He Qizhou raised his head and said quickly: "Your Majesty, I am from Jiangjun Village, Jiangjun County, Jiangling Prefecture. Because of the deep friendship between neighbors, when I left home to take the exam, my neighbor, the old lady of Liu Prefecture, gave me a Liu family emblem. I promised that if I have any difficulties,
Please ask the Liu family for help. At that time, the Jiangling section of the Guangling River collapsed and tens of thousands of households in three counties were affected. The students used the token to pretend to be Liu Yushi's family and deceived the prefect Zhang Luyao and the navy commander Shi Huoyan.
We defrauded profiteers and used them to help the victims, but little did we know that the profiteers used a small amount of old grains to sell to the government, and the resentment among the army was all caused by the students. I hope that Your Majesty will show mercy and spare the students from the death penalty, and please forgive me, Mr. Liu!
"After He Qizhou finished speaking, he turned to Liu Jin'an in the front row on the west side and nodded to admit his mistake.
Liu Jinan's face was ashen and he said nothing. Seeing the emperor looking at him, he said: "A few days ago, I received a letter from my mother, mentioning the matter of lending He Qizhou a token."
Jiang Cong seemed a little surprised. He looked at the prince standing on the lower left side of the dragon chair and said: "Okay, it's the Jiangling case again. Jiang Shan, let me ask you, have you been waiting for me to come out of confinement for the past month?
This matter?"
Jiang Shan lowered his head and said: "This matter is of great importance, and I dare not make any rash decisions."
"What about the amnesty? Tomorrow is the First Day!" Jiang Cong continued to ask gloomily.
"Father, most of the names have been drawn up by the cabinet. However, it's just the many suspects in the Jiangling case. The academics have never been able to give their opinions." Jiang Shan replied.
"What about the murder case in the suburbs? With so many people dead outside the imperial city, where do you want me to put the dignity of the Imperial family?"
Jiang Shan knelt down helplessly and said: "This case is still being investigated by the Military Police Department and the Criminal Department, and the relevant files have been copied to the imperial study."
"Pa!" Jiang Cong slapped the back of the chair hard, startling everyone in the palace. It had been a long time since the emperor had been so angry.
"In other words, do you still want me to handle it?"
Jiang Shan panicked and replied: "Father, the suburban case may be related to the Jiangling Grain Case. I am incompetent and cannot investigate thoroughly!"
Jiang Cong didn't speak for a while, and there was only the sound of gasping from everyone in the palace. After a while, maybe his anger had calmed down a little, Jiang Cong said lightly to the prince: "Get up." Then he said to the kneeling He Qizhou: "
Why don't you get up and answer the question and tell us what's going on?"
After He Qizhou thanked him, he stood up straight and faced the emperor, telling the story of the Jiangling flood, Zhang Luyao raising grain, and profiteers in the city driving up the price of grain.
He told the story in detail. During this period, many officials questioned the truth of what He Qizhou said. The emperor finally couldn't help but said angrily: "If you have any doubts, wait until he has finished speaking!"
He Qizhou then told the whole story in one breath, and was willing to confront the Navy, Zhang Luyao, and the Chen Family Trading Company. He took almost all the responsibility on himself and blamed the Jinling Sect, Quanzhen Sect, Zhang Luyao, and the Navy.
He Qizhou made excuses. He Qizhou thought hard for many days before sorting out these arguments, and he felt that there were not many flaws.
After Jiang Cong heard this, his face became even more ugly, and he said gloomily: "Okay, you can say whatever you want now."
"Your Majesty, the money and food paid by Nanzhili in a year account for 20% of the tax revenue of the Ministry of Household Affairs, of which the Yangzhou Chen family has contributed a lot. Moreover, the Chen family is one of the three great families in our dynasty and has a good reputation. How could they take advantage of the situation and take advantage of the situation, regardless of the lives and deaths of the people?
What a despicable act!" Mr. Tobe immediately reported!
"Is there any other motive?" Wang Jun, the Minister of Punishment, interjected.
"Are there any rules?" Chen Yu, who had always been tolerant of court debates in the past, shouted to Hu Mao, the Minister of Punishment.
