Joy of Life: I'm really not a saint

Having said that, Li An still took out a letter that he had prepared long ago from the space and handed it to Wang Shisanlang, saying: "It's not a big deal. The main thing is to ask you to return home, and delivering the letter is secondary."

"But I still have a lot of things to do. Why not use a carrier pigeon to deliver the letter?"

"This letter must be delivered to Si Gu Jian personally."

"I understand." Wang Shisanlang nodded and a cheerful smile appeared on his face.

To be honest, he also missed Jianlu, where his master and fellow brothers, as well as the deceased Yun Zhilan, lived.

He was originally a sword fanatic, and had been following Li An since he was ordered to become a master. Although he was in a high position now, it was not what he pursued. Not only was he busy with official duties and dealing with many things every day, he didn't have many opportunities to practice swordsmanship and fight with masters, but he never complained about anything.

It’s just right to take this opportunity to return to Dongyi City.

The first is to visit the master, and the second is to be able to practice and fight with my fellow brothers again!

He had been learning two sets of sword techniques from Li Ang for a long time, and he was itching to get his hands dirty, so he decided to go back and surprise his fellow brothers!

He didn't know that, in fact, with his current strength, he had already surpassed his brothers and became the strongest under Si Gu Jian. After reaching the upper limit of cultivation, he actually gained more insights into the realm, which could not be achieved by practicing hard.

Si Gu Jian also practiced top-level martial arts, but he attached great importance to talent and character, and emphasized the importance of paying attention to the meaning rather than the form.

However, Li Ang's sword skills are completely opposite. He starts from sword moves and the moves in those skills are naturally very exquisite!

And Shisan Wang, who not only practiced the Si Gu sword technique that emphasized intention over form, but also learned two sets of exquisite sword moves from Li Ang, his strength was already incomparable!

"By the way! What's going on between you and Haitang Duoduo?"

puff!

The tea gushed out of Wang Shisanlang's mouth.

"Ahem! It's just a simple contact between official business, it's all business!"

"Ah yes yes, you are right!"

Chapter 227: Check the Ministry of Revenue.

Qing country, court meeting.

Today's court meeting was beyond everyone's expectations. Emperor Qing was the first to speak out and severely criticized Fan Jian, contrary to his usual practice. The Ministry of Revenue had been in his hands for nine years, but he had only been the head of the Shangshu for two years. The poor performance of the Ministry of Revenue in these two years had already made the civil and military officials in the court dissatisfied.

Rumors had been circulating long before, and yesterday, a group of ministers jointly wrote a letter. The implicit meaning of their words pointed directly at Fan Jian, saying that the deficit of the Ministry of Revenue over the years has already been very huge!

Emperor Qing saw that he could no longer suppress the situation, so he simply pushed the blame for the empty treasury onto Fan Jian.

The Minister of Revenue Fan Jian did not take any action. He just claimed to be sick and stayed indoors, leaving the officials of the Ministry of Revenue to bear the attacks from all the ministers in the court.

Afterwards, Emperor Qing gave the order, and the Supervisory Office carried it out, with the other three departments assisting and the Crown Prince supervising. A grand and luxurious lineup was set up to start the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue.

After the court session that day, hundreds of officials from various departments flocked into the Ministry of Revenue, and the scene became very lively for a while.

On weekdays, apart from the officials coming here to collect their salaries, it was never so lively. When the officials came with the imperial edict, Fan Jian was not there, and the entire Ministry of Revenue was leaderless. In the midst of the chaos, they finally cleared enough seats to accommodate so many officials from various departments.

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue were extremely nervous and gnashed their teeth.

This time, not only did the people from the Supervisory Council clean up the account books, they also kept moving various documents out in large boxes for subsequent inspection. Outside the government office, the Kyoto garrison also dispatched troops to surround the various treasury offices, claiming to be for protection. After the arrival of the Grand Secretary and the Crown Prince, the tense atmosphere became even more intense.

The situation was chaotic, with people taking advantage of the situation to take personal revenge from time to time.

Threats, scolding, and the prince's voice of consolation were heard continuously, echoing throughout the venue.

