When the Minister of Revenue heard this, he was shocked and a look of horror appeared on his face, but it was only for a moment, and he tried to calm down.
"Minister Xiao, stop talking nonsense. Since I took office as the Minister of Revenue, I have always been known for my integrity. On weekdays, I don't even have a decent piece of jewelry when I go out, including my wife, concubines, and children at home.
Your Majesty, please make the decision for me. I am truly wronged!"
He fell to his knees and began to kowtow to the emperor.
His Majesty knew that with Xiao Hechuan's character, he would definitely not do anything without any basis, so he did not care how the Minister of Revenue defended himself, but just looked at Xiao Hechuan and asked:
"My dear Xiao, you said that Minister Ma was corrupt, and the evidence is irrefutable. What evidence do you have?"
Xiao Hechuan made three big moves as a new official. He was promoted to vice minister but within a month, he dismissed and investigated many people in the entire Ministry of Revenue. Now, he has pointed the finger at the Minister of Revenue.
In the eyes of others, this young man has great ambitions.
Those who wanted to deal with him before, after seeing his drastic measures, began to hesitate whether to continue dealing with him, because they never knew that one day he might get hold of something that might hold evidence against them, and they would face the risk of having their property confiscated.
"If I didn't have sufficient evidence, I wouldn't speak rashly. I have found the place where the Minister of Revenue Ma Wenjie hid the embezzled funds. I have sent troops to seize that place. There are the silver coins from the Ministry of Revenue that Ma Wenjie embezzled over the years. Your Majesty, please make the decision."
Ma Wenjie's corruption was discovered after Helian Jing ascended the throne in his previous life. Relying on this memory, Xiao Hechuan removed this termite in advance in this life.
Previously, as a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, he did not have enough authority, so he did not touch him. Now that he has the authority, he will naturally not let him go.
"Oh? Where?"
When the emperor heard this, he instantly became alert, but also very angry.
Xiao Hechuan told the address, and Ma Wenjie hid the silver in his villa in the suburbs and buried it in the yard.
According to his original plan, after retiring and returning home, he would transfer the silver to his hometown in several batches and live a colorful life in his later years.
He was still feeling fortunate that the foundation he had accumulated for his descendants over the years would be enough for them to develop even if no one became an official in the future.
But now, his beautiful idea is likely to be dashed.
Xiao Hechuan accurately told him where he had hidden the stolen money and said that he had already found someone to control the scene. He was so frightened that his eyes turned black and he fainted in the court.
It was over. The beautiful blueprint he had just conceived would not be realized before that day came. His Ma family would be destroyed in his hands and would be doomed to failure.
According to Daqing law, if an official embezzles more than 5,000 taels of silver, he will be dismissed from his post and investigated. If it exceeds 20,000 taels of silver, his property will be confiscated and he will be exiled. With the amount he embezzled, I'm afraid his entire family will be executed.
After hearing this, the emperor immediately arranged for the commander of the Yulin Army to go to the location provided by Xiao Hechuan to check.
The Minister of Revenue Ma Wenjie was also brought to the scene for identification.
Large pits were dug in the open space of the villa, and several mahogany boxes were buried underneath, which contained the silver he had embezzled over the years.
He didn't dare deposit it in a bank because the amount was huge and he was afraid it would be discovered, so he could only bury it in the yard.
The commander of the Yulin Army looked at the boxes all over the floor, which were filled with white silver. It was the first time in his life that he saw what 500,000 taels of silver looked like.
This Minister Xiao is really amazing. He has accomplished such a great thing in just one month. His ability is beyond doubt. No wonder the emperor values him so much.
The emperor got the result and calmly issued an order to confiscate Ma Wenjie's property and put him in prison. He still did not shed too much blood, but ordered that all of his nine clansmen would be demoted to slavery. Nowadays, men were sent to the army and women were made prostitutes, and their fate was very tragic.
This is the consequence of corruption. If he had known this would happen, why did he do it in the first place?
Shangshu Ma was sentenced to be beheaded at the Meridian Gate. When the people learned that he had embezzled 500,000 taels of silver, they sighed in grief. On the way to the execution ground, many people threw rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves at him.
This kind of corrupt official usually pretends to be honest and upright, but unexpectedly he is the worst one. His human heart is really unpredictable.
The Minister of Revenue was beheaded, and the Ministry of Revenue was left without a leader, and the position of Minister was vacant.
Now, there was a war on the border and the national treasury was in need of money, but Xiao Hechuan found out such a big termite. He seized the 500,000 taels of silver and filled it into the national treasury, which was filled up in an instant.
Therefore, when the emperor heard that the Minister of Revenue was corrupt, he did not immediately express how angry he was. On the contrary, he even thanked him for saving so much money for the court over the years.
In the past few months, Xiao Hechuan was promoted from Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue to Shilang of the Ministry of Revenue, and now he has been appointed Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue. At the age of only 22, he has been promoted to the second rank and has become a high-ranking official in the court.
The Minister of War who looked down on him yesterday, today he is on equal footing with him.
However, he still looked down on her, perhaps out of jealousy. After all, when he was 22 years old, he was still a small fry.
The emperor rewarded Xiao Hechuan with a mansion, but now the No. 1 Scholar's Mansion is no longer worthy of his status.
The new mansion has many courtyards and guest rooms. When my third brother and other brothers come over in the future, they can each have a courtyard.
After leaving the court, as he walked along the long corridor that one must pass through to leave the palace, a group of officials surrounded Xiao Hechuan and congratulated him one after another, saying that he had been promoted to the position of Minister of Revenue at such a young age.
The Ministry of Revenue has a lot of money. In fact, as long as you are not greedy, you can live a much more comfortable life than other officials. But the one mentioned earlier, Ma Wenjie, is a bit too pretentious.
In fact, no one believes that their family’s life is really that poor?
Moreover, his wife, concubines, and daughters all dressed very simply when they went out, as if the salary given to their family by the court was not enough for them to spend.
Faced with everyone's congratulations and praise, Xiao Hechuan just smiled and nodded, responding modestly.
Only the Minister of War Nie Changfeng scoffed at this.
He walked by and rolled his eyes:
"Minister Xiao, be careful. The higher you climb, the harder you fall. Young people should not be too eager to show off, or you will suffer losses."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hechuan raised his eyebrows and thought, you are the next one, are you ready?
"Thank you, Minister Nie, for your teachings. I will pay attention to them. I will also return these words to Minister Nie. After all, you and I are now equals. Who can be more noble than who?"
I originally thought that he would be unhappy or angry after hearing it, but his nonchalant look made me feel like I was punching cotton.
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