Compared with Ma Dezhong's grief and loss, Tang Sai'er's family seems to have experienced a flip from hell to heaven.

When he left home, his father was arrested and forced into labor, and his mother was seriously ill and had no cure.

But on this trip to the capital, I originally had the idea of burning all the jade, but because I was discovered by Jinyiwei, I even saw His Royal Highness Taisun.

They followed the Jinyiwei brigade all the way north along the Jiaolai Canal, and then went west to Pingdu, watching the accompanying Jinyiwei and naval soldiers decrease one by one, they knew very well that this was the imperial court's investigation had been officially launched.

When their ship arrived in Weifang, only four Jinyi guards were left to accompany them all the way.

At the Weifang Guardhouse, they received eight horses from the barracks with the handwriting of Jinyiwei, and then traveled overland to Putai County.

At the Daqing River ferry, the only ferry port in Putai County going south, they met Wang Xuan, Hao Yun and others who greeted them here.

Seeing the four of them riding tall horses, accompanied by people from Jinyiwei, Wang Xuan couldn't help but shout: "Third sister, Master is home!" ”

Tang Sai'er originally thought that she would have to wait until she came back to save her father through Jinyiwei's people, but she didn't expect that the news from the imperial court would spread faster, and someone had already rushed to pass the news before them and released her father.

She laughed happily and asked, "The court wants to investigate those corrupt officials and corrupt officials who are greedy for food, everyone knows about it, right?" ”

Wang Xuan said with a smile: "Chen Zhuyun's dog official has been hanged in fright, and the county government has arrested a lot of corrupt officials, and they are almost closed." ”

Tang Sai'er turned her head with some curiosity and asked, "Master Chu, how come there are still people who are faster than us?" ”

Chu Song said with a smile: "We deliberately stayed in Jiaozhou for one night, leaving time for some people to do it themselves. This case involves a wide range of people and has a large number of people, and it is impossible for the court to arrest everyone. ”

Tang Sai'er understood and said, "Do you only catch the first evil?" ”

"Of course not! This is how it used to be. But this time, His Highness is afraid that he will make a big move. They ate it secretly, thinking that it would be fine if they wiped their mouths clean, but His Royal Highness Taisun couldn't tolerate sand in his eyes, so he wouldn't let them go easily. ”

Thinking of the man he saw in the capital, who was only one year older than him, Tang Sai'er couldn't help but feel a little depressed.

Over the years, compared with ordinary women, she can be regarded as well-informed. But in the past twenty-one years, there has been no man like him, who has not been able to resist at all.

It should be that he has the whole world in his heart, so it makes people feel very small.

met so many dignitaries and nobles in the capital, including many masters like Yang Zhangde, Tang Sai'er didn't feel afraid. But in the face of that man, she felt a visceral fear.

Thankfully, he didn't know his secret......

Chu Song looked around and asked, "This is the Daqing River, it doesn't look wide!" ”

Lin San sighed: "My lord, it is precisely because the Daqing River is not wide that whenever the Yellow River enters the sea through the Daqing River, it will cause a catastrophe. ”

"That's the reason, if the Daqing River is wide enough and deep enough, when the Yellow River is borrowed, there will be no floods."

Everyone got on the ferry twice, and on the boat, Chu Song also kept observing the Daqing River.

When he went to the West, it was his turn to be on duty on the flagship of His Royal Highness Taisun, and he heard the conversation between His Highness and Huang Yuan, mainly mentioning the dangers of the Yellow River.

Every few years, the Yellow River changes course, like a snake, moving from south to north.

The southernmost to Haizhou (Lianyungang) into the sea, the northernmost to the seaport Tianjin in Beiping, more than 2,000 miles from north to south.

Every time a diversion is taken, it triggers a major disaster.

His Royal Highness mentioned that he wanted to completely dredge the Daqing River, so that the Yellow River would only flow into the sea through the Daqing River from now on.

However, when it comes to the cost of this project, it will be very high and it will be difficult to complete it in one go. However, if the dredging of a river channel cannot be completely completed, it is equivalent to a wasted effort.

