Chapter 341: Such an Honest Official Who Is Grateful and Repays Kindness?

In the torture hall of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, He Qiaoxin stood tall and firm, as if he was a saint who was immune to all kinds of evil.

Obviously his acceptance of ginseng was related to Huang Yu's obtaining a financial license, but he was actually prepared for this matter.

Not only did he shift the responsibility to Du Jian, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice, but he also pointed out the shortcomings of such accountability, and even more cleverly removed himself from the blame.

this……

The left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Shi Bianyong, and other officials looked at each other and realized that this was not a Qingliu leader. He was clearly a hypocrite with a smooth officialdom.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that Huang Yu's obtaining a financial license was related to He Qiaoxin, but this man received a heavy gift, and it was not him who handled it personally.

At this moment, they also realized that it was not that the minister-level officials had no problems, but that they had already skillfully nipped the risk in the bud.

"What a clever mouth, he has to be so clean!" Wang Yue had to admire the flawless Minister of the Ministry of Justice in front of him, but he had already seen through everything: "The doctor in the Ministry of Justice, Du Jian, was originally from Jiangxi Was it you who promoted him to the county magistrate when you were serving as the Minister of Civil Service?"

Huh?

Wang Yu was immediately shocked, but he did not expect that He Qiaoxin had held such an important position. He really underestimated this humble minister of punishment.

Many officials in the Metropolitan Procuratorate did not know the details of He Qiaoxin. Now that they heard that He Qiaoxin had held this important position, they immediately realized that He Qiaoxin's ability was far beyond that of the ordinary Minister of Justice.

"No matter what position I hold, I will fulfill my duties for the imperial court. I wonder what Wang Zongxian meant by what he said?" He Qiaoxin did not expect that Wang Yue had even found out this relationship, but he asked back with a righteous look.

Officials such as the left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Shi Bianyong, could not help but sneer. Other officials might be good officials who fulfilled their duties faithfully, but the Minister of Justice in front of him had nothing to do with the word "loyalty".

But he knew that the minister in front of him was indeed a troublesome person, far more difficult than the slick officials he had encountered before, so he couldn't help but turn to look at Wang Yue worriedly.

For a moment, the entire execution hall fell silent, and the interrogation seemed to have come to a standstill.

Wang Yue found that the Shangshu-level opponent in front of him was indeed extraordinary, but he showed a list and said: "In that case, let's put the ginseng matter aside for now, I have another list here!"

"What list!" He Qiaoxin felt a strong uneasiness in his heart, and he immediately asked vigilantly.

Wang Yu and others all turned to look at Wang Yue, but they hoped that Wang Yue would be prepared for a follow-up move, otherwise they would really have no choice but to release this treacherous yet loyal Minister of Justice.

Wang Yue looked at the contents of the list, his eyes flashed with bitterness, and he selected a few items and started reading them.

"While serving as the Shandong Inspector, I received half a catty of West Lake Longjing from Zhao Li, the official of Jinan Prefecture!"

"While serving as Sichuan Inspector, I accepted the 80-year-old daughter of Zhao Jiji, the magistrate of Xindu County, into the red altar!"

"Served as the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Supervised the Liangquan Salt Tax, and received a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum from Lin Futian, the transfer envoy from the Huaidu Capital!"

"Serving as the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he received 20 kilograms of Cordyceps sinensis and 30 kilograms of the best bird's nest from Chen Mingyuan, the governor of water transportation!"

"While serving as the Minister of Criminal Affairs in Nanjing, I received 300 grams of ambergris from Song Min, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, through an intermediary!"

…

As the contents of this list were read out, the situation suddenly changed, and the scale of victory suddenly tilted towards the side of justice.

This list of items not only specified the number of gifts, but also the date and person who paid the bribe. He Qiaoxin's underwear was suddenly pulled off.

ah? How can it be!

He Qiaoxin's forgetfulness seemed to be awakened again, and he looked at Wang Yue in the hall in disbelief.

West Lake Longjing, aged wine, thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, Cordyceps sinensis, bird's nest, ambergris...

The minds of officials such as the left deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Shi Bianyong, and so on, had many rare things floating around in their minds. The Minister of Punishment may not have taken a single penny, but he really did not let go of anything that was the essence of the world.

The wild ginseng just served was just an appetizer, the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum and Cordyceps sinensis are so precious, and the ambergris is even more willing to use it. It is really an extremely luxurious life.

boom!

Like a precision-guided missile, it hit the target of He Qiaoxin.

