First Minister of Ming Dynasty

"I am alone in Yingtian. My old wife and children are at home. They can dig in the soil. I don't mean to pretend to be poor to show others. The salary of the superior is enough, and I just leave some for the poor students at home. Whoever you check, you shouldn't check me."

Zheng Shiyuan was determined and indifferent, full of confidence.

Jiang Nan even suspected that she had really wronged him.

"Zheng Shilang, what's the matter with the blank official document issued by the household department?"

"This... I would like to apologize to the higher-ups. In fact, the Ministry of Household Affairs has never done this before. It's just that this time, in order to catch up with the work, the purchase amount for the Imperial Palace in the capital is too large, and the time is tight. I would rather buy more than not enough. After all, it is related to the higher-ups. His dignity. If there is indeed a mistake, I am willing to take it for the Lord!"

Guo Ying gritted her teeth, "You have suffered for the Lord, you are not worthy! Someone, search!"

The people from the Arch Guard Division immediately dispatched to check the small courtyard thoroughly.

Even digging up the soil under the pagoda tree, still nothing.

Zheng Shiyuan smiled lightly, "Guo Commander, and Jiang Tiju, I have a clear conscience. You say that I open a blank official document, which is considered dereliction of duty. I admit it. I can go to the Ministry of Criminal Justice with you at any time, to the Gongwei Division. But you said I am greedy for ink, and this is wronging a good person. All in all, no matter how I deal with it, I have no complaints!"

Guo Ying's face turned dark, and he gritted his teeth and said, "You are really a loyal minister!"

"Dare to be affectionate. The superior is the hero, and now it is the prosperous age of the Ming Dynasty. It is true that the bad habits of the past should not be retained. Take me to knock the mountains and shake the tigers, to warn others, to kill chickens and monkeys...I admit it, but I can't say that I am greedy, otherwise I can't go home to see my parents and folks?"

Guo Ying glanced at Jiang Nan, Jiang Nan paced slowly, turned around the room, and suddenly said: "Zheng Shilang, why is your room much smaller inside than outside?"

Zheng Shiyuan was stunned, and hurriedly said: "This is the old house I rented. It is said that it was originally owned by a merchant. This house is not as spacious as the newly built house... Although the superior has prepared residences for all the officials, and I, the servant, also has one, but the construction It will take some time for the house, let the people below live first, I am not in a hurry."

Jiang Nan nodded lightly, "Zheng Shilang is really a gentleman!"

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Guo Ying, Guo Ying immediately understood, and called a few guards to rush up and check the wall.

Immediately, someone brought the spade and pickaxe... At this moment, looking at Zheng Shiyuan again, he was obviously tense, and swallowed subconsciously... His actions naturally couldn't escape Jiang Nan's eyes.

"Smash it open!"

Bang bang bang!

Zheng Shiyuan stared at it with wide eyes, suddenly a brick shattered, and a lot of yellow and white things flowed out from it.

As the gold and silver flowed out, Zheng Shiyuan's face turned pale, and he remained motionless...

"Zheng Shilang, these... I'm afraid they were not left by the businessman who rented your house? He hid money and got you implicated?"

When Zheng Shiyuan heard this, he seemed to have grasped at straws.

"That's right, that's right, that's it! Jiang Tiju Mingjian!"

Jiang Nan didn't speak, but walked over, leaned over to pick up an ingot, looked at it carefully, and said with a smile: "That businessman is really careful, and even used the year name of Huaxi Wu, it's not easy! "

With just this one sentence, Zheng Shiyuan collapsed instantly, his body swayed, and he threw himself down, crying bitterly, "I, I, I didn't squander it! I, I have suffered for others!"

"This, it's all Ruan Hongdao's fault! He told me to find a way to make up for the shortfall, and he did it all!"

……

The scene of the arrest flashed in Jiang Nan's mind again and again, until now, she couldn't calm down. It's really shocking that a servant of the household department, with his hands and feet, can greed such a huge sum of money!

A full 18 taels, just placed in front of the officials, Li Menggeng pales in comparison to him...