Therefore, even His Highness is now helpless about the flooding caused by the diversion of the Yellow River.

In addition to the high cost, Chu Song also wrote down His Royal Highness's intention to change the Yellow River from the present-day Huai River, northern Jiangsu to the Yellow Sea, and from the Daqing River to the Bohai Sea.

And this plan requires more than 2,000 miles of river dredging, which shocked Chu Song, so when he passed by the Daqing River, he couldn't help but take a few more looks.

And such a project, even if the entire Ming people are pulled over, I'm afraid it won't be completed!

However, thinking that he lived in such a magnificent era and had a future emperor with the world in mind, Chu Song's heart couldn't help but feel proud.

After crossing the Daqing River, there were only five or six miles left, and Tang Sai'er would also arrive home.

There were five or six people who came to greet Tang Sai'er, and everyone stopped riding horses, but led the horses and chatted as they walked.

Only Bin Hong rode back first to report the news, and by the way, let people prepare meals.

Chu Song noticed that the wheat seedlings on both sides of the field were much more yellow than those in other places, and it was already over the New Year, and the wheat seedlings in other places were three inches tall, but the wheat seedlings here were only emerging.

After asking Lin San, Lin San sighed: "The Yellow River is flooded with sediment, and every time the flood not only washes away the fertility of the ground, but also leaves countless sand. A flood takes at least three years to restore the fertility of the land.

However, the Yellow River bursts its banks twice a year, and the flood floods once every few years, and the common people will suffer from poverty for two or three years at most. ”

Chu Song also knew that Shandong's taxes were heavy, but there were natural and man-made disasters for many years, so he couldn't help but say: "The people of Shandong are really bitter!" When I return to the capital, I will be Your Highness to lighten the burden on the people of Shandong. ”

Lin San shook his head and said: "The key is that corrupt officials and corrupt officials are rampant, this time I went to the capital, I learned that most of the original imperial court regulations were for the sake of the people, but when I got below, I was distorted by those corrupt officials and corrupt officials." Even if His Majesty reduces taxes, corrupt officials and corrupt officials are not eliminated, and the people will not be appeased. ”

Chu Song nodded and said: "This is the so-called harsh government is fiercer than a tiger, my Jinyiwei is to hoe rape for the imperial court, and in the future, I should also strengthen the supervision of officials at all levels." ”

Lin Sanchang bowed: "Although we are going to the Northland, and the world will be free from now on, I still thank you for the people of Shandong." If I have more honest officials like adults, it will be a blessing for the people. ”

"Don't dare to be. I, Chu Song, have only been studying for a few years, and I can't do big things, so I can help His Highness cut off a few more corrupt officials. ”

Lin San couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart, this Ming official, the higher the official position, the more peaceful he became, there was no arrogance, and he really thought about the people.

On the contrary, those officials below the seventh grade, and even petty officials, have become more and more arrogant, oppressing the people, and running rampant in the countryside for evil.

In the past, I only knew that Jinyiwei was the emperor's minions, fierce and vicious, but the Jinyiwei officials who came into contact this time were more reasonable and righteous than those so-called "good officials" who were full of benevolence and morality.

The two leaders of Jinyiwei this time are Feng Xiaonian and Chu Song.

Feng Xiaonian is good at surveying and handling cases, while Chu Song is a know-it-all talent and is good at communicating.

Therefore, Chu Song was able to easily come to the Tang family and enjoy the warm hospitality of the Tang family.

At this time, Feng Xiaonian was caught in a busy social scene.

Starting from Jiaozhou, along the way, the navy was responsible for arresting people, and he was only responsible for collecting account books everywhere he went. Those who honestly took out the account books were better, and the officials who could not produce the account books were arrested and imprisoned, regardless of their official ranks.

So although he wanted to rush all the way to Jinan Mansion and start checking the accounts, when he arrived in Weifang, he couldn't leave.

It's not that someone is embarrassed, but that too many officials have been captured, and the navy has sent a thousand people, and now there are not enough.