The rather old Hu Mao turned around and shouted to Wang Jun, who was a good distance away: "Chen - Mr. Ge asked you to abide by the rules and speak only after the performance has started!" The word "Chen" was deliberately highlighted.
"Your Majesty, since He Qizhou claims to be familiar with the inside story, I just have two questions to ask." Wang Ping, the young minister of Dali Temple, reported.
"Correct." Jiang Cong said.
"He Qizhou, please tell me, since the Chen Family Trading Company wants to hoard grain and be reluctant to sell it, why should they arrange for idlers to sell the grain at a loss? This is unreasonable." Shaoqing asked.
He Qizhou replied: "Because after using the official rations on the ship and the disaster relief grains shipped by the Jinling sect, the food in the mansion has been enough for the victims for ten days to half a month. Almost no one will starve to death anymore, and the disaster relief grains from the court will arrive in ten days.
In addition, local and Huaibei grain is expected to mature. If we continue to stock up on grain, the price of grain will only go down. It is better to take advantage of someone to buy it at a high price! Moreover, I estimate that the Chen family in Jiangling had already suffered a lot of losses at that time and was in urgent need of filling the hole. Of course,
I didn’t expect that the Jiangling Chen Family would shamelessly mix in stale food!”
"Then do you know how much anger the army has aroused because of the moldy old grain? How many generals were suspected by the soldiers of having their grain and wages deducted?" Maude interrupted and asked.
He Qizhou did not panic and replied: "Which is the lesser of two powers that harm each other, it is a last resort. If it were not for the 20,000 stones, Jiangling Mansion would immediately fall into famine and starve to death. There would definitely be many people who would cause trouble.
During the two-day journey from Jiangjun Village to Jiangling Mansion, the students have already discovered that many people are hungry. Tragedies of buying and selling children often occur. I was born in a prosperous age, and I don’t know what famine is, but Yi Zi recorded in the history books
As for food, the scene of starving people all over the ground is not that far away now. I think with your majesty’s kindness, how can you bear the suffering of your people? What’s more, Jiangling is a land that produces food. A mere flood will kill a lot of people. Is it not a man-made disaster?
What? Who among the children in the army would not pity his parents and brothers? If after the case is clear, the officers and soldiers in the army will be informed of their difficulties, will they still be resentful? Even if they are resentful, wouldn't those who adulterate with bad food be more hateful?
What's more, isn't it true that soldiers guarding the border are just for the sake of the people of Qi who live and work in peace and contentment?"
"What a sharp mouth!" Mo Dezheng finally understood that He Qizhou's verbal skills were stronger than his martial arts skills, and said: "In the military, there are prohibitions and laws, and privately tampering with military rations is a capital crime!"
"Sir, even ordinary people have a rough understanding of military law. It is said in the Qilu Military Code: If the army encounters an extreme situation and waits for orders to miss the opportunity or suffer heavy losses, the commanding officer can make a decision on his own initiative. That batch of ship rations is the last one passing through Jiangling.
If a batch of tax grains is not lent to Jiangling Mansion, hundreds of lives will be lost! It is good people who flock to thieves! It is the prestige of the government! It is the heart of the people of Daqi! If you were an escort officer, you would watch helplessly
Are you watching the people suffer?" He Qizhou became a little excited.
"Well said!" Zhang Zhiren, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, who always showed his displeasure, said loudly. In the military circle, he was the only one who dared not to give Privy Councilor Mo Shi face.
Maud's face turned blue for a moment, and after being stunned for a moment, he uttered a few words: "That's the law in wartime!"
"Lord Mo, great disasters are like wars. This is what our ancestors said." Liu Yan on the other side reminded.
Seeing that no one interrupted, the young minister of Dali Temple lost his confidence and continued to ask cautiously: "He Qizhou, let me ask you again, disaster relief is important, but it was you who deceived Governor Jin Yan when he ordered the Jinling faction to raid the people and squires along the way.
What did they do? Zhang Luyao was corrupt, and in the end he secretly withheld money from the imperial court because of your deception? Think about it carefully, don’t let them deceive you because of your strong blood!"
