books44 Chapter 135 A huge uproar in the court
Chapter 135 A huge uproar in the court
On that day, there were several grain-selling points in Yingzhou City, selling grain at a price of twenty wen per dou.
When the people who had some spare money heard about it, they all rushed to the grain sales points to buy it.
Each person was limited to purchasing one liter per day, and there were endless queues in front of the four grain sales points.
The corrupt officials of Yingzhou were stripped of their official uniforms and hats, strung together with ropes, and paraded through the streets by dozens of elite Mo Yun cavalrymen.
When the people of Yingzhou saw this, they all applauded and cheered!
Through the soldiers and yamen runners sent by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, who were beating gongs and spreading the news everywhere, they learned that the 300,000 taels of disaster relief silver and 400,000 shi of life-saving grain allocated by the court last time were all embezzled by these corrupt officials.
The people of Yingzhou hate these dog officials who eat human flesh and drink human blood!
If it weren't for these black-hearted and vicious corrupt officials, how could this natural disaster have caused tens of thousands of people to starve to death and hundreds of thousands of people to be displaced and flee the famine?
The officials headed by the prefect Liu Jingye and the assistant judge Wang Ren had their official hats and uniforms removed. Their hair was disheveled and their faces were pale and they looked miserable.
They would keep the rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs for food instead of throwing them at these corrupt officials.
The angry people picked up dirt and threw it at them, and spit on the corrupt officials! ...
It is said that being an honest magistrate for three years can earn you 100,000 silver coins.
The value of the property confiscated from the home of the prefect Liu Jingye was as high as 300,000 taels, which should basically be the stolen money that this greedy guy had embezzled from his tenure in various places over the years.
The property confiscated from Wang Tongpan was worth more than 200,000 taels.
After confiscating the property of these corrupt officials, the total value exceeded one million taels.
The usually calm and elegant King Qin was also turned pale by the greed of these daring and corrupt officials.
The Song Dynasty was established only thirty years ago, and these officials have become so corrupt!
The last time, the disaster relief silver allocated by the imperial court was divided up completely by them. Nearly 320,000 shi of the 400,000 shi of disaster relief grain were resold. They are so bold and cruel!
It was dark! The people still lined up at the various grain-selling places and refused to disperse.
Although the food that can be purchased at a limit of one liter is mostly brown rice and coarse grains, it can still keep them from starving to death! I wonder if there will be any more tomorrow?
There were long queues in front of the porridge stalls built everywhere. The victims who had no money to buy food crowded here to grab a bowl of porridge.
The price of coarse grains at twenty wen a dou was high in other places, but before the price of grain in Yingzhou was driven up to seven hundred wen a dou, it was really too low.
Those powerful landlords and wealthy businessmen who were fined three times the amount of grain cried out that it was injustice!
The coarse grains they had were not enough to cover the number, and the refined rice and flour were sold at twenty wen a dou, which was forcibly taken away by those ferocious Mo Yunqi elite soldiers.
Many of these grains were purchased from other states at high prices. They hoarded them in order to make a fortune, but this almost bankrupted them.
The King of Qin is too unreasonable and cruel! How can people live like this?
A wealthy businessman named Lu spent all his money on buying grain, paying as much as sixty coins for a dou of grain.
Seeing that he was about to go bankrupt after being fined, he took his family and desperately blocked the granary, refusing to let the Mo Yunqi elite soldiers take the grain away.
After hearing the report from his subordinates, Qin Wang Zhao Defang said coldly, "Then chop off his dog's head and confiscate all his food!"
The wealthy businessman named Lu was beheaded, and all the hoarded grain was confiscated. The effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkey was immediate.
Going bankrupt is better than losing your life, so no one dares to resist anymore.
With more than one million taels of silver and more than 1.2 million dan of grain, the results of this disaster relief are bound to be significant. The people can save food until the next spring planting and have seeds for the next year.
After resolving the issue of Yingzhou cleanly and neatly, King Qin Zhao Defang left three hundred elite Moyun cavalrymen in Yingzhou and led his troops straight to the other three severely affected prefectures.
The other three prefectures were all under the jurisdiction of Yingzhou, and most of the disaster relief silver and grain were withheld and embezzled in Yingzhou.
Following the strategy of capturing the leader first, the corrupt officials and unscrupulous businessmen in Yingzhou were dealt with, and the other three prefectures were easily captured.
...............
The news of the King of Qin's swift and ruthless actions in Yingzhou soon spread to the capital, causing an uproar in the court.
Not only was the group headed by the Left Prime Minister Zhao Pu filled with indignation and grief, but they also argued bitterly in front of the emperor.
Other important officials of the court also expressed that the way the King of Qin handled the Yingzhou corruption case was too extreme.
The emperor looked at the court officials kneeling down, he was happy in his heart but his face was as cold as ice!
My plan of killing two birds with one stone is really brilliant!
Which emperor doesn’t hate corrupt officials? All you stole was the money in my pocket!
But there is no crow in the world that is not black, and for the sake of the emperor’s foundation, I dare not punish you to death.
The King of Qin is very cruel in doing this! He just helps me to fight against corruption. If you have any grudges, just blame him.
The emperor glanced at his ministers coldly!
"Shut up, everyone!"
The noisy hall immediately fell silent.
"The King of Qin has always hated evil! How could he tolerate corrupt officials running rampant and harming the people?
Although his methods of dealing with the officials in the Yingzhou corruption case were somewhat harsh, the tens of thousands of people who starved to death were all citizens of the Song Dynasty!
