Lu Chisong and Lu Changxie, who had been watching with cold eyes, couldn't help but glance at each other and saw the shock and shock in each other's eyes when they said "Bring me up here". Obviously, they have realized that Yang Ji really intends to kill him. It doesn't matter if he kills a few officials. Many people can do it, but the problem is that the laws of the Sui Dynasty are very strict! mediocre
Although the Sui Dynasty had constant wars and showed no mercy to corrupt officials, when Yang Jian was still alive, he attached great importance to life and followed rules. The "Kaihuang Code" compiled by him abolished all the original cruel criminal laws such as palace punishment, chariot cutting, and beheading, and also reduced 81 capital crimes, 154 crimes of exile, and more than 1,000 crimes such as punishment and cane. . At the same time, it was also stipulated that when an official committed a crime, Dali Temple would first be responsible for the trial of the case, then the Yushitai would be responsible for supervising the trial of the case by Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Punishment would be responsible for review. If it is the death penalty, "three memorials" must be passed before the death penalty can be executed.
In addition, Yang Jian prevented local dignitaries from making unjust, false, and wrongful convictions and killing dissidents without permission. He also issued an edict: "It is a capital crime in the world, and all states are not allowed to execute them casually. They all order Dali to restore order." Anyone who dares to "execute casually" will die first before talking about anything else.
At that time, Yan Rong, a famous and ruthless official, even though he stayed away from Guanzhong and went to work in Youzhou, he was still intimidated by the power of the law and did not dare to break any rules. When he punished "criminals", he only dared to whip ten times in accordance with the regulations. But despite this, he still couldn't escape death in the end. This shows how strict Yang Jian enforces the law.
In the Sui Dynasty, it was precisely because Yang Jian had allowed batch after batch of barbaric officials who brutally enforced the law to die during the more than 20 years of Yang Jian's reign that those officials who were quick to draw knives behaved themselves. Only in the Great Sui Dynasty did the order have the rules and stability it has today. Although Yang Jian was known as "mean" and treated heroes poorly because of this, who among the Youzhou people, including the Lu family, who had been tortured by Yan Rong and Yuan Hongsi successively, would not be grateful to Yang Jian for his strict law enforcement and selflessness? The current emperor Yang Guang also inherited his father's "mean" side and was more ruthless than his father towards officials who committed crimes.
But what about Yang Ji? At this time, he was already a very popular minister and had great achievements, but now he was planning to commit suicide without permission. Isn't he afraid that the emperor and some important ministers would take advantage of this?
The two of them couldn't help but look at Pei Ju, only to find that he was calm and calm.
In fact, Pei Ju also felt that something was wrong, but Yuan Hongli, Jin Wenyan and other important officials were killed by Yang Ji, so what did a few counties matter? Besides, these corrupt officials just need to be punished. To be punished, ruthless people are needed to punish them. mediocre
At this time, someone in the distance shouted: "Magistrate Gao is here."
The area around Yicang, which was crowded with people and noisy, gradually became quiet.
Not long after, I saw Jixian County Magistrate Gao Lie, County Prime Minister Jitang, Lord Bo Duye, County Lieutenant Li Jing, Gong Cao Wang Jie and other officials, hurriedly walking towards Yicang Square under the guard of guards.
The guards drove them away to Yang Ji's carriage like ducks. Gao Lie was a descendant of the Bohai Gao family, and he was a little brave. Although he was scared to death, he still calmed down and bowed to Yang Ji to the ground. He said: "The magistrate of Ji County, Gao Lie, has met the king..."
Yang Ji looked at this dog-looking county magistrate and said coldly: "As the Minister of the Xingtai of Hebei and the general manager of the Liaodong March, I now order you to open the free warehouse and let the people inspect it."
Gao Lie's heart thumped and his face turned pale.
When Yang Ji saw Gao Lie silent and frightened, he asked coldly: "Does Magistrate Gao have something to hide, or does he think that the king does not have the power to open Quan Yicang?" Yong Yong
"This... this..." Gao Lie's face turned pale with fright, his lips murmured and he didn't know what to say. The calmness he had just now disappeared without a trace.
"County Magistrate Gao, please open the warehouse! I want to personally inspect the amount of grain stored." Yang Ji urged again.
"Your Majesty, the key is not with the official." Gao Lie and others had been controlled early in the morning. When Yang Ji spread the news that stealing food would lead to death, they had been frightened and fainted again and again, but even though they knew It is difficult to escape the guilt, but still have a sense of luck and dare not open this door to hell.
Yang Ji had been a high-ranking official in Liangzhou for four or five years. During this period, he had met countless low-level officials and military officers. He could tell most of them whether they were frightened because of awe and nervousness, or frightened because they had done illegal things, and he said at the moment: "Okay then, my faction
People went to the county government office to get the keys and the accounts of the charity warehouse for inspection. "
Gao Lie suddenly collapsed on the ground.
