The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 615: Eunuchs are treacherous and cruel officials are brutal

The weather is getting warmer and warmer. The imperial garden in the palace is already full of pink peach blossoms and green willows, and the birds are flying and swallows are returning. Emperor Qiansheng took some time out today to accompany the concubines in the harem to enjoy the spring flowers, and Jia Yuanchun stole the show. There is no other reason, but the mother is honored by her son!
In a brutal coup last year, almost all of Emperor Qiansheng's princes died, except for the seventh prince Xu Wenhou who went hunting in Tiewang Mountain and luckily escaped. The only one left was the twelfth prince born to Jia Yuanchun.

The twelfth prince is now nearly one and a half years old. He is just learning to speak and to walk. Babies at this age are the cutest. Moreover, the twelfth prince looks like his mother, with fair skin, bright eyes, and a jade-like appearance. Therefore, he is deeply loved by Emperor Qiansheng. During the spring outings to enjoy the flowers, the emperor almost always holds him in his arms.

Jia Yuanchun was naturally overjoyed when she saw this, while the other concubines could only feel envy and jealousy.

After Emperor Qiansheng finished touring the Imperial Garden in the morning, he returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to rest for a while, and then began to deal with the pile of memorials. There is no doubt that Emperor Qiansheng was a very diligent emperor who took care of everything himself. He would basically review all the memorials submitted by the emperor.

Suddenly, a palace servant brought in a victory report from Sun Chengzong, the governor of Liaodong, saying that Jia Huan, the military governor of Ningqian, reported a victory, killing more than 250 invading Jiannu people, including a Niulu Ezhen, and seized more than 200 war horses and captured more than 20 people.

Emperor Qiansheng could not help but be delighted. Although the results of this battle were not great, it was of extraordinary significance because it was the first time after the disastrous defeat at Sarhu that the Jin army defeated the Jurchen cavalry in a frontal field battle, and they even completely wiped out an entire Niulu of the enemy.

Therefore, even though Emperor Qiansheng didn't like Jia Huan very much, he couldn't help but admire him at this moment: "Well, Jia Ziming is really good at fighting."

Chen Ju, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, who was standing aside, smiled flatteringly and said, "Your Majesty, you have a keen eye for talent. I congratulate your Majesty. There is a poem in the past that goes, 'As long as the Flying General of Dragon City is here, the Hu horses will not be allowed to cross the Yinshan Mountains. Jia Ziming is the Flying General of Dragon City of our Great Jin. With him in charge of Ningyuan, your Majesty can rest assured!"

The eunuch Shi Dayong on the other side was not willing to lag behind and said hurriedly: "If Jia Ziming is a horse with a thousand miles to spare, then Your Majesty is the Bole, with a keen eye, wise and brave. Otherwise, even if Jia Ziming is talented, he will have no place to use his talents. As the saying goes: A wise ruler will have virtuous ministers, and they will complement each other!"

Emperor Qiansheng was a bit amused and scolded: "You two old fools should read more books and gain more knowledge before you flatter me. It's really out of place!"

Chen Ju and Shi Dayong immediately knelt down and slapped themselves on the face, saying: "Slave, I am talking too much, slave, I deserve to die!"

Emperor Qiansheng was in a good mood at the moment, so he didn't care. He waved his hand and said, "Get up. Immediately tell the cabinet to draft an imperial decree to announce it to the world to strengthen the country's prestige. Also, tell my order to reward the Ningyuan soldiers according to their merits. Draft the reward before tonight. Then order the Ministry of War to allocate 2,000 war horses to Ningyuan as soon as possible, and give priority to all military pay and supplies."

"Yes!" Chen Ju, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, immediately took the order and rushed to the cabinet to ask the cabinet ministers to draft the decree.

Emperor Qiansheng read the victory report again and said with joy, "Xiong Tingbai spent several million taels of silver, but it was all talk and no action. It really makes me angry. Although Jia Huan also spent money like water, he has repeatedly reported victory reports within half a year of taking office. This money is spent in a way that makes me feel comfortable."

