Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 65

Zhao Zhenji: "That's good. Since Lord Zheng doesn't accept our favor, please go back to the cell. When Haizhi County arrives, let him interrogate you!"

Zheng Michang's face twitched at this moment, and his eyes closed even tighter.

Zhao Zhenji: "Press it down. Bring He Maocai!"

Two team officers immediately came up and stood on both sides of Zheng Michang.Zheng Michang stood up slowly again, but at this moment he looked at Yang Jinshui and said suddenly: "Eunuch Yang, don't worry, I will never say what should not be said. I will not say what should be said either. "

"Press it!" Yang Jinshui was annoyed.

The two team officers immediately took Zheng Michang's arm and escorted him down.

He Maocai and Zheng Michang, who were brought up, met outside the lobby door. He Maocai stared at Zheng Michang with his eyes wide open, but Zheng Michang didn't look at him, and walked down the steps very calmly.

It was at this meeting that He Maocai suddenly felt that he should look like a human being, so he got angry again, strode towards the lobby, and bowed deeply to Zhao Zhenji and Yang Jinshui, but forgot to salute the Jin Yiwei on both sides. He sat down on the stool.

The four guards in Jinyi glanced at each other, their faces darkened immediately.

Zhao Zhenji looked at him: "Master Zheng has said everything that should be said. Master He, when he was the chief envoy, you were only the inspector, and when he was the governor, you were also the chief envoy. You are an accomplice, so you should know how to report The imperial court explained."

"I'm wronged!" He Maocai's voice was still so loud that the lobby was buzzing as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Shut up!" A guard in Jinyi slapped the big case in front of him, obviously outraged by his rudeness just now and the roar at the moment, "If you roar in the court again, there will be torture instruments inside!"

He Maocai habitually turned his head abruptly to look at Jin Yiwei, but when his eyes met, he was immediately discouraged.

That Jin Yiwei stood there with a tall frame, eyes like eagles, showing a posture that would jump over to catch him immediately!
He Maocai turned his attention to Zhao Zhenji: "Zhao Zhongcheng, although I am a revolutionary, I haven't been tried yet. Please treat me according to the "Law of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhao Zhenji: "Of course I will treat you according to the Law of the Ming Dynasty. But these are imperial envoys in the palace, so I have no right to ask how they treat you."

He Maocai: "Well, what kind of punishment should be used, you can use whatever punishment. If you beat me to death, the ruling and opposition parties will have their own opinions."

"You are wrong." Jin Yiwei leaned on the chair and said coldly, "We have killed officials a few levels older than you, and the mosquitoes didn't even snort. What's more, you are such a small corrupt official. .Also, the members of your family are still locked up in the west courtyard."

Only then did He Maocai's expression change, and he stood up: "I took Chen Yishi's money, I will accept as much as I take, and I will refund as much as I can. But it is wrong to say that Zheng Michang and I have millions of money. !"

Zhao Zhenji: "Where are you wronged?"

He Maocai: "I have only been in Zhejiang for three years, but Shen Yishi's family wealth has provided for several officials' expenses. How can the account be counted on us? This is the first injustice. Also, the salary given to us by the imperial court It’s just that little, and the government’s expenditure is so large, which government office can handle official affairs with routine money? Mr. Zhao, you are also a high-ranking official in the frontier, do you only rely on routine money to cover the government’s expenses when you are the governor of Nanzhili?"

Zhao Zhenji slapped the gavel: "Smart words and sophistry! Now I ask you, or you ask me? Okay! Since you asked me this way, I can tell you. I, Zhao Zhenji, have never been greedy wherever I am an official. You are now greedy for huge sums of money, and you are still so rampant in the face of the oracle, so you can see why you don’t commit crimes on weekdays! To convict you, we have plenty of evidence, if you don’t do it, we can punish you severely as usual!”

He Maocai: "Master Zhao, we are both officials in Daming, why should we be in trouble?"

"What do you mean by extortion!" Zhao Zhenji stopped him again, "You are not greedy for ink, you do not do evil, who can fry you! Let me ask you again, where did all the money you greedy for ink go? Why is your back office only So much money? If you recruit it, a few imperial envoys and I will naturally decide to convict it. If you don’t recruit it, we have already moved your hometown and sent magistrates to search it. We can find out where it is hidden.”

He Maocai: "I'm telling the truth. I count all of Shen Yishi's money, and it's only 3 taels of silver. It's been three years, and I've already spent more than 2 taels, and the money I have left is only a few thousand taels."

"Coax us like children." Jin Yiwei interjected, "In 20 years, your Zhejiang government has corrupted Shen Yishi's 100 million bolts of silk, equivalent to a market price of 1000 million taels of silver. Even if you have been greedy for three years, you should In terms of 150 million taels, even if Zheng Michang’s half is removed, it should be around 75 taels, and if you exclude the corruption of officials below you, you have been corrupted by 50 taels.”

"Injustice!" He Maocai shouted again in a hurry, "In three years, I only took 10,000+ taels of silver from Shen Yishi, and most of them were used for the expenses of the yamen! You don't believe it, it's the same amount that killed me. Eunuch Yang, you always want to defend me!" At this point, he also focused on Yang Jinshui.

Yang Jinshui didn't look at him at all, and turned to Zhao Zhenji, "Master Zhao, this case can't be decided in one session. When the two jurors come, we can hand it over to them for a preliminary trial."

Zhao Zhenji: "The Shang ordered us to recover the stolen money immediately to relieve the anti-Japanese military needs in the front."

Yang Jinshui: "Master Zhao is right. Raising military pay for the front is a military and national priority."

