HLnovel Chapter 203 Let the Bullets Fly
Chapter 203 Let the Bullets Fly
Chapter 203 Let the Bullets Fly
Zhong Yu listened to Zhong Yao's words, trying to decide in his mind which "either" Zhong Ji would become.
The first "either" is the general situation, while the latter, in addition to one's own ability, also requires the support of noble people.
Thinking of this, Zhong Yu's expression slightly changed, and he said: "Father, I heard that the prime minister personally nominated that kind of Ji and assigned him to the post of governor of Henan."
As the "governor of the royal city", the Henan Yin was equivalent to half of the Sili Xiaowei, and his status was very special, far higher than that of other county governors. His rank was equivalent to that of the six ministers' assistants.
Zhong Yao nodded, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "You don't need to worry about it. This matter is not so easy to decide. I heard that the autumn grain amount has been determined?"
Seeing that Zhong Yao had changed the subject, Zhong Yu suppressed his curiosity and said thoughtfully, "Father, the four states that are currently under consideration are Bing, Sili, Yan, and You. Qing and Ji have either just been pacified or are still suppressing rebellions. Xu, Yu, Yang, Jing, and Jiaozhi are occupied by rebels and are not under consideration. Yizhou is alienated from the court, so it is the same as having nothing. The total amount is temporarily determined to be 220,000 shi."
Zhong Yu paused at this point and said, "There are many cases like the one of Henan Yin. In my opinion, less than half of them will end up in Taicang."
Zhong Yao listened to this number, nodded secretly, and said: "Two hundred and twenty thousand, it is comparable to the first year of Zhongping."
Zhong Yu said, "Father, compared to last year, this number has increased nearly five times. I suspect that the prefectures and counties deliberately falsified the data in order to cater to the court's 'new policy' in order to gain merit."
Zhong Yao looked at him, smiled a little more, and said, "It's really good that you can see this. The Prime Minister, the prince, and Xun Wenruo have left the capital one after another. The most important thing is to verify these things."
Zhong Yu suddenly thought of the incident with the Yin of Henan, and was immediately frightened.
The Prime Minister, the Left Prime Minister, and the Minister of Revenue are currently recognized as the three most powerful people in the court. The fact that they left the capital one after another shows how much importance the court attaches to the issue of autumn grain.
The matter of Henan Yin would never be resolved as easily as he expected!
Zhong Yao looked at his son's constantly changing expression and sighed in his heart. Xun Yu was a few years older than Zhong Yu, but he was far superior to Zhong Yu in ability and scheming.
After a pause, Zhong Yao said, "How about going to Henan County to be the county magistrate?"
Zhong Yu was stunned and looked up at Zhong Yao: What does this mean, father?
Zhong Yao noticed that he was a little nervous and asked, "Do you want to go?"
Zhong Yu didn't know what his father was thinking, but he still said, "I am willing to go."
Zhong Yao nodded and said, "First finish the work at hand. It's getting late. Go and have a rest."
Zhong Yu quickly raised his hand to salute, then left the side hall.
After walking a few steps, Zhong Yu was still puzzled, and then he saw a woman who was not much younger than him walking towards him. She bowed gently to him and then went into the side hall.
Outside the side door of this hall is his father's bedroom.
Zhong Yu's expression became slightly tense and he left quickly.
His father was not lustful, but he was not short of women.
……
The next morning, Zhong Yu came to the Household Department and dealt with many affairs, while at the same time listening to all sides and chatting with his colleagues.
"I heard that something happened in Yanzhou."
"What happened? The minister hasn't arrived yet, right?"
"I heard that the governor of Shanyang suddenly sealed off the warehouses in the two counties below!"
"Not only that, the latest news is that Yanzhou Governor Liu Shijun, the Grain Control Commandant, and the Supervisory Censor are all involved."
"This, this, this is going to be a big problem!"
Zhong Yu listened to it all without making any expression, a trace of solemnity on his face.
