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To put it simply, Nan Zhijin is an ordinary treacherous minister. He uses his rich experience to figure out the emperor's intentions and reveals them to the ministers in advance, so that they can prepare and decide to make choices. He will make profits from it, similar to those sinister and cunning eunuchs.

To put it more, Nanzhijin is the contact person of a minister. They are all maintaining a set of rules and practices that conflict with the current emperors, and communicate with each other and help each other.

Qu Zixi did not want to see the latter result because he was also a member of the court. He had ideals and had not had time to implement them. If he would turn the court upside down today, he would never be able to get the sincere support of all officials in the future.

"It was the idea that Nanzhijin gave to Yan Kang, and he hoped to use Wang Pingyang's affairs to attract His Majesty's attention, so as to hastily settle the investigation of the Donghai Kingdom."

Han Ruzi opened his eyes slightly widened and laughed instead of anger, "This Nan Zhijin... looks very honest, but he is so brave. I gave him a chance, but he became more and more aggressive. Fortunately, Lord Qu was keeping a close eye on him and didn't let him succeed."

"That's because His Majesty reminded me in advance that I am not at ease with Nan Zhijin and think more about him."

Han Ruzi nodded, "Mr. Qu comes to the city with me, don't do anything first, continue to collect witnesses and evidence, and be sure to make this case impeccable."

"Abide by the order, Your Majesty." Qu Zixi couldn't help but look up at the emperor, feeling a little strange. Why was the emperor indifferent when Nan Zhijin committed such an obvious act of deceiving the emperor?

Han Ruzi was also looking at Qu Zixi. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and Qu Zixi hurriedly lowered her head.

"Does the Ministry of War know about the Yan family framed General Huang?" Han Ruzi asked.

Qu Zixi's heart trembled and replied: "I have not found any clues yet."

Han Ruzi nodded, not asking questions.

Qu Zixi left, but still felt uneasy. A gentleman was open and a villain was hiding. What he did today was absolutely not open and violated the principle he had always been proud of.

In the tent, Han Ruzi said to Jin Chunzhong: "Mr. Qu seems to have something to say."

"I didn't see it." Although Jin Chunzhong was a close minister, he refused to speak in accordance with the emperor's will. He kept his duty, his eyes lowered, only looking at a small area under his feet, and did not observe the expressions of the emperor and the ministers.

Han Ruzi smiled and then became serious, "There are really thousands of slaves waiting in Huxian?"

"Weichen saw it with his own eyes, and he also bought a hundred people from Song He, but he said he could not send it to the capital, so weichen wanted to buy a piece of land and house in Donghai Kingdom, and then he sent the people, and all the money was from that hundred thousand taels of miles. Song He's only request was to let Weichen say to His Majesty, 'There is nothing abnormal in Huxian'."

"Hey." Han Ruzi sneered. He sent Jin Chunzhong to Hu County to find Yang Feng's family. Unexpectedly, by chance, a big case was dug up. "How many people are there in various places?"

"I can't count. Song He is just one of the human traffickers. There are people like him everywhere. He takes people from local military camps and is slaved to the big manor. The garrison reported casualties. The Ministry of War did not know how deep the participation was, at least it was a mistake. In the past few years, natural disasters continued. When resettling refugees, there were a lot of garrisons in various places recruited, and the number expanded. Song He and others made a lot of money from it."

"There are so many people, why no one sued the official?"

"I have asked, although Your Majesty's original intention is good, but there are often changes when he arrives at the place. Just call for refugees to recruit soldiers. Your Majesty's original intention is to give refugees a meal and then let them return to their hometown to settle their own business. Some military camps will deceive refugees. They told them that Your Majesty is merciful and only allows them to eat, not including clothing, residence, livestock, etc., and these are all required to pay for their own money. Sometimes the generals in the camp will deliberately lure refugees**, allow them to keep their accounts, and accumulate to a certain extent, so that they can pay their debts."

Most refugees were illiterate and were afraid of officials and soldiers. They really thought they owed the emperor a lot of money, so they could only accept the arrangements of the beard.

Song He and others were more cautious and never brought their population to the capital.

There are time limits for body contracts, ranging from five years to twenty years. Once the subject is used to life in a large manor, few people are willing to leave. Moreover, they will find that the debts they owe have not decreased, but are becoming more and more inseparable from the old owner.

Song He has been in business for many years and has never had any problems. However, there are too many in recent years, and he feels guilty. Therefore, when he heard that people with a Beijing accent were asking around in the city, he immediately thought of his own affairs, so he used his usual means and directly bought it for a large price.

Han Ruzi thought for a while, "Who is Song He's backer in the court?"

"Song He often talks about ministers in the court. It is said that one of his sisters is the concubine of Yincuo, the eldest son of former Prime Minister Yin Wuhe. However, this person often makes exaggerated words, and the minister thinks that he should not take it too seriously."

This is Jin Chunzhong's cautiousness. Even if he checks the population, he has to buy a batch by himself. Only with real evidence can he dare to explain everything to the emperor.

Han Ruzi nodded, "You go to Donghai Country to buy a land house. Be careful, Song He is a confused insect, but there may be a smart backer behind him. If an official comes to test the words, you will definitely not show off your strength."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Huang Pugong, Yan family, Nanzhijin, Ministry of War, Song He... many things are coming together, and Han Ruzi needs a safe solution, and he is still thinking about it.

