Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 49 The Emperor Can Only Gaze Forever Ahead

Inside the Forbidden City.

Zhu Youjian did not sleep all night.

Mao Shi.

The dawn had not yet gathered enough power to tear through the entire night sky of the capital.

All was silent except for the cold wind that whistled softly through the tall palace walls.

Zhu Youjian sat on the carved rosewood dragon throne, holding a cup of steaming tea in his hands. The rising steam blurred his still-young face, but upon closer inspection, one could see that his eyes lacked the confusion and naivety of a young person.

He barely slept a wink last night.

Just then, a series of light and orderly footsteps came from outside the warm pavilion.

"Your Majesty," Wang Chengen's voice came from outside the door, "Admiral Zhou requests an audience."

Zhu Youjian's body trembled almost imperceptibly. His fingers, which had been casually resting on the armrest of the throne and were somewhat cold due to poor blood circulation, instinctively clenched tightly at the dragon head carved from a single piece of gold.

The hard, cold touch calmed his somewhat unsettled mind.

He didn't look back.

The design of the throne did not allow him to easily turn back; the emperor could only ever gaze ahead!
“Xuan.”

Zhou Quan walked in.

He stopped precisely about five steps from the throne, lifted his robe, and knelt on one knee with fluid and standard movements.

"Your Majesty, I, Zhou Quan, humbly pay my respects."

Zhu Youjian gestured for him to rise, but Zhou Quan did not get up and remained kneeling.

"How did things go?"

He asked the question very calmly.

But only Zhu Youjian himself knew that his palms, hidden beneath his wide sleeves, were already covered in a fine layer of sweat.

Zhou Quan remained kneeling on one knee, his head slightly lowered.

"Your Majesty, all the planned targets within the capital have been eliminated."

"Zhou Yanru, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites; Feng Quan, Junior Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; Li Changgeng, Director of the Ministry of Works... and the other thirteen officials listed on the roster have all been arrested and brought to justice. They are currently being held in the newly built prison of the Western Depot, awaiting His Majesty's judgment."

"All seventeen strongholds belonging to Shanxi merchants in the city, including large and small businesses, banks, and guild halls such as Dashengkui, Weifenghou, and Rishengchang, have been sealed off."

"During the process, we encountered a total of 112 armed resisters. In accordance with His Majesty's decree, they were all killed on the spot, and none of them escaped."

Zhou Quan's report was concise and clear, full of the cold efficiency that Zhu Youjian had deliberately cultivated.

Zhu Youjian listened quietly.

His knuckles, gripping the dragon head on the armrest tightly, turned slightly white from excessive force, and even made a soft "crackling" sound.

It became.

But now is not the time to laugh.

Zhu Youjian's gaze became even deeper and sharper.

"Where is the evidence?" he asked in a deep voice, his tone carrying an undeniable authority.

This is the crucial point!
Arresting people, seizing property, killing people—these are all just means, just processes.

What he wanted was a result, irrefutable evidence that would render the entire court, especially the Donglin gentlemen who were most adept at distorting the truth and forming cliques, speechless and forced to submit to execution!

"Your Majesty, the evidence is here."

Zhou Quan's voice remained steady as he raised the three wooden boxes, which he always carried with him and were tightly wrapped in thick oilcloth, high above his head.

Wang Chengen immediately understood. He almost jogged forward, gently and quickly taking the three heavy wooden boxes from Zhou Quan's hands. Then, he turned around and, with small steps, presented them respectfully to Zhu Youjian's desk as if holding three human heads.

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over the three wooden boxes. He did not open them immediately, but instead gently tapped the leftmost one with his finger.

"What is this?"

“Your Majesty,” Zhou Quan reported, “this is the account book. It is the internal general ledger of seventeen trading companies and banks, including Shanxi merchants Dashengkui and Rishengchang, as well as the detailed account of transactions with various officials in the capital.”

Zhu Youjian gestured to Wang Chengen to open it.

As the wooden box was opened, a strange smell wafted out, a mixture of aged ink and the stench of blood.

