"Uncle Zhongjing, you are so brave!"
In the evening, as soon as Cao Bin walked into a residential house as agreed, Bao Zheng gave him a slap in the face.
This is a very ordinary residence. There is only one candle lit in the dim room, and the light is somewhat insufficient.
Bao Zheng sat in the main seat, with Zhan Zhao and Gongsun Ce standing beside him.
In a very ordinary bedroom, they actually made it look like a three-chamber trial.
Cao Bin kicked in and out of the door. Hearing these words, he immediately stopped and said:
"Master Bao called me here today, is he trying to interrogate me?"
"If that's the case, then I'm leaving?"
With that said, he was about to turn around and leave.
Bao Zheng frowned and said, "Can't I try you?"
Cao Bin turned around and said:
"Master Bao is a serious imperial envoy. He has a higher official position than me, so he can naturally try me! But what crime am I guilty of?"
"Besides, Mr. Bao made an appointment with me late at night just for interrogation in a private house? This is not in line with the court's laws, right?"
Bao Zheng said: "Building a soft red hall, robbing women, accepting bribes, raising food prices, and conspiring with local gentry to embezzle national money and food. How do you explain it?"
Cao Bin smiled and said:
"If Master Bao seeks cooperation with Cao, I will naturally be willing to explain clearly and prove my innocence."
"If Mr. Bao intends to interrogate me, then please ask Mr. Bao to open a court in accordance with the court rules. I am also willing to confront him in court!"
Hearing Cao Bin's words, Bao Zheng's expression relaxed a little, which showed that Cao Bin was indeed confusing local officials as he suspected.
"Zhan guard, look after Uncle Zhongjing!"
Cao Bin then showed a satisfied smile, feeling secretly proud in his heart.
It's really not easy. After hanging around for so long, I finally no longer have a direct conversation with Bao Zheng as a prisoner.
Cao Bin was not polite and sat down directly under Bao Zheng and said, "Master Bao asked me to come. What are your orders?"
Gongsun Ce couldn't help but rolled his eyes, didn't you insist on blowing up Mr. Bao? Otherwise, Mr. Bao would be too lazy to care about you!
However, he did not go into details and just reminded: "Uncle Zhongjing should prove his innocence first."
Cao Bin waved his hand and said: "Those are all nonsense."
"Ruanhongtang is just a name made up by others."
"I have clearly recorded all the gold, silver, treasures, beauties and young women inside, and have not touched them at all. I plan to hand them over to the court for processing."
"And I also submitted the account book to Master Pang, can he prove my innocence on his own?"
Hearing this, Bao Zheng's face suddenly relaxed a little and felt a little more relieved:
"Uncle Zhongjing did this for another purpose, right? Can you tell me about your future plans?"
Cao Bin smiled and said, "Didn't Mr. Bao already guess my purpose?"
Bao Zheng smiled slightly, stroked his beard and said:
"We did see some clues, but Uncle Zhongjing has spent nearly 2 million yuan in disaster relief food."
"Even if food prices drop sharply, how will you provide the next rations for the victims?"
"The existing grain reserves alone may not be enough to sustain the autumn harvest!"
Cao Bin said very relaxedly:
"What's so difficult about this? No crony is monolithic."
"As long as I give enough benefits, I can naturally select a group of unimportant grain merchants and officials and put them in jail."
"Even the evidence that they accepted and gave bribes is readily available!"
"There is no need for Cao to do it himself. Lord Chang and other officials will do it for me."
"Their property may not be enough to make up for the current losses, but it is still possible to ensure supplies for the victims."
As he spoke, he laughed:
"What's more, Master Bao is like a sharp sword hanging over everyone's heads when he comes here. I am even more confident in persuading them!"
"I just don't know how they will react."
What's the reaction?
It's nothing more than running away with the money, joining forces to commit fraud, or killing each other. No matter what the outcome, Bao Zheng is not willing to see it.
