To the south of Dongchang Prefecture where Linqing is located is Yanzhou Prefecture.
Yanzhou Prefecture is so big that there are four prefectures and 23 counties under it. Within Yanzhou Prefecture, there are counties like Qufu, as well as Yanggu County and Yuncheng County, which were famous in the "Water Margin" that came out later.
, Liangshan Bo.
In addition, there is Cao County located in the southwest corner.
Within a Yanzhou Prefecture, there are two thousand-household offices in Jining, Yizhou, Yanzhou Sanwei, Tengxian, and Dongping, and twelve inspection departments.
However, Dongchang Prefecture, which is much smaller than Yanzhou Prefecture, also has Linqing, Dongchang, and Pingshan, and there is still something wrong with the canal.
Now the imperial driver passes through Liaocheng County, the prefecture of Dongchang Prefecture, and enters Yanggu County. Next, there is a long route passing through Liangshanbo and Weishan Lake.
Cui Yuan went directly to Huai'an Prefecture to set up an outpost, while Li Quanli, Liu Zhenyuan, Zhang Fujing, and Qi Yuanda tightened their nerves. The investigation scope on both sides of the river in front of them extended for twenty miles at any time, not letting go of any clues.
In Linqing City, the investigation of the case was handed over to the right minister of the Ministry of Justice who was traveling south with him. He was assisted by Zhang Fujing and Qi Jingtong. Gao Zhong was also on his way from Jinan.
With Qi Jingtong's participation, it can only be said that Caojun Shandong always has to prove its loyalty.
A large-scale investigation has begun in Linqing City.
If the organizer behind this is not found out as soon as possible, the emperor who is rushing south with great momentum will only make Nanzhili feel even more terrifying.
Regardless of other sentiments, since Linqing City was on heightened alert in preparation for welcoming the emperor, no one who had left or entered the city had been spared. Many officials from Shandong Jisi and Dongchang Mansion were transferred to help with the investigation.
case.
At the same time, of course, there were also Shandong Zhongxing's subordinates and spies from outside factories who Gao Zhong had notified to take action.
The major assassination case is unprecedented in intensity.
There is another line that has attracted much attention, and that is the "inaction teaching" mentioned by Zhu Houcong when he summoned Qi Yuanda.
This newly emerged religion now has many followers among the large and small Cao gangs along the canal. Throughout the ages, too many rebellions have been related to these large and small folk sects. Even the rebels at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty themselves cannot escape this shadow.
Shopkeeper Wu already knows the "results" on the canal.
To his great regret, he neither injured Zhu Houcong nor blew up the canal embankment. He even failed to frighten Zhu Houcong and make him stay in Shandong.
The suspicion caused by the inability to communicate effectively is the most stressful. If the emperor doubts the loyalty of the Southern Zhili side, he will definitely take action. Only under the huge pressure, someone in another center of the Ming Dynasty will worry about being implicated in liquidation.
If the emperor dared to continue moving forward despite being assassinated, the signal reaching Southern Zhili would be different.
It is greater pressure and an opportunity to show loyalty. On the contrary, if you jump out at this time, you must weigh the emperor's trust.
He decided to remain silent.
The two nephews would not leave any identity clues, and the person who provided the gunpowder and the temporary shelter used for robbery on the river would never show up at this time.
But once you get serious, you have the opportunity to make meritorious deeds, and you have the motivation to clear your suspicions, and you can uncover clues no matter how far away you are.
As the emperor approached Jining, Qi Yuanda, who took the initiative to continue investigating the river course, came to see him again.
When the boat reaches this point, the water is already flowing southward. To the left and right of the canal are vast Weishan and other lakes, and the water flow on the canal is wide and gentle.
Zhu Houcong sat on the seat in the small hall on the ship, with Huang Jin standing next to him, Yang Tan, Li Hao and Yang Tingyi sitting on the left and right, and the last seat was reserved for Qi Yuanda.
"Why can't we wait until nightfall to anchor?"
Hearing this, Qi Yuanda stood up from his seat again and said respectfully: "After hearing the preliminary investigation results in Linqing, it is incredible that the small iron house on the shore can be so hidden. After thinking about it, I think it is
I remembered some old news and didn't dare to delay."
"speak."
