As for the magistrate of Mizhou, perhaps because several of his confidants were arrested, he was afraid that those confidants would say something that they shouldn't say, and he was also a little anxious in his heart. On the second day after Huang Qiong returned to Zhengzhou, he brought his state colleagues and state magistrates from Mizhou to Zhengzhou Prefecture. It's just that the Lord Zhizhou may think that his background is tough, and even the prince, the King of England, must be courteous.
So when I came to the Zhengzhou government office, I didn't have any fear at all. Even that posture didn't look like he was here to confess his crime, but rather he was here to ask for help in an upright manner. Not to mention that when they saw Su Jin and Jian Yong, who were their superiors, they didn't even show the most basic courtesy. Even when he saw Huang Qiong, his nostrils were turned up in the sky, and he looked arrogant and ignored. His arrogance was not ordinary.
After bowing slightly as a salute, he said with an arrogant look: "King of England, as the prince of the dynasty, you are true, but you have no right to interfere with local officials, let alone arrest people at will. A few of my minions. , I don’t know where I offended the King of England, but he was actually locked up and taken away by the King of England. Should the King of England give me an explanation?"
Seeing this guy's arrogance, Huang Qiong was not angry but smiled and said: "Chen Zhizhou, if I remember correctly, I am not only the prince of the dynasty now, but also the envoy responsible for all the aftermath of Zhengzhou. The emperor seems to Not yet, please excuse me from this errand. Since the Emperor has not exempted me from this errand, I still have the final say on the ground of Zhengzhou Mansion."
"Not to mention the evil slaves who took away a few common people, even taking you, Lord Zhizhou, was within the scope of my authority. I don't know how Chen Zhizhou said it so openly and justly when he interfered with local officials. Exported. I have seen many people who have a tyrannical attitude and do not take things as they should. But I am really rare to be as shameless as Chen Zhizhou."
"I ask you, the imperial court has issued a decree exempting Zhengzhou Prefecture from paying taxes for three years. Who gave you the right to collect grain and tax in such an open and honest manner? Are you treating the emperor's imperial edict as a child's play, or are you not treating the emperor and the imperial court at all? Do you see that? Those minions of yours are not officials of the imperial court, let alone government officials. Who gave you the right to let them meet the third level of government officials? "
"The people couldn't afford what you call money and food, so they robbed prostitutes, demolished houses, took away people's livestock, and plundered people's fields. In the name of my king, I condoned the evil slaves to commit such crimes. Chen Zhizhou, Who gave you such courage? Tell yourself, when did I, the king, ever issue an order asking the people to pay back their money and food?"
Although he could hear the anger in Huang Qiong's tone, Chen Zhizhou was not afraid at all. On the contrary, he said confidently: "Why did the King of England say this? I have always acted in accordance with the imperial regulations and strictly abide by my duties as an official. How can I despise the emperor and the imperial court? Have I ever collected money and food from the people without permission? Your Majesty, sir. The imperial edict is to reduce or reduce the money and food of Zhengzhou Prefecture for three years."
"But the emperor is exempting and exempting money and food for the next three years. There is not a word in the imperial edict that the money and food owed in the past can be waived. I have neither received an imperial edict nor an order from the King of England regarding the money and food owed in the past. You don’t have to accept it. I sent people to collect the money and grain owed by the people of Mizhou in the past. I don’t know what the crime is."
"If the King of England doesn't believe it, you can ask the tax collectors who were imprisoned by the King of England, or ask the people of Mizhou. I have collected a penny of this year's food and grain from Mizhou? Since King Jing of Mizhou has Since the feudal lordship, a considerable part of the land has been owed money and grain for several years. The land designated as princely fiefdom does not need to pay money and grain anymore. This is the ancestral system of the Qi Dynasty, and I have no right to interfere. "
"But when the king of Jing was enfeoffed, if I remember correctly, the land originally designated as the fief of King Jing was all in Guancheng County. However, in Mizhou, where I am located, there is not an acre of land designated as king of Jing. Fief. Since it is not the prince's fief, what's wrong with me collecting the money and grain that the people of Mizhou have previously owed to make up for the past deficit?"
"What's more, when King Jing became a feudal lord, the court allocated only 6,000 hectares of food. The court did not explicitly stipulate that land exceeding the enfeoffed amount would not be subject to grain collection. It is natural for people to cultivate the land and pay money and grain. Even if it is secret. The fields within the prefecture gradually became the land of Prince Jing's Mansion, but the imperial court did not issue an explicit decree to inform me that these lands were exempted from money and grain."
"In other words, my collection of arrears of money and grain in the past does not necessarily follow the emperor's imperial decree. Now that King Jing is dead, the land has been returned to the original owner. So, I will naturally collect these arrears of money and grain from the original owner. . Is it possible that His Highness the King of England asked me to go find a dead man and ask for money?"
After saying that, he turned his head and glanced at the Mizhou official kneeling behind him, then turned his head and said coldly: "I always act in accordance with the court regulations. I wonder where the King of England's words came from? Ruoruo If the King of England doesn't believe it, you can ask them if I have violated the laws of the court since I took office?"
I don't know whether it was because of the power of this person after taking office, or because he was worried about the concubine behind him, and the family's power in the court. The officials in Michigan all lowered their heads when he glanced at him, and no one dared to speak. What disappoints Huang Qiong even more is that he went on a killing spree in Zhengzhou Prefecture, and the Mizhou Prefecture judge who spared people under the knife did not dare to say a word except for kowtowing desperately.
