Da Ming Tai Shi

Chapter 50 Lifting the lid of corruption

Outside the cell, Chen Yunfu and Shao Zhi waited for a full quarter of an hour before they heard the cries in the cell stop, knowing that Weng Junbo's reunion had been fulfilled, they opened the door and walked in.

"Come here first, after the confession is done, your family will have a good reunion, and everything you eat and drink will be mine."

Chen Yunfu interrupted the weeping family of four, and Weng Junbo wiped away his tears and nodded.

"Thank you, thank you little friend."

As for Weng Junbo's daughter-in-law and two children, they simply knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

"I would like to thank my lord for saving my life, and thank you for your reunion."

"Don't be like this, I can't afford it, I can't afford it."

How could Chen Yunfu dare to address him like an adult, and he knew that Mrs. Weng was showing his true feelings, so he hurriedly stepped forward to help the three of them up.

Only then did I realize that the two children were not very big, the older was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, and the youngest was estimated to be eight or nine years old.

After such a calculation, Weng Junbo would marry late and have children late.

Wu Zhao walked in with a few jailers, took the three Wengs back to their cell, cleared the room and left it for Chen Yunfu to interrogate Weng Junbo.

"Shall we begin then?"

Shao Zhi sat on the presiding judge's platform, but he looked at Chen Yunfu first and asked a question, the latter cupped his hands and said, "Uncle will decide everything."

"Okay." Shao Zhi patted the hall, turned to look at Weng Junbo, and the clinker spoke first.

"You two, before the interrogation begins, can I ask little friend Yunfu a question first."

Shao Zhi looked at Chen Yunfu, who then said, "Just ask."

"How do you know Guo Huan?"

Weng Junbo's face was full of surprise: "Yes, the center of the Zhejiang Liangdao ink corruption case is indeed that Guo Huan colluded with us, but even though it is Guo Huan, I have never seen him sent to Beijing with two taxes every year. Guo Huan, I have always been contacted by the Zhejiang Clean Officials Department, and to be honest, even I have no direct evidence to prove that Guo Huan was involved in the case."

Regarding this, Chen Yunfu said frankly.

"I don't have any proof either. I told you earlier just to deceive you."

Shao Zhi also nodded and said: "Although the Metropolitan Procuratorate has received impeachment against Guo Huan in the past two years, it is all speculation and there has been no conclusive evidence."

There is no evidence, so I can't move for a long time.

Guo Huan is not easy to move, although he is just a left servant of the household department, it sounds like Shao Zhi's official position.

But it is no exaggeration to say that Zhu Yuanzhang can take away a genuine first-rank governor without hesitation, and he will not touch Guo Huan.

It was only 16 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and there was a lot of waste waiting to be rejuvenated. The most important department of the central government was the Ministry of Households, which was in charge of money, food, and Dingkou.

Since the beginning of Ming Dynasty, Guo Huan has been working in the household department for more than ten years, and he is a veritable financial steward of Daming.

Therefore, in the absence of evidence, the Metropolitan Procuratorate handed over the impeachment against Guo Huan to Zhu Yuanzhang several times, but there was no response.

The Metropolitan Procuratorate has not started the investigation of Guo Huan for a long time.

If Weng Junbo doesn't talk about it today, I'm afraid it will really be like history, and it will be delayed until Hongwu's 18th year.

Chen Yunfu straightened his mind and found that the fog of history was gradually clearing before his eyes.

If he hadn't traveled here by himself and the Weng Junbo case hadn't made a breakthrough, then how did Zhu Yuanzhang get Guo Huan out?
Empty print case!
It was the Kongyin case that got Guo Huan out.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had lost all his patience, simply killed all the officials in charge of food and taxation in various provinces. Of course there will be dead in vain, but there are also corrupt people.

It was these corrupt people hiding in it who confessed to Guo Huan.

Holding the attitude that he would rather kill ten thousand by mistake than let one go, Zhu Yuanzhang finally got Guo Huan out.

It's just that the price to pay is too high.

How many excellent and young local chief officials took office in vain, how many prefectures and counties' official duties were forced to be put on hold, and the rise of a new dynasty had to stop.

The invisible loss is too heavy.

"Tell me, tell me everything from the beginning to the end."

Chen Yunfu sighed, picked up his pen and waited for Weng Junbo to speak.

As expected, the latter no longer insisted, and all the bamboo tubes were thrown out like beans, probably because they have been holding back in their hearts for the past two years, and they don't want to continue to bear it today.

