After returning to the Tongzhengsi, Zhao Bingzhong immediately called his subordinates over.
This person can be considered as his confidant and also his student. His name is Chen Sihai, a middle-aged man in his thirties.
This man had a strong physique and regular features. He was originally a doctor in the Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War. This time, he was transferred to Zhao Bingzhong and was in charge of the newly established yamen.
The name of this yamen is Xunchasi, which sounds simple and clear. The full name is Tongzheng Xunchasi.
Not many people outside the government knew about the situation of this yamen, only the senior officials in the court knew about it. The Inspection Office had a very high ranking within the Tongzheng Office and was only responsible to Zhao Bingzhong.
Chen Sihai came to Zhao Bingzhong and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Master."
Zhao Bingzhong nodded and said, "Here is a secret report, please take a look."
As he spoke, Zhao Bingzhong handed the secret memorial in his hand to Chen Sihai.
Reaching out to take the memorial, Chen Sihai quickly flipped through it.
In fact, he was in charge of the Inspection Department, and the fact that the memorial had reached the point where he could see it could only prove one thing, that is, a decision had already been made from above.
According to the procedures of the Ministry of Public Administration, after the memorial was submitted, it would first be opened and checked by the clerk, and then the level would be determined according to its importance and urgency, and then it would be handed over to Zhao Bingzhong.
Then, several senior officials from the Tongzhengsi will be responsible for screening. Minor cases will be handed over to the inspection offices for investigation. If it is a major matter, it will be handed over to His Majesty.
Chen Sihai knew in his heart that the first task of the Inspection Division was about to come. At the same time, he was also very curious about what kind of task it would be.
You have to know that everyone outside is staring at the Inspection Office, the Public Security Office, and their own teacher.
In other words, the first case choice of the Ministry of Public Administration is very important.
First of all, the case must be big enough to demonstrate the strength of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Secondly, the case must have solid evidence and cannot be a false accusation or a wrongful conviction, otherwise it will be meaningless.
As he watched, Chen Sihai's eyes narrowed and his expression became serious.
The person who submitted this memorial was really bold. He actually directly impeached Prince Fu and the prefect of Henan. He was really brave!
The key issue is that the situation described in this memorial is true without any investigation. The princes in various places are all encroaching on land, not to mention Prince Fu, which prince is not doing so?
The land of a county or a prefecture is considered small. Prince Fu, for example, has annexed most of Henan Province and, in addition, monopolized shops, restaurants, and various commercial businesses in various places.
For example, the more famous Prince Fu's Palace also intervened in the salt administration.
This is not Prince Fu's fault. It was done by Emperor Wanli. Wanli gave Prince Fu countless salt permits, and they were all salt from Lianghuai, and allowed him to open a shop to sell salt.
This led to Prince Fu's heavy involvement in the salt administration of Jianghuai, and all the money flowed into his Prince Fu's Palace. If he relied solely on farming, he would not have been able to accumulate such a large fortune.
It can be said that the current Prince Fu is the largest salt dealer in the Lianghuai area and a private businessman, but he does not pay taxes.
This policy was largely responsible for the insufficient border pay, as salt was probably the only source of income for the Ming Dynasty.
Everyone knew that if they could touch Prince Fu, the imperial court would definitely make a fortune.
Under such circumstances, no one wanted to take action against Prince Fu, but no one dared to make such a suggestion.
The reason is very simple. Prince Fu is the uncle of the current emperor. Back then, the late emperor and Prince Fu fought for the throne, which took a lot of effort. At one time, there were rumors that Prince Fu was planning to murder the late emperor.
Under such circumstances, if anyone asks His Majesty to attack Prince Fu, people who are not in the know will think that His Majesty is taking revenge.
The responsibility of alienating the royal family is something that ordinary people cannot bear. Moreover, anyone with a bit of common sense knows that Prince Fu is really just Prince Fu.
Ever since Prince Fu went to Luoyang and got involved in the salt administration, he became the assistant of the entire Jianghuai salt merchants, and even of the entire Jiangnan salt merchants.
Prince Fu represents not only himself, but there is a huge interest group behind him, and these people are the salt merchants in Jiangnan.
Once Prince Fu's words were spoken, it would be equivalent to angering the salt merchants, and one can imagine what they would say.
In addition, the emperor himself was unwilling, so it was extremely difficult to push this matter forward.
After reading this memorial, Chen Sihai felt that it would be another one that would yield no results.
He didn't know why the teacher took out this memorial, because it was an impossible thing to accomplish.
Chen Sihai raised his head and looked at Zhao Bingzhong, saying, "Is it to investigate the Henan prefect?"
In Chen Sihai's opinion, the only person who can be investigated here is the Henan prefect.
But for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, their first case was just to investigate a prefect?
This was too small, completely inconsistent with the original intention of making a big deal out of the first case, and it probably wouldn't deter anyone. Chen Sihai still didn't understand.
Looking at Chen Sihai's puzzled face, Zhao Bingzhong slowly put down the teacup in his hand and said, "Just check what's written above. Check according to what's written in the memorial. You should go there in person."
Chen Sihai said hesitantly, "Master, does His Majesty know about this?"
No wonder Chen Sihai asked this. This matter is really too big. If His Majesty doesn’t know about it, there will probably be trouble.
He wasn't worried about himself, because he had his teacher to take care of him if anything went wrong. But the problem was that his teacher had a bright future, was in charge of the Tongzheng Department, and was deeply trusted by His Majesty. If he offended His Majesty over something like this, it would be a shame.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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