Huang Qiong was secretly angry as he looked at the officials who were in ostrich postures and did not even dare to say a word except kowtow. These people obviously didn't believe that he could defeat the Concubine De who was currently in charge of the affairs of the Sixth Palace, and the family behind Chen Zhizhou, known as Chen Banchao. So by coincidence, at this time, I chose Mingzhe to protect myself.
He could only understand the thoughts of these officials, but Huang Qiong felt somewhat angry about it. Come to think of it, this person worked hard for ten years and risked his life to pass the imperial examination. Or from the position of seventh or eighth rank, I don’t know how many gifts were given and how many years wasted to get to this position. Who dares to joke with his official hat?
As the envoy to deal with Zhengzhou, he may be transferred back to the DPRK and resign at any time. But these officials, this official will continue to work. It is even possible that when he came, Chen Zhizhou told these officials that he might be returning to Beijing in the near future. With the concubine behind him and the family's power in the court, it would be truly surprising if he knew nothing about his upcoming return to Beijing. Now that he knew it, he would naturally reveal it to these officials in order to coerce them into shutting up.
Therefore, these officials, between themselves and Chen Zhizhou, or the forces behind Chen Zhizhou, ultimately chose the latter. Although you may not participate in it, you will definitely keep your mouth shut. I am afraid that in the eyes of these officials, after returning to Beijing, they will still be a famous but powerless prince. It may not really determine their life or death, or their future career.
But the power behind Chen Zhizhou could easily influence their official positions. It is too easy to find trouble these days and remove a few low-level officials. In particular, they are the state governors and state judges, and they are more officials elected by elections. They don't have to serve a full term, you can just find an excuse for them to lose their official positions and go home.
At that time, Emperor Lizong, who had some irregularities in the throne due to his brother-in-law, wanted to win over the clans of the world to support him. Indeed, he agreed that no money or food would be required for the clan's land exceeding the granted land area. But Emperor Lizong, who was not yet a fool, also knew that once this matter was made clear to the world, it would hurt public opinion and might cause shock in the world.
Therefore, Emperor Lizong played a trick. When he issued the imperial edict, he did not declare it to the world through Zhongshu. Those who only issued the order do not need to be countersigned by the Zhongshu Province, and the Yushitai can refute it, and even those who were not summoned did not say anything about the Zhongzhi. The words in the imperial edict are also vague. It’s okay if you say yes, it’s okay if you say no.
Although the central purpose of that year was written vaguely, the expression was not generally obscure. But after all, Yushitai did not raise any objection at that time, and after so many years in the court, the whole court had formed an acquiescence. After all, no one wants to offend those clans who are also responsible for supervising local officials.
There are two types of imperial edicts of the Da Qi Dynasty. One is the clear edict that is clearly announced to the world through Zhongshu Sheng and Shangshu Sheng. Another type of imperial edict issued directly by the emperor through the Ministry of Internal Affairs without going through Zhongshu Sheng and Shangshu Sheng is called Zhongzhi. Regarding the imperial edict, Zhongshu Sheng and Yushitai can refuse to implement it by not accepting the imperial edict when they think they need it.
Moreover, if the edict is from Zhongshu Sheng, Shangshu Sheng, officials from the Sixth Ministry of Finance and above, Yushitai Youdu Yushi, and local pacification envoys, they have the right not to obey the edict if they think it is unreasonable. Officials of the sixth rank or above are not allowed to issue edicts when appointed. This was a rule deliberately formulated by Emperor Taizong at that time in order to restrain future generations from disorderly governance.
However, the imperial edict does not need to be announced to the world, and it does not need to go through Zhongshu Sheng and Shangshu Sheng. Later emperors usually issued the central edict when dealing with family affairs. The Emperor Lizong took advantage of this loophole and issued such a vague edict that did not need to be announced to the world. I still don’t know how to make Zhongshu Sheng and Shangshu Sheng obey the imperial edict honestly.
Huang Qiong did not expect that his ancestor's vague words had become a de facto imperial edict over the years, but he would actually be used by this person to refute him. Huang Qiong, who considered herself to be an eloquent person, knew that this guy was making excuses, but for a moment, she couldn't find any reason to refute this excuse.
Seeing that the King of England was so angry that he was so angry that he, the prefect, had to speak. When things got to this point, there was no room for retreat. If I can't take him down today, how can I continue to be a prefect? This person is so arrogant in the face of a prince. I am afraid that it will be more difficult for me to control this person in the future.
When something happens, the blame will still fall on him, his direct superior. Su Jin knew how many people he had offended in official circles over the years. Those people may not dare to deal with this Chen Zhizhou, but they may never show mercy to themselves. Since he was released, those people have been waiting and looking forward to finding loopholes so that they can rectify themselves openly.
This guy will be exposed in the future. Under the protection of Concubine De and his family, he may not really be in trouble. But I definitely can't escape no matter what. When the time comes, I just hope it won’t be too much. What's more, I can't rely on the King of England to take the lead in everything. Now that the King of England is here, I can do what I should do without any distractions.
But the King of England will return to the capital sooner or later. If he relies on the King of England to help him with everything, what will he do after the King of England returns to the capital? The most important thing is that if this person is not captured, I don’t know how many people in Mizhou will be destroyed again. Is it really going to the point where the government forces the people to rebel?
They say that if you don't make decisions for the people when you are an official, it is better to go home and sell radishes. As a magistrate, if you know that this person has committed many crimes since he took office, and you are afraid of offending others but remain silent, then your role as a magistrate is as unqualified as the King of England said. What else can you do? To meet the people of Zhengzhou with dignity? If justice is not provided for the people now, when will we wait?
