bookrandom Chapter 156 Cold and Alluring
Chapter 156 Cold and Alluring
Ultimately, under the investigation of the Dali Temple, the silver embezzled by the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture over many years, as well as the tax silver deliberately withheld from the court, were all found by the search team. The prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture had hidden not just a few hundred thousand taels of silver, but the equivalent of several years' worth of tax silver from several remote and impoverished prefectures.
Great court meeting.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review stepped forward and presented a memorial to the Emperor concerning the tax silver case of Qingzhou Prefecture. Even though he was somewhat prepared, Emperor Jian'an couldn't help but fly into a rage when he saw the details of the Qingzhou Prefecture Prefect's embezzlement over the years.
Immediately, all the court officials knelt down and cried out, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Emperor Jian'an looked down at the kneeling courtiers below, his anger gradually subsiding. He then spoke, issuing an edict to execute the prefect of Qingzhou in the autumn and exile his family three thousand miles away.
Next, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stepped forward and reported to Emperor Jian'an the embezzled funds seized from the Prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture, which had been tallied by the Ministry of Revenue.
A total of one million taels was allocated, with six hundred thousand taels going into the national treasury. As for the remaining four hundred thousand taels…
It then went into Emperor Jian'an's private treasury.
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue reported the matter with a normal expression, and the other court officials did not find anything wrong with Emperor Jian'an putting the confiscated embezzled funds into his private treasury.
At this point, the case of Qingzhou Prefecture's tax revenue seemed to have come to an end.
However, any court official who was more perceptive could sense from this case that the Ministry of Revenue was short of money, or that the national treasury was empty.
Even though the national treasury had just been replenished with 600,000 taels of silver, the amount of food and supplies needed by the soldiers stationed in the north to defend against the northern barbarians was not small. After purchasing these, not much of the 600,000 taels would be left.
However, these matters were not under their jurisdiction, so let the officials in the Ministry of Revenue deal with them themselves.
Immediately afterward, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review spoke again, impeaching the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue for having a secret connection with the Prefect of Qingzhou. The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue immediately stepped forward, knelt down, and wept bitterly in the direction of Emperor Jian'an, claiming that he was innocent. However, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review dared to speak out because he had solid evidence. He presented Emperor Jian'an with physical evidence of the Prefect of Qingzhou bribing the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. After reading it, Emperor Jian'an directly issued an edict to dismiss the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue from his post and then ordered the guards to drag him out of the main hall.
For a moment, the entire hall fell silent.
All the officials in the court lowered their heads and remained silent, not out of fear of Emperor Jian'an's recent angry reprimand of the Assistant Minister of Revenue. With the Assistant Minister of Revenue dismissed, the position had become vacant, and some officials were starting to have second thoughts.
The position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was only a fifth-rank official position. In the capital, fifth-rank officials were commonplace. However, there were differences between different fifth-rank officials. The Ministry of Revenue was the purse of the entire court. Taxes from all over the country had to be transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. Other departments that wanted money to do business also had to go to the officials of the Ministry of Revenue.
Now that the position of Assistant Minister of Revenue has become vacant, how could some court officials not be tempted? Those with low-ranking positions want to be promoted, while those with high-ranking positions want to place their own people into the Ministry of Revenue.
Soon, someone couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward, bowing to Emperor Jian'an and saying, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the nation's tax revenue, and the position of Assistant Minister is of utmost importance. I recommend Minister Wang, the Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Revenue. Minister Wang is honest and self-disciplined, knowledgeable in practical matters, and is most suitable for the position of Assistant Minister."
Upon hearing this, other court officials were not to be outdone and stepped forward one after another, wanting to appoint their own people as assistant ministers in the Ministry of Revenue. As for the third- and fourth-rank officials, they all remained silent. Such a small matter did not require their instructions; their subordinates knew what to do.
Watching the court officials below argue heatedly, Emperor Jian'an finally spoke up: "In this case of tax silver in Qingzhou Prefecture, the credit for discovering that the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture was withholding tax silver and oppressing the people belongs mainly to Minister Zheng."
Although Emperor Jian'an did not reveal Zheng Hao's name, when the case of the tax silver of Qingzhou Prefecture was exposed in the court that day, all the court officials saw Zheng Hao's name on the memorials submitted by the Censorate, so they immediately remembered that he was a compiler of the Hanlin Academy who also served as a censor.
"Furthermore, the fact that Zheng Aiqing was able to discover the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture's wrongdoings in just a few days during his visit home, collect evidence of his crimes, and sort out the extra taxes and levies that had been added to Qingzhou Prefecture shows that Zheng Aiqing is intelligent, calm, and skilled in investigation and has a connection with the Ministry of Revenue."
Upon hearing this, the court officials immediately understood that Emperor Jian'an wanted to elevate the newly appointed top scholar. However, how could a mere scholar from a humble background leap two ranks in just a few months and surpass the newly appointed scholars from aristocratic families?
A courtier spoke up, earnestly advising, "Your Majesty, you must not!"
