The county magistrate of Chen County had embezzled nearly ten thousand taels of silver in one year. He was caught red-handed by the imperial guards and escorted to the capital.
Wang County.
One of the imperial censors cupped his hands in salute to the county magistrate and smiled. "Magistrate Cui is an honest and upright official. You are truly a role model for our officials. These accounts are clear and there are no problems."
"It is my duty. You flatter me." Magistrate Cui smiled.
"We still have duties to perform and will not stay here any longer. Farewell." The censor said to the county magistrate and turned to the three young men behind him. "Let's go."
"I will see you out."
County Magistrate Cui escorted those people to the door. When the two censors turned around, he nodded to one of the young men in an unnoticeable manner.
Qinghe County.
"Three thousand taels of silver in half a year. Magistrate Wei, you are very capable!"
The censor named Wan Xu looked coldly at the magistrate and waved his hand. "Arrest him!"
They had just checked the accounts of Qinghe County and found that there was a deficit of three thousand taels of silver. The accounts involved were all handled by this magistrate. According to the Emperor's decree, anyone who embezzled more than a thousand taels of silver could be arrested on the spot and escorted to the capital.
Magistrate Wei was pressed on the shoulders by two imperial guards. He looked at a young man behind him and said loudly, "I recognize you. Zeng family. You are from the Zeng family. Didn't I reject your offer? How dare you frame me like this. I will definitely seek justice from the Emperor!"
"Take him away!"
Wan Xu snorted. The students from the Abacus Academy had been ordered by the Emperor to help them check the accounts. In reality, they were no longer helping. Without them, the mission would not have gone so smoothly.
The deficit accounts were clearly displayed. No matter what personal grudges they had, corruption was corruption and there was no way to argue against it.
"Courting death …" Seeing Magistrate Wei being escorted away, Zeng Zijian's mouth twitched. He held the abacus in one hand and followed the others out of the county government.
Within a day, three officials were escorted to the capital for corruption. The officials in the counties near the capital were in a state of panic.
The people in the yamen of the capital who had not been found finally began to panic.
Every year, the imperial court would send people to check the accounts, but in reality, there were very few results. How could those who had the guts to make a fuss about the accounts be found out so easily?
However, this time, His Majesty seemed to be serious. He asked the students of the Divination Academy to help him check the accounts. The imperial court had not been able to find anything for many years. Once they got involved, everyone knew that such a thing would happen because of those students.
…
…
"Bastards, this is how they work for the imperial court!" In the Hall of Diligent Government, Emperor Jing slammed the table with a gloomy expression.
In just one day, he had uncovered a case that involved tens of thousands of taels of silver. The national treasury was in a tight spot, and in recent days, he had been meticulously calculating every single coin he had. However, he did not expect that these officials would be so daring in corruption!
If even the capital was like this, then what would the situation be like in even more remote places?
Where did all the funds allocated by the imperial court go?
How many people falsified the annual tax accounts in various places?
"Your Majesty, please take care of your body. Don't get angry." Chang De stood behind him and pressed one hand on Emperor Jing's back as he spoke slowly.
At this moment, Prime Minister Qin stood up and bowed. "Your Majesty, in this old minister's opinion, the matter of checking the accounts can no longer be done."
"Check. Why can't we check it?" Emperor Jing slammed the table and said coldly, "I want to see how many more vermin like them are in front of me!"
Prime Minister Qin looked up, sighed, and silently returned to his original position.
It was necessary to check the accounts. Every year, the imperial court sent imperial censors to check everywhere. They would always catch some vermin, which was also a kind of deterrence for other officials.
However, it was said that officials should be honest and clean, but how many of them could really live up to these words?
He had already understood the method of checking the accounts of the students of the Academy. In this way, almost all the officials' accounts would be exposed in broad daylight. How much of a shock would this cause to the entire imperial court and the whole world?
If they really did as His Majesty said and thoroughly checked, I'm afraid … the country would no longer be a country!
Emperor Jing looked down at the dozen people below and asked, "Dear ministers, what else do you want to say?"
No one, including the two Prime Ministers and the six Ministers, answered.
They were all old foxes in the officialdom. This time, His Majesty was clearly determined to eliminate a group of people. If they raised objections at this time, didn't it mean that they had a guilty conscience?
Moreover, during this period of time, His Majesty's actions had become more and more resolute. He was autocratic and even refused to listen to advice.
Even if most of the edicts were for the Jing Kingdom and the world, his methods were still too tough. If it was not handled well, the entire imperial court would be shaken …
…
…
In the Academy, Chen Lisen, Cui Xixin, and the others had just returned. They all looked happy and high-spirited.
"Our luck is really bad. Why are you the only ones who found out?" Li Jianren looked a little depressed and said with a sigh.
The other three groups all had gains today. Only they did not find any big mistakes in the accounts, so they returned empty-handed.
Cui Xixin smiled and said, "It's okay. I'm afraid it will take a long time to check the accounts. Your luck won't always be so bad."
At this time, Ceng Zijian suddenly looked at Cui Xixin and asked, "The County Magistrate of Wang County …"
Cui Xixin looked at him and said, "He's an uncle in the family."
They looked at each other and smiled. They both understood something from each other's eyes.
"This time, we can finally hold our heads high." Chen Lisen smiled and couldn't help but show a proud expression on his face.
Before today, they did not even think that they would have such a big harvest from the accounts.
Those imperial censors were all decorations. As long as they did not make it too obvious, this was completely a feast for them.
When he thought about the faces of those people at home, he couldn't help but feel extremely happy.
The other students of the Academy looked at them with envious expressions as they walked past them.
They had already heard about what happened today. In terms of ability, they far surpassed these people, but they had no chance. They could only watch as the credit fell on their heads …
… …
… …
The Qin family.
In a certain room, a woman said with a worried expression, "I wonder how Feng 'er is doing. He hasn't been home for a few days. How is he going to take care of himself?"
The middle-aged man sitting at the table said, "Madam, don't worry. He is no longer a child. He can take care of himself."
"As parents, we can't give him anything. We can only rely on him to earn everything …" The woman sighed and said, "Fortunately, His Majesty values the Mathematics Academy very much. After Feng 'er comes out from there, go and beg Father to find a good job in the court. It's true that Qin Yu is the young master of the Qin family, but my Feng' er also has the blood of the Qin family flowing in his body!"
"I understand." The middle-aged man pondered for a moment and nodded.
The room remained silent for a moment before the woman said, "Will His Majesty investigate the accounts this time? Will he find you?"
The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "It's just a small matter. Catching a few county magistrates is enough. This matter involves a lot of people. His Majesty's order is only temporary and won't last long. If this goes on, the court will be in chaos in a few days. When that time comes, it will stop and we won't be able to find a place like the Six Ministries."
"This matter has nothing to do with us."
The middle-aged man raised his head and said, "It's not easy to enter the Academy. Otherwise, I would have sent someone to tell Feng 'er not to participate in this matter. Even if the Imperial Censorate hid the identity of those people, it would not be able to withstand the investigation. If he really has the opportunity to become an official in the future, I'm afraid it will be a disaster and not a blessing …"
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