Chapter 1 Extreme Anger

Jiang Chen's eyes were icy, and murderous aura permeated his body, clearly at the height of his rage.

To eat the king's food and share the king's worries.

These ministers received their salaries from him, and not only were they ungrateful, but they even dared to stretch their hands to the localities, extorting and demanding! They were simply courting death!

Yuan Buyi's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, this matter involves too many people. If we are to investigate them one by one, it will be difficult to do so at present."

"Moreover, the law does not punish the masses. If we really cleanse all these corrupt officials, the Ministry of Revenue will surely grind to a halt, and the losses to Great Wei will be immeasurable!"

Jiang Chen calmed down a little upon hearing this.

Indeed, the Ministry of Revenue was the head of the six ministries.

If he rashly purged it, the court would probably be in chaos in an instant, but it was impossible for him to swallow this anger!

Jiang Chen sneered and roared, "Feng Jin!"

Feng Jin immediately knelt down, his expression respectful.

"Go! Bring Mei Wen Shi to me!"

Sensing Jiang Chen's anger, Feng Jin shrank his neck, immediately kowtowed and accepted the order, rushing out of the hall, not daring to delay in the slightest.

And Yuan Buyi, under Jiang Chen's arrangement, hid behind the screen in the main hall.

A moment later.

Mei Wen Shi arrived.

He stepped into the hall, subtly assessing his surroundings. Seeing Jiang Chen's solemn expression, his heart was slightly startled, and he knelt down and said:

"This subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

This was exactly what Jiang Chen was waiting for!

A sneer curled at the corner of his lips, and with a wave of his hand, he smashed the booklet onto Mei Wen Shi's face, saying:

"This humble subject? It's rare that you still remember you are a subject! Look at the good deeds your Ministry of Revenue has done!"

Mei Wen Shi trembled from the impact, his face stinging, but he dared not show it.

He pursed his lips tightly, picked up the booklet and flipped through it, which was densely filled with names and numbers.

His fingers paused, and he instantly understood, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes!

Who was so bold? To dare investigate his Ministry of Revenue?!

At this moment, a name surfaced in Mei Wen Shi's mind.

Yuan, Bu, Yi!

"Why don't you answer?"

"Are you so frightened by the evidence that you can't speak?" Jiang Chen's voice was icy.

Upon hearing this, Mei Wen Shi narrowed his eyes, put away his fierce expression, and cried out, "Your Majesty, this subject is wronged!"

Jiang Chen was taken aback and questioned, "Wronged?"

"This booklet records everything clearly, and you still dare to claim you are wronged before me!"

Mei Wen Shi, however, raised his head, cupped his hands, and argued, "Your Majesty, although the records in this booklet are not false, it is a long-standing custom in Great Wei for local officials to pay their respects. Not only the Ministry of Revenue, but the other five ministries are also like this. The officials of the Ministry of Revenue are merely acting according to the rules and are not deliberately using this method to amass wealth!"

Jiang Chen was stunned, then laughed in anger.

To be so justified in being corrupt and accepting bribes?

Seeming to see Jiang Chen's anger, Mei Wen Shi immediately prostrated himself on the ground, explaining:

"Your Majesty, Great Wei has been established for many years, and prices have been rising year after year, but the salaries of officials have never increased. By the time of the late Emperor, many mid- and low-level officials could not even afford silk charcoal for the winter. Thus, the custom arose for local officials to present 'charcoal money', 'ice money', and 'festival money' to the officials in the capital."

"This matter has continued for many years, and everyone has become accustomed to it. Even the late Emperor tacitly approved of this... Many minor officials in the six ministries rely on these subsidies to support their families and maintain their livelihoods. Although this subject is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, I have no right to interfere in this matter!"

Jiang Chen's face was ashen as he slammed the table and said:

"So, is it my fault for mistreating you all?!"