Shi Dayong rolled his eyes and agreed, "Your Majesty has really chosen the right person this time. Xiong Tingbai deserves death. He betrayed the emperor's grace and embezzled military funds. He really deserves to be cut into pieces."

Emperor Qiansheng's face darkened slightly, and he asked, "By the way, has the more than 170,000 taels of military pay that Xiong Tingbai embezzled been recovered?"

Shi Dayong replied, "Your Majesty, don't you remember? The Jinyiwei was in charge of this case, and I am not very clear, but I vaguely heard that only tens of thousands of taels of silver were seized from Xiong Tingbai's home, which is far from enough to make up for the deficit!"

Emperor Qiansheng frowned and said, "So, Xiong Tingbai didn't embezzle the military pay?"

Shi Dayong said sinisterly: "I dare not speak nonsense, but it is said that Xiong Tingbai has expressed a lot of resentment in prison."

Emperor Qiansheng sneered and asked, "What resentment does he have?"

"I dare not speak!"

"speak!"

"Xiong Tingbai accused the Minister of War Zhang Heming of shielding Wang Huazhen, and also scolded the emperor... scolded the emperor for being blind!"

Emperor Qiansheng slammed the imperial desk and said angrily: "This old man acted on impulse, was afraid of fighting and lost the border, and abandoned all the land in Liaoxi. Now he dares to speak shamelessly and slander the emperor and father. It is really hateful. Come, summon Yi Hong to see me!"

Soon, Yi Hong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, arrived and found Shi Dayong there. He was startled and knelt down carefully in front of the emperor, saying, "Your Highness, I, Yi Hong, pay my respects to you!"

Emperor Qiansheng asked coldly: "I want to ask you, how much of the military pay that Xiong Tingbai embezzled has been recovered?"

Yi Hong's heart skipped a beat. The emperor suddenly summoned him to the Yangxin Palace to inquire about the matter. It was most likely Shi Dayong's doing. Damn it, this old eunuch was so vicious and purposely tried to trip me up.

"Your Majesty, the last time we searched Xiong Tingbai's house, we got more than 20,000 taels of silver. In addition, Xiong Tingbai has two properties in Beijing, and the value of his personal belongings is only more than 10,000 taels. The total amount of silver we got is 38,672 taels, which have all been turned over to the national treasury." Yi Hong answered carefully. Emperor Qiansheng frowned and said, "Is that all?"

As the saying goes, a clean prefecture official earns 100,000 silver taels in three years. Xiong Tingbai served as an official for dozens of years and was promoted to the position of Liaodong Jingli. However, his entire fortune was less than 40,000 taels, which could be considered clean. However, Yi Hong could not figure out Emperor Qiansheng's intention at the moment, and did not dare to say anything. He only said vaguely, "This is indeed all we have at the moment."

Emperor Qiansheng shouted, "Then continue to recover the stolen money. You, Yi Hong, will make up for the missing penny of the 170,000 taels of stolen silver."

Yi Hong trembled all over, bowed his head and said: "I obey your order!"

"Back off!" Emperor Qiansheng waved his hand impatiently.

"I'm leaving!" Yi Hong kowtowed again, then bent down and carefully retreated to the palace gate. His only eye quickly glanced at Shi Dayong, who had a slightly raised mouth and a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

As the power of the Eastern Investigation Bureau grew, conflicts of interest with the Embroidered Uniform Guard became more and more frequent. Shi Dayong, the governor of the Eastern Investigation Bureau, and Yi Hong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, naturally had many contradictions. The people under their respective command also fought openly and were almost at odds with each other.

As the saying goes, whoever is close to the water gets the moon first. The fact that Shi Dayong was missing a masculine part under his crotch actually became his advantage. Eunuchs could serve the emperor closely all day long, tell tales and fan the flames, but Yi Hong could not do that, so he gradually lost the upper hand in the fight.

Today, Shi Dayong took the opportunity to use the Xiong Tingbai case to trip up Yi Hong.

