Things in the world are impermanent, that's probably the case.
Zhang Cong was still in the lobby of the county government the day before yesterday, but today he is in jail. He only has the dry straw beside him as a companion. Even if he wants to catch a glimpse of the moonlight, it is a luxury. The dim environment makes him unable to distinguish between day and night. I couldn't even ask.
Because he knew that he was not generous to others on weekdays, and many people in the yamen were just intimidated by the power of his superiors. When he was in trouble, no one would come to take care of him.
And there was no one in a prominent position in the clan who could help him.
His classmates and superiors regarded him as ordinary. Although they had some contacts, most of them were just casual acquaintances. Those who were really good friends either had not yet passed the exam, or they were as soft-spoken as he was.
Scholars, farmers, industrialists, and merchants, he is a superior person, but he still has such a difficult time. From this, we can know how difficult it is for others in this world.
Zhang Cong could not suppress his grief and anger, and then began to hate these aristocratic families and corrupt officials.
He has also made up his mind. Firstly, if he is interrogated this time, he must not let go and plead guilty under any circumstances, otherwise he will be in doom and will never be able to stand up again; secondly, he will fight these people to the end, the sky net is restored, justice cannot be just like this lost.
He has been to Beijing several times, and he has heard a lot about today's emperor's temper and character. Now that things have come to this, he might as well say all the things that have been pent up in his heart for the past three years!
The bureaucrats and gentry occupy land and land, but they do not pay the grain, and the people have no land, but they pay the grain. If the tax law is not changed, the Ming Dynasty will eventually fall!
Outside, by mid-April, people from Beijing also arrived.
After the cabinet vote was approved by the emperor, Wang Jiao and Wang Bing, the cabinet ministers, immediately ordered that Liu Chun, the Minister of Criminal Affairs, Xie Guangjian, the right deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Chen Ding, the censor, went to Huai'an Mansion to thoroughly investigate the case. , Dali Temple were each accompanied by officials.
On this trip, only the doctors came from the Shaofu. The people from the Ministry of Punishment and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were all the second and third leaders. It was deliberately arranged by the above to prevent the people from the Shaofu from having too high official positions, otherwise there would be trouble in investigating the case after leaving Beijing. inconvenient.
But you have to come. If the people below are ignorant and think that you are not their boss and have no authority to govern, then it will be a joke.
Also because of the "menacing attack" from above, the officials in Huai'an Mansion and Shaofu Mansion were extremely nervous.
Fortunately, in the face of this kind of situation, officials of all sizes also have some experience. They have already stopped fighting. Each county, township, and clan is responsible for their own responsibility. They must keep an eye on those who are not very honest on weekdays. If it doesn't work, they will temporarily arrest them. stand up.
The same goes for the people in the county. Since ancient times, people have not fought with officials. People also know that their parents and officials are the most important. Emperor?
Who the hell has ever seen an emperor.
And it's not like there have been cases of people suing officials in the past. Once the people in the capital leave, the bad luck will begin.
This is not useful if you rush over and say that so-and-so has done these bad things. People can deny it, but if there is no evidence, it is slandering the imperial official. This crime is enough to be beheaded.
In addition, the prefect Tian Ruofu sent people to monitor the imperial envoy's itinerary.
The imperial envoy is entering today, and he will know about it in the evening at most.
Liu Chun, Xie Guangjian and other officials all arrived according to the normal route. After calculating the time, Tian Ruofu led his team to greet the imperial envoy.
There will also be a welcome dinner in the evening.
There must be thirty officials, big and small, from the capital, the local government, and the young government, sitting at three tables.
But after drinking for three rounds, Xie Guangjie, the right deputy censor, was the first to raise doubts.
"Why is it that Zhang Cong, the magistrate of Shanyang County, was not among the people who just toasted?"
The Minister of Punishment beside him also nodded. The two of them had already calculated it together.
Since Zhang Cong submitted the memorial, he is the key figure in the case.
If he had been smarter and collected evidence before presenting the report, the matter would have been simpler. If this were not the case, we would need to go to the trouble of sorting out the facts of this case carefully.
But there was no such person, and it was somewhat beyond their expectations.
Xie Guangxie asked a question, and the people at the three wine tables fell silent.
Some people lowered their heads to hide their expressions.
Some people pretended to be drunk, squinting their eyes and giggling.
It's best if this matter has nothing to do with you.
Tian Ruofu was not unprepared, but he already had such good wine and good food, so bringing it up in person was a bit...
He glanced at Yan Liwen, and Yan Liwen cast a helping glance at Zhu Weichun, the Shaofu doctor who came down this time.
However, Zhu Weichun was the one who pretended to be drunk, and he was ignored at all.
In this way, more than ten seconds passed. Although it was not long, no one spoke, which was really weird.
Xie Guangxie was also dissatisfied, "Is it because I speak with an accent? Or are you all drunk? Shanyang County Magistrate Zhang Cong, where are you now?!"
"Well... please forgive me, the imperial envoy." Tian Ruofu took the wine glass and stood up with a charming smile. "Listen to the official's explanation. Zhang Cong, the magistrate of Shanyang County, is lonely and eccentric. He has a high self-esteem. It is difficult to get along with his colleagues, and no one wants to It has something to do with it. Furthermore, the official has to ask the imperial envoy for the crime of laxity. The day before yesterday, the official took stock of the grain stored in Shanyang County, and found that half of the twelve thousand shi of grain was missing, leaving only Five thousand eight hundred stones.”
"Grain is stored in warehouses, and human life is at stake. In case of disaster, it is the last ration for the people. In the first year of Zhengde, His Majesty sent the elder to inspect the two capitals and 13 provinces. As a parent official, I would never dare to do anything. Dare to make mistakes in the grain storage. When the official asked where the missing 6,200 shi of grain had gone, Zhang Cong slandered the official and said that the official ordered it to be lent to Qingjiangpu County!"
