Chapter 152 What if I have a guilty conscience?
Qipan Street is located in front and behind Daming Gate.
To the east of Daming Gate, there are government offices such as the Zongren Mansion, the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Husbandry, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Industry.
On the west side are the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, and the Fusi and other government offices in Jinyiwei North Town.
At this moment, the east side of Daming Gate is extremely lively.
When Liu Jin and Tu Fu, led by Dongchang Fanzi and the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, rushed into the Yamen of the Third Department.
The officials on duty in these three yamen all stared blankly in shock.
This is the first time since the founding of the Ming Dynasty that so many Dongchang fans and supervisory censors raided the three yamen.
Many people are in shock and cannot react.
"What are you doing?! Why did you break into the Ministry of War Yamen without permission!"
"Bingbu Yamen, are you allowed to be so presumptuous?!"
Yu Shen, the left minister of the Ministry of War, who was on duty at the Bingbu Yamen, stepped forward and stopped in front of everyone.
Yu Shen was a Jinshi in the second year of Jingtai. It was in this year that Yu Qian abolished the North and South Ranking system.
As a result, in this year's Jinshi list, there were overwhelmingly more scholars from the south than from the north.
In the list of Jinshi this year, there are a total of 201 Jinshi, and 174 of them are all from the south.
Among them, there are as many as 34 Jinshi from Yu Qian's hometown, Zhezhou.
And this Yu Shen is Yu Qian's fellow villager in Qiantang County. He has taken advantage of the unranked imperial examination in the second year of Jingtai.
After becoming a Jinshi, Yu Shen entered the Imperial Palace and became a censor, and then patrolled Yuzhou and Ganzhou.
In the sixth year of Jingtai, under the arrangement of Yu Qian, Yu Shen entered the Ministry of War, served as a doctor in the Ministry of War, and took up a position in the Department of Cleaning and Officials of the Arsenal.
In the first year of Tianshun, Emperor Yingzong was restored, the Yi Yuqian clan and Yu Shen were imprisoned.
The following year, he was demoted to the county magistrate of Jinchang County and went to Xiangzhou.
In the first year of Chenghua, after Emperor Xianzong ascended the throne, he vindicated Yu Qian and at the same time pardoned several officials who had been demoted because of Yu Qian's succession.
Yu Shen was also pardoned, restored to his original post, and recalled to Beijing.
In the third year of Chenghua, he was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of War and patrolled Jinzhou.
When Yu Shen was on patrol in Jinzhou, he visited Datong, Xuanfu and other border towns in Jinzhou.
He also took over all the fields privately cultivated by the generals on the border of the town and turned them into official farmland to fund border defense expenses. He was known as a virtuous man.
In the 16th year of Chenghua, Yu Shen was recalled to Beijing and served as Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War until now.
So Yu Shen is quite prestigious not only within the Yamen of the Ministry of War, but also in the entire capital.
At this moment, he was scolding Dongchang Fanzi and the supervisory censors with a straight face and a stern expression.
“Are you trying to rebel by trespassing into a military powerhouse?!”
These scoldings were really useful, and the censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate were hesitant for a moment.
Liu Jin, the director of Dongchang Factory, walked out with a smile and said in a strange way: "Who do we think we are? It turns out to be Mr. Yu."
"Sir Yu is so majestic, but you don't have to do it. Use these words to scare us, you put this hat on , We can't afford it."
"My family and Mr. Tu came to check the accounts of the Ministry of War under the order of the emperor."
"Sir Yu reacted so fiercely. Is there something wrong with you?”
Liu Jin's rhetorical question immediately caused Yu Shen's expression to change drastically, and he subconsciously opened his mouth to retort: "How is that possible?!"
"How can I have a ghost in my heart?!"
"Stop spouting nonsense." !”
“That’s the case” Liu Jin said sadly. He smiled and said: "Then please, my lord, bring out all the accounts of the Ministry of War from previous years."
At this time, Tu Yu, who had been standing aside silently, also spoke in agreement: "Yes, Mr. Yu, we are also on His Majesty's orders to serve His Majesty."
"Since Mr. Yu has a clear conscience, please take out all the accounts of the Ministry of War for the past ten years."
"Please don't embarrass us or make things difficult for us."
"If we finish the investigation earlier, we can leave earlier and stop causing trouble to the Ministry of War."
Yu Shen secretly clenched his fists, his face began to slowly turn pale, and a thin layer of blood oozed out on his face. Cold sweat.
If he had a clear conscience, Yu Shen would naturally not be afraid of the investigation by the Dongchang and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
But the question is, what if he has a guilty conscience?
Yu Shen is under great pressure now. It would be great if Liu Daxia, Minister of War, was here...
Yu Shen suddenly remembered that not long ago, His Majesty summoned Liu Daxia into the palace. discussion.
All this was planned by His Majesty.
If this is the case, aren’t these Dongchang fans and supervisory censors coming to the questions with answers?
Suddenly, Yu Shen's heart was filled with despair.
Yu Shenqiang supported his weak legs, sat back in his seat, and forced a smile.
"Master Tu is right, please take out all the account books of the Ministry of War."
"Yes, Mr. Yu."
The clerk of the Ministry of War's Yamen, bow. He nodded and went to the warehouse to move the account books.
