News soon spread that Li Guang's house had been raided, and Tu Jian, the Minister of Civil Affairs, hurriedly went to find Liu Jian, the chief assistant. The two met at noon at the private house in Mixiang, Dongjiang.
"Chaozong, why are you so anxious that we have to meet now?" Liu Jian asked.
"Li Guang is dead. He committed suicide out of fear of crime." Tu Fu came up and told him what he knew. "His mansion was also raided and a lot of gold and silver were confiscated."
Liu Jiansong said: "This is a good thing."
Tu Yu sighed, looking helpless.
Liu Jian heard the urgency in Tu Yu's words, noticed the clues, and asked, "Could it be that you were involved?"
"well!"
Tu Jing sighed, "In the past few years, the operation of the Ministry of Civil Affairs has been mostly restricted by internal officials. Whenever there is a vacancy in an official position or a memorial concerning the appointment or dismissal of personnel, Zhu Pi will not receive a reply for as short as ten days or as long as one or two months. Some simply stay in the process without making a move. Going through the trap is a last resort.”
Liu Jian was a little annoyed when he heard this.
This is tantamount to saying that the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who used to hold on to Li Guang, is also involved in Li Guang's corruption and bribery case. If word spreads... do civil servants still have the face?
"As far as I know, apart from me, there are many colleagues in the court who are involved. The Jinyiwei has searched out the account book in which Li Yu recorded the gifts and sent it to Shengting. Even the commander of the Jinyiwei, Mou Xiao, has no way to interfere. If If Your Majesty continues to inquire, I'm afraid it will cause a big shock in the court."
Tu Jian is now using the stability of the court to try to persuade Liu Jian to come forward and change things.
But how could Liu Jian be willing to wade into such muddy waters?
"Who else?" Liu Jian asked coldly.
Tu Tong kept the secret secretly: "It's not complete, at least Xu Shiyong from the Ministry of Rites has a share."
This is talking about Xu Qiong, the current Minister of Rites.
Liu Jian said coldly: "Now that the matter has not happened, don't mess up the situation. Let's not talk about what Li Guang recorded in the book. Even if he really records this matter, how can his family's words be accurate?"
"Does that mean...you don't recognize it?" Tu Yan probably heard what Liu Jian meant.
The impact of giving gifts to Li Guang is too bad. It will affect the reputation of civil servants who are honest and dedicated to the public affairs, especially if you, the Minister of Civil Affairs, take the lead. This makes the court from the emperor down, how can they believe that civil servants can help the country?
At the moment, other than claiming that there is no evidence to prove it, is there any other way to deny it?
Liu Jiandao: "Try to find connections and mention it to Eunuch Xiao of Dongchang to see if he is willing to help."
Tu Yu heard that, even if he knew that he was forced to give the gift, Liu Jian still wanted to stay out of it.
Tu Yan sighed: "For now, this is the only way."
…
…
Just when Liu Jian gave Tu Yu the suggestion to go find Xiao Jing, Xiao Jing had already sent a big gift to Zhang Zhou's house.
Zhang Zhou went to the door to greet him in person, but when he saw that Xiao Jing had only brought a few entourages and not even a box, Zhang Zhou's face was not so enthusiastic.
"Eunuch Xiao, Your Majesty didn't ask you to bring anything?"
What a snobbery.
Xiao Jing seemed to have seen through Zhang Zhou's true nature, but for some unknown reason, he felt no hatred for Zhang Zhou in his heart.
People who have been in the power field in the palace for a long time are most afraid of hypocrites, not "real villains" like Zhang Zhou, and Zhang Zhou is not a villain. How can I see a villain who dares to directly admonish the king and dare to Are you going to fight to the end with a powerful man like Li Guang who is favored for a while?
"Bring it with you, your Majesty has ordered a house to be prepared for Mr. Zhang. It is in Qingchenfang outside Dong'an Gate. The house in Sanjin Courtyard is enough for you to live in." Xiao Jing said with a smile.