He Qizhou cursed in his heart: That guy is so vicious. He wants to prove that Jin Yan and Zhang Luyao's behavior was wrong, so as to lead people to believe that what they did before was not a good thing. But he really has nothing to refute, so he can't let it go.
Do people believe that a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old can command two high-ranking officials in the imperial court? He can only hastily reply: "I don't believe they are such people. From what I have seen, they are all using their full strength."
Disaster relief!"
The Shaoqing of Dali Temple sneered and said: "Your Majesty, the ships assigned by Jin Yan went around to search for food from the people along the coast as soon as they crossed the Guangling River. Some people spontaneously signed a petition to report to the court! A total of more than 7,000 people signed a petition to report Jin Yan's evil deeds!"
"How do you know it was Jin Yan who did it?" Chief Assistant Chen Yu asked.
"The Jinling sect was entrusted by Chen Yan to escort the relief grain. Before leaving, Jin Yan handed over a note with the names of many squires and official households in the north of the Yangtze River, asking Jinling disciples to ask for them along the way. When two of them refused, the Jinling sect relied on its strength to bully the weak.
Sheng Ling, who used his martial arts to coerce and injured two guards, and has now entered the military equipment hall, is one of the people who did it, but Jinling elder Li Jichen has admitted that he was the instigator!"
"Nonsense! The family master arrived at Jiangling Mansion ten days before the grain ship. How can he instruct others?" Xu Mu couldn't help shouting.
"Isn't it allowed to exchange letters? Besides, who allows your Majesty to talk nonsense?" Shaoqing replied sadly.
"Bastard thing!"
Wang Ping followed the sound and saw that it was Zhang Zhiren who was scolding him. He thought he was scolding Xu Mu, but he saw Zhang Zhiren pointing at his nose and saying, "Who do you think you are? You are responsible for the rules in the palace?"
Wang Ping felt panic in his heart, not knowing where he had offended the Zhang family who stayed out of the incident.
Hu Mao, who was also under the chief officer, finally said: "Wang Shaoqing, how about you tell me how much food the relief ship collected along the way?"
"The rice is no less than three thousand shi. What about the silver? According to the recovered account book, it is more than two thousand taels." Wang Ping said.
"Seven thousand people, three thousand stones? Calculating that the average cost per person is less than two taels of silver, we have to jointly submit the memorial? Do you think Jin Yan is really a beggar? Why don't you risk your reputation and reputation just for this small amount of money?" After hearing this
After two figures, Jiang Cong became angry again and continued: "Jiang Shan, I know you are trying to avoid suspicion. Although your teacher is very hypocritical, he is still somewhat knowledgeable. Where in the country are there not his disciples and former officials?
Do you want to use force if you want some food? Turn around and let me go immediately!"
"Your Majesty, Mr. Jin may have instigated Zhang Luyao to secretly use official grain and accept bribes from Magistrate Zhang." A censor who did not know whether to live or die jumped out.
Hu Mao said hurriedly:
"Your Majesty, the old minister has checked the list of seven thousand people with the list on Jin Yan's note one by one, and went to Nanzhili one by one to visit the list on Mr. Jin's note. There are a total of forty-two people on the list, and only six of them are there.
Four of them signed a joint petition, and four of them said they were deceived and that when they signed, they thought they were petitioning the court for disaster relief.
Therefore, there were only two people who actually regretted the donation and complained, and the rice involved totaled nine dan! The rest of the people on the list donated a total of rice, 2,600 dan of flour, and 2,110 taels of silver. They all sincerely accompanied Master Jin in the disaster relief.
In other words, those seven thousand people only lost 400 shi, less than a pound each. Please punish these unscrupulous people for their false accusations!
In addition, the correspondence between Mr. Jin and Zhang Luyao has been ascertained, and there is no statement in it that he instructed Zhang Luyao to use official rations. As for accepting bribes from Zhang Luyao, that is even more nonsense, and there is no evidence to support it.
They are just some local specialties, and even according to the higher market price in Jinling City, they only cost less than ten taels!"