After learning about Qian Qianyi's experience, Zhu Cilang was in a dilemma.

He is thinking...

Should I take this money or not?

Nanjing Ministry of Revenue is short of money!

Qian Qianyi's money can be said to be a timely help.

Why would Qian Qianyi, a criminal, offer money voluntarily?

To put it bluntly, it means paying money to forgive sins and planning to serve as an official in the court again.

Is his sin serious?

In theory, it's not serious.

At that time, he was the chief examiner of the Zhejiang provincial examination. He was not an official involved in the case of cheating in the imperial examination, but was implicated.

Later, he was stripped of his official title because he became angry and humiliated after being falsely accused, and sued Wen Tiren, the then Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

Wen Tiren himself was not clean, so he could only resign due to illness.

Qian Qianyi, a criminal, actually overthrew the prime minister of the cabinet. In anger, Chongzhen stripped him of his official position.

Now Qian Qianyi donated money to the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing.

If they took this money, it would be equivalent to telling the officials below: Qian Qianyi is fine, and they can give him a chance.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang shook his head fiercely.

Qian Qianyi was someone that his father had clearly not wanted, so he did not dare to blatantly go against Chongzhen's wishes.

Zhu Cilang frowned and looked up at Liu Kongzhao, and said in a deep voice: "Marquis Chengyi, please go back first. I need to think about this matter carefully."

Liu Kongzhao bowed and turned to leave.

The eunuch Qiu Zhizhong saw Zhu Cilang's doubts. After Liu Kongzhao left, he quickly came to Zhu Cilang and whispered, "Your Highness, Qian Qianyi only mentioned the donation and did not make any other requests."

"Your Highness could just accept Qian Qianyi's money and not employ him."

Zhu Cilang glanced at him and said, "Well said, don't say it next time."

"Your Highness, what I mean is..."

"What is it?" According to you, I accepted Qian Qianyi's money and then left him aside without restoring his official status?"

"There shouldn't be any problem..." Qiu Zhizhong scratched his head.

Zhu Cilang glared at him fiercely: "It's indeed okay this time, but it will be a big problem in the future. Qian Qianyi spent money to atone for his sins. Accepting his money is equivalent to promising to employ him again."

"If I don't employ him, I will be breaking my promise! If I and the court encounter difficulties in the future, no one will help and will choose to stand by and watch."

"This is a matter of great credit, understand?"

"I deserve to die. I shouldn't have said such nonsense. Please forgive me, Your Highness!" Qiu Zhizhong quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to admit his mistake.

"Forget it, forget it. Go find Shi Kefa quickly. I want to hear his opinion." As Zhu Cilang spoke, a sinister smile flashed in his eyes.

He had already thought of a solution.

He took the money and Shi Kefa took the responsibility.

Qian Qianyi was from Donglin, and Shi Kefa was also from Donglin.

After reading the book "The Locust Record", he disliked the Donglin Party even more.

What Zhu Cilang didn't know was that Ma Shiying had just presented him "The Locust Record" in which he severely criticized the Donglin Party, and then he joined forces with the leader of the Donglin Party and reached a cooperation.

It's absolutely ridiculous.

"Your Highness." As soon as Qiu Zhizhong left, the eunuch Zhang Rong from the East Factory knelt down outside the palace gate and saluted.

"Come in." Zhu Cilang said casually.

These were the heroes who escorted him to Nanjing from afar, so he was very humble towards them in private.

After Zhang Rong arrived at the Wenhua Hall, he looked around cautiously, then bowed again without saying a word.

"All of you go out for a while. No one is allowed to come in without my order!" Zhu Cilang ordered the eunuchs in the hall.

After these people left, Zhang Rong spoke: "Your Highness, three days ago, Ma Shiying did not go home after leaving Wenhua Palace, but met with Ruan Dacheng and Qian Qianyi in private."

"They first conspired in a mansion owned by Ruan Dacheng in South City. We don't know what they talked about. Then they went to the Qinhuai River to drink and have fun."

Zhu Cilang looked unhappy: "Why did you report it only now?"

Zhang Rong immediately knelt down and said, "Reply to your Highness."

"The Royal Guards and the Factory Guards are working in shifts to guard the Imperial City, and the staff is already insufficient. A few days ago, His Highness asked the Royal Guards to place spies in the Beijing Camp and the Caojiang Navy, and the staff under my command are already stretched to the limit."

"A lot of people who supervised the officials were transferred, and except for a small number of seniors from Beijing, the rest were new recruits from the local area."

"The message was indeed delivered a little slowly, please forgive me, Your Highness!"

After listening to Zhang Rong's explanation, Zhu Cilang sighed and said, "Get up. These trivial matters are indeed enough to keep you busy. But I remind you that you can recruit new people, but you must be cautious to avoid spies."

"I obey your orders!"

Zhang Rong kowtowed first, then stood up and stood respectfully beside him.

Zhu Cilang moistened his throat with saliva, "Qian Qianyi asked Liu Kongzhao to deliver a message, willing to donate 300,000 taels of silver to solve the urgent problem. Combined with your information, it can be roughly confirmed that Qian Qianyi and Ma Shiying, Ruan Dacheng and others have reached a cooperation, right?"

After a quick analysis, Zhang Rong replied, "Almost!"

After getting this answer, Zhu Cilang stood up.

He paced back and forth in the Wenhua Hall with his hands behind his back.

After a while, Zhu Cilang threw the "Locust Record" on the table in front of Zhang Rong and asked, "Do you think Qian Qianyi knows that Ruan Dacheng presented this "Locust Record" to me?"

Zhang Rong took the "Locust Record" and quickly flipped through it, then closed the book and put it back on Zhu Ci's desk.

"I think that whether Qian Qianyi knows or not, it will not affect their cooperation."

"Oh?" Zhu Cilang looked at the eunuch sent to him by Chongzhen.

After moving from Beijing to Nanjing, these eunuchs were the people he trusted the most.

Everyone else has a way out, but these eunuchs have no way out.

"Ruan Dacheng criticized the Donglin Party in this book, saying that it was a disaster for the country and the people. Qian Qianyi was the leader of the Donglin Party. If he knew that this book was written by Ruan Dacheng, would he still cooperate with him?"

"If the other Donglin Party members knew about this, who would still obey him?"

Zhang Rong replied calmly: "Your Highness, don't forget that what Qian Qianyi wants, the other Donglin Party members will not give it to him."

"Ruan Dacheng wanted to make a comeback, and Qian Qianyi also wanted to make a comeback. Ruan Dacheng had money but no people, while Qian Qianyi had people but no money, so the two of them took advantage of each other right away."

"What's more, with the enemy at hand, they have no choice but to cooperate!"

"Powerful enemy? Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong?" Zhu Cilang asked subconsciously.

Zhang Rong narrowed his eyes and pointed at himself: "These people from Beijing, except for Your Highness, they regard everyone as an enemy."

"What about me?"

"I dare not say."

"You are not guilty."

"hostage!"