Dian Shi Zhai.
Chen Zhong was restless and moved anxiously, with slight sweat on his forehead. Mrs. Chen opened the door and walked in, the candles shaking violently.
The door closes.
Chen Zhong hurriedly stepped forward and asked eagerly: "How's it going?"
Mrs. Chen's face was pale and she did not dare to look directly at Chen Zhong. She lowered her voice and said, "Sir, many subordinate officials and government servants have gone to the Second Hall and joined the county sect."
Chen Zhong clenched his fists and gritted his teeth: "These guys are cheating, they're a bunch of trash!"
Mrs. Chen picked up the handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Chen Zhong's forehead: "The county magistrate is strong and has methods. I'd better not fight with him. Lower your head and admit your mistake. Maybe this matter will be over."
Chen Zhong pushed Chen's hand and shouted angrily: "What do you know? To surrender to others, you need to get a certificate of surrender! Over the years, they have all done things under my hands. The county magistrate Liu Boqin and the chief registrar Zhao Doubei are just strategists!" They must have pointed out me when they submitted the certificate, so what's the use of admitting their mistake now?"
Mrs. Chen was worried, with tears in her eyes: "Master, think of a solution quickly. Go to the chief registrar or the county magistrate to think of something."
Chen Zhong did not expect that the situation in the county government would change so quickly. Every subordinate official and government servant began to succumb to Gu Zhengchen's threats and inducements. The seemingly unbreakable profit network that had been in business for many years was torn apart by force!
The candle shook again. Chen Zhong left Dian Shi's house and went to the chief clerk's house. He was told that the chief clerk had gone to see the county magistrate, so he had to go to the county magistrate's house and ask to see Liu Boqin.
Qian'er opened the door and saw a look of surprise on her face when she saw that the person coming was Chen Zhong.
Chen Zhong didn't pay attention and strode towards the county magistrate's room.
Qian'er quickly closed the door and followed.
boom!
Chen Zhong suddenly pushed open the door of Liu Boqin's room, smelled the smell of wine and vegetables, and couldn't help but get angry: "Liu Xian Cheng, Mr. Zhao, you are quite leisurely and have a happy banquet here. Have you ever thought that I have been captured?" Put it on the fire and be roasted!"
Qian'er followed up, looked at Liu Boqin with an uncertain expression, saluted, and said, "My lord, the county magistrate, the chief secretary, Chen Dianshi is here."
Liu Boqin waved his hand: "Go down."
When Chen Zhong heard the words "county magistrate", he broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at the person with his back to him and turned sideways. The familiar face was not the county magistrate!
Gu Zhengchen looked at Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei, and smiled faintly: "That's right, I will be here, Chen Dianshi."
Chen Zhong felt his lips were a little dry, so he quickly stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty."
Gu Zhengchen raised his hand: "Don't be too polite. I'm waiting for you. Just take a seat."
Chen Zhong looked at Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei in surprise, and sat down uneasily.
Gu Zhengchen raised his wine glass and said seriously: "When I first came to Jurong, the three of you hosted a family banquet. Today, I used my salary to arrange a table of wine and food, and specially prepared the sake you like to drink. Don't be polite." "
Chen Zhong didn't know why, but Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei looked ugly.
When Gu Zhengchen saw that no one was raising his glass, he drank it in one gulp. He put down the glass, picked up the flask, and said with a smile: "In official circles, intrigues are inevitable. But tonight, I still hope to have a heart-to-heart talk with the three of you. Let’s have a conversation. After all, if we don’t talk about some things tonight, we may not have the chance to talk again.”
Liu Boqin, Zhao Doubei and Chen Zhong looked at each other, lowering their heads and not daring to make a sound.
Gu Zhengchen was full of wine and looked at Liu Boqin: "You were born as a Jinshi in the third grade in four years, and you were only appointed as the Prime Minister of Jurong County. Do you feel that you are underachieving?"
Liu Boqin hurriedly said: "The imperial court ordered me to do this, so why should I feel wronged?"
Gu Zhengchen chuckled: "You know in your heart whether you are wronged or not. As for Chief Zhao, although he did not come from the imperial examination, after all, he served as an edict in the Yuan Dynasty and was promoted to chief secretary. At least the court treats you well. ?”
Zhao Doubei cupped his hands: "Not thin!"
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly, looked at Chen Zhong, and said with sharp eyes: "Chen Dianshi - you are a native of Jurong. You climbed up from the county government office, which is considered a rare promotion on the spot. In the entire county government, you are You are the most familiar with the four-column ledger and the best at writing the four-column ledger, right?"
Chen Zhong's face turned even paler and his lips trembled a little: "What does the county honor mean?"
Gu Zhengchen drank another glass of wine and said slowly: "What do you mean? Chen Dianshi still doesn't understand. These account books have been handed over to the household a long time ago. I looked at them and found them to be flawless."
Chen Zhong breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Zhengchen took out an account book from his sleeve, put it on the table, and said calmly: "It's just that Liu Daxing, who was kicked out of the county government office, handed in another account book in order to return to the household house to run errands. This There are some accounts recorded in it. Unfortunately, these accounts coincide with the four-post account book of the household. Is Chen Dianshi interested in taking a look? "
Chen Zhong was horrified. He looked at the account books and his hands began to tremble.
Gu Zhengchen knocked on the account book, stood up, looked at the three speechless people, and said seriously: "I came to Jurong not to take stock, but to ensure that the people here have enough to eat! Chen Dianshi, your health It’s not very good, it’s better to retire as soon as possible.”
Chen Zhong's sweat rolled from his forehead to his cheeks. He stood up, stood aside, and knelt down: "Please show your respect, sir!"
