Emperor Ming Dynasty

"Reasonable!"

The Dianli Qian nodded, and the eye-catching guard came over with a bag of silver coins.

The Escort Bureau also ordered the darts again on the spot, then put on a seal, and took the convoy away in a mighty way.

After watching a group of Escorts leave, the yamen servants and the people from the bank dispersed separately.

On the way home, the white servant who had just been on the job for only two days clicked his tongue: "Good guy, four hundred miles of land, six hundred silver dollars, at most half a month back and forth, and 20 yuan per person."

"It's so easy to make money."

"You think it's beautiful, kid." The old white servant with black and yellow teeth, with a weed in his mouth, said disdainfully:
"People ate horse chews along the way, and if they didn't make sure they met bandits and water bandits, they died. No amount of money would help."

"That's a lot of money!" The young man murmured: "Let's say that he is a government servant, and he only spends five pennies a month, five buckets of food, and he can survive starvation in the city. Where is the security guard?"

"This thing is not something you can do if you want to."

The old white servant said casually: "All of them are masters of wielding knives and guns. I heard that there are still many who have retired from the army. It has to be related. Only the official darts can eat and drink spicy food. If you smuggle darts, you will starve for nine days." pause."

"Uncle Zhang, what's the difference between an official bodyguard and a private bodyguard?"

"It makes a big difference."

The old white servant showed off: "The county government reconciles the account. It is the public house, so there is no need to default. Otherwise, no one will transport the darts in the next year."

"Besides, they all follow the official path. Who would dare to rob such a thing? The local elders are all waiting to make meritorious deeds!"

"The private bodyguards are different. They are transporting family members or commercial goods. They are like rich fat sheep. Who can bear it?"

With the active business, Escort officially appeared a hundred years in advance from the Qianlong period in history, and became a legitimate industry.

Escorts are divided into official darts and private darts.

For private escorts, the mileage is basically one silver dollar a hundred miles.

The official escort, on the other hand, is to escort taxes and food, or money, calculated according to the value.

50 yuan for every [-] yuan.

The taxes of the counties are transferred to the prefectures by the strong men and yamen servants, and then the prefectures are transferred to the capital.

Among them, the Escort occupies the main force, and it is also an extension of the power of the government, and it is an important part.

Because all they do is official work, the bodyguard agencies are either run by local gentry, or are relatives and friends of officials.

Because of the ease of use, generally when there is a shortage of manpower, the Escort Bureau will also be paid to dispatch, such as relief for victims, construction of dams, and official roads, Escort Bureau escorts will be called.

Even when the Shangguan came to inspect, sometimes there was not enough manpower, he would let the bodyguard bureau clean the streets together, which was regarded as an escort.

As for the patrol battalion, it is the army. If more than 50 people are mobilized in the local area, they must be reported to the magistrate, otherwise they will be severely punished.

The Shunfeng Escort walked leisurely on the official road, the seal on the car made many pedestrians avoid it, as if they saw a poisonous scorpion.

If you come across something from the official family, you can get compensation for ruining your family and property, and no one dares to provoke it.

Thirty people from the Escort Bureau, each with their heads tilted, walked against the sun, sweating profusely.

The knives and guns were all placed on the mule cart, wearing short clothes, and their hair was tied up one by one, so that they almost stuck out their tongues to dissipate heat.

The wide official road is smooth, and the speed of the mule cart is very gentle, but the minds of the group are getting hotter and hotter.

"Head, take a rest, it's too hot."

"Fart, look at all of you, this is an official bank, you have to be serious."

"Because it's the official bank, which lard wiped his heart and dared to grab the official bank?"

A few people were chatting, and the cicada monkeys on the roadside trees kept chirping, which made people feel bored.

Suddenly, dozens of men in ragged clothes broke into the official road: "I opened this road, and I planted this tree. If you want to live here, you can save money to buy roads."

"You are the hero who dared to rob our bodyguard bureau. Didn't you know that we were an official bodyguard? The governor is waiting to use it. You really don't know how to live or die."

The leading bodyguard frowned, and ordered everyone to raise their weapons.

"I care about you as an official banker and private banker. If you don't keep it, it's the property of a corrupt official. We call it robbing the rich and helping the poor."

The leading black-faced man roared, brandished a butcher's knife, and rushed in without hesitation.

Dozens of little minions also rushed forward.

The bodyguards complained bitterly, and unexpectedly met a Lengtouqing.

But in the end they were organized and quickly gained the upper hand.

At this moment, hundreds of bandits rushed out from the woods on both sides.

"I'm here to help you—"

Facing the siege of bandits several times, the bodyguards were instantly at a disadvantage and immediately sensed something was wrong.

"withdraw--"

With the wounded, a group of people fled, leaving those officials behind.

