I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 243: The Baoen Temple Case is an Unsolved Case

Zhao Zhenji continued to talk about the case, "Finally, the task force found silver in the confiscated silver from the Huai'an salt merchants that was cast with the same casting method as the silver that Zhang Daxiong used when he turned himself in.

Jinyiwei also found a silversmith in Huai'an, who quickly identified that this silver was made by him imitating gold-flowered silver. He had only made this kind of silver for two salt merchants and one wealthy businessman in Huai'an.

"Zhang Daxiong turned himself in and reported that the money Chen Shanyan used to bribe his brother Zhang Erxiong to lurk in Baoen Temple and commit crimes actually came from Huai'an.

The silversmith confessed that he had only minted 21,700 taels of silver, which was not a large amount. And because it involved gold and silver, it was a very important amount, so all of them were recorded and checked.

The Royal Guards brought the silversmith's confession and the record book back to the capital and handed them over to the special investigation team. The case became very interesting at this point. "

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but wonder, what was so interesting about it?

Come on, we're interested.

Zhao Zhenji changed the subject, "But now, the murder case in Baoen Temple has been found out. Zhang Erxiong was indeed hired as a killer. However, he could not see the face of the person who hired him, and he paid him 500 taels of silver. He also promised that after the crime was committed, he would get another 500 taels of silver, but he had to confess according to what the man said, otherwise he would not receive the balance of 500 taels of silver.

Zhang Erxiong also confessed that he actually didn't know who he was going to fight. He only knew that he came to Bao'en Temple as agreed, and then a monk picked him up, shaved his head for him, put on a monk's robe, and hid him among the temple's servants and novices. With more cover, he avoided the inspection of the Jinyiwei and the Imperial Stables.

When he was told that his target was the Third Prince, Zhang Erxiong panicked. Unfortunately, he could not provide any clues to find the real mastermind behind the crime.

The special case team, together with the East Factory and the Royal Guard, conducted several investigations and found that the mastermind behind the scenes had nothing to do with Chen Shanyan, but they could not find out who the real mastermind was, so they could only temporarily mark it as an unsolved case. "

As expected, it really is an unsolved case!
Cold cases are good!

Everyone was silent for a moment, each with their own thoughts.

Everyone present here is a skilled warrior who has fought his way through the officialdom.

They were only half-believing and half-doubting what Zhao Zhenji said.

In particular, Xu Jie was thinking in his mind that the case had been investigated to Huai'an Prefecture, the silversmith had been found out, and the 21,700 taels of private silver he had used to imitate gold-flowered silver had also been found out.

The registration books cast for two salt merchants and a wealthy businessman were also found. Then they said that the clues were broken and the mastermind behind the scenes could not be found, but Xu Jie did not believe it at all.

After decades of ups and downs in the officialdom and having experienced both the central and local governments, Xu Jie knows that sometimes when investigating a case, whether to find out the truth and to what extent to investigate is a matter of great importance.

Xu Jie's intuition told him that the prince's men had most likely found out the mastermind behind the murder in Bao'en Temple, but they just wouldn't say it.

The reason is simple: the benefits of not speaking out are greater than those of speaking out.

Xu Jie had 400 students and countless younger officials. The six ministries, the Censorate, the Hanlin Academy, the temples and the localities were all well-informed.

Combining the information Zhao Zhenji just said, Xu Jie could roughly guess who were the masterminds behind the murder in Baoen Temple.

The prince is now suppressing the truth and does not want to expose these people, fearing that he is playing a big chess game.

Xu Jie was shocked. He decided to secretly say hello to his students and former officials after he went out. It was a good thing that the Crown Prince was playing chess and you could be a chess piece. Don't become a scapegoat or the chicken that is killed to scare the monkeys.

When Gao Gong heard this, he felt very sorry.

He knew that the prince had asked the special task force of the Censorate to investigate up to this point with the intention of protecting Chen Yiqin.

But as things developed to this point, various forces were deeply involved, and my faction also contributed a lot, which pushed the case to this point.

It’s a pity to return empty-handed now.

Gao Gong thought about it and gave Ge Shouli a wink.

Ge Shouli nodded slightly, stroking his beard, and took the opportunity when Zhao Zhenji finished speaking to ask, "Then the city inspector Yang Sizhi impeached Chen Shanyan as the real murderer. Isn't that a false accusation?"

Everyone remained silent, their eyes shifted from Ge Shouli to Gao Gong's face. It seemed that Gao Da Huzi was still unwilling to give up.

Come to think of it, with an opportunity to join the cabinet right in front of them, who would be willing to give it up?
Zhao Zhenji replied calmly: "Yang Sizhi's impeachment based on rumors is the job of the censor, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, Yang Sizhi is the censor who patrols the city, and is responsible for inspecting the local area, eliminating corruption, rectifying customs, and supervising and arresting thieves, and dredging the streets and ditches.

