Chapter 47 047 The main culprit in the embezzlement case, the Crown Prince!
Lin Bangzhen, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, is 62 years old this year. He was promoted from the local area in the seventeenth year of the Yongcheng reign based on his merits in solving cases. He has served as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review for 15 years. Whenever a strange or unsolved case occurs in the capital or in the local area, the Yongcheng Emperor will send Lin Bangzhen to solve the case. Every time, Lin Bangzhen has lived up to expectations and found out the real culprit. He is a well-known and capable minister in solving cases in this dynasty.
Zou Dong, the Minister of Justice, is fifty-seven years old this year. He passed the imperial examination in the first spring of the Great Zhou Dynasty in the second year of Yongcheng. He served as a proofreader in the Hongwen Pavilion and was also appointed as a prefect and governor. He has outstanding political achievements and is especially good at criminal cases. He is introverted and taciturn, and is upright and selfless in his official duties. He is not only a good official in the eyes of the people, but also a trusted and relied-upon minister of Emperor Yongcheng.
The Imperial Censor Fan Yan was only forty-eight years old, but even in his youth he was known for his intolerant and upright character. In his early twenties, he passed the imperial examination and entered the Secretariat as a proofreader. After working on compiling classic texts for over a year, he was pushed and tripped by the Second Prince, a boy he used to play with. Fan Yan then dragged the prince to Emperor Yongcheng to complain. Emperor Yongcheng admired Fan Yan's courage and transferred him to the Censorate as an Imperial Censor. Fan Yan sometimes served in the Censorate, overseeing officials in the capital, and sometimes was dispatched to the Censorate to oversee local officials. Over twenty years, he impeached nearly three hundred officials, both high-ranking and low-ranking, averaging almost one per month. He was a "living judge" feared by officials throughout the land.
Emperor Yongcheng's decision to have these three jointly investigate the disaster relief case in the four prefectures is sufficient proof of his determination to conduct a thorough investigation.
The four counties affected by the disaster were relatively close to the capital, and they had all heard of the deeds of the three capable officials. Therefore, when the court issued a proclamation to comfort the disaster victims, the disaster victims who were still suffering from hunger in the four counties all wept and cheered. The disaster victims who had left the four counties to beg for food also heard the news and rushed back with their children to tell the three upright officials their grievances.
The three high-ranking officials immediately submitted a joint memorial to Emperor Yongcheng upon arriving in the four prefectures, confirming the truth of Xiao Yu's account of the suffering of the disaster victims in the four prefectures.
The Emperor Yongcheng's reply consisted of only two lines of bold, vermilion characters: "Investigate thoroughly and do not let a single corrupt official escape!"
The joint trial by the three judicial authorities thus officially began.
The high-ranking officials involved in this case included the Crown Prince, the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of Works, the Prefect of Jingzhao, the Governor of Qingzhou, the Magistrate of Taicang, and the Director of the Imperial Censorate, who oversaw the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue and Taicang's relief grain and silver expenditures. However, these high-ranking officials were basically only responsible for signing some allocation documents. The ones who actually carried out the relief work were the prefects of the four prefectures, the magistrates of various counties, and the minor clerks and runners of the county governments. It was only through these minor officials that one could find out exactly where every penny of silver and every bushel of grain had been used.
All high-ranking officials in the capital were being watched by the Imperial Guards. Those below the third rank were suspended from their posts and were waiting at home. Although those above the third rank could still go to their offices to perform their duties, they were followed by the Imperial Guards as soon as they went out. The Imperial Guards followed them all the way to the outside of the offices, so that any high-ranking officials who wanted to send messages or instructions outside faced the risk of being caught by the Imperial Guards.
In the four prefectures, the chief judge of the three courts directly ordered the accompanying imperial guards to imprison all the prefects, magistrates, and minor officials in the Puyang prefectural government office. At this time, these officials did not have to live in prison, and they were provided with three decent meals and water every day. However, they were always taken to the main hall by the imperial guards to be jointly tried by the three courts.
The Imperial Censor Fan Yan had a kind and benevolent appearance, but his reputation as the "Living Judge" was known to everyone in the officialdom, and officials would tremble at the sight of him.
Minister of Justice Zou Dong, a man of unsmiling demeanor and iron face, sat to Fan Yan's left, exuding the most imposing presence.
