Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"You can't wrongly accuse a good official."

Shi Youmin, the Salt Envoy Si Yamen, seemed very calm when he learned that he was being detained.

Not only did he not have any fear, but he sighed and angrily accused the people in flying fish suits in front of him.

When Shi Youmin was led out of the Salt Envoy's Yamen by the Jin Yiwei, there were many looks from the people along the way behind them, and those people were all talking about it.

"These royal guards are really abominable. They don't even spare an upright official like Master Shi."

"Who says it's not the case? There are really not many people like Mr. Shi."

"Well, it's difficult to do anything these days, especially being an official. There are too many such things..."

To be honest, the reason why this sound occurs is not surprising at all.

Because Shi Youmin was promoted to the Salt Envoy Si Yamen by Zhu Yuanzhang, because he was an honest official, and had a good reputation in his positions as deputy envoy and chief envoy. During the holidays, he would give free gifts to the people in Huai'an Prefecture. Distribute some rice, flour, grain and oil. If there is a big disaster, some food will be released from the granary of the Salt Envoy Si Yamen.

There is nothing more treacherous than this.

These sounds reached Shi Youmin's ears, strengthening his determination.

Shi Youmin stopped calmly, looked at the onlookers outside, and said loudly.

"Don't worry, everyone. What is black cannot be whitened, and what is white cannot be blackened. The imperial court will give me and everyone an explanation."

As soon as this sentence came out, there was a burst of cheers and applause.

Soon, the news that Shi Youmin was detained by Jin Yiwei spread throughout the city, causing a huge sensation!

"You should know the rules of the country very well."

In the room, Song Li said calmly: "You have been in the position of salt transport envoy for so many years. If the salt tax is calculated in terms of silver, I am afraid that even one or two million taels cannot be paid. This is enough to support the whole family." The amount is a hundred thousand times, but if you can tell me honestly, I can give you a decent ending, and you don’t need to endure the torture of skin picking and Ling Chi."

"Song Shilang, I don't understand."

Shi Youmin is half a level lower than Song Li. Song Li is a third-grade official, while he is a junior third-grade. However, he does not call himself a "criminal official", which actually explains the problem.

"snort."

Seeing Shi Youmin's stubborn mouth, Song Li sneered: "In that case, then you can continue to pretend to be stupid. Someone come and bring over a copy of the account book!"

After a while, a thick stack of ledgers was placed in front of Shi Youmin.

It looks very thick, but it is already a streamlined product. It is a comparison of the actual salt production in each salt area and the data recorded by the salt envoy's Yamen.

Obviously, there is a gap between the two.

Perhaps there is not much difference in the yield of any salt area, but the part that is "hidden" in the middle is where some of the trouble lies.

Of course, the salt tax is not only "hidden", which would be too stupid, but also hidden in various other forms of expenditure.

So looking at these account books, Shi Youmin still looked calm.

It is impossible to convict him based on the account books alone, because the Yanshi Yamen itself also had a large number of reasonable expenditures. These expenditures went around and around, and involved various stakeholders. In the end, it was very, very difficult to trace them.

Looking at the thick stack of account books, Shi Youmin calmly picked up one without trembling and calmly picked up one, opened it and looked at it. She said angrily: "This is obviously a frame-up. The Salt Commissioner Si Yamen only A portion of the money will be allocated for the project, but it will never reach this amount.”

"Haha, Mr. Shi, the evidence is conclusive, is there anything else to quibble about?"

Song Li interrupted Shi Youmin indifferently and said sarcastically: "The Metropolitan Procuratorate has warned you a long time ago, but you still turn a blind eye and even worsen it. People like you will become a big problem in the future if they are not dealt with as soon as possible."

After saying that, Song Li waved his sleeves and left.

Shi Youmin, who stayed in the room, had a gloomy expression. Everything in the room had been dealt with, and he couldn't even commit suicide by hitting the wall. And since Song Li gave him a copy of the account book so confidently, it was actually a kind of Applying psychological pressure in disguised form.

During the long period of waiting for trial, Shi Youmin had nothing else to do, and he couldn't sleep or lie down all the time. It seemed that he had no choice but to read these account books.

But every time he looked at it, his psychological defense would be attacked.

In the following days, Shi Youmin was never brought to trial.

Officials from the Salt Envoy's Yamen were also running around begging for mercy, trying to clear Shi Youmin's suspicions, and even wanted some senior officials to help, but they were all rejected in the end.

Regardless of whether it was the Chief Envoy's line or the Water Transport Governor's line, without exception, they all expressed their attitude that they would not help the Salt Envoy.

There is no doubt that Shi Youmin has become an abandoned son.

