Chapter 59 Detailed Investigation
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
Zhu Zhanji nodded slightly and said, "Get up, have you made any progress?"
"These bandits have confessed, claiming to be from Jiangnan. I also had my colleagues compare their accents and confirmed that they are from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. They must be from Zhenjiang Prefecture."
"Zhenjiang?" Zhu Zhanji frowned and asked, "From Zhenjiang to the north?"
Shi Lin spoke slowly, "I've inquired carefully, and it should have been around the 22nd year of the Yongle reign. Disasters were frequent at the time, and quite a few people were scavenging wasteland and evading labor. The labor and land taxes in the north were lighter, so these people fled. Some wealthy families with large farms sheltered these people to work for them, but the tenants couldn't make much money, so these people headed north. They heard that the Empress Dowager and the Empress were giving out porridge in Northern Zhili, so they wanted to try their luck there. Unexpectedly, the late Emperor and Your Majesty had ascended the throne one after another, and it was a time of turmoil, so the Empress stopped giving out porridge. These people therefore resented the Empress, but they had already entered the capital, and Your Majesty allowed refugees to be resettled. So, in the past few years, they've often lived in villages near Shuntian Prefecture, working on the farms of the nobles to make a living."
If Shi Lin had reported this first, Zhu Zhanji might have thought that the matter was just that simple, but the imperial concubine seemed to be aware of this matter, so Zhu Zhanji could no longer take it lightly.
"They've gotten away with it, and even put the blame on the Queen." Zhu Zhanji sneered, then asked, "How did they get in touch with the people in the palace?"
Shi Lin then continued, "The palace has procurement matters to attend to, and the eunuchs' errands outside the palace are very conspicuous. Some people know that these eunuchs may have contact with the palace dignitaries, so they try to curry favor with them. There are wealthy families in the village who often send these eunuchs fruits and vegetables, and some even send them farmland and people. These people got in touch with the palace at this time. Originally, they just helped these eunuchs' families occupy some land, but after a while, they dared to bully men and women..."
Zhu Zhanji was silent for a while, then asked in disbelief, "How dare you try to murder the princess?"
Shi Lin swallowed and said truthfully: "I have sent people to the farms to inquire, and they all said that these people exist. The lists of those farms are all here." After that, he took out a booklet from his arms.
Wang Jin took the booklet and presented it to Zhu Zhanji. It not only listed the owner of the farm and the land area, but also when and by whom the farm was taken over. Zhu Zhanji flipped through it briefly and didn't see anything at first, but after looking at it for a while, he realized something was wrong.
Zhu Zhanji put down the booklet in his hand and asked, "Is this all true?"
"Yes." Shi Lin's face was heavy as he spoke, "Some of them were local elders, and two of them were retainers of Lord Sun. One of them has passed away, and the land was then distributed among the elders and their descendants. I asked a few people to inquire privately, and they said that the land ownership is still in Lord Sun's hands, but he sold it to local people on the surface. He would occasionally resettle people in villages or farms, and in this way he could reduce the land tax..."
Zhu Zhanji was furious and threw the booklet on the table, saying, "How audacious! I told all places to promote agriculture, and he's just clinging to it! What a shame if this gets out!"
Sun Yu originally served as a clerk in the Honglu Temple. Later, when Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, he was promoted to General of Cavalry and Deputy Governor of the Central Army Governor's Office. Although his official position rose, he did not have any responsibility. Therefore, he liked to make friends with literati and scholars, and naturally he had some retainers.
Zhu Zhanji originally didn't think this was a big deal, but once the land issue came into play, he had to consider the matter of Wunong Temple.
Soon after the Wunong Temple was established, in addition to the craftsmen and managers who researched and updated agricultural tools, the most important task was to appoint agricultural officials to encourage farming, and to work with local officials to divide land and resettle refugees. Putting aside the fact that the Sun family had kept some ruffians in the farm, the mere fact of the land occupation had brought bad luck to Zhu Zhanji.
He was out there telling officials not to encroach on farmland, and the Sun family was slapping him in the face under the emperor's feet. There were countless people out there who knew exactly what was going on...
Seeing that Zhu Zhanji had finally calmed down his anger, Shi Lin continued, "I heard from them that the second son of the Sun family said that the Sun family is also half-father-in-law of the emperor, so they will naturally protect these village elders and their children."
Zhu Zhanji almost choked and said angrily, "Last time I had him brought to the palace and gave him a good beating, why didn't he change his ways? Doesn't he know what it means to cause trouble with your mouth?"
Sun Xianzong was happy with what he said outside, but Zhu Zhanji had to refute the rumors every day. Not to mention that the queen was now well-known for her virtue and Zhu Yuhuan was at the peak of her ability, so it was difficult for him to depose the queen without reason for the time being.
No one dared to guess the emperor's intentions, but the Sun family wished that everyone in the world would know the emperor's thoughts!
Wang Jin had never seen Zhu Zhanji so angry before, so he hurriedly brought the tea and handed it to Zhu Zhanji.
Zhu Zhanji just waved his hand and said, "Are these people also from the village?"
"The name and experience do match, but I didn't let them confirm the portrait to prevent the news from leaking out."
Zhu Zhanji took a breath, and after a long while, he said to Wang Jin, "Have the Imperial Household Supervisor investigate whether those people under Huang Yan have any contact with the Imperial Concubine's palace. If not, I will make the decision later."
Wang Jin immediately responded and then asked tentatively, "What about the Palace Administration Office..."
Zhu Zhanji was silent for a moment, then said, "There's no need to inform the Palace Administration Office. The Imperial Concubine is about to give birth. What if those female officials gossip too much and harm the heir? Also, don't let the Empress Dowager know until the results from the Imperial Household Department come out. I have my own arrangements."
The Sun family's affairs had been discovered by the Jinyiwei. Although it was not a solid evidence of murdering the princess, it was a solid evidence of violating Zhu Zhanji's orders. If he did not punish them, how could his orders be trusted by the people? When the time came, he could only use the Sun family as an example to scare the monkeys.
Shi Lin immediately understood that His Majesty wanted to cut ties between the Imperial Concubine and the Sun family in order to protect her.
However, in this way, it is a foregone conclusion that the Sun family made a mistake, and His Majesty naturally cannot easily touch Hu Shanxiang's position as queen, which means that the girl has achieved her goal.
Zhu Zhanji looked towards the stone forest, his eyes reflecting the firelight, and said in a cold voice, "Order someone to go to Zhenjiang Prefecture and investigate thoroughly. I will execute all those related to these people. This will give an explanation to my daughter and serve as a warning to the world. Anyone who dares to offend the emperor will die."
"I understand."
Before Shi Lin could leave, someone from the Imperial Household Department hurried in and said, "Your Majesty, a few criminals have more to say."
Upon seeing this, Shi Lin hurriedly took his leave. After all, this was not something he, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, should listen to, so it would be better for him to leave first.
Zhu Zhanji's heart sank, and he asked, "What's going on?"
"Although there's no paper copy of the list of people Huang Yan previously interacted with, the names of these people still have some memory of them. I've had them all copied. Your Majesty, I beg you to forgive them for their meritorious service in redemption."
Zhu Zhanji took the booklet and took a look. He was stunned. His heart was in turmoil. He immediately shouted, "Call Shi Lin back! I have more orders!"
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