After Lin Cong finished speaking, there was silence in the palace for a moment. This silence made Lin Cong feel slightly uneasy.
Fortunately, this atmosphere only lasted for a short moment, and then the emperor's voice rang out and asked.
"Lin Qing, have you finished explaining what you want to explain?"
This sentence sounded a bit ominous, and Lin Cong's heart rang with alarm bells. After thinking for a moment, Fang said.
"Your Majesty is aware that I have one more thing to report!"
"Say it."
For some reason, the emperor showed extraordinary patience at this time.
So, Lin Cong hesitated for a moment, but had no choice but to bite the bullet, took out a memorial from his sleeve, handed it over, and said.
"Previously, in front of the palace, I had participated in the mining tax eunuch Liu An and others to bully the people. Later, I was transferred to Daxing County to continue investigating the matter. Now the case is basically clear. Liu An allowed his men to beat the people. There are proven evidence of plundering and plundering, and I beg your Majesty to punish them severely."
It was obvious that Lin Cong had prepared this memorial in advance, but it was somewhat inappropriate to submit it on this occasion.
After all, he had just forcibly taken Liu An back to the county government in the name of protection. Now, it is not clear whether he has exceeded his authority and detained the mining tax eunuch. Submitting this memorial at this time will make people think that he had previously His actions were an excuse to deliberately embarrass Liu An.
The emperor didn't have any special reaction. He picked up the memorial and looked through it. Immediately, he frowned slightly, then his eyes fell on Liu An beside him and said.
"what happened?"
The tone was not particularly harsh, but the hint of anger that it brought out scared Liu An to the ground immediately and kept saying.
"I know my crime, please forgive me!"
This kind of gesture actually made all the ministers present a little curious about what was written in this memorial.
However, the emperor obviously had no intention of publishing the content now, so he shook his head and said.
"Forget it, you don't have to worry about the errands in the palace. Go back to the palace and get thirty pieces of money."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty..."
Hearing this, Liu An's expression tightened, but he did not dare to neglect, kowtowed a few times, and then carefully exited the hall.
However, when he left, his eyes always fell on Lin Cong, with a hint of resentment.
Of course, this little move didn't bother the big guys present. What they cared about was that the emperor handled it so neatly this time, as if... he had planned it a long time ago!
Although Liu An's treatment seemed unremarkable, in fact, it was already a severe punishment for the eunuchs in the inner palace.
After all, a fat man like Huangzhuang would be stared at by many people, and Liu An was not a simple person like Shu Liang. This time he was sent on an errand, and it would be difficult for him to climb up again.
In comparison, thirty dollars is a trivial matter...
Thinking like this, the emperor's voice sounded again, this time speaking to Lin Cong.
"I know everything you said. There has just been such a big mess in Daxing County, and we still need someone to take charge. Go back and be your errand!"
The tone was gentle and vaguely encouraging, so that Lin Cong, who had always been worried, breathed a sigh of relief and bowed.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
Then, he stood up, took two steps back, and respectfully exited the hall.
However, with Lin Cong's departure, the atmosphere in the palace inexplicably changed slightly.
Although the emperor's face was still calm, the ministers present were all masters of observing words and expressions. They were keenly aware that there was a hint of coldness hidden under such a seemingly peaceful face.
"Everyone has seen what happened just now, please tell me."
What he said was a bit confusing, not because the meaning was unclear, but because the question was too vague.
The emperor only asked them to express their views on what had just happened, but it was not clear which point they wanted to focus on.
The more vague the question is, the more difficult it is to answer sometimes, because it is difficult to guess what answer the emperor wants. If the answer is wrong, it will inevitably make one's impression in the emperor's heart lower, and he will feel that they Missing the point.
Therefore, after hearing this, all the ministers' minds began to spin rapidly. Since the emperor did not say anything, they could only guess on their own.
Of course, the guess must be based on evidence. In this matter, there are nothing more than two parties involved, Lin Cong and Liu An, one is the court official, and the other is the mining tax eunuch.
