Beautiful step by step

Chapter 101

When the water was clear and there were no fish, Emperor Qinglong knew that officials would be greedy.He is the emperor who enjoys the entire inner treasury and lives a luxurious life. Those who are officials are definitely not satisfied with a little salary from the court.When he first came to the throne, he still hated corruption, but as he got older, his heart became softer.In the past ten years, every time the Ministry of Households allocates funds, he will allocate a little more. He only hopes that under the flexible budget, the officials can live well.He is very tolerant of corruption, and the courtiers are more attentive when they are rich, and the court has always been operating efficiently.

He thought that under his own rule, although the officials were a little cautious, they still dedicated themselves to serving the people.He Qinghaiyan, the prosperous age will reach its peak under his hands.

However, the Northwest fire in front of him and the account book in his hand gave him a resounding slap in the face.

He doesn't even need to see it with his own eyes. The corruption of officials is so serious, and the life of soldiers at the bottom can be imagined.

"Corrupt officials are the moths of the country."

Pointing at the Northwest official who was kneeling in front of him, Emperor Qinglong was trembling with anger.

All the ministers were silent, and the nine princesses boldly stepped forward.

"Father, calm down."

"Ayi, come and see," Emperor Qinglong casually pointed to a pen in the account book, "In the 22nd year of Jianwen, the household department allocated 100 million taels of silver to the Northwest to replace the armor and weapons of the Northwest Army. I still remember clearly, The imperial court has been arguing for a long time about who should forge the weapons."

Princess Jiu listened carefully, nodded and asked, "Why is such a large amount of money transferred directly to the northwest?"

"The iron smelting skills of the tribes in the Western Regions have always been stronger than those in the Central Plains. The local forged weapons are sharper and tougher than those made in the capital. Because of this, I decided that the military equipment will be smelted by the Liangzhou Guards. Unexpectedly, the imperial court The imperial envoys sent in collusion with the Liangzhou Guards took a total of one million taels of silver, but only 5 taels were actually settled."

The nine princesses stared wide-eyed: "Twenty only save one."

"Twenty to one is not bad, thirty to one, and forty to one can be found everywhere. I have been wondering why the Northwest Army was able to beat the Wala people outside the Qilian Mountains in the early years of Taizu. The armor has been improved over the years After acquiring weapons, the Northwest Army has become more and more incapable, and now it can only retreat to a corner and passively counterattack. In the early years of Taizu, the military expenditure of the Northwest Army was less than one-tenth of what it is now, but at that time every copper plate was used. Compared to As far as most of the military expenses are being corrupted nowadays, the amount actually spent on the soldiers is not as good as in the early years of the Taizu. Without supplies, the weapons have already rusted, and no matter how hard the soldiers charge, their sacrifices will be in vain."

After finishing speaking without panting, Emperor Qinglong turned his head and glanced at the courtiers, and finally fixed his eyes on King Wu.

"In the 22nd year of Jianwen, that is, ten years ago, King Wu was still leading the army in the northwest to fight. Did he know nothing about it?"

King Wu knelt down, his palms were all sweaty.

Old He Ge, who was kneeling behind, also had cold sweat on his forehead. Seeing that King Wu had never refuted, he felt bad.Back then when Wei Xiang was brought down, the He family made great efforts in it.Because of this, after the downfall of Prime Minister Wei, the forces behind him were divided up, and the He Guogong's mansion, which had contributed a lot, was divided into a large piece.

He knew that what Wei Xiang said was right, not only him, but also the He family, most of the nobles in the capital knew what Wei Xiang said was right.But so what?Behind every person standing in the court hall is a whole family, leading the family, each clansman's food and clothing are far from being able to be achieved with just a little salary.

What is an official for?It is to wear gold and silver, and to return home.Without such a big temptation, why do so many people study hard for many years.

For the sake of the family, Wei Xiang must fall.

But now seeing the resurgence of Wei Xiang's descendants, he must stop it.

With a firm heart, he looked at Yan Heng: "Please forgive the old minister for asking too much, but after Yan Zhenfu and Wei Xiang, are they closely related?"

Being stared blankly by Mr. He Ge, Yan Heng's expression did not change at all: "Jiaci is the granddaughter of Wei Xiang."

Sure enough!

Elder He Ge subconsciously looked at King Duan who was next to King Wu. Concubine Shu's natal Wenshihou's Mansion had a close relationship with the Wei family back then.The late Wenshi Hou admired Wei Xiang very much, and he was one of the few important ministers in the court who did not intervene to bring down Wei.Not only that, but he, who was in charge of the official historian's pen, withstood the pressure of the Manchu Dynasty. Although Wei Xiang's proposition was not recorded in the annals of history due to the late emperor's decision-making relationship, he did not discredit Wei Xiang at all.According to the current history books of Dai Viet, the Wei family had a son who was handsome, quick-witted, elegant, and extremely good at books.

These four words have said good things about Wei Xiang all over the place, if it wasn't for his status, he wouldn't be included in the book of cabinet ministers, Wei Xiang has long been known to younger generations.

Old Wen Shihou had a close relationship with Wei Xiang, and the nine princesses, the granddaughter of Wen Shihou's mansion, were also close to the family members of Wei Xiang's great-grandson.The holy intention of the holy driver's west tour was delivered directly in the Yikun Palace.

Mr. He Ge didn't think it was a coincidence, but he realized the trickiness of this matter.

It was Wei Xiang who reminded everyone that there would only be more and more descendants of them. If they didn't make enough money, they would have to wait for the family to slowly decline.Over the years, including him, the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty have not been less corrupt.Wei Xiang argued that if the ashes were revived, the entire court would be spread by a fire just like the Youzhou City in front of us.

