Chapter 174 It seems the Xie family really has rebellious intentions!
After the banquet at the Duke of Chu's mansion, the imperial court ceased its official duties for the New Year. However, Jiang Yu and the Marquis of Jinyang did not stop their investigation into the tax embezzlement case.
The day after the banquet, Marquis Jinyang brought Li Zhengze to the Duke of Chu's residence, where Jiang Yu received them in the old Duke of Chu's study.
"The taxes of the Great Gan Dynasty were collected by local government offices, exchanged for silver at Jufeng Money Shop, and then transported to the capital under the supervision of the local transport commissioner before being handed over to the national treasury."
After Li Zheng finished speaking in a serious tone, he glanced at Marquis Jinyang and saw him nod slightly. Then he continued to say to Jiang Yu, "You previously found in the Jiage Treasury that there were traces of alteration in the tax accounts of Lingnan, Jiangzhou, and Linwu County, as well as discrepancies between the tax reporting dates of these three prefectures and counties and the dates when the official silver was deposited into the treasury. In addition, there were two more ships transporting tax silver in the years before last and last year. We have conducted an investigation."
Lingnan, Jiangzhou, and Linwu are three neighboring prefectures. Jufeng Money Exchange transports the tax revenue from these three prefectures to the capital every year. Two years ago, a riverbank collapsed while Jufeng was transporting the tax revenue, causing a two-week delay. Last year, the delay was eight days due to river bandits.
After hearing this, Jiang Yu said, "It's such a coincidence that something happened during transportation two years in a row."
“It was quite a coincidence,” said the Marquis of Jinyang.
"Why are there two more ships transporting tax revenue in the past two years?" Jiang Yu asked.
“Jufeng Bank did not give an explanation at the time,” Li Zhengze said. “Moreover, as long as the tax silver was transported to the capital and entered into the national treasury, no one would care how many ships were used.”
Jiang Yu frowned slightly; she felt this was unusual. For many years, the same number of boats had been used, but suddenly two more had been used in the last two years—there must be something wrong.
At this time, the Marquis of Jinyang said, "The amount of tax silver from these three prefectures and counties in the past two years and last year was not much different from previous years, but two more ships were used for transportation. In this case, each ship should have a shallower draft than before, but it is said that the draft of the ships was the same as before."
Jiang Yu hadn't expected that, even after so much time had passed, the Marquis of Jinyang would still be able to uncover this detail. However, as a long-established powerful figure, the Marquis of Jinyang naturally possessed a vast network of connections.
She pondered for a moment and said, "In other words, for the same amount of tax, the amount has increased in the last two years compared to the past."
Marquis of Jinyang: "That should be the case."
Jiang Yu: "In other words, the tax silver may not be pure and may have been mixed with other things."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhengze exclaimed in shock, "You wouldn't dare to do that, would you? Unauthorized minting of official silver is a capital offense."
Jiang Yu glanced at him. "Embezzling tax money is also a capital offense."
Li Zheng opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Marquis Jinyang looked at Jiang Yu and said, "Your guess is very likely true. This matches the changes in the tax accounts. Tax silver entering the treasury needs to be counted. If the person counting it is different or has changed, it will naturally need to be changed. And the Ministry of Revenue had a major personnel change the year before last."
After listening, Jiang Yu remained silent for a long time, then looked at the Marquis of Jinyang and said, "I heard that Jufeng Money Shop belongs to the Xie family?"
"Yes," said the Marquis of Jinyang. "The Xie family was a powerful clan in the previous dynasty, with a deep and intricate network of connections. When the founding emperor attacked the capital, the head of the Xie family at the time opened the city gates. It is likely that he made a deal with the founding emperor, such as the Xie family's money shops continuing to operate and tax silver being exchanged through the Xie family's money shops."
Jiang Yu clenched his fist and said, "This is also why several emperors have wanted to eliminate the Xie family."
Marquis of Jinyang: "Yes, the Xie family's money shops had spread all over the country during the previous dynasty. Whether in the previous dynasty or now, the court has been hampered by them."
Silence fell in the room. Marquis Jinyang looked at Jiang Yu, wondering what Jiang Yu would do in this situation. To thoroughly investigate this case, it would inevitably involve the Xie family. However, the Xie family was not so easily dealt with.
Over the years, the Xie family has outwardly submitted to the imperial family and refrained from any major transgressions; several emperors have tried to take action against them but failed. Last time, when the second son of the Xie family was smuggling salt, the emperor simply executed Xie Er and that was the end of it.
After a while, Jiang Yu said, "I wonder if there's any left in the official treasury for tax revenue."
Marquis of Jinyang: "It should have already been circulated. There must have been someone in the Ministry of Revenue involved in this matter. They will definitely pay that sum of money first when the court allocates funds."
This situation is almost like having no way to prove anything; even if they present the existing evidence, the other side can find many reasons to refute it.
Jiang Yu pondered for a while, then said, "There are two entry points now. First, the transport commissioners responsible for supervising the escort must have been involved, otherwise this matter could not have proceeded."
Second, the ships used to transport tax silver were generally government vessels, escorted by government officials and soldiers. Therefore, we are now investigating the transport commissioners of Lingnan, Jiangzhou, and Linwu prefectures, as well as the ships and soldiers who escorted tax silver in the past two years.
Marquis Jinyang knew Jiang Yu was meticulous from the case of embezzlement of military funds, but he did not expect her to be so quick-witted as to formulate an investigation direction in such a short time.
At this moment, Jiang Yu said again, "Uncle, you check the ships and the soldiers escorting the tax silver, I will check the three transport commissioners."
"Alright." Marquis Jinyang agreed without hesitation. The deeper he got involved in this case, the greater his future contributions would be. He couldn't be more eager to do more.
He stood up to take his leave, and Jiang Yu saw him and his son to the door. After returning, she went to see the old Duke of Chu and told him about her conversation with the Marquis of Jinyang and his son.
The old Duke of Chu leaned back on the couch, a thick blanket draped over his legs. After listening, he said, "It seems the Xie family truly harbors rebellious intentions!"
“I want to report this to the Emperor. I think the Emperor is more eager than anyone to find something to hold against the Xie family,” Jiang Yu said. “Moreover, with the Emperor’s support, the investigation will be much smoother.”
The old Duke of Chu nodded, "However, even if the truth is found out, I estimate the Xie family will not fall."
After saying this, he sighed. Given their relationship with the Xie family, the old Duke of Chu wanted to see the Xie family fall before he died, but he knew it was impossible.
Jiang Yu also understood that she couldn't bring down the Xie family this time. She said, "But this time we're going to shake their foundation. We'll see if the Xie family can tolerate it. If they can't, they'll die immediately. If they can, they'll die more slowly."
After all, the current situation is relatively stable, and the current emperor is not a foolish ruler.
“Alright, you may write the memorial,” said the old Duke of Chu.
Jiang Yu got up and walked to the desk, picked up a blank memorial and began to write. Then he handed it to Li Zhong, instructing him to take the plaque from the Duke of Chu's residence and deliver the memorial directly to the palace. This memorial absolutely could not be sent to the Office of Transmission.
Li Zhong received the memorial and immediately rushed to the palace. An hour later, the emperor saw Jiang Yu's memorial. After a moment's thought, he said, "Summon the Duke of Chu to the palace."
PS: To clarify, taxes in ancient times weren't just collected in silver; they also included grain, silk, and other goods. Local government offices would exchange these in-kind taxes for silver at banks designated by the imperial court, and then transport the silver to the capital to be handed over to the national treasury.
Of course, policies differed from dynasty to dynasty; this is how it is set up in this article.
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