Zhang Daxiong turned himself in, and should be regarded as the criminal turning himself in. Yang Sizhi did not join the Wucheng Bingmasi officials to investigate the case, but only focused on impeachment based on rumors. He only focused on his duties as an imperial censor, and ignored his duties as a city inspector.

This court has decided that Yang Sizhi should be dismissed from his post for dereliction of duty and negligence of duty."

After listening to it, everyone felt that it was pretty much what they expected.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still insisted on protecting Chen Yiqin.

Yang Sizhi was derelict in his duty and was personally negligent in his responsibilities. It was not an accusation or false accusation, so it has nothing to do with his master Chen Yiqin.

A disciplinary action of dismissal puts the responsibility lightly on Yang Sizhi, that's it!
Everyone couldn't help but glance at Gao Gong, and some even felt pity for him.

Poor Gao Gong, so what if you are the emperor’s imperial tutor?
The emperor is now not in charge of affairs and is enjoying himself in the Forbidden City. The prince is now in charge of military and state affairs, and your status as the emperor's teacher has become an obstacle.

I will definitely use you and won't bother the emperor with his face.

But I will never use you. You have to figure out the key to this.

Zhu Yijun suddenly spoke up: "The Wucheng Bingmasi in the capital was set up by Emperor Chengzu in the second year of Yongle and is under the Ministry of War. It is responsible for patrolling and arresting thieves, dredging streets and ditches, prisoners, and fire bans. Inside and outside the capital, each has its own territory and is responsible for arresting vagrants and evil people in the territory. If the emperor goes to the suburbs in person, he will lead the villagers to provide services.

When the Bingmasi was first established, officials in the neighborhoods could respond to calls for help when there were fires, thieves, or other minor incidents. They put out fires and patrolled the nights, and they were honest and honest, without taking a penny. But over time, corruption arose. First they arrested thieves, then they concealed their crimes, and finally they took money from thieves, colluding with them and losing the support of the people.

Everyone listened quietly.

"In the 41st year of Jiajing, the late emperor ordered the establishment of an imperial censor to inspect the five cities. At the end of each year, he would command the troops of each city and report the performance of the government that year. The original intention was to sort out the bad government, but the result was still the same.

Later, another official submitted a petition, requesting that the military officers of the Five Cities be replaced by the Metropolitan Censorate, and that they should be selected from the right path to the imperial examinations, and that their duties should be to examine the dead and wounded, handle criminal cases and accuse thieves, like the county magistrates of the two capitals. Those who fail to do their job should be punished by the imperial censors who patrol the cities.

Zhu Yijun glanced at everyone, his tone unchanged: "The Wucheng Bingmasi is related to the security of the capital, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. There are many problems, and the people are complaining. I have never figured out the root cause.
After seeing the case of Yang Sizhi, the imperial censor, I finally understood that, after all, the responsibilities were not clear. The Wucheng Bingmasi was in charge of the affairs on the ground in the capital. What was its relationship with the Ministry of War?
The Ministry of War is in charge of the military affairs of the whole country, but it has to bend down and directly manage the public security of the five cities in the capital. It is too far away, and it is impossible to manage it well! Therefore, I think that local public security should be left to the local authorities.

The Ministry of Personnel reported that the governor of Shuntian Prefecture should be replaced. The public security in the capital was not good, and the governor of Shuntian Prefecture was the key. Everyone said that the public security in the capital was the best when Wang Guoguang was the governor of Shuntian Prefecture.

Therefore, whether an official is brave enough to take on responsibilities and whether he is down-to-earth in doing practical things can still be perceived by the people. In order to change the long-standing malpractices in the five cities of the capital, I personally appointed Liu Yingjie, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, as the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and then made major changes to the military and horse divisions of the five cities! "

Everyone was shocked.

Major changes to the Wucheng Bingmasi?
What do you mean?
Xu Jie's mind was as clear as a mirror.

Shuntian Prefecture and Wucheng Bingmasi are just the beginning. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is finally going to start implementing new policies.

Xu Jie sighed inwardly, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince chose a really good time.

At this time, among the four cabinet elders, Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng were the prince's "own people", and they could communicate privately if there was anything. As for themselves, they could exchange with each other.

The only variable is Chen Yiqin.

Now the opportunity is bestowed upon the prince. In order to get Gao Gong to the cabinet, this group of people devised a plan within a plan, hoping to use Yang Sizhi to get rid of Chen Yiqin.

The prince noticed this and decisively interrupted the plot, thus saving Chen Yiqin's reputation and career.

No matter what, Chen Yiqin must remember this favor. So in the future, when the prince needs the cabinet's support for something, you must be flexible and you can discuss everything properly.

Wonderful, really wonderful!

(End of this chapter)