Outside the docks, there were so many people standing on the roofs of the houses that they were not looking at the ships and soldiers, but at the Emperor, and although they couldn't see anything, everyone tried to look at any place where the Emperor might be. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

A new group of warships joined the navy, bigger and taller than the previous ones, and the flags fluttering on board finally attracted the attention of onlookers.

After more than ten days of getting along and running-in, the new general was recognized by the officers and men of the navy, and the command was relatively smooth.

Three high platforms were built on the shore for the emperor and other officials to choose from, so that they could watch the naval drills from different directions, and at the same time, they were also a kind of cover, so that outsiders could not easily see the exact location of the emperor.

The drill lasted from early morning to noon, and it went very smoothly, and the emperor was very satisfied, and changed positions several times in a row, discussing with the ministers which ship was bigger and more powerful, and some military generals of the East China Sea Kingdom called to the emperor's side to explain the equipment on the ship, and the atmosphere was harmonious and warm.

After noon, the generals of the navy army came to return to their lives, the emperor rewarded the whole army, gave food to the ministers, and issued a decree on the spot, exempting the East China Sea from paying taxes for five years, and the news was transmitted by several groups of knights to the docks, and the officials scattered everywhere led the people around the crowd to shout long live, and the atmosphere became more enthusiastic.

After all, the emperor is young and likes to be lively, and the officials are willing to cooperate, and the king of the East China Sea is nominally the princes here, leading the local officials, kowtowing to the emperor three times in a row to thank him, kneeling down one by one, the people outside the dock can not see the situation here, but they can always shout long live at the right time.

Han Ruzi accepted the kneeling and couldn't help but think that the officials in charge of regulating the people would probably be very tired today.

The emperor changed the platform again, and this time only a few higher-ranking officials were allowed to follow, with a total of less than thirty people.

The cheers outside could still be heard occasionally, but the emperor remained silent, and there was no smile on his face, and the ministers immediately understood that the excitement should be over, and they didn't squeak one by one, looking at their noses, noses, mouths, and mouths.

Han Ruzi's gaze swept over everyone, and he spoke: "I want to ask Zhongqing a question: What is Dachu based on? ”

The emperor suddenly asked such a serious question, everyone was surprised, but this question is not difficult to answer, for thousands of years, the standard answer has long been left, but the name of the dynasty is changed.

"Zhang Shilang of the Ministry of War, you will answer."

"Back to Your Majesty, Da Chu is people-oriented." Zhang Qing was taken aback, according to the grade, he was not the highest here, and he was the first to be named by the emperor, which was a little strange.

Han Ruzi snorted, and then said, "Prime Minister of Donghai Yan, what do you mean?" ”

Yan Kang was also taken aback, stepped out of the ranks, bowed down and replied: "People-oriented, the minister and Zhang Shilang have the same idea. ”

"Is there another answer?" Han Ruzi's gaze swept again, and the ministers shook their heads one after another.

"In this way, everyone understands the truth, but unfortunately not everyone can do it."

Zhang Qing and Yan Kang hadn't returned to the queue yet, when they glanced at each other and hurriedly looked away.

"Prime Minister Yan, I ask you, how many slaves are there at home? How many tenant farmers are there? ”

Yan Kang was stunned for a moment, he didn't understand why the emperor asked about this, and at the same time felt a little relieved, as long as it wasn't Huang Pugong's incident, he had nothing to fear, and immediately replied: "The minister has not asked about family affairs for many years, and he doesn't know much about it, so I guess ...... There are a hundred slaves, and two or three hundred tenant farmers. ”

This is not a very large number, Han Ruzi didn't say anything, and asked again: "How many troops are stationed in the East China Sea?" ”

This is not a family matter, Yan Kang replied: "There are about more than 1,500 people, the captain of the East China Sea Kingdom is here, and you can ask him about military affairs." ”

Captain Lu Dapeng stood in the middle of the generals, his body trembled, but the emperor did not call his name.