The governor of Yanzhou was Liu Dai, the prefect of Shanyang was Wang Lang, the commander of the grain department was Dong Yu, and the censor was Xi Zhicai.
Liu Dai was a relative of Wang Yun and was very close to him. Wang Lang was a man of the well-known Prime Minister Yang Biao, while Dong Yu was from Hongnong, and the Prime Minister was from the Hongnong Yang family. Xi Zhicai was recommended by Xun Yu, the Minister of Revenue.
None of these people are simple!
"Father was right!" Zhong Yu thought to himself.
Such a big thing happened before Xun Yu even arrived in Shanyang County, there must be something very sinister going on!
Although Zhong Yu made many friends, he also knew how to protect himself. He did not get involved and left with an official document, pretending to have urgent business.
In his hand was the 'Total Autumn Grain List' from Luoyang County, which amounted to 8,212 dan, nearly half less than that of Henan County. Zhong Yu felt that something was wrong and wanted to ask Chen Gong about it.
Chen Gong stayed in Henan County longer than Zhong Yu and had just returned to Luoyang.
He did not return home, but sat in the back hall of the Luoyang government office, looking at the memorial with the ink not yet dry, with a hesitant look on his face.
This memorial was primarily intended to commend Zhong Ji for his merits, but he later admitted that his conduct was improper and had caused harm to the victims.
The reason for his hesitation was that he had concerns about what he had seen and heard in Henan County.
"County magistrate, the grain commander is here." Suddenly, a clerk rushed in and said urgently.
"Captain Han?" Chen Gong looked up and asked.
Han Bin was the first Duwei of the Grain Administration and was also in the Sili Prefecture. He was from Yingchuan, the same hometown as the "Two Xuns", and was a person of great attention in the court and the public.
The clerk was very flustered and said, "Yes. Captain Han went directly to the warehouse and forced the door open."
Chen Gong's face changed color. He quickly put the memorial away and rushed to the county warehouse.
When they arrived, they saw that the county granary had been surrounded, and the grain commander's soldiers were ready with their swords drawn.
Chen Gong came closer with a sullen face and raised his hand, saying, "I am the Luoyang magistrate Chen Gong, please see Commandant Han."
Not long after, Han Bin came out, looked at Chen Gong, and asked in confusion, "Is it really only 8,000 shi?"
Chen Gong stepped forward and said, "Captain Han, I have submitted a report and it is absolutely true."
Han Bin stared at him and said, "The number of households and acres of land in Luoyang County is comparable to that in Henan County, and Henan County even suffered a disaster. Why is it that Henan County has 15,000 shi, while Luoyang County has nearly half less?"
Chen Gong suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart, but he did not panic at all. He said, "I have collected taxes according to the tax set by the Ministry of Revenue, and there is absolutely no deviation. Please let Commander Han investigate."
Han Bin looked at him expressionlessly, and said, "I just came back from Hanoi. Tell me honestly, is there any hidden reason why the 5,000 dan of autumn grain of the Henan Yin was misappropriated?"
"Doesn't Han Bin know about this?"
Chen Gong became even more suspicious about the matter of Henan Yin, and raised his hand and said, "I don't know anything about it."
Han Bin snorted coldly and said, "What a good example of officials protecting each other!"
When Chen Gong saw that Han Bin thought he and Zhong Ji were in the same group, the corners of his mouth twitched, but he couldn't say anything.
Luoyang County was under the jurisdiction of Henan Yin, so it was natural for Han Bin to be so suspicious. Chen Gong was unknowingly trapped in it and had no way to defend himself.
Han Bin didn't care what Chen Gong thought, and said, "According to the court rules, I will immediately escort the autumn grain to the Taicang warehouse. Do you agree?"
One of the most important duties of the Grain Commander was to escort money and grain directly from counties and prefectures to the capital without going through complicated procedures, in order to curb corruption, waste, etc.
"I have no objection." Chen Gong said. According to the new regulations made by the Ministry of Revenue, he should have been escorted to Taicang ten days ago, but it was delayed because of the incident with the governor of Henan.
Han Bin's brows twitched slightly.