Although Xiong Tingbai had a bad temper and foul mouth, he was an able official who got things done. The accusation that he embezzled 170,000 taels of silver was a fabrication. Even if he was fried in a frying pan, he would not be able to get out the 170,000 taels of silver. Now Yi Hong had a headache.

So after Yi Hong left the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, he was so angry that he almost bit his back teeth to pieces, and cursed Shi Dayong's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart. But it was of no use because the emperor had already issued a death order that if the 170,000 taels of stolen money could not be recovered, he, Yi Hong, would have to make up for it.

Seventeen thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. Even if Yi Hong could afford it, he would not dare to take it. Wouldn't it be terrible if the emperor asked him where did you get so much silver?

Therefore, Yi Hong had no choice but to take Xiong Tingbai and his sons out of the prison, torture them, and force them to tell him where they had hidden the stolen silver!

Xiong Tingbai did not embezzle 700,000 military pay at all. How could that be true? His eldest son, Xiong Zhaogui, committed suicide in prison because he could not bear the torture, and his second and third sons were left with lifelong disabilities. It was extremely tragic.

Yi Hong was a cruel official, so don't expect him to have a change of heart. Even after Xiong Tingbai's eldest son committed suicide, he did not stop pursuing the stolen money. Instead, he became more aggressive. In order to collect the 170,000 taels of stolen silver, he brazenly attacked Xiong Tingbai's relatives, friends, and students. Anyone who had any connection with Xiong Tingbai was bankrupted by him, and some even destroyed their families.

This is a matter for the future, so let’s not discuss it for now. After Yi Hong left the Yangxin Palace, Shi Dayong was extremely proud and took the opportunity to say to Emperor Qiansheng: “Your Majesty, corrupt officials are hateful, but those mine owners are even more hateful. Recently, I learned that those coal mines in the west of Beijing actually pay taxes according to an annual quota.

These mine owners have backers who collude with local officials to deliberately underestimate the annual output of the mines and pay extremely low taxes. The actual profits they earn are more than a hundred times the tax silver.

Emperor Qiansheng's eyes turned cold: "Is there really such a bullshit?"

Shi Dayong immediately said, "I have investigated it thoroughly during this period of time, and it is absolutely true. If the emperor does not believe it, you can appoint an official as an imperial envoy to investigate the coal mines in the west of Beijing. The profits earned by these mine owners every year are hundreds of times the taxes they pay. Just imagine, there are so many mines in the whole country of our Great Jin. If this is the case, how much loss will it cause?"

Emperor Qiansheng's face turned grim upon hearing this. The national treasury was in a very tight budget right now, and the Ministry of Revenue had been stingy with the money for building his mausoleum. How could these mine owners embezzle state-owned wealth on a large scale? How could this be tolerated?

Emperor Qiansheng became angrier and angrier as he thought about it. He immediately drafted an imperial decree and ordered Prince Zhongshun to investigate whether the Jingcheng West Coal Mine had falsely reported taxes and embezzled state-owned assets through collusion between officials and businessmen.
Thus, following the smuggling salt case, another major case during the reign of Emperor Qiansheng began.

Emperor Qiansheng personally drafted the imperial edict and gave it to Shi Dayong, saying coldly, "Send it to the cabinet immediately. If there is no objection, have them re-polish and rewrite a copy for me to seal."

Shi Dayong went there happily holding the imperial edict, sneering in his heart: "Yi Hong, Yi Hong, you'll have enough to drink a pot this time. You are not qualified to fight with us!"

The Jingxi Coal Mine was the sphere of influence of the Jinyiwei. The mine owners gave the Jinyiwei a lot of silver as tribute every year. At the beginning, Zhou, the head of the Eastern Depot, also tried to intervene in the Jingxi Coal Mine, but was defeated by the Jinyiwei. Therefore, Shi Dayong had always held a grudge against him, and now he finally found an opportunity to take revenge.

Hehe, the taxes paid by those coal mines every year are ridiculously small, less than one-tenth of their profits. Once an investigation is started, the Jinyiwei will definitely be involved. Even if Yi Hong doesn't die this time, he will be skinned alive!

(End of this chapter)