PFC Chapter 32 Pulling out the radish brings out the mud
Chapter 32 Pulling out the radish brings out the mud
The two ate lunch before returning to the Hundred Household Office, and Li Shoutian still paid for it.
I ordered two stir-fried vegetable dishes and a plate of boiled pork, and the final bill came to 80 coins. They charged me for rice by the bowl. What a rip-off!
Back at the Hundred Household Office, Liu Feng grew angrier and angrier. He slammed his hand on the table, startling Li Shoutian, who was busy organizing files.
Li Shoutian understood why Liu Feng was angry and said with a smile, "When I first came to the capital, I also had a dispute with the shopkeeper over this matter. It wasn't that the shopkeeper was heartless, but that he was forced into it."
Liu Feng looked at him.
Li Shoutian placed the organized files on the table, saying, "May is the lean season in the capital, with scarce grain and high prices. The grain transported from the south has not yet arrived in the capital, and last year's grain reserves are almost exhausted..."
"Isn't the imperial court going to open granaries to stabilize grain prices?"
"Of course it's open. The imperial court sells old grain at low prices every year..."
"Then why are grain prices still so high...?" Liu Feng suddenly realized that the grain was not reaching the people.
Li Shoutian sighed, "In the past, the imperial court only allowed official grain depots to sell their grain, prohibiting merchants from getting involved... Eight years ago, a major embezzlement case broke out in the official granaries, and the civil officials in the court took the opportunity to promote reforms, changing it to a system of government supervision and merchant operation. The Ministry of Revenue selected well-established grain merchants to take over the stored grain in the official granaries and then resell it to the people, with the grain price set by the imperial court..."
Liu Feng remained silent, waiting for what would follow.
"At first, the collusion between officials and merchants wasn't too serious, but in the last year or two, when the relatives and associates of the emperor got involved, they became increasingly unscrupulous... When distributing grain, they treated all the edible, medium-quality old grain as moldy and rotten grain. As a result, the amount of grain that the government granaries could offer to the people at a fair price suddenly decreased by more than half."
In addition, they colluded with local officials and wardens to hire a large number of idle vagrants and beggars to queue up to buy grain. In this way, they intercepted most of the government-supplied grain at fair prices and used it to brew wine for profit.
Liu Feng sighed. He never imagined that even under the emperor's nose, things could be so dark and unbearable... How did he know so much?
As if he could read Liu Feng's mind, Li Shoutian pushed the file forward: "Please take a look, sir."
Liu Feng looked down and saw that this matter had already been recorded separately in the files of the Northern Garrison Command.
As he read on, a few lines of text caught Liu Feng's eye: the brother-in-law of the Director of the Military Arsenal had actually partnered with someone to open a grain store.
Liu Feng stared at the sky for a while, then looked at Li Shoutian and said, "Go, wake up those bastards in the backyard, grab your weapons, and come with me to smash up that shady restaurant!"
Although Li Shoutian was puzzled, he still loudly replied "Yes" and immediately went to the backyard to gather people.
......................
News of Liu Feng leading his men to smash up the restaurant and arrest the owner quickly reached the palace.
Emperor Yankang was already in a bad mood, and hearing about this made him even angrier. He said directly, "He has become arrogant and reckless since gaining power, and is not fit for important tasks."
Dai Quan shook his head slightly. He had a good impression of Liu Feng and didn't think he was that kind of person. If it were truly out of personal revenge, the Emperor's words would basically ruin Liu Feng's career.
After Emperor Yankang finished reviewing the half-finished memorial, he sighed, "If only the court had more loyal and virtuous ministers like Lin Ruhai! It's clear that true talent is hard to find."
Dai Quan couldn't say that empty talk about buying bones with a thousand pieces of gold was meaningless. A national hero should be treated like a national hero. Relying solely on verbal promises will ultimately fail to retain people and win their hearts.
Emperor Yankang remained silent for a moment: "During the special imperial examinations, batches of newly appointed scholars enter officialdom, only to be corrupted and ensnared by the civil service. A few petty gains make them forget their sovereign and father... They fear power but do not cherish virtue..."
As he spoke, he lightly tapped his fingertips on the imperial desk, "The ten-year period is approaching. Let my good sons go to the Six Ministries for training. Betting on the next crown prince, the merit of supporting the emperor—such a great temptation, no one can resist!"
Dai Quan's heart tightened. Wasn't this going to cause chaos?
Emperor Yankang: "The entire cabinet, the six ministries and the nine ministers have been operating for over a hundred years. They have long since become a united force, impenetrable and impossible to penetrate. They cannot be killed... so we can only force them to fight amongst themselves."
As he spoke, he looked out the window, seemingly addressing Dai Quan, yet also speaking to himself: "The civil officials are in chaos, the army cannot afford to be in chaos either. The Ministry of War must be taken back..."
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the outer hall, followed by the chief eunuch on duty who came in and reported to Emperor Yankang: "Your Majesty, news has just come from the Northern Garrison Command that Commander Liu has seized the grain shop under the name of the brother-in-law of the Director of the Military Arsenal and the Ministry of Personnel, and arrested him at the Commander's Office for interrogation on charges of collusion between officials and merchants. He has already been subjected to severe torture."
