SFS Chapter 239: Qi'an Department's First Case Closed
Chapter 239: Qi'an Department's First Case Closed
Seeing that Master Zhuang hadn't spoken for a while, Zhuang Jiaxu said:
"Commander Ye, everything is adaptable, including redemption of punishment."
"Master Zhuang is right. The Grand Tutor has made great contributions to the court, so it's not impossible to turn things around.
If we can obtain His Majesty's decree of amnesty, then the three elders of the Zhuang family can also apply for redemption of their sentences, and there will be no hidden dangers."
After hearing Ye Wuwei's words, Master Zhuang suddenly remembered the scene that happened in the court meeting in Taiji Hall a few days ago.
Just because more officials reported Ye Wuwei, His Majesty had the intention to kill him.
If Ye Wuwei doesn't give in, he will never be able to obtain Qi Wushuang's imperial decree of amnesty.
At this point, Master Zhuang understood that there was no other way except to proceed according to Ye Wuwei's plan.
However, the three elders of the Zhuang family had to save him. This was not only related to the prestige of Master Zhuang in the Zhuang family, but also to the status of the Zhuang family in the aristocratic families.
Master Zhuang took a deep breath:
"I would like Commander Ye to mediate this special amnesty decree. As for how to obtain this special amnesty decree, I also hope Commander Ye can give me some guidance."
Ye Wuwei tapped Yan Zhengfan's "confession":
"Not counting antiques, calligraphy, paintings, and jewelry, the stolen goods seized from Minister Yan's home alone amount to over 100,000 taels of gold and silver. Such a large amount of embezzlement is no small crime."
Master Zhuang didn't expect Ye Wuwei to actually ask for 100,000 taels of gold, and he almost couldn't breathe.
Zhuang Jiaxu was also shocked.
It’s not that Master Zhuang can’t come up with 100,000 taels of gold, but 100,000 taels of gold is not a small amount of money for Master Zhuang.
"Commander Ye, my father sincerely asks for your help."
"Master Zhuang, let me first state that I dare not embezzle even a single ounce of this 100,000 taels of gold. All of it will go into the national treasury.
But you also know:
The national treasury left by the former emperor is penniless, and now the court's expenses are all supported by Your Majesty's private property.
But the court needed money for so many things: official salaries, military expenses, water conservancy projects, bridge and road construction...
Each one requires money.
If the fine is too small, I won’t be able to speak to His Majesty.”
After saying this, Ye Wuwei did not forget to add:
"I heard that the Grand Tutor spent nearly ten thousand taels of silver on a single meal for court officials on the seventh day of the first lunar month. Do you know how much His Majesty spent on meals last year?
Less than two thousand taels of silver.
Why is Your Majesty so frugal? It's because the treasury is empty."
What Ye Wuwei said was absolutely true.
The two thousand taels of silver also included Ye Wuwei's meal expenses.
Qi Wushuang joined the military camp very early. His food, clothing, housing and transportation were not extravagant at all. Apart from his love for spicy food, he had no other hobbies.
Master Zhuang did not believe what Ye Wuwei said, but since Ye Wuwei had spoken, he was afraid that the deal would not be reached without tens of thousands of taels of gold.
"Commander Ye, no matter what, ten thousand taels of gold is enough to redeem one person. Any more would be meaningless."
Ye Wuwei thought about it and decided not to push Master Zhuang too hard.
"How about this: Madam Yan, her brother, and the three elders will each be given 10,000 taels of gold to redeem their sentences. Yan Shifan's crime is more serious, so he will be given 20,000 taels of gold to redeem his sentence.
After you hand over the 70,000 taels of gold to the national treasury, I will personally seek an imperial decree of amnesty for the six of them."
Seeing that Ye Wuwei had relented, Master Zhuang didn't want to stay any longer.
"In that case, goodbye."
After leaving Qi'an, Zhuang Jiaxu asked Grand Tutor Zhuang, "Father, why did you agree to redeem Yan Shifan?"
Master Zhuang glanced at Zhuang Jiaxu:
"Don't you understand yet? It's not about redeeming someone or not. What Ye Wuwei wants is gold.
He asked for 100,000 taels of gold, and 30,000 taels was his bottom line."
At the same time, Yao Guangzhi from Qi'an's tribe was also asking Ye Wuwei, "Sir, is it true that Master Zhuang will offer 70,000 taels of gold?"
"Will do.
Although seventy thousand taels of gold is a huge sum of money, it is nothing compared to Master Zhuang.
This also involves the reputation of the Zhuang family."
"In that case, why don't you just insist on asking for 100,000 taels of gold?"
"I'd like to, but after observing Master Zhuang's expression, I know that 70,000 taels of gold is probably his bottom line. If you ask for more, he'll probably just walk away."
"How did you figure out what Master Zhuang was thinking? Why didn't I see anything?"
Ye Wuwei said:
"I learned this from observing Master Zhuang's subtle expressions and movements, but I only learned the basics."
In modern times, Ye Wuwei studied micro-expression psychology, but he was not very good at it.
……
The corruption case of Yan Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel finally came to a conclusion:
Minister Yan was sentenced to confiscation of property and exile for corruption.
His eldest son, Yan Shifan, was an accomplice in the corruption case of Minister Yan and was originally sentenced to exile, but because Taifu Zhuang pleaded for him, he was allowed to redeem his sentence.
As to who paid the ransom money and how much it was, it has not been made public, but basically everyone who should know knows it.
In addition to the gold and silver worth 100,000 taels of gold seized from Minister Yan's home, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jewelry, and the proceeds of the confiscation of Minister Yan's home also added more than 30,000 taels of gold to the national treasury.
Together with the 70,000 taels of gold that Grand Tutor Zhuang handed over to the national treasury, the pressure on the Qi Dynasty's treasury was finally relieved a little.
This was the first case handled by Qi'an's department. Although Qi'an's department did not use torture from beginning to end, Ye Wuwei became the most difficult person in the eyes of most officials.
Although we don't avoid him like the plague, we will definitely avoid him.