NOVGO.NET Chapter 579 - 298 The Crown Prince and Prince Dai Were Beaten_4
Chapter 579: Chapter 298 The Crown Prince and Prince Dai Were Beaten_4
Prime Minister He said, "Now is not the right time to move against Duke Zhen, investigating Zhang Nan should not lead to Duke Zhen."
Grandmaster Liu sneered, "With Duke Zhen’s cunning, even if we trace it back to him, there won’t be any evidence."
Prime Minister He pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I think it’s best not to startle the snake for the time being."
The Emperor slightly raised his eyebrow and said, "Lao He, are you suggesting not to investigate the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen?"
Prime Minister He replied, "As Grandmaster Liu said, Duke Zhen will not leave any handles for us to investigate."
"Your Majesty, investigating Zhang Nan is easy, but investigating the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen is not so easy," Grandmaster Liu said bluntly, "You knew Zhang Nan was embezzling from the start, but you chose to turn a blind eye, wasn’t it to catch the big fish, Duke Zhen?"
"Indeed, but unfortunately this big fish is too cunning, and hasn’t taken the bait yet." The Emperor crossed his hands under his chin and said, "In that case, let’s not startle the snake, just investigate Zhang Nan and those colluding with him, let me see how many people are involved in this affair."
Grandmaster Liu said bluntly, "Certainly not a few."
"Do you think they will voluntarily surrender themselves to you?"
"No." Grandmaster Liu mocked unreservedly, "Until the last moment, they all hold a fluke mindset, thinking they won’t be discovered. Even at the last moment, they still harbor a glimmer of hope, thinking their embezzlement is not much and won’t be punished severely."
"In those days, I was heavy-handed, yet still some dare to be reckless now." When the Emperor was still the Crown Prince, when the previous emperor was alive, the Emperor was already supervising the state, handling all affairs, big and small. The year the previous emperor was gravely ill, some court ministers took the opportunity to embezzle and accept bribes, and embezzled a lot, which angered the previous emperor and the Crown Prince.
Back then, there were hundreds of officials altogether, and the Crown Prince didn’t spare them just because the law doesn’t punish the masses. These people had only two outcomes, execution or exile.
Most of the exiled died on the way. When they finally reached Lingnan, they couldn’t adapt to Lingnan’s climate, and there was a lot of miasma in Lingnan. They didn’t survive long after arriving.
This incident back then shocked the entire Great Zhou. Since then, the ministers understood their Crown Prince was a ruthless person.
The previous emperor detested corrupt officials deeply. When drafting the laws of Great Zhou, the previous emperor thought about beheading regardless of the amount embezzled, as long as embezzlement occurred. However, Zheng Xilin felt that this approach was too extreme. Only then did the previous emperor withdraw this idea.
However, compared to the previous dynasty, Great Zhou’s laws are much stricter, especially towards corrupt officials. Of course, one cannot just severely punish; benefits must also be provided to officials. Zheng Xilin believed the reason there were so many corrupt officials in the previous dynasty was due to the low salaries, so low that officials couldn’t support their families, forcing them into corruption and bribery. If salaries were higher, most officials wouldn’t risk committing crimes.
The salaries of officials in Great Zhou are much higher than those in the previous dynasty. Moreover, during festivals, the court also bestows many items, mostly food or cloth, but things useful to the officials. The court even distributes charcoal in winter to some officials, and ice in summer.
If the officials of the previous dynasty knew about the salaries and benefits of Great Zhou officials, they would certainly be very envious.
Facts have proven Zheng Xilin’s thoughts were correct. Most officials in Great Zhou do not take risks to embezzle; they are quite satisfied with their salaries. Of course, no matter how high the salary or the benefits, some will still engage in corruption and bribery. However, compared to the corruption-ridden previous dynasty, Great Zhou is much better.
During the Emperor’s reign, there were certainly officials who embezzled, but the amounts were not substantial. However, this time the amount embezzled by Zhang Nan was quite large, just slightly less than the corruption case when the previous emperor was still alive.
Zhang Nan belongs to the Crown Prince, and it is quite obvious to whom he gave the embezzled money.
"What do you think Duke Zhen needs so much money for?" Previously, when the aristocratic families in Yangzhou came to cooperate with Duke Zhen, Duke Zhen refused, and that was a substantial amount of money. At the time, the Emperor was surprised that Duke Zhen could resist such a great temptation. Now it seems Duke Zhen is merely shifting his target elsewhere to gather wealth.