"How do you know this? You...you didn't just investigate me today!" He Qiaoxin felt a chill in his heart and seemed to be shocked.

Before coming to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he always thought that the emperor suddenly put pressure on the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate hurriedly investigated him, and then randomly accused him of accepting bribes.

It's just that Wang Yue exposed his background in such detail. Although he doesn't know where Wang Yue got the list, Wang Yue must not have started the investigation today, but has already started targeting himself.

As soon as he thought about it, he realized that things were far beyond his control, and he might even fall here.

Wang Yue saw that He Qiaoxin had reacted and said very calmly: "This is not important! What is important is that the generous gifts you have received over the years have been clearly recorded above, and the initial estimate of these gifts is... one hundred thousand two!"

One hundred thousand taels?

The left deputy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Censor Bian Yong, and other officials couldn't help but take a breath when they heard this estimate.

Everyone has always known that Shi Xin will not accept gold and silver. I bet this is not about Shi Xin cleaning himself up, but creating the character of an upright official.

Even if they try hard to create the character of an upright official, Shi Xin actually doesn't take anything. Instead, he takes more things than ordinary officials. How many corrupt officials can take more than 100,000 taels?

"Not to mention that the valuation of 100,000 taels is just your nonsense, are there any witnesses or physical evidence on the record?" He Qiaoxin's eyes turned, and he immediately argued.

Wang Yue met He Qiaoxin's cunning eyes and asked seriously: "So, you are not going to admit it?"

"How can I admit something that I have not done, or perhaps something that you are exaggerating here?" He Qiaoxin knew that it was probably the master who betrayed him, but he still refused to confess decisively.

Although he never took money, he was a greedy person and liked to enjoy such high-end things. This was not a big secret in the officialdom.

It's just that these expensive things are not easy to estimate, and they are all things that people are willing to give to themselves, so they are not bribes at all.

As for those who gave him things, as long as he kept silent and didn't admit it or belittled the quality of the gifts, I believe that the gift-givers would not bother to confess.

Officials such as Bian Yong, the Left Deputy Chief Censor of the Censorate, looked at each other and found that the Minister of Justice in front of them was more difficult to deal with than any other criminal official before.

Wang Yue never looked down on any opponent, but he suddenly took out several confessions: "This is the confession of Zhao Li, the former prosecutor of Jinan Prefecture, this is the confession of Zhao Jijie, the magistrate of Xindu County... This is the confession of Song Min, the former governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. The quality and origin of the things are clearly recorded on it. Minister He, are you still not going to admit it?"

Officials such as Bian Yong, the Left Deputy Chief Censor of the Censorate, had their eyes lit up. Seeing that Wang Yue had even prepared this, they looked at the Minister of Justice He Qiaoxin with pity.

He Qiaoxin was indeed a difficult opponent. If he met him, he would be powerless at all, but his immediate superior was a monster.

Not only did he investigate He Qiaoxin's background clearly, but he also got the confessions of those officials who bribed him. It can be said that there are complete evidences and witnesses, and He Qiaoxin could not deny it at all.

"You... When did you start investigating these?" He Qiaoxin, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, asked angrily, as if he had been poured with a basin of cold water.

Wang Yue did not avoid the question, and thought seriously for a moment: "If you really want to talk about it, it should be the first time you participated in the Supreme Conference. At that time, I felt that you were born to be rebellious, so I had already dug up the inside story of you!"

"Just because of this?" He Qiaoxin's eyes widened, and he was very shocked.

According to the other party's subtext, just because he didn't like me and suspected that I was not loyal enough, he dug up the inside story of me, which was simply an unreasonable behavior.

Wang Yue had his own set of rules of conduct, and it seemed natural to say: "Otherwise? Your Majesty promoted me from a banished person to the Imperial Commissioner of Salt Administration, and he trusted me unconditionally. Now he asked me to return to Beijing to supervise all officials. Governing a country is like governing an army. Naturally, I have to keep an eye on you important officials and expose the bad apples!"

Although Wang Yue was arrogant, he was also a person who knew how to repay his gratitude.

At the beginning of the emperor's accession to the throne, he appointed himself as an imperial envoy to manage salt, and even gave himself the imperial sword, giving him a stage to display his talents.

After that, he unconditionally supported the killing, and in order to allow himself to take up the important position of the Nine Ministers, he temporarily put aside his military achievements.

Although Wang Yue knew how to manage the army, he was ultimately a layman in governing the country.

