Thousands of Mountains

In fact, Yin Cen didn't want to weaken the cabinet, although at this time he took advantage of the emperor's growing dissatisfaction with the cabinet.But he is very clear that the cabinet is a good thing. If it weren't for the cabinet, Chen Ze had been addicted to alchemy for more than ten years, and the country would have been over. However, the cabinet's deliberation and approval system enabled most government affairs to be carried out smoothly.

Yin Cen not only wants to protect the cabinet, but also to make this system more perfect, closer to modern scientific management, so he must let Chen Ji succeed to the throne smoothly. Only when he becomes emperor can he have such a mind and courage, so that The imperial power is no longer above ten thousand people, making the era truly progress.

So Yin Cen had to get rid of Qiu Yiren. If Qi Yanzhi hadn't been Qiu Yiren's accomplice, Yin Cen didn't want to touch this diligent and black-bellied old official. As for why Qi Yanzhi followed Qiu Yiren, a crazy woman, Yin Cen thought. After much deliberation, he couldn't find a reason that could completely convince him. The only thing that made sense was that if Han Wang Chen Yi became the emperor, he would be able to keep Qi Yanzhi's position as the chief assistant, but this alone could make the old fox Serving allegiance to Qiu Yiren without hesitation?

During the interrogation of Xin Shangyun, Yin Cen obviously felt that Qi Yanzhi had not tried his best to cover up for Qiu Yiren and Xin Shangyun. Instinctively, this old fox was dissatisfied with Qiu Yiren, but he reluctantly cooperated due to some kind of threat that he had to do.

It was also one of Yin Cen's goals to use Zhao Lun this time to force out the secret behind Qi Yanzhi.

The prison of the Shiying Bureau is different from the big prison of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs. Even if the Ministry of Criminal Affairs detains prisoners, there are still legal provisions, and they are not allowed to mess around without permission. Depending on his mood, he can turn it off as he wants.

For the first heavyweight prisoner, Zhao Lun, Yin Cen did not treat him harshly, but locked him up without interrogation, let alone execution, and provided him with food and drink on time every day. The only difference was that the prison was small and damp, and there was a trace of There is no light, no sound, such a specially-made prison cell that is impermeable to light and sound, commonly known as the "little black room".

People in this era don't know how scary the small black room is, but Yin Cen has really felt it. Absolute silence and absolute darkness are scarier things than death. The only time when he was on the verge of collapse during the special training in his previous life was Because of this small dark room, he would collapse and beg for mercy within three days of blocking Zhao Lun.

Scholar Zhao Lun's collapse came faster than expected. The day after he was imprisoned, Yin Cen was having dinner at the duty room in Dongyuan, Shiying Bureau, when a special prison guard came to report: Mr. Zhao is crying in the small black room. Mother, bumping around, trying every means to torture herself, just want to die quickly.

Yin Cen smiled slightly and said, "I won't die for a while, I'll go there after I finish eating."

The four walls of the small black house are not real walls, it is impossible to hit him to death, and there is no other sharp weapon to self-mutilate|mutilate himself, the only thing that needs to be prevented is going crazy, Yin Cen walked slowly after eating, so One day and one night, Qi Yanzhi didn't move at all, he must be watching the situation quietly, he probably never expected that his good apprentice would recruit everything after only one day.

Yin Cen ordered someone to open the door, and then sat in the prison interrogation room dressed in black and waited. The candles were brightly lit. Squinting to look around.

Yin Cen was separated from him by three zhang, and now his usually white face was much colder in the interrogation room, Zhao Lun couldn't help shivering.

Special Guards brought another stool and asked Zhao Lun to sit down. His eyes were swollen and his temples and hair were scattered. His face and arms were covered with marks from his self-abuse. After all, he was a scholar. It's like being seven or eight years old.

Yin Cen turned his head and motioned, and asked the civilian special guard of the Shiying Bureau who was sitting behind the desk on the right to start writing.

"I heard you want to see me?" Yin Cen asked lightly.

Obviously he was interrogating, but what he said was that he was begging and clamoring for a confession. Zhao Lun regained half of his mind at this moment, knowing that he had no way out, his usual arrogance was gone at this moment, and he replied in a hoarse voice, "Yes, I know what you want to ask, and I will tell you everything."

Yin Cen looked calm and said, "I have no interest in you, you should know why I arrested you."

Zhao Lun bit the corner of his mouth, "For my teacher."

Yin Cen nodded slightly, "How much do you know about what Qi Yanzhi and the Empress have planned over the years?"

Zhao Lun thought for a moment, and said, "I entered the court only one year earlier than my lord. Before entering the court, the teacher only taught me the theory of governing the country, not everything I did."

Yin Cen was unmoved, "I'm asking how much you know."

Zhao Lun said, "The teacher and I both knew about Xin Shangyun's assassination in advance, but we were not involved."

