That night, under Hai Rui's personal trial, Pan Xian seemed to have accepted his fate and finally confessed everything he knew.
The cause of the incident was quite different from what Hai Rui had expected. For a long time, many officials, represented by Pan Xian, the governor of Henan Province, were driven by interests to have evil thoughts about the grain stored in the granary.
In order to avoid suspicion, they also found special white gloves and opened three rice shops: Huitong, Guanghui, and Ju'an. The grain smuggled out of the granaries was sent to these three rice shops for sale.
Most of the profits from selling grain went into the pockets of Pan Xian, the governor of Henan. In addition, for the sake of safety, Pan Xian also used part of it to bribe senior officials in the capital.
It is precisely because of the protection of those high-ranking officials in the capital that for so many years, countless impeachment memorials have fallen into the sea without any reply.
What's more, as soon as the impeachment memorial was delivered, Pan Xian's people came to the door.
When they learned that Hai Rui had been appointed as an imperial envoy by the imperial court and rushed to Henan to investigate the case, they suddenly panicked.
Because no one knows the actual situation in the granary better than them. The granary is just an empty shell at the moment, and a discerning person can find out the fishy things inside with just a little inspection.
At that time, they only need to report truthfully to the court, and they will all have to play. Therefore, under the instruction of Pan Xian, the governor of Henan, many of his subordinate officials frantically took money from the people in order to plug the holes in the food supply over the years. Grain was collected, and this was the scene that Hai Rui had seen in Shiqiao Village.
However, even though Pan Xianzhi talked a lot, when it came to those high-ranking officials in the capital, Pan Xian kept silent no matter how much Hai Rui tried to persuade them.
Helpless, Hai Rui had to give up for the time being, and according to Pan Xian's explanation, with the help of the capital commander Fang Qian, he mobilized the soldiers of the guard station and started a massive conspiracy.
Not only that, Hai Rui also posted notices to encourage the common people to expose the illegal behavior of those officials. Seeing the support of the imperial envoy, the common people who had been oppressed by the officials rushed to the government offices to tell all their grievances.
For a time, the whole of Henan, Haiqingheyan, and those officials who were lucky enough to survive were in panic all day long.
In the inn where Hai Rui was staying, at this moment, Commander Fang Qian and Inspector Liu Yuan were respectfully reporting the current situation to Hai Rui.
The inspector Liu Yuan handed the list in front of Hai Rui and said slowly.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, according to the list you provided, all the people on the list have been brought to justice!"
"In addition, a total of 5.62 million taels of silver were also found from the homes of these officials. In addition, there are countless antiques, calligraphy and paintings, land deeds, etc. You see..."
Liu Yuan did not continue speaking, but quietly waited for instructions from Hai Rui, the imperial envoy.
Upon hearing this, Hai Rui nodded, took the list, and began to browse the contents carefully.
After a long time, Hai Rui came back to his senses and gave the order.
"Let's see, I plan to put the 5,620,000 taels of stolen silver into the national treasury!"
When Hai Rui said this, he immediately changed the subject and asked immediately.
"By the way, how much is the number of land deeds?"
Hearing this, Liu Yuan gave the answer after thinking for a moment.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, the number of land deeds converted into a total of more than 5,000 acres of land!"
After hearing this, Hai Rui pondered for a moment and then immediately made arrangements.
"In this way, let's distribute these more than 5,000 acres of land to the people who have no land!"
"Is there a problem?"
After Hai Rui finished speaking, he looked away from Liu Yuan and then asked.
After hearing this, Liu Yuan gave a response after thinking for a moment.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, I will definitely take care of this matter!"
Seeing this, Hai Rui nodded, turned his gaze to the side and encouraged Fang Qian, the commander of the capital.
"The truth of this case can only be revealed without the help of you, the Commander-in-Chief. I will truthfully report the contributions of both of you to the court!"
After hearing this, Fang Qian's face was filled with excitement, and he immediately raised his hand to Hai Rui and said in a deep voice.
"Thank you so much, Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy!"
"Everywhere, you deserve it."
…
The Forbidden City, outside the Yangxin Hall.
At this moment, Yan Song was waiting respectfully at the steps outside the Yangxin Hall. He came here today to report to Jiajing in person that the modification of the treasure ship had been completed.
Just as Yan Song paused and thought, a high-pitched voice sounded: "Xuan, the chief minister of the cabinet, Yan Song, has an audience!"
Yan Song came back to his senses, and with the help of a eunuch, he stepped up the stairs of the Yangxin Hall step by step.
As soon as Yan Song entered the Yangxin Hall, he knelt on the ground respectfully and said respectfully to Jiajing.
"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
Jiajing withdrew his gaze from Yan Song, waved his hand and gave instructions.
"Get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After getting Jiajing's permission, Yan Song slowly stood up from the ground, staring at the ground with a pair of cloudy eyes, wondering what he was thinking.
Immediately afterwards, Jiajing's voice sounded in Yan Song's ears.
"Yan Song, I want to ask you, is there anyone else messing around in front of your house?"
Yan Song naturally knew what Jiajing was referring to, since Yan Song signed his name on the statement in favor of the integration of government and gentry payment of grain.
From time to time, some students who were blinded by anger would gather in front of Yan Song's house to make noise even if they took huge risks.
Yan Shifan couldn't bear this kind of anger, and he immediately prepared to teach these arrogant and domineering students a lesson. Just when he was about to strike hard, he was stopped by Yan Song.
In this way, Yan Song's doorstep has become the most popular check-in place in the capital.
However, after Jiajing successively dealt with a large number of gentry and students who dared to openly oppose the integrated grain payment of officials and gentry, no one dared to make trouble in front of Yan Song's house.
After Yan Song organized the words in his mind, he immediately bowed slightly and responded.
"Thanks to His Majesty's care, no one is making trouble in front of Wei Chen's house now!"
After hearing Yan Song's answer, Jiajing felt relieved and then sighed.
"In recent days, I have suffered a lot from you and Xu Jie!"
When Yan Song heard this, his expression immediately became serious, and he immediately put on the posture of a wise minister who was taking care of the king's worries, and said in a deep voice.
"It is already a great honor to be able to share your Majesty's worries. I can bear any hardship!"
Jiajing was very satisfied with Yan Song's answer, nodded, and brought the topic back on track.
"By the way, Yan Song, you came to me this time. Do you have anything to report to me?"
When Yan Song heard this, he immediately knelt on the ground, took out a memorial from his sleeve, raised it high above his head, and reported it to Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, the treasure ships have been renovated, with a total of thirteen warships!"
"Oh, the transformation is finally completed, and I can let the fleet set off."
When Jiajing heard what Yan Song reported, he immediately became interested, and his excitement could not be concealed in his words.
Then, Lu Fang, who had been waiting beside Jiajing from the moment Yan Song entered the Yangxin Hall, stepped forward, took the memorial from Yan Song's hand, and handed it to Jiajing's hand.
(End of chapter)