Eliminate the latter first!
Although for most officials in the DPRK and China, impeachment of eunuchs is a good opportunity to earn reputation, but for these people present, they no longer need to earn reputation in this way, and more importantly What is surprising is that people at their level do not have overly extreme views on eunuchs like those stupid young people in the court. Even if they despise them in their hearts, at least they will not show it easily on the surface.
In this matter, there must be many things wrong with what Liu An did, but for one thing, he was running an errand for the emperor. Although the method may have problems, the emperor had already dealt with it after all, and he would not let go. It is inappropriate. Secondly, after all, he is a eunuch in the inner palace. It is better not to offend him.
Therefore, the focus must still be on Lin Cong. So, which one should be said about Lin Cong's series of behaviors?
After all the ministers in the palace looked at each other, Luo Qi from the cabinet was pushed out by everyone's eyes. Since the situation was unclear now, someone was needed to find out what the emperor meant. Naturally, this person could only be selected from the few who had just entered the cabinet. people to choose from.
Compared with the other two, Luo Qijiu was in the capital for a long time and had senior academic qualifications. He knew Lin Cong fairly well, so it was natural for him to come forward.
"Your Majesty, I think that this civil uprising happened suddenly. Mr. Lin's actions were quite appropriate, he controlled it in a timely manner, and did not cause too much trouble. Therefore, he is considered a person who can handle errands."
Although these words were careful, they still clearly contained admiration for Lin Cong. After the words fell, the eyes of all the ministers below unanimously looked at the emperor.
After hearing this, the emperor nodded and said.
"Well, the control is indeed good, and the news reported from various places is almost the same..."
Ah this...
As the saying goes, listen to the words. Although the tone of the emperor's words did not change much, the meaning behind the words was not difficult to understand.
Just like the civil uprisings that have occurred in various places, it can be understood that they were all passed smoothly, or it can be understood that... the handling was mediocre and there was nothing outstanding about it.
At this thought, many of the ministers immediately remembered a problem. When Lin Cong was transferred, many people felt that the emperor was suppressing him, but some people felt that the emperor was testing him.
If the latter is the emperor's true intention, then looking at what happened this time, a lot of things can be explained.
For example, why did the emperor deal with Liu An so neatly? He obviously knew about him a long time ago, so he was waiting for Lin Cong to investigate him, but the final result was a bit unexpected, and Lin Cong did. , was also arrested, but happened to encounter something like civil unrest...
At present, it seems that, at least in this matter, his handling is not satisfactory to the emperor.
They glanced at each other, and then Second Assistant Yu Shiyue stepped forward and said.
"Your Majesty, I think Lin Cong's handling of this matter was inappropriate. Since these merchants can help persuade the people, it is very likely that these people were the ones who incited the people in the first place. Such an action is an open confrontation with the imperial court. Lin Cong Cong not only ignored them, but also agreed to their conditions. Although he also calmed down the civil unrest, he was still guilty of dereliction of duty."
Completely different from Luo Qi's point of view just now, Yu Shiyue seemed to have gone to the other extreme and directly said that Lin Cong was guilty.
As soon as these words came out, the ministers below looked at the emperor again, but saw the emperor shook his head and said.
"This is too harsh to say. After all, he has stabilized the situation and appeased the people. It can be regarded as a meritorious service to the court. He can't calm down the civil unrest. Instead, I should blame him, right?"
The tone was quite relaxed, without any heavy meaning, which made the officials present slightly stunned. This was neither a compliment nor a scold. What on earth was the emperor thinking?
Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu sighed and said solemnly.
"I won't be too harsh on Lin Cong. Let him continue to be the magistrate of Daxing County. However, you know, this snow disaster is not only reported near Gyeonggi, but also in Henan, Zhejiang, and Shandong. A disaster..."
As the emperor's expression changed, the ministers also cheered up.
They had known for a long time that Lin Cong alone would not be enough to bring together so many of their important ministers.
