Chapter 196: The Blank Seal Case Breaks Out

The ninth year of Hongwu, the third day of the seventh month.

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat behind the imperial desk, with a thick stack of memorials piled before him.

He flipped through them one by one, occasionally annotating a few characters at the end.

Empress Ma entered carrying a tea cup, saw his furrowed brows, and softly said, "Zhong Ba, take a break; you've been reading for two hours."

"Girl, you sit first," Zhu Yuanzhang said without raising his head, his finger pausing on an Account Book.

It was an Account Book submitted by the Ministry of Revenue, recording the amounts of tax grain that each Bu Zheng Shi Si Official had transported to the capital in the first half of this year.

The numbers were dense and countless, stamped with the large seals of the local offices.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked for a moment, then furrowed his brows, flipped forward again, and pulled out another Account Book from the same period last year.

He placed the two side by side, compared them repeatedly, and his complexion grew increasingly grim.

"What's wrong?" Empress Ma sensed something amiss, set down her tea cup, and walked over.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at the seal on the Account Book and said, "Girl, look, this seal…"

Empress Ma examined it closely; it was the official seal of the Huguang Provincial Administration Office, its vermilion characters clear and orderly, but she saw no problem.

"What about the seal?"

"This seal wasn't placed after the main text; it was stamped on a blank area," Zhu Yuanzhang said in a low voice.

Empress Ma was startled.

Zhu Yuanzhang flipped out several more.

"The ones from Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian… all are the same: the numbers are written on top, the seal is stamped below, leaving a large blank in between.

What this shows is that the documents they submitted are pre‑sealed blank Account Books!"

Empress Ma's expression changed slightly, "Blank seal?"

"Yes, blank seals. Each region must report its accounts to the Ministry of Revenue annually, the numbers must match, but the journey is long; what if a mistake is made?"

"So they prepare blank books with the seal in advance, and fill in the numbers upon arrival in the Capital City, to avoid shuttling back and forth," Zhu Yuanzhang said, standing and pacing back and forth in the hall.

He suddenly halted, fury flaring in his eyes, "What does this amount to? It means we hand them the seal authority, and they can fill in whatever they like!"

"If they intend to cheat, the Great Ming's grain accounts will become a chaotic mess!"

Empress Ma was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Zhong Ba, this method… has probably been in use for some years."

"That's why it's even more hateful; such a huge matter, and no one told us. The Ministry of Revenue doesn't know, the Ministry of Personnel doesn't know, the Censorate doesn't know, and they conspired to hide it from us!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his palm onto the desk in anger.

The eunuch guarding the hall outside shivered in fright.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, suppressed his fury, and said in a low voice, "Go, summon the Crown Prince and Prince Wu."

……

Two quarters of an hour later, Zhu Biao and Zhu Yong hurried into Qianqing Palace.

"Father."

"Father."

The two brothers saluted.

Zhu Yuanzhang pushed those Account Books before them and said, "Take a look, what do you see?"

Zhu Biao took them and examined them carefully.

His mind was meticulous; he quickly spotted the issue and asked, "This seal… was pre‑stamped?"

"You've also noticed it. The local offices report to the Ministry of Revenue using blank books stamped with the seal; the numbers are filled in upon reaching the Capital City, whatever they wish to write.

Biao, what do you think should be done about this?" Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.

Zhu Biao furrowed his brows.

He, of course, knew about the blank seals.

In fact, he had vaguely heard before that regions, to save effort, indeed employed this practice.

But no one had ever formally reported it, and he never thought deeply about it.

"Father, this is indeed a loophole; if officials intend to cheat, they only need to fill any numbers in the blank space and line their pockets.

The court's audits look only at the authenticity of the seal, not at the substance of the contents, rendering it a mere formality," Zhu Biao said after setting the Account Book down.

"Then, in your view?" Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him.

Zhu Biao pondered briefly and said, "The immediate priority is to determine how many people used blank seals and how many accounts are involved; then, any chief seal officials should be severely punished.

Those below the deputy rank shall be dealt with according to circumstances."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, then asked Zhu Yong, "What do you think?"

