"Your Majesty, I don't know how the matter of deducting food and salary was reflected in the southwest last time?" At this time, Yiming, the supervisor of the Imperial History Observatory, stood up and waved at the high emperor, "The minister remembers that last time he sent a young general from the southwest to send an urgent report back, reflecting that the food and salary over there have been withheld, and the army and the people have been resentful for a long time, I don't know who Your Majesty sent to investigate this matter thoroughly?" ”

After he reminded him like this, the emperor remembered that the Lord Shangshuyan of the household department said that he would pull out the accounts for him to see, and he did read them later, and there was no problem with the accounts.

However, Qi Hang, the military department responsible for supervising the military salary, also claimed that he had no bribes, and because both families had taken out the money and grain accounts that had been allocated over the years, and even the drawing slips after each sergeant received the money, he really couldn't see any problems.

He didn't make a decision for a while, so the matter was shelved, and if it wasn't for the supervisor today, he was afraid that he would have forgotten about it.

Song Huai has been whispering in his ear these days that the southwest side intends to rebel, and he obviously treats them well, but he is not greedy enough, and he wants more, I am afraid that Hu Dalun has already disagreed with him as an emperor and wants to replace him.

Originally, the emperor laughed at these words, but the same words were said in someone's ear every day, and they were said openly and secretly, and the emperor couldn't help but hesitate.

After all, the emperor of Southwest Jeju is far away, and Hu Dalun, as a Xinjiang calendar, has a heavy army, and people's hearts will always change with the growth of power and desire.

"Both Yan Shangshu and Qi Shangshu have shown me evidence to prove that they are doing everything according to the charter here, and there is nothing wrong with it." The emperor said in a deep voice.

The supervisor glanced at Yan Shangshu, then at Qi Shangshu, and sneered: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the evidence they gave is untrue." As he spoke, he took out a notebook from his sleeve, raised it above his head, and said loudly, "Two days ago, a pair of mothers-in-law and grandsons stopped the minister's car and risked death to give the minister a book of all the people, please look at it. ”

As soon as these words came out, the hall that had been noisy as a vegetable market instantly became quiet.

Everyone stared at the thick book of the people in the hands of the supervisor of the stage, with different expressions, especially the people of the prince's party, who looked at each other, and some of them showed a little nervousness and panic in their eyes.

Book of the People!

This is much more effective than the newspaper of the soldier who has traveled thousands of miles.

The eunuch beside the emperor immediately ran down the steps, took the letter of the people from the eunuch, and trotted to present it to the emperor's younger brother.

The emperor's face was slightly condensed, he took the thick book and flipped through it, and the eunuch below was not idle, and he said with some anger in his voice: "Your Majesty, it is clearly written in the Book of the People that the materials and food and salaries transported from the capital to various places every time in these years are less than one-third of the normal, and the officials who are sent down have to rob them on a large scale every time they go to the place, eat and drink extravagantly, and rob the people's daughters, the common people dare not speak out, and the local generals do not cooperate. They are to list all kinds of crimes, or to be dismissed from office, or to be put to death, in short, to deceive the superior and the inferior, and to commit many crimes. ”

The more the emperor looked down, the more ugly his face became.

Si Taijian continued: "The soldiers can't eat enough, naturally they can't fight well, from time to time by the neighboring countries sneak attack, although they did not lose the city, but they also died a lot, but there is no money, they can't recruit soldiers, the local generals have to adopt the strategy of the soldiers and the people, the people in the city are as soldiers to practice, on weekdays, the soldiers have to help the people to turn over the soil and farm together, get some food, the people twist some, keep some for themselves, barely maintain the peace on the surface, but if there is a famine, where can anyone be full?" So some young and strong people went to be robbers, specializing in robbing those passing rich bureaucrats, although Hu Zongbing was loyal, but he couldn't watch his soldiers starve to death one by one. ”

The words of the supervisor made everyone present silent.

Especially those generals who have been on the battlefield, they all know very well that sometimes they are not afraid of death, but they are afraid that death is not worth it, if they can die on the battlefield, they can also get a share of the honor, but if they starve to death, they are afraid that they are not willing to be reincarnated in the underworld.

"Your Majesty, Chen Ken asks Your Majesty to send someone to the southwest to investigate in detail, if Yan Shangshu and Qi Shangshu think that there is no mistake, then send them to personally go down to the place to check, and see where the problem is, otherwise, the southwest is in chaos, Xishu and Miao Jiang will jointly attack me in the blink of an eye, and at that time, where will they go to find soldiers to fight in the future!" General Shen lifted his robe and knelt down, "The minister is willing to share His Majesty's worries, bring a few cronies and go quietly, and hope that Your Majesty will approve it." ”

Yan Shangshu and Qi Shangshu, who were named, both changed their faces, of course they knew in their hearts which link went wrong, and they also thought that things were done well, anyway, the emperor was far away, even if someone was lucky enough to go to the capital alive to report the news, they could also give the words back to the circle, anyway, it was impossible for the emperor to verify it in person.

