Chapter 61 Winter Month: Canal Transport, Riverbank, Tribute!
The Ministry of Justice wanted to bring people in for interrogation, and the Feng family wanted to take people to be executed. The small Meiyuan County was bustling with activity, like a scene from the heavens, which terrified everyone in the local county government.
Fu Sui's men were well-trained and rode at top speed, leaving the Feng family's servants far behind. Even so, they found nothing; the Tian family was left with only three mud houses and half a straw fence. There wasn't a single person inside, let alone anyone breathing.
The table was clean, the cupboards were empty, and even the bed where Tian Dali had been lying had only a frayed straw mat left. This family, along with the paralyzed man, packed up all their belongings and disappeared.
Fu Sui poked the bird's head with the pen, letting the bird bounce back and forth with each peck.
Xue Guangting has a clever plan. Where can he hide this family?
Lu's blind mother was also not at home. The neighbors said that her nephew had taken her away. But when asked, no one knew where her nephew was now. They only said that her nephew used the money he earned to treat her injuries and illnesses.
Fu Sui couldn't find the person, and neither could the Ministry of Justice, which was a step behind Fu Sui.
Although the disappearance of the Tian family made the Feng family uneasy, the lack of witnesses emboldened the Earl of Yuyang, who shouted that Xue Guangting's slander of imperial relatives was an act of contempt for the emperor, and insisted that the Ministry of Justice punish Xue Guangting.
"How many days have passed since Xue Guangting impeached Feng Man?" Fu Sui was getting a headache from listening to the ramblings of the Marquis of Yuyang.
As the weather gets colder, the cold air is most likely to aggravate Fu Sui's old ailments. Every winter, extra care is taken to ensure proper ventilation when burning charcoal in the mansion.
Fu Sui held a bowl of Codonopsis and Astragalus Chicken Soup, stirring it slowly and sipping it intermittently, when he heard Qin An reply, "Today is the fifth day."
It's been five days, and Xue Guangting still hasn't let the Tian family show up. What's the point of keeping witnesses around?
What are the Feng family doing?
"What else can we do?" Qin An scoffed. "We've sent out everyone we can, searching for people both inside and outside the capital. We can't find the Tian and Lü families, so how can the Earl of Yuyang dare to rest?"
"Did you try looking for the Wang family?" Fu Sui asked after thinking for a moment.
Isn't the Wang family always cleaning up after the Feng family? I wonder what the Wang family sees in Consort Feng? Even if the Feng family is stupid and easy to manipulate, the Wang family still needs someone to relay messages from the inner court, but surely they don't have to be this inconsiderate?
The day Feng Man returned from the Ministry of Justice, he sent someone to contact Wang Bochang. "Of course I contacted him." But what they discussed is unknown.
Fu Sui had tried to plant a spy next to Wang Bochang before, but Wang Bochang became increasingly suspicious after being kicked out of his position as prime minister. He never allowed anyone to be near him when discussing matters, not even his own wife.
A long-handled, embroidered glass spoon stirred haphazardly in the bowl, making a clinking sound. Fu Sui couldn't understand what Xue Guangting was trying to do by dragging the Feng family along. Did he have another trick up his sleeve?
"Has no one from the Feng family gone to inquire about Xue Guangting?" Ever since Xue Guangting returned to the capital, Fu Sui's men have been keeping an eye on him. The gate next to the house where Shen Siming is currently living is uninhabited, so Fu Sui rented it under Lan Niang's name and left people to guard it day and night.
When the matter was brought up, Qin An's eyes became more amused: "The Feng family sent people there twice, both times secretly at night."
Go quietly? Fu Sui found it amusing. Was this to steal or to kill?
"It seems the first attempt didn't succeed. Xue Guangting goes to bed late, and the guards say his room light doesn't go out until the wee hours of the morning, and a few times it stays on until daytime. It's also unfortunate that the Feng family's first visit coincided with Xue Guangting not sleeping all night."
Although Fu Sui didn't see Xue Guangting, his subordinates said he seemed even thinner. He was truly reckless; while working tirelessly day and night was a virtue for an official, one couldn't live on a sliver of divine power. If he kept pushing himself like this, he might collapse before he could bring down the person he was supposed to bring down.
"The second time was even more coincidental." Qin An's voice trailed off with a hint of sarcasm. "We had just entered the alley when we ran into General Yue. The Feng family members fled in a hurry when they were spotted, and were even chased by Yue Shanling for a while. Our men were afraid of being discovered by Yue Shanling, so they didn't dare to chase after them. However, it seems that the Feng family members were not caught. We don't know where they are hiding, but they slunk back to the Feng family home at dawn."
What a joke! The gates of the neighborhood are locked at night, and judging from the fact that the Feng family doesn't return until dawn, it's clear they don't have the ability to scale the walls. They've fought their way up from the battlefields of Yueshanling; could they really not catch these few small fry? They probably never even intended to.
If he wants to see Shen Siming, he should just open the door and come in. What's he doing sneaking around outside in the middle of the night? Instead of being a doorman in front of the Princess's mansion, is he going to be a doorman for Shen Siming?
Fu Sui felt that Yue Shanling was overthinking things. The Feng family didn't have the guts to burn Xue Guangting to death under the emperor's nose, so he didn't need to worry about Shen Siming being affected.
"Hurry up with those people in Hedong and get them back soon."
With the witness missing, Xue Guangting worked tirelessly day and night, while the emperor remained silent. This matter was unlikely to end so easily; she needed to prepare early.
Sure enough, on the sixth day after Xue Guangting impeached the Earl of Yuyang, at the grand court assembly on the first day of the eleventh lunar month, Xue Guangting presented a second memorial.
"Your Majesty, I have discovered that the Earl of Yuyang colluded with Zhou Xian, the Prefect of Liangzhou, to illegally intercept the grain transport. All grain ships passing through Liangzhou via the Yangtze and Han Rivers were required to pay a 30% 'lockage fee,' otherwise they would be denied passage on the grounds that their cargo was unusual. Any ships transporting rare and precious items had one or two of their cargo taken away, known as 'water loss.' Even local tribute ships passing through Liangzhou were required to pay 'water loss' from their tribute."
"Xue Guangting, you must be careful with your words. You hold the high position of Earl of Yuyang and are also important ministers of the state as the Governor of Liangzhou. You cannot tolerate being slandered so casually."
Before Xue Guangting could finish speaking, someone spoke up; it was Gao Zi'ang. His words seemed to accuse Xue Guangting of making unfounded accusations. As if seeking verification, he turned to the Minister of Revenue and asked, "Minister Zhang, does the Ministry of Revenue have detailed records of the grain transport? Let Censor Xue take a look, so as to clear the name of the Earl of Yuyang and the Prefect of Liangzhou."
The Minister of Revenue smiled and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Minister Gao is joking with our Ministry of Revenue. As everyone knows, our Ministry of Revenue is only responsible for the inspection of grain entering the capital and the management of grain transport vessels. We have no control over the water and vessel consumption along the way."
Gao Zi'ang let out a long "Oh," and asked with a hint of curiosity, "Does the Water Conservancy Bureau have any details?"
When Gao Zi'ang inquired about the Ministry of Revenue, the Water Conservancy Commissioner knew that he would most likely be asked the same question. He calmly replied, "Although the Water Conservancy Bureau is in charge of rivers, lakes, ferries, and bridges, our vast country has a border that extends to the four seas. There are countless long dikes, dams, ponds, and canals throughout the land, and it is impossible for my bureau alone to oversee them all. Since the Shengde era, except for Jingzhao Prefecture and Henan Prefecture, water conservancy and water transport in other places have been managed by local ferrymen."
"Hehe, I forgot." Gao Zi'ang was not embarrassed when he heard the Water Transport Commissioner say this. He stroked his beard a couple of times and said with some regret, "In that case, it is indeed difficult to know the details of the grain transport in Liangzhou."
"I have evidence!" Xue Guangting's voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned to look at him. Gao Zi'ang asked him with some surprise, "You have accounts for the Liangzhou sluice gate fees and water consumption?"
Xue Guangting stood ramrod straight and pulled something out of his pocket and unfolded it: "I don't have the accounts of the Liangzhou canal transport, but I have the survey map of the Liangzhou section of the Han River embankment."
