Dian Shi Zhai.
As Chen Zhong's pen and ink flowed, he outlined the mountain scenery at night.
The moon is low and the mountains are high.
The lone pine grows on the side of the cliff, with a lush crown and proud of the world's peaks.
Prison warden Zhou Hong came over in a hurry, wiped the sweat from his head, and said anxiously: "Chen Dianshi, the county respects him..."
Chen Zhong put away his pen, looked at Zhou Hong, and said calmly: "Mother Sun's gift is enough to scare him to death. This is a warning. I hope he can understand our good intentions."
Zhou Hong stamped his feet and lamented: "Ms. Sun didn't scare the county magistrate. She, she pinched the wrong person!"
Chen Zhong's face suddenly darkened and he put down his brush: "What's going on?"
Zhou Hong explained the matter again.
Chen Zhong twitched his nose and looked at Zhou Hong fiercely: "Idiot, you can't handle this! Go back and ask Magistrate Gu what he said to Granny Sun, and tell her that if she is talking nonsense, no one can keep her alive! "
Zhou Hong nodded repeatedly: "She won't say it. After all, the case is clear, and she has no money to redeem her sentence. A hundred sticks can beat her to death. In order to survive, she will cooperate well. We will be the ones who execute her in the future." people."
Chen Zhongping calmed down and waved his hand: "Let the torture chamber send the files to the county magistrate. He is the county magistrate. We can't hold back the files if we want them."
Indeed, no matter how rampant the officials are, they can only stumble in the dark and cannot openly confront the magistrate.
After all, the county magistrate is the head of a county and has the authority to deal with officials.
In the final analysis, officials are not figures within the imperial court's official system, and they can be opened at will.
Of course, few county magistrates are willing to offend all officials. Behind every official, there is a certain network of connections, who are very familiar with the local area and have the right to speak.
Without the help of officials, the magistrate would have no choice but to govern a county with only two legs.
Zhou Hong agreed and turned around to make arrangements.
Gu Zhengchen sat in the second hall and pulled out the female prison file.
Two copies in total:
One file belongs to Sun Niang, and the other file belongs to Guo Liang.
Open Sun Niang's file and look at it carefully.
Time of incident:
July 16th.
case:
The late husband Sun Ba asked his mother in a dream, and she dug a grave in the middle of the night and found the grave of Grandpa Guo Liang. A businessman who was on his way at night discovered it. He was frightened and reported it to the village chief, who arrested him on the spot.
The confessions in the file are quite clear. After all, the person caught at the scene has no way to quibble.
Another file of Guo Liang is mainly a testimony, crying that his grandfather's grave was dug up, and it was unfilial to be a grandson. He didn't keep the grave in front of his house, and he felt sorry for the old man.
After flipping through the files and reviewing Sun Niang's confession, one of the words, "As long as I change my husband's grave, my son can come back" caught Gu Zhengchen's attention.
Zhou Hong also mentioned this sentence, Sun Niang's son disappeared.
But the strange thing is that no one cares about this, and no one asks the people in the execution room. The county government does not leave any documents for filing a case, let alone send anyone to look for it.
A big living person disappeared, but the county government ignored it, pretending to be deaf and dumb, and only focused on digging the grave. This is a bit puzzling.
Both cases within the case must be investigated clearly, otherwise these files will be sent to Yingtian Mansion and the Ministry of Punishment, and they will be sent back for a new trial.
The person who is interrogating the case is the county magistrate Liu Boqin. He has been in Jurong for two and a half years, so he will not be unclear about this point.
Gu Zhengchen took out a copper coin and turned it over in his hands, lost in thought.
This case is not a big one, it's just digging a grave.
However, as it relates to the case within the case and the matter of missing persons, careful interrogation and investigation are required.
still have a question.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the file.
Sun Niang's husband has been dead for more than two years. Sun Niang will visit the grave every year during the Qingming Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival, and Double Ninth Festival. In addition, she will also visit the grave on the date of his death.
Tomb-visiting in the Ming Dynasty was not like that of later generations. Many people were busy with work and had long distances to go.
In the Ming Dynasty, the custom of tomb worship was deeply rooted in the people, and it was impossible to miss it even once.
Even if you are a wanderer outside, you still have to find a piece of wood to write a memorial tablet and place the memorial tablet where it is time to pay homage.
In other words, Sun Niang went there at least four times a year and still touched the wrong grave. Even though it was dark, you couldn't be so careless, right?
The strangest thing is that Sun Niang is from Zhishui, Yifeng Township, thirty miles northeast of Jurong. Guo Liang was from Hezhuang, Xiaoyi Township, thirty miles due north of Jurong.
The two places are bounded by a river.
This illustrates a problem. One of Sunniang's husband's grave or Guo Liang's grandfather's grave was indeed buried in another township.
Guo Liang's confession was that "the grave in front of his home was not well guarded," which meant that Grandpa Guo Liang's grave was in Hezhuang, Xiaoyi Township. This means that when Sun Niang’s husband died, he was not buried in Zhishui, Yifeng Township, but in Hezhuang, Xiaoyi Township!
Strange location.
There seems to be a problem behind this.
Gu Zhengchen withdrew his gaze. These matters still need to be inquired before he can make a decision. Perhaps Sun Niang was so obsessed that she traveled the wrong way for more than ten miles and dug the wrong grave.
"The County Lord."
Zhou Mao, the official in charge, came hurriedly and interrupted Gu Zhengchen's thoughts.
Gu Zhengchen closed the file, put the copper coins between his fingers on the table, and asked, "What's the matter?"
