Chapter 142 Where is the contract?
At this moment, Li Shimin was not sure whether Zhao Chen was trying to trick him.
Looking at the grain merchants in front of him, Li Shimin's heart was in his throat.
No one in the Taiji Hall spoke, and they all looked at the grain merchants.
After the grain merchants stole the small box from Zheng He's house, they never opened it.
They all felt that it was safest to put the contract in this box.
At this moment, when they saw the corner of the contract appearing in the small box, several people let out a long breath.
There was also a smile on his face.
The leading grain merchant took out a contract wrapped in silk and satin from a small box.
Opening it slowly, there was only a piece of white paper among the silk.
There is not a single handwriting on it.
"This... this..." The expression of the leading grain merchant suddenly changed.
He was smiling just now, but now he was speechless.
I flipped through the paper in my hand several times and found that there was still not a single word.
"How could... be like this?" The hand of the leading grain merchant holding the contract trembled violently, and his eyes were full of panic.
He never imagined that the contract, which was clearly written in black and white, turned out to be just a piece of white paper.
"Where's the contract?"
"What happened? Where is the contract?"
"Who secretly changed the contract?"
"What on earth went wrong?"
The few grain merchants nearby who were originally filled with joy and were waiting to get the two hundred thousand gu from the emperor also discovered the blank piece of paper representing the leading grain merchant.
With panic on their faces, they rushed over one by one, looking at the white paper in the hands of the leading grain merchant with trembling faces.
"Where's the contract?" A grain merchant swallowed hard, his face pale.
"I...I don't know!" the leading grain merchant muttered subconsciously.
At this moment he was completely confused.
How could this contract, which was written in black and white, suddenly turn into a blank piece of paper?
Six locks, five of which have the keys, are all on them.
How come...
The leading grain merchant looked at Li Shimin.
The ministers in the court also discovered the strangeness of the contract at this moment.
Is it possible that a mere grain merchant would dare to use a fake contract to deceive His Majesty the Emperor?
This is absolutely impossible.
It's just that this contract...
For a moment, all the courtiers in the hall looked at Li Shimin who was sitting on the dragon couch.
Even Cheng Yaojin, who was worried at the side, was also surprised and confused at this moment.
That contract was handed over to Zheng He with his own hands. How could it become a blank piece of paper?
Li Shimin looked at the white paper in the hands of the leading grain merchant, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he felt a faint sigh of relief in his heart.
"Where's the contract?" Li Shimin looked at the leading grain merchant and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!" The leading grain merchant immediately knelt on the ground and shouted to Li Shimin.
The rest of the grain merchants didn't know that their lives were at stake at this moment.
Although they don't know why there is a problem with the contract, if they still hold on at this moment, they are dead.
"Your Majesty, we were all deceived by that Zheng He, please punish us!"
"We were all deceived by Zheng He regarding the contract. Zheng He defrauded us of food. Please deal with Zheng He."
The other grain merchants were all kneeling on the ground at this moment, kowtowing to Li Shimin desperately and admitting their mistake.
He even pushed all the responsibilities onto Zheng He, who had already been imprisoned.
"What do you mean, there is no such thing as this contract?" Wei Zheng looked gloomy and glared at the grain merchants in front of him.
He thought that the emperor really owed these grain merchants 200,000 yuan, so he just talked to the emperor like that.
But at this moment, these grain merchants took out
The contract turned out to be just a blank piece of paper.
Doesn't this mean that he, Wei Zheng, has been teased?
Wei Zheng is a direct minister, but he is not a fool.
At this moment, Wei Zheng had a sullen look on his face.
"Yes... no, it was Zheng He. It was Zheng He who deceived us, causing us to make this big mistake."
"Your Majesty, spare your life, I know my mistake!"
"Your Majesty, spare your life, I know my mistake!"
The faces of several grain merchants were pale at this moment, and they kowtowed to Li Shimin desperately.
Li Shimin looked at the white paper in the grain merchant's hand, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He clearly remembered that he had written the contract while watching Zhao Chen. ??
Zheng He would definitely not think of deceiving the other companies in advance.
Then why did this contract suddenly become a blank piece of paper?
"Your Majesty, these people cheated and got into the Tai Chi Palace. They must not be leniently spared."
"The false accusation that His Majesty owes you food and money cannot be tolerated."
"Your Majesty, these people will definitely be pushed out of the Meridian Gate and beheaded. Otherwise, where will your Majesty's face be?"
Li Shimin was just thinking about something when he heard the ministers in the court speaking.
"Wei Zheng, what do you think?" Li Shimin looked at Wei Zheng, who was looking sullen, and said calmly.
Wei Zheng's expression froze slightly and his brows furrowed.
He knew the emperor was laughing at him.
Who could have expected him to openly insult the emperor in the main hall just now because of these grain merchants?
If it had been anyone else, Wei Zheng would have been captured, dismissed and investigated.
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, but these grain merchants..."
"Huh?" Li Shimin glanced over and looked at Wei Zheng.
Li Shimin suddenly understood what Wei Zheng meant.
Does he still want to plead for love for these people?
"Your Majesty, how dare these people deceive Tai Chi?
Your Majesty, the crime cannot be punished, I request you to be immediately beheaded from the Meridian Gate, but..."
"But what?" Li Shimin was a little surprised when he looked at Cheng Yaojin who suddenly stopped talking.
"However, your Majesty is kind and has a broad mind. He will definitely not care about the people. I would like to ask your Majesty to expel a few people from the palace." Cheng Yaojin said slowly.
"How is this possible? This person has been deceived into coming to the Tai Chi Palace. If I don't kill him, where will the power of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty lie?"
"That's right. If this happens again in the future, won't Your Majesty kill him?"
"How can I be forgiven lightly for the crime of deceiving the emperor?"
Cheng Yaojin's words aroused opposition from many courtiers.
If this mouth were opened today, where would the emperor's majesty lie?
"Forget it, the heavy rain has stopped, the people of Chang'an City are fine, the land of Jinyang is also safe, the Tang Dynasty is peaceful and the people are safe, and I don't want to see blood."
"This matter is over, these people are blasted out of Chang'an City, and they are not allowed to step into Chang'an City in this life!" Li Shimin waved his hand and said.
"Thank you for not killing me, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing me!"
Several grain merchants kowtowed to Li Shimin one after another, but they breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.
Before they could talk, Cheng Yaojin had someone grab a few people and drag them down to the hall.
"Your Majesty!" The eunuch beside him handed the white contract in the hands of the merchant just now to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin took the white paper and found that there was no trace of ink on it.
And this paper is clearly the rice paper he gave to Zhao Chen.
Why did this word suddenly disappear?
"Your Majesty, in a few days it will be the autumn harvest. Chang'an City was hit by a sudden heavy rain, and the harvest will probably be much less than in previous years." Liu Zhenghui, the Minister of Household Affairs, said to Li Shimin.
"It doesn't matter. On the day of the autumn harvest, I will take all the ministers to witness the auspiciousness of the Tang Dynasty." Li Shimin waved his hand.
He was already thinking of the news that Zhao Chen told him that the grain merchant in Wannian County with an output of three thousand kilograms per acre was about to have a bumper harvest.
