OBS Chapter 301 Isn't this blatant robbery?!
Chapter 301 Isn't this blatant robbery?!
Chapter 301 Isn't this blatant robbery?! As it turns out, before the devastation caused by the Empty Seal Case, the Hu Weiyong Case, the Guo Huan Case, and the Lan Yu Case, the officials of the Ming Dynasty were quite unrestrained.
Perhaps in the eyes of these officials, they were at most just reselling some plowshares, and the Ming court was extremely short of officials. Even if the case became big, at most they would lose their posts or be fined a few months' salary.
If the situation were slightly better, it might have been resolved with some tact and maneuvering. But Yang Shaofeng's grand gesture and drastic action were simply creating trouble out of nothing.
But Yang Shaofeng thought it was completely different.
Even if these bastards were reselling grain, even if they were just mixing bran into the grain, I wouldn't have made such a big fuss.
But these bastards resold the plows that Emperor Zhu and the Ming Dynasty had allocated to the people!
If people had these plows, they could save some effort during spring planting and harvest more grain in the fall.
But without these plows, people can only rely on hoes and other farm tools to turn the soil. If the soil is not turned well during spring planting, how can there be a good harvest in autumn?
If the people don't have a good harvest, they won't be able to store any food at home. If they can't store any food, they'll have no choice but to leave their homes and flee if they encounter any natural disaster.
If you're lucky, you might be able to find some food and settle down somewhere else to start a new life. But what about those who aren't lucky?
Is dying on the roadside the only option?
Thinking of this, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
These bastards are completely beyond redemption.
It's a pity that their nine generations of relatives were wasted, so much of their labor wasted.
Just as Yang Shaofeng was secretly regretting it, a guard from the Imperial Son-in-Law's Mansion who had been stationed in Zhaoyuan County arrived in Huang County. Upon seeing Yang Shaofeng, the guard immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness, the Grand Commandant's Vice Commissioner Lan has arrived and wants you to return to Zhaoyuan immediately."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "Who?"
Lan Qianshi of the Grand General's Office, isn't that Lan Yu?
Why did that old tyrant Zhu Chongba send him here?
……
"You're really something, kid."
Lan Yu sat in his chair with an air of authority, looked Yang Shaofeng up and down a few times, and said, "Mobilize the five hundred guards of the Imperial Son-in-Law's Mansion, mobilize the four thousand-household garrisons of the four guards of Dengzhou, and throw all the officials of the nine counties and one scattered prefecture of Dengzhou into jail. Tsk tsk, you've got guts."
At this point, Lan Yu reached out and took a small box from the guard behind him. After opening it, he took out a pound of small dragon dumplings, counted out ten small cakes and put them in his pocket, then threw the box to Yang Shaofeng.
"The higher-ups asked me to bring this to you."
"Before I met you, these twenty small dragon balls were a gift from the Emperor, and I couldn't touch them. But after I met you, these ten small dragon balls are your way of showing respect to your uncle."
None of the nobles in the Ming Dynasty were good people.
Especially Chang Yuchun and his brother-in-law, those two were genuine bandits and robbers, even worse than the other nobles.
Look at this, isn't this blatant robbery?!
Just as Yang Shaofeng was inwardly complaining, Lan Yu continued, "Because of you, I, as your uncle, was fined three months' salary before leaving the capital. Taking a few small dragon balls from you is not a bad deal for you."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "A three-month salary deduction?"
Lan Yu snorted coldly and said, "A bunch of ignorant and pedantic scholars impeached you for mobilizing the four guards of Dengzhou to besiege the local government office and imprison local officials. Then your uncle and I beat them all up, and because of this, I was fined three months' salary by my superiors."
"And your Uncle Chang and some of your old brothers in Huaixi, apart from the old scoundrel Xu leading troops outside and Li Shanchang being old and frail, almost all the rest in the capital got involved, and in the end they were all fined three months' salary because of your mess."
“Even the Second Prince, Third Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, Mao Ge’er, Sheng Ge’er, Qi Ge’er, Yun Gong and the others were all punished by the Emperor.”
Understood.
Because he was the son-in-law of Zhu Chongba, these arrogant and fierce soldiers from Huaixi regarded him as one of their own.
Furthermore, because officials from the Censorate, the Censorate, or other departments impeached them, these people beat up the officials who impeached them in order to stand up for themselves, and were then fined by Emperor Zhu.
As for Zhu Lao Er, Zhu Lao San, Zhu Lao Si, Zhu Lao Wu, Chang Mao, Chang Sheng, Li Qi, and Xu Yungong, they were naturally punished by Old Zhu for the same reason.
Lan Yu's words were a statement on behalf of Emperor Zhu and the Huaixi nobles: go ahead and do it with confidence, the Huaixi nobles are all our own people, there's no need to be afraid of the Zhejiang gentry group—those poor, pedantic scholars in Zhejiang can only talk a few words, but our old brothers in Huaixi can really take action.
Of course, it's hard to say whether it was out of respect for Zhu Chongba or Empress Ma, but in any case, this favor is quite substantial.
As for stealing the ten small dragon balls... this was partly to take them back to do someone a favor, and partly to express closeness through this rather unconventional method.
Yang Shaofeng sighed softly and said, "Thank you, Uncle."
Lan Yu hummed in agreement, then looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "What exactly happened in this case? Thirty thousand catties of refined iron vanished without a trace, and there wasn't a single clue beforehand?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded slightly and said, "There was no prior warning. If I hadn't gone to several villages under Zhaoyuan's jurisdiction beforehand, I probably wouldn't have found out."
After briefly recounting the whole story to Lan Yu, Yang Shaofeng continued, "The most troublesome thing now is the whereabouts of these 30,000 jin of refined iron."
"If it had stayed in the Ming Dynasty, it would have been better. Even if it had turned into swords and armor, it would have been fine. But if it had fallen into Hu Yuan's hands, who knows how many arrowheads would have been made from these 30,000 catties of refined iron."
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Lan Yu sneered and said, "What are you afraid of? Even if it were 300,000 jin of refined iron, his iron pot wouldn't be able to make a ripple."
"As for the 30,000 catties of refined iron in Dengzhou Prefecture, with the help of the inspectors, we will be able to find out where the 30,000 catties of refined iron went."
After a slight pause, Lan Yu continued, "Anyway, the higher-ups have already said that you can investigate with complete confidence. They even gave you the flag and the imperial sword. You are free to investigate the entire Shandong province. Anyone who dares to obstruct the investigation will be dealt with by any official below the second rank. You are authorized to execute them first and report later."
"In about half a month, the personnel from the Censorate, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Works, and the replacements for local officials in Dengzhou should be able to arrive soon."