novelraw Chapter 251
Chapter 251
One month later, the Eighth Prince's Mansion
Zhang Shide hurried to the eighth prince's study, and signaled to the eunuch standing at the door, "Quickly go and tell the prince, just say Zhang has something to see."
The eunuch didn't dare to be careless, and hurried in to report to the Eighth Prince.
The Eighth Prince put down his writing pen without saying a word, "please come in quickly, sir."
After Zhang Shide went in, he signaled the eighth prince to back off, and then handed him the box in his hand, "Please look, my lord, this is the latest news. Some spies caught the news that the eldest prince was greedy for military pay, and also found some evidence." It's a pity that for these evidences, he was beaten to death, but it's a well-deserved death."
The eighth prince was overjoyed, "But it's true? Quickly bring it here and let me have a look."
When he opened it, he found some letters and a few account books inside the box. From the contents inside, he learned that the First Prince had received a lot of tribute over the years, most of which were given by those military officers.
And where did those military officers get their money? There is no doubt that they must have been greedy for the Mexican army's salary.
The eighth prince was excited, as if he saw the scene where the boss fell like the second child, "Sir, how about I hand this over to the father? The father hates corruption the most, let alone such a big matter as military pay. Forgive me, boss."
Zhang Shide shook his head, "If the evidence was more complete, I would suggest the prince to do so, but not now."
"Why? You know, if I succeed in reporting, I will definitely gain a great reputation and get the support of those low-level military officers and soldiers. For me, this will definitely make my power a big step forward." The eighth prince was not reconciled, and asked Knowing that although there are some civil servants around him to support him, without the soldiers, it means that he lacks a layer of protection.
If he can gain the favor of those soldiers, even the three emperor brothers above will be polite to him.
"My lord, please take a look." Zhang Shide did not refute, and directly asked him to look at those account books, "These account books can only show that the First Prince has received filial piety, but not that the First Prince has embezzled military pay. At most, one crime of negligence can cover it up. "
The eighth prince looked through it. Indeed, the above evidence is not enough to prove that the eldest prince knows that it is military salary.Just accepting filial piety is not a serious crime, especially for princes like them, who confiscated it?
I don't get filial piety every year, but these filial piety are not given by military officers, but by civil officials and businessmen, but they are similar.
Besides the crime of negligence, although the Eldest Prince is in the Ministry of War, there are other people in the Ministry of War. The Governor's Mansion in charge of the army and the commanders from all over the country are the highest in charge of the army, and it has nothing to do with the Eldest Prince.
Therefore, oversight is a bit far-fetched.
If the emperor wants to let it go lightly, then no punishment is possible.
"Then what should I do?" The eighth prince didn't believe that Zhang Shide would not give him useless information, and he just waited for Zhang Shide to explain clearly.
Zhang Shide stroked his beard and smiled, "Have you forgotten how the second prince fell?"
The eighth prince said he did not forget, but the third and fourth princes are different from the second prince, they are not so stupid, they can fall into their trap, "What if they press down and don't mention it?"
Zhang Shide laughed, "I'm not sure about the fourth prince. He has a relatively calm temper, but not necessarily the third prince. Although the third prince is very smart, smart people often make a mistake, that is, pretending to be smart."
"Oh? I would like to hear the details!" The Eighth Prince said with interest.
"My lord, do you still remember the spies that the third prince placed in the mansion?" Zhang Shide asked.
The eighth prince nodded, "After you found out, you didn't let me deal with it. Instead, you arranged to serve in the study. Although you have been cleaning outside the house, you also let him know a lot of news."
Speaking of this, the Eighth Prince was still a little dissatisfied. After knowing that they were spies, Zhang Shide not only refused to let him deal with them, but promoted them instead. I don't know what his intention is?As a result, he is now tied up in his study.
Zhang Shide lowered his voice, "Now is the best opportunity to take advantage of them."
The Eighth Prince's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood what Zhang Shide meant.He had fed the news several times before, allowing the spy to win the trust of the third prince, but now, if he revealed this matter to the third prince through the spy, the third prince would definitely believe it.
Moreover, in order to seize the opportunity, he must have no time to think about it, so he will report to the emperor first while he is still thinking about it. After all, with the influence in the army, no prince can resist this temptation.
The third prince understood, and praised Zhang Shide, "Mr. is indeed very intelligent, wonderful, wonderful. Please also invite me to play a good show with you.",
Zhang Shide smiled, "Your Highness has won the award. It's a great honor to be able to help His Highness. Besides, after this incident, it may not be bad for His Highness."
"Oh? Tell me quickly." The eighth prince's heart was pounding. Is that benefit about the army...
Zhang Shide took out a list, "My lord, here is the list of personnel I have inquired for many days. They are all talents with high martial arts skills and can read and write. If the lord can recruit them, after the matter of the eldest prince is completed, , the army will definitely cut off a large number of people, and will definitely recruit more people at that time, and these people, with the support of the prince, can easily rise to the top."
The eighth prince looked at the dozen or so people on the list and was overjoyed. If he had these people as his power, why would he worry about having no one in the army.
"Hahaha, it's my king's good fortune to have Mr. here, great kindness, great kindness! Shide, my king just ordered someone to clean up a table of delicious dishes. We won't go home until we're drunk tonight."
Zhang Shide did not refuse, "I heard that the prince has a good pear flower white, so I must try it this time."
