"Zhangsun Wuji greets the emperor!"
"No need to be polite. Assistant, why did you enter the palace?”Li Er was very close to his brother-in-law.
"Your Majesty, this lowly official saw a memorial from the acting king in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today. This lowly official has something to say.”
After Li Er heard this, he had already guessed the purpose of Zhangsun Wuji entering the palace.
"Assistant, don't be anxious. Try my new tea first. This is Wuyi Da Hong Pao from Jiangnan.”Li Er smiled.
As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuch had already brought hot tea. Zhangsun Wuji hurriedly took it, thanked Li Er, and sat down to taste it.
"Your Majesty, this Da Hong Pao is indeed very delicious, but I want to talk about the matter of the acting king.”Zhangsun Wuji was not in the mood to drink tea.
"I already know about the matter of the substitute king. You don't have to say anything about the auxiliary army.”Li Er said.
"Your Majesty, Li Jian killed the border officials…"
"I seem to have given him this power, didn't I?”Li Er asked.
This--
At this moment, Zhangsun Wuji choked. He never thought that Li Er's attitude would change so subtly.
It was unbelievable!
Zhangsun Wuji was very clear about Li Er's attitude towards Li Jian in the past.
Could it be that Li Er was bewitched by someone? Zhangsun Wuji immediately thought of Wei Zheng.
Since Li Er had already told him not to talk about the matter of the acting king, Zhangsun Wuji immediately felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles. After chatting for a while, he stood up and bowed.
…………
Bingzhou.
Provincial Governor's Office, side hall.
Li Jian sat on the main seat with fragrant tea boiling on the coffee table.
Below him, the officials of Bing Province, who had been beaten up by him, were standing in fear.
They lowered their heads and waited for Li Jian to question them.
In the past few days, Li Jian had sent Li Jing to lead the troops to investigate the situation of all their families.
He also sent his personal eunuch Zheng Ji and his errand boy, Wang Yong, to search for their achievements and reputation in the hearts of the people.
Among these people, seven or eight of them who were corrupt and had a bad reputation had been arrested and sent to prison in Bingzhou.
Moreover, the arrest continued. No one knew if they would be the next one.
This time, the officialdom of Bingzhou was shaken. The officials were in dire straits. Their shock and nervousness were beyond words.
Standing in front of the twelve-year-old Li Jian was like a mouse meeting a cat.
Li Jian's sharp gaze was enough to make them tremble in fear and lose their souls.
A twelve-year-old prince, whether it was his martial strength, his methods of governing the government, or his decisiveness in doing things, was completely unimaginable to them. They could only feel endless reverence in their hearts.
The errand boy, Wang Yong, poured a cup of tea from an exquisite teacup beside the coffee table and handed it to Li Jian. Li Jian showed a satisfied expression after tasting it.
Just as the officials were feeling slightly relieved, Li Jian suddenly said,""Minister Luo, I heard that a fire broke out in your house a few months ago and burned 300 catties of pepper. Is that true?”
When Luo Fuhua heard that, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. How did he know about this?
"Your Highness, there is such a thing. The 300 catties of pepper was prepared by a merchant friend of mine to be sold to Chang 'an.”Luo Fuhua hurriedly explained.
Pa!
Li Jian slapped the coffee table and said sternly,""A glib tongue! How dare you deceive this king? This king has already investigated clearly. Those 300 catties of pepper were obtained by you over the past few years. If you lie again, I'll kill you!"
Pepper was a precious commodity during this period. It could be used as currency and was a hard currency.
"I dare not, I…know my mistake.”
Luo Fuhua gritted his teeth and stomped his feet. He had already experienced the acting king's ruthless methods. Since he had suddenly brought this up today, he must have been very clear about it.
Ever since Rao Dacang became the provincial governor, it could be said that there was no official who was not greedy. Luo Fuhua was naturally not spared, even though he was still considered an honest official in the past.
Li Jian raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at Luo Fuhua. Then, he glanced at the other officials who had lowered their heads and said slowly,"
"Luo Changshi's attitude of admitting his guilt is very good. Go back and send all the money and materials you embezzled here. This king can consider giving you an exile sentence.”
After a pause, Li Jian looked at the others and said coldly,"
"All of you have to learn from Luo Fuhua and come out to confess your crimes.”
"Of course, if you don't think you're guilty, then you don't have to come out. This king will continue to investigate, and if you find out that you're corrupt, then don't blame this king for punishing you! That wouldn't be jail time, but the extermination of the family!”
All of a sudden, all the officials walked out and bowed to wait for the punishment.
Whoa--
He was really greedy!
Li Jian looked at these corrupt officials expressionlessly. She was a little shocked. Bing Province was a big province in the Tang Dynasty. Whether it was its population or wealth, taxes took up a high share of the empire's taxes.
Moreover, this was a necessary route on the Silk Road.
No wonder Li Er cried out that he was poor and did not have the money to fight the aggressive Tubo. He even played with the marriage alliance, which was a loss of the dignity of the empire.
There was actually such corruption in the Zhenguan era!
From the information that Wang Yong and Zheng Ji had gathered about the people of Bingzhou, they could tell that the people of Bingzhou were living a very difficult life. Some of the mountain people in some counties even went out to beg with their entire families during the harvest year.
Looking at these corrupt officials, Li Jian considered the big picture and decided to spare their lives. After all, this was the time to use people.
"This king only has one sentence for you. Spit out the money you embezzled immediately! Everyone was no exception. If anyone hid the stolen goods, then it was time to die!”
"Do you understand?"
"Understood, Your Highness." All the officials immediately knelt down.
Seeing this, Li Jian nodded slightly and said in a deep voice,""Bing Province, it will be this king's Bing Province in the future. I don't care what you have done in the past, but in the future, you must remember that you can only listen to this king.”
"I will listen to Your Highness!"
"Your Highness will follow your lead! I won't dare to have an affair with others."
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。