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue, regardless of their rank, were nervous but not panicked. Except for the left and right assistant ministers who came out to report on the various expenditures and account trends of the past two years on behalf of Fan Jian, the rest of the people were calm and kept silent. Even the officials who were on good terms with him did not say a word.

Some people even sneered.

When the officials of the Supervisory Council placed more than a dozen baskets of account books in the lobby of the designated location, the officials who were watching the Ministry of Revenue all looked embarrassed. The crown prince frowned and shouted loudly on the spot: "With so many account books, even if a professional accountant is here, how long will it take to finish checking them? Moreover, the other officials are slower in checking the accounts due to their different duties! How many people will it take to check every single one of them?"

"Click and don't be upset!" The left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue said loudly: "The seven departments of the Ministry of Revenue correspond to the finances of the seven routes of the country. In addition to the three major warehouses, there are seven markets under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue. Outside, there is the Qingli Department corresponding to the canal project, and the departments and bureaus responsible for the operation, issuance, and casting of various silver shops. As for the government offices for salt, iron and water transport, they are far away in Hangzhou. According to a rough calculation, all the account books will be ten times more than today's."

"Alright!" The Crown Prince was startled. His ears were buzzing with what the Left Assistant Minister said. He waved his hand impatiently and interrupted him angrily, saying in surprise: "Just tell me how long it will take to sort out those account books!"

He was a little unsure, originally thinking that this was a good job to get a good resume. Not only could it deal a heavy blow to the Ministry of Revenue to which Fan Jian, the person behind Fan Xian, belonged, but it could also help him gain a lot of reputation in the court!

I just didn’t expect that this was a project that couldn’t be completed in such a short time!

It is foreseeable that he will be stuck in this mess for a long time in the future. No wonder the second brother didn't say a word when he heard about the investigation of the Ministry of Revenue!

The one who answered the prince's question was the Right Assistant Minister. He just smiled stiffly out of politeness and said, "It's easy to handle in Kyoto, but it will take at least 15 days to complete the accounts in other places, and it will take at least 10 days to clean them up. If we want to get a preliminary result, it will take at least a month!"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was nearly fainted from anger. When had he ever suffered such humiliation before?

Although there was nothing wrong between the lines of the Right Assistant Minister's words, his tone was quite confrontational!

"It is His Majesty's order to investigate the Ministry of Revenue, so we should speed up our work! Otherwise, don't blame me for accusing you of pretending to obey the order but actually disobeying it!"

Facing the prince's angry rebuke, the right assistant minister remained unmoved and expressionless, saying, "Your Majesty's order is something I don't have the guts to disobey, but checking the accounts requires rules and time. If it's a targeted check, it won't take that long, but if you want to check every item in detail, there will be many problems! When should we start checking? Which department should we start checking? Or which sum of money is in or out? Otherwise, it would take several days to count just a few million taels of silver."

The prince looked at the right assistant minister coldly and remembered him deeply. While he was annoyed, he also thought that he would deal a heavy blow to this person after finding out the problem.

The Grand Secretary standing by saw all of this, and his opinion of the prince dropped by two points again.

Who is Fan Jian? Under his management, the Ministry of Revenue has long been as strong as a rock.

Ever since he came here today, he felt that the atmosphere here was different from the other six departments. Not only was Fan Jian's style unique, but even his subordinates dared to contradict the prince. It was really interesting.

"Your Highness, what you said makes sense." The Grand Secretary smiled and adjusted the atmosphere, saying, "Since we are checking the accounts, there must be a rule. But since Your Majesty is talking about a thorough check, no matter how long it takes or how many people are needed, we must check it in an orderly manner. But I still need your cooperation. I hope you will bear with me for delaying the normal operation of the Ministry of Revenue!"

The left and right assistant ministers looked at each other, bowed and said, "Your Excellency is right."

But when it comes to the prince, they all filter it out.

The prince was so angry that he planned to spend money to invite all kinds of professionals from various departments and his own palace to check the accounts! Looking at the account books scattered all over the floor and the officials who were busy working without any care, the prince couldn't help but think of Fan Xian's hateful face.

He has been in Jiangnan for some time. I wonder what means my aunt will use to deal with this man?