This time, Song Li not only wanted to seize Shi Youmin's authority, but also bluntly told Shi Youmin that he would completely seal off all related entities of the Salt Envoy's Yamen until all the problems were thoroughly investigated and this seemingly calm and unruffled mess could be brought to an end. Only after the quagmire is turned upside down will the salt work of the Lianghuai Salt Farm be restarted.

This news shocked all salt merchants and people.

The Salt Envoy Si Yamen is the core of the entire Huai'an Prefecture. Once it is lost, Huai'an Prefecture will become something else.

Many small and medium-sized salt merchants protested and even requested the release of Shi Youmin. After all, at this time, if the Salt Envoy Si Yamen completely collapsed, they would not be able to gain a foothold in Huai'an. The vast majority of them handed over the salt envoy, but still I didn't mention the salt, this is all their working capital.

There is also a lot of pressure on Song Li. The first assassination of the imperial envoy, because of the death of the Huai'an prefect, did not extend to the local gentry and salt merchants. Therefore, if these local groups representing "public opinion" continue to exert pressure, There is no real evidence here, which is also quite troublesome.

But fortunately, there was a breakthrough in the case soon.

"are you sure?"

Song Li was a little surprised when he heard the news.

"I'm sure, I've seen the hidden money and items." Zhao Haichuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded in confirmation.

“This is really unexpected”

Song Li calmed down and said immediately: "Come with me now to interrogate Shi Youmin."

in the room.

Shi Youmin was pacing boredly.

At this moment, the room door was opened.

The dazzling light came in and fell on the wall wrapped in a thick quilt. It suddenly looked gray, and even Shi Youmin's eyes became gray. The clearly visible light in the air made him follow the inertia. Taking a step forward was like stepping suddenly into a haze.

"Master Shi, have you decided whether to plead guilty?"

"What crime did I commit?" Shi Youmin asked in surprise.

Song Li nodded and said to Zhao Haichuan: "Take him there."

The Jin Yiwei rushed into the room, holding Shi Youmin on the left and right, walked out, walked to an inconspicuous carriage, and stuffed themselves in.

There were several carriages, and after the carriage in front that was used as a bait went out, this inconspicuous carriage with a green curtain went out through the side door.

After walking for a while, a person was also sent into the carriage.

Shi Youmin was stunned when he saw it.

This was his husband when he was a boy. Now he is quite old. His eyebrows and beard are a bit white. When the old man saw Shi Youmin, he immediately blew his beard and glared.

"Explain to me what exactly is going on!"

Along the way, the old gentleman almost went crazy.

He never thought that Shi Youmin, an upright official in the eyes of the people and a proud disciple in his eyes, would end up in such a situation.

Although Shi Youmin's position is indeed a possibility of corruption, the old man has never heard that he has done anything bad. Not only does he have a good reputation among the people, but he has even taken the initiative to advocate reforming the salt tax recently.

How could such a person become a corrupt official?

"Sir, I am also very confused about this matter. I have never done anything illegal or disciplined. How come I am suddenly framed?"

Shi Youmin said helplessly: "As you know, I have been an upright official over the years and have offended many people. These things are probably inevitable."

The old gentleman had never been in an official career in his life. He was stunned for a moment and followed his words and asked, "Who do you think did it?"

"this……"

Shi Youmin hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head and said: "I don't know, but I believe that Shilang Song is a fair and strict person, and he will definitely find out the truth, just like the last investigation by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he will find out the truth." The truth will eventually be revealed to the world if the perpetrators come to their senses."

The old gentleman looked at him deeply and then fell silent.

Seeing this, Shi Youmin didn't say anything more, and the two of them remained silent.

In fact, on the way here, the old gentleman heard the people around him talking about Shi Youmin, saying how honest and noble the salt envoy was.

Moreover, Shi Youmin not only did not accept or give bribes, but even donated his salary to do good deeds.

Listening to the people talking about Shi Youmin's good deeds, the old man became more and more emotional. At the same time, he was also worried about Shi Youmin.

He understood the principle that a big tree attracts the wind.

At this time, seeing Shi Youmin's attitude, the old man was a little shaken. From his heart, he was more willing to believe in his students.

Looking at the teacher with a complicated expression, Shi Youmin smiled and said without hesitation: "Sir, no matter what the result is, it is enough for me, Shi Youmin, to have a clear conscience."

The windows of the Qingman carriage were sealed, and steel plates were added on both sides to prevent them from being penetrated by crossbows. At the same time, the curtains were tightly pulled, leaving only a small gap for ventilation. It is precisely because of the steel plates that The extra weight caused the carriage to move slowly. Coupled with the increasingly bumpy road, the two of them didn't know where they were going and made the people in the car extremely annoyed.