After hearing this, Zhang Zhouyi immediately changed his face and said, "Not bad, not bad, it's a really good place."
Qingqingfang is equivalent to the area around Wangfujing in later generations. It houses the ten palaces of the Ming Dynasty and the North Hall of the Huitong Pavilion. It was the political and diplomatic core of the Ming Dynasty. Many ministers who wanted to settle there could not afford to buy a house there.
Zhang Zhou was given the Qingchengfang mansion in Sanjinyuan when he first arrived. How could Zhang Zhou be dissatisfied?
"The house deed..."
Xiao Jing was embarrassed for a moment.
Most people feel honored when they are given a house by an official to live in. That's great for you, but you still want to take the house as your own?
"It won't happen, right? If you don't have a house deed, then if you want to change to a big house in the future, wouldn't it be...a big shortcoming in the ointment." Zhang Zhou looked melancholy.
Xiao Jing said helplessly: "It takes time to free up space in this official residence, and it also needs to be turned into your private residence, Mr. Zhang. You also need to go through registration and other matters. If you are not in a hurry, you might as well have someone take you back." Go take a look, see if you are satisfied, and then talk about other things?"
Zhang Zhou nodded with satisfaction: "That's it. Eunuch Xiao, please take a seat inside."
Xiao Jing couldn't help but be startled.
Listen, if our family doesn't bring you anything, you're not even going to invite us in to sit down?
You are such a stingy person, do you still want to hang out in the Ming Dynasty?
…
…
The main hall of the courtyard, where Zhu Feng was previously received, was replaced by Xiao Jing this time.
Xiao Jing smiled and said: "The yard is pretty good."
"No matter how nice it is to rent it, it's still someone else's yard. Besides, the quality around here is complicated, which will affect my preparation for the spring exam." Zhang Zhou complained.
"hehe."
Xiao Jing smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, you are really outspoken and straightforward."
Zhang Zhou curled his lips and said, "I can't change this habit. Does Eunuch Xiao have anything else to do?"
Xiao Jing then took out something that looked like an imperial edict, and Zhang Zhou quickly stood up with a solemn expression and prepared to accept it respectfully.
"No need to be formal." Xiao Jing said, "This is your Majesty's order to give Yin a son to serve as a guard for thousands of households. You can take it back to Nanzhen Fusi and someone will handle it for you."
This time it was Zhang Zhou's turn to be embarrassed.
After taking Xiao Jing's things and holding them in my hands, they smelled really good.
Treating the emperor's daughter and providing early warning for the palace fire, the emperor finally had some conscience and didn't treat her badly. This way, even if he failed the exam, he didn't have to worry about how to live in the Ming Dynasty.
To live in this era, it is not enough to just have money, but also to have power, otherwise no matter how much money you have, it will become someone else's.
"In addition, His Majesty ordered Mr. Zhang to take care of the reconstruction of Qingning Palace." Xiao Jing added.
Zhang Zhou said: "How do I understand this? At most, I can provide some reference opinions on material selection."
"ah?"
Xiao Jing thought to himself, you said that materials are the most important when rebuilding, but it seems that you still care about materials?
Could it be that your kid realizes that the most profitable thing is when choosing materials, and you deliberately mention this so that the emperor can give you the job?
"And one more thing……"
Xiao Jing hesitated and didn't want to say anything.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Eunuch Xiao, you have read the brochure, but I have not. If there is something that is not easy to talk about, just don't talk about it. I am a light-tongued person and I can't afford it."
"What?" Xiao Jing suddenly realized, he stood up and glared at Zhang Zhou, "Mr. Zhang is really a mastermind."
Zhang Zhou was confused: "Why don't you understand what Eunuch Xiao said?"
Xiao Jing said with a bitter face: "Sir, you knew that the account book not only recorded the quantity of white rice and yellow rice, but also recorded the name, official position and detailed gift-giving time of the person who sent the rice. He deliberately did not read it and asked our family to contribute. Your Majesty, I can keep you out of this situation!"
