Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Chapter 3909 Everyone's an Acquaintance

“This man, Feng Youlai, helped me arrange some officials, and he also sent people to the Ministry of Works to ask me to take care of them.”

Pan Liangui asked, "Do you have any financial dealings with them?"

Qin Hui shook his head: "No. I've never even met him alone; I've only occasionally sent trusted confidants to invite him for drinks."

"You think you can collude just by drinking? Who would believe that there's no money involved!" Pan Lianggui retorted angrily.

Qin Hui chuckled and said, "At the time, I was the Minister of Works, and he was just a low-ranking official in charge of selecting officials. How could we possibly have any financial dealings?"

"He helps arrange positions for the people I want to promote."

"The people he wants to send to make money can be placed in my Ministry of Works."

"It's just a favor to each other; there's no need for anyone to give money to anyone else."

Wei Liangchen asked, "Who are the people that Feng Youlai arranged for you?"

Qin Hui began to confess about his cronies:

"Zheng Yinian was the son of Zheng Juzhong, the former prime minister of the Song Dynasty, and the grandson of Wang Gui, the former prime minister of the Song Dynasty."

“This man is a relative of mine. Once he was transferred to Guangxi to serve as an official, but he was afraid of the miasma and did not want to go to the post.”

"They asked me to help them find a solution, and I will send someone to contact Feng Youlai."

"After the two sides reached an agreement, Zheng Yinian was transferred to Shaanxi to serve as a prefectural judge."

“Feng Youlai also placed a confidant named Yao Xu into the Ministry of Works, and I transferred him to Jiangnan to carry out the work of returning farmland to lakes.”

"That bastard Yao Xu is truly insatiable. He dares to act recklessly even though returning farmland to lakes is an officially designated national policy."

"If it weren't for my trusted confidant's careful actions in stopping him at the crucial moment, this fellow would have been beheaded long ago!"

Wei Liangchen asked, "Did Zheng Yinian also embezzle and break the law?"

Qin Hui chuckled and said, "What do you think?"

Wei Liangchen continued to inquire about the details, and Liu Daming, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, quickly took notes.

After questioning them about the first transaction, they were then questioned about their second transaction.

"Duan Fu, my fellow townsman, is Mi Fu's son-in-law. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, he served as a sinecure official in the Hanlin Academy."

"He'd been idle for several years, and he couldn't stand it anymore, so he asked me to help him get a job outside the area. He contacted many people, not just me,"

Qin Hui laughed provocatively.

"He must have also contacted Wei Yingshi."

Upon hearing the name "Wei Yingshi," the officials of the Three Judicial Offices breathed a few more heavily.

When Zhao Yuan was serving as an official in Jinzhou, he encountered a drought. Qian Chen was ordered to buy grain and went to the Wei family.

After Zhao Yuan occupied Hanzhong, he was short of food and smuggled grain from Xiangyang to buy it. It was the Wei family who helped to make the connection.

The Wei family even served as an intelligence hub; news from Huainan and Henan was first sent to the Wei family for aggregation.

In his early years, Wei Yingshi worked with Shi Yuangong in intelligence and even served as the first Director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, essentially Shi Yuangong's confidant and successor.

Because he was ill and recuperated for several years, his promotion was severely delayed, but he still managed to become the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Wei Yingshi was not only Shi Yuangong's man, but also had a very good personal relationship with Qian Chen.

Pan Liangui asked, "How did Duan Fu manage to establish a relationship with Vice Minister Wei?"

Qin Hui laughed and said, "He is Mi Fu's son-in-law. Wei Yingshi's grandfather was a close friend of Mi Fu when he was young."

Pan Liangui then asked, "Are you sure that Duan Fu and Vice Minister Wei have financial dealings?"

Qin Hui thought for a moment and said, "I'm not really sure whether they gave money or gifts."

"But Wei Yingshi must have helped pass on the message, because when Duan Fu was sent to a post outside the capital, he got a very lucrative job."

"This isn't thanks to me; I only helped secure a regular official position."

Chapter 3910 Most of the Ministry of Works are My People

Thank goodness!

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. If it was just because of family ties, it wouldn't be a big offense to put in a good word for them.

Although Wei Yingshi was only the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, his involvement was far too extensive.

He was not only Shi Yuangong's confidant and successor, but also had a close personal relationship with Qian Chen, and was also connected with that group of nobles and military officials!

Wei Liangchen asked, "After Duan Fu was transferred to another post, did you still have contact with him?"

Qin Hui said, "We didn't have much contact before, but during his second transfer, he happened to become Fan Tong's subordinate."

"Of course you know Fan Tong. We were classmates and roommates back then."

"Speaking of friendship, Fan Tong was closer to you back then, wasn't he?"

"Didn't he come to you to pull some strings?"

Wei Liangchen roared, "Tell me the details of the case!"

"Shouldn't you recuse yourself from this case?" Qin Hui laughed. "You, me, and Fan Tong are all old friends from the same hometown, classmates, and dormitories."

“Even Duan Fu is from the same hometown as you, how could you not know him?”

Everyone looked at Wei Liangchen.

Wei Liangchen slowly rose and bowed to the other officials: "You may continue the interrogation. I will go to the palace to consult His Majesty."

Pan Liangui looked at Qin Hui: "Continue."

After Qin Hui began to confess, he became completely reckless, appearing as if he had nothing to lose.

He was no longer afraid or nervous, and became more and more relaxed, even yawning: "I'm so sleepy, my mind is foggy. If I don't get some sleep, I might make mistakes or omit things."

The trial will take a long time; Qin Hui really needs a good rest.

Pan Liangui said, "Apart from Vice Minister Wei, all of the people you mentioned are currently serving as local officials."

"And once you've confessed to the involvement of two officials in Beijing, you can go to sleep."