"Zheng Xiuzhuan has been in the Hanlin Academy for less than three months. He was first appointed as a censor, holding real power and supervising all officials. This is already a violation of ancestral rules and goes against the noble name of the Hanlin Academy. If he is now promoted two ranks to the position of assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, even with his merit in the Qingzhou Prefecture tax case, it will be difficult to silence public opinion."
Someone chimed in, "I think Lord Li's words make sense!"
"I second the proposal!"
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Looking at the crowd of court officials below who were desperately trying to stop him, fearing that he would promote Zheng Hao to the position of Assistant Minister of Revenue, Emperor Jian'an's expression remained unreadable.
After a moment, he spoke: "What you say makes sense, my dear minister, and I also have my own plans."
"In the case of the tax silver in Qingzhou Prefecture, Minister Zheng has made contributions. I am fair in rewarding and punishing, and I must reward him. However, Minister Zheng has only recently entered the court and is still young. He should accumulate experience and merits and should not be promoted too quickly." Emperor Jian'an changed the subject: "But from the case of the tax silver in Qingzhou Prefecture, it can be seen that the Ministry of Revenue's accounts are chaotic and unclear, and the national treasury is still empty."
"From this day forward, Minister Zheng will temporarily assume the post of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and will supervise the Ministry of Revenue with the power of an Inspector General, to investigate and verify the tax accounts of various prefectures and cities, and ensure that there are no errors."
After the grand court assembly ended and Emperor Jian'an left, many court officials followed suit and emerged from the main hall.
The Minister of Revenue walked past the Minister of Personnel. Although there was no mockery on his face, the corners of his lips were slightly raised. He said to the Minister of Personnel, "All the officials have left. Why hasn't Minister Zhao left yet?"
Seemingly oblivious to the smile on the Minister of Revenue's face, the Minister of Personnel said with a calm expression, "I suddenly remembered that there is something I haven't reported to His Majesty yet. I need to go to the Imperial Study later."
Upon hearing this, the Minister of Revenue smiled slightly and said, "Lord Zhao, please go ahead with your business. I'll take my leave first."
The Minister of Personnel said, "Lord Li, please wait."
As the other person's figure gradually disappeared into the distance, the Minister of Personnel remained expressionless, but upon closer inspection, one would notice that his eyes were gradually turning cold.
After a moment, he turned and walked toward the Imperial Study.
About half an hour later, the Minister of Personnel came out of the Imperial Study. It was unknown what he and Emperor Jian'an had discussed in the Imperial Study, but he returned to his residence by carriage without any change in expression.
Upon returning to his residence, he went to his study and dismissed everyone. Then, the Minister of Personnel's face darkened completely, and a shadow crossed his eyes.
He stared at the empty wall in front of him. After a moment, he gripped the inkstone on the table, his hand gripping it tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
You little brat, you've gone too far!
With a loud bang, the servant outside the study trembled at the noise coming from inside. The Minister of Personnel was furious, and he dared not go in.
After a while, the old and steady voice of the Minister of Personnel came from the study: "Someone, the inkstone has been knocked over, come in and clean it up."
Zheng Hao returned home after finishing his duties at the Hanlin Academy, and the imperial edict arrived at his residence shortly afterward.
Gu Lin and Zhao's wife happened to be at home when the eunuch came to deliver the imperial edict. They immediately followed Zheng Hao to receive the edict.
After kneeling and bowing, and waiting for the eunuch who delivered the decree to leave, Gu Lin looked at the bright yellow imperial edict in the young man's hand and a hint of doubt crossed his face: "What is the Qingzhou Prefecture tax silver case mentioned in the imperial edict? Didn't His Majesty just appoint you as the concurrently serving censor a few days ago? How come you've been temporarily appointed as the assistant director of the Ministry of Revenue so soon?"
Gu Lin was not a hothouse flower, naively ignorant. Emperor Jian'an's decree appointing Zheng Hao as acting Vice Minister of Revenue was certainly not a genuine appointment. With so many officials in the court, surely there was no one suitable for the position?
This official position was very likely intended for Zheng Hao. As for why he wasn't directly appointed as the Assistant Minister of Revenue, the only thing Gu Lin could think of was that Zheng Hao lacked the qualifications to command respect.
Holding the bright yellow silk cloth, Zheng Hao looked at it for a moment, then looked up at the young man beside him and said, "Uncle Gu, let's go to the study to talk."
Seeing that they were about to discuss serious matters, Zhao's wife and the others left without disturbing them.
Seeing that he was surrounded by servants, Gu Lin nodded to Zheng Hao and walked with him to the study.
Upon entering the study, Zheng Hao casually placed the imperial edict on the table, next to a half-damp inkstone. He was completely unconcerned that the ink on the inkstone would soil the edict.
Thinking of Zheng Hao's respectful acceptance of the imperial decree, Gu Lin's lips twitched slightly, but he did not forget the important matter he wanted to ask.
"Tell me quickly, what have you been doing lately that made His Majesty issue two imperial edicts in a row?"
Moreover, neither of the two imperial edicts were ordinary rewards; they were promotions for him.