"Okay, okay, I'll let someone warm the pear blossoms, and Shide can drink as much as he wants."
Things went very smoothly, the same method, different operations, the second prince fell, and the third prince also fell.
Two days later in the Great Dynasty, the Third Prince impeached the First Prince in front of civil and military officials, accusing him of embezzlement and bribery, embezzlement of military pay, and covering up his subordinates and other crimes.
Hearing this, the emperor's mouth twitched. At the beginning when the second child was fooled by the eighth child, he thought the second child was stupid, but he didn't expect the third child to not give way too much. With the lessons learned from the past, he didn't make him vigilant.
However, thinking of the corrupt situation in the army, Emperor Xingde also felt a little turmoil in his heart. Looking at the eldest prince kneeling below, he couldn't help but sighed deeply in his heart.
The army has to be rectified, boss...forget it.
Immediately, regardless of the eldest prince's sophistry, the emperor ordered the third prince to take full responsibility for thoroughly investigating the corruption of military pay.He also ordered Jin Yiwei and the third division to wait for the dispatch of the third prince and cooperate fully.
The third prince is overjoyed. This is the biggest thing he has done since he started his business. If he does it well, he can surpass the fourth prince by a large margin.
Moreover, if he makes good use of it, he can also establish a good relationship with the third division of Jinyiwei, and the future is promising.
The third prince was full of ambition, but the eldest prince was completely disheartened and defeated.
He understood that he was once again abandoned by his father.
Of course the Eldest Prince knew about the corruption of ink's military salary, but this matter has existed since ancient times, and from top to bottom, which military officer has not been attached to it?But the eldest prince prided himself on being noble, so he really hadn't touched it with his hands, and what he received was just some filial piety.
But now the emperor doesn't listen to his explanation at all, and only wants to rectify himself, so there is nothing to say.
The first prince's despondency is in stark contrast to the third prince's complacency. Both of them are immersed in huge emotions, but the fourth prince is calmer. Although he is also jealous of the third prince's good job, he understands clearly. This is a big event, a rock-shattering event.
After the matter is completed, the third prince will naturally get great benefits, but it also means that he will offend those dignitaries in Beijing.Do you really think those military officers are the ones who are greedy for the Mexican army's salary?
No, behind them, there are still nobles, and at least half of the money those people get should be honored to these nobles.
Speaking of this, we have to talk about the origin of these nobles.
They were the ones who followed Taizu to conquer the world. After the establishment of Great Chu, these people were conferred titles one after another.
Taizu was a far-sighted person. He knew that it was not a good thing for nobles to take control of soldiers during the Taiping period, so he thought of a way to let these nobles hand over military power.
This method is very simple, that is, exchange.
The nobles handed over the military power in their hands, and Taizu allowed them to recommend a few places, which means recommending officials, military officers and civilian officials, and there are every generation.
What does that mean?If the first-generation Duke surrendered his military power, he would get this quota, and he could recommend his sons to be officials, and when his grandsons grew up, he could recommend his grandsons to be officials.
In other words, as long as Da Chu is still there, their descendants will enjoy the benefits of being an official for generations!
What a wonderful thing, right?The nobles no longer have to worry about the future of their children and grandchildren.
Of course, this is not endless, Taizu still limited the number of places.For example, the Duke of the State has three places, the Lord Hou has two places, and others with less credit have only one place.
In addition, the people they recommend must start from low-level officials, the county magistrate of the seventh rank, or the military officer of the sixth rank.
At the beginning, Taizu used various methods, both hard and soft, to get those nobles to agree to the deal.He and those people thought that this was a guarantee for the descendants of the nobles, but in fact, things went completely wrong.
The son of Duke Marquis has a title, and the second and third generations are relatively competitive. He can get a good official position by himself, and he doesn't need this position at all. So what should we do? It can't be wasted?
So, one person came up with the idea of selling the quota.
The emperor saw that it was no problem to sell it. It would be a wish for them not to concentrate the rights in the hands of those nobles, so he agreed to the request.
With the first one, there are countless others.
Even the four and five generations of Xungui didn't want to use it for themselves, and they all sold it. It's not that they are as capable as their parents, but that they are delicate and fleshy and can't bear hardships.
And it has developed to the present, this sale is no longer a buyout, but a contract signed and paid in installments.
Selling a quota, they can eat at least ten years of profits.
And more than ten years later, the quota for the next generation can be sold again.
After years of groping, the nobles found that selling quotas to civil servants is not as profitable as military officers. First of all, for wealthy businessmen who can afford it, military officers are easier to mix with. Civil servants need to do things, and it is difficult to mix into the literati group if they buy it. , and the military officer is much simpler, with the wisdom of a businessman, he will not be despised.
Secondly, a county magistrate of the seventh rank is not as good as a military officer of the sixth rank, and a higher rank is a higher rank. You must know that it is difficult for them to go up after buying them, and it may be like this for a lifetime.Haven't you heard that the first level of the government crushes people to death? There are better ones, why not better ones?
In the end, the army was greedy for ink, and military officers were greedy for military pay, which was much more than a county magistrate.
After such a series of reasons, many low-ranking military attaches in the army were recommended by the honorables, and they still have to pay the honorables.
If these people lose their positions because of the third prince, it means that the nobles lost their money bags, what can the nobles do?
So the fourth prince thought about it, but still didn't compete with the third prince for this errand.