The predecessor who was scumbag by me was the emperor

The people in the palace suddenly found that the emperor's mood suddenly became better these few days. He not only rewarded everyone with half a year's monthly money, but also praised many officials in the court, and even turned a blind eye to many officials who made mistakes. only eye.

"What good thing happened to the emperor?" an official asked privately.

"Maybe the empress is happy? I heard that the servants in the palace have paid half a year's monthly money. What else can make the emperor so happy?"

"The queen's happiness is a major national event. How could I not know? Could it be that the queen mother is coming back?"

"What kind of happy event is the return of the queen mother? There is no good news from the northwest, right?"

"Hey, it's fine if you can't guess. The emperor is in a happy mood and we can suffer less. Recently, there has been banditry in Shandong, and Geng Shangshu of the Ministry of War has turned pale. The commander of Shandong is his nephew. I didn't expect the emperor Just let him perform crimes and make meritorious deeds to eradicate the banditry, but before, it would be good if he could keep his head."

The emperor's good mood lasted until Shen Jia returned to the imperial court after returning from leave. On this day, Jin Yiwei, who had gone to the old house of the Yu family, came back and escorted hundreds of members of the Yu family and ten carts of gold and silver back, which shocked Quan Chang'an.

"This...isn't this fake?" The common people watched along the way, some couldn't believe that this long motorcade was really dirty money found from Yu's house.

Reasonable people have already believed it, "How can this be fake? Jin Yiwei can still use so much real money to frame Yushi? Even if there is, these gold and silver will be returned to the national treasury. How can Jin Yiwei lose money? Buy or sell?"

"No wonder Yu's family couldn't find any dirty silver before. It turned out that it was hidden in Yu Yushi's hometown. It really can be hidden!"

"I heard that it was found in the ancestral hall of Yu's old house. The walls of the entire ancestral hall are all made of silver. The tablets enshrined in the ancestral hall are all made of gold, and even the tiles hide gold nuggets."

"Not only that, but I also heard that the Yu family is an uncompromising emperor in the local area, and even the county magistrate is completely subordinate to the Yu family. The Yu family even built a new word for Yu Yushi and made a statue, which is also made of gold. "

"Hiss... This... How much money did Yu Tong spend?"

"Looking at the ten fully loaded carriages, at least a few million taels, I really don't know how he was greedy for such a huge amount of wealth."

"I heard that the imperial grain was sold privately, and it was sold to the enemy country at a high price."

"This is the crime of collaborating with the enemy and traitorous country. The Yu family and nine clans are finished!" Some people felt a little bit unbearable when they saw the old, weak, women and children in the prison car.

"Don't be soft-hearted. It's a good thing that this case has been found out. If things go on like this, and the enemy country gets food, has a strong army, and turns around to attack Dajin, do you think that there are no old, weak, women and children among our dead?"

Thinking about it this way, the crowd became enraged and threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at the prison carts one after another. The literati also began to write at home, demanding a heavy sentence from the court!

The news spread to the court one step earlier, and the officials who had interceded for Yu Shi were all in danger and wanted to slap themselves a few times.

Shen Jia happened to witness Jin Yiwei moving boxes of gold and silver into the main hall on the first day of his court, making the Golden Luan Hall gleaming instantly.

Zhao Zhang clenched his hands tightly, suppressed his anger and ordered: "Shangshu Zhou, lead someone to count the stolen money!"

Zhou Qing was shocked and didn't dare to delay. He hurriedly led the officials of the household department and a few eunuchs to count the dirty money. The emperor sat on the dragon chair and watched. I dare not say it, there is only the crisp sound of silver colliding above the hall.

This counting lasted from morning to dusk. Several officials knelt down and fainted. Everyone was starving, but the emperor didn't drink a sip of water or eat a sip of food. How dare they shout thirsty and hungry.

It wasn't until the afterglow of the setting sun faded away that Zhou Qing presented the account book in a daze, "Return to the emperor, this batch of stolen money totaled 250 million taels of silver, 20 taels of gold, and more than 100 pieces of other jewelry and ancient paintings."

