996 Ministry of Revenue, the Ninth Prince's Counterattack

The emperor is the king of Dongling. No matter how many restrictions he faces in government affairs, as an emperor, sitting in that position, he has to mobilize 10,000 or 20,000 troops in Dongling. It is not a difficult task to kill a prince who has hidden his identity. At that time, he can shut up all the officials with the name of suppressing bandits.

Faced with the emperor sending troops to hunt him down openly, the Ninth Prince could only choose to avoid the attack, hide his identity and whereabouts, and not confront them head-on.

It’s not that the Ninth Uncle doesn’t dare to confront the Emperor head-on, but that he can’t. Not to mention that most of his forces are in the court and the border. Even if he has enough ability to mobilize troops from various counties, he will not do so at this time. Isn’t this obviously exposing his strength to the Emperor?

You have to know that as a prince, he has no right to mobilize troops.

Before the situation became clear, the Ninth Prince had not thought of exposing his strength in Dongling, making the emperor guard against him, or giving the emperor a chance to eliminate his power.

Of course, the Ninth Prince is not the kind of person who would not fight back after suffering a loss. His power lies in the capital, so he is using the capital's affairs to disgust the emperor. Isn't he trying to find fault with him? Now he is handing a big handle to the emperor, letting him be happy for a few days.

On the fifth day after the Ninth Prince and Feng Qingchen left the villa, a major event occurred in the imperial city.

During the morning court session, an official from the Inspectorate suddenly submitted a memorial stating that the Ninth Prince had some time ago withdrawn three million taels from Tianxia Silver House and given to the Su Family Firm in the name of purchasing materials for building the imperial mausoleum.

The Inspectorate was very puzzled about the origin of the money from the Ninth Prince's uncle. They suspected that the money was withdrawn from the national treasury by the Ninth Prince's uncle without the permission of the Emperor, and they requested the Emperor to conduct a thorough investigation.

The Inspectorate submitted a memorial at this time, which must have shown that it had evidence, and even the emperor knew about it. The emperor not only condoned but even tolerated such things.

If we don't eliminate the Ninth Prince's people in the court now, when will we do that?

The Emperor was furious, but not at the Ninth Uncle. Instead, he rebuked the officials of the Inspectorate for making up stories out of thin air, saying that the Ninth Uncle would never do such a thing. He asked the Minister of Revenue to come out and clarify the matter and clear the Ninth Uncle's name.

"Your Majesty is wise. The Ninth Prince did not transfer silver from the Ministry of Revenue. The Inspectorate is making things up. Your Majesty, please do not listen to the words of this villain."

Such an answer was expected by the emperor and all the officials. Everyone in the court knew that Minister Cao of the Ministry of Revenue was an official during the reign of the previous emperor, a veteran of two dynasties, and a capable minister praised by the previous emperor. He could not be moved without fault, but at the same time, he was also the Ninth Emperor's uncle's man, or in other words, the Ministry of Revenue had always been controlled by the Ninth Emperor's uncle.

All in all, the emperor was quite aggrieved. Not only did the Shenjiying built by the previous emperor fall into the hands of the Ninth Uncle, but the emperor himself did not even have the Ministry of Revenue under his control.

The Emperor had long wanted to take over the Ministry of Revenue, but the Ninth Prince never interfered in the affairs of the Ministry. However, if the Emperor showed his intention to take over the Ministry of Revenue, the Ninth Prince would definitely come out to protect it.

Minister Cao is a smart and cautious person. Over the years, the emperor has been unable to find any major mistakes. Moreover, Minister Cao has made considerable achievements in the Ministry of Revenue. The emperor cannot find a better candidate for the time being, so he has been letting him go. It's really...

This time, the Ninth Prince's uncle reached out to the Ministry of Revenue, giving the Emperor a huge handle. This time, the Emperor not only wanted to take down the Ministry of Revenue, but also wanted to tarnish the Ninth Prince's reputation.

The Emperor was certain that the three million taels of silver that the Ninth Prince gave to Su Wenqing were indeed transferred from the Ministry of Revenue. Now the Ninth Prince was not in the Imperial City, so he just had to wait for evidence to confirm the matter. Even if the Ninth Prince returned to Beijing alive, he would be powerless to change the situation.

