mtl008 Chapter 114 Rebellious Officials of the Former Dynasty 45
Chapter 114 Rebellious Officials of the Former Dynasty 45
In the fiercely competitive examination hall, the top scholar, with his photographic memory, flipped through the account books while coldly issuing a series of ruthless orders.
He wanted strict and swift action, and he didn't care how many corrupt officials died in the process. All he cared about was solid evidence and the promise to leave no one behind.
His family can't die, so these ungrateful bastards have to die instead.
The old man, whose heart was as hard as iron, calculated these data in his mind while letting out a soft "hmm".
It's not that there's anything wrong with this evidence, but rather that it's just too clear.
The data was compiled from which ledger, which official was involved, and the serial number of the stolen goods.
This ledger is so clear that even a scholar who has never been exposed to such things could see it clearly.
"Bring me the account books for accounts A2 and B6, and also go to Gao Xu's house to search the Ding sixteenth box where gold and silver are stored!"
As soon as he spoke, the other two elders also turned their gazes toward him.
The three of them looked at each other and were all shocked.
If all the accounts for this small part of the room were compiled according to this standard, the workload would be enormous.
What kind of genius could produce all this in just two months?
If they knew that all this was accomplished in just one night, using up Ling Yi's voice and the wrists of dozens of Imperial Guards, they would probably be astonished.
This is absolutely beyond human capability!
As the elders continued to verify the accounts, the ledgers and treasures were laid out before them, exactly matching the records in their general ledgers.
The detailed ledgers even recorded the quality and size of the pearls, effectively eliminating any possibility of corruption due to ambiguity.
"This is simply incredible, Your Highness is truly talented!" The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review put the account book aside, pinched his brow, and spoke.
In the past, when he investigated and confiscated embezzled funds, he had never been so organized and clear-headed.
"I never imagined that His Highness the Ninth Prince would possess such great talent!" exclaimed the old Minister of Justice.
Xiao Yao: "Huh? I didn't do it!"
After several senior officials finished reconciling accounts over several days, they praised Xiao Yao to his face. Xiao Yao, engrossed in his official duties, looked bewildered.
"Isn't organizing these account books the job of women in the inner quarters?" he said matter-of-factly. "How could I, the prince, do such a woman's job? Of course, it's all left to the princess!"
The Minister of Revenue, who had spent his entire life dealing with these women's affairs, was so angry that his beard stood on end.
There is no shortage of tricks and strategies!
Such a well-organized accounting method is described as a common matter in the inner quarters.
Does he know that with this skill, he would be more than qualified to be a vice minister in the Ministry of Revenue?
If it were a man, it wouldn't be unreasonable to give him the position of Minister after he retires!
Such a great talent is just an ordinary thing in his eyes?
He suddenly remembered that in the memorial submitted by Prince Rui, he also said that he disliked the barbarians and thought that the people of the northern desert were too arrogant, so he ordered the princess to lead people to beat up the barbarians.
"Anyway, the princess is also a member of the martial arts world; killing people is just a common occurrence for her!"
"Unfortunately, her skills seem to be lacking, and she was injured."
Listen to this, is this even written in human language?
They risked their lives for you, slaughtering an entire barbarian tribe. You not only don't thank them, but you also say they weren't good enough.
And what's more, you even ordered the princess to kill a court official without an imperial decree!
Why don't you kill him yourself?
Your cruel and ungrateful nature is exactly like that of your father!
Before arriving in the northern desert, the elders received a secret order from the emperor, instructing them to observe whether the princess was controlling the prince and secretly managing the northern desert.
But when they arrived in the northern desert, they discovered that the princess was not only not holding the prince hostage, she was practically being held hostage by the prince!
A princess consort, instead of living a life of luxury in the royal palace, has to live every day in a military camp full of men.
As a result, they even began to reorganize their internal affairs.
To be honest, when the adults realized that the princess had moved into the border army camp, they suspected that she was trying to seize military power.
When they arrived at the military camp, they discovered that the one training the troops was Zhang Qiran, a confidant of the emperor, and that the squad leaders and sergeants who had been dismissed were all replaced by guards from the imperial guards. The princess did not promote any new confidants in the army to control the military.
If there's one thing that's done in the military that's most outrageous, it's probably forcing a bunch of grown men to wash their hair and feet.
But the princess's disgust with the smell of men was genuine. What's wrong with a woman wanting her place to be cleaner?
It's not like we're not paying you!
Knowing that the princess had not embezzled military pay, the adults turned a blind eye to this minor flaw of hers.
Anyway, it's not me who's folding the blankets into squares, and it's not me who's being watched while I wash myself every day.
They faithfully followed the emperor's orders, recording what they saw and heard in their reports, without praising or criticizing, simply mentioning the princess as an ordinary person.
Xiao Yao, who had secretly removed the sealing wax to peek at the secret documents of the adults, breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing them.
He knew his father's character all too well.
He would not allow his own harem to be tainted by any imperial power, nor would he allow his sons' harems to be tainted by any other rights.
If her father were to find out about the contributions she made to the changes in the northern desert, she would not be rewarded, but rather betrayed.
In particular, Yi Yi's identity involves the previous dynasty, which is extremely sensitive.
Xiao Yao would never allow anyone to hurt Yi Yi, much less disrupt the peaceful life he shared with his wife.
After having Lu An reseal the sealing wax and send it back to the post station, Xiao Yao calmly looked at the night sky.
This kind of deception might fool the emperor for a while, but it cannot fool him forever.
What he had to do was to strengthen his own power as much as possible before his father realized the truth, so that Yi Yi could not be easily taken away from him.
even……
Gazing intently at the moonlight on the horizon, Xiao Yao sensed that ambition was growing within him.
No one can take Yi Yi away from him—not his father, not even his brothers!
……
Time passed quietly until the end of the year. Before the New Year, the elders finally checked all the account books and sorted out all the prisoners.
They heeded Xiao Yao's advice and petitioned the emperor, sparing the lives of officials who embezzled less than one hundred taels of silver, only imposing fines.
After receiving permission from the capital, just as the busy clerks were finally able to relax, an order to observe the execution was delivered to their duty rooms.
The address is right at the entrance of Tongzhou City.
By imperial decree, all those who deserved to die were beheaded.
They don't wait until autumn, they don't ask about auspicious times, and they don't care about the end of the year.
He wanted to use the blood and flesh of these people to tighten the skin of the petty officials who had now felt at ease, and also to give the people of Tongzhou City, who had suffered grievances for a long time, an outlet for their pent-up frustrations.