Chapter 1812: Rolling eyes to the sky

Zhao Jichong took the detailed information investigated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and stirred up a major case of mountain forest firewood in the court.

You wouldn't know until you investigated, and only after investigating did you realize that there were many articles to be made about inconspicuous firewood.

Using the Emperor's hand to suppress the price of firewood was like suppressing the price of grain. The powerful families naturally wouldn't agree!

The price was high because there was a lot of demand.

The common people didn't complain, so why should the Emperor complain?

Not cooperating!

Zhao Jichong wanted non-cooperation!

Taking people's livelihood as an entry point, he made a big fuss. The Emperor cooperated, and during the early morning court, he took the opportunity to strip the official skins of several people and threw them into the Imperial Prison. As a result, he was blocked by a group of officials from the Political Affairs Hall headed by Xie Changling.

In the end, the Emperor compromised and threw the people into the Heavenly Prison.

Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Xia Qiuhong:...

Almost died of anger!

The duck in hand just flew away like this!

He wished he could rush to the court and arrest all those officials.

The Heavenly Prison welcomed several gods of wealth, each with abundant family assets.

Chen Guanlou instructed Chen Quan to make sure to serve the several gods of wealth well.

The Imperial Prison took money by violence, while the Heavenly Prison made people willingly offer money! The difference between the two was like the difference between humans and beasts.

The prisoner with the greatest background this time was the Count of Fanyang, Lü Pu, an old-school noble. Relying on his ancestors' shade and his old seniority, he always liked to rely on his age to sell his age and couldn't see the situation clearly.

This time he was caught by the Emperor as a typical example, which could be considered getting what he asked for.

Next was the representative of the great clan Cui in the capital, who belonged to the chicken used to warn the monkeys.

The Cui family often flirted with the Xie family, and the Emperor had long been displeased, taking the opportunity to capture Cui Qingping to beat Xie Changling's group.

These two were distinguished guests in the Heavenly Prison.

Chen Guanlou personally welcomed the two distinguished guests, his face full of smiles.

Count of Fanyang, Lü Pu, saw him, and his anger instantly rose. "I'm in trouble, and you're very happy?"

"Count, you're joking. Nobles are of the same branch; you're in trouble, and I've been uncomfortable all day. However, seeing that you are safe and sound, I am happy again. If there is anything inappropriate, please forgive me, old sir, and don't be the same as me. If you start nagging, the Marquis will write a letter to scold me tomorrow."

Chen Guanlou's nonsense really pleased the Count of Fanyang, Lü Pu; the old guy was slightly satisfied. "It's good that you know the principle that nobles are of the same branch. I have also heard of your deeds; you are often unable to distinguish good from bad, and mixing with that group of civil officials, how can that work? From now on, don't do this again."

Chen Guanlou's eyes were almost rolled to the sky.

Give the other party three points of color, and they really opened a dyeing workshop.

Relying on his age to sell his age, selling it in front of him, he really couldn't see the situation clearly and couldn't distinguish between big and small kings.

Chen Guanlou prevaricated: "Count, your words are true. Please go this way. The cell has been cleaned up, ensuring you live comfortably. Chen Quan, you take the Count down first; I still have to welcome Minister Cui."

Count of Fanyang, Lü Pu, was very dissatisfied that Chen Guanlou refused to personally send him into the prison.

He snorted coldly, pulled a long face, and flicked his sleeves away.

Chen Guanlou silently warned himself: gods of wealth, they are all gods of wealth, don't be angry, don't be angry. After locking the other party up, let the other party know what's good and bad, and know who is in charge of the Heavenly Prison and who should be listened to.

Cui Qingping's attitude was much better than Count of Fanyang, Lü Pu's.

The other party was polite and exchanged greetings.

"Hard work, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen!"

"Not hard! It's all to share the worries for His Majesty! Minister Cui, please go this way. Your cell is a bit far from the Count of Fanyang, do you mind?"

"I don't mind! This official is not familiar with the Count anyway, there is nothing to talk about."

"That's very good!"

Chen Guanlou personally sent Cui Qingping to the Grade A prison and locked him in the cell.

In order to welcome the god of wealth, the cell was specially disinfected and cleaned, organized very cleanly. It could be called five-star in the prison.

"For the first few days, you might not be used to it, Minister Cui, please bear with it. If you have any needs, just bring them up, and we will satisfy them as much as possible. As long as you cooperate with the Ministry of Justice's investigation, we won't easily use torture!"

Cui Qingping nodded. "You say how this official should cooperate with the Ministry of Justice's investigation? The mountains and forests are right there, no one can move them away. The late Emperor suffered from the bad climate in the capital and ordered the closure of mountains and forests to cultivate forests, and this official also cooperated. The price of firewood in the capital is rising day by day, which is not this official's responsibility. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen, I hear that you are familiar with criminal law, you tell this official, how should this official cooperate with the Ministry of Justice? You can't just pin the responsibility for the high price of firewood on this official; there is no such reason."

Chen Guanlou heard this and instantly laughed. These officials, they can really quibble.

"Why His Majesty caught you, you and I know, and everyone in the court knows. Let's not talk about His Majesty's selfishness first, just talk about this case. His Majesty issued a decree to lift the ban, requiring the logging of mountains and forests around the capital to alleviate the problem of rising firewood prices in the capital and to seek benefits for the people. You refuse to loosen your mouth and want to maintain the current price to make a big profit. Catching you is not excessive, right?"

"Not so!" Minister Cui couldn't be persuaded by this small reason. "Firewood is not food after all. If grain prices are high, we, as court officials, should share the worries for the court and set an example to stabilize grain prices. However, what does firewood count for!"

Chen Guanlou lowered his head and smiled. "Minister Cui, if you have the ability, don't burn firewood, don't eat cooked food, and don't use hot water. You are clearly inseparable from firewood all day long, just because you haven't seen it with your own eyes, and it's not something that enters your mouth, you say 'what does it count for' so lightly. May I ask Minister Cui, the seven things to open the door: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea, firewood is ranked first, could it be wrong?"

"This is not a problem." Minister Cui pulled a long face. "You are confusing the public and blurring concepts. In this case, firewood is just an excuse; change it to grain, change it to silkworms, change it to anything involving people's livelihood. In the final analysis, it is nothing more than a tool for party strife. As for this official, I am just a victim of party strife."

Chen Guanlou nodded repeatedly, absolutely agreeing.

The other party was indeed a victim of party strife.

Emperor Yuanding just liked to play this kind of thing.

However, if while party strife was going on, the price of firewood could be brought down, he was also happy to see it happen.

He had money, so he didn't care about that little firewood fee.

This didn't mean he didn't know anything.

Before, when Sister-in-law Chunxiang was alive, she often nagged him that firewood prices were rising and life was difficult.

Eldest sister Chen Xiaolan opened a teahouse, and the firewood needed daily was an astronomical figure. The teahouse's stove couldn't be extinguished for twelve hours a day to ensure hot water at any time.

For a teahouse, the biggest expense was tea, and the second biggest expense was firewood.

The capital is big, and it is not easy to live!

You have to spend money to drink water, let alone burn firewood.

If you can lower it by one wen, it can reduce a lot of burden over a month.

If it could be lowered to the price of more than ten years ago, it would definitely be a good thing for the people of the capital, and it could be considered that Emperor Yuanding did a good thing.

It's just afraid that this matter will end up with a tiger's head and a snake's tail, and nothing will be settled. The price didn't come down, and it also caused a lot of trouble. ===== CHAPTER 1813 =====