Qin Hui yawned again, completely resigned, and said, "Those officials in the Ministry of Works, who joined before I was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, you can arrest and interrogate them at will."

"Haha, apart from the Yellow River system, the rest are all my people."

"Son of a bitch!"

Pan Liangui was furious. Qin Hui was too arrogant and despicable, having corrupted half of the Ministry of Works by his own power.

……

The Ministry of Works' office appeared somewhat empty.

Li Gang had only been promoted to Minister of Works for a few days when this incident occurred, resulting in 60% of his subordinate officials being taken away.

They all went to Dali Temple for tea.

“The Ministry of Works cannot be in disarray; His Majesty must be asked to quickly replenish the ranks of officials!” said Zhao Fengji, the Left Vice Minister.

In terms of seniority and achievements in the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Fengji far surpassed Li Gang, not to mention his great merit in managing the Yellow River.

The reason why he was subordinate to Li Gang was because Zhao Yuan was deliberately suppressing the "meritorious officials group".

The current cabinet has become a cabinet of meritorious officials.

Of the seven cabinet ministers, six had served Zhao Yuan before he captured Xiangyang, and the other had joined him during the Northern Expedition to Kaifeng.

These people have already formed a group on their own, so we need to control the Six Ministries again and mix in some scum to become ministers.

Of course, although Zhao Fengji did not become a minister, his official rank was higher than that of Li Gang, who was a minister.

For his great achievements in managing the Yellow River, he not only received the title of "Special Envoy," but was also appointed as the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince and granted the title of Viscount as a civil official.

Therefore, Li Gang's official position was extremely difficult. If he encountered Zhao Fengji outside the Ministry of Works, he would have to make way for his subordinates and pay his respects.

Li Gang sighed and said, "The Ministry of Personnel is also under investigation; the current Director of the Personnel Selection Department has been arrested."

Chapter 3911 Everything's in Chaos

"The previous Director of the Ministry of Personnel was transferred to Shandong, and the Ministry of Justice has already sent people to Shandong to arrest him."

"The Ministry of Personnel is in chaos, how can we quickly fill vacancies in the Ministry of Works?"

Zhao Fengji said, "We can only ask His Majesty and the Cabinet to bypass the Ministry of Personnel and select officials themselves."

……

Bai Chongyan, the Minister of Personnel, is currently having dinner with Zhao Yuan in the palace.

"Sun Rugui, the Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy, is he one of your men?" Zhao Yuan asked, chewing on mutton.

Bai Chongyan put down his chopsticks: "Indeed, he was promoted by me. This man was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the first cohort of the Ming Dynasty. He was quite capable when he served as an official in the provinces, and was known for his upright character and incorruptibility."

"Could his arrest be a case of Qin Hui making baseless accusations?"

Zhao Yuan said, "Sun Rugui confessed a few hours ago."

Bai Chongyan was so shocked that his mouth dropped open, staring blankly at the emperor.

Zhao Yuan sighed, "I'm relieved that you didn't get involved. But I'm also disappointed that you've managed the Ministry of Personnel so poorly."

"Zeng Xiaoduan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, has just been arrested as well."

“The Sun Rugui you promoted secretly got involved with Zeng Xiaoduan. They colluded behind your back to embezzle public funds and cultivate their own faction.”

"How could Zeng Xiaoduan do this?" Bai Chongyan asked incredulously.

When Zhao Yuan served as the prefect of Jinzhou, he once defended a scholar, restored the reputation of his mother, and even helped him recover his family property.

This scholar is Zeng Xiaoduan, who has been promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel this year.

When Zhao Yuan learned that Zeng Xiaoduan had been implicated, he was so angry that he smashed his inkstone in the palace.

The anger from being betrayed was harder to accept than hearing that Min Ja-soon was involved.

"Your Majesty," a eunuch called from the courtyard gate.

Zhao Yuan asked, "What is it?"

The eunuch replied, "Zeng Xiaoduan's preliminary confession has been urgently sent by the Three Judicial Offices."

"How could it be so fast?" Zhao Yuan asked in surprise.

The eunuch said, "According to officials from the Three Judicial Offices, Zeng Xiaoduan cried bitterly after being arrested, claiming that he was ungrateful and had let His Majesty down."

"He answered whatever was asked, and even added his own answers to anything that wasn't asked, willing to die quickly to repay His Majesty's kindness."

"Sigh, bring it here." Zhao Yuan sighed.

The eunuch presented the confession, and Zhao Yuan found it hard to bear reading it.

The confession revealed that Zeng Xiaoduan first broke the law eight years ago because he helped his second wife's younger brother get a government position.

At that time, he had not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. Unable to resist his wife's persistent pleas, he used his connections to illegally transfer from a clerk to an official position.

If it ended here, it wouldn't really be a big deal.

But when his younger brother found out, he also came to demand an official position.

He also said that even before his mother died, she wanted to see him and his brothers succeed, and went on and on, crying and recounting his story.

Zeng Xiaoduan thought of his deceased mother and then of his wife's younger brother becoming an official. Why couldn't his own younger brother do the same?

He first secured a minor official position for his younger brother in their hometown, and within a year, the position was promoted several ranks.

He even took advantage of the opportunity to visit his hometown to impress local officials to tamper with his brother's file, directly promoting him to a first-class official, and successfully transferring him to a higher rank the following year.

Since both his brother-in-law and his own brother had become officials, his brother-in-law naturally couldn't be left behind.

When Zeng Xiaoduan was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, he went on a rampage of promoting three of his relatives, including his brother-in-law, who had even become a prefectural judge.

Arranging for a relative to serve as a seventh-rank prefectural judge was not something Zeng Xiaoduan could do alone; he had to collude with the official in charge of the selection of officials.