Qi Yuanda said seriously: "How important is the canal embankment? The Yellow River changes its course and goes south to seize the Huaihe River. It often overflows and invades the canal. Protecting the canal has always been a top priority, so the west bank of the canal is inspected every year. Your Majesty, this matter,
It’s all the responsibility of Hedao Yamen.”
Li Hao's eyes narrowed when he heard this: the chief officer of the Hedao Yamen is called the Governor of Hedao, and its headquarters is in Jining.
"In December of the twelfth year of Zhengde, there was a breach in the Yellow River. Gong Hong, the Yin of Yingtian Prefecture at that time, was appointed as the right deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the prime minister of Hedao." Qi Yuanda continued, "Your Majesty is the empress, and Gong Hong is the right minister of the Ministry of Industry.
, and later became an official with the title of Minister of the Ministry of Industry. The current Zhang Zheng was originally a doctor in the Nanjing Ministry of War. Your Majesty, there were some disputes between the river and the cao last year. I can only say... I can only say that there is quite an old grudge between the river and the cao.
."
Qi Yuanda's reminder made Yang Tan and others start to think.
After a while, Li Hao spoke: "I was the Minister of the Ministry of Industry at that time, and Gong Hong asked me to become an official. It was after the national policy meeting set a three-year national policy of checking floods and water conservancy."
Yang Tan also said: "Last year, there was a slight obstruction in the canal transportation. The grain transportation was blocked for a while. All the canal equipment was scattered along the river. The imperial court asked Zhang Zheng's responsibility."
"More than that." Li Hao introduced to Zhu Houcong, "The post of Chief River was originally established in the seventh year of Chenghua. It was only dispatched in sections and was withdrawn after the work was completed. In the fourth year of Zhengde, the Yellow River was sealed and moved to the north.
It crossed Huanglinggang and rushed into the Jialu River. Since then, there have been discussions about reinstating a special official because of the river channel. However, Gong Hong served as this official from the 12th year of Zhengde to the 16th year of Zhengde. After that, the total canal and the total river became
custom made."
He didn't speak clearly, but Zhu Houcong understood what he meant.
After the temporary officers became customized, huge interests were involved. What's more, this was the governor of a river related to the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty?
However, on a canal, there are water transport governors and river governors. It is conceivable that there will be disputes over authority.
The main responsibility of the River Governor was to manage the dredging and renovation of the canal. Zhu Houcong began to recall the amount of money allocated by the imperial court to the Ministry of Industry every year to maintain the navigation conditions of the canal.
This is the benefit of engineering.
In addition, the river governor also has partial control over the power of the military guards along the canal and the many special offices on the canal, which can breed a lot of benefits.
Zhu Houcong looked at Qi Yuanda: "By reporting this matter, are you implying that when the Hedao Yamen was renovating the river embankment, you had collusion with others and allowed others to take advantage of the loophole?"
Qi Yuanda said nonchalantly: "I just think... Hedao Yamen should investigate..."
Zhu Houcong frowned: "If you have evidence, tell it."
Qi Yuanda looked at Yang Tan, Li Hao, the two elders, and Yang Tingyi, Mr. Yang's younger brother, with a little embarrassment.
Afterwards, he could only say: "I, the Shandong Commander-in-Chief of the Cao Army, have to go to the Hedao Yamen to pay a tribute of three thousand taels of silver every year..."
Yang Tan could only open his mouth.
Even though the Hedao Yamen is based in Jining, it seems to only care about canals. That's because after the Yellow River diverted the Huai River and entered the sea, flooding in the Yellow River and flooding in the canals became almost the same problem.
In fact, the river governor also manages the areas along the Yellow River.
If the Cao Army General can contribute so much money in one year, what about the entire Cao Army and the other yamen along the Yellow River Canal?
For this reason, the imperial court still needs to budget no less than 300,000 taels of silver to the river yamen every year on average to maintain the navigation capacity of the canal.
Zhu Houcong sighed: "The soldiers fled their country and many of them became thieves. Robbery continued along the canal. I'm afraid I don't know how many yamen have colluded with them to set up such dens on the river embankment to avoid arrests. This is
The canal is really rotten and riddled with holes!"
Li Hao's scalp was numb and he stood up to plead guilty: "I am guilty."
"However, we cannot ignore the floods in the rivers." Zhu Houcong looked at him and said, "This dispute over the canal and the river will have to be followed by a regulation after I personally see the canal and the Yellow River this time."
