After about an hour of burning incense, Zhao Yang and his party returned to Yujie, which is South Street outside Xuandemen.
It leads directly to Xuande Gate, the main gate of the palace, to the north, and to the outer city through Zhuque Gate to the south. Although it is not the busiest street in Bianjing, the flow of people is not low, because there are imperial palaces on both sides of this street. There are many offices and important buildings. The Jinling Palace used for worship is built closest to the palace city. To the south are the Secretariat and Taichang Temple, which are located on the left and right of Yujie. Further south and east is the Daxiangguo Temple. To the west is Shangshu Province.
The main hospital of the Ministry of Industry, which Zhao Yang visited not long ago, was included in the building complex of Shangshu Province. Of course, the main hospital of the Ministry of Industry only occupies a small part of it. In addition, there are also the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Husbandry, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites. Six other government offices, including the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice, were in charge of the court, and these government offices also existed in name only. Although some government officials were still retained in the government offices, most of the power and functions were attributed to the Sansi and Dali Temple, and they were always on the edge of court politics. .
At that time, Zhao Yang left the main office of the Ministry of Industry and walked south along Yu Street for a while to reach the main hospital of Kaifeng Prefecture.
Compared with the main entrance of the Ministry of Industry, which is located in an alley of Yu Street, which is deserted and crowded, Kaifeng Mansion is located at the corner of the intersection of Yu Street and Zhengmen West Street, facing south, with two rows of open spaces reserved in front of the government office. The Shuanma Stone is on the left and right.
Outside the main entrance of the central government office, two majestic stone lions stand several feet apart, facing the bluestone-paved Zhengmen West Street. A little further to the west, there is the Bianhe River. Although it is still the first lunar month, the snow on the road has not yet completely melted, and the streets are more deserted than those on Tianshui Lane. But just looking at the environment here, it is not difficult for Zhao Yang to imagine the festival. In the background, there is a lively scene of many wealthy children traveling together, admiring the lanterns and the scenery.
"This is really... majestic."
Surrounded by many people, Zhao Yang came to the main gate of Kaifeng Mansion and looked up at the three characters "Kaifeng Mansion" engraved on the main gate of the government office.
At this time, a commoner who rushed forward reminded him with concern: "Before Xiaolangjun arrived, Kaifeng Mansion sent a government official named Zhang Yaozuo to invite him in. Xiaolangjun, please be careful."
"Thanks for letting me know."
Zhao Yang cupped his hands towards the man, raised his head and looked forward, and saw Inspector Li lowering his head and talking to an official in front of the main gate.
Immediately, Inspector Li nodded, turned around and walked towards Zhao Yang, but the official, after turning his head to glance in Zhao Yang's direction, turned back to the government office.
Differential treatment?
Zhao Yang raised his eyebrows, and Wang Zhongzheng whispered from the side: "Don't worry, young man. I have sent Liu Dan to bring reinforcements on the way here."
Zhao Yang looked back and realized that one more person was missing from the royal belt accompanying him. That Liu Dan had disappeared at some point.
"Well."
Zhao Yang nodded slightly, secretly praising Wang Zhongzheng's acumen in his heart.
As expected of a eunuch who rose to prominence during the palace coup last year, he is indeed meticulous in his work.
At this time, Inspector Li had already walked up to Zhao Yang in small steps. He smiled and clasped his fists and said, "The news has been received in the mansion. You can just go straight into the mansion."
Zhao Yang nodded and asked: "I heard from the people that Zhang Yaozuo was invited in by the officials of Kaifeng Prefecture. Why is there no one here?"
Inspector Li forced out an ugly smile and said, "Isn't this humble post... inviting the young man into the house?"
Zhao Yang said with a half-smile but not a smile: "Aren't you the one... who works in the right wing of the office? You are not from the main office of Kaifeng Mansion..."
"yes……"
Inspector Li's forehead was dripping with sweat. He put on an ugly smile and stammered: "This... is just to lead the way. Who is sent to make a difference? Although his humble position is an errand in the right wing office, he is also subordinate to Kaifeng Mansion..."
"Yeah?"
"..."
Seeing Zhao Yang's half-smiling expression, Inspector Li forced a smile and broke into a cold sweat.
Seeing this, Zhao Yang nodded and said, "Okay, then you lead the way. By the way, remember to wipe the sweat on your forehead so you don't catch a cold."
"Thank you for taking care of me, young man. Thank you..."
Inspection Li was relieved and hurriedly led the way for Zhao Yang.