Before the King of Qin returns, don't bring up this matter again in the court!"
………As soon as the left prime minister Zhao Pu returned home after court, several court officials who were attached to him came to visit Zhao’s mansion one after another.
Zhao Pu ordered someone to invite them to the study.
Liu Zhi, the Right Counselor, was the first to speak: "Left Prime Minister, this time the King of Qin took Liu Zhizhou as an opportunity to attack him, without any consideration for your dignity.
It would have been fine if he had just dismissed Liu Zhizhou from his post and investigated him, but he actually paraded the court official through the streets and confiscated his property. This is too cruel!"
After the death of the fourth prince's uncle Wang Changshou, Qin Guangnian, who had just secured the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was also filled with resentment!
"Which official in this world doesn't make some unexpected money? Brother Liu just made a little more, but it's not a crime, right?!"
Wu Mian, the Imperial Censor, was also deeply worried: "The King of Qin is so tyrannical and overbearing. If he gains power, there will be no peace for us."
The Minister of Rites Rong Zhixing agreed and said, "Brother Wu is right. The King of Qin looks gentle as jade, but he is extremely cruel in his actions. We must not let him gain power!"
Zhao Pu sighed secretly!
I wondered if the King of Qin would use the Yingzhou corruption case to burn Ben Xiang? After all, Liu Jingye was my direct disciple, and Yingzhou also gave me 60,000 taels of disaster relief silver.
"Don't panic! In the future, just make things difficult for the King of Qin and don't let him gain the upper hand.
Jingye will definitely be escorted back to Beijing for trial, and we will do our best to protect him. Even if he is dismissed and demoted, we will try our best to allow him to be appointed as a county magistrate in a wealthy county. "
Rong Zhixing was a little worried when he saw that the left prime minister was still so optimistic. "Prime Minister, what if the King of Qin holds on to Brother Liu's corruption and insists on punishing him according to the law?"
Zhao Pu stroked his beard and smiled indifferently, "Taizu once vowed to rule the world together with scholars from all over the world, and the current emperor is trying his best to win over and employ scholars.
Jingye was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations and the emperor would not put him to death.
His property has been confiscated by the King of Qin, and the most he will receive is dismissal or demotion!"
Several civil officials secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as if they all had a golden medal of immunity from death hanging on their bodies.
After several officials left, Gao Qishan, a trusted aide, came out from the inner room.
"Prime Minister, you must be careful that the Prince of Qin will use Liu Jingye's corruption case to bite you when he returns to the capital!"
Zhao Pu nodded, but didn't take it too seriously.
"The emperor has leverage in my hands. Even if I am found to have embezzled some money, what can they do to me?"
Gao Qishan put down the teacup in his hand and advised with a worried look on his face.
"My Lord, I suggested you to propose the "Golden Casket Alliance" strategy, which won the emperor's favor and you were recalled to the capital to resume your position as prime minister.
But now, this "Golden Casket Alliance" that allowed the emperor to gain the throne and legitimize his reputation has become a hidden danger in the emperor's heart and an obstacle to the emperor passing the throne to his own son. "
Zhao Pu's heart suddenly trembled!
“You are absolutely right!
The Golden Casket Alliance that we planned at the beginning was based on the rumors that the late Empress Dowager was worried about the stability of the Song Dynasty and forced Emperor Taizu to issue an imperial decree to pass down the throne to the eldest son instead of the youngest.
When offering advice to the current emperor, one must assess the situation and help him gain the throne rather than justify his reputation.
Now, if we follow the agreement of the Golden Casket Alliance, the heirs to the throne will be the Emperor's biological sons, in addition to Prince of Qi Zhao Tingmei and Prince of Qin Zhao Defang.
The emperor's heart is no longer filled with gratitude towards me, but resentment, right?"
Gao Qishan pondered for a moment and said, "Prime Minister, when Emperor Taizu was in power, you and the current emperor, who was the prefect of Kaifeng, fought to the death for power.
It is you, Prime Minister, that the Emperor will bear a grudge against, and will depose you after he ascends the throne.
The current emperor may have the same idea again!"
Zhao Pu's face darkened! A ray of wisdom flashed in his old eyes, "Wealth and honor are sought in danger! Only those who choose to stand in accordance with the situation are wise men who seek eternal wealth and honor.
Although Qin Wang Zhao Defang is young, he is wise and decisive, a little too wise. If he comes to power in the future, he will never let his subjects be arbitrary and domineering!
Qi Wang Zhao Tingmei is a very easy-to-manipulate king. If I help him seize the throne, I will definitely be given important positions. This position will only become more and more stable. "
Gao Qishan disagreed strongly: "Prime Minister, please don't gamble your life!
The King of Qi is indecisive and lacks strength, so it is difficult for him to accomplish great things!
I still suggest you bet on the eldest prince.
Although the eldest prince has not been named the crown prince, he has already moved into the East Palace. He is the most likely candidate to inherit the throne."
Zhao Pu pondered for a while without saying anything.
He readily agreed to the advice of his staff: "Qi Shan's consideration is very reasonable, so let's give up the plan of helping King Qi seize the throne!
From now on, we will go all out to support the eldest prince in being crowned the crown prince as soon as possible."
Gao Qishan smiled sinisterly, "Prime Minister, you have never had direct contact with the King of Qi. When you have the chance, you can report him and make meritorious contributions."
Zhao Pu was stunned for a moment, then he understood what he meant and laughed heartily with his trusted aides!