After a pause, he told Huang Jin: "Send an order to Uncle Xiangcheng to capture Zhang Zheng and the following first. With Qi Yuanda's words as evidence, I will go to Jiading, Suzhou and ask Gong Hong. I want to know how many years this canal embankment has been built."
How was it repaired and how could the canal robbers set up dens on the embankment to avoid arrest?"
"...Your Majesty, have you taken them all?" Yang Tan couldn't help but be shocked.
"Winter is almost here, and at least until spring and summer next year, the flooding will not cause serious problems due to a little disturbance in the river yamen." Zhu Houcong said with a cold face, "The imperial court allocates nearly 200,000 taels of silver to build water boats every year.
How much is the annual food and salary for 20,000 Cao troops? More than 49,000 taels of labor for the Caohe River in Shandong Province are not enough, and more than 110,000 taels of silver are needed for labor service. In no time has the river construction been started, and the silver consumption has not been millions.
?”
He paused and then said: "At the beginning of my reign, I made a national policy to check for floods and water conservancy. In the more than a hundred years since Yongle, have you ever calculated how much money the imperial court has spent on this river? I have calculated it. If so,
The average corvee of the Shangqian sect is worth nearly three million taels of silver every year! Three million taels of silver is just for four million stones of grain, and more than two hundred thousand taels of taxes!"
Zhu Houcong looked at Yang Tan: "You are the minister of the Ministry of Households. The imperial court's expenses are stretched thin, and the river yamen is better. The Shandong general of the Cao Army can safely take three thousand taels of filial piety every year, but river floods are becoming more and more frequent. This is natural
Yes, if floods are not frequent, how can we ask the court for money to repair the river? Therefore, even if someone digs a hole on the river embankment, he can turn a blind eye! No matter who dug it and when,
A den that is so big that can hide two or three people can't be found when we check the river embankment?"
Yang Tan was speechless. He was just worried that the river yamen would be in chaos and water transportation would be blocked again.
Could the imperial court not know the underlying situation?
But if the capital cannot securely obtain the four million shi of food every year, it will really be a big mess. For this reason, no matter how high the price is, I could only endure it before.
Now that the emperor wants to expose this bad debt, what good solutions are there for the future canal water transportation and floods in the two rivers?
When Qi Yuanda heard the emperor say so much, and also included the cost of building the canal and the labor force on the Caohe River, he knew that the emperor did not need him to remind the Hedao Yamen that there might be a problem. His Majesty was just waiting for him to provide evidence.
He was sweating in his heart: Fortunately, he made this decision before arriving in Jining.
But next, there will be great turmoil among the three canal yamen between the Governor of Water Transport, the Governor of River Channel and the Cajun Army. This is inevitable.
The emperor apparently could no longer accept maintaining the canal's transshipment capacity at such a high cost.
But... the interests involved in this river are really too great!
…
The interests of the canal are a matter of the future. Now that the emperor is facing an assassin, this is first of all a major case.
Although Li Quanli was a little shocked after receiving the order, he quickly ordered his troops and went straight to the Hedao Yamen.
Zhang Zheng, a native of Lanxi County, Jinhua Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, was a Jinshi in the 15th year of Hongzhi. When he was a Jinshi, he became the head of the Ministry of Industry. Then because he offended Liu Jin, he went to Fuzhou to serve as a general judge. After Liu Jin was executed, he first served as the Nanjing Ministry of War.
He was a doctor, and then promoted step by step. When Zhu Houcong ascended the throne and temporarily balanced the power of the imperial court, he succeeded Gong Hong as the governor of the river.
Now, because of an imperial edict, Li Quanli directly controlled the officials of the Hedao Yamen below Zhang Zheng, waiting for investigation.
"It's unjust..." Zhang Zheng said he was wronged after listening to Li Quanli's oral instructions, "The Linqing River section has been stable for many years. Since I took office, that section has only been surveyed by Linqing Prefecture. There are only a few people in the river Yamen, and many things have been done.
It is the responsibility of the local..."
Li Quanli interrupted him: "If you have any grievances, you don't have to complain to me. There is such a big mistake on the river, and you don't want to apologize, but you still cry for grievances? It doesn't make any difference whether it's you or Gong Hong who didn't do things well. His Majesty has already sent an order to Eunuch Zhang in Nanjing.
