Jiuxi

Chapter 611: 609 [A Stick to the Sky]

June 12, the 15th year of Jianwu in the Great Qi Dynasty.

Seven days have passed since the assassination attempt on the emperor's tomb.

After the initial few days of public outrage, the wave of condemnation in the capital gradually subsided, but the people still had to work hard to make a living.

Many pairs of eyes hidden in the dark were staring at the Duke's Mansion, but the sharp soldiers Lu Chen brought back from the border were heavily guarding it, and no one could get close to investigate. They could only see officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple often walking down this long street with various files, and then disappearing among the numerous buildings of the Duke's Mansion.

Officials in the court were naturally more concerned about the progress of the case, but they were also unable to obtain any useful information.

The Duke's Mansion was like an isolated island in the world, and no one could get their hands into it.

It was only then that people realized that although Lu Chen seemed to have stayed in the capital for quite some time, the people around him formed their own system. They were either loyal servants brought from the Guangling Lu family, or elite soldiers of the frontier army who followed him to fight on the battlefield. Even if the various forces in the south of the Yangtze River racked their brains, they could not squeeze into the inner circle around him.

No matter whether they are high-ranking officials or common people, apart from expressing some emotions, they still have to busy themselves with their own affairs in the end.

Especially those important officials in the court, it is impossible for them to always pay attention to how Lu Chen investigates the case. Maintaining the operation of the court is the top priority.

For example, early this morning, the emperor summoned many important ministers to hold a small-scale court meeting in the eastern warm pavilion of Xiu Ren Hall.

Li Zongben sat behind the imperial desk, with the left prime minister Li Daoyan and the right prime minister Xue Nanting sitting on both sides. Other important ministers such as the Minister of Personnel Zhong Cheng, the newly appointed Chief Censor Xu Zuo, the Hanlin scholar Hu Jingwen, and the left vice minister of Rites Li Shizhi could only stand.

In the hall, a middle-aged civil servant with ordinary appearance and high spirits was talking.

"…As of late May, the implementation of the Boundary Law in Jiangzhou and Hezhou has begun to show results. According to the verification of the Ministry of Revenue officials, after the implementation of the Boundary Law, the farmland in the two states increased by 30% on the original basis, of which 40% are high-quality paddy fields. After the autumn harvest is completed, the tax revenue of the two states this year is expected to increase by 35% over last year's amount. If this law can be implemented in all thirteen states in Jiangnan without any water, I dare to guarantee that the treasury revenue will increase by at least 40% next year!"

This civil servant was the Minister of Revenue Jing Qingshan.

He is 49 years old and has a quite legendary resume.

He came from a humble background but had a good career path in office. Even without the support of a family background, he was able to move up a step every time he passed the examination.

In the 11th year of Jianwu, he was promoted to the prefect of Yongjia Prefecture, which has always been an extremely difficult position. Although he was in charge of the capital city on the surface, he had countless mothers-in-law above him and no one knew how much trouble he would have to endure.

Before Jing Qingshan took office, the prefect of Yongjia was the position with the most frequent changes in the officialdom of Da Qi, with seven prefects in just eleven years.

Officials in the capital naturally did not think highly of Jing Qingshan, whose foundation was shallow, but they did not expect that he would stay for three years. Moreover, because of his extremely loyal performance during the rebellion in the capital in the 14th year of Jianwu, he was favored by the previous emperor and was promoted three levels to become the Minister of Revenue.

In less than a year, Jing Qingshan began to display his talent for governing without any scruples. The Ministry of Revenue became more and more well-organized under his management. In particular, he ensured the logistical supply of the border troops so that they had no worries and could exert all their strength to defeat the powerful enemy.

Another contribution of Jing Qingshan was the Boundary System, which was set as a national policy by the previous emperor. He worked tirelessly day and night to ensure that this system could be implemented smoothly.

Jing Qingshan was quite thin due to overwork, but his bright eyes showed that he was enjoying it.

Hearing his statement, all the important officials in the palace showed joy on their faces.

Li Zongben looked at the Minister of Revenue with admiration and said with concern: "Minister Jing is loyal to the country, which comforts me. The Jingjie Law will naturally be implemented in various places, but there will definitely be many obstacles in the process. I wonder if you have any questions now? If you do, please speak up in public. I believe that you can work together to solve these problems."

Jing Qingshan did not hide the truth and said frankly: "Your Majesty, there are indeed many doubts and difficulties. The main reason is that the people in the streets are easily deceived by some people with ulterior motives, thinking that the implementation of this law by the court will be disadvantageous to them. Therefore, people in Jiangzhou and Hezhou often make trouble. Those people hide among the people, spread rumors, fan the flames, and add fuel to the flames. In May alone, there were 17 cases of people making trouble. In fact, if it can be implemented without any discount, the increase in farmland in these two places will be more than 40%. My colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue and I have estimated that this share is at least around 70%!"

"This is to be expected. The court will never tolerate these people. Don't worry, my dear minister. I will let the Secretariat draft a regulation to give the Ministry of Revenue more support."

Li Zongben spoke in a gentle tone, and then said to Li Daoyan: "Prime Minister Li, I entrust this matter to you."

Li Daoyan said tremblingly: "I accept your order."

Li Zongben nodded slightly, turned to look at Jing Qingshan, and said earnestly: "My dear minister, you look thin, which shows that you work day and night. Although your diligence is commendable, you still have to take care of yourself, so that you can last long."

