The second day of May in the twenty-sixth year of Chongzhen.

Under the operation of the cabinet chief Xie Sanbin.

The three judicial officers who went south to try the case of Xu Wenjue, Zhu Guobi, Liu Kongzhao and others for privately minting the Ming Yuanbao were finally decided.

They are the Censor Song Quan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and the Right Director of the Dali Temple.

Among them, the censor Song Quan was in charge of leading the team.

After learning that he was the presiding judge, Song Quan almost cried.

After the others left, he found Xie Sanbin and begged with a sad face: "Sir, please spare my life. I know I was wrong."

Xie Sanbin was puzzled by the phrase "know your mistakes" and asked, "Know your mistakes? Know what mistakes?"

Song Quan said with tears in his eyes: "I shouldn't have kept so much money for myself when I was inspecting the salt. I should have handed it over in full. I will hand over the silver when I return, and ask Master Xie to send someone else to Nanjing."

Oh my god, there’s an unexpected gain!

Xie Sanbin was so happy that he almost jumped up.

But he was at least the chief minister of the cabinet and the Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty.

Calm down quickly.

Xie Sanbin patted Song Quan on the shoulder and said, "It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Whether you pay the money or not, you have to go."

"My Lord, I really don't want to go."

"Why?"

Song Quan continued to plead: "People will die! Liu Kongzhao is the admiral of Caojiang, Zhu Guobi is the governor of the grain transport, and Xu Wenjue is in charge of training the soldiers of the Nanjing camp. If they are not guilty, it's fine. If they are guilty... they will definitely kill us before closing the case and destroy the bodies."

"This trip will definitely lead to more danger than good!"

"Haha," Xie Sanbin laughed, "I thought it was nothing, it turned out to be such a small matter."

Song Quan cried, "This is a matter of life and death, how can it be a small matter?"

"I'll give you an idea, see if it works."

"Thank you, sir, for speaking."

"Although the crime was committed in Nanjing, the trial does not have to be in Nanjing. You can find a place around Nanjing to try the case."

Song Quan blinked and thought about it, but had no good idea.

He asked, "Can you recommend a place?"

Xie Sanbin laughed and said, "I think Xuzhou is pretty good!"

"Xuzhou?"

"Yes," Xie Sanbin gestured in the air, "Xuzhou is a prefecture of Nanzhili, located in the northernmost part of Nanzhili. To the north, you can enter Shandong, and to the west, you can enter Henan. The roads lead in all directions, which is very suitable for escape."

Song Quan was overjoyed: "Thank you for your advice, sir!"

Even if the Nanjing nobles rebelled, he would be able to flee Nanzhili in the first place without worrying about never coming back.

After thanking him, Song Quan asked in a low voice: "Sir Xie, when will the case be tried?"

"This matter has been delayed for too long. It needs to be done as soon as possible."

"There has to be a specific date as soon as possible, right?"

Xie Sanbin pondered for a while and said, "You will set out for Xuzhou in five days and arrive before the end of the month. After arriving in Xuzhou, immediately send Xu Wenjue, Zhu Guobi, Liu Kongzhao and others to Xuzhou for trial in the name of the imperial envoy."

"What if they don't go?"

"Then, in the name of the imperial envoy, give an order to the Nanjing court and ask them to send someone to take Xu Wenjue and others to Xuzhou."

"What if the Nanjing court doesn't listen?"

"Hmm..." This question really stumped Xie Sanbin.

Before, this would not have been possible.

The Nanjing court would never dare to disobey Beijing's order.

But things are different now.

The emperor and the crown prince were both ill in bed, so it was time for someone else to give orders.

Although Nanjing will not oppose it openly, it will delay it in the name of verifying the authenticity of the news.

To delay doing anything is to disobey orders.

"If the Nanjing court doesn't listen, you just continue to issue orders and don't worry about anything else."

"Yes," Song Quan thought of Zheng Zhilong again when he was about to leave.

He asked, "Are we also trying Zheng Zhilong's case?"

"right."

"Is the trial also being held in a different place?"

"You can hold the trial wherever you want. Finish the trial as soon as possible and return to Beijing as soon as possible."

"Thank you for your advice, sir!" Song Quan clasped his fists and bowed, then left quickly.

While the cabinet chief minister Xie Sanbin was arranging state affairs, the Ming Emperor Chongzhen was also arranging state affairs.

He said to Wang Chengen: "Choose a place and let the local officials make a big fuss when they implement the currency reform."

"Big fuss?" Wang Chengen had no idea what this term meant. He asked, "How big a fuss does the emperor mean?"

"Haha, of course someone died."

"Ah?" Wang Chengen was stunned. "Are you going to kill someone again?"

"Alas!" Chongzhen sighed, "I have no choice but to kill them. The gentry in Jiangnan have united to deal with me. I can only use their heads to achieve my goal."

Wang Chengen didn't dare to ask more questions, and knelt down and said, "The emperor asked me to choose a place. What are the requirements for this place?"

"Yes," Chongzhen said, counting on his fingers. "First, the local officials must be people you can trust. Second, the place must be rich and not too far from Nanjing. In addition... there are a few gentry with bad reputations. The gentry can be retired officials or family members of officials serving in Nanjing."

Chongzhen's words were very vague, especially the requirement of not having a good reputation, which is difficult for ordinary people to understand.

Fortunately, Wang Chengen had been helping Li Ruolian to pass on messages and had some understanding of many gentry with bad records.

He pondered for a while, and then proposed in a deep voice: "Jiaxing Prefecture in Zhejiang is not only a land of fish and rice, but also a capital of silk. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

"Are there any evil gentry in the area?"

"Yes! There is a Cao Mansion in Xiushui County, which is the residence of Cao Rong, the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War. According to the Jinyiwei, the Cao Mansion relied on Cao Rong's official status in the court and not only did not pay taxes, but also

They also took advantage of their power to bully people and seize their land, causing great suffering to the local people.”

“Are local officials reliable?”

"He is reliable and a relative of mine."

"Well," Chongzhen narrowed his eyes, "have him search Cao's mansion for silver in early July, and confiscate all the silver he finds! Anyone who dares to resist will be executed on the spot."

"Your Majesty," Wang Chengen said with some worry, "What if we can't find the silver, or they don't resist?"

Chongzhen rolled his eyes at Wang Chengen and said, "We must have the silver, and they must resist!"