Chapter 158: Catch some Small Shrimps First

"bite"

The two wine glasses clinked together and they both drank. From this moment on, it is considered settled.

"Come, come, eat vegetables, eat vegetables."

Fortunately, I saw Zheng Rongqing in front of the door early and bought more food and wine, otherwise it would not be enough.

After eating and drinking, the two of them each held a cup of tea and sipped it leisurely. After hesitating for a while, he asked the question in his heart, "I don't know what Mr. Zhao wants me to do, and what does the emperor mean? I don't know this at all, and I don't feel at ease!"

"Investigating the case, investigating the assassination of the Hu people and the conspiracy of the third prince." Zhao did not hide anything and told everything.

If you are still secretive when others are here, then you are not interesting enough!

"What?" Zheng Rongqing was startled. He couldn't even swallow the tea in his mouth smoothly and choked a few mouthfuls.

"Master Zhao, is this not what the emperor means? This... this, I don't dare to interfere in the emperor's private affairs. There is no need to investigate the assassination..."

Zhao patted him on the back to help him calm down and smiled brightly. This kid is a little more enlightened, he is no longer the careless and foolish person he used to be.

After his expression improved, Zhao said faintly, "If you don't dare me, do you dare me? Master Lu, don't you dare? Stop joking. The third prince has been taken away by the clan, don't you understand what this means?"

He thought so. How could a father not love his son? The ruthlessness of the Tian family is also for the emperor. What does it mean for us ministers to point fingers at the emperor's family affairs?

Isn’t this treasonous!

"Then I can rest assured, the emperor wants to..."

"The Emperor wants to go to the Northern Expedition, but firstly, there are some different voices in the court, secondly, he is afraid of internal trouble, and thirdly, he is afraid that people's hearts will change!"

"That means we are here to help the Emperor solve his problems?"

"That's right! Solve the emperor's troubles, and by the way, contribute your own strength to the Northern Expedition!" Of course, Zhao would not say such things as making some money for himself, and the business in the audience was moved to the stage. It would be bad to be seen.

How can a just thing be mixed with a dirty deal? Doesn’t this affect the purity of the great cause of serving the country and the people?

Heart disease, a little effort. How could Zheng Rongqing not understand the hidden meaning? The Emperor wants the Northern Expedition. What does the Northern Expedition want? Money and food, without these two things, no matter how many soldiers you have, it will be useless.

"Your Majesty wants to..." Zheng Rongqing rubbed three fingers gently, but was quickly held down by Zhao.

"Be careful with your words and deeds! Your Majesty, the Holy Ming, only cares about the world and its hundreds of millions of people!"

Zheng Rongqing came to his senses immediately and said, "Yes, your Majesty is wise!"

After looking around, he lowered his voice and asked, "Then who should we arrest? What crime? Where should we start the investigation? Where should we end the investigation?"

"Whoever has the money can catch him..." Zhao said unabashedly while drinking tea.

He thought he had heard wrongly, and looked at Zhao Jiu in confusion. Zhao Jiu raised his voice and repeated it, his face still as calm as ever. Now Zheng Rongqing came back to his senses and said softly, "You mean, we only arrest people? The rest of the matter is not our responsibility?"

"No matter what you are arresting for? Investigate the case and investigate the case! If it is just for money, then he is not a robber?"

"Then according to what you said, there must be evidence before arresting someone..." Zheng Rongqing was a little confused, feeling that Zhao was following him in circles, but it seemed that Zhao was right, which is strange!

Zhao curled his lips helplessly, this child was clear at first, why is he confused again now? I can only explain, "If you arrest someone, won't there be evidence? Please open your mind..."

Oh yes! This seems to be true! Zheng Rongqing's pupils were trembling, and there was something inexplicable in his eyes when he looked at Zhao Jiu.

"My lord is really smart, far beyond ordinary people!"

Zhao felt a little embarrassed to be praised like this. He waved his hand gently and pretended not to care, "That's too much praise. It's all thanks to Mr. Lu's guidance!"

Then he pointed to the pen and paper on the table next to him, and continued, "Go ahead and write ten or eight first. We have to do something first before the year, otherwise we won't be able to explain it."

"Okay!" Zheng Rongqing didn't know anything else, but what if you want to say which family in the capital has money and which family has food? He has been in the capital for so long, and through his status as consort, he knows a lot of secrets.

I combed through the memories in my mind and picked out a dozen. Flatten the paper, pick up the pen and soak it with ink. Within a moment, ten names will be written on the paper. There are even some detailed descriptions after the name, just in case Zhao doesn't know who it is.

After finishing writing, he gently dried the ink and placed it in front of Zhao Ji, "Sir, please see, these ten families can be said to be easy to interrogate and rich. As long as they are thrown into Zhao Prison, the truth will come to light in no time."

"Oh?" Zhao was surprised. It seemed that he was quite good at this kind of thing. If he had done it by himself, he wouldn't have been able to write out even five, let alone ten.

On that list, the first name was Fang Shouqian. You can know from the description after the name: Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel. Looking further down, the lowest official position is Yuanwailang.

Zhao held his forehead and shook his head, not showing any interest in the name on the paper.

"My lord... don't worry. I have been living in the capital for a long time, so I must have a basis for writing these names. Even if you arrest them, you can't make a mistake!"

As if he didn't listen to Zheng Rongqing's words, Zhao just threw the paper into the fire, shook his head and smiled, "You, you, what can I say to you? Don't forget what case we are investigating, treason! All They are officials, and they are high-ranking officials. Why should these people rebel against you? "

"This is not how a case is investigated! You have to catch some small shrimps at the beginning, and catch a big fish from time to time, so that the group of fat and big fish can feel at ease. If you do it this way, you will catch the big fish from the beginning. Fish, the remaining big fish have escaped, what else can we catch?”

Not knowing whether Zheng Rongqing understood this metaphor, Zhao rearranged three pieces of paper and said with a smile, "Treason! He dares to force the palace. It is definitely not something that can be done with the help of a few officials. It must rely on officials, Jianghu and businessmen." We can only do it by working together. Officials can spread the news, Jianghu people train and hide their troops, and businessmen can make money. We must not let go..."

"High! Your Excellency is really high!" Zheng Rongqing couldn't help but complimented. No wonder Zhao Zhao was dissatisfied. It turned out that he only focused on the purpose but ignored the rationality.

You must follow Zhao Jiu's words. Firstly, it is reasonable so that others cannot find fault with it. Secondly, it is consistent with the reason. Thirdly, it is not easy to arouse vigilance and can make a big noise at the same time.

Zheng Rongqing picked up the pen again and wrote four names on the first piece of paper. Their official positions were neither high nor low. Four merchants were written on the second piece of paper, and two Zhuangzi on the outskirts of the capital were written on the third piece of paper.

"Let's take a look, sir. Are these involved in the conspiracy?"

Zhao took the list, read it over, nodded and said, "I see, it's the third prince encouraged by these people."

"His heart is so cruel!"

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