Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 379 A little tender

"Zu Ting is a traitor!"

"Big greed! Big greed!"

Li Wenshi sat calmly in the room, with four or five officials sitting beside him. These officials were all important officials of varying ranks.

Some are from the Secretariat, some are from the Censorate, and some are from local authorities.

If there is one thing they have in common, it is that they both come from prominent families.

Cui Boji, who was a Lang in the Shangshu Tai, was cursing Zu Ting loudly at this moment. He was almost going crazy.

The so-called Qibu was the future Ministry of Works, which was mainly responsible for matters in the field of construction, from large and small domestic projects to various national factories and workshops, and had enormous power.

The current Minister of the Imperial Court is the old minister Wang Xi, who was Gao Yan’s most trusted minister.

And this Mr. Cui was in charge of the smelting work in the state-owned factories.

When he first took up this position, he was still full of ambition, thinking that he could go further in this position and become a confidant of the emperor like Cui Gang, his fellow clan member.

Later, I met the iron officials who came to give gifts.

It's just because his position is too critical. He is responsible for the specific execution of fabrication and production, and he can supervise at any time. If he is too serious, it would be impossible for him to deduct 30%.

Cui Boji initially refused the gifts from these people, but these people said that they gave them gifts only because they admired Cui Jun as a person, not because they wanted him to help them with anything.

Cui Boji accepted some small gifts, and then the gifts began to become bigger and bigger. Finally, Cui Boji could not bear it anymore. He felt that people gave him so many gifts, so he had to get some benefits for his friend. Then, he became the mastermind who protected the iron officials in the Shangshu Tai.

Cui Boji has become accustomed to his current life.

He had secret mansions in various places, all of which were in the names of his relatives or slaves. They were filled with a lot of gold, silver and treasures, so much that he could never spend them all.

Sometimes, he felt that his wealth was comparable to that of his own clan.

But when everything was moving in a perfect direction, his dividends were suddenly cut off, and those iron officials no longer came to him.

Cui Boji, who had been extremely passive in the past and always refused money whenever it was offered to him, suddenly became proactive at this moment.

I may not ask you for it, but how dare you not give it to me?

When he found Tieguan and threatened to report him to the police and inquired about the situation, he learned the shocking news.

The big fish came to the pond to bully the small shrimp.

In the steel industry, these people all hold great power and have the final say. With just one word, they can decide the fate of a large factory with tens of thousands of workers. But in Zu Ting's eyes, they are nothing but small fry.

The difference in status was so great that they didn't dare to speak loudly in front of Zu Ting, and they didn't even have the qualifications to meet him.

Not only him, several other people were also affected in different ways.

These people all know each other. Tieguan brought together people with different powers based on their interests. They don't have contact on weekdays, but they will still notify each other in advance for some major events.

For example, this guy from the Censorate, his position in the Censorate was not very high. He was just responsible for receiving reports and copying reports.

However, he could block most of the impeachment documents against smelting. He only needed to change a few words to ensure that these things would not be easily brought to light and known by those higher up.

These people came to Li Wenshi's house without any prior arrangement.

Everyone was angry and filled with indignation.

Listening to Cui Boji's insults, everyone couldn't help but nod.

Li Wenshi gently put down the wine cup in his hand, squinted his eyes, and whispered: "Mr. Cui, you have taken a lot of dividends these days. If you ask me, the things you have obtained are enough for you to use. You don't need to do anything more at this moment."

Tribble's face flushed. He retorted, "I know whether it's enough or not!"

"Zu Ting has cut off our source of income, not just us, but also many people outside. Isn't he afraid of choking if he eats all by himself?"

"He wants to eat alone, what can we do?"

Li Wenshi shook his head and said calmly, "He is the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and the Minister of the Central Secretariat. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. What are we?"

"With just one word from him, I lost my position and can only stay in the government office and wait for the outcome."

Everyone fell silent, and Cui Boji asked, "Why did he want to dismiss Li Jun?"

"I originally thought it was because of Duke Wei, but now it seems that they are clearly trying to use me to show those iron officials, so that they know who is in charge in the country."

There was some anger in Master Li Wen's eyes, but he didn't dare to show it.

Among all the people, he holds the highest official position.

It was because he held a high enough official position that he knew what Zu Ting’s fate meant.

If you want to kill this guy, Gao Xun or Lu Qubing must come forward, otherwise forget it.

Several people's faces were filled with resentment at this moment.

"Why is Zu Ting so greedy? He eats meat but refuses to give us even soup?"

"Mr. Li, you have to help us."

Li Wenshi smiled bitterly, "I have lost my job, how can I help you?"

Cui Boji showed a gloomy look, "Mr. Li, we are all family, please don't deceive us. Zu Ting ordered to dismiss you, so you really stayed in the mansion and drank? Without any action?"

"Mr. Li, just tell us, is someone going to attack Zu Ting?"

Master Li Wen hesitated for a moment, but still didn't say anything.

"Mr. Li, Zu Ting forced many high-ranking officials to embezzle the money of the state. What a huge evil act! If this matter is exposed, Zu Ting will also lose his job, right?"

Cui Boji said coldly.

