Fu Shanhe

Chapter 38 Almost in the History Books
The sudden attack of Emperor Tianyuan stunned everyone. The emperor's gift could not be accepted in vain, and once accepted, one had to do something.

Originally, everyone wanted to throw the difficult task of checking the military fields of the garrisons to their competitors, but now they have to shoulder it together.

Being forced to accept the task, everyone was in a bad mood.

As soon as the emperor left, the situation became awkward and no one was willing to speak first.

Everyone wasted time together, and the nobles didn't care. Although most of the inherited skills were lost, frequent visits to the military camp were also physically demanding, so their physical fitness was still good.

“Since none of you guys are speaking, I’ll speak first.

Your Majesty has entrusted us with the important task of checking the military farms, which shows that you trust us. As subjects, it is our duty to share the worries of the monarch.

I propose that the Cabinet, the Ministry of War, the Imperial Censorate, the Governor's Office, the Imperial Guard, and the East Factory send people to form a joint investigation team to jointly investigate the Juntian case. "

Although they were both investigating a case, his plan was almost contrary to Emperor Tianyuan's intention.

As a prime minister who is about to retire, Song Haidong does not want to offend the emperor if he has a choice.

But there is no way now. If you don’t offend the emperor, you will offend the ministers.

As people get older, their bodies are not strong enough and they simply cannot outlast the crowd.

Following the emperor's wishes, the military land case was investigated and the empire's hidden mines were exposed. No one knew what would happen.

Rather than losing my reputation and becoming infamous, it is better to do everyone a favor.

As for Emperor Tianyuan, he has submitted his resignation twice. The worst that can happen is that he can go home early.

His existence is to balance the various factions in the court.

"The Prime Minister's words are about being mature and planning for the country.

The Juntian case involves too many people, so there will inevitably be great resistance to the investigation.

If something unexpected happens, a single government office may not be able to resolve it in time.

Let's send people together to investigate, and we will definitely find out the truth!"

The words of Chengguogong Jingguoliang almost made everyone laugh out loud.

It is easy to say that we should unite, but it is totally impractical to implement it.

Let the eunuchs and the clean-up party gather together, and they will be busy fighting among themselves every day. Who will have time to investigate the case?
However, this is in the interests of the nobles. It is better for the investigation of the case to make no progress than to tear off the last fig leaf of the garrison and expose the problem to the surface.

Although they didn't agree in their hearts, no one objected on the surface.

The Juntian case is too difficult. It is okay to just shout slogans, but to really lift the lid is two different concepts.

The sale of 2.8 million acres of land by the Imperial Household Department could cause a sensation in the court and the country, let alone nearly 100 million acres of military land.

Any normal person knows that such a big piece of cake cannot be eaten by just one person.

The generals of the garrisons should be held accountable the most, but the local gentry are the biggest beneficiaries.

If you investigate it seriously and strictly, you might end up getting burned by the fire someday.

A hundred years can change a lot of things.

Some of the sons of the garrisons who had switched from military to civil service in the early years developed into aristocratic families, while others simply became commoners.

The former military land changed hands countless times during this process.

It is obviously unreasonable to hold the person who finally took over the business responsible for the embezzlement of military land.

However, trading in military land is prohibited. Once it is made public, it will prove that all previous transactions are illegal.

The problem of gentry hiding their land was suddenly exposed to the public, which was a bigger trouble than the military land case.

“I have no objection to a joint investigation.

But this is a task assigned by His Majesty after all, and we must produce certain results, otherwise we will not be able to pass the test!"

The ministers could deal with the emperor by using the law without blaming the whole group, but he, the chief eunuch, could not do that.

If you really dare to have such an idea, you will be close to death.

But asking him to go and check the military fields under such pressure is too difficult and it is not something that one person can accomplish.

After hearing Zuo Guangen's answer, everyone hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement.

The emperor's face must be given.

We don't have the confidence to check the military farms of the national garrisons, so we have to pick a few unlucky ones to deal with them and make some achievements to show for our work. ...

When the sensational military land case came out, not only was the sale of land by the Imperial Household Department suppressed, but even the attention paid to the Liaodong defeat also decreased.

In the Wucheng Bingmasi, Li Mu clearly felt the enthusiasm of his colleagues.

The conditions of the garrisons in various places were brought up for discussion.

It is about nine out of ten times different from the truth.

Everyone knows that they are telling lies with blatant eyes, but everyone insists on making it sound plausible.

"The fertility of the land has declined", "the earthquake destroyed the military farms", "the floods destroyed the military farms"...

The purpose of spreading rumors is only one, to link the reduction of military land with natural disasters.

No matter whether others believed it or not, the children of nobles believed it.

Anyone who dares to express a different opinion will be immediately suppressed by everyone.

It can be seen that these nobles in the capital have made a lot of profits from the military land, and they are doing their best to cover it up.

It was not only the nobles who took action; similar rumors were also circulating in places frequented by scholars.

A few days ago, these people were still angrily accusing the generals of encroaching on military land, but in the blink of an eye their stance changed.

It is obvious that those who spread this news are all vested interests.

Even if they did not embezzle the military land, they still hid the land at home.

Even high-ranking officials had relatives and neighbors, and they had to accept donations of land.

After the pros and cons were revealed, the civil servants who wanted to take action against the garrisons had no choice but to cover up the incident.

……

“Captain Li, the various departments of the imperial court must form a joint investigation team to look into the issue of the loss of military farmland.

My Five Cities Army is also sending out people, are you willing to go?"

Upon hearing the news, Li Mu was so angry that he wanted to curse on the spot.

When the ruling group wants to cover up the problem, no matter how big the problem is, it will not be a problem.

It is conceivable how bizarre the conclusions reached by the joint investigation team, which was formed under pressure from all sides, would be.

Such major cases would be recorded by historians, and when studying the history of Dayu thousands of years later, future generations would take this part out for analysis.

Corrupt official, confused official, all kinds of disgusting words were used to describe him.

Perhaps one day, there will be a theory that Dayu was destroyed in the military land investigation case, and it will be infamous for all eternity.

"Commander-in-chief, I am also a general of the garrison. According to the law, I must avoid suspicion!"

Li Mu quickly refused.

Looking at Marquis Wuyang again, he suddenly felt displeased.

I regard you as the boss, but you actually want to put me in the history books. How dare you betray your little brother like this?

“That’s a pity!

I originally thought that if you joined the investigation team and made some contributions, you could be promoted to the next level.

Since you need to avoid suspicion, you can only leave the opportunity to others."

Marquis Wuyang said with a look of regret.

In his eyes, the joint investigation team is a lucrative job.

In order to avoid being found out, the generals of the garrisons in various places would have to pay a heavy price, and perhaps the local gentry would also have to pay something as well.

This kind of position with huge source of wealth must be in the hands of one's own people.

The reason why he thought of Li Mu first was simply because he felt that Li Mu was good at making money and respected him as his immediate superior.

In the last case, the other thousand-household offices had just completed their tasks, and Li Mu gave him an extra sum.

(End of this chapter)