There was no pity in Gu Zhengchen's eyes. He picked up the jug, poured the wine on the account book, and said in a deep voice: "Write the official letter more sincerely. Use snacks and send it to you early tomorrow morning. If I don't see it, wait. When the imperial court falls, you can only go to the Tu Tu Temple to repent."
Liu Boqin and Zhao Doubei were frightened and dared not speak.
Gu Zhengchen turned around, opened the door, looked at the dark night sky, and said: "Spring is the master of life, autumn is the master of death. Autumn is not over yet, so everyone should take care of themselves."
Qian'er was in the treatment cage and carefully escorted Gu Zhengchen out of the magistrate's house. Seeing Gu Zhengchen's serious face, she hesitated and called out: "The county magistrate..."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Qian'er, his already weak face became more sad, and asked, "Is something wrong?"
Qian'er thought for a while and gritted her teeth: "Master Liu..."
Gu Zhengchen shook his head and stretched out his hand to interrupt Qian'er: "You should know your identity. Don't say some words, don't bring trouble to yourself."
It is a rule that slaves are not allowed to sue their parents.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Qian'er who wanted to talk, and smiled faintly: "There are some things that I can investigate clearly without you coming. It's just that these are troubled times, and I don't want to get things done. Sometimes it's better to forgive someone than not to forgive them. It takes more courage to go back."
Qian'er looked at Gu Zhengchen leaving with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Gu Zhengchen returned to the second hall, took out another account book from his sleeve and threw it aside.
Chen Zhong has more than one account book of corruption, so there is no harm in giving him one.
The reason why Gu Zhengchen didn't kill him was because he couldn't do it.
Although these account books prove Chen Zhong's corruption, these account books and the testimonies of subordinate officials and government servants also show that Chen Zhong's corruption is not the fault of one person. When he eats meat, he also feeds everyone.
One sip of this soup will last you five years!
The subordinate officials have benefited from it. In the past five years, few of them have earned less than sixty taels. The government servants have benefited from it, and few have earned less than twenty taels.
We need to be more serious about this, if we beat him to death with a stick, the Jurong County Government will really be wiped out!
It's not that Gu Zhengchen doesn't hate corrupt officials, but while he hates them, he also understands their difficulties. Officials' salaries are too low and they are stretched thin, let alone subordinate officials and government servants.
Whoever has a wife and children who are not greedy will always be hungry and dress like a beggar. How many people can persist in these poverty-stricken days?
Their corruption is not for romance, indulgence, and drunkenness, but for the whole family to be able to afford food and survive!
Gu Zhengchen asked himself, if his parents, wife and children were not living like human beings and could not even afford a few full meals throughout the year, would he be greedy if he had the power in his hands, would he reach out to take it?
Corruption is a sin and a crime, there is no doubt about it.
However, buried beneath the corrupt behavior of these officials is the helplessness of life.
Gu Zhengchen remembered two sentences from later generations:
A person who commits a crime for money is guilty.
If a person commits a crime just to live, the society is guilty!
After all, in the early days of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there were hordes of corrupt people who faced the killing knife. Not only the officials were guilty, but Lao Zhu at least also needed to bear some responsibility.
From this perspective, although Gu Zhengchen did not agree with their behavior, he understood their behavior, so he established Lian Yin and was willing to give them a chance.
If someone adopts Lian Yin and extends his hand to the common people, then Gu Zhengchen wouldn't mind using it to appreciate the performance art of skinning!
Gu Zhengchen stayed in the second hall to rest, waking up once an hour to see the subordinate officials, government servants and others who had come to serve.
When on.
Chen Zhong submitted a document for becoming an official. He begged the imperial court for permission to become an official because his injured legs and feet were not conducive to his work and it was difficult for him to serve as a pianist. He also cited his mother's old age and no one to take care of him.
Gu Zhengchen received Chen Zhong's seal, added a few words to the document, and arranged for it to be sent to the reception room and forwarded to the Jinling official department.
The power to appoint and remove classics and historians rests with the Ministry of Officials. When you retire from office, you naturally need to seek approval from the Ministry of Officials. You can also tell the Ministry of Officials that the Jurong County government office is short of a classics historian and arrange for one to come.
Gu Zhengchen showed no mercy to the five subordinate officials and four government servants who were still watching in the county government office. With a stroke of his pen, he dismissed them all from the county government office.
County Magistrate Liu Boqin and Chief Registrar Zhao Doubei "have recovered" and appeared in the lobby.
From this day on, Gu Zhengchen gradually took control of the power within the county government, and all the government servants and subordinate officials acted directly under his orders.
Ascended to the hall, mighty!
Gu Zhengchen looked solemn and shouted in a deep voice: "Where is Sun Pin and the old man Sun Cheng in Zhishui?"
Sun Pin and Sun Cheng quickly walked in from the door and saluted.
Gu Zhengchen said bluntly: "Can Sun Wuliang and Sun Hao come to the county government office?"
Sun Pin replied uneasily: "County Master, we have sent people to find the natal homes of Sun Wuliang and Sun Hao. Their wives did not go out together, but stayed at Zhishui's house, but we have searched everywhere. Zhishui, there is no trace of these two people!"
Gu Zhengchen stared and said coldly: "You mean, Sun Wuliang and Sun Hao are missing?"
Sun Pin nodded helplessly: "We have mobilized the villagers to continue searching. Once found, we will report it to the county government."
Gu Zhengchen's mouth moved slightly.
I had just discovered the clues and found the suspicious point, but two key figures suddenly disappeared. Oh, what a quick hand, what a speed!
