Chapter 288 The Imperial Envoy Travels in a Fair and Open Manner
It's decided that it's you...it's you...
In the inner hall of the Zhao family, the door was closed. Mo Chou's casual words made Zhao feel like he was struck by lightning.
Oops…I flattered the horse but hit its hoof…The remaining half of the drunkenness in Zhao Duan’s body suddenly disappeared.
He dragged a chair over dejectedly, sat down, and looked unhappy.
Mo Chou was so amused by what she saw. It was a rare sight for him to be humiliated. She asked with a smile:
"Speaking of which, what on earth did you write to cause His Majesty to react in this way?"
"No comment."
Zhao Duan had a fierce look on his face and ignored her.
Forget it. I can find out tomorrow by asking someone... Mo Chou snorted and didn't care.
Although Zhao Duan was disappointed, he still asked:
"What's going on with this Taicang Silver Mine?"
Seeing him bring up serious matters, Mo Chou put away her joking thoughts. Worried that he might harbor resentment, she finally explained:
"Okay, that was mostly a joke.
Your Majesty is broad-minded. How could he punish you just because you wrote some perverse poems?
In my opinion, this matter is of considerable importance and is related to the new policy, and His Majesty is concerned about the abilities of others, so he has contacted you."
Then, the female prime minister described the incident in detail and without haste.
It's not complicated.
"Taicang Silver Mine" is a mine located in Taicang County, southwest of the capital, or it would be more accurate to call it a mine pit.
It belongs to the "Linfeng Road" adjacent to the capital.
It was mined by the imperial court and used to smelt silver, which was then sent to the capital to be cast into silver ingots.
It is also quite old and is one of the few large silver mines in Dayu.
The mine supervisor of the silver mine also served as the Taicang County Magistrate.
Around noon today, the Censorate received a letter of accusation from Taicang.
The informant was a low-level official in the mine.
The letter mentioned that officials headed by the Taicang County Magistrate had embezzled silver in the name of "fire consumption" and even kept gangsters and engaged in many dirty activities.
"After seeing the letter, Lord Yuan attached great importance to it and presented it to Your Majesty in the afternoon.
"Your Majesty is furious and has ordered the Taicang Prefecture Governor to arrest the Taicang County Magistrate. However, whether the letter is genuine, and if corruption exists, who is involved... these still require an imperial envoy to investigate," Mochou explained.
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then understood the meaning and said:
"Your Majesty, are you worried that the Taicang County Magistrate isn't the only one involved in corruption?"
Mo Chou nodded, her eyes cold:
"According to the accusation, this matter has been going on for several years. It existed even during the reign of the late emperor. Could a mere seventh-rank county magistrate truly be so capable of so wielding such power for so many years? Your Majesty, I fear that this Taicang County magistrate is only the tip of the iceberg... This is the key point."
Zhao Duan rubbed his chin and said:
"I do care about this letter of accusation. It didn't come earlier or later, but it came at this time. It's quite interesting."
Mo Chou was stunned for a moment and looked at him: "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing, just curious," Zhao Duan said indifferently.
"I'm a rather suspicious person, and besides, this explains it. Your Majesty's influence has grown steadily over the past six months, and all the officials have noticed.
After arresting Magistrate Wang last time, he even issued a general amnesty for officials, which showed his courage even more...
Therefore, officials outside the capital believed that Your Majesty was a wise ruler and were willing to take the risk of reporting and joining your army... This is reasonable and logical."
Mo Chou looked at him deeply:
"There's another point. Regarding 'Silver' itself, you should know why His Majesty attaches great importance to this case."
Zhao Duan was silent.
Of course he knows.
This is closely related to the "Three Golden Strategies" he proposed. In the land-based tax system, Dayu's "copper coin standard" was clearly switched to a "silver standard."
This means that Dayu’s “silver mine” suddenly became extremely important.
Moreover, the imperial court wanted to implement new policies. According to his idea, it was going to open up a "trade market" to attract merchants to enter and start the economic flywheel... But in the early stages, the imperial court still had to spend money first.
Therefore, the corruption in the Taicang Silver Mine, as the "money bag" of the imperial court, was, to put it mildly, the fault of corrupt officials.
To put it in a broader sense, if it is not handled properly, it will hinder the "new policy".
Even official corruption is itself included in the "Three Golden Strategies" that implement the "Performance Evaluation System" for officials.
Zhao Duan even had some doubts about this incident being exposed at this time.
Is the case as simple as it seems?
"In short, although the Taicang corruption case only involves one mine, it is closely related to the new policy. As the person who proposed the new policy, you should know the importance of this matter." Mo Chou said seriously.
Zhao Duan rubbed his face, exhaled and smiled bitterly:
"I can go, but won't it be dangerous if I leave the capital? Not to mention some people in the court, the Kuangfu Society alone wants me dead. How about assigning me a bodyguard? I think Eunuch Hai is a good choice..."
"..." Mo Chou resisted the urge to complain and smiled:
"But you've already reached the Divine Chapter Realm. His Majesty must have told you that if a warrior wants to reach a higher level, he must face the storm head-on. Hiding is not an option."
That's right... not dodging or avoiding is the true state of mind of a warrior...
The Divine Chapter Realm isn't even qualified to be a furnace cauldron. I have to enter the "worldly" realm early so that I can practice dual cultivation with Zhen Bao... Bah, so that I can return the dragon soul to him...
As for danger… With my current level of cultivation, as long as I don’t suffer a setback, the Divine Chapter cultivators won’t be able to kill me instantly. Even if a powerful person from the “world” were to snipe me, I could still hold on for a while with the help of my “Dragon Soul”…
As long as I can catch my breath, the worst that can happen is that I can crush the "teleportation jade pendant" and flash back to the palace directly... It's not a big problem...
Besides, I've been fishing for several times in a row, so Kuangfu Society has to think twice about whether to continue to come and die...
Many thoughts flashed through Zhao Duan's mind as he was about to agree.
Seeing that he remained silent, Mo Chou silently took out an imperial envoy badge and bewitched him:
"With this order, you can mobilize troops from the local military camps and garrisons. The local military camp commanders will also obey your orders. Is this safe enough?"
Why didn't you tell me earlier... you're so naughty... Zhao Duan covered his waist badge with his big hand and said righteously:
"I have no regrets serving Your Majesty, even if I die, let alone a mere enemy!"
Mo Chou rolled her eyes and turned away:
"You don't have much time left."
Zhao Duan personally sent her off, and suddenly remembered something, saying:
"Am I going on a private visit in disguise, or..."
Mo Chou said lightly:
"His Majesty has said that the Imperial Envoy's trip is above board and above board."
…
(End of this chapter)
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