When the Minister of Revenue refused to plead guilty, the Emperor not only did not object, but even agreed with his objection, and seemed to be indicating that he would not investigate the matter. Of course, it was not that the Emperor had changed his character, but that he wanted to show his magnanimity and grace.

At this time, Prince Luo deeply understood the emperor's intention. When the emperor was a good person and said that the Ninth Prince would never embezzle the silver from the national treasury, he stood up and said with a fair face: "Father, I think what the Inspectorate said is not wrong. Although the Ninth Prince is a prince with a lot of property, he can't come up with three million taels of silver unless he sells real estate and land. However, according to the character of the Ninth Prince, he would never transfer silver from the Ministry of Revenue for private use. I would like to ask the father to order a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue to clear the Ninth Prince's name."

That's right...

Looking up, some people were sweating, while others were sneering.

He keeps saying that he believes in the Ninth Uncle, but he wants to investigate the Ministry of Revenue. He is really a good nephew of the Ninth Uncle.

Upon seeing this, Prince Zhou also echoed the sentiment. The officials of the Inspectorate also kowtowed repeatedly, saying that they were not targeting the Ninth Uncle, but were just fulfilling their responsibilities and affirmed that the Emperor would conduct a thorough investigation.

The people from the Ninth Uncle's former prince's faction remained silent at the same time, waiting for Minister Cao of the Ministry of Revenue to speak. Only he knew the truth of the matter. If they objected without reason, it would only bring down the emperor's wrath.

It was beyond everyone's expectation, but also within everyone's expectation. Minister Cao did not say a word and let the emperor make the decision.

The emperor wanted to build a memorial arch for himself even though he had made a promise. He said that he did not believe that his ninth uncle would be so foolish as to embezzle the money of the Ministry of Revenue without authorization, and he did not believe that the minister Cao, an old minister of the previous emperor, would do such a foolish thing. However, he still issued an order in a swift and resolute manner, dispatching personnel from various departments to assist Prince Luo in checking the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue and asking the Ministry of Revenue to cooperate.

Minister Cao was not surprised or panicked, and kowtowed in response.

After the Emperor announced his surrender, the Ninth Prince and the Crown Prince's people could no longer sit still. The evidence produced by the Inspectorate did prove that the Ninth Prince had taken three million taels of silver to give to Su Wenqing. Where did the Ninth Prince get this money?

As soon as they left the council hall, those officials took the opportunity to get close to Minister Cao, wanting to know what was going on and whether they needed to do anything.

Don't let them really find out anything. If they really find out that the Ninth Prince has embezzled the Ministry's money, it won't just be the Ninth Prince who will be in trouble, but the two entire factions. Especially the people of the Crown Prince's faction, they will be even more uneasy. They have just stabilized and don't want to return to their previous state of being leaderless.

Minister Cao just smiled and said nothing. The officials did not dare to ask too many questions for fear of causing the emperor's dissatisfaction. They could only leave the palace with heavy hearts, thinking in their hearts about Prince Luo and the royalists, and where they could attack.

The people from the Inspectorate have made a move, so they can't be polite.

Prince Luo and the royalists were all delighted. In their opinion, the Ninth Prince was doomed to fail this time.

That afternoon, Dong Ling Zi Luo brought people from various ministries and rushed to the Ministry of Revenue in a mighty force to check the accounts of the Ministry. Seeing his smug look, people who were not in the know thought that the Ninth Prince had fallen and he was the crown prince.

However, Dongling Ziluo has been living a very comfortable life recently. With Concubine Su speaking for him in the palace, and without the pressure from the Ninth Prince and the Crown Prince, Prince Luo, who is in the emperor's favor, has the status of an invisible crown prince.

Minister Cao had a sneer in his eyes and came out to receive him personally. The people from the Ministry of Revenue served him a few cups of bitter old tea. Dong Ling Zi Luo took a sip and then frowned and put down the cup: "Minister Cao, you are too stingy. You are using this old tea to entertain me when I come?"

Dong Ling Zi Luo thought that this was a show of power by Minister Cao, and wanted to take the opportunity to scare Minister Cao, but unexpectedly, Minister Cao stood up with an angry face and said, "Your Highness, Prince Luo, you don't know how expensive oil and rice are if you don't manage the household. The Ministry of Revenue has always been short of money. I wish I could spend every copper coin. If Your Highness, Prince Luo, is not used to the tea of ​​my village, I will not entertain you."

After saying that, he just left...

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