Therefore, he requisitioned the transfer department of the internal supervision in Weifang, and put the camp of the case clearance directly in the transfer department where most of the personnel were detained.

Before he came, Zhu Zhanji confessed to him, asking him to check the accounts without checking the detailed rules, nor did he need to check every account, but only calculated the general ledger first.

In the past few years, the internal supervision has transported more than 3 million stone of grain to Shandong, and since March last year alone, there have been 1 million stone of grain shipped to the present.

How much grain was unloaded in Jiaodong, how much grain was unloaded in Laizhou, how much was shipped out through what channels, how much needed to be distributed in each place, and how much the accounts differed.

You only need to look at the general ledger, and then according to the number received by the local government, the number of issues is paired with each other, and it is clear whether there is a problem here.

The accounts before March last year were a little more complicated, because there were people who embezzled, and because there were not many of them, the accounts were easy to settle.

However, since March last year, except for the coastal areas of Laizhou, most of the inland state cities and county towns have not seen a grain of grain, so it is enough to check which step has not been completed.

Zhu Zhanji now does not want to deal with any one person, but to deal with the entire corrupt class.

Such a big case involves such a wide range of areas. Whether it is the navy or the internal prison, including the local government in Shandong, I am afraid that none of them are clean.

If he wants to oversee the country, he must establish authority, and these people are the objects of his authority.

He didn't want to find evidence of everyone's crime at all, he just needed to control everyone and let each of them prove their innocence.

As for how to deal with it in the end, he will definitely delay it until after Zhu Di goes on the expedition, and then deal with it according to his own needs.

Although this is unfair to some people, there is no fairness in this world.

Feng Xiaonian is the oldest, and he is also one of the first groups to follow Zhu Zhanji, so he has a very good grasp of Zhu Zhanji's mentality.

Since Zhu Zhanji asked him to only check the general ledger and control everyone, as for who committed what kind of crime, Jin Yiwei didn't care.

He knew very well that what Taisun wanted was not the truth of the case, but a truth that was in line with Taisun's interests.

Of course, Feng Xiaonian also understands that this is Taisun's protection of Jinyiwei, and it is also a precaution against Jinyiwei.

The power of investigation and interrogation, Taisun is unwilling to let Jinyiwei interfere.

But it's okay like this, this time in the investigation, Jinyiwei lost his reputation and benefits, and he didn't have to worry too much about offending too many people.

He liaised in the center of Weifang, allowing the Criminal Department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to play a powerful role.

When the navy personnel were insufficient, he immediately asked Baoding Hou Meng Ying to send 3,000 musketeers again to assist in the investigation of the case.

In order to prove his innocence, Yixin now does not dare to be sloppy in any of Meng Ying's requests. He is the first person in Zoomlion, and he still wants to pass it on from generation to generation!

However, such a big move by the imperial court does not mean that it is invincible.

Although many people have been arrested, it is not easy to find out the context of the entire case.

The prison set up by the Criminal Department and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is holding more and more people, but the case is becoming more and more complicated.

They are different from Jinyiwei, who only need to convict people, but they need to find out the severity of the crime.

And all the facts of the case, it seems that the culpability on each person is lighter than what they have done, because all the fingers are pointed at the inner prison.

The fleet is the internal superintendent, the transportation is the internal superintendent's business, and the distribution is also the internal superintendent's business.

It seems that the officials in all links, they just did what they should do, and they were nothing more than accomplices to the internal supervision officials.

For example, Yao Shizhuo, the commander of Laizhou Shuizhai who was most involved in the navy, was only responsible for issuing a list of grain entering the port for the internal supervision officials, and did not participate in any grain distribution benefits.

The more the case in Shandong is investigated, the deeper the water becomes, and the more muddy the water becomes, but when examined carefully, it seems that they are all very minor crimes.

It seems that all the blame lies with the officials of the internal prison, and even the grain is transported by themselves, which has little to do with the officials in Shandong.

When the news was sent to Yingtianfu in an expedited manner of 800 miles, Zhu Di was overjoyed.

What he is most afraid of is a big case, a nest case, and when he is desperate to go west, everything should be based on stability.

