Chapter 742 Anti-corruption starts with auditing accounts
The eldest prince Su Shu left the Qianqing Palace. He glanced at the clock outside the Qianqing Palace. It was already half past ten in the evening.
He couldn't hold back his excitement, and even though it was so late, he still went to Kunning Palace.
Su Shu has officially stepped into the fourth rank of officialdom. If this step is taken well, the position of crown prince is just around the corner.
If you make one wrong step, the great advantages accumulated before will be lost in one fell swoop, and it will be even more difficult to start over from the beginning, and you will most likely be caught up by other princes.
It will be very difficult for Su Shu to take advantage of his age and seal the victory in advance.
He joined the army as a young man, wandered at sea for two years, and worked in the Ministry of Science and Technology for several months.
Neither Su nor Shu used the hidden power of Queen Wang Wenjun.
He knows that this force is the biggest guarantee behind him. Once this force is used, it must be at the most critical moment.
The apparent power of Queen Wang Wenjun and the eldest prince Su Shu, mother and son, are all closely watched by other princes and their affiliated forces.
If these people act, they will inevitably be hindered. Their main role is to contain other forces.
Prevent the small actions of these forces from interfering with Su and Shu.
Su Shu admired his mother very much. She was able to control the harem for so many years and was very skillful.
When his uncle Wang Zhongce left the empire, he took most of the forces with him and went overseas to establish the country.
My uncle has been the Prime Minister of the Cabinet for so many years and has many disciples and former officials.
Many people are satisfied with their status and do not want to leave the empire to explore.
Some people chose to disclose their identities and surrounded Su Shu, and were called the Great Prince Party by other forces.
Some people choose to hide their identities. Even Su Shu doesn't know who they are. Only the Queen Mother knows who these people are.
Su Shu took a car and soon arrived at Kunning Palace.
Queen Wang Wenjun was reading in the study, and she saw Su Shu being brought in by a female officer.
"Shu'er, I knew you couldn't reply directly today and would definitely come to see your mother."
Queen Wang Wenjun then sighed: "I really made a mistake. It is too difficult to produce results on the road of scientific research. I didn't expect Mei Hongyun to be one of them."
Ronger was right to insist, she almost missed a happy life."
Queen Wang Wenjun was very emotional. She believed that it would be difficult to achieve success by following the path of scientific research.
She strongly opposes her daughter's search for a husband as she wishes. If the two of them really get together, according to Queen Wang Wenjun's experience, it will definitely be extremely difficult after marriage.
Few men can accept that their wife's status far exceeds their own.
But when this wishful man became an academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences, the results were completely different.
The preferential treatment that academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences receive in the empire far exceeds that of princesses in the royal family.
The eldest prince Su Shu could not comment on his mother's behavior in this matter.
The mother's original intention was indeed for her sister's happiness.
The eldest prince Su Shu bowed to his mother and said respectfully: "My son came to disturb my mother so late. There is indeed a reason why I must come.
My father has promoted me to a fourth-rank official."
The eldest prince Su Shu used concise language to describe what happened in the Qianqing Palace.
After Queen Wang Wenjun heard this, she immediately understood why Su Shu came to Kunning Palace?
"Shu'er, if anything happens to you, feel free to do it.
The queen mother silently supports you and will definitely protect you from interference from other forces."
Queen Wang Wenjun will use all her strength to help her son ascend to the position of crown prince.
Mother is more valuable than her son, so only by putting her own child on the throne can she live a stable life for the rest of her life.
Queen Wang Wenjun didn't want to spend the first half of her life suppressing those in the harem.
In the second half of her life, she was surpassed by others and lived in the shadow of others.
She looked at the eldest prince Su Shu and asked: "The Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance, this is an extremely important position.
It is not difficult for Shu'er to achieve political achievements. After taking office, do you have any thoughts on your work?"
The eldest prince Su Shu respectfully asked for advice: "My mother has extensive knowledge, what do you think I should do at this stage?"
The eldest prince Su Shu is ready to listen to his mother's opinion.
He is still young and doesn't think things through very carefully. If he listens to his mother's advice, he can avoid some detours.
Queen Wang Wenjun tried for a moment, and then said seriously: "Shu'er, what should you do, my mother has taught you before.
Your father often said that the most important thing in doing things is to recognize who is your friend and who is your enemy.
Make a lot of friends, unite the majority, and attack the minority.
As long as you grasp the essence of this sentence, you will succeed no matter what you do.
The queen mother has also said before that if you want to become a prince, the most important thing is to "be like yourself", so that the emperor can see that the country he has built and the policies he has set can be passed on smoothly.
A prince who is not like himself will never be able to obtain the position of crown prince."