Li Wenshi was horrified, "Are you crazy?"

"If Zu Ting is arrested, what about us?"

"Zu Ting won't tell us? Those iron officials won't betray us? Do you want to drag him to death with you?"

Cui Boji still looked indifferent: "It's not that simple."

"We are not alone. We have elders and friends. When the court does things, it depends on the evidence. If there are people in the court who can protect us, Zu Ting's identification will not be a problem. As for those iron officials, they were coerced. What are they confessing?"

Li Wenshi was horrified. "Don't ever think like that. Once this matter has attracted attention, we will investigate it thoroughly. No one can escape!"

"Are we just going to watch Zu Ting do whatever he wants? Are we just going to watch him cut off our financial resources and eat all the food for himself?!"

"Mr. Li, please think about this matter carefully. If you are unwilling to help, we will do it ourselves."

Master Li Wen clenched his fists, with some resentment in his eyes.

These idiots!

He took a deep breath and said, "Someone is already doing this. Don't rush into it. Zu Ting won't be so proud for too long. I will find a way."

Tribble laughed. "Better soon."

Master Li Wen did not speak, his face was gloomy. Everyone did not want to stay for long, so they left quietly soon.

After seeing them off, Master Li Wen could no longer feel as relaxed and happy as before.

These idiots are really capable of doing such a thing. It will not be good for anyone if this matter is exposed.

Judging from Wei Shou's previous idea of ​​taking it step by step, I'm afraid these bastards can't wait.

Master Li Wen could not sleep all night. The next day, at dawn, he left home and hurried to Wei Shou's house.

We must deal with Zu Ting in advance, and we must pull ourselves out of the iron quagmire as soon as possible. As long as we pull ourselves out, we can kill the rest of these bastards if we can, and not a single one can be left alive!

Li Wenshi had many plans in mind, but when he saw Wei Shou, he still appropriately revealed his pitiful look of trepidation.

"Duke Wei, I heard that Zu Ting is sending people to thoroughly investigate everything I have done in the past, saying that he wants to convict me and execute me directly."

"That's not all. My friend in the court said that Zu Ting is planning to contact the Censorate and use the old law to pin the crime on you."

What Li Wenshi said was not false. Zu Ting had actually said something similar in the past.

Wei Shou had just woken up and opened his eyes when he heard these words. He was so angry that he couldn't even eat breakfast.

Li Wenshi then said, "Duke Wei, I have heard something else, but I don't know if I should tell you about it."

Wei Shou waved his hand impatiently, "Just tell me what you have to say!"

"I heard that Zugong has been visiting the ironworks frequently recently and has asked iron officials from all over the country to pay him a visit. Considering Zugong's personality, he might be up to something. If we inquire, we may be able to find out something." "Oh?"

Wei Shou narrowed his eyes, "Then you don't have to stay idle at home, go check it out. If there is any situation, let me know in time. I am still contacting my friends. Don't worry, we will be able to take action against Zu Ting soon."

In the following days, the temple was exceptionally peaceful.

The same is true for Pingcheng, which is calm and peaceful.

Gao Yun made many copies of Jia Sixie's book.

Gao Yin stipulated that this book should be a must-read for officials, and required the provincial governors to conduct random checks and assessments on officials at all levels. If they failed the assessment, they would be dismissed.

Agronomy was elevated to an extremely high position by Gao Yin.

The wise men in the world who studied classics quickly changed their direction. This is how wise men are. Classics are tools to them. All knowledge is a tool. Becoming an official and making money are the goals. Even if Gao Yun says tomorrow that becoming an official requires raising pigs, they will exchange the books in their hands for domestic pigs without hesitation.

Gao Yin decided to extend it to officials first, and then gradually extend it to the people step by step, just like promoting laws.

The second point is to continue to improve the government's guidance on agricultural affairs throughout the country.

Know agriculture, help farmers, and then develop agriculture.

When the provincial governors learned of the movements in the imperial court, they focused almost all their attention on this aspect, and each state adopted different ways to respond to the imperial edicts from the three imperial courts.

There is no need to say much about Hengzhou. As the actual capital area, although it has not yet formed a special organization like the Qingdu Yin, it has priority in many aspects.

Hengzhou quickly started a series of measures to help farmers, from introducing more oxen, to popularizing dung pushing, and then to popularizing iron farm tools.

In the spring of that year, the Han State seemed extremely busy and no one was idle.

Zu Ting was an exception.

During these days, Zu Ting always went to the iron factory, and his frequency was increasing.

Someone saw him getting into the car drunk and reported the matter to the Censorate.

Some people discovered that he had interfered in the Ministry of Personnel and promoted many young officials, stuffing them into iron factories in various places, and expressed doubts about the promotion.

The number of times he appears in public is decreasing, and he is becoming more and more low-key.

Wei Shou and others also received a lot of reports.

This continued until July of the first year of the Han Dynasty.

The weather is extremely hot.

Pingcheng seemed to be baked by flames, and the looming heat waves could be seen.

This is especially true inside the palace.

The hall where Liu Taozi works now is called the Hanwang Hall. It is simple and crude, in the style of the Six Garrisons.

