Catching Monsters

Chapter 234: Big Case in Beijing
Jiang Yun took a deep breath, with a smile on his face, still polite: "After all, this is what Mr. Ye has instructed us to do. We should take it seriously and work diligently and honestly to weave the bamboo basket well."

"You three are sincere but not smart enough." Ye Xiuyuan looked a little arrogant and didn't want to talk to them too much. "Please go back. I have no interest in serving as an official in the court."

"What?" Xu Xiaogang's face darkened when he heard this: "Old man, we worked so hard to weave the bamboo basket, and it's all in vain?"

"Young Duke, please don't be rude." Seeing Xu Xiaogang getting angry, Feng Yu hurriedly tried to persuade him. After all, this old Mr. Ye was highly respected by the Emperor.

The main reason was that the Jiangnan Governor praised this old gentleman too much. Such a talent made Xiao Yuzheng itchy...

"Unless the emperor comes in person, please go back."

Ye Xiuyuan turned around and closed the door of the bamboo house. Feng Yu did not show any anger when he saw this. After all, he knew before he came that Ye Xiuyuan had a strange temper and did things unconventionally.

"What should I do?" Xu Xiaogang looked at Jiang Yun subconsciously.

Jiang Yun pondered for a moment and glanced at Feng Yu who was also staring at him.

Feng Yu said with emotion: "Alas, it is a pity that Your Majesty is busy with government affairs and cannot come, but you are eager to seek talents."

Jiang Yun understood what Feng Yu meant...

Now I understand why Feng Yu brought them here specially.

It is impossible for Your Majesty to come and invite him because the mountains are high and the road is long.

And he insisted on having His Majesty come in person. Isn't this just a one-track mindset?

"Kidnapping." Jiang Yun said with a serious face.

Xu Xiaogang subconsciously looked at Feng Yu. Feng Yu did not agree, but did not object either, which meant he tacitly agreed to this method.

Soon, the two of them pushed the door open. Ye Xiuyuan was sitting on a rattan chair drinking tea. When he saw them enter the room, he frowned, as if he had guessed something.

"Sir, I'm sorry..."

On the official road of Jiangnan Prefecture, a large carriage was traveling on the road, and Xu Xiaogang was driving the carriage outside.

Inside the carriage, Ye Xiuyuan, who was tied up, was lying inside.

Feng Yu was sitting inside with a faint smile on his face, criticizing Jiang Yun, "You guys are really, Mr. Ye is His Majesty's guest, how can you be so rude and impolite? When I return to Beijing, I have to have a good talk with His Majesty."

Although Feng Yu said this, his body was very honest and he did not show any intention of untying Ye Xiuyuan.

If you want to tie him up, just tie him up all the way to the capital. Otherwise, if Ye Xiuyuan tries to leave by force after you let him go, should Feng Yu stop him or keep him?

On the way, Jiang Yun was also very curious. He glanced at Ye Xiuyuan from time to time, feeling curious.

What exactly is this old man capable of?

Finally, after leaving Jiangnan Province, Feng Yu signaled Jiang Yun to loosen Ye Xiuyuan's rope.

Ye Xiuyuan, who was released, sat up slowly, sighed slowly, and shook his head helplessly.

Feng Yu, who was standing next to him, said politely, "Mr. Ye, His Majesty is really busy with government affairs and cannot come in person, but the standard of coming to pick you up this time is not low."

"The people driving outside are all junior dukes from the Zhenguo Mansion. Ordinary people don't have this kind of treatment."

"Also, the governor of Jiangnan once said in a memorial, sir, do you have a way to solve the tax problem of the imperial court?"

"Your Majesty is very interested in this, and I hope that the old gentleman can explain it to you when the time comes."

The speed along the way was not very fast, but fortunately it was the beginning of spring, and the scenery on both sides of the official road was quite nice.

It took a full twelve days.

Everyone finally returned to the capital safely, but Ye Xiuyuan was obviously quite dissatisfied with their act of kidnapping him. He was angry and didn't say much along the way.

After the carriage entered Beijing, it had a smooth journey and soon arrived in front of the towering imperial palace.

"Jiang Yun, Xu Xiaogang, please ask Mr. Ye to go to the Imperial Study to meet His Majesty."

Jiang Yun jumped off the carriage and quickly made a gesture of invitation: "Mr. Ye, please."

Ye Xiuyuan stuck his head out of the carriage and looked at the towering imperial city. His eyes revealed a hint of helplessness, and he said, "Forget it, forget it."

When the group of four arrived in front of the imperial study, it was exactly 3 p.m. Feng Yu first asked Ye Xiuyuan to wait for a while and went in to report it himself.

Soon, the door of the imperial study opened, and Xiao Yuzheng, dressed in white casual clothes, pushed open the door and walked out.

Although it is casual wear, that is only for Xiao Yuzheng. In fact, this white shirt is still embroidered with golden dragon patterns.

"Your Majesty, this is Mr. Ye Xiuyuan." Feng Yu said with a smile.

Xiao Yuzheng looked at Ye Xiuyuan solemnly and strode forward: "I have heard of Mr. Ye's great name a long time ago. Please come in."

Soon, Xiao Yuzheng invited Ye Xiuyuan into the imperial study.

Jiang Yun and Xu Xiaogang finally completed their mission successfully. After saying goodbye to Feng Yu, they left the palace.

Jiang Yun walked out of the palace and looked at the familiar streets of the capital. It had been a full month since he left the capital.

