Li Ling nodded silently and said after a moment: "Qian Fan is hidden in the national treasury, and only a very small number of people can contact you. For example, I am now, as well as several senior officials from the Ministry of Revenue and Transport Department."

"This... how is this possible?" Wan Lang almost screamed. Li Ling didn't need to mention it. There was no need for the other people to do such a thing as seeking death as their identities. Even if they were greedy for money, they still had other ways. Why bother to take advantage of such things that they might lose their heads at any time or even be raided?

"Yes, I believe they can't do such a thing, but besides them, there is only one person left. No, it should be said that the two of them can still expel the money."

"Who is it?"

"One is Your Majesty today; the other is to respect Wang Sun Qi." Li Ling said two identities that shocked Wan Lang again. It seemed even more impossible for these two people. Even if the emperor was crazy, he would not do this himself. As for respect Wang Sun Qi, because this "Tianyou Tongbao" was created by him, it would be easy to hide a money style and then spread it later, but what did he want?

You should know that over the past year, Li Ling was not Li Ling, but he respected Wang Sun Qi. Sun Bi not only rebuilt his mansion, but also rewarded many treasures, gold and silver, and even palace maids and eunuchs. He even intended to let him join the court to participate in politics.

However, King Jing refused because he was weak and sick, but he received all these rewards. After all, perhaps all the officials in the court might worry about money, but he, King Jing, could not worry about it, and he did not have to risk spreading the money for some money benefits.

Because of this, even Li Ling never really doubted him, so even though he was full of doubts about Qian Fan's exodus, he did not mention it in front of Sun Bi. He wanted to wait until things change later and see if there are any new clues and evidence.

But this time, Wan Lang had nothing to say. He found that this kind of thing was really not something that he could interfere with, a small businessman. Anyone who was thrown out was enough to make him frightened. He could only sigh and said, "I... I'd better help you stabilize Ye Quan according to His Majesty's wishes. The rest depends on how they handle the case."

Li Ling nodded. In fact, he was the same. At least before the emperor gave him the order, he had done this step. How things will develop next depends on whether the teacher and the others have gained.

...

The following days will be the same for Li Ling.

I have to work on autumn tax affairs in the Sansi Yamen every day. After I go home every day, I will accompany my wife and children, and then take a little time to pay attention to the dynamic changes between the court and the country to see if there is any new situation in Jiangnan.

But what surprised him was that after more than ten days like this, nothing happened. It was as if he had not reported the discovery to the emperor before, and the people from the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial City Department did not go to Jiangnan for a detailed investigation.

The only thing he could say about this result was that it was important, so before you could be sure of it, the Ministry of Justice and others would not dare to take action to take others.

Until mid-October entered the middle of October, when all the autumn tax chores were almost done, and all the money, grain, cloth and other items could be sent to the treasury for storage, that morning, Li Ling, who was finally free, was summoned into the palace by Sun Bi.

In fact, such courtiers are not special for Li Ling. With the holy relatives he received, he had to go to the palace to meet the emperor in two days without a court meeting, or talk to Sun Bi alone, or discuss state affairs with other ministers of the Political Affairs Hall. He was already used to it.

But today, when entering this familiar side hall, Li Ling clearly felt the atmosphere different. Not only were the ministers all nervous, but the emperor sitting high also had a serious face. Even Sun Qi and other princes who did not hold positions in the court were all present.

Such a show means that something big happened in the court. As far as he knows, during this period, except for the copper coins, there has been no major event worth making the monarch and ministers feel difficult and nervous.

Could it be that this matter is already obvious?

With such a guess, Li Ling stood at the forefront of the ministers, and soon after, six important officials at the level of the Minister of the Ministry arrived one after another. The people standing in the hall now were the ones with the highest status and the most powerful positions in the Dayue Dynasty.

When the emperor saw everyone, he coughed and said, "Today, he summoned you and others to come for something that seems very small but is extremely important. Perhaps many of you have heard some rumors. In this year, some thieves in Jiangnan actually took advantage of the loophole and took the idea of ​​Tianyou Tongbao, which I just issued, melted and recasted into copper ware for sale, and then forged copper coins to spread it in the world. This way, he placed the court, where the king of the king was, and where the king of a country was placed!"

Speaking of this, he slapped the imperial desk with a stern voice, which scared the ministers below and instantly fell to his knees: "His Majesty calmed down..."