Accounts?
Where is the need to look at the accounts? Because Yang Ji ordered the soldiers to tear off the seals, pry open the locks, and open the door of the charity warehouse, the soldiers who entered to inspect found that there was not a single grain of food in the entire warehouse. mediocre
"Report to your Majesty, Dongcang District is completely empty, not a single grain of food is left."
"Reporting to your Majesty, there is no grain in Xicang District."
"Report to the king, there is no food in Beicang District!"
"Report to the king, there is no food in Nancang District!"
As the soldiers reported back one by one, Gao Lie collapsed completely. He fell to the ground with a thud, his eyes blank and soulless.
Although Yang Ji was calm and prepared, he was still irritated. Some of the darkness in the officialdom was actually acknowledged by everyone. For example, the reselling of grain was unreasonable and illegal, but corrupt officials It indeed solved the worries of the court and the people's worries of food shortage. At the same time, it also allowed the food in the granary to be renovated and prevent it from getting moldy and rotten. Therefore, as long as the other party replenished the "borrowed" food in time, everyone in the court would be happy. Open one eye and close one eye. But doing it as thoroughly as Youzhou did was an unprecedented "feat".
"Come here!" Yang Ji shouted, and dozens of guards immediately stepped forward. mediocre
Yang Ji pointed at the group of corrupt officials in front of him and said, "I will behead these dog officials and their entire families, and hang their heads at the city gate for public display."
"Here!" the guards shouted in response.
Yang Ji said loudly: "Zhu Can."
Yang Jiyou couldn't understand his hatred, so he called Chef Zhu over and loudly ordered: "Peel off the human skins of the dog officials, fill them with straw, and then let the soldiers send them to various counties for display. Anyone who dares to embezzle the food from the charity warehouse will be punished." Follow suit!"
"Here!" Zhu Can bowed his hands and responded excitedly. He couldn't help but look at the frightened group of corrupt officials, thinking about how to get a complete piece of skin.
Seeing that the guards had escorted the corrupt officials to the front and lined up in a row, waiting for his orders, Yang Ji raised his hands and shouted: "Execution!"
In the blink of an eye, the sword flashed, more than thirty heads rolled everywhere, and a cavity of hot blood spurted out from the neck, like a volley of more than thirty fountains. The scene was extremely spectacular and heroic, and the smell of blood filled the air. Yi Cang Plaza. mediocre
At this point, the atmosphere of the entire venue has reached its peak.
All the people felt a sense of joy, and shouts such as "Do justice for heaven" and "Kill as fast as you can" echoed one after another among the tens of thousands of people, deafening.
"Let's go!" Pei Ju was a commander who had led troops and fought in battles. He knew that some generals would have terrible emotions due to excessive killing. Killing would give such people an inexplicable sense of pleasure, so that they would become addicted to killing and slow down. Slowly falling into madness; and Yan Rong is the most typical example. Before he became a cruel official, he was actually a qualified and powerful commander. However, after the war stopped, he became at a loss and became irritable. No matter what he did, everything was based on killing. Heavy.
He was also a little worried that Yang Ji would become such a person, so he wanted to see a strange expression on Yang Ji's face, but from beginning to end, Yang Ji only had anger towards corrupt officials, and other than that, there seemed to be no other expression. Any strange emotions. This also made Pei Ju understand that Yang Ji did not kill for the sake of killing, nor because of bloodlust, nor because of factional fighting.
He was an out-and-out Legalist fanatic, the defender of the dignity of law in the Sui Dynasty, and the patron saint of the country in the Sui Dynasty. He would kill anyone who committed a crime or did something detrimental to the Sui Dynasty.
Lu Changxie nodded silently.
After this killing, Lu Changxie felt that Yang Ji was more powerful and decisive than he imagined. He even felt that even without the help of the Lu family, Yang Ji would have become a nightmare for Youzhou officialdom and the Yuyang clan of the Yuan clan. Their existence This is not a help in times of need, but the icing on the cake. mediocre
. . . . . .
Yang Ji was busy with his affairs and did not stay in Yicang. After promising the people once again to recover the grain money and distribute the money to each household, he returned to the Zhuojun Prefecture and summoned officials to discuss the matter.
Seeing that Pei Ju was wearing regular clothes, Yang Ji didn't take it seriously; he expected that Pei Ju would not stay quietly in the official residence.
Looking at his attire, he obviously went to watch the fun.