"What the hell is this place?"

The old gentleman couldn't help but ask, but the plain-clothes guard driving the car did not reply. There was the sound of cavalry's hooves all around, but no one made a sound. They all marched in silence. Silence became the main theme of the journey.

The road here is very potholed, full of mud and gravel, and occasionally you can hear one or two birdsong. It is obvious that this area is not a densely populated village. The more you go, the more it becomes like this. It is obviously a place with dense mountains and lush jungles. Occasionally, you can hear the song of birds. You can also hear the roar of wild animals.

Shi Youmin's face gradually became uncontrollably ugly.

After running for a long time, the horse finally stopped.

After the carriage stopped, Shi Youmin jumped out of the carriage and helped the old gentleman down.

This is a dilapidated thatched house. It looks more like thatch piled into the shape of a house. The roof is also covered with weeds and thorns, and it looks very decadent.

The surrounding Jin Yiwei also dismounted and looked around warily.

Obviously, whether it is the setting up of the decoy convoy or the preparation of the special carriage, it all shows that the Jin Yiwei has raised its alert level to the highest level after experiencing two assassinations.

Not long after, Song Li and others came over from another way.

"Mr. Shi, are you familiar with this place? In the cemetery you proposed to donate, if the households are lonely and have nowhere to bury themselves after death, the Salt Envoy Si Yamen can pay for the coffins for burial, and they will be guarded and cleaned regularly. During the Ghost Festival and Qingming Festival, there are also tribute cold dishes available for you to enjoy.”

After Song Li finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Shi Youmin's reaction.

Seeing Shi Youmin pretending to be calm, Song Li raised a sarcastic curve at the corner of his mouth: "Haha. I guess Lord Shi knows more about what is going on than I do, so I don't need to elaborate, right?"

"I just want to ask you, are you doing this worthy of their dead souls?"

Zhao Haichuan waved his hand, and Jin Yiwei pushed the somewhat limp Shi Youmin and continued walking to the cemetery of the cemetery.

"let me go!"

Shi Youmin shouted angrily: "What do you want to do? Let me go!"

However, those Jinyi guards had no intention of letting him go and still held him forward.

Shi Youmin struggled hard, but his body was too thin. Those Jinyi guards were all from the training family, so he was no match. He was quickly escorted to the tomb of the cemetery, with Song Li standing behind him.

Song Li stared at his back with cold eyes and said calmly: "When I detained you a few days ago, I once asked you if you had done anything greedy. At that time, I had already noticed that there was definitely something wrong with you. But I was absolutely sure I never expected that you could be so cunning, no wonder you were able to keep your composure even after being detained, I have to say I admire you."

"I don't have anything, so don't yell at me!" Shi Youmin yelled angrily.

However, this is of no use.

Song Li's eyes flickered a few times, and he snorted coldly: "Really? No? But, what are these?"

"I don't want you to spit on anyone!"

Shi Youmin's eyes were red.

However, the Jinyi guards holding shovels in their hands did not wait for him to continue to say anything. They shoveled away the soft and re-covered soil, and then pried open the relatively thick coffin inside.

In the cemetery, coffins were all pried open.

What is buried here is not a helpless kitchen household, but countless gold and silver treasures!

You know, this is a cemetery that can bury thousands of people!

Every large coffin contains piles of belongings!

It’s simply appalling!

These gold and silver treasures sparkled dazzlingly under the winter sun, but it seemed to be extremely dazzling in their eyes.

With a "pop", Shi Youmin collapsed to the ground.

He wanted to speak, but found that nothing could come out.

His conscience has long since been wiped out after spending so much money on salt taxes.

But, how could he have thought that Song Li could even master this!

I thought this matter was so hidden that no one knew about it, but unexpectedly, it was exposed anyway.

No!

It shouldn't be like this!

Shi Youmin suddenly shook his head crazily, as if this could deny the mistakes he had made.

"No!"

"you are lying!"

"I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything."

Shi Youmin murmured, his eyes were blank and his whole face turned pale.

"No, that's not right!"

"It shouldn't be like this!"

He desperately grabbed his head, as if he wanted to tear the flesh apart, as if this was the only way to relieve his pain.

He was unwilling and couldn't believe it.

Why?

He was obviously so cautious and never failed, so why did he suddenly fail! ?

Why!

He wanted to question, but found that he couldn't find a suitable reason at all.

"Bastard thing!"

Looking at Shi Youmin, who was still steadfast in his vows when he came, but now faced with a mountain of ironclad evidence, his soul suddenly fell into disarray. The old man was so angry that his whole body was shaking and his eyes were moist.