The bandits rejoiced and tore off the seal.

"What? How dare you rob the official money?"

The Anqing Mansion was in a panic in an instant, and the patrol battalion moved directly to suppress the bandits.

But when they arrived, it was already a mess, with no one to be seen at all.

As far as the matter cannot be concealed, Anqing can only report it to the Luzhou government for the governor to make a decision.

This is the first time since Anhui was established as a province, and its political influence has been enormous.

After searching in every possible way, thousands of people were mobilized to suppress them. After half a month, the bandits were finally found, but the silver coins recovered were less than 3 yuan.

This is a shortfall of nearly [-] silver dollars.

Even the governor can't stand it.

Helpless, can only report to the court.

"The money just disappeared without a trace?"

Zhu Mou said angrily, "The business tax for three months is almost two taxes for a county, and it just disappeared without a trace."

"What does the magistrate of Anqing do? Where is the governor?"

Feng Xianzong looked solemn.

Du Yinxi remained silent.

Only Yan Yingyuan looked calm.

This naturally has his reason.

Because the governor of Anhui is a member of Feng Xianzong, he was recommended by him last year, and now he has to give gifts every year and festival.

For his dereliction of duty, Feng Xianzong couldn't do well either.

The magistrate of Anqing is Du Yinxi's nephew and son-in-law, and they are related.

In this big incident, the prefect of Anqing cannot absolve himself of the blame.

Good guy, a robbery case directly involved two elders in the cabinet. It is true that there are different reactions.

Yan Yingyuan joined the cabinet not long ago, and there was no man in his pocket at all, so he was able to stay outside and watch the play.

"From my point of view, how can there be such a courageous bandit in the world? The local government must have deceived the upper and lower, and corrupted the tax with an excuse..."

Zhu Mou's face was full of anger, and his eyes seemed to burst into flames: "Investigate, we must investigate strictly."

Feng Xianzong also said solemnly: "Once the investigation is done and the truth is revealed, even the governor will have to fuck."

"It must be checked, but we'd better listen to what we want."

Du Yinxi said softly: "See how His Majesty arranges it."

Soon, the emperor issued an oral order to let the cabinet handle it by itself.

At this time, Zhu Mou became more and more public. He advocated that the Metropolitan Procuratorate send a censor to inspect. In addition, the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple sent special personnel to investigate.

At the same time, the governor of Anhui was temporarily exempted, and the chief minister was replaced, and the magistrate of Anqing was detained and replaced by a general judge.

For a time, the officialdom in Anhui was in turmoil and people's hearts were disturbed.

There are even rumors in the market that not only the Anqing prefecture in Anhui, but also the rest of the prefectures have been corrupted. A large amount of money was gathered in the capital and entered the pocket of some minister.

The rumors came together, and the capital instantly became noisy.

Beijing is at the foot of the emperor, and its people are extremely concerned about politics. There are heated discussions in the streets and alleys, alluding to the cabinet.

After returning to the mansion, Feng Xianzong took off his official robe, practiced calligraphy continuously in the study, and wrote one after another, never knowing to stop.

At this time, his wife came quietly and brought tea: "Take a break, your disciple is here to see you."

Feng Xianzong breathed a sigh of relief, his heart was still depressed, he drank his tea and said, "This Zhu Mou is really unruly."

Because local officials are involved in civil affairs, they like to invite staff to help them govern and regulate the local area.

Although this group of scholars has been observing politics in the Eight Departments for many years, they have learned little on paper, and there is a huge difference between the central and local governments.

Although the participation of staff has various disadvantages, it is the key to helping civil servants grasp the place as soon as possible, so the court is also in a default state.

After all, they pay for it themselves.

But Beijing officials are different.

Daily paper work, although there are many political battles, but basically they are familiar with it, which is far easier than local government, so there are few staff.

What's more, I have hired a staff member, whose vision is local, and who has little knowledge of the power structure of the central government, so it is difficult to provide help.

Therefore, Beijing officials, even the elders and ministers, seldom invite staff, at most they are one or two clean-up guests.

Discussions should also be conducted among colleagues of the party as much as possible.

Immediately, he came to the living room, and saw a 35-year-old middle-aged man with a good appearance and a refined face.

His name is Gao Liang, a native of Luoyang. When Feng Xianzong was in his hometown, he once taught Confucian children, and he was one of them.

With this kind of relationship, coupled with his diligence, even though he was born as a Jinshi, he was also an official to the magistrate, and he was the magistrate of Huai'an.

"Teacher!" Gao Liang, wearing fashionable glass glasses and a slightly loose robe, with a smile on his lips, directly bowed his hands.

"Get up!" Feng Xianzong sat down, Lao Huai comforted him: "I haven't seen you for many years, but you are getting better and better."

