Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 153 Xu Pu and Liu Daxia were imprisoned and tried for crimes!

Zhu Youtang began to check from the 15th year of Chenghua, and the first thing he checked was the number of equipment manufactured by the Ming Dynasty each year.

Among them, 13,400 sets of armor, 21,000 sabers, 35,000 bows, 120,000 arrows, etc. were produced each year.

As for firearms, there were 1,300 muskets, 30,000 gun arrows, 400 cannons, etc. produced each year.

These are the data from the 15th year of Chenghua, and the data from the following years are similar.

However, starting from the 19th year of Chenghua, the arms manufacturing data reported by the Ministry of War began to gradually increase.

By the 23rd year of Chenghua, the military data reported by the Ministry of War was even more astonishingly large.

Among them, the number of armor soared from 13,400 sets to 21,600 sets, and the number of sabers soared from 21,000 to 33,000.

The number of bows did not change much, but the number of arrows increased from 120,000 to 200,000.

Even more exaggerated was the firearms. The number of muskets increased from 1,300 to 3,000, and the number of musket arrows increased from 30,000 to 90,000.

Immediately following the first year of the Hongzhi reign, data reported by the Ministry of War showed that the production quantity of these weapons had increased by an average of 20% again.

Such a huge amount of arms expenditure was naturally paid for by the Ministry of Revenue.

In the 15th year of Chenghua, the Ministry of Revenue paid 460,000 taels to the Ministry of Works for the manufacture of arms.

But by the 23rd year of Chenghua, it soared to 720,000 taels, and in the first year of Hongzhi it was 880,000 taels.

However, if we only look at the accounts of the Ministry of Industry, there is no problem with the Ministry of Industry.

The Ministry of War reported the planned number of military weapons to be built to the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Works reported the manufacturing price to the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue then allocated funds to the Ministry of Works.

After the Ministry of Works completed the production of these weapons, it handed them over to the Ministry of War, which then distributed these arms to various border towns and garrisons of the Ming Dynasty.

The price asked by the Ministry of Industry was very reasonable. The cost of a single piece of military equipment was basically the same as in previous years. There was no situation where a long sword cost dozens of taels or other astronomical prices.

The biggest problem was that, starting from the 19th year of Chenghua, all the extra arms produced by the military were distributed by the soldiers to the four border towns of Datong, Xuanfu, Liaodong and Suzhou.

These four garrisons consume a large amount of arms every year. This rate of arms consumption is really abnormal.

Combined with the information obtained by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it was found that the border general of Xuanfu was colluding with Shanxi merchants to engage in smuggling.

The destination of so much of this manufactured munitions is self-evident!
This arms smuggling case was caused by border generals colluding with civil officials, local governments colluding with the central government, who together hollowed out the Ming Dynasty's resources, funded the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and enriched their own pockets!
This is just the smuggling of arms. Food and military pay are the biggest items of corruption. These two items are controlled by the Ministry of Revenue, and we don’t know how deep the mines are hidden!
Zhu Youtang already had the answer in his mind, and now he was looking for evidence with the answer.

Zhu Youtang threw the account book in his hand at Xu Pu and Liu Daxia's faces with a stern tone.

"Tell me, why has the military expenditure of the Ministry of War increased so much since the 19th year of Chenghua?"

"Your Ministry of War requested so many armors and firearms, and gave them all to the border towns of Xuanfu, Datong, Liaodong, and Suzhou."

"Do they need to consume so many armors and firearms every year?!"

"And the Ministry of Revenue! I asked you to pay the soldiers in the Xianzhen Camp, but you dragged your feet and made excuses."

"As a result, the Ministry of War requires so many armors and firearms every year, and you actually approve all of them!"

"You didn't even review it before approving the money?!"

Xu Pu and Liu Daxia were hit on the head by the account books. They looked very embarrassed and a little scared.

Jia Jun, who had luckily escaped the disaster, was so frightened when he saw this scene that he didn't even dare to breathe.

She kept her head down, afraid that Zhu Youtang would notice her.

After being hit, Xu Pu and Liu Daxia didn't dare to sit there anymore. They quickly knelt on the ground, picked up the account book at their feet, and began to explain.

Liu Daxia was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I have only been in office for a few months, and I don't know much about what happened before."

The first thing Liu Daxia said was to try to distance himself from this matter.

"But since I took office, Yang Tong, the general commander of Xuanfu, has been asking the Ministry of War for armor and firearms on the grounds that there are enemy troops harassing the border."

"This involves the safety of the border town, so I dare not neglect it."

"The Ministry of War will report to the Ministry of Works exactly how many armors and firearms Yang Tong wants. After receiving the armors and firearms, they will be sent to Xuanfu as soon as possible."

"I am devoted to the Ming Dynasty and have no selfish motives!"

Liu Daxia is worthy of being one of the "Three Gentlemen of Hongzhi". With just two or three words, he passed on all the blame and assumed no responsibility at all.

Of course, Xu Pu was no less guilty. He also cleared himself of all charges with just a few words.

"Your Majesty! The strength of the border town's military is truly related to the security of the Ming territory, and it is of utmost importance!"

"When it comes to matters involving border towns, I dare not delay even a little bit, for fear of hurting the country!"

"I have devoted my whole heart to the country and have never had any selfish motives. Your Majesty, please understand!"