Thinking of this, the prince suddenly ordered, "Since it is the transfer of money from the Ministry of Revenue, so many eyes in the capital are watching. It would not be easy to do anything under their noses! What about the money transferred to Jiangnan and the border areas?"

The prince's words caused the entire place to fall silent.

There were some officials with sharp minds and deep scheming. They knew immediately that this was the prince's move to crack down on dissidents. Although it was deliberately targeted, they inferred that the prince's words were very likely the key.

They did not dare to doubt that Fan Jian would be so bold as to transfer silver from the national treasury to Jiangnan, but since the prince had doubts, it would be right to start checking the accounts of the Jiangnan Division.

Faced with those complicated numbers, it took nearly a month to check!

What I posted these days are all my saved drafts.

My friend was getting married and I was away for two days. I just started writing again today, so it's a little late. Sorry for the delay!

Chapter 228 The Eve of the Storm.

Seeing that there had been no results for many days, the entire court was in an uproar.

With the help of the Northern Qi court, more ministers were linked together. They didn't know who was going to make things difficult for the Fan family, but they knew that the law could not hold everyone responsible.

As the battle line unfolds, more and more personnel are involved in each department, and the results are becoming more and more incredible!

“So clean!”

Like a virgin!

As the saying goes, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. How much more so for the Ministry of Revenue, which is in charge of an entire country?

This result made the people who checked the accounts work even harder.

No one urged them to do so, and no one even had any emotion about holding them accountable. They only knew that there were no perfect accounts in this world. If there were, they would definitely be fake accounts! Unless Fan Jian was a saint!

The prince thought so, and even the grand secretary who accompanied him in supervision thought so too.

While he was impressed by Fan Jian's sophisticated accounting skills, he was even more determined to bring him down.

Fan Mansion.

Madam Liu brought a bowl of nightshade to Fan Jian's study, looked at her husband with some worry, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Don't worry, no matter what the outcome is, they can't touch me."

Drinking the nightshade in his hand, Fan Jian narrowed his eyes with a happy expression and gently comforted his wife beside him.

According to the time calculation, the accounts transported to Kyoto later should be able to give some gains to the auditors. How could a smart person like Fan Jian not know that making the accounts too clean is abnormal? If the accounts of various places are taken out separately, nothing can be found. It is very easy to smooth out the accounts, but the operation and transfer of the Ministry of Revenue always requires cooperation with many departments, and this process will naturally leave connections with the outside world.

The departments where the physical objects are located are controlled by others, and it is only a matter of time before the problems are discovered.

When they went through all the accounts and wanted to make sure the actual items matched the numbers, it would be impossible to do so using the methods that Fan Jian had left behind.

Fan Jian was absent-minded. He didn't get any benefits from the Ministry of Revenue, but it was true that there were problems with the accounts.

Just imagine, if Fan Jian had manipulated the Ministry of Revenue, how could Versace have thought of going out to do business just for a few silver coins in the first place?

Since Fan Jian joined the Ministry of Revenue, he started as a small secretary and worked his way up to his current position in nine years. With the grace of His Majesty, he never let any forces get involved and had already built the entire Ministry of Revenue into an ironclad interest group.

As some clues came to light, the officials of the investigation team finally smiled with relief.

Although it was only a small amount of money, it finally found the first problematic area.

The amount of silver and money sent to the border for winter military supplies in the fourth year of the Qingli period doesn't match!

The investigators followed the clues and used this as an excuse to trace the case from bottom to top, and soon found a loophole. Like a snowball, the number of cases grew larger and larger, and more and more officials were involved! Slowly, it even reached a shocking level!

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the newly appointed Minister of Personnel Yan Xingshu were overjoyed. They ignored the words of the steady Grand Secretary and ordered their men to dig desperately to uproot the black sheep in the Ministry of Revenue! Slowly, the intensity of the digging gradually increased to the top officials who really made the decisions in the Ministry of Revenue!

At first, the amount was not much. Under Fan Jian's accounting method, the gap of these silvers was integrated into some large projects, like a drop of water into the sea, leaving no trace. Only a few traces were revealed in the military supplies, which exposed the flaws.

Seeing this, the left and right assistant ministers who were still holding their posts in the Ministry of Revenue planned to find an opportunity to go to Fan's house to discuss countermeasures with Fan Jian. However, they did not expect that they had been placed under house arrest since the problem was discovered.

