Pei Jizhong had not been on duty for several days and had received twenty sticks. If he was not beaten to death, it was because he was merciful.

It was not common for officials to be given the imperial rod when they went to court.

The court meeting is a place where affairs are discussed and political affairs are discussed. Because remonstrances are beaten, this will block the way of speech, and few emperors will do this.

Not common, but not unheard of.

There are many ways to do this.

The ten-ting stick is just a warning.

Generally, the imperial guards who carry out the execution will not use too much force, and the severity will be measured, and it will be enough. Just don't do it again next time.

Hitting him with twenty sticks is a serious warning.

The execution will be based on the age and physical condition of the person being beaten. They will not beat you to death, but they will not take it lightly.

The imperial guards who are specifically in charge of the imperial staff have such abilities and know how to handle them very well.

If I hit you with thirty sticks, it would be over, because the implicit meaning is to kill you!

Beat him to death in court!

Normally, in this situation, he would definitely be beaten to death if he could not hold out more than thirty imperial staffs.

This is the secret rule.

Pei Jizhong belongs to the second type, and he is given a serious warning, that is, he will be in pain and will not want to live.

He was beaten badly!

The meat on the back is rotten.

I lie on the bed all day, unable to lie down even if I want to.

A visitor came today, and Pei Jizhong could only meet him in bed.

The person who came was Tao Lifu, the vice president of Hongchang Chamber of Commerce.

This man is in his fifties, his hair is mixed with silver and black, he is meticulously combed, and he wears decent clothes. He looks more like an aristocrat than a businessman.

"Your Majesty is too cruel, how could he be beaten like this?"

Looking at Pei Jizhong's miserable condition, Tao Lifu frowned.

This also illustrates Emperor Yuanwu's hatred for this advice.

"Mr. Pei, you are the Minister of Household Affairs. How can you beat me whenever you ask?"

"I didn't expect it either."

After these few days of recuperation, Pei Jizhong got a little better and could speak while lying on his stomach.

"The purchase of copper and iron must be abandoned."

Pei Jizhong continued: "Your Majesty's attitude is firm and there is no room for maneuver. You know the three prohibitions, right?"

"This is a very good thing for Daning, but I really can't understand it."

Tao Lifu didn't look good either.

Although it hit Pei Jizhong on the body, it still woke him up.

From this point of view, I am afraid that the plan of exterminating the family will not be implemented, and this has just begun.

"Is there really no room for maneuver?"

Tao Lifu still wanted to test it out.

"Don't look for me, I won't dare to mention it again."

Pei Jizhong also doesn't mind having a long life.

"By the way, I have hoarded a lot of iron recently. How should I solve it?"

He tilted his head.

"Whether you can take it away or not, you have to give me the money. I only listened to your words before hoarding it."

Pei Jizhong did collude with the Hongchang Chamber of Commerce. He accepted a huge bribe from Tao Lifu in order to build momentum for him and give advice to the court.

"Don't worry, Mr. Pei, I, Tao Lifu, am not an errand boy."

If you can hook up with the right minister of household affairs, this kind of relationship must be maintained with all your strength, so how to maintain it?

It must be money!

"Tell me the truth, do you have other motives for acquiring copper and iron?"

"Master Pei is joking, what plans can we have?"

"That's nonsense, I've been harmed by you!"

Pei Jizhong raised his voice.

He didn't think too much about it before, but he gradually discovered the problem, especially after the court meeting, why did the Wei State spare no effort to purchase copper and iron at a price that exceeded the market price.

He had calculated it in detail, and according to their collection method, including transportation, he would definitely lose money!

Why do you do such a thankless job?

Of course there is a reason!

In fact, he had suspicions earlier, but he was knocked unconscious by Tao Lifu's lavish spending!

The first time I came to the door, I gave thirty taels of gold as a gift!

I haven't been empty-handed since.

Pei Jizhong is completely in cahoots with him!

"Master Pei misunderstood."

Tao Lifu laughed along with him.

"Besides, even if there is something, Mr. Pei may not be able to escape his involvement..."

"you……"

Pei Jizhong glared at him, thinking that he was on a pirate ship.

However, Tao Lifu didn't shy away and took out a few treasure bills from his sleeve.

"This is five thousand taels. I came to see you."

"Have you Wei merchants also begun to use Daning treasure banknotes?"

Pei Jizhong's tone became obviously relaxed.

Money is a good thing, and it's always hard to refuse when it's presented to you.

He endured the pain in his back, stretched out his hand and put away the few treasure bills.

There was a trace of ridicule at the corner of Tao Lifu's mouth, but he quickly calmed it down.

He said: "Baoqian is very convenient, and it is also very convenient to carry it on your body, just like it is now."

"Yes, it is very convenient."

Pei Jizhong recognized this very much.

Unlike other people, he has no distinction between good and bad money. There is no difference between silver coins and treasure notes. Isn't it all money?

"Master Pei, is there really nothing we can do?"

Now that the money has been delivered, it's time to get down to business.

Tao Lifu was naturally unwilling to give in.

This is his mission and must be completed!

"Not yet."

Those who eat are soft-mouthed and those who take advantage of others are short-handed.

Pei Jizhong is no longer the same as before.

"Your Majesty's attitude is very firm. I understand your Majesty's temperament. Once you make a decision, no one can change it."

"Is there really nothing we can do?"

Tao Lifu said: "Your batch of iron is also worth a lot of money. Those iron smelting furnaces you built in the countryside cannot be scrapped!"

Profit was the main reason why Pei Jizhong helped him.

In fact, Tao Lifu looked down on this kind of person very much. How could he be a mediocre person if he could sit in the position of the right minister of household affairs? He knew everything and just pretended not to know.

I, a businessman, know all about the country, but he, the right minister of household affairs, betrayed the country for money.

But it's easier to deal with such people.

Pei Jizhong paused.

He did build several iron-smelting furnaces in the countryside, just waiting to make a lot of money after the private ban was lifted.
To be continued...