The north wind howled, a rare weather in August, the black clouds were very low, and from time to time a flash of lightning flashed, and the subsequent thunder seemed very dull. There were no pedestrians on the road, and the occasional person walked by with his clothes tightly wrapped and struggling to walk forward against the wind.

In the middle of the mission, Zhou Jiamo stood at the door, staring at the dark sky, and sighed softly. How many years, how many years I don't care about this weather, the bookish spirit seems to have been worn out a long time ago. Since I arrived in Nanjing, I suddenly remembered the feeling of the past, I was young and frivolous, and I seemed to be many years younger.

The wind is getting stronger and the sky is getting darker and darker, and after nightfall, I feel like I can't see my fingers. The heavy rain that had been brewing for a day finally fell, slamming the roof tiles, as if venting something hard.

Ordering the old servant to light up the oil lamp, Zhou Jiamo sat in front of the desk, which was not the books of the hundred schools of thought, but the dossier of Nanjing. I couldn't stop thinking about what to do next. After thinking about it, there was no good way, so I could only wait for Wuyang's side. As long as Wu Yang speaks, it doesn't matter if there is evidence or not, Zhou Jiamo has already thought about this. As long as there are those involved, it is not an exaggeration to arrest them all, and there will certainly not be a single unjust, false and wrongly decided case.

In the room not far away, Luo Sigong was also sitting in the room, I don't know if it was because of the weather, Luo Sigong always felt restless. Standing next to him was Dang Han, who had just come back from Hangzhou, although there was still a trace of fatigue on his face, his expression looked very serious.

"There is no need to send someone to investigate the matter in Hangzhou, there is no point, to get you back, I just don't want you to waste time there." Looking at Dang Han with a smile, Luo Sigong explained. For Dang Han, Luo Sigong has never simply regarded him as his subordinate.

"It's good for adults to call the shots. Dang Han is at his disposal! Dang Han actually didn't care in his heart, countless facts have proved that Luo Sigong's approach was all right. You don't have to think too much about it, just execute it.

Nodding slowly, Luo Sigong frowned and said, "Dang Han, you said these people in Nanjing." Will they sit back and wait so honestly? ”

Shaking his head, Dang Han sighed and said helplessly: "Adults are in officialdom, and many things are more clear than humble positions. The affairs of Nanzhili have a long history, and it can be said that they are intertwined, and the words of the local clans are even more useful than the words of the emperor. ”

Talking with Dang Han, there are not so many scruples, Luo Sigong motioned to Dang Han to continue. Luo Sigong naturally understands this, the emperor is in Beijing. Naturally, the imperial power was able to drive well in the north. Nanjing was originally the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and the structure of the yamen was similar to that of Beijing, and it enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. Because the emperor can't sit in Nanjing, the people here are even more unscrupulous.

"The emperor has made up his mind this time, it stands to reason that whether it is a case of embezzlement of military salaries or a disaster relief case in Yangzhou, it is actually not a big case. The simple handling is nothing more than the dismissal of the governor of Nanzhili and the seizure of his home. It's okay to punish a group of officials, and things in Hangzhou are simpler. But the emperor obviously didn't want to deal with it like this. Pondering the Sacred Heart, an adult is much stronger than a lowly position. Although he didn't take much into account when he spoke, Dang Han still didn't say it thoroughly, or that it was okay to say it here.

Luo Sigong naturally understands that it knows better than anyone else that you have strong financial resources. The influence on the court has been increasing. A few years ago, they still relied on bribing officials to achieve their goals, but relying on bribes was unreliable after all. These big clans paid for the establishment of academies to train their own family children and gradually increase their influence in the officialdom.

The Donglin Party, which was swept out by the emperor, and the Qizhejiang Chu Party, which is still active in the court. All fall into this category. Even Fang Congzhe and Liu Yijing, scholars of the first assistant university in the cabinet, were all from these parties, which shows how great the influence of these families has been on the court.

Among them, although the Qin Party in Shanxi is not strong, it is the Jin merchants in Shanxi who stand behind, and the strength of these people is also very strong. These people used their financial resources to weave a large net that tightly wrapped the imperial power and allowed the imperial court to formulate policies according to their wishes. Buying and installing their own people in the local area, and gradually increasing their own strength.

"The emperor first swept away the cancer of Liaodong, and used the affairs of Liaodong to suppress the people of the Donglin Party. Then there was the matter of Zhangjiakou, where the emperor swept away the traitorous route smuggled by Shanxi people. Yangzhou's salt, whether it is the big family of Jiangsu and Zhejiang behind it, or the Jin merchants of Shanxi, have all been eliminated by the emperor one by one. Dang Han saw that Luo Sigong didn't speak, so he spoke again.

"Yes! Zhang Juzheng's reform back then did not hurt the interests of these big families in the end, and finally came to an end. Xu Ge Lao in the south of the Yangtze River, the land alone occupies 240,000 mu, in the south of the Yangtze River, where every inch of land is golden, what a lot of wealth. Although Zhang Juzheng moved to Xu Gelao, so what? The big clans in Jiangnan are still there! Sighing, Luo Sigong took over the conversation, with a little helplessness on his face.

