The Reborn Duke of Ming Dynasty

"My father-in-law wants to say something to Zhang Fan, but it's okay to say it," Zhang Fan knew that he was about to enter the topic, so he sat upright again, and said to Liu Shan solemnly.

"Master Zhang is really a person who does great things. He has a clear distinction between public and private affairs. This is the talent of a general." Liu Shan flattered Zhang Fan and said, "Then our family will stop talking too much. Let’s go directly to the main topic.”

Zhang Fan didn't speak, just drank wine, looked at Liu Shan, and waited for his next words.

"Our family wants Mr. Zhang to use the network card. This time, Mr. Zhang's trip to the south of the Yangtze River will be considered as no progress." Liu Shan did not try to hide anything, and directly stated his request.

To be honest, Liu Shan's request was already in Zhang Fan's guess, but Zhang Fan was still very surprised that he would say it so clearly. You know, Zhang Fan had never promised him. Anything, even if it was because of Luo Linger's incident just now, he shouldn't have said it so clearly. Doesn't this make it clear that he has something to do with the corruption in Jiangnan? Apart from the personal information obtained, there is no evidence at all to prove that Liu Shan is the leader of this corruption group, even Zhang Fan before. He could have imagined that Liu Shan was definitely related to this matter. But he never thought of Liu Shan as an eunuch as a leader, after all, the gap is too big.

But after Zhang Fan knew that Liu Shan was the leader behind the scenes, he had been trying every means to expose Liu Shan's flaws so that he could seize the second evidence and bring him to justice. Luo Ling'er risked his life before. Danger returned to Liu Shan to monitor Liu Shan for himself, and it was precisely for this matter that he waited for a rabbit. Even now that he has reconciled with Luo Linger, it is only because he has regarded Luo Linger as his own woman and he naturally does not want to let her go. She was in danger for herself, but the thoughts in her heart never stopped.

The reason for this is that Zhang Fan knew Liu Shan's true identity, and Zhang Fan could be sure that Liu Shan didn't know that he knew about it, and he wouldn't know, after all, he was the only one who told him about it. Zhou Quan has already been sent by Zhang Fan to watch him with a lot of people. It is absolutely impossible for Zhou Quan to leak this news, and there are not many people who know about it, and they are all Zhang Fan's trustworthy subordinates. , so he also planned to rely on the favorable conditions he possessed to deal with Liu Shan.

However, everything has changed now. Although Liu Shan's sudden confession did not clearly tell Zhang Fan that he was the mastermind behind the scenes, what he said just now clearly meant that he could replace Su, The corrupt officials in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces are the masters. This move is very bold, but there are many subtleties in the boldness. At least Zhang Fan originally had a well-thought-out plan, and Liu Shan disrupted it. The only thing that made it easier for Zhang Fan was that Liu Shan himself didn't know that he had made a successful attack.

Surprised, Zhang Fan didn't speak for a while, as if he was overwhelmed by Liu Shan's words. In fact, during this short period of time, Zhang Fan had already begun to think about what he should do next, although he still had no idea. , but he has already begun to think of a brand new plan.

Liu Shan looked at Zhang Fan's surprised look, and didn't mean to disturb him. There was even a smile on Liu Shan's face, as if he was very satisfied with Zhang Fan's current expression. Indeed, Liu Shan didn't care about it at all. He knew what Zhang Fan was thinking, and he didn't even know what he said just now. Zhang Fan already knew it. He did it now, and told Zhang Fan about it clearly. In fact, he did a lot. intended.

He knew that Zhang Fan must have been ordered by Long Qing to come to Jiangnan to thoroughly investigate the corruption this time, but because of this, no matter how much Zhang Fan is favored by Long Qing now, if he can't find anything and just go back Although Long Qing won't do anything to him, he will definitely not be happy. Zhang Fan naturally understands Liu Shan's desire for this kind of situation, so Zhang Fan will naturally not just sit around and let this happen. When the time comes, the time limit will be one Seeing that Zhang Fan has nothing to gain, then he will definitely get angry at that time. It is said that people are not sages, once this person gets angry, he will naturally do anything. Fan will inevitably arrest some corrupt officials whom he has already grasped the real evidence, and escort them back to the capital to return to his command. Although Long Qing is not as extreme as his father Jiajing, if it is a major national case like this, no matter how stupid Long Qing is, It will also face up to this matter. At that time, this group of people will definitely be handed over to the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Chong was able to bribe one of them, but he wanted to bribe all three of them. He, Meng Chong, was not that capable, and he couldn't ask Gao Gong for help to let Gao Gong know about it. Unable to withstand the pressure of the interrogation and revealing that Liu Shan is the mastermind behind this scene, then Liu Shan will really have no way to recover and will undoubtedly die.