No matter who he sent, they had a way of making the emperor not believe them.

But they never expected that there would be ordinary people who were willing to risk their lives to enter Beijing and handed over the book of the people.

Seeing that the emperor's face was getting more and more ugly, and the anger in his eyes was gathering rapidly, Yan Shangshu and Qi Shangshu's hearts suddenly rose, Qi Shangshu decided to change from passive to active, and also followed: "Your Majesty, the supervisor is right, there must be something wrong in the middle, and the minister is willing to go desperately to share the worries for Your Majesty." ”

The supervisor sneered, looked at him and said, "I'm afraid Lord Qi is not here to share His Majesty's worries, but to add to His Majesty's troubles." ”

Qi Hang's face turned pale, and he pointed at him and asked angrily, "What do you mean, Si Tai Supervisor?" When the ruler has offended you, you have to target the ruler like this. ”

The supervisor ignored him, looked at the emperor again, took out a notebook from his sleeve again, raised his hands up, and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, minister, there is still something to play." ”

The waiter of the Ministry of Rites said: "The supervisor of the stage is really appetizing, why didn't you present it with you just now?" Isn't this a waste of Your Majesty's time? ”

The supervisor didn't even give him a look, just let him fart.

The waiter of the Ministry of Rites was so angry that his nostrils puffed out, and he looked at Yan Shangshu as if asking.

Yan Shangshu stood there as steady as Mount Tai, and watched the emperor's personal eunuch quietly fold the book and hand it to the emperor, the emperor only opened it and looked at it, and his face immediately became even more ugly than just now.

Qi Hang instantly had a bad premonition.

Sure enough, in the next second, the emperor immediately ordered the imperial guards to step forward and take down Qi Hang, His Royal Highness was in an uproar, and even Song Huai felt that the look in the emperor's eyes before he brushed his sleeves away was full of disgust.

……

Qin Niang was basking in the sun and eating melons and fruits in the garden of Lanxi Palace, while listening to Song Ru tell her with relish about what happened in the hall, as if she had seen it with her own eyes.

"Didn't you see it, the second emperor's brother's face, he couldn't get down on the spot, this palace wants to see how he ends up this time." Song Ru said, took a sip of tea, and continued, "If it weren't for such a big incident in the southwest this time, I'm afraid that my father would still think that the country he governed would be peaceful." ”

Qin Niang pulled the corners of her lips, if the current saint was born in a peaceful and prosperous era, he could indeed sit firmly in his country, and there would be no bad stains in the history books of later generations, but today's Donglin is not a peaceful and prosperous era.

The neighboring countries around it also seem to know the character and ability of the saint, so the constant provocations at the border over the years have been ready to move, and the reason why they have not launched a major mutiny is just that everyone is waiting, waiting for a suitable opportunity.

If there is really a civil strife in Donglin, then those foreign enemies will no longer hesitate to start a war with any excuse or reason.

"The treasury is so empty, your father probably thinks it's all caused by disasters and famines in the past two years, but he doesn't know that these officials are all corrupt and rampant, and under the peaceful and prosperous world he thinks, there are still a lot of things like the southwest." Qin Niang remembered what Gu Chen told her that night, the unsightly things that Song Huai was hiding were probably not just as simple as bribery.

He also has a mine privately, and it seems that he is still making weapons privately, and he also raises a large number of private soldiers, as for where the slaves who work for him come from, this is another shady curtain that has not yet been found.

If these things are really revealed to him, he will be in the position of the crown prince.

"Sister Qin, I heard that my father immediately sent the forbidden army to raid Lord Qi's house, you said that he just sat on the throne of this Shangshu not long ago, what can my father copy his home? He used to be just a small Yuan Wailang in the military department, he was greedy, and he didn't have the ability to touch important things, right? Song Ru didn't know the inside story, and he didn't know what was written on the memo presented to the emperor by the supervisor, but Qi Hang was greedy for money in military supplies, so the emperor was furious and wanted to raid his home.

A person who has just sat in the position of secretary of the Ministry of War, even if he wants to be greedy, that is, in the past few months, even if he has great ability, is it possible that he can still be greedy for a treasury?

However, the next news shocked her jaw.

Because, the money and treasures copied from Qi Hang's Mansion can indeed reach a national treasury, if Gu Chen is present, he will definitely say that he is a rich merchant who belongs to the capital and does not have any money from the Qi family.

"The fourth princess just wait and see, Your Majesty's thoughts, we can't guess." Qin Niang lowered her head and took a sip of tea, with a flash of light rippling in her eyes, about Qi Hang's life experience, the emperor has not announced it to the public at present, and Gu Chen has no intention of spreading it, so it is inconvenient for her to tell Song Ru at this time, so as not to disrupt Gu Chen's plan.

Qin Niang thought that if there were so many things, Gu Chen would definitely come at night.

However, she didn't expect that she didn't wait for Gu Chen, but waited for Song Huai, who was very drunk.