Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 121 Jinyiwei Baihu Shen Lian (Subscription Request)
"Your Highness, this is Zhang An's confession."

Shen Lian was indeed a pragmatic Jinyiwei. Before the sun set, he handed a large stack of confessions and lists to Zhang Baigui.

Seeing that it was what he wanted, Zhang Baigui asked the other party to wait and took the things to find Zhu Zhanjun who was having dinner.

"You haven't eaten yet, I just ate too, let's eat together."

Zhu Zhanjun put down his chopsticks, took the confession and invited Zhang Baigui to eat together.

Zhang Baigui bowed and thanked him. After Qiu Yu put the food on the table, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

But what puzzled him was

Didn’t Your Highness say that you just ate?

How come both meat dishes are gone, leaving only two plates of pickles?

But he didn't care. He picked up the kimchi, put it in the bowl, and started eating it with rice.

Zhu Zhanjun flipped through the confession in his hand and asked Lao Zhu and Zhu Biao to help look at it.

"Yes, that's good."

After seeing the last picture, Lao Zhu was so angry that his teeth were itching.

What Zhang An confessed was more than what Zhu Zhanjun had found out.

Not only did Zhang An try to get his hands on the relief grain, but he also teamed up with some county magistrates and county magistrates to destroy the lists of people from all over the country when the flood came, and then reported to the higher authorities that they were destroyed in the flood.

In this way, combined with the rule that they distribute food according to the list, they can make a lot of money.

These people are extremely evil. Last year, the first batch of disaster relief grain distributed by the imperial court totaled 150,000 shi.

According to Zhang An's confession, they used various methods to withhold 20,000 shi of rice, and exchanged the remaining 30,000 shi for old rice with new rice from others and distributed them to the victims.

These people were very smart. They did not accept the money directly. Instead, they used the confiscated grain and money to reclaim land from the people.

In their words, food and money can only last for so long; land is the foundation of inheritance.

All the acquired land was registered under the name of Duke Dingguo.

This disaster alone destroyed nearly 70,000 acres of fertile farmland.

In addition to this disaster relief, the dams in Shouzhou that were destroyed by floods were also related to them.

On the one hand, as for the dam materials, he just asked for all kinds of things and made a profit of nearly 100,000 taels.

Most of the money was sent to Duke Dingguo Xu Jingchang in the name of land income.

It was precisely because of this relationship that the prefect who was replaced by Zhang Baigui, although he knew some of these things, turned a blind eye and pretended not to see them.

This guy was smart enough. He didn't want to be used as a scapegoat later, so he didn't ask for the money. He just pretended to be a mediocre and blind man.

What I mean is, you can do whatever you want. I'm just here to gild myself. You take the money and I'll leave. It's none of my business.

Perhaps it was for this reason that, although it was a promotion in name only and a demotion in reality, the prefect had no complaints at all and left happily.

"How does Lao Si manage people? Doesn't he know about the parasites right under his nose?"

Old Zhu was so angry that he cursed loudly and wished he could rush into his dream right now and beat up his fourth son.

Zhu Biao shook his head helplessly and said: "Actually, there is no way. Officials are afraid of offending my brother and sister-in-law, and afraid of offending Duke Dingguo, so they will naturally not report such things."

"No one reported it, so how would Lao Si know where to go?"

After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he never had any contact with the grassroots again, and he actually had no idea about many of the ins and outs of the society.

Although Zhu Biao was the crown prince, he had heard about some things, which had become an open secret in the circle of power and wealth.

Precisely because he understood the corruption these people had brought to the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Biao did not feel any reluctance when Zhu Yuanzhang was sorting out those cases, and he even handled a few cases personally.

The purpose is to warn those people not to go too far, otherwise don't blame him for turning against them.

Unfortunately, his idea was not inherited by his son Zhu Yunwen. In addition, due to the war of Jingnan in the later period, his fourth brother was only thinking about foreign wars to prove himself and neglected some things at home.

The fat nephew who serves as regent might have discovered what was going on, but because of his kind nature, the fact that he does not have that much power, and his mother's reasons, he is somewhat constrained in handling these matters.

A variety of events combined to create a new generation of noble group that is becoming difficult to control.