On the other hand, the empire under the rule of Emperor Hongzhi was thriving. Not only did he reduce the taxes of the people and rectify the finances to save the bankrupt people, but he also made profits for some people by developing the textile industry, and even recovered Jianzhou to resettle millions of refugees.

If he was a natural commander, then Hongzhi was a rare wise ruler in a century.

He knew that it was not his turn to make decisions on the governance of the country, so he continued to use his strengths, just like he did in the army to find out the bad apples.

He had just entered the palace to meet the emperor. This was the first time he felt that the emperor was so angry and hated a minister so much.

In fact, he had already seen that although He Qiaoxin discussed with everyone on the surface how to revitalize China, he was actually doing small tricks in secret.

For example, the court's promotion of national debt this time was obviously a battle with proper command, but because of He Qiaoxin's backtracking, not only did the entire battle plan fail, but the emperor also lost his top general.

He could actually understand the emperor's feelings. He had once made the best battle deployment, but a general did not obey the military order, causing his beloved general to die under the sword of the Mongols.

But I don't know whether it is fortunate or unfortunate. His early investigation gave the emperor a reason to vent his anger, but at night, the cabinet chief was plotted against by this villain.

"I did accept tea and wine from some officials, but if this is considered a bribe, then who among the civil and military officials is clean?" He Qiaoxin asked angrily when he saw the conclusive evidence.

Although he did reveal his flaws, what he coveted was not gold and silver, but real objects.

Since ancient times, the law does not punish everyone. If Hongzhi dared to regard the acceptance of ginseng as corruption and bribery, what would the officials such as the Deputy Minister Liu Ji, the Minister of Personnel Li Yu and the Minister of Revenue Li Si think? Would they still work as hard as they do now?

That's why He Qiaoxin knew that he had to hold on to the material objects and drag everyone into the water.

This...

Officials such as Bian Yong, the Left Deputy Chief Censor of the Censorate, knew that this was indeed the truth. If it weren't for the gold and silver, these really wouldn't be considered bribery.

Wang Yue knew that He Qiaoxin was trying to change the subject, and said in a serious tone: "There are indeed many officials in the capital who accept gifts, but you are the only one who has received gifts worth a total of 100,000 taels! You may not know that Huang Yu gave ginseng to Li Si, the Minister of Revenue, but Li Si refused it on the grounds that it was too valuable!"

China is indeed unable to avoid such exchanges of favors, but gifts also have different levels of importance. He Qiaoxin did resist the temptation of gold and silver, but he is actually a person who pursues a luxurious life.

Even the cabinet ministers of the current dynasty did not expect to enjoy ambergris, but He Qiaoxin did not refuse it.

On the other hand, Li Si, the Minister of Revenue, refused ginseng worth thousands of gold because he knew that it was too valuable. As a result, this honest official who did not take a penny actually accepted it.

"If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext. You, the Censorate, are clearly targeting me. I don't believe that Li Si and his gang have never received expensive gifts!" He Qiaoxin knew that he could only get out of the water by dragging others into the water.

Wang Yue saw through He Qiaoxin's trick at a glance and made a decision: "Today's matter is only about you. Whether you should be punished for taking bribes, this matter needs to be reported to His Majesty first!" After a pause, he pointed the spearhead at Wang Yue and said: "In view of this, you will be wronged to spend the Spring Festival in the Censorate prison tonight!"

"You dare!" He Qiaoxin saw that Wang Yue was going to lock him up in a cell, and immediately shouted angrily.

Wang Yu immediately stepped forward and threatened with a bad look: "This is the Censorate, you'd better cooperate obediently to avoid physical pain, please!"

"Minister He, don't refuse a toast and drink a penalty wine!"

Officials such as Bian Yong, the Left Vice-Chief Censor of the Censorate, naturally stood on Wang Yue's side. Now the evidence is clear, and He Qiaoxin offended the emperor, so why don't they lock him up?

He Qiaoxin gritted his teeth in anger, but knew that he could not disobey at all. He glared at Wang Yue hatefully, knowing that he would probably become the first Minister of the Ministry of Justice to spend the Spring Festival in prison since the Ming Dynasty.

Just when the He family and Qiu Jun, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, were waiting for He Qiaoxin to finish his business and go back, they were told that he had been imprisoned, which made everyone stunned.

When the matter here was reported to the emperor, Zhu Youtang did not rush to convict He Qiaoxin, but immediately summoned Zhang Sheng and Xie Qian of the Baijiayuan.

After all, killing people must be killed.