Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan

Chapter 238
Yunguo Jianchang Mansion, a perennial county seat.

Hai Rui was wearing a censor's robe, with a solemn face, looked at the county government official guarding the treasury, and shouted in a deep voice:

"Quickly open the treasury and hand in the account book catalog!"

The officials guarding the treasury looked bitter. Under the sharp eyes of the Legalist masters around Hai Rui, they swallowed tremblingly, mournfully, and said:
"My lord, there is still an account book in the treasury, which is very important. Your lord came in a hurry today, why don't you let the lower officials report it first?"

Hai Rui's eyes were extremely sharp, like sharp edges. He stared at the treasury official and scolded:

"Open it! I am the censor appointed by His Majesty to inspect the affairs of the Jianchang Mansion. If you dare to obstruct it, you will be punished immediately!"

The disciple of the Fa school heard the words, coughed lightly, and couldn't help interjecting:

"Dayun Law, those who obstruct public affairs, at least they will lose their official titles and be relegated to the common people. At worst, they will implicate their families and be exiled for thousands of miles!"

Hearing this, the official was visibly startled.After hesitating for a long time, he finally couldn't resist the pressure, took the treasury key from his waist, and handed it to Hai Rui respectfully.

Hai Rui nodded slightly, and Zhi all stepped forward immediately, and took away the treasury key.

Amidst the fearful and helpless eyes of the officials guarding the treasury, a group of people came straight to the Changning county treasury.

At this time, Zhang Tang saw that the treasury officials were all hiding aside in fear, trembling and dared not go forward, so he immediately leaned into Hai Rui's ear and asked in a low voice:

"My lord, do we have such a large-scale investigation now, do you mean to scare the snake? Doesn't it mean that these big rats behind the scenes are still useful?"

Today's Yun Kingdom has already dispatched a team of troops into the southwestern counties of Xia Kingdom with great fanfare to treat the people suffering from the plague.

But with so many people in the southwestern counties, they heard that there was a way to live in Yunguo, so many people would come here.At that time, Changning County may be closed down like before!
Whether it was Xiao Cheng, Dao Yan, the de facto chief official of Changning County, or even Hai Rui, who was stubborn and upright, they all refrained from attacking those people at this time, just wanting to let them play a little bit more.

Transport more food and grass, rescue more innocent people, and make the current Emperor Yun's prestige even greater, then it will not be in vain that Xiao Cheng, Hai Rui and their ninjas did not do anything.

This is something Zhidu, Zhangtang and the others have known for a long time.Now that such a decision has been made, it's all the more important to pretend not to see the sinister things behind it.

So at this time, Hai Rui suddenly started investigating with great fanfare, and felt a little puzzled.

Hearing Zhang Tang's question, Hai Rui looked around, lowered his voice, and said:

"If the official really pretends not to see all of a sudden, the people behind the scenes will be suspicious all day long, and that's just to startle the snake!"

Zhi Du heard the words, and couldn't help but say:
"Since that's the case, why didn't your lord make false claims with them before, so as to relax your vigilance?"

Hai Rui frowned, shook his head repeatedly and said:
"That's even worse! It's not an exaggeration, it's just my temper..."

Hai Rui's extremely stubborn, strong and upright character was not easy to get along with.

The imperial examination jinshi have the same background and are naturally closer. When they were watching politics at Shangshutai, they walked a lot with each other.In this way, naturally many people have had a bad nose with him.

So Hai Rui's smelly and tough temper has already spread in the court.

The person who planned this behind the scenes is most likely to have officials from Beijing and China involved in it, and they know his temperament.

Hai Rui suddenly smiled at these people, and he did not refuse the gifts, which seemed extremely disobedient and suspicious!

At this time, Hai Rui suddenly paused again, with a sneer from the corner of his mouth, and said:
"Besides, the more vigorously the investigation is done, and the more frightened these people use all their means, the more they will be able to see the trump cards of the people behind the scenes!"

When the two of them heard the words, they immediately revealed a look of understanding, and they both cupped their hands and said:
"Master is wise!"

And while the two were talking, the legalist master accompanying them had already opened the door of one of the treasury.

People rushed in and looked around.

Then he saw that the huge treasury was full of grain and grass.In the tall grain storage, white rice overflowed and fell to the ground.In addition, there are all kinds of materials that fill this treasury to the brim.

Everyone frowned when they saw the appearance in the treasury.