"It's true that it's related to this case, and it seems that there are clues." Although Li Ling also knelt down, he was sure in his heart.

Sun Bi had no intention of hiding it. In front of the ministers, he told the investigation of this fraud case over the past half month—

It turned out that after receiving the order, the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial City Department sent a large number of capable personnel to Jiangnan to investigate the fraud of Tianyou Tongbao. At the same time, Ye Quanren, who was still halfway, were arrested and then a severe trial was conducted.

Under the various tortures of the Imperial City Department, let alone an ordinary businessman, even the Luotian Sect's disciples could only confess obediently. As Ye Quan asked, he was just a man who obeyed the orders. He actually collected Tianyou Tongbao in secret, and melted copper coins in Lin'an City in the name of a workshop, and then privately created inferior copper coins were the two famous local families in Jiangnan, the Xia family and the Zhu family.

When this confession was reported, it was consistent with the clues obtained from a secret investigation in Jiangnan. Over the past year, how could such a huge amount of copper coins have been exchanged by them? It was just that no one cared about them before, so they could be confused, but now someone is going to investigate, how long can they hide it?

So, the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial City Office worked together with the local government and controlled the two families. Then there was another interrogation, but a more amazing answer was obtained. The two families were actually ordered to do the transaction. Or it should be called temptation. The other party just mentioned it, making them feel profitable and took the risk.

Because they thought they were far away from the capital and that copper coins were not paid attention to, they could easily hide them. As long as those copper ware could be sold quickly at a high price, the large amount of money would be safely put. By then, everything was over, and the court did not even know that such a thing was happening.

As for the real mastermind who "recommends" them, although the two families suffered a lot, they could not explain it clearly. They only mentioned that they were friends with their own children in the court...

After explaining all the relevant results, Sun Bi's eyes fell on three ministers who were obviously frightened and turned pale: "Xia Ningchuan, Zhu Changfeng, Zhu Changluan, do you have anything to say about this?"

The three officials who were named were even more shocked and came out quickly. While bowing, they defended: "Your Majesty, I have always been an official in the capital and have not returned to my hometown for many years. In fact, I really don't know that my family members have done such a ruthless act on my back..."

In a panic, they kowtowed with great force, and soon they saw blood on their foreheads. It looked really pitiful.

But neither Sun Bi nor other court officials were moved and stared at them coldly. The confession was clearly written, and those who lured his two families to do such a wrong thing, but they went under the banner of their friends. Without their own letters as evidence, would the people of the Xia and Zhu families believe their words? I'm afraid they wouldn't even let their own doors enter?

The three of them quickly understood this and kowtowed and cried out again: "Your Majesty, I am really wronged. I have never had any contact with others during this period..."

"Hmph! Then I want to ask you, Zhu Changfeng is a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue. You were also present when Tianyou Tongbao casting. I guess you have some contact with Qian Fan, right?" The emperor stared at him coldly, and he understood the meaning very well, just suspecting that he had a problem.

"My name..." Zhu Changfeng was completely unable to excuse himself. After all, he had sufficient conditions to do these things, and it was even possible that the so-called friend was just forged by himself.

Wang Han's reaction was very fast, and he quickly stepped forward to apologize when he saw this, "Your Majesty, I know the crime. As the prime minister, I cannot detect in time that there are such treacherous people in the court, which has damaged the majesty of the court. The people in Jiangnan have suffered a lot. I ask Your Majesty to be punished!"

With him, other important officials also came forward to apologize, and Li Ling was no exception. In this way, Sun Bi was really not able to take his anger on these ministers, and snorted: "Although you are responsible for this matter, you have been deceived by others. I am not an unreasonable person, so I will only fine you two months of salary, thinking it is a punishment. But you three will immediately dismiss your posts and investigate. As long as it is found that it is really related to this case, you will be severely punished!"

With the emperor's order, the imperial guards outside the hall rushed in, dragged the three important officials who had already been sank there and took them out. What awaited them was the interrogation package in the Heavenly Prison.

Then, Sun Bi discussed with his ministers how to deal with the aftermath, minimized the impact of this corruption case, and at the same time he wanted to prevent similar cases from happening elsewhere. This was obviously not that easy. After more than an hour, he still had no idea, so he could only let them retreat for the time being.
Chapter completed!