"Please make it clear." Hu Zongxian said calmly.

Zhao Zhenji took out a thick stack of confessions and said: "This is the confession of more than 100 criminals from the official office in the prison of the Nanjing Criminal Department," It turned out that during this time, the old master was not playing idle, but repairing the plank road openly, secretly Chen Cang, and privately conducted research: "The reasons for their thieves are different, but more than eighty percent of them accuse you of the Zhejiang government of setting up clever names and tricks, and not caring about the life and death of the people at all, so that there is no way to continue, and the people sell their sons and daughters, so they have taken refuge in the Japanese robbers...... Lord Hu might as well take a look at these confessions, yes and no? ”

Hu Zongxian didn't look at those confessions, and asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean, my lord?" ”

"I don't mean anything else, I just want to find out who is pushing our people into the arms of the Wakos!" Zhao Zhenji was aggressive: "Who made the Japanese invaders stronger and stronger, and they couldn't be destroyed repeatedly!" ”

"According to the meaning of the adults, it is the anti-Japanese anti-Japanese mention that we have levied, and many good people have been forced to rebel." Hu Zongxian asked calmly: "Is that what you mean?" ”

"Isn't it?" Zhao Zhenji asked rhetorically.

Hu Zongxian looked at the clerk in the corner of the room, and laughed silently: "I want to ask the minister, what do you think about the issue of 'additional faction'?" Is it really a harsh tax to enrich oneself? ”

"This official is asking questions, and I can't answer your questions." Zhao Zhenji said in a deep voice.

"If you can't answer, I'll answer it myself." Hu Zongxian raised his voice slightly and said: "Bingjiayun: 'If a husband wants to be a soldier, he must first have enough food', if there is not enough food, the morale of the army will be low, the combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced, and even the soldiers will become bandits!" In particular, the Zhejiang Guards were completely corrupted, and now they all rely on recruiting troops and guest soldiers to fight, both of which are raised by silver, and the cost is much higher than that of the Guards' army. ”

"Where does this money come from? Zhejiang's treasury alone is certainly far from enough, and the imperial court's finances are already stretched, coupled with the huge military expenses of the nine sides, the lack of treasury, and the inability to make ends meet, and unable to provide support. Hu Zongxian said unhurriedly: "Although the additional faction will increase the burden of the people, but if the troubles are not eliminated, and the people's wealth cannot be guaranteed, how can they have wealth?" Those who say that the tax is heavy are like the shipwreck, who does not think about how to save his life, but thinks about his baggage full of gold and silver! ”

Hearing that he was still here, Zhao Zhenji no longer hid the disdain on his face and said, "Lord Wang, what do you think?" ”

Wang Yongji pondered for a while, and then said softly: "The following officials are foolish, the people are in distress, and the situation is particularly worrying, and if the place is unprepared, and when the Japanese invade suddenly, the misery of their burning, looting, killing and injury will be worse than the suffering of those who are promoted and sent." ”

"You're too gullible to be gullible!" Zhao Zhenji said unhappily: "What about Lord Shen? You won't also breathe out of the same nostril with Hu Zongxian, right? ”

Hu Zongxian and Wang Yongji looked at Shen Mo's face together, hoping that he could speak in unison, but they were disappointed, and only listened to Shen Mo's calm face: "Xia Guan feels that Hu Zhongcheng's statement is a bit far-fetched, and it can't cover all the issues with the word 'anti-Japanese'. ”

"Good!" In the disbelieving gazes of Hu Zongxian and Wang Yongji, Zhao Zhenji applauded: "Sure enough, he is a young talent, bright and fair!" As he spoke, he looked at Hu Zongxian and said, "Your statement sounds reasonable at first glance, but this official is not a three-year-old child, and he can't pass the test with a few rhetoric." I only heard him sneer and said: "The old man has been a household servant for many years, and it is not too difficult to figure out Zhejiang's income and expenditure!" ”

He took out a hand-copied account book and said: "This is your income and expenditure account for the 34th year of Jiajing, Zhejiang, with a regular tax of 1.3 million taels, a salary of 800,000 taels, and an additional 400,000 taels, a total of 2.5 million taels, deducting 400,000 taels submitted to the treasury, 600,000 taels allocated to the vassal king, 150,000 taels handed over to the river workers, 50,000 taels of officials, 40,000 taels for repairs and construction, and 10,000 taels for various miscellaneous expenses, and there should be 1,250,000 ta......els." In the end, only 150,000 taels were saved, can there be an error in this account? ”

Hu Zongxian shook his head and said, "No." "The account books in the province have to be submitted to the household department, so it is not surprising that Zhao Zhenji can get it.