Hai Rui narrowed his eyes and gestured to the accompanying master.

Immediately, someone drew out the weapon, stabbed sharply on the grain storage, and then drew it out again.

In an instant, rice overflowed from the gap and fell to the ground with a clatter.

The treasury official at the door looked at this situation, and suddenly his face became bitter, and he couldn't help but begged:

"My lord, we have tools for measuring rice and grain here. If you do this, the grain storage will have to be replaced. I don't know how much effort will be spent on the officials. Don't do this, don't do this!"

Hai Rui turned a deaf ear to the official's pleading voice, pretending he didn't hear it, and said with a sneer:

"Explore every foot, and try all four sides! The means of the treasury officials, hehehe..."

Hearing the words, the accompanying Legalist masters immediately clasped their fists together, spread out, and raised their hands at the grain storage in the treasury to verify the depth and truth of it.

All the treasury officials were full of bitterness at this moment, as if they wanted to step forward to stop it, but they were helpless.

Hai Rui frowned, and immediately shouted:

"There is also the treasury account book, hand it in quickly!"

When the leading official heard the words, he immediately replied:
"My lord, when something happens in the city, there are more things coming in and out of the treasury these days than in the past few years. The account books are piled up and are as tall as half a person. You still..."

Before he finished speaking, the Zhidu on the side couldn't listen anymore, and immediately interrupted:
"What are you talking about? Quickly take us to seal it up!"

The official froze for a moment, motioned to his subordinates helplessly, and led Zhidu to seal and check the account book.

Hai Rui glanced around, and saw a group of Legalist disciples accompanying them running between grain stores in the treasury.But every time the grain storage was pierced, white rice grains were always drawn out, and nothing suspicious was found.

Something is wrong!
Hai Rui's heart suddenly trembled, but his face was still pretending to be calm. Looking at the restless treasury officials waiting beside him, he said in a deep voice:
"what's your name?"

When the treasury official heard the words, he quickly bowed to Hai Rui and said:
"Your Excellency came in a hurry and did not greet you. The next official, Zhao Xuesong, will be the Treasurer of Changning County, in charge of all affairs of the county warehouse."

"Treasurer Zhao, you're being polite!" Hai Rui nodded slightly and returned the courtesy.

"Don't dare..." Zhao Xuesong hastily waved his hands at Hai Rui in fear, saying he didn't dare.

Then he paused, and asked cowardly with a puzzled expression:
"Master Yushi, don't blame this official for being rude. It's just that you came to the treasury quietly, what is your official business? You might as well talk to the official, and the official will also assist you!"

Since he wanted to do it with great fanfare for a certain queen, Hai Rui had no intention of hiding anything. He looked at Zhao Xuesong with sharp eyes, and said in a solemn voice:
"I know that there are people in the city who are greedy, and they are thinking about the imperial court's food relief, which is detrimental to the public and private. It is because of this that I came here today."

Speaking of this, Hai Rui's eyes became sharper, and there was a trace of scolding in his tone, and he continued:
"Zhao Treasurer is in charge of the treasury, so he must know something! Officials are corrupt, or they have a crooked mind on such a big matter, and Dayun Law has always punished them severely. If you know something, please tell me in detail quickly. If you are honest, this official You can be the master, I will deal with you lightly!"

Hearing Hai Rui's words, Zhao Xuesong almost jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on, and yelled loudly:

"My lord, I am wronged! Although my official position is humble, I am always grateful for the kindness of your Majesty and the court. How could I do such a rebellious and unconscionable thing! My lord, don't let me go because of some far-fetched rumors. , don’t listen to the officer’s excuse!”

While speaking, Zhao Xuesong pointed to the treasury, and hurriedly argued:
"My lord, don't say anything else, just say that in this treasury, does it look like it was corrupted by a subordinate official? Once the account book is written, it will be handed over to the lord immediately. You will know when the time comes!"

Hai Rui looked at Zhao Xuesong's embarrassing appearance, his thin face was filled with awe, and he scolded:

"It's not far-fetched? I have been coming to Changning County for a long time, and I already know a lot of things. What the people eat every day is the bran that animals eat!"

Hearing this, Zhao Xuesong hurriedly continued to call Qu:
"My lord, my lord! This is all a misunderstanding, you don't know anything!"

Hai Rui looked at the person in front of him. He was using his whole life's acting skills to vividly portray the image of a petty official who was wronged by the superior and tried every means to prove his innocence.

