Back at the Jixian Division, Rong Fei personally put Fan Li and the two heads of household in the cell. Wei Lin, who had tried to persuade her all the way but to no avail, had no choice but to do her part first and take people to hang them.
Plaque. A large group of officials from the Ministry of Revenue blocked the door, eagerly waiting to see how this matter would end.
The thirteen catchers could neither stay nor leave. They could only hide in the corner of the yard and pray secretly that the fire in the tower would not harm little fish like themselves.
Shan Zhongji, the Minister of Hubu, got up a little late today. When he entered the Hubu Yamen, there was no bustling scene in the past and no bows of greetings to subordinates. It was so deserted that people couldn't get used to it.
Just as he was wondering, he heard the sound of running quickly behind him. It was the person who had rushed to Shan Zhongji's house to report the news.
It's just that the man took a shortcut and missed the path of Shan Zhongji's sedan.
"Sir...Sir, something bad has happened. Mr. Fan has been arrested, as well as Mr. Zhang and Mr. Li."
Shan Zhongji's heart suddenly pounded, and he quickly grabbed the messenger and asked.
"Did the Criminal Department or Dali Temple arrest him?"
"It's Ji Xian Si."
"I didn't hear what you said clearly. Tell me again, who was arrested?"
"Sir, you heard correctly, he was captured by Ji Xian Si."
Shan Zhongji was stunned for a long time, but then he seemed to think of something, and hurriedly left the Hubu Yamen, riding in a sedan chair towards the palace.
"Your Majesty, Sir Hu Bu Shan wishes to see you."
There was no court meeting today, but Zhu Sheng still came to the imperial study very early to handle government affairs. After hearing the announcement from the chamberlain, Zhu Sheng put down his brush and said, taking the opportunity to take a rest.
"I am incompetent. Please forgive me. Please forgive me. Please forgive me."
Arriving at the Imperial Study Room, Shan Zhongji knelt down on the ground with a bang, kowtowed and confessed repeatedly as if pounding garlic.
Zhu Sheng blinked, not knowing what Shan Zhongji was up to. He was about to ask a question, but then he thought of the major adjustments and big plans for the court that he had been planning since last night, and he quickly stopped.
No matter what caused Shan Zhongji to be so panicked, it was still a good opportunity to slap him. Let's listen to what he said for a while.
Zhu Sheng remained calm, and Shan Zhongji became even more panicked.
How could Jixiansi go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to pick up someone for no reason?
The detectives who were hiding in the Yamen all day long didn't dare even if they had the guts to do so, so they had no choice but to follow Yu Qingzhi's orders.
Yu Qingzhi never paid attention to political affairs, and even didn't bother to care about the affairs of the Immortal Division. Why did he become more diligent this time?
There seems to be only one answer. Yu Qingzhi followed His Majesty's orders.
Could it be that His Majesty was dissatisfied with his performance at the Tiantian Temple yesterday? Capturing Fan Li and the two principals was just the first step. If he didn't know it yet, the next step would be to take action against himself.
The more Shan Zhongji thought about it, the more he became afraid. Zhu Sheng on the throne didn't say anything, so he didn't dare to stop and kowtowed even harder.
Shan Zhongji didn't say what happened, but Zhu Sheng couldn't take the initiative to ask, so the monarch and his ministers were in a stalemate.
After a while, Shan Zhongji became more and more desolate. He thought that he had already reached this level, and His Majesty still had no intention of comforting or admonishing him. I am afraid that he really cannot escape this time. For now, the only way is to take the initiative.
Resigning may appease His Majesty's dissatisfaction.
Zhu Sheng was also very depressed. He kept kowtowing when he had something to say. Just as he was thinking about what kind of excuse he should find to get Shan Zhongji to speak, he caught a glimpse of Wei Lin's figure appearing at the door.
Wei Lin came back for business. Although she was a little confused when she saw Shan Zhongji's ugly appearance, she also vaguely guessed that it was related to Rong Fei. Holding back her smile, Wei Lin walked to Zhu Sheng's side lightly and told her this morning.
The grievances and grievances between Jixiansi and Hubu were revealed.
Wei Lin didn't understand why Shan Zhongji was so frightened, but Zhu Sheng immediately guessed what Shan Zhongji was thinking.
It turned out that it was a misunderstanding. It was Shan Zhongji who thought too much and frightened himself. Rong Fei was indeed too bold, and he was arrested as soon as the third-grade minister said!
However, it can be considered a mistake. After the fall of the Yong Party, Zhu Sheng wanted to reorganize the imperial court, and the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Households were the top priorities. Shan Zhongji was fairly loyal, but his talents were average, and he controlled the time of the Ministry of Households.
It's been long enough and it's time to change positions.
Having made up his mind, Zhu Sheng knocked on the table and said.
"Okay, stop knocking. It's giving me a headache."
Shan Zhongji felt like a great lord, shouting to thank His Majesty for His grace, and then he dared to raise his head.
It didn't matter that he raised his head, but it almost made Zhu Sheng's nose crooked with anger. Shan Zhongji's forehead was smooth and clean. Although there was a thin layer of sweat, there was no trace of purple, and there was not even a trace of purple.
Not stained by dust.
Ganqing's kowtow was just for show, but how the thumping sound came out puzzled Zhu Sheng.
"The old minister is incompetent, failed to manage the household department well, failed the emperor's favor, and deserves death."
"Okay, okay, Shan Qing is not young anymore. Don't talk about death all the time. You have worked hard to stick to the household department for so many years. It's time to make a move. Now that Gao Taiji is in prison, the old chief assistant has not yet
Wake up, there is a vacancy in the cabinet, Shan Qing will report to the cabinet tomorrow and take up the post of Second Assistant temporarily."