His will greatly praised the investigators, and demanded that everyone find out the culpability and punish them lightly.

However, in the order given by Zhu Zhanji to Feng Xiaonian, he was asked to delay the case and find out one thing clearly.

That is why the officials in Shandong are not moved in the face of life-saving food, but are willing to cover up for the officials in the internal prison for the sake of petty profits.

The occurrence of any event has its antecedents and consequences, and even if it is an accidental event, there are also basic factors for the occurrence of this event.

Events, places, people.

It is impossible for a big case or a nest case to be possible without a tacit cooperation and common interests.

Shandong's officials will not all have black consciences, and they have reached such a tacit understanding, which is by no means something that Ma Qi can do.

Zhu Zhanji even suspected that Ma Qi was just a fool with a desire for profit.

His corruption is nothing but the product of a conspiracy, and there is an invisible hand pushing him to do so.

Zhu Zhanji has such suspicions, of course, it is not that he is smarter than others, but that other people want to calm things down, only he wants to take advantage of the situation to establish authority, and he hopes that the bigger the case, the better.

Without the cooperation of Shandong officials, why could Ma Qi swallow hundreds of thousands of stones of grain, choking him to death.

And in later generations, he has seen a lot of this kind of case within a case hidden behind the scenes.

It was also at this time that the celebrant escorted the depressed Ma Qi from Ningbo to Yingtianfu.

After Xie Kuang arrived in Ningbo, he strictly followed Zhu Zhanji's instructions, directly sealed all the accounts of the Transshipment Division, and asked the Daming Development Bank and the Commercial Bank to provide all the accounts of the Transshipment Division.

These days, he has found out most of the money that Ma Qi has worked hard to earn over the years, kept thirty percent for himself, and sent all the rest to the palace by the Counseling Department.

Of course, these three percent are not something he can swallow alone, and people in all links will not fail, and the great eunuch in the air must also be filial, but at least, he can personally fall into about one percent.

This is already a lot of gold and silver, and countless people have struggled to earn so much silver in their lifetimes, but he has gained so much in just a few days.

Therefore, in the internal supervision system, everyone is willing to do this kind of investigation of corrupt officials.

Moreover, these people, who are even more vicious against their own people, will never let the other party have a chance to make a comeback.

Ma Qi was escorted into the inner treasury on the west side of the palace and locked up in a small room alone.

Until this time, although he felt sorry for the money he had worked so hard to get in his life, he had never worried about his life.

He had given almost all of the money, including the dry shares he had in the business of many merchants. Now he only left a few thousand taels of silver in an account opened in the name of his nephew in the Daming Commercial Bank.

He didn't think the case was serious until now, it was just that he had pulled some of the food from the victims, and anyway, the silver was now back in the royal family's inner treasury.

It is impossible to make a comeback, he is almost fifty years old, because he has been away for a long time, and his relationship with the prince and grandson is very average.

The best result is to go to guard the tomb of filial piety, he is most afraid that he will be sent to the capital to guard the tomb, which is far less prosperous than Ying Tianfu.

He was imprisoned in the yamen of the celebrant until evening, when a little eunuch brought him a meal, which was convenient for him in the toilet in the courtyard, and then locked him in his room again.

He used to disdain such a little eunuch, but at this time he could only salute and say, "Can you send me a few newspapers, so that I can pass the time." ”

The little eunuch showed a shy smile. "Fire is forbidden in the palace, I'm afraid it won't work today. I'll bring you food tomorrow morning, and I'll bring you some newspapers. ”

"Thank you." At this moment, he felt that this little eunuch was extraordinarily cute, but it was a pity that if he was still in power, he could also promote him.

The facilities in the house were simple, except for a wooden bed and a somewhat moist futon, there was nothing left.

He knew that if the emperor did not come, it would be Wang Yan who would read out the punishment for him.

But it won't be so soon, he's going to be here for a while.

Lying in the house bored, after a while, Ma Qi was a little dazed and about to fall asleep, but he heard some movement in the yard.

He sat up all at once, listening to the sounds outside.