Just when he was about to speak, Xue Wanshu strode from the outside, clasped her fists with a solemn face and said, "Your Majesty, Wen Rui, who is in charge of the criminal law in Youzhou, hanged himself in the side hall, and the corpse is still being examined."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall was shocked. Civil Cao Liu Wu seemed to realize that he was bound to die, so he hanged himself in the middle of the night yesterday. And today, another one died?
Pei Ju's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and now another one died. Things seemed a little unusual. These people who were detained to work obviously knew that even if they were not executed by national law, family law could not spare them, so Liu Wu and Wen Rui simply Just die.
If they shoulder all the blame, their family can stay out of it. Although they themselves died and shouldered everything, they have become "loyal martyrs" in the family, and their parents, wives, and children will receive special care. Unfortunately, they seemed to have overthought it. Just because the superior Yang Ji was the one who proposed the investigation for twenty years, how could he just give up? If Yang Ji found out that they were traitors, his family would still send their children to the guillotine. mediocre
Pei Ju didn't care at all whether they were dead or alive, but as soon as Yang Ji, the killer, came back, he convened everyone for a discussion, obviously preparing to get to the bottom of it. If this is true, almost the whole of Youzhou will fall into the dilemma of having no officials and no government. By then, there will be more affairs; and if one or two of the officials in Youzhou Prefecture commit suicide, the entire Youzhou will be paralyzed.
"The Yicang case is not just about stealing grain, but also about collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country, and the results of the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo. If they think that everything will be over and they can escape their guilt once they die, that is really ridiculous and tragic." Yang Ji snorted coldly, He told Zhang Huibao: "Zhang Changshi, immediately send an order to all counties in the name of the Minister of Xingtai of Hebei Province, saying that from today on, I, Yang Ji, will take over the important military, political, civil and financial affairs of Youzhou. . Next, we will conduct a thorough investigation of the charity warehouses in every county. All those involved in the case, regardless of officials, big or small, will be arrested and executed."
Last night, Yang Ji regarded the Yicang case as a "ticking time bomb". He was afraid that the explosion would cause turmoil in the entire Youzhou. He did not dare to conduct a thorough investigation all at once, so he waited for the army and used Jixian as a test point to watch. The reaction of the people.
Judging from the reaction of the people now, the credibility of the court and the government is quite good in Youzhou. As long as he promises to recover the grain and compensate with money, the people's emotions will be stable and there will be no need for military suppression. As for the credibility of the imperial court and the government, it will not fall but rise because of the successful "public relations crisis".
Pei Ju felt more and more that he was not doing his job properly, so he said: "As the king said, the most indispensable thing in the Sui Dynasty is people who want to be officials. We killed these corrupt officials, which indeed made many reserve officials extremely happy. . But corrupt officials certainly deserve to die. If we get to the bottom of it like this, the Youzhou government will be paralyzed. If something happens in the local area, who will deal with it?"
"The common people are not that complicated. As long as they have food and clothing, and as long as their grievances are redressed, they will not make trouble or go to the government." Yang Ji glanced at Pei Ju and said, "Besides, I'm in Zhuo The county is in charge, who dares to cause trouble?"
"That's the truth, but we are here to fight!" Pei Ju felt that Yang Ji was not doing his job properly, so he emphasized and reminded him seriously: "Your Majesty, our top priority is to win the enemy." Yong Yong.
"Of course I know that winning the enemy is the most important thing. But if the rear is unstable, how can we defeat the opponent? So I am preparing to defeat the enemy now." Yang Ji said plausibly: "Don't worry, As long as I am here, there will be no chaos in Youzhou."
"Ignore the war ahead? No more fighting?" Pei Ju was extremely depressed.
"Both manage and fight! But you don't have to let me go to the battlefield for everything, right?" Yang Ji said: "I think Yang Yichen's military level is better than mine. If I am delayed in Youzhou, he can be my commander in chief." Already."
"..." Pei Ju was too lazy to speak. At this moment, he finally understood Gao Jiong's difficulties and mentality.
Gao Jiong served as Yang Ji's subordinate during the Renshou period, but after returning to the dynasty, although he still wanted to marry his daughter to Yang Ji, he refused to cooperate or work with Yang Ji life or death. It is said that Yang Ji was too willful, no matter whether it was He doesn't follow any rules in doing anything, he wants to
Do whatever you get. Take the current situation as an example, he actually got involved with Youzhou officialdom, but he seemed to have forgotten the big business of killing Goguryeo.
It is too insecure to work with such a messy, confusing and talkative coach. If things go wrong, he will drag him into the quagmire of eternal destruction. What's even worse is that the people around Yang Ji are all as outrageous as him.
It's no wonder Gao Jiong is afraid of him. mediocre
If Yang Ji continues to do this, Pei Ju seriously doubts that he will survive in Liaodong, let alone gain military glory.
