Chapter 178 This bastard doesn’t even know how to corrupt, learn from Ouyang Lun! (Please subscribe!!) The officials in Guangdong really took great pains!

In order to deceive me and the court, he made the accounts so accurate that he always thought that the situation in Guangdong was good! "Besides these, what else did you find?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was livid, and his veins were bulging out, like a volcano about to erupt.

The people's land was annexed and their food harvests were poor, but they were still being squeezed. They could only eat all kinds of dirty game, and were eventually infected with unknown viruses, leading to the spread of epidemics. It can be said that this disaster was not a natural disaster at all, but a proper man-made disaster! On the way to Yong'an Mansion, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma also specifically discussed the issue of people's land being annexed. In his opinion, even if such a thing happened in the Ming Dynasty, it would only happen in tens or hundreds of years, but he never expected it. , the Ming Dynasty was only a little over ten years old, yet Guangdong officials, gentry, and wealthy businessmen dared to act like this! Zhu Yuanzhang once again underestimated the human heart! Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang remembered the scene he saw in Yong'an Mansion, with fertile fields all over the sky, people working with smiles on their faces, and everyone's eyes full of longing for the future.

I have never seen officials or wealthy businessmen oppress the people. When people encounter problems, they naturally go to the government, and the government will sincerely solve the problems for the people.

When encountering a crisis, the government and the people share the same hatred and become one.

"If the epidemic occurs in Yong'an Mansion, I'm afraid it can be resolved in a short time."

Comparing Beizhili with Guangdong, the dire situation in Guangdong and the incompetence of Guangdong officials are even more apparent! "Your Majesty, I have seriously thought about why Guangdong has been able to conceal it so far. This may have something to do with the blank documents and books reserved in advance!" Guo Zi, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, said loudly: "According to the regulations of our dynasty, every year, each chief minister, prefecture, and county must report to the household. The Ministry of Finance submits accounts of money, food, fiscal revenue and expenditure, and taxes. The figures between the Ministry of Accounts and the Chief Secretary, Prefecture, and County must be completely consistent and accurate before the items can be closed. If there is a discrepancy in one item, the entire account book will be rejected and re-opened. Fill out the form and stamp it again with the seal of the local government.”

"However, in the actual operation process, officials from all over the country have to go to the capital to submit account books, and the tax paid is in kind, that is, grain. It is inevitable that there will be losses during the transportation process. It is a high probability that the account books will not match the actual goods. , if there is a slight error, it must be sent back and re-reported. Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas are fine, but officials in Yunnan-Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi, Shanxi-Shaanxi, and Sichuan have long distances due to underdeveloped transportation at the time. If they need to re-report, it will inevitably waste a lot of time. Therefore, local officials who go to the Ministry of Household Affairs for review all have blank books that have been stamped in advance for use. This was originally a customary practice from the Yuan Dynasty and has never been explicitly prohibited by our dynasty."

"This was originally a way to avoid local officials running back and forth, but it was taken advantage of by officials in Guangdong. They did not pay taxes according to the actual situation, but directly wrote it on the spot. Because it was a blank book, they could write as much as they wanted. They had the final say, and the accounts were accurate. The Ministry of Accounts had no way of finding out. When the officials who handed over the accounts returned to Guangdong, they would prepare the same accounts for that year, even if the imperial court sent inspection officials. , and it’s hard to find out what’s wrong here!”

After Guo Zi finished speaking, everyone in the hall took a deep breath.

Lu Chang said angrily: "Your Majesty, what Mr. Guo said is absolutely true. For the officials in Guangdong, they only need to whitewash peace externally, and squeeze the people even more internally. They will not pay the extra taxes out of their own pockets, and the people's lives will be ruined." It will only make it more difficult!”

"That's it. No wonder disasters like epidemics occur."

Li Shanchang also stood up and said: "The reason why the epidemic has developed so far is only reported in Guangdong. It is probably because they knew it could not be concealed. Moreover, I read other memorials and found that two or three provincial officials around Guangdong had already reported it. It was reported months ago that there was something abnormal in Guangdong, but the imperial court did not pay attention to it."

"It shows that this epidemic has happened for a long time."

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he was gnashing his teeth at this moment, "If it weren't for this epidemic, Guangdong would have to hide it for who knows how long! Even God can't stand it!"

The emperor was furious.

In the hall, Li Shanchang, Lu Chang, Guo Zi and other officials knelt down one after another, holding their breath and not daring to breathe out.

"Li Shanchang, I order you to patrol the Eight Prefectures, inspect Guangdong immediately, take down all the officials involved in Guangdong Province, and examine the matter!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Li Shanchang first bowed his hands in agreement, then raised his head, "Your Majesty, the commander of the Guangdong capital is Zhu Liangzu, the Marquis of Yongjia. Do you want to arrest him too?"