Yin Cen turned his head, "It's on record."

Clerk Ty Wei wrote again and again.

Yin Cen asked again, "How did the two of you know about the assassination in advance?"

Zhao Lun hesitated and remained silent for a while.

Yin Cen didn't allow him to think too much, so he made a gesture to stand up and greeted the special guards, "Since you don't say anything, I will send you back to the prison the same way."

Zhao Lun was so terrified that he could barely sit on his stool, and he stammered, "Wait...wait...the Spring Hunting assassination, it was the empress who ordered Xin Shangyun...Afterwards, the empress ordered the teacher to be on the three During the judiciary's interrogation, General Yun was sentenced to death."

Yin Cen turned around, half-closed his eyes and said loudly to Te Wei, "It's on record!"

Zhao Lun shrank back immediately, and Yin Cen continued to ask, "Why did the empress plan a spring hunt and assassination? Do you want to put the emperor to death?"

Zhao Lun shook his head again and again, "That's not the case! The queen...'s goal is not the emperor, but General Yun."

Yin Cen said, "Continue!"

Zhao Lun trembled, and continued, "The empress tried to win over General Yun by borrowing the marriage of Princess Gui Gui, and General Yun made it clear that he wanted to draw a clear line with the Qiu family, so he decided to get rid of General Yun, Ruoyun The general is dead, but you can order the teacher and the cabinet to send another person under her command to accept the Funan Camp, which will be an extra powerful force."

So it turned out that Qiu Yiren had been staring at Funan Ying behind Yun Jianqing.

In the past, Xin Shangyun and Xin Shangyun sent Shen Cang to lurk beside Yun Jianqing for this reason, and now they are using the assassination to frame Yun Jianqing for this reason.

Yin Cen asked again, "Apart from the empress, Xin Shangyun, Qi Yanzhi and you, are there other people involved in the planning of the Spring Hunting case?"

Zhao Lun thought for a while, "Eunuch He Jin, Supervisor of Rites, naturally knows about it."

Speaking of the Supervisor of Rites, Yin Cen said, "Does Gao Ren know?"

Zhao Lun shook his head, "I don't know. In fact, Eunuch He and Eunuch Gao have always been at odds. Eunuch Gao doesn't know most of the things about the empress."

Regarding the discord between the two, Yin Cen was also vaguely aware of it, but this is not the point, Yin Cen continued to ask, "Apart from the Spring Hunting case, what else do you know?"

Zhao Lun slowly named a series of officials, most of whom were officials of the sixth rank and above. These officials were framed and impeached by Qi Yanzhi for various reasons and by his disciples, and then replaced by him. own faction.

Yin Cen turned his head and asked Tewei to write down, "Now the court can be regarded as the Qi Party faction, how many people are there?"

Zhao Lun said, "I haven't counted the exact number of people, but in my opinion, six out of ten are under the orders of the teacher."

Yin Cen asked more and more deeply, "In the Yunnan tea tax case, Ren Tonghuan, Ye Mingzhi and most officials in the Southwest have been convicted, but if it is said that the matter has not been implicated in the palace, I absolutely do not believe it, do you believe it?"

Yin Cen obviously has an account book in his hand, but at this moment he wants to listen to what Zhao Lun has to say.

Zhao Lun's line of defense has completely collapsed, "The corrupt money from the tea tax has always been shared among the courts, and it has almost become a common practice... Among them, the chief inspector, the cabinet, the Ministry of household affairs, and the Ministry of war are the main destinations for the distribution of spoils. Needless to say, Yin Your Excellency also knows who controls the flow of money..."

Yin Cen stared at Zhao Lun, and asked a few words, "Where's in the palace?"

Zhao Lun had already bitten his lip, but now he bit it hard again, blood trickling down the corner of his lip, "In the palace...the two father-in-laws, one of whom represents the empress, and the other... represents the emperor. "

As soon as this remark came out, Yin Cen remembered that in the account book that Ye Mingzhi gave him last, the three words "into the inner treasury" were handed over to these two father-in-laws, and he continued to ask, "Gao Ren is Gao Ren, why is it so Said he represents the emperor?"

Zhao Lun knew that if he said this, he would have no hope of living, but if he didn't say it, he would end up dead. Yin Cen was no longer a powerless bodyguard next to the prince. Now that he has established the World Ying Bureau, he has made it clear what he wants to do , you can do anything.

He made up his mind, "Master Yin must also know that in my Daning Dynasty, even if silver was used in the palace, it had to be allocated by the Ministry of Households. The emperor wanted to renovate the Guangming Palace but was repeatedly blocked. After many years of practicing Taoism, isn't it costly?" Is it silver...Gao Ren is always thinking of the emperor, so how can he not try his best to share his worries on this matter? Over the years, he took the money from the tea tax and did not tell the emperor, but secretly used it everywhere. All the expenses that should be paid have been covered, as for how much he has left in private, the emperor just turned a blind eye and let him go."