While Zhao Yang was following this person, he turned around and asked Wang Zhongzheng: "The... leader of Kaifeng Mansion, his name is Fu Yin, who is it?"
Before Wang Zhongzheng could speak, an insider in the crowd, who looked like a scholar, kindly explained: "Fu Yin is the title of the previous dynasty, and is not used in this dynasty. The person who is in charge of Kaifeng Mansion now has the right to know the affairs of Kaifeng Mansion. Qian Mingyi, this person is greedy for money and forms a clique to persecute loyal people. He is the same as Zhang Yaozuo and others, so please be careful."
Zhao Yang turned around and saw that the scholar was about twenty years old. He had a handsome face and an upright face. Although he was dressed in cloth, he had a special temperament. He raised his hand and bowed in return: "Thank you."
Wang Zhongzheng also turned around and took a look, guessing: "Xu is a student coming to Beijing to take the exam... There will be a general exam in March."
"Well."
Zhao Yang responded without paying much attention, and followed Inspector Li through the gatehouse of Kaifeng Mansion and walked into the government office.
However, the people who followed him all the way to Kaifeng Mansion were stopped by the guards guarding the gatehouse.
"I am here to testify for Mr. Xiao Lang!"
As one person shouted, all the people echoed.
However, the officers guarding the gatehouse were not accommodating and blocked the group of people outside by saying, "Those not related to the case are not allowed to enter."
Seeing that the people began to denounce the Kaifeng Mansion again, Inspector Li, perhaps worried that Zhao Yang might misunderstand, whispered: "Kaifeng Mansion has always tried cases, and no idlers are allowed to wait and watch. No matter how noisy these people are, I'm afraid it will be difficult to help Xiao Langjun." , instead of relying on them, Xiao Langjun might as well find a way to delay it until the messenger brings reinforcements..."
Zhao Yang took a deep look at Inspector Li and said to the two imperial guards: "Chen Li, Sun Chang, you two stay here to appease the people and warn the gatekeepers. If anyone hurts the people, please turn back." Clean them up one by one.”
"Yes!" Chen Li and Sun Chang accepted the order with clasped fists, turned around and headed towards the gate tower.
"Let's go, Inspector Li."
"yes……"
Seeing that Zhao Yang was so confident when he arrived at Kaifeng Mansion, Inspector Li became more and more curious about the other party's identity. He was also secretly glad that he had not stopped him from sending people to move reinforcements just now.
The main office of Kaifeng Mansion has the same structure with the word "Hui", but it occupies a much larger area than the main office of the Ministry of Industry. Zhao Yang followed Inspector Li and looked at it for a moment, secretly estimating that the area of this mansion is at least It is four times that of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, or even more.
After passing through the gatehouse, the group of people walked straight in. During this period, many government officials watched from a distance and looked at Zhao Yang with curious eyes. It was obvious that these people had also received the news.
Going further inside is the second gate post, which is also the main entrance of the main office.
Under the guidance of Inspector Li, Zhao Yang and his group of six or seven people passed through the main gate.
At this time, Zhao Yang saw Zhang Yaozuo standing on the other side of the courtyard, talking and laughing with people outside the main office, and the laughter reached Zhao Yang.
I saw that the man chatting and laughing with Zhang Yaozuo was wearing a crimson official robe. He was most likely the chief official of the Kaifeng Mansion, and he had the right to know about the Kaifeng Mansion's affairs, Qian Mingyi.
Interestingly, upon noticing the arrival of Zhao Yang and his entourage, both Zhang Yaozuo and Qian Mingyi turned their heads to look.
"Xiao Langjun..."
Wang Zhongzheng wanted to say something in a low voice, but Zhao Yang raised his hand to stop him.
how? Show that there is friendship between the two parties and intend to show off?
Zhao Yang chuckled and walked towards the main office.
As he expected, when he approached, Zhang Yaozuo's expression became more and more proud, and the conversation became louder. He also mentioned Qian Mingyi's son, as if he was very familiar with the latter, while Qian Mingyi Ye smiled and nodded while watching Zhao Yang gradually approach.
It wasn't until Zhao Yang reached the steps of the main office that Zhang Yaozuo turned his head to look at Zhao Yang and said to Qian Mingyi, as if he had just noticed Zhao Yang, "Mr. Qian, this is the young boy who is determined to embarrass me. , I obviously didn’t provoke him, but he deliberately wanted to humiliate me... tell me about this!"
Qian Mingyi nodded with a smile, put his hands behind his back and said to Zhao Yang, "Why do you want to humiliate Mr. Zhang?"