Nodding, Dang Han continued: "The emperor has long seen that these big families are a cancer in the Ming Dynasty. If you dig it down, the Ming Dynasty may lose its vitality, and if you don't dig it, these will bury the Ming Dynasty sooner or later. Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has been constantly training troops in Liaodong and Gyeonggi, one is to build slaves and Tartars, and the other is probably to quell the rebellion. Adults have experienced these things, and I think adults know it very well. ”

Luo Sigong naturally understands this, and now that things have come to the last moment, whether it is Liaodong or Jingying, all of them are strong and strong at this time. Jiannu and Tartar had already been beaten to pieces, and the Emperor of the Apocalypse did not try his best to destroy Jiannu and Tartar, and instead turned his attention to these great families. In the eyes of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, the threat of these clans is probably much greater than that of Jiannu and Tatar.

"My lord, after the emperor's politics in the past few years, although the imperial treasury does not have much money, everyone knows that the emperor's inner treasury has silver. The soldiers are strong, and the northwest frontier has also stabilized, even if someone rebels, the imperial court will not care too much. The emperor now attaches more importance to the national eunuch and the national military eunuch, obviously wanting to train officials to replace the officials of these families. The emperor's foresight is far from what we can compare! Dang Han's eyes flashed with admiration, and his admiration for the Emperor of the Apocalypse had reached the extreme.

Luo Sigong didn't say anything, but the expression on his face became serious, things have come to this point, it's useless to say anything. These people are just pawns of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, if you don't want to become an outcast, then work hard to do your duty as a pawn.

"My lord, Governor Zhang asks to see you!" Outside, I suddenly remembered the voice of the captain of the brocade guard, and there was a faint impatience in his words.

Governor Zhang, surnamed Zhang Mingche, has five official positions. This five-grade official is actually not so valuable, you must know that the post stations in various places are equipped with post officers, and they are in charge of the honor guards, carriages and horses, and greeting and sending off in the post stations, and they are small officials who are not in the grade. Zhang Che's responsibilities are similar to those of Yicheng, but this is a round of the emperor, so naturally he can't use unqualified officials to manage it.

Luo Sigong still has some impressions of this Governor Zhang, because there is not only this governor in the entire circle. But the one in charge of his own courtyards is this Governor Zhang. According to Luo Sigong's idea, all these governors should be driven away, because they are likely to be spies.

However, Luo Sigong also knew that it was impossible, it was really a bit noisy to do so, if it was an ordinary post station, it would be impossible to do it. It's raining so heavily outside, I don't know what this Governor Zhang is looking for him.

Turning his head to look at Dang Han on the side, Luo Sigong said with a smile: "Go and bring him in!" We cook our own people, and this Governor Zhang is still more reasonable. Coming here so late, there must be something to do, don't delay! ”

"Yes, sir!" Dang Han nodded, walked out quickly, and time came back with a thin man, this person was Zhang Che.

"Xiaguan Zhang Che sees how many adults he is, he really shouldn't come to disturb adults late at night!" Zhang Che gave Luo Sigong a salute, his demeanor was very respectful, and there was a hint of flattery on his face.

nodded quietly, Luo Sigong really didn't have any interest in this Zhang Che, and said, "Master Zhang must also have something, let's talk about something!" ”

"Yes, sir! The people of the lower officials found a big box in the back, and I don't know who left it, so they brought it to the adults to see! Zhang Che didn't straighten up, still bent down and said respectfully.

"Big box? What's inside? Luo Sigong immediately grasped the point, this box must not be simple, otherwise Zhang Che would never carry it to himself.

Zhang Che glanced at Dang Han on the side, and saw Luo Sigong nodding before he spoke: "Lord Hui, it's a corpse!" The lower official was worried that something would be involved, so he brought it to the adults to see, and he was afraid of startling the snake, so he didn't make a noise all the way. ”

"Corpses? There is actually a corpse in the Qincha Xingyuan? Is it an old corpse? Luo Sigong suddenly became suspicious and asked with a frown.

"Lord Hui, no, it doesn't look like he's been dead for a long time" Zhang Che shook his head and said with a serious expression.

Glancing at Dang Han, Luo Sigong said to Zhang Che again: "Let people come in!" ”

Nodding respectfully, Zhang Che walked out and beckoned a few people outside to bring the box in. But the man at the door was very cautious, took the box from the men, and carried it into the house.

Zhang Che walked to the edge of the box, with a bit of solemnity on his face, and said to Luo Sigong on the side: "My lord, I'm going to open the box!" ”

Luo Sigong nodded, and Zhang Che did not hesitate, reaching out to open the box. A man in a nightsuit was lying inside, with blood on his face and body, and it was impossible to see what he looked like. (To be continued......)