Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 99

Ministry of punishment, prison.

Since Hongzhi ascended the throne, whether it is Beizhen Fusi Prison or this prison representing the highest standard of the country, it has obviously become more lively.

Ni Yue, the former right servant of the Ministry of Rites, was no longer as domineering as before, and now he was imprisoned in the death row, like a deflated balloon, sighing listlessly.

A person who was completely covered by a black robe passed by the prison cell, Ni Yue opened his eyes slightly, and then continued to lean against the wall silently counting the date of his own death.

Compared with death, this kind of waiting is more tormented.

Especially in his dreams, he often had the sweet dream that he was the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, but every time he woke up and saw that he was still in the death row, he felt that life would be worse than death.

It's just that time is passing by bit by bit, and he can only watch helplessly as he is getting closer and closer to his death, but he can't do anything.

If the time could be restarted, he would definitely not stand up to protect the dead eunuch Wynn, let alone say such thoughtless words.

There is no medicine for regret in the world, and now he has changed from a high-ranking right servant of the Ministry of Rites to a death row prisoner who no one cares about.

I stood up for Wynn, and even toughened the emperor from the standpoint of civil servants, but now I am in prison, and there are very few officials who come to visit me.

What those people say is that they advance and retreat together, but it is clear that they can only share wealth and adversity.

Ni Yue's ears twitched slightly, listening to the footsteps of the man in black who just passed by the cell, but his heart was like a mirror.

When the man in black robe walked away, he immediately opened his eyes again and looked over there, but he didn't expect that this man was even related to Li Min.

"If I can escape this time, I, Li, will have a big thank you!" Li Min has been trying to escape after being captured by Song Cheng in Chongwenmen, and solemnly promised the visitor.

Originally, he was about to give up hope, but unexpectedly learned that the account book of Xie Yikui that testified against him was not found from Xie's house, but from a private money shop.

Since the half of the ledger has been damp, the handwriting of the ledger must have been affected to a certain extent, so he can insist that someone deliberately framed it.

Just to really escape from death, it is not enough to rely on your own stubbornness, and you need someone in the court to speak for you.

Like Wang Yue back then, everyone knew that those poems did not explain much, and even those poems were clearly misunderstood by someone deliberately, but Wang Yue was stunned because he was exiled to Anlu by the imperial court, and no one in the court could speak for Wang Yue.

Now, even in the face of the aloof Da Tianzi, he still has to use all the connections he can use, and he must escape from this dead situation.

The man in black was silent for a moment, and then said calmly: "There is no mistake at home?"

"Don't worry about this, this matter has already been taken care of, and I even revised the book in advance and went home so that the dog can handle it properly!" Li Min's eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately promised in a hurry.

After learning the news that Xie Yikui was confiscated, he was afraid that he would be implicated, so he immediately wrote home and asked his son to transfer all the kiln money, and at the same time transfer all the house and land property to relatives or clan members.

It seemed like a cowardly move at the time, but it actually left a way out for myself.

After receiving Li Min's affirmative reply, the man in black seemed to let go of his hanging heart, so he turned around and left here tacitly.

It's just that when he passed Ni Yue's cell, he didn't bother to take a look at it. After all, this idiot is really hopeless, and the three-year agreement is justified for His Majesty to form a sect party.

Xiangcheng, located in the central part of Henan Province, belongs to Xuzhou under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Ever since Li Min made his fortune, Xiangcheng has been headed by the Li family, and the current Li family can be said to be the first family in Xiangcheng with a legitimate name.

Li Min's second son, Li Yuanzheng, is a steady middle-aged man who has been staying in his hometown to take care of the family business.

Since he received a letter from his father in the capital a few days ago, he immediately started to deal with all the properties under his own name, and at the same time transferred the family's kiln silver to a secret place.

Like all corrupt officials in the world, in order to prevent their wealth from being taken over by the court, they usually don't keep all the stolen money at home, but find another place to hide it.

Originally the most suitable place was my own ancestral grave, but now there are too many people hiding the ancestral grave, and there is no guarantee that any turtle grandson will dig it, so I have already chosen another place.

After dealing with all this, Xiangcheng seemed to be very calm, and he walked into the Xiangcheng county government office in a big way.

"Second Master Li, what wind brought you to the county government office!"

The magistrate of Xiangcheng, surnamed Gou, was a middle-aged man with a pleasant appearance. Three years ago, Li Min jumped from the master book to the position of magistrate of Xiangcheng. At this moment, he greeted Li Yuanzheng very enthusiastically.

Li Yuanzheng took a seat in the living room, picked up the teacup and said unhurriedly, "Gouzhi County, have you heard any rumors from the court recently?"

"Hehe... Second Young Master Li, you are asking the right person! A friend from Beijing happened to send a letter today, in which he informed that the home of Xie Yikui, the former Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, had been confiscated!" Gou Zhixian looked around, looking mysterious revealed a piece of news.