Seeing that Qian Mingyi defined today's incident as Zhao Yang's humiliation of Zhang Yaozuo as soon as he opened his mouth, Zhao Yang already understood something in his heart. He glanced at Zhang Yaozuo with disgust, looked at Qian Mingyi and said: "If you two are familiar with each other, So it stands to reason that Mr. Qian should avoid suspicion and choose someone else to try him."
The proud smile on Zhang Yaozuo's face faltered, which was quite incredible.
Qian Mingyi's face also darkened.
The government officials nearby also looked at each other in confusion. No one expected that Zhao Yang would be so rude to Qian Mingyi, who had already offended Zhang Yaozuo.
"snort!"
With a slight snort, Qian Mingyi turned around and walked into the government hall.
"Young man insists on making things difficult for me? I hope you won't regret it!"
Zhang Yaozuo was also furious and walked into the government hall angrily.
In his opinion, he has clearly given this boy a chance. As long as this boy surrenders to him, he will not hold on to him. After all, it is not easy for him to figure out the origin of this boy. There is no need for such a trivial matter. Forge a grudge.
Who would have thought that this kid would fall in love with him? This is simply unreasonable!
After him, Zhao Yang and his entourage, the mother and son, and the vendors also entered the government hall one after another.
The scene in the yamen hall was similar to what Zhao Yang saw in movies and TV shows later on. Qian Mingyi, as the powerful official of Kaifeng Mansion, was sitting in the main seat. On the left and right sides of the hall, there were servants holding staffs, looking solemn.
The mother and son and the stall owners had never seen this battle before, and they were already panicking. After entering the government hall, they knelt down in the hall, trembling.
After all, most civil lawsuits are adjudicated by the public affairs office, which is similar to the local police station in later generations. What kind of cases are heard in the main Yazhengtang of the Kaifeng Prefecture? Almost only cases involving human life and similar cases are eligible to be heard here.
A case like today's case should not have been heard here unless it involved a minister of the Ministry of Industry and a foreign minister of the Ministry of Industry.
As the two parties involved in this case, Zhao Yang and Zhang Yaozuo stood on both sides of the mother and son, one to the east and the other to the west. Qian Mingyi also found it interesting: in a common civil dispute case, the one on the left There is a minister from the Ministry of Works standing on the right, and a foreign minister from the Ministry of Works standing on the right. This sight is simply rare to see.
"Snapped!"
As Qian Mingyi slapped the hall hard and shouted "Shengtang", the two rows of servants on the left and right of the hall shouted "Mighty" in unison. The frightened mother and son who knelt on the ground and several vendors became more and more shivering. trembling.
At this moment, Qian Mingyi looked at Zhao Yang and shouted, "Why doesn't that man in the hall kneel down?"
Zhao Yang knew that the other party was targeting him, so he deliberately turned to Zhang Yaozuo and said, "Hey, I'm talking about you, kneel down quickly."
"..."
Zhang Yaozuo was speechless. He glanced at Zhao Yang and snorted coldly: "I have an official status. If it is not an official order, there is no need to kneel down for trial!"
"What a coincidence, I also have an official status." Zhao Yang looked at Qian Mingyi intentionally and said slowly with a smile.
Qian Mingyi said with a gloomy face: "I recognize Minister Zhang, but I didn't know that there was such a young colleague in the court. Does the young man have credentials? If you can't produce the credentials, don't blame me for questioning you for pretending to be an official... "
When Wang Zhongzheng heard this, he was about to step forward to identify himself, but when he saw Zhao Yang reaching out to stop him, he immediately looked at Qian Mingyi and said, "Have I ever offended Mr. Qian?"
"..." Qian Mingyi said nothing.
"I understand." Zhao Yang nodded and said with a half-smile, "Is it because of Fan Zhongyan?"
Fan Zhongyan?
Zhang Yaozuo turned to look at Zhao Yang in astonishment, only to see Zhao Yang pointing at Qian Mingyi and saying with a smile: "You are in the same group as Song Xiang and Gao Ruona, right? You know it was me who persuaded the officials to issue the decree You are unhappy about summoning Fan Zhongyan back to Beijing and intend to take revenge..."
Before Qian Mingyi could react, Zhang Yaozuo couldn't help but swallow his saliva and felt a little cold on his forehead.
He was frightened by this young man who called Song Xiang and Gao Ruona by their first names and claimed to persuade officials to issue an imperial edict to summon Fan Zhongyan back to the capital.