Han Ruzi asked Zhang Qing: "Fifteen hundred people is a real number, Zhang Shilang, how many soldiers should the East China Sea Kingdom have?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, there should be three thousand."

Han Ruzi looked at the two ministers, "Half the difference, where did these soldiers go?" ”

The two glanced at each other again, and Zhang Qing replied: "After many battles in a row, the north, Yunmengze, and the navy have each transferred some, plus some deaths, so there is a lot of difference, not only in the East China Sea, but also in various places. Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of War has repeatedly issued letters urging all localities to replenish the number of soldiers, and because the imperial court needs to allocate money and grain to promote the reclamation of famine, the conscription has been slowed down. ”

This answer was impeccable, Han Ruzi did see these urging texts from the Ministry of War, and even personally said in his reply that conscription could be suspended.

At that time, he didn't know that there were so many doorways behind him.

"That's weird." Han Ruzi was halfway through his words, not mentioning what was "strange", paused for a moment, and said, "Qu Yushi, you can tell me." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Qu Zixi ranked first among civil officials, stepped forward two steps out of the ranks, took out a few pieces of paper from his sleeve, and said loudly: "I have a few documents here." About two years ago, the Donghai State Song claimed to have gathered a total of 15,737 displaced people, of whom more than 5,000 were incorporated into the army, ranking among the best counties and counties in the country. This is the count received by the household department last year, and there are more than 9,600 returnees from the East China Sea Kingdom. This is the count received by the Ministry of War, the actual number of garrisons in the East China Sea is 1,520, and the total number of the two is more than 11,000 people, and the difference between the number of displaced people is more than 4,500 people, and the whereabouts are unknown. ”

These pieces were sent to different ministries and departments, and the time difference was several months, and there was no chance of being put together, and no one would ever think of the deviations unless they were deliberately investigated.

Yan Kang was shocked, he never thought that the emperor's attack had nothing to do with Huang Pugong, and he didn't know how to answer for a while, so he had to look at Zhang Qing and seek hints.

Zhang Qing was even more shocked, and immediately thought of Jin Chunzhong, he had already looked for it, and Jin Chunzhong was not here.

"Displaced people lack food and clothing, and they may die more." Zhang Qing reluctantly replied.

"More than 4,500 people, nearly 30% of the total, did not die when they were displaced, but after being collected by the government, they all fell ill and died?" Qu Zixi asked Zhang Qing in one sentence.

Zhang Qing was unable to support it alone, so he changed his words: "The military department only collects counts from all over the country, and I really don't know the truth, or ...... It's better for Prime Minister Yan to answer. ”

Yan Kang was annoyed by Zhang Qing's shirk, but he didn't dare to show it, so he had to say: "It's really dead, there was an epidemic and two hurricanes in the East China Sea last year, and there were more pirates, so there were more deaths." ”

"With so many casualties, has the East China Sea Kingdom ever reported to the imperial court?" Qu Zixi asked.

"The minister, the minister was confused for a while, thinking that it was ...... I thought it wasn't a big deal, so I ...... There was no report, and the minister was willing to plead guilty. Yan Kang really couldn't answer, so he had to admit his guilt first.

"People-oriented." Han Ruzi said coldly in his seat, "Qu Yushi, I order you to stay in the East China Sea Kingdom, find out these 4,500 people, see people alive, see corpses when you die, quickly investigate and report, without delay, if there are people who violate the law, I will allow you to act cheaply, and officials below the second rank will be arrested first and then played." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Qu Zi is clear.

In addition to the king of the East China Sea, the highest official of the East China Sea is only the third grade, and the emperor's will is equivalent to handing over the entire East China Sea Kingdom to the right patrol Shi Qu Zixi.

Zhang Qing knelt down, and finally understood that the major event was revealed, and the emperor's sword was not aimed at the East China Sea Kingdom, but at the military department and himself.