Jing Qingshan was deeply moved, and bowed and said: "I have received the emperor's grace and mission, how dare I not try my best!"

Li Zongben said to the person beside him, "Yuan Yuji, go to the Imperial Hospital later to get two roots of the best ginseng and personally deliver them to Minister Jing's residence."

Yuan Yuji accepted the order, and Jing Qingshan could not help but bow with great respect and said, "I thank your Majesty for your grace."

"Get down quickly."

Li Zongben encouraged him sincerely again, and the atmosphere in the hall was harmonious between the emperor and his subjects.

After this matter was settled, Li Zongben calmed down and asked the Minister of Personnel Zhong Cheng who was standing behind Li Daoyan: "Minister Zhong, are you ready for this year's imperial examination?"

Zhong Cheng responded calmly, "Your Majesty, the various departments of the Ministry of Personnel have made preparations in accordance with previous years' practice, and the imperial examination can be started at any time."

The imperial examination is held every three years, and its main purpose is to assess the merits and demerits of officials in Beijing. This is the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel, which has its own complete and detailed regulations. Li Zongben thought about it for a while, but finally suppressed his impulse.

In fact, he really wanted to expand the scope of the Beijing inspection a little bit. He didn't want to make a fuss about this matter, but just wanted to get a general idea of ​​the officials under his jurisdiction so as to have a clearer understanding.

Considering that there was still a major case pending, Li Zongben knew that he couldn't be too impatient, so he nodded and said, "Then we will follow the old practice and start the inspection from the end of this month."

Zhong Cheng responded calmly: "I obey your order."

Just as Li Zongben was about to start the next topic, a eunuch suddenly came in to report: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Shanyang is outside the palace asking to see you."

There was a solemn silence in the hall.

The left prime minister Li Daoyan, who had been silent and resting, turned his head and glanced at the eunuch.

Right Prime Minister Xue Nanting's expression changed slightly.

The rest are all like this.

Even Li Shizhi, who was specially summoned by the emperor to participate in the court meeting, subconsciously looked up at the emperor.

Everyone knew what mission Lu Chen was carrying out, so they were of course very concerned about this matter.

Previously, Lu Chen had been investigating the case. Apart from having contact with the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Bureau of Weaving Classics, he had been hiding in the Duke's Mansion. Now he suddenly came to the palace to ask for a meeting. Could it be that there was any progress in the case?

Li Zongben was feeling a little emotional. He really wanted to meet Lu Chen in private, but the problem was that these important officials were the pillars of Da Qi and they were qualified to know the details of the assassination case.

With this change of mind, he calmly said, "Xuan."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The eunuch took the order and left.

About half an incense stick later, Lu Chen walked into the east warm room of Xiu Ren Hall with steady steps.

"Your Majesty, I, Lu Chen, pay my respects to you."

He came before the emperor and saluted meticulously.

Li Zongben said gently, "Mr. Lu, please excuse me, but is there any clue in the assassination case?"

Lu Chen said calmly: "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission and have found out the details of the three assassins."

Li Zongben subconsciously sat up straight and said expectantly, "Please tell me."

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Lu Chen.

Lu Chen seemed unaware and said calmly, "The two assassins who were mixed in with the craftsmen were named Wan Yingqian and Yang Shunzhi. According to their confessions, they were instructed by Lieutenant Li Zongjian of Fengguo to commit such a heinous act!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers were shocked.

Li Zongben narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Is there any real evidence?"

Lu Chen said, "Your Majesty, I didn't believe it at first, thinking it was a frame-up. But many of the things these two said matched up with Lieutenant Fengguo's story. For example, they knew that Lieutenant Fengguo's confidant was named Xu Ruqing, and that they had received many benefits from Lieutenant Fengguo. I knew this was a serious matter, so I reviewed a lot of files and found that their confessions, at least on the surface, were flawless."

Imperial Censor Xu Zuo frowned and said, "My Lord, Lieutenant Fengguo has been imprisoned in Qiushan Lane for more than a year, and his close associates have been dispersed by the late emperor. How could he have the ability to arrange such a situation? Moreover, Your Majesty has specially issued an imperial decree to allow Lieutenant Fengguo to attend the funeral at the mountain mausoleum. If he did such a bad thing, wouldn't that be confessing himself? I think this matter is too coincidental and strange."

"Master Xu's words make sense, but I also think they are unreasonable."

Lu Chen looked calm, and then continued, "So I interrogated the eunuch named Wen Changbao many times, and he confessed that it was Lieutenant Fengguo who ordered him to assassinate Your Majesty, and promised to make him rich after the success. Wen Changbao was sent to the then Prince Jian's Palace five years ago, and served Li Zongjian for several months. Later, he was sent back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for no reason. According to Wen Changbao's confession, Li Zongjian had secretly tried to win him over at that time, just to set up an ambush in advance."

Li Zongben's expression changed slightly.

Lu Chen said solemnly, "Your Majesty, a single testimony is not credible, but multiple evidences show that Lieutenant Li Zongjian of Fengguo is unwilling to accept the status quo and intends to harm Your Majesty in order to achieve his ulterior motives. Considering his past misdeeds, I believe that Li Zongjian is guilty of regicide."

"How can we allow such a cruel and evil person to continue to live in this world?"

"I ask Your Majesty to issue an order to execute this beast and restore order in the court!"

(End of this chapter)