When the eldest prince Su Shu heard what his mother said, he bowed deeply and said gratefully: "Empress, I already know what to do."
He left Kunning Palace with relaxed steps.
The eldest prince Su Shu is no longer confused. He knows what he wants to do?
The King of Chu had such a thin waist that many people died of starvation in the palace.
As an emperor who experienced fighting from the bottom and climbed out.
The people he hates most are corrupt officials.
The eldest prince Su Shu can be friends with anyone, but he must not be friends with corrupt officials.
Once he does this, it will give his father the feeling that once he takes power, the Great China Empire will become like the bastard he was in the late Ming Dynasty.
No matter how hard Su Shu tried, he would never be able to become the crown prince of the empire.
This is one of my father's bottom lines. Others can cross it for the sake of profit, but Su Shu will never do this.
Su Shu returned to his home and had a good sleep that he had not seen for a long time.
Early the next morning, he got dressed and went to the Ministry of Finance outside Chengtian Gate.
Under the respectful leadership of a junior official, Su Shu completed all the procedures in the Ministry of Finance and officially became a doctor in the Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance, in charge of the work of the Audit Department.
The only people with higher status than him in the Ministry of Finance are Li Yan, Minister of Finance, and a few other officials.
Su Shu was wearing a new official uniform and holding a new official seal in his hand. He looked at the office where he was in the Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance. There were three officials waiting for him.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Before he went out, the queen mother had already sent someone to inform him that she had arranged a right-hand man for him.
He doesn't have to look forward and backward when doing things. His mother will use her hidden power to assist him in his work.
The eldest prince Su Shu and the three cronies sent by his mother knew each other.
A tall, thin man with a Chinese character face, a tense expression on his face, and a somewhat harsh voice.
"Your Highness, I am Tan Wenhe, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Following orders from my superiors, I will cooperate with the Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance in investigating the case."
The official offices of the other two people belong to the Ministry of Finance.
They introduced themselves separately.
"Audit Department member Wai Lang Guo Guangxiao pays homage to His Highness."
"Chen Yaozu, the ninth-level accountant of the Ministry of Finance, pays homage to His Highness."
When the eldest prince Su Shu saw the identities of the three people, he knew that his mother had guessed what he wanted to do.
The eldest prince, Su Shu, clasped his fists and said: "We will all be colleagues from now on. We must work closely together to restore a bright future to the empire."
When the three of them heard what the eldest prince Su Shu said, they were all excited.
They are all loyal people who can come here.
But if the person you are loyal to is doing something that conforms to their ideals, that is a very happy thing.
Su Shu briefly understood the situation of the three people. The three people chosen by the queen mother were all extremely capable.
He wants to use the power of the Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance to catch some corrupt officials. With the close cooperation of these three people, it will definitely be much easier.
Su Shu was not going to waste time. He wanted to make his reputation immediately at the beginning of taking office.
He built his reputation through anti-corruption.
Let the people know that he is a prince who hates evil as much as he hates hatred.
After he becomes the emperor, the empire must be in a prosperous state, and corrupt officials must not be allowed to roam around.
Su Shu wanted to catch two or three big rats before most people could react.
He looked at Auditor General Guo Guangtiao and asked: "I need merit now, I need huge merit.
Leave those little shrimps to others to deal with.
I took matters into my own hands and had to find a heavyweight case.
I don’t know much about the previous situation of the Audit Department.
Guangxiao, is there any yamen that the Audit Department has noticed but dare not touch due to status and other reasons?"
The Ministry of Finance is in charge of the empire's treasury, and massive funds are invested in various government offices according to budgets.
The role of the Audit Department is to supervise each government office to see whether the relevant funds are used in practical ways.
Some minor problems can be solved with the help of the Audit Department staff.
But there is definitely an extraordinary Shuao hidden there, and even the officials of the Audit Department dare not touch it.
When Guo Guangxiao heard Su Shu say this, he knew that this was going to be a major and important case.
"Your Highness, when the Ministry of Finance was still the Ministry of Accounts, it was owed a lot of money, and many yamen were too poor, so we had no choice but to show our favor.
But some wealthy yamen do the same thing.
I'm just dissatisfied with the arrears of these yamen and want to know where they spend their money?
After checking the public accounts of these yamen, I found two big fish among them. The accounts were very detailed, but they could not escape my discernment.
They are the Water Conservancy Department of the Ministry of Industry under the jurisdiction of Su Wenbao, the Minister of Industry.
Yu Lihua, director of the Second Division of the Logistics Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Office, is responsible for the procurement of food and clothing for the army.
After reading the dossier information, I felt that there were big problems with these two account books.
