This He Shao was the envoy to the prisons and prisons in Qiangui. He was a third-rank official in the Yun State and one of the three departments. He was responsible for handling the judicial prisons, supervising prisons and prisons, and managing post offices.
With such weight, even Xiao Yu, who was the envoy to Guizhou and Guangxi, was easily unwilling to cause conflicts. In the eyes of ordinary people, he was like a god in heaven.
But even such a character, with just one word from Xiao Cheng, was immediately knocked down from the clouds without making any waves.
Xiao Cheng shook his head, continued to sit back lazily in the jade chair, and said casually:
"Go on!"
"yes."
In the spacious jade banquet, besides Xiao Cheng and Feng Bao who was waiting on the side, there were two young officials.
He has a thin body, a handsome face, and an aura of frailty all over his body, but his eyes often reveal an edge that is inconsistent with his frail temperament.
The other person has a round face and fair face, and a slightly rich figure. When facing Xiao Cheng, he lowers his eyebrows and his humble attitude is very comforting.
At this time, the two people were sitting opposite each other. On the eucalyptus table in the middle, there was a chessboard. On it, two big black and white dragons were intertwined, fighting fiercely.
It was quite boring during the march, so Xiao Cheng called the two of them to play chess with each other, while he watched the battle from the side to relieve his boredom.
After hearing Xiao Cheng's words, the two people who had been interrupted before continued to play chess.
"Da, da, da" the crisp sound of the chess pieces falling kept ringing in the jade hammer.
At this time, Xiao Cheng on the side did not pay attention to the chessboard. Instead, he stared at the round-faced official with interest, and then suddenly said:
"I suddenly remembered that He Shao seemed to have joined Wen Tiren's sect together with you!"
Hearing His Majesty suddenly mention this, the round-faced official's hand holding the chess piece trembled violently. He quickly leaned over to salute and said in panic:
"Your Majesty clearly knows that I am not familiar with this person..."
When Xiao Cheng heard this, he clicked his tongue, pointed at the chessboard where Zheng Lie was fighting, lowered his eyes and said:
"Play chess first, and the total score will determine the outcome!"
Hearing this, the round-faced official's heart trembled, and he quickly responded, stood up, and continued to play chess.
But at this moment, the round-faced official was disturbed by Xiao Cheng's words. There were beads of sweat on his forehead. How could he put any thought on the chessboard?
Soon, the relationship between the two dragons, who were originally entangled and fighting Zhenglie, became clearer.
The white stone in the hand of the weak official had already cut off the black dragon of the round-faced official and shattered his chess game into pieces.
Seeing this situation, the round-faced official naturally had no intention of continuing to pester him, and quickly surrendered, bowing his head and saying:
"Master Chen has extraordinary chess skills. He Shen has surrendered!"
[He Shen, an imperial minister in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Menyin entered the officialdom and was selected as a palace guard. Because of his shrewdness, ability and outstanding ability, he soon stood out and gained power. At first, he was an honest official, but as his power and position grew, his selfish desires
Increasingly, he took advantage of his position to form parties for personal gain, amass money, and attack political opponents. After the death of Emperor Qianlong, he was ordered to commit suicide in prison.]
[Force 70, Literature 69, Wisdom 89, Morality 27, Age 24, Dominance 63, Politics 90, Charm 72, Loyalty 99, Ambition 80]
In the past two years, the imperial examinations have never stopped, recruiting many talents for the Yun Kingdom court.
Among them, He Shen is the only famous historical official who has been refreshed.
At this time, when he heard He Shen surrendering on the opposite side, Chen Qingzhi also nodded slightly and returned the courtesy, saying politely:
"My lord, I agree!"
[Chen Qingzhi, a famous Liang general in the Southern Dynasty, came from a poor family. He was a young follower of Emperor Wu of Liang Xiao Yan. He often played chess with Emperor Liang all night long and was deeply trusted. He treated his soldiers well, was very courageous, and was good at seizing opportunities...]