The emperor flicked his sleeves and left, except for some close ministers, dozens of officials on the high platform did not dare to follow, and stood there silently.

Qu Zixi was no longer polite, and immediately announced that the Minister of State Yan Kang and the military department squire Zhang Qing were detained by the Yushitai, and the rest of the officials returned to the yamen to be questioned at any time.

The emperor assigned a hundred guards to Qu Zixi, so that he could arrest people.

In addition to Yan Kang and Zhang Qing, the first person Qu Zixi arrested was Lu Dapeng, the governor of the East China Sea.

Lu Dapeng had been waiting to be arrested, but the charges were completely different from expectations, and in less than a quarter of an hour of talking, Lu Dapeng collapsed and confessed everything, it turned out that he had also done a lot of perverted things, once killed a servant girl, and many handles were in the hands of Yan Kang, in order to save his family, he had to agree to replace the crime of framing Huang Pugong.

But this is not the testimony that Qu Zixi wants.

Lu Dapeng, as the captain of the East China Sea, has a good understanding of the situation in the army, and explained everything: after the displaced people joined the army, the Yan family directly took 2,000 people and sent them to various manors to cultivate the fields, but allocated the state treasury to support them, and slowly, these people were eliminated from the household register for various reasons, and became private slaves who "did not exist".

These people have no choice at all, most of the manors are remote, they can't know the will of the imperial court, they only know that they eat in the Yan family, live in the Yan family, and owe a lot of debts, which must be paid off, they don't know at all that they are no longer the people of Dachu.

Others were asked to leave by the people of the military department, and Lu Dapeng never asked where he went.

Lu Dapeng didn't even think it was a big sin, he himself had to leave dozens of soldiers, thinking that this was the right to have.

In fact, the number of people lost was much more than 4,500, and many soldiers were called in from the manors to meet the emperor, and when the emperor left, they had to go back to their respective homes to serve as slaves.

Qu Zixi investigated overnight and allowed some officials to make meritorious contributions.

From the military department to the East China Sea Kingdom, everything was done to prevent the expansion of Huang Pugong's affairs, and he didn't expect the emperor to launch a blow from other directions, and suddenly, it didn't matter whether Huang Pugong was dead or alive, surrendered or fought.

Han Ruzi did not forget this general.

That night, Jin Chunzhong came to the prison, and with the order of the right patrol of the imperial history, he entered the prison guarded by the Su Guards and came to see Yan Kang.

Yan Kang had just been interrogated, and in a panic, he said a lot of things that should not be said, and at this time, he was depressed, and when he saw Jin Chunzhong, he trembled with fright.

Jin Chunzhong looked at Yan Kang, and there was a little sympathy in his heart, but when he thought of what this person had done, he became disgusted again, "Yan Kang, are you guilty?" ”

"I, I'm not convinced, everyone does this, why do you want to arrest me? His Majesty wants to find out the truth, but I am afraid that no one in the world can be an official. ”

"This matter has been handed over to the Yushitai, I only want to ask you one sentence: Do you want to make meritorious contributions?"

Yan Kang was stunned, "This is ...... Your Majesty asked you to ask? ”

Jin Chunzhong did not answer.

Yan Kang thought it was like this, pounced over, and said through the fence: "If you want to make meritorious service, I want to make meritorious service, whoever Your Majesty wants me to expose, I agree, even if it is the secretary of the military department, I can pull it down." ”

Jin Chunzhong said coldly: "You don't have to worry about the affairs of the imperial court, you can get General Huang back alive, it will be a great achievement." ”

Han Ruzi's "attack" had just begun, and after laying a cloud of suspicion, he still had to rescue Huang Pugong.

Dozens of miles away, Luan Kai, who was detained by pirates, was also waiting for the news, a group of pirates pretending to be fishermen, who came two days ago, and it was the letter that "invited" them to come. (To be continued.) )