Xie Sanbin was in tears.
He had just become the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and hadn't even sat firmly in his seat when two big news came from Jiangnan.
One was a nobleman who privately minted the Ming Dynasty's round coins, and the other was a powerful official who became a pirate and smuggled to support the enemy.
To check or not to check?
It would be unacceptable not to investigate!
If they investigate, they will sooner or later find out that the Donglin Party and himself are to blame.
Looking at the looks from Chongzhen and the officials present, Xie Sanbin cursed in his heart that he was unlucky.
If this happened yesterday, it would be Fan Jingwen who would be held responsible, not him!
etc!
Xie Sanbin suddenly felt that this was a conspiracy.
Fan Jingwen's conspiracy before leaving office.
Fan Jingwen must have known about this in advance, and deliberately delayed exposing it until today in order to set a trap for him.
That must be the case!
Fan Jingwen was the initiator and Shi Kefa was the vanguard.
Something seems wrong again.
Because just the two of them aren't enough.
After all, the initiative in this matter lies in the hands of Ming Emperor Chongzhen.
It was indeed the first time that the private minting of Ming Dynasty round coins by nobles was exposed.
However, the rumor that Zheng Zhilong was smuggling to support the enemy had already spread across the country.
During this period, many officials launched impeachment.
But they were all ignored by Chongzhen.
Now that the old matter is brought up again, it is obvious that they are going to take it seriously.
Taking all factors into consideration, Xie Sanbin believed that this was a test from Chongzhen.
If things are handled well, he will be able to secure his position as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet.
Not handled well...
Xie Sanbin is about to leave the Ministry of Revenue, leave the cabinet, leave the capital, and leave the center of power!
Return to Jiangnan to live a life of idleness and wait for death.
No!
Xie Sanbin shook his head vigorously to get rid of the idea.
He has to stay here and can't leave.
But how to deal with it?
Since he couldn't think of a solution at the moment, Xie Sanbin could only deal with it.
He coughed lightly.
Under the gaze of Chongzhen and all the civil and military officials, the cabinet chief and minister of finance said slowly: "Your Majesty, I think this matter is of great importance and should be handled with caution."
Chongzhen asked: "How to handle it carefully? Investigate or not investigate?"
"This..." Xie Sanbin deliberately prolonged his voice to delay time.
But his breath was limited, and the time he could delay was also limited.
Before his breath ran out, he could only helplessly say: "I think we should select a capable minister to go to Nanjing immediately to investigate this matter thoroughly!"
"Haha!" Chongzhen sneered.
Although he didn't say anything, his dissatisfaction was obvious.
The upright Shi Kefa immediately objected: "Isn't what Mr. Xie said wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
"That's not right!" Shi Kefa said confidently, "You just said that this matter is of great importance, and then you said that you would select a capable minister to go to Nanjing to investigate thoroughly. For such a serious matter, it is obviously not possible to send one person. Even if it is possible, how to investigate and who to send is also a problem!"
“After all, Nanjing”
Xie Sanbin's face turned a little ugly after being retorted.
He had already fallen into a disadvantage in front of the well-prepared Shi Kefa.
The Prime Minister of the Cabinet was actually confronted by an official who had just been transferred from Nanjing.
The officials present immediately became excited, especially those who were not members of the Donglin Party.
Shi Kefa was a member of the Donglin Party, and Xie Sanbin was also a member of the Donglin Party.
Regardless of who wins or loses, the Donglin Party will be the ones who suffer.
Other officials stepped back and watched from the sidelines with a bystander attitude.
Amid the teasing looks from the crowd, Xie Sanbin asked back, "Then what do you think we should do?"
Shi Kefa raised his head and said: "They should be called back to the capital and handed over to the three judicial departments for trial!"
"Haha!" Xie Sanbin sneered and continued to ask: "How to recall the capital?"
"Just one decree will do!"
"Wrong, totally wrong!" Xie Sanbin finally found the flaw and retorted loudly: "You should know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in Nanjing! Xu Wenjue, Zhu Guobi and others hold military power, although not much, but not too little."
"If the story is false, not only will the trip back and forth waste time, but it will also delay many important tasks, such as training troops, escorting tax silver, and suppressing pirates."
"If this is true, why would they surrender? They will do anything to protect themselves!"
"What will His Royal Highness do then?"
Xie Sanbin meant that he was afraid that these people would hold the prince hostage and do something extreme in order to protect themselves.
Shi Kefa was stunned for a moment, then he subconsciously said: "In this case, we can call the prince back to the capital in advance."
The officials were stunned for a moment and looked up at Chongzhen at the same time.
After all, Chongzhen had just said that anyone who dared to suggest that the prince should come to Beijing would be severely punished.
Chongzhen, who was happily eating melon, was stunned for a moment, then he realized that the melon was back on him.
He stood up and slammed the table: "Shi Kefa, considering that this is your first offense, I will not pursue your responsibility. If you do it again, I will punish you severely!"
Shi Kefa quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I know my crime."
Chongzhen snorted coldly, sat back on the dragon throne and closed his eyes to rest.
The court meeting is still going on.
Because the situation in Nanjing was too complicated, and Chongzhen did not agree to summon the prince to Beijing ahead of schedule.
So after discussing for a long time, no solution could be found.
Seeing that the matter had reached an impasse, the Minister of Personnel Qiu Yu stood up and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, since we can't make any conclusions about the Nanjing matter, why don't we discuss the Fujian matter instead?"
"Minister Qiu is right!"
"Master Qiu is right. Let's solve the issue in Fujian first. The issues there have nothing to do with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
The cabinet chief, Xie Sanbin, calmed down and asked Shi Kefa: "Sir Shi, what is the evidence of Zheng Zhilong's crime?"
"There is no physical evidence, only witnesses!"
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