novelSusiti Chapter 73: The Ministry of Works' Corruption is Shocking!
Chapter 73: The Ministry of Works' Corruption is Shocking!
The next day.
As dawn broke, Shangguan Haitang left the capital.
She first returned to the number one manor in the world and went to the secret room to retrieve the treasure chest containing 13,000 coins.
Then, the task of establishing the Great Ming Salt Estates, which would be spread throughout the country, would begin in earnest.
On the other side, after receiving Zhu Houzhao's order, Yu Huatian began to supervise the Ministry of Works' repair work.
During this period, the Ministry of Works had already begun the renovation work on the Qianqing Palace and the Kunning Palace.
A large number of craftsmen gathered in the Qianqing Palace, and a steady stream of materials were sent into the palace.
However, the progress of the repairs is hard to describe.
The amount of work done by hundreds of workers each day is appallingly small.
According to Zeng Jian, the Minister of Works, it would take at least three years to fully repair the Qianqing Palace and the Kunning Palace.
During this period, Zeng Jian was clearly in a good mood, and the officials in the Ministry of Works were also full of energy.
While the officials of the Ministry of Works were enjoying such a life, the Western Depot was already secretly investigating the backgrounds of the officials throughout the Ministry of Works.
Yu Huatian was meticulous and, without making a sound, had already investigated the entire construction process.
From the daily wages of each craftsman to the cost of each piece of wood, we can estimate how much silver this project will cost by taking these concrete costs.
The result, however, caused Yu Huatian's pupils to constrict and his brows to furrow deeply.
The price quoted by the Ministry of Works was far too different from the actual results of the investigation conducted by the Western Factory.
Yu Huatian dared not delay for a moment and went to the palace overnight to report the results of the investigation by the Western Depot to Zhu Houzhao.
……
Forbidden City.
Cining Palace.
After bowing to Zhu Houzhao, Yu Huatian quickly took out the memorial and presented it to Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Majesty, the Western Depot's investigation into the Ministry of Works these past few days has yielded results."
"If I may be so bold, the corruption within the Ministry of Works is truly appalling!"
Zhu Houzhao's face darkened. If Yu Huatian could utter the words "shocking," it meant that the corruption within the Ministry of Works had reached an intolerable level.
Zhu Houzhao took the memorial presented by Yu Huatian and opened it to read.
After reading the series of figures based on the investigation, Zhu Houzhao felt an uncontrollable surge of anger.
According to the prices determined by Yu Huatian's investigation, repairing the Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace would only cost approximately 400,000 taels of silver.
Based on the same cost estimate, even if the entire West Garden were renovated, the silver cost would not exceed one million taels.
In other words, the entire project, including the repair of Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace, plus the renovation of Xiyuan Garden, would not cost more than 1.5 million taels of silver.
But what about Zeng Jian?
He actually dared to ask Zhu Houzhao for three million taels of silver!
His quote was more than double the actual price!
Even if Zhu Houzhao cut off 500,000 taels of silver, 2.5 million taels would still be allocated to the Ministry of Works.
It cost one million taels of silver more than the actual construction cost!
Zhu Houzhao placed the memorial in his hand on the dragon desk, slammed it down heavily, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
"You, Zeng Jian, have quite the appetite! Can you even handle my money?!"
Yu Huatian stood before Zhu Houzhao and added, "Your Majesty, according to my investigation, this silver was not embezzled by Zeng Jian alone."
"Throughout the entire Ministry of Works, at least one hundred officials, from top to bottom, have received this money!"
"One hundred officials?"
Zhu Houzhao raised an eyebrow slightly. You should know that there are fewer than two hundred officials in the entire Ministry of Works in the capital.
At least a hundred officials in the Ministry of Works embezzled this sum of money, which means the entire Ministry of Works was almost completely wiped out!
Zhu Houzhao stared directly at Yu Huatian, his brows furrowed deeply: "Do you have any evidence?"
"Your Majesty, I have."
Yu Huatian took out a secret letter and handed it to Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Majesty, this secret letter contains information about the family assets of 139 officials in the Ministry of Works."
"Just recently, Zeng Jian purchased another 6,000 mu of farmland in his hometown of Guiyang, Huguang."
"In addition, he also renovated and expanded his old family home, doubling its size. He even occupied the government's official land to build houses."
"At the same time, the nine doctors from the Ministry of Works also purchased land in their hometowns during this period."
"Several officials from the Ministry of Works also acquired properties in the capital..."
Zhu Houzhao took the secret letter and looked at the data on it; it was indeed shocking.
The Western Depot couldn't find out exactly how much silver these people embezzled, but they could find out their expenditures during that period.
Through this secret letter, Zhu Houzhao could easily see that since he allocated funds to build the Qianqing Palace, the lives of the officials in the Ministry of Works had visibly improved.
The Ministry of Revenue official who used to live in a guardhouse now has the money to rent a small courtyard in the capital!
Zhu Houzhao read the secret letter in his hand expressionlessly, pondered for a moment, and then called out, "Liu Jin."
"Your servant is here."
Liu Jin, who was guarding outside Cining Palace, would appear in front of Zhu Houzhao the moment he called his name.
"Send someone to inform Zeng Jian that he should bring the Ministry of Works' cost estimate to court tomorrow, as I will review it in court tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Liu Jin immediately accepted the order and left, while Zhu Houzhao also waved to dismiss Yu Huatian.
That evening, Zeng Jian received an imperial edict from the Directorate of Ceremonial at his residence.
Upon hearing this, Zeng Jian was first stunned, then felt a chill run down his spine and began to feel fear.
Why did Zhu Houzhao suddenly ask the Ministry of Works for a cost estimate?
Could it be that His Majesty has already noticed something amiss?
But this shouldn't be happening!
Zeng Jian believed that his methods were discreet enough and that he shouldn't be exposed.
Zeng Jian was puzzled, but he no longer had much time to think about where Zhu Houzhao got his information from.
Instead, he immediately went to the Ministry of Works to create a new cost estimate.
Zeng Jian was busy until late at night before he finally finished the new cost estimate.
Zeng Jian looked at the new cost estimate and checked it several times. Only when he felt there were no more flaws did he nod in satisfaction.
Afterwards, Zeng Jian didn't even go home. He quickly washed up and went directly from the Ministry of Works to the palace.
……
Forbidden City.
Fengtianmen Square.
At 3:45 AM, the square was already filled with officials who had come to attend court.
Zeng Jian felt uneasy, so he lowered his head and walked to his seat without interacting with anyone else.
The other officials took advantage of the time before Zhu Houzhao came to court to gather in twos and threes and talk in hushed tones.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
At Liu Jin's shout, the officials present returned to their positions, bowed their heads and waited for the court session to begin.
Amidst the respectful presence of a host of officials, Zhu Houzhao strolled to the dragon throne beneath Fengtian Gate, glaring menacingly at his ministers!