[Official position: Seventh grade, serving in the cabinet. 】
[Force 30, Literature 70, Wisdom 92, Morality 80, Age 22, Dominance 89, Politics 75, Charm 80, Loyalty 93, Ambition 37]
Seeing that the outcome of the game had been decided, Xiao Cheng sat up straight with great interest, looked at the chessboard in front of him carefully, and then said with a smile:
"Twelve and a half eyesight... Chen Qing's chess skills are extraordinary, but yours and Shen's are not too bad either. If you are so low on standards today, your mind is obviously not on the chessboard!"
Hearing Xiao Cheng's words, He Shen's heart trembled even more. He quickly leaned over to salute and said urgently:
"Your Majesty, please be clear to me that I have nothing to do with He Shao... we only met once in Shangshu Mansion, and we have had no contact since then!"
Seeing his frightened look, Xiao Cheng chuckled again and said:
"Look at how scared you are, I just mentioned it..."
Today's Heshen has only been in the court for more than a year, and is only a seventh-rank official. Although he is in the cabinet with a bright future, he does not have great power, and corruption is naturally impossible.
The reason for the sudden beating was actually not directed at him.
But for people like Wen Tiren and Yan Song behind He Shen!
Xiao Cheng paused, glanced at He Shen meaningfully, and continued:
"I also know that if you hang around in this officialdom and have the slightest bit of power in your hands, you will never be clean. I am not forcing all the court officials to be as incorruptible as Master Shi Hai, the censor of Zuodu.
, but I also hope that there is a limit to what you can do!”
"It doesn't hurt to have something to eat and occasionally do something selfishly. But if it causes such outrage and resentment, I don't even need to ask about it. There will be a clear flow of water in the court and I will come forward to find out!"
This He Shao was a high official of the second rank in the dynasty and held great power. In the land of Guizhou and Guizhou, it was impossible to say that he could cover the sky with one hand, so no one would dare to provoke him.
Now, someone has quietly collected all the evidence of his crimes, and even the account books for accepting bribes have been obtained by others. This is obviously unusual.
If there is no Chao Zhong Qingliu secretly showing up behind the scenes, Xiao Cheng doesn’t believe it!
Of course, this is what Xiao Cheng intentionally promoted.
After all, more than half of the three-year period of the Golden Training Card [One Whip Method] has passed. While the national treasury is getting fuller and the people are getting richer, corruption in the DPRK and China has also begun to become serious.
If we don’t start to rectify the corruption in the DPRK and China, I’m afraid that after the three-year period has passed, the negative buff that will follow will be terrible!
At this time, He Shen, who was originally extremely panicked after hearing His Majesty say so much to him, breathed a sigh of relief. …
He was good at figuring out what was going on, and he had obviously figured out the deep meaning behind Xiao Cheng's words.
This is to allow myself to come forward to warn the Wen Tiren party behind them not to make mistakes!
Thinking of this, Yan Song quickly bowed and said loudly:
"Thank you for your advice, Your Majesty, I will definitely bear it in mind!"
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng nodded, waved his hand and said:
"Go for it!"
Upon hearing this, He Shen and Chen Qingzhi quickly bowed and respectfully exited the jade banquet.
Xiao Cheng sat alone in the jade tree and was silent for a long time, but suddenly said in a cold voice:
"Let Wang Xiao come and see me!"
"Yes." Feng Bao responded and quickly arranged for someone to call Wang Xiao, the director of the East Factory.
Not long after, Wang Xiao, wearing a purple eunuch's robe, hurried over, saluted outside the Yuhu, and said with an uneasy expression:
"My servant Wang Xiao, I would like to ask how your majesty is doing!"
Xiao Cheng's slightly cold voice came from the jade banquet:
"Clean up your Dongchang inside and outside! Your Dongchang didn't even notice that a dignified second-grade official was involved in corruption? Could it be that the informants you placed around the high-ranking officials in the DPRK are all blind!"