The brother-in-law of the Director of the Arsenal Bureau?
Emperor Yankang was completely bewildered, but Dai Quan reacted instantly, quickly dismissing the chief eunuch on duty and recounting everything that had happened the previous night.
Emperor Yankang understood: "You mean, Liu Feng intends to use the pretext of thoroughly investigating the collusion between officials and merchants regarding grain reserves as an opportunity to arrest the Director of the Imperial Arsenal?"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Dai Quan flattered, "The Ministry of War's cases are incredibly complex, but this case involving the old grain is much easier to handle. As the saying goes, pulling out a radish brings out the mud..."
Emperor Yankang smiled and said, "This Liu Feng is quite clever. If he can get the position of Director of the Imperial Arsenal, I will reward him handsomely." He then stood up and stretched, saying, "Let's go see the Dowager Consort."
......................
Inside the temporary prison of the Hundred Households Office, there were no screams, but Li Shoutian, Wang Daniu, and Zhang Laifu all subconsciously swallowed.
Instead of subjecting his brother-in-law to those bloody tortures, Liu Feng tied him to a chair, binding his hands and feet tightly with strips of cloth. Then he took some damp mulberry paper and pasted it layer by layer onto his face, covering his mouth and nose. The damp paper clung tightly to his skin, and with each layer, breathing became increasingly difficult, bringing a strong feeling of suffocation and impending death.
The more mulberry paper is pasted on, the more intense the suffocating, near-death feeling becomes; this is the infamous practice of pasting paper to enhance one's official status.
"Adding official rank" or "promoting official rank and title" was a cruel torture commonly used by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It was bloodless but extremely torturous, mainly involving both mental and suffocating torture.
During the execution, they would stick stickers on the paper while shouting "Promotion!" Once the paper dried, the printed facial outlines resembled the masks worn by actors performing the "promotion to official rank" act on stage, hence the name.
The brother-in-law was tightly bound to a chair, his face contorted in a grimace, gasping for breath. The soaked mulberry paper was incredibly resilient; with each forceful breath, it clung even tighter. His limbs struggled frantically, but the layers of cloth bound him, preventing him from moving and without injuring his flesh.
Liu Feng walked around the chair twice, then suddenly ripped the mulberry paper off his brother-in-law's face. He immediately gasped for breath; the sudden movement had caused him to cough violently, tears welling in his eyes.
Liu Feng looked down at him and said, "Brother-in-law, think carefully. Did your brother-in-law instruct you to do this?"
Upon hearing this, Li Shoutian, Wang Daniu, and Zhang Laifu almost lost their composure. Wasn't framing someone so blatant?
The brother-in-law swallowed hard, staring at Liu Feng with disbelief in his eyes.
Liu Feng smiled and said, "Give me a name, and I'll let you off the hook."
The brother-in-law remained silent.
Liu Feng's smile vanished instantly: "Your brother-in-law is a fifth-rank physician, so let's start by promoting him from the fifth rank." He grabbed a damp piece of mulberry paper and slapped it on the other man's face, then another, saying, "Let me make this clear: usually, four pieces will cause suffocation, five... you'd better think it over."
"Okay. Having thought it through, I gestured with my foot."
Worried that sticking up five at once would suffocate someone, Liu Feng waited a while before sticking up the third one, and then a moment later, he stuck up the fourth. Just as he was hesitating about whether to stick up the fifth one, his brother-in-law's foot suddenly moved.
Liu Feng didn't peel it off immediately. He counted a few times in his mind before slowly peeling it off from his chin upwards.
The brother-in-law's face turned even paler, his mouth was wide open, his chest heaved violently, and his heavy breathing sounded like a broken bellows.
Liu Feng had no time to waste with him. He picked up another piece of mulberry paper and said, "I didn't expect you to be so tough! Don't think that just because you've taken all the blame, you'll only be sent to the army and then your brother-in-law will bail you out... You're too naive! Let me tell you the truth, once you enter the Northern Garrison, there are only two kinds of people who can get out: the dead and the clever ones who know how to adapt to the times."
If you refuse to speak up, then wait for your brother-in-law to take over your family business, take care of your wife, and all those mistresses you're keeping!
Li Shoutian chimed in, "As long as you take the initiative to expose him, your military service can be commuted to caning. With a little money to bribe officials, this matter can be completely resolved. As for your brother-in-law, he wasn't an official in the Ministry of Revenue, nor did he handle any grain stored in the official granaries. At most, he's an accomplice. Besides, he's still an official; at worst, he'll be dismissed from his post, but his academic record will remain, and he'll still have opportunities to serve as an official in the future."
"If you feel bad about it, why don't you spend money to buy your brother-in-law an official position?" Zhang Laifu said slyly.
Wang Daniu, an honest man, said: "That's true. As long as the green hills remain, there's no fear of running out of firewood."
As a piece of mulberry paper was brought down on his face, the suffocating feeling of impending death instantly overwhelmed him. His brother-in-law could no longer hold on and screamed, "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything..."