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Chapter 438 Ending, reward

"130 sixty-four thousand three hundred and twenty taels of gold, 320 thirty-six thousand seven hundred and sixty thousand three-taels of silver, 870 thirty-six thousand two hundred and forty taels of money, and jewelry and jades. More than 760 pieces of jade and agate, Yanzhuang..." ·”

Looking at the shocking figures on the memorial, these things together almost equaled the imperial court's tax revenue for two or three years. Zhao Zongquan was extremely angry. He couldn't help but think of his son Zhao Ceying's voice and smile. These were all based on his own son. In exchange for his life.

The more he thought about it, the more angry Zhao Zongquan became.

"There are 130 eight officials involved in the case. The amount involved, according to current rough statistics, is more than 500 million taels. There are 36 salt merchants, and all the heads have been transferred to the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment..."

"That's enough!" Zhao Zongquan lost his composure in front of his ministers for the first time and jumped up, interrupting Wang Zhong's words.

Zhao Zongquan was already furious, but in front of all the civil and military officials, after venting his anger, he could only suppress the anger in his heart: "Look, you all, look, these are my good ministers, 130 eight people, a total of 130 eight people!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

This was the first time that Zhao Zongquan got angry, and all the officials in the palace knelt on the ground.

"Calm down, how do you ask me to calm down? 130 eight people! Not 130 eight steamed buns! These are only those currently in office."

Han Zhang, who was ranked first among the civil servants, straightened his body and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the top priority is to quickly fill this gap. Salt affairs are the lifeblood of the imperial court, and there must be no more mistakes."

Zhao Zongquan took a few deep breaths, stood up, held the fold with both hands, bowed towards the curtain behind the dragon chair and said: "Please take a look at it, the Queen Mother!"

Behind the curtain, the chamberlain beside Empress Dowager Cao immediately stepped forward to take the folder and handed it to Empress Dowager Cao. At this time, Empress Dowager Cao had no intention of reading the folder. She was so angry that her chest heaved violently and her whole body started shaking.

He took the folded book and threw it out directly. The bead curtain was hit with a clanging sound and continued to make a sound.

I just heard Empress Dowager Cao yelling at the top of her lungs: "Bastard! Bastard!"

"They're all a bunch of bastards!"

"You eat the emperor's salary and bear the emperor's worries. The late emperor treated you so kindly. Is this how you repay the late emperor?"

"130 eight people, fifteen million taels of silver!"

"Is this how you repay the late Emperor?"

Faced with Empress Dowager Cao's stern rebuke, all the ministers in the palace dared to respond and chose to remain silent. When Empress Dowager Cao finally vented her anger, Han Zhang, the leader of civil servants, was the first to stand up.

"Madam, please calm down!" Han Zhang held the wat board in his hand and said, "The most important thing now is to thoroughly investigate the salt affairs case, thoroughly clean up the moths that are attached to the imperial court and drink blood and eat flesh, and restore the purity of the imperial court.

The second is to track down the real culprit behind the assassination of King Huan and use thunderous means to demonstrate the majesty of the imperial court. "

"Xiangong Han, you are the prime minister of the current dynasty and a veteran of the three dynasties. When the late emperor was in power, he relied heavily on you. What do you think we should do about this matter?"

Zhao Zongquan sat on the dragon chair without saying a word, and it was Empress Dowager Cao who did all the talking.

Han Zhang said with a serious face: "We should investigate strictly. All those involved in the case, whether they are princes, nobles, or common people, will be punished in accordance with the law. We will not slack off and show no mercy!"

"In that case, this case will be supervised by you, Mr. Han, personally! When will the case be settled, and when will you come to see the Ai family again!" Empress Dowager Cao directly made the final decision, not even giving Han Zhang a chance to refuse, as soon as she finished speaking He got up and left.

All the eyes of the officials in the palace were focused on Han Zhang.

"I accept the order and thank you!" Han Zhang raised his chest and raised his head, with no trace of panic in his eyes.

"If you have something to do, leave the court if nothing happens!" After receiving the signal from Zhao Zongquan's eyes, the chamberlain shook the dust in his hand and stood on the jade steps and shouted loudly. The unique male duck voice clearly fell into the ears of the ministers in the palace. middle.

After the court meeting, Wang Zhong returned home, took a bath and changed clothes, washed away his fatigue, and put on a pair of loose clothes. Minglan had already asked the kitchen to prepare dishes, and watched Wang Zhong put them on the table when he was about to bathe and change clothes. .

"My lord, please take a bowl of soup to warm your stomach first!" Minglan stood up and helped Wang Zhong ladle out a bowl of soup stewed by old hens and soft-shell turtles.

Wang Zhong took the soup bowl and asked, "What are you talking about? It's so lively?"

Wang Qier said with a smile on her face: "I'm telling my aunt about the assassin we encountered during our salt patrol this time!"