As soon as these words of reprimand came out, a cold sweat broke out on Wang Xiao's back.
Wang Xiao had already heard about the appointment of He Shao, the envoy of punishment and inspection in Guizhou and Guizhou.
If this person really made people angry in Dejiang County before, it is no longer just a matter of official assessment.
Either Dongchang Fanzi, who was responsible for local supervision, was bribed, or there were senior officials in Dongchang who came forward to conceal the matter.
In short, Dongchang, who is responsible for monitoring domestic affairs and the movements of civil and military officials in the imperial court, cannot escape responsibility!
Thinking of this, Wang Xiao immediately hated his subordinates for their incompetence and quickly gritted his teeth and said:
"This slave did not supervise me well. Please forgive me! Your Majesty, please give me a chance to make amends. I will definitely investigate this matter to the end!"
"Go down, I don't want to see it a second time!"
"yes!"
Wang Xiao looked a little embarrassed, but with a livid face, he left quickly, obviously determined to vigorously rectify the East Factory.
In the jade banquet, Feng Bao, who was waiting beside Xiao Cheng, had a solemn look on his face and said cautiously:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for talking too much!"
"Nowadays, there are heavy troops deployed on the border of Xia State, and national war is about to break out. Cleaning up the corruption problem in the DPRK at this time will probably restrain the energy of the imperial court!"
fqxsw.
Today, in the Yun Kingdom's court, the influence of hundreds of forces has become weaker and weaker, and has been gradually replaced by the imperial party, Qingliu, sycophants, and neutral pure ministers.
The imperial party, headed by Cheng Wushi, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese army, was Xiao Cheng's closest confidant.
The faction of sycophants was headed by Wen Tiren, the Minister of Punishment, and Yan Song, the Minister of Hubu. Most of them were lucky enough to advance, and they only wanted to flatter themselves, but rarely gave words of advice.
Among the Qingliu, led by Shi Hairui, the censor of Zuodu, and Di Renjie, minister of Dali Temple, they believed that the sycophantic ministers who only wanted to flatter themselves would bring harm to the country and the family.
Among the neutral and pure ministers, Zhang Zhao, the Minister of Rites, and Zhang Hong, the Minister of Personnel, were the core. They were only responsible for practical matters and mostly stayed out of the battles between the DPRK and the Central Government.
Among these four factions, they are simply divided based on their respective methods of doing things, rather than on the basis of moral character and governance concepts.
For example, among the party of sycophants, Wen Tiren, the Minister of Punishment, is famously clean. He only spends his salary on daily food and clothing, and his simplicity is on par with Hai Rui. …
As for the Qingliu Party, just as recorded in the Dongchang archives, there are no less than a dozen evidence of corruption committed by sanctimonious people.
Even Fu'an Bo, one of Xiao Cheng's confidants in the imperial party, and Yang Dayan, the Zhendong general, were greedy and took away the spoils of war.
If such a situation is not handled properly, it will immediately turn into a party dispute between North Korea and China, with constant impeachment between each other, and the country's power will be wasted in vain, just like the Xia Kingdom back then.
After hearing Feng Bao's words, Xiao Cheng nodded slightly, but said in a deep voice:
"It doesn't matter, I know it."
This time, we are only targeting corruption in the DPRK and China.
With Xiao Cheng under pressure, and relying on his supreme prestige, it will not turn into a party struggle!
"Besides, the Hailing County in the southeast of Xia Kingdom and the four counties in Qidi have just lost control. We have to wait for Xia Kingdom to dispatch troops from the front line to suppress the rebellion. Taking advantage of this period, I will destroy the corrupt officials in the DPRK.
The wind of decay has stopped for a moment!" Xiao Cheng said in a deep voice.
