As soon as Zhu Xizhong finished speaking, everyone in the hall turned pale.
What does it mean to lend your head for use?
Who here dares to borrow? Who is willing to borrow?
Besides, how could the situation make it necessary?
Liang Menglong was even more shocked and said: "Why did Duke Cheng say this!?"
"Now is the time to ask for the Duke's life to answer the question?"
Although he arrived late and was not very clear about the situation, he had been an official for many years and had seen all kinds of storms.
The current situation is nothing more than a matter of calm - there is no intention of cutting down the vassal vassal, or forcing the king to death. It's nothing. You see, I'm calm and calm. How can I show that I want to cut down the vassal vassal?
As long as they don't mess up, the clan will be noisy at best, so is there really anything they can do?
It’s just a story about King Xiang, who is qualified to be an ancestor now?
At best, it would just put some pressure on the central government, just to see how far the emperor would support them.
Even if the vassal vassals colluded with Huguang officials and went to the emperor to make trouble, the pressure would still be on the emperor, and their crimes would not be punished.
The worst thing is to wait until the commotion is over and then continue investigating the case and settling the scores.
How can the situation get to the point where a prince of the country wants to "commit suicide"!?
How can a mere county king be qualified to ask the imperial envoy to pay for his life and calm the situation?
Seeing everyone's reaction, Zhu Xizhong shook his head and laughed.
He coughed slightly and explained: "It's not that I specifically want to explain the Jing Mansion's affairs."
"It's just that the Huguang matter has been delayed for too long. Instead of arguing and arguing back and forth, it's better to cut through the mess quickly."
"Now I have enough weight to come forward and end this matter quickly, so as to prevent things from changing if it is too late."
If the matter in Huguang is pushed back and forth so frequently, I don't know what kind of trouble it will cause.
In this case, it is better to take advantage of this opportunity to settle the matter.
Anyway, he only has a few months to live. Since he wants to be Zhu Wan, he might as well be thorough.
It would also make him more important in the emperor's heart - the most invulnerable minister is the one who lives in the emperor's memory.
This is called Jane in the Emperor's heart!
After Zhu Xizhong said something, several people were relieved a little.
If someone really pulls out his sword and kills himself and gives an explanation to a mere county king, that will be a loss of status, and people will have to say that the center is just a powerful person.
However, what is the meaning behind Zhu Xizhong’s words? How should we do it?
Liang Menglong was a governor, not an imperial envoy. As the only minister who wanted to stay in Huguang to clean up the mess, he was most afraid of Zhu Xizhong's chaos.
He looked a little surprised and said, "What does the Duke want?"
Zhu Xizhong did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at Li Zaiting and said, "Li Du is in trouble. Let's tell Governor Liang the whole story first."
Li heard the words in the court and did not shirk.
He stood up and picked up a stack of files from the desk.
He looked at Liang Menglong, clasped his fists and saluted: "Governor Liang, the Zhang Chucheng case involves many people, please allow me to come one by one."
Liang Menglong responded politely and made a gesture of invitation.
Li Zaiting opened a page and said slowly: "In June of the sixth year of Longqing, before His Majesty ascended the throne, the court discussed that the mining tax eunuchs were committing evil in Huguang."
"After His Majesty ascended the throne, he often thought of this incident, fearing that it was not an isolated case, and worried that the eunuchs of the inner court were acting arrogantly in Huguang and harming the place."
"So he sent the then-criminal officer to Zhang Chucheng, who was involved in the incident, to patrol Huguang and inspect the mine supervisors, tax supervisors, etc."
This happened in June last year.
At that time, the mining tax eunuch of the inner court was driven back to the capital on the grounds that he had bitten off his tongue for molesting women.
After interrogating the mining tax eunuchs over the years, the Holy Spirit found out that there was something fishy about it, so he asked Zhang Chucheng to go to Huguang to secretly investigate the matter.
Only Li Zaiting knew the reason.
Now, in order to look good in officialdom, I naturally have to change my words to a decent one that everyone can accept.
Li Zaiting continued: "After Zhang Chucheng arrived in Huguang, he exchanged information with Tang Bin, the governor of the left, and inspected the place."
"In February of this year, Zhang Geizhong finished his inspection and wanted to return to Beijing. But on the way, he found another clue that someone in the local area was secretly casting soldiers' armor and coins, so he checked the files again and visited the state capital."
Liang Menglong listened carefully, followed Li Zaiting's words, and turned the file to the corresponding place.
Privately forged armor, coins... He quickly found the corresponding place.