Inside were not scattered ledgers, but a huge general ledger with a cover made of a whole piece of whale skin, on which were branded with several large characters: "Da Sheng Kui Internal Ledger".

Zhu Youjian opened the account book; the handwriting inside was as fine as ants, yet incredibly clear.

His pupils contracted instantly at the mere sight he caught.

"July 19th, the fifth year of the Tianqi reign. Brother Yudou, for the writing fee of 12,000."

"Yu Dou" was the courtesy name of Zhou Yanru, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

This single line doesn't prove anything; the Donglin Party members had a thousand ways to interpret it as a normal gift among literati.

But Zhu Youjian's finger traced the line to the right, where a number was noted in tiny handwriting: "Rishengchang, Jiazi 732".

He raised his chin.

Wang Chengen immediately understood and pulled out a pre-prepared bank stub from under the ledger. It was the official stub of Rishengchang Bank, made of tough mulberry paper, and the number on it was clearly "Jia Zi Qi San Er Hao". The stub clearly stated: "Payable upon presentation of this stub is 12,000 taels of silver". In the place of the payee's signature were three bold and elegant characters: "Zhou Yanru", next to which was a bright red private seal - "Yanru's Private Seal".

The accounts, invoices, personnel, and seals are all meticulously linked, forming a perfect closed loop.

Zhu Youjian closed the ledger expressionlessly and then tapped the wooden box in the middle.

"And what is this?"

"Your Majesty, these are 'letter' and 'document'."

The second wooden box was opened, revealing a thick stack of letters, a document from the Ministry of Rites carefully bound in yellow silk, and a copy of the Ministry of War's records.

Zhu Youjian casually picked up the top letter, written by Fan Yongdou to Zhou Yanru. The letter was earnest and beautifully written, discussing elegance throughout, except for a casual mention at the end: "The tribute entrusted to me the other day to appease the tribes of the southern desert is a matter of the court's reputation, and I hope you will expedite its delivery. Especially regarding the document for inspecting the goods at night through the 'mother-and-child gate' on the Xuanfu border wall, I earnestly hope you will take care of it. If this batch of goods can be delivered smoothly, I will gladly present you with the three treasures of the previous dynasty that I have in my collection."

What a comfort! What a tribute!
Zhu Youjian's eyes instantly turned cold. He put down the letter, and Wang Chengen immediately presented the memorial from the Ministry of Rites.

Zhou Yanru personally wrote a memorial in the name of the Ministry of Rites requesting the urgent allocation of a batch of rewards, including ironware, cloth and medicine, for the "submitting" Mongol tribes. He also requested that special arrangements be made for the transportation, and that the Ministry of War issue a document to open the "Zimukou" pass in Xuanfu at night.

This document was procedurally flawless, its reasons were plausible, and it was entirely within Zhou Yanru's authority.

But the key issue lies in the next document, the copy of the military science file.

This is an archived copy of the Military Affairs Office of the Six Ministries.

According to the Ming Dynasty system, after the Grand Secretariat drafted the Emperor's imperial edict, it had to be reviewed and stamped by the relevant censors before it could be issued for implementation. This copy of the document was clearly stamped with the seal of the Ministry of War, indicating that the Ministry of Rites' request had been approved.

The official who issued this copy of the document was named Qian Jiazheng.

Zhu Youjian took a deep breath, suppressing the murderous intent surging in his heart, and pointed to the last, and smallest, wooden box.

"What about this?"

“Your Majesty,” Zhou Quan’s voice finally carried a hint of barely perceptible coldness, “this is the offering.”

The wooden box was opened, and inside were only a few thin sheets of paper.

The first document is a handwritten confession signed by Qian Jiazheng, a censor in the Ministry of War.

