Forbidden City, Hall of Nourishing Heart.
After the ministers left, Jiajing handed the impeachment memorial to Lu Fang and said softly: "Lu Fang, take a look at it for me. Are there any clues in it?"
"My slave, I obey!" Lu Fang said, took the memorial from Jiajing, and read through all the contents.
"Have you thought of anything?" Jiajing asked, looking at the hesitant expression on Lu Fang's face.
"Your Majesty, I think this impeachment memorial is quite similar to the last imperial examination fraud case!"
"I think so too. The last time we killed so many people, these guys haven't long remembered, and they actually want to do something from here! Since they dare to do something, I will continue to kill until they are scared."
"Your Majesty, can you ask your servant to inform the Jinyi Guards and ask them to send people to investigate?" Lu Fang carefully consulted Jiajing's opinion.
"Well, let Zhu Qi and the others investigate! No matter who they find, they can just deal with it directly. There is no need to report it to me." Jiajing waved his hand and said.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will give you your orders right away." Lu Fang said, and wanted to bow and leave, but Jiajing suddenly stopped him.
"Lu Fang, let me ask you, do you think Li Chunfang is innocent?"
"Your Majesty, I think this Li Chunfang was most likely framed! He was the number one scholar in the 26th year of Jiajing. He has a bright future and cannot commit such a self-destructive thing." After hearing the emperor's question, Lu Fang He stopped and said respectfully.
"Well, go ahead and get busy." After hearing Lu Fang's answer, Jiajing had no expression on his face and his tone was calm.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Lu Fang responded, then took small steps and left quickly.
…
Zhejiang, Zhejiang Governor's Mansion.
"Your Majesty the Governor, my subordinates have prepared the account books of the salt tax. Please check it with your Majesty the Governor!" After Zheng Michang said this, he handed the account book in his hand to Hu Zongxian.
"Well, you did a great job."
Hu Zongxian took the account book from Zheng Michang, checked it carefully, and after confirming that there were no errors or omissions, he nodded and praised.
"May I ask, Mr. Governor, when will the imperial court send someone to collect the salt tax?" Seeing that he had been recognized by his immediate superior, Hu Zongxian, Zheng Michang looked excited and asked.
"It must have happened in the past few days. Do you know who the imperial court sent to collect the salt tax?" Hu Zongxian picked up the teacup, took a sip, and became more concerned.
"Please make it clear, Lord Governor!" Seeing this, He Maocai couldn't restrain his curiosity and asked.
"Let me tell you, it's Yan Maoqing." Hu Zongxian put down the tea cup in his hand and said.
"Yan Maoqing? Zuo Fudu Censor! How could the imperial court send him to collect the salt tax?" Zheng Michang on the side couldn't help but turned pale after hearing Hu Zongxian's words.
"Is there anything wrong with letting Yan Maoqing collect the salt tax?" Gao Hanwen on the side was also aroused when he saw Zheng Michang's reaction.
"This Yan Maoqing is, oh, forget it, you don't understand even if I tell you!" Zheng Michang was very emotional and hesitated to speak.
"Hmph, who dares to tamper with the salt tax this time? Not to mention one Yan Maoqing, even ten Yan Maoqing will have to collect the full salt tax!" Ma Ningjian, who was standing by the side, said angrily.
"That's right. What Magistrate Ma said makes sense. Look at my memory. I've even forgotten about this!" Seeing this, Zheng Michang gently tapped his head with his hand and said.
"Calculating the time, it's almost February. People are about to start spring planting, right?"
Then Hu Zongxian turned his attention to his student Ma Ningyuan and asked aloud.
"Yes, Lord Governor! In a while it will be time for spring planting."
Ma Ningyuan asked his teacher Hu Zongxian and quickly responded.
"When the time comes, we must be prepared in advance and strive to successfully implement the transformation of rice into mulberry!"
"yes."
…
Since Hu Zongxian's last order, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou have dispatched capable men to monitor Quanzhou Port day and night. It is now the sixth day.
"Oh, it's already the sixth day, and there's not even a human figure! Tell me, is there something wrong with this news?"
"I think so. This news is probably false. It's been so many days and I haven't even seen a strange face! It's so sunny and windy here."
"Oh, we brothers have a hard life. We have to get such an errand. If you ask me, it would be better to go and fight the Japanese pirates with real swords and guns!"
"I heard that all those who participated in the Japanese suppression this time received double the salary. Even those who died in the battle also received double the pension. The remaining family members will be supported by the government."
"I'm so envious. If I had known I would have gone too."
The two people responsible for monitoring the movements in Quanzhou Port were chatting, and their words were full of complaints.
Just when one of them wanted to continue talking, he was stopped by another person: "Shh, someone is coming, look!"
Looking in the direction pointed by his companion, he saw some strange faces suddenly appearing in Quanzhou Port, wearing businessmen's clothes, and carrying several large wooden boxes on the carriage. They were currently checking into the inn.
"You stay here and keep an eye on it. Be careful and don't alert others. I'll go back and report it to the general."
"Well, be careful."
After the visitor finished giving instructions to his companions, he left at a very fast pace.
"Report to the General, there are some new faces at Quanzhou Port!"
The person who was previously responsible for tracking came back and reported to Qi Jiguangtong.
"Oh, how many are there?" Qi Jiguang put down the book in his hand and asked with an eager look on his face.
"Report to the general, there are about a dozen people. In addition, there are many large wooden boxes on the carriage they are accompanying!"
The person who came back from the surveillance thought for a moment and then said.
"Well, you are doing a good job! Keep watching them, and report to me immediately if there is any movement. The general will dispatch the troops and get them ready."
"If you succeed in catching them by then, you will have accomplished a great feat. This general will not be able to treat you badly at that time!"
Qi Jiguang looked at the subordinate who reported the situation to him and said in a deep voice.
"Yes, General! I obey your orders."
Upon hearing Qi Jiguang's promise, the person who was previously responsible for tracking looked happy and responded hurriedly.
…
Since receiving the emperor's order, Zhu Qi led his men and began to investigate the case.
From the beginning, they encountered a bottleneck. The clerk who was previously responsible for taking care of Li Chunfang's daily life in the dark room suddenly fell ill and died for unknown reasons.
When Zhu Qi led his men to the place where the minor officials lived, they saw only a cold body lying in the mourning hall and the mournful and crying family members.
"Do you know how he died?" After Zhu Qi revealed his identity, he called out the clerk's wife and asked.
"Sir, my husband suddenly said the night before yesterday that he had received an invitation to attend a banquet! When he came back, he was completely drunk. He said he felt a little uncomfortable and asked me to get him some hot water to wash his feet."
"Later, after he washed his feet, I put him to sleep, but when he woke up, he was silent." The wife of the minor official, wearing mourning clothes, sobbed.
"Do you know who asked him to attend the banquet?" Zhu Qi looked at the woman and asked.
"I don't know, he rarely goes home, and he doesn't want to talk to me about social events." The official's wife replied.
"Yun'er, what's wrong?" A man's voice came from the mourning hall.
"It's okay, it's just that this gentleman wants to know something about the situation." The clerk's wife heard the voice, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and responded quickly.
"Don't get me wrong, sir. He is my neighbor. The daughter of the people asked him to come over to help." Seeing the expression on Zhu Qi's face, the clerk's wife hurriedly explained.
Ps: The author doesn’t know what happened, but his brain shut down when he wrote 2,000 words. It’s not that the author doesn’t want to be longer O_o
(End of chapter)
