Zhejiang, in the Governor's Mansion of Zhejiang Province.
After reading the letter sent by his teacher Yan Song, Hu Zongxian rubbed his temples, sighed deeply, and walked to the window.
Looking at the scenery outside the window, Hu Zongxian recalled in his mind what Yan Song had told him earlier: "Those who incite the people to make trouble will be severely punished, and no one will be spared!"
As a person who has been in high and low officialdom for twenty years, how could Hu Zongxian not understand the meaning of this sentence: to engage in serious involvement and eliminate all opponents!
After hesitating for a moment, Hu Zongxian made a decision. He called his subordinates and ordered: "Call them all to the hall for discussion."
"Yes." The subordinate accepted the order and left quickly.
After a while, everyone gathered in the hall.
Hu Zongxian sat at the top, looked at the other people present, and said in a deep voice: "There is news from above. Don't let go of those who incite the people to make trouble! Remember, I said don't let anyone go. "
"Yes!" A look of shock flashed through everyone's eyes, and then they bowed away and began to execute the order.
Starting from Zhang Daniu's confession, the officials pulled out the carrots and brought out the mud, and soon a large number of people were implicated! For these people, the government's response strategy is very simple - fight.
Put you in jail, you can't help but get beaten, and after the beating, I'll ask you if you want to fight again. If you don't, the punishment will continue until you speak or you can't resist the punishment and die.
Not only that, those who previously opposed the implementation of the policy of converting rice to mulberry were also sentenced to severe sentences. Many of them were from official families and people with prominent wealth. However, no matter how many connections their families had, they could not fish them out. Those scholars who usually gathered together to talk loudly were randomly charged by the government with making irresponsible remarks about government affairs and were sent to prison.
For a time, the entire Zhejiang province died down. No one dared to object to the conversion of rice to mulberry, and the land surveying work continued.
In the prison, Lu Dongxing, who had been so majestic before, was now chained next to a bucket of excrement and water, with ragged clothes and a depressed look.
Several jailors happened to be passing by and couldn't help but cover their mouths and noses. One of the leaders frowned and said, "You old guy, how dare you call me around? It doesn't matter whether you are qualified or not!"
"Come on, brothers, entertain him well."
"Okay, hahaha!"
"Ahhhhh!" Screams and laughter mixed together, coming from the prison, but it was destined that no one would hear it, and even if they heard it, no one would care.
…
The capital is also uneasy, rumors are spreading, and a huge political whirlpool is slowly forming.
At a tea stall outside the capital, several customers were sipping tea and chatting casually.
"Hey, have you heard? Not long ago, people from Pingliang Prefecture hired murderers to kill people on the street!" A thin customer wearing coarse linen clothes said in a low voice when he saw no one around.
"What kind of mansion is Pingliang Mansion? Why don't I know?" a customer asked doubtfully.
"Pingliang Mansion is in Shaanxi. There are four tribes in total, namely Qin, Han, Su, and Qing! Among these four tribes, Han Fan has the largest number and the most power! The person who killed people in the street yesterday was Han Fan's People." Hearing this, a fat customer wearing brocade clothes showed deep disdain on his face, and then explained to him.
"How do you know so much?"
"Look at my outfit, uncle, I've traveled far and wide and seen a lot!"
"Quick, quick, keep talking, why did the people in Pingliang Mansion kill people in the street?" The remaining tea guests were aroused and wanted him to continue talking.
"Well..." The customer wearing coarse linen clothes deliberately paused for a moment.
"Man, I paid for this man's tea!" Someone got impatient and slammed the broken silver on the table.
"Okay, let me continue talking!" Seeing that his tea money was settled, the man smiled slightly and continued to talk.
"I heard that the person who was killed was a scholar. The scholar had a childhood sweetheart who was quite handsome. But one day when he went out to pray for the scholar, he was unfortunately bumped into by someone from Pingliang Mansion. Seeing his beauty, he wanted to kill him. When she was accepted as a concubine, the woman would rather die than obey. Later, when she offended them, she was brutally murdered at home."
"And since the scholar learned that his childhood sweetheart had been killed, he went to the government in anger and wanted the officials to seek justice for him! The people in Pingliang Mansion are also members of the clan, relatives of the emperor, and the government does not dare to offend them. Ah, so I kept putting it off."
"It's not like the people in Pingliang Mansion haven't tried to reconcile with the scholar, but they were all rejected! Just yesterday, the scholar was killed on the street by people hired by Pingliang Mansion."
"It's really unreasonable, these beasts!"
"I can't help it. I am a member of the clan and a relative of the emperor! I really didn't know that the imperial court spends so much money every year..."
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you."
…
In the huge capital city, everyone was talking about this matter. Even the female relatives who lived in high-level courtyards and never left the gates did not know how they learned about it. While they were embroidering, they all started talking about it. It was filled with disgust for the Pingliang Mansion.
The official did nothing from beginning to end and just allowed this rumor to spread and ferment.
At this moment, Yin Ding Shichang of Shuntian Prefecture was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, running around the room.
Only then did he understand what his predecessor meant when he said to him before his transfer that "it's hard to be an official in the capital"!
Now that the culprit of the street murder had confessed and was imprisoned in a cell, he did not dare to make any move. On one side is the surging public opinion, on the other side is the royal face! The balance between this is really hard to control. If he offends any party, he will no longer have to be the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture.
Seeing her husband's anxious look, the wife walked into the room and gave advice: "You are a little Shuntian governor, what are you doing to deal with this matter? Just report this matter! Let those high-ranking officials have a headache."
"That's right! Why didn't I think of it? It seems that care leads to chaos. My husband will write a note right away." Ding Shichang was overjoyed when he heard this. He hugged his wife tightly, kissed her hard on the face, and got in. Go back to the study and write hard.
"It's true." His wife blushed and complained before returning to her room.
In the Ministry of Punishments, all the officials looked at the folder handed over by Ding Shichang, Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, and they all looked troubled, and no one wanted to open it.
"What should we do? This deal has been handed to us. If we don't deal with it, it will be a bit unjustifiable."
"What a crap deal, no matter who is involved in this case now, there will be no easy end!"
"Then what should we do? It's impossible for everyone in the Criminal Department to fall ill. Only in that way..."
"That's right, I will take sick leave tomorrow!"
"How about we continue to pass it up?"
Upon seeing this, an official looked around at the big bosses present and gave his answer cautiously.
"How...how can this be done? If you pass it up to the cabinet, it will make the cabinet ministers angry, and I won't be able to eat anymore."
"Then what should we do? Is it possible that our Criminal Department will handle it?"
"Then...just hand it over."
Shuntianfu Yin Ding Shichang's book went through countless procedures and passed through the hands of countless people, and finally lay quietly in the cabinet. The efficiency in this process was so fast that it was jaw-dropping.