"Hiss..." Everyone ignored their hunger and fatigue, and attacked Yushi one after another. Obviously, before today, there were still many people who justifiably asked the emperor to release him.

Zhao Zhang laughed, and the laughter made the scalp tingle, "Oh, I really want to know who passed through the huge amount of silver that Yu Yushi coveted, and no one in the court has noticed it. Did it fall? Check! Anyone who is related to this case will be detained first, and I want to know how he has been hiding under the eyes of the officials for decades."

The Minister of the Ministry of Punishment crawled out on his knees, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent!"

"You are indeed incompetent! Aiqing is getting old, go back and enjoy your life, transfer Lu Jian to be the new Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, in charge of the world's criminal laws, promote Ling Jingyun to be the commander of Jinyiwei, and other vacancies will be drawn up by the Ministry of Officials and discussed by the cabinet Show it to me later."

Minister of the Ministry of Punishment kneeled and kowtowed, and did not plead for mercy. He thought that his position would be secure until Cao Ruiwen grew up. He thought that the position of the emperor would be reserved for Cao Ruiwen, but he did not expect it to be Lu Jian.

However, Lu Jian was transferred from the Commander of Jinyiwei to the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment. It seemed to be promoted, but in fact his power was reduced. I don't know if it was to make way for Ling Jingyun.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" Lu Jian and Ling Jingyun thanked each other, and then looked at each other. After this transfer, the relationship between the two will not be too tense from now on, which is also a good thing for them.

There are factions in any yamen, let alone a powerful yamen like Jinyiwei. Lu Jian and Ling Jingyun are not the same people at all. The two have completely different styles and temperaments. If they are still in the same place, they will fight to the death sooner or later.

"Shen Langzhong, follow me to the imperial study, and leave the court!" Zhao Zhang left first, Shen Jia was called and followed to the imperial study, and the rest of the ministers walked out of the hall with each other's support. They didn't eat or drink all day. It is really a torture for the weak civil servants.

"Master Shoufu, this time we are really in a disaster!" The Minister of Rites sat down on the steps, waiting for his entourage to carry him away, his knees were already numb.

Xu Shoufu was older and passed out once in the middle of the journey. Later, he rested in the side hall for a while and went back to kneel. Kneeling and fainting, it's really not good to hear it.

All this was because of Yu Tong. Xu Shoufu had never pleaded for Yu Tong before, but he acquiesced in his disciple's doing so, but unexpectedly he was slapped in the face.

His complexion was extremely bad, and he said in a deep voice: "The emperor's anger is not only because of the huge amount of Yu Tong's embezzlement, but also because he hides deeply. The royal guards of the imperial court are everywhere. But he was not found. Do you think the emperor can be happy with it from a memorial to him?"

Zhou Shangshu came over and was stopped by the two of them. Chu Rongwei praised with a smile that was not a smile: "Master Zhou, the Ministry of Household Affairs has really produced a great talent. I'm afraid he will be promoted soon. This is going to beat you. The position of Minister!"

Zhou Qing stretched out his hand to help him up, and said with a smile: "Yes, it is a blessing for Dajin to have such a talented person, even if I give him the position, I should, Mr. Chu, a person like you who is firmly in the top spot is after all There are only a few, and the Ministry of Rites has nothing to contend with."

Chu Rongwei was furious. Zhou Qing was mocking him that the Ministry of Rites was an unimportant yamen. He said ironically, "That's better than whether the Ministry of Households has a moth. This time it's Yu Yushi. Who knows whose turn it will be next time? Shen Jia has sharp eyes, Zhou Shangshu should do a better job with the books."

Xu Shoufu shook his head secretly, this is where they are, and the two of them started fighting. If you are so free, why not think about who can fill the vacated position this time, this is an excellent opportunity.

Shen Jia entered the imperial study, Zhao Zhang asked him to sit down, brought a bottle of plaster over, rolled up his trousers and applied the medicine to his knee.

"It's just a little red, thanks to the emperor's blessing, I didn't kneel for long." Shen Jia looked down at him gently applying the ointment to himself, it was hard to imagine the scene where he had attacked the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty in the hall just now.