Mei Wen Shi did not respond, respectfully kowtowing, "This subject has no such intention. I hope Your Majesty will see clearly!"

Jiang Chen looked at his seemingly obedient appearance, but with hidden rebellious intentions, and felt a burst of frustration.

This move of 'dragging people down' was truly vicious!

He had originally planned to use the matter of accepting bribes to敲打 (qiāo dǎ, put pressure on) the Ministry of Revenue, arrest a few typical examples to investigate and strengthen his authority.

But Mei Wen Shi had turned the tables, expanding the matter to the entire court.

The law does not punish the masses.

If the charge of 'accepting respects' was established, all the officials of the six ministries would be in danger.

After all, if the emperor could use this reason to investigate the Ministry of Revenue today, he could use the same excuse tomorrow to legitimately and reasonably wield the butcher's knife against them. Who wouldn't be afraid?

Jiang Chen was certain.

If he insisted on investigating these officials who accepted bribes, the court would surely riot!

Knowing that his goal of catching typical examples could not be achieved, he gritted his teeth and said angrily:

"Even so, the amounts of these respects from the local officials are too extravagant!"

"Golden desks, coral trees... So luxurious, even my birthday is not celebrated in such a way, and these treasures are only used to please a mere vice minister!"

"Mei Qing (ài qīng, term of endearment for officials), I am very curious. As the Minister of Revenue, what kind of grand gifts do you receive?!"

Mei Wen Shi's expression did not change, and his tone was sincere, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, possessing all the wealth of the world. How can such vulgar things match your status?"

"Moreover, the entire world is the king's land. This subject and my colleagues are merely helping Your Majesty to share the burden, managing the royal property as household servants. The accumulated gold and silver are all obtained with Your Majesty's grace."

"This subject has never cared about these worldly possessions. If Your Majesty doubts my loyalty because of this... I am willing to offer all my family wealth with both hands to prove myself!"

His words were filled with righteousness, seemingly full of loyalty!

Jiang Chen was dumbfounded.

This Mei Wen Shi really had some tricks up his sleeve!

No wonder the original owner was completely fooled by this father and daughter, and did not even realize that the power in his hands was being stolen.

This old fox was difficult to deal with!

At this moment, Yuan Buyi, hiding behind the screen, sighed silently.

The Great Wei court was rife with corruption among the officials.

With shared interests, from top to bottom, they colluded with each other, united like an iron bucket.

And after Jiang Chen ascended the throne, he spent his days drinking and making merry, indulging in beauty, and did not care about affairs at all, which further fueled the arrogance of these corrupt officials, and their appetite for demanding respects grew bigger and bigger.

In the end, Jiang Chen was primarily responsible for this tricky situation.

In the silence.

Mei Wen Shi, who had already shirked his responsibility, spoke again, hinting meaningfully:

"Your Majesty, this subject's loyalty is clear to everyone in the court."

"But now, there is a villain hiding malicious intentions, secretly slandering this subject to Your Majesty! Such intentions are truly sinister, a veritable cancer of Great Wei!"

"This subject dares to ask Your Majesty for an imperial decree to summon this person for a face-to-face confrontation and ask what their intentions are!"

As he spoke, Mei Wen Shi put on a passionate appearance, as if he had suffered a great injustice, saying:

"This subject has served Your Majesty for many years, diligently and conscientiously. I have never taken a single day off in decades. Even on New Year's Eve at the end of the year, a day that should be spent with family, this subject also stays in the government office, not daring to relax, for fear of delaying state affairs!"

"But for all my efforts, what I receive is the slander of villains... and Your Majesty's suspicion. This subject is truly wronged!"

Choking slightly, Mei Wen Shi raised his head, with tears streaming down his face, and said:

"I beg Your Majesty to consider the many years of service between us and give this subject a chance to prove my innocence!"

Damn it!

Using retreat as a form of advance, huh?

Forcing me to summon the person so you can identify your opponent and then secretly use means to kill them?!