No matter how difficult it is, he can only bite the bullet.

"It turns out that Yan Zhenfu is also a descendant of Wei Xiang. The emperor also saw that Wei Xiang's lineage has a lot of grievances against officials. It is just an unfounded account book. It is too much to judge the guilt of Northwest officials. Reckless. The northwest is bitterly cold and has been harassed by the Oirats. The officials of the Northwest have been stationed here for many years without complaint or regret. They are the heroes of Dai Viet. The emperor is the Son of Heaven, so don’t let the heroes feel cold.”

Elder He Ge's voice was loud enough that the Youliang Erzhou officials who were kneeling thirty steps away could hear him clearly.

Confessions came and went, Wei Wei knelt on the spot, and sighed in his heart: As expected of an old fox, he pulled everyone into the car with a few words.

"Father, hasn't the investigation started yet? Why are they so excited?"

The atmosphere fell into a stagnation, and the nine princesses asked innocently.After asking, she moved a little while everyone was not watching, and stood on tiptoe to guard the hem of the clothes spread on the ground.

Old He Ge's face turned red, his brows wrinkled like dead tree bark, and his slightly elongated face was wrinkled like carrot skin.

"Princess Jiu's words are wrong. How can an official allow others to slander at will?"

"Ah?" Ninth Princess was surprised: "But Yan Zhenfu produced evidence. When there is no evidence, you say that he is lying, and when there is evidence, you say that the evidence is false. This... Anyway, you can't say that you are right?"

Wei Wei laughed unkindly, which attracted everyone's attention, including Emperor Qinglong.

Looking at her carefully, Emperor Qinglong suddenly said without thinking: "Madam Yan and A Yi have a very close personal relationship? After seeing me, I finally understand why A Yi likes you."

A circle of important ministers showed suddenly enlightened expressions, and the ninth princess hurriedly explained: "Father, it's really not what you think."

"How is that?"

Princess Jiu was at a loss for words for a while. She liked beautiful people, and it was true that she got to know Ah Mao more because of her beauty at first sight.But is this wrong?Doesn't the father also like beautiful concubines, she is completely a female father in this regard.

Clearly understanding the meaning on the face of the Ninth Princess, Emperor Qinglong's nervous mood eased a little.

Sensing the emotional changes around her, Wei Wei clenched her hands on the ground into fists, organized her words, and raised her head to face Emperor Qinglong.

"To be honest, the minister's wife also participated in sorting out this account book."

He Ge sneered: "The woman speaks bluntly, no wonder the paper is full of absurdity."

One of the top officials in Dayue like Mr. Ge, does he look down on women so much?For a moment, Wei Wei's whole body was full of momentum.

"According to what my uncle said, Mr. He Ge has white beard and hair. You should have read a lot of books at your age. Not to mention upbringing, you don't even have the most basic level of superiority and inferiority. The nine princesses, husband, uncle and courtiers have met with you several times. You can interrupt the emperor's report at will. The emperor is a benevolent emperor, but it does not mean that you can despise the emperor's prestige again and again."

The decree lines on He Ge's old lips deepened: "That's because you spoke casually without the emperor's permission."

Before Wei Wei could refute, the ninth princess was already unhappy. She was shocked and said, "Father, does it mean that if the daughter wants to say something intimate to Father, she has to report it to Eunuch Sansi first, and then she can say it after permission?"

The whisk on Sansi's arm trembled: "His Royal Highness Nine Princesses, please don't let your servant down."

Emperor Qinglong was more straightforward: "Ayi is the jewel in my palm, so I can say it whenever I want."

Princess Jiu was still full of displeasure, and she pouted, "What about the others? Father, Ah Mao is my best friend. Does being my friend mean you will be suspected for no reason?"

After being coquettishly pestered by the Ninth Princess, Emperor Qinglong's mood eased a lot.Glancing at Wei Wei who was kneeling on the ground, bearing the unnamed responsibility of the fire, she was taken from behind and slipped to the front of the imperial court rashly. Not only did she not panic at all, she also made no mistakes in etiquette and rules.Being able to do this is enough to impress him.

Because of his doting, how many people have ill intentions towards A Yi.It was the first time in so many years that she spoke, saying that she had made friends.Since Ayi is begging, it doesn't hurt to give her some face.

"Mrs. Yan just said that she participated in the bookkeeping, but did she say something else?"

All the important officials straightened up and listened attentively.They would like to see what ugly Yinmao this woman can say.

Faced with many suspicious eyes, Wei Wei turned his head and looked at the raging flames that burned half the sky.

"The minister's wife guarantees the head of the item. Every number in this account book has an exact basis, and it is filled in after at least three calculations."

Emperor Qinglong took over the question: "Oh, where is the basis now?"

Most people relax, that's why they're not afraid.in accordance with?The mountain of account books must have been burned away by a fire.

"The basis is in the house of the minister's wife,"

Glancing at Mr. He Ge, Wei Wei's face was full of confidence: "It is precisely for the purpose of destroying the basis that someone relied on the secret road of the Youzhou Palace to set fire under the minister's house. But they did not expect that there is natural gas buried under the Youzhou Palace. , It is easy to burn into one piece with a little fire."

"natural gas?"

"It's a common will-o'-the-wisp in the palace. According to the scale of the fire, the natural gas storage in the shallow layer should not be large. After the fire is extinguished within two days, send people to see if anyone deliberately set the fire in the secret passage, and everything will be revealed."

(End of this chapter)