The candlelight under the spring night was soft and bright. The light shone on Wang Pu's cheek, and the face it reflected did not look very relaxed. After pondering for a while, Wang Pu sighed: "Such corruption and corruption happened in Huaidong. Although I am in the Transportation Department, as the chief envoy, I am in charge of all the major and minor affairs. How can I stand alone and stand alone?" . The Transportation Department is located in Yangzhou City. If there is any fault of negligence, I should also bear a share.
Previously, although I knew that there were some problems in the Transshipment Department, I did not intervene in the inspection because of my power and responsibility. But they never expected that Zhao Feng was so greedy that he did not know whether to live or die. As soon as he was found out, he would go straight to Tokyo, which made His Majesty furious!
Is it unusual for the emperor to be angry? Your Majesty is an unparalleled hero. Since he came to the throne, he has worked hard to govern, change things, and eliminate the long-standing shortcomings of the past three generations.
However, now the Khitans in the north are still victorious against me, the northwest has fallen to miscellaneous captives, the countries in the south have not been destroyed, the world is not at peace, and the officials under the rule have been corrupted, how can your majesty not be angry or annoyed?
In my opinion, His Majesty's decision to mobilize troops and send special envoys to investigate this matter is probably to take the opportunity to rectify the administration of officials. When the water transport case occurs, all we can do is to cooperate as much as possible. If we try to delay or even resist, we will only be punished more severely by the court.
Huaidong Road was returned to the Han Dynasty less than three years ago. Although the area is not wide, it covers a fertile land. It enjoys the advantages of transportation, grain and salt, and has become an important financial and taxation area for the imperial court. It can be imagined that His Majesty attaches great importance to this place.
Under such circumstances, when the order comes south, we can only bow our heads and obey the order, without taking anything he wants..."
After listening to Wang Pu's long speech, Zhang Yi subconsciously blinked his eyes, realized it, and sighed: "I have a broad vision and far-reaching thoughts. My subordinates are short-sighted and have lost their public conscience. Please forgive me!"
"However, due to this turmoil, the people in the government offices are unsettled, which has affected the normal operation of official business!" Zhang Yi said again.
After thinking about it, Wang Pu sternly ordered: "Tomorrow, I will draft an official document and send it to all the officials in the department, so that they can perform their duties. If there is anyone who is absent-minded and neglects government affairs, there is no need to wait for the imperial envoy. I’ll deal with him first!”
Zhang Yi couldn't help but be frightened by a strong temperament that showed no anger and self-power. In recent years, almost no one dared to look at Wang Shijun's power in Huaidong.
"Yes!" Zhang Yi bowed subconsciously.
After thinking for a while, Wang Pu asked: "Where is the inspector Zheng?"
"I heard that Duke Zheng fell ill, so he handed over the affairs to his deputy in the afternoon and went back to his hometown to recuperate!" Zhang Yi replied, paused slightly, and lowered his voice subconsciously: "There are rumors that Duke Zheng deliberately fell ill in order to escape!"
"Zheng Rixin is a dignified and cautious man, and I have always admired his conduct. How can you possibly presume to criticize him?" He frowned and glanced sideways at Zhang Yi.
Seeing this, the man hurriedly apologized and said, "You are the one who taught me a lesson!"
Taking a deep breath, Wang Pu stood up straight away and ordered outside: "Come here, prepare a car, I'm going to Zheng Mansion!"
Zheng Renjie, the envoy to Huaidong, was known to be talented, virtuous, and of extraordinary ability. He was originally the deputy envoy to the Privy Council and was an old friend of Guo Wei. After the Southern Expedition, Guo Weisi, the privy envoy at that time, retired and asked himself to take charge of the local area. He also recommended Zheng Renjie to Huaidong as an envoy. It can be said that the structure of the Huaidong Ancha Division was proposed by Emperor Liu Chengyou, but it was Zheng Renjie who implemented it and perfected it, setting an example for the subsequent establishment of the Hedong and Guanzhong Ancha Divisions.
At night, the Zheng Mansion is quiet and peaceful, with a gentle breeze and a slight coolness. But in the backyard, the air was still filled with the smell of medicine. Zheng Renjie, dressed in plain clothes, was lying on the couch, and his wife was serving the medicine beside him.
When he learned that Wang Pu had come to visit, he immediately ordered the steward to serve tea in the hall. Then, regardless of his wife's dissuasion, he got up and dressed to go meet him. When he saw Zheng Renjie, who looked sick and was being helped to the hall by his family, Wang Pu was surprised and hurried to greet him, accusing him again and again: "It's Wang's fault! I didn't know that Mr. Zheng was seriously ill and came to harass me." , Why bother Mr. Zheng to welcome him personally!"
