Prime Minister.

Chapter 40040 [Straight to the Central Army]

Xue Minglun is finding it increasingly difficult to understand his distant nephew, Xue Huai.

For a long time, Xue Huai was regarded as the biggest troublemaker in the court, but in the eyes of Xue Minglun and other key members of the Ning Party, Xue Huai's actions were nothing more than naive scholarly idealism, or to put it bluntly, just like a headless fly running around aimlessly.

He lacked a clear understanding of the political situation at court and was extremely stubborn. He refused to listen to the teachings of Shen Wang and others. Without any solid evidence, he frequently impeached Ning Party officials based solely on hearsay. Even the censors of the Censorate would not do such a thing.

At first, the emperor would commend his loyalty, but Xue Huai did not know when to stop, which led to most of his impeachments going unanswered.

During this period, Xue Minglun never took Xue Huai seriously, so he did not allow his subordinates to retaliate against Xue Huai.

Everyone in the court and among the people said that Xue Minglun had the demeanor of a kind and benevolent elder, but in reality, it was only because Xue Huai was not a threat.

It wasn't until Gu Heng exposed the corruption case in the river works that Xue Minglun decided to use Xue Huai to his advantage. The meeting at the Minister's residence that day made Xue Minglun notice the changes that had occurred in Xue Huai.

Xue Minglun did not believe in Buddhism, so he naturally did not believe in the idea of ​​sudden enlightenment, but the strange things that happened to Xue Huai made him hesitate.

Can an accidental fall into the water, a brush with death, truly bring profound enlightenment to one's life?

As Xue Huai's character and conduct matured, Xue Minglun secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, he had helped Xue Huai in Gu Heng's case, and he thought that the other party would consider the kinship.

However, Xue Huai changed again, as if he had turned back into the headstrong young man who didn't give face to anyone—he was not only determined to be Shen Wang's tool, but he also refused to reveal even a single piece of inside information to Xue Minglun.

Xue Minglun was well aware of the importance of his stance. Regardless of whether Xue Huai had made any achievements in the past two years, he had at least clearly stood on the opposite side of the Ning Party. In addition, since his mentor was Shen Wang, he had no choice but to continue down this path.

But that doesn't mean he can't have any selfish motives.

He didn't need to betray Shen Wang; he only needed to show some goodwill towards Xue Minglun to be able to please both sides.

Recalling what he saw and heard in the mansion that day, Xue Huai changed his address to "Uncle" very quickly, which shows that he is actually very intelligent and perceptive. Why has he become that stubborn person again now?

Xue Minglun couldn't understand it.

As Xue Huai strode to the emperor's presence, Xue Minglun sighed inwardly.

Even now, he still doesn't believe Shen Wang has a sure chance of winning.

The emperor may seem to favor Shen Wang, but it is only because he holds the title of imperial envoy. If the emperor does not give him face, wouldn't that be a slap in his own face?
Shen Wang can easily expose the Ministry of Works now, but it will be extremely difficult to bring things to a smooth conclusion.

The interests of the four departments of the Ministry of Works involve many people in the court. If Shen Wang does not dare to point the finger at those powerful and influential people at the top and only stays in the middle and lower ranks, he will inevitably face a fierce backlash. At that time, the court will definitely be in chaos, which is definitely a scene that the emperor does not want to see.

In the deathly silent hall, many high-ranking officials were quietly watching the young, slender figure.

Xue Huai walked step by step to stand before the emperor, his gaze level, his tone calm and steady.

"Your Majesty, the Compiler of the Hanlin Academy, respectfully submits this memorial: I humbly report that Your Majesty, with your supreme authority and keen insight, has been entrusted by Imperial Commissioner Shen Wang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, to investigate the land administration of the Ministry of Works. I have learned the details of the land acquisition by the Prince of Dai's residence and now present this memorial in accordance with the facts, hoping for Your Majesty's consideration."

He didn't deliberately raise his voice, yet this simple sentence stirred up a storm in the hearts of the officials.

Even Xue Minglun, with his deep and calculating mind, couldn't help but show a look of horror on his face.

The Second Grand Secretary Ouyang Hui, who had remained calm and unmoved even when the officials besieged Shen Wang, turned his head to look at him, his eyes filled with admiration.

Even these high-ranking officials at the core of the Great Yan's power could not hide their astonishment, not to mention the shock felt by other officials.

They never expected that Shen Wang and Xue Huai, master and apprentice, would set their sights on the Prince of Dai.

That prince was the most favored by the emperor, second only to the Crown Prince!

On the east side of the throne, Crown Prince Jiang Xuan remained expressionless, only glancing up at his father, the Emperor, not far away.

Below the steps, the four adult princes had different expressions, and Prince Jiang Chang of Dai, who was standing at the very end, felt prickly all over.

At this moment, he hated Shen Wang and Xue Huai to the core.

Although he had decided to stop struggling and use the strategy of sacrificing a pawn to save the king to get through this crisis after Princess Yun'an Jiang Li's persuasion, he still had a hope before today's court meeting that Shen Wang would assess the situation and cover up the problems of the Prince of Dai's mansion, which would naturally be a win-win situation.

After much deliberation, Prince Dai concluded that Shen Wang, as a seasoned bureaucrat, would not rashly become his enemy. He then recalled his experience at Taihu Tower that day, and his hatred for Xue Huai intensified; it was most likely this man who had instigated Shen Wang.

