The rise of the late Song Dynasty reigns supreme

Chapter 199 Taking Evidence

"Cai Jing is dead, is the clue broken again?" Zhao Gou thought for a moment, and finally realized a very serious problem.

Since Cai Jing was the leader of the corruption case back then, there must be other people involved, but Cai Jing died in Hangzhou again.The people Zhao Gou sent to inquire about the situation have not yet returned, so they don't know what the truth is at all.Therefore, Zhao Gou could only investigate according to the instructions in the letter.

The letter also mentioned that Zhu Minzhong recorded all the crimes of those people in a diary. Seeing this, Zhao Gou muttered to himself, "I don't know if what is said in the letter is true or not. Go to the Ministry of Household Archives to find it."

Zhao Gou also remembered that Ye Mengde had worked in the household department for many years, and it was impossible not to find out, so he couldn't help worrying.Just in time, Steward Wang walked in, bowed and said, "Young master, have you found anything?"

"I found it, but the clue was broken in Cai Jing." Zhao Gou sighed, and then asked, "Has Chen Liu returned?"

Steward Wang replied: "Reporting to Young Master, the servant came here to report this matter to you. Chen Liu has already returned, and is waiting in the side hall!"

Zhao Gou was startled and said, "Chen Liu has come back? Let him come quickly!"

Steward Wang turned around respectfully and left, then called Chen Liu in, and the two of them sat down directly under Zhao Gou's order.Zhao Gou asked straight to the point: "You are going to Hangzhou City, what is the situation?"

Chen Liu replied: "Reporting to the young master, the slave went to Hangzhou City, arrived at Cai Jing's mansion, and asked the neighbors around, and then learned something. According to what they said, Cai Jing was demoted and returned to his hometown, still living a luxurious life Life, the daily expenses are the food and expenses of ordinary people for a year."

Zhao Gou nodded and said thoughtfully: "Even if Cai Jing has been in charge of the government for several years and is the prime minister, even if it is salary, it is impossible to have so much. It is expected that he has embezzled a lot of silver from the court. However, 200 million taels is not enough for such expenses. , must not be enough, could there be other things?"

Chen Liudao: "Young master, this servant went to Caijing's mansion to check again according to your instructions. Due to the previous looting, it is impossible to determine whether there are any silver taels left. The only thing that is certain is that there were several large boxes hidden in Caijing's mansion. It is speculated that it should be silver taels."

"Oh, go on!"

"I found a secret room in the backyard of Cai Jing's mansion. It has been destroyed, but there are still traces of the past in the secret room. In addition, I found that there are still marks left by several wooden boxes, and some The traces of the utensils were placed, but they were all removed by people, and their whereabouts are unknown."

Zhao Gou said: "Sure enough!"

Now Zhao Gou can be sure that Cai Jing must be a participant in the events of the year, so when Cai Jingquan is in power, Tong Guan, Yang Jian and others are bound to contact him.Then, the next people to be investigated are those officials who were in the same spirit as Cai Jing back then, so the scope has been narrowed down a lot.

At the beginning, Song Huizong Longyan was furious, and in a fit of anger, all those related to Cai Jing were demoted, either to the frontier or to local posts. Only a few people stayed in Beijing, and Tong Guan was one of them.In addition, Tong Guan is also an eunuch, so it is speculated that someone in the palace is also involved.

"Wang Steward, you have to withdraw all the knowledgeable brothers tomorrow!" Zhao Gou ordered, and several other people have been monitoring everyone's every move day and night these days.Now it seems that it is time to close the net.Now that Cai Jing's crime is affirmed, other people can't escape the responsibility, that is to say, there is no need to cover up, and act directly and aboveboard.

"Everyone is tired, go down and rest!"

So, everyone went down to rest one after another, and Zhao Gou went to bed to rest.

The next day, Steward Wang went out early and called all the others back, but Zhao Gou did not go to Yushitai after the early court, but returned directly to the county palace.When everyone saw him coming back, they came forward one after another. Gong Cang and Huang Shi also told about the monitoring situation during these days.

Zhao Gou asked suspiciously: "Based on what you said, Tong Guan and the others ended their morning court every day, except for going to the various ministries, they never left the house for half a step, and even the others didn't move around, and they all stayed at home?" Gong Cang and Huang Shi nodded, but Zhao Gou still felt a little strange, and murmured, "What's the secret behind this, it's so abnormal!"

Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and others are all from Prince Zhao Huan, so there is no reason not to walk with Zhao Huan.Even though Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty made three and five orders not to allow private cliques, they were all from the Prince's Mansion. Even if they didn't move around in private, it was normal to go to the Prince's Mansion.

After all, Prince Zhao Huan has already opened the mansion and recruited his own staff.Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and others are united with Prince Zhao Huan again. How can they stop discussing countermeasures together at this critical period.Zhao Gou didn't believe that these people were really afraid of him, so he couldn't help being suspicious.

Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and others are indeed much more peaceful, even Prince Zhao Huan is no longer aggressive in the court, and he no longer participates too much or makes suggestions in everything, just like watching a show.In fact, Tong Guan and others didn't find out that Zhao Gou was investigating the corruption case, but it was just a last resort in this extraordinary period.

The matter of Zhu Xi was very involved, and Song Huizong Longyan was furious. If Tong Guan and others were not sensible, they would have to travel frequently and communicate closely. If Zhao Gou reported it immediately, they would have to be dismissed from office even if they did not die.Moreover, whether Zhao Gou is hostile to them or the supervisory censor, he has to be cautious.

"If that's the case, we can only act according to the order!" Zhao Gou pondered, and then ordered someone to inform Xu Jingheng to go to the Ministry of Households, saying that there was something important to do.

At this time, Xu Jingheng was at Yushitai, and he was a little surprised when he heard that someone from the county prince's mansion had sent him a letter, so he went out to meet him.The man conveyed Zhao Gou's words to him, and Xu Jingheng was overjoyed when he heard it, and excitedly said: "It's finally started!... Please go and report to your lord, and you can go to the Ministry of Households immediately after you get off the job!"

When Zhao Gou heard the servant's report, he nodded and ordered Li Shi'en and Li Shiren to go together.The group of them arrived at the household department first, and after a while, Xu Jingheng also came. His face was full of excitement, and he said, "My lord, is there any progress in the case?"

Zhao Gou Zheng said: "This matter is far more difficult than imagined. It is already known that Cai Jing was involved in the incident back then, and how many people are still uncertain."

"That's right!" Xu Jingheng knew it when he heard 'Cai Jing', and said in a deep voice, "Why are we here at the Ministry of Household Affairs?"

"The former Minister of the Household Department, Mr. Zhu Minzhong, left evidence of the crime and hid it in a notebook. We went to find that notebook, so that we can continue to investigate."

Xu Jingheng frowned and said, "If we go to the Ministry of Households in an open and honest manner, I'm afraid..."

Zhao Gou smiled and said, "Did Mr. Xu forget that I have this thing in my hand?"

Xu Jingheng glanced at it and saw that Li Shien was holding the Shangfang sword in his hand, and then he remembered that there was this thing, even if he was going to the palace, he would not dare to be stopped by anyone.You must know that Shangfang's sword is like the emperor, seeing this thing is like seeing the holy one, you must pay homage to it.

In this way, Xu Jingheng was relieved. Zhao Gou took the lead and walked towards the Zhonghu Department, and Xu Jingheng followed closely. He knew that the matter had finally made a breakthrough. As long as he caught the man behind the scenes and removed the cancer for Da Song, everything would be fine. It's all worth it!
(End of this chapter)