Zhang Zhou hurriedly said: "Eunuch Xiao, I don't know what is recorded on it. Don't accuse a good person unjustly."
If it had been two days ago when Zhang Zhougang came, Xiao Jing might have believed it.
But now he won't believe that Zhang Zhou didn't figure it out.
Xiao Jing said: "Now that the book has been presented to your majesty, your majesty has read it. It is really... unsightly to look at... five of the six ministers are listed, and there are countless civil servants and military honors in the court. Although your majesty has not Directly order a strict investigation, but looking at the current situation... I'm afraid..."
Zhang Zhou sighed: "If we really want to get to the bottom of it, I'm afraid there will be a big storm."
"So Mr. Zhang must give you an idea." Xiao Jing looked at Zhang Zhou with a pleading look.
Zhang Zhou asked: "His Majesty asked you to speak?"
"No... since it's our family and Eunuch Dai..."
Xiao Jing also made his words clear at this time.
At this time, even if the emperor did not give orders, could the few close old eunuchs in the ceremonial department not think about sharing the king's worries?
Besides, what can the emperor say about this matter?
There are so many people involved in the matter between the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government. They want to put things to rest, but they are also afraid of being punished by God again if they disagree with justice... Zha is also afraid that the involvement will be so wide that it will unsettle both the government and the public, and undermine the stability and unity of the DPRK.
Zhang Zhou's face turned cold and said: "Eunuch Xiao, I finally heard it. You want me to deceive you, right?"
"Ah? Mr. Zhang, our family has absolutely no intention of doing this." Xiao Jing quickly explained.
Zhang Zhou slowly stood up and responded in a cold tone: "Eunuch Xiao, what is now in front of Your Majesty, whether it is investigated or not, will lead to future troubles, but you and Eunuch Dai want me to persuade you in the name of Tianji. Your Majesty will not investigate! The minister who gave the gift is at peace, and the court is stable, but the way of heaven that upholds justice for the world has been ruined by me! If you want to do something in front of the Tianji Palace, what is it if you are not deceiving the emperor?"
"Ah...this...this..."
Xiao Jing panicked.
Xiao Jing's original intention was, of course, to let Zhang Zhou fool the emperor with some secrets.
Let Zhang Zhou be the peacemaker.
But Zhang Zhou knew that it was not easy to be a peacemaker. As a worm in the country, it was the most basic justice for Li Guang to investigate the person who gave him gifts. Even if it would cause unrest in the court, he should not ignore the laws of the Ming Dynasty. .
Historically, it was Zhang Heling who acted as the "bad guy" and lobbied the king, because Zhang Heling didn't care about reputation. As long as others gave him gifts, he would accept any job.
But this time the fire in Qingning Palace and Li Guang's death were all driven by Zhang Zhou.
At present, the emperor's trust in Zhang Zhou has reached an extremely high level. Xiao Jing only wants Zhang Zhou to mediate and does not think about others.
"But, from my point of view, the people who gave gifts to Li Guang cannot be generalized. If there are people who want to exchange gifts for fame and fortune, these people cannot be let go, and the official positions they have obtained should also be removed, and the government should be restored to a clean state. . But if in order to maintain the operation of the yamen, we have to go and clear things up... Eunuch Xiao, don't you have a share in this?"
Zhang Zhou's words made Xiao Jing instantly wilt.
Xiao Jing said dejectedly: "I can't hide anything from Mr. Zhang, including our family's name."
Zhang Zhou sighed: "As expected, who would be anxious if the fire didn't burn him? I might consider helping him."
Xiao Jing then looked at Zhang Zhou with eyes as if he was grasping at straws.
For Xiao Jing, he did not want the emperor to investigate further, both for the overall situation and for selfish reasons. He also wanted to continue working as the admiral of Dongchang. If the investigation was pursued, he would definitely pack up and get out.
By the way, this is a position where you can make money easily. Which eunuch doesn't love money?