Minglan's smile reached the corner of her eyes, and there was the look of Wang Qier just talking about the thrilling part, holding on to the handkerchief tightly, and she was so nervous that she almost broke out in a cold sweat.

"Don't listen to this girl's nonsense, she doesn't have a word of truth in her mouth!" Wang Zhong said softly to Minglan with a smile.

"Slander! Third uncle, this is a naked slander. What nonsense did I say? Every word I said is the truth!"

Wang Qier quit and immediately defended loudly, then quickly took Minglan's arm and said, "Auntie, I'm not talking nonsense!"

"Auntie believes in you!" Minglan smiled and took Wang Qier's hand and said, "Okay, okay, let's eat quickly!"

Wang Zhong had already picked up a piece of sliced ​​roast goose and started to chew on it.

Seeing this, Wang Qier quickly snatched the two roasted goose legs, and very filially gave one to Minglan and one to her mother, Wang Li, and raised an eyebrow at Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong ignored her, but put a piece of soft stewed mutton into the bowl of Wang Xu, who was smiling at the side. He also reminded: "Eat more meat to gain strength!"

"Thank you, uncle!" Wang Xu and Wang Qier, siblings, have almost completely opposite personalities.

Wang Qian'er is talkative, carefree, upright, and has no scheming thoughts. Wang Xu usually doesn't talk much, but is very thoughtful. He is very talented. Although he doesn't have a photographic memory, he has a good memory. Being able to draw inferences from one instance is very smart.

"Okay, okay, let's stop saying a word and hurry up and eat!" Seeing that Wang Qier was still trying to stir up trouble, Wang Li quickly glared at her.

Wang Qianer could only stop her activities and did not dare to make any more noises.

Everyone was using their chopsticks and eating together. Minglan suddenly said, "By the way, when do you plan to go to the Gu family to see Brother Gu?"

"Let's go after dinner!" Wang Zhong said.

"I want to go too!" Wang Qier quickly put down the half-eaten roast goose leg in her mouth (which was put back into her bowl by Mrs. Wang Li) and spoke hastily, for fear of being slow.Wang Zhongdao: "Zhong Huai has taught you for a while. Even if you are half a master, you should go. Brother Xu will go too, and bring brothers Zhang Xin and Zhang Yi with him."

"Xiao Tao, go find the second grader of junior high school and ask him to inform Brother Xin and Brother Yi!" Minglan immediately ordered Xiao Tao next to him.

"Slave, go now!" Xiao Tao always did what Minglan said, without any hesitation or asking why.

After dinner and without bringing any gifts, Wang Zhong and Minglan sat in the carriage. Wang Qianer, Wang Xu, Zhang Xin and Zhang Yi all rode in front, and soon they arrived at Chengyuan. .

After waiting in the front hall for a while, Gu Ercai supported the pregnant Zhang who was late.

Zhang was conceived in October last year, exactly three months before Gu Yankai's death, and now she is almost eight months pregnant. Her round belly bulged out her loose clothes.

Gu Yankai had just left less than half a year ago, and Gu Er's errands had already been relieved. He only stayed at home to pay homage to his late father. He didn't even go to his favorite restaurant in the past. He just temporarily took over the errands of Zhang's housekeeper. Come here, busy with trivial matters at home and outside all day long.

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and Gu Er's body was almost rusty from being suffocated at home, so he took Wang Zhong and started sparring.

After a cup of tea, Gu Er, who was feeling sore all over, raised his hand to stop.

"Your skills are still as good as ever!"

"So what if you're awesome!" Wang Zhong shook his head and sighed: "One person is limited after all!"

Gu Er was silent for a moment, picked up the hot tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp before saying, "Yes, a body of flesh and blood, no matter how powerful it is, is still limited."

But he remembered Zhao Shichang and King Huan who were shot into hedgehogs.

Looking up at Wang Zhong, Gu Er asked, "I heard that Xiao Duan won't be able to use force in the future?"

Wang Jian nodded and said: "I injured my lungs, so I'm lucky to be able to save a small life."

Although they have not known each other for a long time, Gu Er still has feelings for Xiao Duan and Shen Congxing, who sincerely regard him as friends.

"I heard that you have been assassinated more than 20 times in Jiangnan in the past few months?"

Wang Zhong glanced at Gu Er and said, "Haven't you seen how arrogant those salt sellers are!"

"Yes!" A self-deprecating smile appeared on Gu Er's face: "The Bai family are also salt merchants!"

Wang Zhongdao: "They went too far and the matter was too big. The Queen Mother personally issued an order, ordering me to investigate the matter thoroughly and deal with it severely!"

"I understand!" Before Wang Zhong could finish speaking, Gu Er interrupted him: "It's all their own fault. I thought they were from the same lineage as my grandfather and showed mercy several times, but they didn't know how to restrain themselves. This time you want to harm me and seize the inheritance left by my grandfather in my hands!
Now that they have this end, they are all to blame themselves, and they cannot blame anyone else! "

Wang Zhongdao: "Not all of the Bai family are greedy for profit, there are also some who are honest and responsible."