Zhu Yong scratched his head and said innocently, "Father, I don't understand these account matters, but I know the seal authority is issued by the court and must not be misplaced.

Just like my military token; if anyone dares to give a blank token to another, I'll be the first to cut them down."

Zhu Yuanzhang was startled, then burst out laughing, "Good! Yong Er, you've hit the point; the seal authority is power. Handing out a blank seal authority is handing out power, which is no different from rebellion?"

He turned to Zhu Biao, his gaze sharp, and said, "Biao, this matter is yours to investigate. Starting with the Ministry of Revenue, go through all the Account Books sent from the regions over the years and see exactly how many used blank seals.

Those chief seal officials found—execute them!"

Zhu Biao bowed and said, "Your son obeys the command."

……

Leaving Qianqing Palace, the sky was already near dusk.

Zhu Biao's expression was solemn, his steps swift.

Zhu Yong followed beside him, saw his furrowed brows, and asked, "Elder brother, is this matter troublesome?"

"It's not that it's troublesome, it's that it involves too many people; the blank‑seal method has been in use for more than a year or two, and everyone up and down probably knows it, even many have used it."

"If we really start the investigation, I'm afraid half the court will get involved," Zhu Biao sighed.

Zhu Yong blinked and said, "Then what does the elder brother plan to investigate?"

Zhu Biao glanced at him, then suddenly smiled, "Second brother, do a favor for the elder brother."

"Elder brother, you speak."

"Do you have any trustworthy men in your Longxiang Army? The elder brother needs a batch of fresh faces, not those old slicksters in the court," Zhu Biao said.

Zhu Yong thought for a moment and said, "Yes, Zhang Wu, Chen Heng, and also Brother Wang Gui; they've fought side by side with me since birth, absolutely reliable."

"Good, have them come to the Eastern Palace tomorrow; the elder brother has something to assign," Zhu Biao nodded.

……

The next day, Eastern Palace.

Zhu Biao sat in the study, with Zhang Wu, Chen Heng, and Wang Gui standing before him.

"Three generals, I have a matter to entrust you with: the Ministry of Revenue keeps the Account Books sent from various regions over the years, and I need someone to inventory and verify them.

This must not be publicized, must not alarm too many people; take some trustworthy brothers and do it covertly," Zhu Biao said bluntly.

Zhang Wu clasped his fists and said, "Prince, rest assured, we will certainly see it done."

Chen Heng asked, "Prince, what exactly are we investigating?"

"We are checking for blank seals; wherever there is a gap between the numbers and the seal text in the Account Book, record it, noting the office, the year, and the incumbent chief seal officer."

Zhu Biao gave a brief explanation of the blank seal matter.

Wang Gui scratched his head and said, "Prince, we are soldiers, this accounting…"

"You don't need to read the accounts yourselves; someone will teach you. These two are Assistant Directors of the Ministry of Revenue, summoned by me; they will show you how to read them," Zhu Biao clapped his hands, and two middle‑aged scholars stepped out from behind the screen.

The two Assistant Directors clasped their hands and saluted.

Only then did Zhang Wu and the others feel at ease.

……

In the days that followed, Zhu Biao secretly gathered manpower and began a thorough investigation of the blank seal case.

At first it was only a review of the historical Account Books in the Ministry of Revenue, but the more they examined, the more problems emerged.

In the Hongwu Third Year, Fourth Year, Fifth Year… almost every year there were blank seals, involving offices ranging from the Provincial Administrator Office to prefectures, circuits, and counties—at least hundreds in total.

Zhu Biao's expression grew increasingly grim.

On the tenth day of the seventh month, the first list was delivered to Zhu Yuanzhang's desk.

The list named the chief seal officers of thirty‑seven offices, all at the level of Provincial Administrator, Prefect, or County Magistrate.

After reading it, Zhu Yuanzhang said only two words: "Capture them."

The Jinyiwei had already been established, and Zhu Yuanzhang directly ordered Mao Xiang to seize them.

That night, the thirty‑seven officials were quietly taken into custody.

The news spread, shaking both court and commoners.