Chapter 417 The Law of the Country Is Ruthless

Facing the gold and silver in front of him, Zheng Shiyuan completely broke his defenses. He knelt on the ground, wept bitterly, and his emotions collapsed... Facing this situation, Jiang Nan dared not show any mercy. Take out all the things in his stomach, and when he regains his composure, he will inevitably smash the cans, or find ways to protect those behind him.

This would undoubtedly make the case difficult.

"Nonsense! Do you know that Ruan Shangshu is an old man from Chuzhou. He followed his superiors before he crossed the river. He is in a high position and in charge of wealth and power. How can you be someone like you who can talk about it at will? You should be severely punished for being corrupt and breaking the law! With so much gold and silver, even if you wipe out your nine clans, it’s still not enough to pay for your crimes!”

Zheng Shiyuan turned pale with shock, and wanted to destroy the Nine Clans?

"I'm wronged! I'm really wronged! I didn't spend a tael of money... This, this is all to plug the hole of the household department!"

"Nonsense! Why is there a hole in the household department?"

"Yes! Yes! When Li Menggeng was Minister of the Household Department, there were holes!"

Jiang Nan immediately said: "At the beginning, hundreds of thousands of stolen money were recovered, and a batch of grain was allocated. The hole in the household department has already been filled."

Zheng Shiyuan sneered contemptuously, with disdain on his face, "Fill it? Why should it be filled? Li Menggeng's case was never investigated to the end. Later, the superior led the troops to deal with Chen Youliang. Ruan Hongdao was also responsible for coordinating military supplies. This hole was not only not filled, but even bigger Yes. He was going to use the name of conquest and consumption to wipe out the accounts... But who knew that the tax department was established later, and it was necessary to thoroughly investigate the deficit in the commercial tax of the household department. Ruan Hongdao really couldn't fill it up, so he forced us to think Way. He still, still..."

When he got here, Zheng Shiyuan stopped and didn't continue, obviously he was scared, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Jiang Nan gave Guo Ying a wink, and Guo Ying immediately asked someone to break the wall even more, and the gold and silver inside kept pouring out.

Every piece of ingot hit Zheng Shiyuan's fragile heartstrings.

Finished!

Hopeless!

This time it was completely dead.

"Do you still want to resist? The gold and silver alone are enough for your family to suffer, and you will be stigmatized for thousands of years. If you take the blame for others, who can save you?"

Facing Jiang Nan's offensive, Zheng Shiyuan couldn't bear it any longer, so he could only say: "Ruan Hongdao hinted that we would use the superior to ascend the throne to make up for the shortfall. He said that he said that the enthronement ceremony should be watched. There are many expenses, such as setting off fireworks. What, I don’t know how much I have released. I just took advantage of this opportunity to even out all the deficits, so I can explain it!”

When Jiang Nan heard this, he almost wanted to laugh.

This sounds reasonable at first glance, but in fact it is a lie to laymen. Zhu Yuanzhang is extra careful in spending, and Zhang Ximeng is even more meticulous in planning.Not at all willing to waste.

Everyone is staring at it, and it is really difficult to make up for the shortfall if they want to make money on the enthronement ceremony.

But there was no turning back when he opened the bow. Zheng Shiyuan couldn't bear the pressure of Ruan Hongdao, so he came up with an idea of ​​falsely publishing official documents.In normal times, it would definitely not be possible to do this, but the enthronement ceremony is very urgent, and there is no delay.

Under Zheng Shiyuan's instruction, someone took out five or six blank official documents for the purchase.

The Ministry of Household Affairs claims that it is buying as much as possible. After all, the consumption is huge, and the more things the better.

But when we got to the local area, we told the local officials that the road was exhausting, so we referred to the previous method and issued blank official documents.

When things get to this point, they get completely out of control.

The Ministry of Industry is blank, and the lower part is also blank, and there is still pressure to fill the gap. The top and bottom of the household department are all in motion.Some people want to mend holes, while others want to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune and fill their own pockets.