As we were chatting, the topic suddenly changed: "By the way, in more than two months, my younger brother and sister are due to give birth. You should be more careful in these few months. Don't make your younger siblings angry, let alone make them suffer." Stimulate."

Why didn't Gu Er know what Wang Zhong meant? He was not just the ones in the fourth and fifth bedrooms, especially Gu Tingbing of the fourth bedroom was implicated in Ni Wang's case. After being exiled to the border, all the people in the fourth bedroom were everywhere. Seeing him as an enemy, his fourth uncle never gave him a good look. Instead, he used his elder status to come to the Hou Mansion every three days to cause trouble for him.

"Well! I wrote it down!"

Within a few days, the reward decree came down. Wang Zhong had made meritorious service in investigating the salt affairs case, and was awarded the title of official of Zhengyi, direct bachelor of Longtuge, promoted to envoy of salt and iron, and governor of salt and iron department.

In one step, he crossed a threshold that ordinary people could not cross in decades or even a lifetime. He became a third-grade official, and even his official uniform was changed to purple.

The reward given to Wang Zhong did not cause much sensation. After all, Wang Zhong and others took the risk of almost death when they went south to patrol the salt. Even King Huan lost his life.

I heard that assassins would kill you every two days. I had to sleep with a knife in my hand every day, turning a blind eye, for fear that the assassin would touch me at night and kill me with a knife.

Although Zhao Zongquan lost his beloved son, he did not implicate his fellow officials, and he did not hesitate to reward meritorious officials. Such a generous behavior attracted a lot of praise from the officials. Some officials who originally remained neutral , and therefore fell towards Zhao Zongquan.

The originally intensifying dispute between the emperor and the empress in the court temporarily came to an end due to Emperor Zhao Zongquan's concession. Empress Dowager Cao had more and more power in her hands and intervened more and more in everything in the court.

After Wang Zhong was promoted to Salt and Iron Envoy, instead of relaxing, he became even busier. Because of the salt affairs case, even Wang Zhong's predecessor was implicated, not to mention the rest of the small fish and shrimps.

Wang Zhong took charge of the Salt and Iron Department and began drastic reforms in the Salt and Iron Department. The dozen students who had followed Wang Zhong to Quanzhou also joined the Salt and Iron Department one after another, where they dissolved, filtered, and distilled the coarse salt to crystallize it. The method to achieve the purification effect has also been rapidly spread to various salt farms across the country.

Within the Fujian, Lianghuai, and Jingdong areas, Wang Zhong expects to build 480 more salt drying fields within three years, raising the production of sea salt to another level.

The most important thing is that the Salt and Iron Department, under the leadership of Wang Zhong, began to control the price of salt. The salt merchants in Huaihe, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places had just been cleaned up. The prestige of the imperial court was rising, but within a few months, the market was once in chaos. Salt prices were immediately brought under control.

Not long after the method of purifying coarse salt became popular in various places, the Salt and Iron Department issued a series of policies to classify various types of salt produced across the country, classify them into grades, and set prices.

The finest fine salt is the fine well salt produced in Shu. It is as fine as dust and as white as snow. The price of a pound is as high as [-] Wen.

Among the coarse salts, sea salt is the most popular. Sea salt is coarse and tastes far inferior to well salt and lake salt. Therefore, even the best quality sea salt costs only fifty cents per catty. The price of inferior quality sea salt is much lower than that of well salt and lake salt. Also lower.

Wang Zhong did not take the initiative to crack down on those illegal salt dealers, nor did he have time to play games with them. All Wang Zhong did was to lower the price of official salt, increase the annual salt production, stabilize the salt price, and allow ordinary people to I can also afford salt.

In addition to salt affairs, the Salt and Iron Department also manages all matters related to the mining and smelting of iron ore across the country. This is the origin of the word salt and iron.

While Wang Zhongmen was concentrating on his career in the Salt and Iron Department, the situation in the DPRK also changed dramatically.

With the death of Zhao Ceying, Gu Er stayed at home to pay homage to his late father. Emperor Zhao Zongquan seemed to have lost his arms, and only Shen Congxing was left by his side. Although there was support from Han Zhang, Emperor Jiayou's reputation accumulated over more than 40 years was not as good as his short time. It can be covered in a few years.

Zhao Zongquan changed his previous attitude and stopped tit-for-tat with the Queen Mother Cao. Instead, he asked the Queen Mother Cao about everything. No matter how big or small the court affairs were, the Queen Mother Cao's opinion was the basis. The two of them, Queen Shen and his wife, spent every day in the morning and evening. Treat Queen Mother Cao as filial as her biological mother.

The party dispute between the DPRK and China, which had just begun to show some signs of trend, was simply eliminated.

(End of this chapter)