Thinking about all the reasons, Zhu Biao sighed and said to Zhu Zhanjun seriously: "Zhanjun, you have to think about it carefully. If you start this now, the noble group that follows your grandfather will stand against you."

After putting the confessions together one by one, Zhu Zhanjun said calmly: "Grandfather, I still say the same thing. The Ming Dynasty has begun to rot. If we don't deal with these rotten flesh while my grandfather is still here, when I take action in the future, I will have to cut off my limbs to survive."

"It's not just the problems of these nobles, there are also the problems of the major vassal kings. If they are not resolved quickly, my Ming Dynasty will be dragged to death." "Alas."

Old Zhu sighed softly and hit his head hard.

"Zhu Chongba, Zhu Chongba, you only thought about making sure your descendants had enough food to eat. How could you not have thought that your original decision would lead to such a huge mistake?"

Looking at his father beating his head and cursing at him, Zhu Biao also fell silent.

After a long time, he said to Zhu Zhanjun: "Just go for it, your great grandfather and I will do our best to help you."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded and put the confessions into the cabinet next to him.

Now is not the time to take action. The old man is fighting in the north. Sending these things over there will only cause him trouble.

As for his father, Zhu Zhanjun didn't even think about it.

My fat dad already has a hard enough time. There is no need to send these things to him and make him worry.

"Take him into custody first. Don't let him die. He may be useful later."

After Zhang Baigui finished his meal, Zhu Zhanjun gave him some instructions.

Then the two of them discussed the arrangements for Fengyang's next affairs.

"I met a very interesting centurion today."

After talking about the matter, Zhang Baigui thought of Shen Lian who was still waiting outside, so he mentioned it.

Zhu Zhanjun looked up at Zhang Baigui and felt curious. This guy had very high standards. Anyone mentioned by Zhang Baigui must have something he admired.

"What's your name? Where is your centurion from?"

"Shen Lian, a captain of the Jinyiwei of the Northern Pacification Division, was the one who personally interrogated the man."

"Shen Lian?"

Zhu Zhanjun had a strange expression on his face for a moment.

Zhang Baigui nodded and said, "Knowing the background behind Zhang An, he first advised me to calm down. Later, he learned about your determination. Although he was dissatisfied with me, he still personally interrogated Zhang An."

"Haha, you're quite courageous."

Zhu Zhanjun praised him and asked, "Any ideas?"

Zhang Baigui nodded: "This person is careful, but also adventurous. He is a brave and hardworking person."

"I will need the Imperial Guards in many places in the future, and I may encounter various complicated relationships. I need a capable person to help me."

Zhu Zhanjun laughed and said, "Okay, since you, Zhang Baigui, want to be this mentor, I will naturally support you with all my strength."

Taking an official book, Zhu Zhanjun started writing quickly.

These official books were prepared by the old man, and they were stamped with the seals of various departments. Zhu Zhanjun only had to write down the people who needed to be appointed.

To put it bluntly, it is an empty seal of the official Ming Dynasty version.

When the ink was dry, Zhu Zhanjun handed it to Zhang Baigui and said, "I've given you everything you asked for. If he makes a mistake in the future, I'll make trouble for you."

After leaving the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, he found Shen Lian waiting at the gate of Zhongdu.

"Zhang Zhifu, what's going on? Did His Highness give any instructions?"

After finishing the job, Shen Lian's heart started pounding.

This matter concerns the top level. If there is even the slightest mistake, people will lose their lives.

Zhang Baigui said nothing, but took out the official book from his arms and handed it over.

Shen Lian took it and opened it, and an instant look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

It said that he was appointed as the Captain of the Jinyiwei Division in Zhongdu, responsible for assisting the Fengyang prefect Zhang Baigui in handling cases.

Patting the other person's shoulder, Zhang Baigui leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Your Highness will stay here for another half a month. Find out everything within half a month and hand it over to Your Highness."

"Do your best. I still say the same thing. As long as you are loyal and as long as you dare to do things, there will be a place for you in the high-level command positions of the Jinyiwei in the future."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian nodded heavily, turned to face the imperial capital, knelt on the ground and kowtowed deeply.

(End of this chapter)