The door opened, and several of the Counsellor's internal supervisors entered, one of whom had a lantern in his hand, giving a glimmer of light to the dark room.

"Lieutenant Ma, this case has been handed over to His Royal Highness, and His Highness has been thinking of you as soon as he came back after dark, please ......"

followed a few eunuchs into the palace from the Xihua Gate, and then followed the sandwich road from the west to the consultation department at the Donghua Gate.

Along the way, Ma Qi wanted to talk to him from time to time, but several people ignored him.

This made him feel quite a kind of tiger falling into Pingyang and being bullied by dogs, could it be that the era that belonged to him had passed.

In the Information Department, Zhu Zhanji sat on a large single sofa with a warm smile on his face.

Ma Qi didn't dare to slack off, and as soon as he entered the door, he knelt down on his knees, kowtowed, and said: "Slave Ma Qi, the crime deserves death, please forgive your Highness." ”

Zhu Zhanji smiled gently: "Come on, come on, sit down and talk." Li Liang, tea. ”

Liu Wan helped Ma Qi to the sofa on Zhu Zhanji's right hand, Ma Qi trembled, and his left butt was on the sofa.

After he sat down, Zhu Zhanji picked up a confession and said: "After reading this confession, Gu just finished reading it, and there are still a few questions in it that I don't understand, so I hope that Ma Zhongguan can talk to Gu well." ”

Ma Qi hurriedly said: "Your Highness, please ask, the slave must know everything." ”

"Since August of the fourteenth year of Yongle, the first batch of rice was transported to Shandong, and until March of the seventeenth year of Yongle, you have embezzled more than 300,000 stone of grain, which is also 780,000 taels of silver. In addition, the profit from your low price and high price is more than 100,000 taels of silver. The money earned is stable, even if it is lonely, it will not be angry because of it, but why since March last year, when the green and yellow are not harvested, you dare not transport a grain of grain to the disaster area, this starvation is small, and it is a big deal to cause the people to rebel, so you are not worried? ”

"Your Highness, the slaves and maids are conscientious, that is, to earn some hard-earned money, and they don't have such a big appetite. It's just that the grain harvest in Shandong was poor the year before last, and the price of grain skyrocketed, because the slaves and maids transported a large amount of grain to Shandong, and it has also become a thorn in the side of many people! ”

"That's a new thing, who can threaten you?"

The internal prison is a unique family, and they are the domestic slaves of the royal family, and neither the minister of civil and military affairs can control them in front of them. Of course, because they are attached to the imperial power, their power is given by the royal family, so as long as the royal family wants to clean up the eunuchs, they don't need national law at all, only family law can clean them up.

Ma Qi knew that this interrogation was related to his fate, and he didn't dare to hide it, but he was not willing to be marginalized from now on, so he wanted to find a few substitutes for the dead ghosts to help him block some wind and rain.

His eyes looked around, and he whispered: "Your Highness, please clear the left and right, and the slave and maid should make it clear to Your Highness when you are 1510." ”

Zhu Zhanji waved his hand, and only Li Liang, Liu Wan, and Sun Lin were left in the room.

Only then did Ma Qi speak: "Your Highness, in the seventeenth year of Yongle, the slave maid returned to Beijing to report on her work and met His Royal Highness King Zhao. His Royal Highness King Zhao invited slaves and maids to come to the palace, accompanied not only by the retainers of King Zhao's mansion, but also by Liu Zhong, the commander of Shandong, and several large grain merchants from Ningbo and Shandong......"

The smile on Zhu Zhanji's face remained unchanged, but there were huge waves in his heart. He didn't expect that his third uncle would also be involved in this matter.

Speaking of this matter, he also has a responsibility, the Daming Sect was originally not allowed to do business, but he began to break this rule.

During Zheng He's voyage to the West, he earned a lot of wealth, and when this opening was opened, there were more and more people doing business among the nobles.

It's just that this King Zhao was already involved in the trade with Dongying and made a lot of money, but he never thought that he would even take a fancy to the grain business......

"Who are these big grain merchants? What did Uncle Zhao tell you again? Give me all of them......"