Zhou Mao took out a document and handed it over: "The imperial court sent a document."
Gu Zhengchen took the document and looked at the paint. Seeing that there were no signs of opening, he picked up the knife on the desk, opened the envelope of the document, took out the document inside, glanced at it, widened his eyes and shouted : "It's really something that's going to happen..."
Zhou Mao didn't know what was going on, and it was difficult to find out, so he had to wait.
Gu Zhengchen put down the documents and rubbed his brows: "Go and bring the county magistrate, chief registrar, dianshi, and Li He from the workshop."
Zhou Mao agreed and backed out.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the document and was so depressed that he almost vomited blood.
The imperial court actually planned to resettle Tatar prisoners in Jurong, and settled 1,236 of them at one time!
Whose idea was this?
Lao Zhu?
Zhu Dalang?
It is estimated that only Lao Zhu can do this kind of thing. What do you think? It’s better to arrange for the prisoner to be farther away. It’s not a joke to bring Jurong to Jurong. It’s a hundred miles away and he can be killed outside Jinling City on the same day to engage in illegal activities. Raising funds to build a house...
I haven't even established myself in Jurong yet, but you're giving me a hard time. Are you trying to kill me in Jurong?
Not long after, Liu Boqin, Zhao Doubei, Chen Zhong, and Li He all arrived.
Gu Zhengchen took out the court documents and circulated them to several people, and then said: "The court only gave us one month to prepare. The prisoners will be sent after one month. How to place them, where to place them, and where to divide the fields." , where to build a residence, time is running out, and it needs to be decided now.”
Liu Boqin looked troubled: "One month is too short for the imperial court. There are more than 1,200 people. Even if there are three people per room, 400 rooms are still needed."
Gu Zhengchen knocked on the table: "Don't talk about the difficulties. The court has told us that we must take over Li He. How should we deal with similar incidents in the past?"
Li He puffed out his chest: "Conscript the people to serve and build a place to live."
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly: "According to the amount of conscription, make preparations in advance and strive to complete the work within twenty days."
"Twenty days? County Lord, this construction period is too tight..."
Li He was a little surprised.
Gu Zhengchen waved his hand: "It's only twenty days. If it's later, the autumn harvest will be delayed. Go down and prepare first. Draw up the documents and send them over."
Li He had no choice but to accept the order and leave.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Zhao Doubei, the chief registrar: "You need to be responsible for the household registration. Don't place these more than a thousand prisoners too far away. Just spread them out around the suburbs of Jurong. There will be more than 400 prisoners in one direction." , choose a suitable land for reclamation, let it be reclaimed, and enjoy the three-year tax exemption on the reclaimed land, what do you think?"
Zhao Doubei did not expect that Gu Zhengchen would be so vigorous and resolute, and that he would exercise his powers cleanly and arrange things properly, so he had no choice but to agree: "The county magistrate is wise."
Gu Zhengchen picked up the copper coin and held it in the palm of his hand: "Young Ming is exempted. According to the court's policy, cattle and farm tools need to be provided. Now the court only talks about the resettlement strategy, but does not give cattle. You can draft a document and find it. At the request of the governor of Tianfu."
"ah?"
Zhao Doubei was surprised.
Ask Fu Yin for it?
County Lord, you are probably joking.
If the governor of Yingtian Mansion wanted to give it, he would have given it to him long ago. If he didn't say it, he wouldn't give it. There should be a tacit understanding of this.
Gu Zhengchen stared at Zhao Doubei: "Can't you even write documents?"
Zhao Doubei looked a little ugly and advised: "Your Majesty, this is a waste of effort. How many immigrants did the imperial court immigrate to Fengyang? Even the calves were included in order to collect the cattle for the people. We want to ask Yingtian Mansion for help. I'm afraid it's difficult to farm cattle..."
Gu Zhengchen insisted: "Don't say more, you write the document and it will be in my name."
Zhao Doubei said no more. Since the county magistrate was willing to make Yingtianfu Yin unhappy, what else could he say.
Gu Zhengchen didn't mind. If Ying Tianfu wanted to give this kind of document, he would give it to him. If he didn't give it, he would refuse. There was no need to offend him.
The most important thing is that they don't give it, so that he can use the money in his treasury to clear up wasteland for the resettlement of "immigrants" in Jurong, and give cattle to farm animals in accordance with the government's policy. This is an honest reason.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the county magistrate Liu Boqin: "The captives have just arrived, the wasteland has not been cultivated, and they have no livelihood. They still need the county government to distribute food to support them. When the prisoners arrive in Jurong, you will be responsible for calculating the required food and connecting it with the households. , allocate it from the grain storage."
Liu Boqin looked stern.
This was the first time that Gu Zhengchen had to deal with real official business. He was faced with a rare major matter such as placing prisoners, but he handled it in an orderly manner without any chaos!
The political abilities this young man has displayed are a bit terrifying!
This person's abilities need to be re-evaluated.
Gu Zhengchen turned his attention to Chen Zhong, the Dianshi: "They are Tatar prisoners. Now they have surrendered to the imperial court, they can also be regarded as subjects of the Ming Dynasty. Having said that, you must take the necessary precautions. After the prisoners arrive in Jurong, you need to bring people with you Strengthen inspections to ensure public security. During inspections, Tatars need to join."
Chen Zhong frowned: "Why are there Tatars?"
Gu Zhengchen chuckled: "You can't say that they are the ones patrolling and taking precautions, right? How can they return home if they don't trust their own people? Of course, the patrol is more to appease the people of Jurong and avoid panic."
Chen Zhong grinned.
County Lord, you are a bit hypocritical...
