Chapter 144: People’s hearts are hidden

It is said that civil officials have eight hundred minds, and Xiao Jingzhao has really seen the power of civil officials this time.

With a sentence of high price, he wants to push all the responsibility away.

"High price? From whom did you buy it? Wei Aiqing, please hand him over to the government for trial."

Prime Minister Wei was about to raise his head, but his neck froze in place.

The grain merchant is not from Wanling, and the government will know it after an investigation. It is too late to find someone to take the blame now.

As far as he knows, Xiao Jingzhao is not a good person. If he is found guilty of deceiving the emperor, it will be aggravated.

"Your Majesty, it is all the relatives who are blinded by greed and have done wrong. As long as Your Majesty is generous and exempts my third brother from corvée, I will be grateful."

"Wei Aiqing wants me to bend the law for personal gain?"

Xiao Jingzhao's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, shocking Prime Minister Wei to clear his mind instantly.

The emperor was just establishing his authority, and he had run into the new emperor's gun.

"Stand up, Wei Aiqing is the leader of all the ministers, and it is better for you to give up the idea of ​​partiality and abuse of power as soon as possible."

Seeing that Prime Minister Wei had been kneeling for a while, Xiao Jingzhao didn't want to show his dislike for him too obviously, so he simply asked him to stand up.

"Has Wei Aiqing recovered from his illness?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I lost my beloved daughter and was too sad. Today, my health has improved. I want to go to the palace to see you as soon as possible."

His words were flawless and there was nothing to find fault with them.

Prime Minister Wei's plea was fruitless, so he had to leave.

It is said that a new emperor has his own ministers. Prime Minister Wei left the Linhua Palace and saw that the palace maids and eunuchs serving outside the palace were all unfamiliar faces.

There were also a few guards on the side.

It can be seen that the new emperor has cleaned the palace thoroughly.

Watching the figure of Prime Minister Wei disappear outside the hall, Lin Xiangzhi poured a cup of tea for Xiao Jingzhao.

"He is the prime minister of the previous dynasty. The emperor should be careful when using him. People's hearts are hidden in the belly."

"He is not only the prime minister, but also the former father-in-law of the country. I just told you that there are not many people around me who need to be used. I can select new people after the autumn examination."

Xiao Jingzhao was confident that he could not clean up all the old ministers at once, which would cause gossip.

In time, as long as he cultivated new people, he would soon uproot those who had different intentions.

Prime Minister Wei returned home and found out that not only his third brother but also several cousins ​​were taken away.

The restaurant was closed, and all the grain in the warehouse was confiscated and sent to the northern border military camp. The case was still under trial.

Prime Minister Wei only hoped that the case would be closed as soon as possible and the fine would be paid, so as to avoid more trouble.

In order to show his sincerity, when raising military pay, Prime Minister Wei did not dare to play tricks and actually paid 10,000 taels of silver.

In just two days, the military pay and food were more than enough.

Xiao Jingzhao ordered people to send money and food to the northern border.

In the south, his father used the tax silver from Yannan to support the military camp, which relieved Xiao Jingzhao a lot of worries.

In the imperial study, Xiao Jingzhao took a book and looked at it carefully. On it was the list of military pay and the corresponding amount.

Seeing that Prime Minister Wei was ranked first, the cabinet ministers were almost the same. The lower the rank, the smaller the amount, which made people unable to find fault.

At this time, Xiangyang stood outside the window. He occasionally looked up at the room, his lips moved slightly and then lowered his head.

Xiao Jingzhao saw that he seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he put down the book in his hand and waved to him.

Xiangyang walked in quickly, "What does the emperor want to say?"

"What do you want to say?"

Xiangyang raised his hand and touched his face, "Did the emperor see it?"

"You almost wrote it on your face, everyone can see it."

"The emperor is wise. I went to the government office today to see the progress of the trial. When I walked on the street, I heard everyone praising the emperor for his wisdom."

Xiangyang paused and said, "They also praised the prince for loving the people like Emperor Renzong. Everyone thought that the grain sent by Mr. Lin to the capital was sent by the prince."

Prince Yannan and the princess had not entered the capital yet, and everyone was still used to calling him the prince.

"I feel ashamed of Xiangzhi and his uncle for this matter. It is not easy to explain it to the public. I will find a chance to compensate him later."

If it was allowed to donate an official position according to the old rules, the grain sent by Lin Xiangzhi would be enough to exchange for an official position.

"According to the law, how does the government intend to punish those who drive up grain prices?"

"A fine of 20,000 taels of silver, one year of corvée labor, and three generations of descendants are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations."

"Well, that's right. The Wei family split up in public, but secretly colluded with officials and businessmen."

Xiao Jingzhao naturally knew that the punishment was severe, and the officials below would also change their attitude according to the situation. If it were in the past, even if someone in Prime Minister Wei's family drove up prices, the people would dare not speak out, and the government would turn a blind eye.

Song Rui was extremely confused, and he would not hold the Wei family accountable.

"There is one more thing, and the emperor will be happy to hear it."

"What good news is there? Don't hesitate, tell me all at once."

After days of hard work, things in the court went smoothly, and Xiao Jing was in a good mood.

"It's Miss Jiang. She also opened a grain store. I went to see it specially. It's called affordable grains."

"Grains?"

Xiao Jingzhao raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"It means grains and cereals. Today, the shop doesn't sell rice and noodles, but sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and some red and black beans, which are like seeds. I heard from the shopkeeper that they can be used as seeds and can be used to make porridge."

"She runs a clinic and a shop, and has to take care of Sui Sui. How can she handle it?" Xiao Jingzhao felt a strange emotion in his heart.

This woman is too strong.

"Your Majesty, don't worry about Miss Jiang. With Master Nangong helping her, Miss Jiang won't be tired."

Gao Mu told him about this. Young Master Nangong and Miss Jiang are close friends. They work hard in the Jiang Mansion and help manage everything inside and outside.

"Ma Liang."

"I'm here."

"Go and pass on the oral order. Invite Zhen Jingxiu to study at the Imperial Academy."

Ma Liang was stunned, then bowed, "Yes, I will pass on the oral order right away."

Although Xiangyang is a rough man, he has heard about the new and old nobles in the capital during the days he came to Beijing.

He asked puzzledly: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the Zhen family private school is not worse than the Imperial Academy."

"Of course I know that Zhen Dashi has many students all over the world, and many talented people who are well-read have a deep friendship with the Zhen family."

Xiangyang's eyes lit up, "Your Majesty means to revive the Imperial Academy and bring Master Suisui to the palace to study?"

"Lin Xiangzhi is in the Imperial Academy, so he can exchange learning experiences with Zhen Jingxiu."

Xiao Jingzhao looked calm and talked about other things.

No one knows how much he misses that soft and cute little girl.

…

Zhen Mansion.

Seeing the arrival of Ma Zongguan, Zhen Daxueshi was not surprised at all.

He immediately agreed to let Zhen Jingxiu go to Taixue to prepare for the exam.

After sending Ma Zongguan away, Zhen Daxueshi earnestly told Zhen Jingxiu, "The Xiao family is different from the Song family. Go and study hard. The future of Zhen Mansion will depend on you."

"As for your marriage, your grandmother is already preparing. Just wait for your parents to come home and go to Jiang Mansion to propose marriage."

"Grandfather, don't worry. If your grandson passes the imperial examination, it won't be too late to propose marriage to Miss Jiang."

Zhen Jingxiu thought of the woman with a pure and elegant temperament, and his ears unconsciously flushed.