He couldn't help sneering a few times in his heart, and continued to watch him perform as hard as he could.

"My lord, the city of Changning County was closed for several months at the beginning, allowing entry and no exit. There are nearly a million people in the city, food and grass are not available, and there is almost a riot in the city. It was Master Daoyan who tried his best to support it, and then he waited for the court's assistance. But Even so, there may be accidents in the future, and the food and grass cannot be brought in. Master Daoyan personally ordered that the people's daily rations be mixed with bran, and the excess food and grass will be accumulated to prepare for the future!"

Speaking of this, Zhao Xuesong's face showed a look of grievance visible to the naked eye, and said:

"My lord, although this bran is not tasty, it will never starve to death! We are here for the sake of the common people..."

From the corner of his eye, Zhao Xuesong saw that Zhidu led someone to bring a large pile of account books, and quickly pointed to the account books over there, swearing:
"There are records in every accounting book. If my lord can find out something from it, I'm willing to lead you to death!"

At this moment, under the leadership of Zhang Tang, a group of Legalists who had just gone to investigate came to Hai Rui's side and shook their heads slightly at him.

Just now, everyone has exhausted their means, and nothing abnormal happened in the treasury.

That is to say, the grain and grass in the treasury are indeed real, and there is no fraud!
Hai Rui nodded, walked to Zhidu's side, patted the account book he brought, pondered for a moment, and said in a relaxed tone:
"Okay, I'm just doing a routine investigation. If I make a mistake and cause Treasurer Zhao to be wronged, I will personally apologize to you in the future!"

Zhao Xuesong pursed his lips when he heard the words, made a look of emotion, wiped the corners of his eyes, and said in a crying voice:
"That's not enough, it's more than that! Lord Yushi, it's just a matter of devotion to your duty..."

Upon hearing this, Hai Rui nodded and said in a deep voice:
"go!"

With an order, a group of accompanying masters immediately took the account books and surrounded Hai Rui and left.

Watching Hai Rui's figure go away, all the treasury officials present suddenly looked at each other, and at the same time they let out a long sigh of relief, and showed a smile at the same time.

Treasurer Zhao Xuesong rubbed the tears from the corners of his eyes, raised his head slightly, turned his head and glanced at the overflowing white rice everywhere, all kinds of things overturned, the treasury was in a mess, and the corner of his mouth curled up, looking proudly at the many subordinates, shouted: :
"What are you still doing in a daze? Hurry up and clean up!"

All the treasury officials responded with a smile on their faces:
"Yes!"

After Hai Rui walked out of the treasury, he paused slightly, and hummed in a cold voice:
"A group of giant rats and insects!"

Zhi Du at the side heard the words, but took out three account books, handed them to Hai Rui, and said:

"My lord, these treasury officials really have a problem!"

Hearing this, Hai Rui took the account book, opened it casually, and said in surprise:
"At this point in time, you have already checked the account books? What did you find!"

Zhidu shook his head slightly and said:

"There is indeed a problem with the account book, but it is not because the number in the account book is wrong."

Hai Rui looked at Zhidu, beckoning him to continue talking.

Zhidu casually opened one of the pages, pointed to the date on it, and said:
"My lord, this account book records the treasury entry and exit records from March 28th to March [-]th."

After that, he opened another book and continued:
"And this one is the account book that records the entry and exit of the treasury from February [-]st to March [-]rd. The other one is for this month."

Hai Rui heard the words and said in a deep voice;

"Any questions?"

Zhi Du pointed to the writing on it and said:

"Don't you remember, my lord? In the middle of March, it rained heavily for several days in a row in Jianchang Mansion. The climate in the north is already humid, and the books are often damp. Even if the treasury of Changning County is dry, it is still well preserved, but Compared with the inkblots in February, there should be no difference at all!"

Writing records, all with pen and ink.If it encounters wet weather, the ink will return to damp, even if it is well preserved, there will be a slight difference.

Hai Rui heard the words, quickly raised the account book, and watched it carefully.

As Zhidu said, there is no difference in the details of the handwriting in these account books of different dates, and there is no difference in the records of different periods.

Hai Rui immediately closed the account book in his hand, nodded in satisfaction and said:

"That's right, this ledger must have been added later! Hehe, what a mistake to do, I finally have evidence!"

Harry paused, and continued:
"Continue to investigate, only to take it out in the future, so that these rats can no longer hide!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)