"Since we have provided the border towns with enough armor and firearms every year, why was it so easy for the little Tatar prince to enter the border last year?!"

Zhu Youtang had a cold expression and a sharp tone.

"Why did they capture Xuanfu in just one night and kill the general commander of Xuanfu?!"

Liu Daxia, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled in his heart and his face became very strange. He exchanged glances quickly with Xu Pu beside him and nodded slightly.

Xu Pu immediately knocked his head to the ground and said, "It was precisely because Xuanfu was short of firearms and armor that the little Tatar prince was able to capture Xuanfu so easily!"

"So, Your Majesty, you must continue to supply sufficient munitions to the border towns!"

"presumptuous!"

Zhu Youtang slammed the dragon table, he could no longer bear it!

"Liu Jin!" "Your servant is here!"

Liu Jin, who had been huddled aside pretending to be frightened, immediately responded excitedly when he heard Zhu Youtang's shout.

"Imprison Xu Pu and Liu Daxia to the East Factory Prison. Check the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to see who is colluding with the border garrison commanders!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Liu Jin was shaking with excitement, and quickly listened to the order.

Xu Pu and Liu Daxia were so frightened that they turned pale, trembled all over, and kowtowed repeatedly to protest their innocence.

"It's unfair, Your Majesty! It's unfair!"

"Your Majesty! I am devoted to the Ming Dynasty and have no selfish motives at all. Please understand me, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, I am wronged! I have been an official for more than 30 years, and I have never been guilty of corruption or abuse of power!"

"I beg your majesty to look into this matter clearly! Clear my name!"

"..."

The two ministers still wanted to beg for mercy, but Liu Jin had already called in the men from the East Factory, who dragged the two ministers out of the Hongde Hall.

The remaining Minister of Works, Jia Jun, was so frightened when he saw Xu Pu and Liu Daxia being dragged out of the Hongde Hall that he trembled all over and his lips turned purple.

Zhu Youtang watched with a gloomy face as Xu Pu and Liu Daxia were dragged out of the Hongde Hall. Then he turned to look at Jia Jun and waved his hand.

"Go back."

Jia Jun couldn't even imagine that he could actually leave Hongde Hall upright.

He stood up tremblingly and stammered as he bowed and left.

"I...I will take my leave..."

Afterwards, Jia Jun controlled his body subconsciously and left Hongde Hall.

After walking out of Hongde Hall, Jia Jun was in a daze under the eaves outside Hongde Hall when a few drops of melted ice water fell on his neck.

The biting cold woke him up, and he realized that he was soaked all over.

Jia Jun came back to his senses, looked at the dark night sky, and shuddered.

Then, without saying a word, he walked out of the palace as quickly as possible.

That night, the news that Xu Pu, the chief minister of the cabinet and the Minister of Revenue, and Liu Daxia, the Minister of War, were imprisoned by Zhu Youtang quickly spread throughout the capital.

Suddenly, the government and the public were shocked!
You should know that no official imprisoned by Zhu Youtang has ever been acquitted.

For a time, people in the government and the country were in unrest.

"How could this happen? Why was Prime Minister Xu imprisoned?"

"And Minister Liu was also imprisoned. This...isn't this too shocking?"

"Oh my God! Today, the Censorate, the Imperial Censorate, and the East Factory went to the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works to check the accounts. Could it be related to this matter?"

"But why is Minister of Industry Jia Jun okay? The Ministry of Industry has a lot of money!"

"I don't know, and I feel like this is just the beginning... The officials of these three departments are going to be in big trouble."

"..."

Just as other officials in the capital had guessed, the officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were indeed in trouble.

When Liu Jin returned to Dongchang, he immediately recruited Zhang Yong and Ma Yongcheng, the two heads of Dongchang.

"Zhang Yong, you lead five hundred soldiers to investigate all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue. You must find evidence that they are colluding with the border garrison commanders!"

"Ma Yongcheng, you will also lead 500 soldiers to investigate all the officials in the Ministry of War. Just like Zhang Yong, you should focus on finding evidence of collusion between officials and border generals!"

"Yes, Mr. Factory Supervisor!"

Following Liu Jin's order, Zhang Yong and Ma Yongcheng immediately began to gather people from the East Factory.

After the meeting, the two men each led a team of Dongchang men and walked out of the Dongchang government office.

Teams of Dongchang thugs began to move through the capital city under the cover of night, investigating every official from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War.

In the Dongchang Yamen, after Zhang Yong and Ma Yongcheng left, Liu Jin came to the dark and damp Dongchang prison.

He looked at Xu Pu and Liu Daxia who were imprisoned in two adjacent cells, and a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth again.

"My Lords, I advise you to confess your collusion with the border generals as soon as possible, so as to avoid further physical pain."

Xu Pu sat upright in the cell with his eyes closed, ignoring Liu Jin completely.

Liu Daxia also crossed his legs, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes and dozed off, ignoring Liu Jin.

Liu Jin's words were ignored by the two ministers. This was a situation he had never encountered before in the Dongchang prison.

He stood outside the cell, feeling embarrassed and awkward.

"Damn it, how dare you ignore what we say!"

"You have all been imprisoned by the Emperor, yet you are still so arrogant. Let's see how long you can be so arrogant!"

As Liu Jin spoke, he turned around, took a red-hot iron from the stove next to him, and walked towards Xu Pu with a sinister smile.

(End of this chapter)