Lin Bangzhen, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, had gray hair and a thin build. He also had a pair of small, unimpressive eyes. But it was these small eyes that discovered clues that others could not find in one major case after another. Whether it was the suspect's confession or the account books and case files that had been sealed for many years, as long as there was something strange about it, it could not escape those small eyes, including any change in the suspect's expression during the interrogation.
It's nothing new for officials to embezzle disaster relief funds. Often, high-ranking officials are the first to harbor greedy intentions, then use a combination of threats and favors to coerce their subordinates. The threats involve using power to intimidate, while the favors include monetary rewards or promises of future promotions. Where does the money come from? Naturally, it comes from disaster relief funds. High-ranking officials distribute it to lower-ranking officials, who then share some with the lower-level clerks and even the wealthy merchants involved. Thus, hundreds or even thousands of people are swept up in the same trap, their fortunes intertwined, and their losses shared. When trouble arises, they desperately deny and cover it up to protect themselves.
There may be honest and upright officials who are unwilling to embezzle, but such officials have long been excluded from disaster relief and are not allowed to get involved. If they insist on confronting the enemy head-on, how can three or five people possibly stand up to an entire ship full of people?
Because of the protection of high-ranking officials, as long as the court manages to cover it up, such corrupt practices are rarely exposed. But if the court receives news and decides to investigate, how can all those petty officials and clerks who have profited from it be so adept at lying and sophistry, truly leaving no room for error? Moreover, there are disaster victims from the four prefectures watching and hating, coming one after another to provide clues to the Three Departments!
Chen Wenqi, from the Water Conservancy Bureau, was taken by the disaster victims to the sheds built for them by the government. Apart from those sheds reserved specifically for the Crown Prince's inspection, most of the disaster victims' sheds were made of wood salvaged from the water. The lucky ones were given relatively sturdy planks, while the unlucky ones had their sheds blown down by the winter wind, with rotten wood scattered all over the ground.
Xiao Yu, along with officials from the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice, along with the clerks of the three ministries, separately examined the account books of the four prefectures. Any suspicious findings were immediately reported to the three chief officials for questioning. If any implicated merchants or wealthy individuals had already left the four prefectures or were not present there, the three chief officials dispatched the Imperial Guards to apprehend them day and night, determined to find them alive or dead.
The evidence was overwhelming. In just half a month, officials in the four prefectures, either voluntarily or under duress, gave confessions proving that most of the embezzled silver had been handed over to high-ranking officials. In addition to the disaster relief grain and silver, more than a hundred women were also abducted by the officials in the chaos. Most of the victims were rescued from the homes of the officials in the four prefectures, but the whereabouts of thirteen exceptionally beautiful women who were secretly sent to the capital remained unknown.
After consulting with Emperor Yongcheng, the Three Departments brought the officials and merchants who had confessed their crimes back to the capital and began interrogating the officials in the capital.
With fewer officials in the capital and already possessing most of the witnesses and physical evidence, the three judicial departments were able to conduct the trial more quickly.
At dawn on the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month, less than five days before the officials were to take their New Year's holiday, Song Liangxue, the Prefect of the Capital, after being interrogated by the Three Judicial Offices all night, heard Zou Dong say that if he didn't confess, Zou Dong could also find out from the Song family's coachman all the places the Song family had been from August to November and then investigate them one by one. Song Liangxue suddenly broke down and cried, pleading with red eyes: "I sent people to capture and play with those women, and I embezzled all that silver. I confess to all the crimes. Your Honor, there's no need to investigate any further. Let's close the case here!"
With a scribe taking notes nearby, Song Liangxue couldn't say it explicitly, but he signaled to Fan Yan, Zou Dong, and Lin Bangzhen with his eyes that if the investigation continued, the three of them would also get into trouble.
The three presiding judges looked at each other. The Prefect of Jingzhao was a third-rank official. Among the high-ranking officials involved in this case, only the Governor of Qingzhou, the Minister of Works, the Minister of Revenue, and the Crown Prince were of higher rank than the Prefect of Jingzhao.
The Prefect of Qingzhou has confessed, admitting that Song Liangxue, the Prefect of Jingzhao, cleverly persuaded him to embezzle. Several officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue who went to the four prefectures for disaster relief accepted bribes but turned a blind eye to the other officials' substandard work. No one has implicated the two ministers. Even if they had, what disaster could the two ministers have brought to the three of them?