As the war continues, Xiao Cheng will at least capture Jinling and take over the whole area south of the Yangtze River!
Once this war starts, I don’t know when it will end. Naturally, we have to suppress the corruption in the government before the war starts, so as not to cause too serious negative consequences after the three-year period of [One Whip] expires.
Effect.
Seeing that His Majesty is now confident, Feng Bao, who was a little worried at first, immediately felt at ease and stopped talking about this matter.
——
Xia Kingdom, Jinling City Imperial Palace, inside Jinshen Hall.
In the Jinshen Hall today, all the important ministers of the Xia Kingdom gathered here, and the atmosphere once again became extremely solemn, making everyone feel as if they couldn't breathe.
Mei Chong sighed softly, bowed slightly and said:
"Your Majesty, how come in just a short period of time, three of the four counties in Qi have fallen to the enemy? Didn't the previous battle reports from the front indicate that Zhang's bandits are gone?"
At this time, Yu Zhaoling didn't know that it was because he had been used to it many times, but his face was not particularly ugly at this time, and he just remained silent without saying a word.
The old general Dong Wei gritted his teeth and said bitterly:
"Because there were many conflicts between the Yanjiao camp troops and the soldiers from various counties who were transferred, the generals and generals of the county soldiers were angry and resentful. Who would have thought that these words would be heard by others. The generals and generals of the county soldiers were afraid of these words.
, it came to the ears of the commander of the Yanjiao Camp, the Marquis of Wuxiang, that he would be punished by military law. In his heart, he was frightened, so he elected Taishan County Lieutenant Chen Youliang as the leader, burned the grain, grass and weapons, and set up a rebellion to attack the Yanjiao Camp."
"The turmoil in the army was taken advantage of by Zhang's thieves, who went out of the city to rob the camp and chased and killed the defeated troops. In the end, the Yanjiao camp's 20,000 soldiers were almost wiped out, and 60,000 county soldiers were scattered."
"The salt merchants in Qi were dissatisfied with the new salt tax order of the imperial court. They took the opportunity to cause chaos and opened the city to welcome the rebels. Within half a month, Taishan, Jiaodong and Donghai among the four counties in Qi fell directly."
"Now Thief Zhang and the rebel Chen Youliang's troops have led troops to march into Langya County, with the intention of carving up this county..."
Hearing this, Mei Chong, who was already elderly, couldn't help but feel angry and blood rushing to his head. He stumbled and almost fainted.
It was he who implemented the new order on salt tax between North Korea and China.
This was a good policy to increase tax revenue for the court. In the past two years, it has indeed collected nearly 20 million taels of silver for the Xia court.
But it was also because of this policy that at this time, Qi salt merchants colluded with the rebels and lost four counties!
How does this old minister accept this?
Yu Zhaoling, who was originally sullen, noticed Mei Chong's look and was startled. He quickly asked the eunuch next to him to help him and said comfortingly:
"Sikong, please don't do this! After all, it was because I did not confiscate all the salt merchants in one fell swoop for the sake of stabilizing the government. This led to what happened today, and it has nothing to do with Sikong!"
Mei Chong gritted his teeth, pushed away the eunuch who hurriedly came to help him, and said urgently:
"The four counties of Qidi are the main source of salt tax. They are very important to the current imperial court and must not be missed! Your Majesty, please immediately mobilize troops and horses from the front line to quell the rebellion!"
When Yu Zhaoling heard this, he immediately said:
"Don't worry, Sikong, the order to mobilize troops has been issued a long time ago."
At this time, Feng Chu said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty! The rebel Chen Youliang and the thief Zhang Shicheng are now fighting for Langya County. This may be an opportunity that can be exploited. Please Your Majesty, please immediately issue an order to recruit Zhang Shicheng and send gold and silver rewards so that the two can guard against each other and mobilize them for the court.
Soldiers and horses buy time!"
After hearing this, Yu Zhaoling said without hesitation: