Chapter 135 A huge uproar in the court
On that day, there were several grain-selling points in Yingzhou City, selling grain at a price of 20 wen per bucket.
After hearing the news, the people who had some extra money rushed to the grain-selling points to buy grain.
Each person was limited to buying one liter per day, and there was a long queue in front of the four grain-selling points.
The corrupt officials of Yingzhou were stripped of their official uniforms and hats, strung together with ropes, and paraded through the streets by dozens of Moyun cavalry elite soldiers.
The people of Yingzhou applauded and cheered!
Under the propaganda of the soldiers and yamen runners sent by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, they learned that the 300,000 taels of disaster relief silver and 400,000 dan of life-saving grain allocated by the court last time were all embezzled by these dog officials. The
people of Yingzhou hated these dog officials who ate human flesh and drank human blood!
If it weren't for these black-hearted and vicious corrupt officials, how could this natural disaster starve to death and hundreds of thousands of people be displaced to escape famine?
The officials headed by the prefect Liu Jingye and the magistrate Wang Ren had their official hats and official uniforms removed, and their hair was disheveled, their faces were ashen and they looked miserable.
They had to keep the rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs for food, and they were reluctant to throw them on these dog officials.
The angry people picked up dirt and rubbish and threw them at them, spitting at the corrupt officials! ...
It is said that a clean prefecture official can earn 100,000 silver coins in three years.
The value of the property confiscated from the prefecture governor Liu Jingye was as high as 300,000 taels. Most of this should be the stolen money that this greedy guy had embezzled when he served in various places over the years.
The value of the confiscated property of Wang Tongpan was more than 200,000 taels.
After the property of these corrupt officials was confiscated, the total value exceeded one million taels.
The always calm and elegant King Qin was also turned pale by the greed and greed of these corrupt officials.
The Song Dynasty was established for only more than 30 years, and these officials were corrupt to this extent!
The relief money allocated by the imperial court last time was completely divided up by them. Nearly 320,000 shi of the 400,000 shi of relief grain were resold. They are so audacious and vicious!
It's getting dark! The people are still lining up in the various affordable grain stores.
Although the grain they are limited to one liter is all brown rice and coarse grain, it can fill their stomachs and not starve to death! I wonder if there will be more tomorrow?
There are also long queues in front of the porridge stalls built everywhere. The victims who have no money to buy grain are all crowded here to grab a bowl of porridge.
The price of coarse grain at 20 wen per bushel is high in other places, but it was too low before the price of grain in Yingzhou was driven up to 700 wen per bushel.
Those powerful landlords and wealthy businessmen who were fined three times their grain cried and shouted that they were wronged!
The coarse grain in their hands was not enough to make up for the number, and the refined rice and flour were also sold at 20 wen per bushel, which were forcibly taken away by those fierce and evil Moyun Cavalry elite soldiers.
Many of these grains were bought from other prefectures at high prices. They hoarded them in order to make a fortune, but they were almost bankrupt because of this.
The King of Qin was too unreasonable and cruel! How could people live like this?
A wealthy businessman named Lu used all his money to buy food, with the highest amount being more than 60 coins per dou.
Seeing that he was about to go bankrupt due to confiscation, he brought his family to block the grain warehouse and refused to let Mo Yun's elite soldiers take away the grain.
After hearing the report from his subordinates, King Zhao Defang of Qin said coldly, "Then chop off his dog's head and confiscate all his grain!"
After the wealthy businessman named Lu was beheaded and all the grain he had hoarded was confiscated, the effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkey was immediately apparent.
Going bankrupt was better than losing his life, and no one dared to resist anymore.
With more than one million taels of silver and more than 1.2 million shi of grain, the results of this disaster relief are bound to be significant. The people can save food until the next spring plowing and have seeds for the next year.
After solving the Yingzhou issue neatly, Qin Wang Zhao Defang left 300 elite black cloud cavalry soldiers in Yingzhou and led the team to the other three prefectures that were severely affected by the disaster.
The other three prefectures were all under the jurisdiction of Yingzhou, and most of the disaster relief silver and grain were detained in Yingzhou for corruption.
Based on the strategy of catching the thief first, the corrupt officials and black-hearted profiteers in Yingzhou were dealt with, and the other three prefectures were just a matter of easy capture.
…………
The news of the King of Qin's fierce and ruthless actions in Yingzhou soon spread to the capital, causing a huge uproar in the court.
Not only was the group headed by the left prime minister Zhao Pu inexplicably angry, but they also argued bitterly in front of the emperor.
Other important officials in the court also said that the King of Qin's methods of handling the Yingzhou corruption case were too extreme.
The emperor looked at the kneeling court officials, and his heart was happy,
but his face was as cold as ice! My plan of killing two birds with one stone is really brilliant!
Which emperor does not hate corrupt officials? All the money you stole was from my pocket!
But there is no black crow in the world, and for the sake of the emperor's foundation, I dare not punish you to death.
The means used by the King of Qin to do this are cruel enough! It just happens that he is helping me to fight against corruption. If you have any grudges, just hold them against him.
The emperor scanned the ministers with a cold look!
"Shut up!"
The noisy hall immediately fell silent.
"The King of Qin has always been jealous of evil! How can he tolerate corrupt officials running rampant and harming the people?
Although his means of dealing with the officials in the Yingzhou corruption case were a bit cruel this time, the tens of thousands of people who starved to death are all citizens of the Song Dynasty!
