time, he had to secretly praise that the Jinyi Guardsman was the Jinyi Guardsman, and he was so 'selfless' despite his partiality.

More than half a month later, the group of them arrived at the gate of Yanmen County.

Just like when Zhu Yuanzhang came for the first time, he still had to queue up and pay the toll. However, Jiang Yu not only did not make a fuss, but also refused to let Zheng Shiyuan and others come out to watch.

Before they set off, Jiang Wei went to Mao Xiang for advice. First, he could not be suspicious of others. Second, he could not show surprise at anything. Third, he could not inquire about important military and political affairs.

Otherwise, it is very likely that he will not be able to do his errands and will have to go to prison as a reform-through-labor prison.

In short, just look like a 'regular customer'!
In this way, the group of them entered the city smoothly like old customers. They looked at everything in front of them, although they were not shocked at all.

But their mental journey was the same as when Zhu Yuanzhang and the others first came.

Of course, there are differences, that is, they have all heard of it more or less and are mentally prepared.

But when they heard about it, most of them felt that the rumors were too exaggerated!
But when they met today, they realized that the rumors they once thought were exaggerated turned out to be solid facts!
Looking at such a border town, it's like seeing Chang'an in its prime!
They did not go straight to the county government office, but wandered around and visited everywhere!
It wasn't until they felt that Ye Qing didn't look like a corrupt official who had no bottom line and brought disaster to the country and the people, but rather like a genius who found another way to develop the place, that they walked to the gate of the county government office.

Looking at the county government, which was comparable in scale to the royal palace, their eyes became profound again.

And at this moment,
Ye Qing, who had completely lied down, came to the old place where the calendar was hung in his study. He looked at the calendar that was almost torn to pieces and couldn't help but frown.

"It's almost time!"

"Don't let anything happen again!"

"Bah, crow's mouth, childish words are unbridled, childish words are unbridled!"

"."

Thinking of this, Ye Qing reluctantly tore off a calendar, then lay down on his recliner and continued to spend some time with his eyes closed.

While Ye Qing was lying on the recliner to kill time, Zheng Shiyuan was also playing in the teahouse opposite the county government office.

He drank tea from a bowl, stuffed snacks into his mouth, and glanced in the direction of the county government office. He didn't realize that the story of "the government office is open to two sides, don't come in if you have reason or no money" happened here.

Not only that, the businessmen and traveling people all entered with frowns and returned satisfied.

"Are you going to a government office or visiting a brothel?"

"It seems that this is the reason why His Majesty loves and hates him!"

In Zheng Shiyuan's view, allowing business travelers to go to the county government office to do business and feel like visiting a brothel must be one of the reasons why the emperor liked Ye Qing.

And this county government office, which resembled a royal palace, must be one of the reasons why the emperor hated Ye Qing.

Just when Zheng Shiyuan concluded like this, Han Yike and others who had gone to inquire around came back very smoothly.

The reason why they were able to come back smoothly was because the 'seniors' had accumulated experience for them. They didn't ask any military information and only learned about Ye Qing from the sidelines.

Han Yike leaned into Zheng Shiyuan's ear and said: "No one has anything bad to say about Ye Qing. They all say that he is the real father-in-law. The people know that their Lord Ye has expired and is about to leave office, and is still building a shrine for Ye Qing." temple."

Although Zheng Shiyuan was shocked, he remained calm on the surface.

Zheng Shiyuan nodded and said: "It seems that no matter what the people in the court think of him, the people here have already regarded him as a reborn parent. The rumors are not false!"

"Come on, let's go see his ancestral temple!"

Half an hour later, they arrived at the Shengci Temple, which was still under construction and had not yet been completed.

Looking at the white marble statue being polished and carved, even though they knew they couldn't show shock at any time, they still couldn't help but put shock on their faces.

"This, is this really a statue of God?"

"I have never seen this kind of statue in my life. Is this really praising Lord Ye?"

"."

The master who was carving and polishing immediately became unhappy after hearing this.

The master hated them and said, "Are you doubting my ability, Master Jia?"

"You foreigners don't understand us, Master Ye. This is called reality. Do you understand?"

"Master Ye is a rare talent that has not been seen in thousands of years. The style of my statue must be different from the statues of gods in those temples."

After Master Jia cursed for a few times, he began to scold the gatekeeper, saying that these people should not be allowed to visit.

This matter cannot be spread to their Lord Ye's ears now. This is a surprise they have prepared for Lord Ye. They can only know it when their Lord Ye leaves!

After Zheng Shiyuan and the others were kicked out, they had already maintained their strictness until they were in the alley, and then they started laughing loudly.

Even Zheng Shiyuan, who has always had a dark face, almost burst out of laughter.

"If we find out that there is something hidden, Mr. Ye can still leave office with honor. I really don't know what he will think after knowing this."

"."

After a while, they were on the way out of the city.

Zheng Shiyuan felt that the basic situation was almost understood. Since they were investigating agricultural taxes, they had to start with the farmers. Farmers were the people who could best give them clues.

After they left the county town, they saw a lot of old farmers working in a nice field.

"Yanmen Almshouse, working in the fields for health and well-being?"

Jiang Wei looked at the sign at the intersection in the field and curiously followed the words on the sign and muttered silently.

Although Zheng Shiyuan and the others didn't know what a nursing home was, let alone what "working in the fields meant for health", they could see that the old people in the fields were strong and healthy, and they were always smiling while working.

Zheng Shiyuan and Han Yike just looked at each other and started chatting with them one after another.

After asking about what Yanmen Yangjiyuan is, I started to ask what labor and health are called.

After the two understood it, they also felt that this method of allowing the elderly to maintain a certain intensity of labor exercise could indeed achieve the purpose of health maintenance.

Not only that, but it can also make them feel physically and mentally happy and feel like they are not a burden.

Thinking of this, the two of them had a better impression of Ye Qing!
"Uncle, do you know how much agricultural taxes the government collects from farmers?"

As soon as Zheng Shiyuan finished speaking, the elders immediately became alert, and the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became tense.

Although Jiang Wei and the others did not come out with knives, they habitually made the subconscious action of pressing the waist to draw the knives. Not only that, they also subconsciously moved their steps back.

It was these subtle movements that made one of the veteran uncles have murderous intent in their eyes.

He just gave an order, and the men with hoes blocked both ends of the road.

Jiang Wei looked at their warning movements with hoes and recognized them immediately. This was the movement and footwork of soldiers holding spears in formation.

"Two imperial envoys,"

"Tell yourselves, is His Majesty so full that he has nothing to do?"

"He just returned from the inspection in person, and he sent you to investigate. What does he want?"

The old man who had chatted with Zheng Shiyuan the most before held the sickle in his hand and asked angrily.

In the eyes of the elders,
Zheng Shiyuan, Han Yike and Jiang Wei were stunned there!
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(End of this chapter)