"Zhao Mian is dead?"
Zhu Di was slightly surprised, looked at Ma He and said, "Is the news true?"
"If I tell you, Your Highness, the news is true, and Master Zhan and Lan Yu had a big quarrel at Zhao Mian's house, and they ended up breaking up on bad terms."
Ma He was smart and told the truth about the information he found out.
Monk Dao Yan, who was sitting next to him, sipped his fragrant tea and said with a smile: "Why should your highness be surprised? You and Zhan Hui are going there together. Liu will definitely tell Zhao Mian. After a couple of times, Zhao Mian will know that the matter has been revealed. In this case, Under this circumstance, hanging yourself is the best outcome."
Zhu Di thought for a moment, understood, and said: "You mean, Zhao Mian used his own death to cover up everything?"
"Zhao Mian bet with his own life that His Majesty will not investigate."
Dao Yan put down his tea cup. The fragrant tea in the East Palace was indeed far better than that in Prince Yan's Palace. No wonder everyone in the world was thinking about this seat.
"Ma He, you go down first. No one is allowed in without my permission."
Zhu Di sent his confidant Ma He out and then said: "Old monk, what you said is wrong. What the old man hates most is corrupt officials. Zhao Mian's crime this time is not an ordinary small case. Even Zhao Mian hanged himself." , can't dispel the anger in the old man's heart, I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."
"Your Highness, do you still remember the Kongyin case and the Guo Heng case?"
"of course I remember."
The Kongyin case and the Guo Heng case were so widely implicated that the court was almost completely empty.
Especially the Guo Heng case that occurred in the 18th year of Hongwu was even more horrifying. At that time, officials from the top six departments in the court to the minister and below were directly executed.
The number of officials who died because of the Guo Heng case reached tens of thousands, and the court was almost wiped out.
Contemporaries recorded that after the Guo Heng case, "Although officials in counties and counties lived in remote mountains and remote areas, they were terrified when they went to the capital more than ten thousand miles away. They were like gods coming to their court and did not dare to do anything rude."
It is conceivable how much the Guo Heng case has shocked the officialdom, making countless officials tremble with fear, fearing that they will lose their heads tomorrow.
Because of this, Zhu Di said: "I'm afraid it will be the same this time."
To this, Dao Yan held an objection, saying: "This time is not that time, the two are not the same. What Guo Heng embezzled was the royal tax, and he used clever names to enrich his own pockets. This is obviously shaking the foundation of the country, and that's why His Majesty is so angry. ."
"Today, Zhao Mian's case has not yet come to light. At present, it is just corruption and bribery, and the specific amount is unknown. In addition, Zhao Mian has committed suicide out of fear of crime. For the sake of stabilizing the court, His Majesty may not go to war."
"Another major case like the Guo Heng case will be of no use to the country if all officials are wiped out."
Zhu Di frowned and did not agree with Dao Yan's view, saying: "Monk, you think too simply. Corrupt officials like Zhao Mian are only greedy for people's wealth and anointment. They should have been killed. Now they commit suicide. This is not remorse, but It's out of fear."
"What's the use of keeping those officials who embezzled black money and silver together with Zhao Mian? Will they continue to prey on the common people and wreak havoc in the countryside? Why not just kill them all at once and let other officials know that those who dare to embezzle will be killed!"
Dao Yan: "Although what His Highness said makes sense, since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has been purging corrupt officials, but corrupt officials are still like crucian carp crossing the river. Obviously, severe punishment cannot drive away all corrupt officials. Since Zhao Mian can hold the position of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Sitting on the throne for six years shows that he is superb in his skills and meticulous in his actions. It is impossible to gain anything from looking at the obvious.
In addition, Zhao Mian had already committed suicide out of fear of guilt. The other officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs who were involved in the matter could sit back and relax as long as they kept silent and refused to admit it. This was not a temporary corruption, but a well-organized bribery! A smart person like Zhao Mian will never show any obvious clues to the public. It is very difficult to find out. "
Zhu Di thought for a moment, then nodded. As Dao Yan said, this kind of well-organized corruption and bribery, with the death of the leading figure, it is definitely not an easy thing to track down.
Suspicion is useless and requires certain evidence. Arresting people indiscriminately will definitely cause a backlash from officials, and the outcome will be even worse.
Even when Jin Yiwei arrests people, they have mastered certain evidence, or fabricated certain evidence. However, the person in charge of handling this case is not Jin Yiwei, but Liang Guogong Lan Yu.
With Lan Yu's wisdom, it would be difficult to fight against the well-organized civil servants, and he would probably be tricked.
This is not to despise Lan Yu's mind. In fact, he is specialized in the art. When it comes to leading troops to fight, even the civil servants can't keep up with Lan Yu.
But when it comes to the skill of Hunyuan Taiji Pushing Hands, the civil servants have something to say. Even ten blue jades may not be able to push these civil servants.
If it were another place, Lan Yu might be able to think of some ways to use lynching, but this was Yingtian, at the foot of the imperial city, and Lan Yu would not dare to do so if he had the heart of a bear and a leopard.
Zhu Di didn't have much confidence in Lan Yu. He was still a little unwilling and said: "Is it possible to let those corrupt beasts who are corrupt and pervert the law escape?"
"Why should your Highness be angry? If someone else was in charge of this case, it would probably be over by the time Zhao Mian commits suicide in fear of committing the crime. But now that Duke Liang is handling the case, that's not certain."
Dao Yan's words were a bit mysterious, and Zhu Di was puzzled. Could it be that Lan Yu could still compete with these civil servants?
"Old monk, please don't lie. It's not like you don't know Lan Yu. He is stubborn and arrogant by nature. It's surprising that he can accomplish this."
"No, no, no, your highness, don't underestimate Lan Yu. Within the rules, although he can't defeat these scheming civil servants, he dares to overturn the table."
When Zhu Di heard this, his expression suddenly became strange. Recalling what Lan Yu had done, he nodded, deeply convinced.
If there is anyone in the world who dares to overturn the table, it must be Lan Yu. This is a reckless man who goes beyond the rules and is not involved in calculations. He must not use common sense to infer.
With Zhan Hui, the minister of Dali Temple, he probably couldn't make Lan Yu behave according to the rules. In this Ming Dynasty, there were only two people who could make Lan Yu behave according to the rules.
One is his father Zhu Yuanzhang, and the other is the late Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao.
other people? Don't even think about it. Once Sapphire gets hooked, he will never care about the consequences.
However, Zhu Di was still a little curious as to where Lan Yu would start flipping the table. Thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel a headache, and he didn't even have any clue.
He looked at Dao Yan, but to his surprise, Dao Yan also shook his head and said: "Dong Liang is a lonely genius. I can't understand his thoughts. But according to common sense, we should start from the account records of the Household Department. rise."
Zhu Di couldn't help but feel a little headache when he mentioned this, and said: "This is not a simple matter. Since Zhao Mian has been safe and sound for so long, the falsification of the account books must be sophisticated and difficult to detect."
"It seems that now we can only look at Duke Liang's ability. Maybe he will bring unexpected surprises to His Majesty and His Highness."
…