In the yamen of the Ministry of War, other doctors, clerks, and directors began to turn pale. They sat slumped on the spot, and their hands and feet began to tremble uncontrollably.
Seeing this scene, Liu Jin couldn't hide the smile on her face, her eyes lit up with excitement, and she couldn't wait to have the Ministry of War's account books checked.
Tu Fu's expression darkened, knowing that this settlement operation would, as he thought, involve many officials in the capital.
Soon, the capital will once again be a scene of rivers of blood.
The Ministry of War was filled with mourning, and many officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs also fell into a huge panic. All of them had their heads lowered and their faces drooped, as if they were mourning for their heirs.
Only the officials of the Ministry of Industry are in better condition and are more cooperative with the review of the East Factory and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Just when the Dongchang and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were reviewing the accounts of the Third Department, the entire officialdom of the capital was about to be in a commotion.
To the west of Daming Gate, the generals from the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion saw Dongchang Fanzi and Supervisory Censors stationed in the three yamen.
These generals were whispering to each other and discussing.
There are those who rejoice in misfortune, there are those who are worried and fearful, there are also those who mourn the death of rabbits and foxes.
"Those civil servants in the Six Ministries are in trouble again! Let me see, why did they only go to the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment?"
"Even the capital The censors from the Procuratorate have all been dispatched. Your Majesty What are you trying to investigate?”
“No matter what we investigate, a lot of people will definitely die.”
“That’s enough! Aren’t you afraid that something will happen to these civil servants? ”
"What are you afraid of?! The civil servants are so greedy that we can't get anything out of them, so what if they are found on us?!"
"..."
Beijing Among them, one wave has not subsided, and another wave has arisen.
The accounts of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Accounts, and the Ministry of Works are very complex and numerous, making it dazzling.
In particular, Zhu Youtang still needs to investigate for ten years, and the data is even more huge.
But fortunately, Zhu Youtang only asked for an inventory of arms data such as armor and firearms, which greatly reduced their workload.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate was dispatched in full force, and a large number of Dongchang fans were assisted.
Using the human sea tactic, two hours later, the Metropolitan Procuratorate finally completed the inventory of the accounts involving arms among the three departments.
And re-registered it and recorded it completely.
You won’t know if you don’t check, but you will be shocked if you check.
Tu Yan looked at the data in his hand, sweating continuously.
He finally knew now why Zhu Youtang suddenly ordered them to check these accounts.
He did not dare to hesitate at all, and immediately went to the palace with Liu Jin and brought the newly made account book!
In the Hongde Hall, Xu Pu, Liu Daxia and Jia Jun have been discussing with Zhu Youtang for two hours.
All the memorials piled up in Zhu Youtang's place during this period were cleared by him.
Many memorials had clearly been approved by the cabinet, but Zhu Youtang just wanted them to discuss them again.
In these two hours, Liu Daxia and Jia Jun were able to satisfy Ge Lao's addiction.
The key is that after Zhu Youtang let them finish the discussion and gave suggestions, he did not adopt their suggestions, but made his own decision.
This made them feel a little uncomfortable.
And as time slowly passed, they gradually realized that something was not quite right.
They were scared and anxious, and felt like they were sitting on pins and needles, like a ray of light on their backs, or a lump in their throats.
It felt like there was a sword hanging over their heads that could fall off at any time.
Just when the uneasiness in the hearts of the three people reached its peak, the sword hanging above their heads finally fell down.
"Your Majesty, Tu Tong, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Liu Jin, the director of the East Factory, would like to see you."
Zhu Youtang put away the memorial he was discussing and his expression became serious. : "Let them in."
"It's Your Majesty."
After the eunuch of the Supervisor of Ceremonies came out of the palace to summon the messenger, Tu Yu and Liu Jin walked in immediately.
"The humble minister Tu Jun, pays homage to Your Majesty."
"I am here to pay homage to Your Majesty."
"No courtesy."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Tu Tong saluted Zhu Youtang, he took out three booklets from his arms and presented them to Zhu Youtang respectfully.
"Your Majesty, I have checked the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry over the years in accordance with your Majesty's order."
"And in these accounts, all items related to weapons and armor , the data on firearms and other munitions are extracted separately and bound into a volume."
"Please take a look at it!"
As soon as Tu Yu said these words, Xu Pu and Liu Daxia suddenly looked horrified.
The two of them trembled, and most of their bodies were already weak.
If it weren't for the support of the chair, the two of them might not have collapsed directly to the ground.
Jia Jun also acted very surprised, but he felt more uneasy than fear.
Zhu Youtang did not rush to take the account book from Tu Tong's hand. Instead, he looked at the three ministers sitting and took note of their performance.
"Three ministers, do you have anything to say about these accounts?"
Xu Pu forced a smile, touched the cold sweat on his forehead, and pretended to be calm: "Haha, your majesty's audit of the accounts is reasonable, we What can you say?”
“Yes, your majesty wants to see it, just go ahead and see it.”
Liu Daxia lowered his head slightly, lowered his eyes, and said in a deep voice.
Jia Jun kept shaking his head: "Your Majesty, I...I have nothing to say."
Zhu Youtang's expression became even colder. Are these old foxes betting that they can't see the fishiness between the accounts?
Zhu Youtang said no more, took the three pamphlets from Tu Tong's hand, opened them together, and compared them with the accounting data of the three departments.
(End of this chapter)