"Zhang Ming, a native of Xiangfu County, works for business and has a few silver and land. Because he admires the prefect for his dedication, he is willing to raise two thousand taels of silver and ten thousand stones of wheat, and black and white paper, without regrets when writing..."

"The lower official Wang Xiuyuan, a native of Chenliu, was a juren in the 37th year of Wanli. He served as the magistrate of Kaifeng and retired in the 11th year of Chongzhen. Because he admired the prefect and was dedicated to serving as the public, he was willing to donate 4,000 taels of silver and 20,000 stones of rice..."

"I am not a man from Zhou Maolong, a native of Qi County..."

“…”

The files were placed in front of them, all of which were proof of the gentry voluntarily donating money and grain. Gao Mingheng carefully calculated it and found that the sum of the donations was exactly the same as the records in the account book, and there was nothing wrong with it.

"According to the file, these gentry spontaneously willing to donate money, and they are stamped with the hand seals of these gentry. The evidence is absolutely impossible to fake. In this way, the so-called crime of extortion is not valid."

Gao Mingheng announced his conclusion, and then said to Ma Mingfeng: "Prince, in addition to extortion, there are people who report that you embezzle public funds. Is this true?"

Ma Mingfeng hurriedly said: "Mr. The inspector is wronged. This matter is definitely a fabrication. There is no truth in the slightest, and the subordinates do not have any corruption."

Then Ma Mingfeng took out several books and placed them in front of Gao Mingheng, and said softly: "Mr. Inspector, this account is the recent expenses of Kaifeng Prefecture. This account is the amount of money and grain obtained from the donation. This book is the amount of money and grain remaining. Inspector can check it item by item."

Gao Mingheng waved his hand and called a few clerks to check them one by one. After nearly two hours of verification, he finally confirmed that the books were all accurate.

While reconciling the accounts, Gao Mingheng ordered people to hold his token and go to Kaifeng Prefecture to check whether there was any difference in the money and grain left over from the fundraising, but still found that there was no problem.

It was not until this time that Gao Mingheng fully confirmed that the so-called secret report was purely a false accusation, and that the Kaifeng prefect Ma Luan was innocent.

"Now I declare that the prefect is innocent and the other party is a false accusation. However, I am very surprised. I found that a large part of your recent expenses, especially the fundraising part, has been provided to Xuanwuwei and for recruiting soldiers. I wonder why the prefect is so keen to support Xuanwuwei? Could it be that there is something tricky?" Gao Mingheng looked at Ma Mingfeng with an inquiry look in his eyes, waiting for his explanation.

Ma Mingfeng knew that the other party would definitely ask this, and he said without hesitation: "Sir, the lower officials did not receive any benefits, but instead paid a lot of money. The reason why the lower officials value Xuanwuwei is really related to the current situation. Now the thief is in a strong position. Although they have been defeated, they have little loss. Yangge's troops..."

Ma Mingfeng repeated what he said to Zhang Shengwen, and then said, "It was the officials who judged that the bandits would threaten Henan and even Kaifeng in the near future, so they all made every effort to prepare for the war."

Gao Mingheng heard Ma Mingfeng's words for more than ten minutes and finally sighed: "Master Ma's starting point is good, but how do you know that your judgment is correct? If the thief army does not come next year, your preparations will not only be meaningless, but will waste a lot of manpower and material resources. They will definitely be impeached again at that time. And even if your judgment is true, how can you make officials and people at all levels believe it?"

Ma Mingfeng said with a wry smile: "The officials can only say that my judgment will not go wrong. At the beginning of next year, at most by February, the bandits will definitely offend me. As for gaining trust from officials and the people, the officials cannot do it. However, many times, only a few people see through the situation. When everyone realizes it, the crisis will come to the forefront. Therefore, the officials feel that there is no need to explain it like anyone, just work hard, but do good things and don't ask about the future."

"I'm a good person, but do good things, don't ask about the future." Gao Mingheng clapped his hands and exclaimed: "This sentence comes from "Zengguang Xianwen"? I didn't expect that you have read this book by Ma Banyan. You are really knowledgeable and knowledgeable."

Ma Mingfeng bowed and said, "The inspector praised it, and the subordinates are just a little bit involved. In terms of knowledge, it is actually only average."

"Haha, why should the second-level official be so humble? If it is really average, how could you be named the second-level official by the emperor? But to be honest, you can have such an attitude, which shows that you are dedicated to the public and ignore your own interests. Please rest assured. The subordinates will also promptly persuade the left and right governors and the Dusi to pay attention to preparations for war in time in the future. We would rather not wait for the bandits to come when the bandits come, than wait for the bandits to come."

"I would like to thank the Administrator for this. I don't know how many people can protect the words of Administrator. It is actually a move of thousands of families to be born in Buddhas." Ma Mingfeng was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed his hands.

Gao Mingheng looked at Ma Mingfeng and said, "Why are the second-class men the acts of thousands of families living in Buddhas?"

The two of them looked at each other and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After laughing, Gao Mingheng looked at Ma Mingfeng and suddenly said meaningfully: "Those wealthy businessmen and gentry who voluntarily donated money are not good people. Why did they suddenly change their temper and willing to donate money and food? No. 1, what is the inside story here?"

Ma Mingfeng asked with a faint smile: "Is this for business or personal gain?"

Gao Mingheng waved his hand and said with a smile: "Your case has been settled just now, so I asked this because of my personal reasons."

"Haha, since I am private, I will tell the truth. These people naturally would not be so kind-hearted and actively donated money and grain. Xiaguan knew some of their handles. In order to block Xiaguan's mouth, they donated so actively."

"Well, the handle? It's because their relatives did bad things in your hands, right?" Gao Mingheng looked at Ma Mingfeng with his eyes and said with a faint smile.

Ma Mingfeng smiled and said, "The person who reported the secretly said this? That's right. After all, he is a prosecutor from Kaifeng and is in charge of criminal law. He can't hide such a thing from him. But I'm just surprised, where did he go when the clerk in the punishment room deceived his superiors and subordinates?"

A strange look flashed in Gao Mingheng's eyes: "You know who reported it? Then what do you want to treat it? I tell you that although this person is in a state of corpse, he has no fault. If you want to take revenge, you may not find an excuse. Besides, the war is coming, so it is not advisable to cause chaos within the country, unity is the priority. In fact, if you hadn't said these reasons today, even I would be a little dissatisfied with your bias towards Xuanwuwei."

Ma Mingfeng smiled and said, "Who do you think of me as? A person who is in a position of corpse and food at most is more than a lot of money and food, and his money and food are only consumed by his own salary. What does it have to do with me? A strong enemy is coming, or he can still contribute. If he dies heroically, it can also inspire morale."
Chapter completed!