Zhu Yuanzhang has been too ruthless in these years, and the big guy has nothing left but honest work.It's better to take advantage of this god-given opportunity and make a good fortune. I don't know if there will be a chance in the future!

"You said that everyone has a share. Why do you have so much gold and silver here? Do they all have so much? Where is Shangshu Ruan?"

Jiang Nan stared at Zheng Shiyuan, "The matter has come to this point, if you still take chances, I'm afraid it will end badly!"

Zheng Shiyuan gritted his teeth, and had to continue: "The official document coming next is for my approval... I originally wanted to find Ruan Hongdao, but, but that old bastard, on the grounds of paying taxes and paying taxes, said that there are still many things to do. He wants to do it, especially the delivery with the tax department, he, he let me be responsible for these things... I, I think it's this old bastard, he deliberately wanted to harm me, and he avoided it!"

Jiang Nan sneered, "I let you say everything, Ruan Shangshu didn't actually participate, it was all done by you, and you are also the main culprit after investigation!"

Zheng Shiyuan's face was embarrassing, and he naturally knew that since this matter had been exposed and his criminal evidence had been found, there was absolutely no reason for it to be a fluke.

I'm not okay, don't think about any of you.

Zheng Shiyuan gritted his teeth and said: "The old bastard thinks he is smart, but there is a sum of money that I can't touch. That is the money donated to the superiors from all over the country to prepare for the grand ceremony... Among them, Timur and others donated about three dollars. Wan Guan, and Fang Guozhen, he not only donated a large amount, but also donated the money Shandong Maogui used to buy military equipment and supplies to his superiors. The military equipment was accounted for by the Ministry of War... But, Ruan Hongdao You bastard, you managed to deal with the matter with broken weapons, and kept all the extra money!"

Jiang Nan turned pale with shock, she couldn't help being surprised.

This is a major event involving the life and death of the Northern Expedition Central Route Army, and it also involves whether Mao Gui and Guan Duo, the two giants, can be successfully subdued!

Dare to start on this?

On the point of not being a human being, Ruan Hongdao really does not disappoint!

"Zheng Shiyuan, do you have evidence for what you said?"

"Evidence? There is evidence in Taicang, Hubu, and there are also those tattered weapons and armors that have already boarded the ship. You can check it out, and you will know it at a glance!" Gu Dou

"Of course we will investigate!" Jiang Nan said with a sneer, "Zheng Shiyuan, I would like to advise you to think for yourself and your family. You have to cooperate fully now to have hope and not harm your family. Take a chance, and take the consequences at your own peril!"

After Jiang Nan finished speaking, he hurriedly withdrew, followed by Guo Ying.

"What should we do now? Those ships may leave at any time. Once they leave, it will be difficult."

Guo Yingdao: "I will ask for an order now to detain the boat."

"Wait a minute." Jiang Nan said, "There are people from Mao Gui and Guan Duo who are always watching the pier where these ships are docked. We detain the ships casually, what if they cause misunderstanding? Do we want them to know that we are There is a huge greed here, dare to start with these weapons?"

Guo Ying was taken aback, it was really easy to say!

"Then, what should we do then?"

Jiang Nan pondered for a while, and unexpectedly came up with a solution.

"Send someone over immediately, and say that there is still a batch of donated warm clothes, and ask the ship to stop for a while, and then take the opportunity to transfer the cotton clothes to replace the tattered ordnance, and then let Guan Duo's people inspect and accept it, so as not to miss the news."

Guo Ying was so downcast, who would dare to underestimate this woman?Her heart is really thin!

Guo Ying naturally acted according to the plan, arresting people and arresting the boat, he was extremely busy.

Finally, they didn't work in vain, and the situation was finally under control.

And this big case involving many yamen, from top to bottom, was all involved, and it was presented in front of all civil and military officials.

Mountains of gold and silver shone with metallic luster.

There is so much money in a broken courtyard hut, it is simply ironic.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked to the front of a box with heavy steps, reached out and grabbed a silver ingot, which was heavy and pressed down, at least 100 taels.

