pappabearbooks Chapter 8 1 Everything is for His Majesty!
Chapter 8 1 Everything is for His Majesty!
"Eunuch Cao, how have you been?"
Zhuge Zhengwo and the Four Great Constables arrived at the main hall of the Divine Marquis's Mansion and bowed to Cao Zhengchun.
Cao Zhengchun forced a fake smile, as he did, and returned the greeting: "Thanks to Your Majesty, this old man of mine can still walk."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhuge Zhengwo cut to the chase: "Eunuch Cao's visit at this time isn't just about deepening our relationship with the Six Doors, is it?"
"Of course, I heard that your Six Doors has encountered some difficulties in investigating the defeat at Yu Tai Ridge, is that right?"
Cao Zhengchun spoke in a sinister tone, and Zhuge Zhengwo and the Four Great Constables' expressions changed completely.
They kept the entire investigation into the defeat at Yutailing a secret, yet Cao Zhengchun knew about it. How terrifying was the Eastern Depot's information network?
Zhuge Zhengwo's face darkened, his expression becoming extremely serious: "Eunuch Cao, our Six Doors investigation into this case is progressing smoothly, so there's no need for you to worry about it."
"If this is the only reason you've come, then see you out!"
Zhuge Zhengye also has a temper. When Cao Zhengchun mocked him to his face, he wanted to kick Cao Zhengchun out of the Divine Marquis's Mansion on the spot.
Cao Zhengchun slowly took out a secret letter from his pocket: "Lord Divine Marquis, don't be in a hurry, take a look at this first."
Zhuge Zhengwo frowned, suspiciously took the secret letter, and began to read it.
On June 1st, the Eastern Depot inspected the Shuntian Prefecture granaries...
On June 7th, the Eastern Depot conducted a purge of the 12th Regiment under the command of the Ministry of War...
On June 16th, the Eastern Depot conducted a purge of the five military camps of the Beijing Army under the control of the Five Military Commands...
Suddenly, Zhuge Zhengwo's expression hardened, and he looked closely.
The whereabouts of 170,000 shi of grain and fodder in the 12th Regiment are unknown, and more than 16,000 people are receiving salaries without working!
The 12th Regiment Battalion—isn't that the army controlled by Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War?!
Of the five military camps, 33,900 men were absent from their posts, and the warehouses were short 210,000 shi of grain.
The Fifth Army Camp—isn't that the army commanded by Duke Zhang Mao of England?!
Both the 12th Battalion of the Ministry of War and the 5th Battalion of the Five Military Commissions were found to have problems with receiving salaries without working and embezzlement.
This could very well be a motive for Zhang Mao and Ma Wensheng to get involved in this case!
Even if they weren't involved in the case, these two charges alone are enough to expose their true colors!
Zhuge Zhengwo handed the secret letter in his hand to the four famous constables behind him for them to read.
His expression turned serious, and after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly asked Cao Zhengchun, "Are all the figures in this letter accurate?"
Cao Zhengchun replied with a smile, "The data on this page was all personally investigated by my Eastern Depot, and every word is true."
After reading the secret letter, the four constables were all delighted, but then a hint of suspicion arose in their hearts.
Iron Hand asked in confusion, "But why would Eunuch Cao help the Six Doors? We are..."
Cao Zhengchun stopped smiling and calmly interrupted Tie Shou, saying, "I'm not helping the Six Doors; I'm only helping His Majesty."
Cao Zhengchun stared at Tie Shou, who was startled and quickly bowed, apologizing, "I am truly sorry, I judged you, Eunuch Cao, with my petty mind."
"Loyal to the country, Eunuch Cao is truly a role model for us all!"
Cao Zhengchun's face then revealed that forced smile again: "It's not so much for the country, I'm just loyal to His Majesty."
Zhuge Zhengwo glanced at Tie Shou behind him and respectfully bowed to Cao Zhengchun.
"We truly admire Eunuch Cao's prioritization of important matters. If the opportunity arises in the future, the Six Doors will repay him with the greatest gratitude!"
Cao Zhengchun waved his hand: "Forget it, just investigate this matter thoroughly for His Majesty, and I'll be satisfied!"
"Alright, you guys go ahead and investigate the case. I'll take my leave now."
"Please wait, Eunuch Cao."
After Cao Zhengchun left, Zhuge Zhengwo turned to Tieshou, his face full of reproach: "You idiot, what kind of talk was that?!"
"Remember this: whether it's the Six Doors or the Imperial Guards, they are all knives in His Majesty's hand!"
"Of course we can compete privately, but our first priority is to be loyal to His Majesty and do our utmost to solve cases for him!"
"Cao Zhengchun saw this clearly, so why can't the four of you understand?!"
"Yes, Uncle is right!"
Iron Hand, his face full of remorse, said, "Please punish me, Uncle!"
"We'll discuss punishment later. Right now, based on these clues, investigate this case thoroughly as quickly as possible!"
Leng Xue licked his lips, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "Uncle, with this evidence, can we now torture Ma Wensheng and Zhang Mao?"
A ruthless glint flashed across Zhuge Zhengwo's face: "Use torture!"
"If there is any responsibility, I, Zhuge Zhengwo, will take full responsibility!"
"Alright, Uncle!"
With Zhuge Zhengwo's approval, Tie Shou, Leng Xue, and Zhui Ming all revealed cruel smiles.
Wuqing simply smiled faintly, her emotions remaining as calm and composed as ever.
They wasted no more time and immediately went to the prison cell to torture Ma Wensheng and Zhang Mao to extract confessions.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
A moment later, two piercing screams rang out from inside the Six Doors' prison!
……
Forbidden City.
Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Houzhao was reviewing the memorials submitted by the Ministry of Revenue.
After Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, his own coronation ceremony, plus Emperor Xiaozong's funeral, required a total of 1.8 million taels of silver.
Zhu Houzhao asked the Ministry of Revenue for silver, but Qin Hong, the Minister of Revenue, wrote a memorial stating that the Ministry of Revenue's treasury only had one million taels of silver in stock.
The mighty Ming Dynasty had only one million taels of silver in its national treasury—how could this be acceptable!
Zhu Houzhao ordered Qin Hong to submit a memorial detailing the income and expenditure of the national treasury's funds.
Upon seeing Qin Hong's memorial, Zhu Houzhao was so angry he nearly fainted.
During Emperor Xiaozong's reign, a tax exemption policy was established.
During his eighteen-year reign, he exempted the entire nation from taxes totaling over 150 million shi of grain, averaging 8.6 million shi per year.
However, Emperor Xiaozong's tax exemption policy did not benefit ordinary people.
Instead, it benefits large landowners and merchants, but the costs are borne by all the people of the Ming Dynasty, which is a typical case of robbing the poor to enrich the rich!
This enraged Zhu Houzhao, who immediately sent someone to summon Qin Hong, the Minister of Revenue, to the palace.
At this moment, Qin Hong had already entered the Qianqing Palace. After bowing to Zhu Houzhao, he stood cautiously in front of Zhu Houzhao, trying to figure out why Zhu Houzhao had summoned him.
Zhu Houzhao sat on the dragon throne and coldly gave his orders.
"Qin Hong, issue the order: all tax exemption policies established by the late emperor are hereby cancelled!"
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Hong's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately knelt on the ground, loudly trying to dissuade him.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
"Low taxes to support the people—this was the ancestral precept of the Ming Dynasty!"
"If Your Majesty rashly cancels these tax exemption policies, the people of the land will likely object!"
"Your Majesty, I implore you to reconsider. You must not cancel the tax exemption policy, otherwise the people will have no way to survive and may even rebel!"