He turned the blueprints to the crowd, where the survey map clearly showed the dimensions and structure of the dam. On the structural diagram of the dam's cross-section, the words "reeds" and "rubble" were clearly written.
"Your Majesty, in the early summer of the year before last, the dikes along the Liangzhou section of the Han River broke and collapsed due to their age. The local tax office inspected the matter and reported it to the Water Conservancy Bureau, which allocated a total of 58,000 taels of silver for the repair and reconstruction of the dikes."
"Yes, that is true." Upon hearing this, the Minister of Revenue responded.
"But the dikes along the Liangzhou section of the Han River are currently hastily constructed with mud mixed with straw and gravel, covered with a thin layer of stones. If you loosen the stones a little, you can see the mud underneath. How can such a dike withstand floods, and why would it cost 58,000 taels of silver?"
How the dike was built can be easily found by sending someone to Liangzhou; Xue Guangting would not lie about this. Upon hearing this, everyone in the court was startled; embezzling money and labor costs was no small matter. And Xue Guangting's next words were even more shocking.
"Of the fifty-eight thousand taels of silver, half was embezzled by the governor of Liangzhou and the Earl of Yuyang, while the other half was sent to Wang Bochang's residence."
"Moreover, in recent years alone, when tribute ships passed through Liangzhou, seven rare flowers and trees, more than twenty strange stones, three ivory carvings, and countless pearls and gems that were originally intended to be presented as tribute to the capital were seized. Apart from a small portion that was kept by the Earl of Yuyang, most of these intercepted tribute items were sent to Hedong."
Hedong was Wang's territory, and Xue Guangting was directly accusing the Wang family of intercepting and enjoying the tribute. If one were to think even deeper, it would mean that even the emperor's food was what the Wang family had left over.
Gao Ye's face turned deathly pale. As one of the four noble families, he knew that they often outwardly obeyed the emperor but inwardly defied him, but he never imagined that the Wang family would even go so far as to intercept tribute.
He recalled the words the sage had spoken to him alone that day: the four surnames may seem to be equal, but in reality they are quite different. Although the Gao family is powerful, it cannot surpass the imperial power of the Heavenly Family. Why insist on competing for glory?
He didn't understand at the time, thinking that the Gao family was at least second among the four surnames, if not first. Now he realized that the gap between first and second place was so huge, and the Wang family was truly going to overshadow the imperial family and compete with the Ziwei family for glory.
Xue Guangting, holding the riverbank survey map in both hands, knelt down with the crispness of bamboo. Lacking the cushioning of flesh, his bones slammed heavily against the gleaming bricks, striking the hearts of the court officials like drumbeats: "Your Majesty, water conservancy and water transport are of paramount importance to the nation. Without a foundation stone within the riverbank, once it breaches, the flood will stretch for thousands of miles. I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter and not allow treacherous individuals to disrupt river administration, damage the dikes, and thus harm the people."
The Taiji Hall was filled with ministers attending court and eunuchs and guards accompanying the emperor; the more people there were, the more secluded it became. The vibrant colors of purple, red, and blue filled the magnificent hall, contrasting with the colorful lacquer paintings on the beams—so vivid, yet so serene.
At this moment, there were Wang's supporters standing in the hall, but refuting Xue Guangting was useless.
It's obvious what the Liangzhou dike was made of; there's no way to hide it. However, the whereabouts of the funds used to build the dike aren't something Xue Guangting can control. The Liangzhou Finance Bureau's accounts are clear and expenditures are well-documented, so tracing this back to Wang Bochang won't be easy.
More important than arguing with Xue Guangting about the silver tribute is who will be assigned to investigate this matter.
The sage rested one hand on the desk, his forehead rubbed, his eyes slightly closed. After a long while, he finally opened his eyes and impatiently glanced at the desk. The writing brushes and ink on the desk rolled to the floor, making a clattering sound.
Suppressing his anger, the emperor said in a deep voice, "Isn't the case of the Earl of Yuyang still unresolved? Since it is related to the Earl of Yuyang again, let's transfer it to the Ministry of Justice."
"Court adjourned!"
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