"It's okay!" Zheng Renjie shook his head, sat down slowly, and motioned to Wang Pu for tea: "The etiquette must not be neglected! Besides, it is rare for the prince to pass through the palace. As the master, you should entertain him with all your heart!"
"Zheng Gong is a minister of the Zhu Kingdom and a talented person. You still need to take care of yourself!" Wang Pu advised.
Zheng Renjie looked open-minded and responded: "I am nearly sixty years old, and I am plagued by illness. I will die from birth, old age, illness, and death. This is the law of nature and cannot be forced upon me!"
"Didn't the prince go north to inspect Hongze?" Zheng Renjie asked Wang Pu, obviously lacking in strength.
"I just returned to the Yamen in the evening!" Looking at the decayed Zheng Renjie, Wang Pu suppressed what he originally planned to say and changed his words: "I heard that Mr. Zheng was ill, so I came here to express my condolences."
"Thank you so much for your kindness, Your Majesty!" Looking at Wang Pu, Zheng Renjie said softly: "You came here overnight, I'm afraid you have heard about the changes in the city!"
"You can't hide it from Mr. Zheng's eyes!" Wang Pu met his gaze and sighed softly: "Although the Inspection Division is in charge of the criminal and judicial matters, the responsibility of supervision does not fall on you. Shen and Sun The two of them faked the emperor's orders and brought the power of heaven with them, and their actions have indeed failed!"
Wang Shijun, who has always been fierce and upright, would also comment on other people's concerns, which can be regarded as a strange thing. Hearing this, Zheng Renjie shook his head: "I have failed in my duty after all! The few people who were taken away were engaged in law enforcement for personal gain. They were bribed by Zhao Feng to open their eyes and frame innocent people unjustly. In the past six months, I am suffering from a disease, but I have relaxed my teaching and supervision of my subordinates.
Every time I think about it, I feel ashamed of Your Majesty and the court, and also of the officials and people who suffered humiliation and suffering! "
"So that's it!" Wang Pu suddenly realized. Seeing that he was getting agitated, he hurriedly tried to persuade him: "Under the sun, there are still dark corners. How can Mr. Zheng prevent all evil and evil? Don't feel too guilty. I am in charge of Huaihe River. Since the Dong Dynasty, the laws and regulations used in government have been quite strict, but we cannot guarantee the integrity of the people above and below, so we can only warn them at any time and investigate in time!"
Zheng Renjie smiled, calmed down, and said: "Fortunately, this water transportation corruption was reported in time. The money and food involved in the case was not too huge, but it was a shocking reminder to the officials of the imperial court. He wanted to transfer the officials up and down the department, but nearly half of them were hijacked by Zhao Feng to steal and sell official food. His Majesty's aggressive attack this time is probably because he has seen the deterioration of officialdom. This kind of trend cannot last forever, and decisive measures must be taken. Be careful!"
After hearing what he said, Wang Pu immediately showed an expression of approval and said to Zheng Ren: "What Mr. Zheng said coincides with me! I came here to discuss with you and take advantage of the incident of corruption in water transportation. , conduct a unified inspection and management of officials in prefectures, counties and towns under Huaidong Road. Since ancient times, official governance has been a difficult problem. Although it is difficult to eliminate it, any party must maintain discipline, adhere to the law, and impose severe crackdowns, especially Against corruption!
Based on my understanding of His Majesty, it is not impossible that he will not only focus on Huaidong, but also Huaixi, Henan, Hedong, and Hebei. Fortunately, we do it first. Envoys Shen and Fang have made a good start today, let's continue! "
As a newly occupied territory, Wang Pu and Zheng Renjie, who are in power, have great power. If they can get along with each other and organize a "special rectification of official affairs" campaign together, there will be no problem.
"If this is the case, people in Huaidong will really have no chance to live in officialdom!" In a rare moment, Zheng Renjie made a joke, but with a very solemn expression, he said: "The prince has this intention. Although Zheng is seriously ill, he should Full support, no matter how difficult it is, I dare not say anything about it!”
"Wang admires Mr. Zheng's judgment!" Wang Pu stood up and said seriously: "There is only one word difference between officials not having a good life and people not having a good life, but I would rather choose the former. Officials should be responsible for their power and salary. If you feel dissatisfied and full of resentment because of the strict control of the imperial court, then you don’t want such an official!"
Observing his expression and listening to his words, Zheng Renjie's pale face regained some rosiness, and his pain seemed to have eased. I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, no wonder so many people are afraid of Wang Pu and hate Wang Pu. In Zheng Renjie's view, only Guo Rong could rival him in his strong character and will.