Shan Zhongji looked up in shock.
What does your majesty mean? Instead of blaming yourself, you actually joined the cabinet as a deputy?
Although he is only a second minister in the cabinet, everything must be decided by the old chief minister, and he is not as powerful as the minister of household affairs. But now the old chief minister Liu Chuanfang is still seriously ill and has not woken up. As long as he does not wake up for a day, he will be the second minister.
Can be regarded as the first assistant.
Shan Zhongji came to his senses after the disaster was turned into a good thing, and quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude. He was moved to tears, but he forgot about the arrest of Fan Li and the two principals.
"Okay, Shan Qing should take the time to go back to the household department to make the handover. The right servant Zhang Mian will be in charge of the household department for the time being. By the way, tell Zhang Mian not to provoke Rong Fei if you have nothing to do. Go down."
Shan Zhongji, who was kicked out of the royal study, returned to the household department in a silly mood and called Zhang Mian, the right servant, to start the handover work.
After the handover was completed, I remembered that Fan Li was still detained in Ji Xian Division.
At the same time, I remembered another very important thing.
Who is Rong Fei?
Shan Zhongji conveyed Zhu Sheng's original words to Zhang Mian, the right servant. When Rong Fei arrested people this morning, Zhang Mian hid in the duty room and peeped, so he naturally knew that Rong Fei was the one who arrested Fan Li and the two principals.
Xian Si catches the head.
He found four other bosses who worked under Fan Li and asked them about the reason. It turned out that it was just because they were owed half a year's salary. Zhang Mian was so frightened that he quickly ordered someone to pay the money according to the amount in the account book and send it to Jixian Division.
Good guy, you dare to arrest the minister and put him in jail for just half a year's salary arrears. If you haven't owed the entire household department for a year, you'll have to take down the entire household department.
Watching the two principals leave with their salaries, the new head of the household department, Zhang Mian, couldn't help but have deep doubts on his face.
Who is this Rong Fei who deserves to be so valued by the Holy One?
In the courtyard of the Jixian Division, Rong Fei put on the golden and jade Xie Zhi crown costume given by the emperor, pulled out a chair and placed it in front of the Immortal Suppressing Stone. He held the Book of Catching Gods that Yu Qingzhi had thrown to him this morning, in full view of everyone.
, sitting on a chair, basking in the sun and reading with great interest.
Was Rong Fei's arrest of Fan Li and the two principals always impulsive?
The answer is of course no.
The reason why this was done with so much fanfare was for two purposes.
The first, of course, is to demand the arrears of wages and make them afraid to default again in the future.
Secondly, it is to send out a very important signal. Ji Xian Division is no longer what it used to be, and no one can take advantage of it anymore.
As for whether he might accidentally lose it, Rong Fei wasn't worried at all.
It has been more than 800 years since the founding of Dayan, and corruption is prevalent in official circles, with the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works being the hardest hit areas.
There was once a saying that if all the officials of the Ministry of Revenue were to be executed for corruption, one or two might be unjustly convicted. But if every other official was to be executed, there would be sure to be some fish that slipped through the net.
From what Li Jun said, Rong Fei judged that Fan Li and the two principals must be unclean. Even if the Ministry of Revenue really wanted hard steel, Rong Fei was not afraid at all.
The worst case scenario would be to put some effort into checking the accounts of these three people. With Rong Fei's ability, it would be very easy to check for them and destroy their entire family.
Another point is that Rong Fei had just helped Yan Emperor Zhu Sheng a lot, and the relationship between the two was still in the honeymoon period. Rong Fei believed that as long as he didn't kill Fan Li directly, Zhu Sheng would not do anything to him.
Kind of.
If that still doesn't work, Rong Fei still has Yu Qingzhi's trump card. As the chief arrester of the Ji Xian Division, it's time to do something for the Division.
Based on the above two points and the three guarantees, Rong Fei created the current situation in such an arrogant and domineering manner.
But Rong Fei had a clear idea in his heart, but others didn't think so.
First of all, there were the thirteen arrests from the Ji Xian Division. Looking at the blocked door and seeing that it was almost noon, all the arrests were really crying.
Then there were the officials from the Ministry of Revenue blocking the door, and in addition there were people from other yamen who came to join in the fun.
Yesterday, the saint of Qiankun Temple was released, and today he arrested the minister of Hubu. Is this Jixian Division going crazy?
Everyone is eagerly looking forward to seeing how Ji Xiansi will end.
It was almost noon, and these officials estimated that the news had reached the ears of the upper-level bosses, and a counterattack against the Jixian Division should not be far away.
Sure enough, not long after, someone with sharp eyes shouted.
"Look, it's Chief Xu and Chief Zhou from the Qing Officials Department."
"Servant Fan has been arrested, what use can two principals do?"
"We can't let Lord Shangshu end up personally. I guess he came with a big weapon. I didn't see that Mr. Xu was carrying a package in his hand."
With everyone looking expectantly, the two principals, Xu and Zhou, separated from the crowd and squeezed into the Jixiansi compound.
Both of them had met Rong Fei in the morning, and at this time they were almost blinded by the golden Xie Zhi crown uniform.
"I have seen Rong Baotou. Here is half a year's salary for twenty-one people in Jixian Division, totaling one thousand one hundred and seventy-two taels. Please take a look."
When they saw Chief Xu opening the package he had brought, revealing the banknotes and broken silver inside, and respectfully presenting them to Rong Fei, all the onlookers were shocked.