The prince ordered that until everything was settled, no one in the Ministry of Revenue was allowed to leave the office without permission.

In the study of the Fan Mansion, a retainer was talking about the news from outside.

"The winter jackets from the fourth year of the Qingli reign were made with sufficient materials, and the cotton cloth was all from the inner treasury." He frowned and continued, "But the final price of these winter jackets was a bit too high, and the silver used to trade goods from the treasury was also higher than the actual amount. These are what the Ministry of Revenue found out today!"

"I was trying to fill a hole. You know, even the salaries of officials in the capital were almost gone, and we had to prepare food and fodder for the army's westward expedition the following year. I had no choice but to do this. I withheld some of the silver from the winter coats sent to the border and used it elsewhere."

Fan Jian smiled and said, "Although I am short of money, I will not let the soldiers guarding the border wear poor quality winter coats!"

The retainer nodded, but his expression was still heavy. He advised: "Although the amount of money is not large, the officials who check the accounts will not let go of this credit. And no one knows what His Majesty will think. Even if I am helping you, it is still a sin after all."

He said with a worried look on his face: "This is what we have just found out. If we continue to investigate along this line, the money that was previously integrated into some major projects will make those accounts inconsistent. The more we investigate like this, the more we will find out. In the end, they will only find out the money that the department transferred to Jiangnan! Please make plans early!"

"The flood in the south came too suddenly this time." Fan Jian looked indifferent, as if he was not the one in urgent need. "If we allocate funds and transfer silver openly, we still don't know how much will be put into practice. We can only do this ourselves!"

"The second is the bidding for the Jiangnan Treasury!"

"Master, do you want to use the money to hedge against the Ming family?" the retainer asked in surprise.

"Not bad!"

Fan Jian shook his head, and finally couldn't help but sighed and said, "As the Minister of Revenue, even if it's not for An Zhi, I have to do this just to make the inner treasury more profitable! If I don't use money to hedge with the Ming family, how can they be willing to spend more money?"

Anzhi is Fan Xian's courtesy name. His surname is Fan, his given name is Xian, and his courtesy name is Anzhi.

"And, His Majesty also knows about this!"

After a moment, Fan Jian gave a jaw-dropping piece of information.

The retainers had already been so shocked that they were speechless. One must know that the main focus of the current investigation of the Ministry of Revenue was the failure of the Ministry of Revenue to transfer Yinjiang South. They did not expect that the inside story was so complicated that even the palace knew the news and participated in it!

The retainer seemed to be relieved and said, "If that's the case, the master should be safe and sound."

"I can do it but I can't say it!" Fan Jian looked in the direction of the imperial palace and shook his head firmly.

The lesson of Gong Dian was still before his eyes. Apart from this concern, Fan Jian thought more about the beautiful figure in his heart.

"Your Majesty also has his own difficulties. We cannot let Your Majesty take care of everything! The court secretly plotted against the local wealthy businessmen. This is too ugly. If this matter is made public, not only will the court be shaken and the emperor and his ministers will be alienated, but even the outside world will be in an uproar!"

Fan Jian values ​​the person in front of him very much. He is considered to be a capable assistant who has been with him for many years. Most of the big and small matters have been handled by him. What he said so much to him today also serves as a reminder.

"This matter is secret, but I don't know how the person who took the lead in reporting it got the news. Now everyone in the court and the public is speculating about this matter. Your Majesty is under pressure and has to order an investigation into the Ministry of Revenue. Under such circumstances, how can the truth be made public?"

There will be another chapter later, and then the update time will resume in the early morning.

Chapter 229: Infernal Affairs.

"So what should we do next?"

The servants' expressions were filled with horror and resentment.

This matter has been thoroughly discussed. This matter is not glorious. In order to calm down the price of goods and fill the empty treasury, His Majesty had to plot against the wealthy merchants such as the Jiangnan Ming family. And from what the master said, this matter was personally presided over by His Majesty. Now that the matter has been exposed, the master has to take the blame. There is no benefit in the first place, but he has to be the scapegoat. Why bother?

Fan Jian sighed and rubbed his fingers continuously.

These are all your hard work.