Manager Du led people in to deliver dinner. Shen Jia had been hungry all day, and when she smelled the smell of food, her stomach groaned in disbelief, even Zhao Zhang was no exception.

"People can't be hungry if they eat whole grains. Next time you get angry, don't punish yourself with your body. It's not worth it if you're starving." Shen Jia suggested.

Zhao Zhang was also too angry, and Yu Tong's case must become a big one, and the whole world should be informed, so as to warn the officials of the whole Jin Dynasty, otherwise they will follow suit in the future, and the court will be destroyed by corrupt officials sooner or later.

"Drink a bowl of soup first, don't get too full." Zhao Zhang reminded Shen Jia.

After the two of them had dinner together, Shen Jia should have left the palace, but he knew that Zhao Zhang was in a bad mood today, so he couldn't bear to leave him alone in this cold palace, so he leaned over and said, "Let me watch the memorial with the emperor tonight." ?”

"Okay." Zhao Zhang asked Du Fucheng to make arrangements, and watched the backlog of memorials with Shen Jia.

The two cooperated tacitly, handing over the unimportant ones to Shen Jia and the important ones to Zhao Zhang. They got twice the result with half the effort and quickly finished reviewing the memorial.

Zhao Zhang finally showed a little smile, "If I can be with you every day, then I won't feel tired."

Shen Jia didn't dare, "If the courtiers know that I used the imperial brush, my life will be lost."

"You are an upright and good official. You are just watching some memorials for me. You are not corrupt or corrupt. Why should they want your life?" Zhao Zhang's eyes burst into flames when he thought of Yu Tong's case, "Although The evidence of Yu Tong's greed for ink has long been there, but I didn't find it shocking until today, and the most terrifying thing is that no one suspects him. How did he manage to live in poverty for decades, but hide the stolen money? of?"

Shen Jia also couldn't figure it out, and guessed: "Maybe it is to leave it to future generations?"

"Just ask and maybe you'll know."

That night, Yu Tong was carried into the palace by Jin Yiwei. This was probably the last time he entered the palace. He was very old, and he was a vigorous old man before, but now he looked like he was about to die and would die at any time.

Zhao Zhang left Shen Jia as a record, sent the rest out, walked up to him and asked, "Have you ever regretted it?"

Yu Tong lay on the ground and couldn't move. Although Jin Yiwei didn't torture him, he couldn't move his old bones either.

"The emperor appeases his anger, the old minister has no choice but to..."

Zhao Zhang saw him runny nose and tears, he really lost all strength of character, and asked, "Is there anyone else who forces you to be greedy for the ink emperor's food? Do you know how many people starved to death because of the food shortage in the past few years? If you will It’s nothing more than selling grain to the common people, but how dare you trade privately with an enemy country, where’s your conscience?”

Yu Dao climbed a few steps forward, grabbed the emperor's clothes, and cried, "I know the crimes are serious, so I don't ask the emperor to spare my life. I hope the emperor will forgive the family because of the fact that the old minister has not done anything for decades and has worked hard." the women and children!"

Zhao Zhang pulled out the hem of his clothes, patted it in disgust, retreated to sit on the dragon chair, and said condescendingly: "Yu Tong, as a censor, don't you know what the crime of collaborating with the enemy and traitorous country is? Do I forgive your family?"

"The minister's children and grandchildren don't know about it..."

"Ha, what a big joke. You used dirty silver to build an ancestral hall in your hometown, and then told my family members that they didn't know about it. Then let me ask, are you planning to hide these gold and silver to worship your ancestors?"

Yu Tong said in a low voice: "The old minister was born as a commoner. He was used to being poor when he was a child. He has been admitted to the official position step by step. He knows that life is not easy. There are no outstanding talents in future generations. The eldest grandson is still disabled. It is even more mediocre, I am afraid, I can still support the whole family in a day, if the minister is gone, they will have to drink the northwest wind in a few years!"

"I've never heard of anyone becoming a corrupt official for the sake of not starving to death for future generations. Yu Tong, why don't you just say that your desires are hard to fill and your desire for power and wealth is unbearable. Then I at least believe you a few words. Without you, wouldn't you How many of your grandchildren will become officials, isn’t this a future? Originally, they could pass it on safely, but it was your greed that ruined them!”