The Prince of Dai was furious that a mere compiler in the Hanlin Academy dared to defy a prince. He vowed to himself that he would never forgive that Xue family brat once the matter was settled!
As Xue Huai's words were like a thunderbolt, a commotion inevitably broke out in the hall.

Only Grand Secretary Ning Hengzhi seemed oblivious.

He saw things more clearly than Xue Minglun. When Shen Wang stood up to refute the officials who impeached him, Ning Hengzhi knew that this matter would not end well.

Shen Wang's purpose in setting up this nine-linked rings was not to target those officials in the Ministry of Works, but rather to subtly kill Xue Minglun.

Once the major corruption case in the Ministry of Works is confirmed, can Xue Minglun, as the Minister of Works, shirk responsibility by simply saying he was unaware of it?
Ning Hengzhi had no time to pay attention to Xue Huai's sharp edge. Even though he was very disappointed in Xue Minglun, he still had to find a way to keep his position as Minister.

While the court officials and civil servants were all harboring their own secrets, Xue Huai calmly and deliberately gave his presentation.

"Upon checking the registers of the Military Farms Department, I found 3,170 mu of official land in Wen'an County, Shuntian Prefecture, recorded in the 'Fish Scale Register' of the 21st year of Jingyun (1642), Yellow No. 97. The land is connected to the Sanghe Irrigation Canal in the north and the post road in the south, and can yield three harvests of wheat and millet per year. However, in the 15th year of Taihe (1626), the Military Farms Department of the Ministry of Works compiled a register and reported it to the Ministry, but marked this land as 'sand-barren land with no harvest,' and compared it with the 'Regulations on Wasteland Land' in the 'Great Yan Code,' it was classified as Class C, Lower Grade Land."

"I then consulted the archives of the Water Conservancy Department and found a note that 'the irrigation canal of the Sanghe River in Wen'an County was damaged by floods in the twelfth year of the Taihe reign and has not been repaired.' However, according to the annual rain and snow records of Wen'an County, the entire area suffered a severe drought in the twelfth year of the Taihe reign, and the Sanghe River almost dried up. The claim of flood damage is a fabrication. Therefore, this matter was fabricated by the Ministry of Works' Land Reclamation Department and the Water Conservancy Department."

"In the third month of the sixteenth year of the Taihe reign, 3,170 mu of official land in Wen'an County was sold to the Prince of Dai's residence for 634 taels of silver, which is equivalent to 2 qian of silver per mu. I have also checked the land transaction records of the capital region over the past ten years, and the average price of medium-quality land is between 10 and 15 taels per mu. In other words, the Tuntian Division sold medium-quality land at the price of wasteland."

According to Kong Shao, the secretary of the Tuntian Division, the actual price of this batch of fertile land was three thousand taels, which is close to one tael per mu. However, two thousand four hundred taels of it were divided up by him and related officials.

He did not speak harshly, and even displayed an unusual calmness, but this gentle tone easily suppressed the prince's agitation.

Only deathly silence remained.

Unlike Shen Wang's previous sharp words, Xue Huai simply used precise figures to tell the emperor on the dragon throne and the officials in the court what kind of shameless deeds were hidden in the grand and imposing Ministry of Works.

Official lands were an important guarantee for the court to maintain stability. The grain produced was stored in the Ever-Normal Granary, which could prevent people from starving to death in years of famine and at the same time stabilize prices to prevent more serious unrest.

But even under the emperor's nose, officials of the Ministry of Works still dared to sell official land for personal gain.

They not only sell fertile land at the price of wasteland, but also leech off this meager income.

Regardless of their level of education, all the officials could at least calculate this amount.

The more than 3,000 mu of official land, setting aside the question of whether it was allowed to be sold, could have been sold for at least 30,000 taels of silver at market price. However, the court only received a little over 600 taels of silver. How absurd and terrifying this is!

Among the princes, the Prince of Dai couldn't care less about the strange looks from his brothers. He couldn't help but feel uneasy. Even though Jiang Li assured him that the method would definitely work, the thought of the emperor's unfathomable thoughts made him regret that he hadn't come to court today and faced his father's anger directly.

On the dragon throne, the emperor's narrow eyes gleamed with a cold light, and his voice carried a chilling killing intent: "Go on."

Xue Huai lowered his head slightly and said, "I have repeatedly checked the registers of the Tuntian Division and interrogated the relevant officials of the Tuntian Division several times. I have learned that since the twelfth year of Taihe, the Tuntian Division has sold a total of more than 124,700 mu of official land under the guise of selling wasteland. Among them, the Prince of Dai's Mansion has purchased more than 50% of the land in the last three years. The remaining buyers are mostly officials and dignitaries. The list is here. I respectfully request Your Majesty to review it."

He took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands facing upwards.

Zeng Min, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, personally came over, took the memorial from Xue Huai's hand, and carefully returned to the side of the throne.

The emperor took it, his cold gaze falling on the paper.

He read very slowly and carefully, as if trying to see through Xue Huai's handwriting to see the true faces of those parasites.

The atmosphere inside the hall was almost stagnant, making it feel suffocating.

After a long silence, the emperor slowly rose, took a few steps forward, and glanced at the civil and military officials in the hall before softly uttering two words: "Very good."

The next moment, he suddenly swung his hand and threw the memorial forcefully onto the smooth, mirror-like floor of the hall.

"boom!"

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck the world.

(End of this chapter)