I just see some minor problems, and I feel that problems with great impact can be found in this ledger."
Supervisory censor Tan Wenhe was afraid that the eldest prince Su Shu would not understand the situation, so he briefly introduced:
"Su Wenbao, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, is your majesty's cousin and a true relative of the emperor.
Yu Lihua, Director of the Governor's Office, is the third concubine of Wen Jingming, Duke of Lai State."
When Su Shu heard the identities of these two people, they were both extraordinary.
He had no memory of Su Wenbao, his cousin. His father did not take him to Su Wenbao's home to celebrate the New Year.
This shows that the relationship between the father and Su Wenbao is actually very distant.
Even if he is a close relative, the son of Grandpa Su Wuniu, his father will still punish him if he deserves it.
But for foreign ministers, the clan tiger skin that Su Wenbao wore made many people afraid to touch him.
Laiguo Gongwen Jingmei, a pioneer of the Imperial Royal Army, had been doing civilian work after being injured.
His disciples are all over the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion, and his own power is extremely strong, but due to physical reasons, he is in a state of half-rest.
The title "Third Concubine" comes from the fact that the concubines in the empire were eliminated and all concubines were equal wives, and they were commensurate with the order in which they were married into the family.
Su Shu didn't hesitate for a moment, he immediately ordered: "Guangxiao, take out the relevant files.
I want to see it for myself."
Su Shu decided that there was no problem with the file, so he personally led a team to capture the two giant rats.
Others didn't dare touch these two people, but he had no scruples.
Except for the first-rank officials of the empire, he did not have the confidence to touch them. There were no other officials whom he did not dare to touch.
Kunihiro Taka sent people to move a huge number of files over.
Su Shu looked at Chen Yaozu, who was standing aside with an abacus.
"Mr. Chen, you are a well-known accountant in the Ministry of Finance.
No one who knows how to do accounting can escape your eyes.
I will give these two files to Mr. Chen for review, and I hope Mr. Chen will live up to my expectations."
Chen Yaozu picked up the abacus and said confidently: "Your Highness, please rest assured that my stone abacus has never been afraid of any ledger.
The key to checking the books is to look at expenses and income.
No matter how good the fake accounting is, it can't hide the problem of imbalance in the account book.
It is not difficult at all to grasp this core point and find out the problems with the ledger."
Su Shu sat aside and watched Chen Yaozu and Guo Guangxiao cooperate with each other.
Chen Yaozu turned over a page of the account book, and the abacus clicked in his hands.
Chen Yaozu immediately stated his income and expenditure, and Guo Guangxiao wrote it down in his notebook.
When Chen Yaozu discovers a problem, he will ask Guo Guangxiao to mark it in advance.
The price of river sand ten years ago was completely different from the price of river sand now.
This kind of subtle problem may not be discovered by other accountants.
But Chen Yaozu has a very good memory. He can not only calculate accounts, but also remember the prices of major supplies over the years.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The specific income and expenditure are hidden in the account book through a transparent method, which cannot be hidden from his eyes at all.
There were so many accounts that Chen Yaozu and Guo Guangxiao checked them for three days in a row before finishing the two ledgers.
In the past three days, Su Shu has not been idle. He has adapted to the work of the Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance.
Because of Su Shu's noble status, the officials of the Audit Department took the initiative to show courtesy to Su Shu.
These officials also had doubts in their hearts. Under normal circumstances, new officials take office with three things in mind.
However, they discovered that after the eldest prince Su Shu took office, he got along well with the officials without any airs or any irritation.
Rumors gradually spread from the Ministry of Finance that the eldest prince Su Shu had been deeply educated in Confucianism since he was a child. He was a humble gentleman and quite benevolent.
This rumor made many officials in the court happy, and they supported the benevolent gentleman.
A gentleman can be deceived, but a benevolent emperor is even easier to fool.
The eldest prince Su Shu ignored the rumors from the outside world. He knew that these rumors must be secretly promoted by his good brother Su Lei.
Su Lei knew that his father didn't like corrupt scholars very much. He was following the example of the First Emperor and Prince Fusu, and was planning to use this method to lower his father's impression of him.
When the eldest prince Su Shu saw these two ledgers on the table, he knew that everyone's impression of him would soon change.
When he read the account book, he slammed the table in anger. These rats who embezzled the empire's property must be dealt with seriously.
Su Shu looked at the supervisory censor Tan Wenhe and ordered: "Censor Tan, please mobilize your manpower immediately and prepare for action.
I took the account book into the palace and started taking action immediately when I came back."
Su Shu was not reckless. If he wanted to arrest a second- or third-rank official of the empire, he had to get permission from his father.
He will never give his enemies a chance to criticize him.