The magistrate of Qingjiangpu County also came today. He immediately cooperated and said: "This official can testify that there is no need to borrow food at all."
"Are you serious?" Liu Chun, the Minister of Justice, felt a little suspicious, "In broad daylight, a county magistrate wants to blame your magistrate for unfounded matters? Isn't this unreasonable?"
Tian Ruofu's heart skipped a beat. He was not afraid of normal checks, but if the people above had preset a certain result, they would have to catch him. This would be troublesome.
How many officials in the world have focused on him for investigation, but can't find any problems?
Most of them still have to turn a blind eye and forget about it.
Fortunately, the magistrate of Qingjiangpu was still calm. He replied: "Shanyang County and Qingjiangpu County are located on the south bank of the Huaihe River. If there is flood, they will flood together. If there is a drought, it will not be dry in one place. The geography and people's sentiments in the two counties are similar. , the food consumed during disaster relief in previous years was similar. If there is surplus food in Shanyang County, Qingjiangpu County also has it. It is determined that Qingjiangpu County will not be short of food and ask Shanyang County to borrow food. The lower official dares to offer it. I guarantee that when Qingjiangpu is short of food, Shanyang County will definitely have no food to borrow!"
These words were so powerful that even Liu Chun couldn't say anything else.
The matter of storing grain in the main warehouse is indeed sensitive.
Not to mention whether Zhang Cong really swallowed the stored grain.
The main reason is that they are all new here, and the situation here is not clear. Maybe Zhang Cong swallowed it, or maybe he didn't. The key is to have enough evidence, otherwise even though they are superiors, they cannot replace him without any evidence. People are strong enough to stand out.
This is the skill of people who are good at being officials, which is not to expose their position easily when the situation is unclear.
They don't recognize Zhang Cong. If you insist that there is something wrong with Tian Ruofu's words, what if Zhang Cong really swallowed the stored grain?
No one can guarantee this.
Xie Guangxie and Liu Chun are naturally 'good at being officials'. No matter what, the first priority is to understand the situation clearly.
The atmosphere became silent again, and Tian Ruofu felt a sense of relief in his heart. He could probably understand the thoughts of these imperial envoys.
But the next second there was an inappropriate voice.
"If there is such a case, we need to investigate it carefully. Magistrate Tian, have you tried this Shanyang magistrate?"
Tian Ruofu was unhappy, but fortunately he was quick-witted, "I knew that the imperial envoy was coming. To avoid suspicion, the lower official had not brought him to trial yet, so I followed the imperial envoy's instructions."
The person who spoke was the censor Chen Ding.
He asked Xie and Liu for orders.
"Xie Fuxian and Liu Shilang, in this case, it is better to interrogate Zhang Cong first."
Liu Chun originally felt that there was something fishy in it. How could it be such a coincidence that such a person committed a crime at this juncture? Moreover, he was the minister of the Ministry of Justice, so he still had some experience in handling cases. For example, he could not believe one side of the story.
"I think it's okay."
Xie Guangxie didn't have any objections.
In this way, Chen Ding sat down with confidence.
There were no other twists and turns in the subsequent banquet. No matter what, Tian Ruofu still treated these imperial envoys as grandfathers, even with some filial piety.
This has nothing to do with whether the case is handled or not. This is what everyone in the officialdom has to do. Otherwise, who can support himself with only a few taels of salary?
After retreating,
Tian Ruofu and Yan Liwen lost their temper. This incident originated from the Shaofu. The people of the Shaofu could not act like they had nothing to do with them.
Yan Liwen naturally knew that the matter was important, so he took advantage of the night to go find Zhu Weichun, the doctor of the Shaofu.
As a result, there are only three words to wish Weichun,
"leave it."
Yan Liwen was stunned when he heard this. He was also a confidant, so he had the courage to say: "I am confused, please ask for instructions."
Zhu Weichun calmly stroked his beard and said,
"This matter is related to the higher ups. The owner of the Shaofu and the North and South Zhili Road is Mr. Wang Hao and Wangge. Why do you think he wants to investigate?"
"Why?"
"No matter what happens, it's always good to self-examine. Find me, find you, arrest us, and deal with the problem. Then the people above can be safe and sound. But..."
He emphasized the word 'but' and said, "It is precisely because they want to save themselves that some people don't let them save themselves."
"Does Mr. Zhu mean...another Wang Ge Lao?!"
"If you can't move your muscles and bones, then don't do anything."
"But if we can't find anything wrong, how can these people from the Criminal Department explain it?"
"It's just poor handling of the case and being deceived. How much punishment can Your Majesty have? But if something goes wrong in the road construction matter, this responsibility is not easy to escape. So you don't have to worry about these people from the Criminal Department or the Metropolitan Procuratorate. How to check, the key is to see how it is written on his case file. If it is written too hard, they will not be able to pass the test of Mr. Xiao Wangge."
"Mr. Zhu... I still feel uneasy, why do you dare to be so sure?"
Zhu Weichun's face turned cold, "The pool of water in Beijing is very deep. It's better for you to ask less questions. You have seen clearly what happened this time. It is useless for you and me to rely on anyone." Whoever the people above say to sacrifice will be sacrificed. So the key is not to get into trouble. What do you think the situation is now? Is there anything you can do that you can do? In the current situation of the government, if something big happens to you, who can protect you? This time the matter may be solvable, but there is no chance of a next time!”
"I understand, I understand! I understand!" Yan Liwen was flattering and felt more at ease. These scoldings made him very happy.