Zhao Zhenji slowly looked at Yang Jinshui, who also looked at him with deep eyes.Zhao Zhenji immediately guessed that several Anhui merchants bought Shen Yishi's family property, which is exactly what he must immediately showdown with Yang Jinshui, so he shouted to the hall: "Put He Maocai in prison."

The two team officers came up immediately, and this time they acted based on winks. Seeing that the interrogators were tired of him, they clamped He Maocai's arms as soon as he came up, and pushed him out.

After retiring, Yang Jinshui immediately invited Zhao Zhenji to the Yamen of the Weaving Bureau.

The 10 taels of bank notes, five in total, are cash passes that can be redeemed at a bank in Hangzhou—handed from Yang Jinshui to Zhao Zhenji.

Zhao Zhenji held the five bank notes and looked at Yang Jinshui with doubtful eyes.

Yang Jinshui: "Currently, the army headed by Governor Hu is 5000, and the reinforcements from Anhui, Jiangxi, and Fujian will be 2. 5000 people and 50 taels of silver can be used as military supplies for a month."

Zhao Zhenji: "Eunuch Yang, where did this money come from?"

Yang Jinshui: "Master Zhao should know, not to mention, it is the deposit for reselling Shen Yishi's family property."

Zhao Zhenji slowly put the bank note back on the case: "The Shangyu told us to confiscate Shen Yishi's family property, and did not tell us to resell Shen Yishi's family property. Eunuch Yang, there is no new Shangyu or the cabinet's court order. Can't do that."

Yang Jinshui didn't bother to get those banknotes anymore, and sat down: "Then Mr. Zhao must have another way to raise military pay for the front, and also a way to weave the 50 bolts of silk that the imperial court sold to Xiyang this year?"

Zhao Zhenji: "The purpose of recovering the stolen money is to raise military salaries. As for the 50 bolts of silk sold to Xiyang, we can only wait for the court to make another motion."

Yang Jinshui: "Don't wait any longer, the decree has already been made. Resist the Japanese in the southeast and the Tatars in the north. There are still so many disasters this year. The imperial court is all pointing to the south of the Yangtze River. 50 bolts of silk must be sold to the West this year. Hu The purpose of clearing the southeast sea is to transport the silk out of the sea. Master Zhao really doesn’t even understand this?”

Zhao Zhenji: "Eunuch Yang, can you show me the palace's will?"

Yang Jinshui: "I don't have the will now, would Mr. Zhao want to read Eunuch Lu's letter?"

Zhao Zhenji was silent.

Yang Jinshui took out the key from his waist, went to the big cabinet by the wall and opened a brass lock, took out a stack of papers and put them on the big case, first picked up a letter from above, obviously Having prepared for a long time, the letter was folded outside the envelope and handed to Zhao Zhenji.

Zhao Zhenji looked at it quickly, but remained silent.

Yang Jinshui: "The Ming Dynasty is the emperor's Ming Dynasty, not Lu Gonggong's. If it is not the emperor's will, our ancestors would not ask us to do this. Mr. Zhao has read the letter of Lu Gonggong. If you still have objections, I will Now I will write back to the ancestors, at worst, let the ancestors ask the emperor to bow to him, and personally write another order to Mr. Zhao."

Of course, Zhao Zhenji knew that it was impossible to resist this matter, but if he agreed to Hu Zongxian, he had to fulfill his promise: "Since there is a decree in the palace, I will of course follow it. But the family property of Shen Yishi who was sold to Hu Butang clearly showed that it was Zheng Mi Chang and He Maocai’s intentions. Eunuch Yang, Hu Butang’s shoulders are all on the shoulders of the anti-Japanese war ahead, and Hu Butang cannot be involved in this matter. We can resell our property to other silk merchants.”

Yang Jinshui looked at him, and said after a long time: "Shen Yishi's family property can only be sold to Hu Butang's family!"

Zhao Zhenji was a little annoyed: "Why!"

Seeing his expression, Yang Jinshui didn't answer any more, but lifted the lid of the tea bowl with his left hand, dipped the middle finger of his right hand in the tea, and wrote a big "Sanction" on the desk. "Character!

Zhao Zhenji's expression changed immediately!
Yang Jinshui: "Master Zhao, you know about the recent changes in the cabinet. The emperor handed over the real power of the cabinet to Mr. Xu Ge. You are a student of Mr. Xu Ge. Why do you need to use this word for others?"

Zhao Zhenji still didn't understand something at this time, although she felt uncomfortable for a while, she looked at Yang Jinshui with a look of complete submission.

Then Yang Jinshui picked up the stack of papers he took out from the cabinet just now: "Here is the contract I signed with those five Anhui merchants. The difference is that each of the five workshops will hand over 50 pieces of silk this year. It was changed to 50 bolts of silk, and from now on, the [-] bolts of silk tribute will be changed to [-] bolts of silk. The [-] taels of silver note is half of the [-] bolts of silk increased this year. For the sake of state affairs, we I have done my best. If Mr. Zhao has no other objections, please sign the five agreements and take them back to the Yamen to stamp the seal of the governor's Yamen. Use the [-] taels of silver to immediately prepare military supplies and grass, and send Go to Hu Butang's camp."

It was very difficult for Zhao Zhenji to stretch out her hand, but she still took the stack of contracts and the five bank notes that Yang Jinshui handed over.

Dozens of large ships filled with rations, ordnance, gunpowder and military pay all raised their sails.There are officers and soldiers guarding the ship on each ship.

Standing on the steps of the pier, Zhao Zhenji shouted to the liberation officer standing on the two steps below: "These military supplies are sent to the Hubutang camp within four days! Those who are delayed by one day will be killed!"

(End of this chapter)