The only one who can truly get them into trouble is the Crown Prince.
“You’ve been up all night, let’s go get something to eat first,” suggested Lin Bangzhen, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Fan Yan and Zou Dong both agreed. When they changed the location for their meal, the three of them sat around a low table on the couch, dismissing all the servants and officials.
Lin Bangzhen stroked his graying beard and said to the bowl of fragrant and steaming rice porridge, "I am best at investigating cases. When I was a county magistrate or prefect, my other achievements were just average. So after I was transferred to the capital, I only focused on the affairs of the Dali Temple. When the emperor and his ministers discussed state affairs at court, I never interrupted."
By not interfering in politics, one can stay away from a lot of trouble.
Aside from discussing the case and interrogating the suspect, Zou Dong, who was usually very quiet, silently drank his porridge.
Lin Bangzhen looked at Fan Yan helplessly.
Fan Yan knew that as long as Song Liangxue handed over the embezzled silver and the victimized woman took the blame, the case could indeed be closed. The Crown Prince would only be misled by Song Liangxue and other officials, and at most, he would be scolded by the Emperor for being stupid and incompetent. But it was clear that if the investigation continued, it would reveal that the Crown Prince was the real culprit.
Fan Yan dared to impeach powerful officials, but wasn't the Crown Prince too privileged? What would the Emperor's attitude be? Would he depose the Crown Prince, whom he had painstakingly cultivated for over twenty years, because of this case?
Unconsciously, Fan Yan stirred the porridge in the bowl with a spoon in his right hand. Lin Bangzhen stared at the spoon and the porridge for as long as Fan Yan stirred blankly, long enough for Zou Dong to finish eating.
"Please enjoy your meal, gentlemen. I'm going to interrogate the coachman from the Song family." Zou Dong put down his chopsticks, moved to the edge of the couch, and said this while putting on his boots.
Fan Yan and Lin Bangzhen looked up at the same time. Seeing Zou Dong put on his official boots and walk out, Lin Bangzhen, who was sitting on the outside, grabbed his sleeve and said urgently, "Are you really going to investigate further?"
Zou Dong looked at the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, whom he had dealt with for more than a decade, and said expressionlessly, "Like you, I am particularly skilled in criminal cases. Since there are still doubts in this case, I will continue to investigate until the truth comes out."
The Emperor's campaign against Yin was aimed at unifying the world. Only through unification could the people of the Nine Provinces and Liao Province be prevented from continuing their internal strife, and only then could the Ten Provinces unite to resist the barbarians. During the first Northern Expedition, Zou Dong believed the Emperor would win, so he supported him. Before the second and third Northern Expeditions, he was uncertain whether the Emperor could win, so he remained silent.
He didn't have a clear view of the overall war situation, but he knew how far a case needed to go before it could be truly closed.
Politely yet firmly, Zou Dong removed Lin Zhenbang's thin hand, nodded to the two of them, and then lifted the curtain to leave.
If one of the three judicial departments disagrees with closing the case, the other two departments have no choice but to continue to accompany the case.
Fan Yan was the first to laugh. He picked up his almost cold rice bowl and said to Lin Zhenbang, "Alright, there's no need for us to hesitate anymore. Let's finish eating and get back to work."
Just as Fan Yan did not stop Xiao Yu from impeaching the Crown Prince, he will not stop Zou Dong from doing the same now, and will be thrilled to have such a passionate person by his side.
Lin Bangzhen shook his head with a wry smile. He was already halfway to the grave, and yet he had encountered such a major problem in his old age.
Having already entered the game, he could only do his best.
That afternoon, based on the clues provided by the coachman of the Song family, the three departments searched a farm owned by one of the daughters of Song Liangxue, the Prefect of Jingzhao, and found seven missing women from four counties, as well as gold, silver and banknotes worth more than 500,000 taels hidden in a secret room, and a batch of rare paintings and calligraphy that could not be valued at the moment.
After interrogation, it was discovered that all seven women, including Song Liangxue's illegitimate daughter, were already concubines of the Crown Prince.
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Author's Note: Let's give the credit to the three veteran officials for the highlight of the investigation! [kissing emoji]
100 little red envelopes, see you at midnight tonight~
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