Chapter 288 Prime Minister’s Secret Message
It’s decided that it’s you… it’s you…
In the inner hall of the Zhao family, the door was closed tightly. Mo Chou's understatement made Zhao feel as if he had been struck by lightning.
Oops... The flattery was slapped on the horse's hoof... The remaining half of the drunkenness in Zhao Duan's body suddenly disappeared.
Despondently, he pulled over a chair and sat down, glumly.
Mochou looked very happy. It was rare to see him deflated, and asked with a smile:
"Tell me, what did you write that caused His Majesty to react like this?"
"No comment."
Zhao Duan had a tigerish expression on his face and ignored her.
Forget it, I can find someone to inquire about it tomorrow... Mo Chou snorted and didn't care.
Zhao Duan was disappointed, but he still asked:
"What's going on with this Taicang silver mine?"
Seeing that he was talking about business, Mochou also stopped joking, worried that he had a grudge, and finally explained: "Okay, that sentence just now was mostly joking.
Your Majesty has a generous heart. How could he really punish you just because you wrote some crooked poem?
In my opinion, this matter is probably quite involved, and it is related to the New Deal. His Majesty did not trust others’ ability, so he approached you. "
Then, the female prime minister took her time and described the incident in detail.
Things are not complicated.
"Taicang Silver Mine" is a mine located south and west of the capital city within the jurisdiction of Taicang County. It can also be called a mine to be more vivid.
It belongs to the "Linfeng Road" adjacent to the capital.
It was mined by the imperial court, used to smelt silver, and then sent to the capital to be cast into silver ingots.
It is also old and one of the few large silver mines in Dayu.
The mine supervisor of the silver mine is also served by the Taicang County magistrate.
At about noon today, the Metropolitan Procuratorate received a letter of accusation from Taicang.
The whistleblower is a low-level official in the mine.
The letter mentioned that officials headed by the Taicang County Magistrate, in the name of "huohuo", were greedy for money, even groomed Jianghu people, and committed many dirty deeds.
"After Duke Yuan saw the letter, he took it very seriously and went to the palace in the afternoon to present it to His Majesty.
His Majesty was furious and had ordered an inspector to be sent to Taicang City to arrest the Taicang County Magistrate. However, whether the letter was authentic and, if there was corruption, who were involved... still needed to be sent out to investigate. "Mochou explained.
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, understood the spirit and said:
"Your Majesty is worried that the Taicang County Magistrate is not the only one involved in corruption?"
Mochou nodded, his eyes cold: "According to what the report letter said, this matter has been going on for several years. It existed when the late emperor was here. A mere seventh-grade county magistrate is really capable, and has lasted for several years. Nian can cover up the sky with one hand? Your Majesty is afraid that this Taicang County magistrate is just the tip of the iceberg... This is the key. "
Zhao Duan rubbed his chin and said:
"I do care about this report letter. It didn't come sooner or later, but it happened to come at this time. It's interesting."
Mochou was stunned for a moment and looked at him: "What do you mean by this?"
"It's nothing, I'm just curious," Zhao Duan said nonchalantly: "I am quite suspicious. Besides, this can also be explained. Your Majesty has become more and more popular in the past six months, and all the officials have seen it. .
After arresting Magistrate Wang last time, he even ordered a general amnesty for officials, which showed his courage...
In this way, officials outside the capital believe that Your Majesty is a wise king and are willing to take risks to report and surrender... This is reasonable and reasonable. "
Mochou looked at him deeply:
"There is one more thing. Regarding the 'Silver' itself, you should know why His Majesty attaches great importance to this case."
Zhao Duan was silent.
Of course he knows.
This is closely related to the "Three Golden Strategies" he proposed, which clearly switched Dayu's "copper coin standard" to the "silver standard".
This means that Dayu's "silver mine" suddenly became extremely important.
Moreover, the imperial court wanted to implement the New Deal, and according to his vision, it planned to open a "trade market" to attract merchants to enter the market and start the economic flywheel... But in the early stage, the imperial court still had to spend money first.
Therefore, the Taicang Silver Mine, as the "money bag" of the imperial court, was corrupted. At best, it was caused by moths.
On a larger scale, if it is not handled properly, it will drag down the "New Deal".
Even official corruption itself is also covered by the "Three Golden Strategies" and the implementation of the "Examination Method" for officials.
Zhao Duan was even vaguely suspicious that this matter was revealed at this time.
Is the case as simple as it appears?
"In short, although the Taicang corruption case only involves one mine, it is closely related to the New Deal. As the person who proposed the New Deal, you should know the weight of this matter." Mochou said seriously.
Zhao Duan rubbed his face, exhaled and smiled bitterly: "I can go, but won't it be dangerous to leave the capital? Not to mention some people in the court, just Kuang Fu She wants me to die. Want to Why don’t you give me a bodyguard? It’s good for me to look at Eunuch Hai..."