"...The corrupt official Qian Jiazheng confessed...In June of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Feng Quan, the Junior Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, hosted a banquet for the corrupt official at his private residence. Feng Quan mentioned that Vice Minister Zhou Yanru had a favor to ask, and that if the favor was done, the corrupt official could be guaranteed a promotion to a lucrative position as a prefect the following year...In July, the corrupt official accepted 5,000 taels of silver from Shanxi merchant Fan Yongdou, which was transferred through Feng's steward. He then affixed his seal and stamp on Vice Minister Zhou's memorial without refuting it..."

Feng Quan had a wide network of students and acquaintances in the Hanlin Academy and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, wielding immense influence. It was only natural for him to contact a seventh-rank official!

Zhou Yanru openly initiated the matter using a memorial from the Ministry of Rites, while Feng Quan secretly used his connections and money to smooth over the supervisory process. One played the good cop, and the other the bad cop, manipulating the imperial system at will!

The second confession was from Zhou Yanru. The handwriting on it was no longer as elegant and flowing as usual, but rather carried a deep-seated fear, crooked and almost unrecognizable.

"...The corrupt official Zhou Yanru confessed...that the illegal opening of the border wall was indeed true...The land deed for the mansion in western Beijing given to him by Fan Yongdou, along with the forged document for appeasing the Mongol tribes, were locked together in an iron box in a secret room in his bedroom..."

Testimony, physical evidence, and documentary evidence are all linked together.

From the Shanxi merchants' account books to the officials' banknotes, from secret letters of treason to the Ministry of Rites' petitions in accordance with procedures, from the Ministry of War's files obtained through connections to the handwritten confessions of the two core officials in charge of execution and operation.

This is a flawless and unbreakable chain of evidence forged with the blood and silver of countless people. It not only proves corruption and collusion with the enemy, but also reveals how they used the system to corrupt the system and turn public resources into private property!
Any eloquent defense will appear pale, powerless, and utterly ridiculous in the face of these chains!
Zhu Youjian slowly placed the confession back into the wooden box.

The young face now held only the terrifying calm before a storm, a calm that silenced everything in the world.

Anger, of course.

The greed of these people far exceeded his most pessimistic estimates.

But more than anything, it is a kind of inexplicable sorrow.

The empire's illness was more severe than he had imagined.

And the evidence he possesses is merely the tip of the iceberg!
……

"Snapped!"

A deep, resounding bang echoed through the quiet, warm room, startling the candlelight so much that it flickered.

Wang Chengen trembled with fear, glancing furtively at the emperor's face, which was so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

Zhu Youjian did not look at Wang Chengen. He raised his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, and turned once again to Zhou Quan, who was still kneeling on the ground like a statue.

"How much gold and silver was confiscated in total?"

Zhou Quan's voice, still like an emotionless abacus, clearly recited a series of numbers that were both cold and hot.

"Your Majesty, after the Western Depot conducted an overnight inventory, preliminary results have been obtained."

"A total of 220,000 taels of silver and 6,000 taels of gold were seized from the residences of Zhou Yanru and 13 other Beijing officials."

He owns a total of 21 mansions and villas in the capital, which are conservatively valued at about 180,000 taels of silver according to market prices.

The various antiques, paintings, calligraphy, and jade artifacts are too numerous to be individually appraised; their preliminary estimated value is approximately 80,000 taels of silver.

In the suburbs of Beijing, Hebei, Shandong and other places, it was found that his family owned or had registered farmland totaling about 12,000 mu, which was valued at 96,000 taels of silver according to the current market price.

Other valuable items include various porcelains, Suzhou and Hangzhou silks, and furniture made of rosewood and huanghuali wood, valued at approximately 40,000 taels of silver.

Zhou Quan paused for a moment and then made a summary.

"The above are the thirteen officials in Beijing alone. The amount of money confiscated from them, converted into silver, totals approximately 630,000 taels."

Six hundred and thirty thousand taels!
Zhu Youjian's pupils suddenly contracted.

He knew these officials were corrupt by nature, but he never expected that just these dozen or so targets he randomly selected in the capital would yield such an astonishing fortune from their very bones!
Six hundred and thirty thousand taels of silver!
This is just a preliminary estimate!
(End of this chapter)