Before the King of Qin comes back, don't mention this matter in the court again!"
………As soon as the left prime minister Zhao Pu returned home after court, several court officials who depended on him came to Zhao's mansion to visit him one after another.
Zhao Pu ordered people to invite them to the study.
Right Counselor Liu Zhi spoke first, "Left Prime Minister, this time the King of Qin took action against Prefect Liu without any regard for your face, the Prime Minister.
It would have been fine if he had only dismissed Prefect Liu from his post and investigated him, but he actually paraded the court officials through the streets and confiscated their property. This is too cruel!"
After the death of the fourth prince's uncle Wang Changshou, Qin Guangnian, who had just sought the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was also very angry!
"Which official in this world doesn't make some unexpected money? Brother Liu just made a little more, but it's not a crime, right?!"
Wu Mian, the Minister of History, was also deeply worried, "The King of Qin is so tyrannical and overbearing. If he gets the power, there will be no peace for us."
Rong Zhixing, the Minister of Rites, agreed, "Brother Wu is right. The King of Qin looks gentle as jade, but he is extremely cruel. We must not let him get the power!"
Zhao Pu sighed secretly!
I wonder if the King of Qin will use the fire of Yingzhou's corruption case to burn the prime minister? After all, Liu Jingye is my direct disciple, and Yingzhou's corruption also gave me 60,000 taels of disaster relief silver.
"Don't panic! In the future, you should do more to help the King of Qin and don't let him gain power.
Jingye will be escorted back to the capital for trial, and we will try our best to protect him. Even if he is dismissed and demoted, we will try our best to let him go to a wealthy county to be the county magistrate."
Rong Zhixing saw that the left prime minister was still so optimistic, and he was a little worried, "Prime Minister, what if the King of Qin holds on to brother Liu's corruption and insists on punishing him according to the law?"
Zhao Pu stroked his beard and smiled calmly, "Taizu once vowed to rule the world with scholars all over the world. The current emperor's attitude towards literati is to attract and use them.
Jingye is a Jinshi from the third list, and the emperor will not put him to death.
His property has been confiscated by the King of Qin, and the most he will get is dismissal and demotion!"
Several civil officials secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as if they were all wearing a golden medal of immunity from death.
After several officials left, Gao Qishan, a trusted aide, came out from the inner room.
"Prime Minister, you have to be careful that the King of Qin will use Liu Jingye's corruption case to bite you after returning to Beijing!"
Zhao Pu nodded, but did not take it too seriously.
: "Now the emperor has leverage in my hands. Even if I am found to have embezzled some money, what can I do to him?"
Gao Qishan put down the teacup in his hand and advised worriedly.
: "Prime Minister, I suggested you to offer the "Golden Casket Alliance" strategy, which won the emperor's favor and was recalled to the capital to resume the position of
prime minister. But now, this "Golden Casket Alliance" that allowed the emperor to regain his throne has become a hidden danger in the emperor's mind and an obstacle to the emperor passing the throne to his own son."
Zhao Pu's heart sank instantly!
"You are absolutely right!
The Golden Casket Alliance we originally planned was based on the rumors that the late Queen Mother was worried about the stability of the Song Dynasty and forced Emperor Taizu to issue an imperial decree to pass the throne to the eldest instead of the youngest.
When the proposal was presented to the current emperor, it was to assess the situation and help him get the throne right.
Now, according to the agreement of the Golden Casket Alliance, the heirs to the throne include Prince Zhao Tingmei of Qi and Prince Zhao Defang of Qin, and then the emperor's turn. My dear sons.
The emperor's heart is no longer grateful to me, but has secretly harbored resentment, right?"
Gao Qishan pondered for a moment, "Prime Minister, when Emperor Taizu was in power, you and the current emperor, who was still the prefect of Kaifeng, fought to the death for power. That's
why the emperor hated you, and dismissed you after he ascended the throne.
I'm afraid the emperor now has the same intention again!"
Zhao Pu's face sank! A gleam of wisdom flashed in his old eyes, "Wealth and honor are sought in danger! Only those who choose to stand in accordance with the situation can be a wise man who seeks eternal wealth and glory.
Although Qin Wang Zhao Defang is young, he is wise and decisive, a little too wise. If he takes the throne in the future, he will definitely not allow the dictatorship of a minister to arbitrarily rule!
Qi Wang Zhao Tingmei is a king who is very easy to manipulate. If I help him seize the throne, He will definitely be reused. This position will only become more and more stable."
Gao Qishan disagreed: "Prime Minister, please don't gamble your life!
The King of Qi is indecisive and lacks strength, so it's difficult for him to accomplish anything great!
I still suggest you bet on the eldest prince.
Although the eldest prince has not been named the crown prince, he has already moved into the East Palace. He is the most likely candidate to inherit the throne."
Zhao Pu pondered for a while.
He readily agreed to the suggestion of his staff: "Qishan's consideration is very reasonable, so give up the plan of helping King Qi to seize the throne!
In the future, we will go all out to support the eldest prince to be crowned as the crown prince as soon as possible."
Gao Qishan smiled sinisterly, "Prime Minister, you have not had direct contact with King Qi. When you have the opportunity, you can report your merits."
Zhao Pu was stunned for a moment, then he understood and laughed heartily with his trusted staff!