Go ask Gong Hong and Mr. Zhang He. Your Majesty will arrive in Jining tomorrow. You might as well think carefully about what you should say when you meet the saint. I remind you that it is one thing for the Hedao Yamen not to do things well, and it involves the assassination.
In the case, it’s a different story.”
Although there were no problems from Linqing to here, Li Quanli didn't want the major assassination case to be solved too slowly.
He is the commander of the Beijing camp's escort army. If this incident happened, he can be regarded as incompetent.
Jin Yiwei sacrificed two people on the spot, and two more people later died of serious injuries, but after all, they used their lives to eliminate hidden dangers for the emperor.
Li Quanli's division of labor was different, and he was not as professional as Jin Yiwei, who had gradually transformed after listening to many of the emperor's specific requests, but he didn't want the rest of the journey to be as tiring as these days.
On the Linqing Prefecture side, as Zhang Zheng said, the Hedao Yamen does not have its own soldiers, nor does it have that many establishments. It is Linqing Prefecture's business to patrol the river, dispatch officers, and undertake some renovation projects.
Since the iron house had been there for a long time, it was difficult to get in again after the river embankment was built, and it should not have been discovered for so long, Zhang Fujing decided on the spot to kill Linqing Zhizhou.
After being temporarily appointed as the magistrate of Qufu County, he was once again temporarily appointed as the magistrate of Linqing Prefecture. As the governor of Shandong, he was known as "digging three feet in the ground" in Linqing.
Zhang Shatou was a powerful man. From the vast documents, the person in charge of the river renovation and inspection over the years and the reports at that time were found, and then he was questioned by Zhang Fujing.
After asking each person one by one, Qi Fuguang, the head of the Nanban Qi family, was heartbroken: "The villain is guilty. At that time, the younger brother took the brothers to take over the work of repairing that section of the river embankment, but at that time the Shandong President
And the younger ones are asked to transport grain, which is actually not the job of the younger ones..."
"Tell me who it is!"
"Small trick, small trick..."
When the clues again pointed to a wealthy businessman in Linqing, he was also heartbroken: "The timber business was run by ordinary people. After the ordinary people took over this matter, they investigated it for Fangzhou Yamen and Hedao Yamen. It was Qin's younger brother who rebelled against the official."
Made by grassroots farmers, they mainly sold a lot of wood..."
Zhang Fujing took Judge Qin and his brother again, which was better this time. His brother was just a middleman, and someone else took over the job.
When this group of people went to get it again, they discovered that it was a small Cao Gang who also had the identity of a bandit.
The leader has already fled, and only some miserable laborers were captured.
But Zhang Fujing got some information after all: the boss of their gang left the city to transport a batch of goods after going to Sitonglou for a banquet.
After an investigation, the timber dealer named Fu was brought over again.
Zhang Fujing asked sternly: "Since you changed hands to the man surnamed Qin, and then had a banquet with the bandit leader, you still complained about injustice?"
"It's Shopkeeper Wu! It must be him, he invited the banquet! The common people don't know what the Cao Gang leader did back then!" Fu Ji Muxing's face was full of grief and anger, "It's just because everyone was born in Fujian
, Unexpectedly, he wanted to implicate us. Zhang Dutai, the shopkeeper Wu was born in the Wu family in Zhao'an, and the Wu family in Zhao'an was changed from the Pu family in Quanzhou! Later when we met, he also laughed at the common people, saying that Zhang Dutai wanted to be in Shandong
If we try out the new law and the water ships will no longer be available, can we dare to rebel?"
Zhang Fuking's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he showed a hint of joy.
"Old Qi, go get someone!"
What family has been separated for three hundred years, outside the nine clans?
The descendants of the Pu family are so courageous!
While His Majesty was on tour to the south, he wanted to blow up the Emperor and make the world more chaotic.
Is this asking for rebellion? This is a naked attempt to seize the Zhu family’s kingdom!
Once the case was solved, the rebels' claims were completely untenable.
The major assassination case on the canal was actually related to the rebel conspiracy. This further shows that it is not the water transportation system or some people in South Zhili who want to cause trouble, and everyone's spirit will be relaxed a lot.
When Qi Jingtong arrived, he only found a body that had committed suicide.
Shopkeeper Wu did not leave his life to reveal more, but for the emperor, this was enough.
When Zhang Zheng was escorted to the royal boat moored at the dock outside Jining Prefecture City, the fast horses from Linqing also arrived here.