The more Zhao Zhang talked, the more angry he became. Yu Tong had no regrets at all. He took a deep breath and continued to ask: "How did you sell the imperial grain? Who is with you?" Such a big case It is definitely not something that a censor can do. Although Jin Yiwei has also arrested a group of officials, it is hard to guarantee that there will be no fish that slip through the net.

Yu Tong knew he was going to die, so he lay on the ground and refused to speak.

"It seems that you are sure that I dare not torture you." Zhao Zhang smashed a cup angrily.

"Your Majesty, please give this old minister to death!"

"That's too cheap for you..." Zhao Zhang got up, walked in front of Shen Jia, took out the pen in his hand, and ordered: "Mr. Shen, leave the palace, I still have something to do."

Shen Jia looked puzzled, didn't she agree to let him stay with her?

However, it is not easy for Shen Jia to ask questions in front of outsiders, so he can only leave after saluting. On the way out of the palace, he saw the imperial guards leading a group of children into the palace, and the leader Yao Zhan nodded at him when he saw him head.

He hadn't spoken to Yao Zhan for a long time, and since the magistrate Yao put down the law, the relationship between the two had dropped to a freezing point. Although there was no enmity, they couldn't be friends anymore.

The moment he walked out of the palace gate, Shen Jia suddenly understood why Zhao Zhang let him leave. Those children were probably Yu Tong's descendants, and bringing them into the palace was obviously to threaten Yu Tong.

He didn't dare to think deeply, and went back to the mansion in the carriage arranged by the palace.

Early the next morning, the first news Shen Jia heard after entering the palace was that Yu Tong had died. It was said that he committed suicide by biting his tongue. Dozens of local officials.

"This old man wants to kill everyone!" Chu Rongwei didn't know that he had testified against those officials, but it was hard to guarantee that there would be no relatives and friends among the dozens of people. He was an official in the court, and no one had a brother-in-law. If he is on the list, then he will also be implicated.

The officials entered the hall in fear, shouting long live three times in a trembling voice. The civil and military officials kneeling here dare not all say that they are innocent. If Yu Tong testifies, then this little life will not be saved.

"Pass on Yu Tong's confession to Master Lu, and close the case as soon as possible. I don't want to make people in the court panic." Zhao Zhang told Lu Jian.

"I obey the order." Lu Jian held the blood-stained confessions, knelt down and said, "Please allow me to leave to handle the case first!"

"I agree, Dali Temple Minister and Youdu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate will go together. I trust you, and I hope you can be worthy of my trust!" Zhao Zhang glanced at the two of them, and then let them go first leave.

Zhou Qing stood up bravely and asked, "Your Majesty, has the dirty silver that was counted yesterday been fully put into the warehouse?"

Zhao Zhang thought for a while and replied, "Return half of the money to the victimized local government. How to divide it will be discussed after the case is over. The other half will be directly allocated to military expenses to strengthen the northwest frontier defense. The imperial court will send a supervising army to monitor the situation." For the expenditure of this appropriation, you will hand over the specific matters to the Ministry of War.”

Zhou Qing was a little disappointed. If such a large amount of money can be put into the treasury, this year's finances will be much better, but he also knows that the emperor's decision is the best. Half of it will be returned to the exploited local government to make up for the fiscal deficit, and half will be supplemented. Military expenses, to make a contribution to resist foreign enemies.

"Your majesty is wise!" the courtiers all praised.

Zhao Zhang sneered and said, "Are you wise? I reused a moth for several years, and I personally left it behind Yutong. My eyes are no different from blind people."

"Your Majesty is serious. It's because of my negligence." The ministers pleaded guilty one after another. What could be wrong with the Emperor?Even they dare not say that they must be innocent. If the emperor admits to being wrong, they should all wipe their necks.

"This time, it is thanks to Mr. Shen Langzhong from the household department that he was able to dig out this cancer so quickly. I want to reward him heavily. Can you object?"

The three lords and nine ministers all expressed their agreement. This reward came a bit late. If Shen Jia's achievements in this year were collected together, it would be enough to be promoted to a higher level. I don't know if the emperor also meant this.

