Catching Monsters

Chapter 132 I want you to tell the truth! (Added)
"What can I do for you?" Xiao Yuzheng asked calmly.

Xiao Yuzheng was originally in the imperial study, discussing with Feng Yu who could be so bold as to send people to rob him of his money.

I didn't expect Xu Xiaogang to come to me.

He didn't say anything extra, just said that the silver was in Changpingyuan's backyard.

His father, the Duke of Zhenguo, was confronting Chang Pingyuan in front of his mansion.

So he and Feng Yu rushed over quickly.

Chang Pingyuan knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhenguo slandered me, saying that the silver was in the backyard of my mansion."

"You are slandering me. Your Majesty, please promote me to the position of Minister of Revenue, in charge of the country's taxes and supplies."

"With such an important responsibility, can I be unworthy of your majesty's trust?"

"cannot!"

"not to mention……"

Chang Pingyuan was really panicked. He was sweating profusely because of the hard evidence in the backyard.

It was enough to kill him.

Xiao Yuzheng put his hands behind his back and asked slowly, "Since you said that the Duke of Zhenguo is slandering you, why don't you just let him go to the backyard and take a look?"

Chang Pingyuan gritted his teeth, a little panicked: "Your Majesty, I..."

"You don't let the Duke of Zhenguo in, so why don't you let me in to take a look?" Xiao Yuzheng put his hands behind his back and walked inside leisurely.

This time, Chang Pingyuan didn't dare to stop him, and the servants in the mansion even lay on the ground, not daring to have the slightest thought of stopping him.

Jiang Yun gave Xu Xiaogang a look and said, "Let's go in."

Xu Dingwu, Jiang Yun, Xu Xiaogang, Feng Yu and others followed closely behind.

Chang Pingyuan was carried by two of Xu Dingwu's men and followed.

The reason was simple: Chang Pingyuan's legs were weak and he could no longer stand.

When we arrived at the backyard, we saw boxes upon boxes with Ministry of Household Seals stacked inside.

Like a hill.

"Open it." Xiao Yuzheng said coldly.

Feng Yu walked quickly forward and opened several boxes one after another, which were filled with silver.

"Keep driving." Xiao Yuzheng said.

Soon, box after box was opened.

It's all silver.

Chang Pingyuan, who was being supported by others, felt weak all over. He only avoided falling to the ground because of the personal guards brought by the two Dukes of Zhenguo.

"Who, who, who put this silver in my yard?"

"Your Majesty, I swear to heaven, I swear to the saints, this money was not brought back by me."

Chang Pingyuan's hands trembled, his eyes filled with fear: "Your Majesty, please believe me."

"Believe me."

He threw away the guards on both sides, knelt on the ground, and lay down next to Xiao Yuzheng, hugging Xiao Yuzheng's legs: "Your Majesty."

"I admit that I was a little cautious at first."

"The main reason is that the Ministry of Revenue has a deficit of 300,000 taels of silver."

"I was worried that His Majesty would be unhappy after knowing this, so I thought of moving some money from other places to make up for the shortfall of 300,000 taels."

"I have absolutely no selfish motives, and I have never thought of swallowing up these 100,000 taels of silver."

"Your Majesty, what I said is absolutely true. I cannot thank you enough for promoting me to the position of Minister of Revenue."

"How dare you embezzle this money?"

dong dong dong.

In the yard, there was a dull sound of kowtow.

Xiao Yuzheng glanced at Chang Pingyuan coldly and asked, "Who robbed the silver?"

Chang Pingyuan hurriedly shook his head: "I really don't know."

"Immediately, Changping Yuan will be dismissed from his post as Minister of Revenue and handed over to the Northern Pacification Office for investigation. All the silver..."

At this point, Xiao Yuzheng glanced at Xu Dingwu next to him and said, "One hundred thousand taels of silver will be sent back to the northern border by the Duke of Zhenguo himself."

Feng Yu nodded slightly beside him, pulled away the crying Chang Pingyuan, and asked with a frown on his face: "Master Chang, why are you doing this?"

But in my heart, I was filled with joy.

Chang Pingyuan shouted at this time: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I will tell you, I will tell you everything, please spare my life."

Xiao Yuzheng waved his hand, signaling for someone to take him away: "If you have anything to say, go to the Jinyiwei prison and talk slowly."

Soon, Chang Pingyuan was dragged away.

Xiao Yuzheng looked at the hundred thousand taels of silver piled up like a small mountain in front of him and couldn't help but shook his head, feeling heartbroken!
There are so many ministers in the court, and each of them is well-read.

They have been taught the way of saints since childhood, so they are not short of money.

The salaries and benefits given by the court were enough for them to live a life without worries of food and clothing.

But why are they still greedy?
Everyone understands and knows the principle of integrity.

But when the money was placed in front of them, why couldn't these ministers control their greed?

At this time, Feng Yu, who was standing next to Xiao Yuzheng, smiled and whispered, "By the way, Your Majesty, this is the Jiang Yun that I mentioned to you."

"They are the Jinyiwei who solved the Buddhist temple haunted case and the arms smuggling case last time."

Xiao Yuzheng remembered and asked, "Is that the young talent who is capable, not afraid of offending others, and not greedy for money?"

"Yes." Feng Yu's heart skipped a beat. The first two items were correct.

But this last item...

Feng Yu felt a little unsure.

"Tell him to come over so I can see him."

Soon, Feng Yu called Jiang Yun over.