"Levels of subcontracting, heavy squeezing." Zhu Houcong looked at him coldly, "This is how your river yamen regulates rivers. With ten taels of silver, can you do the work of one tael of silver? Zhang Zheng, Jiajing Yuan
Over the past year, your Hedao Yamen has received a total of more than 800,000 taels of silver. How much have you swallowed? Your predecessor, you should also have some information in the Hedao Yamen's records. He has been in Hedao Yamen for more than three years, and how much has he swallowed?
"
Zhang Zheng burst into tears: "I...are guilty..."
At least it was found out that he had nothing to do with the assassination. It was just a loophole left by the supervision of the Hedao Yamen river repair project, and that was before he took office.
If we treat it as corruption, we won't be punished by the Nine Tribes, right?
But several other families will be happy to mention Jiuzu Xiaoxiaole.
Yang Tingyi immediately asked for a report: "The Wu family in Zhao'an was so bold. It shows that Pu Zitong has such great courage. He relies on it, and the Pu family has the opportunity to cause trouble everywhere in the Ming Dynasty under hundreds of years of management. I request your majesty's decree to immediately
Capture the remnants of the Pu family and torture the rest of the rebellious people!"
What Zhu Houcong wanted was to act on the most unavoidable crime of this era after treason.
On the boat, he just said one word coldly: "Accurate!"
In Hengyang City, Pu Zitong also said after thinking for a while: "This statement makes sense."
His new humerus patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, Governor, if Shuikou Mountain cannot be taken back, the general will definitely protect His Majesty and the Queen Mother!"
Over at Shuikou Shanzhai Fort, Puzitong took more than a thousand lives and failed to capture it.
At this moment, the Shuikou Mountain Fortress was really stabilized by the imperial army, peeping at Leiyang from the southeast, and threatening the Leishui Camp to the south and southeast of Hengyang City from the north.
Pu Zitong has subordinates who have been with him for a longer period of time, but now that he is surrounded by enemies on three and a half sides, it is really difficult to arrange things.
Gu Shilong and Zhu Qi's general attack is imminent, and these generals must concentrate on defending the city in each department.
But you must also plan your escape route.
Nowadays, the safest way is to go out of the east gate, get on the boat directly, and then go back to Yanfeng and Leishui Camp and then go along the Xiang River to Leiyang.
Yan Chunsheng, who was guarding the east of the city, gained Pu Zitong's recognition step by step as a distinct bandit. He approached the "Young Emperor", "Queen Mother" and the civil servants in Hengyang City nearby, and advanced by land and water with the army led by Pu Zitong, heading south to "turn around".
Enter "Chenzhou".
After leaving, Yan Chunsheng called over the "pig-killer" Cai Jia, the general he had promoted when he was supervising the construction of the trench in the west of the city.
The two exchanged glances, and Cai Jia nodded.
Since the civilians are brave, the matter of organizing the transfer in the city is naturally left to him.
People from Jining were rushing to Nanjing, asking Zhang Jin to go to Jiading to get Gong Hong.
Orders to arrest the families of Pu's descendants were sent to Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places.
There are more and more ships on the northeast side of the Xiang River in Hengyang City. They are adding nails to resist arrows and projectile shields to prepare to cross the river. There is a large earth mountain in the west of the city.
Pu Zitong had stayed up late for several days, but now he couldn't relax.
The most difficult moment is coming, Guiyang Prefecture has also fallen, and it is not clear whether the Fifth Army Camp is going to attack Chenzhou, or whether it is going north to join the Shuikou Mountain army to encircle the south.
"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, we will win!"
Pu Zitong stood on the east wall and felt relieved when he heard Yan Chunsheng's very affirmative tone.
Although Zhan Huabi is gone, after all, he has another loyal and brave general with unparalleled archery skills.
After nightfall, it's very quiet.
But Pu Zitong knew that today was probably the last moment of peace, but the defenders in the city could not relax at all.
It was possible to cross the river and attack the city at night. It was even more possible to bombard the tired defenders on the west side of the city.
"I'm going to the west of the city, I'll leave it to you to the east of the city!"
Yan Chunsheng nodded, looked at his back and then looked up at the waning moon at the end of October.
In case of emergency, I have obtained the authorization to go straight to the palace and can start.
I don’t know if I could hit a non-fatal spot on Pu Zitong, who was wearing tight armor, in the middle of the night.