"It's just such a thing. It can't be eaten or worn, but it can move people's hearts!" Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly, and shouted at the officials: "Look at it? How much is it? It's a full 100 taels! According to the old rules, Just this ingot of silver is enough to peel off two layers of skin of Zheng Shiyuan! Open your eyes and see, how much is this, and how many layers of skin does he have?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and roared sharply.

Facing the furious old Zhu, the officials were terrified, even Li Shanchang, the left prime minister, bowed his head deeply, not daring to face the emperor directly.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't mean to appease his anger at all, but became even more furious!

"Just a few days after our ascension to the throne, at the enthronement ceremony, so many people traveled thousands of miles, from Lingnan, from Hainan, from Wuxi, and from Koryo...they came here to support us as the emperor and let us rule the world. They are I feel that we are different from the emperor in Dadu! As a result, under our rule, such a big case happened!"

"How do you want us to face the people of the world? How do you want us to talk about China ZTE? You slapped so hard!" Zhu Yuanzhang roared like a wounded dragon, choosing to eat someone.

Zhu Yuanzhang who was so angry, even the closest people, had never seen him a few times.

Li Shanchang's forehead was sweating, and he knelt down in a hurry, and the other officials followed, kneeling down in a dense mass.

"I am guilty!"

"There is no need to apologize!"

Old Zhu sneered and said: "If you all plead guilty, then you are all innocent. We still understand this truth. Don't worry, as long as it is not involved, we will not kill innocent people indiscriminately!"

What you said made everyone even more panicky. Those who were not involved would be fine, but if they were involved, don't even think about running away!

Zhu Yuanzhang is finally going to kill!

This time, even Zhang Ximeng didn't want to stop him. Unlike the previous cases, Han Xiuniang's case involved the treatment of men and women, and the Wang family's case involved the collusion between merchants and scholars... There is no doubt that these cases have conflicting ideas. There are also conventions and bad habits in it.

Not only to undertake criminals, but also to change customs.

But the empty seal case, although it is also an old practice in the Yuan Dynasty, but to put it bluntly, it is a corruption of ink that harms the people, favoritism and fraud.

The facts of the case are clear and clear, and there is nothing to say.

At this time, if you want to alert the world, you have to kill enough people!

Zhu Yuanzhang said to Guo Ying: "Go, bring Ruan Hongdao!"

Guo Ying quickly agreed, and not long after, two soldiers from the Arch Guard Division dragged Ruan Hongdao up, and behind him, there were also the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of War, and hundreds of officials who were implicated, kneeling in a dark mass. !

"Ruan Hongdao, do you know the crime?"

Ruan Hongdao was stunned, and wept in a weeping voice, "Sir, I beg you, the guilty minister, please spare the minister's family!"

With a sullen face, Zhu Yuanzhang glared at the courtier who had followed him for many years, and squeezed out two words between his teeth: "Don't forgive!"

Chapter 418 Cut!

Another veteran minister, who has followed Lao Zhu for almost ten years, holds a high position and has many ministers.This kind of person can't even keep his family members. If he wants to die with him, it really makes many people feel cold and trembling.

Zhu Yuanzhang can feel the sadness of the death of the rabbit and the fox from these people...but what can be done?The law of the country is ruthless, if we spare you, why have you ever spared the people of the world?

Zhu Yuanzhang is a very decent person. Once he has identified a path, he will not turn back and never bend. If he hits the south wall, he will only collapse the wall and continue to stride forward.

With such a character, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't bother to explain anything, but Lao Zhu saw Zhang Ximeng again, and thought of his method of dealing with the Yu family.

I have to say that Zhang Ximeng did change Zhu Yuanzhang a lot.

"Mr. Li, you get up first, and Mr. Zhang, you also come here."

Zhu Yuanzhang called two prime ministers, both of them bowed their heads, Li Shanchang's heartbeat seemed to be faster, and his head was lower.

"Sit, you sit!" Zhu Yuanzhang covered the wooden box and let two people sit on it, with hundreds of gold and silver ingots under their buttocks.