In Fanshan, Wuchang Prefecture, the Chu clan stole copper mines.
Xingguo Prefecture, Huanggu Mountain, and Chu Fan robbed lead mines.
In Daye Prefecture, in Baiji Mountain, Chu Fan stole copper mines; in Wailu Mountain, Jing Fan stole iron mines.
Macheng Prefecture, Guifeng Mountain, and Jingfan were stealing sand mines.
In the southeast of Huangmei Prefecture, in a mine, Jingfan Fan digs iron ore.
Xinning County, Minkang Ridge, Minfan pirated copper mines.
Guiyang Prefecture, Tanliuling, and Minfan excavated silver-lead placer mines.
Xuanping...Hui Gaoshan...Xiangfan...
All these are a thick dossier.
Liao, Min, Chu, Jing, Ji, and Xiang are almost all included.
The purpose could not be clearer.
Cast armor and coins!
As for his whereabouts, he is also listed. It seems that these imperial envoys have been investigating the case seriously these days.
The armor was sold from the Min and Xiang vassals to the Miao and Yi people.
From the long lawsuits of the barbarians in Guzhou, to the long lawsuits of the barbarians in Tanxi, to the long lawsuits of the barbarians in Huer, and the long lawsuits of the barbarians in Sizhou.
Some of these places of control were even taken over by Governor Wang Daokunqing in the past two years.
Liang Menglong was shocked to see it!
Seeing this, Li Zaiting explained: "The accounts attached at the back of the file were all purchased from the Yi people, and there are also witnesses. They are kept in Wudang Palace."
The Yi people don't have much acquaintances with gentlemen, so the only thing they want to keep secret is this.
As long as you find the head and the money is in place, there is no partner who cannot be sold.
At this time, Zhu Shitai, who was behind Zhu Xizhong, said in a low voice: "There are also other armors that were jointly cast by large local families. Among the ones I saw in Wubao, some of them were purchased from various princes' palaces."
As for why he only saw it instead of seizing it...well, he sold it.
Liang Menglong flipped through the files, and the names of major princes appeared repeatedly.
As he watched, he slowly digested this, and then extended his hand to ask Li Zaiting to continue.
The latter nodded and said: "Most of the privately minted copper coins are circulated in the hands of the people, especially in Wuchang Prefecture and Changsha Prefecture. They have different shapes, but they are widely circulated."
Only Wuchang and Changsha, places with prosperous commerce, can make copper coins prosperously.
In other places, people would rather barter than use these things.
Liang Menglong also saw the names of Chu vassal concubine Wu, Jifan auxiliary general Zhu Changwen and others.
Li Zaiting continued: "After Zhang Chucheng had clues, he investigated and patrolled the area and prepared a report. At the same time, he was entrusted by the former chief envoy Tang Bin to issue orders to all the vassals involved in the case."
"Zhang Chucheng traveled all the way from Minfan, via Changsha, Yueyang, etc., and patrolled the country for one month, and was ready to return to Beijing in March."
"During this period, Ji Fan's auxiliary general Zhu Changwen refused to accept it, reprimanded Zhang Chucheng, and ordered the royal palace chief Shi to punish him."
"Subsequently, Zhang Chucheng returned to Wuchang and met with the governor Zhao Xian. He mentioned in his words that after he took the opportunity to give orders to the Chu vassal, he went back to Beijing and reported the Huguang affairs to the emperor."
He paused at this point: "However, after going to Chu Mansion, Zhang Chucheng seemed to have unfinished business, and then turned back again to find Tang Bin who was patrolling the border."
"When the two returned to Wuchang from Changsha, they passed through Linxiang County and were attacked by mining thieves who attacked the county government office. They were both killed."
Liang Menglong put his hand on his tongue and licked it, then turned to the next page.
Hearing this, he said in a deep voice: "I heard before I came that Zhu Yingyan of the Yueyang Palace secretly did this?"
Li Zaiting shook his head: "We have prepared troops to attack you. On the pretext of encircling and suppressing water thieves, we used the governor's Yamen's order to mobilize Tang Bin's personal guards."
"Dongting guards Qiu Qiao, controls Yueyang Guards, and allows bandits to cross the border."
"Zhu Yingyan, the lieutenant of the Yueyang Prince's Palace, came forward to coordinate all parties, provide support from the center, connect with the water bandits, and command the mine thieves."
The words just fell.
Zhu Shitai interrupted at the right time: "The water bandits are maintained by Min Fan. The physical evidence and oral confessions point to the Lishan Palace."