As soon as Li Yuanzheng brought the tea to his mouth, he suddenly heard the news that the dignified minister of the Ministry of Industry had been confiscated, and suddenly a chill came to his heart, and he was caught off guard by the boiling tea.

"I just heard that Xie Shangshu was poor all his life, and the court couldn't copy a few valuable things at all. Your Majesty is wronging an upright official... Are you okay!" Gou Zhixian continued to talk very proudly, and then cared about Li Yuanzheng who was scalded by tea. typical.

Li Yuanzheng put down the teacup in his hand, waved his hand to signal that he was fine, and said, "Gouzhi County, if my Li family is also in great trouble, I wonder if you will help my Li family out of trouble?"

"Li Shangshu has been kind to the county in rebuilding it, and it is only with the help of Mr. Li that he can manage Xiangcheng County well. This county should be obliged to do so!" Gou Zhixian said sternly without opening his eyes.

Li Yuanzheng couldn't help but settle down, wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief and said: "It's true! The new emperor favors eunuchs. My father doesn't want to see Ming Dynasty being controlled by treacherous eunuchs. Stay idle! Today, my father was extremely disappointed in the imperial court, so he abandoned his high position and resigned and returned to the land. However, my father has committed a crime against an internal official. According to my father's court friend Xu Xueshi, the eunuch Guo Yong who is next to the new emperor has already slandered and framed me During my father's tenure as the Governor of Water Transport, he corrupted ink, and my Li family may follow in the footsteps of Xie's family!"

"Huh? Li Shangshu has already resigned?" Gou Zhixian's brain automatically ignored the following nonsense, and immediately opened his mouth in disappointment.

Li Yuanzheng suddenly realized that the magistrate was not playing tricks at all, so he changed the subject and said: "Gou Zhixian, but you can rest assured! Although my father has resigned and returned to the farm, many friends are still in court. Xu Pu, the left servant of the Ministry of Officials, has been a good friend of the same year for many years, and it will not be a slip of the tongue to arrange you to be the county magistrate!"

"This county doesn't care about official positions, it's just... just shocked, after all... After all, Li Shangshu has the talent to govern the country!" Gou Zhixian realized that his reaction was too snobbish, and he explained again and again.

Li Yuanzheng knew that his chips were already heavy enough, so he emphasized again: "It's a deal! If my Li family is in trouble, I will ask Gouzhi County to help my Li family out of trouble and open a small door for convenience. Big report!"

"Definitely!" Knowing that the other party's network resources are still something he has to look up to, Gou Zhixian immediately nodded with certainty.

After all, Li Yuanzheng came here this time to prevent problems before they happen, and he didn't think that the imperial court would really search his Li family, so he took out a list and said: "This is the list of excellent students among the students of Ziyun Academy. Next year's county We have to rely on the county magistrate to try!"

"That's easy to say!" Gou Zhixian reached out to take the list, and immediately agreed with a smile.

Now the Li family has become a colossus, not only the Li family is powerful, but also has a very close relationship with the gentry in the entire Xiangcheng County, and has trained a large number of famous scholars through Ziyun Academy.

Although he didn't know how the county magistrate was doing before he took office, judging from the fact that Ziyun Academy had taken the most number of people in the previous county examinations, he must have been a toolman of the Li family as well.

During the three-year tenure, before each county examination, he would receive a list of outstanding students from Ziyun Academy from Second Master Li, and all the students on this list would naturally have to pass.

It's just that this is the current situation of the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty, and fraud in the imperial examinations has long been commonplace.It is said that the dignified Chief Assistant's son and grandson all obtained their fame through cheating, let alone a small county examination, which naturally still has to be mixed with water.

On this point, the Li family is undoubtedly forward-looking.As early as 20 years ago, Li Min, who was the procurator of Zhejiang at that time, built Ziyun Academy, thus training a large number of scholars who were close to Li's family.

Li Yuanzheng saw that Gouzhi County was still as good as before, so he said goodbye and left with a smile.

It's just that he had just left when the travel-worn Liu Zhong finally arrived here with Jin Yiwei.

Because he knew that Li Min would definitely send the news back here, Liu Zhong didn't dare to rest for a while, he traveled day and night.He believed that with their speed, even if Li Min had sent someone back to report, it would have fallen behind him.

"Copy... the house?" Gou Zhixian was stunned when he learned that Liu Zhong was actually an imperial envoy who came to search the Li family.

Liu Zhong had a quick temper, and immediately stepped forward and slapped Gou Zhixian on the back of the head and said, "What are you doing in a daze! Hurry up and get the help of the county government, and lead me to search the Li family!"

"Yes!" Gou Zhixian finally realized, Dang even straightened his black hat and agreed.