Jin Chunzhong did not forget his original task. "Weichen found out in Huxian that there was indeed a Yang Po in the county. It is said that her husband was away from home and never returned home. He would occasionally ask someone to send silver. Yang Po has a good reputation, but he has a bad temper and often fights with men. She has a son who has studied. A year ago, Yang Po and his son moved away and they are missing. Weichen can continue to investigate."

"No hurry, this matter... let's talk about it later." Han Ruzi understood that Yang Feng arranged for his wife to move out in advance, probably because he didn't want the emperor to find them.

Jin Chun advised him to leave, and Han Ruzi sat in the tent and thought.

The simplest way is to get thunder and arrest people directly, quickly and effectively, and have a good reputation, but it is hard to say how long it can last. Local officials and generals always have a way to misinterpret the emperor's will and continue to gain benefits from it. The arrested person is just an unlucky person.

Most importantly, the court will suffer heavy damage.

Da Chu is like a dangerous house with air leakage everywhere, and it needs repair in urgent need. In order to prevent the house from collapse completely, but cannot be repaired, it is necessary to find the most important position and establish a few support first.

Han Ruzi sat alone for nearly an afternoon, but no one saw him.

The next morning, the hunting team set out and headed towards the Donghai National Governor's Office, and entered the city that night.

In the next few days, the emperor's itinerary was similar to that in Yunmengze. He personally farmed and encouraged farmers, met with Mr. Su, summoned officials, and practiced soldiers... He was busy and nervous, and had almost no rest time.

Most officials were satisfied with this, but a very small number of people were hesitant. The expected storm did not come, but instead made them feel even more uneasy.

On the fourth day, the emperor announced that he would extend the time to stay from five days to ten days. He would go to the dock in person to watch the new ship launch, and formally appoint a new naval general.

The emperor seemed to not want to mention Huang Pugong anymore. He was the general he promoted, but he was defeated and surrendered to the enemy. It was really shameless.

This time, the Ministry of War selected generals according to normal procedures. The Ministry of War had three people, one was Shao Kejian, who had made military achievements in Yunmengze, the other was Di Kai, a veteran general who was familiar with water wars, and the other was Chen Xiao, the accompanying general.

The emperor accepted it all. The navy was not large at present and would be expanded soon. All three of them could be generals, but he did not designate the general to command the entire navy.

The incident of Huang Pugong just happened, and it is true that the emperor was more cautious.

On the eighth day of staying in the East China Kingdom, Qu Zixi couldn't bear it first and asked to see the emperor, hoping to ask clearly.

The emperor was frugal in the tour and was not allowed to build a new palace. The palace was set up in an empty house in the city. This house originally belonged to a wealthy businessman, which occupied a large area and was enough to accommodate the emperor's entourage. It was far away from the Prime Minister's Mansion, so there was no need to compare who was better or worse.

It was early winter, and Qu Zixi walked into the house and saw no signs of the emperor living here. However, there were a few more eunuchs coming and going, and many of the decorations also showed a clear sense of businessman.

Qu Zixi couldn't help thinking, no matter what, the emperor was not a foolish monarch after all. He wanted to do big things, but his methods were still awkward and he failed to get the recognition and full support of the court.

Qu Zixi felt even more ashamed.

The emperor likes to meet guests in the room, and he brings them all. When Qu Zixi came in, the emperor was reading a book.

Han Ruzi put down, signaled Qu Zixi to sit down, and asked, "The emperor often bowed his head to the ministers?"

Qu Zixi was shocked and stood up.

Han Ruzi smiled and waved his hand, "Mr. Qu, don't misunderstand. I have found that there have been conflicts between the monarch and the ministers in all dynasties, so I asked."

Qu Zixi was a little relieved, "How could the emperor bow to the ministers? It should be recorded clearly in history, and the ministers bowed their heads in the end."

"It's like this on the surface. For example, since the beginning of Taizu's decree, he said that he should lighten the law and reduce punishment. Later emperors also said so, and he also dealt with many cruel officials."

"The Great Chu talks about filial piety and filial piety, which has indeed reduced many criminal laws compared to the previous dynasty."

"But there is one thing that is strange. Reduce it. Why did the emperor later say in the edict that the criminal law is too heavy? Where is the reduction? I can't help but suspect that many of the reduced criminal law have been restored to its original state, but there is no record in history." Han Ruzi clapped his hand, "The emperor asked the ministers to bow their heads, and they all recorded them in history. The ministers asked the emperor to bow their heads, but they were silent outside the history, leaving only a little flaw."

Qu Zixi remained silent.

Han Ruzi continued: "Mr. Qu is an official, is he for the country, the people, the king, the family, and himself?"

"For a positive spirit."

"Okay, there is a major case right now. Lord Qu looks at it with a 'righteous spirit' and see what to do." Han Ruzi pointed to a thick stack of texts on the table.

Qu Zixi asked to see the emperor, but he didn't expect that the emperor was ready. He walked to the table in confusion, bowed first, and then picked up the article to browse it one by one. The more he read it, the more he became more and more angry he became.

The fact that the population of local military camps is clearly written in it. Although there is no direct evidence yet, if the Ministry of War is unaware of it, Qu Zixi does not believe it at all.

"It turns out that this is the 'rule' that the court wants to protect." Qu Zixi was embarrassed and angry, thanks to his fault that he hesitated for many days to protect the Ministry of War.

He finally decided to tell the whole truth.

Han Ruzi was waiting. He urgently needed to establish a support first and then repair it and get it out of date. (To be continued.).
Chapter completed!