Picking up a memorial from the table, Zheng Hao walked around behind it and approached the young man sitting there. He handed the memorial to Gu Lin, saying, "This matter is complicated and cannot be explained in a few words. Uncle Gu, please read the memorial while I explain."
Without the rules of this era that men were in charge of external affairs and women were in charge of internal affairs, and that women were not allowed to interfere in men's political affairs, Gu Lin took the memorial, opened the slightly stiff paper, and lowered his head to read it.
The more you look at the young man, the more his brows furrow, and the fingers gripping the paper tighten slightly, revealing a faint white tinge to his fair, slightly pink fingertips.
Zheng Hao spoke without interrupting, waiting for Gu Lin to finish reading.
After a moment, Gu Lin seemed to have finished reading the memorial. He clasped his hands together, looked up at the young man beside him, his face tense and his brows furrowed, and asked, "Is the Qingzhou Prefecture tax silver case related to you?"
Gu Lin asked the question tactfully, but what he really wanted to know was whether the young man had exposed the prefect of Qingzhou for embezzling tax revenue.
Gu Lin had an answer in his heart. He recalled that when Zheng Hao returned to Yueming Prefecture to visit his family, he made a special stop in Qingzhou Prefecture for a few days. Not long after returning to the capital, Emperor Jian'an issued an edict appointing him as a censor. Immediately afterwards, the young man disappeared for half a month, and even at home he was almost always in his study. Now that he thought about it, the young man was doing this.
Faced with Gu Lin's unusually serious expression and sharp eyes, Zheng Hao's gaze remained unwavering as he looked at the other man and explained, "During the few days when the ships were docked in Qingzhou Prefecture to resupply, Uncle Gu and I strolled through the streets and alleys of Qingzhou Prefecture. Uncle Gu, what do you think of the lives of the people of Qingzhou Prefecture?"
Zheng Hao's question immediately triggered Gu Lin's memories, reminding him of the scenes he had witnessed in Qingzhou Prefecture those days.
Zheng Hao continued, "In comparison, how are the people of Yueming Prefecture doing?"
A look of pity crossed the young man's face; Qingzhou Prefecture was no match for Yueming Prefecture.
If the people of Yueming Prefecture are a mix of rich and poor, with a vast chasm between them, then under the rule of Prefect Zhen, no matter how poor you are, as long as you are willing to put in the effort, use your brain, or sell your skills, you can still have a meal.
In contrast, Qingzhou Prefecture was a different story. The residences of the powerful and wealthy were clean, tidy, and thriving, while other areas were filled with filth and beggars.
Zheng Hao: "In the past, when I was a scholar, I was powerless to help the people who were suffering. Now that I am an official in the court, I cannot bear to see the people starving again."
With his eyes slightly lowered, Zheng Hao said, "Before returning to my hometown to visit my family, His Majesty frequently summoned me to the palace to explain the classics and revealed his intention to appoint me as an imperial censor. Originally, when I returned to Yueming Prefecture, I only intended to pay respects to my father. However, I did not expect the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture to commit wrongdoings, so I secretly collected evidence of his crimes. After the visit ended, as soon as I entered the capital, I presented the memorial impeaching the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture and the evidence of his crimes to His Majesty."
Gu Lin listened attentively without interrupting the other person.
Aside from concealing the fact that Emperor Jian'an had asked him to collect evidence of the prefect of Qingzhou, Zheng Hao truthfully told Gu Lin everything else.
As Gu Lin listened, he increasingly sensed the danger brought about by Zheng Hao's impeachment of the prefect of Qingzhou.
According to the other party, the prefect of Qingzhou Prefecture was a man of the Minister of Personnel. Now, Zheng Hao had offended the Minister of Personnel and the officials who were affiliated with him.
Despite the Emperor Jian'an's commendation and high regard, Zheng Hao was practically friendless and isolated in the court.
However, considering that what the other party had done benefited the people and the soldiers on the frontier, Gu Lin couldn't bear to criticize him.
However, he was also unwilling to put the other party in danger.
With his light brown eyes fixed on the young man's deep black eyes, Gu Lin pondered for a moment, then pursed his lips and said, "I hope you will think carefully before you do anything. The lives of other people are important, but your safety should not be ignored."
"Moreover," under the young man's gaze, the young man lowered his eyes slightly, his tone lowered, sounding somewhat suppressed, "you are not alone, you have family. If something happens to you, what will happen to me and your wife?"
Listening to the young man's slightly suppressed tone and words, and staring at his red lips that were opening and closing, the handkerchief hidden in his bosom gradually became hot as if it had been soaked in hot water.
With his dark eyes slightly turned to the side, Zheng Hao shifted his gaze, and as he glanced to the side, his peripheral vision caught the young man's arm resting on the table.
Zheng Hao's delicate, fair hands showed some red marks from being pressed against the table for a long time. He lowered his eyes, as if he could smell the fragrance of red plum blossoms blooming in the snow.
Cool and alluring.
He said, "Uncle Gu, don't worry, I won't risk abandoning you."