"Very good, since it's right, it's good!" Zhao Zhenji stared at him like a falcon, and asked word by word: "This official asks you, do you really need so much silver?" ”

Hu Zongxian's face was as usual: "There are 100,000 troops in Zhejiang, most of which are guest troops and recruits. The guest army has to pay double salaries, and the recruitment of soldiers also has to be called three cents of silver, and when a war starts, weapons and grain are piled up with money, so the art of war says: 'It is said that it costs a thousand gold, and then raises a division of 100,000 yuan', and of course the money is very powerful. ”

"Nonsense!" Zhao Zhenji slapped the table hard, took out another account book, patted it in front of him and said: "This is your purchase list in Zhejiang for the first half of the year, adding up all the internal and external expenses, the use of guests, the materials of glue paint, and the dedication of car armor, it only cost 600,000 taels!" May I ask Master Hu, where did the 500,000 taels of silver go? ”

A chill rose in Hu Zongxian's heart, because Zhao Zhenji's statement was quite close to the truth. If this account is stabbed, then it will really be over...... He seemed to have seen Zhao Wenhua cross the river and be abandoned, and beads of sweat the size of beans seeped out of his forehead.

'Calm down, be calm! How many years of military career have forged his incomparably tenacious will, Hu Zongxian forced himself to calm down, and quickly deliberated in his heart...... He is old in government affairs, he is extremely skilled in handling accounts, and he knows that embezzlement of military salaries is a matter of losing his head, so he is extremely cautious in handling every account, and more importantly, the only general ledger is properly hidden by him somewhere, how can it be obtained by Zhao Zhenji?

Suppressing the panic in his heart, he hissed: "Lord Ministry, can you take a look at this account book?" ”

A trace of disappointment flashed on Zhao Zhenji's face, but he had no choice but to nod and say, "Look." ”

Slowly stretched out his hand, opened the account book and looked at it, Hu Zongxian was suddenly relieved, it turned out that this was not a real account, but a figure estimated by Zhao Zhenji. He couldn't help but chuckle and said, "I don't know where these numbers come from?" ”

Zhao Zhenji said with a straight face: "The prices in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are similar, and it is not difficult to calculate the price of Nanzhili and the actual consumption of Zhejiang. ”

"It was reckoned for." Hu Zongxian said with a smile: "With such a fabricated account book, if you want to accuse a feudal official, are you a little too arrogant?" ”

"You!" Zhao Zhenji's face was suffocated for a while, and he turned red for a while, and said angrily: "I might as well tell you that this official has borrowed your governor's yamen, even if you dig three feet into the ground, I will also find out ironclad evidence!" ”

Hu Zongxian was also completely angry, and said: "Zhao Mengjing, you don't want to deceive people too much, Your Majesty asked you to investigate the instigation of the Japanese cogues, you don't interrogate criminals, but make a fuss about what bullshit military spending, what are your intentions?!" ”

"Because the two are inextricably linked." Zhao Zhenji was unmoved and said: "The harsh government is fiercer than the tiger, and it is your harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes that force the people of Zhejiang to deviate from morality, so they let the few widows enter the realm of no one...... As for the source of those robbers, the official will naturally find out, but you culprits don't want to get away with it! ”

"Since that's the case," Hu Zongxian dusted off his sleeves and said, "Then it's up to you." Then he got up and said, "Farewell!" ”

"Who let you go?" Zhao Zhenji said coldly: "The official hasn't allowed you to leave yet, right?" ”

"If words are not speculative, why should they be humiliated here?" Hu Zongxian didn't look back, and walked straight to the door.

"Stop!" Zhao Zhenji shouted, and the guard at the door stopped Hu Zongxian and said, "My lord, please go back." ”

Hu Zongxian laughed loudly and said: "You Zhao Zhenji is a Qincha, and this official is the governor of Zhejiang, and he is also a Qincha, unless His Majesty orders it, who dares to restrict my freedom?!" As he spoke, he looked at the guards who were blocking the road and said, "Touching my finger is a capital crime of violating the emperor, you can try to see if this is the case." ”

Then he strode forward, and the guards raised their spears and tried to force him back, but Hu Zongxian stepped forward without changing his face, without a trace of hesitation.

After all, the guards did not dare to make a move against the governor of a province, and just as the blades were about to rub against him, they withdrew their spears, made way for a passage, and watched him depart.

The guards looked back at the lord of the ministry again, and their faces were already pale, and they quickly knelt on the ground in a hurry.

Zhao Zhenji looked straight at the direction of Hu Zongxian's departure, and found that he was underestimating this strict party element. Today, he can be said to have been planning for a long time, fully prepared, and under a series of lightning strikes, I believe that he will definitely show his flaws! Who knew that Hu Zongxian was caught off guard, able to withstand his own indiscriminate bombardment, and finally overwhelmed himself in momentum.

He seemed to hear Hu Zongxian laugh and say: "This is Zhejiang, it is my territory, I am in charge!" ”

Slamming the table hard, Zhao Zhenji angrily said: "It's not that the dragon is not the river!" I'm going to eat you, the snake of the land! ”

(To be continued)