All the ministers gathered in the Hanwang Palace and stood on the left and right.

Gao Yu stood in the first place, holding a document, and was loudly describing the agricultural and sericulture conditions in various places during these days.

This year marks the first time that the government has intervened significantly in agriculture and sericulture. Of course, this kind of intervention has always existed in history, from ancient times to later times. The calendar is the best proof of this, but today's intervention is clearly beyond the past.

The government forcibly lowered the price of agricultural tools and increased the per capita iron consumption of the Han people. A large number of agricultural tools were sent to the people to improve agricultural efficiency. Then came the control of aspects such as oxen and water diversion, and these were just the beginning.

The effect cannot be said to be too outstanding. If you want to see the results of the newly implemented policies, you have to wait at least two or three years. Moreover, this behavior has also brought many problems to the government. Many departments lack experience in dealing with these matters. These need everyone to explore slowly.

Liu Taozi sat in the upper seat and listened to Gao Yin's report.

He listened very carefully.

However, the ministers below did not seem to care that much, or they had more important things to do.

Wei Shou rubbed his hands excitedly and looked at the other ministers. Their eyes were particularly bright.

Zu Ting sat among the ministers, yawning with his head down. The officials from the Censorate looked at him several times, extremely angry.

After finishing talking about agriculture and sericulture, Liu Taozi asked the others to submit their memorials.

"His Majesty!!"

"I have something to report!!"

Wei Shou stepped forward.

The ministers looked at each other, and Liu Taozi looked at him, but for some reason, his eyes were a little complicated.

Wei Shou shouted, "Your Majesty, I want to impeach the Minister Zu Ting!"

"Zu Ting interfered in the affairs of the ironworks in the name of agricultural policy. He threatened the iron officials, placed his cronies in control of the factories, secretly asked them to pay him gifts, and withheld production. This was a heinous crime."

"I have witnesses and physical evidence here."

Wei Shou was awe-inspiring and produced evidence one after another.

Zu Ting was shocked. He opened his eyes, looked at Wei Shou in the distance, then looked at Liu Taozi, at a loss as to what to do.

Wei Shou hadn't felt so happy for a long time.

During these days, Zu Ting was getting more and more excessive. He really bewitched the emperor and abolished the recommendation system. From now on, the rule of officials recommending outstanding children to each other was gone. Moreover, the performance appraisal was taken back from the local areas to the temple. Many invisible rules were exposed by Zu Ting, and he did more and more excessive things.

Wei Shou had wanted to fight this guy for a long time.

But I never found the opportunity.

Finally, the opportunity came.

Zu Ting threatened those iron officials, and then sent his own confidants to intervene in the affairs of the iron factory, so that they could gradually learn how to manage it. Who could not see his purpose?

Those iron officials understood in their hearts that Zu Ting clearly wanted to kick them out in the future and use his own people to completely control the situation.

When they found out that Zu Ting didn't want to give them even one iota of it, they immediately united and followed Master Li Wen's advice, wanting to confront Zu Ting.

They have dealt with their own dirty laundry and collected enough evidence.

The next step is to kill Zu Ting.

After Wei Shou, several other ministers stood up and produced various pieces of evidence.

They proved that those people recommended by Zu Ting were all his confidants, who were capable of all kinds of evil and were only interested in making money for Zu Ting.

They proved that Zu Ting polluted the clean ironworks and framed the ironworks with non-existent content.
There is a lot of evidence.

Wei Shou just felt refreshed at this moment. He raised his head and looked at Zu Ting with exceptionally bright eyes.

Now, you should know what is right and wrong, right?
After everyone's accusations, the temple fell silent.

Liu Taozi said nothing, his face gloomy.

Zu Ting stood up slowly. He looked at Wei Shou and the others. The panic he had just felt disappeared, and he even felt like laughing.

He pulled out a document from his pocket.

"A few months ago, Gao Lingjun mentioned the iron business and I volunteered to go to the iron factory."

"I have uncovered corruption at the ironworks. Many people in the court helped to conceal it for them to rely on."

"I don't know who they relied on to inform His Majesty of the matter, and then they deliberately won over those iron officials so that they would stop giving money to their former reliance."

"I just want to force them to reveal their reliance because only these people know that the iron factory is controlled by me. Only they will be desperate and can't wait to come out and bite me."

"But I can't really let them embezzle, so I asked His Majesty for permission. His Majesty gave me many outstanding young people, and I assigned them to the ironworks to let them learn how to manage, so that they can slowly take over the power."

"I have a lot of evidence here to prove that Li Wenshi, the former secretary of the Central Secretariat, is the thief who helped the Iron Official to modify the income and expenditure."

"Of course, that's the one Wei Shou mentioned just now, the upright and honest minister who was framed by me and discovered the iron factory incident, so he wrote a letter to impeach me. That's what you said about him just now, right?"

Wei Shou gritted his teeth and his lips trembled constantly.

He slowly raised his finger and pointed at Zu Ting.

"you you."

"puff"

Wei Shou spurted blood and fell headfirst.

ps: Happy New Year everyone!! New Year, new atmosphere, I wish you all good health, good luck and reach a higher peak in life in the new year!!
(End of this chapter)