One night, the entire Fuzhou Prefecture was extremely lively.
Some of them were light sleepers and saw soldiers running past their houses from time to time.
These soldiers were all wearing armor and holding weapons in their hands, and they passed quickly in front of them like gods of death.
Not long after, the Song family, the Chen family, the Li family... everyone who had a name in Fuzhou, as long as they were close to Bai Qingwen, were all imprisoned.
Including their prefect Shen Nan.
They were all sent to prison.
The prison, which used to be empty, is now overcrowded.
Every prison is full of people.
Even the guards have been replaced.
The arrest operation lasted until the next morning.
All important relevant personnel were arrested and brought to justice.
Director Chu Ze was not in charge of investigating cases, and he did not want to get involved in this troublesome matter, so he simply wrote a memorial and dumped the trouble directly on Zhu Yuanzhang.
When Zhu Yuanzhang received the memorial, he sneered: "He will find trouble for me." Then he asked Zhu Biao with a stern face, "Biao'er, who do you think is suitable?"
Zhu Biao thought for a while and said: "Didn't my father already establish a Qing history in Fujian? I'll leave the main trial to them, and we'll just send... Mr. Yang Xinyang to take charge."
Yang Xin is the censor of Zuo Qiandu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. He is an upright man and he just goes down to inspect the performance of the officials.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, his face showing the first relaxed smile in recent days.
What happened to Chu Ze was constantly reported to him.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to go to Fujian himself, grab that Shen Nan, shine it on his face, and give him a few slaps!
He even wanted to take a knife and chop off Bai Qingwen's head.
Fortunately, the results are quite satisfactory.
"This kid Chu Ze has made a big deal for us this time." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.
Zhu Biao agreed: "Yes, this time Chu Ze comes back, I wonder what reward my father plans to give him?"
"..."
Zhu Yuanzhang really didn't think about it. He asked Zhu Biao: "What reward do you think is good?"
Zhu Biao pondered, his eyes swept across the imperial study, and finally fell on the desk in front of Zhu Yuanzhang. He curled his lips and said with a smile: "Didn't the watermelons from the test site come out? He has not responded to the question, and has not tasted it yet. It's over. Why don't you give him a few watermelons to try?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao in surprise.
The two father and son looked at each other for a moment and suddenly burst into laughter.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Okay, I'll give him a few watermelons as you wish!"
…
When Yang Xin arrived in Fuzhou, Chu Ze was measuring with Liu Jing by the West Lake.
Hearing that Yang Xin had arrived, he raised his eyebrows and ordered without looking back: "Just get there, Zhao Si, you go back to Guanyi, and when they come to find us, you can give them the information we obtained before." They handed it over, do you understand? As for the other things, I don’t understand, and I won’t get involved.”
"Master Chu is so free and easy." Behind him was a voice that did not belong to Zhao Si.
Chu Ze paused at the action he was recording.
He turned around in surprise and saw a face that Chu Ze was not very familiar with.
He looks square and upright, and has a neutral and upright temperament.
He is the type of person who can tell right away that he is a good person.
Chu Ze asked in confusion: "Is it Mr. Yang?"
Yang Xin nodded and bowed his hands in greeting: "Yang has met Mr. Chu."
"Ouch, we don't dare to accept this gift. You are a fourth-grade official, and our grade is lower than yours, so there is no need to be so polite." Chu Ze is most afraid of these people who follow rules. They have one set of etiquette after another, which annoys him the most.
But etiquette still has to be returned.
After returning the salute, Chu Ze waved his hand and said: "Mr. Yang, please don't be so polite when you see us later, otherwise I will have to salute after you. It's annoying."
Yang Xin smiled and was not angry.
Chu Ze turned around and said to Zhao Si: "What are you doing? Mr. Yang is already in front of us, and you don't even have to explain clearly."
It made him think that they had just arrived in Fuzhou Prefecture.
Fortunately, I didn't say anything bad about others, otherwise it would have been embarrassing.
Zhao Si felt aggrieved: "Sir, what we said was 'Master Yang is here'. You didn't look back, so why are you blaming us?" He is being unreasonable.
Chu Zeji: "Are you still polite?"
Zhao Si: "..."
"Master Chu, don't be surprised. We asked him to bring us here. When we heard that Master Chu was here, we came over to join in the fun. I'm rude." Yang Xin was still gentle and polite, with a smile on his face. I feel like I have no temper when I wake up.
But Chu Ze knew that those who could become censors had sharp eyes.
No matter how gentle you are on the surface, he might be trying to get you behind your back.
But Chu Ze is not afraid.
They can catch him however they like, and if they really can't catch him, they can still hand him over to someone else.
It's just that it came so suddenly, which really made Chu Ze feel a little uncomfortable.
Now that everyone is saying this, Chu Ze can't hold on to this matter.
The two chatted briefly and then talked about this case.
Chu Ze told Yang Xin the general situation, and then said: "For the remaining details, Mr. Yang, you can go to the files, there are records there."
After hearing this, Yang Xin sighed: "It is indeed a big case."
"Actually, the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince told us before coming here, but we didn't expect it to be like this." Yang Xin couldn't help but shake his head just thinking about it.
Chu Ze was silent.
After a while, he suddenly asked Yang Xin: "By the way, the emperor asked you to come this time, did you bring anything with you?"
"We knew Lord Chu would ask. We have brought them all and they are all at the official post. We will see them when Lord Chu returns."
Hearing Yang Xin's words, Chu Ze sighed and said only: "Thank you for your hard work."
Yang Xin: "You're welcome, Mr. Chu."
As soon as Yang Xin arrived, the Qing History Department began to try Bai Qingwen's case.
Bai Qingwen opened a brothel and casino, bribed officials, and seized civilian fields and water conservancy. His crimes were irrefutable and he was sentenced to half.
Shen Nan accepted bribes to protect Bai Qingwen from committing crimes and was executed.
Song Lingyuan made a decisive move.
Others were either beheaded or exiled according to their crimes.
Almost all the officials in Fuzhou were cleared.
Rich businessmen even lost big movies.
Fang Yu and others were commended by the emperor and given rewards.
There was even a merit monument erected by the West Lake, with their names and stories engraved on it.
The people also received a large amount of fertile land and water, and everyone cheered.
Chu Ze watched for a while, then took Zhao Si and left quietly.
They came to Sun Zhengde's grave.
Chu Ze looked at the new tomb that had been built for less than two days, and asked Zhao Si in a deep voice: "Have you brought all the things?"
"Bring it here." Zhao Si opened the bag, took out the incense and paper money used for sacrifices, placed them on the ground one by one, and said, "Master Sun, I and you are here to see you." After placing them, Zhao Si stepped away. Give up your position to Chu Ze.
Chu Ze stepped forward, picked up the incense candle and lit it.
"Sun Zhengde, the emperor has made you the magistrate of Yuqing Prefecture in Fuzhou, and you have become an official."
(End of chapter)
