Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Department of punishment, prison.

Since Hongzhi came to the throne, both the Beizhen Fusi Prison and this prison representing the country's highest standard have become obviously more lively.

Ni Yue, the former right minister of the Ministry of Rites, was no longer as domineering as before. He was currently on death row, sighing listlessly like a deflated balloon.

A man whose whole body was covered by a black robe passed by the cell. Ni Yue's eyes opened slightly, and then he continued to lean against the wall and silently count his death date.

Compared with death, this kind of waiting is even more torturous.

Especially in his dreams, he often had pleasant dreams that he was still the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, but every time he woke up and saw that he was still on death row, he immediately felt worse than death.

But time passed by bit by bit, and he could only watch helplessly as he was getting closer and closer to death, but there was nothing he could do.

If time could go over again, he would definitely not stand up to protect the dead eunuch Wynn who deserved to be cut to pieces, let alone say such thoughtless words.

There is no medicine for regret in the world, and now he has gone from being the high-ranking right minister of the Ministry of Rites to a death row prisoner that no one cares about.

He stood up for Wynn and even stood up to the emperor as a civil servant. However, he was now in prison and there were only a few officials who came to visit him.

Those people talk about advancing and retreating together. It is clear that they can only share wealth and wealth, but not share adversity.

Ni Yue's ears twitched slightly, and when he heard the footsteps of the black-robed man who had just passed by the cell, his heart felt like a mirror.

When the man in black robe walked away, he immediately opened his eyes again and looked over there, but he did not expect that this man was actually related to Li Min.

If I can escape this time, I, Mr. Li, will be very grateful! Li Min has been trying to escape since he was captured by Song Cheng in Chongwenmen, and solemnly promised to the visitor.

Originally, he was about to give up hope, but unexpectedly he learned that the account book of Xie Yikui that testified against him was not found in Xie's house, but came from a private money shop.

Since that half of the ledger had been affected by moisture, the handwriting in the ledger must have been affected to a certain extent, so he could firmly conclude that someone had deliberately framed it.

If you want to truly escape, it's not enough to speak harshly on your own. You also need someone in the court to speak for you.

Like Wang Yue at that time, everyone knew that those poems could not explain much of the problem, and even the poems were clearly misinterpreted by someone. However, Wang Yue was banished to Anlu by the imperial court, and no one in the civil and military officials of the dynasty could speak for Wang Yue.

Now, even if he is facing the superior Emperor of Heaven, he must use all the connections at his disposal to escape from this dead situation.

The man in black robe was silent for a moment, and then said calmly: Is there anything wrong at home?

Don't worry about this. This matter has already been done as a back-up. I even repaired the book and went home in advance to let Quanzi handle it properly! Li Min's eyes lit up slightly and he immediately promised hurriedly.

After learning the news that Xie Yikui had been confiscated, he was afraid that he would be implicated, so he immediately wrote home and asked his son to transfer all the kiln silver, and at the same time transfer the house and land to the names of relatives or clan members.

It seemed like a cowardly move at the time, but it actually left him a way out.

After receiving Li Min's affirmative reply, the man in black robe seemed to let go of his worries, and turned around and left here tacitly.

But when he passed by Ni Yue's cell, he didn't bother to glance at him. After all, this idiot was indeed hopeless, and the three-year agreement gave His Majesty the right to form a sect.

Xiangcheng is located in central Henan and belongs to Xuzhou under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Since Li Min became famous, Xiangcheng has been headed by the Li family, and today the Li family can be said to be the first legitimate family in Xiangcheng.

Li Min's second son, Li Yuanzheng, is a calm middle-aged man who has been staying in his hometown to take care of the family business.

Since he received a letter from his father in the capital a few days ago, he immediately started to deal with all the properties under his name and at the same time transferred the family's kiln silver to a secret place.

Like all corrupt officials in the world, in order to prevent their wealth from being taken away by the court, they usually do not keep all the stolen money at home, but find other places to hide it.

Originally, the most suitable place was his own ancestral grave, but now there are too many people hiding in his ancestral grave, and there is no guarantee that any descendant will dig his own ancestral grave, so he has already chosen another place.

After dealing with all this, Xiangcheng seemed to be very calm, and he walked into the Xiangcheng County Government Office with a swagger.

Second Young Master Li, what brought you to the county government office?

The county magistrate of Xiangcheng, whose surname is Gou, is a middle-aged man with a pleasant appearance. He was favored by Li Min three years ago and jumped from the position of magistrate of Xiangcheng County to the position of magistrate of Xiangcheng. At this moment, he greeted Li Yuanzheng very warmly.

Li Yuanzheng took a seat in the living room, picked up the tea cup and said unhurriedly: Gouzhi County, have you heard any news from the court recently?