"..." Mochou resisted the urge to complain and smiled:
"But you are already in the Divine Chapter Realm. His Majesty must have told you that if a martial artist wants to step into a higher level, he must face the wind and rain head-on. It is not possible to hide."
That's right... If you don't hide or evade, you will be in a warrior's state of mind... The Shenzhang realm is not even qualified to make a furnace. I have to enter the "worldly" realm early to be able to practice dual cultivation with Zhenbao... Bah, only then can I return the dragon soul. People...
As for the danger... With my current level of cultivation, the Shenzhang monks can't kill me without capsizing the ship. Even if the strong ones in the "world" try to kill me, I can still survive for a while with my "Dragon Soul"...
As long as I'm given a chance to breathe, the worst I can do is crush the "Teleportation Jade Pendant" and flash back to the palace... It's not a big problem...
What's more, I have been fishing several times in a row, so Kuang Fushe has to consider whether he should continue to come here to die...
Many thoughts flickered, and Zhao Duan was about to agree.
Seeing that he remained silent, Mochou silently took out an imperial envoy badge and said seductively: "With this order, you can mobilize the troops of the local military camp and guards, and the local military camp commanders will also obey your orders. Now Is it safe enough?”
You didn't say it earlier... Naughty... Zhao Duan covered his waist badge with his big hand and spoke sternly: "To serve your majesty, I will die without regrets, let alone the enemy!"
Mochou rolled her eyes, turned around and left:
"You don't have much time left."
Zhao Duan saw her off in person, then suddenly remembered something and said:
"Am I paying a private visit incognito, or..."
Mo Chou said lightly: "Your Majesty said that imperial envoys should travel with integrity."
…
…
One night without words, the next day.
The aftermath of the battle between Buddhism and Taoism is still spreading in Beijing, and the people in the streets are discussing the feats of "Zhao Yama" yesterday.
In the literary circle, it is widely rumored that there were many poems at the "Zhangtai Banquet" last night.
Especially the song left by Zhao Duan when he was drunk is the most praiseworthy.
"Then Zhao Duan actually has such a poetic talent...did he really do it? Or was it written by someone else?" Someone was jealous.
"Haha, this poem is clearly written about yesterday's experience. Who can write it? Besides, it is not a rare thing to be high-spirited, inspired, and occasionally gain something...
What's more, in my opinion, this poem always seems to be missing a section, the charm is not complete, and there are many shortcomings, so it cannot be regarded as a good work. "Someone commented.
More people still talk about the phrase "The emperor's beauty is my boy".
What you appreciate is not poetry, but gossip.
"Bah, you have a bad face! What are you showing off for?"
The readers collectively turned into lemons.
But in the higher-ups of the officialdom, the empress's imperial edict to send Zhao Duan as an imperial envoy to investigate the corruption case in the Taicang Silver Mine triggered a deeper turmoil.
…
Li Mansion, in the study.
When Li Yanfu, the prime minister of the court, sat behind a long table, he wrote a letter:
"...Zhao Duan...you must wait...be sure not to lose..."
After a while.
Li Yanfu, who had already shown his old-fashioned appearance and was well-educated, sealed the envelope with his own hands. He picked up a small hammer in his right hand with bulging veins and gently tapped a delicate small clock next to the table.
The study door was quickly pushed open, and Li Yinglong walked in, bowed and said:
"Father."
Li Yanfu took trembling steps, walked around the long table filled with calligraphy and painting official documents, handed over the written letter, and said calmly: "Send the retainer to secretly send it to Taicang and deliver it to the envoy of Linfeng. "
Li Yinglong suddenly raised his head and his eyes lit up: "Father, have you finally figured it out? Are you going to deal with that Zhao Duan?"
"Ask less and do more." Li Yanfu's eyes were cold, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking.
Li Yinglong shuddered, did not dare to say anything more, and left in response.
The old Xiangguo, with his messy beard and stubble as spiky as a hedgehog, stood in the crack of the study door with his hands folded, letting the autumn sunshine outside shine on his face.
There was a hint of worry in those narrowed eyes, and a bit of cruelty:
"Taicang..."
Suddenly, an imperial edict and several letters floated like snowflakes towards the small Taicang.
…
A few days later.
Linfeng Road, inside a government office.
The doors and windows were closed, and sitting beside the long "conference table" were many ministers such as the envoy, the envoy... and the local prefect.
"Crack."
The chief envoy who was in charge of a province (province) threw a letter on the table, leaned back on a high-backed chair, glanced coldly at the court officials in the room, and said in a cold voice:
"Let's talk about it. The imperial envoy is coming. How to deal with it?"
(End of chapter)