"Minister, minister has a little savings......" Wei Zaode didn't dare to say that he had no money, because he knew the ability of the living Hades of the Metropolitan Procuratorate!

Now that Emperor Zhu borrowed money in front of him, he must have let the people of the Metropolitan Procuratorate check it, and if he doesn't explain honestly, it will be over!

Zhu Cihong smiled and nodded, looking very kind. Wei Zaode knew that Zhu Cihong was a smiling tiger, and he had hardly seen him angry and angry.

But the smiling tiger also bites, and the happier he laughs, the more dangerous it is!

"Minister, the minister has accumulated more than 700,000 taels of family business over the years, of which ......there are more than 300,000 taels of silver," Wei Zaode's voice trembled.

Because at least 400,000 of his family fortunes were obtained by bribes!

To be honest, with the power and status he has, accepting a bribe of three or four hundred thousand is not much at all!

He has been the first assistant since the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, and now he has been the first assistant for nine years in Hongxing, and he has been the first assistant for almost thirteen years. Moreover, he is also the secretary of the ministry, in charge of the evaluation of middle and senior civil officials, and also has the right to nominate middle and senior local officials. Before Zheng Zhilong took over the power of the household department, he could also decide on the division and indicators of land and commercial taxes in various places.

The relative power he has in the past thirteen years is definitely comparable to Zhang Juzheng!

With such a big power, he only received more than 30,000 taels of bribes a year on average, and it was not a blatant collection of money, but a graceful bribe (that is, the bribe giver bought Wei Shoufu's calligraphy works at a high price) and the filial piety of his protégé......

So Wei Shoufu's official reputation is very good, and no one knows that he is also a corrupt official. However, he himself knows that he is a corrupt official, so his heart is still very empty.

And Zhu Cihong's revised "Chongzhen Law" He also memorized it backwards, in which the punishment for corruption and bribery is not large, there is no torture such as skinning Ling Chi, the most serious is hanging, but it has never been executed.

The punishment for corrupt officials is usually a dismissal and a fine, and if they are too greedy, they will be given a package of raiding their homes and exile, and the whole family will be sent to Taiwan or the Jinou Peninsula to live a hard life. Oh, and one or two children will be left behind—if they're willing to cooperate with the raid.

Of course, Emperor Zhu didn't practice equality before the law, so where is there so much equality in the feudal dynasty?

In Emperor Zhu, merit and titles can be used to atone for sins.

Wei Zaode is now the Marquis of the Prefecture of Kenantong, and he has set a reward for the promotion of the Duke of the State - he is a Zhuge Liang-style celebrity, and of course he has a share of the credit for the victory of the Northern Expedition, so the promotion of the Duke of the State is deserved.

If the emperor gives another favor, he can reduce the seizure to a fine, and maybe there will be a little pension money left......

"Ah, you're so rich?" Zhu Cihong showed an expression of surprise, because he didn't know about Wei Zaode's bribery at all-Wei Zaode was on the exemption list!

Emperor Zhu's Imperial Court was a yamen that upheld the law and order of officialdom, but it was also a tool for feudal rule.

For those officials who are obedient, able to do things, have great merit, and are not too corrupt, Emperor Zhu will put them on the white list of exemptions from investigation, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate will only pay attention to them, as long as the official reputation is not too bad, they will not be investigated.

In addition, the subordinates of the internal vassals and the internal vassals were not under the authority of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

"Minister, minister, minister has ......" Wei Zaode also found out that something was wrong, Emperor Zhu didn't look like he wanted to ask about the crime, could it be that he had misunderstood? That's terrible......

"Needless to say," Zhu Cihong waved his hand and interrupted him, "Don't talk about this now, it's a court meeting now!" ”

Really misunderstood...... Wei Zaode's head was buzzing, and he didn't know what to say anymore.

Emperor Zhu was not angry, he was still happy, but he didn't ask Wei Zaode, but asked Wu Sanfu, the military advisor of the Generalissimo's Mansion, instead, "Sanfu, do you have any money?" Would you like to lend it to the court? ”

Wu Sanfu replied: "Your Majesty, the ministers and the minister's fathers have some savings, most of which are rewarded by His Majesty, and some are income from the rise in land prices, which can be lent to the court if the court needs it." There is no more, and two or three hundred thousand taels can always be made up! ”

Although the silver that he and Wu Xiang could take out was similar to Wei Zaode, the two of them were really Qing officials.

Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu's Qing officials are recognized, they do not embezzle, they do not accept bribes, they do not even accept the food, drink and entertainment of their subordinates, and if they go out to eat, drink and have fun with their colleagues, their father and son will pay for it.

And the reason why the two of them are so "clear" is because Emperor Zhu asked Wu Sanmei to greet them - the two of them must be role models for the three armies, but I don't know how many people are staring at the two of them! Don't let the whole charge of corruption and bribery come down, when the queen has no foreign aid, the concubine Zheng Huang, who is very good at giving birth to sons, may have to go further...... Wu Jiake is really going to lose his old capital!

Of course, these two Qing officials are tycoons. On the one hand, both of them are princes of the country, and after following Emperor Zhu into Nanjing, they were rewarded heavily, and they made a lot of land and real estate!

On the other hand, Emperor Zhu also gave them a lot of additional benefits! One of the biggest sums is that soon after the opening of the Shanghai commercial port, the two of them were given a street, Wu Xiang got a Shanhaiguan Street, and Wu Sanfu got a Wujiang Street. I also take care of them to only rent and not sell!

Although these two streets are not long streets, but they are extremely prosperous, in the center of Shanghai's commercial port, the land on both sides of the street is the Wu family, these alone are now worth 200,000 yuan, and they are still rising, and the rent collected every year is 10,000 taels.

Zhu Cihong smiled and said: "Okay, you and Lao Guogong are really the pillars of the imperial court, and hundreds of officials are exemplary...... The reputation of your father and son, I have also heard of it in the palace. However, the court can't borrow your money in vain, your money is not easy to come by, and you can eat interest if you store it in the bank!

Otherwise, let the household issue bond bills with an annual interest rate of six cents, repay the principal in 20 years, and pay interest every year! The coupon is lower, and it can't be compared to lending by yourself, but the court's financial resources are limited, so I'm afraid that I will treat you Qing officials of the court badly! ”

"No mistreatment, no mistreatment!"

"Even if there is no interest, we are willing to lend money to the court!"

"Your Majesty, the minister is willing to lend money to the imperial court without interest......

What a good Qing official! And all of them are very rich, and they are all rushing to lend money to the court, which is to live and die with the court!

Zhu Cihong smiled and nodded: "Okay, good, you are all Qing officials and loyal ministers of my Ming Dynasty!" The surplus wealth in my hands is not easy to come by, and I cannot lose it to you...... Quan Guogong, do you have any way to get the best of both worlds? ”

"Your Majesty," Zheng Zhilong said with a smile, "it is better to link the debt bills with the distribution of unofficial and ownerless land in the north!" Subscribe for one or two denominations of bonds for one acre of land...... There are at least hundreds of millions of acres of unofficial and ownerless land in the north, and one or two acres is 100 million taels of silver! ”

"That's a good idea!" Zhu Cihong smiled and nodded, "The unofficial and ownerless land in the north has long said that it will be distributed to the meritorious ministers and righteous people, and I will do what I say!" ”

Is it really time to divide the land of the north?

The high-ranking officials of the two prefectures in the main hall all had happy colors on their faces, except for Zheng Zhilong, Shen Tingyang and Wei Zaode. Zheng Dafu and Shen Erfu couldn't look down on the farmland in the north at all, and Wei Zaode couldn't cry...... Originally, he was a prince of the country, and he could at least get 10,000 acres of land, and he would also be divided into Tongzhou (he was from Tongzhou), but now it's miserable!

"Your Majesty," Shen Tingyang frowned at this time, and interjected, "One mu and one tael is nothing to the big people in the court, but for those soldiers and righteous people who have little wealth, I'm afraid it's not a small amount!" ”

Zhu Cihong nodded: "That's what I said!" What should I do if I can't take it out? Or else...... It also takes time for the land to be cleared in the north, and the imperial court first issues negotiable land certificates and ties bonds.

These land certificates can be exchanged for farmland, mountains, forests, mines, and homestead land in the northern cities. The Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Households in the Capital worked out a detailed rule as soon as possible...... Remember, you must not let the soldiers and righteous people below suffer! ”