Jiang Yun was a little confused when he heard that the emperor wanted to see him. He didn't know the etiquette of seeing the emperor, so he knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I am here to see you."

Xiao Yuzheng looked at Jiang Yun with deep eyes, as if he could see through everything about him.

Jiang Yun felt a strong sense of discomfort all over, as if he had no secrets at all and was completely naked in front of His Majesty.

Suddenly, Xiao Yuzheng's voice rang in his ears.

"Yes, young talent, but unfortunately, corruption is rampant in the officialdom of our Great Zhou. If there were more honest people like Jiang Yun, the atmosphere of the court would be completely changed."

"Jiang Yun, I heard that you come from the lower class and have lived a hard life since childhood."

"What do you think about the rampant corruption in the court?"

Jiang Yun heard this and found this question a little difficult to answer.

Feng Yu also gave him a look, hinting at him.

Xu Xiaogang and Xu Dingwu, who were far away, also became a little nervous for Jiang Yun.

Xu Xiaogang was afraid that Jiang Yun would say something wrong...

Because in front of His Majesty, saying the wrong thing can really cost you your head.

Xu Dingwu knew the character of his own emperor better.

Like to hear the truth.

But this "truth" must be spoken with moderation.

After receiving Feng Yu's eye warning, Jiang Yun understood instantly. After careful consideration, he said, "Your Majesty, under your rule, there is no rampant corruption. These corrupt officials are just isolated cases."

"Under your rule, our Great Zhou Dynasty is peaceful and prosperous, with people living and working in peace and contentment. This is a sign of great prosperity!"

"It's just a little worm that is harming your majesty."

Hearing Jiang Yun's answer, Feng Yu first breathed a sigh of relief, and also thought to himself that Jiang Yun was a smart guy.

What Jiang Yun didn't expect was that Xiao Yuzheng had a gloomy face and said in a cold voice: "Are you lying to me?"

"Although I seldom leave the Imperial City, I still know a lot about the outside world."

"I want you to tell the truth!"

Jiang Yun's heart skipped a beat, and looking at Xiao Yuzheng's expression, could it be that his answer was wrong?

But when he glanced at Feng Yu and saw the smile on Feng Yu's face, he felt relieved.

He continued, "Your Majesty! What I said is from the bottom of my heart!"

Xiao Yuzheng closed his eyes. Feng Yu, who was beside him, had served Xiao Yuzheng since he was a child and knew his master's character too well.

His emotions are not easily shown on his face.

Feng Yu said: "Your Majesty, please listen to this. This is the voice from the grassroots of our country. They all miss you very much."

Jiang Yun couldn't help but complain in his heart...

I am now a minor flag of the Imperial Guard, how can I represent the lower class...

But it was obvious that Xiao Yuzheng felt very comfortable with this flattery. He opened his eyes, glanced at Jiang Yun, and said slowly: "Return to the palace."

"Yes." Feng Yu hurriedly followed Xiao Yuzheng and left.

Watching the two leave one after another, Jiang Yun looked around and saw Chang Pingyuan's house.

It's probably difficult for Chang Pingyuan to recover now.

It can be said that a major worry has been completely resolved.

The personal guards under the Duke of Zhenguo also quickly began to arrange carriages to transport the silver.

Xu Xiaogang asked Jiang Yun to go back to the inn first, as he had something to discuss with the Duke of Zhenguo.

Jiang Yun stepped forward and saluted Xu Dingwu: "Uncle, I will take my leave first."

"Well, go ahead." Xu Dingwu's eyes fell on the silver and he nodded.

Now that I have received this money, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Xu Xiaogang was standing next to him, his face changing from gloomy to happy, as if he had something on his mind that he wanted to tell Xu Dingwu.

But I couldn't make up my mind.

"What did you want to tell me just now?" Xu Dingwu asked with a frown.

"father."

Xu Xiaogang lowered his head slightly, glanced around, pulled Xu Dingwu to the corner, and whispered: "I should know the leader who came to rob the silver a few days ago..."

"Huh? Who is it? Why don't you report to your superiors?" Xu Dingwu was stunned when he heard that.

"Yes..." Xu Xiaogang whispered, "It's my cousin Tao Anbang."

Xu Dingwu frowned when he heard this: "Are you sure?"

"Not at first." Xu Xiaogang whispered, "Later, he attacked me many times, but he didn't want to kill me. I always felt that his eyes were very familiar."

“But I couldn’t remember who it was.”

"Later I remembered that I had fought with my cousin Tao Anbang last year and had a sparring match. Their moves, body shapes, and eyes were exactly the same."

Upon hearing this, Xu Dingwu's face darkened, he sighed, and said, "What happened to the Anguo Mansion? Why are they trying to steal the 100,000 taels of silver?"

"You must remember not to tell your mother about this! Otherwise she will worry."

"It looks like we'll have to wait a few more days before returning to the Northern Frontier Army."

Xu Xiaogang asked in a low voice: "Father wants to help my cousin?"

Xu Dingwu was silent for a moment and shook his head: "This case involves the robbery of military pay. Whether I can help is still uncertain."

"Duke Anguo's Mansion has been engaged in battles for the Great Zhou over the years. Now, your cousin is the only male left in the family."

"If anything happens to him, your mother, who is concerned about her family, won't be able to bear it."

Xu Dingwu couldn't help cursing and said, "Damn it, if you really need money, tell me, why are you robbing my military pay?"

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(End of this chapter)