"So Su Shi will definitely take some action recently?"
"yes."
"Can you guess his plan?"
Qiao Chu admitted openly: "I can't do it as a low-ranking official."
Zhou Yu didn't mean to blame Qiao Chu, and couldn't help but fell into deep thought. And there was no shame on Qiao Chu's face, because he had tried his best, and he never thought he was very smart.
The reason why he is in the position he is in today is not because of his intelligence, but because he can stay awake at all times. He will neither sigh at himself when he is at a low point nor get carried away because he is at a peak.
Zhou Yu thought for a long time, and finally just shook his head gently.
Qiao Chu wasn't surprised when he saw Zhou Yu's confused expression. He thought of at least seven or eight reasons for Su Shi's actions, but every reason was denied by himself.
And now he wanted to know something else.
So he asked slowly: "When Your Highness entered the study just now, he had a displeased look on his face. What's bothering you?"
Hearing Qiao Chu mention this matter, Zhou Yu's eyes suddenly became extremely cold and his face became extremely angry.
Qiao Chu rarely saw this kind of expression on Zhou Yu's face, because Zhou Yu had always controlled his emotions well and kept his joy and anger hidden.
At this time, Zhou Yu had recovered as before and said slowly: "Because I have been looking for someone for ten days, but I couldn't find him."
"Is this person very important to His Highness?"
Zhou Yu said lightly: "If it weren't for him, how could I have failed completely this time?"
"Bai Jiangchuan?"
Zhou Yu said expressionlessly: "He's not that capable yet."
"Who is the person your Highness is looking for? I wonder if I can help you?"
After a long time, Zhou Yu sighed slowly: "This man's surname is Gu, his name is Gu Yingkan. He is nearly fifty years old and lives outside the west city."
Qiao Chu was slightly startled because he had never heard of this name before, and he couldn't figure out what the relationship between this person and Zhou Yu was.
Zhou Yu leaned back slightly, leaned on the back of the chair, and said, "This man has been pretending to be a Taoist priest all year round, defrauding people of money by reading feng shui and measuring good and bad luck."
Qiao Chu looked at Zhou Yu in surprise, because he really couldn't connect a high-ranking prince with a charlatan.
"How could His Highness know such a person?"
Zhou Yu seemed to be lost in memories. After a long time, he slowly said: "Qiao Qing still remembers the major corruption case in the Ministry of Revenue six years ago."
Qiao Chu leaned forward and said, "Of course I will remember it."
Six years ago, the Yellow River changed its course and flooded countless villages and towns, displacing more than 10,000 people and becoming refugees.
The imperial court urgently allocated 800,000 taels of silver from the treasury, and the Ministry of Household Affairs arranged for disaster relief.
However, two months later, a riot broke out in Huainan. The mob occupied Huaiji County and massacred the county government.
Huainan Prefecture sent troops to quell the chaos, and within three days more than 150 people from the mob were captured, and the rest fled in all directions. After interrogation by the guards of Huainan Prefecture, they discovered that these mobsters were originally victims of the disaster and came to Huaiji County after the disaster.
There were more than 700 victims who originally came to Huaiji County, but they were placed by the Huaiji County magistrate in Qingniu Valley outside the city.
Except for giving out porridge once a day, the Huaiji County magistrate ignored the victims and did not allow them to enter the city.
Over the past month, more than 200 victims have died of starvation and illness. The remaining victims were desperate, so they rushed into Huaiji County and massacred the county government.
When the incident was reported back to the capital, His Majesty was furious and immediately ordered the prince Zhou Yu to thoroughly investigate the disaster relief matter.
After receiving the order, Zhou Yu immediately led officials from the criminal and civil affairs departments to Huainan Mansion to investigate and handle the matter.
After investigation, it was found that the official who went to Huaiji County for disaster relief was Gao Chongming, the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
However, Gao Chongming was at the Huaiji County government office when the victims rioted. After the riot, Gao Chongming's whereabouts were also unknown.
The magistrate of Huaiji County had died during the riots, and the disaster relief officials had also disappeared, so the case became an open case.
However, after Zhou Yu returned to Beijing, he actually captured Gao Chongming in the capital, thus uncovering a major corruption case in the Ministry of Revenue.
According to Gao Chongming's confession, of the 800,000 taels allocated by the imperial court for disaster relief, only 100,000 taels were left at the lower levels, and the remaining 700,000 taels were embezzled by officials at all levels.
Violence broke out in Huaiji County. Although Gao Chongming escaped, he knew that the matter had become serious and that the embezzlement of disaster relief funds would come to light sooner or later.
He had an idea and concealed his identity, hoping to create the illusion that he had died in the riots.
Gao Chongming took advantage of his position to prepare a new identity for himself, and he also bought property under the new identity.
After sneaking back to the capital, he originally wanted to pack up his belongings, leave the capital and start a new life with a new identity.
However, when he heard that the prince Zhou Yu's investigation into disaster relief had been hasty, he did not find any corruption involved, and he was nostalgic for the prosperity of the capital, so he was hesitant to leave the capital.
After more than a month of this, just when Gao Chongming thought he had nothing to worry about, Zhou Yu came to the door with his guards.
According to Gao Chongming's confession, Zhou Yu continued to investigate and found that a total of six officials from the Ministry of Revenue, starting from the right minister, were involved in the case, and a total of 23 local officials were involved in the case.
It was through handling this case that Zhou Yu was rewarded by the emperor and granted the title of King of Qi.
Although Qiao Chu knew about the case, he still didn't know what the relationship between Zhou Yu and Gu Yingkan was.
Zhou Yu said slowly: "The reason why I was able to capture Gao Chongming and solve the case was all because of Gu Yingkan."
Qiao Chu's originally calm heart could not help but stir up a storm. He looked at Zhou Yu in surprise: "Is it because of that fake Taoist priest that Your Highness cracked the corruption case in the Ministry of Revenue?"
Zhou Yu nodded and continued: "After returning to the capital, I thought that the tasks assigned by my father were so hastily completed, and I felt depressed, so I came to the west of the city to relax."
"That day, not long after I left the west of the city, I saw three or five people chasing a Taoist priest. I was curious, so I stopped them. After questioning carefully, I found out that the Taoist priest had defrauded people of their money, so he was deceived by them. Chase.”
"After I found out the whole story, I didn't want to get involved in the matter, but the Taoist came forward and said that if I helped him, he would definitely repay the favor and solve a problem in my mind."
"I saw that what he said was interesting and that he only defrauded others of five taels of silver, so I paid him back the money."
After Zhou Yu paid back the money for the Taoist priest, he was about to leave when the Taoist priest suddenly stopped him.
"I see that there is a worried look on the young master's eyebrows, and there must be something difficult to solve in his heart. I said, if you help me, I will definitely repay the kindness. Why not let me, the Taoist Gu, help the young master solve his worries?"
Zhou Yu naturally didn't take his words to heart, and just said casually: "I want to find someone now, but I don't know where he is? Is he alive or dead?"
At this time, Taoist Gu's expression became solemn, and he actually seemed to have an air of immortality.
"Young master, can you tell me the person's birth date and birth date? I can help you calculate it."
Zhou Yu thought it was a bit funny, so he deliberately joked and told Gao Chongming's birth date.
I saw Gu Daoren keep mumbling and counting with his fingers. After a while, he slowly said: "This person is still alive and well, and he is in the capital now."