Haha... Mr. Li, you have asked the right person about this! A friend from Beijing happened to receive a letter today. In the letter, he informed that Xie Yikui, the former Minister of Industry, had his home raided! Gouzhi County looked around, looking mysterious. A piece of news was revealed.

Li Yuanzheng had just put the tea to his mouth when he suddenly heard the news that the dignified minister of the Ministry of Industry had his house confiscated. A cold feeling suddenly hit his heart, and he was scalded by the scalding tea without warning.

I just heard that Xie Shangshu was poor all his life, and the court couldn't copy a few valuable things. Your Majesty is unjustly accusing an upright official... Are you okay? Gou Zhixian continued talking very proudly, and then showed concern for Li Yuanzheng, who was burned by tea. typical.

Li Yuanzheng put down the tea cup in his hand, waved his hand to indicate that he was fine and said, Gou Zhixian, if my Li family is also in trouble, would you be willing to help my Li family out of trouble?

Li Shangshu has been kind to this county, and he also needs the help of Mr. Li to govern Xiangcheng County well. It is our duty to do so! Gou Zhixian said sternly without opening his eyes.

Li Yuanzheng couldn't help but calm down, wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief and said: I'll tell you the truth! The new emperor favors eunuchs. My father didn't want to see the Ming Dynasty being controlled by traitorous eunuchs. Shang Shuzhi remonstrated, but the new emperor ordered him to take the crown. Stay free! Today, my father is extremely disappointed with the court, so he gave up his high position and resigned to return to the countryside. However, my father has committed the crime of being an internal official. According to my father’s good friend Xu Xueshi in the court, Guo Yong, the eunuch next to the new king, has made slanderous remarks and slandered me. My father committed corruption while he was the Governor of Water Transport, and my Li family may have to follow in the footsteps of the Xie family!

Ah? Li Shangshu has resigned? Gou Zhixian's brain automatically ignored the bunch of nonsense that followed, and he immediately opened his mouth wide and said in disappointment.

Li Yuanzheng suddenly realized that the county magistrate was not playing tricks at all, and immediately changed the topic and said: Gou Zhixian, you can rest assured! Although my father has resigned and returned to his fields, many of his friends are still in court, and my father and I Xu Pu, the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, has been a close friend of the same age for many years, and he will not make a mistake when he arranges for you to serve as the sixth grade county magistrate!

This county doesn't care about official positions, it's just... I'm just shocked. After all... after all, Li Shangshu has the talent to govern the country and bring peace to the country! Gouzhi County realized that his reaction was too snobbish, and he explained again and again.

Li Yuanzheng knew that his bargaining chip was strong enough, so he emphasized again: It's settled! If my Li family is in trouble, please ask Gouzhi County to help my Li family out of trouble and open a convenient door. Great reward!

Definitely! Gou Zhixian knew that the other party's network resources were still something he wanted to look up to, so he immediately nodded with certainty.

After all, Li Yuanzheng came here to take preventive measures, and he didn't really think that the imperial court would really check his Li family, so he took out a list and said: This is the list of eugenics among the students of Ziyun Academy. Next year's county We have to rely on the county magistrate!

That's easy to say! Gouzhi County reached out to take the list and immediately agreed with a smile on his face.

Now the Li family has become a behemoth. Not only is the Li family powerful, but it also has a very close relationship with the squires in Xiangcheng County. It has also cultivated a large number of famous scholars through Ziyun Academy.

Although he didn't know how the county magistrate did before he took office, judging from the fact that Ziyun Academy had the largest number of candidates in the previous county examinations, he must have been a tool of the Li family as well.

During the three-year term, before each county examination, Mr. Li received a list of outstanding students from Ziyun Academy, and all students on this list must pass.

But this is the current situation of the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty. Fraud in the examination hall has long been commonplace. It is said that the son and grandson of the dignified chief minister both obtained their positions through cheating, not to mention a small county examination, which naturally still has to be mixed with water.

On this point, the Li family is undoubtedly forward-looking. As early as twenty years ago, Li Min, who was then the inspector of Zhejiang Province, built Ziyun Academy, thus cultivating a large number of scholars who were close to the Li family.

Li Yuanzheng saw that Gouzhi County was still as good as before, so he said goodbye with a smile and left.

But as soon as he left, Liu Zhong, who was tired of traveling, finally arrived here with Jin Yiwei.

Because he knew that Li Min would definitely send the news back here, Liu Zhong did not dare to take any rest along the way and came here day and night. He believed that with their speed, even if Li Min had sent someone back to report, they would have already fallen behind him.

Search...the house? Gouzhi County was stunned when he learned that Liu Zhong was actually the imperial envoy who came to search the Li family.