Zhao Zhang really didn't think about what to reward Shen Jia. Gold, silver and treasures are unnecessary, because he has as much as he wants, and there is no suitable position for an official position, and he privately thinks that Shen Jia is most suitable for the Ministry of Household Affairs. .

For things like this time, if Shen Jia hadn't been careful, he would have never discovered that the food tax collected by the local government had been tampered with. In fact, Yu Tong did it very secretly. Shi's grains were then smuggled and sold outside the customs to obtain high profits.

This is a costless business. Officials in various state capitals also think that they don’t use much food, and they think that even if it is found out, there will be no major problems. The profit that Yu Tong made was an astronomical figure, and he was bound to distribute it to all the people who participated in it. He kept a few million taels. It was really appalling to be able to build a gold house and a silver house.

"Shen Aiqing, do you have something to ask for?" Zhao Zhang asked Shen Jia in front of everyone.

Shen Jia came out and knelt down to salute, "Back to the emperor, what I do is my duty, I can't talk about credit, I dare not ask for rewards."

"You don't have to be modest, I say that if you have meritorious service, it is meritorious service."

"The minister thanked the emperor for his kindness first, but the minister really doesn't want anything. Why don't the emperor save it for the minister and reward him together in the future."

Zhao Zhang laughed loudly, and even the courtiers also smiled, as if the cloud that had accumulated above their heads suddenly dispersed.

"How do you know that you can still make meritorious service in the future?"

Shen Jia said confidently: "I'm still young, in the future I will devote myself to doing things, there will always be opportunities."

"Okay, if everyone is as conscientious as Shen Aiqing and distinguishes between public and private, then there won't be so many moths that harm the common people!"

"Your Majesty is serious. I am not so selfless, but my mind is the same as that of other adults. They are all for the sake of making our country more prosperous and peaceful! The rise and fall of the world is everyone's responsibility. Only good ministers can be good in Jin Dynasty, and only ministers can be strong in Jin Dynasty. To live a stable life, I feel that this Yu Tong case should be announced to the world, and even future corruption cases like this should be reported to the world, so that officials and people everywhere can know the reasons for the case. The people have an explanation."

Zhao Zhang replied: "It's natural, such cases will be recorded in the official mansion newspaper and sent to various government offices."

Shen Jia suddenly had an idea, he said: "Your Majesty, only the officials can read the government's mansion newspaper, and the common people can't see it. I think it is possible to create a newspaper to record the important events of the country. It will be published once a month. Stored in bookstores for sale, this way, students can also know the important affairs of the country at the first time, and through their word of mouth, the common people will also know a thing or two. The emperor supervises all officials, and if any abnormality is found, it can be reported."

Everyone glared at Shen Jia one after another, is Shen Jia crazy?How can you come up with such a crazy idea?How can it be possible for the people to monitor officials?

"Your Majesty, no, if you follow Shen Jia's approach, how can officials have any prestige in the future? The common people are inherently resistant to the government. Any common people can report officials. Who would dare to sit in the yamen when an official is in the world? Common people Your saliva can drown people." Xu Shoufu was the first to object, and at the same time scolded Shen Jia: "Master Shen, please don't talk nonsense in the court, any word of yours may lead to serious consequences."

"Lord Shen is spoiled by pampering, you don't know the heights of heaven and earth after a few compliments from the emperor."

"It's good for young people to have ideas, but they should be modest and prudent. Blind arrogance is not a good thing."

Everyone, you did not say a word to crusade against Shen Jia, and Shen Jia also knew that she had acted too hastily, and humbly admitted her mistake: "My lords taught me that Shen Jia was reckless, but the newspaper matter, I thought it could be done, the court has done a lot of things, The adults have made great achievements, and these people and things should be known to the common people."

"No, are we doing things for the sake of fame and profit? The people are ignorant, and it is not good to know too much." Chu Shangshu retorted.

"Okay, this matter is not completely unacceptable, we will discuss it later." Zhao Zhang glanced at Shen Jia, his eyes sparkled, and the corners of his mouth smiled. He knew that Shen Jia was a treasure, and he always Can surprise him.