"In the [-]th year of Hongwu, I served as the right counselor of Zhejiang Province, and was responsible for supervising Zhejiang's grain road. At that time, the chief grain officer of Zhejiang Province was Yan Zhenzhi's father, Yan Can. There are seven or eight thousand stones, and sometimes there are three or four thousand stones. This is an indispensable road consumption.

At that time, Yan Can and I pledged grain to Beijing, and the Zhejiang Cleaning Department of the Ministry of Households would reconcile the account when it was carrying out the payment.

Every reconciliation will be lax due to the existence of road consumption.

So the Ministry of Household Affairs asked us to go back to Zhejiang to distribute another batch of grain to make up the balance, and the difference would be charged to Yan Can, who made him the head of grain in Zhejiang.

At that time, Geng Yuanheng, the governor of Zhejiang Province, found me and said that such a grain transfer would be a waste of money, and it would be troublesome to go back and forth. It is better to directly issue a grain tax document and put it in Jinling, so that we can determine how much grain arrives at the household department every year. Fill in the number on the grain and tax official document, so that everyone can worry.

Although this approach is a peace of mind, it is not in line with the law of the country.

At that time, I thought it was impossible, because the official document of grain and tax needed to be stamped with the great seal of the chief envoy, and there was no real number, so how could this official document be issued.

Or Geng Yuanheng, he said he has a way.

Later, he really took a thick stack of blank official documents with only the official seal of the chief envoy and put them in front of me. Only then did I know that An Ran, the chief envoy of Zhejiang at that time, had already communicated with Geng Yuanheng or the person behind Geng Yuanheng. Guo Huan colluded together.

With these printed official documents, many things will be much easier to do.

In the ninth year of Hongwu, Zhejiang’s grain tax was 270 million shi, and in the tenth year of Hongwu, it was 260 million 11 shi. In the 240th year of Hongwu, for the first time, I filled in the number of [-] million [-] shi on this empty official document with only one big seal. ! "

Speaking of this, Weng Junbo lowered his head: "Nearly 30 shi of grain was stolen by us. Afterwards, Geng Yuanheng gave me 3000 taels of silver and 1 taels of treasure notes in return."

Remembering this, Chen Yunfu held his breath, even his hands were shaking.

A total of 30 shi of grain, just like this, was randomly sketched twice with a pen, and it disappeared?

Just into a private pocket?
This is too childish, too ridiculous, too lawless!
"If the Ministry of Households doesn't check, doesn't His Majesty also check?"

30 shi, this is not a minority, the national treasury suddenly lost so much food, didn't Zhu Yuanzhang even ask?

"Of course your Majesty intervened." Weng Junbo said: "But at that time, Hu Weiyong was still in power. He didn't want too much disturbance in the local area, so he covered it up for us, and only said that there was a flood in Zhejiang and the production was severely reduced. .

Afterwards, we were never so bold again, and only spent [-] to [-] shi every year.

Later, prefectures and counties in Zhejiang also followed suit, and they all handed in blank official documents with only one big seal, so I acquiesced.

In the words of Geng Yuanheng, when we eat meat, we must give the local people a mouthful of soup to drink, so that no one will overturn the pot, and everyone will have food to eat, so their mouths will be blocked.

In recent years, the grain tax of Tanmo in Zhejiang Province alone has reached nearly 60 shi. "

"Damn An Ran!" When Chen Yunfu wrote down the figure of 60 shi, he gritted his teeth and hated it to the core.

60 shi, how many lives of ordinary people can be saved!
That Shao Zhi also took a deep breath, and then said in a heartbroken voice.

"I never thought that An Ran would be such a person."

Seeing Chen Yunfu looking at him, Shao Zhi explained.

"In the 12th year of Hongwu, the Metropolitan Procuratorate at that time was still called Yushitai, and An Ran was transferred from Zhejiang to Yushitai to serve as the censor of the right capital.

Later, An Ran returned to his hometown after taking office. "

Returning home after serving as an official?

What is this, a smooth landing?

Chen Yunfu was still gnashing his teeth, and Shao Zhi exclaimed: "No wonder."

"What's no wonder?"

This sudden surprise was indeed a bit scary.

Shao Zhi continued: "Nephew, it's no wonder that Yang Ruxian was involved in the case. It was because of An Ran's recommendation that Yang Ruxian stepped up to the position of the right servant of the Ministry of Punishment. In the 14th year of Hongwu, Yang Ruxian became the left servant."

The relationship between political figures in the Ming Dynasty has become clearer and clearer.

This is a case of corruption.

(End of this chapter)