The most romantic little emperor

Chapter 698 Repaying kindness

Faced with Qin Hao's hospitality, Gongsun Zan felt a little nervous and felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Seeing this, Qin Hao pointed at the dishes on the table and said calmly, "My dear, why aren't you eating? Is the food unpalatable? Or is there something else that makes you so uneasy?"

Gongsun Zan was speechless. Who would dare to be calm and eat and drink so much in front of the king of a country?

Helplessly, he picked up the chopsticks, took a few bites, and was about to put them down.

Qin Hao teased, "Gongsun Zan, you dared to risk your life to deliver the account book for Lord Guo. Just now, you weren't even afraid of death in front of me. Why are you so timid now just to accompany me for a meal? Am I really that scary?"

Gongsun Zan was slightly taken aback, then said frankly, "Your Majesty, there have been many rumors circulating among the people, saying that Your Majesty is oppressive, cruel, and ruthless, and a tyrant. Now that I have met Your Majesty today, I realize that those rumors are untrue."

"Your Majesty, have you ever thought about clearing your name?"

Qin Hao shook his head and smiled faintly, "Rectify your name? That's just a way to gain fame."

"I never care about the slander against me by some people with ulterior motives."

"What I care about is that the people can have enough food and clothing, live and work in peace and contentment, that children can go to school, and that the elderly have someone to support them. What I care about is that the soldiers on the battlefield can fight bravely and defend their country. What I care about is that my Great Xia can rise and not be invaded by foreign enemies."

"Therefore, those who commit crimes and intend to rebel are nothing more than worthless chickens and clay dogs in my eyes. Prince Ning is no exception. I will destroy them all with one hand!"

Gongsun Zan's blood boiled upon hearing this, and he praised, "Your Majesty is ambitious and has the whole world in his heart. Great Xia is in great hope!"

Qin Hao waved his hand and laughed, "Okay, let's eat and talk!"

"By the way, I see that you are dissatisfied with Prince Ning. Is there any story between you two?"

Gongsun Zan was truly starving. He quickly ate a few mouthfuls of food, disregarding his appearance. Only then did he put down his bowl and chopsticks and slowly said, "Your Majesty, the important figure I was talking about just now is actually Prince Ning."

"Your Highness and I were both Jinshi graduates in the same year of Emperor Taizu's founding of the country. Although we came from humble backgrounds, we relied on our own efforts and the support of our classmates and friends like you to achieve a relatively smooth career path, even reaching the position of a fourth-rank counselor."

"Later, during the struggle for the throne between your father and several other princes, I, as the Minister of Remonstration, supported the enthronement of Emperor Taizong, then the Crown Prince, but was resented by Prince Ning and his men."

"Since then, I have been subjected to oppression by many officials including Prince Ning. In less than a month, I was demoted three levels, from a fourth-rank censor to a lowly seventh-rank official in the capital."

"Afterwards, I became disheartened and wanted to leave the capital to benefit the people in the countryside. However, by some strange coincidence, I became the magistrate of Fuyang County."

"Fuyang County was under the jurisdiction of Jinzhou, which was the fief of Prince Ning. Later, he, along with Prince Jin and Prince Wu, launched the Rebellion of the Three Kings. I could not bear to see the people of the world suffer, so I wrote many letters to persuade Prince Ning."

"At that time, Prince Ning was all-powerful in Jinzhou and held a grudge against me. Thus, I was inexplicably dismissed from office and imprisoned."

"In desperation, I asked someone to deliver a letter from prison to Lord Guo, who was far away in the capital. Thanks to his tireless efforts, I was finally able to escape imprisonment."

"From then on, I saw through the officialdom. Even though Lord Guo tried every possible way to keep me, I chose to retire to the mountains and forests. I returned to my hometown and opened a private school to teach and educate people."

Qin Hao sighed when he heard this.

Gongsun Zan continued, "Your Majesty, this time I followed Lord Guo to Hedong to provide disaster relief. I discovered that almost all the officials in Hedong, from top to bottom, have been bribed by Prince Ning's men."

"Not only that, these people colluded with each other, committed murder and arson, and committed all kinds of evil. They bought low and sold high, embezzled disaster relief food and wages, sold illegal salt, illegally opened iron mines, kidnapped people, and even secretly manufactured military equipment and formed private armies."

"According to my humble servant and Lord Guo's in-depth understanding, the peasant uprising instigated by Gao Yingxiang in Hedong was influenced by Prince Ning, and many underworld forces and aristocratic families were secretly manipulating it all."

Qin Hao slammed the table and said angrily, "The people of Hedong have suffered enough, and these people still dare to suck the blood of the people. Killing them is not enough to appease the public anger!"

Gongsun Zan was startled and quickly consoled him, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The hidden dangers in Hedong were not created overnight."

"Your Majesty, please do not rashly deploy the military to suppress them before we have complete evidence of their crimes, lest we give them ammunition and cause them to attack us."

Qin Hao suddenly thought of the account book and quickly handed it to Gongsun Zan, "Take a look at this account book and see if you can find any problems."

Gongsun Zan took the account book and began to read it page by page, his expression gradually becoming serious.

After he finished reading, he suddenly looked up at Qin Hao and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, this account book is the key to breaking the deadlock."

Qin Hao spoke word by word: "Tell me in detail!"

Gongsun Zan nodded, his expression grave. "Your Majesty, look here! This is evidence of collusion among local officials, the buying and selling of official positions, and corruption. Just the Hedong prefect alone, in accepting bribes and selling official positions alone, is estimated to have amassed over three million taels of silver."

"This is evidence of embezzlement of disaster relief grain. These are contacts for smuggling illegal salt. This is dividends from illegally operating an iron mine..."

"This page shows the monthly expenditure data. The monthly expenditure in silver alone is as high as 500,000 taels, and there are tens of thousands of dan of grain. This money and grain is enough to feed tens of thousands of troops. Where did it all go?"

"And these are the names of those colluding with the corrupt officials and underworld forces. There are over twenty underworld forces, which must add up to over a thousand people!"

"Your Majesty, this is shocking! These officials not only protect each other, but also collude with underworld forces. They are not officials at all, they are simply a bunch of bandits who are sucking the blood of the people of Hedong!"

Qin Hao was shocked when he heard this, and his face became gloomy.

Gongsun Zan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, I have discovered two rather unique factions within this Jianghu. One is called the Tang Clan, and they are proficient in forging hidden weapons, swords, spears, and other iron tools."

"There will be a sect called Qianjimen, which specializes in making mechanisms, carpentry, and other crafts."

"These two major forces are well-known in the martial arts world. I never expected that they have such a close relationship with Prince Ning. This matter is of great significance."

At this point, Gongsun Zan broke into a sweat, fearing that Qin Hao would get furious.

Qin Hao didn't get angry when he heard this, but laughed out loud, "Okay, very good!"

"Prince Ning, you truly are my 'good' uncle! Not only are you ambitious, but you're also incredibly calculating. Do you freaking want to raise an army and establish your own regime? Do you want to rebel?"

"How could I let you succeed?"

Seeing that Qin Hao was smiling instead of angry, Gongsun Zan was afraid that he would attack King Ning in anger, so he quickly advised: "Your Majesty, this matter requires long-term consideration."

"This humble official, though incompetent, is willing to rush to Hedong once again to rectify the administration and bring to light all these black sheep hiding in the shadows, in order to repay Your Majesty's kindness!"