Um! ?

Zhu Liangzu, who suppressed peasant uprisings for the Yuan Dynasty in his early years, had outstanding military exploits. Later he occupied Ningguo, defeated Zhu Yuanzhang's army many times, and wounded the fierce general Chang Yuchun in the battle of Ningguo. He was famous for his joining Zhu Yuanzhang, he participated in the Ming army's war to defeat Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen and other separatist forces. He also accompanied the army to pacify Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and other places. He contributed to the establishment and unification of the Ming Dynasty, and was later awarded the title of Founding Assistant. He was promoted to the military minister of Xuanli, the official of honor and wealth, and the state of Zhu, and was granted the title of Marquis of Yongjia. He was given a salary of 34 stones, and was given an iron certificate, which was inherited by his Yuanzhang designated 20 heroes, among which Zhu Liangzu ranked No. [-].

In the 12th year of Hongwu, Zhu Liangzu came to Guangdong.

"Grasp!"

"The emperor breaks the law and is guilty of the same crime as the common people. If Zhu Liangzu is also involved in it, he will be arrested!"

"Yes!"

Li Shanchang agreed.

"Your Majesty, in addition to severely punishing lawless officials in Guangdong, it is more important to solve the problems of epidemic and famine!"

"Otherwise, once Guangdong people flee wildly, and if these fleeing people carry diseases, not only Guangdong but also several surrounding provinces will be seriously affected."

Lu Chang said quickly.

"Your Majesty, once the epidemic spreads, I don't know how many people will die before it can be quelled!"

"The imperial doctor at the imperial hospital also said that such a ferocious epidemic is extremely rare and will kill many people every time it appears!"

"The people will only become more panicked and cause greater chaos."

After listening to the words of the ministers, Zhu Yuanzhang also calmed down from his anger towards the unscrupulous officials in Guangdong. The unscrupulous officials wanted to be caught and killed, but the people wanted to be cared for and saved.

If the court does not care about the people, then the people will inevitably abandon the court and chaos will return!

"Guo Zi."

"The minister is here."

"The Ministry of Household Affairs immediately allocated 200 million to 400 million to provide relief to the victims, and the people must not be allowed to starve to death again. In addition, the imperial doctors from the Imperial Hospital were asked to take the lead and lead the doctors to Guangdong to control the epidemic. If there were not enough doctors, we would look for military doctors or civilian doctors. "

"Yes."

"The Ministry of War deployed garrison posts in the provinces around Guangdong to immediately block the roads out of Guangdong and control the situation. Just persuade the people to return. No force is allowed, let alone harm the people!"

"Yes."

"Marker."

"My son is here."

"You and Guo Zi will coordinate various ministries and yamen together. If you have any issues, please report to me directly." "Father, please rest assured!"

As Zhu Yuanzhang ordered his orders, the ministers also took action one after another.

Guangdong must be saved, and it is urgent to save it. Now that we understand the whole story, things will be handled much better! With Zhu Yuanzhang keeping an eye on this matter, no one dared to neglect it.

As Zhu Biao left with the ministers, Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon chair with a gloomy face. It can be said that he had a lot of thoughts in his mind. When he thought of the tragic situation in Guangdong, Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but think of Yong'an Mansion in Beizhili. scene.

"These bastards can't even do corruption! If you don't have the skills, just learn from Ouyang Lun. Although he is greedy for money and breaks the law, he at least allows the people under his rule to live a good life. Even if I want to touch him, I have to weigh it carefully. one time."

"These officials in Guangdong are as stupid as pigs. They deceived their superiors and bullied their subordinates, and made such a big noise. So don't blame me for being ruthless."

As the saying goes, there is no gap without comparison. Originally, Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely wary of Ouyang Lun and had begun to think of ways to restrict Ouyang Lun. However, after the "Guangdong Epidemic" happened, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt that Ouyang Lun was still very good.

So far, Ouyang Lun has not done anything harmful to the Ming Dynasty. On the contrary, he not only made Yong'an Prefecture one of the richest state capitals in the Ming Dynasty, but also sent a large amount of food to the Ming Dynasty to provide relief to the victims, eliminate Japanese pirates, and support the construction of coastal defenses. , assisting the Eastern Expedition, one after another, is a good thing that benefits the country and the people!

What about Guangdong? Well, I hid it from him for several years!I don’t know how many dirty things there are in this.