Chen Gong seems to be very open and honest, is he really clean?
Immediately, he looked in the direction of Henan Yin, his eyes as cold as ice.
He had not expected the matter of Henan Yin. If there was something fishy about it, as the Governor of Grain in Sili, he would not be able to escape the blame.
He noticed Zhong Yu out of the corner of his eye. Seeing Zhong Yu hiding quietly aside, he couldn't help feeling gloomy in his heart.
The Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Revenue are all investigating, and I'm afraid the Supreme Court won't let it off either.
"This matter must have reached the ears of the emperor." Han Bin's face twitched. He wanted to go to Henan Yin to investigate, but he had already planned to go to Sanfu to personally escort the autumn grain.
There is nothing you can do!
Just as Han Bin expected, all relevant agencies of the court were keeping an eye on the matter of Henan Yin.
Inside the Censorate, numerous officials of all ranks were rushing back and forth, so busy that they had no time to rest.
As the court attached increasing importance to and increased the amount of "autumn grain", the Censorate was naturally unwilling to lag behind. Not only did it send out supervisory censors, it also specially dispatched officials to conduct open and secret investigations, and various reports were sent into the Censorate every day.
Fu Wan was so busy that he was exhausted and had to work day and night.
At this moment, he had finished reading the detailed "judgment" of Zhang Chang, the Censor of the Imperial Capital, on the matter of the Yin of Henan, and his face was hesitant.
Zhang Chang is the son of Zhang Huan, one of the "Three Mings". He is a great contemporary calligrapher with a great reputation.
In this "judgment", Zhang Chang praised Zhong Ji generously, calling him "good-hearted for the people" and "a man of great virtue and benevolence".
But Fu Wan was not the only one who saw this. There were mixed opinions on the Henan Yin incident from various places. Many people believed that Zhong Ji was "seeking fame and reputation, harboring evil intentions", "his disaster relief was fake, but his corruption was real", and "once this list is opened, there will be endless troubles".
Now with the "verdict" of Zhang Chang, the Censor of the Imperial Censorate, as long as Fu Wan signed and stamped it, it would be considered the "finalization", confirming Zhong Ji's "impartiality".
With the approval of the Censorate, even if other institutions find out something, they must follow the Censorate’s findings!
In the court regulations, the Censorate was on the same level as the Secretariat and had the "final decision-making power" over the supervision of officials.
Fu Wan has always been cautious. Looking at the memorials of equal number from both sides, he hesitated for a long time, picked up Zhang Chang's "judgment", and came to Liu Xie's duty room.
Liu Xie waited for Fu Wan to finish speaking, his face tense, he looked at the document quietly for a while, then raised his head and asked, "Does your Excellency mean that you think there is something wrong with it?"
Liu Xie was his son-in-law after all, and a member of his family. Fu Wan did not hide anything and whispered, "I don't know whether this document is true or not. But the reactions from other places are so strange. It seems like a big fuss, but in fact the Secretariat only sent some officials over, and it seems like they don't care at all."
Liu Xie seemed to be moved, and whispered to himself: "In this situation, unless the court really doesn't care, it has already obtained evidence..."
Fu Wan was shocked and asked, "Your Highness, are you saying that the Shangshutai has already investigated everything?"
Liu Xie came back to his senses, shook his head and said, "Sir, don't underestimate the people in the Shangshutai. The Prime Minister is like a blue fish, his ambition is deep. The two Xuns, Zhong Yao and others are all wise and insightful people, and they should not be deceived."
Fu Wan paused after hearing this and said, "Your Highness, are you saying that these people have already investigated everything, so they are as still as a mountain?"
Liu Xie nodded and said, "Most likely. In addition, His Majesty attaches great importance to the autumn grain. He has even sent out the Prime Minister, the princes, and Xun Yu. Will he have no reaction to such a big event as the Governor of Henan?"
Fu Wan suddenly realized something and was a little frightened.
It seems like a simple thing, but I never thought the water behind it is so deep!
Asking for a monthly ticket~