Xu Xiaogang was standing nearby, still looking somewhat puzzled: "Brother-in-law, you said that Mr. Ye looked no different from an ordinary old scholar along the way. Does His Majesty have to be so polite?" "Is this something we should be concerned about?" Jiang Yun shook his head and stretched lazily: "Let's go back to the East Pacification Division first. We have successfully dealt with Master Wu Yue this time, and we can just wait for His Majesty's reward."

In the imperial study, there was a faint scent of sandalwood. Xiao Yuzheng personally made tea for Ye Xiuyuan and said with a smile, "I have heard from you that there is a way to increase taxes for the court?"

Ye Xiuyuan took the tea from Xiao Yuzheng's hand. Although he was aloof, he was not a fool. It was impossible for him to put on airs in front of the Emperor of the Great Zhou.

Ye Xiuyuan said slowly: "Your Majesty, I asked you to come and invite me in person, not because I am arrogant..."

"It's that solving the imperial tax problem is extremely difficult, and the solution came from a commoner like me."

"How can the whole court, including the civil and military officials from all over the country, really implement it?"

Then, Ye Xiuyuan slowly said: "To solve the current tax problem of the court, we must first understand why the tax is insufficient."

"The Great Zhou Dynasty has lasted for three hundred years, and a large amount of land in various places is in the hands of wealthy families. These wealthy families collude with local officials, and hiding land is commonplace."

"Moreover, taxes are now complicated and varied in various places. In Jiangnan Province alone, there are more than 30 types of taxes, which is dizzying..."

Ye Xiuyuan slowly gave three suggestions. The first was to survey the hidden fields of the whole country, the second was to use silver instead of labor service, and the third was to spread the labor service required by the government onto the land and collect taxes based on the size of the land. Those with more land would be taxed more heavily, and those with less land would be taxed less...

Hearing this, Xiao Yuzheng frowned slightly. It’s not that this method is bad.

But as an emperor, he knew better how much resistance there would be in implementing these policies.

Feng Yu, who was standing by, said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the position in the Ministry of Revenue is vacant now, otherwise, Mr. Ye will be appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

The Minister of Revenue, Cao Huai, has been captured and imprisoned. He is considered unlucky, although he was not involved in Wu Yue Zhenren's rebellion.

But who made him collude with the Minister of Justice Wu Farong...

Who made Wu Farong happen to be a traitor...

If it was just a normal attempt to frame a wealthy businessman and embezzle his property, even if the matter was discovered, he would most likely be dismissed from his post and would definitely not be sent to jail.

After Xiao Yuzheng pondered for a moment, he nodded, agreeing to the suggestion, and then said to Ye Xiuyuan: "Mr. Ye will first take up his post in the Ministry of Revenue. If anyone embarrasses you, you can come to me at any time."

What surprised Xiao Yuzheng was that Ye Xiuyuan actually shook his head and refused: "Your Majesty, I am a commoner, and I am afraid no one will accept it if I directly serve as a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Revenue. I have no interest in serving as an official in the court."

"Your Majesty, please arrange a quiet courtyard for me to stay in the capital. If you have any questions, you can always come to me."

Xiao Yuzheng looked at the other person in surprise. He originally thought that this person's statement of not wanting to be an official in the court was just a humble statement.

Unexpectedly, he refused the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

This is a third-rank official position.

……

"What about people?"

Inside the East Pacification Office, Jiang Yun and Xu Xiaogang entered the house and looked around.

I didn't expect that there was not a single Jinyiwei in the huge Dongzhenfusi Yamen.

This is strange.

You know, even in the middle of the night, normally there would be people on duty at the East Zhenfu Division, and it would be absolutely impossible for there to be no one there.

After searching for a long time, a Jinyiwei finally walked in from outside the East Pacification Office.

Jiang Yun had met the other party a few times. He was a person under other headquarters.

Xu Xiaogang knew the other person's name, so he stepped forward and asked, "Old Jin, how come there is no one at the Jinyiwei Yamen in broad daylight? What's going on? Is the Jiaofangsi free today? Are all the people going to the Jiaofangsi?"

Jin Dayuan looked to be in his thirties, wearing a Feiyu suit. After seeing the two of them, he clasped his fists towards them and said, "I heard that you two went out on a long business trip?"

"During this period, a major case occurred in the capital."

"Big case?" Jiang Yun and Xu Xiaogang looked at each other.

"You know Feng Bei'er from the Weiwu Marquis' Mansion, right? She's the beautiful lady with unparalleled beauty."

"Five days ago, she suddenly killed all 15 members of Pingyuanbo's family with a knife."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaogang retorted without hesitation: "Nonsense! Feng Bei'er is powerless. Although the Pingyuan Earl family has declined in recent years, they are of noble origin after all, and their ancestors were also in the army."

"Besides, Feng Bei'er is fine, why would she kill their family?"

Jin Dayuan looked gloomy, shook his head and said, "This incident is indeed strange, but it was noon, and two servants of Pingyuan Earl's family escaped from the main gate. They were chased out by Feng Bei'er, who was covered in blood, and stabbed to death with two knives."

"Many people on the street saw it with their own eyes."

"After all, this case involves the Marquis of Weiwu and the Earl of Pingyuan. His Majesty has ordered a thorough investigation, and Commander Li has also said that whoever can find out the truth first will get the position of the Eastern Pacification Office and Pacification Commissioner."

"Captain Yang and Captain Zhou took everyone out to search for Feng Bei'er's whereabouts, not even a gatekeeper was left behind..."

(End of this chapter)