Liu Zhong had a bad temper, so he immediately stepped forward and slapped Gouzhi County on the back of the head and said: What are you doing in a daze? You quickly call on the people from the county government to help, and lead your own officers to check the Li family!

Yes! Only then did Gouzhi County react, and he immediately straightened his black gauze hat and agreed.

Although his heart was towards the Li family, facing this superior imperial envoy, he could only obey orders. I just never expected that just now I thought it was a fantasy that the Li family was raided, but in the blink of an eye it had become a reality.

Seal the front and back doors of the house immediately, and no one is allowed to enter or leave! The official of the Hundred Households of Jinyiwei came to the Li family's mansion and immediately gave the order.

In the next three days, the inspection work was in full swing.

But no matter how hard they dug three feet into the Li family's mansion, they still couldn't find any trace of the kiln silver, and only a lot of wooden shelves were left in the warehouse.

As for many officials who like to collect antiques, calligraphy and paintings, there is not a single one in this Li family mansion, and even the bowls used at home have a hole in them.

Liu Zhong looked very unwilling to see the house, but he knew that the Li family must have received the news in advance, so he hid the kiln silver at home.

Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, my father taught us to be diligent and thrifty when we were young. This family really only has this little property! Li Yuanzheng walked over wearing an old cotton-padded jacket and said with a very aggrieved look.

Liu Zhong looked at Li Yuanzheng's white and delicate hands and said with a smile: If you are as honest as you say, then your Li family will not buy such a big house!

Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, isn't it true that my Li family is prosperous? If there are too many people, the house will naturally be bigger, and there is no other way! Li Yuanzheng has a good eloquence, even if he is explaining bitterly, road.

Liu Zhong found that the Li family was indeed difficult to deal with. He came all the way from the capital without rest, but was surprised that he could not find any kiln silver in this big house.

But he knew that Xie Yikui's account books had confirmed that Li Min was a corrupt official. The Li family was definitely not a family of upright officials, and now the stolen money was just hidden.

Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, is there a traitor who framed my father? My father has been an official for decades but has not received a penny of money! Li Yuanzheng also refused to give up and immediately cried out for his father's injustice.

Liu Zhong had already realized that Li Yuanzheng was an eloquent person, but he waved his hand and said: Keep this person in custody, and I will interrogate him one by one. I don't believe that I can't find the silver in your home!

Li Yuanzheng saw Liu Zhong's impatience in his eyes, especially knowing that this rigid imperial envoy never used severe punishment, so he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly. Since I have given this imperial envoy a hundred years, I will definitely not be able to find a place to hide my own silver.

As night fell, the lights were still on in the Xiangcheng County government office.

Gou Zhixian's eyesight was poor, and he was looking hard at the lawsuit under the lamp. However, he found that the number of cases against the Li family had increased significantly recently, and he couldn't help but sigh to himself.

His recent life has been difficult. He thought he would have a prosperous official career with his thick legs, but he never expected that not only did Li Min fall suddenly, but his house was also confiscated by the imperial court.

Now that the Li family is finished, his career is also ruined.

It's not that Gouzhi County has never thought about betraying the Li family, but he will inevitably reach out for some in the three years in Xiangcheng. If he dares to betray the Li family, then the Li family will definitely drag him to be buried with him.

It is said that the magistrate of their county is Bailihou, but the magistrate of the Ming Dynasty is basically the watchdog of a certain big shot. The real uncle is always the big shots in the court.

When Gouzhi County saw Liu Zhong suddenly walking in with a dark face, he was so frightened that he stood up and said with a smile: Your Majesty, Imperial Envoy, why aren't you sleeping yet?

His Majesty's oral instructions! Liu Zhong didn't like the flattering magistrate in front of him, but he said with a straight face.

When the county magistrate Gou heard that it was His Majesty's command, he was so excited that he knelt down and said incoherently: My minister... your minister Xiang... Gou Youzhong, the magistrate of Xiangcheng, respectfully greet me!

Holy Holy Gong! Your Majesty has spoken and heard that Li Min has been very corrupt over the years. The magistrate of Xiangcheng County has loyally assisted the imperial envoy to investigate the stolen money hidden by Li Min's family. His past mistakes can be avoided, and his merits should be rewarded. I appreciate this!

I...I accept the decree! Gou Zhixian did not expect that he, a small county magistrate, would actually hear His Majesty's oral instructions, and he was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes.

Liu Zhong did not expect that the county magistrate would cry, so he asked as usual: Gou Zhixian, do you know where the Li family hides their silver?

I know! Gou Zhixian wiped away his tears and nodded seriously.

Liu Zhong's eyes widened and he looked incredulous: You...you know? How is this possible?

The chapter I owe will have to be postponed until tomorrow morning!