Although his heart was toward the Li family, facing this high-ranking imperial envoy, he could only obey orders.It's just that it never occurred to her that just now she thought that the Li family's robbery was a fantasy, but in the blink of an eye, it turned out to be a reality.

"Immediately seal the back door of the front house, and no one is allowed to enter!" The hundred household officials of Jin Yiwei came to the Li family's mansion, and immediately gave instructions.

In the next three days, the inspection work was carried out in full swing.

It's just that no matter how they dug the Li family's mansion three feet into the ground, they still couldn't find any traces of kiln silver, and there were only a lot of wooden shelves left in the warehouse.

As for many officials who like to collect antiques, calligraphy and paintings, but in this Li family mansion, they didn't see any of them, and even the bowls used at home were cracked.

Liu Zhong looked very unwilling to look at this house, but he knew that the Li family must have received the news in advance, so he hid the family's kiln silver.

"Master Imperial Envoy, my father taught us to be diligent and thrifty when we were young, and this is indeed the only property in this family!" Li Yuanzheng walked over wearing an old cotton jacket, and said with a very aggrieved look.

Liu Zhong looked at Li Yuanzheng's white and delicate hands, and said with a smirk: "If it is really as clean as you said, then your Li family will not build such a big house!"

"Master Imperial Envoy, isn't this my Li family's Ding Xingwang? There are too many people, and naturally the house will be bigger, and there is no way!" Li Yuanzheng has a good eloquence, and he explained it even if he complained bitterly. road.

Liu Zhong found out that the Li family was really difficult to deal with, so he came all the way from the capital without rest, but in this big house, he couldn't find the kiln bank.

It's just that he knows that Xie Yikui's account books have confirmed that Li Min is a big corrupt official, this Li family is definitely not a family of upright officials, and now the stolen money is just hidden.

"Master Imperial Envoy, is there a traitor among them who framed my father? My father has been an official for decades but he didn't get a single penny!" Li Yuanzheng was also unwilling to give up, and immediately called for grievances for his father.

Liu Zhong had already realized that Li Yuanzheng was a man with a sharp tongue, but he waved his hand and said, "Keep this man in custody, and the imperial envoy will interrogate him one by one. If you don't believe it, you won't be able to find the kiln banker in your family!"

Li Yuanzheng saw Liu Zhong's impatience in his eyes, especially knowing that this rigid imperial envoy never used severe punishment, the corners of his mouth could not help but rise slightly.Since the imperial envoy is given 100 years, he must not be able to find his own place to hide silver.

As night fell, the signing room of the Xiangcheng County Government was still lit.

Gou Zhixian's eyesight is not good, and he was trying his best to read the case under the lamp, but found that the number of cases against the Li family had increased significantly recently, so he couldn't help but sighed secretly.

He had been having a hard time recently, he thought that if he hugged his thick thighs, he would be able to prosper in office, but who would have thought that not only did Li Min fall from power suddenly, but also his house was ransacked by the court.

Now that the Li family is over, his official career is also ruined.

It's not that Gouzhi County has never thought of betraying the Li family, but he will inevitably reach out for some after three years in Xiangcheng. If he dares to betray the Li family, then the Li family will definitely drag him to be buried with him.

It is said that their county magistrate is Bailihou, but the county magistrate of the Ming Dynasty is nothing more than a watchdog of a certain important person. The real uncle is always the big bosses of the court.

Seeing Liu Zhong walking in with a dark face suddenly, Gou Zhixian stood up in fright and said with a smile, "Master Imperial Envoy, why are you still awake?"

"His Majesty's oral order!" Liu Zhong didn't like the flattering magistrate in front of him, but said with a straight face.

When Gouzhi County heard that it was His Majesty's oral order, he was so excited that he knelt down incoherently and said, "Chen... Chenxiang... Gou Youzhong, the magistrate of Xiangcheng County, respectfully ask Sheng An!"

"Saint Boon! Your Majesty has told me that Li Min has been greedy for ink for many years. Gou Youzhong, the magistrate of Xiangcheng County, helped the imperial envoy to investigate the stolen money hidden by Li Min's family. Past mistakes can be avoided, and meritorious deeds should be rewarded. This is my honor!"

"Minister... Your minister leads the decree!" Gou Zhixian didn't expect that he, a small Jurenzhi County, would hear His Majesty's oral order, and immediately burst into tears with excitement.

Liu Zhong didn't expect that the Juren magistrate would cry, so he routinely asked, "Gouzhi county, do you know where the Li family's silver is stored?"

"I know!" Gou Zhixian wiped away tears, Dang even nodded seriously.

Liu Zhong's eyes widened, and he said incredulously, "You...you know? How is this possible?"

　The owed chapter has to be postponed until tomorrow morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)