Chapter 94, Letter of Appointment
There is no regret medicine in this world. Once you miss the opportunity, you will never get it again.
However, at least one hundred thousand taels of silver came into the account. The little annoyance in Xi Xingchen's heart was quickly driven away by the money, and his mood immediately improved: "Okay, now we can talk about business."
Wang Bozhen was shocked when he heard this, and became furious. He pointed at Xi Xingchen with a trembling finger and said: "You... are a member of the Moh family, how can you not be trustworthy?"
Xi Xingchen said with a smile: "Don't talk nonsense. I am an honest and trustworthy person."
"Then you still..."
Xi Xingchen showed a helpless expression and said: "One code means one code. You spent the one hundred thousand taels of silver just now to buy your life. But what I want to talk to you about next is what the new magistrate of Wan County, Mr. Wu, told me. "
With that said, Xi Xingchen handed an envelope sealed with lacquer to Wang Bozhen. The envelope was personally signed by the county magistrate Wang Bozhen.
Wang Bozhen opened the envelope. Inside the envelope was a letter of appointment and a letter written by Wu Zhiyuan.
When Wang Bozhen saw the letter of appointment appointing Xi Xingchen to be the head catcher in Wan County, he felt like scolding his mother.
The head catcher is the head of all the catchers in Wan County. This official position seems to be very big, but in fact it is just an official who has not entered the mainstream.
Being a police officer is actually a low-level profession, on the same level as actors, pawns, porters, and prostitutes. As long as you become an official, you are not even allowed to take the exam for merit and honor, even if you resign in the future.
Strictly speaking, before the county magistrate took office, Wang Bozhen, as the county magistrate, was Xi Xingchen's immediate boss.
But just now, just now, one of his subordinates had confidently extorted one hundred thousand taels of silver from him.
If word of this got out, Wang Bozhen would have no choice but to pull out his roots and hang himself to thank the world.
Wang Bozhen originally wanted to use his official power to ask Xi Xingchen to return the silver, but when he saw Xi Xingchen looking at him with a motherly smile, he couldn't say those words.
Because of Xi Xingchen's letter of appointment, since the seal of Wan County Magistrate was still in the county government office, it was stamped with the seal of Xunyang Mansion.
Moreover, in the letter Wu Zhiyuan wrote to Wang Bozhen, it was clearly written that Xi Xingchen was entrusted with the full responsibility for suppressing bandits. If anyone dared to disobey, Xi Xingchen could do it easily.
To act cheaply, to put it nicely, is to act according to circumstances and act according to circumstances.
To put it more bluntly, you can do whatever you want, such as killing first and playing later...
What's terrible is that the signature of Wu Zhiyuan's letter is not Wu Zhiyuan's private seal, but also the seal of Xunyang Mansion.
Wang Bozhen has been an official for so many years, but he still can't figure out that the head catcher of a small county is appointed with the seal of Xunyang Mansion.
What made Wang Bozhen even more speechless was that a private letter written by Wu Zhiyuan still contained the seal of Xunyang Mansion.
Uncle Wang couldn't help but wonder, once upon a time, was the big cover of Xunyang Mansion so worthless?
Regardless of whether Wang Bozhen admits it or not, approves it or not, with this letter of appointment and that letter, Xi Xingchen is wearing a golden robe in Wan County. Before Wu Zhiyuan takes office and takes back the order of doing things for convenience, Xi Xingchen can Being in Wan County meant that Wu Zhiyuan exercised his power, and this matter was recognized by the Xunyang Prefect.
Because of this, even if Wang Bozhen had the guts to do so, he would not dare to ask Xi Xingchen to pay back the money.
Besides, there is one hundred thousand taels of silver in Xi Xingchen's hands, and he has a way of settling the accounts in the future.
Of course, with the gift of one hundred thousand taels of silver and this weird commission of arrest, Wang Bo could really tell that Xi Xingchen would not kill him at least now.
After the existential crisis was relieved, Wang Bozhen took a deep breath and came back to his senses: "Xi Shaoxia, if the magistrate has any instructions, I will do my best to accomplish what I can do."
After all, Wang Bozhen wanted to save face and did not address Xi Xingchen according to his official position.
Xi Xingchen was not polite to Uncle Wang, he stretched out his hand and said: "Bring it here!"
Wang Bozhen looked confused: "What to take?"
"Ledger! Give me Wan County's ledger," Xi Xingchen said.
Wang Bozhen was secretly relieved when he saw that Xi Xingchen didn't want money.
He was really scared now. He asked for one hundred thousand taels of silver. Even if there was a gold mine at home, he couldn't afford this flower.
The county magistrate, if there is no magistrate, is the highest promotion in a county. If there is a magistrate like Qixian County, the county magistrate is the magistrate's adjutant and manages local government affairs. The account book is an important tool for him to record and manage government affairs.
When Xi Xingchen entered the city this time, in addition to seeking information from Wang Dabao, the other thing he wanted to do was to beat Wang Bozhen and get the account books.
This is why Xi Xingchen came to Wang Bozhen after escaping from the tunnel dug by Wang Dabao. His main purpose was to ask him for the account book, not to kill him.
Of course, if Wang Bo really goes all the way, Xi Xingchen doesn't mind exercising his power to act expediently.
"What do you want the account book for?" Wang Bozhen asked.
"Of course I want to understand some of the local financial situation." Xi Xingchen was speechless.
"The account books are state secrets and cannot be leaked at will." Wang Bozhen said.
When Xi Xingchen saw that Wang Bozhen was making various excuses not to hand over the account book, he immediately got angry and slapped his waist, and a soft sword came into his hand.
Xi Xingchen put the soft sword on Wang Bozhen's neck and said, "Mr. Wang, please think clearly. I am on business. If you don't cooperate, I will have to exercise the power given to me by the magistrate."
Feeling the cold air coming from the soft sword, Wang Bozhen finally collapsed and hurriedly said: "I'll give it to you."
Wang Bozhen took out a small key from his arms, opened the door of the safe in the study, took out a stack of account books, and said: "All the accounts of Wan County are here. If you need them, you can take them."
The account book Wang Bozhen took out was a thick book with a cover made of thick cowhide, which looked very sturdy.
The paper in the account book is of high quality, the handwriting is clear, and every account is recorded in great detail.
In addition, the ledger is equipped with various tables and charts to make the data clearer and easier to understand.
The ledger records Wan County's financial revenue and expenditure, including taxation, government expenditures, infrastructure construction and other aspects.
Xi Xingchen looked focused and serious as he flipped through the ledger. His eyes scanned each line carefully, thinking as he read.
The movements are slow and orderly, without any sloppiness. His hand slid gently over the ledger, as if he was feeling the warmth of every word.
Xi Xingchen mainly paid attention to tax data. At the same time, he also noticed some government expenditures, such as officials' salaries, sacrificial expenses, etc.
After watching for a while, Xi Xingchen suddenly laughed and said, "Master Wang, are you kidding me?"
When Wang Bozhen heard this, he felt panicked and said, "Why do you say this?"
Xi Xingchen said: "Anyone with some common sense knows that there are two sets of ledgers in the yamen. One is yin and the other is yang. What you gave me is just the yang ledger to deal with the investigation above. What I want is the yin ledger that records the truth." .”