"Luo Rong, Zhu Liangzu, Zhao Jie. You guys are really my good subordinates!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Needless to say, Zhu Liangzu, the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong capital and Marquis of Yongjia, was a highly regarded general by Zhu Yuanzhang. Luo Rong was the chief envoy to Guangdong, and Zhao Jie was the inspector-general of Guangdong. Both of them were also high-ranking officials appointed by Zhu Yuanzhang himself. The existence of high hopes.

The outbreak of the "Guangdong epidemic" directly exposed the rot in Guangdong.

Zhu Yuanzhang was getting more and more angry as he thought about it. Such a thing had been kept in the dark for so long. Not only the officials in Guangdong, but also the bad guys in the imperial court in the capital!

"Jiang Yu!"

"Chen is here!"

"Li Shanchang is investigating openly as the inspector of the Eight Prefectures. You Jinyiwei are investigating secretly. From the officials of the Sixth Department of the Capital to the officials at all levels in Guangdong, even Li Shanchang and others are investigated and monitored!" Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly.

"Yes!" Jiang Wei solemnly agreed.

Jin Yiwei has started investigating the "Guangdong epidemic", and the more they investigate, the more shocking they become. Of course, many of them are still rumors and there is no conclusive evidence. Jiang Wei did not tell them all, otherwise he would offend many people. But now Zhu Yuanzhang has ordered strict Check, he just confirmed the evidence. With the evidence, naturally he will not let anyone go!

"Your Majesty, Guangdong Jinyiwei does not have enough manpower. It is estimated that it will not be able to cope with the current situation. I recommend Jinyiwei Qianhu Jigang to be the governor of Guangdong Jinyiwei Town. He will immediately go to Guangdong to investigate, while I will investigate in the capital." Jiang Wei said.

"Ji Gang? I have the impression that he arrested Ouyang Lun twice in a row, so he is brave!" Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Let Ji Gang go to Guangdong."

"Yes!"

After Jiang Wei accepted the order, he turned around and walked out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, calling Ji Gang "Wang Zhong, you all go down, I want to be alone." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wang Zhong has followed Zhu Yuanzhang for many years, and he knows very well that every time Zhu Yuanzhang is about to make a major decision, he will stay alone for a while, and then leave with the eunuchs and maids in the palace after bowing.

Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang was the only one left in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Those unscrupulous officials in Guangdong who deserve to be killed but cannot be stamped with blank documents and books need to be dealt with too!"

As an emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang undoubtedly thought more.

Guangdong's lawless officials are already meat on the chopping board. He can deal with them how he wants. If they are all killed, no one will dare to say a word. Although the "stamped blank document book" is a dead thing, if it is used by someone with evil intentions, Utilization, for example, worrying that these blank papers with official seals would be taken away halfway to bully the people in the name of the government.

The existence of a "stamped blank document book" is equivalent to handing over the autonomy of the amount of money and food to this person with a blank printed book. He will collude with the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs, enrich his own pockets, and embezzle the people's money and food.

Of course, there is a more important point, this is challenging the majesty of the imperial power!

Zhu Yuanzhang took power very seriously. In order to prevent others from misappropriating power, he had long required the use of seals to indicate his identity and official position. This was also the key to whether official documents were valid. Seals in the Ming Dynasty were also strictly controlled and could only be used by official officials. Moreover, before each use, the document is required to be carefully reviewed, and only after it is determined that there are no problems can the seal be affixed to the document.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, if this illegal sealing behavior is expanded and everyone can violate the rules, then this is a contempt and challenge to the imperial power, and this trend will definitely not increase! "But if the use of 'stamped blank documents' is not allowed, what better way is there to solve the problem of running back and forth with incorrect accounts?"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't think of a solution even after thinking about it.

"How would Ouyang Lun deal with this kind of thing?!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but mutter, "Will Beizhili also have the same problem of using 'stamped blank documents'?"

"Why do we always think of Ouyang Lun? I don't believe this guy has a perfect solution!"

"After the epidemic in Guangdong is solved, let's solve the 'empty seal' problem." Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head. The day.

Li Shanchang, the censor of Zuodu of the Supervisory Yuan and the inspector of the eight prefectures, led officials from the six departments to Guangdong from the capital.

And Jinyiwei Qianhu Ji Gang also took a group of Jinyiwei to take a small road to Guangdong to serve as Jinyiwei's governor of Guangdong.

All the way fast.

Four days later, Li Shanchang and his party entered Guangdong Province.

Not long after entering, Li Shanchang and others saw a scene of thousands of miles of bare land. Many fields were abandoned. Bodies were seen on both sides of the road from time to time. These bodies were as skinny as wood and in ragged clothes. They had obviously died of starvation or disease.

After a while, a group of staggering people appeared on the road. These people had numb eyes and were weak with crutches. They came towards Li Shanchang and others. (End of this chapter)