Yin Cen said, "If the emperor already knew that there was corruption in the tea tax, why did he order me to investigate thoroughly?"

Zhao Lun smiled with a pale face, "The emperor knows about the corruption, but if Qin Nianqin hadn't checked those figures, the emperor would have no idea that the amount of corruption would be so huge... He asked you to check to find out how many people there are , How much did you steal from him! 1000 million taels of silver, but only 100 million taels in the hands of the emperor, if it were you, do you want to check?!"

At this moment, Yin Cen really stayed on the chair, his chest heaving and gasping for breath. It turned out that Chen Ze angrily reprimanded the officials and executed half of the officials of the Great Ning Dynasty without hesitation. These people have no awe, they don't take him seriously, no, they give him the most money!

When he came back to his senses, Yin Cen only felt that everything was extremely ridiculous. The country had long been rotten to the root. Fortunately, he thought everything could be saved, but he himself, thinking that all the tricks were done, was still just a knife in the hands of others.

He asked Zhao Lun again, "What roles did He Jin and the queen play in this matter?"

Zhao Lun said, "Ren Tonghuan was sent to Yunnan by the Queen's order. What role do you think the Queen plays? She is the source of all this... How to cheat and steal money from the tea tax is basically taught by the Queen, Ren Tonghuan, Ye Mingzhi just complied with the manipulation and gave it convenience, naturally, the one who got the most stolen money, I don't need to tell you who it is."

Yin Cen turned to the special guard, "It's on record."

The tea tax case was far beyond Yin Cen's expectations, but at least there was a confession from Qiu Yiren's mastermind. As for the tragedy of the Seven Guards in Kansai and Qiu Yiren's collusion with the Shule Kingdom, Zhao Lun said directly, "This happened. I was still young at the time, so I don't know how the teacher and the queen got involved."

Looking at his face, Yin Cen knew that he was not lying, so he was not worried. Zhao Lun was only the first stab, and he waited for Qi Yanzhi to show him the inside story.

Regarding Qi Yanzhi's thoughts, Yin Cen said to Zhao Lun without any scruples, "Your teacher should hope that Han Wang Chen Yi will succeed to the throne, so that he can keep his position as chief assistant, but is that so?"

Zhao Lun sighed softly, and Yin Cen also noticed that when the topic started with Qi Yanzhi, Zhao Lun was not as unscrupulous as he was when he talked about Qiu Yiren just now, but he still maintained a trace of respect no matter what, he said , "If it wasn't for this, how could the teacher choose to cooperate with the queen."

Yin Cen felt that there was something in his words, and his eyes signaled him to continue.

"Before I entered the court, I heard some rumors that before the teacher entered the cabinet, he planned for the queen, who was the concubine Yu back then, and when the concubine Yu became the queen, the teacher followed into the cabinet, and then I became the chief assistant again, relying on the Queen's support for everything, but based on what I have been with the teacher for so many years, I don't believe these rumors. Although the teacher and the queen have some joint plans, it is definitely not everything in the rumors rely."

"As the chief assistant of the cabinet, the teacher naturally puts the most emphasis on the cabinet. Lord Yin also understands that the cabinet and the imperial power are mutually restrained. Therefore, even though the emperor uses the teacher, he still inevitably dislikes it everywhere. During the years when the teacher was the chief assistant, The emperor was obsessed with alchemy, and the teacher worked hard to deal with the government affairs, but still had to compromise in many matters that ran counter to the emperor's ideas... The teacher hoped that the cabinet would be stronger, not that the imperial power would be stronger, so naturally he hoped that the king of Han would be enthroned in the future ...His Royal Highness is extremely intelligent, and the teacher does not want to have such a strong opponent."

After Zhao Lun finished speaking, Yin Cen fell silent along with him. This was the second insider story that exceeded his expectations today. Qi Yanzhi also placed more emphasis on the cabinet than imperial power.

No, Yin Cen still felt that something was wrong. Qi Yanzhi's emphasis on the cabinet was still different from the more scientific cabinet system in his mind. Qi Yanzhi wanted a sufficiently incompetent emperor so that he could raise the weight of the cabinet to An extremely powerful position, but the fact is not the case. Yin Cen looked at the entire history of the world, only a monarch who is enlightened and wise enough can achieve it. Qi Yanzhi was fundamentally wrong!

After thinking about this point, Yin Cen suddenly felt enlightened. He looked at Zhao Lun. He was considered intelligent, but it was a pity that he followed the wrong person.

He ordered people to detain Zhao Lun again, but instead of a small black room, he changed to an ordinary cell, and said to Zhao Lun, "Your teacher will come here tomorrow. As for who your teacher really is, you don't care if you believe the rumors or not." , Tomorrow we will know who he is."

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Happy New Year 2020!