He said with a slight expression on his face:
"Then the Shandong pacifier is the biggest culprit of local officials. Is Uncle Zhongjing going to join them?"
Cao Bin sighed:
"The water of the Yellow River is turbid and the water of the Yangtze River is clear, but both irrigate countless fields on both sides of the river. The imperial court will not be abandoned because of the turbid water of the Yellow River."
"Cao doesn't have as much power as Mr. Bao. As long as he can save the victims, who cares whether he is an honest official or a corrupt official?"
Bao Zheng was stunned for a moment and seemed to understand Cao Bin's thoughts, but Gongsun Ce said:
"Uncle Zhongjing tripled the price of food, and the benefits were shared by corrupt officials."
"These are the grains distributed by the imperial court to the victims. How could I have the heart to take the grains out of the mouths of the hungry victims and let them embezzle them?
Cao Bin glanced at him and said:
"Mr. Gongsun, do you know how much food the victims received every day when we first arrived in Shandong?"
"Not even half a catty!"
"It has been a cold winter for nine months, and there is no roof to cover us. This food, which is less than half a kilogram, can help the victims breathe. It is already a blessing from God."
"If I don't try to work around it, what you will see is not countless victims, but bones!"
After speaking, he paused and said:
"Do you think I'm willing to let those officials become corrupt? I'm watching them while they eat? Am I crazy or stupid?"
"How many honest officials are dedicated to serving the people? If I don't feed them first, will they carry out my orders without compromise?"
"When the time comes, I'm afraid they will be greedy in the east and greedy in the west, and use my orders as a tool for their corruption!"
"...Even so, there are still unscrupulous officials and grain dealers who mix moldy grain into disaster relief grains!"
"If I hadn't discovered it early and notified Master Chang to kill them to frighten the young people, I don't know how many victims would have died and how big of an accident it would have caused!"
Bao Zheng waved his hand and said:
"Uncle Zhongjing doesn't need to hide the murder. I already know the details."
"Although this matter has not been reported to the court for review, it can be urgently followed."
"In that case, if you are not careful, it will lead to a civil commotion, and military law can be temporarily implemented!"
"You don't have to worry about future troubles. Although our government enforces the law strictly, we are not people who don't know how to adapt."
After finishing speaking, he pondered for a long time before nodding and saying:
"You are able to have such an understanding at such a young age, which surprises me!"
"But that can't be done. If you collude with Chang Feng, our government will not stand by and watch, nor will we indulge those who are corrupt and harm the people."
At this moment, Gongsun Ce suddenly came to his senses and quickly bowed deeply:
"Gongsun himself has traveled all over the world, and he has seen a lot, but in the overall situation, he is not as knowledgeable as Uncle Cao."
Cao Bin smiled and said:
"Actually, Cao doesn't necessarily need to rely on Chang Feng's power to act."
"If Mr. Bao can stand up and fully cooperate with Cao, it will naturally be a quick and easy way to catch all corrupt officials."
"At that time, not only will the court have no losses, but it may also make a huge profit."
"And Mr. Bao doesn't need to bother searching for their evidence, because all their evidence is in my hands."
Hearing this, Bao Zheng couldn't help but laugh or cry. It turned out that he was waiting for him here.
He couldn't help but have some doubts at this time, wondering whether Cao Bin planned to catch all those corrupt officials from the beginning.
First take the initiative to make them greedy, and then take them out to confiscate their homes, providing one-stop service.
Is this considered fishing law enforcement?
When encountering an unruly person like Cao Bin, those officials may have burned incense for three lifetimes!
However, his appetite is really not small. If "all" Shandong officials were dismissed, not to mention the capital, the entire officialdom of the Song Dynasty would be trembled.
Even Bao Zheng himself was hesitant to do this kind of thing, not because he was afraid, but because he was worried that the government would be unstable.
"Okay! I will cooperate with you for once!"
Seeing that Cao Bin acted like he would cooperate with Chang Feng if he didn't stand up, Bao Zheng could only hold his nose and agree.
At most, control the strike range...