At this time, the old gentleman staggered up with the support of everyone. His eyes looked around, and finally fell on Shi Youmin. He sighed, and then bowed to Song Li and said, "I'm sorry, Song." The servants are all incompetent! If I had known that today, when I saw his family was poor and had nothing to learn, I would not have supported him anymore, perhaps there would not be such huge corruption today."

"No, it has nothing to do with you."

Just when Song Li was about to say something, Shi Youmin roared in grief and inexplicable grief.

"What do you know?!"

"My father worked as a long-term laborer, and my mother was a daughter of Tongsheng's family. But later, my mother died of illness, and my father spent a lot of money to treat her. The family was impoverished. In the end, my father wanted to raise money for my mother's medicine. , took a desperate risk, was arrested and imprisoned, and eventually starved to death in prison."

Speaking of this, Shi Youmin burst into tears: "When my father died, he didn't even leave his body behind! That day, I knelt outside the cell door and begged the jailer to take me to see my father for the last time, but he was so cruel He kicked me on the ground and called me a mourning star for killing my father!"

"At that moment, I really wanted to strangle him to death! However, in the end, I chose to live an ignoble existence, chose to study hard, and crawled with all my life. I don't want to live this kind of life without money and power anymore! Not even a day will pass. In no mood!"

"do not talk!"

On the side, Zhao Haichuan interrupted him with a cold shout: "You, a heinous person, are you still trying to make excuses?"

"I'm not quibbling, I'm not!"

Shi Youmin yelled hysterically: "Do you think I don't want to be an upright official? But what's the use of being an upright official? Those who have embezzled dozens of taels of silver will be skinned. Those who are not greedy will encounter major cases, and thousands of them will be skinned." Wu Shamao, the same was thrown into prison and beheaded, but they all died? So many of my colleagues in Pingjiang County have been getting along day and night for more than ten years. During the Guo Huan case in the 18th year of Hongwu, they were all dead! They served the country and the dynasty, and in the end But you ended up like this, tell me, what’s the use of being an upright official!”

He raised his head and glared at Song Li and others, gnashing his teeth like a fierce ghost: "You are just relying on your power. It's just Jiang Xinghuo who is eyeing the salt tax. If you really have a fair and honest heart, why do you need to take the opportunity to attack? Revenge, forcing me to this situation, since you already know all this, why are you still aggressive? Who are you to judge me? Why?!"

Song Li frowned and yelled: "That's enough! Shut up!"

Shi Youmin gritted his teeth and looked at Song Li, his eyes were about to burst, as if he wanted to eat him alive.

Song Li stared at him boredly.

"What else do you have to say!"

"I"

Shi Youmin wanted to quibble, but when he saw Song Li's deep and gloomy eyes, he was suddenly discouraged. He fell to the ground dejectedly, muttering: "I didn't expect that you still found it. "

At this moment, he suddenly got up from the ground.

"Song Shilang, I really did not commit corruption. The money is not mine. I am not the mastermind. I was instructed by others."

Shi Youmin seemed to have lost his mind and hurriedly defended himself: "Do you believe me, Mr. Song?"

His voice was hoarse and hoarse, filled with fear and despair.

It was clear that his mind had completely collapsed.

He cried so hard that he knelt on the ground and cried bitterly: "I was wrong, I was wrong, Mr. Song, please spare me this time. I will never dare to do it again. I really didn't know what would happen." If I knew about this kind of thing, I wouldn't do it! I wouldn't do it!!!" Shi Youmin still wanted to defend, but Song Li had already turned around and ordered.

"Take it down."

Several Jinyi guards came forward, tied up Shi Youmin, and threw him directly into a carriage.

The curtain of the carriage was pulled down. Looking at the teacher's back in the distance, Shi Youmin burst into tears. He couldn't help but think of the thousands of days when his parents had died, when the teacher supported his studies, provided for his life, and carefully taught him to rely on the imperial examination. Day and night, when the memory continued to spread, he thought of the time when he was serving as the county magistrate of Pingjiang County, those times when he worked conscientiously for the country, and thought of himself at that time.

It was the happiest and joyful time in his life, but all of it was like this carriage, drifting away.

Seeing the curtain being completely pulled down, Shi Youmin's throat became hoarse and tears welled up uncontrollably.

hateful! pitiful!

He gritted his teeth and tears kept rolling down from the corners of his eyes, but in the end he remained silent.

He clenched his fists tightly, his face turned red, his Adam's apple slid up and down, and in the end, he actually laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Shi Youmin raised his head and laughed wildly, his smile was extremely crazy.

When did he become like this? Shi Youmin didn't know, and couldn't explain clearly. He just felt that something seemed to be torn off his face, but it couldn't be torn away, as if it had become one with his flesh and blood.