Hai Rui said in a deep voice: "Qiu Qiao, the guard of Dongting, accepted a bribe and was already punished by Zhao Xianming. However, the merchant who gave the bribe has been arrested. He confessed that he was ordered by Zhu Changwen, the general of Ji Fan's auxiliary state."
Li Zaiting nodded and looked at Liang Menglong: "The reason why things were arranged so carefully and meticulously is because Xiangfan and Jingfan colluded with the inspector Du Si to find out Tang Bin's whereabouts and accompanying officials in advance."
"As for Zhu Yingyan and the mine thieves, they should be under the control of Zhu Xianzhen, the king of Dong'an. The investigation has only been completed halfway, and the conclusion has not yet been determined."
When things came to this point, Liang Menglong finally understood the general outline.
What happened next was naturally what he saw today.
The investigation by the imperial envoy became more and more urgent. The Lishan Palace of Minfan, Zhu Xianzhen, King of Dong'an of Chu Dynasty, Zhu Changwen, the general of Jifan's auxiliary state, and Du Si, the inspector-general, all surfaced one by one.
Even the old accounts of illegal mining have been uncovered.
Some people had no choice but to jump over the wall and play a game of damaging 800 friendly troops and killing 1,000 enemy troops.
The attempt was to use this to create public opinion that the emperor was cutting vassals and bullying the clan - to eliminate the legitimacy of the investigation of Zhang Chucheng's case, and then to discredit the emperor as vicious and vicious, to insult his relatives, and even to create a drama of the emperor forcing the king to rebel.
While clamoring for the reunification of the Huguang clan, it also made princes from other provinces, such as the King of Shu and the King of Jin, mourn the death of a fox and write a memorial in support.
At the same time, this matter also involves the inspector Du Si and the officials guarding Dongting Lake. The official circles may not be willing to see the investigation continue.
After listening to what Li Zaiting said, Liang Menglong finally had a clue in his heart.
After going through the general situation, he asked curiously: "The order to prepare troops for Qian and Ji Ruzhi came from the governor's Yamen. Zhao Xian was not involved in the case?"
Li Zaiting was about to speak but stopped.
Seeing this, Hai Rui interjected bluntly: "This matter was done by a minor official seconded by the Chief Secretary. He has disappeared. Governor Liang might as well ask Chen Rui if he knows anything about it."
Regarding the Chief Secretary's matters, one should naturally ask the Chief Envoy.
The two chief envoys at that time, Tang Bin, died, so naturally the only question to ask was Chen Rui.
Li Zaiting hesitated to speak because Liang Menglong and Chen Rui were both Jinshi in the 32nd year of Jiajing and had the same status.
They also happened to be admitted by Zhang Juzheng, were students of the same teacher, and were also classmates.
Some things are hard to say too obviously.
But Hai Rui had no such concerns and bluntly stated that he was suspicious of Chen Rui.
Liang Menglong was silent.
It was not easy for him to accept this.
After all, Chen Rui was a disciple of Zhang Juzheng and the chief envoy of Huguang—Zhang Juzheng was from Huguang.
In this situation, many discerning people will think more about it.
What's more, the central government asked him to come to Huguang. The new chief minister Xu Xuemo is also Zhang Juzheng's disciple. This meaning is too obvious.
The Central Committee showed Zhang Juzheng's face in this way without any suspicion at all.
As a student, he couldn't point fingers at Chen Rui easily in order to prevent it from being detrimental to his position as a teacher.
So I could only remain silent.
Liang Menglong changed the subject without leaving any trace: "The top priority in Huguang now is to quell the Jing Mansion incident and to establish evidence of the crime of Dong'an King Zhu Xianzhen?"
He didn't mention Chen Rui's matter. Since there was no evidence and the investigation couldn't be clear, why not be confused? Anyway, it was just a matter of forging seals, and it couldn't be said to be a big deal.
After all, he is a first-year student, so if something really happened and he handed a knife to an outsider and affected the government, that would be bad.
He is not in the center, but he understands one thing - the overall situation is the most important thing!
The words just fell.
Zhu Xizhong spoke again, attracting everyone's attention.
He looked at Hai Rui, Li Zaiting, and Liang Menglong, shook his head and said: "I will take care of the Jing Mansion matter. You only need to investigate the matter of King Dong'an, and the Zhang Chucheng case will be settled. Return to Beijing as soon as possible, and return to the capital." I can catch up with His Majesty’s Longevity Festival.”
Zhu Xizhong and Wu Jinghe looked at each other, and the former continued: "I will take care of the rest."
Chapter completed!