Since the emperor asked them to come, it means there are more important things to discuss.
Sure enough, as expected, the emperor said immediately.
"This kind of thing will definitely not happen only in Gyeonggi Province. I want to say that if local officials everywhere do the same thing as Lin Cong, how many people will die after this winter?"
These words caused all the ministers to fall into silence.
It should be said that this is a problem that they have never imagined. It is not that they have not thought that snow disasters will kill people.
But what the emperor said just now is from a perspective that they have never tried before.
Many people present actually have local experience, or at least, they have served in Kedao and visited local areas, so they know more or less about the local conditions.
Just like what Luo Qi said just now, Lin Cong's response to the civil unrest was basically impossible to find fault with.
As an official, the first priority is to maintain local stability, and even to put it cruelly, the reason why the government provides disaster relief and provides relief to the victims is largely because these people cannot survive and will cause unrest. When civil unrest occurs, the local chief official may be demoted or even removed from office, or at large it may lead to wars and rebellions of all kinds.
Therefore, maintaining local stability is the first thing that local officials must consider. This is the goal. Fewer deaths are just a means to achieve this goal.
In this case, as long as the purpose remains unchanged, the means can naturally change. What Lin Cong did was actually what most local officials would do. The county government did not directly intervene in the civil unrest, or just assisted from the side. The real The people handling the matter were local gentry and merchants.
This is why the so-called imperial power does not go to the countryside. Take this incident as an example. Of course, the common people know that it is the businessmen who are hoarding goods. However, if the government does not intervene, the most they can do is complain. Even if they are forced, they will Go to the county government office to ask for help, or ask merchants for kindness.
However, if someone gets rid of these hoarding merchants, these common people will gather to oppose, because for them, they can still buy high-priced fuel, which is better than not buying it at all, and they dare not offend them. These gentry, because they know that these gentry can easily deal with them, but they can do things like besieging the Imperial Manor without any pressure.
From Lin Cong's point of view, or from the standpoint of a local official, his purpose is not to cause riots, or to be able to control the scope of trouble after it breaks out, so in this case, winning over the wealthy gentry is, on the contrary, The most convenient and useful method.
In fact, for all the ministers present, one of the important reasons why they didn't care much about Liu An's methods was because, apart from Liu An's status as an eunuch, during the years of disaster, these hoarded goods could be used Merchant surgery is one of the commonly used strategies.
Lin Cong and Liu An are actually two different extremes taken by local officials when faced with the dilemma of a disaster year!
At this thought, a hint of enlightenment appeared in the eyes of the ministers in the palace. They vaguely understood why the emperor made such a fuss and called them all over because of a mere Lin Cong.
In this incident, the emperor will not punish Lin Cong, because there are many Lin Cong in the world. Local officials, whether it is daily corvee work, criminal cases, civil affairs and other matters, need to communicate with the local officials. Build good relationships with the gentry and ask them to help maintain stability in the area.
In this case, when encountering such a calamity year, some people will choose to turn a blind eye and allow them to hoard, while some people will work hard and negotiate with these gentry to get affordable fuel for sale. .
But no matter what, there are only a few who dare to directly break up with these gentry and merchants, because the cost of doing so is very high. Liu An is an example. He collects fuel charcoal so that the people can survive the winter safely. Although the fuel charcoal after collection is , it must be deployed uniformly, but as long as it can be unified everywhere, then Daxing County will naturally not be left behind.
But even so, the people were still incited to surround Huangzhuang. Even if they knew that the people who incited them were businessmen who were hoarding fuel, they would only choose to vent their hatred on Liu An.
Everyone is like this...
Lin Cong's choice can be said to be a more conscientious local official, but...
All the ministers in the palace raised their heads. They already understood what the emperor meant. Most people did this, which does not mean it is right. There must be a 'but' behind it.
But... no matter how many reasons there are, they can't cover up the fact that this approach is actually disrespecting the essence of human life!
(End of chapter)
