Chapter 175 This Jiang Yu... is very good.

The Duke of Chu mentioned by the emperor naturally refers to Jiang Yu.

After having Li Zhong deliver the memorial, Jiang Yu changed into her court robes and waited to enter the palace to see the emperor. Upon seeing the young eunuch arrive at the Duke of Chu's residence, she boarded a sedan chair and entered the palace.

Upon meeting the emperor, she recounted the events once more:

"I first noticed in the files that the accounts of Lingnan, Jiangzhou, and Linwu County showed signs of alteration. It is normal to make changes to accounts that are written incorrectly, but it is problematic that the accounts of three prefectures and counties from the same period were all written incorrectly and altered."

Upon hearing this, the emperor turned to Zhao Fuquan and said, "Have someone go to the Ministry of Revenue to set up the tax archives and bring over the tax ledgers from Lingnan, Jiangzhou, and Linwu County from the year before last and last year."

"Yes." Zhao Fuquan responded and was about to leave when Jiang Yu said, "Your Majesty, I think we should keep it hidden."

The emperor gave her a deep look, then said to Zhao Fuquan, "Did you hear that?"

"This servant understands." Zhao Fuquan replied and immediately went to do it. The emperor looked at Jiang Yu and said, "Go on."

Jiang Yu: "I had the Marquis of Jinyang's heir, Li Zhengze, investigate. The results showed that last year and the year before, there were two more ships transporting tax silver from Lingnan, Jiangzhou, and Linwu County to the capital than in previous years, but the tax silver in these two years was not more than in previous years."

Moreover, in the past two years, Jufeng Money Shop has encountered problems transporting tax silver from Lingnan, Jiangzhou, and Linwu County to the capital, causing delays of fifteen days on one occasion and eight days on another.

The emperor narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. "It's too much of a coincidence that something has happened in both of these years."

Jiang Yu: "I think so too. Also, the same amount of tax silver was loaded onto two more ships, but when the ships arrived in the capital, their draft was the same as in previous years."

Upon hearing this, the emperor asked in confusion, "How did you determine the ship's draft after so much time has passed?"

Jiang Yu: "The Marquis of Jinyang's mansion had business at the dock, and the servants of the Marquis of Jinyang's mansion happened to notice this situation at the time."

The emperor nodded, and the tax silver was transported to the capital city around the same time. Moreover, once the tax silver arrived in the capital, it was heavily guarded, so it was normal for someone to notice.

At this point, Jiang Yu said again: "Based on these circumstances, I suspect that someone has privately minted official silver to be used as tax silver."

The emperor listened without speaking, sat there in silence for a while, and then asked, "Who do you think did it?"

Jiang Yu knew the emperor also suspected the Xie family, but he wanted her to speak out. Jiang Yu didn't care; after all, her relationship with the Xie family was one of life and death.

She said, "Jufeng Money Shop belongs to the Xie family, and the Xie family cannot escape this matter no matter what."

The emperor gave Jiang Yu another deep look and asked, "If it turns out that the Xie family was behind this, what do you think we should do, my dear minister?"

This is a difficult question to answer. According to the laws of the Great Gan Dynasty, the Xie family had committed such a heinous act that even the extermination of their entire clan wouldn't be excessive. However, the Xie family was a behemoth, and it wasn't something that could be dealt with so easily. Moreover, the emperor seemed intent on pinning the blame on the Xie family regardless of whether the investigation revealed they were involved.

But Jiang Yu said without hesitation, "The prey is too big to kill immediately, so we should wound its vital organs first."

The emperor was silent for a moment, then asked, "How should we do it?"

Jiang Yu: "Jufeng Money Shop should be nationalized."

......

The room fell silent, then the emperor chuckled, and then said, "Summon Prince An."

"Yes," Zhao Fuquan, who was standing guard outside, replied.

The emperor's face softened, and he looked at Jiang Yu with shining eyes, "Your idea is excellent, my dear minister."

Jiang Yu smiled respectfully. This time she truly understood that the current emperor really loved money.

Having said what needed to be said, the Emperor now simply waited for the dossier and the Prince of An. He began to chat with Jiang Yu about everyday matters, asking, "How is your grandfather's health?"

Jiang Yu spoke frankly, "After winter came, my grandfather became very sensitive to the cold."

The emperor sighed, "Take good care of yourself, you'll be fine by spring."

Jiang Yu nodded, "Yes."

But they all knew that the Duke of Chu wouldn't last much longer.

"Bring your nephew to the palace later, so I can see him," the emperor said again.

Jiang Yu replied respectfully, "Yes."

At this moment, the dossier was brought over, and Zhao Fuquan placed it on the emperor's desk. The emperor beckoned to Jiang Yu, who went over, opened a dossier, and pointed to a margin on a page, saying, "Your Majesty, look at this page. Isn't the color different from this page?"

The emperor took the scroll in his hands and examined it closely by the lamplight. It was indeed somewhat different. The page Jiang Yu pointed to was slightly lighter in color.

Jiang Yu reached out and took the scroll from the emperor's hand, found the page with the same color as this one, and said, "Your Majesty, you see, these two pages are the same color."

The Emperor took it and examined it carefully, then said, "Two pages were added, and it was rebound."

Jiang Yu: "Yes, and you see, although the font on these two pages looks the same as the others, there are subtle differences. Look at this stroke and this hook, aren't they different from the font on the other pages?"

The emperor leaned closer to examine it more closely, and said, "It is indeed different."

He spoke those words with great restraint, clearly indicating that he was very angry.

Just then, a voice came from outside, "Your Majesty, Prince An has arrived."

The emperor tossed the files onto the desk and said, "Come in."

When Prince An entered the imperial study, he saw Jiang Yu opening several files one by one and saying to the emperor, "Your Majesty, you see, these files are all the same."

The emperor looked at it carefully again, then snorted heavily and said, "What a clever trick to deceive the heavens! I think they've been plotting rebellion for a long time."

Jiang Yu lowered her eyes and remained silent. After a moment of anger, the emperor said to her, "Tell Prince An about this matter and have the Embroidered Uniform Guard assist you in investigating this case. You must find out the truth for me in the shortest possible time."

"Yes," Jiang Yu replied immediately.

“Your Highness, Prince An…” Jiang Yu recounted the matter of tax embezzlement to Prince An, and then said, “This humble official intends to start the investigation with the ships and the transport commissioner. This humble official has entrusted the investigation of the ships to the heir of the Marquis of Jinyang, and this humble official will investigate the transport commissioner.”

Prince An nodded in agreement. "If the Duke of Chu needs anything, just tell me."

Jiang Yu nodded, "With the prince's help, things should proceed much more smoothly."

After the two finished their discussion, they looked at the emperor. The emperor told Jiang Yu to leave and leave Prince An behind, saying, "This matter is definitely related to the Xie family. My requirement is that no matter whether the investigation results show that the Xie family is the mastermind or not, he must be the mastermind."

“Your subject understands,” said Prince An.

The emperor looked at him and said, "Jiang Yu suggested that I take over Jufeng Bank and nationalize it. I think this is a good suggestion. However, the takeover will definitely not be smooth. Be prepared for the Xie family to rebel."

Prince An paused for a moment, then said, "Yes, from now on, I will have people keep an eye on the Xie family."

The emperor grunted in approval, "This will also allow Marquis Cheng'en to prepare accordingly."

When the emperor said this, there was a hint of excitement in his voice. He added, "This Jiang Yu... is very good."

PS: In ancient times, books or account books were bound with thread. Thread-bound books were usually made by folding a stack of paper in half to make two pages, and then binding them together.