Wen Tiren, who was walking forward, stopped, turned his head to Zhou Yanru and said with a smile: "Brother Yusheng, don't get me wrong, I only thought of this when I was in front of His Majesty. As for whether the salary and silver were robbed by the tiger thieves? Someone needs to go check it out.”
"Do you think I will believe it?" Zhou Yanru looked at him with an ugly expression.
Wen Tiren said with a smile: "Brother Yusheng, don't you think I'm lying to you?"
"Isn't it?" Zhou Yanru asked.
Wen Tiren smiled after hearing this and said: "Brother Yusheng, if you think I'm lying to you, just ask the people who came back from Tongzhou if they know that the person who robbed the money is a tiger thief."
"Just because they don't know, it doesn't mean that you, Mr. Wen Ge, don't know either." Zhou Yanru didn't believe the question at all, and even stopped calling Wen Tiren by his official title.
Wen Tiren shook his head and said, "Whether you believe it or not, Brother Yusheng, what I told is the truth. By the way, there is one more thing that Brother Yusheng probably doesn't know yet."
"What's up?"
"The amount of silver sent to Shanhaiguan was not the amount it should have been. As far as I know, when it left the capital, it was less than 10,000 taels." After saying that, Wen Tiren raised his legs and walked away.
Zhou Yanru was stunned when he heard this, and then his expression suddenly changed.
Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were not even sent out of the capital, but less than 10,000 taels were left. If this news is true, even if the salary is sent to Shanhaiguan, I am afraid that not only will it be impossible to mobilize troops, but the generals in Liaodong will also directly contact the imperial court. Fall apart.
He knew that the household department and the people who dealt with it would lose part of it, and even he, the chief assistant, got some benefits from it. This was already a common practice in the government.
Even if there is a drift, six or seven out of ten will still be sent out in the end.
But he never expected that these people would become so courageous. Not even a tenth of the silver sent to Shanhaiguan was left. This was no longer a loss, but a direct deduction of all the silver.
Returning to the cabinet, Zhou Yanru immediately called over the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The ministers of the six ministries were all high-ranking imperial officials of the third rank. They could be seen as saints in the court, and the memorials could be submitted directly to the emperor. Once there was a vacancy in the cabinet, they might even be admitted to the cabinet and become a bachelor of the current dynasty.
Such a high-ranking official may give a little respect to the chief minister of the cabinet in terms of face, but it is impossible for the chief minister of the cabinet to come and go at a moment's notice.
However, this time Zhou Yanru found the right minister of the household department, who was the number three figure in the household department and was also an ally with Zhou Yanru.
"Mr. Ge, you are so anxious to find your subordinates, but what happened?" When the minister of household affairs saw Zhou Yanru, he asked first.
Zhou Yanru invited people to their seats and served them tea, and then he said, "Have you ever heard that the money sent by the imperial court to Shanhaiguan was robbed?"
"How could you not hear about such a big thing? I don't know which group of bandits are so bold that they even robbed the imperial court's salary." The Minister of Tobe shook his head and sighed softly.
However, there was no pain on the face.
Zhou Yanru said: "Let's not talk about the robbery of the silver, but I heard that the silver sent to Shanhaiguan was divided before it left the capital. Is this true?"
"How could such a thing happen? Impossible, absolutely impossible." Minister Tobe immediately shook his head in denial, but a trace of panic flashed across his face.
Zhou Yanru's face changed several times after noticing this change, and he suppressed his anger and said: "Do you know that your Majesty took this money out of the internal funds and sent it to Shanhaiguan specifically to make up for the arrears of the Liaodong Ming Army? , you are too brave to touch this kind of money."
Originally he thought that Tobe was also kept in the dark, but now it seems that Tobe is probably the driving force, at least the person in front of him should know everything.
"The money has been robbed, and it is useless to talk about it now." Minister Hube replied.
In his opinion, the money was robbed and there was no proof. Is it possible that he could still confront the robbers who robbed the money? Even if the robbers told the truth, who would believe what the robbers said.
Zhou Yanru, who also understood the meaning of the other party's words, sighed helplessly.
Don't say that there is no proof of the matter. Even if there is evidence, he can't really punish those who have paid him money.
This lid cannot be lifted yet, because once it is lifted, he will become a thorn in the side of all officials. Not to mention that the chief assistant cannot continue to do his job, and even his life will be lost.
"Everyone is happy now. What's wrong with Mr. Ge? In fact, everyone thinks this is good." The Minister of Hube said to Zhou Yanru.
Zhou Yanru said: "You all think that everyone is happy, but the soldiers and horses from Liaodong cannot enter the capital. Once the tiger thieves from Xuanfu and Shandong invade, what will the court do to stop them? Have you ever thought about this?"
He couldn't reveal the hidden rules, but he had to let these people work together to mobilize troops from Liaodong. No matter who let the money fall into the hands of these people.
"I'm afraid Mr. Ge is a little unfounded. A mere tiger bandit wants to destroy our Ming Dynasty. How is that possible? Even if there are no soldiers and horses from Liaodong in the capital, there are still Beijing camps. After so many years, the capital has been besieged by so many invading enemies. Now, No, it's still good." Minister Tobe said disapprovingly.
Zhou Yanru snorted coldly and said: "The northwest of the Ming Dynasty, Henan, and Shandong have all fallen into the hands of tiger thieves. Even if the tiger thieves attack the capital one day, it is normal. The tiger thieves are already in Xuanfu and I don’t believe you know anything about Shandong’s deployment of troops and generals.”
The minister of household affairs in front of him did not answer.
The two directions of Julu and Yanqing had already sent the memorial to the capital, and they, the officials in the court, naturally learned the news immediately.
Zhou Yanru continued: "I'm afraid it won't be long before the tiger thieves will attack the capital. You don't understand the truth that no eggs are left intact after the nest is overthrown. Once the capital falls, how much money you have taken today will only benefit the tiger thieves in the end." people."
"You know some things well, Mr. Ge. There is no point in forcing me here. The money that fell into your pocket will definitely not be returned. What's more, the fact that the money was robbed is already very clear." said the Minister of Tobe.
In his opinion, the fact that the money was robbed completely covered up the fact that the money was almost divided before it left the capital, which was the best outcome for many people.
It is impossible to get the money back.
Zhou Yanru said: "The money matter is no longer important, and your Majesty will no longer pursue it, but the soldiers and horses from Liaodong must enter the capital."
"This is a simple matter. Your Majesty can take some of the money from the internal funds and send it to Shanhaiguan. As long as Liaodong receives the money, the soldiers and horses who want to come to Liaodong will soon go south to the capital." said the Minister of Household Affairs.
(End of chapter)