So from this point of view, Liu Shan's move seems to be bold and extraordinary, and he regards advance as retreat, but in fact, he has no way to retreat now, and doing so can be regarded as a desperate move.

These things have been in Liu Shan's heart for a long time, and Zhang Fan is not stupid. In such a short time, he also thought of it. In this way, why Liu Shan suddenly became so frank? It's clear, but if you know it, Zhang Fan will naturally not say this: "Eunuch Liu, let's not talk about other things, Zhang Fan is just curious, why can Eunuch Liu say this on behalf of those people in the three provinces?"

"Hehe, Master Zhang must be very strange compared to now," Liu Shan said with a smile, "Since our family has said all these things, let's tell the truth to Master Zhang.

"After all, Mr. Zhang is in charge of the most famous Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty, and he must have learned a lot of news. Presumably, Mr. Zhang has been familiar with the ins and outs of this matter for so many days, not bad. , more than [-]% of the officials in the three provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian are corrupt officials. Before, the tax money they corrupted was nothing more than agricultural tax and land tax. The money is so powerful that they actually don’t collect much tax each year. Even if they collect more on weekdays, after throwing away the share that has to be handed over to the court on time every year, there is really not much left, but they dare not Increase the exploitation of those common people, especially in Fujian, where the emperor is far away because of the high mountains, and the officials there often do so, so the common people there rebelled in the market. There was another rebellion last year. Although the scale was not large, several officials were still arrested. Those common people with hoes were dragged out of their homes and beaten to death. In this way, the officials here really didn't dare to exploit too much, in case they got unlucky.

"But since these people have entered the officialdom, this money is inseparable from their personal belongings. They ask for money when they go out to socialize, they ask for money in return for gifts, they want to be promoted themselves, and they still need money for gifts, and they even want to maintain a bigger one. The affiliated courtyard and the expenses of the servant girls among them, although it is not much, but with their annual salaries, it is not enough at all.

"But in this way, it's impossible not to be greedy, and it's not enough to be greedy. Naturally, these people are all in the same boat, and then communicate with each other and unite. No matter what position you are, whether you are a high official or small, as long as you can spend money If they get it, they will pull him into the gang. In this way, they can be regarded as protecting each other. As long as there is a chance, such as the relief food issued by the imperial court, the money for repairing the river, or the public property in the yamen, as long as they can Those who get money through manipulation can be said to be pervasive.

"But gradually, they realized that they had made things a bit too big. The officials from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces, big and small, were all involved, but more than half of them were involved. They didn't trust others, for fear that some People leaked the news unintentionally, or were discovered by others, so they thought of a way to find a person who could testify, and put their handles on him, so that if anyone wanted to If he breaks the contract or leaks any rumors, that person will act first, relying on his relationship in the palace, directly impeach the emperor, so that his words will no longer be believed.

"On the other hand, although this group of people are being held to be fatal, they can trust each other for the time being, but they still have concerns, fearing that those who did not participate will know their situation, or It is to find a way to impeach them. In this way, this group of people came up with another way. Regardless of whether the outsiders around them will be greedy or not, they are trying to grab their handles and force them in so that their own The power has become more consolidated, and now the officials of these three provinces are all in this circle. They are naturally afraid of Mr. Zhang's thorough investigation in the south. These days, they really can't sit still. Find a way to communicate with Mr. Zhang, and see if Mr. Zhang can be lenient here."

Zhang Fan was not surprised when he heard what he said, but it was hard to believe that so many officials from the three provinces, large and small, were all involved. It was unbelievable, but Zhang Fan still had other things that bothered him. , he raised his head to look at Liu Shan, and said doubtfully: "Could it be that the witness is your father-in-law?"