The first poisonous scholar in Daxia, starting from the abdication of the prime minister

Chapter 320: Order, the layout begins!

"Not urgent!"

Gu Jingzhi said calmly: "Let's talk about your work in the Dali Temple first!"

When Liu Sandao heard this, he knew that Gu Jingzhi wanted to pass on his experience to him, so he immediately sat up straight and said, "Your humble servant will listen to your teachings!"

"I can't say I'm teaching you! You come from the Inner Guards, so you're already well-versed in case investigations. You've also been training in Ningzhou for nearly two years, so the work of the Dali Temple shouldn't be too difficult for you! But there are some tricks to this..."

In about a quarter of an hour, Gu Jingzhi briefly told him about the situation in the Dali Temple, especially some important points.

Then he said, "I'm telling you all this today just to familiarize you with the affairs inside as soon as possible. That way, you can hand over the Dali Temple cases to the brothers below as soon as possible!"

The old men who followed Liu Sandao are now also working in the Dali Temple. Although they are only given the title of ninth-rank minor officials, they have completed the transition from clerks to officials!

These abilities have also experienced ups and downs, and although the quality is not high, they can still be used.

When Liu Sandao heard Gu Jingzhi's arrangement, he immediately knew that Gu Jingzhi had other things for him to do, so he asked, "Sir, is there anything you need me to do?"

"Ok!"

Gu Jingzhi nodded and said, "When we left Ningzhou, do you still remember the empty seal document that Wu Xiang gave me?"

"Remember, sir, is there something wrong here?"

Liu Sandao did not rise through the officialdom step by step in a systematic manner, so he did not quite understand this matter.

Gu Jingzhi simply said, "When the government issues an official document, it is usually drafted and then submitted to the official in charge for review. Once approved, it is stamped and then sent to the local authorities or the executive office!"

"However, the tax payment document is first stamped and then submitted to the Ministry of Revenue. In this way, the Ministry of Revenue records the amount of money and grain it receives on the document for filing and accounting. Do you think there is something fishy going on?"

"What?"

Liu Sandao was shocked when he heard this: "So they can fill in as much as they want?"

Gu Jingzhi sighed and said, "This isn't a big problem. The chief officials in charge of various places in the Ministry of Revenue are only of the sixth rank after all. They don't have that much courage!"

"Besides, this is related to the evaluation of local officials. If they fill it out haphazardly, it will easily lead to problems. When the court investigates, they will be held accountable!"

"So, it's the place that your Excellency is worried about?"

Liu Sandao understood it immediately.

Gu Jingzhi nodded and said, "Generally speaking, when paying taxes, the counties in various places will escort the collected money and grain to the higher-level prefecture. The prefecture will usually choose to escort it directly to the provincial government or directly to the capital according to the situation!"

"These are all measures taken to reduce waste! This way, a lot more people will be involved!"

Liu Sandao was shocked: "So, this corruption happened in the local area, not in the capital?"

"If the officials from the capital hadn't participated, the local authorities probably wouldn't have had the courage to do this!"

Gu Jingzhi said calmly, "I've just arrived at the Ministry of Revenue. If I rashly open this case without a pretext, I'm afraid that before the court issues an order for a thorough investigation, most of the local traces will be wiped out. By then, they'll just have to hand over some insignificant people, and the case will become a failure!"

"Then, sir, what do you want me to do?"

Gu Jingzhi pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Liu Sandao: "This is the case I picked out two years ago when I was reviewing old cases at the Ministry of Revenue. It's just that I resigned so suddenly before, so I didn't investigate these cases!"

"However, I have recorded all these suspicious cases. I haven't been at the Dali Temple in the past two years, so I'm sure there will be many more cases that need to be reviewed by the Dali Temple!"

"You're an expert at criminal cases. I'm sure none of those cases would have escaped your notice. You can use the excuse of investigating a case to send people to the local areas. They can investigate cases openly while secretly helping me investigate corruption. As long as you find some typical cases across the country and compile a report, I can submit a letter to His Majesty for a thorough investigation!"

"Then this will take at least two or three months!" Liu Sandao said solemnly.

Gu Jingzhi listened and nodded slightly: "I plan to start this case at the beginning of next year. During this period of time, I need to screen out some suspicious cases with many implications that will make it difficult for the opponent to erase their traces in a short period of time!"

"Secondly, your investigations will take time! I'll compile some of the Ministry of Revenue's accounts into a booklet, and with your help from the Dali Temple, I'll give the enemy no time to react. I'll ensure a successful strike!"

As he spoke, he took out another list and said, "These are the people I recruited during my time at the Dali Temple. You can screen these people one by one during this time. If they are useful, they should be able to help you quickly gain a foothold in the Dali Temple!"

Liu Sandao was shocked: "Since he is someone you have subdued, why do you still need to identify him?"

Gu Jingzhi rolled his eyes and said, "Are you so blind in your trust in me, your master?"

"Don't you know how I resigned from my position as Junior Minister of the Dali Temple? Then we went to Ningzhou. On the surface, I was given a title of nobility and important positions, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that His Majesty was deliberately trying to tie me and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince together!"

"At that time, His Royal Highness's future was uncertain. How many people do you think would be willing to gamble their lives on it?"

"Uh……"

Liu Sandao smiled awkwardly and said, "It was my negligence!"

He had followed Gu Jingzhi for a long time, and even after going to Ningzhou, he firmly believed that Gu Jingzhi could break the deadlock.

Especially after arriving in Ningzhou and discovering traces of Jin Lehuang, he became even more certain that there was no way around it, so he never worried about his future.

But he overlooked the fact that these officials in the capital did not know that after the prince was exiled, many people thought that he would never be able to return to the capital.

Therefore, changing one's status is not surprising at all.

Now that Gu Jingzhi reminded him, Liu Sandao also became alert. After all, times have changed, and it is better to be cautious about such things!

Seeing him come to his senses, Gu Jingzhi nodded immediately: "The capital is not like Ningzhou. You are well aware of the difficulties of being an official in the capital. I believe I don't need to remind you of this!"

"Also, you came from the Inner Guards, so you probably have quite a few close friends. However, you are now a fourth-rank Dali Temple official, so you can no longer associate with the Inner Guards. Even in a case, you cannot covet the Inner Guards' benefits! Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, sir. I know what to do!"

In fact, he knew what to do without Gu Jingzhi's reminder. Firstly, all traces of the Inner Guard House's investigation would be recorded. Secondly, after several leaks of information from the Inner Guard House, he knew that Gu Jingzhi would not dare to trust the Inner Guard House easily!

Although the Wei Mansion has been conducting strict internal investigations in recent years, who knows if there are any high-level spies hiding among them?

Especially the abilities of the aristocratic families, even the emperor did not dare to underestimate them.

What they are doing now is precisely to deal with the aristocratic families, and Liu Sandao knows the seriousness of the matter!

Seeing that he agreed, Gu Jingzhi said, "In that case, you should do as I say and be careful in the future. When the time is right, I will let you know!"

"..."