"Three hundred ponds in Huai'an were built in a year, and thousands of acres of land were turned into fertile fields, benefiting tens of thousands of people. When you are in charge, you can be regarded as one of the three flavors."

"Students dare not be, because of their size, they dare not show their eyes in front of the teacher."

Gao Liang's eyes were full of joy, but he still had to be humble.

The master and apprentice were talking about the old days, and Gao Liang brought some Huai'an specialties.

As for money, there is none at all.

As the cabinet elder of the current dynasty, Du Yinxi holds the title of a bachelor, and receives thousands of silver dollars every year. In addition to the rewards from the palace on weekdays, it is simply not enough to spend.

Not to mention the property at home.

During the founding stage of the country, military officials made meritorious service and obtained military merit and land, while civil servants were only rewarded with land and money.

Feng Xianzong was still a Viscount at this time, but there were hundreds of hectares of land, most of which were fertile, and he did not accept bribes at all.

From shallow to deep, and finally, I talked about this incident that was circulated in Beijing.

Gao Liang thought for a moment, and said, "The city of Beijing is too lively, and the place is full of turmoil. If it goes on like this, countless officials will be implicated. I'm afraid it will be another big case."

"Perhaps, this is what the chief assistant wants."

"That's right." Feng Xianzong sneered: "Prestige, power, take this opportunity to hit me again, that's what he wants to do."

"The abacus, even in Anhui, thousands of miles away, I don't know how many people have heard of it."

"But who let him find a good opportunity? This is a conspiracy!"

As he spoke, he revealed that the prefect of Anqing was Du Yinxi's niece and son-in-law.

For this big case, someone must carry it. The prefect is not qualified enough, and the governor is too much. This will require Feng Xianzong and Du Yinxi to engage in a secret massage.

The second assistant and the group assistant fight, and the first assistant reaps the benefits of the fisherman.

Once the fight really breaks out, it will be difficult to reconcile.

Because this is a struggle between two political factions, not individuals.

Gao Liang took a deep breath, and immediately said: "As far as the students know, this matter should be caused by the ineffectiveness of the Escort Bureau!"

Feng Xianzong sighed after hearing the words: "The trouble is, in this bodyguard agency, the magistrate has [-]% shares, and I heard that there are several imperial merchants."

"If it's true that the Escort Bureau is responsible for it, if it's not guaranteed, we'll have to check with the Ministry of Internal Affairs..."

Behind the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the emperor, which is totally appropriate.

Moreover, the imperial merchants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have great connections, how could they endure this behavior of taking the blame, and the movement became even bigger.

"That's weird, where did things go?"

Zhu Fu.

"Things are long gone."

Zhu Mou was in the study, looking at the secret letter.

12 yuan, nearly 13 yuan, but only 10 yuan, 3 yuan less on the way.

This must be the ghost of the Anqing Mansion, and there is no way to get rid of it.

Therefore, 3 yuan is not much, and it can be filled up in a few strokes, so he asked someone to take away another 7 yuan, leaving only [-] yuan.

The 10 yuan silver dollar cannot be made up in a short time at all. If it cannot be rounded, it can only be reported.

"A high salary can't support Lian, it will only increase people's appetite."

Zhu Mou sighed, and immediately showed a smile.

Whether it is public or private, he benefits from this matter.

The emperor asked him to retreat, so he naturally didn't dare not to retreat.

But there is a saying that is good, everything depends on the foil.

Feng Xianzong, who was regarded as the favored one, lost so much face, His Majesty's mind will inevitably change.

He gained prestige, and the emperor once again showed his favor, killing two birds with one stone.

At the same time, it also lifted the curtain of local corruption.

"Feng Xianzong, let me see how proud you are." Zhu Mou showed a complacent smile.

summer resort.

On the surface, the emperor ignored it and let the cabinet do it, but in private, he asked Jin Yiwei to investigate.

In this situation where there were no bugs, the reason why Jin Yiwei ran rampant was nothing more than two points: coercion and torture.

As for the so-called temptation, it doesn't exist at all.

Ambush undercover only worked in the early Ming Dynasty, but now who doesn't have a few families to have children?

Therefore, most of the time, Jin Yiwei can only act as an afterthought and track down the truth.

Commander Chu Yu of Jin Yiwei bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is An Qing's guard stealing from himself, and the so-called bandits are An Qing's own people."

"The patrol battalion cooperates with the magistrate, and even participates in the general judgment."

"One is to make up for the shortfall, and the other is to make meritorious deeds by exterminating bandits."

"Afterwards, suddenly another group of bandits broke in. They took away most of the silver dollars and disappeared, so only 3 yuan was left..."

(End of this chapter)